My Soul To Keep

My Soul To Keep
Rachel Vincent

KAYLEE HAS ONE ADDICTION:HER BOYFRIEND NASH Like Kaylee, Nash is a banshee. So he understands her like no one else. Nothing – supernatural or otherwise – can come between them. That is, until something does. Demon breath – a potent paranormal drug with the power to kill. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. Kaylee and Nash need to cut off the source and protect their human friends – one of whom is already hooked.But Kaylee’s plans are soon derailed when she uncovers another secret demon breath addict in their midst. Nash. Now she’s ready to kick some serious Netherworld butt – but is it too late to save the boy who’s stolen her heart?‘Vincent is a welcome addition to the genre’ Kelley Armstrong SOUL SCREAMERS The last thing you hear before you die

My Soul to Keep

RACHEL VINCENT

www.miraink.co.uk (http://www.miraink.co.uk)

Praise for the novels of New York Times bestselling author

RACHEL VINCENT

“Twilight fans will love it.”

Kirkus Reviews on My Soul to Take

“A high-octane plot with characters you can really care about. Vincent is a welcome addition to this genre!”

Kelley Armstrong on Stray

“I liked the character and loved the action. I look forward to reading the next book in the series.”

Charlaine Harris on Stray

“Highly recommended for adults and teens alike.”

—Book Bitch

“Fans of those vampires will enjoy this new crop of otherworldly beings.”

—Booklist

“My Soul to Take grabs you from the very beginning.” —Sci-Fi Guy

“Wonderfully written characters … A fast-paced, engrossing read that you won’t want to put down.

A story that I wouldn’t mind sharing with my pre-teen. A book like this is one of the reasons that I add authors to my auto-buy list. This is definitely a keeper.”

—TeensReadToo.com

Also available fromRachel Vincent

Published by

Soul Screamers

MY SOUL TO TAKE

MY SOUL TO SAVE

Coming soon …

MY SOUL TO STEAL

Visit www.miraink.co.uk

To Amy, Michelle and Josh. My memories of you from high school make the nonfantasy elements of Kaylee’s life feel so real to me …

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks most of all to No.1, who takes over so many real-life duties so I can live and work in my own little world.

Thanks to Rinda Elliott, for one honest opinion after another, to the Deadline Dames, for camaraderie, and to Jocelynn Drake and Kim Haynes, for friendships I grow more grateful for every year.

Thanks, as always, to my agent, Miriam Kriss, for making things happen.

And thank you to my editor, Mary-Theresa Hussey, and to Elizabeth Mazer and everyone else behind the scenes. Without your patience and enthusiasm, this book would never have made it on to the shelf.

1

THE WHOLE THING STARTED with a wasted jock and a totaled car. Or so I thought. But as usual, the truth was a bit more complicated… .

“So, HOW DOES IT FEEL to be free again?” Nash leaned against my car, flashing that smile I couldn’t resist. The one that made his dimples stand out and his eyes shine, and made me melt like chocolate in the sun, in spite of the mid-December chill.

I sucked in a deep, cold breath. “Like I’m seeing the sun for the first time in a month.” I pushed my car door closed and twisted the key in the lock. I didn’t like parking on the street; it didn’t seem like a very safe place to leave my most valuable possession. Not that my car was expensive, or anything. It was more than a decade old, and hardly anything to oooh over. But it was mine, and it was paid for, and unlike some of my more financially fortunate classmates, I’d never be able to afford another one, should some idiot veer too close to the curb.

But Scott Carter’s driveway was full long before we’d arrived, and the street was lined with cars, most much nicer than mine. Of course, they all probably had more than liability coverage… .

Fortunately, the party was in a very good section of our little Dallas suburb, where the lawn manicures cost more than my father made in six months.

“Relax, Kaylee.” Nash pulled me close as we walked. “You look like you’d rather gouge your own eyes out than hang for a couple of hours with some friends.”

“They’re your friends, not mine,” I insisted as we passed the third convertible on our way to the well-lit house at the end of the cul-de-sac, already thumping with some bass-heavy song I couldn’t yet identify.

“They’d be yours if you’d get to know them.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “Yeah, I’m sure the glitter-and-gloss throng is waiting for me to give them a chance.”

Nash shrugged. “They know all they need to know about you—you’re smart, pretty, and crazy in love with me,” he teased, squeezing me tighter.

I laughed. “Who started that vicious rumor?” I’d never said it, because as addictive as Nash was—as special as he made me feel—I wasn’t going to toss off words like love and forever until I was sure. Until I was sure he was sure. Forever can be a very long time for bean sidhes, and so far his track record looked more like the fifty-yard dash than the Boston marathon. I’d been burned before by guys without much staying power.

When I looked up, I found Nash watching me, his hazel eyes swirling with streaks of green and brown in the orange glow from the streetlights. I almost felt sorry for all the humans who wouldn’t be able to see that—to read emotion in another’s eyes.

That was a bean sidhe thing, and easily my favorite part of my recently discovered heritage.

“All I’m saying is it would be nice to get to hang out with my friends and my girlfriend at the same time.”