Mass Market Monday: Born to Bite by Lynsay Sands

Born to Bite: An Argeneau Novel 

by Lynsay Sands

9780061474323, $7.99, Avon Books (HarperCollins)

Armand Argeneau is a vampire-turned-farmer in the boonies of Canada. This isn't so odd when you consider he's tried to cut himself off from most of the world. The women in his life, most particularly his three wives, have all met with strange accidents over the years - accidents that left them dead. Armand hasn't shared his suspicions with anyone, but he suspects foul play. In order to keep his daughter and other various female relatives safe, he has retreated to a mostly solitary life, with the occasional visit from his brother and his second.

When his brother, Lucian, does visit, he tells Armand that he needs to have Armand hide someone away for a little while. Eshe d'Aureus is one of Lucian's best enforcers, but has caught the attention of some fiends and needs a place to lay low. Armand reluctantly agrees, but it's when he gets a glimpse of the 6-foot tall, gorgeous Egyptian woman with the golden eyes that he perks up about the arrangement. Unfortunately he doesn't know the real reason Eshe is there. Other people have become suspicious of Armand's wives' deaths, too, and as someone who brings rogue vampires to justice, Eshe is there to figure out if Armand is really the killer.

It's when they're both almost burned to a crisp that they realize neither one is the enemy, and they need to find out who really is. Of course, though, they've just realized they're each others' second life mates and so their attention is a little distracted as they tear each others' clothes off, gain new traits like the need to eat real food, and lose control of some pretty important powers like the ability to not broadcast their thoughts to every mind reader in the vicinity. Luckily, or perhaps unluckily for two people who want to be naked and alone for most of the time, Lucian was smart enough to send in backup.

My favorite part: Eshe is a leather-wearing, motorcycle-riding hellion. Gotta love a chick who makes an entrance.