His fingers thrust into my pussy again. My thoughts scattered and I came, gasping his name.
He drew his hand out of my pants and licked my juices off his fingers. “You taste good, Kori.”
I threaded my fingers threw his hair and pulled him down to kiss me. We could argue about whatever we had been arguing about later. Right now I wanted him.
I shoved his shirt up and over his head and then started on the buttons of his jeans. He shoved my pants down my legs and I kicked them off my feet.
When I pushed his jeans down his hard, flushed cock sprang free. Wrapping my hand around it, I squeezed gently and was rewarded with a gasp as his head fell back. I stroked him from root to tip and the muscles in his neck tightened as he groaned.
I released his penis and shoved him onto his back. His eyes widened, as if he hadn’t expected such strength, and then he grinned.
I grasped the base of his dick and engulfed the head in my mouth. Velvet over steel, and he tasted so good. I sucked and swirled my tongue over the head. His thighs twitched and he tried to thrust his hips, but with my grip on his penis, it accomplished nothing. I giggled with my mouth on him and he moaned.
“Stop teasing. I need more, Kori.”
I laughed, shook my head, and gently caressed his balls with my other hand. He tangled his hand in my hair and pulled my mouth off his cock. I released him and he flipped me face down on the bed before I could react.
He pulled my hips off the mattress and buried himself to the balls in my pussy. I cried out and clenched the bedspread in my fists.
He withdrew and then rammed home again. “You shouldn’t cock tease me, Kori.”
He thrust into me again and I rocked back to meet him. “I’m bad. Punish me.” I cried out as he slammed into me again. His balls slapped against my clit. There was a loud crack and pain bloomed across my ass.
He spanked me again, and gave me no reprieve as he continued to fuck me.
His wrist appeared in my line of sight. “Bite me.”
I did. Warm, copper-tasting blood rushed over my tongue. I heard tendons pop, but he cried out in satisfaction, not pain.
My world broke apart as pleasure blinded me. I shouted his name hoarsely as I came.
“Fuck, Kori,” he yelled as he spilled his warm seed into my body. He collapsed next to me on the bed as my knees slid out from under me. I rolled onto my back and stared at the ceiling.
Our breathing slowed and he glanced at me. “Are you okay? I was rough.”
I laced my fingers through his, still too hot and sweaty to cuddle up next to his warm body. “I’m great. That was fantastic. At least if you’re going to force me to spend a year or more with you, we know the sex works. Even if we can’t spend five minutes together without fighting.”
“Sure we can. That was a good fifteen minutes.”
I smacked the back of my hand on his abs. “I mean the minutes when we aren’t having sex. And we were arguing before. Though I can’t remember what it was about.”
He laughed and wrapped his arms around me, pulling me tightly against his side. “Don’t try. I think every time you start a fight I’ll fuck you, and make you forget about it.”
“You’re not funny,” I tried to say in a serious tone.
“I’m hilarious. You just don’t get me.”
He kissed my forehead and stood. He swayed and sank back on the bed. I sat up and wrapped my arms around his shoulders.
I kissed the back of his neck. “Are you all right?”
His eyes narrowed as he glanced at me over his shoulder, and then the corner of his mouth quirked up. “I’m fine. I need to feed soon, with you robbing me of my bodily fluids.” He patted my hand. “Not that I’m complaining. I’ll go out hunting tonight.”
I lay back on the bed and watched him dress. “Will you kill your victim tonight?”
His back tensed but he didn’t turn around. “Not unless I happen to find a child molester or a serial killer. I don’t kill innocent people. I grew a conscience long before I became a vampire.”
I snorted. I didn’t believe he wouldn’t kill tonight. I could feel his power, and it told me he’d killed many times. Before I could blink, he was straddling my waist, glaring down at me, his jaw clenched.
“What will it take to convince you? Everyone I kill has victims of his or her own. Most of those victims are women and children. Most will never be brought to justice by the law. And even then, I haven’t killed in about a hundred years.”
