by Anna, Vivi
Which obviously Bael picked up on, because he said, “We are all primal animals. We want and need and crave. And here in this club you can get all that and more. Everything here is consensual. Nothing is forced.”
He stopped at a green painted door and opened it. He pulled her inside. The dark seemed to swallow her whole. When her eyes adjusted to the dim candlelight, she could make out a round platform in the middle of the room. On top a naked woman was laid out, legs and arms spread, strapped to the table. There were several people, both men and women, crowded around the table. Then one spun the platform.
The woman went around and around, then stopped. Eden noticed a red arrow painted on the platform’s surface, and it pointed to a young woman with long blond hair and pointed ears. She stepped forward and pressed her mouth to the woman’s leg, on the thigh. Then she in turn spun the platform. It was like an erotic version of spin the bottle. And the woman was the bottle.
They watched for a few more minutes, as each person took a turn kissing, licking, or biting different areas of the naked woman’s body. Every time she moaned and groaned, writhing in obvious pleasure on the platform. Then Bael took Eden’s hand and led her out of the room.
Out in the corridor, Eden ran a hand over the back of her neck. She was sweating and it wasn’t because of the heat in the room, as it wasn’t all that warm. It was what was going on around her—it had an obvious effect on her. It seemed since being in Threshold she’d been in a constant state of arousal.
Bael opened another door and ushered her in. There was no gentle candlelight in this room. Instead, several strobe lights flashed on and off. The heavy bass of music thumped through wall speakers. At first it was disorienting and Eden had to grab onto Bael so she didn’t run into something or someone.
The room seemed to be filled with people. Some naked, most in varying stages of undress and all engaged in sex of some kind. There were couples and trios and higher numbers together. Looking at it all, taking it all in, was dizzying.
Bael guided her to the side, to a bed, where a woman was laid out and two men were servicing her. The woman was Lilith—Eden recognized her immediately. When Lilith saw Bael and then Eden, she pushed her playmates away, then grabbed Eden’s hand.
She pulled Eden down to the mattress. “Hello again.”
“Are you okay?” Eden asked her.
Lilith smiled, and it was lazy and giddy, as if she was drugged. “Hell, yes, I’m okay. Do I not look okay?”
Eden looked her over. She was not entirely naked, but wore stockings and a garter. And that’s when she noticed the marks along the side of her neck, where Eden had seen a knife dig into her flesh.
She lifted a hand and drew a finger over the two round scars. “What are these?”
“My birthmarks.” Lilith grinned, and Eden saw the fangs in her mouth.
“I saw you die,” she said. “I held you until you died.”
Lilith grabbed her hand in hers. “I know. I’m sorry if you thought that I was truly dead. You didn’t get a chance to see my rebirth as Lilith Grae.”
“You’re a vampire?”
“Yes. Isn’t it wonderful?”
“And the man with the knife, the one that had you in the alley?”
She nodded. “Yes, he was my maker. But he’s truly dead now. Bael ended him.”
Eden looked over at Bael who had been sitting nearby, listening.
“You see, everything is fine, Eden. Lilith is happy. And the man who did this to her has been punished. He should never have turned her in your world.”
Eden just looked at him, trying to assimilate all that she’d seen and heard. She was trying to find a way to accept that the girl she’d watched die, the one she thought she’d failed, hadn’t truly died. She’d found new life as a creature of the night, a vampire. And the man Eden thought had gotten away with murder had in fact been punished, just as he should’ve been.
Bael slid in beside her on the bed. “You see, you can release your guilt. There is no reason to hang on to it. Let go, Eden. You can be free here. For as long as you like. Forever, if you wish it.”
His words were like silk across her skin—they caressed her and soothed her. He put an arm around her and drew her closer. He settled his mouth at her ear and whispered, “I can give you all that you desire. You just need to let go. You just need to give yourself to me. Entirely.”
She leaned into him. His words seduced her. She wanted to be free of all her guilt and worry and sadness. She didn’t want to have to face those who would look upon her with pity and sympathy because of her situation. No more therapy, no more obligatory calls from family members wondering how she was getting on. No more knowing looks from her old partner down at the station. She could leave it all behind and succumb to Bael. To what he was offering her.
She wanted to. She was tired of fighting to stay sober, to stay happy, to stay.
Bael stroked a hand down her neck to her shoulder and then ventured lower. He cupped her breast in his palm. “You are exquisite. I want you to belong to me.”
He leaned in and captured her mouth with his. He kissed her passionately, sweeping his tongue into her mouth, over her tongue. She responded in kind, then his fangs nipped at her and she pulled back.
She remembered how she’d felt in another man’s arms. She had felt all the things Bael was offering, and Mikhail had asked for nothing in return. Plus he’d made her feel safe and secure. Two things she hadn’t felt in a very long time. He also didn’t demand her submission—she’d given it to him willingly.
He didn’t quest for her soul as Bael did.
Eden shook her head. “I’m leaving. This is not what I want.” She went to stand, but Bael held her firm.
“You lie to yourself, Eden. I can smell your desire. You want me. You want this.”
“Let me go.”
“It’s too late for that.”
Opening his mouth, his fangs distended, he leaned toward her throat. She tried to push him away but he was too strong. She looked at Lilith to help her, but the woman was watching with eagerness and glee.
