A Vampire's Saving Embrace

© 2013 Darlene Kuncytes

Chapter 1

Abigail Montgomery blew a stray strand of hair away from her face as she glared across the crowded bar- her eyes narrowed in frustration.

“I swear to God, Abs - you’re going to scare Mr. Hottie away with those looks you keep shooting his way. You look like you could peel the paint right off of the walls for crying out loud!” Kat, her co-worker yelled at her over the noise – gracing her with her best no nonsense scowl.

Abby gave Kat a disgusted grunt as her eyes stayed on the disturbingly handsome man sitting alone at the table on the other side of the bar.

He had been in Echo’s every night for the past three that Abby had worked. Sitting at the same damn table - nursing a bourbon, and
watching
her. He never approached or spoke to her - he just watched her work - his oh, so sensuous, full lips set in a grim line - and it was beginning to un-nerve her. This man was beyond model perfect, and it made Abby feel utterly intimidated and completely lacking.

She took a deep, steadying breath and tore her eyes from him - trying to concentrate on something -
anything
other than his disturbing presence. She stooped down to grab a tray of clean glasses from beneath the bar, and unceremoniously dropped them with a resounding crash when she turned to find Mr. Gorgeous standing at the bar directly in front of her - his eyes locked on her face.

“Easy there, pet,” he whispered -the smooth, silky timber of his voice causing her to shiver slightly. Damn, but the man was delicious, she thought sourly.

He stood about six foot two and was unbelievably muscular – but not the steroid addled muscles of a body builder, she thought with a twinge – no… his muscles were real. Un-Godly real and painfully apparent beneath the very expensive shirt he wore. The man reeked class and money. Cripes!

His hair was jet black and cut short to where it just touched the collar of said shirt in sexy, messy spikes. And his eyes - oh Lord, his eyes were sea blue and framed by unbelievably long, thick lashes. It should be illegal for a man to have such beautiful eyelashes she thought with a grunt. Yet, he was completely and irrevocably all man.

Abby felt a sudden surge of heat run through her as his eyes traveled over her face as he thoroughly appraised her - and she bit her bottom lip to stop her wayward thoughts. “Can I get you something?” she croaked out - immediately wincing at the tremor in her voice. Crap.

He smiled, his perfect white teeth glistening slightly - his eyes capturing and holding hers. “That depends, my pet - on just what it is that you are offering.” The wicked smile that came to his face caused Abby’s cheeks to burn, and an unwelcome heat to spread through her stomach as her entire body began to tingle. Her hackles rose at the unwanted onslaught of it all. Abby did not like the effect this man was having on her in the least.

“Do you want another drink?” she ground out - her emerald eyes snapping fire as her cheeks blazed red – damn, was it getting warm in here? She silently wondered - hating how awkward and unsure she felt under his close scrutiny. He was holding her gaze as if he were looking into her very soul - and it was making her beyond uncomfortable in a completely embarrassing way. The guy had her entire body trembling.

“Actually…”

“Oh, Christ Abby,” Kat said, squatting down and starting to pick up the broken pieces of glass from the floor. “Are you all right?” Abby looked down at the fiery red-head and grimaced.

“Damn, Charlie is going to have my hide,” she whispered before looking back up. She was startled to discover Mr. Gorgeous was gone, and quickly searched the pulsating crowd on the dance floor - then the table where he had been seated for the past three days – but he was nowhere to be seen.

Abby felt a rush of something she wasn’t sure was relief or disappointment. She shook the thought off and bent down to help Kat with the mess she’d made, and cringed again when she noticed that her hands were shaking. Just what in the hell was wrong with her?

Abby was what most would call classically beautiful. She was 27, curvy in all the right places - five foot four inches tall with golden hair that hung to her shoulder blades in luminous waves, and deep emerald green eyes that took everyone who met her back instantly with their beauty. She was sweet and funny and seemed to put the people she met at ease immediately. Even though she closed herself off from any outside activities. She always turned down the many dates she was asked on - preferring to keep her distance.

Kat on the other hand was full bodied and boisterous. Her flaming red hair matched her flaming personality and wild ways. The two were complete opposites, but yet had quickly become best friends. Kat was Abby’s yin to her yang - the regulars at the bar calling them fire and ice.

“I saw you talking to that gorgeous piece -
please
tell me he was hitting on you.” Kat said, laughing happily - her eyes gleaming mischievously as she waggled her eyebrows at her friend.

Abby shook her head - not exactly sure what he
had
been doing. “No, he just wanted another drink,” she replied half-heartedly, and realized with a start that there was disappointment in her voice. She cursed herself again for her reaction to the man. Holy Hell!

“Damn it, Abs.” Kat reprimanded, her eyes narrowing. “You really need to quit playing the nun and flirt a little. That gorgeous drink of water has been here watching
you,
and only you for the past three nights,” she bit out in a huff. “This self- imposed celibacy of yours is wearing thin. You are just too damn beautiful to let all that go to waste.” Kat placed her hands on her hips and glared at her.

