Scarlet froze. A whiff of hot flame and sweat whispered past her nose. What was he doing with another woman if he had invited her here? She stepped back into the shadows, but couldn’t leave. She didn’t want to. Once Vince saw her he would push the girl away. Wouldn’t he?
Scarlet looked down the glossy gray marble stairs. I should leave.
Sebastian’s voice shouted in her ear. You’ve got to play by the rules, Scarlet.
No.
Anthony sat on the countertop, sipping his lemonade. You are in control.
Do not judge a man until you’ve lived his life for a year. If Esmarelda were here she would raise her head and push fear away.
Scarlet turned back to the flickering shadows and locked eyes with Vince. His mouth continued to rove across the woman’s breasts. When Scarlet thought to look away, Vince reached down and pulled the woman tight to his body, smirking lazily as Scarlet bit hard on her lip.
She held his stare, feeling her heart race. She was a voyeur, observing another man’s teasing passions, obeying his silent pleas to watch and to surrender her inhibitions. The urge to rush forward and rip the woman from his arms curled her fingers, but she held back, feeding the desire.
This man, this beautifully sinful piece of flesh, devoured the woman’s thick red lips with aggressive kisses. And as her eyes lowered over their embrace, Scarlet could feel Vince’s hard torso pressed against hers, and the blood flowed to her groin.
Vince’s clear blue eyes fixed on her, issuing a silent challenge as he shifted and turned their bodies so Scarlet could view them from the side. He walked his mouth down into the crease between the woman’s breasts and began to nip and bite, much to her pleasure.
And now Scarlet realized the glint she caught dancing about the woman’s neck and chest wasn’t a piece of shining jewelry. It was Vince’s teeth mining for the vein.
He smiled wickedly, nudging his nose along the woman’s breast and parting his lips as if prepared to defend what was rightfully his. A child playing a game.
Motionless, Scarlet watched Vince tease the woman with his hands, his mouth, his entire body. He teased her, too. And he knew it. It was all a part of the game. She inhaled deeply, knowing when she did her breasts rose and bulged over the top of her black lace dress.
Yes. He saw.
The music pulsed slower, crowding Scarlet’s ravaged thoughts with a sensual haunt that threatened to push her over the edge. She held her breath as Vince pushed the woman away from his tormented body and tossed his head to the side, gesturing she should leave. The woman turned toward Scarlet. Her lip snarled up into a defiant challenge.
Scarlet held her ground. “Leave.”
“But—”
“You heard the lady,” Vince said with a nudge of his knee to the woman’s leg.
She stomped away, roughly buffing her shoulder against Scarlet’s as she passed by.
Solemn and defiant, Vince’s liquid eyes dared Scarlet to venture into his world of unholy rapture. Filling the space of the woman, she stood nose to nose with the lust-hungry vampire. He smelled of smoke and sweat and of unsatisfied desires.
Without considering the implications, Scarlet parted her lips and ran her tongue over them. Waiting.
Vince pressed his lips together, proud of the animal fangs displayed only to her beneath the shivering flames of candlelight. His eyes trailed down her face, watching as her lips nervously quivered, seeming quite satisfied with her reaction. They wandered across her breasts and as far down as he could see without moving his head, and then he flashed back up to her eyes.
Still he said nothing.
Maddened with desire, she wanted him to kiss her. Scarlet shifted forward on her feet and brought her body close to his so she could feel the hard metal buttons on his jeans against her groin and the billowing silk of his shirt feather across her bare arms.
Still the defiant stare.
She moved into him, pressing her knee between his parted legs and her chest against his. A tremorous shiver engulfed her body as they touched and Scarlet felt sure it ran through Vince’s body, too.
He reached behind her and pushed her hips into him. As he held her there, so masterfully, she could feel his erection pumping hard against her thigh. It was his turn. He had taken charge and she willfully relinquished control.
Cool fangs pressed to her lips. His kiss, hot, firm and demanding, sucked savagely at her mouth. She let her body melt into his and took greedily from him, delighting as his sharp teeth grazed over her lips, slashing the delicate flesh so he was able to suck small sips of her blood into his mouth.
