Love, Blood, and Sanctuary

by Brenda Murphy

  “I’m sorry.” Laurel rose and kissed Catherine’s cheek.

  “As am I.” Catherine knotted her hands over her stomach. “My last love was wrenched from me. Our bond broken by my near death and imprisonment. The curse placed on me severed our connection. I have no hope she still exists.” She caressed Laurel’s arm.

  “Do you still love them?”

  “I am that which ever loves. Here, or beyond I love the ones I bonded with, no matter what plane they occupy.”

  “How old are you?” Laurel picked up Catherine’s hand and kissed her palm.

  “Old enough to remember the building of Djoser’s pyramid.”

  “And only two loves?” Laurel arched her eyebrow.

  Catherine pulled her close. “Jealousy does not become you. And I said only two bonded lovers. Three now with you.” She tugged Laurel’s hair and exposed her throat, nipped, and then soothed the spot her sharp teeth left.

  “You love me? You just met me. How can you say you love me?”

  Catherine peered into Laurel’s face. Her gaze locked with Laurel’s. “Do you doubt my feelings? Or regret your choice?”

  Laurel reached out and smoothed the lines that marred Catherine’s brow. “No. I know your soul as I know my own. We’re meant to be. I sensed it from the first time you touched me. It was as if a part of me I didn’t even know was missing clicked into place.” She brushed her lips over Catherine’s mouth. Catherine cupped the back of her head and deepened the kiss. Laurel relaxed into her attention. She wrapped her hand in Catherine’s hair and tugged, breaking their connection.

  Laurel lifted her chin to expose her neck. “Mark me.”

  Catherine bit down, hard enough to bruise, stopping short of breaking her skin and Laurel groaned. Catherine rolled them so Laurel was pinned by her weight. “What do you need, my love?”

  “You. Over me. Let me lose myself in you.”

  Catherine slid up Laurel’s body. She planted her knees on either side of Laurel’s head and lifted her skirt with one hand. “Like this?”

  Laurel hummed and tugged her hips, bringing Catherine close. She pulled the thin silk covering her thick clit to the side and lost herself in her sweet heat.

  *

  “He’ll come, you know. After Nadia’s report to him.” Catherine slathered butter over her toast.

  Laurel raised an eyebrow. “I suppose you don’t have to worry about what you eat.”

  Catherine chewed slowly. “No. And neither do you now.”

  “If we don’t need food, what do we feed on?”

  “Energy. Emotions. Blood, if we choose. Some develop a taste for it. It’s more trouble than it’s worth.”

  Laurel grimaced. “I don’t even feel hungry.”

  Catherine tilted her head to the side. “As much as you fed on me, I’m not surprised.”

  Laurel’s cheeks flushed a delightful dull red. “What do we do about my uncle?”

  Catherine wiped the crumbs from her fingers. “What do you want to do?”

  Laurel closed her eyes as visions of the cellar children rose in her mind. “I want to end him, but it feels like a betrayal of my clan, my family.” A shudder whipped her frame. “What if he’s still working on his breeding program?”

  Catherine leaned back in her chair and folded her arms across her chest. “I can’t imagine he would stop. He was obsessed with it. With power.”

  Laurel held her hands apart and gathered a small ball of energy and toyed with it, tossing it back and forth between her hands. “He’d freak out if he saw me do this.”

  “He’d force you into a breeding program. Harvest your eggs. Destroy you if you didn’t comply.”

  Laurel sighed and let the ball of energy evaporate. “Is there another way?” She knotted her hands together.

  Catherine leaned back in her chair and fixed her gaze on Laurel’s face. “No.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  The first pulse of energy shattered the doorframe of the house even as the wards held the centurion back. Laurel twisted and dodged the splinters that cascaded around her. Catherine put down her book and raised an eyebrow. “Friend of yours?”

  Laurel shook the dust from her clothes. “No.”

  A second blast opened a small crack in the door. “Laurel? Come on, it’s me, Sully. You don’t have to be afraid. Come out. We know she tricked you. The family’ll take care of you. Come on, Laurel. I’ll get you a coffee. We can talk.” The cajoling tone of his voice ratcheted up Laurel’s anger. White-hot energy boiled up and out of her body. A flashing golden cloud of heat spun around her, a vortex of protective light.

