Almost Human

by Secret Cravings Publishing

  He laughed bitterly. “But she didn’t know that I was almost an army all on my own. I butchered the guards she had stationed there, and I blood bonded her to myself so I could control her forever. Hours later, she died. I didn’t know it then, but a blood bond is poison for a witch. When I found my brothers, the twins, Fallon and Misha, were banged up but would survive. But Jairdan would have died if I hadn’t turned him.”

  It was hard not to understand where he was coming from. Even if I felt he’d made his brothers into monsters, if I’d had the power to save my sister’s life, it would have been impossible not to take it. He had the same relationship with his brothers that I had with my sister. He’d raised them. Stood back to back with them to fight off the world. He’d had to save them, even if he’d wondered if he was cursed.

  He tightened his hold on me. “She would have killed them for knowing a vampire, and they would have never known why. When I saw the state of them, I wished she were alive so I could kill her slowly.”

  I wasn’t sure what to say to him. Sherra had been a terrible woman. Even my mother wouldn’t have killed human relatives of a vampire just for knowing him. Most people didn’t know any better, and when they got past the shock, assumed their vampire relations were still the same people. And that was if they ever knew at all. I couldn’t find words to comfort him.

  I frowned. “Fallon and Misha are twins?”

  “Oh yeah. But they were turned at different times. Misha caught the plague at eighteen, and I had to turn him. I’m not sure what the circumstances were for Fallon. We were forced to leave before people realized we weren’t changing. Fallon was left to run the estate. All he’ll say is that he got into a little scrape with Nyx and was turned. Which actually happens a lot with Nyx, so it’s not surprising. The man likes to turn people who annoyed the shit out of him but fought well against him.”

  I snorted. “I guess that explains why Pagan was turned.”

  “Actually, she was poisoned and he saved her life, but I imagine he would have turned her anyway. I told her not to go after him, but she and that brother of hers don’t listen. It’s like they actually are my children.”

  I rolled over and braced myself on my elbow so I could look at him. “Geez, I’m getting way more info than I can handle. I knew a vampire had raised them, but you? You don’t seem like the adoptive daddy type.”

  His deep laugh echoed around me. “I’m not, but they turned out all right.”

  “Why did you save me? And don’t give me the ‘Casey asked me to’ line. Surely there was more to your decision than that.”

  He shrugged. “Vampires are mercurial creatures. I was bored. You offer a lovely complication to my life for a while.”

  Anger flooded me, but I resisted giving in. As much as the idea enraged me that he’d affect my life in such a way on a whim, I knew he was lying.

  “Don’t bullshit me or try to provoke me. Give me the real reason.”

  He sighed shortly and glanced away. “Maybe I respect you and admire your loyalty. You went against your mother and spared your sister’s life. You were willing to leave me and my brothers in peace, even though it goes against how you were raised. All because you trusted Casey.”

  “Fine, I’ll accept that answer, but why did you let me live in the alley before you knew anything about me?”

  “Honestly, it was arrogance. I assumed you weren’t a threat. I don’t mean that as a slam, but I’m a battle-hardened crusader with centuries of practice under his belt. I’ve been battling vampire hunters since I was turned. You’re certainly formidable to other mortals and younger vampires, but with every year a vampire grows stronger. It’s a rare hunter that can take down one my age. I’m not in the habit of butchering people I consider to be unarmed, and I beat you easily. How did I do that, by the way?”

  “I felt my sister die. Between our relationship and the fact that we’ve done so many spells together, we’re closely linked. It incapacitated me.”

  “If I’d known who you were, I would have killed you. I know your line is dangerous. It’s why my brother hesitated to tell me about Casey. I might have killed her, knowing the hell that would rain down on us by turning her. I knew someone related to her would be able to track her. If I’d just eliminated her you wouldn’t have been led to us, but my brother loves her, and I couldn’t.”

  He closed his eyes and tilted his head farther back on the pillows with a sigh. He released me and stretched his arms out to the side.

