A Day in the Life: Kassian Felicity Heaton
Copyright © 2009 Felicity Heaton All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. The right of Felicity Heaton to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. First printed December 2009 First Edition Layout and design by Felicity Heaton All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. Cover by Felicity Heaton
The following short story follows on from:
A Promise of Passion A dark, sensual and action packed story of two hearts, united in their passion and desire, but divided by their blood, A Promise of Passion is guaranteed to get your heart racing. Alicia is a vampire hunter, unable to find a man strong enough to love and accept her for who she is. When Kassian, a tall and seductively handsome vampire walks into her life and vows to protect her, she doesn’t know what to think or feel. His eyes make promises that his searing touch backs up, but she can’t get past the fact that he’s a vampire and the fact that he thinks she’s someone else. Kassian is certain from the moment he sets eyes on Alicia that she’s the reincarnation of his lost love and sire, and he’ll stop at nothing to convince her and make her his again. A taste of her blood makes him realise his mistake but doesn’t change his feelings or his resolve to have her. Their mutual attraction is impossible to resist but a moment of passion places Alicia in the path of danger when Seth, the vampire responsible for murdering Kassian’s sire, sets his sights on her. When Alicia is dragged into a game of human sport, how far will Kassian go to protect his love? Can he save her or will history repeat itself? Read an excerpt or buy here: http://bit.ly/9Qtrfj SAVE 25% on this story by entering this code during checkout:
KASSIAN
A Day in the Life: Kassian – Felicity Heaton
A Day in the Life: Kassian Alicia was humming. Kassian’s senses had become so attuned to her over the past year that he could hear her through her open apartment window from over found hundred metres away down the quiet urban street. He focused on the fire escape outside her window, pushed his heels down hard into the ground and sprung forwards. Not a sound broke the silence as he soared through the wintry air, landed on the black metal railing that edged the balcony and stepped down. Kassian walked to the redbrick wall of the converted factory building. The tall panelled sash window was fully open. He leaned the breadth of his shoulders against the wall beside it, drew his long black wool coat back, and slipped his hands into his trouser pockets. The stars were bright tonight and the air cold as it blew against him, tousling his long black hair where it was tied at the nape of his neck in a ponytail. The world drifted away as he listened to Alicia. The beautiful sound drew a smile up from his heart to his lips. It wasn’t the tune running through his mind, but it was pleasant nonetheless. The store he had visited this evening had been playing the same song. It had irritated him then, but now it was soothing to his ears. Alicia sung so sweetly. She was his angel on Earth. 1
A Day in the Life: Kassian – Felicity Heaton
“Are you going to stand out there all night?” Her voice drifted through the open window to him, warm with the sound of her amusement. Kassian could almost see her smiling. “It’s getting cold.” Kassian’s smile widened and he stepped away from the wall. His little vampire hunter never failed to notice his arrival. The window had been left open for his sake after all. Ducking, he stepped through the window and into her apartment and then shut it behind him. The moment his gaze lit on her, he froze. Alicia was radiant. Her chestnut brown hair was longer now than when they had met and she wore it down tonight, a sleek mane of shiny silk that he loved to run his fingers through. Instead of her usual jeans and tshirt, she was wearing a short black skirt and a purple long-sleeved top which hugged her figure and cut low across her breasts in a V. She was beautiful. So beautiful that he felt as though he was falling in love with her all over again. Kassian went to step towards her but she came to him instead, the smile on her cherry lips reflected in her eyes. “You look very festive tonight,” Alicia said and he knew without looking that she was referring to his red shirt, and ignoring the black tie and coat he wore it with. The smile in her eyes became a look of mischief and she turned away from him. He frowned when she bent over, revealing more leg than he could bear to see without 2
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feeling hungry for her, and then she straightened again. When she came back to him, she was holding a long piece of green tinsel. Kassian stared at her mouth when she smiled again, losing himself in the thought of kissing her and how she would react to what he had bought at the store. He didn’t care that she placed the green tinsel around his neck. The feel of her hands smoothing it down over his chest, lingering there a moment before she stepped back to appraise her work with a critical eye, was worth the humiliation. “There, now you’re in the spirit.” She grinned and went back to what she had been doing before he had arrived. He only noticed it now that he could bear to take his eyes off her. It was a tree in the corner of her white apartment. She had moved the armchair away from the false fireplace and had filled the space with a large green fir tree. It sparkled with lights, tinsel and baubles. “In all seriousness, what are you doing?” Kassian said and Alicia looked over her slender shoulders at him, her smile still wide. “What does it look like I’m doing?” She raised a fine dark eyebrow in his direction. “I’m decorating a Christmas tree.” His gaze fell to the bare wooden floor beneath the fake tree. It seemed very lonely to him to decorate a tree that wouldn’t have any presents beneath it. Alicia hid it well, but Kassian knew that she missed her friends. Sometimes there was an edge to her words or a look in her eyes that betrayed her thoughts and her heart, and said that she was thinking of leaving him. Kassian couldn’t allow that. 3
