Time To Die (Vampire Assassin League Book 32)

by Jackie Ivie

  He lunged backward, bringing her with him. The bed platform squeaked as it bounced, then settled. Her movements grew more sinuous, her moans more intense, her touch even hotter. The combination took his need to take her blood to an almost insurmountable level. He fought against grabbing her. Pivoting. Getting her onto her back. Joining their loins as he stabbed his fangs into her throat. So he could thrust. Dominate. Conquer.

  Every moment the incendiary signals between them increased. They lit fuses, sparked fires, sent electrical current that zapped. An uncontainable growl erupted from his throat. Deep. Intense. The sound increased in volume as he grabbed her shoulders and yanked her up and away from further kisses. And she gave a huff that sounded like amusement.

  Tane glared. He had his eyes narrowed, his upper lip lifted in a snarl, his fangs on full display. He knew they were blood-tipped already. They weren’t just tingling. They were vibrating angrily in his mouth. His every muscle taut with fiery pain. By now he was drawing in such rapid breaths, each one lifted her from his chest.

  And she laughed?

  At his torment?

  “Is that...meant for me?”

  He was actually afraid to answer, for fear he’d startle or alarm. This level of restraint scared him. His body jerked, the spasms getting even worse as she slid a hand along his belly. Caressed the length of his rod. Held him erect. Positioned perfectly...

  “Poor man,” she murmured. And then she slammed down onto him.

  Tane lost all control. Rocket-like sensation flared. It shot through his veins. He grabbed her hips and started pumping her. Up. Down. She may have helped. But it didn’t feel like it. Her breasts bounced with each move. Her hands gripped to his shoulders. Her legs flexed. Tane heaved into her as she rode him, his body in the grasp of something primal. Almost bestial. She sent all manner of soft sounds into the room. His release drew near. Closer. More intense. His ears were filled with a cacophony of sounds. The thudding of his heart. The heavy rasp of each breath. What sounded like something sizzling on a low fire.

  “Tane! Oh, yes! Tane!”

  He watched her arch backward. Heard her cry. And then she lowered her mouth to his neck...

  And bit him.

  Tane roared with pleasure. It erupted everywhere, flashing through him like a thousand little pieces, that each carried pleasure. Sublime wonder. Complete and total ecstasy. He didn’t note that they rose from the bed, hovered in midair throughout his release. Nor did he care. All he cared about was his mate. The feelings she engendered. Finding her was the best experience of his existence. He didn’t bother listing and comparing.

  He knew.

  ~ ~ ~

  Time had passed.

  Could have been an eternity or a few moments. Tane didn’t bother guessing at it. His newly reactivated heart settled to a steady rhythm. The room drifted into a slow spiral that still held the remnants of bliss. They’d almost missed his platform as he’d dropped. The bounce had separated them, but she was still atop him. Stretched out. Giving him needed body warmth.

  One of his legs dangled over the edge of the bed. The center of his back had smacked into one of the rock supports. He still leaned against it. He hadn’t noted any pain. He’d barely felt it. That was the trouble. The room still spun slightly because he was dangerously weak. Perilously drained. He should have stopped his mate from taking so much of his fluid...but that might have altered something. Taken away from the ecstasy. And that he wouldn’t have missed.

  Her legs started twitching.

  “Um. Tane?”

  She sounded excited, animated, and exhilarated. Everything he was not. All at once.

  “Yes?”

  The word was ragged-edged. Harsh. He’d dragged in a breath to do that much. She matched it automatically. Kat snapped her head in his direction. He hoped he didn’t look exactly like he’d sounded. Weak. Pale. He was even shivering.

  “I don’t understand. What is happening?”

  “I am not certain...you are ready...to hear.”

  She rolled her eyes heavenward before moving her gaze back to him. “Oh, please. Not that again.”

  “I have...to go out.”

  “What?”

  He put his hands on her shoulders, rolled her from him, and then sat with a slowness that belonged to an old man. Or an invalid. He placed his feet on the floor next, and then he just stopped. His breathing was rapid and shallow.

