Dirk The Savior - Book 3 of the Raven Series

by Rhiannon Neeley

  The foul stench of a Clutch of vampires was unmistakable and soon he had it in his nostrils. He moved through the oncoming darkness with the litheness of a huge cat as he made his way to the entrance of the mine.

  * * * *

  Casey peeked through her eyelashes, sensing that Connor had moved closer. Strange, ever since he had first drawn blood from her, Casey had felt a faint connection with him. She couldn't read Connor's thoughts or determine his movements if he wasn't in the same room with her but when he was near, she felt him as if they were immersed in water. Every movement that Connor made sent out ripples in the air. Casey felt them wash over her, the barest of sensations. Vaguely she wondered if the connection between them would strengthen every time he attacked her.

  She watched Connor, her heart quickening as he moved from darkness into the warmth of the candlelight. Casey was again struck by his features.

  Connor Fagan was tall and lean, a good five inches over six feet. His hair cascaded over his shoulders to his waist. Thick and full, its pure white tone shimmered in the candlelight. His features were strong and chiseled, his jaw square. His skin was as pale as an ivory statue, luminescent in the candlelight. He seemed to glow from within. His lips were full, hiding the deadly sharpness of his fangs behind their pale rose color. Those lips, that mouth, on any other man would be considered very kissable. But his eyes—they held the fire of Hell in their depths. Solid black with crimson centers, Connor's eyes hypnotized Casey as he approached, drawing her in.

  Casey's eyes opened wide as her mind became drugged with his stare. Wicked angel, her mind told her. That was Connor Fagan, a beautiful, wicked angel of death—dangerous but strangely enticing.

  * * * *

  Connor smiled as he watched Casey succumb to his approach. She wooed easily, even though he had only marked her once. As he moved closer still, Connor reveled in the look of fear—coupled with burgeoning desire—in her eyes. Their connection to each other would soon strengthen. It was time for Connor to feed. He ran his tongue across his lips, his saliva flowing at the mere thought of her sweet taste.

  Connor stood over her now, his body reverberating with every beat of Casey's heart. It echoed over and through him, urging his hunger on. And his hunger wasn't the only thing that had been awakened by this delectable morsel.

  Connor Fagan's body had sprung to a new life that he hadn't felt in centuries. Pure desire for a woman's warm touch. This woman. Connor reached one hand toward her. “Come,” he said.

  * * * *

  Casey felt the pull of Connor's desire. She clasped the hand that he offered, an indescribable hunger growing inside her, luring her into his embrace. His hand was cool to the touch, but still it seemed to burn her skin. Connor drew her up into his embrace, cradling her like a child, his long-fingered hands weaving themselves into her hair.

  The fear that trickled through her calmed as Connor pulled her close so that she rested her cheek on a chest that was rock hard and massive.

  Yes, the fear she felt was subsiding. This time, Connor had beckoned her as a lover would. So unlike the first time he had attacked. The first time, he had ravaged her. A starved mountain lion would have been easier to overpower than Connor Fagan that first time he had sunk his fangs into her throat. When his vicious teeth had entered the tender skin of her neck, Casey had thought that she was as good as dead. She had thought that her throat was about to be ripped out by this monstrous apparition.

  Thankfully, she had passed out during Connor's first attack. Then when she had awakened, sore and weak from loss of blood, she had opened her eyes to the darkness of this mine. Now her body was drawn to this creature of beauty, danger and decadence. Fear had been her constant companion. Until now. Confusion at her strange feelings of hunger filled her. A hunger for Connor's touch, his fangs upon her neck, buried deep in her skin. The realization of what it was she yearned for struck Casey like a runaway freight train. Her blood raced, her heart kicked in like a marathon runner's. She tilted her head and looked up. Connor's face was angelic in the flickering light. His eyes were closed, his mouth smiling softly.

  Casey frowned. She was torn. How could such a beast look so—pure?

  Then, he opened his eyes and met her gaze.

  Casey's heart missed a beat. His black eyes with their fiery centers revealed the evil beneath the façade. If Connor Fagan did have a soul—which Casey sincerely doubted—it was shriveled and dead, diseased with his decadence.

