by Sharon Page
Her heart constricted, but she knew Dimitri was right. “Sarah, there is something I must tell you. At first, you may not quite believe it. I know I refused to. But it’s true.”
She couldn’t look Sarah in the eyes, but she spilled everything out—everything she now knew about what she was.
And when Vivienne finished Sarah threw the book down to the table. “Mother, that’s ridiculous!” She was trembling, staring down at one of the pictures—of a naked fanged woman who was fiercely sucking a man’s neck.
“I know I am not like that. But I—” Words failed her. She tried … “If I do not engage in … in sexual intercourse, I develop intense pain. I come close to death. Sarah, it seems things we once thought existed only in horror stories are real.” And I am one of them.
Sarah leaped up. “No, this is madness.”
“It is why the vampire council wants me.”
“Am I a succubus?”
She had no answer except the one Dimtri had given her. Slightly altered. “Lord Dimitri doesn’t believe so.”
She reached for Sarah but her daughter pulled away. Sarah yanked up her hems, whirled around, and ran like a gazelle out of the library.
Vivienne wanted to follow, but she knew Sarah needed time. She slumped into one of the high-backed chairs. Her shoulders felt heavy, her heart barely wanted to beat. Frightening your daughter was exhausting business.
Sarah probably wasn’t a succubus. Vivi closed her eyes, repeating that over and over….
Hot, brilliant sunlight splashed across her closed lids and she opened her eyes. Instead of stacks of books, she saw a stretch of lush green fields, a vivid blue sky, neat hedgerows. She was outside, in the country, and perched on a sidesaddle on a dappled gray mare. Skirts of emerald green velvet flowed over her legs, and a peacock feather dangled in front of her face.
She was in a dream. At her side, a horse snorted and hooves pawed the ground. She turned, afraid to look at the man who sat astride a horse beside her, the man she must be preparing to seduce in her dreams.
Relief and desire slammed into her at once. Beneath a tall beaver hat, Heath dazzled her with his wide grin. The lazy arrogance in his smile set her on fire. It ignited her desire to do something … mad. She had never ridden before, but here, in this fantasy world, she gave the reins a snap and sent her gray mare off at a fierce gallop.
Heath charged in pursuit. Wild, fey exhilaration shot through her as her horse galloped across the grassy meadow. She leaned forward, whipped by the flying mane, but feeling as though she was the one taking up the ground in long strides. This was soaring. Flying.
A low green hedge rushed toward her. She took it and flew up into the sky, weightless for a thrilling moment before landing. Before the mad chase continued.
Heath raced after her. His beaver hat tumbled behind him. He caught up on the right side of her, grasped her horse’s bridle, and brought both horses to a stop. The animals panted and so did she.
She turned to him, then he caught hold of her chin and forced her to lean to him. He captured her mouth in a kiss. Her heart galloped every bit as fast as she had just raced. Through corset and velvet, her nipples strained.
Heath leaned back and murmured, “I’ve always wanted to do this. And doing this with you is a fantasy come true.”
“What? Kissing? Riding?” Or perhaps he meant being outside in the sunshine …
“Fucking you on horseback.”
His hands slid to her waist, and she knew the sensation of floating through the air one more time. He planted her in front of him on the saddle with her back to him, between his warm, hard body and the horse’s long, elegant neck.
“How?” she gasped, but he pushed her skirts up, revealing leather half boots, filmy stockings, then her bare thighs. Sun warmed her suddenly naked skin. Beneath her, the horse shifted, and she cried out. “This thing is rather huge, you know.” She twisted to see him.
Hand on his trousers, he grinned. “Thank you.”
“The horse. I meant the horse is enormous, and we’re very high off the ground …”
His trousers opened, and he withdrew his cock, which was, of course, magnificent, hard, and very huge. “Never fear, love. I’ll keep you safe. I promise: once you’re on top of my cock, I’m not going to let you fall off.”
“You are—incorrigible. Terrible. We can’t do this on a horse.”