  It matched hers.

  “We are...in luck,” he told her. “It is a night...without a moon.”

  “How on earth can you tell? No. Never mind that. What on earth does that have to do with anything?”

  “The natives...they have a ritual.”

  “The guys who tried to kill me?”

  He nodded. And then he turned his head to look at her. His heart dropped as he touched her gaze. Her heart had probably done the same. Her eyes widened and then she glanced away.

  “Um. Go on. I don’t know what it has to do with anything, but I am interested. Which surprises even me.”

  “One of them is chosen.”

  “For what?”

  “They...stake him out.”

  “Stake him out? For what?”

  “He is a blood sacrifice. To their god.”

  “B-B-Blood sacrifice?”

  She looked exactly like she’d sounded. Stunned. Disgusted. Dismayed. He finally nodded.

  “Oh, no. No. Don’t say it. Just. Don’t. Okay? Please don’t tell me you’re their god.”

  “I...didn’t say that.”

  “But that’s what your name means. You told me. Remember?”

  He turned to look out toward the chamber. Kat slid to the edge of the bed to sit beside him. This was troubling. She was stark naked and incredibly appealing. Even in his weakened state. And then, it got worse. When she stood, it placed her backside to him. She had perfect woman curves on display as she stretched, and then she put her hands on her hips and looked about.

  Tane slouched forward, resting his forearms on his thighs.

  “Are those...crystal?”

  She motioned with a hand toward the smattering of pieces strewn about the floor.

  “Yes.”

  “From...up there?”

  She pointed. He had a hard time moving his attention from her to the ceiling. She’d turned around when he brought his gaze back. His mate was exquisitely alluring. Desire was a difficult thing to ignore. He grunted an answer.

  “Why do you have a crystal chandelier?”

  “I rescued it.”

  “What? How do you...um...rescue a chandelier? And why am I even asking a question that stupid?”

  “My palace was destroyed. That was...one of the only things left.”

  “You have a palace?”

  She looked exactly as skeptical as she sounded. Tane regarded her for long moments before he answered.

  “Yes. I have...several. That chandelier came from one...near Vienna.”

  “You have a palace near Vienna?”

  “No.” He shook his head.

  “You don’t have a palace near Vienna? Well. Darn. What a shame. I would so much rather be in a palace than a cave.”

  “You would?”

  “I’m being facetious. Okay? I don’t happen to believe you have a palace – near Vienna, or anywhere else. And why? Because, if you did, you would not be running around the jungle in a loincloth. Swinging from trees. Nor would you live in a cave on some uninhabited island. Oh, wait. It’s definitely inhabited. Scratch that part.”

  He smiled. She was so young! So very innocent! “I live here...because I choose to,” he told her.

  “You chose something this primitive?”

  “It’s private...and I do not care for humanity.”

  “Then why would you have palaces?”

  He needed to cease breathing so shallowly. It didn’t help the dizziness. “I have lived...many years, mi amor. Seen a lot of things. Experienced more. At one point in my long life, I was greedy. I bought all sorts of
properties, traded in stocks. I became a very rich man before I realized it was such an empty concept.”

  “What is?”

  “The acquisition of wealth.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. I would still like to see one of these so-called palaces. If you still have them. And if they really existed.”

  “We can. And we will. If you so wish.”

  “All right. I’d like to visit the one near Vienna.”

  “That one does not exist anymore.”

  “Why not?”

  “I told you. It was destroyed.”

  “Of course it was.” She agreed, but her expression and tone said the opposite.

  “You are a very...difficult woman to convince.”

  “No. I’m just very difficult to lie to.”

  He sighed heavily. She matched it. He wondered if she noticed.

  “I don’t have that palace anymore because it was torn down. During the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire.”

  “Oh. Right. And that happened...oh. I don’t know. I didn’t like history, but I still got stuck learning some things. I’m going to say...World War I?”

