A Hunter's Heart [The Hunters 1] (Siren Publishing Classic) Read online

  The Hunters 1

  A Hunter’s Heart

  Charlotte Peel, single, 54 with psychic abilities, is stalked by something evil, but unknowingly saved—her saviour is Matei Lupei. Charlotte is so attracted to Matei, yet he is young enough to be her son and she tries to ignore the feelings of love she has.

  But for Matei, Charlotte is his 'One' and he is in love with her. He is an immortal Hunter of strigoi—vampires over two thousand years old. Somehow he needs to convince her that he is not a vampire, despite his fangs and his need for blood.

  "…Tall, so very tall and imposing. He had dark hair pulled back from his face. His face was so masculine yet with a beauty of its own: that 5 o'clock stubble look, with unbelievable green eyes. He simply oozed maleness and sex…and, oh yes, and he was young, very young, he looked about 30. Charlotte felt her heart rise then plummet…"

  Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal

  Length: 85,184 words

  A HUNTER’S HEART

  The Hunters 1

  Suzy Shearer

  EROTIC ROMANCE

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

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  A SIREN PUBLISHING BOOK

  IMPRINT: Erotic Romance

  A HUNTER’S HEART

  Copyright © 2014 by Suzy Shearer

  E-book ISBN: 978-1-63258-183-9

  First E-book Publication: September 2014

  Cover design by Harris Channing

  All art and logo copyright © 2014 by Siren Publishing, Inc.

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  PUBLISHER

  Siren Publishing, Inc.

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  Letter to Readers

  Dear Readers,

  If you have purchased this copy of A Hunter’s Heart by Suzy Shearer from BookStrand.com or its official distributors, thank you. Also, thank you for not sharing your copy of this book.

  Regarding E-book Piracy

  This book is copyrighted intellectual property. No other individual or group has resale rights, auction rights, membership rights, sharing rights, or any kind of rights to sell or to give away a copy of this book.

  The author and the publisher work very hard to bring our paying readers high-quality reading entertainment.

  This is Suzy Shearer’s livelihood. It’s fair and simple. Please respect Suzy Shearer’s right to earn a living from her work.

  Amanda Hilton, Publisher

  www.SirenPublishing.com

  www.BookStrand.com

  DEDICATION

  To Lindi Jarman, my soul sister. Sending you a big pile of thanks.

  I could never have done it without you, you were there from conception to birth, offering support and advice…oh yes, and joined me in falling in love with a green-eyed immortal.

  For the original incident that started this whole vampire thing—thanks for scaring the hell out of me. At least it made a great prologue!

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright Page

  Dedication

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  About the Author

  A HUNTER’S HEART

  The Hunters 1

  SUZY SHEARER

  Copyright © 2014

  Prologue

  I know I was not dreaming. I know I am still scared whenever I think of it.

  My bed was pushed up underneath the window. I liked the fact that on hot summer nights I could open the window and feel the breeze across me.

  I was deep asleep when something woke me—I was not sure what it was. I was lying on my side away from the window and I glanced at the clock alongside the bed—three twenty-five a.m. It was strange but I could not hear any noise. Usually the frogs from the pond in my garden would be sending their calls across the night and there would be at least one local dog trying to disrupt sleep, instead it was deathly quiet.

  I was about to roll onto my back when I felt it—absolute terror!

  How to describe what happened?

  I was literally frozen with fear, terrified to move, afraid to breathe!

  Terror poured over me like a wave, dragging me under. Then I knew there was someone just outside my window. The thin wall was all that separated me from the terror outside.

  Quite distinctly, I heard a guttural deep male voice say, “You are a vampire,” then the paralysing wave left me but I was frozen in time. I feared to move, to breathe, to let the thing outside my window know I was awake.

  I lay terrified on my side staring at the digital readout on my clock, watching as the minutes ticked over.

  Tick—3:28.

  Tick—3:29.

  Tick—3:30.

  Slowly I turned my head, risking a glance at the window but it looked perfectly normal. Still the silence deepened.

  I was starting to think I really was asleep after all, and dreaming, when I felt the wave of fear washing over me again. My heart was pounding so loudly in my body, I knew it could be heard from outside the window. I could not move and again the same menacing voice filled with darkness said, “You are a vampire.”

