by Brooklyn Ann
Silas slowly stepped closer, expression unreadable. Much like Razvan had, he took her hand and bent down. She gasped as his tongue darted out and laved a hot path up her arm. The erotic sensation was so powerful she had to put a hand on his shoulder to remain on her feet. Silas raised a finger to his lips and pierced it with a fang. Gently, he trailed his bleeding finger along the cut. It began to tingle and heal before her eyes.
“Better?” he asked.
“Yes,” she whispered, enraptured with his eyes.
He stared down at her for the longest time, seeming to analyze every part of her as if he wanted to devour her. Finally, his gaze rested on her breasts, barely hidden under the black velvet bra. Heat flooded her body.
At last, Silas cleared his throat and met her gaze. “When you are dressed, meet Razvan and me in my chamber… the one I don’t sleep in.”
“’Kay,” she managed to squeak.
Her hands shook as she put on her top. For some reason it didn’t make her feel as secure as she’d expected. There was no doubt as to the subject of this impending meeting. Akasha was cornered, no longer allowed to hide her secrets.
Well, after throwing Razvan through a sliding glass door, I suppose it’s hardly a secret anymore. A self deprecating smile curved her lips as she headed down the corridor to Silas’s fake bedroom. On the heels of that thought sprouted a seed of worry. What would the Elders think about her freakish strength?
When she arrived, Akasha saw that though they were solemn, Silas and Razvan didn’t seem to be angry with one another. Instead, their attention was fixated upon her. The largest sword of Silas’s collection had been taken down from the wall and lay on the floor at their feet.
“Pick up the sword, Akasha,” Silas commanded.
A thousand questions darted through her mind, but she obeyed. The sword was heavy, but she lifted it easily and held it above her head.
“Try it with one hand.”
She did. Again, it was easy. Razvan smiled triumphantly and it was all she could do not to bring the flat of the blade down upon his head.
Silas spoke again. “The sword you are holding is a Claymore. Only the largest warriors of my clan could wield it. It’s a two-handed sword and should be physically impossible for a tiny thing like you to lift, much less handle it like a rapier.”
“You have superhuman strength, pet mortal,” Razvan declared. “Now, how did that happen?”
“I already told you, I don’t know.” She handed the sword back to Silas. “I was telling the truth.”
“But surely you must know something.” He stalked towards her, ready to renew his intimidation act.
“I don’t!” she cried in mournful desperation. “Do you think I don’t want to know? To know once and for all why I’m the freak that I am? Fuck, I’d almost kill to know why!”
“Maybe something happened to you in the past and you just have to search your memories.” Silas’s gentle voice pulled her back from her helpless confusion.
“A lot of things have happened to me,” Akasha retorted, then her eyes widened as she grasped his words. But can I do it? She straightened her spine. I have to. “Silas, I don’t think I can tell you all that happened to me… but I can show you.” She tilted her head, baring her neck.
She remembered him saying he could see a mortal’s entire life as he fed from them. Both vampires regarded her in stunned silence. Then Razvan began to clap slowly as if he had witnessed a really good play. Smartass.
“All right,” Silas whispered, eyes flaming with hunger. “Razvan, you may take your leave. I will tell you everything tomorrow evening.”
“Very well. I bid you two adieu.” Slowly, he rose up into the air, stopping before his head hit the ceiling.
“You can fly?” Akasha’s fists clenched in effort not to yank him down and beat the shit out of him. “You bastard! I thought I actually could have killed you.”
“Sorry to disappoint you, little one.” He smiled, baring his fangs as his feet returned to the plush carpet.
Akasha bit back another curse. She was disappointed, but she wasn’t going to rise to his bait and attack him again. Instead, she regarded him with cold eyes.
“Why were you so afraid then?” She’d seen the fear of death in a man’s eyes before. It was unforgettable and Razvan’s sinister black gaze had borne a glimmer of it.
He strode over to her and captured her gaze as if he intended to make her his next meal. She stared back, unafraid. Vampire mind control didn’t work on her, she’d learned.