He laughed, eyes glinting in the sunlight. “Flower, you’re supposed to be seducing me. You’re supposed to be driving me mad with lust. Then you climb onto me and give me so much damn pleasure, I give you my soul when I come. Like this—”
He pushed his shaft down to stroke her with his cock. With his strong arms, he lifted her, lowered her, and she cried out as inch after inch slid inside her bubbling cunny. She lowered until her bottom pressed against his balls, which rested outside his trousers, and her clit brushed the curls at his pubis. He kissed her—a hot, melting kiss—and his horse moved beneath them, dancing lightly on the grass. Together they rose and fell, his cock stroking sensitive places.
“Now, love, we ride.”
A light tap of his heels and his horse cantered. He moved with his mount’s stride, and impaled on top of his hot, luscious cock, she moved, too. Up, up she went as he did, and when his hips lowered, she was suspended for one breathless moment before sliding down along his rigid shaft.
He held the reins in his right hand, held her waist with his left. And urged his horse to gallop. Each bounce sent his cock thrusting deep inside her. She was sobbing with delight. And they were cantering swiftly now. Her jaunty hat sailed away. Her hair tumbled. And she saw another hedge approaching fast.
Heavens, he was going to take it, with her on top of his cock. She closed her eyes as he squeezed his thighs, tightened the reins, and lifted. She went with him. And as they soared over the hedge, she cried out and came explosively on top of him.
Hooves struck the ground. Sobbing with ecstasy, she held him. And as the horse galloped and she laughed with the thrill of her orgasm and the giddy relief of survival, he came, too.
Heath laughed lustily as he brought his beautiful black mount to a stop. “You, sex, and sunshine,” he murmured. “Someday, Flower, I’m going to have all three….”
Then he was gone. The green grass vanished, the sky went dark, and the dream whirled away from her. She tried to hold on to it. But she jolted back to earth—or at least she woke in her chair. Rain spattered against the tall windows.
Vivienne.
Gruff and low, the eerie masculine voice slipped into her head. It wasn’t Heath’s, though he could speak in a similar way, raw and hoarse, when he was aroused. She refused to dream of another man. The succubi in Dimitri’s books went to many men, a different one each night, stealing little pieces of their souls. But she didn’t care what she was. All she wanted was Heath.
Vivienne.
She tried to push up from the chair. Why did she feel awake, but also trapped, pinned to the chair and held in a dark fog? Sound whispered behind her—the brush of boots over the carpet.
But the chair wouldn’t let her escape. Desperate panic gripped her. She was not going to seduce another man.
This is not about sex, Vivienne. The man spoke in her thoughts. I am not a mortal man, not one of your prey. I am your father. I’ve waited a long time to be able to come to you. My name is Nikolai. Now turn around and look at me, Vivienne.
Fear tumbled in her tummy. How could she dream of her father when she had no idea what he looked like? But the spell—or whatever it was—that bound her to the straight-backed chair vanished. Suddenly, she surged to her feet. She spun around.
A dark figure stood in the shadows, completely shrouded in darkness. She couldn’t see a thing. Not his face, nor his attire. She had the impression he stood very tall, far taller than she did. She could barely distinguish the edge of a cape, and a tall beaver hat upon his head.
I cannot come closer, my dear. Not close enough so you can see me. I cannot pe
netrate this house. There are shields around it. You have to come to me, Vivienne. I want to explain to you what you are, what your past was. Follow me now, and then you will be able to see me. I’ve waited so impatiently for this, my beloved child.
Beloved child. “I’m not your beloved anything,” she snapped with pride. “I have no idea who you are. You abandoned us. You didn’t care then, and I don’t care to know a thing about you now.” She knew she shouldn’t do this. She must find out what her father was and what had made her. Pushing him away was a foolish thing to do, but it was the pain of so many years of knowing she’d been abandoned.
“I never abandoned you, my dear.” His voice flowed, deep and coaxing. “But the rules of my existence are strict. I could not take you with me. I could not let you know what you were; it would have put you at risk from the vampire queens. By leaving you with your mother, by letting your power stay dormant, I kept you safe. I watched you from afar, watched you grow up to be beautiful and strong.” His voice was husky and lulling. Filled with aching regret.
