Bulletproof Damsel

by Amelia Hutchins

  “That’s inappropriate, and no, I have no intention of sleeping with him.”

  “You’ll be sharing my bed unless, of course, your run of bad luck is over,” he stated, turning his face toward mine, which was entirely too close.

  “Normally, it takes at least a few hours,” I admitted, pursing my lips before scrunching up my face. “That doesn’t mean I am sleeping with you. It means I might be sleeping beside you. There’s a big difference between the two.”

  “Remi likes her neck kissed, and her arms held above her head. She’s totally into being dominated but hasn’t met a man who is alpha enough to accommodate her freakishly kinky needs. I like to be manhandled, you know, in case you were wondering.” Nyx offered from the backseat.

  I closed my eyes, dropping my head back against the seat, praying for the strength not to throttle my best friend. The hint of a blush burned my ears and cheeks as I felt Rhys’s heated stare studying me. Swallowing loudly, I opened my eyes to glare at him.

  “What else does Remi like, Nyx?” he asked, watching me through a hooded stare that caused my already rapid heartbeat to hitch to a dangerous rate.

  “She likes men who take control and challenge her mind. Pretty boring on the latter part, if you ask me,” she announced, inhaling to say more. “Remi has a dark side, one she keeps hidden from the world, but I know because I am her person. She reads romance novels by the truckful, devouring them in one sitting. Candlelight makes her into a hopeless romantic, and she loves music. I’ve caught her dancing around in her panties more than a few times.” I turned, leveling her with a look of betrayal. “She would probably tell me more about what she likes, but she knows I have no filter. Remington’s never had anyone go down on her, so there’s that too! I’m also unable to keep secrets.”

  I brought my hands up to cover my flaming face. A redhead blushing wasn’t pretty. Not when my hair and face matched, or so my mother had often reminded me. I wanted the seat to open up and swallow me.

  “You’ve never had your pussy eaten?” Rhys asked huskily. His hand moved to grip my thigh, causing my hand to cover his. My angry glare locked with his hooded stare. His touch made everything within me tighten and pulse with a brutal need that eviscerated me.

  “It wasn’t an invitation,” I snapped crossly. “There are a lot of things I have yet to do in my life. That doesn’t mean I intend to do them tonight, or with you. If I wanted you to eat my pussy, I’d ask you to lick my pussy. I have not asked you to eat my pussy. Therefore, you should not assume there is an invitation.”

  The driver sputtered, coughing on the drink of water he’d just taken as his eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. I pulled my eyes from the driver’s wide stare to give Rhys a withering glare, but his smile caught me off-guard and gave me pause.

  “It wasn’t a challenge,” I whispered, and then gasped as his hand pushed against my already throbbing core. His nostrils flared, and his head cocked to the side, dropping the smile as something more sinister played out in his eyes.

  “Drive, my newest conquest is tired and in need of her rest,” Rhys chuckled, releasing my core to pull a phone from his pocket. “Have the room next to mine set up, and have a nightcap ready, along with something… pretty for a female to sleep in.” His stare slid to my frame, sliding up and down it before he continued his conversation. “Size four, and make sure to draw a bath for her, ready for when we get there. Not too hot of water, as she is mortal. Have a light meal prepared for her as well, since she missed her dinner. Her traveling companion will need a male to feed from, but have her room down the hall from mine. Get it done. We’re less than twenty minutes from the compound.” He clicked off the phone and turned his attention back to me.

  “You enjoy giving commands?” I asked, chewing my bottom lip, and his eyes lowered to my mouth briefly before lifting back to mine.

  “Indeed, I do. I am a born alpha of House of Van Helsing and have been in control of the sub-houses since I became immortal before your mother was ever born. I am always in control and ten steps ahead of my enemies. I also enjoy being in command in the bedroom and controlling pleasure. As you discovered earlier, I am very dominant. When I want something, I go for it.” His gaze narrowed, sparkling while he watched my reaction to his words.

  “Does he have a brother, by chance?” Nyx asked, reminding us she was there.

