The Somerset Series: A Box Set: Books 2-4

by Isadora Brown

  His mouth was obsessed with her skin. His tongue needed to taste every inch of her, needed to trail a wet path down her curves, needed to erect her nipples and cause goosebumps to litter her body like a valley filled with flowers. He didn't know if he had been tasting her for minutes or for hours. To him, time was of no consequence. He could do this for hours. His cock was hard, straining against his sweatpants, but he was disciplined enough to wait.

  When his mouth finally hit her cunt, she made a curiously delicious cry, like an animal who had finally been caught by a hunter. It was filled with agony tainted with pleasure. A desperate cry that should have alerted her neighbors to the fact that something was amiss but it was Sunday afternoon; he highly doubted anyone was around.

  He wouldn't have cared, anyway. He liked hearing her scream, the heavy breathing, the noises her body made when he was attacking her body with his fingertips and his mouth and teeth and tongue and any piece of him because he needed to touch her in some way.

  It wasn't long until she shattered against his face, gushing the hot liquid inside of her cunt to his mouth, and he drank it up as though it was her blood, some life-giving force that he couldn't get enough of. It was like an elixir of life, what gave him life, even though he was already dead and would somehow live forever. Yet, somehow, she made him feel alive with all the feelings that accompanied being around her required. How could he feel anything but?

  He gave her no time to rest before he climbed on top of her and thrust his straining cock inside of her. It was immediately encompassed by her warm slickness, and he let out a groan he couldn't contain. When he was inside of her, he felt like he was home. Like there was nowhere in this great wide world that he would rather be. He loved how she took him without question, without pausing or complaining or any sort of reason to cause stoppage in their fucking - he couldn't quite call it love-making just yet but he knew that it was more than simply fucking, that more went into the connection of their bodies than just sex - and that she wanted to please him as much as he wanted to please her. He would never admit this out loud but there were times when he had to think of something else in order to control his urge to come a few minutes after being inside of her. He didn't like to think his sexual prowess was compromised by his partner but she was typically so tight, so fucking wet, that how could anyone resist losing control over themselves and releasing all of themselves inside of her?

  He started thrusting, long, deep thrusts that filled her to the brim. He had fucked her enough to know exactly what she liked and he wasn't surprised when her fingers found her folds and she began touching herself to his movement. He loved looking down at her, watching her breasts bounce, her perfect pink nipples like magnets, drawing his eyes to them. He loved that he didn't tell her to touch herself, that she took her pleasure into her own hands and he assisted in it but wasn't the sole cause for it.

  It wasn't long before she shattered around his cock, twitching uncontrollably as his name found its way to her mouth. For him, it was the little things that caused him to become undone. It could be a sparkle in her eye or the way she clenched around his cock or the way she breathed. Almost always, however, it was when she said his name. It was a vocal reminder that this wasn't a dream he created, that this was real.

  He leaned over and bit her shoulder, muffling his cry as he spilled inside of her. He should probably be concerned with pregnancy, considering it was possibly for vampires to give life even if they weren't technically alive, but he couldn't bring himself to worry about that just yet. Not when he was light and floating and suddenly, very, very sleepy. Alek collapsed on top of her, taking into consideration his weight on her fragile body, and it wasn't long before they both fell into a fitful slumber.

  23

  A knock at the door a few hours later caused Danielle to stir. She threw on Alek’s shirt and a pair of boy shorts before heading over to the door and opening it, assuming it was Aubrey. However, her eyes narrowed at Ryder and her entire body screamed at her for leaving Alek sleeping in bed in order to answer the door to him. She had no affection for him anymore. She did not even find him attractive. Her heart didn’t flutter or slow down, her insides didn’t clench together. She was immune to him now, after what felt like forever. He meant nothing to her. And Danielle had never felt more free.

  “What do you want, Ryder?” she asked. The majority of her body was positioned behind her front door but it was clear that she wore nothing save for a large collared shirt and her hair was messy. It had to be late in the afternoon, so there was no doubt she had been in bed all day, probably not alone.

