Dark Deception (Vampire Royals of New York #1) - Sarah Piper Page 0,116

few framed photos of a young blond woman Dorian assumed was Sasha and one of an older man that was probably Charlotte’s father.

Now, he stood at the side of her bed, looking down upon her sleeping form, a potent mix of relief and shame flooding his heart.

Her soft, dark lashes brushed her cheeks, her hair hanging limp around her face. The color had returned to her skin, her lips rosy and full, her breathing deep and even.

Her strong, steady heartbeat was music to his ears.

Dorian fell to his knees, taking her hand and stroking her silky-soft skin. The sight of her bandaged wrist—a wrist Duchanes had wounded, a wrist Dorian had fed from—filled him with anguish.

They’d only known each other a short time, but in those precious weeks, she’d ignited something inside him that could never be put back in its cage.

Something he thought he’d never know, never feel again.

Holding her hand, gazing at her angelic face, Dorian couldn’t imagine facing another tomorrow without her.

“Please come back to me, love,” he said. Tears burned behind his eyes, but he refused to let them fall—refused to let himself believe he had any more reason to worry. Instead, he pressed his lips to her hand, drawing her scent into his lungs, whispering his deepest confession into the darkness.

“I’ve bloody well fallen in love with you, Charlotte D’Amico. Now come back to me so I can prove it to you.”

Saying the words, even at a whisper, made them real in a way Dorian hadn’t expected, breaking through the iron gates inside him and pushing his heart to damn near bursting.

Love had always done its damnedest to ruin him. First, as a mortal man, when love blinded him to the darkness unfolding in his very home. That blindness led to the worst night of his life—his very last as a mortal man.

Then, a century and a half later, love blinded him again—a costly mistake that haunted him still, the ghost of the Crimson City Devil forever howling in his mind.

For Dorian, love and betrayal went hand-in-hand, a devastating marriage that could only end in pain and death.

But this time was different. Charlotte wasn’t some traitor from his past. She was his future. She was his right now. She was his everything.

Heeding Colin and Marlys’s warnings, Dorian released her hand. She needed to rest. Everything would look better in the morning.

With a soft, grateful smile, he leaned forward and kissed her cheek, lingering for a moment.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” he said. “Perhaps I’ll even cook breakfast.”

He was about to rise from the floor when he’s knees brushed against something under the bed. He glanced down, spotting a notebook and what looked like floor plans.

His floor plans, he realized with a start.

He grabbed the pile of paperwork for a closer look.

The documents were from Ravenswood, marked up with red Xs and notes about the artwork displayed in each room. The list was meticulous, matching a similar list in the notebook, with additional notes about the security systems in his home.

Then, scrawled across the top of the second page, underlined three times, was his alarm code.

759462.

Dorian’s head spun, a searing pain slicing through his chest as the pieces clicked into place.

Charlotte wasn’t an art consultant.

She was an art thief.

And she was planning to take Ravenswood for everything it was worth.

The breath rushed from his lungs, his heartbeat thudding in his ears, the damn walls closing in on him.

All of it had been a bloody lie. Her kiss, her touch, the fierce desire in her eyes… There hadn’t been a single honest thing about her.

He closed his eyes, unable to look at her, unable to bare another moment of the sharp pain tearing through him. Instead, he forced it back into the darkness, letting the flames of his fury forge it into another cold, impenetrable gate.

He was a fool to let anyone in.

He wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Not for the rest of his immortal life.

Without sparing Charlotte another glance, Dorian gathered up the evidence, rose from the floor, and marched out of her room.

“Dorian?” Colin asked, alarm filling his eyes. “Is everything all right?”

Malcolm rose from the couch. “Where are you going?”

Dorian didn’t have an answer to either question. At the moment, he could only spare one word, his voice trembling with fury.

“Away.”

And then, he left. Down the penthouse elevator, past the doorman he’d compelled earlier, and out into the oily gray Manhattan night.

With a stone heart rattling in his chest and a taste for vengeance smoldering in his mouth, Dorian blurred into the rhythmic rush of Park Avenue, leaving his beautiful, devastating traitor behind.

Colin and Marlys may have saved her life tonight, but as far as Dorian was concerned?

Charlotte D’Amico was dead.

A supernatural war is brewing in New York City. As dark secrets come to light and deadly enemies emerge from the shadows, can Charley and Dorian find their way back into each other’s hearts? Find out what happens next in Dark Seduction, book two of the Vampire Royals of New York series!

Vampire lovers! If you loved reading this story as much as I loved writing it, please help a girl out and leave a review on Amazon! Even a quick sentence or two about your favorite part can help other readers discover the book, and that makes me super happy!

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XOXO

Sarah

About Sarah Piper

Sarah Piper is a Kindle All-Star winning urban fantasy and paranormal romance author. Through her signature brew of dark magic, heart-pounding suspense, and steamy romance, Sarah promises a sexy, supernatural escape into a world where the magic is real, the monsters are sinfully hot, and the witches always get their magically-ever-afters.

Her works include the newly released Vampire Royals of New York series, the Tarot Academy series, and The Witch's Rebels, a fan-favorite reverse harem urban fantasy series readers have dubbed "super sexy," "imaginative and original," "off-the-walls good," and "delightfully wicked in the best ways," a quote Sarah hopes will appear on her tombstone.

Originally from New York, Sarah now makes her home in northern Colorado with her husband (though that changes frequently) (the location, not the husband), where she spends her days sleeping like a vampire and her nights writing books, casting spells, gazing at the moon, playing with her ever-expanding collection of Tarot cards, binge-watching Supernatural (Team Dean!), and obsessing over the best way to brew a cup of tea.

You can find her online at SarahPiperBooks.com and in her Facebook readers group, Sarah Piper's Sassy Witches! If you're sassy, or if you need a little more sass in your life, or if you need more Dean Winchester gifs in your life (who doesn't?), come hang out!