Wanted

by Kristen Strassel

  “I’d been a friar before the Black Death rolled through Britain. It was common in those days, my older brother inherited our family manor, leaving me nothing to offer a wife—no land, no money. So I went to the church. To stay healthy, we isolated ourselves from the rest of the village as long as we could. We prayed that we could ride it out and survive. As the epidemic worsened, I’d been called to help the village. To pray with them. But God wasn’t interested in helping us, and the sickness wiped out half of the country. I didn’t get sick, even working with those who were on their deathbed and blessing the deceased.

  “On the way back to the friary one night, a man approached me. Nash—I took the name of my village because I never wanted it to be forgotten—was small, and we didn’t get many outsiders. The stranger insisted I could do more good with him than praying that the sick made it to Heaven. It was blasphemy. He turned me that night, and there was nothing God could do to stop him.”

  “God didn’t help me, either.” Corynne seemed wise beyond her years, and so unlike the other girls that stood on the auction stage. She’d bared herself in so many ways to me tonight. The V on her chest had smudged with the strap of her dress.

  I wanted her, but I wouldn’t take her tonight. Even a vampire had limits.

  “What did you do, once you were a vampire?” The reflection of the fire flickered in her eyes and her power pushed against me. It surrounded her like armor, protecting her from evil. We both knew evil came in the prettiest packages. All the better to tempt us with.

  “Our mission was to save extraordinary men from an untimely fate. To give a voice to the silenced, and to celebrate progress. I never understood why I’d been chosen, besides as a rebellion against the church, and because I’d managed to stay healthy during the epidemic. I didn’t want to disappoint my maker, especially surrounded by so many powerful beings. I was ruthless, savage, and would stop at nothing to do his bidding, lest he realized he made a mistake.

  “I’d been bloodthirsty, uncontrollable, and enthralled by this new world without rules. My human life and the path chosen for me had been governed by them. I’d told my parish they’d receive their reward in Heaven, but mine came from an eternity on earth.

  Corynne shuddered, as I expected her to, but then her lips curled into a smile. “What about extraordinary women? I bet you needed a few of those.”

  “Actually, we didn’t. Only the Makers can reproduce. The rest of us can only replenish. We formed allegiances with human women, and the tradition of blood courtesans was born. It was a way to flaunt our power, with beautiful, wanton women while human men had to ignore those desires to conform with what society dictated for them.”

  She didn’t like that answer, but there was no need to sugarcoat the truth. She’d probably come here with some romantic notion about vampires that she’d seen in a movie or read in a book. That one bite would make all her problems go away. It didn’t work like that.

  “You’ve never met a woman that you wanted to spend more than one night with?”

  “Of course I have. I know when someone is living in Hell on earth. I’ve been there. I turned Alexandra after watching her defeat a small army of men with just a sword. She sliced their heads clean off their bodies to protect her family. She was their last line of defense after a long war had taken all the adult males away. She refused to go down without a fight. We needed that strength, that audacity, that passion. Alexandra was my lover, my soul mate, and everything I didn’t think I could be. I learned from her. She met her true death before the Second World War when Europe had again become a dangerous place. I came to America shortly after that.”

  Corynne considered that for a moment. “I almost picked Alexandra as my new name. I’m not really Corynne, you know.”

  I cupped her chin in my hand. “Yes, you are. This is who you were meant to be.” One more heated kiss, this time, I didn’t hold back all the loneliness and desperation I’d endured since losing Alexandra. Thinking I’d wander this world forever without my mate. Never being able to reach across to the other side to stroke her cheek one more time. Corynne grasped my shoulders, the same emotions manifesting in her for entirely different reasons.

  She squeezed her eyes closed, and I kissed her wrinkled eyelids, her nose, and nibbled along her jawline. Small sounds came out of her, straddling the line between protests and pleasure. The pain of wanting so much more. Tonight I’d met an extraordinary woman.

  Her mouth opened in a wordless scream when my fangs pierced the flesh on her neck. Her blood flowed into my body, accelerated by her frantic heartbeat. It warmed me, waking places inside that I’d willed myself to forget.