  I wanted to leap up and run from the room but I was absolutely frozen with terror. I could not move, could not think, could not breathe properly and all the while my hear
t pounded deafeningly in my chest. All the while I knew he was just outside, knew what I was feeling, knew intimately my fear.

  Then, as before, I felt the frozen fear leave my body, but I dare not move. So terrified was I that he would return. I slid my eyes across to the clock—three forty-two. Oh, God what was happening?

  Again, I watched as the minutes ticked away and slowly my body began to thaw. I risked a tiny movement of my legs. I was alert to the deadly silence that hung heavily. Could I stand and race from the room? I doubted it.

  3:47—I was beginning to quieten the pounding of my heart.

  3:48—My breath was less ragged, quieter, more normal.

  3:49—I could feel sweat breaking out all over my body.

  3:50—My thoughts were chaotic. I have never been so scared in my life.

  What was happening?

  3:51—Oh God! He is coming again!

  I stifled the scream that was almost bursting from my throat. Over and over in my head I was chanting, Not again, not again!

  The same wave of paralysing terror rolled across me. An adrenaline rush of fear held me captive, the same certainty that someone was just outside my window.

  Once again the same dark voice filled with anger and threat. “You are a vampire.”

  I have no idea how long I lay frozen. When I did thaw and looked at the clock it read 4:18 and I this time I felt sure there would be no more visits but I was still terrified, the adrenaline was still pumping through my veins.

  My heart was pounding so loud in my chest, my breath ragged and rapid, I was hot and clammy and cold and shivering all at the same time. I felt sick, so sick I was scared that if I moved I would not be able to stop myself from vomiting.

  Gradually my breathing became more bearable and my heart stopped trying to escape from my chest. By 4:41 I risked turning lightly onto my back and gave a quick glimpse out of the window—everything looked perfectly normal. I could hear the frogs in the pond near my window calling to the night, could hear the distant traffic sounds, and even hear a dog barking in the distance.

  The remainder of the night passed steadily on but I was too afraid to close my eyes. As dawn finally broke and the usual sounds of waking began to fill my ears I began to take stock.

  Part of me was trying to convince myself that it had all been a dream—a horrific nightmare, but I knew with absolute certainty that I had been awake the entire time.

  What did it all mean?

  Why did that terrible voice say I was a vampire?

  Would he come to me again?

  That was about six years ago. The voice has not returned and I still try to convince myself that it was a dream, although I know the truth.

  Lately, I have become obsessed with vampires. I read all I can. Pretty strange for a woman my age, but I cannot help it. At night I dream strange erotic dreams filled with blood. I can feel his teeth sink into my neck and my wrists. I feel my orgasm fill my senses. I know that one day he will return and I want to be ready—part of me wants to run and hide but part of me wants him to enter my room, lie with me and, with his fabulous bite, take me.

  Chapter One

  It was dark but that was to be expected at this time of the year. Winter was only a few months off. Still, she had wanted to be home before darkness fell but was late leaving her children’s home when her daughter-in-law had insisted she have a coffee before she left. It was only a few more kilometres before she reached home but there was just a quick stop-off at the supermarket to grab bread, milk, and maybe something chocolaty.

  Charlotte was tired. She had babysat her two grandchildren all day and the duty was quickly catching up to her. On Sunday, her children were off for a few days’ break and she had looked after the little ones so her son and his wife could get organised.

  “I guess at fifty-four I should expect to start feeling tired after crawling around the floor all day with two toddlers,” she thought to herself as she pulled into the car park. She was tempted to drive straight home but that would mean no milk for coffee and she was out of tea. A girl could do without some things but tea just was not on that list.

  The sun had sunk well below the mountains. There was just a hint of glorious red streaks in the sky to see but it was rather dark and cloudy. By the time she got home, it would be well after seven.

  As Charlotte locked her car, she felt someone looking at her. Casually she looked around the well-lit car park, however, there was only a young couple maneuvering their groceries in their boot and they had their backs to her.

