by Dannika Dark
When her bare feet touched the ground, Claude rushed forward. “She’s hurt.”
No blood oozed from the gash on her foot, but the bloodstains told the story that she hadn’t been handled with care.
When Claude crouched in what was clearly a posture to lick her wounds, Shepherd yanked him back.
“You don’t waste time with introductions, do you? Keep your tongue in your mouth. I’ll get my bag.” Shepherd brushed past us toward the medical room down the hall.
Niko could have healed a cut that small, even after sustaining injuries tonight. But I had a feeling he wasn’t eager to reveal his Mage gifts to a complete stranger on the first night. Aside from that, he never wasted healing light on superficial wounds. Still, he remained in a genuflecting position.
Wyatt strutted toward her, hand extended. “I’m Wyatt Blessing. Affable, handsome, and your tour guide of the afterlife.”
Blue’s eyes rolled to the back of her head. “She doesn’t understand you.”
He peered over his shoulder, arm still extended. “How do you know what she does and doesn’t know, buttercup?”
“Because Viktor would have greeted her in English.”
Wyatt completed his unreciprocated handshake with a flamboyant bow, removing his hat and then stepping aside.
“How do we communicate with her?” Gem asked. “I don’t know the language you two were speaking.”
Viktor steadied Kira’s arm as she wobbled, not having used her legs for who knew how many hours or days. “Kira speaks a dead language known to very few. She’s a bright girl and will learn quickly if she chooses.”
“She doesn’t speak any Slavic languages? German? Russian?”
“Nyet. She only left the farm to deliver messages for her aging father. That is my understanding, but we have much to catch up on after she settles in.”
Shepherd reappeared with a medical kit. “Wyatt, grab that chair. I can’t do this with her standing up.”
Wyatt dragged a green upholstered chair away from the wall, and Viktor helped her to sit. I’d never seen anyone with such a regal posture—as if she were looking upon her loyal subjects. Viktor plucked a few pieces of straw from her hair, and between words, I caught our names. He must have been giving her the scoop on each of us. When he got to Shepherd, a flutter of laughter caught in her throat before she silenced herself.
Shepherd gave Viktor the evil eye as he pushed his sleeves up to his elbows. If I’d been a betting woman, which I was, I’d guess that Viktor had just given her the speech about Shepherd’s ability to offend.
Shepherd doused a white cloth with peroxide and wiped the dried blood from her foot. One of the nails in the crate must have cut her during transport. “It doesn’t need stitches, but it’s gonna scar a little.”
When he poured the antiseptic on it, she winced and tried to jerk her leg away.
Shepherd caught her ankle and held it tight. He met her gaze, his voice firm but gentle. “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m here to help.”
She studied him for a moment before nodding.
Gem strode over to the crate and peered inside. “Where’s her luggage?”
Viktor asked her a question in that unfamiliar language, and she gave a quick reply. “She has nothing of value.”
I thought about how Breed didn’t take photographs of themselves—a longstanding tradition to stay out of historical archives. How sad to not have a picture of her father. It suddenly made me realize how badly I wanted one of my own.
Viktor approached Blue, hands in his pockets. “She should have the first bedroom behind the stairs.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to give her a room with a window? It’s kind of small in there,” Blue remarked.
“She would feel safer without windows in a new place. If you saw where she lived, you’d understand why smaller is better. Will you draw her a bath? Perhaps lend her some clothes?”
“Sure.” Blue held his gaze for a moment and finally turned away. The sound of her footsteps echoed against the tall ceiling, which Kira gaped at.
The newcomer took a minute to soak in the grandeur of it all. By no means did we have garish décor, but the farm girl was nevertheless awestruck by the architecture and medieval beauty of our fortress. The candles burned brightly enough to reveal the ominous winged soldier by the door and the grand staircase in the middle. Little did she know how big this place really was. Not just the maze of hallways and the beautiful courtyard but also the rolling hills and expansive estate.
