by Cooper Flynn
“Okay, but if this goes too far I will push you away using whatever force I have to.” Joshua warned.
Kenzi shook her head. “No, you won’t, you won’t be able to. Are you sure you want to try?” Even as she asked, she felt her self-control slipping. The heat of his body, his scent and now the low hum of the blood coursing through his veins tormented her.
Joshua touched her cheek and then turned away, offering his neck. Kenzi took the black arrowhead in her teeth and leaned forward. This was her friend, and once her lover, but she still wanted to savor him before she fed. She breathed deeply against him as the strange erotic thrill raced through her. With hands slightly trembling as she fought for restraint, Kenzi stroked Joshua’s chest before pulling his neck to her lips. Joshua tensed, and then relaxed as the hypnotic effect of her scent calmed him.
Kenzi molded her body to his, sliding a leg over his. Joshua slid his hand over her thigh, until it came to rest on her hip. With the last of her fading control, she brought her lips to the soft skin of his neck and slid the obsidian edge against it, cutting deeply. Joshua grip of her hip tightened for a moment and relaxed as the sharp pain ebbed away. Blood began to flow into Kenzi’s hungry mouth, the rich, sweet taste sent bolts of pleasure racing to every part of her body. Without thought, she pressed her body hard into his, and rolled to cover him. Joshua’s free hand slipped over her ass and gripped the firm flesh roughly.
As Kenzi continued to suck at the wound, Joshua groaned with a sound somewhere between pleasure and pain. His body offered no resistance, and her left hand roamed the hard planes of his chest and stomach, sliding underneath his shirt to find the warm skin. As the hot blood flowed into her, visions of their previous life raced through the theater of her mind. She remembered the first sweet pain of coupling, and wrapping her legs around him as he thrust into her.
Without resistance from Joshua, Kenzi found herself completely on top of him. As she straddled him, Kenzi could feel his hard length straining through the coarse fabric of his pants. Her short dress had ridden up, only a thin layer of silk covered her sex as she ground slowly into him. Joshua’s hands found their way to her ass and pulled her against him.
As his blood continued to flow, Kenzi felt tiny electric shocks pulsing through her, penetrating to every inch of her body. The intoxicating sensation of unlimited power began to seduce her into pulling every ounce of life from the body beneath her. She longed to rip his clothes from him, and feel him inside her, riding him as the last drop of blood left him.
The shock of that thought echoed through her, and it took everything she had to throw herself off of Joshua. She gasped for air as she studied him, still fighting the animal part of her that wanted to both devour him and fuck him. He slowly opened his eyes, clouded with lust and confusion.
“You did it,” he murmured. “And you were right, I would have let you kill me just to keep the feeling going as long as possible.”
Kenzi could only nod in reply, her mind exulting in her ability to control herself, even as her body raged at her for making the pleasure stop. She leaned against the cold metal bars and closed her eyes, trying to calm the conflict within.
Chapter Eighteen
“Kenzi, dear, you continue to disappoint” Katerina said as she considered her two prisoners. “Why can’t you just stop resisting? I’m sure our little boy-toy here is happy you controlled yourself; you’re going to make me finish him myself.” Katerina’s eyes showed a predatory gleam. “You remember how well I could finish you off, don’t you, Josh?”
Kenzi glanced to Joshua who stared at Katerina with open contempt.
“Didn’t Josh ever tell you? I played with him a time or two as well,” Katerina said.
“I don’t mind, we were all pretty close,” Kenzi replied, not sure how she felt. So much had happened, she wasn’t sure any of that mattered anymore.
“Oh, but he minded! Our little Josh here decided he wanted you, and couldn’t play with me anymore. Swore me to secrecy too.” Katerina’s tone had grown mocking.
“Whatever, Kat. How long are we going to keep doing this?” Kenzi tried to look bored.
“The master will know what to do with you,” Katerina spun and marched out of the room, but not without a quick look back, a smirk across her face.
“How do you feel?” Kenzi leaned across and brushed a lock of hair from Joshua’s face.
“Still a little weak. Listen, I’m sorry about all of that….” Joshua face managed a slight blush.
“No, I’m sorry,” Kenzi interrupted. “I knew you had feelings for me, and I had feelings for you too. I just couldn’t allow any distractions from my mission. I was afraid if we gave into anything deeper, we’d lose focus, and get ourselves or each other killed.”
Joshua leaned back into the bars and closed his eyes. “I get it, but it still sucks. I only turned to Katerina when you began to find your ‘recreation’ off-site.”
“I’m sorry if that hurt you, I just had to get some distance from Center once in a while,” Kenzi explained.
“Forget about it, this isn’t the time or place for relationship talks. Are you good for a while?” Joshua rubbed the rapidly-healing wound on his neck.
“Yeah, I won’t need anything again for a day or so.” Even as she spoke, Kenzi felt the stirrings of her hunger returning, and pushed them away.
“That was pretty intense. I can understand now how people get seduced by you….” Joshua trailed off.
