by Kimbra Swain
“You can stop lying to yourself any day now. You fucked him and you loved it. You are the Lady of the House of Demonbreun which is what you wanted all along. You got it sooner with him than with me.”
“I never wanted him.”
“Lies! I can’t take it anymore, Lydia! Do not ever come in this room again. Get back to my father’s bed. I’m sure he needs someone to take his frustrations out on,” I snarled back at her.
The slap echoed in the room, leaving my cheek stinging.
“You have turned into the worst person.”
“I’m not a person, Lydia. I’m a vamp. You are a vamp. That’s the way it is.”
Tears rolled down her face and for a moment, I saw her being dragged away from me in tears back when we were separated. The day she went back to my father and became his wife. There was no redemption for either of us. She silently stalked out of the room, stifling her cries.
“I’m taking a nap, Stanley. See that I’m not disturbed,” I ordered my friend.
He simply nodded as I stripped out of the fancy suit. Lydia and I had run from my father, but just as he had warned, he found us. Lydia had actually called them to turn us in, because she had missed her mother. Instead of running from her, I was an idiot and came back to Nashville where my father turned me after he married her. I was sure he’d done it to hurt me. It made me sick to think about it. I held down the bile in my throat and climbed into bed. I needed to rest and get this shit off my mind. Thinking about it too long always brought me to the same conclusion, when I ran the first time, I should have left her behind. She was the mistake I’d made.
“Hi,” a soft, feminine voice woke me.
“Hi,” I said, raising up in the bed. “Tierney, what are you doing in here?”
“Stanley is such a nice man. He let me come in to wait on you. It’s almost dinner time. I thought maybe you would like to walk me down to the event,” she said, crossing her impossibly long legs.
“Fuck,” I said, slamming back down in the bed.
She giggled, and it filled the room. Filled my dick, too. Down boy. There are already too many hard-headed dicks in this building without that.
“Look, I know that you hate all of us. I know that your father has manipulated you to be here, and I know that after this ceremony, you get your freedom back,” she said.
I rose up in the bed without saying anything to her. Fucking vampires. Slinging off the sheets, I suddenly realized how naked I was and dragged them back over me. She shrugged at me like I had nothing to offer her. I climbed out of bed, pulling the sheet along with me to the bathroom.
While in the shower, I had to convince myself and my raging hard-on that messing around with the red-headed goddess of the North would be a death sentence. I listened, but my dick didn’t. As I dried off, a light knock tapped on the door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Stella just dropped off your suit,” Stanley said through the door.
I cracked it open and took it from him. “Give her a kiss for me,” I teased.
“Get dressed, you moron,” Stanley huffed.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I had to admit that I looked damn good in a suit.
“I’d do you,” I said to my reflection. Then I shook my head at myself for being an idiot.
When I stepped out of the bathroom, Stanley stood next to the door. Tierney sat at the bar in the kitchenette. Her impossibly long legs dangled below her. The emerald dress draped around her body, shimmering with a light touch of sparkle. She turned her head while applying another coat of unneeded red lipstick. I imagined that she was just as striking without the fancy wrapping.
“You clean up good, Malik,” she remarked, then popped her lips. It was beyond me why women did that after putting on lipstick. I knew my reaction. My dick jumped in my pants, and I had to wipe the vison of those red lips around it. Maybe that was exactly why they did it.
“Thank you, Tierney. Are you sure you want to be seen on the arm of a reject?” I asked, since she already seemed to know everything about me and my situation.
She stood and walked toward me like a sleek cat after a weak prey. I felt my knees shake. Vampire allure worked not only on humans. We couldn’t satisfy the hungry, but we could satisfy. Then, I reminded myself how empty it was. Just like Becky. A means to an end.
“I love being the center of attention. I figured all eyes will be on you, so why wouldn’t I want to be with you?” she asked.
“Are you really that shallow?” I asked.