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They had come to London to flee his enemies when he had defeated Seth. They still weren’t safe though. She wasn’t safe. There were vampires, his kin, still after them. He couldn’t let her leave him. Not only because of the danger to her, but because of the way that he felt about her. He loved her too much. Yet he wanted her to be happy, and he knew that she couldn’t be happy with only him. Kassian had spent the past few days laying awake and thinking about it. Her loneliness was beginning to show more and more often. He couldn’t bring her friends, or help her make new ones amongst the local vampire hunters. They didn’t trust her because of him. Alicia had been getting along well with them until they had discovered that she was with a vampire. He had spoiled everything for her. Alicia hadn’t been angry with him that night. She had shown him only love and understanding, and had said that she didn’t need to be with the other vampire hunters, but he had seen through her words to her heart. It had hurt her. Kassian wanted her to be happy. He wanted her to see that she wasn’t alone. He would always be with her. “Is something wrong?” Alicia said and Kassian realised that she had stopped decorating the tree and had come to him, a shiny gold bauble still in her hand. He looked down into her eyes, wishing with all of his heart that he was better with words and could tell her everything that 4
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he held inside. Reaching out to her, he smiled to alleviate her worry and then brushed his fingers down her cheek, sweeping the strands of her hair from her face and caressing her soft warm skin. His Alicia. She had sacrificed everything to be with him, and now she was trying to cheer herself up by making a beautiful picture of Christmas. Without any presents. He could fix that at least. Alicia deserved the present he would give her. Not the physical one, but the one behind it. “There are no gifts beneath your tree,” Kassian said in a soft voice and studied her. Alicia hooked the gold bauble on the breast pocket of his coat and then took hold of both ends of the tinsel. She pulled it towards her, luring him down. He closed his eyes when her lips met his, sweet tasting and soft, kissing him with all the love he always felt in her. He let himself go, releasing his hold on the world in exchange for a hold on her, drawing her close and kissing her. Her tongue met his, tangling slowly and gently, barely caressing it. It was a tease more than a kiss. She had ones that he swore were designed solely to stir his blood and make him want her more than he usually did, with so much fire and hunger that he could barely control himself. This was one of those kisses—slow, intense, passionate in its restraint, and so light that he felt as though he was floating. When she kissed him like this, he wanted to possess her, wanted to tell her that he would never let her go and keep that promise. He desired to show her the passion 5
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she stirred in him. He wanted to give his heart to her all over again, and he would. “You’re the only present I need,” Alicia whispered against his mouth and he smiled for a moment, until he felt sadness inside her. Kassian opened his eyes and saw Alicia was staring at the base of the tree rather than at him. When she turned back around, her smile was false and empty. “I know you don’t believe in Christmas.” Alicia’s voice was a bare whisper. She slowly pulled the tinsel from around his shoulders. He caught her hand to stop her just before the tinsel fell away from him. She frowned at his hand, staring at it. “I would believe in anything if you believed in it.” Alicia looked up at him, still frowning. “You don’t believe in God.” The challenge in her words didn’t go unnoticed. “Because there is no need to believe in something which you know exists,” he countered and her frown disappeared. She had never asked him before about demons or anything about his world. If she had, she would know that there was a God and there was a Devil, and both were playing a terrible game with the fate of Man. Alicia stared at him with wide eyes, her pupils large in the low glow of the fire and the multi-coloured lights on the tree. 6
