Lady Vamps of the Night Boxed Set: 1- 4: Lady Vamps of The Night

By Thea Monk

Four vampires on the hunt for willing mates. Amanda, Nicola, Helen, and Bethany have seven days to find their soulmates and break the 300-year-old curse. 

 

Amanda takes the night shift at a cozy inn. In this quirky, small town, she just might find the perfect someone. When Bo, the town's mayor, leans against the inn's front desk and casts his net on Amanda, he sparks a passionate hook up that he'll never forget.

 

Nicola settles into the mansion of a reclusive media mogul. Her job is anything but straightforward as she navigates the drama-filled life of a billionaire. Because of a life-threatening, car accident, Pierce stays behind the walls of his estate, brooding over his life. His new hire, with her sassy, sexy synergy, destroys the status quo and invigorates him like no other.

 

Helen sits at her vacation beach house man-gazing. Along comes silver-haired Demetri who is suddenly caught in a rip current requiring her unique abilities. Saving his life is one thing, falling head over heels for the widower is quite another.  

 

Bethany lands an important job as an event planner, giving easy access to the Queen's younger grandson. Devilishly handsome, sexy and charming, Prince Leo's reputation is well-known. Bethany tries her best to avoid the prince's attention but he's determined that what he wants is her.

 

The Lady Vamps of the Night stories are emotionally charged, insta-lust, insta-love, happy ever after. Wear those oven mitts for the super hot, naughty bits and graphic language.

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: That Joyful Spark, LLC
• Release date: Feb 17, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215912614

Book preview

1

Iyawned, wide and loud, not bothering to cover my mouth and hoped that my new boss hadn’t seen it nor my fangs that could erratically and, indeed, had popped into view. I considered the appearance of my pointed, pearly whites an annoying glitch as my body fully adjusted to awakening after fifty years and to moving among the mortals. I suffered from sluggishness and a deep thirst.

I yawned again.

Amanda, I do hope you get your sleep cycle in functioning order for this night shift. Don’t want our guests to think they’re keeping you up. Mr. Greenly, my boss, definitely saw the second yawn and now glared at me through the bottom half of his eyeglasses.

Apologies, Mr. Greenly. I offered a closed-mouth smile of apology.

Told you to call me Lawrence. In this small town, last names are for those passing through. We aim to turn visitors who stick around for our hospitality into long-time residents. Before long, you’ll snuggle in and never leave.

I returned his encouraging smile with a wide one, trusting my fangs to behave and stay out of sight. To prove my diligence for the job of front desk clerk, I picked up the full basket of laundered towels and linens and headed for the supply closet at the far end of the hall.

Settling down, calling somewhere home would be nice. To live a slow-paced, uneventful life, I sighed at the idea. Never going to happen, though. My cursed existence as a vampire clouded that bubble of longing.

Took a lot of inward tweaking to my willpower and body physics to manage the sun’s harsh rays and degrees of brightness throughout the day. I also had to curb my dietary urges that tended to turn me rabid until I satisfied my hunger. And I could not forget to update my knowledge about current social norms, considering my frozen age of twenty-three years old, for over three hundred years.

Shout out to the internet for updates on clothes, slang, and sexual proclivities of the time. Finally, a time that showed promise with women’s power, sexual appetites, and creativity.

I did appreciate that my boss already thought of me as a new addition to the town of Buckles, population 800. For the next seven days that I lingered here, I hoped not to make this welcoming community’s memory of me a horrific one. Hence, working the graveyard shift as the desk clerk for Buckles Inn suited me as I adjusted to the new environment.

I’d landed the job after Sister Marguerite, my handler at every reawakening, completed the particulars for employment and housing. I needed cash to fit in, while I completed my mission to find a mate. Sounded simple, except this mate, my lover, must be willing and verbally consent to be turned into a vampire by me.

To break this curse tied to my infernal servitude had to occur within seven days. Failure meant entombment for another fifty years to await Sister Marguerite’s important duty to reawaken me and my vampire-sisters.

