Rajmund

by D. B. Reynolds

  "Rajmund,” Krystof said smoothly. He was sitting on the same settee where the girl had lain the other night. He leaned back into a pillowed corner, legs crossed at the knee, one hand draped gracefully over the upholstered arm, while the other was on Simon's head, stroking his fine, brown hair as if he were some sort of dog kneeling next to his master. But Krystof wasn't Simon's master.

  Raj felt his fury soar and tamped it down, knowing this was the reaction Krystof was hoping for. He watched the old man's face and saw the disappointment there. He smiled. “I believe you have something of mine,” he said mildly.

  Krystof laughed lightly, but the look he gave Raj was not amused. “But, Rajmund,” he chided softly, his voice growing hard when he continued, “you're not supposed to have anything of your own."

  Raj's smile only grew, and for a moment, he saw a glimmer of fear replace the smug look in his Sire's eyes. “Let's not play games, Krystof. What is it you want?"

  The vampire lord shrugged gracefully and stood, leaving Simon behind. Raj didn't move other than to turn in place, keeping Krystof in sight. But he was aware of Emelie as she quickly stepped to his side, putting Simon behind them. Krystof settled at his desk and gestured at Emelie. “You've trained them well, I see. I couldn't even get that human—” He waved at Simon who'd risen to his feet. “—to tell me anything. Of course, I could have forced him."

  "You could have tried,” Raj corrected.

  Krystof's mouth tightened in irritation. “What I want,” he said, ignoring the truth of Raj's statement, “is a report on your investigation."

  Raj gave him a look. “You couldn't phone?” he scoffed.

  "I shouldn't have to,” Krystof said petulantly, slapping one hand to the desk. “I brought you here to solve my problem, not to have your people running all over my city poking into my affairs."

  Raj couldn't believe his ears. It was a struggle to keep the amazement off his face, and he could only hope Emelie was doing the same. Krystof, a fucking vampire lord, had effectively ceded his territory. He'd not only admitted to knowing about Raj's private army, but had complained, complained, like a child that they were infiltrating his home city.

  "What would you like to know?” Raj asked.

  "I would like to know,” Krystof said, mimicking Raj, “what you've discovered. Is there a vampire connection to these crimes or not?"

  Raj thought about what to say, about how much to admit of what he knew. He hadn't missed the fact that Jozef was nowhere to be found and wondered what that meant. Was the security chief getting ready to attack the warehouse while Raj stood here answering these ridiculous questions? Or had he absented himself as a passive show of support for Raj? Too many unknowns, he thought.

  "There does appear to be some vampire involvement,” he said carefully. “I am investigating further and expect to have a resolution within the next forty-eight hours. I'm sure you agree that whoever it is, he must be destroyed immediately."

  Krystof looked up quickly at that, and Raj felt him pressing on his awareness, trying to force him to reveal more than he'd said. Raj stared back at him giving away nothing, but that alone spoke volumes. His Sire shrugged and looked away first. “Very well. You will inform me before taking any final action."

  "Of course. Emelie,” he said, and waited while she escorted Simon to the door and opened it. He watched in his peripheral vision as Cervantes and Abel grabbed the much smaller human and placed him between them, and he could feel the attention of his people, both vampire and human, focused solely on him, waiting for his command. He felt a surge of pride at their utter discipline and devotion. They would have stood with him at the Gates of Hell if he'd asked it. “We're leaving,” he said.

  He gave Krystof a short nod of acknowledgment and started from the room. “I wanted to grab your woman,” Krystof taunted from behind him, “but I couldn't seem to find her."

  Raj froze. He looked up and saw Emelie watching him, clearly worried at what he might do. He felt a moment's disappointment that she would doubt him and let it show in his eyes. Em flushed and lowered her gaze.

  As for Krystof, Raj spun where he stood in the doorway and said in the coldest voice he could muster, “Don't ever touch anyone of mine again, Krystof. Not anyone."

  He pushed through his vampires, hustling Simon ahead of him, feeling the others close in on his back. Emelie led the way up the stairs and through the kitchen, not stopping until they were out of the house and on the street.