  Another pulse of energy pieced the door wards and stabbed through Laurel’s veil of protection. Red vines of light twisted and wound their way around her body, trapping her, pulling her toward the door. Sully’s grim face peered through the door. His hands were white knuckled across his weapon.

  “Catherine!” Laurel shrieked. She twisted and raged against the bonds.

  “Oh, for fuck’s sake, I’m never going to finish this book.” Catherine set the novel aside. “This is good practice. Focus on what you want. Don’t be distracted by Sully’s voice, or your past relationship. Use your power.”

  Sully growled. “Shut up, bitch. Don’t listen to her, Laurel. Stop fighting me.”

  Laurel clenched her jaw against the pain of the red light and focused her energy. The light shifted and swirled, forming silver knives that sliced through the red light. A shrill scream sounded on the other side of the door. “Stop! Don’t kill me, Laurel. Your parents wouldn’t want that.”

  Mention of her parents tumbled her thoughts, and Laurel lost focus. The red light reknit and wound around her throat, sharp thorns digging into her flesh. She opened her mouth to scream, and the vine filled her mouth as it tightened around her throat. Lights flashed behind her eyes and her chest heaved, fighting the loss of air in her lungs. Laurel flailed, unable to summon her power. She slumped to her knees and panic set in as she was tugged toward the centurion.

  Purple light flashed and swept over Laurel. The red vines shriveled and evaporated. She collapsed to her side gasping for air. A sharp scream rising in volume raged in her ears until it cut off. The sharp stench of burnt demon flesh stung Laurel’s nose as stillness settled over the foyer.

  “Relax, darling. You don’t even need air. You have to stop thinking like a mortal. Your body can be destroyed but you can’t be destroyed. Be fearless. Sentiment has no place in battle.”

  Laurel gazed up at Catherine and savored her transformation. Catherine’s hair framed her head, a crown of intricately woven braids, and her skin shimmered and glowed beneath the azure-blue cloth that draped her frame.

  Catherine extended her hand. “Get up, love, seeing you on your knees for anyone else disturbs me.”

  Laurel rose on shaky legs. “Sully?”

  “Not a concern. But we need to prepare. Marcus will come himself now. And you must be ready.”

  Laurel rubbed her neck and the tender skin where Sully’s magic had burned her. “I didn’t think he’d try to end me.”

  Catherine shrugged. “To fail to bring you back would have meant his death. He had nothing to lose. If he brought your body back, he still would have met his obligation to Marcus.”

  *

  Catherine tightened her magic about Laurel’s body, the purple strands draped over her in a diamond pattern, restraining her body and energy. Her light-brown nipples were peaked. The bonds outlined her breasts perfectly. She adjusted the mirror to capture their reflections.

  Laurel’s eyes were closed and her breathing even.

  “Open your eyes.” Catherine stayed behind Laurel and held her gaze in the glass. “Now. Your task is to shed my bonds, and then—” She dipped her fingers between her legs before she brought them up to her mouth. Her tongue slid over her fingertips as she tasted herself. “Then you may have this.”

  Laurel panted, her hands opening and closing at her sides. Her shoulders flexed and bunched
under the lines of light. “I don’t know how.”

  Catherine landed a sharp crack on her ass. “You do know. Gather yourself. Focus on what you want.”

  Laurel groaned. “What if I hurt you?”

  “You won’t. I trust you, Laurel. Trust yourself. Or you will never be ready to confront Marcus.” Catherine smoothed her hands over Laurel’s breasts, tweaking her nipples before she feathered her fingers over her clit. “The moment you let go, let go of your fear, you will be more powerful than you’ve ever imagined. You’ve died in this world, what could you fear now? This bag of skin and bone is just that, it’s lovely, but even if it is destroyed you will not be. Embrace it.”

  She jacked Laurel’s clit slowly, and Laurel lifted her hips chasing the sensations of Catherine’s touch. “If my body is not alive, why can I feel you? Feel your touch?” She rocked into Catherine’s touch.

  Catherine wrapped her arm around her waist and pulled her flush against her. “Because you remember. The sensations are etched upon your soul.”

