Crimson Rush – The Vampire’s Addiction.
Without her blood he will die, but without her love, immortality is torment.
An Urban Fantasy
Vampire Romance.
Almost from the
moment Club Crimson opened its doors in the small town of Cookson Springs,
Starla Lavelle’s life has been in disarray.
People are dying,
and every drop of blood is being drained from them. The situation gets worse
when her long lost uncle shows up at her door, claiming to work for Sub Species
Control, a shadow government unit, responsible for keeping track of those who
are not quite human.
Uncle Charlie, and
his vampire partner Luke, need Star’s help. Charlie suspects the blood draining
has something to do with the local production of a vampire drug known as
Crimson Rush. Star just might be the key he needs to bring the perpetrators to
justice.
Marcus Savoy is the
legendary lead guitarist and singer for the heavy metal group, Night Reign. He
is also a vampire on a mission. He must have the blood of the Moon Witch in
order to end his curse of eternal darkness, but what happens when he falls in
love with the Moon Witch?
Star vows to bring
the Rush pushers to justice, even if that includes the breathtakingly gorgeous
rock star, Marcus Savoy. If only he didn’t hold such power over her emotions,
and her desires.
Marcus is determined
to possess Star, no matter what the cost.
Crimson Rush
Chapter One
The air was thick
with pure - raw energy. Wave after wave of electricity seemed to sweep across
my skin. My chest was so tight with anxiety; it became a struggle just to draw
air into my lungs.
They were all
around me.
I imagined that I
could feel their hunger - their bloodlust. On each end of the stage, there was
a large steel cage. Inside those cages were scantily clad women whose bodies
moved seductively to the beat of the music.
The black and red
decor, combined with the multi colored flashing lights, created a surreal
atmosphere. It was almost like being in another reality.
As I eyed the
crowd, a bizarre mixture of locals and Goth junkies who came to the club to
live out their darkest fantasies, I caught sight of a pretty, but pale redhead
standing in a corner. She wore a short black skirt and matching halter top. Her
Stiletto heels gave the impression that she was several inches taller than she
was. The only color to her was her flaming red hair and blood red lips.
The redhead had
her eyes fixed on the young man sitting at the table next to ours. Just by
looking at him, I could tell he was a jumble of nerves. He was tapping his
fingers against the top of the table, as one leg swayed back and forth to the
music.
He didn’t have a
clue that the girl with the red hair was watching him.
As she watched
him, she ran a tongue across her already shiny lips. She wanted the young man,
but not for the reason one might assume. It was the blood pumping through his
veins that drew her to him.
Swallowing hard, I
forced myself to look away.
Vampires!
They hunted these
willing victims, most not even bothering to disguise their bloodlust.
The sane part of
me wanted to jump up and run away, as fast and as far as I could, but then I
would see Max in my head. I was haunted relentlessly by the vision of his
existence in a black - empty void. It was the image of by best friend that kept
me in my seat.
He was the reason
I was here. I had to go through with this.
Just breathe!
I had to keep
telling myself this, otherwise I’d pass out from lack of oxygen.
I couldn’t think
of a single time in my life, when I’d been more terrified, or fascinated.
Luke grasped my
hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “No worries darling. I’m right here with
you,” he told me, his words colored with a slight Australian accent.
Yeah right! No
worries.
That was easy for
Luke to say, on account of him being a vampire and this being a vampire bar.
Leaning down, he
whispered, “This is not so much what you’re used to seeing in Cookson Springs.”
That was probably
the understatement of the year. Cookson Springs was a small town in Eastern
Oklahoma, not really much more than a spot in the road. The most exciting thing
to happen in Cookson was Moon Fest, which took place in September, and
McDonalds. At least that’s the way it had been until Club Crimson opened its
doors. That’s when all hell broke loose.
I opened my mouth
to respond, but was cut short when someone stepped on the stage and picked up
the microphone. At first I thought he was another vampire, which was an
understandable mistake, when you took into consideration his corpse-like
appearance. His almost translucent skin covered a too thin body. If someone
could be described as skin and bones, this boy certainly fit that profile. The
brown hair plastered against his skull, and his sunken dark eyes, added to the
illusion that he was death incarnate.
The boy started to
say something, but the mic squealed as it came to life. A moment later the
sound faded to be replaced by his voice.
“Tonight we have a
special treat for all you metal lovers out there!”
And
bloodsuckers. I couldn’t help but add silently.
“Some of you may
have heard of these guys … some of you not. Tonight they are going to play a
few tunes for you, and they rarely perform live … so this is a real treat.”
The boy was
interrupted by the cheers coming from the crowd.
“Are you feeling
lucky yet?” he yelled out at them.
The cheering grew
louder.
“Night Reign!” he
screamed.
Even before his
voice had stopped echoing in my head, the room went dark. Suddenly, red light
flooded the stage. As I watched, the stage began to fill with rolling fog.
The air around me
erupted with applause and screams. The audience was going crazy - many of them
jumping to their feet.