  I watched him for a moment while he let all the tension drain out of his body. The sound of his heartbeat, which I’d somehow managed to ignore while he spoke to me, became louder.

  I’d never thought of heartbeats as an erotic sound. It actually kind of freaked me out, but lying with him made it feel erotic. He smelled great, and he looked amazing with his jeans hanging almost too low. I wanted to lick him from head to toe, starting with the vein that throbbed in his throat.

  On impulse I slid up his body and caressed his neck with my tongue. He hummed and wrapped his arms around me. He placed a hand on the back of my head and pressed me closer, arching his throat against my mouth.

  My gums ached a second before my fangs descended. The sound of blood rushing through his veins drowned out everything else.

  God, I wanted to bite him. I tried to pull away, but his grip tightened on me, and he kept my face pressed to his throat.

  “Do it, Kori.”

  “L-let me go.” I shoved against his chest, but he was too strong and kept me pinned to him. I tried to kick him and he wrapped his legs around mine, effectively stilling them.

  His erection pressed against my mons. I shuddered and almost lost control. I wanted him rubbing against my creaming pussy. A vivid image of him thrusting into me flashed through my mind.

  “Bite me, damn you. Stop being stubborn.”

  “No. Alaric, let me go. I don’t want to do this.”

  “Too damned bad. I know you. You’ll let yourself starve until you either become a threat or you die. You’ll take from me at regular intervals until I can trust you to feed on your own. Bite me, or we’ll stay like this forever. I’ve got all the time in the world.”

  He might have time, but I couldn’t stay like this, breathing in his scent, his cock pressed against me. I bit my lip and my fangs sliced into it. My mouth filled with blood. “Ouch.”

  Alaric released the back of my head at the same moment his snapped up. His gaze focused on my bottom lip. “Damn, you couldn’t take my vein so you had to spill some of your own blood?”

  He inhaled through his nose and his pupils dilated. “Maybe I’m going about this the wrong way.”

  He ran his tongue over my bottom lip before sucking it into his mouth. He moaned as he thoroughly cleansed the blood from it. “God, you taste good. I can’t wait to eat you.”

  “What?” I squeaked.

  He unwrapped his legs from mine and rolled me onto my back. He shoved his knee between my thighs and forced them apart, sliding his body quickly between them. His erection pressed against my core. All that separated us was his jeans and the little bit of satin I called underwear. He rubbed against me, putting delicious pressure on my clit.

  “Alaric.” I wasn’t sure if I was asking him to keep going or stop. I tried to clear my head, but I couldn’t focus with him rocking against me. And the bloodlust. My stomach ached with need, and my mouth watered at the thought of drinking from him.

  I had to get him to stop. “Alaric, this is a bad idea.”

  He nipped my throat with his teeth. “I think it’s a fantastic idea. You’ll lose your self-control and feed, and I’ll get to sink my cock into your warm, wet pussy. See that’s the thing about vampires, especially new ones. Your sexual impulses are intense. Things you could deny as a human, you can barely control as a new vampire.”

  I shuddered. God, he did make this sound like a good idea. I’m sure it didn’t help that his erection was rubbing against my swollen clit.

  He grabbed the
hem of my shirt and pulled it up my body. I stretched my arms above my head and arched my back so he could pull it off.

  He kneaded my bare breasts. “God, you have pretty tits. They make me plan all sorts of naughty things.”

  I moaned and arched into his hands. “Like you didn’t already have plans.”

  “Hmm…you do have a point there. I planned to get you in bed the moment I saw you.”

  Alaric bit his bottom lip, and blood welled to the surface. The coppery scent filled my nostrils. I leaned up and licked the drop before it could fall. He thrust his tongue into my mouth, mimicking his body.

  I put my hands on his hips. “Lose the pants,” I panted.

  He sat back on his knees, undid his pants, and shoved them down. His thick erection sprang free.

  I was dying to take him into my mouth, but with my fangs fully extended the idea seemed problematic at best. I sat up and cupped his heavy balls. I licked a pearly drop of pre-cum off the head of his penis while I fondled his sac.

