It was immediate for Roman. In three thousand years, he'd never lost control of his emotions, or his heart. But the moment he laid eyes on Evelynne Farrow, he knew she was the woman who haunted his dreams. And everything changed.
Everything.
Evie Farrow has always loved a good vampire romance. In fact, she makes a living writing them. While sitting in a coffee shop and working on her next mega-hot book, Evie is approached by a tall, dark, and handsome man who could have been pulled directly from one of her novels.
Unbeknownst to her, Roman D'Angelo is exactly what he appears to be -- a vampire, and not just any vampire, but the king of vampires.
Unfortunately, while Roman is both ancient and invulnerable, Evie is flesh and blood. Just as Roman decides that he and Evie have a date with destiny, for reasons of their own, an ancient god and a homicidal vampire take an equally strong interest in her. To make things more complicated, there's something very special about Evie. Something not quite human.
Can Roman fight off the incredible forces that would have Evie as their own long enough to win her heart, or will destiny betray him, and destroy everything he has ever dreamed of?
"Lalura had told him about her vision. Thirteen kings on a chess board -- and thirteen queens..."
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by New York Times Bestselling Author
Prologue
It hurts, she thought. God, it really hurts. Gingerly, Evie cradled her gauze-wrapped wrists against her chest and closed her eyes. Her heart was doing tricks in her chest now, the beat uneven and faint. Her head hurt and her legs felt numb. When she took the time to think about what it all meant, despair threatened, and she choked down a sob.
"I can take the pain away from you," he said as he watched her curl in on herself against the cold basement wall. "Why do you continue to defy me?"
Evie felt tears on her cheeks and marveled at her ability to form them after all the blood he'd taken. But these were the same tears that had been threatening to escape since he'd brought her here. She'd been strong enough… she could allow herself this.
Evie dropped her head onto her bent knees. I'm not really here, she tried to tell herself, though the pain fought her attempt. She wasn't supposed to be there in that dark basement under a house in the middle of an impossible nowhere. Two days ago, she'd lived in another world. Two days ago, she'd been an author with a normal life and at least another thirty or forty years ahead of her.
But now...
Now, as she hugged her small body against the damp gloom of the horrible space that had become her waking nightmare, she felt a wretched anguish poke at her outer casing. That casing had become fragile and thin, like the shell of an egg. Any second now, any god-awful minute now, one of those tap-tap-taps would break through, and she would crack. Just like that.
It was what he wanted, the man who had ripped her from her happiness and thrust her into this hellish darkness. It was what he was waiting for. What he apparently would do anything to acquire. Anything….
A part of her still clung to disbelief, despite everything she'd witnessed over the last few days. The rest of her was transformed, however. Born again. She believed. It was the overwhelming proof that did it – proof that Roman D'Angelo had given her when he swept her off her feet and pulled her into his amazing, fantastical world.
And it was proof that Roman's enemy now ruthlessly inflicted upon her over and over again that had finally bent her perception of fact and fiction. She could no longer hide from the truth of what had been laid before her.
Roman was a vampire. Her kidnapper was also a vampire. They were real.
They were real.
And that meant that there was no way out. A human was fallible. A human could be tricked or overtaken. But a vampire was...
There was no way out. None that she knew of, anyway.
Roman, Evie thought. She couldn't help it. Where was he now? The tall, dark, intense man who had changed her life forever. It was pointless to yearn for him. Vampire King or not, he could do nothing to help her now. Her captor had seen to that. At least, that was what he told her, and she believed him. She had no choice, because Roman wasn't here... and she was dying.
"Just say the words, Evie. For the love of God," her captor said as he knelt in front of her and took her chin once more in his hand. She kept her eyes closed, unable or unwilling to meet his gaze even one more time. "You can make all of this stop," he told her. "You can make it so that you never have to feel pain or fear again."
Evie moaned softly in response. Her body hurt so much. Her captor released her chin and Evie's head fell back against the wall. She felt colder than she had ever felt before.
She almost said the words then. She almost surrendered and gave him what he wanted. She just wanted the torture to stop.
All you have to do is say three little words. Just three little words.
Evie shook her head, dizzy as it made her, and pushed the thoughts from her mind. No, she told herself. Just hang on a little while longer.
Her heart seemed to flutter, as if sighing in helpless response.
Oh God, Roman, she thought miserably. Please hurry.
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