Yes, I slept in a sarcophagus. However, the ugly reality to my lifestyle was that there was no rest, no peace for vampires in the underworld. Our fears and anxieties multiplied and haunted us in that darkness without borders and depth. My curse had been designed to be both a tease about a happy ever after for my vampire life and more like the reality of a torturous punishment for seeking a fantasy of happiness.

I had put the last of the towels on the shelf and closed the door when Lawrence’s raised voice of unintelligible words pulled my attention.

Uh oh. He was not happy.

I hurried back toward the front desk curious to see who had riled this soft-spoken, patient man.

Now you tell me this news? Lawrence paced behind the front desk. He rubbed his forehead and then stopped to wag his finger at the unperturbed man standing opposite him.

What more can I say? Mildred forgot to send out memos to the business owners. She did remember to send it to the residents, though, so I’m sure it’s been ignored in your mailbox.

This is no good. What am I going to tell the guests? Lawrence threw up his hands and started pacing again.

Tell them it’s an emergency. Apologize and give them an extra bagel in the morning.

Lawrence curled his hand into a fist and shook it at the man. Some days, I could just…argh!

My boss stopped and pulled himself together as if adjusting his clothes and smoothing out the fabric would calm him.

Maybe his trick did work.

He continued, in a much calmer state, "According to you, the electricity might be back on by 6 a.m. I can’t run a business on maybe."

I’m repeating what the electric company told me. They need to complete an emergency upgrade. Now I’ve got to go and make sure Betsy-Ann opened her mail.

Lawrence snorted. If not, good luck with that. Her flowers need refrigeration. I hope she kicks your butt up and down Main Street.

I watched the exchange with lots of interest and way too many questions for my own good. It didn’t stop me from settling against the entryway to watch more drama.

But the bearer of bad news turned at my restlessness and swallowed me in his intense, blue-eyed gaze. As if to get a good look at his onlooker, he turned to fully face me, head-on.

Oh! What a perfect…specimen.

Body was tall, fit, and muscled without being outside of my personal taste. I aimed to get a sense of the man. His crisp white dress shirt was opened at the collar and sleeves were rolled up for a view of tats on both forearms. His shirt was tucked neatly into faded blue jeans, and the outfit finished off with a well-worn pair of boots. An intriguing mix of the casual businessman and the rugged badass. Maybe he enjoyed blending his worlds with no hard commitment to one style or the other.

I didn’t shy away from checking him out given his blatant body scan of me that had started from my face, pausing at my mouth—oh, I caught that upward hitch at the corner of his mouth—continuing with a slow slide over my breasts—his nostrils flared, my nipples tightened—and down past my belly to a lingering, savoring pause at the V-juncture between my legs.

His eyes snapped up to my face where I’m sure he saw my naked desire for his attention.

He rewarded me with a now-familiar smirk, before concluding his inspection at my sensible black shoes that went along with Buckles Inn’s uniform of pale-yellow polo shirt and black pants.

Mimicking a mortal meant I also enjoyed playing with their common emotions and bodily reactions to various stimuli. I understood being aroused. I enjoyed being aroused. My chest rose and fell with heavy breaths as if I’d sprinted up and down the hallway a few times.

Living as a vampire, my sexual appetite ran deep and always desired attention and gratification. I had no limits on how I satisfied myself. However, very few men managed not to bore me or crave their company for a repeat performance.

This man felt different.

We continued facing each other as if locked in a tunnel vision, sizing up the other. While his expression remained inscrutable, I couldn’t boast of that ability. My enjoyment or my displeasure could never be mistaken for something else.

Normally, I went through life with a look at me, hear me roar attitude. And under this man’s scrutiny, I wanted to roar loud enough to burst eardrums. His physical self was so damned delicious to look at.

Every part of me reacted as if awakened from a second slumber. Those crisp, ocean blue eyes were sinfully gorgeous and carried a mischievous glint made more impactful due to his golden, sun-kissed skin. A dark, blue-eyed god among mortals.

I licked my lips suddenly parched. Suddenly hot. Suddenly aching for something…someone…damn it, aching for him.

A wicked grin slid across his mouth and I read his awareness of his sexual attraction over me. To be so gorgeous. He probably saluted his perfect reflection every day before he left the house.