“Why don’t you take me to dinner and find out?” she said, leaning those lips close to mine. In her heels, we were eye to eye.
“This is dangerous territory,” I commented.
“You hold nothing back, do you?”
“I have no manners,” I replied. Stanley cleared his throat. “Shut it, Stella.”
“This is going to be fun,” she said with delight, then snaked her arm through mine. “Lead the way, Lord Demonbreun.”
That’s when it popped into my mind that I was completely and utterly fucked.
Tierney was right. When we walked into the dining room arm and arm, the entire room stopped talking and stared at us. She giggled next to me. The Lord and their attendants were dressed in the finest of modern regalia with touches of the old days like golden pocket watches. One of the Blackburn nobles sported an eye glass. His wife wore plumes of peacock feathers in her hat. When she turned, they would slap her husband in the face. At least, I found one thing amusing.
“I love it,” Tierney whispered. I groaned and forced myself to stay in the room. My father’s expression didn’t change. Completely unreadable. Her father’s expression shifted from surprise to fury.
“Did your father know about this?” I asked quietly.
“Of course not.” She laughed.
I grabbed my collar and tugged on it. “It’s fucking hot in here,” I said.
“No, my Lord, that’s just us,” she said, tugging me alongside of her as we met with the first couple in the room. My father’s nobles had come to welcome the other factions. Stanley stood close behind us as we mingled through the room. At one point, Tierney asked him, “Did you make the arrangements that I requested?”
“There were some questions about it, Ma’am. However, it will be as you wish,” Stanley replied very formally.
“Wonderful,” she replied, then returned to her conversation with her father’s first noble. “Sir Halsey has two beautiful daughters. Either would be a suitable queen for you, Malik.”
“I’m not currently looking for a queen,” I replied. “But I’m sure your daughters are lovely.”
“I don’t blame you, Son. Sow those wild oats while you can. But at some point, our Lords deserve to have a settled heir like Lord Blackburn. It creates confidence in his reign. The vampires under his protection know they will be protected for generations to come,” he said.
My anger rose, but I pushed it down. My responsibility as heir to my father was none of his business. I managed a polite response. “Thank you for your wise words, Sir Halsey. If you wish to present your daughters to me, I’ll be happy to receive them. Both of them.” His eyes widened, and he choked on the glass of red wine in his hand.
“You are positively evil,” Tierney cooed. “I love it.” She flashed a smile while drinking from a glass of champagne.
“Did you miss the part where we are all vampires?” I asked.
The bell rang, and Tierney pulled me away from the noble before I said something else ridiculously stupid.
“By the way, he was referring to me, but I love it that you took it personal,” Tierney giggled as we made our way to the tables which were fashioned in a U-shape. My father stood in front of a large throne like chair at the center table. I knew the chair to his right was mine.
“Where is your seat?” I asked.
“I’m sitting with you. It’s been arranged,” she said with a devilish grin.
“What are you up to?” I asked. I knew s
he should be sitting with her father’s group.
She pulled me close to her body. The smell of spice and smoke tickled my nose. A heady sensual scent. “Don’t worry, Malik. I’m reminding Lord Blackburn how close the Northeast and South are.”
I wasn’t sure what she was talking about because our factions were very separate and only tolerated each other for ceremonies like this one. She urged me to my father’s side. He watched me move through the room with Tierney on my arm. When I took my place beside him, she stood on my right. Her father kept a calm face, but Lord Dick and Mini-Lord Dick snarled at us without moving their mouths. It was a ‘go to hell’ look like I’d never seen.
Tierney looked over my shoulder to the Lords of the West. “#worthit,” she said. I had to agree.
My father’s voice rang out over the tension.
“Welcome to my table. All that is placed before you, is yours to take as you wish. If it isn’t on the table, it isn’t for consumption,” Father said. I cringed. That meant there were humans here, and Father didn’t want anyone touching them. We had many human servants other than the Beckys and Callies. Father shouldn’t need to warn anyone. I wondered if something had happened.