She smoothed a hand over Eden’s back. “It’s all right. It will only hurt for a little while. Then euphoria.”
Although Eden wanted to get away, her body betrayed her by reacting to Bael. To his nearness, to the heat radiating off his body, to his delectable scent that lingered on his skin. It smelled good enough to lick.
She hated that heat swelled between her legs. That her sex throbbed, seeking release. Her nipples hardened as the vampire pressed against her. A little moan escaped her lips when he brushed his fangs across her skin.
But it was all fake. It wasn’t real. He was in her head, tricking her, seducing her from the inside out. It wasn’t the same with Mikhail. Eden knew she felt those things for real with him. He didn’t need to deceive her to illicit true feelings.
Right before Bael sunk those teeth into her flesh, she saw flames dancing in the black of his eyes. Then everything became a vivid, colorful blur of sight and sound.
She thought she heard Mikhail’s voice in her ear. And felt his hands on her body, but surely she must be dreaming for that to happen. Because she had given herself foolishly to Bael and was now his slave.
Chapter Thirteen
When Mikhail saw the trickle of blood down Eden’s neck, he nearly went ballistic. He wanted nothing more than to eviscerate Bael with his claw, but he knew he had to save her first. And time was of the essence. His healing capabilities had their limits.
He’d fought his way into the club and down to the basement rooms and had burst into each room to search for her. He’d seen her in the strobe lights almost the moment he’d opened the door. He’d crossed the room in two strides and had Bael by the neck. But it was too late—he could now see the bite marks in her neck.
After tossing the vampire across the room, he scooped Eden up in his arms and ran out of the room and the club. There was so much rage on his face, in his eyes, that no one dared stop him fr
om leaving with her.
Durt met them outside in the back alley. The goblin had commandeered a car, and he opened the back door the second he saw them. Mikhail settled Eden on the seat and climbed in beside her while Durt got behind the wheel.
The goblin drove to Mikhail’s apartment, ignoring all rules of the road. And Mikhail was thankful for it. When they arrived, he took Eden out and ran her up the stairs to his place. He kicked open the door and rushed her to the bed. She was barely breathing when he laid her down on the mattress.
He stripped off his clothes, and hers. For this healing he needed no barriers between them. He settled on the bed and drew her into his lap, cradling her head in his hands. Closing his eyes, he settled his palms around her throat, where the wound still wept blood.
His chi filled his hands. The heat of it drew across his flesh, burning him from the inside out. But he felt no pain. He suspected he would in time, given the nature of her wound. He let it saturate him, then he spilled it into her.
He opened his eyes and watched her face, looking for signs that his healing was working. But her face remained slack, lifeless. As if she’d already become one of them.
He drew more power from his reserves. His flesh now seared with pain. It was as if he’d placed his hands in a great fire until his skin sizzled and split open. But his skin didn’t burn, just turned red with strain. He pushed more into her. More than he’d ever used on anyone before. More than anyone could likely bare.
She took it in, greedily.
He watched her face and saw the first glimmer of hope in the fluttering of her eyelashes. Then her eyes opened and she stared up at him. Mikhail saw awareness in her eyes. She had not passed into darkness. She was still here. She was still Eden. His Eden.
He released his hold on her neck. The bite marks had closed and the skin around them was freshly pink, like brand-new skin. She would have little scars but at least she hadn’t died and been reborn into the night.
“Mikhail?”
He smiled down at her and swept stray hair from her face. “I’m here.”
“Am I dead? Did he turn me?”
“No. You’ll be fine.”
Eden brought a hand to her neck and ran her fingertips over her wounds. She winced as she touched them. He suspected they would hurt for a few days until the toxicity of Bael’s bite left her system.
“I nearly lost myself to this place. I should’ve left when you told me to.”
He ran a hand over her hair. “It’s not Threshold that is the problem. It’s Bael.” He captured a curl in his fingers. “There are other things in Threshold worth staying for.”
She looked at him, tracing a finger down his cheek. “I don’t know what to do. I feel so lost right now. I’ve been pushed by my guilt for so long that I’m almost empty without it.”
“You need to fill yourself up with other things.”
“Like what?”
Mikhail placed his hands around her waist, lifted her up and then settled her into his lap. He was already hard just from looking at her.
“Like sex.”
She laughed and wrapped her legs around his waist. Reaching down between them, she guided him into her. She was soft and wet and open for him. Like silk, she wrapped around his cock. He groaned as she moved ever so slightly on him.
“And what else?” she asked.
“And love.”
Her eyebrows went up at that. “Love? I’m not sure I even know what that means anymore.”
“I could show you if you let me.”
He spread his hands across her back and held her still for one moment while he studied her. With his gaze on hers, he leaned in and kissed her. It was simple and sweet and perfect.
When he was done kissing her, he leaned back and looked at her. Really looked at this woman who had somehow captured him and tamed him. If only a little, and if only for a short time.
“I want you to stay here with me.”
“For how long?”
“For as long as it takes for you to never want to leave.”
Smiling, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him until they were both breathless and on the threshold of more pleasure than either of them had ever hoped for.
* * * * *
ISBN: 9781472014955
Threshold of Pleasure
© Vivi Anna 2013
First Published in Great Britain in 2013
Harlequin (UK) Limited
Eton House, 18-24 Paradise Road, Richmond, Surrey TW9 1SR
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