by E A Price
A suitable punishment – yeah right! As soon as they got hold of him or her, they would be executed with extreme prejudice. She hesitated, and he glared at her.
“Do your duty, Juliet.”
He turned his back on her, dismissing her, uninterested in anything else she had to say. There was nothing she could say to change his mind. Negotiation was not a word in his vocabulary.
She nodded and left him, shaking her head as she passed the dreamy looking maid on the way out. How could any female not see the vileness of that male? Of any vampire male, she thought worriedly.
The sabre-tooth tiger pounced on her thoughts, teasing her, taunting her. She rubbed her forehead. No, that was a complication she couldn’t have at that moment.
Juliet had to find a way to get rid of him. They couldn’t be together. It would be disastrous for her and her kind. The male needed to get it through his thick head. His thick, rugged, handsome head…
Over five hundred years old and she was regressing to a teenager. What a time to pick.
Chapter Three
The short walk back to her car seemed interminable for two reasons. For one thing, she was mulling over what Julian had told her. For another, some very brave young men decided to try and mug her.
They stumbled through the alley with the grace of two drunken hippos competing in a three-legged race and then decided to pull a penknife on her and call her sweetheart. Ugh.
She was given the option of handing over all her cash or submitting to some unspoken fate that most likely involved the ridiculously small knife. Naturally, she declined to give up her money – she didn’t have any anyway – but this seemed to flummox the boys. Either their career in mugging was very new, or no one really had said no to them.
Juliet shrugged, and taking advantage of their uncertainty, punched one in the face and kicked the other in the groin. Kindly, she didn’t hit or kick them very hard. They were human, and if she wanted she could do serious damage – crushed testicles serious. But she only wanted them in pain for the foreseeable future, not forever. Course, they were completely ungrateful for her efforts.
They scuttled back a few steps and called her bitch and all sorts of colorful names that men seemed to enjoy calling women. She was prepared to give them another taste of their own medicine when a delicious scent clutched at her senses.
He was here.
Sure enough moments later, the sabre-tooth appeared out of the shadows. He truly was a predator, not like the piteous creatures trying to limp away. Yep, they got one look at the bulging muscles on him, and they decided to skedaddle. He didn’t even have to say anything, or even roar, he just smiled slightly, they whimpered and made a run for it.
Juliet sighed as she noticed the tear in her dress. The skirt was perhaps a little tight to be street fighting in. Blood and chocolate! It was one of her favorite dresses.
“You could have jumped in sooner, couldn’t you?” she asked.
He moved slowly to stand in front of her, admiring the new slit in her skirt and the inches of leg it revealed.
“Didn’t look like you needed any help.”
“And here I thought you wanted to take care of me?” she teased, perhaps a little poutily.
“You have no idea,” he growled, grasping her hips and hauling her against his body.
She pressed her hands against his warm, hard chest, trying to push him away. She needed breathing room – and she didn’t even breathe!
“Yet you leave me to get robbed.”
“No, I leave you to have some fun. Looked like you were enjoying yourself. I was here in case my lady needed me.”
“I’m not your lady, and I don’t enjoy causing others pain.”
He curled his fingers around her hips, rubbing the material. “I like this dress. Blue suits you.”
“Shame it got ripped then.” Was that alley getting hot or was it her?
“Would get ripped off eventually anyway. I like that you’re dressing up for me.”
“I’m not dressing up for you!”
“Really? Who for then?” There was teasing in his voice, but also a hint of an edge. If she told him she was dressing up for another man she expected he’d hunt the man down and throw him off said edge.
“I dress for myself,” she said primly, firmly trying to extricate herself from him. He wasn’t having any of it. As soon as she peeled one of his hands away from her, another seemed to take its place. How many hands did he even have?!
“Won’t do you any good.”
“What, dressing for myself?”
“Denying me.” He took a long whiff of her hair and groaned. “The more you try to stay away, the worse it will be.”
“I am flattered by your attentions.” Understatement of the freaking year.
“More than flattered. I can scent you,” he said more than a little gleefully.
“But really, your assertions about us being mates is pure… poppycock.”
“Whoa, careful,” he chuckled. “That kind of language turns me on. Unless you want to be hauled up against that wall right now and sexed senseless, you better be careful.”
Juliet sighed. That was sort of tempting, and the hardness she felt against her belly indicated that it wasn’t an idle threat... or should that be promise?
“If all you want is sex, I can recommend a vampire bar where you can easily find a vampire companion.”
His eyebrows rose. “You’d be okay with me screwing another female?”
No! Never! Any female he touched would be dead! “Of course.”
Bewilderment erupted into rage, and his eyes blazed gold. “Have you been screwing other males?”
Unexpectedly, he buried his head in her neck, forcibly drinking in her scent, his arms clamping around her. At this rate, she was never getting free. His previous touches had been gentle in comparison; this was needy bordering on rough, and she didn’t exactly hate it.
She should push him away, toss him on his ass, tell him not to touch her. She should. She could. She didn’t.
