Reluctant Storm

by P. A. Warren

  I don’t know what’s happened, but I feel like dancing, all of my cares have faded into bliss. I could care less that I’ve been kidnapped. The world is such a beautiful place. Feeling exuberant, I grab his head and squish his cheeks, no longer afraid of him or what he is.

  “You are wonderful, Riley. I want to dance with you right now,” I say excitedly, lifting my arm and watching in amazement as all of my bruises and broken skin heals as the blood takes effect.

  Shaking his head and laughing, he says, “You’re drunk on my blood.”

  Suddenly, I’m in Riley’s arms, my mind set on one goal, and one goal alone, to put my mouth on his. I raise my lips to his and stick my tongue out and lick his lower lip. I pull his mouth down to mine and let him taste his own blood.

  He draws back and stares at me before groaning and pulling me to him, pressing his mouth to mine in a body melting kiss. He slips his tongue along mine, leaving me shivering. I sigh as he slides his tongue along my throat, and I feel an ounce of panic as he pushes my shirt down, baring my neck. I tilt my head as his tongue goes from my shoulder back to my throat. I feel two pin pricks in my neck and then nothing but ecstasy, pure ecstasy. It’s like I was taken to an entirely new level of unspoken bliss, beyond just drinking his blood.

  He pulls back with my blood on his lips, and I can’t explain what is happening to me, but I feel so hot. I am exactly where I need to be, with Riley, forever. He lays me gently on the mattress, disregarding that this is where I’ve been held captive for days. He lifts up my shirt and pulls it smoothly over my head, and I let him. Leaning towards me, he looks into my face darkly, his eyes running over my body. Slowly his head tilts down, before crushing his lips to mine. He pulls my lower lip into his mouth and gently bites it, causing a feeling of excitement to run all the way down my body. He kisses a trail down to the top of my pants. I let out a moan when he gets up; removing his shoes and pants quickly. He then kneels down and pulls my pants off.

  Leaning back on his heels, he just stares at my naked body in bliss. He licks his way down and kisses my right inner thigh and does the same to my left. Pushing them apart, he gives them little nips, making me jump. My hearts is pounding like a bass drum, and I can feel his breath on me. It’s then that I feel the wetness of his tongue lapping and swirling around me. He licks everywhere but the one place I want him too.

  “Please, Riley,” I pant out.

  “Tell me when you want to come,” he says sensuously from between my legs.

  My body is heavy and shaky with desire. I need something to happen, only I have no idea what I want. He keeps lapping at me, nibbling me until he finally takes the little nub right into his mouth, and I literally see fireworks as soon as he does.

  Letting out a loud breath, I lie there staring at the ceiling, wiping the hair from my forehead, and wondering what the hell’s come over me and yet not really caring. He leans over me panting, and rests his forehead on mine before coming down for another heated kiss. He enters me slowly at first and then starts slamming into me, moving my legs so they rest on his shoulder. He feels so good. He knows just how to hit this spot that makes my eyes roll back. Feeling another orgasm coming on, I let out a scream as I come around his hardness. He pulls out from me and before I can even bask in the glow of the orgasm he has me on my knees, taking me from behind. I can’t handle anymore; my legs are like jelly as he reaches around and tweaks my nipples while pushing into me, one hand grasping my waist and the other my nipple. Suddenly he lets out a groan, and I feel warmth flooding into me. We collapse together onto the bed, my legs shaking. Breathing heavily, I look towards Riley and find him smiling. He brings his hand to his name over my breast that I didn’t know was there and I wince as the lettering starts to burn.

  “Why is this burning and what exactly is it?”

  He leans toward me whispering, “You’re my bond mate and we just completed the bond. My father can never have you now.” The way he says it makes my stomach clench tightly.

  “What do you mean; I’m your bond mate?”

  “We bonded last night, first the names over our chest appeared, then we exchanged blood, and finally we mated. This ensures we will be bonded for life, and that by completing this process you should turn fully vampire. It’s very sacred in the vampire community,” he says almost clinically.