  "I'm sorry, my lord,” Simon was saying miserably. “I was stupid and got distracted. I didn't see them coming until they were on top of me and—"

  "Don't worry about it, Simon,” Raj said. “If it hadn't been you, it would have been someone else.” He checked his watch and saw he still had plenty of time to stop and tap a willing donor before the sun forced him back to his lair. He'd use one of the bars; they were always more crowded than the clubs midweek like this, and it was time he got over this fixation with Sarah. “Emelie,” he said, “give Yossi a heads-up and take Simon back to the warehouse. I'm going to—"

  Em's phone went off. He frowned but jerked his head, telling her to get it. Damnit, he needed to get going or it was going to get too late to—

  He saw Em's face fall, saw her turn to him, her eyes wide with dread.

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  Chapter Thirty-nine

  "Goddamn it,” Raj snarled. “What the hell was she thinking?"

  Em was on the phone talking rapidly, as Raj drove like a demon, skimming through red lights and screaming around corners. Sarah was at Kent's blood house. Sarah who was so susceptible to vampire suggestion that she'd almost had an orgasm after dancing with him for five fucking minutes at that Manhattan club. Damn her. He'd warned her about the dangers, but had that stopped her? No. Of course, the fault was at least partly his. He should have known better than to give her even the tiniest bit of information, should have known she'd go charging in and—

  Em hung up and punched in another number. Raj looked over at her. “You're sure it's her,” Em was saying. “If it looks like he's going to sink fang, you stop him. I don't care what it takes. We'll be there in fifteen minutes.” She hung up and gave him a worried look. “That was Yossi. He and Gino are at the blood house already. Yossi's inside."

  Fucking Kent. He'd kill that motherfucker dead if Sarah had so much as a scratch on her. He took a turn on two wheels and hit the gas pedal, feeling his anger growing hotter with every mile that passed. “What the fuck was she thinking?” he repeated.

  "Probably that if you wouldn't tell her anything, she'd find out for herself."

  Raj growled low in his chest, sparing her a cold glance. “Don't push your luck, Em."

  She shrugged. “I don't know why you're playing this game with her or yourself. You want her, so take her."

  "Fuck you.” He pounded his fist on the steering wheel and would have snapped it in two had he not pulled back at the last second. “I'm a goddamn vampire. You think that's what she wants? To wake up every night to a dead man who drinks blood to stay alive? Besides, she accused me of mind-fucking Jennifer Stewart, for God's sake."

  It galled him to admit that the woman he was obsessed with—the first woman since his turning who'd meant more to him than a quick meal—thought he was capable of the most heinous act a man could commit.

  Em's gaze was burning a hole in the side of his face, but he ignored her. “Sarah made a mistake,” Em said patiently. “She admitted it. But she didn't understand how we do stuff, not then anyway. And as for the rest . . . Raj, my friend, you're one of the best men I know. One of the best people I've ever met. So you're a vampire, so what? So am I. And Sarah's old enough to make her own decision. She's a damn university professor, for God's sake. You have no right to take that choice away from her."

  "If she's been touched, I'll destroy everyone in that fucking house,” he snarled.

  "I know."

  Gino was waiting for them outside, standing in the shadows near the
door. He came down off the shallow porch in a bound, meeting them halfway to the street, his gaze resting warily on Raj. Gino was a strong vampire, physically powerful and fearless. But he took one look at the fury on his master's face and dropped to his knees, speaking to the ground. “She's still in there, my lord. Yossi is with her."

  Raj grabbed Gino by the front of his jacket and dragged him to his feet. “With her how?"

  "Guarding her, my lord,” Gino insisted. “Only watching. The others are—” His eyes widened in fear as Raj drew him closer, fangs fully distended, eyes gleaming an icy blue. “Master,” he squeaked.

  Em reached across and grabbed Gino's arm, pulling him out of Raj's reach and tossing him behind her. “This is a waste of time, my lord. We need to get inside.” She gave Raj a shove that no one else would have dared and tried to step in front of him, but he snarled at her, pushing ahead onto the porch and into the house, ignoring Em's protest of, “It might be a trap!"

