Love Bites

by Aleera Anaya Ceres

  But now, she felt nervous and tugged at it self-consciously.

  She’d taken forever to finally arrange her hair in a suitable style so she didn’t look a total mess. She wore it over her left shoulder where it hung in a fire of curls. Any loose strands were held in place with glittering crystal hair pins. She wore crystal earrings but no necklace or bracelets.

  Katheryn had thought about wearing heels, but the ones she had were uncomfortable and pinched her feet. Instead, she’d donned a pair of dressy flats that looked nice, but kept her feet from squealing in pain with every step.

  Her makeup was just enough to highlight her features and bring out the color of her eyes. All in all, she’d say she looked pretty damned good.

  She stared up at Ignacio’s house, her nerves fraying with every breath she took. Tonight was different from other nights, she knew that with certainty. Because tonight was the night they would confess their love for each other.

  Neither of them had said it yet, but the feeling was there, clear as day. It felt right. Meant to be. Like everything in her maelstrom of a life had finally fallen into place. For once, the looming future didn’t matter and she wasn’t worried about her family, her job, or even Hunter.

  “Katheryn…”

  The sound of her name startled her. The voice familiar, like a ghost of her past come to haunt her. Then came the softest click of shoes hitting the sidewalk.

  Shock was too tame a word for what Katheryn felt as she slowly turned and saw him emerge from the darkness.

  Hunter looked little different than the last time she’d seen him—except this time, he wore clothes and didn’t have some blonde bimbo straddling him. His hair was perfect as always and he wore one of his designer suits.

  Once upon a time, Katheryn would have screamed at him, call him a lying, cheating bastard and chuck a shoe at his smug face. But a mixture of shock, and the fact that she had been in her own little world of bliss with Ignacio and had completely forgotten him, kept her quiet.

  Hunter and his designer clothes and rich lifestyle had seemed worlds away. Looking at him now, she realized it was a world she didn’t belong in and wanted no part of.

  “Katheryn,” he repeated coolly. His tone set her nerves on edge. He took a step forward, eyeing her from head to toe. He smiled. “You look well.”

  Katheryn narrowed her eyes. “What are you doing here?”

  “You really didn’t think you could hide from me forever, did you?” His lips pursed and his eyes shone in a way that should have looked teasing, but were really superior.

  “I wasn’t hiding,” she defended. “I needed to get away from you, and I thought I made it clear we were done, so I don’t know why you’re here.”

  “I let you have your fun for weeks, Katheryn, but it’s time to come back to the real world. Your little adventure with the vampire? It ends now.”

  Anger surged through her body at the commanding tone. It was the same tone he’d always used on her. The same one she’d let him beat into her until she was his meek little bride-to-be. He’d taken all of her fire and snuffed it with that fucking tone.

  Well, not anymore.

  “You’re delusional if you think you can tell me what to do. We’re done. I made the clear when I pelted the lamp at your head. How did you find me, anyway?”

  A pale eyebrow rose. “You really thought, with my reach, I wouldn’t be able to find you?”

  The way he said it sent a slice of fear down her spine. She took a step back just as he took two forward.

  She tried not to let her fear show. “What do you want?”

  His lip curled in a half-sneer, half-smile. “Why, to take you home, of course.”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat. She wouldn’t go with him. Not matter what he said, she wouldn’t leave with him.

  Katheryn shook her head. “I’m not going with you.”

  Hunter laughed. “Is it because of that foreigner?”

  She said nothing.

  “Yes, a fling is always healthy—something one needs to get out of their system.”

  “What?!”

  “I’m glad you found a way to get out your frustrations. An affair is normal, but now, it’s time for you to come back to your life.”

  Katheryn glared at him incredulously. She could hardly believe what he was saying. A fling was healthy in a relationship? What the hell? She shook her head.

  “No, Hunter, I will not go with you. You cheated on me, and I’m not going back to that. I deserve better. I don’t want you anymore. I thought I made it clear we were over when I tried pelting you with that lamp.”

