by Kaia Bennett
The bastard pecked my neck after he finished whispering his threats.
“You’d know all about crying, wouldn’t you, Vaughn?” I whispered in return. I snatched the soap and replaced it on the shelf. I picked up a white Dove bar instead. “We both know, I’ve seen the proof.”
I’d earned myself pain later, but suffering might be worth the shame flaring in Vaughn’s eyes.
I turned to storm down another aisle. Vaughn caught up to me with ease, but didn’t touch me. I could almost feel the flames of his fury when he brushed against my back.
I picked up a box of tampons, some ibuprofen, and a pack of disposable razors with travel sized shaving cream. I imagined for a glorious second the pleasure I’d feel if I could pry one of the blades free. I’d clamp the blunt edge between my teeth and slit Vaughn’s throat the next time he touched me. The vision became so vivid I could feel the spray and see the fear in his eyes.
“No, fuck that. I’m talking about a real tour, baby. A private tour. Can you swing that?”
Jesse’s voice stroked my spine like a tongue and my pussy pulsed at the sound. I looked up to find him in the aisle across from me, leaning against cool planes of glass housing cold drinks while he flirted with a blonde. I could only see the top of her golden head, but I heard her giggle just fine and the molasses-sweet twang that followed.
“I couldn’t do that. My boss’d kill me if I brought a hot guy in after hours.”
“So you think I’m hot, huh?”
Ugh.
Again her sweet giggle tolled like a bell. “You might be a little sexy, yeah.”
“Oh, I’m sexy now? Sexy like you?”
I could almost hear her blush. “Not sexy enough for me to risk my job. Besides, I don’t even know you. What if you’re some kind of stalker?”
Jesse chuckled and I sneered. “You could get to know me.”
The girl loosed a reluctant groan and I knew he had her.
“I’m done. I guess we can go now.” My voice was louder than necessary so every vampire in the store could hear me. I dropped my razors into the basket, hoping to steer Vaughn—and by proxy, Jesse—into the checkout line and away from another victim.
“What if I brought a couple of friends? It’d be like a real tour, no pressure. We’d just see the waterfall, the caves, and if there’s time after….” Jesse’s voice trailed off, but his lascivious intentions lingered in the air. “You wanna private tour, don’t you, Vaughn?”
I startled at the sound of Jesse calling Vaughn’s name. I looked at Vaughn and then over the shelves at Jesse. Jesse’s gaze met mine Vaughn once again draped his arm over my shoulder. He handed me the basket to hold and we rounded the corner to meet Jesse and his new prey.
“Yup.” Vaughn forced a smile, his lips drawn tight over perfect teeth. “We can grab a bite after.”
The blonde spun to greet us with a big grin. Tan khakis and a sky blue long sleeved shirt hid her curves, if not her enthusiasm. Her hard nipples drew my attention to ample breasts. I squinted to read the logo embroidered over her left breast. Ruby Falls?
“Hi! I’m Kelsey.”
She held out her hand to me. I clasped her hand, hoping my eyes screamed Run! I could’ve sworn her smile faltered when she met my panicked stare, but Vaughn stepped between us and gave Kelsey a hug.
“Nice to meet you, Kelsey! Mmm. You smell delicious!”
Vaughn nuzzled her neck with his nose and groaned against her skin. She giggled and stepped back to stare up at Vaughn and then tossed a flirty glance Jesse’s way. I’d been all but forgotten. “Are Canadians always so charming, or is it just you two?”
Canada, eh? Interesting.
I filed the information away for later, wondering if a quick jaunt across the border was how they ended up hunting for victims at a bonfire in New Jersey. But then, why the trip south? Why were we cutting across Dixieland at a fast pace?
“Nah, we’re a special breed, baby. And we want an extra special tour.” Vaughn raked his fingers through her hair. “God, I adore blondes.”
Ruby Falls must be a tourist attraction? Vaughn swiped a seductive finger across the script on Kelsey’s uniform.
“You got any friends?” Vaughn dangled his other arm over Kelsey’s shoulder, hiding her from me, while making her feel like she’d hit the jackpot of male attention.