  “I’m just checking on you,” Ryder said. “After what happened on live TV, I wanted to make sure you were okay.”

  “Why would you think otherwise?” Danielle asked. “How is my welfare any of your business?” She glanced behind her quickly, making sure Alek was still sleeping soundly. Besides the royals, vampires didn’t typically follow a nocturnal schedule if they could help it. For the most part, they wanted to assimilate into society as best as they could, especially considering many of them had typical nine-to-five jobs. Alek could wake up at hearing Ryder’s voice or he could sleep through the entire encounter.

  “After what happened-” he began to repeat but Danielle cut him off.

  “How is Noah Wright relevant to my father?” Danielle asked. “Just because he worked at the NDS doesn’t mean he’s involved in this whole kidnapping.” Her eyes narrowed. “Unless you know something I don’t. I know you’re interning at the NDS…” Danielle’s voice trailed off. Something about Ryder’s internship was tickling her brain. It bugged her. Something wasn’t adding up but she didn’t have the time to tease out why.

  “Who are you with?” Ryder asked, interrupting her thoughts. His eyes turned cold and they dropped to her neck. “What is that, Dani? Is that a bite on your pulse? Did you – who the hell could you have bonded with?”

  “Like I said, it’s none of your business,” Danielle retorted. She went to the door, prepared to slam it in his face, when he stopped her just by raising his arm.

  “A vampire, Dani?” he asked, completely ignoring the fact that she was trying to get rid of him. In fact, he forced the door open even more. “Jesus Christ, you’re more out of it than I thought.” He forced himself inside her dorm and stood in the doorway. “Why couldn’t you just go with Luke?”

  Danielle paused, furrowing her brow. “What?” she asked.

  Ryder continued as though he hadn’t heard her. “Now I have to come here by myself and fetch you like you’re some kind of dog,” he said. “But you’re not a dog, just a feeder.”

  He sneered at her. The light had gone out from his eyes as he looked at her and she knew that he regarded her as nothing short of scum. Not that she minded one way or the other; she didn't particularly care if Ryder liked her or not. However, his attitude towards her might dictate his behavior towards her and when Ryder looked at someone like that... She didn't know how he would react and there was no way she would be able to predict Alek's reaction. Their bond, she knew, wasn't official yet, because if it had been, he would already be awake and at her side. He might have even had Ryder in vice grip. She knew if she opened her mouth and shouted, he would be awake in an instant. But he was sleeping, which meant Ryder was safe. For now.

  "You had better leave, Ryder," she told him, her voice quiet. "If you know about the bond, you know that he'll be at my side should he feel myself react to you."

  "You think I'm afraid of a leech?" Ryder asked. "You really never knew me at all, did you? Leaving you was the best thing I've done. You're nothing but a feeder. I'm glad we're taking you. Maybe then you'll have some kind of chance to redeem who you are and see vampires for what they are: dangerous, life-sucking forces that will do nothing to stop themselves from destroying you."

  "What do you mean, take me?" Danielle asked. She wasn't sure why she was whispering. If Alek was awake, he would be able to hear her fine, no problem. "What do you mean, Luke failed at his
job? What are you talking about?"

  "You don't know?" Ryder asked. "Of course you don't know. Luke has been with the NDS for a long time. He's a senior agent and a failure. He thinks he's better than everyone else but he's incapable of taking someone when they refuse to go." His eyes locked on her. "Sorry but the NDS wants you. I don't know why and I don't care. It has something to do with your father."

  "I already told Luke I don't want to go into protection," Danielle told him. "And I'll tell you the same thing. I'll tell whoever they send to get me. I'm not going with you or Luke or anyone else. I'm fine right here."

  "I don't think you realize that this isn't a choice," Ryder told her. He stepped forward. Danielle stepped back and tried to shut the door. It sprung forward and went back because Ryder was standing in the way, preventing it from shutting completely. "You're coming with me, whether you want to or not. The NDS recruited me knowing our history. They promised me a shit ton of things and I'm not going to let you ruin that."

