Winter Bloodlust by Miranda Thorn

Winter Bloodlust

December 1, 2023 – A Bloodstone Institute Story

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She’s an executive assistant. Killing her boss isn’t usually in her job description.

When several assassins fail to get close enough to eliminate Holly’s vampire boss, Nick, the shadowy Bloodstone Institute dispatches her to seduce and poison the billionaire CEO.

Posing as Nick’s date to a weekend-long Christmas party is Holly’s chance to slip her poison-laced blood past his defenses. Until she discovers she’ll be spending the weekend with a house full of bloodthirsty vampires.

You don’t get to billionaire status by being a complete idiot. When her poison goes missing, she knows Nick is on to her. She’s got more than one secret, and he wants them all. Starting with who wants him dead.

Forced to choose sides in a dangerous game, Holly realizes Nick might not be the real monster – and the Institute could prove far more deadly than any vampire.

Winter Bloodlust is for anyone who thinks Die Hard is a Christmas movie but wishes there were more vampires and romance in it. If you like billionaires, office romances, assassination plots, and Christmas parties full of bloodsucking fiends, you need to check out Miranda Thorn’s festive novella.

Chapter One

I watched the ripples in my watery break room coffee. Someone had gotten to the office before me, and they didn’t know shit about making a decent cup of coffee. If I’d known, I would have dumped it and made my own. Not that I needed any.

I was the mini earthquake at this meeting. The leg jiggler. Judged by all. I’d tried to stop, but my boss, Nicholas Winters, wanted to see me after this meeting, and nothing was more terrifying than that.

Imposing, commanding, magnetic. With rich, tanned skin and lush, dark hair that I wanted to sink my fingers into.

He’s a vampire, Holly. A. Vampire.

Though I didn’t think anyone in the company knew that last bit except me.

It was the whole reason I’d been placed at the company. I took a sip of my coffee and noticed my sweaty palms had left ghost prints on the dark, gleaming wood of the conference table. I tried to shake it off. My palms would have done that even if I wasn’t nervous, right?

I glanced at him. His large hands were clasped across his stomach as he reclined in his chair. They were well-manicured, but I knew they were rough. He wasn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. That much I had judged when he shook my hand at my interview. The one time he’d touched me.

I’d immediately wondered if he’d killed my predecessors himself.

Probably.

Two hunters had been assigned within his company before me. Trained assassins, and they’d been killed. I didn’t know what shot the higher-ups thought I had. Other than I was a woman.

I knew what I was. I, Holly Bailey, was bait.

I wasn’t a hunter. I’d washed out of the program. I wasn’t even in intelligence. The Bloodstone Institute needed spies as much as it did killers. No, I was support staff. Being Nicholas’s executive assistant wasn’t much different from my regular duties, except my assignment was supposed to end with me lopping off his head.

Not usually in my job description.

He never said much during these meetings, and when I’d first gotten here, I’d wondered why we had them. But he was observant and cunning. Even watching him now, I could see his mind working as the department heads debated… something.

Shit, I was supposed to be taking notes. I bit my lip and glanced down at the paper. My usually detailed meeting minutes had stopped a good ten minutes ago. If I weren’t careful, he’d turn those shrewd, gray eyes on me. I endured them enough as his assistant.

An assistant’s duties differed at every company, or so I’d been told by the people who trained me. Around here, it seemed to be everything under the sun. I was available for his every beck and call, even if it was getting him a flight out of London at two a.m. when his jet needed maintenance.

I’d been raised without television, but since taking this job, I’d seen “The Devil Wears Prada”. He wasn’t that bad, but he did keep me running, and he had high expectations.

The suit next to me glared as he smudged his own notes, and I tried to calm my overactive leg again. He was head of sales on the West Coast, and he was sweating.

Sales were down. He probably wished he could take off his baggy suit jacket, but I was betting he had pit stains.

A warm, callused hand settled on my bare knee, and my leg jiggling faltered. I barely held in a gasp as my eyes flicked to the vampire next to me. Anyone might see! My bouncing leg was probably making him crazy, but the firm pressure holding me frozen cranked my nerves down tighter. Now I had no outlet. Was he trying to calm me? Because he was having the opposite effect.

He’d never touched me outside of that first handshake. I expected his magic to grate against my limited psychic powers. I’d been told a vampire’s presence would irritate them, but all I felt was a warm rush of calm as his thumb caressed the outside of my knee. His magic? It had to be. My usual reaction to him was a great deal more… aroused.

Ugh! He shouldn’t turn me on. He’d kill me if he ever found out what I was. And he was a monster… Or so I’d been told.