  “Actually, he does. He promised to show me what heaven was like,” I smirked, watching the tick in Rhys’s jaw pulse at the mention of his brother, Cole. “I’m considering my options. Both are dominant and deliciously wicked. One seemed a little more… wild, I guess you could say?”

  “While you’re considering your options, know this, Cole doesn’t care about anyone but Cole. He’s fought me for my seat as head alpha for one hundred years now. During that time, he’s sacrificed thousands of creatures to reach for it. He doesn’t even want the seat because he doesn’t want the responsibility, he just doesn’t like that I have it. Cole is selfish and enjoys sharing his toys to remind them that they are merely there for his entertainment. Tell me, Remi. Do you think you’d want two men destroying you? Because I assure you, I do not intend to let you leave my side, and if you chose him, I’d more than willingly accept his invitation to have you with him.”

  “No, that isn’t something I would want,” I admitted, watching his lips curling into a dangerous smile that unnerved me. “Why would he fight for a position that he doesn’t want?” I slowly dropped my gaze to his mouth, remembering the feel of his lips against mine. A blush blossomed in my cheeks, and his smile turned wolfish, promising to draw blood.

  “Because we both loved the same woman once, and she chose me over him. She was a game to us at first, and then we both fell in love with her. She’s been dead a very long time, and yet he cannot let it go. She wasn’t the first woman we shared, and I doubt she will be the last,” he stated meaningfully, watching my frown deepening.

  “She was a Silversmith, wasn’t she?”

  “Indeed, she was your aunt Roslyn,” he admitted, finally looking away from me. “Van Helsings are notorious for fighting over pretty Silversmith women. Even my oldest brother pined for one. Then your family betrayed ours and started a war between the lines.”

  “And what did we do to betray you?” I snorted, fighting a frown as his eyes slid back to mine.

  “Your mother’s father raped and murdered my mother. Donte Silversmith hung my mother from our castle’s battlements and left her bones for the carrion birds. He took my family’s castle by force, betraying us and murdering hundreds of innocent people who served our family and were under our protection. Your grandfather lost my mother to my father and took issue with it since she was not given to a Silversmith male. He found it to be a slight against him, and the lines that were to be claimed by one of the houses. So, he murdered my mother to send my father a message.”

  “Ouch,” I flinched at the look of loathing burning in Rhys stare as he spoke.

  “That isn’t the only reason, though. Your mother found us too low in status to marry and turned her Van Helsing match down because she wanted to marry up, and not beneath her. Your family was beneath ours, and yet a single fluke of magic created your line. That magic gave it the ability to control and create weapons that brought down immortal alphas easily.”

  “And so we became the strongest house of alphas, and the world bowed beneath our feet,” I injected, and Rhys bristled with anger while he shook his head. “We rose and chose those in which we wanted to unite. That contract became endangered when your mother, one of the few Van Helsing women, married a demon prince, forbidden to her. Though he was mundane and not dark enough, we fixed that with a curse. You broke the contract first, and in doing so, your mother broke Donte’s heart and struck at his pride.”

  “Donte was a cold prick who enjoyed inflicting pain on women. He was sadistic and raped his bride in front of their entire wedding party while staring at my mother. The issue with it was, he was too strong to fight against
.”

  “And yet you killed him,” I swallowed, watching the malice burning in his depths as he recalled the past.

  “We did, little Silversmith. We tied his limbs to warhorses, and then we sent them in four directions. Afterward, we set fire to the House of Silversmith and watched them burn. Donte felt the pain because he was immortal. When the smoke cleared, we poured him a solid tomb of iron, forcing him to die repeatedly, until the end of eternity in iron, since silver is too soft to reach him.”

  “That’s horrible.”