“Because, Akasha, you meant it.” His black eyes were hard as coal. “You meant to end my existence with every fiber of your being.” Then he was gone.
“Are you ready, lass?” Silas’s thick Scottish brogue wreaked havoc on her senses.
Slowly, Akasha turned to face him, trembling with a realization.
She was alone with Silas and this time he really was going to bite her.
Chapter Twenty-one
“Can I come back in a few minutes?” Akasha’s voice trembled. The air was so thick with tension it was hard to breathe. “I need time to collect myself.”
Silas nodded and sat on the bed. His voice still held a husky edge, making her legs weak. “Just be sure that you indeed return. You declared you would let me feed from you before a witness. You cannot go back on it.”
Biting her lip at the finality of his words, Akasha walked quickly to her room and threw open her closet door. She had to turn on the light and go to the very back before she found what she was looking for. Minutes later, she smoothed her hands down the black velvet dress that Beau prodded her to buy on their first shopping expedition.
It felt soft and feminine and horribly unfamiliar. Akasha had never before seen the right moment to wear it.
This moment slapped her in the face as the right time. She would let down all her barriers for Silas. To her, wearing a dress for him delivered the message that she was willing to trust him not to do anything awful to her.
After carefully putting on makeup, following Xochitl’s and Aurora’s hints from memory, she took one last look in the mirror, and left the room.
When she knocked on his “bedroom” door, Silas opened it and the stunned look on his face might have been funny if this wasn’t such a cataclysmic time in her life.
His eyes drank her in like she was something delicious and forbidden. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered as he took her hand and led her to the bed. “I can’t bespell you, as you seem to be immune, but I will do my best to be gentle.”
Akasha trembled as she sat, ruining her attempt at nonchalance. “Silas? Promise me you won’t hate me for what you see.”
He looked at her in surprise before tilting her chin up to meet his gaze. “Akasha, I could never hate you.”
The vampire placed a chaste kiss on her cheek before brushing her mass of ebony curls away from her neck. “Are you ready?”
His eyes glowed with hungry fire. For a moment her heart pounded in her throat as she realized what he was and what he was going to do to her. Base instincts told her to flee, but there was no turning back now.
“Yes,” she whispered.
Silas lowered his mouth to her neck, and she shivered in delight at the sensation. Then there was sharp pain as his fangs pierced her flesh before she floated away into oblivion.
***
As Akasha’s sweet blood flowed into his mouth, Silas saw her life and emotions flash before his eyes.
He saw her parents murdered by uniformed men.
He saw her recover from her mute shock. He saw her flee from the abusive zealot and take to living on the streets.
He saw her sharing food with other homeless people until a prostitute warned her to leave after the local pimp noticed her.
He saw Max, the grizzled retired biker who became a second father to her. He saw him teach her how to fix cars and give her his late wife’s biker jacket.
He felt her heartbreak when Max was arrested.
Bu
t the last thing he saw chilled his bones and churned his stomach.
Akasha jumped at the rumble of an approaching car. Her shoulders tensed beneath the straps of her backpack as she was bathed in the glow of the headlights…so exposed.
“Hey Hon, wanna ride?” the driver called.
“No thanks, I’m going home.” She cringed but continued walking.
The door opened. Akasha quickened her pace. A gun clicked.
“Drop the bag and come here,” the man growled as he stepped out of the car, his pistol trained on her with one hand, the other scratching his sagging gut. “Run, and I’ll blow your fuckin’ head off.”
Oh shit Oh shit Oh shit, she thought as her backpack thudded on the ground. Her feet dragged her closer to the beast brandishing metallic death.
“You’re a pretty little thing.” He scratched his stubbly chin. “Too bad this has to be quick. Pull down your pants.”
Oh shit Oh shit OH SHIT! Max had warned her about this… what men wanted and the lengths some would go to get it.
“I mean it! Right fuckin’ off!” His greasy fingers grabbed her, digging into her flesh as he slammed her against the car.