I tried to see Jesse and Vaughn through fresh eyes, the way she might’ve, but all I could I see were killers wearing seductive masks. To me they smelled of sweat and coppery death, but to her, they must’ve smelled like sex incarnate. Like men, and pheromones, and the promise of naughty adventures.
“Yeah.” Kelsey began to relent. “But I can’t—”
“Just a quick tour. Then we can move the party anywhere you want.” Jesse coiled a thick finger around a strand of golden hair. “Come on, Kelsey. Live a little.”
“Jesse—”
Vaughn flexed his arm and I went silent at the press of hard flesh against my windpipe.
“Okay.” Kelsey’s breathless reply made me close my eyes with dread. “What’s your number? I’ll text you.”
“Meet us there instead,” Vaughn answered. “That way you can’t call and flake out on us right before. A good girl like you might leave us hanging.”
Again her cute giggle punctuated the air and she covered her face in her hands. “Oh my God, I can’t believe I’m doing this. I gotta run and get ready for my shift, but I’ll meet you in the parking lot, on the left side of the main entrance. I’ll have some friends drop by and we can show you around town after, okay?”
“Can’t wait.” Jesse’s eyes twinkled. Kelsey might think his gaze held mischief and attraction, but I knew what death looked like. Death looked like Jesse, staring at the back of a retreating girl.
My ears buzzed when we made it to the counter. Vaughn paid in cash. The world around me hummed with snatches of conversation, voices fading in and out like flies zooming past.
“...you serious? How can you not like ice cream...?”
“...so fine, I wanna climb him like a tree. And girl, the one with the hair...”
“Cody! I swear to God, if you don’t stop acting up in here….”
“...hate flu shots man, that shit hurt! And it itches worse than usual....”
Engines revved. Cold air bit my face. The smell of gasoline filled my nostrils but my senses were decoration. My senses were a curse. All these people everywhere and I’d never felt so alone, never felt so much like a monster instead of a person.
My detour into the real world had ended.
11
When Jesse returned from checking in, he grinned at his partners in crime. “The room’s ours for two nights. I cashed in that credit, so checkout’s Thursday morning.”
My gut roiled as Liam drove the car to the end of row of motel rooms.
Thursday.
I’ll be missing damn near a week by then.
Might as well have been an eternity.
I swallowed deep, imagining my family, friends, my parents’ neighbors, people I passed in the local Starbucks. They’d comb through the woods in a long chain, calling my name and hoping I answered. In a few days they’d start dreading my discovery and the mangled corpse I’d surely become. When they didn’t find me alive or dead, they’d fill in the blanks with the worst. They’d be only half right.
Once inside the room, which glowed with the creepy pristine cleanliness of a vampire motel, I watched Jesse claim a bed. My body ached from hours riding in the SUV. No matter how comfortable the stolen vehicle, nothing compared to a sturdy bed. I wanted to sink into the mattress, but dreaded what awaited me if I moved.
I stood, watching them get settled, my shopping bags swishing against my legs.
“Go shower,” Jesse ordered. He seemed to make a concerted effort to ignore me, not so much as looking over his shoulder as he stripped off his clothes. “Take your time, do all the human shit you need to do. Leave the door open.”
I turned, numb an
d following his orders, when I heard him say, “Just her.”
Vaughn sighed. I heard something bang against an unyielding surface.
“Yeah, yeah. Gotta fatten her up,” Liam muttered. “Her pussy better be fucking magic, Jesse.”
“She’s a witch, moron. Of course her pussy’s magic….”
Vaughn’s jokes, and their collective laughter, faded under the sound of shower spray.
I stripped off my borrowed clothes, glad to finally be rid of the shredded tights. I hopped into the shower with my hair tied up in a knot on top of my head. I set the water to just below scalding, grabbed my bar of soap and a washcloth, and scrubbed like I’d never scrubbed before.
I can still feel him swimming around inside me….
Not just Jesse’s seed, either. His imprint, his mind weaving in and out of mine. His hunger, the smell and flavor of human blood beckoning like a delicacy.
The taste of me on his tongue, rolling through him like a river current, quenching a thirst he hadn’t known existed….
