Ashes to Ashes (Barbie the Vampire Hunter Book 3)

by Lucinda Dark

  He leaned closer. “God, you smell divine,” he whispered.

  “Why don’t you take a bite then?” I offered before I could call the words back.

  A lone, warm hand slid up my side and into my hair. He clutched the strands and yanked hard until I was forced to tilt my head back at an angle that allowed him complete access to my throat. Blood sang through my veins, practically calling out for him. I licked my suddenly dry lips and let my eyes slide shut as I counted my harsh breaths.

  One. Two. Three. He drew closer until I could feel the wet heat of his mouth. I wanted it. I prayed for it. Needed it. His lips pressed against my jugular softly. So lightly, it startled my eyes open and I glanced down abruptly as he lifted his head, his eyes shooting me a barely contained look of hunger.

  “Not here,” he said.

  Torin rushed me through the nightclub. We fumbled through the scratched metal side door of the club, slamming into a brick wall across from the nondescript exit. He covered me from hip to breast, his chest against mine, our breaths intermingling. Our mouths met violently as I clutched his shoulders and hefted myself up against him, grinding against the front placket of his jeans. Torin met me with just as much enthusiasm. His palms reached beneath my thighs, gripping and lifting me up even higher until my spine slammed into the wall, a shower of red dust raining down on the both of us as our mouths separated for the shortest instance. That wasn’t nearly enough for me. I drew him back, pressing my lips to his, but the kiss only lasted for another instant before he was moving downward.

  Torin’s mouth traveled to my throat, the soft scratch of his fangs—which before might have had me calling a complete and utter halt to what we were doing—now had me arching my back as I thrust my breasts out, wanting him to move lower. I wanted to feel him bite me. Wanted it with a startling passion that I’d never felt before. I shook my head and found, for the life of me, that I couldn’t clear it. Every thought was fogged over by this intense need—this desire that burned through me, lighting a path of flames along my flesh. I panted, my fingers delving into his hair as he kissed his way down my neck to the opening of my dress turned ripped-chic shirt.

  “You’re a firebrand, Sweetheart,” he rasped as he licked at my skin, sending my mind into a delirium. “And I don’t know how you do it, but you drive me to the brink of madness.”

  “Less talking,” I gasped out. “More fucking.”

  I released his head long enough to shove my hands into his leather jacket. I shoved it off his shoulders, pushing until he moved back, dropping me back to my feet. That was when things got serious.

  Torin’s jacket hit the pavement and I reached for the hem of his shirt, ripping that up and off his torso, stopping only when I’d uncovered the wide plains of his chest. With a damn near silent inhale, I touched his abs and trailed my fingers lower. I looked up into his eyes, watching the clear expression of lust expand across his features with a tightness as his lips parted when I pushed my hand into the waistband of his jeans. With my other hand, I unbuttoned and unzipped them, giving myself more room as I found the line of his boxers and moved beneath those as well until I circled my fingers around the base of his cock.

  A growl ripped through the alley, so loud and shocking that I stopped for a moment, wondering if we were about to be attacked by some unknown creature. But it wasn’t a new enemy—that sound was all Torin. It rumbled up through his chest and out of his throat as his eyes burned red hot down on me.

  Hello, Niagara Falls, meet my fucking underwear.

  I had absolutely no time at all to react. He gave me no indication of what his next action would be. One moment, I had my hand palming his erection, pumping it as much as I could with the fabric of his boxers and jeans still somewhat hindering the process. I blinked and my hand was ripped away. I was shoved to the ground, my back slamming into the leather jacket—cushioning my fall slightly as Torin fell over top of me.

  “You want this,” he hissed, his fingers gripping my shirt at the already somewhat sliced neckline I’d created and shredding it straight down until it parted on either side. His palm cupped my bra-covered breast as his mouth found mine once more. I gasped into his kiss—consumed by his volatile movements and words. Fingers gripped my nipple, pinching down through the fabric covering my breast. My eyes closed as I let my head fall back—tearing my lips from his. Torin’s mouth worked its way down my throat as if he couldn’t help himself. “Barbie!” He paused and leaned back, shaking me slightly. “Tell me you want this,” he commanded when my eyes opened and I looked at him through lust-clouded vision. “I don’t know if I can stop if we keep going, but I won’t do this if you aren’t willing—I need to know before it goes too far.” He gritted his teeth as he waited for an answer. One of his fangs sliced through his lower lip. Blood welled up. Just a single droplet.

