Fate mba-2

by Аманда Хокинг

  “No, I can’t say that we have,” Jack replied quickly.

  I tensed up instantly, which I knew was a bad idea since I was supposed to be keeping my heart rate down, but I couldn’t help it. As stupid as it sounds, it had never occurred to me that Jack had sex. In some realm of my mind, I had realized that vampires probably had sex, that Mae and Ezra did, and I had definitely considered the prospect of me having sex with Jack, but I had never thought about it actually happening. That vampires had sex with other vampires, or people. With whoever or whatever they wanted. Not only had Jack most likely bitten girls here, he had probably slept with some of them.

  “Pity,” the girl said, but then her eyes dropped back to me. Her smile tilted wickedly, and she was noticing the change in my heart rate. “Mmm… So you’re that kind of girl.”

  “What kind of girl is that?” I asked tightly.

  “Where are my manners?” She laughed, a tinkley, fragile sound, like breaking glass. “I haven’t even introduced myself. My name is Violet.” She held out her hand to me and only me. It was covered in one of those lace fingerless gloves that Madonna used to wear, and gingerly, I took her hand and shook it. I was tempted to look at Jack to see how I should proceed, but I thought it would be better if I made the decision on my own.

  “I’m Alice.” I let go of her lacy, tepid hand and looked up at Jack. “This is Jack.”

  “Jack.” She clicked her tongue and looked at him again. “We never-”

  “Nope,” Jack repeated with an edge to his voice.

  “Are you sure?” Violet looked dubious. “Cause I have a really excellent memory, and I could swear that we knocked boots, know what I mean?” She winked at me then and elbowed Jack playfully in the ribs, but he didn’t smile.

  “I’m quite certain,” he replied icily.

  “Yeah, yeah! You did this thing-”

  “Stop,” Jack told her, his voice low and even. “I know exactly what you’re doing, and I want you to stop.” She batted her eyes innocently, and he turned to me. “When she mentioned it the first time incidentally, you’re heart sped up, and now she’s just saying things to make it race. She’s just trying to set you off.”

  “It’s beating like a moth caught in jar,” Violet smiled wistfully at me. “I just can’t help myself. It sounds so beautiful.”

  “I’m sorry,” I mumbled.

  “You have nothing to be sorry for,” Jack reassured me quietly.

  Blushing deeply, I curled up closer to him. Even in the dimly lit room, I could see the way Violet looked at me. There was nothing but pure thirst in her eyes. I knew Jack would never let anything happen to me, and I don’t even think she wanted to kill me. But she wanted to taste me, and that was a weird thing to feel, to know that she was actually hungry for me.

  “Are you gonna go back to one of the rooms?” Violet asked, turning her attention back to Jack.

  She nodded her heads toward the dark doorways that led out of the room, and I wondered what kind of rooms they had back there. “I would kill just to watch. I’m sure she smells terrific.”

  “We’re good, thanks,” Jack informed her curtly.

  Violet was unabashed, though. She kept her eyes locked on me and slid up closer to her Jack, pressing her body against him. He tried to recoil, but I was at the end of the couch and he didn’t want to smash me. His body was rigid next to me, and he was glaring at her severely.

  “You’re just a little treat, aren’t you?” Violet winked at me.

  “Alright, that’s fun.” Abruptly, Jack stood up, pulling me to my feet with him.

  “We must never have messed around, otherwise you wouldn’t be turning me down,” Violet laughed at him. “I can do things, for the both of you, that you’ve only ever dreamed about.”

  “Yep. I’m really missing out.” Jack steered me towards the bar in the corner, and Violet was still cackling behind us. “I am sorry. This was a terrible idea. I’ve never brought a human here before though, so I didn’t really know what to expect.”

  “It’s not so bad,” I whispered, and it really wasn’t. In its own, twisted way, it was kind of fun.

  At the bar, Jack moved me in front of him, so my stomach was gently pressed against the wood.

  He stood behind me with his arms on either side of him. Whatever was going on was making him nervous and he wanted to surround me as much as he could. Oddly enough, I didn’t feel the slightest bit anxious, and my emotions tended to mirror his. Something about being in this room, it made me strangely sedate. The bartender with the long red in a ponytail came over and gave him an odd look.

