The Forever Kiss Read online

  An eRedSage Publishing Publication

  This book is a work of complete fiction. Any names, places, incidents, characters are products of the author’s imagination and creativity or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is fully coincidental.

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portion thereof in any form whatsoever in any country whatsoever is forbidden.

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  Red Sage Publishing, Inc. P.O. Box 4844 Seminole, FL 33775

  727-391-3847 eRedSage.com

  The Forever Kiss

  An eRed Sage Publication All Rights Reserved Copyright © 2018

  eRedSage is a registered trademark of Red Sage Publishing, Inc.

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  ISBN: 9781603100779; 1603100776 The Forever Kiss eBook version

  Published by arrangement with the authors and copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

  The Forever Kiss © 2004 by Angela Knight

  Cover © 2004

  Printed in the U.S.A.

  ebook layout and conversion by jimandzetta.com

  “Battling vampires, a protective ghost and the ever present battle of good and evil keep excellent pace with the erotic delights in Angela Knight’s The Forever Kiss—a book that absolutely bites with refreshing paranormal humor.” 4½ stars, RT Top Pick

  —Romantic Times BOOKclub

  “The Forever Kiss flows well with good characters and an interesting plot. How can you help but like the handsome Cade who ignores his own pain to protect and love the mortal woman? … The story has a fresh look at vampires that dispel some of the myths and the romance is very scorching between the protagonists with many love scenes.

  “If you enjoy vampires and a lot of hot sex, you are sure to enjoy The Forever Kiss.”

  —The Best Reviews

  “I found The Forever Kiss to be an exceptionally written, refreshing book. Immediately readers are drawn into this story by the very steamy love affair between Cade and Valerie. Angela Knight has written this cast of characters wonderfully. Ms. Knight has captured Valerie’s internal struggle so well, that readers also feel undecided; if she helps Cade her life is forever altered, but if she doesn’t can she live with the repercussions? … I really enjoyed this book by Angela Knight. As a new-to-me author, Ms. Knight goes straight to my ‘auto-buy list’. 5 angels!”

  —Fallen Angel Reviews

  “The Forever Kiss is the first single title released from Red Sage and if this is any indication of what we can expect, it won’t be the last. Angela Knight fans have known for years what a talented writer she is and now there will be others will get a chance to read her. Ms. Knight sucks you in (pun intended) from the beginning and doesn’t let go until the last page. The love scenes are hot enough to give a vampire a sunburn and the fight scenes will have you cheering for the good guys.”

  —Really Bad Barb Reviews

  The Forever Kiss

  ***

  By Angela Knight

  Foreword

  I would like to dedicate this book, my first, to the many people who made it possible.

  My publisher and friend, Alexandria Kendall, and my editor, Claire, who worked so hard to help me make it the best it could be.

  To all of those who wrote asking when it was going to be published. I hope you find it worth the wait.

  To the wonderful S.P.s of my Yahoo! e-loop, who waited for it for two years, if not with patience, at least with humor and encouragement.

  To Diane Whiteside, my critique partner, who read each and every draft and made great suggestions about improving it.

  To my sister, Angela Patterson, who gave me critiques and encouragement on everything I wrote long before I ever had a single word published.

  To my parents, Paul and Gayle Lee, who believed in me when I was a nine-year-old writing my first opus, “The Mouse Who Went to the Moon,” published in pencil.

  And most of all, to my own hero, Michael, and to my son, Anthony, future author, who provided me with inspiration and love.

  Winner 2004 PEARL for Best Erotic Novel!

  Won Romantic Times - Erotic Romance Novel of the Year Award

  For years, Valerie Chase has been haunted by dreams of a man she knows only as Cowboy. When she was a child, her fantasy Texas Ranger rescued her from the nightmare vampires who murdered her parents. As an adult, she still dreams of him–but now he’s her seductive lover in nights of erotic pleasure.

  Yet Cowboy is far more than a dream. He’s very real. And he’s a vampire.

  For years, Cade McKinnon has protected Valerie from Edward Ridgemont, the sadistic vampire who Turned him. But now, Ridgmont is determined to take her for his own, and Cade is the only one who can protect her. And he means to do just that, even if he must kidnap her to do it.

