Bulletproof Damsel

by Amelia Hutchins

  The steward announced my name, and the entire assembly went silent. I exhaled a shaky breath, taking in the eyes that examined me. I moved my feet carefully down the stairs, and locked eyes with Rhys, who stared at me as if I was the only woman in the room. I focused on getting to him without falling and breaking my neck.

  “How uncomfortable is it to know that everyone here wants to murder you?” Nyx asked, and I almost missed a step, turning my wide eyes toward her.

  “It wasn’t until you mentioned it,” I groaned, turning to look at Rhys, who was now glaring at Nyx. “Let’s try not to say it too loudly. I am sure some people in the back didn’t hear you.”

  “Well, I mean, not everyone wants you dead. I don’t,” Nyx chuckled as we stopped in front of Rhys and Acyn, both bowing at their waist, lifting to offer their elbows to escort us into the courtyard.

  “You are stunning tonight, Remington,” Rhys whispered against my ear.

  “You clean up pretty good too, Van Helsing.”

  “Were you ever taught to dance?”

  “I can dance,” I swallowed, noting he was heading straight toward the dance floor, and all around us, couples were following our lead.

  “Good, because everyone is watching you.” Rhys stopped in the middle of the floor, turning toward me as he smirked devilishly.

  I paused to look around, noting that everyone was watching us. He held his hands up, and I placed mine against them, waiting for the music to begin. The moment it did, he closed the distance between our bodies, sliding one arm behind my back. He slowly turned us toward the others on the dance floor, moving forward before turning me yet again.

  “What dance is this?” I asked, panic slowly sinking in.

  Rhys didn’t answer. Instead, he turned toward me, encircling my waist as my arms wrapped around his neck. His eyes watched me, lowering to my throat to see my wildly racing pulse. There was a wicked smile playing on his mouth, but his eyes slid to something over my shoulder.

  The music changed, as if whoever controlled the tempo noted that we’d changed dances. It was a slow song, one that allowed Rhys to move us fluidly across the dance floor. His hand reached up to mine, claiming it before he spun me around and yanked me back until I was flush against his warmth.

  “You’re safe, woman. No one here will touch you tonight. Not unless you wish it to be so, Love,” he whispered into my ear, and then lifted me into the air while holding my waist.

  Rhys stared up at me through heated eyes, my hands held on to his shoulders, and slowly, so very slowly, he lowered me to the floor. Smiling boyishly, he grabbed my hand, spinning me around the moment my feet touched the floor. He danced like it was a battle, one he raged against me as we spun around, coming body to body repeatedly. His mouth would lower precariously close to mine, but he’d move away every time I lifted on my toes to claim his lips. On the last few notes of the song, he dipped me back, his hands holding me as I slowly lifted my eyes to his, finding them filled with naked heat pooling in their endless depths. He slowly pulled me up, holding me close until his forehead pressed against mine.

  “Cole is off-limits tonight, Remington. I suggest you choose someone wisely,” he swallowed, stepping back to watch me. I struggled to control the emotion that dancing with him had created within me.

  I opened my mouth to tell him that I wanted him, but a blonde woman stepped in front of me, tying her ribbon to his wrist while he held my stare. My throat bobbed, and I smiled tightly, turning to flee the dance floor. I stopped in front of the bar, slowly calming the burning inferno of jealousy and need rushing through me.

  “You do realize that if you don’t tie your ribbon to his wrist, he can’t agree to be yours, right?” Nyx muttered from beside me, leaning over the bar to gain the attention of the bartender. “Also, you ran away before lighting the fire, so you’re going to have to go back and finish the job with him,” she said, turning to look pointedly at me. “I suggest you tie your ribbon to him then.”

  I peered over my shoulder, watching Rhys, who stared at me through the crowd as women continued tying their ribbons onto his arms. Snorting, I rolled my eyes before turning back to tell the bartender what I wanted, asking if it was possible to get the entire bottle now. He chuckled like I was cute, and I stared at him without cracking a smile.

  “Yeah, she’s serious,” Nyx chuckled and turned, exhaling. “Hey, Rhys, nice turnout tonight, don’t ya think?”