Abby shook her head and shrugged. She was doing just fine on her own. In fact, she
liked
her solitude. She always had. Even as a little girl, Abby was more comfortable strolling alone in the woods near whatever house they had been living in at the time - listening to the sounds of the forest, than spending time with others.  Although, if she were to be honest, she never really had the time to make any real friends. She and her mother had moved around often, and making and losing friends had just become too much for her. It was so much easier to be on her own. No attachments meant - no hurt. “I’m fine.” She grumbled irritably – gracing her friend with her best scowl. “I am
completely
content with my life. Thank you very much!”

“Oh, come on Abigail!” Kat bit out, glaring right back at her. “You are one of the best people I know, and you deserve to be happy. Yet, you just continue to hide yourself away and wallow in your loneliness.”

“I am not lonely!” Abby snapped, her eyes blazing. “And I am not
wallowing
in anything!”

“Really? Well, that is definitely not how I see it. Honey, you need to kick up your heels a bit - and that man was about the finest specimen of the male gender that I have probably
ever
seen,” she continued – her voice softening a bit. “And, Abs, he was so totally into you. You have to move on for God’s sake. He’s not Eric. Not all men are sadistic assholes.”

Abby grimaced at the mention of her ex-boyfriend. She had worked extremely hard the past year to erase that abusive bastard from her life
and
her mind. Even though they had only been together for a little over four months, the damage he had done to her mentally and physically remained, and she caught herself touching the tiny scar under her chin with her finger. No! She silently reprimanded herself. She was
not
going there.

She had purged him from her life and had accepted the fact that she was better off alone. Dating had never been her thing anyway, and she had accepted that. She was a complete jerk-off magnet – and she had discovered the hard way that it was best just to stay away from men in general. Love was all an illusion anyway - Abby thought with a grunt. Men said all the right things
until
they got what they wanted from you – then all bets were off. Eric had painfully proven that. Before she could say anything else, Abby felt a hand on her arm and her body tensed -a creepy chill running up her spine.

She turned her attention to the man standing at the bar and inwardly cringed as he blatantly looked her up and down with a hunger that did nothing to reduce Abby’s unease. He was a thin, scruffy guy with dirty brown hair and eyes that looked… almost black - and intense in a way that caused her to immediately stiffen. “Hello, my lovely,” he purred, his voice guttural and raspy.

Abby pulled her arm from his grasp just as a blinding headache hit her full on – almost knocking her to her knee’s. Holy hell, she thought, bringing her fingers to her temples as she winced in pain. Just where in the hell had this come from? She looked at Kat, her face set in a grimace. “Kat, could you help this
gentleman
,” she choked out. “I think I might need to go home. I seem to be getting a migraine.”

“Oh, sure,” Kat said, quickly glancing at the man standing there. Her smile faded as she watched him look at her - then back to Abby. He was looking her friend up and down as if she were on the damn menu, and it caused Kat to grow extremely uncomfortable. “Go on, get out of here,” she whispered, ushering Abby toward the back room. “I’ll take care of this jerk. You just go on home and get some rest.” She pushed her through the door and turned back to the bar, realizing with a deep feeling of dread that he was gone.

Abby grabbed her purse and walked out of the back door and into the alley beside the bar. She took a deep calming breath and closed her eyes, inhaling the fresh air deeply. As soon as she got outside, her headache began to subside and she thought about going back in and finishing her shift, but the creepy guy at the bar convinced her that she should just go home, take a couple of aspirin and go to bed. Tonight had been one hell of a doozy! First, tall dark and gorgeous – then Freddy
freaking
Krueger!

Abby shook her head and began walking toward the park that would take her home. Bed was definitely what she needed.

As Abby entered the park she shivered with a sense of foreboding. The place was completely deserted – the cool winter air and late hour keeping even the most avid nature buffs from venturing out. She pulled her sweater tightly around herself and shivered – knowing that it was from more than just the night air. What had she been thinking! She should have just called a cab to take her home, just this once. It wasn’t that far of a walk - but after the night she had just had, walking alone at midnight was not the smartest thing she had ever done.

She took a deep, steadying breath and walked on, “knock it off scardey-cat,” she whispered to herself – but the loud beating of her heart didn’t seem to listen. As she headed up the path that would take her to her tiny one bedroom apartment, she saw a shadow dart behind a tree and gasped.

“Imagination Abby,” she murmured, desperately trying to slow down the rapid pounding in her chest- but a moment later another shadow darted across the path and the guy from the bar stepped out from seemingly nowhere and stood in front of her, his mouth set in a triumphant grin and his eyes gleaming with nothing less than pure malice.

“There you are, my lovely,” he hissed, taking a step forward and blocking her path. “You left before we could get properly acquainted.”

Abby swallowed the lump forming in her throat and the panic running through her entire body, and jutted out her chin - summoning up every ounce of courage that she possessed. “Get out of my way,” she said, with much more force than she actually felt. In fact, what she was actually feeling was extreme terror.

There was just something so off with this guy, that it had Abby’s knee’s knocking together - and every single thing that she had learned from the few self-defense classes that she had taken to go flying out the window.

He just laughed and took a step closer to her. She could smell his fetid breath, and the distinct aroma of rotten eggs. She bit back the bile that rose in her throat and took a deep breath through her mouth, her eyes watering from the stench. Holy Hell, didn’t this creep ever hear of taking a shower?