Akasha bit her lip and with trembling hands, fumbled with the button on her jeans. The barrel of the gun glared at her with its one dark eye. The man ordered her to bend over the hood of the car. Hot metal beneath her palms was sharp contrast to the cold hard steel of the gun pressing into the back of her skull.
Moments later, something else pressed against her, driving in, splitting her apart. Akasha screamed and he slapped her with his free hand, making her ears ring with the blow. The bastard thrust into her mercilessly; pain exploded throughout her body. She bit her tongue hard, tasting blood as her mind screamed: Not fair!
If it weren’t for that pathetic gun, she could overpower him in a heartbeat. Snap his neck with a flick of her wrist. But though she was strong, she doubted she was bulletproof. She bled just as easy as anyone else did.
So Akasha bore the violation with clenched teeth, her fingertips denting the Cadillac’s hood, projecting her mind away from the pain, towards anticipation of the end.
With a final grunt, the man removed himself from her. The gun left her head. Akasha waited. When she heard the rustle of his pants being pulled up, she whipped around. Her fist connected with his wrist, snapping the bone in his arm, and the gun sailed off.
Akasha flew at him, howling with rage, punching, kicking, and screaming. She threw him against the car, slamming him repeatedly against the door. He sank to the ground. She buried her hands in his greasy hair and bashed his head against the asphalt.
Over and over again and it still wasn’t enough, never enough. She screamed and bashed, screamed and bashed until the man’s head came apart in her hands. The sensation jerked her out of her fervor like an M-80 exploding inside her skull.
What she held in her hands felt like goulash mixed with shards of ceramic.
Squelch…A hunk of brain hit the pavement.
Her mother’s voice sang in her memory: Humpty dumpty sat on a wall… Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...
Akasha scrambled to her feet and vomited in the ditch. When she was reduced to dry heaves, she looked at the blood on her hands, back at the corpse, then back at her hands.
“I killed him,” she whispered with no remorse. All she felt was terror of being caught and thrown in prison. As she scooped up her dusty backpack her eyes darted to the Cadillac. She had to get out of here.
On the passenger floorboard was a bottle of tequila. Whenever she thought of what she’d done, she took a big slug. The road blurred in her vision, but she kept driving until the car sputtered and died.
She stumbled out of the car and threw up again, drunk and still in shock. Her body screamed for her to lie down, but she changed her bloodstained clothes, burned them, and kept walking. She had to get away.
Hours later, a police officer stopped her. By sunrise, she was still in the interrogation room, clinging to the lie that she’d run away from abusive parents in California. Thankfully, they appeared to believe her.
The officer sighed. “I’m sorry, but we have to track down your parents. It’s policy. I’m sure you’ve been reported missing, so soon I’ll have the information I need. I hoped you’d be a good girl and save us both the time.” The lady cop smiled smugly and left. What a bitch.
Akasha was sent to a transitional group home. After a few months the police gave up the search for the fictitious parents. She was never connected with the murder. The state assigned her a social security number and after some education tests, Mrs. Kenzie enrolled her as a freshman in high school. All forms said she was fourteen.
“But I told you I’m sixteen,” she had protested.
The caseworker’s sweet smile was sickening in its falseness. “You look younger. Of course, if you just tell us who your parents are, we could look up your birth certificate and this will all be sorted out.”
Akasha didn’t budge and eventually she was forgotten by the state authorities, a dirty secret swept under the rug. She endured the loneliness of the group home until Silas swooped into her life like a dark angel and changed everything. And through him she discovered an emotion long forgotten: Love.
Chapter Twenty-two
Silas reverently lowered Akasha to the bed, gazing down at her in wonder. She loves me! He could scarcely believe a precious creature like her could love a monster, but he’d experienced the proof through her eyes and thoughts. His brows knit in a frown as he noticed the pallor of her delicate skin, remembering how much blood he’d taken. He bit his wrist and pressed it to her mouth.
“Drink, but only a little or you’ll become like me,” he commanded.
