by Sarra Cannon
She jerked when Val turned over and wrapped his arm around her. He pulled her into his embrace and threw his large thigh over hers, pinning her to the bed as he buried his face into her hair. He muttered something she couldn’t hear before kissing the back of her neck. She inhaled sharply when his hand slid inside her top and he cupped her bare breast firmly.
She squirmed a little but quickly gave up when it only made Val’s arm tighten around her. She yawned tiredly and relaxed into his embrace. There was no harm in allowing him to sleep so closely to her. He was in his daysleep and would not wake. Besides, it was comforting to feel his warm body against hers, and his presence soothed her and helped to quiet her racing thoughts. She closed her eyes and drifted.
Chapter 10
Val opened his eyes and stared at the sleeping woman in his arms. She was tucked against him, her ass pressed firmly into his crotch, and he was cupping her bare breast. He rubbed her nipple, smiling with satisfaction when it hardened, and kissed the side of her neck. She frowned in her sleep and made a soft snorting noise before pulling away from him and burrowing deeper under the covers.
Val sighed harshly and flipped on to his back. He stared blankly at the ceiling as he listened to Abby breathe. Even with Jaxen’s endorsement, Darius did not believe he was Joven and he had no idea how to convince him he was. He was doing a terrible job at being Joven and he was fairly certain that if he did not drink soon in front of Darius, the vampire would have both he and Abby killed.
Unfortunately the thought of drinking from another woman, of fucking someone other than Abigail, made him feel ill. He had to figure out a way to convince Abby to let him feed from her. He wanted her and only her, and not even the fact that he was growing steadily weaker by the day was enough to make him drink from another. He realized with soft wonderment that he would rather starve than feed from any human but Abby, and icy tendrils of fear slid down his back. What was happening to him? He could not remember ever feeling this way before, not even with his beloved Karena, and he was –
He stiffened, sitting up in the bed and cocking his head toward the door. His hearing was excellent, even better than most vampires for some unknown reason, and he could hear the distinct footsteps of Darius and another. He knew without a doubt that they were headed to his room and he stared down at Abigail as an idea formed in his head. As the footsteps grew closer, he flipped her on to her back and shook her roughly.
“Little dove! Wake up!”
Abigail muttered and tried to pull the blanket over her head. It was pulled from her grip and she made a soft mew of discomfort when the blanket was yanked down her body and the cool air washed over her.
“Abigail, wake up!”
She stared blearily at Val as he slid down her body. His face was only inches from her core and she stared in confusion at him. “What are you doing?”
“He’s coming. Moan for me, little dove.” Val said in a fierce mutter.
She tried to pull away from him and he cursed violently before yanking her thighs apart.
“Stop it! What are you—”
Her indignant shout turned into a moan of pure need when Val pushed her short skirt up, shoved his face between her thighs and licked her pussy.
“Oh my God!” She cried out as her hips arched up off the bed. His tongue slipped between the lips of her pussy and stroked her clit. He sucked hungrily on it and was rewarded with a surge of wetness. She moaned and writhed on the bed, her thighs clamping around his head as her hand gripped his hair and she pushed him more firmly into her.
He pushed one long finger into her hungry cunt and groaned at the way it tightened around his finger. He sucked her clit again and she made another desperate mewling noise of pleasure. He heard the bedroom door opening and he increased the pressure of his lips until she was thrusting her pelvis mindlessly against him.
“Please, oh please!” She cried out. He made a sigh of regret and moved his mouth to her inner thigh. He kissed the soft skin and then bit the inside of his bottom lip, letting his fangs sink deep into his own flesh. Quickly, before the wound could heal itself, he allowed the blood to spill out of his mouth and down his chin.
“I do so hate to interrupt such a beautiful sight but I was hoping you could join us for an early dinner.” Darius’ voice broke through Abigail’s haze of desire and she shrieked and scrambled back on the bed, closing her legs and shoving her skirt down as Val sat up.