  “I’d like a drink. Just whatever you have handy,” Jack told him, but that only deepened the bartender’s confusion. “Do you have any vodka back here?”

  “All the light drinks are out there,” the bartender nodded to the dance floor. He looked at me, then up at Jack. “Are you sure you really want a drink?”

  “Yep.” Jack replied, and when the bartender started looking me over, Jack added, “She’s just for looks.”

  “Whatever floats your boat, buddy,” the bartender shook his head and walked away to get a drink.

  “You know what? Cancel the drink.” He slid his arm around me again and took a step back from the bar.

  “What’s going on?” I asked, looking up at Jack.

  “This was a stupid idea, and we’re getting out of here,” Jack whispered harshly. He looked around uneasily as he started to lead me away. “Everyone is looking at you like… I don’t know. I knew you were… tantalizing, but I didn’t think everyone else would feel the same way. I thought you’d just be a normal girl, but apparently you’re not.”

  “Know you now how I feel when we go out!” I exclaimed.

  “Well, I’m really sorry,” Jack laughed a little.

  “What about Milo?” We were just about out of the room, back to the dance floor where my words would be drowned out completely, so I stopped sharply.

  “I’ll text him when we get outside,” Jack suggested.

  “He won’t heart it! It’s too loud. And even if he does, he wouldn’t answer. He’s having fun.”

  “Well… then… we’ll leave him here and he can call when he’s ready,” Jack stumbled. Violet had started laughing again, and he glared at her before turning back to me.

  “We can’t just leave him here!” I insisted. He might be a vampire, but he’s still my little brother, and I wasn’t prepared to leave him alone on his first night out.

  Jack was going to try to reason with me, but I wasn’t having any of it. I jerked my hand away from him and crossed my arms over my chest, giving him a stubborn look that said I refused to leave without Milo. Behind us, the vampire with the long hair and the girl on her lap whistled loudly at my display, so both Jack and I turned back to look at her.

  “She’s a firecracker!” the vampire laughed, but it was that tired, blissed-out laugh people have when they’re really high. “You’ve got your hands full with that one, don’t you?”

  “I make do,” Jack told her, but looked severely at me. “Alice…”

  “I’m not leaving Milo here,” I insisted.

  “Well, I’m not dragging you out on the damn dance floor to look for him.” His pursed his lips when he glanced nervously out at the crowded dance floor. Going across the room wouldn’t be so bad, but wading through there for any length of time, with all those people grabbing at me, it was liable to be serious trouble.

  “I can keep an eye on her for you, if you need to me to,” the vampire next to us offered. “I’m full, and if I get a little hungry, I’ve got a snack right here.” She patted the girl on her lap. “And I know how hard it is to keep the flies away from the food.” Jack narrowed his eyes at her, debating.

  “Just keep an eye on her, nothing else,” Jack warned her.

  “Cross my heart and hope to die,” she promised him, crossing her heart with her long black fingernail as she did.

  “I’ll be right back.” He hesitated before leaving, a
nd then placed his hands on my cheeks and quickly, he pressed his lips against mine but stopped before I could really even register that he had just kissed me. Keeping his face close to me, he whispered, “Don’t let anybody touch you.”

  “I won’t,” I nodded breathlessly.

  “Good.” Reluctantly, he turned and almost instantly disappeared in the writhing bodies on the dance floor.

  “What’s your name?” my vampire baby-sitter asked me.

  “Alice,” I told her timidly. I hugged myself tightly and tried to keep my eyes fixated on her and the girl on her lap, and not on the room full of leering vampires around me.

  “Olivia,” she gestured to herself, and then to the girl on her lap. “This is Hannah. She’s mine.”

  “Congratulations,” I said lamely, unsure of what else to say.

  “Thanks,” Olivia laughed. “It’s tricky what you have with him.” She nodded at the door after Jack.

  “Why hasn’t he turned you?”

  “It’s a complicated situation.” I rubbed my arms nervously. The girl on Olivia’s lap stirred, and she stroked her hair gently to quiet her. “Why haven’t you turned Hannah?”