“By us vampires? I have a hard time getting used to the idea of myself as a vampire too. I’ve learned I can make the feeding pleasurable, but I know some vampires actually enjoy making their victims feel terror. They enjoy the hunt and the fight, but that’s not me.” Kenzi ran her fingers though her dark hair, wondering if she’d ever feel clean again.
“I don’t know how much more I can give you, but if you make it like that again I’ll be happy to give it,” Joshua said with a laugh.
Kenzi smiled back. “Let’s work on getting out of here, so I won’t be tempted.”
With a look at the bars and room, Joshua shook his head. “This doesn’t look promising. Are there any other guards besides Kat and Gabriel?”
“Not that I’ve seen,” Kenzi replied. She froze and sniffed the air. “Do you smell that?”
“What, I don’t smell anything,” Joshua answered.
“It smells like something burning…” Kenzi continued to test the air.
Within moments, a curl of gray smoke crept into the room from under the door. From somewhere deep in the house a muffled explosion made the room tremble.
“I heard that,” Joshua said, then lapsed into silence as they listened.
The doors flew open and Gabriel and Katerina entered the room. They moved quickly although their faces showed nothing. Stopping short of the bars, Gabriel gazed at Kenzi without speaking. Kenzi stared back, determined to show no fear.
“I’ve grown tired of dealing with you. We are leaving here tonight. I offer you one last time, you can live like the superior being you are, or stay here and burn.” Gabriel stood and waited for her answer with a face set in stone.
“I’d love it if you came with us, Kenzi. Think of the life we could live! Feed when we want, on who we want, indulging in whatever pleasure we choose.” Katerina smiled, but stood with her arms crossed as though waiting for a blow.
Kenzi watched them for a moment, her eyes travelling back and forth between them. Slowly, a grin grew across her face. Behind Katerina and Gabriel smoke began to billow into the room.
“You didn’t start this fire, did you? What’s the matter, the villagers with the torches and pitchforks show up?” Kenzi asked with mocking laughter.
Gabriel’s face tightened. Without a word he turned and walked back into the smoke. Katerina turned to follow.
“It could have been fun, but you never did know how to have a good time,” Katerina said as she left. “Josh, I would have loved to finish you, but maybe Kenzi will give you a proper send-off!�
�� With that she was gone.
“So are we being rescued or what?” Joshua asked. “Maybe Center found us.”
“If it was Center, they would have charged the place, not set it on fire. I suspect I know who’s behind this.” Kenzi replied.
The room continued to fill with dark smoke, and flames appeared in the doorway. The fire began to reach the ceiling and fan across the room toward them. Kenzi felt the heat against her exposed skin, and began searching the metal cage again for any structural weakness.
Joshua jumped to help, tugging the bars as he tried to find anything loose. “If this is a rescue, they’re not doing it very well.”
The room darkened as it filled with smoke, and the flames became a dull red glow casting flickering shadows in the gloom. Within moments Kenzi had difficulty seeing beyond the bars of their prison. Joshua began to cough as he sank to the floor, tugging Kenzi down next to him.
“Stay close to the floor, the air is better here,” he explained.
“I’m not as worried about that as you are.” Kenzi rattled the lock on the door, testing its strength.
“Kenzi? Is that you?” A low voice asked. Next to the cage a tall figure stepped out of the darkness.
“Connor, I’m here!” The relief in Kenzi’s voice was audible.
They clasped arms through the bars as Connor’s soot-streaked face became visible. Kenzi noted Connor’s grin and filed it away for future thought.
“I hope you brought some kind of tools to get us out,” Kenzi said.
“Us?” Connor looked past Kenzi and saw Joshua rising from the floor behind her. He frowned, but began studying the cage. “I suspect that between the two of us, we have enough strength to break this open.” Connor tested the horizontal bar that ran waist-level along the bars. “Grab this and lift, we’ll tear it out of the floor.”
Kenzi joined him as they began to lift. The wall of metal shifted slightly, then refused to budge. They tried again with the same result. Connor dropped to one knee and traced the bottom edge with his fingers.
“This is a wood floor, we should be able to tear the bolts free,” he said, almost as though to himself.
The heat in the room had steadily increased. Joshua had begun to drip with sweat.
“Great, a wood floor. If we sit here long enough the fire will burn through and we can get out that way,” Joshua said as he slumped again to the floor.
“Connor, can you find something we can use as a lever? There was a couch against that wall, maybe you can break it up and we can get a long board or something.” Kenzi was beginning to feel the first stirrings of panic.
Connor headed into the thickening smoke in the direction Kenzi had pointed. Against the growing roar of the fire she could hear a crash, as though Connor were violently smashing the furniture. Kenzi fought the urge to scream into the dark heat for Connor to hurry. When he appeared again at the cage, he carried a long metal bar that must have been a support for the couch. Where Connor held it, a wet gleam reflected the flames. Even against the smoke, Kenzi could smell blood. Connor must have injured himself in removing it.