  "Jesus, Em.” Gino's complaint followed him through the door. “You think I'd let him walk into a trap?"

  "Just cover our backs,” Em snapped.

  It was nearly as dark inside as out. The overhead track lighting had been dimmed until the small bulbs were barely glowing, even to a vampire's vision. The music was loud enough to give the humans a false sense of anonymity in the crowd, but not enough to disturb the neighbors. He heard Gino say from behind him, “Straight ahead, my lord, the back room."

  Raj stormed forward, aware of both humans and vampires hurrying to get out of his way, letting the wave of his anger knock aside anyone who didn't move fast enough. Some of the vampires knew him personally; others only recognized the weight of his power. But all of them scattered. One or two of the more ignorant humans objected loudly, their words truncated by a vampire hand clamped over a foolish mouth.

  Raj was aware of all of this and none of it, his mind completely occupied with the image of Sarah tucked away in some private room, drunk on the chemical overload of vampire pheromones he could scent clogging the air of the blood house.

  He strode down the narrow hallway and into the large back room that had once been someone's family room. It was just as crowded back here, but the humans were more bold, more used to the vampire high. One woman, darkly beautiful and voluptuous, thought to offer herself to Raj. He stared at her, barely comprehending what he was seeing, and then she was gone, yanked away by Em or someone else. He didn't care which, because there was a flash of blond hair through the crowd and a familiar lilt of laughter. He saw thick fingers comb through that hair to grip the back of her neck. And everything else was lost in his roar of challenge.

  Raj hit the crowded dance floor like a tornado, tossing bodies out of his way until he reached Sarah. Grabbing her around the waist, he swung her behind him, vaguely aware that Em was there to take her. With the same movement, he thrust his hand toward the vampire who had dared touch her and shoved him halfway across the room to slam into the wall with a loud crack. The vampire was as big as Raj, with long, dark hair that hung in curls around his shoulders and dark eyes burning red with anger, as his prey was stolen from him. He howled his fury and launched himself back to his feet, fangs fully distended, leading with a meaty fist at Raj's jaw. Raj didn't bother to duck, just stepped into the swing, letting the fist hit nothing but air and barely feeling the impact of the vampire's thick arm against his shoulder. Plowing his own fist into his opponent's gut, he seized the vamp's throat and let a hammer wave of power drive him to his knees.

  The vampire's eyes bulged in pain and shock when Raj's power hit, when his brain finally registered who was attacking him. Some animal instinct of self-preservation kicked in and a confused whine strained to rise out of his throat, a plea for understanding, for mercy.

  "Raj,” Em said behind from him, her voice barely heard above the pounding rage in his head. “My lord,” she shouted, louder this time, and he jerked an irritated growl over his shoulder without letting go of his victim.

  "He could not have known, Raj,” Em said intently, and then with greater urgency, “My lord, these are your people."

  "Not yet they're not,” he ground out.

  "Lord Rajmund!” she demanded, her voice stiff with condemnation.

  He stared at the terrified vampire on his knees before him, thinking, after days of playing politics with Krystof and with the cops, how very good it would feel to rip this vampire's throat out, to taste his blood and toss aside his lifeless body as it turned to dust before him. He became aware that the room had grown deadly silent, the humans all gone, hustled away by the few vampires left who could still think rationally in the face of Raj's thundering power. He raised his eyes and scanned the faces of the vampires who remained. Most refused to look at him, their eyes falling away from his stare, some going so far as to drop to one knee in submission. Others were eager, anticipating the feeding frenzy that would follow if Raj killed the dark-haired vampire. He held the gaze of those until every one of them had dropped to their knees, bowing before his greater power.

  But there were a few, a very few, who knelt submissively, but who also watched. They knew who he was, knew he was likely to be their next lord, and they were judging him, waiting to see what kind of lord he would be. Raj wanted to howl with frustration.

  He looked down at the dark-haired vamp, saw the terror and resignation in his eyes. “Fuck you,” he snarled. He pulled back his power and released the vampire, letting him fall to the floor where he coughed and gasped for air.