“I don’t smell another on you,” he declared gruffly.
“There is no other!” she exclaimed.
He grinned, and she realized that perhaps she shouldn’t have been so quick with the denial.
“Not that it’s any of your business,” she added a little too late because now he had returned to smug again.
“Everything about you is my business.”
“Look, I’ve been patient with you, but this has to stop. When we met, you had been through a trauma, and clearly, you latched onto me because I made you feel safe. Maybe I remind you of your mother…”
He suddenly barked in laughter; the sound was rich and warm. “Sure if you were a foot taller, a hundred pounds heavier, sported a blonde dye job and had a cigarette dangling out of your mouth, maybe I could see it.”
“That’s a very vivid image.”
“Yeah, my mom was basically me with longer hair and a dress.”
Curiosity got the better of her. “Where did you grow up?”
He smirked, and she shook her head, feeling silly for her disappointment.
“You keep claiming we are mates and yet, you seem intent to keep yourself aloof from me. You cannot possibly expect me to take you seriously, and expect me to believe that you wish to commit your whole life to me when you won’t even commit enough to tell me your…”
“Ryder,” he barked.
Juliet started, or at least she would have were it not for the iron-like limbs surrounding her, making all movement impossible. “What?”
“My name’s Ryder,” he repeated a little more softly.
She blinked at him.
“I grew up in a town called April Springs. One of six kids to parents who couldn’t give a shit. Left home when I was fifteen, been drifting ever since. That’s pretty much all there is to me.” He held his breath, and a hint of vulnerability entered his eyes. “I’m not much, but I am your mate, and I can wait as long as it takes for you to see that
.”
Before Juliet could reply, he released her and took her elbow, gently leading her to her car. She stumbled into the driver’s seat.
“Drive safely, sweet thing. I’ll see you soon.”
He shut the car door and sauntered away, his huge body drifting and merging into the dark shadows of the alley. She wanted to deny it, but she relished the sight of his taut butt walking away. Maybe sixteen months was too long to go without sex, though she’d gone through many much longer periods before. Over the span of her long life, sex had become increasingly boring for her. Though she imagined sex with him – Ryder – would be marvelous. But would it be worth it?
“Ryder.” She said his name, relishing the sound as it strolled over her tongue. It was certainly a name she could moan and scream.
They could never bond, never truly be mates. If she gave in to her urges, would it just be a taste of something she could never truly have? But would that be worse than never being with him at all?
It was time for the forehead against the wheel moment of exasperation.
Shouldn’t she be worrying more about the situation with the elders? Maybe. But Ryder ultimately always muscled his way into her thoughts no matter what.
Damn, sexy sabre-tooth tiger.
Maybe there was something different about him. He was an unusual shifter. Maybe there was no danger in mating him. She wished that were true with all her heart, but the idea of putting her theory to the test made her queasy. If she were wrong, she wouldn’t just be killing herself – she’d be killing about a third of the vampire population on earth.
*
Ryder watched Juliet’s house in dismay. His mate had a serious hole in her security. Hadn’t she realized that, especially given the number of times he had broken in there? And those were just the times she knew about. In the month since he realized who she was, there hadn’t been one day or night when he hadn’t been in her house.
Some people might think that was creepy, but as far as he could see, she was his mate, and he had a right to be there. Plus, if she really didn’t want him there, wouldn’t she have beefed up her own security? His tiger grinned. Not doing so was like an open invitation. Though that turned to a growl. If he could get in so easily, so could others, and sadly he couldn’t watch her house every second of the day.
He peered at her bedroom window from where he stood in the bushes on the opposite side of the road, imagining her soft lilac scent. It was gorgeous. His beast almost let out a meow when he got a whiff of her.
Fuck, he wished he could be up there with her now, watching her as she undressed, as she jabbered about her day, waiting for her to climb into bed beside him. That sounded like heaven.
Her bedroom was much more floral than he would have guessed. Bright and cheery with lilac patterns everywhere. Stereotyping maybe, but he had imagined black silk sheets, red walls and maybe even handcuffs on the bed. He’d been looking forward to the handcuffs. But to know that really she was just a normal female who enjoyed pink things and flowery body lotions was quite comforting.
He’d never put much thought into meeting his mate before now. He liked females, he liked sex, and that was it. But now he had a five-foot-nothing little goddess, and he was happy as Larry. Whoever the hell Larry is. Those big dark eyes, that long black hair, that perfect petite little figure… He shuddered. Just thinking of her had him hard as steel and he considered trying to ease his pain, but then jacking off on the side of a street in some bushes… that was probably going too far in the creepiness stakes. Even his beast could see the problem there – and his beast had no filter when it came to being decent.
Humph. He needed to stop thinking of her. But how could he? He couldn’t go a minute without imagining her. She… consumed him.
