Possession

by Missy Maxim

  POSSESSION

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means mechanical, electronic, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the prior written consent of the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

  The right of Missy Maxim to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by her in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

  First printed 2010

  First Edition

  All characters in this publication are purely fictitious and any resemblance to real persons--living or dead--is purely coincidental.

  By Missy Maxim

  Published by Missy Maxim at Smashwords.

  Copyright 2010 Missy Maxim

  This e-book is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person you share it with. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then you should return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  Possession

  Chapter 1

  Lorcan followed the young woman around the college campus as she headed for a café.

  She was just another anonymous face in the gigantic world that was Los Angeles, but something about her called to him. Her youth, her innocence, the natural beauty hidden by bangs and baggy clothes…he couldn’t tell you specifically, but he was drawn to this young woman. Had been following her since spotting her on one of his walks two weeks ago.

  Yes…she would be perfect.

  ***

  Lorcan entered the café, ruse firmly crafted. He wore a black sweater and dark jeans, schooling his expression into the soulful niceness of your average college senior. He ordered a black coffee and pretended to look around the shop while he waited, his eyes stopping on his target.

  She felt his gaze, and looked down, blushing.

  How…cute, he thought, chuckling malevolently inside. He’d bet she was even a virgin, if he was lucky. He did so love corrupting virgins.

  “Hi. May I sit here? Seems to be busy tonight.”

  She pushed her books to the side. “Oh, sure! I guess with the sudden cold turn, everybody wanted something warm,” she replied quietly. She glanced down at the open book before her, unsure whether to close it, or go back to reading.

  “What are you studying?”

  “History,” the girl confessed. “With a minor in British Lit, just because I like it. I’m a bit of an overachiever, I guess.” She blushed again.

  “We can learn a lot from the past. My friends call me Liam,” he supplied. “I have a passion for art, myself.”

  “Really? I wouldn’t have guessed, I m-mean, you look more like a…” Her voice trailed off in embarrassment.

  “A jock? Well, there is a thrill to a good chase. My father would have preferred I go into the family business, but, I’m here. Do you like L.A., Miss…?”

  “Catherine Mitchell. Yeah, I guess… I’m used to it, I mean. I’m from the ‘burbs.”

  He managed to coax everything out of her after that: how her grandmother raised her after her parents died when she was twelve, how a college education had been a parting gift from her parents and the grandmother was now in a nursing home with Alzheimer’s, and that freshman year had been a bit lonely so far, with the exception of her roommate.

  When the café announced it was closing, Lorcan walked her home. He put on the hopeful puppy look that all girls fell for, generation after generation.

  “This is probably going to sound weird, but could I sketch you sometime?” he asked with false shyness.

  Her eyes widened to comic proportions. “Me?”

  “I’ll understand if you don’t want to, it’s just…you’re so pretty, and I need to practice my life sketches. Forget it; you don’t even know me…” He started to walk away.

  “Wait. Um…”

  Lorcan had his back to her, so she couldn’t see the triumphant grin that spread across his face.

  “I guess I could meet you in one of the art rooms…” Catherine suggested.

  “Thanks,” he said, sighing in relief. “Everybody already has a subject, and the assignment’s almost due. You saved me, Cate. Can I call you Cate?”

  She stroked her long hair behind her ear and blushed again. “I guess. I can meet you at the café tomorrow evening?”

  “Great,” he said with a smile. “I can’t wait.”

  Lorcan walked off, whistling to himself as he turned a corner. Time to find dinner.

  ***

  Catherine couldn’t believe she agreed to sit for some art project, but he’d sounded…desperate, and she knew what it was like to face a deadline here. She was only a freshman, but there was already a lot of pressure. She set her backpack on her bed and looked at the mirror attached to the closet door.

  Pretty? she wondered, looking at her reflection. She was okay, she guessed.

  A nice enough figure for dressy clothes, if she could be bothered. Long, straight, brown hair that she usually braided. Blue-gray eyes usually hidden behind reading glasses, since she was always studying. Five-foot-four was good enough--short enough you could wear heels around men, tall enough for clothes to fit with ease.

  But pretty?

  Maybe his artist’s eye saw something she couldn’t.

  Catherine shrugged and pulled her history book out. There was still another chapter to read before she went to bed.

  ***

  Lorcan was happily humming when he got back to the hotel he and the minions were staying at.

  “Good hunting, Master?”

  “Better than that, boys. I found a new toy.” He went to the bar and poured a glass of whiskey. “She’ll be perfect, after some training.”

  “Wouldn’t an already trained courtesan be a better choice, Master? There are plenty of beautiful girls…”

  “I want this one!” he snarled. “She’s innocent…a blank canvas. And she has a brain, unlike that last fuckwit you found for me.”

  “Melody came highly recommended.” the minion said.

  “’Melody came highly recommended’… She was an idiot and a whore. This new girl will be grateful I plucked her out of obscurity…once I turn her,” Lorcan said. “We’re leaving tomorrow night!”

