by Sarra Cannon
Wesley flinched and muttered a curse and Abigail gave him a look of apology. “I’m sorry, Wesley. I never was very good at this, even with Michael’s instructions.”
He shook his head. “It’s fine. Keep going.”
She nodded and glanced briefly at Val. “Did you hear me, Val? You should feed.”
Faren had left nearly three hours ago. They had buried Bill and then travelled for an hour or so. Val wanted to keep going but Abby had insisted they stop. Wesley’s wounds were still bleeding and needed to be attended to.
“I’m not leaving you alone.” He replied.
“I can take care of myself.” She squinted in the dim light as she slid the needle through Wesley’s flesh.
“I’ve noticed.” He said dryly.
“Sometimes I think there would be advantages to being a leech.” Evan said thoughtfully.
“Evan!” Wesley frowned at him.
“What?" Evan shrugged. “Look how quickly the leech healed.”
Wesley rolled his eyes. “I would rather bleed to death than become a leech.”
“Hush.” Abby said. “No one is bleeding to death – I’m almost done.”
Without looking at Val, she said, “How did you do that, by the way?”
“Do what?”
“Heal so quickly.”
He frowned. “Vampires have natural healing abilities.”
She paused, the needle and thread held in her blood-covered fingers. “You didn’t drink blood though.”
He gave her a questioning look and she snorted impatiently. “When you were injured with the silver, your wounds didn’t heal. Without blood you would have died.”
“Vampires can heal themselves from most wounds within minutes – even without blood. Blood does help us heal faster but it isn’t necessary. A well-fed vampire will heal faster than a starving one. Injuries from silver will heal eventually. But if they’re bad enough and we aren’t given blood to help speed the healing process, we die before we can heal ourselves.”
He paused, “Did your Michael not tell you this? I thought he was knowledgeable about my kind.”
“He teaches us how to kill your kind.” Wesley snapped. “That’s all we need to know.”
Val didn’t reply and Abby quickly rinsed the smears of blood from Wesley’s side. She took the lantern from Evan and held it closer, squinting at her handiwork. “Well, it’s done. You’re not going to win any beauty contests but you’re not going to bleed to death either.”
“Thank you, Abby.” Wesley squeezed her hand and she gave him a quick peck on the forehead.
“You’re welcome.”
She washed her hands in a bucket of water as Faren strolled into the camp.
“Val!” He sat down beside the vampire and clapped him on the back. “How are you, my blood-sucking friend?”
Val stared at him suspiciously. “You’re suddenly in a good mood.”
“Indeed I am.” Faren grinned at him. “There is a cabin not twenty miles from here. I suggest you go to it.”
“Do you now?” Val said mildly.
“Well, perhaps not the cabin itself, but definitely the barn. You’ll find three very lovely and very willing ladies waiting for you.”
Abigail sucked in her breath, her hands pausing in the bucket of water, before she pulled them out of the water and dried them briskly on a towel. She rummaged through a small bag and pulled out some bandages to cover Wesley’s wounds.
“They’re sisters and they’re very eager to meet you.” Faren winked at him. “The two oldest are a bit…tired but the youngest is ready to go. I told her how handsome you were, and she was quite intrigued.”
Val didn’t reply as Abby finished bandaging Wesley’s wounds and, without looking at Val, stood and walked to the carriage. She disappeared inside of it as Faren stretched out on the ground beside the fire.
Val stood and walked to the carriage.
“Stay away from her, leech!” Wesley stood, wincing a little, and glared at him.
Val ignored him and stepped into the carriage, closing the door behind him. Wesley cursed loudly and started to follow him. Evan grabbed his arm.
“Don’t, Wesley. She can take care of herself and besides, she’s already slept with him once. She can deny it, but you and I both know she’s letting him feed from her. The leech hasn’t gone hunting at all and there’s no way he would go this long without blood. You don’t have a chance with her now, and you know that.”
Wesley glanced at Faren, who smiled broadly at him. “Val does like to eat on a regular basis.”
“She isn’t letting him feed from her.” Wesley tried to sound confident but there was doubt in his voice.
Evan shook his head and pulled out some dried meat from a leather bag. “You know that isn’t true.”
— —
“What are you doing, little dove?” Val asked.
Abby was kneeling on the floor of the carriage. There were built-in cabinets under each seat of the carriage and she was sorting through one of them.
She pulled out a short blue skirt and frowned at the thin, blue piece of material lying underneath it. It was a bikini top, the material so thin it was nearly translucent, and she stared at it in the dim light of the lantern. “What the hell is this?”
“If I had to guess, I would say it’s what Joven gives his pets to wear.” Val replied.
Her eyes widened and she shook her head. “Ridiculous.”
She tossed the top on to the skirt and dipped her hand into the drawer again. This time she pulled out a leather collar, the leather stained blue to match the skirt and top, and she stared at it disbelievingly.
“A collar? Are you kidding me?” She muttered.
Val stared at the collar. The sickness that had wiped out so many of them had also destroyed many of their more common practices, such as keeping humans as pets. However, in the last fifty years the balance had shifted again, and more and more vampires were seducing humans into being their personal meal tickets.