  “Indeed, very nice turnout, but then they’re here to see Remington,” he said, grabbing my hand, turning me to look at him. “I need you.”

  I swallowed against the warmth his words filled me with and then groaned out loud as I realized he meant to light the fire of Beltane. I nodded, allowing Rhys to pull me toward the large fire pit as people watched us. We stopped in front of a torch, and he handed me a candle, and together we touched the wicks against the flickering flame before turning to drop the candles into the large pit.

  I turned to speak to Rhys, but he was already moving away from me to stand beside an ethereal brunette who smiled coyly when he reached her. Scanning the room, I noted several people were openly pointing and speaking about me and my odd complexion that they were strangely fascinated over.

  Worrying my lip, I walked away from the fire, heading back to the bar. I accepted my glass that Nyx held out, downing it in one swig before placing it on the bar and nodding to the bartender for another. Nyx moved away when someone asked her to dance, and I spun around, watching her, noticing others were staring at me.

  Illeron, one of Rhys’s brothers, stopped in front of me, placing his hands on the bar behind me, caging me against it. His dark blue eyes swept over my face, studying me as I stared back silently. His dark head leaned closer, forcing me to lean back, watching a cruel smile play over his mouth. He dragged his nose against my throat, slowly moving it to press against my ear.

  “Is your pussy really that good? You have both my brothers drooling over your cunt, so it must be magical to have ensnared them so deeply. I wonder if you’d let me fuck you too, so that I could make an educated opinion about it as well? Can I fuck you too, Silversmith whore?” he asked as I shook, closing my eyes. His hand slid to my side and closed around my breast until I yelped in pain.

  “I have not fucked either of them, so no. You may not fuck me either, Van Helsing. You can, however, get the fuck off of me. I am not a whore, nor do I intend to be shared among brothers for yours or their enjoyment. Excuse me,” I said, and yet he didn’t budge from where he pressed me against the bar.

  People had stopped what they’d been doing to watch us together. My heart thundered against my chest, and panic was sinking in while his knee lifted, pressing against my apex as he nipped my ear, growling against it.

  “Illeron, have you still not figured out how to tell when a lady isn’t interested in your cock, brother?” Cole asked, sliding in beside me. The moment Illeron started to back up, Cole pulled me in front of him, wrapping his arms around, resting his chin on my shoulder, daring his brother to argue with him for me.

  “She’s already fucking both of you. Why not share her with the rest of us?” Illeron asked, lifting a drink to his lips, glaring coldly at me.

  “Oh, my. Do you feel left out again? I mean, you did always go after our discarded pussy when we’d finished with it. Here’s the thing, brother. Remington hasn’t slept with any of us yet. Therefore, we’re not finished with her. It’s Beltane, and there’s pussy everywhere. Go find one that will gift you her ribbon willingly. This isn’t the medieval times where you can order a woman to hand you their ribbon. Now go, before I forget you’re my brother and that you’re one of the few I actually like.”

  I watched Illeron until he disappeared into the crowd of people, finding Rhys watching me as a woman brushed her fingers against his chest. I turned my attention to Cole, crawling off his lap and grabbing the drink in front of him, downing its contents as I ignored the crowd’s curious stares.

  “Are you okay, Remi?” Cole ask
ed, slipping his hand around me. He pulled me into the heat of his body, cupping my cheek before his eyes searched my face.

  “I’m fine,” I muttered, closing my eyes before peering up at the sky filled with stars. The night sky was always soothing to me, even as a child.

  “Dance with me, Sunshine,” he said, grabbing the whiskey glass from my hand and placing it on the bar. Cole pulled me behind him out onto the dance floor, smiling at the worried expression on my face. Once there, he slipped his arms around my back, slowly moving us to the beat of the music. My hands lifted to rest against his chest, and he smiled when I leaned my head there too, resting it for a moment and closing my eyes. “You’re the most beautiful woman here tonight, and yet you look the most miserable, Remington. Tonight is a celebration of life. Stop caring what everyone else is thinking or doing. Just be you, and you’ll be perfect,” he whispered against my hair, inhaling deeply.