  When Val finds herself abducted by her handsome dream man, she’s appalled to discover he’s one of the vampires she fears. Now, caught in a web of fear and passion, she and Cade must learn to trust each other, even as an immortal monster stalks their every move.

  Their only hope of survival is . . . THE FOREVER KISS.

  Chapter One

  “I need you tonight.” His voice emerged from the darkness, a low male rumble of heat and hunger. “Will you give yourself to me?”

  Valerie Chase sat up in her tumbled bed. The cowboy stood just outside the open French doors, watching her from the balcony as moonlight spilled around him. The brim of his white Stetson shadowed his face. It always had. She’d never seen his features clearly, not in all the years she’d dreamed of him.

  His white cotton shirt stretched over broad shoulders and tucked into the worn jeans that hugged his long, muscled legs. Moonlight glinted on the star of a Texas Ranger pinned to his leather vest. He wore two gun belts crossed over lean hips, the holstered Colt revolvers forming a seductive frame for the thick, impressive ridge of his erection.

  It was the way he’d always looked in her dreams, her cowboy fantasy, her dream lover. Her hero. “Come in,” she said softly, and felt her nipples tighten.

  He started toward her with that long, pacing panther stride of his. As he moved, his clothes melted away, revealing the hungry jut of his cock.

  Her mouth went dry. Her sleep shirt vanished. She wasn’t sure which of them had made it disappear.

  Then his hands were on her, warm and long-fingered and skilled as he took her mouth in a deep, famished kiss flavored with desperation. Her own hands found brawn and heat as he slid onto the bed, his weight pressing her deliciously into the mattress.

  “I couldn’t stay away,” he whispered, his voice hoarse.

  She gave him a wicked smile. “Good.”

  He laughed, the sound midway between a chuckle and a groan of hunger. “Vixen.” As if starved, he bent his head to sample her lips, the angle of her jaw, the curve of her collar bone, stringing a line of hard kisses and gentle bites along her skin. Fire poured through her veins to pool low in her belly.

  “God, I missed you.” Closing her eyes, she fisted her hands in his short, silky hair, not even noticing when she knocked off his Stetson. “Not as much as I missed you.” He lifted his head to look at her. Even without the shadowing hat, she couldn’t see him clearly, though she could feel the love and the need in him. “There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you. Nothing.” His low voice vibrated with a fierce determination that made her frown.

  “What’s wrong, Cowboy?" She caught his face between her hands. “What aren’t you telling me?"

  “Nothing, darlin’.” She could hear the strained smile in his voice. “I’m just a dream, remember? I’m not even real.”

  Before she could prote
st, he dropped his head to her breasts. His tongue flicked the stiff points as his teeth scraped delicate flesh. “You sure don’t feel like a dream,” she moaned, dropping her head back on the pillow as lush, glittering pleasure built beneath her skin. Her legs fell bonelessly apart. “Then again, maybe you do.”

  He stroked down her thigh to find her sex. “Mmmmm,” he purred. “Don’t wake up.” Long fingers slipped inside in one possessive thrust. “At least, not yet.”

  Her eyes slid closed. Instinctively, she dug her fingers into his powerful shoulders, seeking an anchor against the pleasure that swamped her with each caress and kiss. “Are you sure…” She sucked in a gasp. “…sure this isn’t real?"

  “It’s as real as we’re going to get.” He sounded bitter. Before she could ask why, he buried his head between her thighs. She cried out in shocked delight as his wet tongue stroked her clit, teeth gently nibbling as he reached for her nipples to tease and pinch.

  Relentlessly, he devoured the tender folds until she felt an orgasm building like a cresting wave. She pumped her hips, trying to grind the climax into breaking, but it hung suspended just out of reach.

  Then he stabbed two fingers into her, flicked a skilled thumb over her clit, and brought her crashing home. She screamed.

