Kissed by a Vampire

Kissed by a VampireKissed by a Vampire
October 16, 2012
Harlequin Nocturne
ISBN 978-0373885589
Re-Released April 2021

Order

Amazon Kindle: https://amzn.to/3s2cxnC
Amazon Paperback: https://amzn.to/2PMMa8l
Apple: https://books.apple.com/us/book/id1562435735
Barnes & Noble: http://bit.ly/BNKissed
Kobo: http://bit.ly/KoboKissed
Thalia: http://bit.ly/ThaliaKissed
Vivlio: http://bit.ly/VivlioKissed

Teaser

It’s been two thousand years since a lover’s betrayal stole her life and her hope…

Vampire elder Stacia has been alone for millennia, chased by the memories of the night she had turned into a creature of the night. Stacia yearns for love, but her nights are filled with only loneliness and quick bites to sustain her. To escape the boredom and her aloneness, Stacia escapes to South Beach. But there she comes face-to-face with the handsome DEA agent whose life she had once changed with her vampire’s kiss.

DEA Agent Alex Garcia battles real-life demons every day, like the kind that are kidnapping women and selling them into slavery. Determined to put an end to those crimes, Alex has to avoid the beautiful woman can’t possibly be what she says she is: a vampire. But when Stacia reveals what she really is to drive him away, Alex instead finds himself drawn ever closer to the complex woman who is courageous, passionate, and yearning for the love she lost so long ago…

Reviews

RT BOOK REVIEWS: 4 1/2 Stars! “It’s quite interesting how Pineiro manages to separate Stacia’s vampire nature from her kinder human instincts in this compelling read with sexy characters and an exciting storyline.”

FRESH FICTION: “KISSED BY A VAMPIRE is filled with action, passionate encounters and deep emotions that will grip the reader from page one and not let go. Alex and Stacia are at first glance a diverse couple but if you look deeper, as I believe the author intends, you will find two lonely people who find what they need in each other. KISSED BY A VAMPIRE is another Harlequin Nocturne winner.”

THE READING CAFE: “KISSED BY THE VAMPIRE is a wonderful and emotional storyline of suspense and romance. Betrayal by someone you love is one of the hardest things to overcome, and it is no different in the world for an ancient vampire who believed that loved had passed her by. And to be accepted for the person you are, is one of the most surreal events in a long and lonely existence. Caridad writes an amazing story where the HEA is well deserved for everyone involved.”

HARRIET KLAUSNER, *1 Hall of Fame Reviewer: “The latest action-packed Calling paranormal romance (see Fury Calls and Blood Calls) is a fast-paced romantic urban fantasy starring an elder vampire and a DEA human. Fans will enjoy their Miami joyride as they team up in love to rescue the girls and take down the vicious criminals.”

CATAROMANCE: “The Calling series is one of the most creative paranormal series ever written, and I want many more books in the future. KISSED BY A VAMPIRE is emotionally sensual with surprising feelings of lusty desire.”

Excerpt

Chapter 1

The nightmares had sucked life from him for months.

Then they had stopped abruptly.

Tonight’s bad dream was far worse. It sank its teeth deep and refused to let go.

Maybe it was wrong to call it a dream, Alex Garcia thought as he walked into a scene that was so vivid, he could smell, taste, and feel all that was around him.

The apartment he entered was dank and reeked of urine from the many squatters that had used the place for shelter.

Only the chill of the winter night kept his discomfort to a tolerable level in the abandoned apartment. His cold sweat on the grip of his Glock turned the stock slippery. His gut tightened as he held his breath.

He was nervous.

Not a condition he was used to. He had grown accustomed to danger in his many years as a DEA agent. This mission was different.

Failure on this mission meant the possibility of death for hundreds of innocent civilians.

Never again.

He repeated the vow he had made after September 11th, the one that had been the reason he had accepted this assignment.

He gripped the Glock tighter and moved farther into the apartment. He and his fellow Cuban Democratic Army member were supposed to pick up a stolen hand-held smart bomb delivery system that the CDA planned to use in the terrorist attack that he intended to prevent.

The weapon was not in the empty apartment as it should have been. As he turned to look at his partner, wondering if they had gone to the wrong location, another CDA member stepped from a back room and opened fire.