  He wrapped his hands in my hair and pulled me back. He pressed me back on the bed, pulled my underwear down my legs, and tossed them away before settling over me.

  He grabbed his dick and led it to my pussy. I gasped at the width of him as he slowly forced it inside me.

  “Hmm…you’re snug. Sure feels nice.”

  I looked down the length of our bodies. I watched his erection sink a little farther into my tight vagina. He stretched me almost beyond tolerance.

  “Don’t just watch. Touch me.”

  His throbbing cock sank inside me another inch. God, that was erotic.

  When he was all the way inside me, he circled his hips before slowly drawing back out. He thrust back in hard.

  I gasped and dug my nails into his ass, urging him on. Each short dig hit that delicious little spot inside me, building one inferno of an orgasm.

  I grasped his hard shoulders and wrapped my legs around his waist to meet his thrusts. Pleasure arched from my vagina and my body broke apart.

  Alaric’s warm throat pressed against my lips. With the taste of his blood still on my tongue and filling my nostrils, I couldn’t resist. I wrapped my arms around him and sank my fangs deep into his throat. His blood burst over my tongue like sweet, rich wine.

  The bite pushed him over the edge. He spilled his seed deep inside me as he shouted my name.

  He collapsed on me. He was so heavy I could hardly breathe. He cupped the back of my head, holding me to him, and rolled off me, taking me with him. I took several hard pulls. Each one made him shudder against me.

  I released him, and he relaxed against the pillows, cradling me to him.

  “Alaric’s a whore!” One of the men called from somewhere in the house. The voice was full of laughter.

  I pulled back and stared down at Alaric. “My God. They heard that?”

  He shrugged. “They’re vampires. Even with ear plugs and noise-reducing headphones playing loud rock music, they would have heard us.”

  I stared at him, genuinely mortified. I sat up and raked a hand through my hair. “But my little sister is out there.”

  He snorted and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, your young, impressionable baby sister. The human neighbors can hear her and Misha screwing. I’m sure you’ll get to hear them, too.”

  I gaped at him before I grabbed a pillow and whacked him with it. “Oh my God. Shut. Up.”

  He laughed and snatched the pillow from me. “Are you really such an insane prude?”

  “No, but that’s my sister you’re talking about.”

  He rolled his eyes. “I’d be more worried about my brothers. They’ll give you hell over this, and have a lot of fun doing it. We do it to Casey all the time. She blushes easily.”

  “I slept with a vampire.” I’d had my fair share of fuck ups, but this…this was a whole new level of dumb ass.

  His eyes narrowed. “You needed to feed. And can you honestly say you regret it?”

  No. It had been a damn good time. “Yes. It was a giant mistake. One we don’t have time for. While we were screwing around, I should have been briefing your family about what’s going on. And just because we slept together, that doesn’t make what you’ve done to me any better. We will have it out about the fact that you turned me. And I mean a knockdown, drag out, bare knuckle fight. Lots of blood, and hopefully your death.”

  He smirked. “You’re good at lying to yourself.”

  No, not really. While a part of me would’ve loved to take a swing at him, I doubted I would. My emotions were a mess of confusion, anger and…gratitude? Damn it, but I was reluctant to admit that he had saved my life. The bottom line: take everything else away and I was still breathing, whether I was a monster or not.

  He stretched hard, bowing his body and cracking his spine. He also showed off all his assets. His muscles clenched as he enjoyed the stretch, and even flaccid his cock was impressive.

  He rolled off the bed and was next to me so fast I didn’t see him move. “Did you enjoy the view?” He whispered in my ear.

  I looked up to meet his eyes. Christ, he was tall. “Yes. You’re hot. Get over yourself.”

  His rich laughter taunted me as he walked toward the dresser. He opened a drawer and tossed me a t-shirt.

  “Dress, and then you can tell us exactly what we’re up against.”

  * * * *

  I walked out of Alaric’s room before he dressed because I had to get away from him. I was too confused and he didn’t seem to believe me when I said I was still pissed, so it was best to leave before I tried to put him through a wall. I didn’t do uncertainty well. I preferred to jump to anger. I met Dagger, who was smirking in the hallway smoking a joint.