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Kassian sighed and stroked her hand where he held it in his, trapped against his chest. The green tinsel tickled his wrist. “Would you like a present, sweet Alicia?” he whispered and she frowned again. Her eyes searched his and her frown melted away, her eyebrows rising high. “Are you serious? I can’t tell sometimes.” He smiled, amused by how well she knew him now. A year together and they were still as they had been the first days they had spent together. Everything still felt new, and the ground beneath his feet still felt as though it would fall away at any moment. He had lost his heart to Alicia. If she left him, the world would be a darker place, one he would desire no part in. “I am being serious,” he said in a low voice. A hint of colour touched her cheeks. She always blushed when he said anything with a trace of desire or strength. Kassian took her left hand from his chest. His threatened to shake but he held it together. “I bought you a present.” He pressed a kiss to her hand. The smell of her blood was divine. He hadn’t tasted her in all the time they had been together. He had only ever taken a sip from her finger that night at the club. That night that had changed everything between them. “You really have,” she said and he realised that she had only just believed him. 7
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“I really have,” he echoed and kissed her hand again, savouring her scent and her warmth. His Alicia. Kassian took a deep breath, reached into his coat pocket, and pulled out his hand. He held it out to her and opened it with a flourish to reveal the small black box tied with a red ribbon. Alicia stared at it. Her heart was pounding and her hand was trembling in his. He smiled inside at her reaction. “You do not want it?” he said and pretended to take it away. She grabbed his wrist with her other hand, stopping him. He smiled at her now. It seemed his Alicia liked presents. “What is it?” Alicia took it from his hand and looked up into his eyes. The twinkle in them said that she knew very well what it was but she wanted to hear him say it. “Open it.” “It isn’t Christmas yet.” “It doesn’t have to be,” he said and touched her hand, pushing the box she held towards her. He wanted to see her reaction. He had been picturing many since buying the present, and hoped it would be one of the positive ones. Alicia took her other hand back from him. Kassian held his breath without thinking. He didn’t need to breathe but he had taken to it since falling for Alicia. It made it easier for her to be with him in public if he pretended that he breathed. It made him more human. He couldn’t get more human than this. 8
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Alicia opened the box with shaking fingers, untying the ribbon first and then struggling to get the lid open. When she did, her eyes widened and she didn’t take them off the solitaire ruby ring in the box. “What is this?” she whispered and took the ring from its velvet bed and raised it, disbelief written across her face and in her voice. “What does this mean?” Kassian took a deep breath to steady himself and then dropped to one knee before her. She looked at him then, her body shaking so much that he could sense it and the fear that laced her blood. “It means that I desire to marry you.” Kassian held his hand up to her. Alicia just stared at him, and then the ring, and then him. She went back and forth over and over, as though by doing so she could make herself understand what was happening. Finally, her gaze settled on him and stayed there. She stared down at him. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought she was going to play out one of the thousand refusal scenarios that had plagued him all day and night. “You’re a vampire, Kassian… and vampires can’t marry.” “No, we cannot,” he said and tears filled her eyes. He caught hold of her hand, tempted to pull her into his arms. The contact between them seemed to be enough to soothe her and keep her attention on him. “I want to marry you… officially I cannot… but I pledge my heart to you, Alicia, and I love you with all of it. If you wish it, 9
A Day in the Life: Kassian – Felicity Heaton
accept it, I swear to be yours and yours alone. I swear on that ring that I will always love you and that we will never part, until death do us part and beyond. If you swear it to me, I will be your husband and you my wife… or do you need a person you do not know and a God you do not truly believe in to tell you that you are married?” Alicia stared at the ring. Kassian’s heart fell into his stomach when she said nothing, didn’t even look at him. “You do not like it,” he said and took his hand away. His chest hurt. He loved her so much that it hurt at times like this when she was still afraid of him, when she feared his love. He was about to stand and leave when she spoke. “No,” she whispered in a voice so faint he barely heard her even with his superior hearing. Now it felt as though his heart was breaking and he couldn’t hide his disappointment. He was surprised when Alicia touched his cheek and he could sense her feelings, and the love in her caress. Kassian raised his pale blue eyes to hers. She was smiling at him, looking at him as though he was an idiot for some reason. “I love it… I just… I never realised that I wanted to marry you, or how frightening it would be.” “Frightening?” Kassian hadn’t exactly been expecting that sort of word to come up. It hadn’t in any of his scenarios. “If I put this on, and believe in the pledge you’ve made, then we’re married in our eyes.” Alicia lowered her hand to his shoulder and eased down to kneel in front of him. 10
