Storm lifted a brow. “He’s not supposed to be pawing through our thoughts and tattling like an errant child.”
The elemental shifted inside her. The well of his magic was deep and powerful, and he didn’t like Storm chiding him. “I’m in both your heads, King and Queen. I can speak to you both at the same time, or not. If I think you’re not telling each other something important, then I will inform the other.”
“Right,” Ayla replied with a wry grin. “Because there’s more than two of us in this relationship.”
“Indeed.”
Her life had taken a strange turn.
She wouldn’t trade it for the world.
A Sneak Peek into King of the Flames
She loved the smell of blood in the evening. Not a single scent made her happier, nor did it fill her with quite the excitement, like the metallic aroma on the air.
Lilith took a deep inhale and let it seep out of her lungs. She continued her pace down the sidewalk toward the park nearby. The man following her, the one who she’d met in the bar downtown, followed her at a close pace. He couldn’t keep up, but that was just part of her appeal.
Men were easy. Particularly human men.
All she had to do was waltz up to him with a smile on her face. The bar lights were low. Red bulbs glowed above their head and all she could smell was sweat and desperation rolling off him in waves.
He was already too drunk to recognize that a strange woman walking up to him was odd. Instead, he stared at her leather leggings and barely there corset, grinned, and asked if she wanted someone to go home with tonight.
Obviously she did, just not for the reasons he was hoping.
She’d wooed him with another beer and a red wine for herself. She flipped her waist length red hair whenever he talked. Lilith asked him a few questions she didn’t remember his answers to, then leaned in to touch her lips to his throat. He saw it as a come on. She was just checking his blood type.
“I haven’t gotten laid in three months,” he’d grunted in her ear. “Take me home and I’ll rock your world.”
Somehow, she doubted he was capable of that. But she’d played along until she could “accidently” break her glass and cut his poor, delicate hand. Just one last check. Just to make sure his blood type was the flavor she wanted tonight.
Type A. Of course he was. She leaned back a little and took in the backwards ball cap, the jersey, and the shorts that were a little too long but suitably baggy. Yeah, he was definitely type A. On a lot of counts.
All she had to do after that was crook her finger at him. “Follow me,” she’d whispered.
He trailed after her like a lost duckling.
Was it cruel? Perhaps. He just wanted a night in a woman’s arms to feel like he was someone again. Important. Loved.
But then again, she was starving, and he didn’t know how to recognize a predator when she walked into the bar. If this was a nature documentary, no one would feel bad for the poor little gazelle who walked into a hyena’s den and then laid down to sleep. Right?
Maybe they would. Lilith was always on the side of the predator.
She swayed her hips a little more as she walked, making sure his attention was on her ass and not the direction they were headed. For years she’d been bringing her prey here. Men, women, anyone but a child. Humans were all the same to her.
Her heels clicked on the sidewalk, echoing through the empty streets. What time was it anyway? She glanced down at her watch. Two in the morning, interesting. The man wasn’t getting much luck in that bar.
Probably because he kept telling women he hadn’t slept with anyone in three months. Idiot. At least keep that secret until after the fun happened. Then let the woman know you might have been a little rusty.
Shaking her head, she turned into the park.
“Hey!” He called out behind her. “Aren’t we going to your place?”
They always asked the same questions. Why are we going to the park? Wouldn’t you be more comfortable in a bed? Don’t you know sex outside is illegal?
She adjusted her boobs, pulling them up higher in the corset so they looked a little better, then spun around. Lilith walked backward while crooning, “Where’s your sense of adventure?” Name... name... shit, what was his name?
Something frat boy. Not Trey, not Travis, not Troy... Trevor.
When he didn’t respond, she turned her voice into a lullaby. “Trevor! Come on. There’s a little spot next to this tree. Don’t you want to fuck me against a tree?”
That got his pace back to the same speed. Atta boy, just the promise of something a little more exciting was enough to get his blood going. She could hear it thundering through his veins. Soon she’d sink her teeth into his neck and enjoy the deep draw of that lovely liquid.
But not just yet, because she had to get him somewhere a little safer.
Lilith meandered through the park and marveled at the silver light of the moon. It was beautiful at nighttime. She wouldn’t know what it looked like during the day, none of her kind did. They’d given up the sun for immortality. Sometimes, she wondered if it was worth it.