  For the first time in almost eighty years, I was alive.

  Chapter Seven

  CORYNNE

  “Wake up.” Lady Desiree’s voice yanked me out of a dreamless sleep. “You need to sign your new contract.”

  I made it through my first night as a blood courtesan with my pride, dignity, and hymen intact. The bite mark on my neck throbbed as I padded behind the Lady. I brushed my fingers against the scabs. They tingled, not just at the spot of impact, but deep in my core. Like Nash’s lips were still touching me.

  After our night together, I understood why he wanted me, but at the same time, less than ever. All the talk of good and evil and power. Heavy fog clouded my memory, and I had no idea if I could trust it or if I suffered from a glamour hangover. That was scary. Nash insisted he wouldn’t trick me into anything, but I couldn’t trust him yet. Trust made it too easy for him to turn on me. I needed him way more than he needed me.

  Or did I?

  “Is there coffee?” I asked, fighting a yawn under the weight of Lady Desiree’s disgust.

  “You’ll have time for that human nonsense later.” She, of course, was already perfect, in a form-fitting dress that would make a man’s imagination run wild, another pair of impossibly thin heels, makeup and hair the same as yesterday, as if she simply slipped a mask over her head to start each night. “We don’t allow courtesans to remain in the building unless they have a contract. Liability.”

  So much for an afterlife without rules.

  She pushed a thick packet of paper at me. I rubbed the remnants of sleep from the corners of my eyes and dove in. I wanted to say to her that this would have been a lot easier to understand after a cup of coffee, but even I knew when to keep my mouth shut every once in a while.

  Nash didn’t go back on his word. He planned to keep me. To do so, he would pay a daily rate for my services. The number jumped off the page, and I didn’t believe everything I read, mainly because there were too many zeroes. An account would be created for me since I had no ID yet that proved I was Corynne, and food and clothing would be furnished for me every day. My only responsibility was to provide companionship to Nash during his waking hours.

  Nothing about sex. No mention of becoming a vampire. No guarantees.

  I almost signed the wrong name. “Can I add something to this?” I asked before I handed her the packet.

  Lady Desiree burst out laughing. “Getting cocky, are we? Did you miss the part where this contract can be terminated at any time, for any reason? I can throw you out of here, back to whatever you’re running from.”

  Yesterday that would’ve scared the crap out of me, but I’d learned just enough last night to make me cocky, like the Lady accused me of. “I didn’t miss the part where it said all decisions on the contract would be made between me and Nash. No mention of you.”

  That shut her up. “I’ll take the request, but it’s up to Nash to approve it.”

  He would. With an offer like this, he planned to make me a very rich woman. It may not be enough money to keep me out of jail, but it would give me opportunities I would never have otherwise. It wouldn’t make sense if he didn’t turn me. If he was willing to put up that kind of money to keep me, it was in his best interest to keep me happy. “Sabrina and Sierra. I want them.”

  The Lady’s eyes widened. “They belong to me.”<
br />
  “I’m sure we can negotiate something.” I smiled sweetly. “And Olivia, too.”

  “Who’s Olivia?”

  My heart broke. “She’s been here twice before. You told her she was too skinny to get a bid, the vampires wouldn’t have anywhere to feed. Last night she went for two hundred bucks. Where is she?”

  “She left at sunrise with the rest of the courtesans. Staying isn’t standard protocol. We only keep the exceptional girls, and they’re grateful to be here. This list of demands is—-“

  “Find Olivia. Send someone out. Don’t tell me you can’t, she gave all her information on her paperwork.” Now I had Lady Desiree playing defense. “I don’t care if she’s never chosen by another vampire, I’ll pay her out of my stipend. But she’s allowed to come here whenever she needs to.”

  Lady Desiree pursed her bright pink lips. “Nash needs to sign off on any amendments to the contract.”

  I nodded and smiled. “Where’s the coffee?”

  The kitchen wasn’t the focal point in the vampire fortress. Sabrina and Sierra studied the coffee maker. Sierra’s shoulders slumped with relief when I walked in. “We can’t figure it out.”