  Despite being the spawn of the monster that had slaughtered my entire family, Torin Priest was truly a good person. I closed my eyes briefly, exhaling. There was no more denying this. I was tired of lying to myself—at least, for now I was. Maybe later, when my mind wasn’t consumed by my vampire, by Torin’s scent, I would change, I’d slip back under the cover of hating him, but for right now, I wanted him this way. My eyes opened. I leaned up and pressed my mouth against his, my tongue swiping out and stealing away the blood that had managed to escape before the minor wound had healed itself. “I want this,” I whispered.

  “Thank God.” The irony of a dhampire thanking a divine being was not lost on me. His hands went to my pants, unbuckling my belt. His fingers hooked into the waistband of my jeans and underwear at the same time. He backed away, pulling them down and off in one single, fluid movement—yanking my boots off as well after the fact. Though my back was protected by his leather jacket, my ass met the pavement. I didn’t have to wait long for him to come back to me. “Do you know how beautiful you are to me, Sweetheart?” he asked as he pressed my thighs apart and shifted between them.

  I didn’t know about being beautiful or anything, but when he touched me, I felt like something far more valuable than mere beauty. I couldn’t pinpoint it—couldn’t give the feeling a name. When his fingers raked through my hair, though, and his mouth found my neck, there was no denying that a spark of something more was there. As if there were a string inside of me being gently tugged in his direction. Maybe it was all of that vampire mate mumbo jumbo, but whatever it was, it was addictive.

  “Torin,” I whispered his name as he kissed my throat, sucked my skin between his teeth and fangs. My own ached with a desire to bite him. I panted, air pumping in and out of my chest at a rapid pace. Hands fumbled below. His already loosened jeans and boxers slid down. He was poised at my entrance, the head of his cock rubbing against me in a way that made every fucking nerve in my body pull taut with need and anticipation. My fingers sank into his shoulders. “Condom?” I managed to croak.

  He froze and pulled back. Red eyes stared down at me, lips twisted into a pained grimace. “Barbie…”

  I cocked my head. “Don’t tell me you don’t have one,” I said. I swear to fuck, if he got me this fucking hot and bothered, and didn’t have a fucking condom—

  “You don’t need one,” he said. “I haven’t been with anyone else since you and even if I had been, you’re not susceptible to STDs anymore.”

  “Pregnancy?” I asked. “What—” He shook his head.

  He didn’t say it, but then again, he didn’t have to. I got it, and even if I hadn’t, Satrina’s voice whispered through my mind a moment later. And as she spoke, her words were filled with an almost sorrowful note, low, quiet—as if she didn’t really want to say it. Female hybrids rarely conceive, she said. Before, there was a possibility when your body was at least human, but now … you’ll likely never conceive.

  She didn’t need to finish. I got the drift. I couldn’t have kids. It was a fucking downer, for sure. Especially mid-sex. But what was I going to say? What was I going to do? I didn’t want to stop. I didn’t want to think
about it. About what I was, about what that meant, about yet another fucking thing that had been taken from me—even if I’d never been sure whether or not I wanted kids.

  I reached up and curled my hand around the back of his neck. His eyes widened as I arched up and reached back with my free hand. I’d undone my own bra so many times—doing so one-handed while I gazed up into Torin’s bloody gaze wasn’t as difficult as I had expected it to be. The cups of my bra sagged and I released him to pull it off and toss it aside.

  “Okay,” I said quietly with a shake of my head. “I don’t care.” I forced those words out, focusing on him—letting all of my attention zero in on Torin’s body hovering over mine. “It’s okay,” I said, wanting to believe it. It was all going to be okay. Not just this. Not just us. But everything. “Kiss me.”

