My Guardian Vampire: BBW Paranormal Romance (The Guardians Book 1) Read Online Free Page B

an oxygen mask that was carrying in copious amount of fresh air to her starved system. After the smoke-filled air, this was heavenly. She took deep, gulping breaths as she stared around her. She was in an unfamiliar place. It wasn’t a hospital.
    Strange.
    Wasn’t she taken to one?
    Why not?
    As the oxygen rushed in, her lungs cleared and her mind became a little more active. She’d fallen from the third floor staircase and lived to tell the tale. Despite the fire that threatened to consume her, she had lived. How the hell did she land in someone’s arms? Not someone, Aric’s arms. He caught her. The sheer, physical strength required to catch her, not to mention the presence of mind, boggled her. Just as before, he was there when she needed help the most.
    Then the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Aric was the one who saved her when she was a little girl.
    Of course, he was.
    No.
    How was that possible?
    That memory was eleven years old, and he couldn’t be the same guy. Lacey actually didn’t remember the face of the man who saved her when she was ten years old from the car accident, but she recalled the eyes with perfect clarity.
    They were the same as Aric’s, but it couldn’t be him. No way. No how. He must’ve been a young child himself at that age. She was letting her imagination run away, and it was time to embrace reality.
    Now that she felt better, she took off the mask. “We’ve got to stop making a habit of this.”
    He tensed. Even though he remained seated on a chair beside her bed, she felt his muscles bunch. His shoulders rotated, almost as if he was getting ready to leap out of the room. “What do you mean?”
    “First you save me from the mugger and now from the fire. This is getting to be a bit too much, don’t you think?”
    He smiled. “Sure.”
    “What were you doing near my apartment?”
    “Out for a walk.”
    It couldn’t be a coincidence. First, he saved her from getting killed by a random attack and then he was right there when she fell from the fire escape. Surely, this couldn’t be real. Of course, stranger things had been known to happen. “Maybe you’re my guardian angel.”
    “Or perhaps, I was at the right place, at the right time.”
    She didn’t want to continue this conversation that was making her nervous. Something more was going on here, but she didn’t quite know what it was. Of course, he wasn’t telling her everything. But it wasn’t the time to delve into this mystery. As she stared at him, Lacey felt the first stirrings of desire deep in her gut. Something, some unknown force, pulled her towards him. She wanted to run her hands up his wide chest and feel his heart beat and to run her fingers through his rich, luscious hair and feel the smooth skin on his face. Lacey imagined brushing her lips over his and tasting him. As her gaze met his, she was startled by the intensity of his stare. It was almost as if he could peek into her mind and read her thoughts.
    She looked away, shocked by the ideas that careened through her mind. What the hell was she thinking? He saved her life, and she was thanking him by having wet dreams about him. Actually, technically, it couldn’t be a dream because she was awake. Lacey never experienced such strong desire for a man before. Sure, she liked some guys, took a few of them to her bed, and had a good time, but she’d never experienced anything on this level. Not ever before.
    It wasn’t all physical though. She felt a strong connection with him, almost as if there was a bond that linked them.
    No !
    This is insane .
    It was all her imagination. He’d saved her life twice now, and she felt indebted to him. While she did feel grateful, there was also confusion, bewilderment, and yes, the undercurrents of desire.
    Maybe she needed to have her head examined. Perhaps it was time to see a shrink, but before that, she needed to see the fire brigade and find out as to what happened in her apartment. “I should