  “Did you have a good time, Kori?”

  I shot him a glare as I marched past him.

  “You won’t even admit it to me? I can understand not admitting it to Alaric. He might start thinking he’s God’s gift, and that he can slip into your panties whenever he wants. But me? We’re old friends now.”

  I snorted. “We are not.”

  We entered the living room and I sat down on the couch. Dagger blew a smoke ring and held the blunt out to me.

  “No thanks. I’m going to need a clear head for this talk. Besides, smoking is bad if you have to run and play a round of hide and go seek with the bad guys.”

  “Honey, you’re immortal now. You can smoke without getting any pesky lung problems. Never figured you as the run and hide type anyway.”

  I’d still always hated the stench of cigarettes and marijuana. I’d continue to keep my distance. “I’m not.”

  “And yet you’ll hide from Alaric.”

  I rolled my eyes. “I’m not hiding from Alaric. We barely know each other. And I don’t need your advice on my love life.”

  He dropped the subject. “So you’re not morally opposed to pot?” He took another drag.

  “I never figured you for a burn out.”

  He laughed and ran a hand through is hair. “Honey, pot is the least of what I do. I do heroine, morphine, and lots of sedatives.”

  I arched an eyebrow. “No cocaine or meth?”

  “Hell no. I’d destroy the world on an amphetamine. And I’m not exaggerating about that. The point of the drugs is to keep me level, and since I can’t get an addiction, they do their job.”

  Now he had me intrigued. “How would you destroy the world?”

  His expression was completely wiped clean. No more good-natured smile, just flat, dead eyes. He stared at me until a bead of cold sweat ran down my spine. “I won’t be talking about that. Pick another subject.”

  I didn’t get the chance to press him further, to inform him that I was a girl and we didn’t let go of something like that. Alaric walked into the living room.

  He seemed to have lost his cheerful attitude since I’d left him. He was all business on the surface, but underneath he was pissed. Whether it was at me or the situation, I wasn’t sure.

  His brothers and my sister came into
the living room from different areas of the house. Alaric collapsed on the couch and shot me a hostile glare. Oh, yep, some of that pissed male energy was directed at me. Great.

  Jairdan crossed his arms and stood next to my seat, staring down at me. “So, what the fuck went down last night? Everyone has been wondering. But things happened so fast nothing got explained.”

  “Sherra’s been raised from the dead to kill you all.”

  All the brothers looked freaked but the blood drained from Jairdan’s face, and he swayed. Before I knew what I was doing, I grabbed him and pulled him onto the couch to sit next to me. “Jairdan, sit before you fall.”

  I frowned at the compassionate note in my voice, but it was hard to be a stone cold bitch when the man was sweating and shaking, and I could hear his heartbeat pick up considerably.

  Jairdan jerked his arm out of my grip and slid to the other end of the couch. He crossed his arms over his chest

  Casey ran a hand through her hair. “Goddess, what has she done…”

  Alaric shook his head. “She?”

  I cleared my throat. “Our mother raised her. It’s against our laws to animate the dead. It carries a death sentence.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Why?”

  Dagger sank into a chair, and it groaned under his weight. “Only necromancers raise the dead.”

  I nodded. “Necromancers are born with powers that allow them to raise the dead without fucked up consequences. For a witch to do it, we have to borrow the power from a demon. It taints the soul and the demon always gets something in return. Usually they ride the soul of the person being raised out of the underworld. You damn yourself, the person you raise, and you unleash something from hell that doesn’t answer to you. You also can’t control a zombie unless you’re a necromancer.”

  Dagger snorted. “Not to mention you never raise a witch. They come back with incredible powers and almost fully functioning, independent minds. For a while anyway.”

  I took a deep breath. “And I know I said soul, but what inhabits her body isn’t a soul. It’s only power—and it’s evil power at that. She has her personality, but her soul isn’t truly in there. If she had any compassion at all, the evil obliterates it.”