I shaved my underarms and legs. When the last of the shaving cream washed off my thighs, I looked down at my pussy, stroking the light prickling of stubble without thinking. I applied cream to my nether lips and went to work. I’d finished the left labia before I realized what I’d done. Habit made me shave my sex, but logic made me flush with shame.
He’ll think I did it for him. Did I? Did I prepare myself for him this time?
“Fuck it,” I whispered. I propped up my right leg, dexterously removing the hair before rinsing my tingling skin clean. I shuddered at the extra sensitivity and the wet swell of my pussy lips. My clit peeked out of the protective hood to give a half-hearted salute. I immediately regretted my decision. I should’ve braved the itching and prickling and let the hair grow back.
As if a little bit of stubble will deter rapists with inhuman healing abilities?
The thought made me snort. I rinsed myself again, hoping to wash away any hints of stimulation before I got out and dried off.
I slathered on lotion from top to bottom then turned to see Jesse leaning, naked, against the doorjamb. I snatched up my towel and covered myself immediately, but his gaze bore a hole through the fabric and scalded me.
“Go. Take a nap. We leave in a couple of hours and I want you well rested.”
“Well rested? For what?”
He smiled, sauntered past, and stepped into the shower. “Get out before I drag you in here with me. I can smell you and it’s making me hungry.”
I scrambled out of the bathroom, fearful of what Liam and Vaughn would say. No doubt they’d be able to smell my arousal too. But they seemed to be taking Jesse’s advice to nap. They lay naked on top of the covers. Vaughn had his arms outstretched. Liam lay beside him, his head nestled into the crook of Vaughn’s neck. I didn’t dare stare too long at the blatant intimacy of their embrace, lest one of them wake and begin taunting me. I filed this information away too, though, wondering just how much Vaughn cared for Liam. Or Jesse.
The remains of my humanity should’ve kept me awake, dreading what came next, but I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow. I floated into a dream where I became Nora again, sinking under the water, my last breaths rising to the surface. Only a shove woke me from my endless plummet into the abyss. When I opened my eyes, Jesse stood before me, clothed in a black long-sleeved shirt, torn jeans, and his black boots. His hair held only a hint of lingering dampness.
Liam and Vaughn must have showered and changed before I woke. All three looked like they’d run their jeans through Satan’s shredder. I startled wide awake when I realized my gaze lingered on Vaughn’s bare thighs, visible through the many holes in his pants.
I, as the lone human-esque person dragged on this trip, got to wear the same black floral print dress, sans tights. When I tried to put on my bra, Jesse said, “Leave it off.” I left with only a leather jacket to cover the jiggle of my breasts, and no panties to hide my nakedness. When the occasional gust of cold wind kicked up the hem I had to hold the fabric close and pray for the best.
On the ride to this private tour, the air sizzled with energy. Hunger, anticipation. Even if I hadn’t been empathic I’d have felt the excitement, swelling like a bubble.
Out of the corner of my eye I watched Jesse bite into the vein in his wrist.
“Not too much. You’ll get more after I feed.”
“I don’t want it.” I turned my face away from his offering, even though I knew he’d force me to drink.
“Yes. You do.” The emphasis he put on his words made me quake. I only needed his blood when pain followed, when I needed to be strong to withstand that pain. I clamped my lips closed even as the sweet smell made my mouth water. A swipe of the ruby liquid against my lips made me whimper, Jesse daring me to deny my need. I fought every advance of my tongue. Vibrating with need, I parted my lips and tasted a drop of Jesse’s addictive ichor. Just a taste and he’d already infiltrated my senses. He claimed victory over my battered will, pressing his wrist to my mouth. I swallowed a shot of him. My nipples hardened and I drew my thighs together as the potent liquid flowed through me.
“Such a hot little bitch. I can’t fucking wait—”
Abruptly Jesse replaced his wrist with his mouth, shoving his tongue down my throat like a teenage boy in heat.
Just the beginning, baby.
His voice rumbled in my brain, his tongue infiltrated my mouth, and his fingers dove between my legs, cupping and strumming my pussy. I pumped into his hands at the same time he pumped his hips into the air with desperation, eager for something to stick his cock into.
