by K. A. Jones
“Enough Shyla, I will not tolerate you trying to kill those assigned to protect me.” I struggled trying to break free from his hold. He plucked the dagger from my fingers and tossed it to the floor of the car. “Shyla, enough my love, enough. The hunter will be caught; my guards are going after him. There is no need to dirty your hands with this nonsense.” He spoke into my mind soothing me further. ‘We are nearly home my love.’
Dario leaned back and slowly and released my hands when I stopped struggling against him. What the hell was wrong with me? He slid back onto the leather seat and held out a hand to help me to a sitting position. Once I was upright Dario slid closer and wrapped an arm around me, his expression softened and he asked, “Are you okay now?” I cast a guilty glance at the guard driving the car and nodded my reply.
The car slowed and pulled onto a gravel driveway. Burly vampires surrounded the car en-masse. Dario appeared completely at ease with the situation, I on the other hand was nearly having a damn heart attack at being this close to so many vampires. My fangs pierced my bottom lip, the scent of blood drifted into my nose and I was losing the battle against a burning rage that was building up inside of me.
Dario slipped off his jacket, undid his gold cuff links and began rolling up the sleeve of his white shirt. Pulling me onto his lap he held up his wrist and said “Drink from me Shyla, take what you need.”
“I can’t, I’ve only ever taken from a humans neck!” I could feel myself getting flustered, I wanted to grab his arm and sink my teeth into his flesh. Before I knew what I was doing, I had straddled his lap and was already undoing his red and black silk tie.
My fingers fumbled with the tiny buttons on his shirt. Dario tugged it open, the buttons scattered and a wicked smile lit my face as I licked my lips anticipating the liquid heaven that flowed through his veins. The guard spoke from the front of the car. “Sir, I’ll be outside.”
As soon as I heard the door softly click into place, I pulled Dario close, wrapping my legs around his waist, pressing my breasts against the hard plains of his chest. My body moved against him, enjoying having something tangible to feel, instead of a distant memory that had kept me company. His scent was intoxicating. All male, leather and musk. I breathed deep and filled my lungs again, god I had missed his unique scent. He tilted his head to one side, exposing his neck and his hands gripped my hips, holding me in place against his hardened length. As my fangs pierced his skin and sank into the juicy vein, I heard him growl my name. It was such a sexy sound, but not as sexy as hearing his husky voice say it over and over again in my mind.
His blood was unlike human blood. It was sweeter, almost honeyed. Each pull and swallow seemed to rejuvenate me. I felt stronger, my rage slowly melted away and was replaced with desire.
I don’t know how I was resisting the urge to take things further, maybe it was knowing that outside of the car, stood at least twenty vampires, but there was a definite pull between us, the kind that made you ache deep inside with need. The kind that couldn’t be ignored and it was the kind that only he could cure.
Dario spoke into my mind, gently coaxing me to ease up. I knew I had to stop, I had never felt so good after a feed. For one thing, there was no guilt involved. Dario cupped the back of my head, his fingers tangling in my hair. I pulled away, sealing the bite holes and kissed his neck several times before sitting back and found myself looking into his cool ice-blue eyes. Midnight-blue flecks sparkled in the depths of the black pupils. A cheeky smile formed on his soft lips and he said, “I hope you are feeling a little better now?” Oh he knew exactly how I was feeling and was enjoying every minute of it! I looked away feeling a little embarrassed and feeling as if I’d had way too many alcoholic drinks, Dario gently turned my face back to his and kissed me passionately. I had to get out of the car and put a little bit of distance between us, before I became the biggest exhibitionist in history.
A guard knocked on the car door and his expression hardened. Dario exited the car in one swift movement and the atmosphere changed. Gone was the incredibly sexy man and in his place was the most powerful male I had ever come across. Power exuded from him. I felt unease rippling through the guards as they pinned one solitary guard with their eyes. “Explain why you disturbed me?” His voice held contempt and certain death. The poor guard tried to look brave and fearless, but was failing miserably. I grabbed my dagger off the floor and carefully tucked it into the waistband of my trousers, a girl couldn’t be too careful around a bunch of vampires, and stumbled from the car feeling intoxicated from Dario’s blood.
A set of hands steadied me and I giggled as I tried to make my way to Dario’s side. “Ma’am, it’s best to let the Prince deal with his business.” I swatted the guards arm away and said in a rather drunken voice “It is my business you overgrown buffoon, one of the hunters tried to kill me and presumably this guard thought that Dario should know that something important has happened.” I made a silent prayer. ‘Please god, don’t let me down now… if I have just made a total fool of myself to try and save this vampires ass, and he has nothing important to say, I will gladly kill him myself!’
I heard a couple of chuckles; I slapped a hand over my mouth. My silent prayer hadn’t been silent at all. Dario’s expression had transformed to one of amusement, and my Dario was back. I held out my hand to him, he shook his head in mock annoyance and smiled at me as he came to stand at my side. Wrapping an arm around my waist, he tugged me close and said, “Hurry, I have unfinished business with my wife.” The wicked glint in his eyes told me to let his choice of possessive words go, I had done enough damage to his reputation for one night.
