Immortal Envy

by Justice, A. D.

  “Child, have you seen this girl anywhere? She’s my daughter. My sweet, young daughter. Is she your friend, by any chance?” Her cheeks were tear-stained, her eyes were bloodshot, and her face was gaunt. It appeared she hadn’t eaten in days, and I wondered if she’d been out there looking for her daughter all that time without any food.

  “No, I’m sorry, ma’am. I don’t know her, and I haven’t seen her. If I do, I will tell her to go home right away.”

  It was the most comfort I had to offer her. In the short time I’d been in America, I hadn’t made friends with anyone my age. That was a sad fact when I thought about it, but I soon moved on to a different thought when the next person asked if I’d seen her missing son. As I looked around the crowded streets, I saw several more people with sketches. One thing they all had in common was they all appeared to be poor—in dress, in conduct, in status.

  “Mother, do you see what I see?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “The murdered girls, they were all prostitutes. All these missing people, they’re all poor. He’s picking people he thinks won’t be missed. He probably didn’t think all these people would be out searching for them.”

  “You think these missing people are also his victims?”

  “It would make sense, wouldn’t it? Have you ever seen this many people out, desperate to find their missing family members? There are too many for this to be a coincidence. It’s scary, Mother. If he’d do all this, what else is he capable of doing?”

  “I hope we never find out, my girl. Here we are.” She motioned for me to enter the door on my right, into the seamstress shop. “We’ve been invited to a ball, and we need proper gowns to wear. We’ll have beautiful brand-new ones made for it.”

  “You mean I’m going with you?”

  “Yes, Alea, you’re going to the ball, too. I’ve spoken with your father and convinced him you can act like a mature lady long enough to go with us. The ball will be held in six weeks. We barely have time to have one suitable gown made, much less two, but this seamstress comes highly recommended. Do not disappoint me.” Her tone and her eyes held the warning that needed no further explanation.

  Stay away from Ramses Barnett.

  * * *

  Ramses Barnett, 1790

  I’ve heard Alea’s thoughts loud and clear every time I’ve visited the Dunn residence. She watches from the windows, wishing she could join us, angry she’s treated like a child. When she finds me in the crowd, her notions take a drastic turn. Visions of her and me in various stages of a sensual dance replay in her mind.

  If she only knew how much further I could take her fantasies, how much I could teach her, and how much she’d love every second of it. She’s young, inexperienced, and is prone to fantasy. What she doesn’t know yet is reality is so much more pleasurable and satisfying. Her passion is so strong at times I can feel it radiating from her thoughts. One more thing to throw fuel on my own fire.

  Slade has been so busy with his own clients, he hasn’t paid much attention to me and what I’ve been doing since the fight we had. Which is a good thing, because I’ve been very busy. After leaving the Dunns’, I’ve gone out on hunting sprees and enjoyed the spoils of the night. It’s way too easy to prey on humans. They’re gullible, trusting, and think everyone is inherently good. But I’ve been a very bad boy. If Slade ever noticed my absence, my plan was to tell him I’d been in the forest, relieving my insatiable thirst.

  “Hello, beautiful. Do you live around here?” I delivered my line flawlessly, feigning concern for the current victim’s well-being. She was beautiful and young. With her flowing red hair in long, loose curls, her porcelain complexion, and her toned body, she was the epitome of gorgeous.

  I had a desperate need to add her to my collection.

  “Only a few blocks north of here, actually. Do I know you?” She narrowed her eyes and studied my face, like she was sure she’d seen me before but couldn’t place where.

  “No, ma’am,” I replied cordially. “I’m positive I would remember you if we’d met before. My name is Ramses. And you are?”

  She smiled and dropped her eyes to the ground in modesty. The pink tinge of her cheeks spread down her neck right before my eyes. “You flatter me, sir. I’m Corinne.”

  “Miss Corinne, I’d be honored if you’d allow me to walk you home. A lovely lady such as yourself should have a gentleman to escort you and make sure you get home safely.”

