Devon's Vix Excerpt

unedited Excerpt:

Jessie Coulter's booted feet sank into the plush tan carpeting of the elegant cream walled hotel hallway. Stopping in front of a door, she swiped the keycard and then twisted the knob. She'd like to be home, in her large comfortable apartment, but that wasn't possible.

She was under orders. The latest attack on her had scared Steven enough to have him put guards on her and place her in protective custody. As Commander of the Dallas unit of the Protectorate, Steven Carson took action when he became worried. Considering that they dealt with the rogues of the numerous paranormal species, it was normally hard to rattle him.

This latest attack had done more than that. No amount of talking had made a dent in his determination to get her out of danger.

Brushing a long strand of straight black hair off her cheek, she stepped to the side of the door. Unzipping her faded denim jacket, she sighed as she waited for one of her suited bodyguards to check it. The blond man in a gray suit who'd been trailing behind her walked into the room. He stepped out, handed her the keycard and nodded to her.

She stepped into the hotel room. Her eyes ran over the room taking in the deep golden wood table and matching chairs. Thick gray carpet stretched across the room. A full bed covered in a creamy white spread had been centered along one wall. Well, at least it's a nice hotel room.

She reached out, to adjust the thermostat and froze. The hair on the back of her neck stood on end and a fluttery sensation rippled through her stomach. Oh hell. She looked around the room, watching for the betraying shimmer of a moving cloaked vampire. Nothing in the room moved. Vampire hunters and now a vampire—can the day get any worse?

Taking a deep breath, she paced into the room, shut and locked the door. Struggling to act like she didn't know a vamp was there, she tossed her small sack of clothing on the bed. If she reacted too strongly, the vamp would know she was more than human. A human would feel a little unease, but nothing more.

She tried to keep her hands near her hip and the gun hidden beneath the bulk of her jacket without being too obvious about it.

"You've already given yourself away, Jessamine. Even if you hadn't, Steven told me about you." The deep rolling voice seemed to echo in the room.

She gasped. That deep rumble was instantly recognizable. For months, she'd been avoiding meetings with Devon Knight.

Bringing him or any vampire into this wasn't needed or wanted. True, she'd been attacked three times. Members of the Society of Pure Hearts had come after her with tools to kill a vampire two other times. She had no idea why she'd been targeted. She didn't live the life of a classic vampire. She was out in daylight as much as she was at night, even if they were partly right.

Technically, she wasn't a vampire—yet. She accepted that one day she'd have to make the transition to full vix, a female vampire, but it wasn't necessary now. The drugs the medics gave her had kept the conversion rate down to under twenty percent.

The air rippled on the opposite side of the bed and then a familiar figure took shape in front of her. Blond, broad shouldered and intimidating, Devon hadn't changed since she'd last seen him. He was still a predator.