  “Decadence?” Connor said lowly. His smile widened. “You have yet to experience true decadence, my dear.”

  Casey's breath caught as his hands moved from her hair to wrap around her trembling body. “I will be your teacher in this matter,” he continued, his dangerous mouth pressed against her ear.

  Casey's heart tripled its tempo when her feet left the floor of the mine. She clutched at Connor's shirt, her eyes wide. She had no idea how powerful this vampire was until now. Glancing down, she bit her lip. The floor was now at least four feet below them. Connor was levitating them into the air.

  Connor chuckled, the sound rumbling from his chest and reverberating through Casey's bones.

  Casey gasped as he turned them both, placing them in a position with her beneath him, lying prone as lovers on a cushion of coal-dust laden air. Defensively, her arms encircled Connor's neck, afraid that she would fall. “W-what is happening?” she stuttered. Her mind was clouded with unbidden emotions, fear and confusion.

  Connor lowered his face to hers, his thick, pale hair falling around them in a silk curtain. His eyes held her own imprisoned. Casey felt one of his hands move to the nape of her neck, the other to cup her bottom. She was suspended in the hands of a demon.

  “A demon, she thinks,” Connor whispered against her mouth. “The demon is about to show you the sensual side of evil.”

  Casey drew in his breath. Icy cold filled her hot mouth like a rush of strong peppermint. She closed her eyes, a feeling of what could only be called need raced through her, raising her temperature, and enhancing her fear. She wanted him to feed. The fact that she wanted it only added fuel to her fear.

  Connor's long tongue traced her lips. Casey arched toward him, her body a traitor. She parted her lips, straining toward his wet touch, wanting him to plunge his tongue deep into her mouth. Wanting his invasion.

  The sensation of floating only increased Casey's desire to relent to his seduction. She moaned as Connor ran his tongue along the line of her jaw and settled at her neck. Her hands grasped his shoulders, clawing at him, trying to bring him closer while she tilted her head to allow him access to her long, slender neck. Casey's body betrayed her mind. While her psyche screamed for her to fight, her body relinquished all control to this being who held her. She vibrated with the need for release as she strained against him, wrapping one of her legs around Connor's hip.

  Connor languidly licked the sensitive place where her neck met her shoulder, his icy tongue sending shivers through her along with the fire of his erotic touch. Casey felt a dampness grow between her legs as she tangled one hand in his thick mane and guided him to the previous mark he had left on her neck when he had drunk from her the first time. “Please,” she pleaded, pressing his hungry mouth against her neck. Levitating in the air made her body feel free of inhibitions and her need for Connor to feed consumed her. Her body was awakening to a sexual intensity that Casey had never known even as her mind recoiled at the fact that she was enthralled by one as monstrous as Connor.

  Casey struggled with her warring emotions while Connor continued his seduction, drawing his tongue up the length of her throat, closer and closer to the feeding wound that now throbbed with every beat of her heart. Casey gritted her teeth but it did no good. His hands held her tightly while she drifted in a floating sea of pure lust. “Connor,” she said, her voice thick with yearning.

  Connor groaned, then sunk his fangs into her neck with such force that Casey almost fainted from the mixture of pain and pleasure. A warmth spread down through
her body. Down and down, low to her belly. She screamed, the sound echoing from the stone walls, her mind reeling while her body rampaged toward sweet release with every pull of his sucking mouth. The pleasure was overpowering the pain as Connor drank, pulling her essence from her. The leg she had thrown over his hip clenched him tighter to her body, matching the pressure of her hand that was tangled in his hair to hold his demon mouth against her flesh. She felt the hardness of his erection, pushing against her now completely wet womanhood. Connor jerked, his fangs digging deeper. He groaned deep in his throat.

  “Yesss,” Casey hissed, throwing her other leg around him, grinding her hips against his. “More, Connor,” she said, her heated body now in full control. She wanted more than his fangs buried inside her. Much more.