But the dreams I’ve been having of him…

Every night since I’d met him, I’d been having the most erotic dreams about him. Dirty dreams weren’t a foreign concept to me. Everyone at the Institute was sex-starved. Men and women were kept strictly separated. Sex wasn’t allowed. I wasn’t sure what they’d do if you violated that edict, but people had gone in for interrogation and never been seen again.

But they couldn’t stop the occasional—or frequent—wet dreams.

We were all psychic children, and we’d been told that if we became too… stimulated, creatures like the man next to me could sense it. They’d sense it and come to kill us for the power we could offer them.

It’s why the Institute had taken us in. Taught us to defend ourselves.

However, I had yet to see anything I’d consider monster behavior. Then again, if he thought I was an average human assistant, I doubted he’d commit any murders around me.

But now he wanted to see me after this meeting, which filled me with dread. I tried to slow my breathing. This was entirely normal. Bosses spoke to their assistants after meetings all the time. But I could never relax around him. I think the reasons are pretty obvious.

Nicholas stood suddenly, tugging on the bottom of his suit jacket to straighten it out. I tried not to admire the look of him too much. It was a nice suit, not the strange, overly tight cut that had become fashionable, and he made it look good.

“If you have any questions, bring them to Holly. She is blessedly organized compared to her predecessor and probably knows more than I do now.”

I tried not to beam at him; it didn’t seem staid and professional, but I’d rarely gotten compliments at the Bloodstone Institute. Nothing was ever good enough.

Dear God, what are they coming to me with questions about? I’m not sure you deserved all the praise. You’re not even paying attention.

Too late now.

The woman who’d had the job before me had been a nightmare. Nothing had been in order. I was still finding lost documents in drawers, and one was still locked. She’d been the opposite of me. Loud, rude, with big dyed red hair that belonged in the 80s and big fake boobs that would one day give her back problems. Which all would have been fine if she could run an office.

At first, I wasn’t sure how I’d gotten the job. I was plain with mousy brown hair. And my boobs were… well, not the purchased kind.

I’d assumed she was there for her looks because she was a show stopper, even with dated hair. If Nicholas had hired her, there would be no way in hell he’d hire me, but once he did, I could only assume she had been someone’s sick, sick joke at his expense.

Everyone stood and leisurely made their way out of the conference room. I struck up a conversation I was only half listening to. Mr. Winters was a busy man, particularly with the Christmas holiday closing in on us—lots to get done before people started to go on vacation.

I was hoping if I could slip out unnoticed, he’d forget what he needed to talk to me about, and I might not see him for the rest of the day.

It’s nine a.m., and you’re probably working late, so good luck with that.

Hey, he had back-to-back meetings today. A girl could hope.

Chapter Two

Whoever was trying to kill me had sent me a nice little plaything this time, and I intended to take full advantage.

I watched Holly make polite chit-chat with co-workers as she tried to slip out without me noticing. She laughed at something Dan said and tucked a lock of chestnut-colored curls behind her ear.

Jealousy bubbled inside me. She never let herself be so free with me. In the two months she’d worked for me, she’d never dropped her polite, professional mask. Then again, Dan wasn’t a vampire.

She was probably hoping I was too busy to remember I needed to see her. If she’d been anyone else, that might be the case, but she’d been sent to kill me, so to say I had a close eye on her was an understatement.

I hadn’t thought much about her when I’d hired her. Don’t get me wrong, I’d noted she was beautiful. But sent to kill me? That part was a surprise. Careless of me. I knew they’d send someone else. But I usually had a good sense about people. Having vampiric powers and nearly two thousand years of backbiting court intrigue among vampire nobles made you cautious. Holly seemed to be missing that killer instinct.

Then I’d started to dream about her and realized she wasn’t quite as human as she appeared—probably a Gift. The child of vampires. They were born mortal, but they had some pretty impressive psychic powers. When their magic was untrained, it became unpredictable, especially under stress.

Being placed to kill her vampire boss seemed to put her under a bit of stress. She’d been reaching out to me in dreams. I couldn’t be sure why she’d connected with me, and it made me wonder if she was as unpracticed as she seemed. It was awfully convenient that she just happened to contact me. I wasn’t the only vampire in New York City. Hell, I wasn’t even the closest one to her when she slept. One lived on the second floor of her unsavory apartment building.

Once she’d invaded my dreams, I started keeping a closer eye on her. Surveillance, a tracking device. Having a hacker crack her phone. It hadn’t taken long to put the pieces together.