Then again, she might not be impressed once she began mopping.
Gem reached down and unraveled the ribbons from her tall shoes. “I’d love to stay and chat, but alas, I’m dead to the world. Kira probably wants her privacy.”
Niko finally rose to his feet and bowed. “That goes for me as well. I bid you all a good evening.”
Shepherd dropped the bloody cloth on the floor and wrapped a bandage around her foot. Kira watched silently, resting her head in her palm, eyes hooded.
I saluted Viktor and gave Christian a pointed stare before steering toward the side hall that led to the back of the mansion.
“Follow me,” I whispered.
Once I reached the second level, I headed to a study in the back. The smell of old paper hit me as soon as I entered the room, and since I didn’t have any matches on me, I grabbed a candle stub from a lantern in the hall and used the dying flame to light up a fresh candle. Occasionally at night, I’d find Niko in here, savoring his drink in front of a warm fire.
I set the candles on a long table to the right of the door and hopped up next to them. The light barely touched the other side of the room, but my Vampire eyes allowed me to see the weathered spines.
Who did all these books once belong to? I wondered. They filled the room from wall to wall, each volume covered with dust.
“How many people used to live here?” I asked.
Christian emerged from the shadowy hall. “Viktor’s never spoken about his family. And unless you have a morbid interest in tales of woe, better to not ask an immortal about his past.”
“I’ll take that into consideration. So, my fellow insomniac. Are you up for a hunt?”
His dark eyes glittered.
“Remember when I was checking messages this morning? I’ve been following a few leads, and I got an offer on a message I left a few weeks ago. This could be our guy. I think he’s surfing human websites in search of willing victims—people who don’t have family or friends to miss them. Even if he’s not behind most of the big auctions, it’ll be one less fanghole we have to worry about.”
“Don’t you mean Vamp?” He gave me an indignant look. “Is that why you’re so gung-ho about this particular case? A chance to have your vengeance against Vampires?”
“I’m almost dating a Vampire.”
“Almost?”
I slid off the table. “We haven’t gone on a real date. We’ve barely gotten past second base.”
He stepped forward with a swing in his gait. “I thought we were being unconventional. Now you want flowers and candy?”
I circled around him. “Nope. I want to hunt an outlaw and take him down.”
His fingers traced across my midsection. “How romantic, Miss Black. Shall I serve his head on a silver platter?”
I backed up against the wall. “He asked me if I’d ever heard of a club called High Jinx. I haven’t replied yet, but I was thinking we could head over there and scout it out—memorize all the exits. He obviously wants to meet in public to see if I fit the bill, and that’s why he mentioned a human club.”
Christian flattened his hand on the wall over my head and leaned in tight. “Maybe we should send in Blue.”
“Why? Because she has bigger breasts? If I attracted a Vampire the first time, there’s probably something about me that looks a little lost. Blue’s never been human. She doesn’t know how to act and talk in a way that would throw off suspicion. Why wouldn’t you want me to go?”
&nb
sp; Christian’s cheek touched mine, his mouth resting against my ear. “I was a guard for too long. All I want to do is protect you.”
His words spilled into my head like a promise. When his lips found mine, the kiss was wet, hot, and passionate. That man knew exactly how to move his tongue. Every place I touched on his body was hard muscle, reminding me of his power.
“Don’t you like this?” I asked.
“Yesss,” he hissed back.
“Then why don’t you touch me?”
Stone pieces dislodged from the wall and sprinkled down my shoulder.
Christian leaned back. “You’re not a full Vampire. I’ll break you.”
“You haven’t hurt me yet.”
“Aye, lass. But it requires an incredible amount of willpower. If I break my concentration, I could snap your bones.”
I stroked the artery on his neck. “Then maybe you should let me drink from you.”
He pressed against me as if we were two magnets. Christian wanted me to drink from him. His was the first blood I’d ever tasted that set me on fire, and being Vampire blood, it granted me temporary physical strength.