  My eyes widen. “You didn’t think this was important to tell me before we made love?”

  “What we did wasn’t making love that was raw bonding sex. When I make love to you, baby you’ll know,” he replies in a hard voice. “And I didn’t hear any complaints from you last night either.”

  I can’t help but blush and look away from him. He’s right. I wasn’t complaining. I’m not sure if I can handle him being more thorough then he was just now. “You didn’t think to ask if I wanted a bond mate?”

  He shrugs. “Not at all. It’s not how it’s done, besides, it’s not like either of us have a choice.”

  Glaring at him, it seems that mean Riley’s here once again. I don’t know what to make of him, but he’s giving me whiplash. The blood exultation is wearing off now, and I feel as if I’ve done something wrong, like I’m dirty after what we did.

  I don’t know what’s happening to me anymore, between being kidnapped, and then having sex with one of the kidnappers, the whole hybrid thing; it’s a lot to take in. Tilting my head to look at him, I’m not sure who or what I am anymore. I just want to go home where life is normal.

  I’ve been so caught up on the high wearing off and all my thoughts that somehow I missed the turning me into a full vampire comment until just now.

  “Wait, you turned me into a vampire? How do I know when I’m a vampire? I thought you had to like drain the person, give them blood and bury them?”

  Riley looks at me with an amused look on his face and shakes his head, aggravating me.

  “What is so funny?” I demand.

  “Real life is not True Blood; there are no sparkling vampires here.”

  Interrupting him, “That’s Twilight with the sparkly vampires.”

  “Anyways, there are several ways to be turned to a vampire, but we don’t have time to go into them all; there are no sparkly vampires unless they work at a drag show. You will know you’re a vampire within the next twenty-four hours. Your eye sight will improve; speed, agility, the thirst for blood, you have to let me know when you crave blood. Oh, and you will become very sexually needy.”

  Arching my eyebrow at him, I say, “Sexually needy? You have got to be kidding me.”

  Holding back a grin, he looks at me before kissing me softly. The nice Riley is back. “I am, but I’m here if you ever get needy.”

  I pull away and watch as he puts his bloody shirt on. He reaches his hand out to grab mine and pulls me to my feet. “Get dressed; you’re not staying in here any longer,” he says brusquely, reaching for me. He pulls my face toward his in a slow melting kiss. He looks at me with hooded eyes. “Oh yes, it’s starting to work. I think you might need my services soon.”

  He turns away laughing, and I ball my shirt up and throw it at his head. Ducking out of the way, he throws it back at me, and I put it and my pants on. I shake my head, not sure of what to make of all this, and let him grab my hand and pull me out of the cell.

  Chapter 21

  Riley

  After everything that happened, I brought Claire to my room for her safety and locked her in. Walking towards my father’s office, I’m filled with uneasiness at having to go to Griffin, but then I think I’m Riley fucking Dumont! I don’t do scared. I was trained by the most sadistic vampire there is.

  I reach the door and put my hand on the cold knob, and just as I’m about to turn it, I hear my father talking to someone. I lean closer to the door and zero in on his voice, trying to figure out what’s going on. The words I hear are a game changer. Listening to them murmur, I catch the phrases, ‘The King’s dead’ and ‘the girl needs to die tonight’. ‘The kingdom will be mine!’ I hear him roar a
long with glass breaking. Backing up, I race towards my room, slamming the door so hard it cracks it in half.

  “Claire,” I call to her. I glance around in eagerness and breathe a sigh of relief as she walks out in a towel after showering. “We need to go, and we need to go now. Get dressed.” Kneeling down, I open the cabinets and grab a storage container and the blood bags out of the fridge. “And once you’re done, pack the blood bags with some ice. There’s a storage container on the sink. Do it now!” I look at her sharply and my face softens as I see I’ve scared the shit out of her. I walk toward her and put my hand behind her neck, sighing I lay my lips on her forehead and say softly, “It’s a matter of life or death, particularly yours.” I see her eyes grow large, and she starts to shake. As I grab her shoulders, I can feel her fear course through me. “I know how you’re feeling but we don’t have time for a breakdown right now. Please do what I asked so we can get out of here.” I noted that she didn’t question me after that and ran into the bathroom to get dressed.

