by HELEN HARDT
“I know.” Oh, how I knew. Each thump rang in my ears like the sweet strum of a harp. The sweetest sound ever.
I wasn’t hungry, not for blood, at least.
Erin’s black hoodie obscured her gorgeous breasts and belly, but her luscious legs were shapely in the black leggings and short boots. A backpack was strapped to her, and I relieved her of it.
She let it go. “It’s heavier than it looks. We had to bring a few days’ supply of food and water because we didn’t know what we’d find when we got here. River brought a bota bag filled with blood.”
“There’s no shortage of water here. Or of blood.”
“I know. Now. What about food?”
“She has to feed the people here. There’s got to be food somewhere.”
“What did they feed you when you were”—she hesitated, gulping—“here?”
I closed my eyes. The food had been good, actually, from what I could remember. I’d tried starving myself, but they’d forced me to eat. “A lot of red meat. Green leafy vegetables.”
“Good sources of iron,” she said.
I nodded. We both knew what that meant. Iron kept my blood in tip-top shape—for her to drink against my will.
Why had she taken my blood? Forced me to take hers? Vampires weren’t supposed to drink from each other. That’s what we’d always been taught, but why?
“Do you have the book?” I asked.
“Crap. No, I don’t. Jay still has it. He put it back in his pack after he waved it in my face.”
“Too bad. I have so many questions.”
“Yeah, me too, but the book won’t open unless we need it to.” She sighed. “It’s proven that.”
“Yeah. I know.” I cupped her cheek, her skin like silk beneath my fingertips. “But at least it brought me to you.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in my life. I’m shivering.”
I drew her into my arms. “You don’t need to be scared when I’m here.”
“But you—”
“Shh.” I placed my fingers over her lips. “It won’t happen again. I won’t let it.”
“But—”
“I promise, Erin. I’m here now. I’ve seen her, interacted with her. She has no more power over me. Have faith.”
Faith. That word I’d heard so often since I’d returned and had been so loath to use. Now I was asking the woman I loved more than my own life to have faith that I wouldn’t succumb to the darkness again. That I wouldn’t succumb to her again.
“She’s a monster, Dante.” Erin shook her head. “I don’t understand how a physician could be so cruel. She’s supposed to be a healer.”
“If what my father says is true, she may feel there is a method to her cruelty. She may believe she’s serving a higher purpose.”
“Breeding vampires,” she said.
“Exactly. Though I have no idea how her holding me captive and torturing me, forcing me to drink her blood, serves that purpose.”
“Maybe it doesn’t,” Erin said. “Maybe there is no higher purpose. Maybe she’s just cruel. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.”
“Freud?”
“Yeah. It’s attributed to him, anyway. Psychology was required in nursing school, obviously.”
“I’m surprised Bea didn’t quote Freud.” I smiled.
Erin didn’t return my smile. “‘Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.’”
“Say what?”
“Oh, sorry. It’s another quote from Freud. It popped into my head and seems apt to the dreams I’ve been having and the dream my mother had. Crazy, yes, but so profound. It’s like your dad said. Dreams can be regressions or premonitions. I’ve experienced the latter.” She fidgeted restlessly. “I wish we could at least sit down in here. It’s so cramped. And we shouldn’t even be whispering, should we?”
“Probably not.”
“I’m just so frightened, Dante. It helps to hear your voice, even if it is just a whisper.”
I swept a stray hair out of her eyes. “I know. But you don’t need to be scared. I’ll do anything to protect you.”
She cupped both my cheeks. “Please, Dante, make the fear go away. Kiss me. Help me remember who you truly are.”
I brought my mouth to hers softly at first, but within seconds we were kissing ferociously, our tongues sucking and swirling.
For a split second, I perked my ears and listened.
No more footsteps. The thugs were either standing silently nearby, or they’d gone the other way. I should be worried about River and Jay.
Should stop kissing Erin and make sure they were okay.
But I didn’t stop kissing Erin.
I needed this, and from her response, she clearly needed it as well. We were ultimately here for each other, and neither of us could ever forget that.
I’d scared her—made her think, if only for a moment, that I’d forgotten her.
I knew better.
Erin was always in my mind.
Erin was what brought me back.
I deepened the kiss, forcing myself not to groan into her mouth. Our silence was crucial, and I vowed to stay quiet even as my cock hardened into marble inside my jeans. I ground it into her belly, searching for release.
Erin, too, stayed quiet. No moaning into my mouth as she usually did. Though I missed the sound and the vibration, kissing silently was oddly arousing. With no sound and our eyesight hampered by the darkness of the closet, my other senses were heightened. Her mouth tasted fresh and minty, an intoxicating flavor I hadn’t fully appreciated before. Her lips were soft against mine, their texture as velvety as the skin of a peach. And her nipples—the hard little knobs poked into my chest right through her bra and both of our clothes. Perhaps the latter was my imagination, as the tight little berries appeared in my mind as if she were naked against me.
Didn’t matter. Emotion coiled through me, and my senses worked overtime. I inhaled her musk, that erogenous mélange of her natural dark and heady scent plus her pheromones and the juices her body created just for me. I drew in the scent, let it take over my body and my mind.