The force of the blow to his chest had him reeling backward. The pain was so intense, he nearly blacked out from it. When a second blast immediately followed, ripping into his midsection, his knees buckled.

He fell back against the wall, slowly sinking to the ground in a sitting position, the body of the other CDA member sprawled beside him. The man’s lifeless stare confirmed that he was dead, much as Alex expected to be shortly as his assailant trained his weapon on Alex’s head for the coup de grace.

The loud sounds of gunfire and an explosion outside the room distracted the shooter long enough for Alex to raise his weapon and fire.

With a surprised look, the armed man lowered his gun and stared at the blossoming trail of blood down the middle of his chest. It was the last thing he saw as he dropped to the ground, dead from a direct shot to the heart.
Alex had little time to ponder what to do next.

He was too badly wounded to move. Already he could feel the growing warmth of the blood soaking into his clothing and leaving a chill behind in his body. He was going to die there, alone, and unable to do anything else to help stop the terrorist attack.

He had failed in his mission.

Outside the apartment all hell had broken loose judging from the noises reverberating in the winter night. The FBI must have moved in and the CDA was likely fighting back, determined to complete their plot.

A second later, the door to the apartment burst open, slamming against the wall.

His eyesight was fading, but he saw that a man had entered the room. He was holding something.

Someone.

He forced himself to focus and realized the man held Alex’s ex-lover, but Diana wasn’t moving. Blood covered the man’s arms and hands as he embraced her.

Diana’s blood. Too much of it.

Alex forced himself to take a painful breath, attempting to speak. It managed to get the man’s attention and as his gaze wavered, he finally glimpsed the man’s face.

Only it wasn’t a man.

Shock gathered his senses, bringing Alex to painful alertness.

He had to protect Diana from whatever that was. He tried to raise his gun, only his body refused to cooperate. He couldn’t move his arm. Couldn’t even feel the Glock in his hand anymore as awareness fled his dying body.

A voice suddenly penetrated his fading consciousness.

They weren’t alone in the room any longer.

He trained his attention on that voice – a woman’s husky tones.

“This one’s still alive.”

Alex realized she was referring to him, not that he would be alive for much longer. That realization didn’t bring fear for himself, but for those he had failed.

“Unlike your friend will be shortly,” the woman added and motioned to the monster holding Diana in his arms.

“Leave,” the demon commanded, pain evident in every word, but the woman just laughed and sauntered over. Crouched before the demon and Diana.

Alex’s hearing and vision were dimming quickly. Only a confused murmur of voices came to him, but then the woman shot upright and strode angrily across the room toward him.

Her bright almost phosphorescent blue-green gaze locked with his, her fangs clearly visible. A vampire, he thought for the barest of moments.

Only, vampires weren’t real.

What he was seeing had to be a product of his blood loss, he thought.

But as the women leaned closer, there was no denying what stood before him. She stared at him hard and for a moment, reverted to human form.

She was quite beautiful as a human, he thought, before the vampire returned and bent toward him. Sharp fangs grazed his neck as the warm kiss of her lips slipped across his skin, awakening ardor.

Bestowing passion that twisted together with the pain in his body and soul as her fangs broke through his skin.

Alex shot up in bed, drenched with perspiration. Shaking from the reality of the waking nightmare and the desire that was always associated with it.

As he wiped his hands across his face, clearing the cold sweat of fear mixed with unwanted passion, he tried to scrub away the memories of the demon as well, but they refused to leave.

Refused to depart in much the way that the recurring memories of that winter night had not left him.

Alex cursed beneath his breath, hoping that he could muster enough control by the morning to pass his psychological review tomorrow. He had been itching to get back into the field for months. If the DEA psychologist picked up on the vibes from his nightmare, Alex was worried that the shrink wouldn’t clear him for undercover duty.

Who could trust an agent in the field who worried that vampires roamed the darkness?

He had to get a grip, he told himself, lying back down and willing himself to go back to sleep. An untroubled sleep free of the nightmare of the failed mission and the monsters that haunted his nights.

But even as he was finally able to drift off, the vision of her face – both vampire and mortal – wove itself into his subconscious, leaving him to wonder if he maybe wasn’t losing his sanity.

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