In five centuries of being a vampire, he had never taken a human as a pet. He had seduced them, fed from them, but had always moved on after one night. He found the human’s neediness for him after feeding to be more of a pain than anything else. Until, that was, he had fed from Abigail. From the moment he had tasted her blood, he had been determined to make her his.
He stared at the collar and pictured buckling it around Abigail’s neck and claiming her as his own. He was ashamed to realize he had a raging erection. He shook off the feelings of shame. Abby belonged to him and if he wanted her to wear a collar, she would do so.
You don’t really believe that. Face it Val, you may be a vampire but you’re not like Faren and the others. You never will be. Not after what they did to Karena.
He moved until he was standing next to Abigail. “Many vampires use collars to show other vampires that the human belongs to them.”
He bent and searched through the open cabinet and pulled out a leather wrist cuff. It was stained in the same shade of blue as the collar Abigail was holding.
“There, you see? Joven wears this and his pet wears the collar. It will discourage other vampires from feeding off his pet.”
She slid away from him and sat on the seat, rubbing the leather collar nervously between her fingers. “You’re kidding me.”
“I am not, little dove.” He sat down beside her, crowding up against her and blocking her with his arm when she tried to squirm away.
“I’m not wearing this.” She glared at him.
“You have no choice.” He stroked her thigh with one large hand. “It was you who decided to become Joven’s pet, remember?”
“I remember. But you’re not Joven, and I won’t wear the collar.” She said firmly.
He continued to stroke her thigh, his fingers slipping between them to rub the inside of her leg. He could feel the silver band through her pants and he traced it lightly with his fingers.
“Why are you here anyway?” She suddenly sai
d. “There are three beautiful women waiting for you, remember?”
He grinned at the jealousy in her voice. “Are you jealous, little dove?”
“No.” She lied.
He moved his head until his mouth was hovering over hers. “You are.”
At the feel of his warm breath on her lips, she moaned and kissed him hard on the mouth. She pushed her tongue eagerly into his mouth and he stroked at it with his as she climbed on to his lap. She pulled frantically at the buttons on his shirt, opening them quickly and then bending her head to kiss his naked chest.
He groaned and cupped the back of her head as she kissed his collarbone and then his neck. He cupped her breasts through her shirt, tugging lightly on her nipples as she ground her pelvis against him.
He tipped his head and stared up at the ceiling of the carriage as Abby licked and nipped at his throat. He could smell her arousal, and her blood sang its intoxicating song to him. His fangs lengthened and he made a low, growling noise when she sucked on his earlobe.
“I want to fuck you, Val.” She muttered into his ear. “Right now.”
He wound his hand into her braid and tugged her head back. “Will you allow me to feed from you, little dove?”
She stiffened on his lap, her hands digging painfully into his chest. “You know I won’t.”
“Then I won’t fuck you.” He said quietly.
She gave him a look of disbelief. “Val, I—”
He shook his head and interrupted her. “No. There will be no bargaining with this. I won’t fuck you again until you allow me to feed from you.”
She shoved her way off his lap and glared at him. “I’ll never allow you to feed from me again.”
“And I will never fuck you again.” He replied.
“Fine.” She snapped.
“Fine.” He snapped back.
She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at him. “Then I guess we both know exactly where we stand with each other.”
“Indeed.” He stood up and walked to the door of the carriage. “If you’ll excuse me, I have a dinner engagement in the form of a beautiful and willing woman.”
He ignored her look of hurt and left the carriage. She stormed to the door and shouted, “Enjoy your dinner, you arrogant asshole!”
“Which way to the cabin?” Val growled at Faren.
“North, my hungry friend. You won’t be able to miss it.” Faren grinned as Val disappeared into the forest.
Chapter 6
“What’s the story between you and the bug?”
Abigail, standing guard at the edge of the camp, ignored Faren’s soft voice drifting across the camp. Violet turned on her shoulder and glared at Faren before sticking her tongue out. She twisted back to face Abigail and continued to rub her cheek softly, giving her a look of pity.
“I’m fine, little one.” Abby muttered. “What do I care if the leech feeds or fucks other women? He’s probably fucked a hundred women since I was taken.”
Violet shook her head and held her hand up. She made the shape of a zero and stared at Abigail.
Abigail blinked. “He hasn’t slept with another human woman?”
Violet shook her head again and then pointed at Abby before making a crying gesture with her fists.
“I highly doubt he was crying over me, Violet. And I’m sure he fed from other women when you weren’t around.” She sighed and stared into the darkness, listening intently for any strange noises.
She stiffened and drew her dagger, turning to glare at Faren who was suddenly standing directly behind her. “Don’t sneak up on me, leech.”
He held his hands up. “Sorry. Won’t happen again.”
She looked behind him. Wesley and Evan were sleeping lumps around the fire and she glanced briefly at Faren before staring into the darkness again.
He stood beside her and stared at Violet. She stuck her tongue out at him again and he chuckled.
“Will you tell me the story between you and the pixie? Please?” He asked politely.
“I saved her life and she saved mine.” Abigail said shortly.
“Why is she not with her own kind?”