It wasn’t just her looks and her body – which were absolutely flawless. He may have noticed that first, but honestly, she was… charming. He loved the way her lips pouted whenever she was annoyed. Craved to watch her upturned nose scrunch whenever he said something that pissed her off. Liked the way she sounded all hoity-toity. Yes, hearing her screaming ‘fuck me harder’ in that sexy voice was certainly something he was looking forward to.
Ryder didn’t know much about vampires, and he needed to remedy that. Needed to find out more about their own mating habits. He’d met a few over the years while he drifted, but mostly he was punching them in the face rather than talking to them.
She was adamant they weren’t mates. Grrr. His beast itched to claw something every time she said that. His poor mate was either deluded or in denial.
He knew they were mates. Knew it the moment he saw her, curled into the lap of a human whose phenomenal scent of desire for her still lingered in his nostrils. His tiger snarled. The male was dead; it didn’t matter. But they had met while the male was alternately hurting and fondling her and Ryder ripped him apart for that alone. Never mind the fact that the human had been kidnapping and selling shifters – and was trying to do the same to Ryder – no, it was what he did to Juliet that mattered most.
But she was injured, and he let her be for a few days, giving her the illusion of space until he told her who she was. Again, he didn’t know much about vampires, didn’t know how easily they scented their mates.
Not very easily put in his tiger sourly. Given the way she denied him, Ryder would have to agree.
He had thought that her immediate dismissal of him was out of snootiness. She thought she was better than him. She was – he wasn’t going to deny that – but he figured he’d wear her down to his uncouth ways. But now he was doubting that was ever true.
Ryder knew she wanted him, he could scent her desire, it was the sexiest, most gorgeous thing he had ever scented, but still she remained firm.
Part of him wondered if there was another male in her life. A soon to be dead male grunted his animal. But in all his stalking, he had not seen any male come close to her, and her house seemed to be completely devoid of the scent of sex. She wasn’t even masturbating. He was a little pleased about that – saving herself up for him his tiger thought lewdly. Though, he wouldn’t have minded if she wanted to touch herself while thinking of him.
There was something in her expression when she looked at him, sadness, even longing. Something a lot more troubling than anger or even irritation.
She kept saying they couldn’t be together. Not that she didn’t want them to be together. There had to be something in that. He needed to find out more about Vampires that was for sure, because she wasn’t being straight with him, and sexing her until she gave in wasn’t an option… yet.
Dawn was breaking. Shafts of sunlight filtered over her house and he was glad that she had pulled the shutters in.
Other vampires had security guards and automatic shutters. Juliet really was flying close to the knuckle. Something he would change when she officially became his mate.
He didn’t like leaving her house during the day, but he needed to, and he would be back soon enough. He pressed his fingers to his lips and blew a kiss to her window.
Pussy chuckled his beast. Ryder gave him a few choice words and loped away.
Chapter Four
Four hundred and fifty years ago
Master pawed at her. Mary tried to resist but she never could.
He had turned her into a vampire less than a year after she became one of his blood donors. Any hopes Mary had of ever returning to her old life, and perhaps even marrying Thomas died that day. He took her blood and then force-fed her some of his. She awoke with no heartbeat and no hope of escape.
He said she had enchanted him, bewitched him and he couldn’t bear to be without her. After fifty years together, his desire still did not seem to be waning. Though, her tolerance for him had completely fled.
Master took her body in every way possible and delighted in causing her pain, whipping and beating her, keeping her tied up for days, displaying her to his friends, having them watch as he forced her pain and pleasure.
She thought and h
oped she would eventually bore him, but it never happened.
Mary had never seen her family again. She assumed they had died. Thomas may still be alive, but she doubted it. He had probably married and produced children while she remained trapped in the dismal castle year after year.
Master left once a year to visit his family and was gone for over five weeks. She looked forward to those precious weeks alone more and more. Though he made sure to leave behind a couple of friends to make sure she didn't enjoy it so much she enjoyed herself right out the door.
He didn’t let her leave the castle without him. She had tried running away with the aid of one of the servants. She was found, and the servant was punished severely for their treachery. Mary didn’t try that again. She would not have anyone hurt because of her. She fed on the donors too, but she did not do so with much relish. She had them decant their blood into cups for her.
The few times Master actually took her out the castle, she thought it was for being good. No, it was to torture her more. Master wanted her to hunt a human and kill them, suck every last drop of blood from their body. She refused, and he made her watch while he did it, and then took her back to the castle to punish her.
Mary grimaced as Master became bolder with her.
His friends watched them with interested leers as he pulled apart her bindings, displaying her breasts. Rodrigo licked his fangs as he looked at her. He was having his manhood sucked by one of his own donors. She was attacking him with enthusiastic vigor; she didn’t even need his guiding hand on her head.
Alastair was alternately fondling one of his male and female donors, while Marguerite was feeding on a strapping young man while rubbing his groin; he made ecstatic little moans every few seconds. Only Edward remained aloof from the lazy orgy, sipping at a cup of blood. Each vampire had their own entourage; they traveled with shifter servants who took care of them during the day and human donors who were there to feed the vampires’ enormous appetites.