“I’m sorry about last night,” she whispered. “I freaked. I felt so guilty all of a sudden. But I’ve been thinking all day…” His needle-prick kisses teased the vein on her neck, bringing her senses to an extreme alert. “I…want to know what it’s like…to taste death,” she whispered, surprising herself.
“Let’s go.” Vince walked past her, and without looking back, exited the Decadence.
Chapter Fifteen
A steady downpour of cool rain smattered the alleyway and their bodies as Vince led Scarlet through the darkened puddles. He walked ahead of her, determination quickening his strides. He hadn’t turned to see if she would follow even as he started down the dark street.
He could have taken her in the club. She would have been easy, and so sweet. Sebastian’s mistress come to him in search of the ultimate obsession. His way of life.
Tonight I will bring Scarlet over to my side, he thought. Take her away from Sebastian’s stupid rules. Scarlet is a beautiful, free spirit. She doesn’t deserve to be sheltered and hoarded by one man, not learning there is more to her miserable condition then taking little sips, preserving life, and never killing.
He had known she would turn to the dark side. She had run off the other night, but not without one last look over the forbidden.
Vince stopped and waited until he felt Scarlet’s arm brush alongside his, wet flesh to rain-drenched silk. It was hard to control his desires. But not much longer. He pointed to the roof where his vampire senses had sniffed out prey.
“Where?” she asked.
She sniffed the air, closing her eyes, and Vince resisted the urge to touch the shimmering crystals that trickled from her eyelids.
“Yes, I can smell him now.” Scarlet joined him. “He’s young and alone.”
Vince spoke firmly but softly, “There’s no turning back, Scarlet. I’m taking you over to the dark side tonight. You have to really want this.” He looked up across the rooftops and then back down, his eyes focusing past her on the horizon. “Or else I don’t want to have anything to do with you anymore.”
His ultimatum surprised her. Gone was the shy, quiet man who saved his outbursts of emotion for the stage. Since being initiated into the vampire’s life Vince had gained confidence and maturity and a very wicked edge. He was still quiet, but when he spoke his words commanded you listen. His eyes spoke of the horrors he had endured over his lifetime, his passions displayed in the gleam of blackness that circled his blue eyes.
But she wanted his trust; she needed him to accept her.
Go back! Stop! You love Sebastian! This is not the way to learn.
Scarlet glanced around, searching the source of the nagging pleas. A slick-winged raven cawed and flit its wings. The streetlight flickered, threatening to darken the night.
“I’ll go by myself,” she said, pushing her nagging inner voice away without a second thought. The building was two stories high. An easy jump as she bent her knees and her feet left the ground.
“I’ll watch.”
Scarlet stepped down onto the roof, not seeing her prey, but knowing he was on the other side of the stairs. Vince appeared behind her and sat on the edge of the roof, one leg dangling precariously over the silent alleyway.
“Don’t be afraid,” he whispered as she slunk around the four-walled enclosure that surrounded the roof stairs. A circular air vent whirred lazily and the smell of ol
d tar, fresh rain and bird droppings wafted up from the floor of the roof.
Afraid? she thought. How can I be when I’m feeling what I’m feeling? Vince’s kiss in the bar had stoked the fire. Now she wanted to know what he was about, to taste his experiences.
I want to come over to the dark side.
She was almost to the other side of the roof when the boy jerked around, surprised at first, but then his features softened and he grinned to see a beautiful woman dressed in sexy black lace standing before him.
The boy was very young, maybe sixteen or seventeen. A rolled joint smoked in one hand, shielded from the mist by his cupped palm. He gestured for her to sit next to him. He wore tattered jeans and a flannel shirt. Probably lives on the street, she thought. But beyond the silly macho smile and the dirty clothes lived a virile young body that pumped with rich red blood.