He sat down, and we followed suit. The servants rushed into the room and began filling our goblets. Three goblets sat at each place. Two plain goblets for white and red wine. The third crystal cut goblets were filled with blood. Later this evening my father would offer a toast and special golden goblets would be presented to each attendee. Those goblets would contain the O-positive blood we craved. It would be enough to drive the vamps in the room into a frenzy which would be when I’d slip out. Humans would be offered to our guests. Beckys and Callies from our household would be given to theirs. I hoped it wasn’t more than that, but in meetings past, it had happened. I wanted no part of that. Appearing as my father’s heir didn’t have to include over-indulgent consumption which would undoubtedly include explicit sex.
Father had strict rules about sharing humans. Any human here would be here by choice. It didn’t seem like a choice to me. The whole thing disgusted me.
“You should wipe that scowl off your face,” Tierney suggested. She ran a long fingernail from my knees to my crotch.
“Don’t do that here,” I growled.
“So, I do have an effect on you.” She smiled proudly.
“I’ll show you later if you are interested,” I said. She could be my excuse to get out of the room before the frenzy which would push me over the edge. I didn’t feed as regularly as the rest of them. The potency of the situation would drive me to madness. If I turned loose, I’d scare every vamp in the room. That was saying something.
She took a long sip of the white wine, tilted her head and her eyes sparkled. “I’d love that.” Her eyes cut over my shoulder. I looked to see Lydia leering at us. Father tapped her thigh with his hand, and my stepmother looked back to the crowd.
Tierney and I made small talk as dinner was served. Her father watched us closely, but she barely acknowledged him. I found myself enjoying her company. She had the same disdain for other people that I had, which made me wonder why she had insisted on this arrangement. I would have liked to chalk it up to my desirable body, but I knew there had to be more than that. Perhaps she knew more about me that she let on. Maybe Trey had informed her of my feeding habits. I cringed at the thought. If I took her like I did my food, her father would kill me.
Then again, if I really wanted out of the lifestyle…
The tension in the room rose as the night continued. I drank the blood in the crystal goblet, hoping it would help me calm my nerves. I didn’t realize my leg was shaking until Tierney rubbed it with her cold hand.
She licked the last piece of cheesecake off her fork, then leaned into me. “What has gotten into you?”
I didn’t dare tell her my aversion to the evening’s activities. “Nothing.”
She ran her hand up my leg, rubbing over my crotch. I tried not to writhe at her touch. My father could clearly see her, but he made no motion to watch or comment.
“Should I take this edge off?” she offered.
“Yes!” I growled. Grabbing her arm, I jerked her up out of her seat as I stood. The chatter in the room ceased. She smiled as I dragged her behind me and through the doors into the kitchen prep area. I looked both ways trying to find a way out. My eyes landed on a woman standing at a prep station. Her eyes darkened when she saw me. It was Lydia’s mother. I looked at the man standing closest to me. “Where is the service elevator?’’
“That way, my Lord,” he responded.
I noticed it through the racks. One of the servants heard me ask and rushed to the elevator button, pressing it before we got there. The doors slid open, and I tossed Tierney into the elevator. She laughed as she nearly tripped over her heels before landing with her back to the back of the elevator. I shed the tuxedo jacket before the doors closed then pressed her against the wall. She bucked her hips to me, and I covered her mouth with mine.
The spicy scent from earlier overwhelmed my hormones as the elevator began to rise. She moaned into my mouth trying to reach for my crotch. I grabbed her wrists and pinned them to the wall.
“Stop!” I breathed hard with the desire to fuck her like one of my rare feeds.
“It’s okay. You just had to get out of that room before they started to feed,” she said. Her eyes burned back at me. She wanted it.
“I used you to get out,” I grumbled.
“And? I could have stopped you had I wanted.”
“I’m not going to fuck you.”