Whiskers grazed against my cheek as he moved his mouth close to mine. “I don’t want you drinking from other Vampires. Do you understand me?”
“That’s a mighty tall request coming from a man who said I needed to use blood for information.”
“I meant recreationally.”
I gasped when he rocked his hips, his thick erection pressing against me. Collecting my thoughts, I managed to counter his remark. “Do you drink recreationally?”
One of his fangs pierced my earlobe. “Aye.” Then he sucked on it before pulling away, a smudge of blood glossing his lips.
I shoved him back. “Wait a second. You go around slurping from people?”
He cocked his head to the side. “I’ve never been one to turn down a free drink.”
“So it’s fine for you but not for me.”
His lips twitched. “I don’t drink from Vampires. The blood from others isn’t as repulsive to me as it is to you, so I think it’s different.”
I pinched my earlobe and studied him. I couldn’t imagine the act of blood sharing not being intimate. “It’s not like you need it to survive. Maybe you should go to a blood bank instead.”
He waggled his brows. “Jealous?”
“No.”
Christian rocked with laughter. “That’s your Vampire nature, Raven. You’re more jealous of me drinking from a woman than bedding her.” He reached out and stroked my cheek, the humor withering from his expression. “Are you still wandering the halls late at night?”
He wanted to know if I was still having nightmares—the unshakable ones that woke me up in a cold sweat. It was pointless to share a floor with a Vampire and expect him not to notice my sleeping habits.
I shrugged. “At least I get my exercise.”
“Your Creator has too much control over your life.”
My lips curled as I spoke. “Fletcher has no control over me.”
His eyes rounded a fraction, and that was when I realized I’d divulged a secret I’d kept from everyone—my Creator’s name.
He lowered his gaze to my sweatpants and slowly licked the remaining drop of crimson from his lower lip. “I can taste the painkiller in your blood. It won’t last for long.”
“I plan on healing first light. If it gets too much to bear, I’ll drink a few shots of tequila.”
He stepped back, hands clasped behind him. “Niko’s coming.”
“How do you know?”
“Everyone’s footsteps are unique.”
“What do mine sound like?”
“Bigfoot.”
I narrowed my eyes at him just as Niko entered the room.
“Apologies for interrupting,” Niko said. “I followed your energy trail. I didn’t realize you were having a private discussion.”
I smiled. “Nothing private about it.”
He gave me an enigmatic look.
I folded my arms. “Okay. We were discussing that thing I was talking to you about regarding the Vampire trafficking. Viktor gave me the green light to check into it. Are you working on something at the moment? We’re heading out to a club tomorrow and could use another set of eyes.”
He chuckled. “That’s an interesting turn of phrase for a blind man.”
Christian clapped a hand on Niko’s shoulder as he moved out of the room. “Quit your fibbing. We all know you’re lying about that so you can watch the ladies undress.”
Niko’s crystalline eyes sparkled in the candlelight. His ebony hair was usually down, but tonight he had it pulled back in a tight braid.
“Are you feeling better?” I asked.
“I’ll live.”
“What do you think about Kira?” I asked. “Did you see anything suspicious in her light?”
He strode around to the table by the wall and waved his hand over a candle, his fingers curling when they felt the flame. “I saw no impurity in her light, no reason to suspect she is deceiving us.”
“And you’re okay with all this? She’s practically a slave.”
Niko turned sharply. “No, Raven. Slavery is not a word you can throw around. It’s an act committed against your will that removes your freedom of choice. Kira has willingly placed herself in our care in exchange for work. Not all work requires monetary payment. Long ago, we labored for food, shelter, or even permission to travel across land. The work here may seem tedious to you, but some like to keep their hands busy.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I murmured. When I noticed Niko reading my light, I had to explain. “We don’t know anything about her. She might try to seduce every man in this house for personal gain or blackmail. Claude was ready to give her a tongue bath, and Wyatt practically fell over himself. She has to know the power she holds over men. Even if she is trustworthy, maybe I don’t trust the men in this house not to fool around with her. That would look pretty shitty, don’t you think? Taking advantage of a girl who’s using us for protection? It might seem consensual, but in her eyes, she’ll think she has no choice. The whole thing stinks.”