Scarlet could hear the quiet swish as his blood rushed through his veins, matching only the vigorous beat of the rain against the metal air vent. The scent of his life permeated his soiled clothes, enticing her closer. She bent before him and took his cigarette away, flicking it over the side of the roof in a spray of orange sparks.
“Where’d you come from, lady? Heaven?”
“Only angels come from heaven,” she said.
“Unless they’re wicked angels.” Only Scarlet heard Vince’s whisper.
The fact the boy was young and dressed so shabbily made him the complete opposite of Sebastian. How quickly you forget. She leant closer to allow him to finger the ends of her slippery hair. There was no reluctance as her heart pumped in anticipation of discovery.
A raven landed on the roof ledge. Gold eyes the size of peas captured Scarlet’s attention. You’re not ready for the adrenaline rush. Be gentle, you’ll learn that later.
Sucking in the corner of her lip, Scarlet bit down gently as she mustered up the courage. The blood hunger was not rampant. She didn’t need this boy’s blood. But the curiosity and Vince’s presence, pushed her into action.
“Do you want me to kiss you?” was her innocent inquiry.
“Damn,” he whispered and roughly pulled her down, gnashing his lips against hers as he inexpertly took her and forced his tongue into her mouth.
His breath was smoky and stale and Scarlet forced herself to remain calm instead of pushing him away and running. He had already started to feel her body, inexpertly moving his hands over her hips and waist and squeezing her breasts .
“Wait, lover.” She pushed him down into the slashing shadows of the rotating air vent. Sex with a teenage boy was not on her list of thrills. Vince sat out of eyesight on the other side of the stairway. She could hear his shallow breath, sense his growing arousal, and taste his wicked kiss in the cuts on her lips.
Yes, it was time. She could do this. Anthony’s words reverberated in her mind. You are in control. Take the first step.
“You will be my first,” she cooed as she bent to his neck and willed her teeth to her bidding.
“No kidding? I can’t believe it.”
He squirmed beneath her as she pinned his hands to his sides with her knees. With the entrance of her sharpened weapons, the boy’s body jerked and his fingers balled into claws beneath her knees. She held him tight, lifting his throat to her mouth, and closed her eyes as his life swirled through her body. He lurched to climax swiftly and fainted in her arms, his body becoming heavy but quite unnoticeable as his blood brought Scarlet’s arousal to extreme heights and the swoon began.
He was so good. His blood as sweet as any else. When she reached the point of fulfillment, Scarlet paused, feeling the steady beat of his heart pump beneath her fingertips. Vince’s presence remained an irresistible force that matched her own passions and beckoned her further. Do this. If she was to learn anything of Vince and herself tonight, she had to do this.
She resumed her task and tried to think of nothing but the sensations of the blood rush as the boy’s body went limp and his heart slipped into death’s clutches.
The force of his death hit like an explosion to the brain as his slowing heart suddenly shuddered into a frenzy and then burst. Scarlet reeled backward, her teeth ripping long gashes in his flesh. She rolled to all fours, swaying as the blood pounded through her body and the blood orgasm engulfed her soul. Everything turned black and then white, and then all colors at the same time. The features of the roof were indiscernible, the air vent, circling lazily in the downpour, was a blur as the boy’s stolen life screamed through her body.
Scarlet searched the rooftop and scanned the night, not sure where she was anymore. She reached out, but her hand wavered and was unable to grasp anything tangible as her body swayed. She slipped and fell…into the cradling arms of Vince Lyons.
“Did you ever imagine it could be that good?” he whispered as she balled herself into his lap.
Scarlet shuddered as the last effects of the boy’s blood coursed through her body. The raindrops snapped against her face. “His life…” She struggled to right herself but fell against Vince’s chest. He clutched a thick bundle of her hair and brought it to his face. “I’ve killed him.”
Vince whispered quickly, “You must never regret, Scarlet.”
The rapture began to subside. She fitted herself up against Vince’s body. They were both soaked to the flesh, their wet clothes melding them together.
Her eyes saw a bit clearer now. The night had become darker, the rooftops masked in shadows from spindly palm trees. Just over her shoulder the boy lie inert, his head cocked unnaturally to the side, exposing the violence she had worked on his neck.