There were things in life that I needed to exist. I needed a blood-drink to restore my equilibrium. I needed to avoid a wooden stake through the heart. I needed a willing mate in seven days to escape the tormented sleep of the next fifty years.

On the other hand, there were things that I wanted to make me happy. I wanted a long soak in oils to restore moisture to my body. I wanted a dozen Krispy Kreme freshly baked donuts, a discovery made on my last reawakening. And I wanted to conquer this man in the same way a dogged, focused climber masters the journey to the summit.

My hunger for him almost made me groan with impatience. The stranger with his dark groomed hair of cropped waves and that sexy five o’clock shadow looked equipped to rock the center of my world.

Call it a sixth sense. Call it knowing what the fuck my body needed. Call it a vampire state of mind.

But the craving had me wet. And a good, hard pounding fuck by this perfect specimen turned into a must-do, ASAP.

The out-of-control fantasy snapped at Lawrence’s loud cough.

Another new employee at your mercy, Lawrence? the stranger asked, all lazy-like, but nothing about the man was shiftless.

Amanda Havisham, meet the mayor of our town and my younger brother, Bo Greenly.

Welcome to our small part of the world. Did you just arrive? I surely would’ve noticed you. Bo’s smile taunted, and I melted.

First day, I croaked.

Then you need a tour. I’ll pick you up tomorrow and show you around town.

Lawrence muttered and glared at the source of his irritation.

I giggled at Bo’s confidence. I’m done at eight, a.m. How about nine?

Where’re you staying? Bo leaned an elbow on the front desk, showing no signs of leaving.

I’ve booked a room, here, until I find a place.

Don’t even think it. Don’t say it. Lawrence pushed his brother away from the desk.

What? I looked at the devilishly handsome man for an explanation, instead of Lawrence.

"He has a guest house on his property. Place is more like a storage shed. And you don’t need to be out there…by yourself…with him." Lawrence’s eyebrows raised with meaning.

You know, Lawrence, you may be eight years older, but you act like you’re eighty years old. And…you’re not our father.

That insult must have stung.

Lawrence came from around the front desk, walked past Bo and me, opened the front door to the inn, and motioned to his brother. Get out and take your cheap flirtation, elsewhere. Amanda has work to do. And I now have to inform my guests about the blackout.

Cool your pants. I’m going. Bo raised his hands in surrender. Not the first time you’ve thrown me out. Kind of your thing to do.

He left and took the air out with him. I deflated and floated down to earth.

You can stop staring after him. Trust me, he might have been blessed in the good looks department, but the man hasn’t a scrap of decency in him. He is addicted to the fairer sex and has a pile of broken hearts in his wake.

I nodded, hearing nothing that would be a game-changer.

And don’t get swayed by his political title, either. His ethics are on the straight and narrow, but his other appetites have few limits. Trust me, he’s not the type you take home to meet your parents…if you know what I mean. Twenty-eight years old and with the hormones of a college jock. Lawrence was no longer the calm boss. His anger over his brother’s presence had pushed through the veneer of brotherly love. A deeper resentment seemed at play between the two.

Again, I nodded, rather than plead my case.

No matter what Lawrence cautioned, Bo, with his really fine ass, was exactly the type of man to fill the void while I completed my mission.

No strings attached.

A good fuck or two not weighed down with commitments sounded like heaven on earth. And I had no problem putting that proposition to the test with the likes of Mayor Bo Greenly.

2

Isplit the task of telling about the pending blackout news to the guests with Lawrence. The inn had fourteen rooms spread over three floors. Since we were not at capacity, the process wouldn’t take long. I volunteered for the upper floor where the suites and oversized tubs came with a scenic view of the mountains in the distance.

With the notice imparted, out of the ten guests, we lost two who needed electricity for medical reasons. Lawrence handled the refunds and called to another hotel and made arrangements for them to stay at a discounted rate.

I hope they don’t ding me on the reviews, he complained, as he peered through the blinds when the guests pulled out of inn’s parking lot.

You did your best. Why don’t you go on home? You technically should have been off the clock several hours ago. Not much you’ll be able to do here, anyway. Today’s arrivals have checked in and they are all heading out elsewhere for dinner.

