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Authors: Veronica Wolff

Vampire's Kiss

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Never let down your guard.…
 

“Acari Drew.” A mellow voice spoke from behind me.

 

Oh God
. Too late, I noticed the shadow that had fallen on me. My skin rippled with goose bumps, as if a chill breeze were at my back instead of a vampire.

 

I looked over my shoulder and had to force myself not to startle when I saw how close Alcántara had managed to come behind me.
Stupid
. Things like that could get a girl killed in my world.

 

He stood there, tall but not towering, with bottomless dark eyes and smooth black hair that brushed the collar of his black leather jacket. He looked like a beautiful indie rocker… carved out of marble.

 

I hopped to my feet as reverently as one could when wearing damp, sand-encrusted gym shorts. It struck me that all the other Acari had grown quiet around me, and even Tracer Otto was standing in respectful silence. They knew as well as I did how the sudden appearance of a vampire could mean somebody’s imminent evisceration. I only hoped it wouldn’t be mine.

 
ALSO BY VERONICA WOLFF
 

Isle of Night

VAMPIRE’S

KISS

 

the watchers

 

VERONICA WOLFF

NEW AMERICAN LIBRARY

N
EW
A
MERICAN
L
IBRARY

Published by New American Library, a division of

Penguin Group (USA) Inc., 375 Hudson Street,

New York, New York 10014, USA

Penguin Group (Canada), 90 Eglinton Avenue East, Suite 700, Toronto,

Ontario M4P 2Y3, Canada (a division of Pearson Penguin Canada Inc.)

Penguin Books Ltd., 80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

Penguin Ireland, 25 St. Stephen’s Green, Dublin 2,

Ireland (a division of Penguin Books Ltd.)

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Australia (a division of Pearson Australia Group Pty. Ltd.)

Penguin Books India Pvt. Ltd., 11 Community Centre, Panchsheel Park,

New Delhi - 110 017, India

Penguin Group (NZ), 67 Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Auckland 0632,

New Zealand (a division of Pearson New Zealand Ltd.)

Penguin Books (South Africa) (Pty.) Ltd., 24 Sturdee Avenue,

Rosebank, Johannesburg 2196, South Africa

Penguin Books Ltd., Registered Offices:

80 Strand, London WC2R 0RL, England

First published by New American Library,

a division of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.

First Printing, March 2012

10   9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1

Copyright © Veronica Wolff, 2012

All rights reserved

REGISTERED TRADEMARK—MARCA REGISTRADA

LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA

Wolff, Veronica.

Vampire’s kiss/Veronica Wolff.

p. cm.—(The watchers; 2)

ISBN: 978-1-101-57734-9

1. Vampires—Fiction. 2. Undercover operations—Fiction. 3. Kidnapping—Fiction.

4. Torture—Fiction. I. Title.

PZ7.W8185546Vam 2012

[Fic]—dc23      2011044646

Set in Bembo

Designed by Ginger Legato

Printed in the United States of America

Without limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise), without the prior written permission of both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

PUBLISHER’S NOTE

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

The publisher does not have any control over and does not assume any responsibility for author or third-party Web sites or their content.

 

The scanning, uploading, and distribution of this book via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

Dedication

To Martha Flynn,
for bringing the awesome

      ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I owe a tremendous thank-you to the amazing team at Penguin. Everyone’s enthusiasm, support, and smarts makes my otherwise isolating job a real pleasure. In particular, my heartfelt gratitude goes to Cindy Hwang, who is an editor without parallel. I’m also grateful to my superhuman publicist, Rosanne Romanello, and to the art department, which always designs such rocking covers. Thanks also to the remarkable Robin Rue, for giving me a shot in the arm, and to Beth Miller, for her help on everything up to and including music recommendations.

I’m blessed with some dear friends who double as early readers. Drew wouldn’t be the same without the feedback and encouragement of Kate Perry, Martha Flynn, Monica McCarty, and Connie O’Donovan.

 

Finally, this book wouldn’t be in your hands—not to mention, I’d be a great big wreck—were it not for the extraordinary love and support of my husband, Adam, and our two fabulous kids.

 

VAMPIRE’S
KISS

Contents
 

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

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

Blood Fever

About the Author

CHAPTER ONE

 

A
s my friend Yasuo the vampire Trainee would say…
Headlines.
As in, here they are:

1. Girl Genius Flees Crappy Home Life; Discovers Vampires over the Rainbow

2. Army of Females Vows to
Beat
Mold Girl into Vampire Operative

3. Girl Finds Success and Friendship and
blah blah blah

4. Girl Pledges to Escape at All Costs

5. Girl
Accidentally
Kills Classmates to Survive

6. Girl Wins Massive Competition; Will Participate in Mission Off-Island (repeat #4)

 

I sat with Emma on the sand, contemplating my situation, but my uncharacteristically optimistic outlook was squashed
as I realized my butt was getting wet. I shifted, peeling the cotton shorts away from my skin. “Dammit. Are you
sure
he said the beach?”

BOOK: Vampire's Kiss
12.12Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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