It was unbearable to look, to know she had taken the life of one so young and unknowing only to feed her curious desire. But as another powerful shudder shook her body she turned back to Vince.
He leaned over her and she heard the metallic click of his switchblade and saw the flashing steel. “This way no one will ever know,” he said and ripped the blade across the boy’s neck.
There was no turning back. She couldn’t change what she had done, nor could she grant life to the boy whose soul she had stolen into her own.
“Oh, no.” Scarlet remembered Sebastian’s warning about killing. To take a victim’s life was to steal their very soul. Souls laced with the nightmares of their dreams and realities. Nightmares that would haunt the killing vampire for days to follow.
A choked sigh escaped the boy’s lips and Scarlet jerked around to watch through blurry eyes as his last breath was released to the cool night air. Looking over his street dress and disheveled hair she imagined he may have lived many nightmares in his short lifetime and wondered how soon it would be before she became intensely aware of them. She pressed her eyes tight, fighting the remorse.
Cool shivers overtook her limbs as Vince’s hand fell to the crook of her elbow and then feathered along her arm to entwine into her fingers. She turned to speak, but caught his mouth over hers. He pushed her to the roof floor, cradling her head in his hand. He pushed her saturated skirt up her legs and she heard successive pops of the buttons on his jeans as they were released.
“Vince, wait. I…I can’t. I can’t betray Sebastian. I’ve never—”
He looked beyond her to the boy. “The betrayal has already begun.”
He pulled the shoulders of her dress down to her elbows and grazed his fangs along the inner curves of her breasts, causing her to tense with desire.
All traces of the blood swoon were erased by Vince’s actions. Scarlet pushed him away, regretting immediately her actions. To kill was one thing. But to allow another man to take her as only Sebastian could…
The rain had started to subside, yet thick droplets dripped from Vince’s forehead to her chest. “Do you love him?” he whispered urgently.
Scarlet pulled her skirt down over her thighs and tried to shimmy from beneath his body but her hand slipped into the pool of watery blood that puddled beneath the boy’s crooked smile.
“Do you love him!”
“Yes…” she
whispered in short breaths, heaving beneath Vince’s body.
He kissed her again and she pulled his head down, grinding her lips to his. She wasn’t sure what she wanted. Her body worked on automatic while her mind fought for control. You can never betray Sebastian.
Yes you can! You want the sinister excitement Vince offers.
No!
“Please, Vince.” He trailed his mouth down her chest, biting deep into her breast.
“No!” She struggled from his grasp and pushed away but Vince wasn’t about to relinquish his prize.
He pinned her wrists to the rooftop above her head and her hands became flooded with the boy’s blood. In her struggles she looked to the side, seeing the lopsided grin of death inches from her face.
“This is wrong!”
Using the force of her elbows, Scarlet pushed and sent Vince flying backward. He hit the air vent with a clunk. “I do love him,” she whispered, and pulled the sleeves of her dress up. She paused near the roof ledge and turned back to Vince. “I will never betray Sebastian that way. Never.”
***
Crimson ruffles swished through the air, floating above the stone floor in a rage of shivering silk. She was tilted over the stranger’s arm again, his lovely dançar imortalidade. But this time the guitar player looked up from his concentration.
He saw now that she screamed and reached out for him, pleading for rescue. But he couldn’t reach her. He tried desperately to throw his guitar to the side but it remained in his lap as if glued to his hands.
The stranger laughed as he bent to her neck and the guitar player saw fangs glint brightly as they plunged into her neck. Her screams were deafening. Frightened. Confused.
Suddenly her struggles ceased. The stranger cocked his head to the side, grinning widely at the guitarist.
Vince!
Anthony held the car door open. Inside the dark interior of the vehicle Sebastian clenched his fist until he felt sure the veins would burst. His nails burned against his palm. But the pain did not revert the cataclysmic shock to his heart.
“Sebastian?”
Dark Rapture Page 52