I can’t leave you here alone in blackout conditions.

You’re afraid a big bad wolf will get me? I teased.

Nah. That label only belongs to Bo. He’s not one to fight for what he wants. Too used to women falling at his feet. He won’t be back.

Oh. I hid my disappointment.

Well, if you really don’t mind, I should get home to deal with the dogs while I still have a bit of daylight. Lawrence looked at his watch.

Go. I shooed him. I’ll lock up. I smiled my reassurance. Besides, I’m not afraid of the dark.

Thanks. I’ll be sure to return early in the morning. And Glenda should be here by eight to relieve you.

I nodded.

He worried about everything. The inn was his wife and his pets were his children. Outside of those concerns, I’m not sure he had more in his life, maybe worrying over Bo.

By the time the power went out, the guests had departed for their dinners. I heard a few making plans to go to a movie afterward. The strangers had become friends under the unexpected circumstances and had carpooled to their destinations.

The inn’s quiet ambiance soothed my natural unease with new places. Flickering lights of the surrounding lanterns cast a soft glow through the lobby, with the inky darkness pushed out to the edges of the room.

The solitude gave me time to think about the remaining ten of my vampire-sisters who shared my similar experience. We were unable to find a willing mate.

Every cycle that I was reawakened proceeded with a certain repetition—attracting a lover, followed by his betrayal or, at the very end, his rejection of vampire life. I no longer relied upon an easy success.

Instead, I treated the seven days as a hiatus from the dark torment of the underworld. Out here, I was a wanderer sampling the sensual treats of the current time and dismissed any hope for a rosy future. One could say that my bitter outlook drew from my cruel past.

Three hundred years ago, Abbess Leia, despite the tedious prayers and strict adherence to religious rituals, feasted on the poison of her embittered heart when her secret lover not only fucked her but also half of her convent.

Vampire Assante Ricci, the greedy bastard and elder of a large coven had enjoyed the game of seducing young virgins to enlarge his vampire family. He’d set his appetite on the abbey sitting atop the mountains of northern Spain. But once done with his deeds, he’d underestimated the consequences.

The cunning abbess, who had not been turned into a vampire due to her mature age, killed her lover—our maker—by first rendering him unconscious with a sleeping draught after she fucked him. Then she dragged him to a pyre, cursed his soul, and lit his ass on fire.

Her vengeance had no end that night. She had the young sisters, turned by that demon, separated from the rest of the nuns and ordered that they spend their remaining days in their newly created sarcophagi. Only then did the abbess end her life with an additional blow.

Sister Marguerite had found her full confession and final decree signed in her blood and amped with a witch’s spell. Every fifty years, we were awakened for seven days, during which we must find a mate willing to live in eternity with us. If we failed, we had to return to the abbey’s mausoleum. If we tried to escape, then on the eighth day, we turned to ashes.

Sister Marguerite, one of our sister-vampires, had been given the role of our handler by the abbess. She was ordered to release and send us off to various parts of the world, in whatever jobs and identities, at her whim. And when we’d found no mate, she received us back at the entrance of the mausoleum to seal us in for another fifty years.

The jingle of the bell over the front door reminded me that I was no longer in a Spanish abbey in a cave for the dead. It was the twenty-first century and I had a job in America. I got up from the sofa where I’d nestled down in the reading nook. Since it was in a separate open room off of the lobby, I could see any guests who entered the inn.

Bo appeared with a sexy grin in place. Please, no need to get up. Is the coast clear? I’m stopping by to make sure there were no emergencies.

He’d cleaned up with a fresh shirt and new pair of slacks. His hair looked damp and extra curly. Maybe he used a gel to relax the curls into the soft waves. My fingers itched to slide through the thick hair.

You’re alone?

The way he asked, with a hint of hope, sent excitement slithering deep in my belly.

Everyone has left and won’t be back until late. And your brother is at home until the morning. I settled back onto the couch to enjoy the turn of events to my evening. Your news caused an exodus.

I’m sure Lawrence will remind me of that. By the way, have you had dinner? he asked.

I shook my head.

How about I order us something?

Weren’t you doing official work? Checking on your constituents? I motioned with my thumb toward the businesses lining Main Street.