  "Forgive me, my lord,” he rasped.

  Raj spun away and grabbed Sarah from Yossi, who'd been holding her carefully away from his body, making it clear he was a caretaker and nothing more. “Fuck you, too, Em,” Raj snapped as he walked by, hauling Sarah out of the room and down the hallway.

  He expected Sarah to struggle, to protest his manhandling, but he hadn't counted on the overload of vampire pheromones or her susceptibility to them. Instead of struggling, she wrapped her arms around his neck and began nuzzling him, rubbing her soft, full breasts against his chest. “Stop it, Sarah,” he muttered, embarrassed on her behalf.

  "Raj!” she said in delight, as if just realizing who was holding her. “My very favorite vampire!"

  "Christ,” he muttered. He tightened his hold on her, groaning when she gave a little hop and wrapped her legs around his waist. He could feel the heat between her legs against his hip, could smell the familiar scent of her hair, her perfume. His own body, already riding the high of adrenaline, reacted to her presence and he cursed under his breath. He needed to get them both the hell out of this place.

  Kent stepped in front of him, falling to one knee. “Forgive me, my lord, I had no idea she was—” His voice was silenced by the icy grip of Raj's power, choking away his breath without a touch.

  "You know now, you bastard,” Raj growled and released Kent who sagged nearly to the floor, wheezing harshly. “Em!” Raj roared over his shoulder and stormed out of the house, half carrying Sarah who was now kissing him, soft lips nibbling along his neck, her tongue dipping into his ear and out again.

  Striding over to the BMW, he tried to extricate himself from the tangle of her arms and legs without hurting her. She started laughing, as if it was a tremendous game, letting him pull an arm away only to replace it when he moved on to the other one, dropping to her feet obediently when he demanded, and then jumping up again when he reached for the car, forcing him to catch her or let her fall on her ass. He was tempted to do just that, but Emelie and the others had come out of the house and were watching the whole humiliating circus. At least no one else had dared venture outside yet, he thought gratefully.

  But while Yossi and Gino were mindful of Raj's earlier rage and kept their faces carefully blank, Em didn't bother to conceal her amusement. “You should at least mark her if you're going to go all caveman like this, my lord,” she commented.

  "Yeah, Raj,” Sarah chimed in. “You should at least—” Her words cut off with a high-pitched yip as Raj picke
d her up and threw her into his car.

  Em stifled a laugh, but Raj was not amused and let her know it. “I'll see you tomorrow night,” he said coldly. “At the warehouse."

  Em sobered immediately, seeming to realize for the first time how angry he still was. “Raj,” she said, touching his arm. “Maybe you should let me . . ."

  He looked down at her hand and lifted a cold blue gaze to her face. “Do you think I'll hurt her, Emelie?"

  Em jerked her hand back and her mouth tightened briefly. “No,” she said.

  "Then I'll see you tomorrow."

  He slammed into the car, pulling the door shut behind him. “Put on your seatbelt,” he ordered Sarah.

  "Maybe I don't want—"

  "Put on the fucking seatbelt or I'll do it for you, and we both know I can."

  Sarah stuck her tongue out at him and shoved the buckle closed, sitting silently, arms crossed, as Raj roared away from the blood house, his tires spitting dirt from the roadside.

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  Chapter Forty

  Raj was going too fast when he pulled into the narrow garage. His tires spun on the slick surface as he hit the brakes and the bumper kissed the far wall. His blood was still boiling, adrenaline still racing through his system. It was hard enough to come down from the rush of a combat high after a confrontation like the one at the blood house, but it was even harder with Sarah's slender hands roaming all over him as he raced through the Buffalo streets.

  "Stop it, Sarah,” he said for what felt like the hundredth time. Her response was the same, too—a soft, purring laugh that made his cock hard and his fangs ache.

  He opened his car door with a snarled oath and marched around to her side. She hadn't moved, hadn't even unbuckled her seat belt. Gritting his teeth against what he knew was going to happen, he reached across and mashed the release on the belt, not evening surprised when he felt her fingers run down his belly and between his legs.