Keepers of the Flame (Trilogy Bundle) - By Melissa F. Hart Page 0,4

my need to blend in.

“What's wrong with me?”

I turned to see the amused smirk on his lips and felt like wrapping my hands around his gorgeous neck. And he was gorgeous. He had thick, dark wavy hair and eyes that were so blue they were definitely azure. He was quite tall too, but what was remarkable were the sleek muscles bulging around his arm. He looked like a movie star and a military man all rolled into one. He was one of those people who drew attention like a magnet.

“What's wrong with you?” I spluttered. “You are a damned magnet!”

“No swearing, Luanne,” Katrina scolded.

I had the grace to look ashamed, but it didn't last for long. I turned to her and said, “Katrina, please don't do this to me. How can I go to the prom with him tagging along? He'll draw attention wherever he goes. He looks like a movie star for goodness sake!”

“You take him to the prom with you,” she stated baldly.

I looked at her in horror. How could she do this to me? Eric Cooper was finally going to ask me to the prom. I'd had this ginormous crush on him throughout the school year and after not noticing me for several months, he'd finally called. Now Katrina was going to ruin that. “Katrina...” I wailed, not caring that I sounded like a five year old in front of the movie star - erm, Dylan, but this was ridiculous.

“I'm afraid my mind is made up, Luanne. You won't go anywhere without Dylan and that's final.”

I bit my lip and stared at her. Even as mad I was, I couldn't hate her, which sucked. I wanted to hate her with everything in me but she was my only family left. “This isn't fair.” Great. I really was regressing.

She walked toward me and gave me a hug, then looked into my eyes and said, “I love you, Lu. I can't bear to lose you.” Too. She didn't say it, but I heard it and it immediately took the fight out of me.

I hugged her back with a sigh and stepped back. I quickly rinsed my cup at the sink and turned to walk out.

“Where are you going?”

I turned to see them both watching me. “I'll be in my room. Surely I don't need your permission to go to my room; neither do I need a bodyguard there, do I?”

I noticed Dylan raise one of his bushy black eyebrows and narrowed my eyes at him. It occurred to me that I'd finally managed to call his name without stumbling over the stranger word and that made me even more determined to stay out of his way.

“Fine, dear.”

I turned and stalked out. There had to be a way around this bodyguard thing and I was determined to find it.

Chapter Three

“She's going to try to run.”

I looked at the beautiful woman standing beside me. I'd heard so much about Katrina Kylor; she was a legend in her own right. Yet here she was, standing in her kitchen in a simple caftan and eyes that sparkled. She was nothing like I'd expected, and yet she was much more than I'd been prepared for. I turned back to gaze at the kitchen door where the granddaughter had just disappeared and felt a reluctant smile tug at my mouth. I shrugged lightly and said, “I've taken care of that.”

She smiled and nodded once, and then, her eyes clouded with worry, she laid a hand on my arm. “She's been through a lot, so try to be patient with her.”

She'd phrased it like a request, but we both knew it was an order. I told her I would and asked the problem that was troubling me. “These attacks; what form have they taken? I was only told that she needed protection from attempts on her life but I'd like to know what I'm up against.”

I didn't tell her that the call had come when I was within inches of getting a vampire I'd been after for the last five years. My men and I had been close to his hiding place. We'd finally been gaining in on him in spite of the dance he'd led us on when I'd been recalled by the headquarters. Thinking about it made me want to gnash my teeth in frustrated fury. There were a thousand-and-one protectors who could have acted as bodyguard to the rich girl. Hell, it was a job for a rookie protector. Yet they'd called me