I buttoned my suit jacket as I strode after her. It seemed like such a civilized thing. No one would notice the predator lurking beneath the expensive fabric.

The last two assassins had been men and were far from being fresh-faced, innocent young things. They’d been cold, brutal, full-blooded killers who’d died in the fight with me. But this one? She hadn’t been trained to kill vampires.

Oh, she knew how. They’d all known how. But it was clear she’d never done the job before. I wasn’t sure why they’d sent her. Hell, I wasn’t sure who ‘they’ were. I imagine every army needs support staff. She was an incredibly skilled executive assistant, so I was guessing the duties I assigned her weren’t far from those she usually performed.

After the second attempt on my life, I’d thought HR was having a problem with the hiring process. But I’d reviewed their files myself after they’d tried to kill me. They were clean but not so squeaky that it seemed suspicious. Even when I’d dug a little deeper, everything was in order. Nothing suspicious until they attacked me. Whoever had made these identities was very good. Damned spies, they find a way in no matter how rigorous you think you are.

I leaned against the door frame and watched her disappear into the break room. I noticed the coffee sucked this morning. She must have been late if she didn’t make it herself. My fault. I’d started steering her dreams. I’d wanted her to reveal something important about who she worked for, but somehow, they always turned into some of the filthiest dreams I’d ever had.

That was the subconscious for you. You could try and direct things, but your true desires always slipped out. I guess banging my little secretary on my desk had been on my mind. But there was something about her… Like she knew exactly what I wanted. I suspected she was an empath—a powerful one at that.

In the office, where I had more control over myself, her powers manifested as anticipating my every need as an employer. But in our dreams, it led to other things.

It was increasingly difficult not to let my desires slip out during the day. In meetings… Painfully alone in my office while we worked late…

I shook myself and stalked down the hallway after her.

King Octavian was on his last nerve with the assassination attempts. I wasn’t the only one of his allies being targeted, but with me, it was personal. He didn’t like his fledglings being in the crosshairs, not to mention I made him a ridiculous amount of money. He’d demanded I flush out whoever was trying to kill me as if I wasn’t doing my damnedest as it was.

And then they’d handed me Holly. A nervous girl-next-door sent to get close to me. I wasn’t sure she was entirely in on the plan. She knew she was supposed to kill me and that she’d have to get close. But she seemed too innocent to know that they expected her to fuck me to get that close. They must be desperate, or they thought I could be led around by my cock.

It was the only reason she would smell like that nasty potion. It could knock out a vampire if they drank from the one that consumed it. It was a subtle scent; if I hadn’t encountered it before, I’d assume it was her shampoo. A fresh, juicy strawberry scent. Alluring. A trap.

I watched her from the doorway as she put the finishing touches on her cup of coffee. She’d used the single-serve while waiting for the standard drip brewer to make a full pot. I smirked. Too impatient to even wait fifteen minutes.

“You ducked out of the meeting before I could talk to you,” I said as she turned to face me.

She gasped and jumped, piping hot coffee spilling down the front of her blouse. She lost her grip on the gigantic snowman mug, and it shattered on the tiled floor, spilling the rest of the beverage.

She made a tiny, pained sound and grasped her shirt to flap some heat off her skin.

I cursed. I hadn’t meant to scare the crap out of her. Ceramic crunched under my dress shoes as I carefully made my way to the fridge. I didn’t want to bust my ass in the coffee spill.

I tugged the handkerchief out of my suit pocket and filled it from the ice machine. Before I could think better of it, I turned and pressed it to her chest.

Her gaze jumped to mine. Her eyes were a warm brown—nearly gold in color. Amber. That was it.

Her hand captured mine, clearly ready to take the ice. “Thank you.”

I wouldn’t give up my hold on her yet. I slid the ice up to her collarbone and back down, noticing how her pulse picked up—that fine blue vein at the base of her neck flickering slightly.

I hadn’t fed today. A mistake if I was going to be around someone so biteable. That and it made me more irritable and sensitive to the sun. I could tolerate the sun, as most vampires could, but it was necessary to stay well-fed.

Her blood would be a powerful thing.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.”

She smiled, but it was tight. “Startled, not scared. You snuck up behind me.”

I grinned and arched a brow. Not like I could deny it. I hadn’t been trying for sneaky, but it was kind of in a vampire’s nature. “My specialty.”

The ice had soaked through my handkerchief, and water was beading on her skin, soaking her blouse more.

Her nipples were tight little peaks. Cold? Or excited to have my hands on her. One thing I was sure of was she wasn’t wearing a bra. Which had probably been fine before her impromptu wet t-shirt contest, but now I was getting a show.

