All Souls’ Night: A Midnight Doms Boxset

by Renee Rose

  I set my glass down and begin to back away. Just as I am about to turn and sprint for the door, Siannon grabs my wrist, her nails digging into my skin. “Fuck!” I cry out, tears stinging my eyes. “Let me go!” I turn and rip my wrist out of Siannon’s grip. Siannon tries to grab me again, but I pick up the crystal glass and toss the rest of my whisky in her face. Before she can react, I take off for the door, slamming into a wall of muscle as I make it to just in front of the staircase. I push off of it and try to dart around it but find myself caught in another pair of strong hands.

  “Clarabelle, what is going on?”

  I look up into Aaron’s deep blue gaze but shake off the hypnotic effect. “Let me go! I have to go!” I struggle to keep from crying.

  Aaron lifts my arm, looking at the gashes and drying blood. “What happened? Talk to me,” he demands.

  I shake my head, yank my arms from him, and run for the door again.

  “Clarabelle, you can’t leave; they aren’t going to allow you to leave knowing what you know,” he begs me, gripping my arms again.

  But I am too upset, too scared of the vampires in the club to listen, and shake him off of me. I have to get away—from them, from him. He brought me into this world of his, told me he’d protect me from Siannon, but he didn’t.

  My heart shatters as I flee past the bouncer, tears streaming down my cheeks. It is then I realize I didn’t drive myself, and I’d have to grab an Uber or a taxi. Running from the club parking lot, I watch the cars fly by through my haze of tears. I scan the cars for a cab, or a bus, anything that will take me away from the psychopath who wants me dead.

  Chapter 9

  I can’t figure out what happened between sending Clarabelle upstairs and me getting up there. Of course, Theo had come to speak to me, reminding me that she shouldn’t be left on her own downstairs—not only could she end up in trouble with the staff, but she could wind up being harmed by another guest who wouldn’t be gentle with her. I hadn’t even considered that, so I was grateful for Theo’s intervention with Eldridge. Eldridge had merely been doing his job: making sure the humans upstairs don’t figure out what is going on below them in the BDSM part of the club.

  “Is she going to be a problem?” Theophilus follows my gaze toward the door. “We can send someone after her to wipe her memory if need be.”

  “No, I’m sure that she’s not going to be. We discussed this, she agreed to be my submissive, I just… I don’t understand what’s happened. She was up here, for fuck’s sake! What would cause her to run from here in tears?”

  Theo shrugs. “I don’t know, nor do I care. I simply want to remind you that if she doesn’t go through with the collaring ceremony, you will need to wipe her mind. If you do not, Lucius will send someone else to do it, and they will not care what damage it does to her. Understand?”

  “Of course. I’ll go find her and bring her back.”

  I hurry out to the parking lot, climb in my car, and start down the street in the direction I’d seen Clarabelle run. Three blocks down, I see her on the opposite side of the road, so I drive past her and do a U-turn. I pull into the parking lot, turn off the engine, and get out. Slowly, I approach her like she is a scared animal.

  “Clarabelle.” I say her name in a soft and calm voice. “Clarabelle, please, come talk to me.”

  She raises her head, and her face is blotchy from crying. Her tearstained cheeks eat at my heart. “Go away.” Her voice is a husky whisper.

  I move toward her and gently gather her to me. She keeps her arms crossed but doesn’t try to pull away. “Please, tell me what happened?”

  She sniffles into my chest. “Siannon. Attacked me.” She raises her gaze up to mine, giving me an accusing look. “Why is she allowed to do that? Why is she allowed to behave that way? We were right there, in front of other humans! Nobody stopped her. Nobody did anything!”

  Her words are lightning strikes to my heart. I’d left her unattended, and Siannon had gotten to her. For that, I deserve every harsh word she is spitting at me. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t … I never thought she’d hurt you in front of others. I shouldn’t have left you alone. I swear I will never do so again, Clarabelle.” I pull her closer, holding onto her for dear life, as if she will push away and run from me at any moment. “Please come back to the club.”

  She shakes her head no against my chest.