His steps slowed again the deeper they got into the park. He chuckled, but the sound was finally filled with fear. “Hey lady, you aren’t a murderer right?”
She glanced over her shoulder and flashed him a smile. “What if I was?”
Damn it, he stopped moving again. Trevor paused and hooked a finger over his shoulder. “Then I’d head out. I’m not that drunk.”
Lilith sighed. She had underestimated his intelligence and now she had to try a different tactic. She hated having to convince people to die.
Turning around, she assumed a different persona. Letting her shoulders slump forward and her posture curve in, she shortened her pace, so she looked meek and tired. She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and stopped five feet away from him. “Okay look, truth is, I just got out of a real awful relationship where my ex said I wasn’t adventurous enough. That I wasn’t brave or whatever bullshit he could come up with. I thought if I could meet a stranger in a bar and then have public sex that would prove him wrong. You know? I even put all this on!”
She ran her hands down her sides, stroking the leather, knowing the sound of her skin against it would reach his ears. Let him think her story was true. That she was this little pathetic thing who needed him to save her.
Everyone wanted to be the hero in a story.
Like a charm, he stepped forward and cupped her jaw in his hand. “I’m sorry that happened to you.” Except, the words sounded fake.
She could hear it in his voice. He’d done the same thing to another woman before. He didn’t feel bad for her. He was just happy to find a freak who wanted to do the things he had wanted his ex to do.
Perfect. Now she felt even less guilty about killing him.
She plastered a fake smile on her face, then reached up and took his hand. “Come with me, then. You’re a life saver.”
Technically, it wasn’t a lie. Without his blood, she could die. Sure, she might find another human out there somewhere, but prey was scarce. Humans were a hell of a lot smarter than deer.
He followed her with renewed vigor. Even when she clambered up and over a fallen tree to the underneath of the bridge where most cars passed on their morning commute. She sometimes sat under the bridge and listened to them go by. The soothing sound lulled her in the shadows.
He let out a grunt. “You know homeless people live under that bridge?”
No, they didn’t. Not once they realized people went missing who tried to sleep under that bridge. Vampires liked to snag those who wouldn’t have anyone looking for them.
At least, for the most part. Lilith moved around so much it didn’t matter who she killed. The authorities wouldn’t find her.
“Adventure, remember?” She picked her way down to the concrete path leading underneath the bridge. Damn heels were impossible to walk in when the soil was as wet as this. “Come on, Trevor!”
Did he know most homeless people were the nicest folks she’d ever met? She’d had a lot of fantastic conversations with them before feasting. A few she’d even let go without killing them. How many frat boys had she let go?
None. Not a single one.
“That’s not my idea of a pleasurable time either,” she replied. Just a few more steps, Trevor. Just a couple more and he’d be underneath the bridge where not even a passing car could see him.
He stopped just before the safe zone. Trevor’s eyes were a little too wide and fear radiated off him in waves. He had to stop being afraid, or he’d taste like anxiety, and she hated that flavor. “Look, I just don’t know about this. You said something about a tree? Let’s go back to that.”
Time to break out the big guns. Or well... globes?
Lilith reached behind her and pulled down the zipper of the corset. She let her top fall off her arms slowly, revealing inch by inch of smooth, pale skin. Not a single mark on her. The healing capabilities of vampires smoothed away scars, acne, or birth marks.
She knew how she looked. When a human changed into a vampire, it was like they got plastic surgery. Every inch of their body became fuckable. They were no longer just human or pretty or beautiful. They were a weapon. Designed to seduce and kill rather than to hunt with speed or power.
His jaw dropped open. “Oh wow.”
Trailing her fingers up her flat stomach, she palmed her breasts and lifted their heavy weight. “Trevor, I want you. I need you.”
That moan always worked. One, two, three... By four he was already racing toward her. He scooped her up in his arms, holding her thighs around his hips, and backing them to the wall of the bridge.
Her back hit it with a solid thud. Her breath wheezed from her lungs and any human woman would have bled from the shards of stone chipping at her flesh. Hissing out a low breath, she cupped the back of his neck.
Predictably, he’d dove straight for her breasts. What was it with men? They always went for the same thing. At least the women she’d seduced kissed her first.
He sucked one of her nipples into his mouth way too hard. Was that teeth? Nope, she was done. He didn’t deserve a few minutes in heaven before he finally got what was coming to him.