“So you want to be a vigilante?”
He got off me and sat at the end of the bed. “Nothing so noble. I killed to maintain my power, and I killed them because I can’t bear the thought of taking away someone’s loving mother or father or daughter. For thousands of years, we didn’t know we could live without murder. No one had ever thought to test it. We’re predators. Killing is a drive in us that’s almost impossible to resist. We have to fight it when we feed. When you drink from a human, you’ll feel it. Surely killing a murderer is not the same as killing an innocent person.”
Or that’s how he’d had to justify it to keep going. He wouldn’t face me, and his tone was…broken, like he’d been living with too much guilt for too many years. I almost agreed with him about murderers, but, “It’s still killing.”
He rolled his eyes. “You agree with me. You can’t bring yourself to give up any of your moral high ground. It would bring you down to my level, and since you think I’m pure evil, you can’t have that.”
He stood and this time when he swayed I made no move to comfort him.
“Speaking of your mother—”
“How were we speaking of my mother?”
“Where does she live? She needs to be taken care of.”
I arched an eyebrow. “What the fuck are you talking about?”
He rounded on me. “You’re mother needs to be killed. And you’re going to tell me where she lives.”
“You can’t kill my mother. I know she’s a raving bitch, but she did give birth to me. I owe her some kind of loyalty.”
“Why the hell not? She would kill you. She would kill all of us.”
I sat up. “She’s doing what she thinks is right. She was raised to believe vampires are evil and soulless.”
“Every villain thinks they’re doing the right thing. And now that I have you to tell me where your mother and Astra and her hunters live, they can be taken care of.”
A chill went down my spine. “Astra. What does Astra have to do with this?”
“She and her hunters need to be stopped. They’re killing vampires.”
I shook my head. “My mother is one thing, but Astra is a good person. She’s putting her sister through law school. She counsels people who’ve been through vampire attacks. She puts them up in her own house if they have nowhere to go. She’s saved my ass a thousand times. If you think I’ll repay her by sending some vampires to kill her, you’re sadly mistaken. I’ll die before I tell you shit.”
He shrugged. “Jairdan’s had her blood, and has smelled her scent. It would be easier if you told us where she is, but he’ll find her either way. He’s one of the best trackers our kind has to offer.”
I glared at him. “I’ll kill him if he hurts her. Make no mistake, Alaric, Astra is almost as near and dear to me as Casey is. She’s more family than my mother ever was.”
He shrugged. “I’m not sure I could call Jairdan off if I wanted to. I might be the head of the house, but my brothers have minds of their own, and Jairdan wants her dead. But right now, I want you to tell me where your mother lives.”
I got out of bed, taking the sheet with me. “Fuck you, Alaric.”
“You just did, but I can go again.”
I glanced around for something to throw at his smarmy face. “Not likely. Not until hell freezes over.”
He didn’t say anything, but from his smirk I could tell he was thinking that I couldn’t hold out on him. Well, we’d see about that.
Chapter Nine
&n
bsp; I pulled on my clothes and stomped out of Alaric’s room in search of Jairdan. It was time to put a stop to all this talk about killing Astra.
I spotted him lounging on the couch in the living room and marched over to him. “We need to have a little discussion.”
He looked up at me. “You’d think all that sex would relax you a little.”
I ignored the comment. “I want you to leave Astra alone.”
He grinned. “That’s not an option. I have a lot of plans for her. She has a great body. I’ll get to have some fun with her before I kill her.”
A loud smack resonated through the air when I slapped him. I hadn’t even realized I was going to until it was too late. Maybe Dagger wasn’t the only one with impulse control issues.
He snarled and leapt to his feet. His hands wrapped in my hair and he jerked me to him. “You’re lucky you’re my brother’s whore, or I’d kill you. I’ve murdered for less.”
I locked both my hands around his throat. “Bring it on, asshole. I’m in the mood for a knock down, drag out fight. If I kill you in self defense, surely Alaric won’t fault me too much.”