My cock hardened further.
I had to have her. Had to take her in this closet where we barely had room to move. I broke the kiss gently to avoid a loud smacking sound.
I put my fingers to my lips, indicating for her to stay quiet, and then I turned her around, letting her lean against a stack of boxes. I longed to undress her slowly, slide my lips over her rosy body warm with her blood flow, suck her turgid nipples, and finger her puckered asshole.
Not this time, and probably not until we freed the prisoners and escaped this wretched place. Right now, I’d fuck her. Fuck her hard. Fuck her quietly.
Show her she was still mine and I was still hers, no matter what our circumstances and no matter where we were or why.
I eased her leggings and panties over her hips and thighs. I inhaled again. Her ripeness filled the small enclosure and made my already concrete dick expand thicker.
I slid my hand between her thighs and fingered her slick folds. She shivered but remained silent. Good girl.
So wet, so ready. I slowly shoved two fingers into her heat. She pushed backward against my hand, undulating her hips.
I imagined the sounds she was holding back—the sweet sighs, the low moans, the whisper of my name from her lips.
Yes, those things were inside her, and she was using her strength of will to keep them from coming out.
I, too, wanted to groan at the feel of her milky pussy tight around my fingers, at my cock straining to be free from its confinement.
I could wait no longer. I removed my fingers, hearing in my mind the whimper that would have come from Erin’s lips. I freed my aching cock and plunged it inside her sweet tightness.
With the last shred of my control, I suppressed my groan. I pumped in and out of her slowly, silently, inhaling and letting her musky scent envelop every part of me. Each ridge of her pussy gloved my cock. The urge to go faster, t
o thrust violently, swelled within me, but I couldn’t, because it would make a smacking sound. Slowly was the way for now, slowly and sweetly and silently.
She matched my movements, our rhythm like a chorus of silent angels whose music was composed of scents and emotion instead of sound.
And then…
And then…
She clasped around me tighter, pulsing in orgasm.
That was all I needed. I thrust into her, exploding, opening my mouth in a silent roar as I released inside her. Inside Erin.
We stood for a timeless moment, each breathing deeply, trying not to pant loudly. After a few minutes, I withdrew and reached for the red bandana in my pocket to clean us—
It was gone.
Chapter Seventeen
Erin
As I came down from the mountain high of my climax, I resisted the urge to say Dante’s name. It lay on my lips like a smidge of cake frosting, sweet yet dangerous.
“I’m sorry I don’t have anything to…you know,” Dante whispered. “I had a handkerchief, but it seems to be gone.”
“The red bandana?”
He nodded.
“It’s in my pack. We found it on our way here. It helped lead us to you.” As quietly as I could, I unzipped my pack and rooted around for the bandana. I quickly wiped myself clean and then handed it to him.
“I don’t know why I grabbed this,” he whispered. “Just seemed like I might need it.”
“Fate,” I said quietly, smiling.
We both adjusted our clothing until we were again fully dressed. There was so much more I wanted to say to Dante in this moment. I wanted to tell him how much this quiet interlude had meant to me, how much I loved and trusted him never to forget me again. How all of this had been worth it to me because it had led me to him.
But that grand poetic gesture would wait until we could speak freely without whispering.
“Do you think it’s safe to get out of here?”
Dante pulled his cell phone out of his pocket. “Nothing from River.”
“Is there even service down here?”
“Believe it or not, there is. I have no idea how. You guys brought your phones, right?”
“Of course. They’re all on silent.” I poked into my pack again and pulled out my own phone. “Nothing. I don’t have service.”
“Hmm. That’s strange.”
“That might mean River and Jay don’t have service either. If they don’t, they can’t get in touch with us.”
“But why would I—” He shook his head. “She did this. She must have.”
“How can she make sure one cell phone has service and others don’t?” I whispered, more harshly than I’d intended.
“I don’t know how she does half the shit she does.” He shook his head. “I can’t talk about this right now. It will make me angry, and then I won’t be able to control my voice. Or the rest of me, for that matter.”
I nodded, entwining my fingers through his. “It’s okay. Relax.”
He stood stiffly and didn’t respond, and I realized how ridiculous my command had been. He wasn’t capable of relaxing any more than I was, even after an amazing orgasm.
We wouldn’t truly relax until we had found the women and Dante’s uncle and gotten them out of here.
“I’m going to check the door,” Dante said.
I gasped quietly. Or at least I tried to.
“There’s no other way,” he said. “We can’t stay in here forever.” He turned the knob slowly.
A stream of harsh fluorescent light hurt my eyes. I squinted.
“I don’t see anyone,” Dante whispered.
“Should we go?”
He nodded, extending his arm. I gripped his hand and followed him out into the hallway.
“We have to find River and Jay,” Dante said.
“Your dad told them to go down that other hallway. Do you think they’re still there?”
“Probably. There’s no way to know, if their phones aren’t working.” He checked his phone again. “Nothing.”
Then he cocked his head to the right. “Did you hear that?” he whispered.