  He waved his hand dismissively. “Although your actions were childish, I’m willing to look past them, considering they were done in anger.”

  “Childish? Childish?! Are you serious?”

  “Yes, ‘throwing tantrums and running away’ is childish. But I’ve found you, and I’m here to take you back to our life together.”

  “What part of ‘I’m not going back with you’ did you not understand? Because it wasn’t a joke, Hunter,” she practically shouted at him, drawing the attention of people on the street. “We. Are. Done. Now, leave me alone and go back to your mansion.”

  She turned to give him the cold shoulder and hailed a passing cab.

  Suddenly, his hand gripped her forearm...tightly.

  “Katheryn, darling, you’re causing a scene. Come with me, and we will discuss this.” He tugged her arm, but she wrenched free of his grasp.

  “Don’t touch me!” she shouted. “I’m not a child throwing a tantrum, Hunter. I’m a grown woman, and I make my own goddamn decisions. I don’t want to be with you anymore. That’s all there is to it.”

  Anger flared in the depths of his eyes. He grabbed her arm again, squeezing it hard enough to make her wince. She bit the inside of her mouth to avoid crying out. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her cower, however. She tugged her arm and glared at him.

  “Hunter, let go of me!”

  “We’re leaving. Now.”

  A black car idled near the sidewalk, a true testament to how shocked she’d been at the sight of Hunter to ignore a car that rich. The back door was flung open and he tugged her against his side, half-dragging her as he walked.

  She dug in her heels, yanking against his iron grip but he was stronger than she’d given him credit for. His arms wrapped tightly around her and she barely even had time to scream for help as he shoved her into the backseat.

  “Hunter, you son of a bitch, let me go!”

  She fell against the leather interior and kicked out her legs with all her might. Panic and fear threatened to choke her, but she didn’t give in. She couldn’t. She had to get away from him.

  Because if he was able to find her with a few calls and was risking taking her, she feared what else he would do. She never realized before, too blinded by her parents’ wishes and the love she thought she had for him, but there was something dark in his gaze. Something dangerous.

  Something that threatened harm.

  “Let me out of the car this instant!” She kept her voice firm with the demand so he couldn’t hear the underlying fear beneath.

  “Be quiet, Katheryn. The journey is going to be rather long, and I would prefer to get through it without your hysterics,” he stated. straightening the cuff of his suit.

  “You bastard,” she snarled. “Why can’t you understand I don’t want to be with you anymore?”

  “Because that’s foolishness,” he replied. “You and I both know where you and your family would be without me. You’d be facing the poor house, homeless, begging for scraps on the street. You’re nothing without me, and you’re mine. I do not plan on giving you up.”

  Katheryn stared at him in disbelief. “We weren’t doing that bad! I had a job, and so did my parents. I needed only a few more years working at the lab to pay off our debts, then we would have been free of stress.”

  Hunter laughed. “No, you wouldn’t have been free.
Only death could have freed your debt. Apparently, your parents hadn’t told you just how far into it they were. They were about to lose their house, you were about to be homeless.”

  “You’re lying,” Katheryn whispered. She didn’t believe him. How could she?

  “I saved you and your family from the poor house, Katheryn. The only reason you aren’t dead in a ditch somewhere is because it was my money that paid off everything they owed.”

  “Right! You gave me the job, but I paid the money. As if I’d believe you would pay a huge amount of money to save a couple you didn’t even know? Please, Hunter, I’m not stupid.”

  He chuckled. “Of course not. You don’t do something in return for nothing. Everything comes at a price. Your parents gave me something in exchange for the lives they now live.”

  “Oh, and what was that?” Katheryn was almost afraid to ask, somehow knowing what it would be before he answered.

  “They gave me you.”

  She felt her world give out from beneath her but somehow just barely managed to grab onto the edge. “I don’t believe you,” she said shakily.