  “Things have changed in the last few decades,” Sabrina laughed. “This isn’t something we usually do. We’re instructed to give the new courtesans wine.”

  I made a face. Wine, like coffee, was an acquired taste. I moved between the two girls and showed them how to slip the packet into the machine. It made one cup at a time. “I used to work at a coffee house.”

  My request for the girls had nothing to do with a power play, as Lady Desiree probably thought. I wanted friends. I knew how hard it was to find people who were genuinely nice to others when they could give them nothing in return. I had no problem paying to keep those people close to me.

  Nash and I would have a completely different kind of relationship.

  “When will I see Nash again?” I asked as I reached in the tiny refrigerator for cream. Milk. Anything to add to my coffee. Nope, nothing. I shouldn’t have been surprised. I squeezed my eyes closed and braced myself for the first sip.

  “As soon as we get you looking like a courtesan.” Sierra pulled my free arm. “We hear you’re staying with us.” They led me back toward the dressing room.

  “You already know? Wow. No secrets around here.” I stopped in the hallway for another sip. My need for caffeine outweighed my need for it to taste good. I wondered if they knew about my request for them. After all, they were trying to make coffee when I found them.

  “Courtesans hear everything.” Sabrina winked. “You want to know what’s happening with any of the vampires? Ask one of us.”

  “How was last night?” Sierra asked as soon as I sat in front of the vanity. Her fingers were already in my hair. “We’ve only seen Nash in passing, and he was pretty tight-lipped.”

  “Amazing.” The brain fog still lingered. I needed to add stronger coffee to my contract if this was my new home. And cream. I didn’t remember much of anything that happened after the bite, besides the girls leading me to bed and helping me into my pajamas.

  “Did you...?” Sabrina wiggled her eyebrows and motioned to the smudged remains of my V. She’d unbuttoned the silk top and slid it down my arms. I’d already gotten used to being undressed in front of them. Everyone here wanted me naked, except for Nash.

  I shook my head.

  “Wow. I wonder what he’s thinking.” We both looked at Sierra’s reflection in the mirror. She pushed my hair over my shoulders, camouflaging my breasts. “He’s paying all this money, and he’s not getting any?”

  I wasn’t the only one who thought the contract was too good to be true.

  “It’s not only about sex.” Sabrina motioned for me follow her to the bathtub. “It’s about connection, and belonging to someone.”

  “But sex is the best part!” Sierra laughed.

  We fell quiet as the girls repeated the ritual of the bath. This time, I didn’t mind that they touched me. I closed my eyes and pretended it was Nash’s hands all over me. In my fantasy, his lips followed close behind. The line between what I wanted and where I was blurred, and I broke the trance with an embarrassingly loud moan.

  “It’s okay,” Sierra assured me. “It’s supposed to feel good.”

  I asked to watch TV as they worked on my hair and makeup. I couldn’t lose myself to this place until Nash turned me. Normally I would’ve gone online, but all my accounts were under my old name. It would be too easy—if anyone still cared where I was—to find me.

  Mocha Latte Murderer on the Run. I was the leadoff story on the nightly news. I held my breath as my face flashed on the screen during the report, but the girls were so lost in their work they’d tuned the TV out. They’d never recognize my real name, and after they were done with me, the picture of the barefaced redhead looked like someone I’d never seen before. It was an active investigation and anyone with information was encouraged to call the Connecticut State Police.

  I needed to see Nash. He was the only one who could keep me safe.

  “WHY DO YOU HAVE SUCH a hard time believing I want you?” Nash’s smile spread slowly across his face. I hadn’t been sure if Nash’s bite had changed anything in me until I saw him again. That weird, sluggish feeling I’d woken up with disappeared. Everything seemed so much clearer, like I was in the place where I belonged.

  Or I had a monster-sized crush on him. Of course I did. He was the first man I ever kissed, and he left me with an insatiable craving for more.