  “I wouldn’t have any reason to keep her if I did,” Olivia explained, but she looked at her with some affection. “You’ve heard the saying ‘why buy the cow if you get the milk for free?’ Well, if I bought the cow, I wouldn’t get any milk at all.” She wanted Hannah for her blood, and nothing else.

  “So why do you think he should turn me?” I asked curiously.

  “He loves you,” Olivia sounded surprised when she looked up at me. “You must know that.” I shifted uneasily, but didn’t answer her. “And I’m betting that he’s not getting any milk either.” She narrowed her bleary eyes at me, genuinely appraising me for the first time. “I bet you’re a virgin in every sense of the word.”

  “Not entirely,” I raised my chin defiantly, like I had showed her in some way.

  “He’s never bitten you?” Olivia was still trying decipher what exactly was going on.

  “He’s tasted me.” When I told her that, her eyes widened. The first time we had kissed, I bit my lip hard enough to draw blood, which is what incited the kiss in the first place.

  “And he hasn’t bit you?” Olivia was stunned and unbelieving. “If you taste even half as sweet as you smell… That boy has some restraint. If I were you, I’d get that boy back in here and make him turn me right here and now. You don’t want to let that slip away. And it’s only a matter of time before he slips, and with that much pent up, he’d probably go way too far, if you know what I mean.”

  “We have… things under control,” I told her rather unconvincingly.

  “Well, hello there,” a deep voice purred from behind me, and I whirled around to see the vampire that had touched me on the dance floor. His eyes were a bottomless black, but they were almost glowing at me. A strand of black hair came loose and slid onto his forehead, so he pushed it back with unpleasantly long nails, at least for a man. Other than that, he was almost blindingly attractive. The only person who could possibly out shine him might be Peter, and even that was rather doubtful.

  “That’s Alice!” Violet announced with her shrill, sparkling laugh. She leapt off the couch and almost skipped over to us. She stopped so close to him that they were almost touching but not quite. “Isn’t she a treat?”

  “Sweet as pie,” he purred with an exaggerated southern drawl, reminding me of when Hannibal Lector mocked Clarisse Starling in Silence of the Lambs. He breathed in deeply, leaning in closer to me, but I was in a dear in headlights and couldn’t think enough to take a step back. “Breathe, honey.”

  With that, I gasped and filled my lungs with precious oxygen. Whatever he did to me, it was far worse than even what Peter could do. My mind was less of a fog, but my body completely lost the ability to do anything, like breathe or blink or move. Even though he had reminded me to breathe, the rest of my senses still remained locked away, and I just gaped at him.

  “You are precious!” he smiled maliciously, and Violet giggled next to him.

  “Oh, leave her alone!” Olivia shouted from behind me. Her voice was gaining some strength and losing its bleary edge as she came to my aide. “She’s just a kid, and her boyfriend’s out there in the other room.”

  “What’s it to you?” He looked past me at her, and I caught a glimpse of primal rage flashing in his eyes that, thankfully, he directed at her. If it had been at me, that probably would’ve been it. I would’ve just collapsed to my knees and begged him to spare my life.

  “He left her in charge,” Violet explained, leaning in close to him. Then she lowered her eyes at me, smirking hungrily. “He left her alone.”

  “What do you want?” When I finally found a voice, that’s what I decided to ask, which was actually a total waste of a question. I knew exactly what they wanted, and I probably really didn’t want to hear it said aloud.

  “You’re so scared!” This fact seemed to amuse him a little too much, and he made a sound that was a tad aroused. “You have nothing to be afraid of. I’d just like us to be friends. Me, you, and Violet.” He spread his arms openly, as if he expected me to run into them. “To put you at ease, I’ll introduce myself. My name is Lucian, and I am a vampire.”

  “His name’s not really Lucian,” Violet confessed coyly. “It’s actually Hector, but that doesn’t sound nearly as decedent.” He glared at her severely, and she recoiled a little, but then forced a smile at me. “But trust me, sweetie, he’s all vampire.”

  “So am I,” Olivia interjected tiredly from the couch. “Why don’t you two cut the crap and go prey on someone you actually stand a chance with? This girl isn’t going anywhere with you.”

  “You must be getting senile in you’re old age, Olivia,” Lucian snarled at her. “Because I didn’t say anything about going anywhere. We’re just having a friendly little chat. Isn’t that right, Alice?”