She stared wide-eyed at Darius and Tavien as Darius’ eyes glowed at the sight of the blood dripping down Val’s chin.
“I see you’ve already eaten.” He licked his lips and looked Abby up and down. “Perhaps you would like to share?”
Val wiped the blood from his face. “No, I would not.” He said simply.
Anger flickered over Darius’ face and then quickly disappeared. “A shame. Here in the west we have a much more liberal policy when it comes to our pets.”
Val didn’t reply. From the corner of his eye he could see Abigail, a look of shock on her face, reaching down to touch her thigh. His hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, squeezing it tightly until she gasped.
“Not to be rude, Darius, but I’d like to finish what I started.” His eyes travelled over Abby’s pale and shocked face. “I will join you shortly.”
Darius looked Abby up and down once more. “Finish tasting your flower’s sweet nectar quickly. There will be games tonight.”
He and Tavien left the room and Val released Abby’s wrist.
She stared wide-eyed at him. “You – you bit me?”
He shook his head. “No. Check for yourself.”
Her hand trembling, she reached down and smoothed her hand across her thigh. Val’s blood marred her skin but there was no bite mark and she gave him a look of confusion.
“You bit yourself? Why?”
He gave her an angry look. “I wanted Darius to believe I was feeding from you. In case you didn’t notice, he finds it odd that I will not bite you in front of others.”
She didn’t reply and he stalked away angrily. “Get ready to go.”
— —
“We have games three nights a week. We used to hold them every night but we were running out of slaves too quickly.” Darius grinned at Tavien as they led Val, Faren and Abigail outside.
They approached the curved stone wall and Abby could hear shouts of laughter and the loud murmur of a crowd as Tavien opened a thick wooden door. They entered into the arena and Abby stared at the large crowd of vampires that lined the arena. Hundreds of torches were embedded in the wall and the arena was well-lit, despite the darkness pressing in around them. The rows of seating rose high into the air, to the top of the stone wall, and were separated from the arena by a second curved wall. This one was about chest high on her and, as Darius and Tavien led them to their seats, she gave Val a quick glance.
He was staring disinterestedly at the crowd, his face unreadable and she squeezed his hand briefly. He glanced back at her and she gave him a small smile. He didn’t smile back and she bit at her bottom lip before following him into the seating area.
Unlike the rows of plain wooden benches, this area had large fabric armchairs and Darius and Tavien sat down as Darius waved his arm at Val and Faren.
“Sit. Make yourself comfortable.”
Val and Faren reclined in the chairs and Abby sat down on the large pillow placed on the floor at Val’s feet. Val rested his hand on the back of her neck as a slave girl, this one a redhead, entered their section and smiled eagerly at Darius. “Hello, my lord.”
“Sit.” He patted his lap and she reclined on his lap before lifting her chin and baring her throat. Although he had just finished eating, he buried his fangs into her soft flesh and drank deeply.
Abby could feel Val’s hand tightening around her neck and she gave him a nervous look. He was watching Darius feed, the hunger apparent on his face, and she felt a moment of guilt. She shook it off. She did not need to feel guilty for not allowing Val to feed from her. It was
not his right and besides, Darius was more than willing to share his slaves. He could feed from another if he was truly desperate.
Jealousy surged through her at the thought and she tamped it down fiercely. Val did not belong to her and besides, it would be better for her if he did feed from another. It would stop his hunger for her. Still, the thought of Val feeding from another woman, of touching her and fucking her, made her insides burn. She forced herself to stop thinking about it as Darius, his teeth dripping with blood, smiled at Val.
“This one is particularly delicious. I can never resist her.”
Val smiled thinly at him before looking away. The woman on Darius’ lap purred happily and pressed her curvy body against him. “Thank you, my lord. It is my honour to have you feed from me. I love—”
With an impatient grunt, Darius pushed her from his lap. She fell to the floor with a harsh thud, flinching as her knees missed the pillow and banged against the hard ground.