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Her gaze searched his. “You really want to marry a vampire hunter?” Kassian’s heart filled with relief. Was that all she was worried about? He shook his head and then smiled at her. “With all of my heart,” he said and a blush burned her cheeks again. Alicia offered her left hand to him. He hadn’t expected her to say yes, or to want him to place the ring on her finger. Deep in his heart, he had thought that she would merely accept the ring as a present and wear it occasionally. He couldn’t contain his smile when he took her hand and placed the ruby ring on her finger. Her hand shook in his and he held it tight, letting her see that he wasn’t going to let her go now that he had her. He would be a good husband to her, the best he could be, and she would want for nothing. The first part of his plan was in place. Now the only thing that remained was to inform her of the rest. Alicia took her hand from his. He could feel nerves in her, hear them in her pattering heartbeat. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she had swept her chestnut hair back and pulled the left side of her top down off her shoulder. His eyes zeroed in on her neck, immediately fixed on the flickering point of her pulse. Alicia closed her eyes and tilted her head to one side. “I don’t have a ring to offer… and I know that to a vampire, this would show my love for you. It would be 11
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the equivalent of your ring given to me.” Her words were soft, touching his heart deeper than she ever could have known. “Alicia,” Kassian breathed and tried to take his eyes off her throat but couldn’t. She was offering her neck, and he wanted to take it, to seal the bond between them in a way that would ensure both their species knew of their love. He dragged his gaze away, staring at the wooden floor. He couldn’t. “I’m not afraid,” she whispered and he glanced at her again. Her eyes were open, watching him. Her throat tempted him. “I don’t care if it hurts.” “I cannot,” he said and she looked disappointed. She straightened, pulling her hair back over her neck and rearranging her top. She wouldn’t look at him. She stared at her knees. No. He realised that she was staring at the ring on her finger and toying with it. Her disappointment surprised him. She wanted him to bite her. He hadn’t tried to since meeting her. He had always thought that if he did, it would drive her away. How long had she wanted it? It was a beautiful thing she was asking for, something which he desired most of all, but he couldn’t. “The hunters in Paris would never speak to you if you wore my marks.” She didn’t react. She kept staring at her hands. “I don’t care what other hunters think of me.”
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A Day in the Life: Kassian – Felicity Heaton
Kassian reached across to her and placed his hand against her cheek, holding it. Alicia leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. She brought her hands up and held his, and sighed. She hadn’t even noticed that he had said Paris. Was she so preoccupied with her desire to have him bite her? Her eyes fluttered open and she looked at him, questioning and confused. She had tracked back over his words. “I have been offered a position there with a group who hunt demons. They desire a vampire perspective on things and would be able to give us protection.” Kassian absorbed the warmth of her skin and the growing awareness in her eyes. “I want you to be safe. I will work with the people as long as they can offer you protection.” He had never worked with such an organisation before, but he was willing to for Alicia’s sake. “There is a large contingent of vampire hunters in Paris. I thought perhaps you could join them and I would keep my distance this time. If you wear my marks, they will see you are with a vampire,” he said. “I don’t want you to keep your distance,” Alicia said and he realised that she enjoyed it when he played shadow to her, following her on her patrols and sometimes assisting her. Her gaze found his again, searching once more. “What if I joined the same group as you?” He wasn’t sure about that. There could be humans amongst them, but she wouldn’t be strictly hunting 13
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vampires and he didn’t know how experienced she was with other demons. “I could work for them handling the vampires that come up and I’ve fought other demons… and if they wanted to know what the local vampire hunters knew, I could speak to them.” She was trying to sway him now. Whenever she wanted something, she would give him a million reasons to let her do it. He wasn’t her keeper. If she wanted to join the group with him, he could arrange that. She wasn’t thinking one thing through though. She would still be wearing his marks. The vampire hunters wouldn’t speak with her. His hand dropped to her throat and he caressed it. Her eyes closed and she leaned her head away. Kassian couldn’t stop his eyes from roaming to her lips when she bit her lower one. Her warmth permeated the room, filling it with her scent and her desire. She really wanted him to bite her. He was going to reason with her when she spoke again. “I could say a big bad vampire bit me and that was why I have marks,” she whispered and her eyes opened, locking with his. “I want you to bite me, Kassian.” Kassian couldn’t have denied her, not even if he had wanted to. Before she could reconsider, he had swept the hair from her neck and his arms were around her waist, pulling her flush against his chest. His fangs extended and he bit down on the soft inviting flesh of her throat.
