“What do you mean?” he asked, more curious than anxious. His stupid cock was still hard and really liked the idea of Kyleigh being his mate.
“If we’re apart too long, you’ll die, and I’m not sure you’ll be reunited with your wife and daughter if that happens,” she admitted.
Ian stared at her because he had no idea what to say or how he was supposed to react. At least his cock was finally calming down. What she’d said didn’t change the fact that she’d probably made the only decision she could under the circumstances. Still, he was bound to a complete fucking stranger. Then he had to wonder if it was better or worse that he was bound to a stranger he was attracted to this strongly.
“I need to be alone,” he said in a hollow voice.
“Trouble in paradise already?” asked a man with a thick accent.
Ian was nearly dumbstruck by the man. While his friend, Simon was beautiful, he had nothing on the man standing before them. The guy was dressed in just a low slung pair of pants. His long silvery hair flowed down his back, with wisps falling across his muscular chest and arms. His pale skin seemed to glow, as did his luminous silver eyes.
“Don’t look at his eyes,” Kyleigh said, grabbing Ian’s hand to get his attention. Until that moment, Ian hadn’t realized he was staring intently at the man before him. To be honest, he was a little aroused, which was strange since he’d never been attracted to a man.
“Why are you here?” Kyleigh demanded, clearly trying to sound strong and confident, but Ian picked up on her fear. If the smile on the face of the man in front of them was any indication, so did he. The bastard seemed to be enjoying Kyleigh’s fear.
“To watch the mating ceremony,” the man said.
“You can’t watch,” Kyleigh snapped.
Subtle vibrations started in the ground beneath their feet. “You’d be wise to remember who you’re talking to, little girl,” the man said angrily. “I don’t believe your story about taking this vampire as your mate, and once I prove it’s a lie, you’re mine.”
“I am her mate,” Ian said. There was no way was he going to throw Kyleigh to this guy. Whoever he was, he was bad news.
“I’ll make you a deal, vampire,” the man said as he approached them. “You admit you aren’t Kyleigh’s mate, and I’ll release any hold the shadows have on your soul. Then you’ll be free to go on to your beloved wife and daughter.”
Kyleigh looked at Ian, and even through the fear in her eyes, she still tried to appear brave. “He’s not lying. If you agree to his terms, you can be with them again.”
“Guess you didn’t hear me the first time. I am her mate,” Ian said, wrapping a possessive arm around Kyleigh’s waist.
“What if I promise to return you to your son?” the asshole asked. “You can go back to your old life, safe and sound. Has she mentioned you’ll be stuck with her forever? Has she told you she’s tied to this place and can only leave for short periods of time? This will become your prison too. I’m offering to free you. Surely, some stranger isn’t worth giving up your freedom for.”
Ian hesitated for a moment, and he might have been tempted to accept the deal had Kyleigh not already told him all of this. She’d been honest with him, and she wasn’t begging him to save her. In fact, he was pretty sure she’d understand if he took the offer to return to his old life. That helped him make his decision. His lips curled up ever so slightly. “Go fuck yourself.”
“No, I think I’ll stay here and watch you fuck Kyleigh. Since you’re her mate, I’m sure you’re ready to complete the mating ceremony.”
“That is enough,” called out another heavily accented voice. The newcomer was almost identical to the asshole who wanted Kyleigh. Where the asshole was all silvery, the newcomer was golden.
“I have every right to observe the ceremony,” the asshole insisted. “Kyleigh is using this lie to avoid punishment. I have a right to prove it’s a lie and take her.”
“They both claim they’re mates,” the newcomer replied calmly.
“Then they won’t mind me watching the ceremony.” The silver haired asshole was beginning to sound like a petulant child on the verge of a tantrum.
“Who cares if he watches?” Ian asked. This whole argument seemed ridiculous. “Although, I thought you telling them I’m your mate was enough to make it binding.”
“It is,” Kyleigh admitted, her cheeks flushed. “He wants to watch us have sex.”
“Not gonna happen,” Ian said and was surprised to realize he was only refusing because it would embarrass Kyleigh. The idea of people watching was kind of arousing to him. Well, not kind of— his balls ached. Hell, he was so aroused, his fangs ached again.
The newcomer smiled and nodded. “They are mated. If Kyleigh doesn’t want you here when they consummate their bond, you cannot stay.”
“We don’t want anyone watching,” Kyleigh said firmly, and Ian pulled her closer to his body. Her shapely ass pressed against his erection, and he felt her shudder. Whether that shudder was desire or nerves, Ian had no idea.