  “Exactly.”

  “Why am I having a hard time believing this?”

  He shrugged.

  “Maybe because it’s impossible? Fantastical? And completely fictitious? And I have to tell you something, Tane. I don’t believe in paranormal stuff. Never have. Never will. You are just going to have to come up with a better story.”

  “You are...a very tempting woman, Katherine.”

  “Really? Well I think you are very crazy.”

  “You need...to get some clothing on. I...cannot think.”

  “Oh. Right. Look who’s talking.”

  She gestured toward him. If he wasn’t suffering blood loss, he’d have flushed.

  “You are so beloved. So very enticing. But we cannot mate. Not until I have fed. Otherwise...I will not be able to prevent changing you.”

  “Changing me into what?” She arched her brow enticingly then shook her head. “Never mind. Don’t answer that. I don’t want to know.”

  He stood slowly. He wavered in place as he looked down at her. “I must go. The natives...will be waiting.”

  “Oh. That’s right. You have to go kill some guy who has been staked out for you.”

  “I do not kill. Only a fool destroys his only source of sustenance.”

  “Do you want me to gag?”

  He smiled, then instantly sobered. “Will you...stay here while I am gone?”

  She wouldn’t meet his eyes. That was troubling.

  “I’m not promising that. I can’t. I just...can’t. My head is spinning. I mean, I can’t even comprehend most of the lies you’ve been spouting, let alone believe them.”

  “It is no lie, Katherine. None of it. I told you. I am a vampire. And you are il mio compagno. That means—”

  “Stop! I don’t want to...know what that means.” She might be trying to sound commanding, but her voice had a breathless tone to it.

  “You are my mate. And you are halfway to becoming a vampire yourself.”

  She jerked backwards, raising her hands. “Oh. No. No way. For such a thing to be possible, vampires would have to be real. End of conversation. This line of thinking is dead. Or should I say undead? No. Dead sounds better.”

  Tane smiled then shook his head. “Forgive me. I do not have time to explain. I need blood. We cannot delay much longer.”

  “Talk while we dress.”

  Tane swiveled his loincloth back into position; tie at one hip, flaps down to cover him. He didn’t even break their gaze to do it.

  “Oh, fine. Very funny. Explain while I dress, then.”

  She tiptoed about, avoiding the scattered pieces of crystal as if they were broken glass. That was amusing.

  “You possess a lot of energy all-of-a-sudden,” he told her.

  “True.” She shoved her legs into pants. Grimaced. Tane assigned a reason. They were probably damp. Chilled. He could tell she’d chosen her field attire with care. They’d dry, and they weren’t even wrinkled.

  “Your senses have been elevated. Sight. Sound. Smell. Touch. Taste.”

  “Also true.” Her shirt was in the same condition as her trousers. It looked like it felt as cold, too.

  “You have immunity to disease now. If you do get wounded, it will rapidly heal. Very few things will actually kill you.”

  “What? I’m not immortal? Well. Heck. We were on such a roll here.”

  “You still do not believe?”

  “Nope.”

  He sighed. “You also have new abilities.”

  “I’m psychic now?”

  “No. Physical abilities.”

  “I already had some of that.” She lifted her knife holder as if that explained her comment. Then she pulled the blades over her head and settled them like an ‘X’ atop her chest. She patted them before looking at him again. “Crap. This is gonna be a bitch without my mosquito netting. I think we left it in your tree house.”

  “Insects will no longer bother you. Your blood...is unappetizing to them.”

  “Really? Well. At least that part sounds nice.”

  “You still do not believe?”

  “Nope. But I’ve never heard anything quite this original. Really. Well. I’m ready. Where’s the door?”

  “We are not going through a door.”

  “My mistake. It’ll be called a tunnel.”

  “We are going through that opening. Up there.” He pointed to a shadowy area just beyond the dangling wreckage of his chandelier.

  “Okay. And...you have a ladder? Right?”

  “We don’t need ladders.”