  She drove her fingers deep and Laurel spread her legs wide.

  “It’s not real?”

  “Do you remember me telling you I was as real as you wanted me to be?” Catherine kissed the side of her neck as she fucked her slowly. “We create what we want. You are capable of creating what you want. Embrace it, Laurel. Life for us is an illusion. A massive playground of what we want to be and how we want to feel.”

  She thrust harder and pushed Laurel over the edge and into bliss. She watched in the mirror as her face contorted into rapture, her body shaking and trembling in Catherine’s arms. “This. This is what you crave. A lover’s control. To surrender all. To obey my commands. Use that energy. Turn it, break free, and lick me. Show me how much you want me.”

  *

  Catherine’s command twisted inside Laurel’s mind as pleasure coursed through her body. The purple bonds of light shimmered and tightened, the sensation of being restrained comforting, allowing her to thrash as she came. Waves of pleasures spiraled out from her body, taking her up and over. Her body writhed as she screamed out her pleasure. Lust, raw and unfettered longing, filled her. She needed to have Catherine in her mouth, to taste, to possess her, to give her what she had given Laurel.

  Golden energy spiraled up from inside her, filled her, and she focused on the bonds, melting them gently, slipping them off. She spun and pushed into Catherine’s arms. Laurel drew her stiff nipples over Catherine’s skin. She kissed and licked and bit, rolling Catherine’s flesh between her teeth as she moved down her body until she arrived at her heart’s desire. Catherine’s clit was slick and thick in her mouth. Her hands gripped Laurel’s hair, tugging her close.

  Laurel swirled her tongue over her, and then pressed her tongue deep. She twitched her tongue up and down, curling it, striving to hit the spot that would make Catherine moan and buck for more.

  Catherine hissed her pleasure. “So good.”

  Laurel forged her energy into golden vines and wrapped them around Catherine’s wrists. With a shift of her mind, she tugged and forced Catherine’s bound hands over her head.

  Given the freedom to do as she wished, Laurel gorged herself on Catherine’s body, cupping and squeezing her breasts as she kissed and nibbled her neck. Catherine lifted her chin and exposed her throat. Laurel nipped harder, tasting the sweet nectar of Catherine’s blood.

  A deep groan rattled Catherine’s chest. “Take it my love, drink freely, slake your thirst with me.”

  Laurel lapped and sucked, drowning in Catherine’s bright blood. Each drop forged stronger links between them as their power intertwined. A whimper from Catherine echoed in the room. More. She wanted more. She held the image in her mind and a queening chair appeared. Laurel lifted her mouth from Catherine’s neck and licked the spot and the skin closed over the wounds from her teeth.

  Another mind shift, and Catherine was bound to the chair, her legs spread wide, her glistening center exposed.

  “Yes. That’s it. Take what you want, love.” Catherine’s eyes held Laurel’s gaze. “I’m yours.”

  Laurel dropped to her knees and licked and sucked, gorging herself with the sweetness flowing from Catherine. Want, wild and wicked, filled her and she brought her fingers up and teased them over Catherine’s slick labia. Catherine panted and groaned, held tight by Laurel’s energy. Laurel reveled in the control, her ability to give Catherine pleasure, to be foremost in her mind. Laurel lifted her mouth and kissed the inside of Catherine’s thighs and moved her mouth to her breasts, sucking a hard nipple between her lips.

  Laurel lifted her head and stared into Catherine’s eyes. “I want to fuck you.”

  “Do it then.” Catherine’s dark eyes glowed with a golden light.

  Laurel stood and thrust her fingers deep and stroked hard. She bent and sucked Catherine’s breasts before she moved to her mouth and kissed her. Laurel sucked on her bottom lip before she thrust her tongue deep. Catherine welcomed her, swallowing her kisses, surrendering her mouth to Laurel.

  She rocked the heel of her hand over Catherine’s clit as her body clutched at Laurel’s fingers. Time stood still as Laurel’s perfect fantasy spun out. Catherine’s cries of pleasure filled the room.

  With each stroke, each kiss, the scent of cedar and pine, and under it all the carnal scent of them whorled around them, filling Laurel’s senses. One last thrust and Catherine snapped the bonds that held her and wrapped her legs and arms around Laurel as she shattered under her.

