by Jessica Lee
“We also use what we term compulsion, or psychic influence, to help the humans experience as little pain as possible while we feed. The process doesn’t have to be painful or cruel.” He eased closer. His gaze almost a physical touch.
He studied her as if trying to ascertain how well she’d digested his latest revelation. “Please, come with me.” He reached out and clasped her arm, moving her toward the other side of the room. “Give us a moment,” Kenric ordered without looking back at his team.
“Where are we going?” She slapped at his hold on her arm, her feet doing their best to keep up with him.
“I’m finishing our conversation.”
“We could have finished where we were.” He slammed to a halt as quickly as they’d begun. “I’m not some dog on a leash you can just up and decide when it’s my time to heel,” she bit out through clenched teeth.
Kenric placed her back against the wall and blocked the others’ view. Reaching down, he took her hand in his. With his other, he lifted her chin with his fingertips, bringing them face-to-face. Or as close as her five-feet-four to his six-feet-six would allow. “No. You’re most certainly not a dog.”
He stepped closer, warming her with the heat of his body. She squirmed under his overwhelming presence. Their hips almost touched. A flash of disappointment washed over her, dousing a bit of her anger. Not that she was ready to let him know that.
“I need to explain something to you. And I didn’t want to do it with an audience.” This time, the sound of his words grew deeper, smoother. “If a vampire wishes, when he feeds, the process can be quite…pleasurable for the human.” He squeezed her hand gently and gave her the most erotic smile. It carried from his lips all the way to his eyes. The passion reflected there sent shivers of lightning racing down her spine.
It dawned on her that she’d stopped breathing. Her breath hitched, and she used the interruption to drop her gaze. Kenric stepped back, as if he’d suddenly remembered they weren’t alone. She rubbed the palms of her hands against her arms at the chill that had gripped her the moment he’d moved away.
“Sometimes it’s not pretty or pleasant, but it’s what we have to do to survive. Nevertheless, it’s who I am. It’s who we are.” He indicated with the tilt of his head to the group waiting patiently behind him. “Is this something you can live with?”
He asked the question with an expression devoid of emotion. Those dazzling blue irises bore into her soul as he waited for her response. No evidence of begging or pleading ever entered his gaze. Clearly, the decision was hers and hers alone.
She stood on the precipice of a monumental decision, the ramifications of which could change her life forever.
Even with what had transpired last night, deep inside, she’d already become more attracted to him than she’d like to admit. But it was there. No sense denying it.
He hadn’t really hurt her. In fact, he’d taken good care of her. Scared her? In the beginning, hell yeah. But not now. She didn’t fear him physically. Emotionally—she hadn’t quite decided.
Emily had to go with her gut. It told her this man lived as noble a life as possible with the cards he’d been dealt. Nobody had the right to judge him.
She could live with it. He did. But they would have to talk about his amnesia magic trick. No way was he going to mess with her mind.
That would never be a part of the deal.
Chapter Nine
Marguerite stared at the image she’d removed from the hidden bottom of her drawer. Gently, she traced the outline with the pads of her finger. “One day you’ll understand.” She nodded. “Once I make things right, you’ll be happy and see why I had to do the things that I did. Everyone will.” Her fangs lengthened and she snarled. “And they’ll bow, trembling before us.”
She breathed deep, regaining her composure before slipping the photo back into its protective sleeve and tucking it away. With a shove, Marguerite closed the compartment tight and tapped her high-heeled foot on the wooden floorboard, growing more impatient for Enrique’s return with each passing second. She lunged from the seat at her dresser, flew to the door of her master suite, and flung it wide open with a bang.
“What’s taking so long?” she shouted, startling her servants in the hall. Marguerite marched down the corridor, into the den, and over to her chaise longue. She parted the translucent gold panels of fabric and lay back on the crushed velvet of the seat. The sheer material of her emerald gown clung to her body, leaving little to the imagination.
