Her gasp echoed through the wind. Two bright spans of light shot out of her
back, blinding him. Not even his lids could block out the searing glare. He covered
his face with his forearm and took several involuntary steps back. Desperate for
the warmth of her, he reached out to have his hand taken by her soft touch.
“Who are you?” she whispered.
“Demetri,” he replied softly, shivering from the sudden chill that surrounded
him. Or was it desire?
“Demetri?” she sobbed. “I don"t—what is this? Is this for real? Where are
we?” Her angelic voice was filled with confusion and sadness.
“I don"t know, darling. You brought me here.”
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Drawn forward, he curled his fingers around her delicate hand. The softness
of her skin faded in and out beneath his touch. He groaned. Her astral being was
hazy, driving him mad. He attempted to open his eyes to gain a glimpse of her
beauty, but the light burned his irises at the thought.
“I brought you here? What do you mean? What"s happening to me? Wha—
can you help me?”
“I can try.”
“Are you real? I can"t really see you.” Her fingers caressed his face. “You—
you"re covered by shadows. I can only feel you. Is this really happening?”
“For the sake of my sanity, I surely hope so.”
He drew her closer. As his hands searched blindly for her physical form, her
touch moved up his chest, over his shoulders, and around to the nape of his neck.
A riveting stimulus shot down his spine and weakened his knees. Heat encased
him like a cocoon. Taken aback by the sudden warmth covering him, he curiously
reached out to feel…feathers?
Baffled, he attempted to step back, but her delicate hands cradled his face
and locked him in place. Perplexity washed away with the rain when her soft lips
kissed his.
“Demetri, I don"t know who you are, and I don"t know what this is…maybe a
dream. Whateva it is, I feel like I―I need you,” she whispered against him.
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“And I need you,” he breathed out, taking her mouth with passion.
The anxious flutter of her feathered extensions washed a divine zephyr over
him. The gates of heaven had been left open.
Her lips parted, inviting him in for a taste. He eagerly accepted, then
bristled when something sharp pricked his tongue. A fang, but not his own.
Could it be?!
Just as the question entered his thoughts, the encasing separated, softness
left him, and the blinding light faded.
“Oh, I think somebody"s calling me.”
He reached for her in urgency only to grab the air. “Wait, sweetheart, don"t
go…!”
“If you are real, like I hope you are, please come to me, okay,” her distant
whisper called out. “I feel like I"ll die without you.”
He opened his eyes to his underground dim-lit chambers, lying in the
comfort of his silk sheets. Angry, he shot up and pressed his hand to his chest. The
heartbeat she"d given him was no more. Dazed and confused, he fell back, unable
to grasp the vision that brought him to life for a still moment in time.
Fatigue overcame him, indicating the rise of the morning star. The taste of
his own blood lingered in his mouth and brought a smile to his face. This was
torture indeed.
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With the unseen angel stroking his mind, he surrendered to the arms of
slumber.
“Heaven has no bounds,” he slurred into the darkness.
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Chapter Three
The Prophecy
Miami, Florida
Indigo"s Massage Spa
Demetri leaned against the doorframe, arms folded, smiling to himself as he
watched Lady Indigo and her lover engage in the thralls of feverish lust. Indigo"s
fingers slid in and out of the petite woman"s wet sex. She writhed and bucked
against the hand that brought her so much pleasure.
The scent of their arousal seeped into his senses, nearly drawing out his
fangs. He repressed his hunger, and roamed his eyes over the enticing red gown
that clung to Indigo"s beautiful curves. She knew he was coming.
Long, amber locks rested along the length of her back, almost touching the
curve of her rear end. The fragrance of cocoa butter on her smooth tawny skin, and
the hint of jasmine on her neck intermingled with the scent of sex, stimulated his
very being.
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Indigo pushed her lover"s leg back to her chest, consequently bestowing an
unobstructed view of the woman"s wetness. Demetri slanted his head and eyed the
hardened clit, standing out proudly between her open folds. Indigo bent over and
teased her bud with the tip of her tongue.
The moaning beauty thrashed her head back and forth, begging Indigo to
deepen the kiss. Anxious to meet her request, Indigo wrapped her lips around her
protruding pearl until the girl"s body shivered uncontrollably, then she lowered
and slithered her tongue into her dripping well, slurping at her sweetness.
Demetri"s incisors lowered and his cock grew to its full length. It took
everything he had not to abandon his position by the door and join them in bed.
Her lover"s body snaked and jerked against Indigo"s mouth as she
whimpered for release. Suddenly, she stuttered, her hips rose, she cried out then
went limp. Indigo continued to lick and suck her, devouring the juices seeping out
of her core.
He smiled and licked his lips. He could almost taste the essence of her sweet
cream on his tongue.
