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EXCERPT:

Keller Montgomery looked up at the imposing edifice of the house and sighed. It was not going to be a good evening. Anytime she was summoned to appear before the Vitala Senate things were not going well. She hadn't killed anyone lately so she could mark that off the list of possibilities.

Rumours were always rampant in the community about someone overthrowing the senate, but she knew, even if the rumours were true, they wouldn't be calling for an appearance. Kell shrugged. Stories, such as coups, had been going around long before she had been born and would probably be around long after she was dead. It was neither here nor there since her job was purely one of security. She was the best, since she would do whatever was necessary to ensure her charge remained safe. Due to her reputation the Vitala community feared her. A human. The race humans called vampire feared her. It would be laughable, if it wasn't true.

She climbed the steps as her long black leather coat swirled around knee high black boots. In fact, her entire wardrobe consisted of black. It made disappearing into the darkness much easier. The only part of her she allowed visible colour was her hair. This week, she wore a rich cobalt blue in tousled waves around her thin face.

The large doors before her opened, and she didn't hesitate as she strode through. The doors banged shut behind her and the sound of running footsteps trying to catch up made her smile. Jepson, the doorman, a small man dressed in a loud orange suit, rushed ahead of her. He was a servant to the senate, and as such, had duties to fulfil when a guest arrived-”one of them was to announce all visitors. Poor guy never stood a chance when she came calling. He was usually too out of breath attempting to keep up with her ground eating pace.

Kell ignored the priceless paintings and ornate furnishings as she descended stone steps to the lower level. Two guards stood at attention outside a set of massive iron doors. Kell swept her coat aside to ensure the weapons she wore would be in easy reach, but did not hesitate in her approach. The senate was not known for its patience and she wasn't going to try them on this night. One of the guards stepped forward and Kell reached back and withdrew the swords she wore in sheaths under her coat. There was always some asshole with more balls than brains wanting to see if she was as good as her reputation claimed. They always found out the hard way.

Jepson began to yell. "No! No blood, not here. Step aside, the senate is expecting her."

The man crouched low, growling and bearing his fangs as if the display would impress her.

Kell rolled her eyes. Fuck. She did not have time for this now. "Look, asshole, I don't know what your deal is, but let it go. I have a meeting with the senate."

"You'll make your meeting, bitch. When I carry your lifeless body in and throw it on the floor. You have dishonoured my family and only your death will satisfy."

The Vitala drew his own sword and advanced.

"You're Priven's brother, right?" Kell settled into a ready stance. "Fucker tried to kidnap Jaz Maloney. He was warned, but chose to ignore it and died. He got what he deserved."

"Now you'll join him."

The man rushed her, swinging the sword with more power than grace, and Kell stepped forward to engage. The twin blades in her hands flashed in intricate patterns as she worked to tire her opponent. All the while, she assessed him for weaknesses. The faster she ended the fight meant getting to her appointment on time. The senate did not appreciate lateness. Nor did they appreciate sword fights outside their door. In fact, it was seriously frowned on.

Kell's swords connected repeatedly, leaving the man bleeding from small wounds all over his body. Blood loss for a Vitala was incredibly serious since to them blood truly was life. If a Vitala lost too much, which for them wasn't much at all, he would drop like a stone.

Realising he was fighting a losing battle, the man dropped back and reached into his jacket. Kell, knowing he was going for a gun, took two steps forward and launched herself at him feet first. Her booted feet connected to his chest, causing him to fly back as she landed light as a cat on her hands and feet leather coat swirling around her. She was up, swords in hand before he shook off the blow she had dealt him.

The gun he carried had flown free and he scrambled to grab it, crawling across the floor, leaving trails of blood in his wake. Kell reached the weapon first and kicked it under a far table. He rolled to his feet, stumbling for his sword as he cursed her and her lineage. Kell ignored the insults and focused on her adversary.

Nothing ever rattled her. She was ice-cold and focused on the job she had to do. Today it consisted of defending her life.

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Loud music thumped through the dark club, shuddering the floor under the dancers' feet as if the building were a living entity with a heartbeat. Jaz Maloney gyrated wildly, flinging his arms around as strobe lights flashed in rhythm to the music. Though considered petite, sleek muscles packed his five-four frame, which he used quite effectively to clear space on the floor. He despised being crowded when he danced. He wanted room to be able to express his own unique style. He flung his brown hair, currently tipped with day glow pink, out of his sweaty face and let out a yell. The other dancers on the floor answered back and Jaz smiled. Yep, he was in his element, the centre of attention.

The song switched to one he didn't particularly like, so he headed towards the bar. Vitala in the crowd waved as humans instinctively moved out of his way. Humans naturally gave Vitala a wide berth and, though he was small, he was no exception. Jaz certainly never thought of himself as small, other people were just freakishly tall.

He shoved his way to the bar and stepped up on the decorative metal piping. It was approximately six inches off the floor and it put him at the right height to catch a bartender's eye. He waved his hand and the bangles on his wrist made a cheery ringing sound. Damn, he did look fine tonight. No one had yet to catch his eye, but the night was still young.

"Hey sweetie," he addressed the bartender. "I would love a ginormous glass of water. I am parched."