“Would you rather she be an old hag?”
“Yep.”
“Viktor will give her the talk. We all receive a briefing on the rules regarding relationships and appropriate behavior within the house. He discourages it for the right reasons. He’s a little rigid, but Viktor is a decent man who looks out for us. He has no family, and wolves thrive in a pack environment. That makes him protective, and I assure you that anything he does within this house is well thought out. As it stands, Viktor trusts her because she’s bartering for protection. People who work for money are easier to bribe.”
“I’m less concerned about external bribery than I am about an internal scandal.”
He inclined his head. “You assume I would stoop to such low regard for a woman.”
“No, but I’ve been around long enough to see how easily people can use what little power they have to take advantage of others. And it’s not jealousy talking just because there’s a new girl in the house. I don’t trust people right off the bat; they have to earn it. I trust you guys, just not all the way. Even you. I know there are things you haven’t told me. Something makes you unfit to live in good society, or else Viktor wouldn’t have chosen you to be part of this team. You guys knew about my kills, so I understand why it took a while to warm up to me. But I know next to nothing about everyone’s past and what earned your spot in this house, so that makes me leery. I get that we’re all here for a fresh start, but that doesn’t mean my trust is automatic. No offense, but that’s just the way I’m wired.”
“I assure you, Raven, I have no intention of seducing the help.”
I stepped closer and grasped his chin. “Yes, but does the help have any intention of seducing you?”
When he blinked, I smiled widely. Niko was old and wise and still blushed like a young maiden every time I suggested anything sexual in h
is presence. He must have come from the days when people didn’t talk about sex, even with their spouses. Some cultures were very repressed about such things.
“I’m glad to see the medicine is working despite the hallucinatory side effects,” he quipped.
“Just keepin’ it real.”
Niko bowed. “Should you need assistance with your investigation, feel free to invite me. I’ll do what I can.”
“Swell! We’re going dancing tomorrow, so put on your dancing shoes.”
Chapter 6
I gripped my pillowcase, my eyes squeezed shut as Christian’s hot mouth greedily kissed my inside thigh. The higher he moved, the louder I moaned. A rough hand slid between my legs, fingers stroking over my wet panties.
Want more.
Need more.
Don’t stop.
When he pressed harder and stroked deeper, I spiraled toward my release. I wanted to feel him inside me, above me, behind me. When one of his fangs grazed across my sex, I gasped and opened my eyes.
No one hovered over me in my empty bedroom. Breathless, I sat up to make sure I was alone, my heart pounding against my chest. I stared at the foot of the bed, trying to see if Christian had fallen onto the floor.
It was so real.
I ripped the sheet away in disbelief. My skin still prickled where his whiskers had scratched my legs, where his kiss had branded me, where his touch had drawn out the most intense pleasure.
Flustered, I swung my legs over the edge and spotted a thermos on the bedside table.
“Still warm,” I murmured, wrapping my fingers around it.
Only Christian had ever brought coffee to my room. How long ago had he been in here? Had his very presence in the room triggered the dream? My cheeks flushed at the idea that I might have been moaning aloud in his presence. Even if he was down the hall, he must have gotten an earful.
After a few sips of java, I stood up, the soles of my feet chilled by the stone floor. According to my internal Mage clock, it was close to nine in the morning, so chances were good that breakfast was still on the table. I’d woken up a couple of hours earlier to take a quick shower and catch a ray of healing sunlight before going back to sleep. My leg didn’t hurt anymore, but my thoughts were nebulous after a late night of drinking, flashing, and painkillers.