“Enough. Quiet your tongue or I’ll give you to Tavien for the night.” Darius snapped.
The woman paled noticeably and huddled against Darius’ leg. “Forgive me.” She whispered.
Darius rolled his eyes and pushed her away from his leg before glancing at Val. “Do you see how popular this has become?”
“Indeed. I have never seen so many vampires gathered in one place.”
“They come from miles around to watch the games. And all of them more than willing to pay to watch.” Darius said proudly.
“How much do you charge?” Val asked.
“A hundred gold pieces for the front row seating, such as ours. The price lowers as they sit further back but even those vampires sitting there,” he pointed to the row of seats at the top of the wall, “pay ten gold pieces for the privilege of enjoying the games.”
“Impressive.” Val replied.
“We will also accept humans as payment.” Darius grinned. “We hold four games at every showing and the humans must fight to the death, so you can imagine how quickly we go through them.”
“What happens if they do not fight or refuse to kill one another?” Faren asked.
Darius chuckled as Tavien made a grunt of amusement. “They always fight. They have no choice, Lord Joven. If they do not fight each other, we kill them – slowly and painfully. Besides, there are rewards for winning the games.”
“What kind of rewards?”
Darius shrugged. “Usually it’s more food but occasionally we give them a room for the night, a woman or man to fuck, and a chance to sleep in a real bed.”
“Where do you keep them?” Val frowned at him.
“In the stone building we passed. Occasionally, if there is an overflow of slaves, we chain them to the wall of the castle. That, however, has only happened once or twice. Is that not right, Tavien?”
“Yes, my lord.” Tavien was studying Val and Val gave him an irritated look.
“Why is it that I find you staring at me so frequently, Tavien?”
“You look familiar to me, Lord Joven. Have we met before?”
“I’m quite certain we haven’t.” Val replied tersely.
“I think it’s time we started the games.” Darius said jovially. He rose to his feet and held his arms up. The crowd quieted and Darius smiled.
“Welcome, old friends!” He shouted. “I know many of you have travelled a great distance to see the games and I promise you – you will not be disappointed!”
The crowd roared in approval, stomping their feet and clapping their hands, as Darius waved his hand at the two vampires in the arena. They crossed to a second wooden door and unlocked it as Darius turned to Val.
“We provide them with a variety of weapons to fight with and we also do hand-to-hand combat. Those ones last the longest and are always the most popular. There’s something about watching a man kill another with his bare hands that pleases even the most cynical of viewers.”
Abigail leaned forward, the stone wall in front of them was making it difficult to see from her spot on the floor, and Val’s hand tightened on her neck before he reached down and lifted her on to his lap.
Tavien was still staring at them and she curled into Val’s body before placing a soft kiss on his throat and giving him a worshipful smile. “Thank you, my lord.”
He nodded and she kissed him again before the loud roar of the crowd drew her gaze back to the arena.
The large woman named Ursula had entered the arena and she raised her arms into the air and grinned widely as the vampires cheered.
“This one’s always a crowd favourite.” Darius said delightedly. “A most remarkable woman, wouldn’t you agree, Tavien?”
“Yes, my lord.”
“We captured her and her sister in an orchard to the south. They gave us quite a battle, did they not, Tavien?”
“They did.”
Darius laughed. “It took four vampires to subdue them without killing them. Since then, they’ve both proven to be quite skilled at the games. Although I believe that this one is the stronger of the two.”
He looked up as Jaxen entered their section. “Jaxen! Just in time. Have a seat next to Lord Joven.”
Jaxen nodded and sat down next to Val. “Good evening, Lord Joven. Faren, how are you?”
“Jaxen.” Val replied as Faren nodded to Jaxen.
“I was just telling the Lord Joven that this big bitch is one of our best fighters. Wouldn’t you agree, Jaxen?”