“Yeah, but you started this fight. Alaric knows how I feel about vampire hunters. Astra is a threat to me and mine, and he’ll support my decision to kill her if I choose.”
I shrugged. “Being on the outs with Alaric isn’t that big of a concern. Understand, vampire, Astra is my best friend. Your kind has taken enough from her.”
His eyes narrowed. “Who—?”
Alaric skidded into the room. “Don’t bash each other’s faces in yet. We’ve got trouble. I’ll need you both coherent.”
The door slammed inward, leaving a doorknob shaped dent in the drywall. Fallon was dragging Dagger’s body up the steps, leaving a dark trail of blood in his wake.
They passed through the doorway and I felt my magic buckle. A wave of scalding heat streaked through my body. All the air had been sucked out of the room. It felt like my heart was being squeezed. I doubled over and fought for breath. My knees hit the hardwood with a resounding thwack. I watched the zombie come up the tree lined walkway.
The foliage died in her wake. Her powers were growing. Now death followed her.
“She’s coming in.” My voice sounded far away.
Hands grasped my upper arms and tried to pull me up, but I huddled into a tighter ball, not allowing them to set me on my feet.
“Kori.”
“Give her a second. I’m part demon. My blood broke her spell. It can’t be pleasant.” A groan filled with pain followed Dagger’s words and then cursing in a language I couldn’t even begin to understand.
My first complete breath came screaming into my lungs. The world came roaring back to me, ten times more intense than it had been. This time I let Alaric drag me to my feet. I clutched his arms tightly enough that I’d leave bruises, and probably bleeding fingernail crescents.
“Weapons,” I gasped. “Everything you’ve got.”
I shoved him toward the rooms where I assumed they were and almost fell on my face. I stumbled to the couch they’d laid Dagger on and collapsed on my knees next to it.
“You get those knives?”
He grabbed my hand and pressed one into it. “Fallon has the other.” He grimaced. “Sorry I broke you’re spell. It must have been more solid than we thought to affect you like that. It probably would have kept her out for a long while.”
Casey and Misha stumbled into the room, hair disheveled and clothes not buttoned properly. I made my way to Casey, holding firmly to the couch so I didn’t fall over.
I grasped her hand and pulled her to Dagger. “Get him out of here. He can’t fight like this.”
She pursed her lips. “Is this also a way of taking your little sister out of the battle?”
I coughed. “Nice to know you aren’t just a pretty face. Now get gone.” I glanced at her boyfriend. “You going to back me up?”
He nodded and tugged her around. He kissed her fiercely, and then whispered in her ear. She nodded and smiled slightly.
Misha glanced at me. “I’ll help her pack his fat ass into the car.”
With her vampire strength she could probably have packed him herself, but it looked like the only thing holding in his bowels was a bandage of what must have been Fallon’s shirt. It would be incredibly cruel to pack a vampire with a gut wound like that in a fireman’s carry.
Misha grabbed him under the arms and Casey took his feet. They hauled him off toward the garage.
I sighed. I was happy to have Casey out of the line of fire, but we’d need backup. Assuming we didn’t all die in the next five minutes.
Alaric rushed back into the room and tossed his brothers swords before he handed one to me.
“These aren’t going to be effective on her. At all. I hope you have another plan.”
Twirling the dagger in my hand brought his attention to it. “I’m hoping this works. If not, then we can panic.”
“Shouldn’t I handle the dagger then?”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why? If you want one, jack your brother’s.”
He didn’t get a chance to answer. The door shattered. We dove behind the couch to avoid flying wooden shards. A few caught us anyway. I watched Alaric wipe blood off his cheek with the back of his hand while I dug the splinter from hell out of my forearm. I didn’t glance at Jairdan or Fallon, but from the symphony of cursing coming from them, I assumed they’d been hit, too.
Ice-cold wind blasted through the house with enough force to send smaller objects flying. Either she was willing to waste a lot of power to be scary, or she had enough power to spare. I seriously hoped it wasn’t the latter.