  “I’m going to just fly up there?”

  “I told you, mi amor. It’s called jumping.”

  Tane used a vital burst of energy to reach her and then launch upward. They swooped through the darkness, flew out into a moonless sky, and started gliding above the treetops. He aimed for a spot of light that was a bonfire. He didn’t stop. He didn’t dare.

  CHAPTER NINE

  The natives were restless tonight.

  Kat smirked. She had no one to share it with, but the thought was still funny, in a tongue-in-cheek kind of way. Actually, her entire world had that problem at the moment. How could it not? She was being babysat by a man claiming to be a vampire. Babysat. His idea of that was to stick her in a platform about a half-mile above a forest floor, tell her to stay put, and then disappear over the edge.

  This tree house didn’t have near the amenities of the first one. It was a lot smaller for one thing. Planking enclosed three sides, while the roof was a leaf-covered overhang that kept the elements at bay, and the edge didn’t have a railing. There also wasn’t a ladder, or stairs, or a rope, or even a vine to swing from. Jungle sounds intruded from every direction. An occasional monkey cry. Bird calls. The soft noise of drizzling rain. The buzzing of insects.

  Weird.

  None of the cloud of mosquitoes came inside a certain distance. Like the platform had an invisible bio-dome about it, or something. Nice to know there was a definite plus to Tane’s explanations...aside from the spectacular increase of power that had happened to her senses.

  She’d been out at night before. Chasing nocturnal birds required it. The experience hadn’t been quite this vivid, however. The air had a presence. Like a moist blanket wrapping about her. Even the rain carried a smell. Clean. Slightly citrusy. If she had to be stuck somewhere, this wasn’t half bad. At least everything was physically real. The tree house was sturdily built. And it was in an excellent location. Then again, location was everything when it came to real estate.

  Kat smiled at that thought, too.

  This platform was directly above a clearing where a lot of mostly naked guys danced around a roaring fire. They’d made it large, and kept feeding it against the rain. They had some decent musicians down there. More than three drummers. One fellow played a flute-thing. Another had a large horn. Their rhythm was
catchy. She admitted it as her body swayed.

  There didn’t seem to be any females in the entire bunch. Kat assigned a reason she liked. Their women were smarter. They had enough sense to stay inside on a night like this. Not stripe their bodies with a lot of white, black, and red paint, drink something intoxicating, and dance about with abandon, making a ton of noise in order to attract a monster.

  Like Tane.

  Kat immediately sent the thought away to join the mass of impossibilities she was already disregarding. She knew she’d have to deal with them at some point. But not yet. And not now. She’d worry about it when she was back to reality. When things got normal again. Maybe, not even then.

  Hmm.

  She really did possess incredible hearing and eyesight. She had no trouble following the action so far below her. Near impenetrable dark surrounded the tableau being enacted. If this was a ritual, it was a lengthy one. The red orange flames of the bonfire flickered and hissed, tossing sparks and ash. It cast grotesque shadows from the dancers out onto trees and deadfall. Their dancing seemed more erratic. Arm and leg movements much more fervent. The music got louder. They probably thought they were failing. But Tane wasn’t playing fair. His sacrificial victim was staked out at the base of an altar that looked like a skull. It was just outside the range of their firelight. Probably so they wouldn’t see the poor man get taken.

  And feasted on.

  Ugh.

  She quickly moved her attention again. The natives might not want to see it, but they were definitely interested. While the majority worked at their ritual, she could see quite a few men hidden in the jungle. Unmoving. Silent. They were all focused on the victim. That poor man was on his back, tied at the ankles and wrists, stretched out and indefensible. But it was all for naught. Tane hadn’t approached him. He was a shadow of motion, sneaking among the watchers, pulling an occasional man back from the area. Far back. And what he did then, she didn’t want to see. Not again. It was just a little too interesting. A bit fascinating. She’d actually found herself salivating. And that was beyond comprehension at the moment.

  Crap.

  Looked like Tane had just grabbed another native.