“I am a vampire,” he said. “And we are not supposed to beget children with mortal women. It is against our code. But now, you have brought your true nature to life. Now I can be with you.”
“How could I be a succubus for years, yet didn’t know it until now?”
“Come to me, Vivienne, and I will explain everything.” He retreated, slowly floating backward toward the window.
Sense told her not to move, but her feet wouldn’t obey. They took a hurried step in his direction. Then she ran after him, her hems flapping around her legs. The wall loomed closer, but she could not stop moving….
She suddenly stepped forward into unfathomable blackness.
Strong arms grasped her around the waist. You can walk right into your dreams and go anywhere you wish. I have waited a long time for the moment you were awakened. But now you will see the power you have.
She sent a message desperately through thought, as she felt herself rushing through an icy cold void. Perhaps her father would hear it, but she had no choice. Dimitri. My father has taken me. I don’t know where I am going but I will try to tell Heath when he awakens. If I can.
Vivi, can you still hear me?
Heath ran down Whitechapel High Street, jostling through the crowds of tired workers, drunken men, and tattered prostitutes. The street flares barely cast light into the fog. He had wanted to strangle Dimitri with his bare hands. How could the damn vampire have let Vivienne’s father get to her? Yes, the demon had done it through Vivi’s dreams, and logically he knew it wasn’t Dimitri’s fault. But anger sizzled wildly inside him.
Heath? Your thoughts are so faint. It is like you are miles and miles away.
He prayed he wasn’t. Her directions had brought him here, to the stews where he had encountered Nikolai last night. His senses tingled with apprehension.
I remember a street name. She whispered it in his thoughts.
Heath paused. That was a street on which one of the murders had taken place. He found the narrow lane and turned down it. The mist made the cobbles shine. Hooves clopped. In the fog, bawdy female voices shouted rude remarks and burst into boisterous laughter.
The building was tall and narrow and a brown brick, she went on.
He stood in front of a structure that matched the description. His nape hairs lifted, like a dog scenting trouble. This had to be—
A brilliant bolt of silver light slammed into him at the exact instant he recognized his sire’s white-blond hair and handsome face. What in hell? How had he let Nikolai get so close without scenting him? He knew how. He’d focused all his senses on tracking Vivi.
Another bolt of light hit his chest, and he reeled back. Stars shimmered in front of his eyes, then everything went black.
Heath awoke to see silvery-green eyes, eyes exactly like his own, staring at him. He jerked up and the chaise he was lying on threw up dust as he moved. Faded and torn curtains framed dirty windows. A chandelier sagged from the ceiling. He blinked, recognizing the place as a former brothel, apparently abandoned.
His brother greeted him with a wary stare. Then Heath’s heart sank. Raine held a crossbow aimed at his chest.
“Raine, for Christ’s sake, whatever Nikolai has promised you—whatever power or wealth—it’s a lie.” His brother didn’t flinch, just stared at him so emotionlessly it terrified Heath. “Let me tell you what he did to me in the Carpathians….”
He had never told Raine. Even after he had been forced to transform his brother into a vampire. Even when he’d explained the curse to Raine. He had never told his brother about Nikolai finding him in the mud, branding him, torturing him, and locking him in a dungeon. Now he told his cold-eyed brother everything.
“Raine,” he implored. “He wants to change one of us into a demon, a monster capable of destroying the world. I know that is not what you want. It is not who you are. I remember you as a boy.” Christ, why did Raine just stare at him without speaking? “Do you remember sailing boats together in the stream that ran behind the house? Do you remember capturing salamanders? I put mine in our father’s bed, but you made yours a pet.”
And as he spoke, he remembered how harsh a brother he had been after their parents died. No wonder he had driven his brother away.
Heath, I—I think my father has done something to your brother. He is controlling his mind. You must be careful. You must try to escape. My father has vowed to destroy you. I don’t understand why. He says it is to protect me—
He heard Vivi’s desperate voice and turned his attention from Raine. He could be destroyed, because Nikolai could use Raine. And Nikolai was Vivienne’s father. Vivi, are you all right—?