  Staring at the closed door, I take action and start running through my apartments, grabbing the travel bags from the closet. Slamming them down on the bed, I throw clothes in, filling it and not bothering to fold them. Heading back to the walk in closet, I kneel down to the gun safe and put my thumb on the scanner. It opens with a click, and I empty the safe of cash, passports, several guns, and my special silver stakes. I run my fingers over the silver tip and pull back quickly as it burns me. I then grab a shirt off a hanger and wrap them up in it and head towards the bags, throwing it all in. I zip the bags up so fast you can’t even see the gesture and grab the straps, putting them on my shoulder and taking one last look around. I spin around and almost walk straight into Claire who’s holding the storage container of blood and looking like she’s about to be sick. She’s actually holding up better than I thought she would. I knew for sure she would have had a breakdown by now or get sick at the sight of me.

  Catching hold of her cold fingers, I look at the brown haired girl who I’m giving up my life for and have no regrets at all. The next part, getting out of the house, is going to be the hard part, not for me, but for Claire.

  “Okay Claire, I need you to follow my directions, no matter what happens.” I’m relieved when she doesn’t put up a fight. “I’m going to get you out of this house, but in order for me to do that, I’m going to say and do things to you that I want you to know are only for your protection. Do you understand? You’re my bond mate, but the guards don’t know that. They still think you’re my prisoner. I’m going to let them think that I’m taking you out to torture you and then kill you.” I watch her swallow and give a small shake of her head acknowledging what I’m going to have to do to her.

  “This is going to have to be the best acting you’ve ever done, Claire.” Leaning down, I place a kiss on her worried lips. “When we get out of this alive, I’m not letting you out of bed for a week.” Blushing, she averts her eyes and shivers. “Make that two weeks.”

  I take a deep breath and pull the door open. I then motion for Claire to follow me. She quietly walks up to my side, shutting the door very slowly, as not to make a sound. I look over at her and give her a thumbs-up sign to show her that she’s doing a good job and keep going. We make our way down the many halls. When I hear boots coming towards us, I grab Claire by the hair, reverting to torturer, and all my training kicks in as I wrap her hair around my hand like a rope. When she cries out, I feel sick to my stomach. The guard rounds the corner, it's George, and he looks at the two of us. I quickly yank on her hair, forcing another scream from her.

  “Whatcha got there, Riley, a new toy?” George asks, and for the first time I’m extremely grateful George isn’t mentally all there.

  “Oh this? I’m just taking the trash out to the shed,” I say, grinning.

  He knowingly winks at me. “Have fun, and let me know if you need any help.” He continues down the hall, whistling.

  “You can play with her when I’m done. That is, if she’s not dead on her feet from me using her,” I say cockily. “Hey, George,” I call to him, “Don’t tell my father, okay? I want to have a little fun before he interrupts.”

  He doesn’t even bother turning around, just gives me a thumbs-up. I wait until he turns the corner, and I abruptly release Claire’s hair. Taking a deep breath, I hurry her along towards the front door. I stop her abruptly when I notice another group of guards in the entryway. What the hell is going on with all the guards out here today? Looking in a different direction, I decide to go a different route. I grab her hand and we head to the kitchen. We are greeting by Chef Raven who pays no attention to us. I look back, making sure no one is following us, as I open the side door. Pushing it open into the bright sunlight, we leave the house. Shit, I didn’t think about my car. I was so busy getting her out of there. I open the door and lift her up, setting her in the van.

  “Get on the floor and stay there until I say it’s safe to move.” Throwing my bags in with her, I grab an old blanket in the back of the van and throw it on top of her, covering her in case we get stopped. “Stay there and don’t make a sound. Lots of guards are out today for some reason, and if we get caught, we’re dead.” I open the kitchen door and grab the van keys and run back toward it, jumping in and starting the engine. “Let’s get the hell out of dodge, Claire.”