The guard informed Dario that the hunter had been taken care of. He handed Dario the hunters standard issue dagger. Dario turned it about in his hand a few times before giving it to me. I tucked it into the waistband of my trousers, not caring about the hunter – he had tried to kill me after all, no, I was a vampire now, Dario’s vampire. I held out my hand and let Dario lead me into the castle.
Chapter Three
I took more notice of my surroundings this time, I was aware that there were lots of vampires here. I didn’t remember there being this many last time I visited the castle. Maybe my vampy radar was highlighting them to me now. It was scary to think that I had put myself in so much danger when I had come here with Dario to satisfy my lustful thoughts, and boy, had he satisfied me. I felt my body heating up as I remembered how skilful Dario was as a lover. I saw that the corner of his mouth was turned up as he hid a smile. Yeah, he knew just how he affected me!
Dario led me to a rather grand sitting room. Huge oil paintings hung on every wall. They were his ancestors; I noticed the striking resemblance between each family member. Each member had cool ice-blue eyes with midnight blue flecks appearing to swirl in the black pupils. Each male was handsome in their own right, similar in looks, but a different expression or tilt of their lips setting them apart. Their hair was similar in colour, a midnight blue-black, although each member wore their hair at different lengths and styles. Their clothing depicted which era the paintings were from, but Dario’s painting was the one that held me most captivated. His stood out from every other painting on the walls.
His hair was tousled and messy, his expression dark and brooding. The painting clearly was intended to intimidate anyone who looked at it.
Maybe the reason Dario bought me to this room was to show me the other side of him, the one that I was yet to see. Dario looked powerful, an essence the painter had managed to capture. His eyes followed you wherever you stood in the room, making you feel uncomfortable under his intense glare. If I hadn’t seen the nicer side of him, just looking at the painting would make my blood run cold at the thought of meeting this tall dark vampire at night.
I flicked a quick glance at Dario; he was watching me, waiting for me to accept that this was a part of who he was. I gave him a small smile to show him that he didn’t intimidate me; maybe I was foolish to think that Dario would never show this sid
e to me, but I couldn’t fit the painting to the person that I had come to know over the last few months. This painting reflected someone else, my Dario was less intense, and my Dario went out of his way to make me feel cherished. I let myself hope that I had filled the void in his life that made him want to appear so formidable. Let myself hope that I was the reason that he no longer looked like that.
My fingers trailed over various objects as I wandered about the room. There were small tables dotted about that held various pieces of fine art, and antique sofas and a coffee table that gave the room a rather grand feeling. Finally, I came to a stop in front of a Dario. He’d said nothing since we’d entered the room, but had watched me like a hawk as I’d moved about touching anything that caught my eye. I reached up and gently tugged him down so I could kiss him softly on the lips. I saw relief flash in his eyes as he stepped away from me. “I will give you a grand tour tomorrow, the sun will be up in a couple of hours and I need to speak with my day walkers.” I don’t know why I found this information so surprising. Given that he was a Prince, it only stood to reason that he had people that he trusted to guard the property and him, whilst he slept. Hunters had no such need for day walkers, we only hunted vampires and they were dead to the world during daylight hours.
I had so many questions buzzing through my head, but I still felt a little bit tipsy from his blood. I decided to wait until I could actually ask the important questions and not some of the drivel that was whizzing through my mind.
“Would you like to see your bedroom?” My bedroom? I felt my mouth drop open and a flash of annoyance sweep through me. We had been apart for so long, I needed him with me, not because I wanted to sleep with him per-say, but if the moment arose, then I’m sure I would jump at the chance, but I felt safe with him at my side. I was in a castle surrounded by what felt like hundreds of vampires (okay that was an exaggeration) but you get my point. When he was with me, it didn’t feel like anything or anyone would try to harm me. I was nervous; I could take on one or two vampires at a time, but several?
The guards were tall, muscular and all looked as though they worked out regularly, not your average vampires that roamed the streets.
When I went on a mission, my contract kills had never been on someone with such a high profile. I was usually sent to take out someone who had wronged one of the government or embezzled money by underhand deeds. My last contract kill had been on a vampire who had trafficked humans. Young girls were being plucked off the streets, families were filing reports of their missing loved ones and the hunters had been called to deal with the problem. It still troubled me as to why I had been given a kill order on Dario. It didn’t make sense.
Dario held out his arm and said “Come, I will show you your room and then we can work out the details that will suit us both.” With a heavy heart, I caught hold of his arm and let him lead me from the room.
He looked nervous as he glanced at me as we climbed the stairs. I couldn’t help noticing that there were more oil paintings lining the walls, small lamps lit each painting.