  He waited, hesitating, and when it seemed like he might stop altogether, I took control for him. I leaned up further and instead of kissing him, I sank my fangs into the side of his throat in a flash of vampiric speed. The shout he unleashed ripped through my ears and caused whatever chains he’d placed on himself to break.

  Torin’s hands gripped me hard. He lifted my hips even as I pulled steadily from his vein and sank his cock into my depths. I closed my eyes and let my fangs retract, licking my lips as a moan bubbled up. Wrapping my arms around him, I pressed my face into his shoulder and the movement of his hips sliding back and forth comforted me.

  I could feel him—not just against me, but in me. A violent, abrasive storm cascaded over my mind, but he wasn’t a part of that at all. He was the ship. He was the harbor. He was the safe haven calling me towards him as he pounded into me relentlessly. I didn’t even feel my back hitting the ground—he pumped his hips harder. The jacket was a cushion, but his strength was a fucking wrecking ball. It was nothing. It was very little protection. It was a good thing I was stronger now.

  I squeezed my eyes shut even tighter, biting down on my lip as he released me. I was latched onto him so fucking close, I matched every move he made. He trailed his hand between us. I sucked in a breath, feeling the heat of his palm against my abdomen as he moved lower. Torin found my wetness, spreading it from where his cock thrust into me up to where my clit throbbed—a hungry, needy thing. Much like me.

  My eyes popped open as he flicked it lightly, moving two fingers in a circle, grinding down on that little bundle of nerves. My own hips jerked in reaction. I couldn’t help it. It was too much. Torin’s head moved back until he could meet my gaze.

  “I love you, Barbie.” Those words and the feel of his fingers rubbing into my clit as his cock slammed home sent me careening over the edge—whipping me into a white hot frenzy. My lips parted as I cried out, clamping down hard on him—making it damn near impossible for him to pull out as he, too, found his release.

  For a long time afterwards, we stayed like that—him on top of me. Our hearts thudding slowly—galloping to their own beat—matching each other. I laid there, panting. Shocked. It was a wonder no one had come upon us before then. I knew we had to get up, get dressed, and leave, but I couldn’t make my muscles move, and it appeared neither could he. As my breaths sawed in and out of my chest, I had to wonder … how fucking long was I going to deny it? Torin fucking Priest had barged past all my walls. He’d stolen my very life from me. Ignored my wants for his own selfishness.

  With those words, a crack in my armor appeared. Even though I couldn’t say them back—not yet—I had to admit, at least to myself, I didn’t … completely … hate Torin Priest.

  Eighteen

  Barbie

  My eyes popped open, followed by a rush of confusion. There was blood on my tongue from where my fangs had nicked my lower lip. For a moment, I thought I'd been pulled into another one of Satrina's random worlds, or maybe I was dreaming. Unfortunately, neither was true. Instead, I was standing in the bathroom with the only source of light emanating from one of Beth's many wall plug-ins, this one in the shape of a diving dolphin. It illuminated the small room in a soft blue glow, directly contrasting with the glowing red eyes that stared back at me in the reflection. The blood came from where my fangs had protruded from my mouth, one of them nicking my lower lip. Even as I stared at myself in the mirror, my tongue peeked out and swiped the blood almost as fast as the wound healed and my fangs retracted once more.

  What the fuck? I spoke, but my lips didn't move and it was then that I realized, I wasn't the one standing there. My vampire was.

  "Glad you're awake," she said, my lips in the mirror moving as she spoke. "I've been wanting to meet you for a while now."

  What are you doing? I demanded. How the fuck had she taken control? Was it because I'd been sleeping?

  Sleep is an inhibitor, Satrina agreed. It's highly likely.

  This felt so fucking trippy. I was a mass of three voices inside one head. I was the primary owner, but I wasn't the one moving now as Vampire-Barbie leaned closer to the mirror, turning her head—my head—one way and then the other as if she were examining me. Us? This was not easy to keep track of.

  “We need to talk,” she said, my lips moving in the mirror.

  Talk? About what?

  “Mating.”

  I groaned. Seriously? Can’t you give me a fucking break? Just tonight. We—

  “I want to do it again.”