  Thoughts of a savior had completely vanished as she felt herself surrendering to the passion that assailed her. The only thing Casey wanted—needed—at this moment was to be taken.

  * * * *

  Connor savored the sweet flavor of Casey's lifeblood, letting it roll slowly over his parched tongue. Her essence crackled through his veins like lightning, first warming him, then setting him on fire.

  He raised his head from Casey's slender neck, laving his tongue across the wound to close it so she wouldn't lose too much of her tasty blood. He was not yet ready to turn her completely. He wanted to look into her eyes. Taste her mouth. Let her taste her own blood on his lips. Connor felt her need. Not only the first stirrings of a hunger that she couldn't name—the hunger of a fledgling vampire for its first taste of blood—but also her newfound appetite for the touch of a man.

  Connor's own body had answered her call for his touch. He pictured in his mind a myriad of erotic scenes as he taught her what it meant to be a female and a vampire. Connor wanted Casey. Now.

  He caught her heated gaze, locking her eyes to his. He stroked his tongue across her lips, smiling when she tried to rise to his mouth for a kiss. He pulled back a fraction, breathing in her scent. Making her wait.

  Suddenly, Connor froze.

  There was someone coming.

  Chapter Two

  Connor Fagan held Casey in his arms tightly, his mouth hovering just above her lips. He listened, noticing the almost complete silence of the movement. He scanned the area outside the mine, trying to pinpoint the thought processes of whatever was coming. There was nothing. Not even animal thoughts.

  Another vampire, he thought immediately. And not one of his own Clutch. He had drunk little from her, wanting to prolong this feeding, and was still famished for the sweetness of her warm blood. Connor had heard her plea for help in her mind earlier, the plea so strong and poignant that she hadn't been able to mask it. He wondered if this intruder had heard her. It was evident that this unknown was coming to prey on the injured and had caught the scent of a fresh wound, opened by his fangs. Connor slowly released her, gently lowering her to the ground. He turned and faced the tunnel entrance where he felt the intruder would emerge. The woman's plea in her thoughts would have drawn another vampire. It would have been like an injured animal's cry.

  But it was not one of his own Clutch.

  Connor waited.

  * * * *

  Casey sank to the ground, amazed that Connor had released her. Something had warned him off.

  Her body trembled, an unnamed hunger nibbling at her insides. She looked up at Connor. His eyes glowed like coals in the dim light, his mouth crimson with her blood. Casey's hands flew to her neck while her eyes widened in horror.

  She had wanted him. Wanted him to take her as no other man had before.

  Casey swallowed hard, shame washing over her. She wasn't her true self when Connor was near. Her conscience argued with her. He had the ability to take over her mind. To make her do things, feel things that under normal circumstances Casey would never consider. At least not with a monster like Connor Fagan.

  Casey took a deep breath and forgave herself for what she had almost allowed to happen. It wasn't her fault, these feelings. She was dealing with a preternatural being, a vampire who could control her mind. To a point. Next time, she would try harder to fend off his invasion of her brain and his control over her responses.

  Watching Connor, Casey realized that he was on full alert. He cocked his head ever so slightly, as if listening for something.

  Or someone, she thought.

  Could it be that she had connected with someone? She had been able to speak into certain people's minds when she was younger but she hadn't tried it in many years. There had to be a special connection between herself and the person she was trying to contact. There was no one out here that would have that connection with her. Her family was dead, she the lone survivor of a car crash many years ago. She missed having this strange connection with someone. It made her feel so totally alone in the world. So isolated. So bereft. If she could only find someone to get that feeling back again. It would have to be someone special, very special. But her ability to convey her thoughts was more than rusty.

  Connor stood over her, as if on guard.

  Casey's eyes had adjusted to the dim light of the mine. Connor liked candlelight, but only a dim light. There were two candles lit now, above her and to the right in a niche in the stone. Casey squinted, trying to look around Connor's legs to see what, or who, was coming. Was it one of the others? One of the vampires that also lived here in the mine?

  Suddenly, a man appeared in the light at the entrance.

  Casey's heart rolled over in her breast.