I had never walked up a set of stairs that were so grand. Chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, the crystal droplets making rainbow patterns on the burgundy walls. Statues and busts, even a set of armour were displayed beautifully as we approached the next level.
A couple of things struck me as odd as we walked down the long hallway. It was quiet, too quiet. The other thing bothering me was – where did the guards sleep? Before I had a chance to voice my concerns, Dario said, “This is my private quarters and only my most trusted employees are allowed on this level. During daylight hours, state of the art motion sensors will detect movement and alert my day walkers to the activity. They will act accordingly.” I nodded not really knowing how else to reply. I noticed all of the little sensors fixed to the wall and wondered if I would be able to cross from one end of the hallway to the other without setting them off, if I could do it, then one of the hunters would be able to. “Mackinley and Arius have full access to this level and I will appoint a hand maid to help you dress and for anything else that you females need help with.”
I arched an eyebrow and set about giving him one of my hardest stares. It was meant to make him fear me, but the smile on his lips only served to annoy me further. “Dario, I have been dressing myself for longer than I care to remember, I really don’t need help pulling on a pair of jeans or doing up my bra! Trust me; I have no use for a servant!”
His grin spread across his face, he gently cupped my chin in his hand and said “Keera is human, she will see to your needs.” I knew then that he had appointed me a donor. No more visiting night clubs in search of a dinner date, I had my own willing participant. At least I hoped she was a willing participant.
We continued down the long hallway, lots of door lined the walls on either side. My curiosity was piqued, but Dario had already told me I would get a grand tour tomorrow. I was a guest and it wouldn’t do to be caught snooping about.
His hand paused above a door handle and he took a slow breath in before opening the doors. He pushed them open and stood back waiting for me to enter. It was beautiful. It was so much better than any of the little B&B’s that I had grown accustomed too.
Deep reds, gold’s and soft yellows were the theme of the room. A large four poster bed dominated one wall. It had massive wooden headboard that had been hand carved with vines and small leaves. The four posts were carved with the same detail as the headboard. The pattern was twisting and climbing up each post and continued across each plinth that ran around the top of the bed. It was truly beautiful. Deep red drapes with gold embroidered swirls hung from each post. I noticed that bedding was in the same design.
Wooden window shutters were already closed and thick drapes were pulled. I was glad to see that the sun wouldn’t be able to burn me to a crisp whilst I slept away the new day.
A fireplace warmed the room, logs sat crackling away, but what made me smile more than anything, was the candles that covered most of the surfaces. They were flickering away, giving the room a beautiful feeling. On a cabinet next to the bed was a vase holding long stemmed red roses. I glanced up at Dario; his eyes searched my face as I tried to keep it as neutral as possible. “It’s lovely Dario, thank you.”
His eyebrows drew together, concerned that I wasn’t happy with my room. It wasn’t that I didn’t like my room, but I really hated the sleeping arrangements that he deemed necessary!
“Really Dario, thank you, I will be fine in here.” I omitted telling him that I needed him with me. If he wanted to stay, nothing I said or did would sway him. No, he obviously wanted us to have separate sleeping arrangements. I had to respect his wishes, no matter how much I hated them.
He paused, unsure if he should stay with me to get me settled or leave. I could see him keep looking down the hallway and knew that business would win his internal battle.
“Goodnight Dario.” I went into the room closing the door behind me. I knew he could feel my emotions; they were swirling all over the place. I had nearly been murdered and now had returned to where my nightmare had begun. Only this time, I was finding out just how powerful Dario was, but what I was finding more unsettling, was the fact that I wanted him, I wanted him like I had never wanted anything in my life before. I would’ve happily got under the covers and let him hold me forever. Discovering that only you felt this way, was hard to swallow.
I waited for a few minutes until I was sure that I was alone on this level of the castle. My natural inquisitiveness got the better of me and as he’d left me to my own devices, what did he expect? It was the hunter nature in me to snoop about and gather information, well, if I got caught for snooping, that would be the excuse I would go with!
I made my way to the beginning of the hall way and opened the first door. It was like command central. Every item in this room screamed of modern technology; the furniture was modern right down to the décor of the room. It wasn’t what you expected to find in the middle of a castle.
I moved on to the next room and found it was a huge office. Decorative wooden display cabinets held fine pieces of art. They were lit up by subtle lighting. These objects were very old, but each item was still in pristine condition. I was glad that someone such as Dario held so many artefacts that were a part of history. Maybe one day these items would be on display so that they could be enjoyed by others.
A huge wooden desk sat proudly in the middle of the room. Leather chairs sat in front of the desk so Dario could talk to four people at once. Fancy lighting lit up different parts of the room. The whisky decanters and glasses sat on a decorative end table caught my eye, I was tempted to pour myself a glass but knew that one drink would lead to another and then who knew what trouble I could end up in. I drew in a deep breath and sighed in contentment, this room smelt of paper, books, leather and wood. These were the scents that you didn’t get living in and out of B&B’s and hotels.