She forced her gaze up to his eyes as she began to disrobe. Her fingers desperately fumbling with the button on her jeans. Any thought she had of playing the seductress was dashed by her clumsiness and Claude’s impatience. He pushed her hand away and skillfully disrobed her. Another reminder of just how experienced he was in these matters.
She closed her eyes as Claude pressed soft kisses to her exposed breasts, his hands drifting downward to rub gently at her sex. Reveling in the excitement of being manipulated by something not battery operated for the first time in ages, she arched her back, lifting her hips and encouraging to explore her body deeper.
With a groan he complied, sliding one finger inside her she hissed at the slight intrusion. She had expected to be a little tight, but not that much. Claude moved his kisses from her breasts to her neck as he gently stroked her, patiently letting her body adjust, but the sense of urgency was still there, tightly coiled in her belly.
“Just fuck me already.” She gasped, and he chuckled.
“No.” He said, slowing the already leisurely pace of his fingers.
“No?”
“If this is to be my only chance, I plan to savor it.”
Gretchen didn’t know whether to scream in frustration or cheer in anticipation. Sex with Claude was bound to be good, but she wasn’t sure she could keep her feelings out of it if he took his time with her. He was still stroking her, priming her body for his throbbing erection. She knew he wanted her just as much as she wanted him. She wasn’t going to give him another time.
“You have all of tonight to savor, but now I just need release.”
He scowled at her for a moment before using his thumb to press firmly on her clit while he stroked inside of her with his other fingers. Her inner muscles began to quiver and her hands fisted in the sheets as she fought the impending orgasm. Yes, she had wanted it, but not like this. Claude shifted above her, his erection pressed against her inner thigh.
Was he going to give her what she wanted or was he just being a tease? Her body wasn’t going to wait for an answer. She cried out as pleasure began to concentrate at her core. There was no stopping it as it snowballed and exploded, sending waves of satisfaction through her. Claude kissed her, claiming her mouth until the last spasms subsided.
“That wasn’t exactly what I had in mind,” she managed and he frowned, removing his fingers from inside of her. He rolled off of her and sat at the edge of the bed. The tension in the room went from sexually charged to positively icy in no time.
“I can’t give you what you want.”
“Can’t or won’t because he definitely looks up to the task.” She said gesturing at his still rigid flesh.
This was exactly what Gretchen had wanted to avoid. She didn’t understand why he was acting this way.
Claude cupped her face with his hands, forcing him to meet his serious gaze. “I won’t be used.”
There was something in his eyes that hinted at some deep pain, but for the life of her Gretchen couldn’t get passed her anger to ask about it.
“What? You won’t be used? If that isn’t the most hypocritical load of crap!”
Fire blazed in the glare he shot her, but it was nothing compared to the inferno raging inside of her. She grabbed her clothes and stormed from the room, not trusting herself to keep her temper in check. The whole situation had been a major mistake.
She stomped down the hall, not caring that she was naked. It was doubtful anyone would see on the short trip to her room. Once in her room, the anger began to subside only to be replaced by embarrassment and a million questions.
Disgruntled
Declan scanned the club again for the perfect one. It was getting late so the girls were getting drunker and more desperate to leave with someone, anyone. It was that kind of girl the Declan needed. One that was young and pretty, but ultimately so insecure and wasted, he didn’t have to use an ounce of charm.
Then he spotted her, curly brown hair and freckles.
Just like that bitch, Gretchen.
Declan would get to her one of these days, but until then he satisfied himself by sending her look-a-likes to be slaughtered by Maura. He made his way across the room, syrupy girl drink in hand. She smiled seductively at him as she accepted it.
“I’ve been watching you.” Declan ran a finger down her arm, and she giggled.
“Really?”
She played shy, but the way she pressed her body into his, Declan knew it was purely an act.
“Let’s get out of here.” He took her hand. She didn’t protest as he led her out of the bar and away from the crowd at the door.
She tottered on her too tall heels like one of those weighted children’s toys. With her level of intoxication, it was a feat in itself that she managed to stay upright. Still she clung to him like he was her own personal life preserver. Stupid cunt.
“Where are we going?” The girl giggled as Declan dragged her into the dark alley behind the bar.
“Disneyland,” Declan sneered. He was not in a good mood, not only had he not been laid in several months, but he was starved.
Maura had made it perfectly clear that her feeding schedule was more important than his which made it really hard for him to maintain the energy he needed. His fangs burned with need as the girl pressed her body closer to his. He could feel her pulse from his grip on her wrist. It was strong and lively and for a moment he almost lost his control.
I could have this one for myself and get another girl for Maura just like that.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, a sharp pain ran through his entire body making him flinch. It was the same pain that nearly crippled him the last time he had tried to defy Maura’s orders. She was getting stronger, and he was getting weaker. At this rate, there was no way he could get out from under her.
At least he wasn’t the only one. In the last city they had picked up two new members, Axel and Rod, brothers. Axel wasn’t the brightest guy, but what he lacked in intellect he made up for in muscle. He was also quite the sexual deviant which meant Maura denied Declan the only perk left in this gig.
