Crimson
by Tamela Miles
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Delilah McDade has born the brunt of responsibility of her younger brother, Declan's wild lifestyle for years, until the night she learns it's come back to bite both of them in the form of vampire Ash Lockler. Delilah has a prim exterior but she dreams of hot vampires and other nocturnal creatures to give her a break from her life that, while satisfying, is lonely. Ash is tempting but she knows that she could never be a part of his life lived in the shadows. Ash Lockler lives his undead life as part of the seedy underworld with a stone cold heart. That doesn't stop him from helping damsel-in-distress, Delilah, but he's intent on keeping things all business and ending their association as soon as possible. The problem is that he can't seem to get his body - and heart - to agree with his reasoning when he and Delilah are thrown together in a deadly situation that may get her killed and cost him his freedom.
Tamela Miles is a California State University San Bernardino graduate student with a Bachelor of Science degree in Child Development and a former flight attendant. She grew up in Altadena, California in that tumultuous time known as the 1980s. She now resides with her family in the Inland Empire, CA. She's a horror/paranormal romance writer mainly because it feels so good having her characters do bad things and, later, pondering what makes them so bad and why they can never seem to change their wicked ways.
She enjoys emails from people who like her work. In fact, she loves emails. She can be contacted at tamelamiles@yahoo.com or her Facebook page, Tamela Miles Books. She also welcomes reader reviews and enjoys the feedback from people who love to read as much as she does.
Ash stood outside of the giant door of Galina’s office, hand poised to knock. At his first rap, there was nothing but silence. He looked down the expansive hallway in both directions and a wave of annoyance filled him. The queen had arranged this meeting and the fact she apparently wasn’t in her office signaled she was playing another one of her games with him. He resigned himself to simply wait her out.
Moments later, the heavy scent of roses filled his nose. He paused and turned around slowly. He knew the smell quite well and wasn’t surprised to see Galina Saburova coming down the hallway.
Ash’s glance took in her waterfall of smooth, straight blonde hair and the blue eyes bright with curiosity and amusement. She wore a simple black dress that fit her slim figure to perfection. As she approached, her perfume overwhelmed him.
“Ash,” she said, nodding. “Good to see you back here to do more of the Crown’s necessary dirty work. I appreciate your promptness.”
His eyes narrowed. “I’m here to do my job, yes.”
“I can never wrap my head around why you don’t just abandon your servitude to my empire and strike out on your own. There are many places where you could run to escape the Vampire Council and myself, of course.” Galina’s smile was small and mischievous.
“Ignore the Vampire Council’s decision? I have many years of servitude left because I dared to kill another vampire. They spared my life and I do your dirty work on the sly.” Ash’s voice was even, devoid of any bitterness.
Galina tilted her head and held his gaze. “Was killing your maker worth it?”
Ash’s lips curved in a half-smile. “I have no regrets every night when I wake up. I assumed we’d meet inside your office?”
The Queen barked an order. The door opened slowly to reveal two heavily armed guards, both vamps. Galina crossed the large, plush room and seated herself behind a large desk. The two guards took their positions on each side of the door they closed.
“Welcome back to my home, Ash,” Galina said smoothly, not a trace of her Russian origins evident in her voice.
Ash nodded as he kept his face carefully blank. “Queen Galina, what do you need me to do?” Ash got right down to business, having no time for meaningless pleasantries. He knew the vampire queen expected nothing different from him. He was an enforcer, nothing more to many on the outside, though the situation was vastly more complicated than that. Concealed with civilized conversation, the two vamps were quietly and privately involved in a power struggle.
“My money is disappearing, which greatly upsets me.” Galina drummed her fingers idly on her desk before continuing. “It’s being siphoned out of two of my clubs, one here in Denver and one in Los Angeles. You will stop it from happening. Permanently.”
Ash knew this would end in final deaths for the two groups of greedy vamps. When he was newly made, the thought of killing anyone was abhorrent to him but he was no longer that man. He killed to ensure his own survival and, in doing so, had made it an art he found satisfaction in. Killing humans was something he did rarely but destroying the vamps who preyed on them didn’t keep him awake when he went to ground to sleep.
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