  He stomped into his suite to play with the latest food the minions had brought him.

  ***

  The next night, Catherine waited with her hot chocolate for him to show up at the café. She was really nervous, and hoped Liam wasn’t expecting her to pose nude. She didn’t have that kind of bravery.

  He showed up a couple minutes later dressed similarly to the previous day. “Hey. I’m really glad you showed up.”

  “I’m a girl of my word.”

  “Shall we?” They walked to the Art building to use one of the classrooms. Liam opened the door for her. “After you,” he said, then covered her face with a cloth soaked in ether as she passed him.

  Simultaneously, a couple minions were clearing out her dorm room and leaving a note about rushing to the sick grandma. Lorcan dumped the unconscious girl in the limo and barked at the driver to head to the airport and step on it. He caressed her face with a cold finger, her soft skin prickling with goose bumps.

  “You’re entering a whole new world, Cate. We’re going to have so much fun!”

  Chapter 2

  “Hey, Julian. Lorcan is on the line. He has a new girl he wants you to train,” Alana announced, walking i
nto his office.

  “Bloody wanker! The last girl he sent back needed reconstructive surgery. Tell him no deal.”

  “He’s willing to pay double, and he wants you to teach her personally.”

  “Why?” Julian demanded.

  Wait, he knew why…

  “He wants to turn her, doesn’t he?”

  Alana smirked, and nodded. “That’s why they pay you the big money. My guess is that he can’t convince Celia to come back anymore, so he wants a new toy to mold. He wants the girl ready before the Season is over.”

  “Posturing prick…it can take up to six months to put out a qualified courtesan, and that’s with round the clock private tutoring. Tell him no deal. I can’t make a girl into a lady for a demon in two months.”

  “Okay…but he’s already over the Atlantic.”

  Shit.

  “Fine…I’ll look at her, but that’s all!”

  Alana left the office, grinning. Business had been slow, so they could use the press, and she loved handling fresh money.

  ***

  “Wakey, wakey, Katie…” Lorcan sang.

  Catherine’s eyelids fluttered as she neared consciousness. She felt dizzy, even though she knew she was lying down. She tried to lift her hand to rub her eyes, only to discover her wrists were bound.

  Her eyes flew open.

  “There’s my girl. I thought you were going to sleep the whole flight.”

  “Liam? Where…?”

  “On my jet, somewhere over the Atlantic,” he replied. “I want to introduce you to a ‘friend’.” He seemed to find that idea funny, chuckling nastily.

  Her ankles were tied together, too. “Why are you doing this?” she asked.

  Catherine took a better look at him now that her eyes had cleared. Lorcan wore a black silk shirt under a leather coat. A Celtic design belt buckle adorned his pants, and rings had been added to his fingers. And was that…eyeliner?

  “Why? Because I can,” he answered gleefully. “You see, sweetheart, you’re no longer in the safe little coed life you knew.”

  His face shifted to that of a monster’s. He covered her mouth so she couldn’t scream.

  “Now, now, Cate…you really want to save that for later, when I’ve earned it. I so love a good scream. Here’s the deal: I’ve been bored, you’re mine now, and you’re gonna be trained to please me.”

  She shook her head in denial, because that was all she could do.

  “Cate, you really don’t have a choice in the matter,” Lorcan told her with false regret. “I could always just kill you, but then I’d have to find another girl, and you wouldn’t want me to be so inconvenienced, would you…” He shook her head ‘no’ for her. “Good girl.”

  “Please…” she whispered.

  “You hear that, boys?” he crowed. “I haven’t done anything, yet, and she’s already begging! Ohhh, you’re going to be SO much fun, little Cate. Starting now.”

  Lorcan cut a line into her ankle, making her scream. He licked the blood off his finger before dragging his nail across the first line to form an “x”.

  “So much better than those little tattoos the girls get, huh?” Hard evil eyes bored into hers. “If you’re naughty, I can make the scar permanent.”

  “I won’t…I won’t…” she sobbed.

  He patted her knee. “Glad we understand each other! So, let me tell you a story about a girl…”

  Lorcan described horror upon horror in lurid detail, slapping her if it appeared her attention wasn’t fully on him. He didn’t touch her hard enough to bruise, but her cheek felt hot from the sting just the same. The monster delighted in her tears, licking them off her skin when they escaped, then laughed at her efforts to not cry anymore.

  What had she done to deserve this?

  When the plane finally landed, Lorcan fastened a tacky rhinestone collar around her neck and tugged her along by a leash, then made her sit on his lap in the car. The minions laughed at her humiliation, barking like dogs and making lewd gestures.

  Catherine stared out the tinted windows, trying to ignore it all.

  It was soon apparent they’d landed in London, at night. She had no idea what time it might be or how long she’d been unconscious before. Lorcan took her watch.

  What would happen to her in the next few days? Would she live? Would she ever see her grandmother again? Would her roommate try calling the cops?