  It was not one of the others.

  He was of medium build with coal black hair that fell over his forehead in long strands, hiding his eyes. He was dressed in blue jeans and a white long sleeved shirt, the cuffs rolled up, unbuttoned halfway down to his trim waist. Casey watched as the man took one long-fingered hand and brushed the hair back out of his eyes.

  Casey felt her heart rend with the beauty of this man's eyes. Even in the dim candlelight, his eyes were the color of a clear, aquamarine pool. He met her gaze and she sensed one word.

  Savior.

  Connor took a step toward the man. Casey reached out instinctively, grabbing at his leg to stop him. Connor glared down at her, his eyes red fire. Immediately, she released her hold.

  Connor turned his hateful gaze back on the intruder. “What do you want?” he growled.

  The man looked at Connor, no fear in his eyes. Then the blue eyes turned back to her. “I'm hungry.”

  Casey couldn't believe what she was hearing. Why? she asked silently sending her question to the man.

  His eyes locked onto hers. Trust me, he said, his voice soothing in her mind.

  At once, she was calm.

  Connor chuckled. “What makes you think I would allow you to feed on this one?” He waved his clawed hand at Casey.

  The man ran his tongue over his lips. “I'm starving.”

  “There are animals you could drain. You don't need a human.”

  The man took a step toward the Connor. “I need rich blood. I am new. I can't survive on squirrels.” The man's face held a look of determination. He was not backing down in the face of the vampire.

  Connor hesitated. He cocked his head to the side and drew in a deep breath, his nostrils flaring. Scenting.

  Casey reinforced the curtain she had drawn down on her mind. She didn't want Connor to read her thoughts. Not now. Not when her savior had come. But the man was pushing it. Taunting Connor. And what did he mean, he was starving? He didn't look like a vampire to her, but he spoke as if he were one.

  * * * *

  Dirk knew that he was walking a fine line. He had managed to send her a message to trust him without the vampire overhearing it. Now he had to convince the vampire that he needed the woman's blood to survive. He hoped that the vampire wasn't too attached to the woman. It would make it even harder to get her out of here.

  The monster cocked his head, studying Dirk. Dirk didn't flinch under the thing's hot stare.

  “Do I know you?” Connor
asked, squinting.

  “No.” Dirk stared straight into the glowing red eyes.

  Connor slowly moved his head side to side, looking Dirk up and down. He took another deep breath. There was a flicker in his eyes, then he smiled. “Swear an allegiance,” Connor said.

  “What?”

  “Swear an allegiance to me. Then, I shall allow you to feed.”

  Dirk went still inside. Swearing an oath to a vampire was against everything he believed in. Even though he knew it would be an empty vow, it stuck in his throat. He had to force himself to say the words. “I swear,” he whispered unblinkingly.

  Connor eyed him. Suddenly, he stepped to the side. With a wide wave, he gave Dirk passage. “Feed,” he said, “but not too deeply. This one is mine. You may drink, but do not finish her.”

  Dirk nodded slightly. He approached the woman who lay on the ground, looking up into his eyes with such confusion. As he knelt down beside her, his mind reeled. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. Her skin was pale ivory, luminescent in the candlelight. Her hair was dark, raven black, her eyes a deep chocolate, with lashes ringing them thickly.

  But now, he was going to have to do something that he had never done before.

  He was going to have to drink her blood.

  He slid his hand to the nape of her neck and gently urged her toward him. Her eyes never left his.

  With a slight smile, he gave her a wink.

  Then he lowered his mouth to her neck. There was an open wound, at her jugular, where the vampire had recently fed. Dirk hoped against all hope that he could pull this off without the monster realizing that he was human.

  * * * *

  Casey fell into the placid blue of his eyes. There was a pureness in this man that she had never seen before. He had asked her to trust him. She could see it in his gaze that he wouldn't hurt her. Though she knew what he intended to do, she also knew that he was not a monster. He may not be completely human, but he was not a bloodsucker like Connor, who watched over them now. Even though she was confused, she felt as if she could trust him.