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The hot burst of blood into his mouth made his body harden for more and he groaned at the sweet taste of her and the way she undid the string holding his dark hair back and ran her fingers through it before clutching him to her neck. She moaned softly into his ear, drawing an answering moan from him. He drank deep from her and opened his heart at the same time. She would be able to sense him through her blood and the connection between them. He wanted her to feel what this meant to him and how much he loved her. He loved her more than anything. He would do anything for her. He would give her the moon, the stars and the world if she desired it. He would give her anything and everything. Whatever made her happy, he would do it for her. He loved his precious Alicia, and he would never let her go. Kassian drank deep, dizzy from the taste of her and the way she clung to him. He could feel her love for him, and it filled his heart and warmed him through. He had never thought that she would want this. Her feelings said that she did. She wanted them to be together, and she wanted the world to know it. His little vampire hunter. He licked and kissed her throat, helping to seal the marks he had placed on her throat. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear. “My wife.” Alicia giggled. The sound was music to his ears. “I love you too… husband.” 15
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He held her close, staring at the twinkling coloured lights of the Christmas tree, feeling the happiness beating in Alicia’s heart. She still didn’t have a present to place under the tree, but he would remedy that tomorrow night. He would buy her a different present for every day that he had known her. Because every day had been a gift to him. The End
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About the Author: Felicity Heaton is a romance author writing as both Felicity Heaton and F E Heaton. She is passionate about penning paranormal tales full of vampires, witches, werewolves, angels and shape-shifters, and has been interested in all things preternatural and fantastical since she was just a child. Her other passion is science-fiction and she likes nothing more than to immerse herself in a whole new universe and the amazing species therein. She used to while away days at school and college dreaming of vampires, werewolves and witches, or being lost in space, and used to while away evenings watching movies about them or reading gothic horror stories, science-fiction and romances. Having tried her hand at various romance genres, it was only natural for her to turn her focus back to the paranormal, fantasy and science-fiction worlds she enjoys so much. She loves to write seductive, sexy and strong vampires, werewolves, witches, angels and alien species. The worlds she often dreams up for them are vicious, dark and dangerous, reflecting aspects of the heroines and heroes, but her characters also love deeply, laugh, cry and feel every emotion as keenly as anyone does. She makes no excuses for the darkness surrounding them, especially the paranormal creatures, and says that this is their world. She’s just honoured to write down their adventures. To see her other novels, visit: http://www.felicityheaton.co.uk If you have enjoyed this story, please take a moment to contact the author at
[email protected] or to post a review of the book online Follow the author on: Her blog – http://felicityheaton.blogspot.com Twitter – http://twitter.com/felicityheaton Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/feheaton Grouply – http://felicityheaton.grouply.com
Enjoyed this story? This short was based on: A Promise of Passion
A dark, sensual and action packed story of two hearts, united in their passion and desire, but divided by their blood, A Promise of Passion is guaranteed to get your heart racing. Alicia is a vampire hunter, unable to find a man strong enough to love and accept her for who she is. When Kassian, a tall and seductively handsome vampire walks into her life and vows to protect her, she doesn’t know what to think or feel. His eyes make promises that his searing touch backs up, but she can’t get past the fact that he’s a vampire and the fact that he thinks she’s someone else. Kassian is certain from the moment he sets eyes on Alicia that she’s the reincarnation of his lost love and sire, and he’ll stop at nothing to convince her and make her his again. A taste of her blood makes him realise his mistake but doesn’t change his feelings or his resolve to have her. Their mutual attraction is impossible to resist but a moment of passion places Alicia in the path of danger when Seth, the vampire responsible for murdering Kassian’s sire, sets his sights on her. When Alicia is dragged into a game of human sport, how far will Kassian go to protect his love? Can he save her or will history repeat itself? Read an excerpt or buy here: http://bit.ly/9Qtrfj SAVE 25% on this story by entering this code during checkout:
KASSIAN