  Catherine contemplated everything as she sat there, rigid and stoic as possible. She wasn’t going to give that bastard the satisfaction of her fear, though he probably knew just how much she felt, anyway.

  She hated that he kept stroking her hair.

  Hated being thirsty and not able to ask for water.

  Hated needing to use the bathroom.

  Hated the way her stomach was growling loud enough for her to hear it.

  They drove for a long time, out of the city on a highway. The lack of food was making her sleepy, but she couldn’t chance passing out around this bunch. Her bladder wanted to leap for joy when they finally turned down a private road. The car pulled up in front of an enormous house that had to be very old.

  The minions opened the door for him.

  He tugged hard on the leash as he started for the mansion. Catherine barely avoided falling. Walking now made her acutely aware of the shape her body was in. The big doors to the place were opened as they approached. A woman with a shoulder-length bob stood in the entrance.

  “Lorcan! I hope your flight was pleasant,” she greeted.

  “Alana. I’d have one less minion if it were anything less. Where’s Julian?”

  “In the parlor.” She backed further into the house, leading the way.

  Catherine looked around. The home she entered was part Gothic bordello, part Victorian opulence, with everything in shades of red, gray, and black.

  Lorcan tugged her toward the parlor, which was dark green and cream. A blond man lounged on a settee, a drink in his hand. He rose as they entered.

  “Long time, no see, Jules. I’d almost think we weren’t family anymore,” Lorcan said.

  He sounded pouty, but she knew by now that it was just an act. The two men looked ready for a skirmish to break out.

  “We were never chummy, you ponce. This the girl?”

  Lorcan let go of the leash so Julian could walk around her. Catherine kept her gaze on the floor, but she could feel the blond man’s scrutiny from head to toe.

  ***

  “This is what you bring me? She’s totally green! You expect me to turn out a human in two months? No deal.”

  Lorcan wasn’t deterred that easily. “Hundred grand says you can, and will.”

  “If she was part demon. For a human? Six months, and no less than five hundred.”

  “She’s already smart, so you just have to instruct her physically,” Lorcan countered.

  Julian rolled his eyes. “You’re gonna bloody turn her, anyway. Just have at it and save yourself the dosh.”

  “It’s better my way! Two-hundred-fifty for two months. You can’t afford to turn that down, Jules. Word gets around, you know…”

  Lorcan was such an evil bastard; even the pure blood demons respected his name. A well-placed word would seriously damage Julian’s reputation.

  “Three hundred on a tentative contract. If she isn’t close in six weeks, then you have to give me the appropriate time,” he offered.

  “Done! You won’t mind if I check in periodically, of course.”

  Julian sneered. “Of course. Any subject you want her to focus on?”

  Lorcan dismissed the question with a wave of his hand. “Do anything you want to her, I don’t care, as long as she remains…untouched. I prefer to take care of that break-in personally.”

  “Whatever.” Julian didn’t care, either way. “Alana! Escort the wanker into the office so he can sign a contract.”

  “Happy to!” she sang.

  ***

  Catherine attempted to swallow the lump in her throat. She’d
just been…sold. To this…whatever guy for “lessons”, whatever that horror entailed. She wanted to go home and pork out on pizza with her roommate and snuggle into her comfy bed. But wishing, so far, hadn’t made this nightmare end.

  She froze in fear as the blond man grabbed her chin and lifted it to look in her eyes.

  “What’s your name, girl?” he asked.

  “Catherine,” she whispered. “Please don’t hurt me.”

  His grip tightened. “You will answer questions I ask and only questions I ask. Are we clear?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re what, eighteen, nineteen?”

  “Eighteen.”

  He nodded in confirmation. “American…university student?”

  “Yes…”

  “The rules here are simple. You do as you’re told when you are told, and you will be treated well. Disobey me, or any of your instructors, and you will be severely punished. Understand?”

  Catherine nodded. He let go of her chin and unbuckled the collar around her neck. His fingers were cool against her skin.

  Another monster? she wondered.

  Julian snapped his fingers, and a previously unseen man came forward.

  “Take the girl to the kitchen. I’ll retrieve her shortly.”

  The servant bowed, and took her arm. “Yes, sir,” he replied, and led her further into the house.

  ***

  Alana was just putting the finishing touches on the contract when he entered the office. She handed both vampires a fountain pen. Lorcan stabbed his hand, then wrote his name on the paper in blood. Julian did the same.

  “See you in six weeks, Jules,” Lorcan said, and left with his entourage.

  Alana shook her head. “If it wasn’t for the money, I’d have told you to pass on the deal. That girl is a train wreck.”

  Julian shrugged. “She has decent bone structure. There’s potential, but it’ll take a year to get her to the same level a fledge could accomplish. Lorcan and his grand schemes…always took too long for the kill. Contact our A-list. We’re going to need the best to have a soddin’ prayer of making that deadline.”