Everything had been going exactly as planned since her arrival three months ago to South Carolina. She had never liked trusting a male with anything of importance. The chance for failure and disappointment was too high for her liking. But the risk was too great to take care of it herself. This time.
Enrique had better not screw up.
If he wanted to live.
Annoyed with her wait, she needed entertainment. A distraction. Marguerite motioned for the tall, blond, muscle-bound minion who stood against the wall. The vampire came forward and knelt before her. He pulled his shirt over his head and bared his chest, then dropped his head back, exposing the full length of his neck. A gift of his throat.
She wasn’t hungry. But waiting was so tedious, and the minion did look delectable. It had been a while since she had last tasted him. Marguerite pulled him closer and, without pretense, stabbed her fangs into his throat. He flinched, then let out a groan as she took her fill. As expected of her lovers, his hands roamed her body and pinched her hardened nipples. Lower still, he searched between the slit in her gown to her mound below. He found her core, and she thrust her pelvis into his palm.
His fingers worked through her slickened folds and into her heat as she continued to suckle at his neck. He thrust in time to each hard draw at his neck, driving deeper into her clenching depths, bringing her to a swift climax. Her orgasm gripped her, forcing her to release him. She rode the spasms until the waves of pleasure lulled her to a satisfied bliss.
“Very nice.” Marguerite licked at the trail of blood seeping from his wounds. “You’re in luck tonight. I’m in a giving mood.”
The minion jerked his head up. His eyes glowed with excitement. The tips of his already descended fangs glistened from underneath his upper lip. Marguerite lifted her arm and handed her wrist to the slave for his reward. The moment he reached for her, she drew back her offer and grabbed his head. She wrenched his face to meet her glare.
“You will stop when you’re instructed, or I will kill you,” she said then thrust her wrist back in his face.
He clutched her arm with both hands and quickly brought her offering to his mouth. His fangs sank into her flesh, but she didn’t flinch, her flesh and veins accustomed to centuries of this practice. He drank in large, greedy mouthfuls.
Marguerite dropped her head to the chaise’s arm and her mind flashed back more than three hundred years to a time when another young vampire had once hungrily fed from her vein. Kenric.
She vividly remembered the feel of his lips as they pulled at her flesh. The way his wavy ebony hair would brush against her skin. Her clitoris throbbed once again. She crossed her legs and clenched her thighs. The ache wasn’t for the vampire at her side but for the one who would not kneel. The one who would not willingly come to her bed or to her vein.
“Enough!”
The minion dropped her wrist with an agonized groan, then tore at the zipper of his pants. Marguerite grinned as his erection sprang free from its constraints. He reared his head back, and with a guttural cry, gave in to his release.
A prolonged squeak echoed through the large room, distracting her from the moans of her minion. Aged hinges complained under the weight of the double doors to her receiving parlor, announcing someone’s arrival. She’d taken up residence within an old colonial house shortly after her arrival to the area. The home, located in an isolated area southwest of Elizabeth Bay, provided exactly what she needed to continue in her endeavors. The sprawling mansion proved
large enough to hold the number of servants she required, while the layout of the grounds provided security for her growing army of vampires. With only one road accessing the property and the immediate perimeter cleared around the house, no one approached undetected.
Marguerite slid from her chaise, delighted to see Enrique had not returned empty-handed.
“Mistress, I present to you what you’ve requested.” Enrique bowed before her and tossed a barely conscious male at her feet.
The offering collapsed to the floor before struggling to push to his knees, unable to stand. Glazed eyes looked up as she glided forward. The man’s face held bruises and lacerations, no doubt from the hard battle with her DE-addicted vampires. He weaved, even on his knees, under the influence of the ketamine-filled darts Enrique had acquired.
Marguerite grabbed the swaying male by his long black hair and yanked his head back. His blank gray eyes stared at her with large, dilated pupils.