  More than the fog lifted. The horrible fear of falling into blackness disappeared as soon as I walked into his apartment. Nash made things less dangerous. That didn’t settle me either, since I was pretty sure my power interested him more than my personality did.

  “It’s the money,” I said as he approached me. I’d frozen in place as soon as I spotted him. “I would’ve stayed for a lot less.”

  “Never tell someone you’d take less money.” His cool fingers sent a shiver down my spine when he brushed them against my cheek. “My intention was to give you an offer you couldn’t refuse. Can’t have anyone in the coven or otherwise giving you something better.”

  “Showing off, huh?” I already loved teasing Nash. It unsettled him, but I was pretty sure he liked it.

  “Absolutely.” He smirked as he put his hand firmly on the small of my back and led me to the couch. The girls had insisted on another formal dress. This one was red and dipped so low in the front and back I couldn’t wear a bra with it. I think they were disappointed that they had to mark me again with another V. I thought it was unnecessary; Nash had his own agenda. “Whether they didn’t notice you or couldn’t afford you, I want them to regret their choices.”

  Our legs touched, coolness radiated through his pants and the flimsy fabric of my dress. “You are a ruthless vampire.”

  “I want you to learn from the best.” He leaned in for a kiss. His hands were as hungry as his lips, exploring, claiming every inch of me. I leaned back, wanting the weight of his body to anchor me to this place before I floated away and became the girl I used to be, the star of the news story with the painfully tacky name. It robbed me of the severity of what I’d done. Nash brought me back to reality.

  His fangs scraped against my swollen bottom lip, splitting it open. He licked the blood away, gently at first, but as the blood disappeared, he became more aggressive, sucking it from me. My head tingled, dizzy as I gave him what he paid for.

  Nash hovered over me with a satisfied smirk as I caught my breath. Guess he got his money’s worth.

  “Does this mean you’ll turn me? Only makes sense.” I batted my sticky eyelashes at him. Sabrina had glued on falsies. It was my best attempt at flirting and it felt so icky. “Think of it as an insurance policy. A return on your investment.”

  His expression soured. “You have no idea what you’re asking for, Corynne.”

  “Yes, I do!” I didn’t mean to yell. I rolled out from underneath him. Nash
sat up, and I curled myself around a throw pillow. I wish I’d taken my sister up on her teddy bear offer. No, don’t think of her. I wouldn’t cry in front of my vampire while I tried to convince him I was a badass. “I have nothing to live for. The police are looking for me. If they find me, I’m as good as dead anyway.”

  Nash sighed. “I don’t have to turn you to keep you.”

  I sat up, surprised by the frustration on Nash’s face. I thought it was just me. Maybe he was having second thoughts. “I understand that forever is a long time. But twenty-five to life in jail would be worse. Imagine what would happen to me. You said it yourself. I did what I had to do. Isn’t this the same thing?”

  He raised an eyebrow. “Murder?”

  “No. Doing what you have to do.” The edges of my visions darkened. I knew that feeling, all too well. “It’s happening. This is the way I always feel before I black out. I can’t control what happens next.”

  I’d never told anyone the feeling was coming. Half the time I wouldn’t admit it to myself.

  Nash was on top of me before I realized what happened, moving my hair away from my face. Such a gentle move. The black faded. “Can you make it stop?”

  Interesting question, and not what I expected. I figured he’d want me to give him my worst, just so we’d know what we were dealing with. I nodded. “I make myself think of good things.”

  “How about I help you with that?” Nash pushed the strap of my dress off my shoulder. The silk clung to my breast. “We could get rid of this.”

  He ran his finger along the V, smearing the paint. The black faded to gray and then nothing as he trailed lower, brushing against my nipple when he revealed it. Cupping my breast in his hand, he drew in a deep breath before lowering his mouth to it. A sound caught in my throat when he ran his fangs over the swollen bud, half protest, half pleasure. I was terrified he’d rip me open there, and suck my blood from just above my thundering heart, but Nash was way more gentle than that. The soft scraping continued, rhythmic and maddening at the same time. I cried out in relief when his lips took over, kissing, sucking, and driving me crazy.