He couldn’t finish his thought. Raine punched him in the jaw. Hard enough that his head snapped back. What the hell?
Raine stared at him, blankly, as he doubled his fists and bounced lightly on his feet, the way they both used to do when sparring in Gentleman Jackson’s ring in London. A flurry of fists came at Heath, and he tried to dodge each blow. One caught his shoulder, another slammed into his cheek. Driven by a vampire’s strength, Raine’s blow hit him with the force of a cannonball.
He couldn’t hit back. And Vivi was right. Nikolai was controlling Raine’s mind. Heath would not beat up his brother. No matter what.
But Raine was backing him into a corner. What happened if he let his brother kill him? Would Nikolai try to use Vivi to invoke Raine’s curse?
Another punch connected with his jaw, sending him reeling. His skin had split on his cheek and blood flowed. His wounds didn’t heal. And he felt weak. If Raine kept this up, he could be beaten to death. He was losing his strength.
“Yes, my foolish young vampire, you are losing your strength and it is because of Vivienne.” Nikolai strode into the room, his hand gripping Vivi’s wrist. Wild fear flashed in her eyes at the sight of Heath. He supposed bruises were blossoming, and blood was running down the right side of his face.
“Stop,” she cried. “You are going to kill him.”
“No, my dear. His desire for you is killing him. It is weakening him. He is tearing himself apart inside because he wants you so much, yet he cannot have you.”
Vivi had been crying; tears had tracked down her cheeks. If Raine would stop hitting him and get the hell out of the way, he would tear Nikolai apart.
His sire was Vivi’s father. The truth of this stunned him. Knowing what a vile monster Nikolai was, learning the truth must be killing Vivi. How could her good heart and her capacity for love withstand learning she was the child of a purely evil vampire? He had to get her out of here.
But Nikolai had slid his arm around her shoulders, in a sickening parody of the way a parent would hold a child.
“You are so strong, Vivienne. See your strength in his pain.”
“Stop!” she cried. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. And stop forcing his brother to hit him. It’s cruel and vicious. Heath won’t hit back. He loves his brother.”
“And that is what makes it so amusing.”
“Amusing?” she cried.
Nikolai grasped her chin and stared into her eyes. “You are not what I thought you would be,” he mused. “There is much work to be done. I thought you would be hungry for power. Haven’t you learned, Vivienne, that you need power or you will be a victim, just as you once were in the slums?”
“Not this kind of power. What you want to do is mad. Vicious. How can you turn either of these men into a demon?”
“And can you look me in the eyes and truthfully tell me you believe I should spare mortal men? By destroying them, I am making them pay for their brutality and cruelty. You should embrace what I am going to do.”
“I—I won’t,” she whispered. “Let Heath go. Let all of us go.”
“This is your destiny, Vivienne. You are the first of the most perfect succubi. You are stronger than any female demon there has ever been. Of course I am not just going to let you go.”
She pulled away from Nikolai just as Raine hit Heath in the gut. That was enough. Heath grabbed his brother’s arm and swung it behind Raine’s back, pinning it there. He could taste the coppery tang of his own blood. “Let her go,” he growled.
“No, she is mine.” Nikolai’s black eyes flashed red. “I created her, and now you have fallen in love with her. But you are far stronger than your brother. Much stronger than I expected you to be. But now, let me show you how powerful I could make her, if I wished.”
Foreign words flew out of Nikolai’s mouth and suddenly Heath was overpowered by Vivi’s unique, feminine scent. The lush smell of her skin, the ripe earthy aroma of her cunny. Her scents called to him as though he were a wolf ready to mate. His cock thickened and stood upright. His fangs exploded. Lust hit him like a wave.
No. He had to fight this.
Nikolai snapped his fingers and a frightened-looking man in grubby clothes stepped out of the shadows. “Ye want ‘er now? Am I supposed to give ‘er to ‘im? Like I gave the others to ye?” The man pushed a woman forward. A bedraggled-looking woman who wore a dirty gown and a fussy bonnet. Nikolai grasped the woman’s arm.