  As if that was the signal he’d been waiting for, he tore himself away from her, sat up between her thighs, and took her knees in both big hands. Dazed, Val looked up at him. His cock stood high and hard as he spread her wide. He released one knee just long enough to aim himself. She felt the silken head brush swollen, creamy lips. He angled his hips and drove into her in one breathtaking thrust.

  “Oh, God!” she gasped, her fingers fisting in the sheets as he began to shaft her hard.

  “Come for me again,” he growled. “I want to watch you.”

  As he bucked against her, every nerve in her body seemed to detonate. Convulsing, Val screamed the only name she knew for him. “Cowboy! I love you!”

  “I. Love. You.” Jolting her hard with his last thrusts, he threw back his head in a guttural roar. Still shuddering, she looked up, eager to watch his raw male pleasure as he climaxed. Instead, her deliciously erotic dream became a nightmare. As Val stared, stunned, the canine teeth in his open mouth grew longer, sharper. She froze, ice washing away the heat.

  When he lowered his head to look at her, his eyes glowed red over menacing fangs.

  “Cowboy?” Her voice shook. A scream of betrayal and disbelief built in her throat.

  He didn’t answer. Still buried deep inside her, he lowered his head….

  Val catapulted off the bed expecting to feel Cowboy’s fangs tear into her skin. Her ears still rang with the echo of her own screams. Racing for the bedroom door, she threw it open and flew out into the hall.

  Hands clamped around her shoulders. She yelped and swung a wild fist. “Hey, watch it!”

  The cry yanked Val from the dream’s grip. Her eyes focused to find Beth staring at her, dark hair tumbling around her shoulders, fright and annoyance mingling on her young face. “You’re asleep, dammit,” her sister said, giving her captured shoulders a little shake. “Wake up!”

  A dream. It had been a dream. “Cowboy was going to bite me.” Beth rolled her eyes like the teenager she was. “So what else is new? And since when do you mind?"

  Val sagged against the hallway wall as her terror drained away, leaving behind weak knees and a brassy taste in her mouth. “He was a vampire.”

  “Oh, babe.” Beth reached out to scoop a lock of hair out of Val’s eyes. “You must be freaked, if you’re seeing Cowboy as monster material. Come on, sweetie—let’s fix some chocolate. I think we need to talk.”

  ***

  Cade McKinnon jolted awake, frustrated fists gripping the sheets. The head of his erection brushed his flat belly, and his fangs ached. The room would have appeared pitch black to human eyes, but his vampire vision easily made out the empty elegance of Ridgemont’s mansion, the polished mahogany and expensive crystal.

  Valerie was gone. Not that she’d ever been there to begin with. And he’d terrified her, dammit. Their last time together shouldn’t have ended in fear, but he’d lost control of both the Hunger and the dream.

  Reaching for Valerie’s mind without feeding first had been a mistake, but he’d had to see her, touch her, one final time. Knowing he’d never have another chance, he’d wanted to capture as much of her as he could. Silken skin, long muscled legs, velvet pink nipples, the dizzying musk of her scent, the hot, salty feast between her thighs.

  With a groan of frustrated hunger, Cade rolled onto his belly. Once, twice, again, he ground his hips into the tangled linen sheets, imagining her tight and slick around him. Throwing back his head, he came with a growl, his fingers clamping the soft fabric of the pillow.

  Heart bounding, he collapsed, the taste of bitterness and loss in his mouth. Finally he shook off the depression and rolled out of bed.

  It was time to get ready for the last night of his life.

  ***

  “He doesn’t even exist,” Val said, hands still shaking faintly as she sliced slivers from a chocolate bar into a saucepan of milk. She and Beth stood in the apartment’s wonderfully normal kitchen with its cheery strawberry wallpaper and cream counter tops. Unfortunately, her vibrating instincts kept insisting Cowboy was somewhere just out of sight, all sex and fangs and menace. She breathed in, trying to settle her jangling nerves with the scent of chocolate and simmering milk. “He’s just the world’s longest running dream. Hell, I lost my job this week—I have real stuff to be upset about. Why do I feel so damn betrayed?"

  “Well, for one thing, your own personal knight in shining armor is not supposed to turn on you.” Beth perched on the counter next to the stove, swinging her tanned legs as she watched the cocoa preparations. “Anyway, I’ll bet you had the nightmare because of the job.”