“Her voice was stolen from her and they drove her away.”
“How was her voice stolen?”
“I don’t know. She couldn’t tell me.” Abby said sarcastically.
Faren laughed. “You’re funny for a human. I can see why Val is so smitten with you.”
“He’s not smitten with me.” Abigail snapped.
“You don’t think so?” Faren raised an eyebrow at her. “He seems rather smitten to me.”
Abigail shook her head. “Have you forgotten that he is, at this very moment, fucking and feeding from your barn whores?”
“That seems like a harsh comment to make about your own kind.” Faren raised his gaze to the large tree about ten feet in front of them. Although it was very dark, he could clearly see Val sitting on one of the larger branches. He ignored Val’s warning look and grinned mischievously at Abby.
“Besides, we don’t know for sure that Val is with your – what did you call them – barn whores?”
Abigail snorted. “He is.”
“Perhaps, or perhaps he’s simply sitting in a tree like a giant, pale squirrel.” Faren laughed and Abby followed his gaze to a large tree.
She squinted up at the tree but it was too dark to really see anything. She rolled her eyes and gave Faren a stony look. “You’re an idiot, Faren.”
He laughed cheerfully. “There are many who think that.”
“Go away. I wish to be alone.” She said grumpily.
He bowed briefly. “As you wish, human.”
— —
“We’re only a few miles from Darius’ estate. Are you ready?” Wesley asked when Faren and Val descended from the carriage the following evening.
Val nodded as Faren winked at Wesley. “As ready as we’ll ever be.”
Val turned to Abigail but she had already disappeared into the carriage. He sighed harshly. She had been ignoring him since the moment he had returned to the campsite. He cursed himself in his head for letting his anger get the best of him, but her refusal to allow him to feed from her was puzzling and hurtful. She wanted him to bite her, he knew she did, and her constant denial was driving him mad.
He took a deep breath as Violet flew towards him and hovered in front of his face. She gave him an anxious look and he smiled grimly at her. “It’ll be fine, bug.”
He looked around the forest. “You should stay here. Hide yourself in the trees until we return.”
She scowled at him and shook her head no.
He sighed. “It’s going to be dangerous, bug. It’s safer for you to stay in the forest.”
She shook her head again and landed on his shoulder, wrapping her limbs around his long hair as though she was afraid he would simply disappear.
He reached up and patted her small back. It was ridiculous how fond he was of the little pest, and he ignored Faren’s grin as the carriage door opened and Abby descended the short steps. Behind him, he heard the sharp inhale of Wesley and he hissed lightly in response. Not that he could blame the human, his cock had hardened in his pants at the sight of her, and he thanked God that everyone’s attention was on Abby.
“Very nice, human.” Faren said silkily.
“I look ridiculous.” Abby muttered.
“Ridiculous is not the word I would use.” Wesley cleared his throat and ignored Val when he hissed again.
Abby had changed into the slave outfit and Val couldn’t stop staring at her. Her long dark hair was unbraided and hung down her back in a dark waterfall. The short skirt and translucent bra left a shocking amount of her creamy skin visible, and she crossed her arms nervously over her torso as her gaze fell on Val.
He strode jerkily to her, stopping when he was only a few inches away, and looked her up and down. His eyes darkened when her nipples, clearly visible through the thin top, hardened noticeably and she immediately crossed her arm
s over her breasts.
“Stop looking at me like that.” She snapped quietly at him.
“Like what?” He asked innocently.
“Like you want to eat me for dinner.” She gave him another scathing look and he grinned at her, his fangs long and white in the dim light.
“Where is your collar?” He was already wearing the leather wrist cuff.
“I told you – I’m not wearing it.” She replied.
He frowned at her. “Abby, the collar has a very specific purpose. You need to wear it. If you don’t, the other vampires will believe you are free for the taking. You cannot—”
“Drop it, Val!” She snapped again. “I’m not wearing it and you can’t make me.”
“Abby,” Wesley began hesitantly, “I think the leech is right. You don’t want—”
“Be quiet, Wesley.” She glared at him. “It’s bad enough I have to wear this stupid outfit, I’m not wearing the collar and that’s final.”
Wesley nodded as Val reached behind her and opened the carriage door. “After you, little dove.”
Without speaking, Abby turned and climbed awkwardly into the carriage. The skirt she was wearing was extremely short and Val caught a flash of her white panties as she climbed the steps.
“Little dove?”
“What?”
He indicated for Faren to wait outside and followed her into the carriage before shutting the door behind him. He stared down at her as she glared at him.
“What do you want?”
“Take off your panties.”
She gaped at him. “What? No!”
He leaned against the door of the carriage. “No vampire allows their human slave to wear underclothes. It defeats the purpose of the slave.”
She snorted with anger. “Pigs.”
He shrugged. “Perhaps. I will not force you to wear the collar, although you are safer with it, but I must insist that you remove your panties. Wearing them is a clear sign that you are not under my control. Do you understand?”
She stared at the floor of the carriage, her leg jiggling nervously and he took a step closer. “Do you need my help in removing them, little dove? I’d be happy to lend a hand.”