  I opened my eyes, looking over Cole’s shoulder, locking eyes with Rhys, who glared at me from the opposite side of the room. The tick in his jaw hammered against his cheek, and his arms crossed over his muscular chest, displaying a multitude of ribbons on each wrist.

  He wasn’t happy that I was dancing with Cole, but he’d left me on my own tonight. So far, the only people who had approached me were his brothers. I looked away from Rhys, staring up at Cole, who also watched Rhys. I parted my lips to speak, and he lowered his mouth, claiming mine in a sinfully wicked kiss that stunned me speechless.

  Cole didn’t simply kiss. He fucked you with his tongue, leaving you dazed and struck stupid as you tried to figure out what the hell had just happened. I moaned against his lips, sliding my hands up his back, feeling his muscles tensing beneath my touch. Tilting my head for better access, Cole slid his hand to the back of my neck, deepening the kiss while barring any retreat.

  He devoured me until I was trembling against his lips while he deepened the kiss further. Something brushed against my back, and then arms wrapped around me, pulling me back from Cole’s mouth as a soft cry of regret escaped my throat.

  I was pulled from the dance floor while Cole remained on it, canting his head to the side, watching Rhys yank me toward the shadows. Rhys slammed me against the wall and slapped his hands against it, on either side of my head. He caged me in as I peered up into his angry azure gaze. My hand lifted, touching my swollen lips from Cole’s dominating kiss.

  “What are you doing, Remington?” he demanded icily, glaring as I continued touching my lips. He grabbed my hands, pushing them above my head, leaning closer. He kissed me hard and fast until I was moaning against him, easily erasing Cole from my mind. “Kiss him again, and you’ll learn what voyeurism is when I rip your dress off and show all my guests how prettily you cry out as you come for me, little girl. I warned you that Cole was off-limits to you, and I fucking meant it. Don’t push me tonight. Not tonight, please.”

  “Rhys… I…,” he turned, leaving me dumbfounded. I watched him moving back to the crowd, “want you tonight,” I whispered to myself.

  Leaning my head back against the wall, I watched him move to a male who turned, eyeing me before they vanished together through the crowd, moving up the stairs silently.

  “You and I have some unfinished business, Silversmith,” Laura snapped, strolling toward me, even though she’d sounded like she was directly in front of me. I swallowed, and she smiled coldly, but a petite woman stepped in front of me before Laura could reach me.

  “Not tonight, you don’t, Mon Chéri.” The newcomer was barely over five-feet-tall, and yet the power she exuded was immense. She waited for Laura to snarl, baring her fangs before she turned, followed by a male vampire that slipped silently out of the shadows.

  I took in Laura’s shadow as he turned violet eyes on me, his silver-colored hair, making him look more fae than vampire. He smirked, and I swallowed hard as he turned to look at Laura with a dark smile playing on his seductive mouth.

  “If you cause a scene tonight, Laura, I assure you that it will be your last one upon this earth for the next thousand years.” Laura stepped back, turning on her heel as vampires I hadn’t even noticed standing around her, slithered from their spot, taking her away with them.

  The vampire turned his violet gaze on me, smiling, hitting me with the watts of a thousand lights. The tiny female turned, lifting her hand to my temple, sending pain ripping through my head as she whispered softly.

  “You feel no pain, my pretty girl. You’re safe, and you feel nothing,” she cooed reassuringly.

  “Sure, except for the part where you’re trying to rip through my memories,” I groaned, holding my hand against hers to push it away, immediately pulling from the bloodbath of her memories. “Just ask me what you want to know. I will answer you honestly.”

  “People are never honest, sweet, naïve girl,” she chuckled unkindly.

  “People are assholes.”

  “Your mother, who is she?” the male asked.

  “Who are you?” I countered.

  “I can try again,” she offered, staring at me.

  “Ian Macleod, King of the Vampires.”

  “Elizabeth Silversmith.”

  “Impossible, as she’s dead.”

  “No, she is not. She’s very much alive, or at least she was when I last spoke to her. She escaped through a library within the mansion and lived.”

  “Do you intend to start a war?” Ian asked, canting his head to the side, moving to stand in front of me, blocking me from the other partygoers. I leaned over, staring toward my protection detail. I caught sight of the knights behind him, and the vampire turned, smiling as if their presence amused him.