Slowly her lashes lifted and she obeyed. Her mouth on his skin was a symphony of pleasure. Too soon, Akasha pulled away, color instantly returned to her cheeks. “Wow. I feel like I just had two of Xochitl’s Red Bulls.”
He managed a smile. “The effect of our blood never ceases to amaze me.”
Unable to hold back any longer, Silas pulled her onto his lap and whispered, “Oh Akasha, you were so brave.”
The tears came slowly at first. Akasha tried to blink them back, but they trickled faster down her cheeks, burning her eyes. She gave up the fight and buried her face deeper into his chest, body racked with choking sobs.
Silas held her tight, stroking her hair just as he had in visions. He knew now that she hadn’t cried since she was a child, and it was excruciatingly difficult for her.
***
It felt good to cry Akasha realized, and clung to the vampire she loved, warm and safe in his arms. The feeling was surprisingly cleansing and she never wanted to let it go. When the tears finally stopped, she dared to look up at Silas. His eyes shone down at her, so green, like the forest in the springtime. A silken lock of his hair caressed her cheek. He was so beautiful…it almost hurt to look at him.
“Silas,” she gasped, remembering his confession the night she learned his secret. I held you in my arms. You were crying. “Your vision!”
“Yes,” he said simply and kissed the tears from her face. The soft brush of his lips made her flesh sing with awareness. “I’ll never let anyone hurt you again. I love you, Akasha,” he whispered, and covered her mouth with his before she could reply.
Akasha took a shaky breath as more tears nearly came from his declaration. She’d been so afraid that if he knew the truth about her, the things she’d done, he’d be disgusted. His kiss deepened and she forgot all else as her body filled with heat. A whimper escaped her and she tangled her hands in his hair, returning the kiss with all the passion in her being.
She broke away and raised a hand to his cheek, pleading eyes meeting his. “Please, Silas, make love to me. Show me it isn’t all bad.”
Silas’s eyes widened and his hard form stiffened in her arms. “Are you certain you want me to do this?”
“Yes! I love you, Silas. Now please, make it not hurt anymore, make the shame go
away.” Akasha met his gaze which was suddenly hard to read. “You want me, don’t you?” A kernel of doubt sprouted in her stomach.
The vampire’s eyes glowed green fire. His gaze was like a caress, gently touching every inch of her body, making her shiver.
“Oh yes,” he said softly. “I want you very much. But after all I’ve seen I do not wish for you to change your mind later and turn to me with accusing eyes. I have endured your mistrust long enough.”
Akasha bit her lip, guilt mingling with her desire. “I won’t, I swear.”
Silas regarded her seriously. “This is what you want then?” He caressed her cheek as if she were something infinitely precious to him.
She nodded and fought the urge to lower her eyes.
“Then kiss me, Akasha.”
Heart pounding, she slowly leaned forward to touch her lips against his. She kissed him feather light at first, then increasing the pressure as she reached up to stroke his hair. Electric tremors of pleasure reverberated through her being, causing her head to swim with dizziness. But her efforts were rewarded as Silas’s arms wrapped around her body, pulling her tight against him. Tentatively, her tongue darted out to taste him.
His embrace grew powerful and deliciously crushing. The kiss became more fervent as he laid her on the soft bed. Akasha tangled her hands in his midnight hair and reveled in the feel of his weight on top of her. Silas kissed her until her lips were swollen and tingly, but still he did not stop.
He rolled with her on the bed until she was on top of him. Akasha sucked in a breath at the feel of his hardness pressing against her core. His hands stroked her hair and caressed her body until she was ready to growl in impatience for him to satisfy her aching need.
Silas pulled her back up to a sitting position. For a moment she thought he’d changed his mind, but then he was grabbing her dress, pulling it off, and a new, gentler fear came. Now he would see her naked. No man had seen her naked, not even her rapist.
After he removed her bra, he stared hungrily at her breasts for an endless moment, eyes aflame. Heat rose to her cheeks.