Steadying his aroused disposition, he closed his eyes and retracted his
incisors. Once composed, he applauded the performance. “Well ladies, that was
certainly worth the trip over here. Brava.”
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The young woman yelped and shot up on the bed, her hair spread wildly
over her shoulders.
Drawing back, Indigo wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Demetri,” she gasped.
“Oh, don"t act so surprised, lover,” he crooned, studying her startled face
with sheer amusement. “You knew I was coming.”
Pushing off the doorframe, he straightened his suit then ambled toward her.
He approached at slow pace, deliberately taking his time to torture her with his
mystical allure.
“Please Demetri, let me just go and right myself—”
He flashed before her and she stumbled backwards. He reached out and
grabbed the sides of her face, drawing out a frightened gasp. “No need.” Eyeing her
throbbing vein, he trailed the tips of his fingers along the elegant length of her
neck. “I don"t mind smelling her on your lips.” He glanced over at the girl, who was
now in the corner of the room, clutching at her night gown with trembling hands.
“Or tasting her,” he finished on a whisper.
The smell of fear, combined with the scent of her sex, made him ache to bite
Indigo"s neck, but he had to resist. A chemical substance flowed through her blood
stream tonight; something he"d be sure to address later.
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He pulled Indigo"s face closer to his and dragged his tongue across her
quivering lips. The flavor of her lover"s sweetness tapped his taste buds.
Whimpering,
Indigo closed her eyes and trembled against him.
“Meet me in the parlor. We have much to discuss.”
Leaving a whisper of his powerful aura lingering in the room, Demetri
vanished. She placed her shivering hand over her chest and pushed out a slow
calming breath.
“By the Gods, I love it when he does that.”
Once she had control of her jittery limbs, Indigo turned to the mirror and
righted herself by applying some lip gloss and smoothing her hands over her gown.
She glanced at her frightened lover, who sat on the floor, tucked into a tight ball.
“Amaya?” Indigo held her hand out and motioned for her to come to her.
Amaya slowly stood. “Is he mad at me?” she asked, easing over to Indigo
with caution, darting her eyes at the door.
Indigo rubbed her hand over Amaya"s unraveled hair and raked her fingers
through it, loosening it more. “No baby. If he was mad at you, you"d surely know.”
She placed a light kiss to her forehead. “Now go fix him a glass of wine. I"ll be out
momentarily.”
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Demetri watched the nervous woman walk into the room, holding a bottle
of wine and two wine glasses.
Shaky hands set the glasses on the low oval cocktail table. As she shot coy
glances his way, she poured the wine, spilling a few drops of the deep red liquid on
the table.
“There is no need to fear me girl. I have no intentions of harming you.”
Openly startled by the sound of his voice in her mind, she gasped.
Swallowing hard, she sat the wine bottle down and turned to him.
He sat perfectly still, allowing her eyes to drink up his appearance. After a
moment of silently staring at him, she thrust out her wrist. He held her gaze a
second more before lowering his eyes down to her pulsating vein. The hot rush of
her blood called out to him in a sweet rhythm that was nearly irresistible.
Demetri brought his eyes back up to her sweet, timorous face. Her chest
rose and fell at a rapid pace, quickening the rhythm of the crimson goodness
pumping through her blood vessels; just the way he liked it.
“You have the fever for my bite , do you?”
She shuddered and stepped closer to him, holding her wrist out further. Her
eyes urged him to take what his black heart desired.
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Curiosity drove him into her mental domain, and to his surprise, right at the
forefront of her pretty little head was an overwhelming desire for him. He saw
through her eyes, the numerous times he"d made love to Indigo, taking her body,
ravishing her, feeding from her, and nearly claiming her life in the thralls of ecstasy.
This woman longed to feel that same pleasure, to feel his incisors puncture
her delicate skin, to feel his touch, to feel his length deep inside of her, to share a
bed with him and Indigo together.
“Truly?” The corner of his lips curved into a smirk. “This is but a small
request I"d be more than happy to fulfill.”
He reached out and wrapped his hand around her arm. There was a sharp
intake of air. Her eyes widened, but she didn"t try to pull away. He gave her a
gentle tug and she tumbled into his arms.
Within his embrace, she trembled with utter desire. Small whimpers seeped
from her lips as her mind begged him to take her, and take her hard. She tilted her
head, exposing her long neck.
“Please,” she whispered.
Demetri pressed his cheek to hers, inhaled the scent of her and grazed his
fingers down the vein that throbbed beneath her soft skin. She slipped her shaky
fingers into his hair and cupped the back of his head. He moved his lips closer and
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closer to the spot. Tremors ran down her body in waves. Anticipation consumed
her.
His fangs slid into her flesh and her breathing went ragged.
Indigo"s quickened foot falls and rapid heartbeat raised his senses as he
siphoned slowly from the petite beauty bundled in his arms.