She handed him the glass and he smiled at her as he hopped off the pipe. Sipping his drink, he headed to a back room and the table his friends had commandeered. He wished his best friend Keller had come out, but since the whole bonding deal with Khalid, they stayed in quite a bit. Slut. However, if he had Khalid, he'd definitely stay in too. The man was total hotness. Jaz mentally patted himself on the back. If it weren't for him, Kell and Khalid would probably still be floundering around in non-relationship land. He certainly didn't know how Keller had survived without his assistance. The thought stopped him. What a great idea for a career, professional best friend. He could sweep into the pathetic lives of sad individuals and help them to better their existence. Everyone could benefit from having Jaz Maloney instead of only a select few.

He pondered this exciting thought as he reached the table. The room was actually fairly quiet since it was tucked as far away from the dance floor as possible. Jaz slumped into the booth and ran his fingers through his sweaty hair. Getting icky sweaty was the one thing he hated about clubbing. He looked around the room, to see if he could spy any of the people he'd come with, and his eyes met those of Andrew Robertson. Shit. He quickly looked away. The man was moving beyond nuisance to stalker level. Three months ago, Jaz had met him at a party his parents had thrown. Afterwards, the man had begun to call him…constantly. Jaz had tried telling him, politely, he wasn't interested, but the man wouldn't take no for an answer. He didn't want to have to call Keller since Robertson carried a bit of power within Vitala society, but if this persisted, he'd have to.

"Jaz. I've been looking for you."

"Mr. Robertson." Jaz looked at him not smiling. "What are you doing here? This doesn't seem to be your type of place."

"Like I said, I was looking for you."

Robertson wasn't a tall man, but he did carry some muscle on his closely packed frame. He wore his blond hair slicked back from his face, which only highlighted his ruddy, pocked face and thin, cruel eyes. Overall, as far as Jaz was concerned, not an attractive package.

"Now, why would you look for me?" Jaz slid farther into the round booth, away from Robertson.

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Lisa Karrington lay on her bed staring up at the softly whirring ceiling fan. School was finally out for the summer. She sighed. The teachers were more excited than the kids, though no one showed it. Hell, if they could have, they would have shoved the buggers out of the way on a race to the parking lot. Yeah, not very dignified. She closed her eyes trying to figure out what to do on this first free day. Sleep? No. Cleaning? Not hardly. Yard work? Yeah-”never gonna happen. Fun. It needed to be fun and relaxing.

Rolling over, she grabbed the phone, quickly punching in the number of her best friend Jacqueline Monroe, now Sinclair since she had married Caleb almost a year ago. The phone was picked up and Lisa recognised Caleb's voice. Dang, the man was seriously hot. Not that she would ever let him know that. He already teased her unmercifully about everything, she didn't need something else to add to the list.

"Hey Caleb, can I talk to Jack?"

"Hold on."

An instant later Jacqueline's voice came over the line. "Hey Lisa, what's going on?"

"Is Caleb mad at me or something? He didn't goof on me, tease me, or generally torment me."

"He's worried about his brother, Eli. You remember Eli, don't you? He was Caleb's best man at our wedding. Anyway, he's in the Marines and Caleb hasn't heard from him for nearly three weeks. He's run through his contacts and can't find anything out."

"I remember him." Lisa forced her voice to remain even. Shit, she remembered him all right. The biggest mistake in her litany of men disasters and that was saying something considering all the people she'd dated. They had met about a week before the wedding and from the moment they shook hands all her girl-mones had sat up and panted. He's the one, they said. She had fallen and fallen fast. Unfortunately, she thought he had too. He'd acted as if he'd thoroughly enjoyed spending time with her. They'd laughed and talked and he'd constantly touched her. Not pawing, but he'd thrown an arm around her as they'd walked or touched her hand as they'd spoken. Everything had been going great, until they went to bed. Or tried to. Lisa's face flushed with mortification at the memory of him losing an erection almost as soon as she had touched him. Staggering out of bed, he'd told her to leave as he'd gone into the bathroom and shut the door. She'd never seen him again.

"Lisa? Are you listening to me?"

"I'm sorry." Lisa startled out of her morbid thoughts. "I was gone to La La Land. Do you need to get off the phone to leave it clear?"

"Yeah, since this is our first day free, why don't we meet at our favourite Starbucks and celebrate?"

"You're on. See you in a bit."

Lisa took a sip of her coffee and watched Jacqueline bring her own drink to the table. At one time, she used to settle for regular old coffee filled to the brim with cream to make it barely drinkable, then Jack had introduced her to the addiction. Each Monday on the way to school, they stopped at Starbucks to get a non-fat Venti Peppermint Mocha with light whip. She didn't know how she had survived without it in her life. At least she could depend on one perfect thing appearing in her life.

"What's going on?" Jack settled down at their regular table. "You sounded odd this morning. Did you actually go on a good date?"

"Fuck no, and I've decided I'm gonna stop, dude. I'm going on the wagon, as far as bad relationships are concerned. No more. I am not dating just because society tells me I have to. What do I care what anyone thinks? I'm special, I'm unique and I've been wasting it on losers. It's like wearing your very favourite brand new outfit to the grocery. It's just too good to waste on that crappy place. So no more. I'm not dating ever again. I'm over it." Lisa took a deep breath and stopped talking. Damn, she felt better.

"So this means you're finished with the whole Internet dating phase?"

"Yes, I've cancelled my subscription and I'm not accepting instant messages from anyone I don't know. Like I said, I'm finished with dating. Period."

Jack sipped at her drink. "What happened to finding your man? The man that's yours and yours alone?"

"He doesn't exist." Lisa shrugged.