We stumbled to our feet and prepared for battle. A heavy, glass ashtray took flight from the table by the door. The keys were tossed from it as it hurtled toward me. I ducked, but Misha wasn’t so fast. It smacked him hard in the temple, and he fell to the ground. Fuck, we’d lost a fighter, and the battle hadn’t begun.
Alaric yelled a mighty battle cry that must have frightened many of his enemies and charged her. His sword sank into her chest. She glanced at it, and then backhanded him. He tumbled into the wall, leaving a dent in the sheetrock.
She slowly pulled the sword from her chest. She laughed when the hole sealed up as if it had never been.
Before she could step forward, Alaric slammed his foot into her knee. There was a sickening crack as she shrieked and tumbled to the ground. He scrambled out of the way of her sword, barely avoiding a blow that would have severed his head.
He scrambled to where we were standing. “I hope those knives work better than the sword did.” He looked behind me. “Jairdan, are you going to be all right?”
I looked at the man in question. If it were possible for a vampire to pale, then Jairdan did. He looked like he might be sick, too.
“You said it was her, but I didn’t want to believe it. I’ll be fine.”
In spite of the bold declaration, he didn’t look like he’d be all right. But I’d have to trust that he would be, because there was no time for mental breakdowns.
Sherra met my gaze. Hatred twisted her lips into a snarl. “So you’re one of them now? Poor Priscilla. Both her daughters are weak vampire whores who couldn’t take their own lives. No matter, I’ll be killing you soon. I’ll eat the flesh from your bones.”
“Great, creepy zombie shit. Can we get to the fighting now?” In spite of the bravado in my words I didn’t want to get to the fighting. If these daggers didn’t work, we were at least going to get our asses handed to us. Or worse.
She came at me, and I barely ducked her sword swing. Jairdan kicked her in the gut and she stumbled back.
I shoved my sword into her shoulder before she could recover. It sank into the wall pinning her there. I shoved the knife into her chest and twisted.
Her shriek of agony brought me to my knees. Pain exploded in my head. I slapped my hands over my ears, but it did little to block out the terrible sound.
A b
last of energy radiated from her. It knocked me on my ass and shoved me back into the opposite wall. The boys had been tossed over the back of the couch and were now in a tangle of limbs on the other side. I took my hands off my ears and came away with blood. Shit.
She threw her head back and cackled. It was so strange not to hear the sound. She looked at me, and I read her lips.
“Braxus protects the body that brought him to this plane.”
A transparent image of a red and orange horned demon flashed over her. It was so massive that it filled the room. I couldn’t hear its words, nor could I tell what it said from its distorted mouth surrounded by long, sharp teeth, but the words shook the room like the bass of a stereo.
Fallon stood and rushed toward Sherra, ignoring the demon.
“No.”
Before I could finish screaming the word, the demon had slashed Fallon with its claws. One caught him across the face, one laid his skin open so you could see his collarbone. The other two caught him across the chest and abs. Luckily, it was shallow enough not to spill his guts on his shoes.
He hit the ground, mouth open in a scream I couldn’t hear, but could imagine.
The beast’s hand arced toward him again. I shoved myself to my feet and ran for him. I snagged his hand and yanked him along behind me as I made for behind the couch. Agony lit up my back as the demon caught the lower half of it with its claws.
I made it to the back of the couch and collapsed next to Fallon as his brothers took hold of him.
“That was a mistake,” I muttered to myself. The cuts were shallow, but they were on fire. My best guess was that Braxus had some kind of poison in his claws. I hoped it wasn’t fatal. That was one of the many bad things about demons. Since they dealt with other immortals, they’re poison could usually kill one. It would drop a human instantly.
I managed to sit up. Alaric grabbed my chin and I had to read his lips.
“What do we do? We can’t fight this.”
“Its power will lessen and it will leave,” I shouted at him.
Alaric scowled at me and rubbed his ear.
“Fuck you. I’ll be lucky if I get my hearing back.”
Almost Human Page 9