If it were not for
the fact that our table was only a few feet from the stage, I wouldn’t have
been able to see a thing without standing.
Thunder seemed to
roll right through the building, shaking it to its very foundation.
Unexpectedly, the stage erupted in an inferno that was so close, I was sure my
hair was singed. When the flames died away, there were four men on the stage.
Again the crowd
went into a wild frenzy.
I’d heard of the
band before, but the memory was hazy. I didn’t recognize any of the band
members, but that didn’t stop me from gawking as if I were seeing my first
sunrise.
I barely saw the
other band members. It was the one who stepped forward who caught my attention,
or more accurately, mesmerized me.
As his fingers
slid across the strings of the shiny black guitar, the room came alive with
sound and energy.
One of the men ran
around to the drums at the back of the stage, the other two took their places
to each side of the guy with the magic fingers.
I pulled my eyes
away long enough to glance over at Luke, and was shaken by the look of utter
astonishment on his face.
The words were on
my tongue. I wanted to ask him what was wrong, but even if I’d been able to
keep my attention off the stage long enough to question him, there were doubts
he would hear me.
The amplifiers
were so loud that I could feel my heart thumping in rhythm with the bass. I let
my eyes stray back to the man who had the guitar screaming out a tune that was
as electrifying, as the sparks flying from the bottom of the stage.
As quickly as the
music had erupted into chaos, it slowed to a haunting - dark melody that was
just as hypnotic.
But it wasn’t just
the music that had me feeling like a deer frozen in the path of oncoming
headlights, it was also the man creating the music. He was tall - taller than
the other members of Night Reign.
His face was
framed with a mane of wild blonde hair that fell in waves across his wide -
bare shoulders.
He was amazing -
even breathtaking.
Although the words
of his song were frighteningly sinister, his smooth - silky voice was soothing
enough to persuade the soul to accept that darkness. I found myself yearning to
get closer to him - to know that darkness on a very intimate level.
Just then, his
eyes locked with mine, and as if against my will, I felt myself sinking into
the searing blue flames that reached out to burn their way into my soul.
No matter how I
tried, I could not force myself to look away.
He was there -
everywhere, in my head, my soul - reaching out to touch the very essence of my
being. His tight - black leather pants and bare chest was enough to melt any
woman’s resistance, but it was the heat of his gaze that set my body on fire.
Luke snapped his
fingers in front of my eyes, successfully breaking the spell.
“Don’t do it
darling,” he warned. “He’ll rip you apart and leave you for the buzzards.”
“What are you
talking about?” I asked.
His smile was all
knowing and irritating. “You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
When I looked back
at the stage, he was still watching me. Almost immediately, I felt myself
surrendering again. This time I tore my eyes away.
“I need some air,”
I told Luke, before jumping to my feet.
Pushing my way
through wall-to-wall people was no easy task, but finally I managed to make it
to the exit. I tore through the door of Club Crimson like I were being chased
by the hounds of hell.
The night air was
balmy, but fresh. I drew in deep breaths of oxygen, hoping the fresh air would
help to calm my nerves.
With my attention
being so focused on the simple act of breathing, at first I didn’t pay any mind
to the moans I was hearing. The sound just didn’t register until the groaning
grew louder - more erratic.
It was coming from
the shadows beyond the neon lights of the club, but I wasn’t sure from where
exactly. I started in the direction the sound seemed to be the loudest.
On the side of the
white brick building, I found a blue dumpster. This is where the moans seemed
to be coming from.
My head filled
with images of murder victims - stuffed in dumpsters, only to be found later in
the local landfill.
The sound of my
stomach churning was nearly as loud as the groans, but there wasn’t much choice
but to get some backbone and look inside the dumpster.
Being short has
its drawbacks, and it would seem that one of them was looking into tall
dumpsters. Even in my three-inch pumps, I had to strain to see over the edge of
the oversized metal trashcan.
What little
illumination there was, came from the outside lighting attached to the eaves of
the building. Unfortunately, they didn’t do a lot to light up the interior of
the dumpster. All I could see was an old pair of white running shoes, thrown
carelessly on top of a pile of smashed cardboard boxes.
It would appear
that the owners of Club Crimson weren’t much concern with recycling.
There was another
groan, followed by a muffled whimper. Now I could tell that it wasn’t coming
from inside the dumpster at all, but from behind it.
Slowly I stepped
around the dumpster, but froze when I rounded the corner. I was too shocked to
look away, though that’s exactly what I should have done.
The woman who was
making all the noise had her back up against the white brick, but her legs were
wrapped around the waist of a man. As he held her hips, he slammed into her
with so much force, the skin on her back had to be rubbed raw.
I’m not sure
whether it was the noise of my pumps clicking against the blacktop, or
instinct, but the man pulled his face away from the woman’s neck to peer at me.
A scream caught in
my throat.
He hadn’t been
kissing her neck like it had first appeared. The man - the vampire, had been
feeding from her while they were having sex.