  Chapter Nineteen

  “He’s coming here. Now.” Her jaw was set, her shoulders rigid.

  Catherine smoothed her hand over Laurel’s arm. “You’re ready. He has no idea how ready. You’ll have the advantage. You will need to push it if you want to be free of him.”

  Laurel rested her chin on her chest and chewed her lip. “I know.”

  “He will appeal to your sentiment, raise up memories to disrupt you. You must not let him.”

  Laurel shuddered. “He’ll use my parents. He always does.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that he might have been responsible for your parents’ deaths?”

  Laurel lifted her chin and met Catherine’s gaze. “Do you know that?”

  “No.” Catherine’s voice was soft. “But who else would have the power and connections to do it?”

  Laurel scrubbed her hand over her face. “One more thing to ask him about.”

  Catherine clasped her hands together in front of her body. “Battle is not the time to ask questions. You need to focus. You’ll need all of your power to beat Marcus.” She spread her hands wide. “This and I will all disappear if he has his way. We’ve embarrassed him, defeated his best centurion. He’s arrogant. Use that. He’ll underestimate you, test you. Do not be deceived. He didn’t get where he is in the clan without being cunning as well as powerful.”

  A dark-blue light lit the sidewalk outside the townhouse. Laurel and Catherine turned to the window.

  Catherine stood directly behind Laurel and rested her palm in the center of her back. “Steady on.”

  A long black car rolled up to the front of the town house. Two centurions exited and opened the rear door. Marcus slid out of the car and glanced up. His eyes glowed red, the veneer of his humanness melting under their observation. His face twisted in a smile.

  “You would think he would grow tired of appearing like a second-rate mobster.”

  Laurel lifted her eyebrow. “His look is a bit outdated.”

  Catherine turned to look at Laurel. “Are you ready?”

  Laurel stretched her back and rolled her shoulders. “As I’ll ever be.”

  The hiss of melting metal and burning wood announced Marcus’s arrival.

  “Showtime.” Catherine held her arm out indicating Laurel should proceed. “After you.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Marcus strode up the steps. “Laurel! Don’t make me search for you. You won’t like it when I find you if you run from me.”

 
Laurel squared her shoulders. “I’m right here. Not sure why you’re shouting.”

  Marcus turned the corner and stepped into the living room. “You killed Sully. That’s why I’m shouting.” His voice dropped to a sharp whisper. “And you forced my hand in ending Nadia.”

  “Sully started it, and as for Nadia, that’s on you. You sent her to retrieve me like I was a child.”

  Marcus spread his hands wide. “So, it is true. The mouse has become a lion. Imagine that.” With a quick flip of his wrist, blue light shot out toward Laurel, the strands coalesced into a net. The net wrapped tightly around Laurel and barbs hooked into her flesh.

  Laurel inhaled sharply and focused on the images of the voiceless children of the pit. Her energy gathered and she shredded the net. It fell into pieces and dissolved at her feet. “You’ll have to do better than that, uncle.”

  Marcus snarled. “Where is she? I know she put you up to this. This is not you, Laurel. We’re family. She can’t protect you forever.”

  Laurel tilted her head to the side. “The only thing I need protection from is you.”

  Marcus’s voice dropped to a whisper. “After everything I’ve done for you? This is how it ends? I’ve only ever asked one thing of you. What would your parents think?”

  A knot of pain blossomed in Laurel’s chest. “No. You don’t get to pull that. They would not expect me to be your chattel, breeding stock for your sick plan.”

  Marcus raised his head. His eyes glowed with blue light. “You have no vision. Like your parents.”

  “Is that why you killed them? No vision? Or because they accomplished on their own what you had been trying to force?”

  A flare of blue light overwhelmed Laurel. Gooey thick strings of midnight blue covered her body. The more she struggled the tighter the bonds became. She fell to the floor. Her chest heaved as panic set in.

  “I told you I wouldn’t be nice. I asked you for what I wanted. Now I’ll just take it.”

  He stepped close, leaned over her, and gripped Laurel’s hair, yanking hard. “Fucking dyke. I should have ended you like the other failures.” Spittle flecked his narrow lips.