  “I’m not much for talking,” I mumbled quietly. Talking had somehow frightened me more, and my heart was beating erratically and much too fast. Both Violet and Lucian had that eye-fluttering pleasurable look, and I knew they were way too tuned into it.

  “My god, that’s beautiful,” Lucian murmured, almost inaudible. “It’s so delicate and frantic. Like a fly caught in a spider web, desperately beating it’s tiny wings… but it’s not going anywhere.”

  “You guys are big into the insect metaphors,” I whispered, and I was finding it difficult to swallow.

  “Here’s another: welcome to my parlor,” Lucian smiled, this time purposely showing me his fangs.

  Like Violet’s, they were sharper and larger than Jack’s, and all the more frightening.

  “My boyfriend is right out there, and he’ll kill you,” I warned them breathlessly. “And he left Olivia in charge, and I think she takes her responsibility seriously.”

  “That drugged out old hag?” Lucian laughed and leaned in closer to me. “She’s not going to do anything. She’s not even conscious.” I wanted to check and see if this was true, but I was too transfixed. His eyes were locked on me, but that was better. As long as they weren’t on my neck, watching my pulse, I still had a chance. “And you’re boyfriend won’t hear anything. If he really cared, he would never have brought a snack like you here in the first place. I think maybe he wanted this to happen.”

  “That’s not-not true,” I stuttered. Then it happened. His eyes dropped to my throat and he had leaned in even closer to me.

  “Oh, Alice, I’m afraid you’ve really fallen into a rabbit hole this time,” he whispered. I closed my eyes, unwilling to witness the inevitable.

  “Lucian!” Olivia shouted. “Oh, Hannah, will you move!” I whipped open my eyes and saw the irritated expression on Lucian’s face, and then Olivia appeared next to me. “I told you to back off!”

  “Olivia, Olivia,” Violet purred, stepping away from Lucian to take care of Olivia. Lucian meanwhile, had leaned back up straighter, but hadn’t real
ly moved away from me. He just wasn’t quite as poised to bite my neck. “Aren’t you sick of that tired old blood bag you’re always taking around with you?”

  “Violet, not right now,” Olivia groaned, looking disgusted. “I’m just trying to keep this girl out your hands, okay? She’s not yours. There’s plenty of other girls here that you can go crazy with. So just leave this one alone.”

  “I’m here too, Olivia,” Violet batted her eyes at her and rubbed her arm seductively on Olivia’s. “I know you’re always traipsing with those little dolls of yours. When was the last time you were with a real woman?”

  Olivia was momentarily distracted by Violet, who had started pressing her breasts up against her, and that was all the time that Lucian needed. His arms were around me, so strong and tight, that I couldn’t breathe or move or even scream. He was carrying me away, but it was too quick and nauseating for me to figure out where. The wind was whipping through my hair, and he had my face pressed into the hard, unyielding muscles of his chest. If he didn’t let me go soon, I would suffocate.

  Without warning, he dropped me, and as soon as I could gasp for air, I started to scream. I was about to call out Jack’s name, but then I realized Jack was already there. We were in a narrow hallway dimly lit by a single bulb, and I had apparently been dropped rather heavily onto the cement floor. Lucian was sprawled out on the ground a few feet from me, and Jack stood in between the two of us. On the other side of Lucian, blocking the door back to the bar where we’d come from, Milo stood growling, and behind him, Olivia was looking none to happy either.

  “Get up,” Jack said his quietly, his voice trembling with restraint. Lucian scrambled to move, and I could see blood on his face, extending from a wound that was already healing. “Get out of here before I rip your fucking throat out.”

  “You shouldn’t have brought her if you didn’t want to share her!” Lucian insisted, almost plaintively. Milo made a move towards him, but Olivia grabbed his arms and held him back.

  Frightened, Lucian snuck past them and hurried away.

  Jack glared after him for a second, but before Olivia could even release Milo, Jack had turned and dropped to his knees next to me. He gently touched my forehead and let out an uneasy breath, and then with great effort, he pulled his eyes way to look me completely over. His breath came out in shallow rasps, and I could feel a hungry panic from him that I didn’t understand.