  “Sweetheart, if you don’t, I will be forced to wipe your mind. Please, don’t make me do that.”

  “You could just let me go,” she murmurs into my chest, but her arms relax and move around me as she presses herself closer to me.

  “You know I cannot. I don’t want to lose you, not now, knowing that we are meant to be together.” I sigh and lay my cheek on her head. “If you don’t feel the same, I will wipe your mind and let you go.”

  “I do feel the same, Aaron.” She looks up at me with hurt in her eyes. “I just cannot live looking over my shoulder, wondering where the next attack is going to come from.”

  “I promise you, Siannon is on her final warning. The king will not allow her to harm you again. We have rules; Lucius will make sure they are enforced. And I swear I will not leave your side again. You will be safe.”

  “You do realize that she endangers you all much more than I ever could.” Her lips tremble as she speaks, and her eyes are still watery pools of agony.

  I clear the tears from her cheeks. “I know. I know you would never share your knowledge with anyone. And if I could, if I was stronger, I’d let you go. I’d let you get far away from me, from the club, from Siannon, but I can’t, not without wiping your memory. I truly do not want to do that. I want you, Clarabelle, I want you to be mine. I swear on everything that I hold dear that I will protect you.”

  She rests her forehead against my chest, looking down at my feet. She doesn’t say anything, she just stands there, sniffling in my arms.

  “Please come back to the club.”

  She sighs. “Okay.” The word is so soft, I almost miss it. She pulls back and looks up at me. “You’ll stay by my side? You won’t let her or anyone else hurt me?”

  “I swear it,” I reply.

  Chapter 10

  Aaron leads me over to his car and helps me in as if I am the most fragile, important person in his world. If it weren’t for everything else going on, I’d have thought it sweet. Now I wonder if it is merely because I might run otherwise. He carefully buckles me in and then closes the door.

  As he slides behind the wheel, he looks at me and asks, “Are we okay?”

  I nod. It was never him that I had a problem with, just Siannon, and maybe Eldridge. He scared me too, though I don’t think he would kill me. “Yeah.” I gaze out of the window. “I still don’t understand how she’s gotten away with so much.”

  Aaron obviously knows immediately who I am talking about. “Siannon is a criminal among our kind—”

  “Your kind, you mean.” I glance at him. I know it is a petty dig, but I am still hurt and upset at how I was treated in the club. I sigh when he doesn’t continue. “I’m sorry, I—”

  “No. You’re right. Siannon is a criminal among my kind, among vampires. Her actions have been outlawed for nearly a century, but she is and always has been cruel and devious.”

  My brow wrinkles and I purse my lips. “How could you be with someone like that? How could you stand to be in a relationship with her?”

  Aaron looks away this time, through the windshield. He’s yet to start the car. He sits there staring; the look in his eye tells me he is far away in his memories.

  “Aaron?” I lay a hand on his arm.

  His cheek twitches up and he blinks, looking over at me. “I hate to say it, but it was a different time. My father was the same, cruel and devious. I suppose she felt… familiar. I saved those I could from her, just so you know. I attempted to break things off with her shortly after we started our affair; that was the first time I left her. She tracked me down, made promises—which she broke, of course. W
e’ve been in this loop ever since then. I leave, she tracks me down, makes promises she doesn’t intend to keep, and then I am left picking up the pieces, saving the lives of those I can. I wanted it to stop.” He turns back to look out the window. “I came here to Arizona about thirty years ago, hoping she would get bored. I ignored her, but she kept coming back. I was easy to find, you see, because of the distillery. I started it before coming here. I simply moved the operation with me. I ended up in Tucson about fifteen years ago. Siannon found me again about five years ago; made promises, didn’t keep them. Lucius, the king of my kind, runs Tucson. He has made it clear to Siannon that he will not tolerate her killing any more humans. She’s been warned.”

  “And how many warnings does she get? Because she already threatened me, and probably would have killed me last night had you not shown up.” I press my lips in a hard line.