“You are a handsome one,” she said with a smile, stroking the short black goatee at his chin. “I shall enjoy you immensely.”
She laughed, then reached for the neck of his sweater and ripped the soft material from his body. He fell forward as the material gave way, his palms slapping the wooden floor from the weight of his impact. His bare back glared with the exact prize she’d hoped to find. An infinity symbol with a bloodied dagger piercing its center covered his left shoulder blade.
Marguerite smiled and bent forward. “Welcome to my home, Enclave Warrior,” she whispered into his ear.
…
“So, what’s the verdict, Wildflower? Can you live with what you know about who I am?” Layers of conflicting emotions flickered across Emily’s face as Kenric waited for her decision. She’d been pissed at his assertive tactics to maneuver her to a more private area. He wasn’t pleased about that. But he had had to get her alone. The woman had a way of turning him inside out and chipping away at the hard edge of his control. The look in her eyes had killed him. In that moment of his confession, everything had registered for her—he saw it in her eyes and in the accusing look she gave him.
She’d understood how far-reaching his powers as a vampire extended.
Even though what she’d experienced in the ER had not been consensual, he’d wanted her to know feeding could also be a very intimate experience. It didn’t have to be an act of violence. He didn’t take pleasure in abusing his power. He did what he had to, for survival.
Not sadistic pleasure.
He would run himself through before he ever became like Marguerite.
Kenric ground his back teeth, waiting for her answer. An even-bigger question loomed in the back of his mind. The one he kept trying his damnedest to avoid.
Was he prepared for what he needed to do if her answer was no?
He’d held her in his arms, imprinted her scent and taste. Could he remove her memories, walk away, and never look back? Only twenty-four hours had passed, and it annoyed the hell out of him that he didn’t like the idea of having to let her go. But there would be no other choice, if she said no.
After what felt like an eternity had passed, she parted her lips and spoke, “Yes, I think I can live with it.”
“Good.” Kenric dropped her hand and turned, hiding his sigh of relief, his stomach unwinding from its knotted state.
“Whoa, wait one minute there.” She grabbed his arm. He pivoted back around. “I said I could live with it, but that didn’t mean everything was settled, just like that.” Emily snapped her fingers. “We still need to talk about what this means.”
“What else is there to discuss?” Kenric’s voice dropped an octave as he leaned against the wall, his hand resting beside her head.
“Hey! Are we still planning to put our heads together over here and get this situation handled?” Guerin called out from the other side of the room.
Kenric glared over his shoulder. “Yeah, that’s the plan. Why? You got somewhere to be, Romeo?”
“No, nowhere to be, my man.” Guerin shook his head. “Just itching to get started, that’s all.”
“We can talk more later,” Kenric said, returning to Emily, his voice barely above a whisper. “I needed to confirm once more that you were on board with all this.” He brushed his knuckles along the delicate surface of her cheek. So very smooth. Her eyelids shuttered under his caress. Kenric yanked his thoughts and hand back from the road they were headed down. He needed to handle his present situation.
“It’s either black or white with me,” he said. “Either you can handle this, or you can’t. I’ve already said this upstairs, but I have to be sure you completely understand. I’ll be entrusting you not only with my own existence but with my entire Enclave’s.” He reached to brush her cheek once more but fisted his hand instead and dropped his arm to his side. “You’ve said you can handle this. Please be very sure, Wildflower. If you give me your word, it will be all I ever need to hear.”
Emily chewed her lower lip and searched his face, and her heart, one more time before she answered. “You have my word,” she breathed.
Kenric leaned in as if to kiss her but, at the last second, froze. Instead of the feel of his lips, two fingertips trailed down her cheek, then dropped. She gasped. Damn him. He continued to hover above her lips, his breathing harsh. At least he was breathing. The air felt locked inside her chest, waiting for his next move.
And then it came.
He closed the distance, but a second before his lips touched hers, he diverted his path, brushing the rough texture of his five o’clock shadow along her cheek. The warmth of his breath at her ear heated her core.