  “Maybe.” Stirring the chocolate, Val studied her sister. Beth was a tall girl, barely eighteen, her elfin face dominated by perceptive brown eyes. A loose red shirt skimmed down her rangy, athletic body to the tops of her thighs. Like almost everything else she owned, the shirt was smudged with oil paint—peaches, browns, ochers, blues. Matching smears marked her fingers and the bridge of her slim nose. “Working late again?" Val asked. “You getting enough sleep?"

  Beth rolled her eyes. “Yes, Mother, I’m getting enough sleep. I’ve just got to finish Tommy Wilson’s portrait. I promised Mr. Wilson I’d have it by Mother’s Day, and I’m close to deadline.”

  “Well, don’t push too hard while I’m gone.” Val bit her lip, worrying once again whether she was doing the right thing in leaving Beth at home while she went to New York. Taping the interviews for Edward Ridgemont’s memoirs would take a good three weeks. That was a long time to leave the kid alone.

  Still, Beth was eighteen. She’d be going off to college soon. Too, Val had never met her new employer. Ridgemont looked clean on paper, but she wanted to get to know him before exposing Beth to his influence.

  Frowning, Val dug her fingers into the muscles she could feel contracting into knots in the base of her neck. She’d been making decisions about her sister’s welfare since their grandmother died seven years ago, but the process hadn’t grown any easier. Not that Grandma had been all that involved with Beth’s upbringing even before she died. The nearest bottle had always held far more fascination for her than her murdered son’s children.

  “Have Cowboy dreams ever gone bad before?" Beth asked. She lifted a brow. “You changing the subject?"

  “Yes. I’m not going to New York, Val. I’ve got that portrait and a portfolio to finish. So—Cowboy?"

  “No.” She looked down into the melting chocolate slivers swirling around her spoon. “God knows I’ve had plenty of nightmares about vampires, but he’s always been the one saving me in them.”

  According to a slew of child psychologists, Val had created Cowboy to protect her from her parents’ murderers—the killers who became fanged monster
s in night terrors she’d been having since age twelve. Yet tonight he’d tried to feed on her himself. She wondered what buzzwords the shrinks would have used for that little twist.

  Logically, Val knew there was no such things as vampires, any more than Cowboy himself existed. But logic didn’t keep her hands from shaking at the thought of those sharp white teeth. “He. Is. Not. Real,” she gritted, more to herself than her sister.

  “Maybe not, but you’ve had him so long, he might as well be.” Beth propped her chin on her fist and smiled slightly. “When I was little, I thought he was real, just from listening to you talk about those dreams.”

  “You weren’t alone. I believed in him half the time myself.” Sometimes she still did. Especially when she was impaled on that massive cock. Which definitely wasn’t a thought she had any intention of sharing.

  “I was so jealous.” Beth shook her head. “I wanted Cowboy to visit my dreams too.”

  “You wouldn’t have wanted him there tonight.” Remembering the seductive tenderness of those big hands, she suppressed a feline smile. Well, maybe at the beginning….

  Her sister’s eyes narrowed. “Yeah, right. I see you fighting that grin.”

  “Let’s just say his role in my dreams has…” The smile broke free, “…expanded over the years.”

  “A good eight inches, I’ll bet.”

  “Beth!” She tried to look shocked, but a giggle spoiled the effect.

  The guess was pretty damn close.

  ***

  Cade stood with his face turned into the shower’s hot, stinging spray. He couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Valerie.

  Her beauty dazzled him, of course—the delicate elegance of her features, the wild, curling Gypsy tumble of her red hair, the arousal shimmering in those gray eyes. Every time her full lips parted, carnal images spun through his mind.

  But it wasn’t her looks that had wrapped around his mind and held him fast. He’d known too many beautiful women over his long life for that. Of course, none of them had possessed Valerie’s power—the psychic talent she didn’t even realize she had, though he’d felt its strength even when she was a child. Still, Cade had known the dark side of such abilities too long to find them seductive.