  “You’re right. I personally have given her too many warnings to count, but this time, it isn’t just me. I have the king backing my warning. If she tries to harm you, he will put her to death.” He turns and takes my hand. “I promised you I would not leave your side, and I don’t break my promises.”

  “All right. I believe you.” I smile at him. I’d probably forgive him anything, except letting Siannon get to me. Of course, if Siannon did get to me, I’d be dead. “I swear, though, if Siannon kills me, I’m gonna come back and haunt you for the rest of your life.” My grin grows.

  He chuckles. “It’s a deal. I won’t let her kill you.” He cups my face in his large, cool hand and kisses me.

  When the kiss ends, I pull down the mirror and look at my face. It is still a little splotchy from my crying, but luckily I’m wearing waterproof mascara, so I don’t have trails of black gunk traveling down my cheeks. However, seeing how splotchy my face is, I wish I’d gone ahead and brought my purse with my compact in it so I could maybe try to cover some of it up. I frown at my image in the mirror.

  “You still look stunning,” Aaron says as he starts the car.

  I laugh. “You’re biased, I think. I look a mess.”

  “I disagree. However, if you’d like, we have time to stop at the drug store and I can buy you whatever you think you need.” Without waiting for an answer, he pulls out of the parking lot we were sitting in and drives a few more blocks before pulling into an open twenty-four hour drug store lot. “Here, take my credit card.” He pulls out his wallet and grabs the platinum card from its slot.

  I arch a brow, not reaching for it. “You aren’t coming in?”

  He smiles. “I can if you’d like me to, I just thought you might want a moment to yourself.”

  I take a breath and just as I am about to take the card and climb out of the car, the memory of Siannon coming out of nowhere to attack me flashes before my eyes. “Actually, would you come in?” My voice is small, almost a whisper. “With Siannon out there somewhere, I just…” I let my words trail off.

  He gives a sharp nod and returns the card to his wallet. “You’re right. I didn’t consider that she could have followed you, or me to you.” He turns off the engine and climbs out, then goes around the front of the car and helps me out.

  Together, we go inside. I wander the aisle until I find a compact that matches my skin tone, and then a lipstick that I like. On the way to the counter, I grab a box of Kleenex and a bottle of water. We pay for the goods and return to the car. Aaron sits patiently, waiting for me to open my items and apply them in the mirror. I close the compact with a snap. Once my face is fixed, I open the box of tissues and the water. I dab at the cuts Siannon made on my wrists, cleaning them up. When I’ve finished, I look over at him and smile.

  “Thank you. I feel better now.” The powder on my face feels like my armor. I don’t want Siannon to know how upset I got. I don’t want to give her the satisfaction of knowing she’s shaken my confidence.

  Aaron takes my arm and gazes at the wounds on my wrists; they are nearly gone. I wonder if his blood in my system from earlier might have helped in healing me a little.

  “Do your wrists hurt?” His fingers gently trail over the marks.

  I shake my head. “No, she must not have cut me as deep as I’d thought. They just bled a lot for such small scratches. Does having your blood heal me?”

  “Maybe.” He smiles, draws my hands to his lips, kisses each wrist, and then lets my hands go. “Ready to head back then?”

  His lips on my skin steal my breath for a moment. “No. But let’s go anyway.” I give him a smile and buckle my seatbelt.

  He turns the car on and drives us back the few blocks to the club. He pulls into the lot and parks in a dark spot, far from the doors and anyone who might chance to observe us. The windows in his car are tinted, so we are basically in our own world in here, which I appreciate. It gives me a moment of contentment. I start to unbuckle to get out, but he stills my hand.

  “What is it?” I ask, looking at him curiously.

  “I want you to know how much you mean to me. I want to share blood with you again.”

  “Is that going to turn me into a vampire?” I frown. “How much blood can I have before that happens?”

  He chuckles. “No, it isn’t going to turn you. You would have to die to be turned. It will make you feel better and, as you guessed, heal those cuts a little more—and the bruising on your arm.” He touches the finger marks on my bicep. “And it will deepen the connection between us, make it stronger.”

  “What do you mean?” I ask.