“You,” Connor said to Joshua. “Take this, when we lift, see if you can get it between the side and the floor.
Again Connor and Kenzi lifted. Connor’s muscles bulged and twisted as he strained. Kenzi began to feel dizzy from the effort when she felt the weight lessen. Glancing to her side, she saw Joshua fit one end of the length of metal slide beneath the bottom rim of the cage. Joshua threw his weight against the lever, and the wall began to shift. With a sudden splintering, the bolts tore from the wood, and the side of the cage felt loose. Connor and Kenzi wasted no time working it free until the bars fell with a crash as Connor stepped aside. Joshua was close on their heels as they ran to the only route of escape.
Connor grabbed Kenzi’s arm and pulled her to the stained glass window against the back wall. Before she could speak, he grabbed her close and leapt against it, turning in the air so his back took the impact. They fell into the darkness in a shower of bright glass.
Chapter Nineteen
“We have a lot to talk about,” Kenzi said. There had been no time to speak. The sun was moments from coming up when they returned to the apartment, and they’d both been too exhausted to fight the death-like sleep that stalked them.
Connor’s face was haggard, as though sleep had given no respite. He stared back at Kenzi without response, but with a certain acceptance for what was coming.
“You turned me,” Kenzi said in a flat tone, without accusation. It was a statement, and she hadn’t yet resolved how she felt.
“Yes,” Connor answered.
“Why?” Kenzi asked. She sat in the chair Connor usually occupied while he leaned back on one arm of the sofa.
“I was pursuing Gabriel as well. I saw him take you. I recognized you as a part of Center, and it all reminded me of my own experience. I chose to save you in the hope you would be like me, and an ally.” Connor spoke in clipped sentences.
Kenzi looked away and ran a hand through her long hair. She had worked hard to get the stench of smoke off of her, but could still detect a lingering scent. She sat silently for a few minutes. Connor’s gaze never left her.
“Why didn’t you tell me?” Kenzi finally asked, her voice softly breaking the silence.
“When I saw how you reacted to having been turned, and how blaming Gabriel seemed to motivate you, I thought it expedient not to tell you.” Gabriel kept his face and tone neutral.
“I have only recently realized how Center manipulated us. They carefully fanned our hatred to make us expert hunters and killers. You did the same thing.” Kenzi let the full weight of her stare find Connor’s eyes. He did not flinch, or answer.
Kenzi turned the subject. “Have you been holding me back?”
Connor’s eyes widened, and he allowed a small smile. “Are you angry I turned you, or that I haven’t made you a stronger vampire?”
“Do not toy with me!” Kenzi’s demeanor shattered, and rage blazed from her like a torch. “You have tried to turn me into your instrument! You wanted a hunting and killing machine, but you’ve left me nearly defenseless. What I am I; bait?”
Connor’s face softened. “No, never that. I haven’t held you back, I just haven’t accelerated your progress. It is true, I could have let you feed from me and it would have made you stronger, but the risk is too great.”
“Risk? Now you worry about risk?” Kenzi’s tone was bitter.
“To increase your powers by introducing more of the virus into your body would also increase your hunger. I wanted you to learn how to master it, I feared pushing you any more would break your ability to control yourself.” Connor’s hands had opened toward her, as though pleading.
“You’ve had a lot of fun watching me, haven’t you? The huntress from Center practically begging you to fuck her; you the very monster that created her.” Angry tears welled in Kenzi’s eyes.
“Kenzi,” Connor said softly. “I am still a man, and I have fought my own urges in order to be a mentor to you. I wanted to teach you how to survive this life, and I couldn’t do that if I was emotionally compromised. I can’t be as hard on you, or push you as I need to, if I allow my feelings for you to distract me.”
Kenzi glanced at his sharply, and Connor leaned back, as though shocked by what he admitted.
“Don’t worry, there will be no distractions now,” Kenzi said. “My purpose is the same, to destroy vampires. We’ll work together to find and kill Gabriel, and then we can go our separate ways. I’ve learned all I care to from you.”
The faint sound of a person moving down the hallway outside the apartment interrupted them. They sat motionless as they listened. The person was attempting to creep silently, but the vampires’ acute hearing made it impossible. The feet stopped outside the door, and a slip of paper whispered against the polished concrete as it slid under the door. As though the messenger’s nerve began to fail, the steps away were much faster, and seemed less conce
rned with stealth.
Connor picked up the paper and unfolded it, quickly scanning the contents. Kenzi could see his features tighten. Without comment he handed it to Kenzi, who had moved beside him.
There is an abandoned subway station deep underneath the Commodore Hotel. Gabriel is there. The note had no signature, but Kenzi recognized the flowing script as Director Whitechapel’s. Kenzi identified it for Connor.
Connor stood silently before releasing a soft sigh and looking around the apartment. “That’s too bad, I liked this place but now it’s been blown. Why would the director tell us where to find Gabriel?”
“So we can do the work for her. I’m sure his new lair is easy to defend and hard to break.” Kenzi rolled her shoulders as though preparing for a fight.