  "So you're not actually interning for the NDS?" Danielle asked. She was trying to buy time and she hoped Alek could hear her or know that something was wrong because she wasn't strong enough to fight him off, though she would fight him.

  "Of course not," Ryder said, rolling his eyes. "You think I give a shit about supe and human relations?" He snorted and shook his head. Luckily, he didn't try and push the door in anymore, instead choosing to talk rather than to grab her. Chalk that up to his arrogance. "Some guy came over to me before we started the semester asking me about you. I thought it was weird and wasn't going to tell him anything. But then he promised me fifty k and a house in the suburbs all paid off if I gave them information about you and your family. I told him everything I knew. You think I was going to give that shit up? Hell, no. Then, the same guy came back and asked me to keep an eye on you, report anything you said, any people you hung out with. He told me they were doing it for your protection, what with what happened to your father. I thought I was helping you."

  Danielle furrowed her brow. "You were helping yourself," she told him.

  There was a glimmer of darkness in his eyes and he sneered at her. "Let's go," he said. "Once they have you, I get my house and I get paid. Let's go."

  "I'm not going with you," Danielle told him through a snarl.

  "Yeah," Ryder replied, "you are. Who's going to stop me? The leech you fucked last night?"

  "Yes, that's correct."

  Alek's voice came from behind her before Danielle felt him standing there. She didn't need to turn and look at him to know that he was staring at Ryder with his cold, blue eyes. Anyone else would have been afraid, but Ryder's cockiness prevented him from such an emotion. Instead, Ryder started laughing, though the sound came out hollow. It didn't match his eyes.

  "Oh, this is rich, Danielle," Ryder said, shifting his eyes to Danielle. "Sleeping with your professor. You fucking fang banger."

  Without a warning, Alek's arm shot out straight and his hand gripped Ryder's throat. Danielle saw his fingers squeeze into Ryder's skin and for the first time since she knew him, she saw the first glimmer of fear in his dark eyes. Alek dragged Ryder into Danielle's dorm room and Danielle shut the door without being told to.

  "Why are you here?" Alek asked, staring down at Ryder without releasing him. He towered over Ryder in both height and girth; there was no way Ryder could overpower him.

  "I'm here to take Danielle for protection," Ryder said. Despite the clear power discrepancy, Ryder wasn't going to back down; that much was clear. He reached behind his back and gripped something in his hand before releasing it and dropping his hand. Danielle furrowed her brow. That was odd. "On behalf of the NDS."

  "He's lying," she said. Alek shifted so he stood beside her instead of behind her and she knew it was because he was protecting her. But something felt off. Something felt wrong. "His internship for the NDS is bullshit."

  "I know," Alek told her. "I heard everything. I wanted to let you handle this on your own but it would seem as though Mr. Carson can't seem to take no for an answer."

  "Don't start talking down to me like you're my professor and I'm your student," he snapped. "Not after you slept with my ex-girlfriend." He snorted again. "I didn't realize leeches had a thing for sloppy seconds. Then again, they'll suck on anything that moves, won't they?"

  Danielle didn't even think, she just reacted. She curled her fingers into a fist and socked Ryder square in the face. Pain shot up her arm but she didn't care. Tears sprung in her eyes but she would do it again if she had to. No one spoke about Alek that way, not while she was around.

  "You, bitch!" Ryder cried, his hand reaching up to gingerly touch his face.

  Alek took a step forward. "I will break you," was all he said.

  "You think that just because I'm a human, I can't defend myself against you," Ryder continued, his eyes flashing over to Alek. "Fucking try me. If you don't get out of my way and let me take Danielle to the NDS, I will hurt you."

  Alek chuckled. "You are not taking Danielle anywhere," he said.

  Ryder shifted his eyes over to Danielle, waiting for an answer. She furrowed her brow and shook her head. There was no way she was going with Ryder.