Lilith tightened her hold on the back of his neck and forced him up to her mouth. “Trevor, at least you got your adventure.”
His eyes were heavy lidded. “What?”
Her fangs dropped over her other teeth. It always felt so good, almost better than sex. They were long and wicked like daggers. She wasted no time forcing his head to the side and sinking her teeth deep into his jugular.
Blood rushed over her tongue. Hot and warm, it was a heady mixture of fear, sex, and panic. Not her favorite cocktail, but it would have to do.
He struggled, pushing and punching at her ribs. He had a good strike, maybe he’d taken a few boxing classes, but her ribs were a hell of a lot stronger than a human. Besides, he’d given her the optimal position for feeding. Legs wrapped around him like a vise, arms holding him locked in place, he couldn’t get her off him without a gun.
And she knew he didn’t have a gun. He wasn’t the type.
Trevor lurched back, arms pinwheeling now. He slammed her against the wall, once, twice, trying to dislodge her. Every strong suck of his blood weakened him, though.
It took about three minutes of pure panic before he stumbled to his knees. She unlocked her legs from his waist and forced him to lay on the ground. Only then did she stop drinking from his artery. She sat next to him on the concrete, crossed legged and finally happy. Sticky blood smeared her face, chin, and chest. She probably looked like his nightmare.
She glanced down at the dying man who was trying to press his hands against his throat.
“Oh no, sweetheart, don’t do that.” She caught his hands and held them against her heart. “Stop. Stop struggling.”
He didn’t. They never accepted death easily.
She clasped his hands in hers, feeling his effort and knowing deep down, she couldn’t understand it. Was death that terrifying? She vaguely remembered being afraid of it once, but now she almost craved it. Every other experience paled compared to the one thing she’d never know.
Footsteps crunched through stones to their left. Trevor reared back, arching so he could look to the person who might be his savior.
The man who emerged from the shadows wore a black suit perfectly fitted to his body. A black silk undershirt parted to reveal smooth planes of muscles. A single lock of black hair fell in front of his forehead. He was handsome. Too perfect.
“You’ve always been such a wasteful feeder,” he snarled.
“We can’t bottle it.” They’d tried before. Raiding blood banks and feasting off the cold fluid only made them sick. Vampires required live prey. Nothing more and nothing less would suit them.
Lazarus knew that. Of all the vampires, he was the one who fed most on humans. Even when he wasn’t hungry.
He stepped to the other side of the boy and knelt down. He gazed into Trevor’s dying eyes. “Did you know she was a viper dressed like a dove? No, of course you didn’t. If you had found one of us instead of her, you might have survived this ordeal. Or at least you wouldn’t have spent your last moments under a bridge.”
He heaved another sigh before picking up Trevor’s wrist. The hypocrite. This wasn’t even his kill.
Lazarus latched onto Trevor’s wrist and began to feed. Lilith wasn’t about to waste any of the blood either. She leaned down and attacked the same wound on the boy’s neck.
It only took another five minutes before he died. The blood wasn’t the same after their heart stopped beating.
She leaned back again and wiped a red hand across her forehead. “That wasn’t fair. You made me drink too fast, I’ll be sick later.”
Lazarus reached into his pocket and pulled out a white handkerchief. He dabbed at the single drop of blood at the corner of his lips. “No, you won’t. We all know a glutton like you wouldn’t throw anything up.”
Probably not, but she was still angry. “What do you want, anyone? I did nothing wrong.”
“I thought you might be interested in a little rumor.” He pocketed the handkerchief. “Apparently a certain faerie king has been keeping blood hidden away in a trophy room. A vampire once tasted a single drop and said it was the most powerful blood he’d ever experienced.”
Interesting, but not her vibe. Lilith didn’t chase rumors. “And?”
“And the Primus has put out the call. Anyone who discovers this blood and returns it to the Brood will be absolved of any and all past transgressions.” He stood, giving her a once over before turning to leave. “You can lie all you want, Lilith. But I’m sure someone like you would take the opportunity to come home.”
Home.
Saints and Devils, she could go home.
About the Author
Elizabeth Frost is the pen name of USAToday Bestselling author Emma Hamm. You’ll find these stories to be steamy paranormal/urban fantasy, whereas the ones under Emma Hamm will be less steamy and more traditional fantasy worlds.
So if you want spice, you want Frost ;)
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