Claimed on Halloween: A Vampire Romance

By Isla Chiu

Audrey Yamamoto needs to get a life. This Halloween, her only plans are watching Hocus Pocus for the 30th time—alone. However, when she walks home from work, a car heads straight toward her, and she’s sure her mundane existence is about to come to an end. But a beautiful stranger saves her just in the nick of time. Even crazier? The beautiful stranger is a vampire, and he wants to claim her for his mate...

***Get ready for Halloween with this sweet and sexy short story containing cavity-inducing instalove, an innocent heroine, a gorgeous vampire, and a HEA! Part of Romance Books You Should Be Reading: The Holiday Collection, a collaboration between bestselling authors of paranormal and scifi romance!***

Excerpt:

I close my eyes, expecting excruciating pain, but when I open my eyes, I find myself in the arms of a stranger. An extremely handsome stranger. I can’t help gawking at his skincare-commercial-perfect skin, green eyes that sparkle like emeralds, and brilliant hair that’s the most gorgeous shade of red. Did I somehow get into heaven? Because this guy is too beautiful to be from Earth. “Are you an angel?” I blurt out.

He smirks. “No, sweetheart. I did just save your a** though.”

I blink. “Wait, what? That’s impossible. That car was going way too fast... Oh no, is this a coma-induced hallucination?”

“No, sweetheart, this is very much real.”

“That’s exactly what a figment of my comatose imagination would say.”

“Do you want me to prove this is real?”

I laugh. “Sure, go for it.”

Shock fills me when he places his lips on mine. His mouth feels warm, wet, real. My conscious imagination was never this vivid. D**n, he’s a good kisser. I feel myself getting aroused. God, this is actually real.

“Is that enough proof for you?” he whispers.

I’m tempted to say, “No, I think you need to kiss me some more,” but I merely nod.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Isla Chiu
• Release date: Oct 6, 2020
• ISBN: 9781005329594

Isla Chiu

When I manage to tear myself away from taking Buzzfeed quizzes and watching unhealthy amounts of TV, I write romance and smut. My works feature alpha males, sexy times, and/or my sarcastic sense of humor. I hail from Cleveland, aka the best freaking city in the world, and believe LeBron James is the perfect human being. Despite all of my efforts, I have never truly been able to quit caffeine. My favorites include Taylor Swift, Florence + the Machine, and SHINee. I love to hate/hate to love k-dramas. If I say I’m on a diet, I’m just lying to you and myself. One of these days, I'm going to get hypertension from an excess of salt, both literal and figurative. If I'm awkward around you, I probably don't know what to say to you and/or I think you're hot. And despite what anyone says, Forrest Gump so deserved that Oscar over Pulp Fiction.

Book preview

It’s Halloween, and non-pathetic people are partying and having fun with their friends. Because I am a decidedly pathetic person with no semblance of a social life, I’m walking home after another late night at the office and going to watch Hocus Pocus for the 30th time by myself. Lame, thy name is Audrey Yamamoto.

I sigh. In college, I used to have friends. We would have K-pop music video marathons and go out for midnight dim sum. But after graduation, we all went to different states and got wrapped up in our jobs, and some of my old friends got married and started families. Gradually, we began texting and calling less, and eventually, we lost touch altogether.

My stomach growls. What should I do for dinner? I should cook because that’s what responsible, frugal adults do. But I find myself really craving pad Thai. Ah, screw it, I’m going to order Thai. Being frugal be damned.

Before I cross the street, I look to my left, then my right. Then I do it again to make extra sure there are no approaching cars. My college friends, who would jaywalk without so much as a glance in either direction, used to make fun of me for this habit. I would retort, You won’t be making fun of me when you find yourself run over by some idiot who’s texting while driving.

When I’m in the middle of a street, I hear the sound of burning rubber. I frown. What asshole is trying