The parlor door flew open and Indigo screamed, “Demetri nooo!”
He carefully withdrew his incisors from the girl"s fragile skin and looked up
at the distressed priestess. She slapped her hands over her mouth to muffle her
painful cry. A fountain of tears spilled from her eyes.
Smirking, he caressed the girl"s temple and her head popped up.
Frazzled, she pushed out of his arms and stumbled to her feet. “Oh sorry,
Mistress—”
Indigo"s open palm struck the side of her face. She tumbled to the floor and
covered her reddened cheek.
“What in the hell were you thinking, Amaya!”
She sniffed back tears and slowly stood. “Mistress, please. I"m sorry,” she
cried.
Indigo turned away from her hurt-filled expression and shook her head.
“Just go clean yourself up and go to bed.”
Soft sobs filled the room as the priestess"s pained lover scurried away.
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Indigo direct her attention to him. “What the—?”
“Are you going to scold me now, Lady Indigo?” he asked dryly, brushing lint
from his jacket.
“Scold you? You are an asshole, Demetri!” She leveled her finger at him. “I
told you my girls were off limits!”
He ran the tip of his tongue over his lips to swipe traces of the girl"s essence.
“Then perhaps you shouldn"t have them in my presence.”
Indigo balled her hands into fists, but kept them at her side. “Demetri, you
know she couldn"t help herself! You could"ve turned her down!”
He closed his eyes and absorbed the scent of her rising ire. It amused him
really. The calmer he remained, the angrier she became. “Indigo, you are aware I
wasn"t going to kill the girl. This is a senseless argument. Please sit down.”
“What! You"re a fucking Xsonri all you do is kill!”
“Lower your voice and have a seat,” he ordered, motioning toward the warn
leather chair across from him.
“Fuck! You!” she shouted, rage blazing from her deep brown eyes.
Demetri squinted, tilted his head and by will squeezed her windpipe.
Huffing for air, she clawed at her neck, attempting to pull away the invisible force
that choked her.
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Poised and unmoved, he dragged her across the room until they were face to
face. “I don"t know if the substance you"re injecting into your bloodstream has
gone to your brain, but it"d be wise of you to remember who you are dealing with.”
“I"m sorry, baby. I"m so sorry. Please let me go.”
With the casual flip of his hand, he released her and she fell to the floor,
coughing and heaving. She clasped her hands around her neck and gathered the
wind back into her lungs with gasping breaths.
A tinge of guilt tapped at his wicked nature. He hated to do that to her, but
she was delirious with emotion and he had to bring her down the only way he
knew how, with raw force.
He offered his hand to her. She glanced at it then gazed up at him with
sorrowful eyes. Flashing a half smile, he wiggled his fingers to extend his offer. She
smiled wryly, placed her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up from the floor.
She settled next to him, inhaled deeply then reached over and rubbed her
finger along the rim of one of the win
e glasses. The wine instantly mixed with
blood.
The curvy glass lifted from the table and floated to his hand. “Thank you.”
“Welcome,” she uttered bashfully, looking away.
“Look at me.”
She turned to face him with glassy eyes.
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“Why are you using drugs?”
She rubbed her hand across her needle-scarred arm, sniffing back emotion.
“Their screams. I hear their screams when no one else can. Every night, their screams rip my head
apart.” Expressing her anguish, she grabbed a handful of her dreads and yanked on
them. “The visions make it hard for me to breath. I feel their pain, their agony. The demons are
murdering them brutally. Killing them without mercy. Tearing their bodies apart. Feeding on their
flesh.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks. He set his glass down to cradle the sides of
her face. Staring deeply into a set of eyes, which had never shown fear, he wiped
the tears away with the pads of his thumbs.
“Is there a purpose?”
“There is always a purpose, Demetri. Power. These demons want
unimaginable power.”
“I don"t understand how this power can be acquired by killing innocent
girls. It doesn"t make sense, Indigo.”
“They are looking for her, the one that holds this power in her blood. The Dragon Queen.”
Her mental whisper sifted through his mind like a thought.
He dropped his hands from her face and stared at her inquisitively for a long
moment. “The Dragon Queen?”
“Yes, she is here. Her scent is everywhere.”
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“Everywhere? I cannot sense—” He stopped and dropped his sights to the table.
If his heart could thump out of anxiousness to what flitted though his mind, it
would.
“What do you mean you can"t sense her? Even I can sense her and I"m not a damned demon
vampire,” she murmured, wiping at her eyes.
Could it be?
He took in a deep whiff of air. The slight hint of the scent filled his nostrils,
exciting his body with promises of another sweet kiss. Could it be?! Yes, her scent
was everywhere, and her voice was stamped in his mind—his mysterious siren, the
Black Rayne Silent Screams Page 6