Rogue Darkness by Dianne Duvall

After surviving a vampire attack as a freshman in college, Krysta spent several years becoming the only mortal in history to hunt and slay vampires and live to tell the tale. That last part had largely been due to Sean, who had studied medicine at Duke University while he did his damnedest to keep her alive. Since her vampire-hunting treks had limited the hours they could work to pay the bills…

Yeah. They’d had some lean times.

Yet that hadn’t bothered him nearly as much as having to sit on the sidelines night after night while she risked her life to protect those of future vampire victims. He had wanted to join her on the hunts. Unfortunately, Krysta had an edge over her opponents that he lacked. And Sean had barely survived the one night he’d hunted with her.

Both he and his sister had been born gifted ones. Krysta could see auras, something she had often bemoaned as useless until she’d realized that vampires’ auras moved before they did, which provided her with enough warning of their swift actions to kick their asses. Sean had been born with the ability to heal others with a touch. So before his transformation, his only contributions to reducing the vampire population had been driving Krysta to her hunts, studying in the car while she kicked ass, and using his hands to heal any wounds she incurred.

Not anymore. Now he hunted psychotic vampires and kicked ass.

He also ate as many delicious meals as he wanted to because traveling and fighting at preternatural speeds burned a considerable amount of calories. And vampire hunting as an Immortal Guardian paid very well. It also came with a lovely house in the country and his choice of Seconds—or human guards—who… well… guarded him during the day, took care of business he couldn’t during daylight hours because of his new photosensitivity, and rushed to his rescue if he needed backup during battle.

Seconds were pretty much today’s version of Renfield.

Seated across the table from him, Sean’s Second continued to study him with an expression he couldn’t read. Chris Reordon, the head of the East Coast division of the human network that aided Immortal Guardians, had given Sean his choice of three network employees who were ready and eager to serve as a Second. Nicole had topped the list.

That had surprised Sean. Not because he didn’t think women could perform the job. Krysta had kicked ass and taken names for six years before she became immortal. But every male Immortal Guardian Sean had met had a male Second.

“Nicole is the best of the lot,” Chris had told him, “but I’m having a hard time placing her.”

“Why?” Sean had asked curiously. Did she have an attitude problem or something?

“There are very few Immortal Guardian women,” Chris explained. “Vampires tend to be particularly brutal with female victims, so women rarely live long enough to complete the transformation.”

“That’s messed up.”

“Yes, it is. And most Immortal Guardians were born hundreds or thousands of years ago, when men considered women the weaker sex in need of protecting.”

“I’m sure Krysta, Lisette, and the other Immortal Guardian women would be happy to disabuse them of that notion.”

Chris had laughed. “They already have, but old habits are hard to break. So I have a difficult time finding immortal males who don’t resist the idea of a woman possibly sacrificing her life to protect them.”

That had given Sean pause. “Does that happen often? Seconds dying while trying to protect their immortals?”

“Not as often as it used to. But it’s always a possibility.” He’d pointed to Nicole’s profile. “Since you served as a Second of sorts for your sister before she transformed, and you’re a healer, I thought you might be more amenable to the idea.”

Honestly, Sean found the idea of Nicole sacrificing her life to protect him as unpleasant as the others. But he would’ve felt the same about any man dying to save him, too. So he’d chosen the best of the best.

It had been a little weird at first. Sean had moved into this house as soon as the network offered it to him, happy to escape Krysta and Étienne’s home (as well as their constant flirtation). Nicole had arrived the next day and had resided with him ever since.

Sean hadn’t lived in a dorm while in college. Since he and Krysta had rented a small house together, he had never had that move-in-with-a-complete-stranger experience. Fortunately, Nicole’s personality resembled Krysta’s, so they had gotten along from the beginning.

Could she be stubborn as a mule sometimes?

Yes.

Did he question her taste in music?

Often and loudly.

Did he like that she charged headlong into danger the way his sister did?

No, though he admired her courage.

Was he okay with the fact that she had already come damned close to dying at least once while serving as his Second?

Hell no.

But she was incredibly efficient at her job… and good company.

“So, what’s up?” Nicole asked before she stuffed another forkful into her mouth. That her appetite rivaled his own never ceased to delight him. He’d had too many dates with women who picked at their food because others had made them feel self-conscious either about their weight or about eating what some might consider an indelicate amount in public.

Both were utter bullshit.

Nicole, however, ate as much as he did. She had to. She needed the extra carbs to fuel her training sessions with Darnell and the other Seconds. And him. It had taken Sean a long time to feel comfortable sparring with her. Because he hadn’t been immortal long enough to know how much speed or force he could safely use without hurting her, he had panicked every time he’d knocked her down until she started to knock him on his ass.