Bloodlust. Have to wait.
My head rang with the warning Jesse gave himself, but my body wept for him. After a long, breathless moment that left my lips swollen and my body aching, he pulled away.
I looked down to find, to my horror, my hand wrapped around his wrist, holding his hand in place when he pulled his fingers away from my cunt.
“Liam,” Jesse called. Liam shoved the passenger seat as far back as it could go. I stared into his whisky brown eyes, searching for the malice that lived in Vaughn’s eyes, or the anger that throbbed in Jesse’s, but all I saw was a bland smile, until curving fangs took my attention. He bit deep into his wrist and shoved the flowing vein in my face.
My heart pounded in my chest. I hesitated, but saliva gathered and my taste buds cried, More! More!
“Drink it!” Jesse shoved my face and Liam’s wrist together. I suckled, evoking a moan from Liam that struck me so hard between my thighs I whimpered. The devilish drug sizzled on my tongue. I sucked his blood with the vigor I reserved for a hard cock.
I want to see you stroke your juicy little cunt, witch. I want you begging us to fuck you.
Did Jesse know I could hear his filthy thoughts? Did he care?
I don’t care what you want. I’m not your whore. I’m not. I’m not. I’m not yours….
Jesse ordered Vaughn to pull over But it was Liam’s voice that rolled through my mind.
So pretty when she cries. Reminds me of Anna.
I saw the inside of the car and Liam’s eyes, beyond his wrist, one moment. Blood slid down my throat, and the next moment, the view morphed.
Disoriented, I stared at a pretty, heart-shaped face, with the cutest dimples I’d ever seen. She wore a sky blue dress, her bare mahogany shoulders glowed, smooth as satin under my fingertips. She shivered with desire under my touch and snuggled into my waiting arms. Warmth suffused me, but it wasn’t my own chest singing with affection.
Oh. Liam’s in love.
He didn’t want to look away from her long micro braids, but in the edges of his vision, I spied verdant surroundings. Sunshine spilled through a leafy canopy overhead. People milled past, most laden with books. The distant whir of a lawn mower revealed a diligent crew ruthlessly maintaining a beautiful campus, behind the throbbing words floating through Liam’s mind. So beautiful. So soft. Mine.
I love you so goddamn much.
I blinked. Shock roiled through me, until I realized Liam hadn’t spoken aloud, and he sure as fuck wasn’t talking to me. Drawn to her smiling lips and the sparkle in her amber eyes, Liam leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. I felt the kiss in my soul, in a place so deep, I felt the sting of jealousy, as I looked back on my kisses with Manny.
This was how it felt to be alive. Once upon a time, everything Liam needed could be found, not in blood, but in the soft curves and the gorgeous smile of a girl named Anna.
I want out! Let me out!
I sensed pain on the horizon as surely as I heard the chime of a courtyard clock, and I didn’t want to pity Liam. I wanted my own hatred back, I wanted reprieve within my own skin. He didn’t deserve to use me as his own personal time machine.
Liam didn’t want out. He hadn’t had so vivid a vision of Anna since before he lost her, and when he dreamed of her the dreams never lasted long enough. He missed the way she swished her round ass when she got flirty. He missed kissing her dimples and the way her braids fell over his face when she straddled him.
I cheered her on when she told him off during their first fight, and shattered into a thousand orgasmic pieces when they made love in reconciliation.
Liam and I shuddered in unison as we thrust deep into Anna’s wet pussy, the memory so vivid Liam’s body felt like my own.
“You feel so good! Liam. Liam, baby.”
Her gasp in his ear, spurred him toward the finish line. He rocked into her like a man possessed with only one task. Her pleasure, her moans. He needed every drop of sweat, every tremor, as her slick heat grasped his cock. He wanted to give her everything. He wanted to go back to something he’d forgotten in the few short years since he’d become a killer. But, once he started the trip, he had to finish. He had to come back to who he’d become. I couldn’t stand the claws of time digging into my shoulders, pulling me back to the truth.
Give me back my mind! Give me back my body! Let me out!
I banged on the walls of the vision, as trapped as the beast and the girl in their cage.