Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,30

the self-serving feeling, Alanna put Evan’s unused place setting away, and washed the dishes she and Niall had used. Changing out of the soft shirt she wore for dinner, she put on her new long-sleeved tee over her cargo pants and braided her hair into a thick tail. Then she sat back down with her plant book.

Perhaps she’d eaten too much stew, because she found her eyelids drooping, the day catching up with her. As she struggled to keep reading, she realized she missed Niall’s company.

A touch on her shoulder woke her instantly, but Niall’s fingers tightened before she could jump up. “It’s all right, lass. You dozed off for a bit. We’re getting ready to go, and I wanted ye to have time to wake up. Feel like putting together some provisions for us?”

“Yes, certainly.” She flushed as she scrambled to her feet, the book dropping from her lap. It was full dark outside, suggesting she’d done more than nod off. As Niall retrieved the book, he gave her an appraising look. “If your clothes didn’t have the smell of Henry’s store, you’d pass for a seasoned hiker. Put water in your backpack, as well as the Band-Aids and a snack or two. You might take a couple o’ books to pass the time. If Evan doesnae need us, I’ll take ye for a hike.”

She was even more disconcerted to see Evan leaning against the kitchen counter. He was wearing fitted cargo pants similar to Niall’s, and a button-down shirt. The cotton fabric was relaxed enough that the open neckline showed a generous line of his chest. He gave her an absent nod, his mind obviously already on the subject matter ahead and the camera equipment he was checking.

Once she packed the backpack, she stayed out of the way. She wasn’t a fluttering bird when she didn’t know what to do. Instead, she noted how Niall arranged the equipment in a much larger pack, going through a mental checklist to ensure he had everything needed. Evan did something similar, rechecking the items that would be most important to him. Though she picked up that there was some urgency to arriving at a certain time at their destination, Evan could get lost in whatever he was doing, whether it was studying some earlier films, considering lens options or thinking about choices of lighting. However, Niall anticipated him, keeping the vampire moving with prodding comments and of course having everything ready when Evan finally closed his case and latched it.

In her experience, an undercurrent of deference always existed between vampire and servant. It might be taught, like with an InhServ, but it was also something instinctual, something in the respective natures of the human and vampire that created that sense of servant and Master. With Niall and Evan, it was more elusive. The two men were well-synced, though, so familiar with each other their movements seemed choreographed. When Niall placed something in the pack and Evan reached under his arm for another lens, Niall automatically shifted to give him room. Evan noted something about the schedule while Niall shrugged in response, without glancing his way.

It was . . . intriguing. A puzzle. So intriguing she almost missed her own cue. They’d gone out into the yard, and now Niall was looking for her. “Alanna? Time to go.”

There was impatience in his tone, as if he expected to have to pull her away from flower gathering or some such female nonsense. When she came out promptly, his brow smoothed, however. He put her in the passenger seat while Evan took the back, where he started scribbling some notes and calculations on a pad he had spread open on the seat. Niall put the vehicle in gear, and they were headed up the mountain in the moonlight.

The road was still a deer path, so Niall moved at a crawl over the bumpy terrain, paying attention to the faint ruts that marked the road, twisting and turning through the trees. When they passed through sudden openings, she glimpsed the mountain view before the trees closed in once more. She studied the patterns of the leaves that slid along the glass, reaching up to follow them with her fingertips. On one of them she saw a green bug of some kind, valiantly continuing to chew on his evening meal even as it rippled across the surface of the window. Looking ahead, she caught the flash of red in a deer’s eyes as the doe lifted