  Deep in her heart, however, she recognized the truth. Her parents had sold her to Hunter Francis like a common whore in order to pay off what they owed. It all made sense. It was why they had pressured her and manipulated her into being with him. Why they were so upset she had run off to Spain, and didn’t care whether he had cheated or not.

  The realization shook her to the core.

  “Your parents sold you to me. I own you, and I’m not letting you leave. We will go home, and you will marry me.”

  Katheryn swallowed her rising sob. “I will not. I don’t care what my parents promised you, I’m not going to do it. Now let me out of this damn car!”

  She beat on the car window and screamed, hoping someone would hear her. She knew it was hopeless, but she had to try something. Jumping from the moving vehicle looked more promising. She tried the handle but it was locked and the buttons wouldn’t budge.

  “Stop your hysterics!” Hunter demanded, menacingly, then reached across the seat and slapped her across the face.

  The pain was instant and had her gasping, covering her cheek with her hand. The bruise stung, the heat searing her cheek. A lump formed in her throat. Hunter had never hit her before and the shock of it as much as the pain had her eyes filling with tears.

  She lapsed into silent fear, knowing if she continued shouting he would strike her again. She leaned her warm face against the cool, tinted window and, closing her eyes, controlled her breathing as she took stock of her situation.

  She was being kidnapped. He was taking her back to Washington, where he would probably lock her up until she “came to her senses.” Katheryn wondered if she might be able to escape before that. Maybe, she could claim she had to pee and slip away if he thought she was going to the bathroom. But knowing him, he probably planned to take her straight onto the plane and follow her everywhere until he could lock her up in a room with guards to watch her. If he locked her up, she’d climb out a window. She didn’t care how high it might be. She’d make a rope ladder from sheets or clothes or whatever she could find. She refused to be his prisoner.

  Her thoughts drifted to Ignacio. He had never hit her, had never been anything but gentle both in actions and in words. He had only spoken sweet melodies that made her heart skip in rhythms they never had before. He made love to her the way he played an instrument: with a passion both gentle and sincere.

  Now, Katheryn found herself in Hunter’s clutches, and who knew if she’d ever be free of him.

  24

  Ignacio was in a rush.

  He’d never cooked human food before and had refused to ask his mother for help. He wanted to do this on his own. After an hour of struggling and burning pans, he was finally able to create the romantic dinner Katheryn deserved.

  The table was cleared and set with plates, bowls and wine glasses. He’d scattered red rose petals all over it and lit long white candles for the desired effect. The lights were dimmed, and the flames of the candles cast an golden glow over the setting.

  Ignacio wore his finest suit, an apron thrown hastily over it so as to not get dirty. He couldn’t wait to see Katheryn, he thought eagerly as he placed a bottle of wine in a tin can full of ice to chill on the table. He wouldn’t drink or eat any of the food he’d made, but he was sure she would enjoy it. He’d made Alfredo pasta—he’d read it was a romantic food for a date—and laid sliced bread on a plate, and to top it off for dessert he had bright red strawberries and warm, melted chocolate.

  He hoped she wore the dress he’d sent to her. Ignacio was positive she would look absolutely ravishing in it. He imagined her now and felt the color and blood drain from his head to travel straight to his cock.

  He busied himself, trying to distract the sexual thoughts by handling last minute clean up as he waited. Ignacio found himself glancing at the clock often, chewing at his bottom lip as the hour grew later and later. He would have picked her up, but he’d been so busy with prepping, that they’d agreed she would take a cab to his place.

  By the time an hour passed and she hadn’t arrived, let alone answered her phone, Ignacio grew worried. He all but ran out of the house and took a cab to her hotel room. He went up to her room and knocked, but she didn’t answer. He pressed his ear to the door just to make sure there was no noise from inside.

  He tried the knob.

  “Are you looking for your redheaded friend?”

