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Chapter One

Kaya

I was not prepared for love. I know that sounds crazy. But that was not my life.

I existed in a world where I had always had to be ready to fight off attackers and to spot suspicious people. I was able to take on men twice my size without weapons. Within seconds, I could see who represented danger in a room, where the best exit route was and how I could get away quickly and efficiently if I needed to.

But love? That was something that I had not trained for and I certainly did not see it coming.

The night of the school concert was cold and miserable and most of the parents came in huddled in coats and scarves with their hats pulled down low. I stood at the back, ready to slip out when the music got too much. I’d warned Princess that I couldn’t handle school concerts. I would stick it out as long as I could, to support her, seeing that her mother couldn’t make it and her gran was sick. But I couldn’t be expected to sit through the whole thing. Seriously.

She understood. The kid was sweet that way.

She’d already been through so much in her 11 years. She’d lost her father in a fishing accident, then saw her mother battling alcohol and drug abuse, before finally going to rehab. Because her mother was my friend, I offered to help look after Princess even though I was barely able to look after myself.

That meant going to school concerts.

Gritting my teeth when they started singing hits from the musicals, getting the songs horribly wrong. I waited until I sawPrincess come onto the stage in a neon pink tutu shaking her little fairy wand as she belted out the notes at the top of her voice.

She was a terrible singer but they all were. The parents laughed and clapped their hands, delighted at the performance of their children. I shook my head and left to wait outside.

There was a foyer and a stall selling refreshments. I bought some popcorn and wandered down to the classrooms, pausing to look at pictures. I wondered what it would have been like to have been a normal girl, going to school in a place like this, to have played hockey or maybe done drama. I couldn’t imagine it. This kind of life was never meant for me.

I didn’t hear him sneaking up on me.

Maybe I would have before the accident but vampires are quiet and I was distracted, lost in thought. I had reached the end of the way and was about to turn a corner, when he suddenly stood in front of me.

I gave a little yelp of surprise and dropped my popcorn.

“I’m so sorry,” he smiled. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

I knew who he was right away.

Jack Beaufort, the hotel tycoon, an important community member in these parts. Also a vampire from a very powerful family. He was not someone to be messed with.

But I was Kaya Lee and I stood back for no one.

“You didn’t scare me,” I snapped back at him.

He gave me a huge grin, movie star style, all white teeth. His hair was a bit long and his eyes bright blue. He was extremely attractive and he knew it. He annoyed the shit out of me.

“Do you mind?” I barked at him, motioning for him to stand back.

“I know you have people to clean up your messes but I’m not like that.”

I got down to pick up the popcorn.

Maybe I wouldn’t have if he wasn’t there. I might have gone to look for a broom or maybe just kicked it out of the way but I wanted to make a point.

I got onto my hands and knees to pick up the popcorn and he knelt down next to me.

“Do you mind?!” I said to him. “I’ve got this!”

He laughed, flashing that confident grin at me again.

“I’m just offering to help pick up popcorn! I’m not proposing marriage or anything!”

“Thank goodness for that,” I said sarcastically, sweeping up a whole lot of popcorn with a piece of paper and shoveling it back into the bag.