Read Claimed, a vampire romance (Lost) for Free Online

as she talked on her phone overtook Rachel.
    “Shelby,” she interrupted. “Tell me where you are, and we can meet you there. Then I'll tell you everything.” Or she would after she knew they were somewhere safe.
    She looked at Cameron for reassurance that she was handling things properly. His lips were thin, but his eyes warmed as he stared at her. Then he nodded.
    “Well, I guess that's okay. Are you bringing this Cameron?”
    Relief washed over Rachel. She'd been afraid that she'd pushed too hard and that Shelby would lash out or, worse, hang up, leaving Rachel with no way of locating her.
    “Yes, but he's a friend.”
    “A vampire friend,” Shelby replied. Her tone was unreadable, but she seemed to quickly shake off whatever thoughts or doubts she was having. “I'm off campus, at a bar on the lake.”
    She gave an address that Rachel recognized as an area which she had thought was strictly industrial. Relieved that Shelby had revealed her location, Rachel didn't question why she was there. She just repeated the address to Cameron, instructed Shelby to keep her phone handy in case they got lost, and hung up.
    o0o
    Behind the wheel of his car and with Rachel nestled in the leather seat to his right, the temptation to do as his father would have done— mesmerize Rachel into forgetting everything and taking her somewhere secluded and quiet— returned ten-fold to Cameron.
    His fingers tightened around the leather-wrapped steering wheel. He wasn't his father, and he never would be.
    He glared through the windshield at the dark street disappearing beneath the nose of his car.
    Rachel's eyes darted to the side. She was watching him. Her hand rose, and she touched her neck where he'd bitten her.
    The temptation rose again, like a snake he couldn't quite beat down.
    The longer he was with her, the more his desire grew. Luckily his time with her was almost at an end. They would find her friend, and then he would take both of them to a charmed house he knew of, charmed against werewolves and vampires. It hadn’t been an option when he and Dorian were discussing hiding Nancy too, but it would be for Rachel and her human friend.
    He’d settled on the plan as they were driving. And it was perfect.
    Because once inside the house, Rachel and her friend would be safe, both from the fraternity-boys-turned-wolves and from Cameron himself.
    He would complete his deal with his father by destroying all the wolves. Then he would be free to leave Crystal City once and for all.
    He glanced to his side, at Rachel. Her blond and pink hair danced in the wind. She'd closed her eyes. If he hadn't known better, he would have thought she'd fallen asleep.
    Her eyes opened, blue and startling. “What?”
    “Nothing.” He turned his gaze back to the road, shutting her image out of his sight and the possibility of a future with her out of his soul.
    o0o
    The streets nearest the lake always felt colder and darker than anywhere else in Crystal City, at least to Rachel. And tonight was no different.
    As she exited Cameron's car, a breeze coming off the three-thousand-acre lake raked over her skin and riffled through her hair.
    She hugged her arms around her chest and tried to ignore the prickles of unease dancing up the back of her neck. They were less than fifty feet from the water, and the air stank of fish.
    “Why would she come here?” she wondered out loud.
    “A party?” Cameron suggested, but Rachel could tell by his tense posture that he was on alert too.
    “She said a bar, but I’ve never heard of one here. Maybe she meant a party.” Rachel squeezed her arms tighter and shook her head, trying to shake off the trepidation that had wrapped its way around her.
    “The address she gave you is down there.” Cameron pointed toward a narrow, asphalt path that ran parallel to the lake. “The roads here are too rough for my car. I'm afraid we'd get stuck.”
    Rachel nodded. Even the surface on which they stood was cracked and heaving