  Ignacio stopped wiggling uselessly at the doorknob and turned to face a woman in a maid’s uniform, pushing a cleaning cart down the hallway. He recognized her as the woman in charge of cleaning Katheryn’s room. It wasn’t the first time he’d shared words with her during his many visits to see his Soul Mate.

  “Have you seen her?”

  “No, but I saw someone come out of the room with all her stuff in her suitcase. Because I didn’t recognize the man, I called hotel security. He claimed he worked for her fiancé and signed her out of the hotel…” The maid gave him a pitying look like she felt sorry for Ignacio for falling for a promised woman.

  He jolted back at her words, his eyes going wide as the weight of what she was saying settled in. Fiancé? Her things?

  His heart nearly stuttered to a stop at the heavy implications. Katheryn wouldn’t leave without saying goodbye. She wouldn’t abandon him like that, not after everything that happened between them. And if someone was leaving with her things and signing out of the hotel…

  It wasn’t a stretch, the direction his thoughts took him towards.

  If Katheryn left, it hadn’t been of her own free will.

  He tried to remember every conversation he’d ever had with her regarding her ex. She didn’t really talk about him a lot, but the things she had mentioned led him to believe that there had been emotional abuse involved.

  His palms grew hot, heart beating faster. Rage surged through him, hot and calming. A quiet settled over him like the calm before the storm. Something primal and dangerous in his instincts that threatened violence and death, taking him back to the primitive ways of ancient vampires.

  The rich bastard had taken her. He’d taken Ignacio’s Soul Mate.

  And Ignacio would do whatever it took to get her back.

  25

  They landed in Washington, and, as suspected, Hunter and his guards led Katheryn kicking and screaming. She did all she could to escape, but it took all but a minute to realize that Hunter’s ‘reach’ was far and wide. No one stopped to help her. No one cared. That’s what money did.

  It didn’t matter how hard she protested, he didn’t buy into her “I have to go to the bathroom” bit. He’d merely accompanied her. He hadn’t even let her change out of the dress Ignacio had bought her, which had become uncomfortable after hours on the plane.

  Hunter didn’t slow his pace or stop dragging her with him until they were finally inside the apartment they’d shared before she’d left him. Everything looked in
credibly neat and tidy. There was no evidence of Hunter’s infidelity or of the lamp Katheryn had angrily thrown at him. The lamp had even been replaced with an exact replica. For a moment, she contemplated grabbing it and hitting him over the head with it then making a run for it. The idea was tempting.

  “You can unpack and change now,” Hunter told her in a casual tone. He went to the closet and began pulling out clothes for himself and setting them neatly on the bed. Dress pants, white shirt, a vest and bright red tie. “I have a meeting to attend so I won’t be able to entertain you for the rest of the evening. Do you think you can manage on your own without causing a riot?”

  She gave a very unladylike snort, something she never would have dared to do before. It wasn’t proper for a woman of her position to snort like a pig or to make any commentary at all. Basically, Hunter wanted her to be a well-programmed robot rather than a wife.

  “I’ve informed your mother and father of your return. They advised me they would like to take you out for tea. You will be escorted anywhere you need to go, of course, so don’t get any ideas about escaping. As I said, you belong to me.”

  “I’m not property, Hunter.” Katheryn was annoyed. He had always had an attitude, but now, he treated her like a car instead of a human being. She had stopped her hysterics, knowing it would do no good to have him hit her again. Instead, she’d comply until she could find a way to escape and phone Ignacio to let him know why she’d never showed. God, he must have been worried about her.

  “To me you are,” he retorted as he began to undress. “And I don’t want to hear anymore arguments on the matter.”

  He stripped down to his boxers and reached for a neatly folded towel. “I’m going to bathe before my meeting.”

  As soon as Katheryn heard the water running from the bathroom, she bolted for the front door. But as soon as she wrenched it open, she found her path blocked by an enormous gorilla of a man in a suit. He wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes, but she was sure they would have been as grim as the rest of his pinched face. Katheryn took a step away from him as he reached out for the door handle and reclosed the door.