  Chapter 22

  Claire

  Fear flows through me as Riley slams the door of the van and quickly drives away from the compound. I feel every single bump he hits, and with nothing to hold on to, I end up sliding back and forth in the van. I blow out a loud exhale and find it hard to believe I’m in this type of situation. I mean, these things don’t happen to girls like me. This feels like some crazy dream I’m having, and I keep expecting to wake up back in my dorm room. Even though I’m free, Riley is still ordering me around, so essentially I’m still a prisoner. I wonder if he realizes that?

  The van goes over another rut, which causes me to bounce down hard on my side. The pain brings tears to my eyes. Swiping at them, I get angry at myself. Claire, you don’t have time for tears. I have to play the game no matter what to stay alive. Feeling the crazy way he’s driving, I think about how scary my first meeting with him was. I never would have imagined that the man who charged in set on torturing, hurting, and possibly killing me would throw me against the wall, kiss me, and take me out of that evil place. I can’t help but feel sick to my stomach over the things that happened there. Holding my shaking hands together, I wince as the van takes yet another sharp turn. I’m not even sure how long I was held in that awful place, but I know my life will never be the same again. Something strange is going on as well. One minute I would do anything for Riley, and the next minute I’m terrified of him. Feelings don’t turn on and off like a light switch that fast. I want to go home and back to normal, instead of this constant unknown that fills my every being.

  My body is starting to change, and feeling what’s happening is unbelievable and feels unreal. My skin is becoming clear and lighter, and as I lift my arm up, turning it, I seeing that even small scars I had from when I was a kid are gone. My vision is so sharp that I see everything in minute detail now. Lifting my hand, I wave it in front of my face and my mouth drops at how fast it moves. I can even see tiny details that I never knew existed. I peer at the blanket covering me and can see every thread and fiber in sharp detail. My gums are very tender as I run my tongue over my newly elongated fangs, or teeth? I’m not sure what vampires call them. I was fully prepared to go out all Bella Swan style, but no this changeover is pretty boring, except for the urge to taste blood.

  Riley told me to let him know when I started craving blood, but with everything happening I couldn’t find a good time to tell him.

  We drive for what feels like hours, and the blood craving is getting worse. The further we go, the harder it’s getting to control it. Finally, he stops at a gas station and hops out and walks over, opening the van door. For the first time since I’ve
been captured, I have the chance to breathe in fresh air. I lift my head towards the sun, which is another thing Hollywood lied about; I didn’t burst into flames or anything.

  “Stay by the van,” Riley orders.

  I can’t tell you how sick I am of being ordered around. Hopping out of the van once he walks away, I watch as he steps around the van, inhaling the sweet smell of grass. Suddenly, it hits me hard as I cover my nose and breathe through my mouth: the gasoline smell is so strong, and with my new senses it almost overwhelms me. He looks past me, scanning the area and quickly shuts the door behind me. Riley walks around the other side to fill up the tank.

  I’m not sure if I should run into the store and tell them I was abducted or—and then another smell hits me like a ton of bricks, a sweet, sweet smell. I have no idea what it is, but I know I must find it. Lifting my face back towards the breeze, I catch the scent again.

  My head turns sharply as I let my senses figure out where the smell is coming from. I inhale the air again and slowly step away from the van. I’m doing well until I hear the one thing that is my undoing, playing like a symphony in my ears and music to my soul. It’s a simple little thing, the giver of lives, the heartbeat.

  Gasping, I feel my fangs start to pulse, and I raise my hand, covering my mouth. The urge to rush to the heartbeat overrides my need to stay hidden. Slowly picking one foot up after the other, I make my way stealthily over to the other side of the van. I lean over and take a peek at Riley and see him leaning against the van with his arms crossed, bored, as he watches the numbers move up on the gas meter. My adrenaline races as I look behind my shoulder and zero in on a flash of pink that is moving out of my view. I follow the young woman with her little Yorkie on the grass, towards the back of the gas station. As I walk on the brown grass, I pretend to be interested in the puppy as I reach down to pet it.