  “I do not intend to start a war. I simply want to live without having to hide. I have never wronged anyone. Okay,” I stated, holding up my finger. “I did make weapons to murder vampires, but I only did it so that we could keep them from breaking the laws, which you maintain. I have never actually murdered one, but I also firmly believe that keeping our presence unknown to humans is very important. There’s nothing worse than a horde of humans on a high horse, holding pitchforks, fueled on by panic.”

  Ian’s lips twitched while his eyes sparkled with amusement. “Why are you here?”

  “Because I am young and foolish,” I swallowed while doing my best to answer honestly. “I witnessed what I thought was going to end with people murdered and stepped in to break up a fight. It turns out that my stupid ass tried to save Rhys Van Helsing from Cole Van Helsing, and now I’m rather stuck here.”

  He threw his head back, laughing, which caused me to jerk back in surprise. Ian narrowed his eyes as he extended his elbow toward me.

  “Dance with me, Silversmith. I won’t take no for an answer.”

  I slipped my arm into his, knowing he probably wouldn’t take no for an answer. For the vampire alpha, Ian was everything that they said he wasn’t. I’d heard the lore about him, listened to horror stories of what he’d done to hunters who had murdered one of his enforcers, or those who held his houses. However, Ian seemed down to earth. But he was still one of the alphas that had stood outside my family’s mansion, watching them burn.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Ian moved me gracefully around the floor as he talked about the changes in the world and what he enjoyed about them. He was a wealth of information and never tired of speaking. When the fifth dance ended, he paused as someone caught his attention. I followed his stare to where Rhys waited on the edge of the dance floor, watching me with the vampire alpha. Ian leaned down, kissing my cheek before reaching into his pocket and tying his ribbon on my wrist.

  “You’re a pleasure, Remington Silversmith. Save a dance for me when you shed this dress, please,” Ian said smoothly, running his lips over my artery, causing my heart to kick into overdrive at the brief brush of fangs against my flesh. “I promise not to bite you unless you beg me to do so. Most do,” he stated, grabbing my hand to place a gentle kiss onto my palm.

  “That was pretty smooth,” I wh
ispered.

  Ian smiled, throwing back his head to give me a belly laugh, which caused everyone in the room to pause and stare at him. “You’re refreshing, and either lack fear, or have the protection of the Van Helsing. Which one is it, Remington?”

  “She has my vow of protection, and I have her silver, Ian. I’m glad to see you crawled out of that pile of rubble you call a castle to come tonight, old friend,” Rhys stated, peering at my wrist with a narrowed look burning in his stare.

  “No!” Ian whispered, turning to look at me to see if I’d argue Rhys’s claim. “You sneaky devil, how did you manage that?”

  “Surprisingly, it was rather easy. Remington is rather naïve in her young age.” Rhys lifted his eyes from my wrist to hold my stare with anger burning in his. “If you’ll excuse us, Love. I do believe Nyx has been looking for you for the last hour that you’ve kept Ian busy.”

  “Actually,” a deep voice said from behind me. “I’d like this dance if Ian has finished monopolizing the May Queen. I didn’t get a chance to introduce myself formally.”

  Rhys ground his back teeth together before he turned, staring at Conrad. “Indeed, at least this time your is dick covered, mutt,” he growled.

  “If I remember correctly, she liked looking at my cock, old friend.”

  My cheeks heated, and Ian smiled, lifting his hand to brush his fingers over my cheek. “She blushes beautifully.”

  “What the hell is up with you guys and blushing?” I asked without realizing I’d asked aloud.

  “When you’re as old as we are, nothing amuses us. Finding a pretty maiden on the cusp of her immortality that still has some sense of morals, is something we don’t often see,” Ian answered, dropping his fingers. “How is it she doesn’t have the normal silver hair and ice-blue eyes of a Silversmith?”

  “That’s the mystery of the hour, isn’t it, Remington?” Rhys asked, watching as Conrad lifted my arm, securing his ribbon onto my wrist while Rhys glared at us. “Shall we, Ian? Excuse us, Conrad, Silversmith.” Rhys nodded to Conrad before leveling me with a chilling look of warning.