  “That’s very kind of you, Ramses.” Her tone was gracious as she looped her arm with mine.

  We were about a block from her house when the crowds thinned out to virtually no one. No witnesses. No one to hear her cries for help. No one to come running if she screamed. It was a nice, quiet neighborhood that hadn’t built up as quickly as other parts of the city. In less time than it took to blink, she was in my arms, and we flew through the air to my secret love nest where Richelle waited.

  Corinne was understandably confused when we landed. Moments ago, she was close to her home. Before she realized what had happened, she had no idea where she was. Or who she was with, or what I planned to do with her. But she knew it couldn’t be good. She knew she wouldn’t be able to escape from my hold. I didn’t really have to read her mind to know what she was thinking—I could smell her fear emanating from every pore in her body.

  “Sweetheart, just relax. You’re breathing too fast. You’ll pass out if you don’t slow down. You don’t want to do that and miss all the fun.”

  I placed a gentle hand on her shoulder to guide her down the stairs and into the darkened basement. With my strength, she couldn’t have walked away from me even if she had her wits about her to do so. The slightest touch was all it took to control her slight body. Too much pressure would crush her bones, but that’s not what I wanted for her.

  My eyes immediately adjusted to the darkness. Even though I can walk freely in the light, the darkness is my home. I can see better in the pitch black of night than in the bright sunlight. Just one of the advantages of being a vampire. It took Corinne’s eyes several minutes longer to adjust enough to make out shapes in the dark. The shapes began to morph into identifiable forms, and she whimpered loudly when realization set in.

  First, Corinne saw Richelle stretched out on the bed, naked but partially covered with a sheet. Corinne’s eyes drifted to a couple of small puncture wounds on Richelle’s exposed breasts that were almost healed. Her gaze continued along the lines of Richelle’s body until she saw the shackle around Richelle’s ankle, then along the chain to where it was attached to the wall. It was then Corinne knew her fate had been sealed. She knew I’d never let her leave and risk being discovered. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she was mine.

  “Corinne, this is Richelle. You’ll be keeping her company for a while. You’re both here for my pleasure. But my pleasure will definitely also be your pleasure. Come. Let me show you.”

  Her dress ripped completely in two with a quick tug on the back and crumpled to the floor in a pile at her feet. Her hands flew up to cover her breasts, and I just smiled to myself. A similar pull on her panties left them in shreds, and she was out of hands to cover all her best parts. While still standing behind her, I laid my hands on her shoulders and gently caressed the skin down her arms, straightening them at her sides as I moved.

  My hands slid around her waist, reveling in the softness of her skin, and glided up her taut stomach to cup each breast in my hand. My cock had already stiffened from the scent of her fear, her blood, and her pussy combined. When I squeezed her nipple between my thumb and index finger, she tried to hold in her sigh of pleasure, but I heard it just the same. I leaned in and put my mouth close to her ear.

  “Corinne, relax. Stop worrying. I’ll make you feel so good, you’ll be sorry you didn’t meet me sooner.”

  Her perky, round breast was a perfect fit for my hand and was too enticing to let go. As I continued to squeeze it and tease the rigid peak of her nipple, my other hand slid down the center of
her body to the tight curls that covered her pussy. “If my fingers were to find their way inside that sweet, tight pussy of yours, would it already be wet? Would I find that you want me as much as I want you?”

  With only a soft touch, my fingers lightly grazed back and forth across her several times, barely giving her a sense of what she’d been missing. Within seconds, her body responded as I knew it would, and her head fell back against my shoulder. When her stance widened slightly, I knew she was more than ready. She was practically begging for more, for the release her body demanded.

  “Mmm, you do,” I murmured in her ear as my fingers pushed into her pussy. “You’re so wet, but you’re still so tight. You almost take my self-control away completely. It’s all I can do to take it slow and not fuck your little pussy into tomorrow.”