I cleared my throat. I didn’t want her to cover herself, but I didn’t want anyone else seeing her either. “Do you have another shirt here, by any chance?”

She followed my gaze and gasped, hands jumping to cover herself, but she must have shifted on her feet because one slid out from under her, and she ended up clutching my arms as I grabbed her waist.

I chuckled. “Well, this is a little inappropriate. If we’re caught like this, it will cause all sorts of office gossip, Ms. Bailey.”

She scowled up at me and wobbled again, tightening her hold on me. “Don’t tease me, Mr. Winters. I need to go get a shirt out of my car.”

It was my turn to frown. I lifted her and spun us around so she was on dry land. “You can’t walk through the halls like that, Lady Godiva. You’ll cause a riot.”

“Lady Godiva was naked. I’m entirely covered.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “No more white blouses,” she muttered.

I slipped off my jacket and wrapped it around her shoulders. I brushed her throat deliberately as I removed my hands. Stupid to tease myself. I couldn’t have her. Not yet. But I was far from the limits of my control.

“Thank you.”

She turned to leave, and I cleared my throat. “I did have a purpose in stalking you.”

She bit her lip and took a step back. She probably didn’t notice the small retreat, but I did. “Yes?”

“I need a date for a Christmas party.”

She only blinked at me, and I continued my explanation before she could shut me down. I needed her at this party. She was the entire reason I was attending, though I wasn’t about to tell her that.

“I hate to make you work over the holiday, but no one attends these things alone, and my date fell through. Besides, taking you would have the added benefit of finishing things up with the Donner acquisition.”

I owned a work management platform, and the Donner Group was doing some exciting things with AI that I wanted for myself. There wasn’t much to ‘finish up’ with the deal, which explained Holly’s quizzical frown.

When she nodded, some tension in my gut I hadn’t realized was there melted.

It has nothing to do with being rejected. She needs to go for my plan to work.

I’d suspected she would agree. My team and close friends accused me of being a workaholic, and Holly always matched me minute for minute unless I forced her to go home. Which I occasionally did so I could slip into her dreams.

“Of course, I’ll go, Mr. Winters.”

I smirked and tried to keep the triumph out of it. But I had her exactly where I wanted her now. “Excellent. We’ll leave tonight after work and take the limo up. It’s a long ride, but I enjoy it.”

Her eyes widened. “Tonight? And where are we going?”

“Vermont. It’s just an intimate house party. We’ll ride back the day after Christmas.”

She stood there, her mouth opening and closing as several objections sprang to her mind. “That’s five days, including the drive! I thought I was attending an event. As in one night. I haven’t packed. I have nothing to wear to a fancy house party that lasts three days!”

I cupped her elbow and steered her out of the break room toward the elevators. I dug out my wallet and handed her a company credit card. “Take the rest of the day, go shopping. Buy anything you need. I’ll make some calls to the shops so they can pull some things aside for you since we don’t have time to waste.”

She took the card, and my jacket slipped off one of her shoulders, revealing her breasts again. “But—but— I have to run by my apartment. There are things… Things I need.”

I caught the strained hint of nerves now. What did she need at her apartment? Vampire butchering equipment? That nasty little potion polluting her blood?

“Allen,” my driver, “can run you by your house to pack anything else you need.” I’ll just have your bags searched by whoever takes them up. “Meet me here at five or six, and we’ll leave early.”

We made it to the elevators, and she turned to face me as I pressed the call button.

“This seems highly irregular.”

I held in my mirth. It was… arousing to rattle that tightly controlled, not-a-hair-out-of-place personality.

She was flushed, breathless from nerves and keeping up with my long strides. I ached to kiss her then.

I couldn’t resist some contact. I stepped a little too close to her and gripped her shoulders. She licked her lips, and I knew she was feeling my excitement. Soon, I would have her exactly where I wanted her.

Reign it in.

“There’s nothing ‘irregular’ about it. I’m asking you to do me a huge favor. It’s only fair that I make it easier on you.”

She looked down at the card, running her thumbnail along the raised numbers.

“What will accounts payable say?” She mumbled.

That I’d lost my freaking mind. But I was the CEO, so there wasn’t much they could do about it.

The elevator dinged, the doors sliding open with a soft hiss.

She stepped in, and I braced my forearm on the door to hold it open.

“Holly?”

She brought her attention back to me, a little dazed.

I jerked my chin at her chest and let go of the door. “Don’t forget to change your top.”