  "You leave me no choice, then," Ryder said, his tone mutual, nonchalant. He reached behind him and forced something deep inside Alek's chest. The movement was so fast, Danielle didn't even realize he had staked Alek until Alek fell back into her dorm and Ryder took off without waiting for Danielle to come after him. Alek didn't burst into ash like the movies showed vampires dying when a stake pierced their heart, which meant she could still save him.

  Maybe.

  She pulled him all the way in and closed her door, locking it just in case Ryder came back. Then she turned to look at Alek.

  24

  Danielle didn't even hear the door slam shut as Ryder made his escape. She didn't care about him. Not now, anyway. She dropped to her knees but not because she wanted to; her knees gave out. She hadn't expected blood to pool out of Alek's wound; she didn't think vampires had a heart to pump blood. But something about Alek's was different because his shirt was now stained with blood. Alek's mouth was open and he made soft noises as he tried to breathe. Without even realizing what she was doing, she reached out to press her hands on the open wound. Her hands were suddenly assaulted with thick, crimson blood seeping through her fingers.

  "Tell me what to do," she told him, throwing her eyes at Alek desperately. "You'll be able to heal this, right? Vampires can heal anything, right?"

  Alek coughed, more flecks of blood springing up like water from a hose and hitting Danielle's face. "Not when a weapon has pierced my heart," he manages to get out. His voice was strained, raw, as though he could barely get the sound out, let alone speak the words.

  "Tell me what to do," she told him again before a sob escaped her theist. "Tell me what to do, please." Her eyes glanced down at his chest, away from the eyes. She could literally see the life going out of them; the crystal blue started to dull. She needed to stop it, she needed to keep the color in them. "Will my blood help? Will it help?"

  Alek grunted, his eyes closing. However, he nodded his head twice before grunting once more. She needed to act quick. She raised one arm and placed her wrist over his mouth. He couldn't even get his fangs out. Danielle clenched her teeth together. This wasn't going to work if she couldn't pierce her skin. She placed her wrist to her own mouth and ripped her skin as hard as she could. Pain shot through her entire body and blood started to spill from her. She let out a squeak of pain, feeling the flesh of her skin flap in the cold breeze. She would probably need a couple of stitches. That didn't matter now. She leaned over and placed her wrist over his mouth. At first, Alek didn't respond and for a moment, Danielle's breath jumped in her throat, afraid it was too late, that he was already gone. But then she felt pressure on her wrist and his lips pursed together and he was sucking her blood.

  She knew this was solidifying their bond. Perhaps it was too soon in their re
lationship but she didn't care. To save his life, she would commit to him for the rest of hers. It was stupid and impulsive and naive but it would save his life.

  There was something pleasurable about him taking her blood. Every time he sucked on her, he shot little lightning bolts to her pelvis. She could feel herself getting wet because of it, and it suddenly made sense why being with a vampire as they sank their fangs into her neck was so erotic and created a unique experience one couldn't get with a werewolf of a human. Perhaps, when everything was said and done and Alek recovered - because he would recover from this - they would try it.

  After another moment, Danielle's head started to get light. She knew he was taking up too much of her blood but she didn't know how much he needed to be okay and she didn't want to pull away if he needed more. However, she reached a point where she couldn't even sit up anymore so she felt herself slouch forward until her head hit his chest and she started seeing stars.

  When she woke, Danielle had a headache. She found she was in her bed, wrapped in her comforter. A pair of sweatpants were covering the lower half of her body, socks were on her feet, and a large sweater covered the shirt she had been wearing before. Her brows furrowed and she tried to sit up but a wave of dizziness took hold of her senses, and she reached up to clutch her head as she let out a pained groan.

  "Easy there, tiger."

  She looked over and found Alek in the same chair he had been sitting in before, and suddenly, a rush of memories flooded through her mind and her first instinct was to sit up straight and dash over to him, but she couldn't physically do so.