  Her head lolled to the side as my fingers continued to pump in and out of her wetness. The temptation was too much to resist. When the first orgasm tore through her body, her pussy clenched around my fingers, and my fangs sank into her skin. Just a small taste of her was all I needed. That’s what I told myself, anyway.

  After I laid her down on the bed next to Richelle, Corinne watched spellbound as I shed my clothes and removed Richelle’s shackle. Richelle licked her lips when my cock sprang free, and I agreed she had a brilliant idea. “Take me in your mouth, Corinne.”

  She obeyed my command and wrapped her beautiful, pink lips around the head of my cock. Her tongue rolled around it before she took me all the way in, and I felt the back of her throat against the tip of my dick. The warmth and wetness of her soft mouth surrounded me, and my hips moved back and forth without conscious thought. Richelle squirmed next to us, aching to join. I extended one arm and thrust my fingers into Richelle’s eager pussy and kept one on Corinne’s head while she continued to suck my dick.

  After I adjusted our positions, Richelle straddled my face while I feasted on her sweetness, and Corinne kept working her talented mouth up and down my shaft. My tongue circled and grazed Richelle’s clit as my fingers plunged deep inside her, curling to hit the spot that made her scream. My hips continued to buck on their own, fucking Corinne’s mouth with each glide of her tongue.

  “Climb on top and fuck me, Corinne.”

  She straddled my hips, positioned the tip of my cock at her wet entrance, and slid down on me until I disappeared inside her. I felt the small pop inside her, and I knew I was the first to venture into her uncharted territory. She was well under my trance, not feeling any pain, but she would be sore the next morning. For that moment, though, she was erotically mine. Like a professional, she rode me like she owned me, like she’d been created just to satisfy my carnal needs. Her tight little pussy gripped and contracted around me, squeezing me with her velvety inner fingers, extracting every bit of me when she tumbled over her own peak.

  “What about me?” Richelle asked with a slight pout.

  “There’s plenty left for you, sweetheart,” I assured her and rearranged our bodies once again.

  Standing at the side of the bed with Richelle pulled to the very edge, I entered her with one swift thrust and fucked her until I was sure her screams would wake the dead. Their bodies spent and as limp as rag dolls, I crawled into the bed between them, and they curled into my sides and slept with their heads in the crooks of my shoulders, my arms cradling them.

  I knew I’d have to leave them soon to go feed. While I was out, I planned to look for more humans to add to my clan. Richelle and Corinne satisfied my needs for the moment, staying my fangs from devouring Alea, but they were only a momentary distraction. That distraction would only last for so long, especially when Alea consumed more and more of my thoughts.

  The dark mood began to infiltrate my mind again, regardless of how hard I tried to hold it off. It originated from my inability to have what I craved the most. Alea. The two substitutes in my bed would only work for so long before I snapped. The darkness that shrouded my mind sometimes completely took me over, and I didn’t always remember what I did when I was under its influence.

  Even as strong as I was, I knew it was only a matter of time.

  What I didn’t know was time was about to be up.

  Though I could read minds, I couldn’t see the future.

  Chapter 5

  Slade Barnett, July 1790

  I have to keep reminding myself how much I love my brother. Over and over, I have to chant that fact in my mind to keep from tracking him down and wringing his neck. Yesterday, a visitor stopped by my office because he hasn’t been able to find Ramses for the last few days, and a crucial meeting is coming up with a major client. A man who has brought more money to us than any other single person.

  And Ramses is in the midst of one of his episodes.

  Dead bodies have been turning up over the last several weeks. Though he denied he was on the verge of another incident, I have no doubt he’s behind it.

  “I should have fucking known. How the fuck did I miss all the signs?” I bellowed to no one in particular, unable to contain my anger. “Fucking Ramses has fucking done it again. If I get my hands on him, I’ll kill him myself!”

  “Slade, he’s been gone for three weeks now. Clarence has asked multiple times if the upcoming shipping contract has been secured yet. He’s becoming very nervous about Ramses’s absence and my continued excuses for him. How long did you tell him to stay gone?” Thomas asked.