  “Roslyn, who would have been your aunt, enjoyed the power her beauty and line brought her. She used us to gain footing into our world and turned against every lover she took between her thighs. She used Cole and me to lure our mother to your father, and in return, I set her on fire and watched the whore burn. Since that day, we have lured your people in one by one, allowing them to think we love them before we destroy them. You see, we don’t allow your kind to reach immortality anymore. Not unless you do so with a vow to be owned by another Alpha House. So if you choose to be free of us, you die, Remington Silversmith. You’re either mine or Cole’s, but you don’t get to walk away without a vow of ownership. Silversmiths become power-hungry creatures, and then they unleash hell upon those stupid enough to fall in love with them.”

  “I’m no longer calling your family’s legend a fairytale. It’s more horror than romance, Remi. No wonder you’ve hidden for your entire life,” Nyx admitted.

  “Oh, but she’s no longer hidden,” Rhys chuckled coldly, lifting his hand to push the hair away from my face. “And she already has two Van Helsings vying for her attention. She may not look like a Silversmith, but she is, right down to her silver soul.”

  “I am not something you can own,” I snapped, pushing Rhys’s hand away while studying the intensity burning in his stare. “I’m a person, and this isn’t medieval England where you can own someone.”

  “You’re mortal, and very young and naïve if you think that the year matters. You walked into my world, and I intend to own you one way or another. If I were you, I’d choose the way that allows you pleasure instead of pain. Unless you’re willing to let me give you both,” he whispered while leaning over, running his nose against my jaw. “There’s also the fact that Silversmiths and Van Helsings are cursed to be together no matter if they wish otherwise. I want you already, and you want me. How long do you think we can hold out against a curse our bloodlines willingly took within them to create a stronger line?”

  “There has never been a Van Helsing and Silversmith coupling that created life together, Rhys.”

  “No, there has not,” he agreed, but there was something cold and wicked in his eyes as he watched me. “You have no idea how fucked you are, little one.”

  I swallowed hard before closing my eyes against the fact that I knew just how screwed I was at the moment. If Winchester and the others figured out that Rhys held me captive, they’d bring down the rafters on the House of Van Helsing. And then they would hang me outside of it as a warning to others.

  Chapter Seven

  House Van Helsing was a large mansion that stood behind high-security gates. It seemed to go on forever, with small houses spread out through the valley in which it was nestled. The house itself was larger than the building E.V.I.E. had over the underground bunker, and considering the power I felt moving beneath my feet, I was willing to bet Rhys had an underground network of tunnels beneath his house as well.

  My things were taken through a side door, while we proceeded through the front of the mansion. I took in the sheer beauty of the entranceway lined in ancient paintings of what I assumed were other homes over their lifetimes. One was of a beautiful palace that had bubbling fountains covering a colorful courtyard.

  “Cole called, demanding access to the guest wing. Any idea why he’d want to move home now?” a tall male asked, moving down the staircase that opened onto the upper level in the middle of the entranceway. Silverish-blue eyes landed on me with curiosity. “I thought we agreed not to bring whores home anymore?”

  “She isn’t a whore. She’s also the reason Cole wants to move home,” Rhys stated in an exhausted tone. “Acyn Van Helsing, meet Remington Silversmith.”

  “Fuck off,” Acyn chuckled, slowly coming down the stairs to stand in front of me. “If she’s a Silversmith, I’m the head alpha.”

  “No, you’re not, and yes, she is. I’ll prove it,” Rhys stated, releasing my hand he’d held.

  Swallowing hard, I stared around, wondering what would go horridly wrong, and then leaped back. The crystal chandelier above us crashed toward the floor, mere inches from where I’d jumped to keep from it crushing me. Glass shattered across the pristine tile, crunching beneath my feet the moment I moved. I lost my footing, sliding to the floor, and Nyx caught me seconds before Rhys reached over, grabbed my hand, yanking me toward him.

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” Acyn said, pushing his tattooed-fingers through his thick hair. “How did you manage that one?”

  “She intervened against Cole and his watered-down Silversmith witch. I guess you could say she saved me, and now her curse is activated for the next few hours.”

  “And now Cole wants to come home? Bloody brilliant,” Acyn snorted and then peered down at Nyx, touching his chest, examining him like she had a doctorate in male anatomy. Considering how many men she’d known and taken to bed, that was probably accurate.