“You sure about that?” she asked, finally wrenching her hand from mine. She stroked me through my pants. “I think you need it. I know I want it.”
“No!” I pushed her away, making as much space between her and me as possible. “The blood would have driven me off the edge. I had to get out. I despise what is going on down there. You should know who I am. What I am. I don’t give a fuck about my father’s empire or any of this shit.”
I had no idea why I had admitted all of that to her. She reached over and hit the button for the floor to my bedroom. I had missed it in my rush to get into the elevator.
“Why don’t you invite me to your room? I’d love to know more about that, Reject.” She said it like it was something to be desired. Tierney clearly had a thing for bad boys. Not that I was bad, per se. But definitely not the kind of guy you take home to Daddy.
“Why did you come to me?”
“I’d rather come for you, but since that seems to be on the backburner, I’d rather talk in private.”
“There is nothing private in this building.”
She grimaced. “I figured as much. We will have to make do.” She extended her fangs and pierced the skin of her wrist. She lifted it for me to drink.
“I’ve never done this,” I said.
“Neither have I,” she admitted.
I extended my fangs, then pierced my own wrist. If I drank her blood as she drank mine, I would have access to her thoughts and feelings. Many years ago, it was a sign of complete trust and often was only practiced in the marriage bed. Marriage in the vampire community didn’t mean what it used to mean. It was a lot less about companionship and more about possession. The effect was temporary. We’d have a maximum of thirty minutes to use mind control to communicate. Vampires could control humans without a blood exchange. They were the weaker minded beings. Wasn’t it strange that it took dying to evolve?
I offered her my wrist, knowing it might be the worst mistake I’d ever made in my life. The door dinged. My eyes flicked to the opening doors to see a flash of light. I jerked Tierney toward me. She screamed as a torrent of bullets ripped through the doorway. I sank to the floor, smashing every button on the elevator.
“Fucking door! Close!” I yelled as the bullets continued. Tierney cowered next to me. Her green eyes pulsed with fear. “Just stay down.”
My father was going to be livid. No one got into his house and shot it up.
Not ever. The door finally closed, and the car tried to move. I jerked upward, then stalled. I stabbed the call button. I knew it would reach the security office.
“What’s going on in there?” Gore’s voice answered.
“Gore! Someone just tried to kill us, now the elevator is stuck!” I yelled.
“Where is Stanley?” he asked. “Why isn’t he with you?”
“I ran out of the dinner with Tierney. She’s with me,” I said. “Get us out of here!”
“Open the hatch on top of the elevator. Climb up and out of the shaft. I’ll have guys waiting for you on the above floor. The feeding has started downstairs. I can’t interrupt that,” he responded. I looked up to see the hatch. Pounding on the elevator door interrupted my contemplation on how to get us both out of that hole.
“Get up,” I ordered Tierney who shook her head, then lifted her eyes to me. I saw a grit and determination there I hadn’t seen in her. I’d seen the flirt. I saw the moment of fear. Now, I saw the woman underneath the sexy dress and sultry eyes. She put her hand in mine, and I helped her off the floor.
“Lift me up, and I’ll open the hatch,” she said while removing her high heels.
“At least you will get out,” I said.
She planted her lips on mine. “Stupid, Reject. I’ll pull you up after me. I am a vampire not a weak human woman.”
“Hot,” I muttered. She lifted her foot, and I cupped my hands to lift her up.
“I think I actually like you, Malik,” she said as she worked the latch on the elevator.
“Do you?” I said, while staring up her dress. As I had suspected, she was a commando kind of girl.
“Yep, you saved my life. I should offer you something in return,” she said, as she pulled herself up through the hole above me.
“I’d prefer to get out of here if that is an option.” I reached up to her. She looked down on me.
“I’m sorry, Malik. They were trying to kill me. My father is trying to kill me. You would slow me down, and I thought maybe since you knew the outside that you could help me.”