Rodney, or Rod as he liked to be called, could at least hold a decent conversation without resorting to manly posturing and fart jokes. He wasn’t good looking enough to handle the ladies, but he was a fast talker and proved himself capable of talking his way in and out situations that Declan had no idea how to even conceptualize.
Declan helped the feeder fish back onto her feet. His involuntary muscle spasm had knocked her over.
“I guess I’m not the only tipsy one,” the girl sang, blowing her putrid breath in his face.
Declan fought back the rising bile in his throat.
You deserve everything that’s coming, sloppy bitch.
He managed to get her into the car at the other end of the alley. The girl didn’t even notice he hadn’t gotten in with her. As soon as Rod had pulled off Declan headed down the street to the next club, one more girl and then he could feed.
Maura frowned at the young girl standing in front of her. This was the third girl with curly brown hair and freckles. Although Maura usually didn’t care how a girl looked, as long as she was young and beautiful, this was a disturbing recurrence with Declan’s acquisitions. He was still obsessing over that girl. Declan was becoming increasingly useless as time passed and her plan progressed. His days were quite literally numbered. Once Maura found a man to replace Declan’s intellect then she would be rid of him.
Maura signaled for Rod to hold the girl steady.
“Wow, you’re beautiful,” the girl murmured as Maura got closer.
“Thanks to you darling, thanks to you,” Maura whispered in the girl’s ear before biting into her neck.
The girl had been ready to pass out by the time she had been brought to Maura and so she had no fight to her. That ruined Maura’s fun, so she drained her quickly before sending Rod to dispose of the body.
“Make sure the next girl isn’t half dead, when she gets here,” Ma
ura ordered as he gathered the body up to leave.
Maura went back to her room where Axel was waiting for her. He was positioned exactly the way she had left him. His arms were tied behind his back and attached to a chain hanging from the ceiling. It was short enough that his body weight strained his shoulders but just long enough that his toes could reach the floor. His chest and thighs were covered with angry red streaks where the barbs of her whip had torn at his flesh.
Thanks to his vampiric healing abilities they were no longer bleeding, but they would be soon. Maura retrieved her whip, ripping it out of his anus where she had shoved it earlier. He flinched but didn’t make a sound. He was abiding by her rules. She didn’t want to hear his pleasure only his pain.
fired up
Gretchen woke up gasping for air. Her hands flew to her neck, reaching for the invisible hands that had been there a few minutes before in her dream. She could feel that familiar edge of a building panic attack tingling through her body. She sat up and shook her head trying, and failing, to clear her thoughts. Taking a quick look around the room she was in, Gretchen forced herself to calm down.
She was as safe as she could possibly be in a house full of vampires. Gretchen had a hard time coming to terms with being one now herself. She had always prided herself on being adaptable, but after several months as a vampire, she was still dealing with her new circumstances.
The heightened senses weren’t what she had expected, and more often than not, led to massive headaches. Even now, in the dead of the night, she could see everything as though it were broad daylight. The additional strength was something she also struggled with, especially around Claude, who always managed to get a rise out of her. Molly and Cat had gotten into the habit of removing anything valuable or possibly dangerous from her hands before he came into a room with her. She’d only just begun to be able to control herself around him. At least until last night.
Thinking about what could have happened that night made her angry all over again. He was such an asshole, and now she had no idea how she would be able to be around him. She only hoped today would be less eventful, but it was very unlikely. There was sure to be some discussion about her and Molly leaving the mansion. Gretchen snuggled deeper into the covers before closing her eyes again. She needed more sleep if she was going to be cordial to Claude later.
It was only a few moments before she was throwing the covers off of herself. Her mind was racing with all the “what ifs”, and she wasn’t willing to go down that rabbit hole again. She got up and grabbed her robe. It wasn’t particularly cold, but the chill from her dream still hadn’t left her. She paced her room for a moment before her senses picked up a noise from in the hall.
Curious and ready for any distraction, Gretchen opened her bedroom door a crack and took a peek. At first, she didn’t see anything, but as she began to close the door, a shadowy figure appeared. Startled, Gretchen fell back and screamed. The shadow stood above her, silently, but not menacingly. Even still, she was paralyzed with fear.
“You will have more to fear outside of these walls,” the Shadow said, and then disappeared right before Claude burst into the room followed shortly by Xander and Shane.
“What happened?” Claude demanded, but there was a genuine glint of worry in his eyes as he studied her.
“It was just a dream.”
She forced herself up, not wanting to show how shaken she was. She shoved her hands in the pockets of her robe to hide their trembling. Xander and Shane exchanged looks with Claude before leaving her alone with him.
“What kind of dream?”
“A bad one, obviously.”
Claude crossed what little space there was between them and hugged her. She hated that his embrace was comforting.
“Don’t touch me.”