“I would. She seems to have a working knowledge of nearly every weapon we provide her with.”
“That she does.” Darius answered. “How on earth a simple farm girl like herself knows how to use these weapons, remains a mystery. We tried torturing her for the information but neither she nor her sister would reveal anything. They really are quite remarkable.”
He turned back to the arena as a second woman entered the ring. He groaned with disappointment and frowned at Tavien. “I thought I told you to match them more fairly.”
The woman who had entered the arena was small and thin. Even from her spot on Val’s lap, Abby could see the way her slender body trembled, and she stiffened as the two vampire’s handed both women large, wooden clubs.
“We tried, my lord.” Tavien answered. “There are not many of the women amongst our current slaves who match her in size or strength. Her sister, perhaps, but I did not think it would be wise to pit them against one another. They would most likely try and turn on the crowd before each other.”
Darius sighed irritably. “We need to find larger women to fight. Do not think I haven’t noticed that your hunters are bringing back the easiest prey to capture. Women who are small and weak make for a boring game. The next time a party is sent out hunting they would be wise to put more effort into finding suitable candidates for the games.”
“Of course, my lord.”
Darius sighed again. “The only issue you’ll find, Lord Joven, is acquiring enough slaves to fight in the games. Once word spreads among the humans in your area, it will only become increasingly difficult to find suitable ones. As time goes on we’ve had to travel further and further to find them. That is why it’s excellent business practice to accept humans as payment to watch the games. Have your audience do your work for you.”
“It is a rather ingenious idea, Lord Darius.” Val replied.
“Isn’t it?” Darius preened. “One must always look at all ways to capitalize on their business.”
He stood and held his arms up again. A hush fell over the crowd of vampires and they stared at him expectantly. He smiled at the slaves in the middle of the arena. “Begin.”
Abby, her heart thudding in her chest, watched as Ursula stalked toward the terrified woman. She was swinging her club in one meaty fist and the woman cried out in terror when she swung it at her. She ducked, barely missing the blow, and staggered back. She took a half-hearted swing with her own club. It glanced off of Ursula’s hip and she bellowed laughter before raising her club.
The woman screamed and Abigail
cringed as Ursula slammed the wooden club into the woman’s right arm. It broke with a loud crack and the woman screamed again hoarsely as her own club fell to the ground.
Ursula, grinning hugely, swung the club again. This time, it connected with the woman’s skull and she crumpled to the ground, blood spraying from her skull to splatter on the ground.
Abby made a small moan of dismay and stared down at her lap as Val rubbed her back. He was tense beneath her and she stole a glance at his face. There was nothing on his face to suggest that he was sickened by it but as their gazes connected, she could see the repulsion in his eyes. She looked back down at her lap as the crowd screamed and cheered. Despite the noise, she could still hear the horrible wet thuds as Ursula beat the smaller woman to death.
She clenched her fists and breathed harshly through her nose as Val continued to rub her back. Darius laughed loudly.
“Your slave is too squeamish for the games, Lord Joven.”
“It would appear so.” Val answered quietly.
— —
“Ahh, the last game of the night. This will be a good one. This particular human is another crowd favourite.” Darius said delightedly.
Abigail, her stomach churning and her hands ice cold, swallowed thickly. They had been forced to sit through two more games, each more bloody than the previous, and she had spent most of them staring fixedly at her lap.
As the crowd’s cheering grew to a monstrous level she took a deep breath and raised her gaze to the arena. A harsh moan escaped her lips and she started to scramble from Val’s lap. Quickly, he wrapped his arm around her waist and hauled her back against him.
“Be still.” He hissed in her ear as Tavien stared at them curiously.
Abby glanced at Jaxen. The vampire’s face was composed but she could see his hands digging into the wooden arms of the chair he was reclining in. He gave her a small nod, and she forced herself to relax against Val as Darius leaned forward to stare at Jaxen.