#3 Chosen by the Vampire Kings: BBW Romance (Part 3: Love & War) by Charlene Hartnady Read Free Book Online

on.”
    “Fine. It was another vampire. Someone from
Zane’s coven.”
    “Lance.” Suddenly it all made sense.
    “How do you know?” Stephany cocked her
head.
    “I saw the two of you this morning. You
reacted to him like I’ve never seen you react to anyone before. Normally you’re
so cool and collected. I noticed how he got to you.”
    “Really?” She ran a hand through her short
platinum hair. “I’ll have to work at schooling my emotion more.”
    “Do you love him?”
    Stephany choked out a negative sound while shaking
her head. “Hardly. I don’t even know him. It was a one night stand gone bad.”
    She racked her brain for a moment trying to
recall how the whole mating thing went. Realization dawned. “He drank from you
during…”
    The female vampire looked sheepish. A blush
crept up from under her collar.
    “Oh my God”—Tanya held her hands over her
mouth—“you drank from him.”
    “It was a complete accident. I don’t know
what came over me.” Her hand went through her hair. “The war had only just
ended, things were still very strained between the covens. There was no way
either king would’ve accepted the union. Both of us have high level positions
within the royal staff.”
    “So what? You just went your separate ways
and that was that?”
    “Pretty much.”
    “My word, that’s so romantic.” Tanya
clutched at her chest. “Let me guess, you have never been able to find another
male that does it for you, and you are both pining for one another?”
    Stephany rolled her eyes. “Please! I did a
ridiculously stupid thing. I can’t trust myself to be with a man and
technically I am a mated woman. I prefer to stay away. Much less complicated.”
Her eyes narrowed and hardened up. “As to Lance pining after me. If rutting
with anything in a skirt counts as pining then sure thing.”
    Tanya rubbed Stephany’s arm. “I’m so sorry.
What a jerk. That sucks. You need to get laid girlfriend. I doubt you would
make the same silly mistake twice.”
    Stephany threw her a look that told her she
was full of it. “Not happening sister.”
    “I think you’re still hung up on a certain
vampire and that’s why you’re staying away from all males.”
    Stephany’s eyes widened. “Wrong. Let’s move
on. I don’t want to continue this conversation.”
    “Fine.” She huffed wanting to goad Stephany
some more, but the female had confided in her. Which was something she didn’t
think the other woman did very often. She wanted to be Stephany’s friend,
wanted for them to be able to confide in each other.
    “Let’s do your hair and make-up although I
have to confess, I don’t have much experience in either.”
    “No, the dress is over the top already.
I’ll run a brush through my hair and put on the basics.” Tanya made her way to
the mirror and picked up the hair brush. Once she was done, she put on some
concealer, lip gloss and mascara. Simple, almost as if she wasn’t wearing any.
She remembered Zane’s dislike for make-up and wondered if Brant felt the same.
Female vampires, with their porcelain skin and dark, thick lashes didn’t need
artificial help.
    They went on to play several games of
chess. Stephany had never played before so she taught her, Tanya won the first
round. Once the female vamp got the hang of it, Tanya lost the remaining games.
At four games to one, Tanya called it quits.
    Lunch was salad and turkey sandwiches with
plenty of juice to wash it all down. She shouldn’t be hungry after such a big
breakfast but she still managed to eat a good deal of food. Card games next,
Stephany beat her hands down at poker, but Tanya was the clear winner at black
jack.
    Stephany kept reassuring her that Brant
would be back soon, but there was no sign of him or his closest royal guard.
    Dinner was the most delicious pot roast
Tanya had ever had the pleasure of tasting. It was served with crisp
vegetables. Stephany enjoyed the meal with her, reminding her that vampires