  “Each time we share blood, a bond is created. You are bound to me,” he answers. “It strengthens us, and allows me to protect you more.”

  “Okay then, yes, I want that,” I say softly.

  He kisses me, then pulls back and gazes into my eyes. His deep blue eyes darken a bit and I feel myself falling under his spell. I am in that uber-relaxed state, willing to do anything he asks. He kisses me again, his hands trailing down my neck to my arms as he shifts me, moving my arms up around his neck as he gathers me closer over the console between us.

  My breathing hitches as he deepens the kiss, and I feel myself floating on the edge of a cloud. A moment later, he breaks the kiss and my eyelids flutter closed as he trails hot kisses down my throat. Just as his fangs pierce my neck, I come, soaking my panties, my clit throbbing in time to his sucking.

  I hear the snick of his knife opening and then my mouth presses to the cut he’s made, and I gulp the spray of blood, sucking on his neck as he’s done to me. I pull back when he urges me to. My body zings with pleasure as I lick the blood from my lips.

  “Open your eyes, sweetness.”

  I obey his command and gaze into his eyes. He snaps his fingers and I blink up at him. My eyes go to the lipstick prints on his neck, and I grin. The cut he made is gone, but my lip prints remain. I touch my lips and then look back at him. “I think you’re wearing more of my lipstick than I am.” I reach for the new lipstick and pull down the mirror to reapply it.

  He chuckles as he wipes the marks from his neck with one of the tissues. “How do you feel?” he asks a moment later.

  Taking a second, I recap the lipstick as I consider what I am feeling. I glance at my wrists; the cuts are gone, so is the bruising. And then, as I shift, my panties rubbing against my sensitive clit, my eyelids flutter. “Horny,” I murmur, and then glance up at him with a wicked little smile.

  He laughs. “Well, we’ll have to take care of that a little bit later. I promise, I will make you come so many times tonight that you’ll be sore tomorrow.” He grins at me and kisses my fingers, which are gripped in his hand. “For now, though, we should probably head into the club.”

  I sigh as he releases my hand, but give him a smile. “If we must.”

  Chapter 11

  Aaron wraps his arm around my back and keeps me close to his side as we move toward the door of the club. He nods at the bouncer.

  “Good evening, Jared. May we?” Aaron gestures toward the door.

  “Back again, Mr. Blake?” The man frowns
at him. “Are you staying, then, for the ceremony?”

  “We are.”

  “Very well then,” he replies, and lets us in quickly.

  I thought we’d be returning downstairs, but instead, Aaron leads me over to the bar. We stand facing the wall of liquor, his arm wrapped around my waist. I am much more comfortable than I was previously.

  The bartender who served me before comes over. “What can I get for you, Aaron?”

  “I’ll have my usual, and can I get a—”

  “Whisky neat, would be my guess. I wondered where she had got to after she tossed her last drink in Siannon’s face.” The bartender grins. “Glad she found you. Siannon looked ready to murder her.”

  I curl into Aaron’s chest and hide my face, worried that the other woman is somewhere close by. “I only did it to keep her off me so I could get out of the club,” I whisper. “I suppose it was a stupid thing to do, knowing how fast you all are.” I groan into his chest and then look up at him.

  Aaron chuckles and holds me tighter but looks warily around the room. “Where did Siannon go?” he asks.

  The man behind the bar shrugs. “Not sure. She saw this one run into you, and instead of following, she took off toward the ladies’ room. Haven’t seen her since.”

  “She comes anywhere near Clarabelle, puts her hands on her—”

  “You’ll be looking for dispensation, I imagine.” He nods. “I’ll keep an eye out for her. Give you a heads up if I see her. That one doesn’t seem too stable.”

  “She’s not. She’s a psychopath,” I say, and glance over at him.

  “Right. Well, I’ll just get those drinks; be right back.”

  He moves down the bar and pours our drinks: Sweet Nectar whisky for me, and something else for Aaron. It looks like whisky, but it is darker than mine.

  “What are you drinking?” I ask, watching the bartender come toward us. “Not your brand?”