  I … didn’t know how to respond to that. So I did the only thing I could think of, I called for my demon. Satrina?

  The sound of Satrina’s sigh broke through. Unfortunately for you, Barbie, I am on the vampire’s side in this.

  You cannot be serious.

  Sex is usually the only thing I am serious about, she said. I’m a succubus, or did you forget?

  I hadn’t forgotten, I’d just put it to the back of my mind and tried really fucking hard not to think about it. Can I just … think about it? I asked, pushing the question towards my vampire. I just did … that ... with Torin, and honestly, I need more time to just work it the fuck out in my head. Don’t do this again—the whole waking me up like a sleepwalking body bag.

  It was eerie to see my own head tilt to the side in the mirror. “Why not?” she asked, genuine confusion making me—her—us—it—whatever!—frown.

  Well, first of all, because it’s fucking weird! I snapped. I don’t need another reason other than it’s my own goddamned body. It was mine first, so I get to be in the fucking driver’s seat, bitch. I pulled back and pushed the next sentence back to Satrina. And I thought you said my vampire wouldn’t take over complete control like this.

  Satrina was silent for a moment before she spoke. I assumed your demon side would overpower her, but…

  But what? I practically screamed when she trailed off, not finishing her sentence.

  “But I’m a lot more powerful than she expected,” my vampire answered with a grin in the mirror. A noise sounded beyond the bathroom door and that grin of hers widened. “I wonder who that could be?” I already knew who it was. I could scent him even from beyond the door. Maverick. Jesus fucking Christ, could this night get any worse?

  The door opened and Maverick’s head appeared in the crack, backlit by the hallway light. “Barbie?” He yawned. “What the hell are you—” My hand—or rather Vampire-Barbie’s hand—clamped on his arm and dragged him inside, throwing him against the door almost as soon as it’d closed as she plastered herself all over his front. “Barbie? What the actual fuck?”

  “I want you, Maverick,” she hissed, licking a path up the side of his throat even as I tried to shred her from the inside. This was far too soon after what had happened with Torin. Fury pounded through me. I didn’t think. I just acted. I wrapped my fists around her energy and ripped her back even as I thrust myself forward. As soon as I took control, my whole body sagged against Maverick. His head was tipped back and his palms found my shoulders, pushing me back.

  “You—”

  “I’m sorry,” I said quickly, shaking my head even as I released him and backed up. “That wasn’t me. That was—
”

  “Your vampire?” he guessed.

  I nodded, panting slightly. “I’m sorry,” I repeated, looking away as guilt spiraled through me. The echo of laughter in my head from the bitch in question made my whole body harden. I pushed a palm out against the wall even as I dragged a hand down my face. Fucking fuck. I’d almost let her—

  “It’s okay,” Maverick said. “You don’t have to apologize.”

  “Yes, I do,” I argued. My fangs burned behind my gums. This made no sense. Why was I hungry? I’d been feeding far more than regularly just to keep this exact thing from happening. I was trying to keep these urges under control so, if anything, I’d been overfeeding. I’d literally bitten Torin hours ago and drank from him. “You should get away from me,” I warned.

  “Are you having trouble controlling her?” he asked instead, moving closer. The scent of him in my nostrils was damn near overpowering. We were secluded, trapped in this small space. I glanced up. The door was on the other side of him, I’d have to touch him to get to it. I took a step away from him as he reached for me, the backs of my calves smacking the tub.

  Barbie, Satrina called my name, stealing my attention even as Maverick moved nearer. Perhaps your vampire was trying to tell you something. Her request might have had something to do with the demon side of you.

  Like what?

  These cravings. Perhaps you’ve been confusing the sexual craving your demon side should be experiencing for bloodlust. She has realized it, but you haven’t.

  My head hurt—practically pounded as I tried to work through the collection of thoughts cluttering up my mind. What does that mean? I asked.

  Before Satrina could answer, however, Maverick’s hands were on me. I ripped myself away, stumbling and nearly going down. His arms caught me, holding me close and that burn I felt to release my fangs spread throughout the rest of my body, taking over. I trembled with the effort I exerted holding it all at bay.