She pushed at him, trying to create space, but he stood unmoved by her effort. She dared to look into his eyes and for a moment was lost in their hazel depth. Claude’s eyes darkened as his head bent lower as if to kiss her. She held her breath as his face approached hers. A hairs breadth away from the kiss they both so desperately wanted, a brief flash of regret crossed his face before it settled into a stone mask. He released her and took a step back. The absence of his warmth was more distressing than she wanted to admit, even to herself.
“Just tell me about your dream. It could have something to do with Maura. I’m sure you know about the dream Cat had before we went to Scotland.”
Gretchen had heard plenty about that dream, but this hadn’t been anything like that. Sure, Declan had been chocking her in her dream, but the shadow definitely appeared while she was awake. Gretchen was sure of it and that is what truly scared her. She had to be losing her mind. The trauma of being turned so violently must have knocked a few screws loose.
“It’s nothing. Just leave.”
“You screamed and were on the floor. It’s not nothing.”
Obviously, he needed more convincing.
“I have reoccurring dreams of Declan attacking me. Are you happy now?”
“You should have told me about this before. “
Gretchen rolled her eyes.
“Why? It’s not exactly a mystical occurrence. I experienced a trauma. My mind is going to keep reliving it as long as the cause of the stress remains unresolved.”
“Then let me help you resolve it.”
“Can I leave?”
“No.”
“Will you let me kill Declan?”
His hands fisted at his sides.
“I’ll kill him for you.”
“Will you stay out of my life?”
“I can’t, even if I wanted to.”
Exasperated, Gretchen flopped down on her bed.
“Can’t you see that you only make things worse for me?”
He visibly flinched at her words and Gretchen knew she had been too harsh, but she wasn’t going to take it back. Not now, especially when she felt so vulnerable. An unsettling mix of unease and intense lust tickling her skin.
“Can’t you see things from my perspective?” His voice pleading. He looked like he was going to reach for her again, but his hands stayed firmly at his sides.
Gretchen refused to be swayed by the pleading in his voice. After last night, she couldn’t allow any weakness around him. If only for her own sanity at that moment. She squared her shoulders and glared at him.
“I’d like to see things from your point of view, but I can’t seem to get my head that far up my ass.”
The muscles in Claude’s jaw twitched as he glowered at her. He took a step towards her but then spun on his heel, military style, and marched from the room. He slammed the door behind him with such force that the room shook and a painting from the nearby wall fell, shattering glass everywhere.
She’d been a major bitch and he hadn’t deserved it, but Gretchen didn’t know how else to handle this impossible situation. Her heart ached, she wanted him so badly, but everything was just so overwhelming. Gretchen reached for a nearby pillow and used it to muffle her scream of frustration. It was probably useless, but at least it wouldn’t have the whole house barging into her room again.
Claude paced his room angrily, unable to shake the rage burning in his gut. He had just returned from a failed hunt with Xander when they had heard Gretchen scream. Despite everything, he had rushed to her only for her to lie to him. Something other than some stupid dream had scared her. She knew it, and he knew it, stubborn as she was.
She wouldn’t accept help and especially not his help. He’d never been so furious and defeated in his life. He was angry with Gretchen for pushing him away, angry with himself for allowing her to, and worst of all angry that Maura still had control over him.
His encounter with Gretchen earlier that evening had opened a wound he hadn’t realized had been there. Gretchen had wanted his body, not his heart, and as much as he knew the situation was different, his time with Maura had tainted her intentions and the moment. When he got his hands on Maura, she would pa
y. Not only Maura, but Declan, as well. Neither would escape him, and he would show Gretchen just how far he was willing to go to prove that they had nothing to lose by being together. If she thought she could get rid of him that easy, she was dead wrong. If anything tonight had only stiffened his resolve. Claude was no knight, but winning Gretchen’s heart was now his ultimate quest.
“Forgive him.”
Molly stilled in front of the mirror; the voice was back.
Shut up
She had first heard the disembodied voice shortly after Maura had saved her, but she’d ignored it. Only after coming to the mansion had the voice come more frequently, always goading her about Shane. Molly was forced to acknowledge it then, but she refused to answer the voice out loud.
“Forgive him.”
Never
The voice wasn’t in her head. When she covered her ears, the words were muffled but they always got through.
“Forgive him.”
Over my dead body
She continued to fix her hair.
“You’re already dead.”
Molly dropped her brush and closed her eyes.
Go away
There was no answer. Molly smiled triumphantly. She was finally rid of it. She turned from the mirror and a sharp pain shot through her chest. She collapsed to the floor as the sharp shooting pain turned into burning flames covering her body. Not just a feeling, but actual flames, melting her skin before her eyes. Molly screamed, but no sound came from her gaping mouth.
“Your life will be hell without him,” the voice whispered so close to her ear she could feel the shifting of the air against it.
The heat intensified as the flames spread, engulfing the room until all she could see were the angry orange and yellow peaks, dancing gaily around her melting corpse. The pain was so intense, Molly felt her mind and body give up. She slipped into darkness where she was free from the pain.
Claude's Conquest (Maura's Men Book 2) Page 7