Almost done. I only have a couple more to look into.

Then don’t let me stop you. Wouldn’t want to be the cause of your distraction. I crossed my legs, knowing my skirt would ride up along my thighs.

He hovered as if weighing what he should do.

I’ll make it easy on you. I held up a menu from a nearby restaurant. I’ll order the food. When you’re done, you can come back and eat.

Sounds good. You’re quite the problem solver.

That’s being generous. And you don’t know me, at all. I might earn a different compliment by the end of the night. I walked over and hooked my arm through his, pressing my breast against his arm. I guided him to the door.

I’ll be back. He grinned and his eyes glinted with a delicious wickedness.

Promises. Promises. I slow-winked and closed the door on him.

After he walked off, I let my excitement break free and danced around the lobby. I had a pretty good idea of how my night would unfold, unless it turned out that Bo was not as cool and edgy as he came across.

Just in case I did get lucky, though, I dashed to my room to make a few adjustments to my wardrobe, a fresh dab of lipstick, and minor tweaks to my hair before returning to the lobby. I turned down the lanterns, allowing the dark to slip in for a bit of ambiance and semi-closed the blinds because we were officially open for another hour. My goal was setting a certain mood to seduce the illustrious mayor.

I ordered our meals from a local hamburger restaurant, along with the delivery service. Wasn’t sure of Bo’s tastes so I got him a medium-well burger with the works. I went with rare and had to settle with a medium while the server told me the dangers of uncooked meat.

Food wasn’t a necessity. I could eat without effect if I kept the portions to toddler-sized amounts. But put a quarter-pound, rare hamburger in front of me and I could wolf it down, minus the buns. Too much food, however, I would lapse into a coma-style sleep until the effect wore off days later. Things I learned along the way as a fanged one.

Alcohol had no effect. But I liked the taste of beer if it was ice cold.

Acting human wasn’t difficult. I could control the switch from my natural state unless I was enraged and then I would go all vamp. Hadn’t happened much and not in this century. But there were a few male corpses across several centuries who had thought rape or beating my ass was the best way to deal with me.

The front doorbell jingled, and Bo stepped in with a broad grin, holding up the takeout food.

How…? I asked, taking the bags from him.

I saw the guy parked out front. Figured it was ours. He opened the bag and grinned. Burgers! Smells awesome.

Then, let’s eat while it’s hot.

We spread out the food in the nook, a cozy setting surrounded by overstuffed, comfortable furniture and stocked bookcases.

I peeled off the buns and tossed them aside, along with the onions and lettuce.

Bo followed the track of my discarded food. Watching your figure?

Why should I? You’re doing a good job watching it, I replied, with snark.

You’re right. Never saw anything wrong with window shopping. And you are like cool water on a parched tongue. He bit into his burger as his gaze completed an exaggerated once-over of her body.

What parts are you appreciating?

He guzzled his beer and let his eyes linger at my mouth.

Only there? I played with the button on my shirt.

His eyes shifted to my fingers and then to my breasts. He took another swig of beer.

Considering yourself a tits-man?

He choked and swiped his hand across his mouth.

I think that I have a nice ass if I do say so. I stood and turned, looking coyly over my shoulder at him.

Damn! You’re a blast of fresh air. You just let whatever you think fly. He shook his head and grinned. He raised his beer as a toast to me.

I returned to my seat. Life’s short. If you see something you like, I say…fuck it. And I mean like really go and fuck it.

His eyes popped. Are you always like this?

Aren’t you? I’m sure in that pretty head of yours, wicked thoughts are always percolating.

But I wouldn’t say it. He bit a healthy chunk out of his burger and chewed slowly.

Why not? I gathered up the uneaten food and stuffed it back in the bag. People should say what’s on their minds.

Um…that scenario could end in a lawsuit or a fistfight, or worse a social media meltdown. He shook his head. Tonight, I’m gonna behave like the perfect gentleman.

Perfect gentleman, my ass. That’s damn boring. I pouted. I can’t imagine that you came back just to sit over there and pretend you’re not turned on. If you need permission, I’m giving it to you. I leaned over and tapped his hand as if tapping open