  She felt a chill run down her spine and really had second thoughts about shopping—all she wanted to do was jump back in the car and race home.

  “Oh, for goodness sake, what a dope.” She shook off the fear and walked into the brightly lit shopping mall and headed into the supermarket. As usual, there was a reasonable crowd, all trying to get out of there as quick as possible and home to the comfort of their houses. Charlotte grabbed a basket and joined the race to try to finish as swiftly as possible.

  For the past few days, she had been on edge, occasionally feeling someone was watching her in the evenings and sometimes when she woke through the night had the same feeling.

  Once again she was convinced someone was outside but whenever she had looked out the window, there was no one to be seen. Oddly, it had never happened during the daytime.

  This time the feeling was stronger. No matter how carefully she looked around in the supermarket, there didn’t appear to be anyone looking her way, although once she caught a glimpse of a dark shadow as someone quickly moved from her aisle to another. The longer she shopped, the more tense she found herself becoming. It felt like something bad was stalking her.

  For some reason she connected it to last night. She had dropped into the same car park to post a letter on her way home from buying some takeout when a man bumped into her. He apologised and moved off. Then Charlotte realised somehow she had cut her wrist.

  Suddenly she found herself thinking of dead bodies, rotting carcasses covered in dried blood. In her mind, she could feel things crawling up and down her body and feel something tearing into her. She brushed a hand across her chest.

  Something was waiting until it had the chance to pounce and Charlotte was becoming very, very nervous, in fact, she was becoming very scared. Her mouth was dry, her hands were shaking, and she wanted to scream.

  She was so tempted to drop her shopping and race back to the car but thank goodness for self-serve, she thought. She scanned her few purchases as quickly as possible, shoving them haphazardly into a bag. She was almost running as she left the store, trying to reach the safety of her car, all the while scanning the area but not seeing anyone who appeared threatening.

  Practically throwing the bag into the car, she almost broke her key as she tried to jam it into the starter. Charlotte hit the door-lock button and checked to make sure all the windows were still up. The feeling of dread was increasing with every second and she could hear her heart pounding against her chest.

  Suddenly wave after wave of paralysing fear hit her. She could barely breathe. She was unable to turn her head, unable to move at all. It was all she could do to take one ragged gasp of air after another.

  Something bad was coming and it was coming for her!

  She could not think straight.

  She could do nothing except sit there and wait to meet her doom but suddenly a deep, strong male voice in her head said, “Get out of there now, drive!”

  It was as if someone had shone a beacon through the window, waking her up. She quickly turned the key, put the car into gear and shot out of the car park, trying to put as much distance as possible between herself and that evil darkness.

  Once she had made the lights, her breathing became more regular and she could feel the pounding of her heart start to ease. A few deep breaths as she waited for the lights to change to green and she started feeling better.

  “What the fuck was all that? I can’t believe I just had a panic attack
at my age.” She ran a hand across her forehead and realised she was sweating.

  “This is just crazy!”

  As the lights turned green and she made the right turn into the main road, a flash of lightning lit the sky behind her, surprising her. The sky had been a little cloudy but it certainly had not appeared like there was a storm hanging around, especially this time of the year.

  Driving further away, Charlotte was able to relax more until she was finally breathing normally and no longer sweating. She pulled into the driveway of her large front yard and turned off the car. She lived in a semi-rural area on a large acre-and-half, tree-filled block. Grabbing the shopping bag and her handbag, she almost ran to the front door. Harley started barking as he heard the car alarm activate and knew it was time to come back inside after spending the day outside.

  Charlotte glanced back into the street as she put the key in the door and for just an instant, she thought she saw someone move behind one of the trees in her front yard but when she looked again, it seemed to be just the usual shadows, yet the feeling that someone was there persisted. Fortunately, this time although she was frightened, she did not feel threatened.

  Charlotte laughed aloud as she muttered to herself, “Stupid woman, how on earth could there be someone in the trees, you just drove in for goodness sake and with the lights on? Honestly you need to take a hold of reality for minute or two, old girl.”

  There was no denying she was rattled by what had happened but she was also old enough to know that fears have a way of growing if you let them. She shook her head and with another quick glance at the trees, pushed open the door.