  A female, no older than twenty, swept into the room with a beaming smile on her cherry-red lips. “The room you requested is ready and the bath for your lady, Van Helsing. Food and a nightcap were left in the suite too. If you need me for anything, just ring.”

  “Thank you, Corinne. That will be all, though. Your services aren’t needed tonight,” Rhys said softly, and she pouted. “The entrance will need sweeping, and a new light fixture ordered, immediately.”

  My eyebrow hiked up to my hairline, slowly pulling my eyes back to where Acyn was now in a make-out session with Nyx. He grunted as he picked her up, starting up the stairs, leaving me standing with Rhys alone.

  Traitor.

  “They look entertained. Shall we retire?” Rhys asked, his lips curling into a mischievous smile. “Unless you wanted to tour the house and ensure your mother isn’t hiding in my dungeon?”

  “You have an actual dungeon?” I countered curiously.

  “I do. Some habits are hard to break.”

  “A dungeon is a habit?”

  “Building houses every few centuries to hide the fact that we are immortals, well, it becomes a habit, and each one has a state-of-the-art dungeon built within it.”

  “I don’t know if that’s sad or cool,” I admitted.

  “Indeed,” he replied, which I was learning was his canned response when he didn’t want to talk about something or needed to end a discussion. “Come, we will withdraw to your room for the night.”

  Butterflies chose that exact moment to flurry in my belly. I swallowed past the sudden dryness of my mouth, letting Rhys lead me to the stairs, where he paused, turning to look at me as he hesitated. His dark head tilted to the side as his lips curled into a devastating smile.

  “Do you prefer to be carried like your friend?”

  “I can walk, but thanks?” I answered lamely, inwardly grimacing at my reply. Rhys shook his head, narrowing his eyes as he peered up the staircase where the loud moaning was now coming.

  “You may see more of my brother than you wish.”

  “I’m good with naked guys.” I blinked. I replayed what I had just said before snorting as his eyebrows shot to his hairline. “That came out really wrong.”

  Why was I an idiot around him? I was usually cold and in control. Instead, I’d made out with Rhys, and got my first orgasm in an entire year from the one creature my mother expressively had forbidden I encounter. It was as if his eyes met mine, and all coherent thought stopped, then my body took over.

  “Indeed, Silversmith.” His free hand rubbed the back of his neck
as we started moving up the staircase again.

  “How many brothers do you have?” I asked, trying to save face from inserting my foot into my mouth.

  “How many siblings do you have?” he countered, turning to look over his shoulder at me with a knowing smile.

  “Touché,” I muttered. “How often do you have to move?”

  “Let’s stick with impersonal questions. Preferably ones that don’t give away our secrets, shall we?”

  “How do you feed?” I asked, shrugging.

  “I feed from sex, Remi. Are you offering to feed me? You’d be delicious.”

  “No, I would not,” I rushed out the words, shaking my head as a smile curved his mouth. “You ask something. I’m all out of ideas.”

  “How old are you?”

  “Twenty-one,” I replied, knowing he’d already asked me this.

  “How many men have you fucked, Remi?”

  I swallowed, biting my lip while I decided if I should answer him or not. I hated awkward silence, and the moaning within the hallway was making the walk to his room strange enough. “Three, but one pretty much never got it in before he’d made a mess all over my dress. So I normally don’t count him.”

  “Indeed, poor child,” he laughed soundlessly.

  “He was twenty-six and not a child,” I ground out with irritation.

  “Are you defending him?” he asked, and my gaze zeroed in on the way his shoulders shook.

  “Not at all,” I argued before snorting. “I was just pointing out he wasn’t a child, which should have indicated a better adventure into womanhood. The second one was okay, but he wasn’t anything to write home about, either. The third, well, he had some kinks that were a little too strange for me, so we parted ways after the first time together.”

  “How many times have you had sex?”

  “Twice,” I answered, turning toward the screaming that erupted behind us, but Rhys grabbed me, pulling me forward before I could see the couple going at it hard at the end of the hallway.