I shook my head.
“Shit!” He pushed me back into the closet. “Stay here until I come for you.” He closed the door quietly.
My heart thundered and my bowels churned. Not a good time. I had no idea where the bathrooms were around this place, and there certainly wasn’t one in this tiny closet.
Dante, please! Don’t leave me here!
I shouted the words in my mind.
Seconds passed. Then minutes. I strained, my ear against the door, trying to hear something, anything.
Nothing.
Sheer silence met my ear. I didn’t even hear Dante walking away. Away from me.
No, Erin. Don’t. Do not cry.
I gulped back the threatening tears. Dante would never put me in danger, so if he told me to stay put, I would stay put. I had food and water in my pack. I would be okay.
But I didn’t want to be okay. I wanted Dante. I wanted to find Lucy. I wanted to find Patty Doyle and her baby who had been crying in my dream.
I’d heard a baby crying when we were underground, searching for this place. I’d also heard a woman scream. But this underground hospital was most certainly soundproof, so where had those cries come from?
I shook my head. Dr. Bonneville. It was all a trap, wasn’t it? Oxygen was being piped in. Was sound? Had she piped the sound of a baby crying through that dark tunnel? She was staying one step ahead of us.
The minute hand moved slowly around the face of my watch, my eyes having once again adjusted to the darkness in the small closet. Minutes turned into an hour.
Something knocked against the door. I shrank farther into the shadows, though there wasn’t anywhere I could really hide. For a moment, I was frozen in terror. Then two soft raps followed the first.
An enemy wouldn’t knock.
“Erin, are you in there?”
Jay. My brother. Thank God! I opened the door and threw myself into his arms.
“Easy. I’ve got you.” He kissed the top of my head.
“Where’s Dante?” The voice came from River, who was standing behind Jay.
“He left an hour ago. He acted like he’d heard something, but I didn’t hear anything. He told me to stay here until he came back for me. But he didn’t come back.” I gulped back a sob.
“Man.” River shook his head. “I hope he didn’t go after those thugs.”
“They ended up at the pharmacy, like Julian said,” Jay said. “But we couldn’t hear anything.”
“You couldn’t hear them?” I said to River.
“Just small talk. I heard three distinct voices, but they didn’t say anything important.”
“Three of them. Did one of them have a beard?”
“We didn’t see them. We didn’t dare move out of the supply closet.”
“We waited awhile,” Jay said, “and when we didn’t hear from you guys, we decided to leave. Has Dante’s dad been back here?”
I shook my head. “And I don’t want him here. I want him with Dante. God, where is he?”
My thoughts raced to the worst-case scenario. Dr. Bonneville had come back into the hospital, had found him, and had taken him captive again. Somewhere he was tied up and being tortured at this very moment.
“No,” I said.
“No, what?” River asked.
“I’m just scared. I’m scared Bonneville got to Dante. He said he’d come back for me. He would have, unless something kept him from it.”
River sighed, his lips a flat line.
He knew I was right.
“Look,” Jay said, “I know you both love Dante, but whether he’s here or not, we have a mission to accomplish. First, find Lucy. Or figure out how to scare her into shifting so she can find us. Then find the other women.”
River nodded. “He’s right. Dante will take care of himself.”
“But—”
“You
know I’m right, Sis.”
Yes, I knew he was right. The women had to be our priority. But I wasn’t sure River was right. Could Dante take care of himself? He’d been held captive somewhere near here for ten years. This place did something to him. I didn’t want him to be alone, not when I could be with him, could help him when the darkness threatened him.
River sniffed. “I’m getting something.”
“I thought you said vampires didn’t have any scent,” Jay said.
“They don’t. But human blood does. That’s what I’m smelling. Blood from a blonde, actually. Probably a female.”
Jay’s brows nearly shot off his forehead. “Lucy?”
River opened his eyes. “No, not Lucy. Doesn’t matter. I was smelling it the whole time you and I were hiding because we were so close to the blood bank, and I thought it was just the memory of that scent, but now I don’t think so. It’s strong here. Someone has been here, someone with human blood.”
“Maybe one of the other women?” I asked. “Except none of them had blond hair. Of course she could be holding other women we don’t know about.”
River shook his head. “I don’t think so. It’s not pungent enough. More likely it was the thugs carrying units of blood from the bank.”
“Blood that came from a blond woman?” Jay said.
“Yeah. Maybe. Doesn’t matter. It’s definitely blood, and it definitely went down this hallway.” He pointed. “That way.”
“Then we should go the other way,” I said. “Right?”
“No, Sis,” Jay said. “If they’re carrying blood, they’re probably going toward the women.”
“Exactly.” River nodded. “Let’s roll.”
Chapter Eighteen
Dante
I followed Decker and two others stealthily, until they came to a stainless-steel door on the other side of the hospital.
I recognized that door, though the memory had only recently surfaced.
I’d been through it before, more than once.
This was the doorway to true hell.
“She wants the blood for the wolf,” Decker said. “I guess she got fucked up pretty bad and needs a transfusion.”