  Thomas Vale is our right-hand man and the best employee we’ve ever had. He’s also the only other one of our business staff who knows my true nature since he’s a vampire himself.

  “All I told him was to go deep into the forest and fulfill his thirst. The last time we went through one of his insatiable thirst periods, he almost got us both killed. He wasn’t discreet in any way—in the people he chose, in how he disposed of the bodies, in how many he killed. He left a trail that led straight back to us, and we narrowly escaped before the town full of pitchfork-wielding citizens had our heads.”

  “If he’s in the forest, we should be safe.”

  “I don’t think he’s in the forest. I think he’s doing it again. The dead bodies that have turned up recently, the many people who are missing—I think he’s behind it all. How long before we’re at risk again?”

  “Let me do some checking around about him and see what I can find out. In the meantime, you should contact Mr. Dunn just in case you have to finish the last-minute details for Ramses.”

  I retrieved the client’s file from Ramses’s office and spent the morning reviewing every detail of the contract and the draft shipping manifest so I could oversee the remaining tasks. Clarence Dunn is one rich man, and he has a lot of influence with the high and mighty crowd. Had Ramses screwed that up, our company’s reputation would’ve never recovered. That fact ignited my fury at him all over again.

  “What the hell is this?”

  All I’d done since I walked into the office this morning was yell about Ramses and his inability to control himself. But that note? That note took the fucking cake.

  “What’s wrong?” Thomas asked, suddenly standing in my doorway.

  “Ramses has to attend a ball with them?” I held the letter up and met Thomas’s confused gaze. “He’s honestly expected to be there?”

  “Yes. He and I spoke briefly about this. With all the time he’s spent at their house and at their events, they’d consider it as a slight against them if he didn’t show. If he’s not back in time, you’ll have to go in his place to represent the partnership.”

  “Perfect,” I spat out sardonically. “Just fucking perfect.”

  “It’s only a couple of weeks away. My advice is to have your formal clothes prepared as soon as possible.”

  “Agreed. I don’t expect him to return anytime soon.”

  * * *

  Slade Barnett, August 1790

  As expected, Ramses is still nowhere to be found. Neither hide nor hair of him anywhere. As usual, I’ve had to pick up the slack he left behind and carry both my weigh
t and his with the business. Thomas’s assistance has been invaluable, and I’m sorely tempted to kick Ramses’s ass out and give Thomas his half of the partnership. My only hesitation in doing it is Ramses is still my brother, regardless of how pissed off I am.

  “Tonight is the ball. I presume you’re prepared to attend?” Thomas asked as he walked into my office.

  “I’m as ready as I’ll ever be. You know how I detest dances and masquerade balls and formal affairs. The pretentious elite never fail to show up in droves, anxious for everyone beneath them to kiss their asses.”

  “Ah, but the lovely Miss Alea Dunn will be there tonight. She is a beautiful sight to behold. She’ll be eighteen next month, and she’s exactly your type. The talk around town is she plans to quietly dissolve her engagement to her betrothed in England. Now, all the young bucks in their upper-class circles are vying for her hand and will most likely chase her around the ballroom all night.”

  “Bucks in rut season, huh?” I chuckled.

  “Exactly. But they’re no match for you.”

  “Why are you trying to marry me off to some young girl I’ve never even met? As a matter of fact, why are you trying to marry me off at all?”

  Thomas shrugged one shoulder, and one side of his mouth lifted in amusement. “You’ve been a bachelor long enough. And you work too much. You need to take some time for fun.”

  “Having a wife is not my idea of fun, Thomas. I have plenty of fun after work without having the burden that comes with a wife.”

  Thomas walked off, but I didn’t miss how he laughed under his breath. Like he knew something I didn’t.

  Turns out, Thomas did know something I didn’t. First, I don’t give his visions of the future nearly enough credit. But the bastard didn’t tell me what he’d seen, or how going to the ball tonight would change my life forever. I owe him an ass-kicking for that—then a brotherly embrace immediately afterward.