“Good. Because I wasn’t ready to let you go.” He turned without another word and headed back to his team. Her knees wobbled as she returned to the group and took her seat. Emily tried to ignore the stares that burned into the side of her head as the team waited to hear from their leader.
Kenric moved to stand beside her. This time, he placed his hand on her shoulder before he spoke. She pinched her lips tight, hiding the satisfied smile.
“We will proceed as planned,” he said. “Emily will be assisting us in whatever way she can. To put everyone’s mind at ease, she is fully aware of what might happen if others find out what she’s learned today. I’ve placed my trust in her. As you know, that is not something I do lightly, since she’ll be aiding not only me but the entire Enclave. Emily is now considered under my protection. Therefore, she is under the protection of the Enclave. Understood?”
The weight of his words crashed on her shoulders. He trusted her completely. She would have never guessed how heavy it felt to carry the load of someone’s faith in you. It was damn hefty.
Emily held her breath as two of the team’s warriors approached her.
“It will be my honor.” Logan knelt before her, taking her hand in his. He lifted her hand, placing it near his lips. Was he going to kiss her? She braced herself.
Only he inhaled instead.
The air slid from her lungs. It didn’t feel intimate, like when Kenric had done something similar upstairs. That had made her heart skip a beat. This was more like a simple handshake. All very formal and ceremonial.
Next, Guerin came and proceeded in the same manner. “It will be my honor as well.” Placing her hand close to his face, he breathed deep.
Emily glanced up at Kenric, about to ask about all the smelling, but he beat her to it.
“Each warrior has taken your scent, because you are now under their protection. They have imprinted you in their minds. Should the need ever arise, if you’re near, they will find you.
“Impressive,” she mumbled, staring at the back of her hand.
“Two of the Enclave’s warriors are still on patrol. When they return, both will take the same vow to keep you safe. You are important to me, therefore, you are important to them.”
Over the next few hours, Emily worked with Elle reviewing the records she’d been able to crack within the hospital’s system. Instead of deleting the files
which showed anomalous results, they entered bogus, normalized ones. Too many of the staff involved in Kenric’s case would remember the John Doe admitted on the thirteenth of November. For the record to disappear entirely would raise even more suspicion on top of his vanishing act.
Alongside her and Elle, Kenric examined every detail. Emily couldn’t help noticing the camaraderie that existed between Elle and Kenric. She wondered how long they’d known each other and how exactly Elle had come to be part of the Enclave. Had there ever been more to their relationship? God, she wanted to groan from the green and ugly monster stirring her insides each time Kenric glanced at Gabrielle. But nothing about their interaction suggested more than a common bond. She shouldn’t feel anything at all about a man she’d only met yesterday. When this was over, she had to make an appointment with her ob-gyn. Maybe her estrogen levels were out of whack.
“How about tomorrow night?”
“What?” Emily dropped her pen and glanced up in Kenric’s direction. “What about tomorrow night?”
“If you’re working tomorrow night, I’ll meet you there. Together, we can make sure all my blood samples do a disappearing act.”
“Yeah, sure. Tomorrow night sounds good.”
“Perfect,” he said. “With all of the samples gone, they won’t be able to reconfirm or deny the changes in the results. Good job, ladies.” Kenric lowered his gaze to Emily. She cleared her throat and quickly turned her attention back to her notes, trying to hide her smile. He didn’t need any more encouragement.
With the complete names of the consulting specialist and emergency physician obtained from John Doe’s record, Logan and Guerin volunteered to pay them a visit and alter a few select memories. Elle deleted the request for the consult, since the blood work no longer indicated a problem. Everything from files to thoughts needed to match.
At last, Kenric spoke the words she’d waited for all evening. “Let’s get you home.” He turned back to Elle. “I’d like to discuss the other matter with you that Guerin asked you to work on when I get back.”