The newcomer chuckled, and Ian barely stifled a moan as the sound of the newcomer’s voice slid along Ian’s skin like cool silk on a hot day. “Ah, Kyleigh, after all this time, you are still so innocent. That is one of the things I have always loved about you. Sadly, it is one of the things that attracts Arawn to you.” There was no missing the affection in his voice. “We are leaving,” he said in a cold voice.
The silver-haired asshole was glowing even brighter and looked ready to explode. “This is your last chance, vampire. Kyleigh is mine. She broke the rules by saving you and bringing you here. Are you willing to risk your own soul to cover for her lie?”
Ian felt possessive in a way he never had before, not even with Kate. Then again, he’d never had anyone threaten his claim with Kate. Vampires were by nature territorial and could even be violent when what they viewed as theirs was threatened.
“Kyleigh is mine,” Ian growled before sinking his fangs into her neck. Kyleigh let out a startled squeak and tried to push him away until he sent waves of lust pulsing through her. It was a vampire skill he hadn’t been sure would work on her since she wasn’t exactly human anymore. If her moans were any indication, it was working just fine. Drawing on her sweet blood, Ian growled low in the back of his throat. It had been many years since he’d had fresh blood and even longer since it had been for pleasure and not just sustenance. Her blood was much more potent than any human’s he’d ever tasted. When she shuddered with her orgasm, Ian pulled back, bit into his own wrist, and put it to her mouth. In a haze, Kyleigh sucked on his wrist tentatively. It was so arousing, he came in his shorts, which should embarrass him but didn’t.
As Kyleigh’s senses returned, she pulled away and turned to face him. There was no mistaking the confusion on her face. “What have you done?”
“It’s a blood bond,” he explained.
A throat cleared, and only the man with the golden hair and eyes remained. “That was impressive, and I believe Arawn got the hint. I will admit that I doubted Kyleigh myself, but you two are certainly bound in some inexplicable way. I’ll leave you to sort this all out.”
“Thank you, Oriel,” Kyleigh said, still sounding dazed.
Oriel’s only reply was a nod, and then he was gone— as in disappeared gone, which shocked the hell out of Ian. People didn’t just disappear. Yeah, he should be getting used to this kind of weird crap in his life. He knew a wood nymph who could step into parts of the woods he couldn’t even see. He could walk across miles of wood nymph land in one step without realizing it. His friend, Simon was in love with a woman who could change into a lynx. Still, seeing someone vanish was bizarre. Then again, maybe it was like what Raven and Connor did when they went into the wood nymph areas.
“Are there passages out of here that I can’t see?” he asked.
Kyleigh blinked twice, obviously still trying to work through her own feelings. He’d never actually linked anyone to him using a blood bond, not even
Kate, but he’d seen how dazed Raven was after she’d bonded with Connor. Finally, Kyleigh seemed to get her mind to work enough to respond. “Not like you might think.”
“That wasn’t an answer,” he said with a hint of annoyance that he couldn’t keep from his voice.
Kyleigh glared at him, which made him smile.
“Sorry,” he said with a chuckle. “I’m not great with the social stuff anymore. I think Connor was using me for interrogations because I’m so impatient. So, can you please explain how that guy just disappeared?” That was as close to nice as he could manage.
“There are ways to walk across different planes of reality,” she said. “It’s similar to what the wood nymphs do, only on a more elaborate scale. The Fae can travel across continents in a few steps. They can also transport themselves wherever they want to go with a single thought. I can do the same, except I’m limited on where I can go. Only a few of the Fae can actually enter this place without my permission, which allows me to have some level of privacy.”
“Do those two pop in and out often?” Ian asked.
Her smile was filled with sadness. “Technically, I only answer to Oriel, but as you may have guessed, Arawn has a strange obsession with me and finds excuses to bother me. They actually prefer making me go to them, so they don’t often come here. It’s a power thing.”
“Yeah, I got that they both seem to have major power trips,” Ian said, shifting uncomfortably. This was going to be awkward. First, he’d bound them together even more with his stupid impulsive act, an act that was totally out of character. Then, he’d come in his shorts, the only thing he had to wear. “Listen, do you think you could get me some clothes?”
Kyleigh flushed. “Yes, I supposed you need clothes, especially after . . .” her voice trailed off.
Ian groaned, more than a little embarrassed. “I was hoping you hadn’t noticed that.”
“It was hard to miss,” she said. “Considering my own actions, I’m not going to look down on you because of it. I was rubbing against you like a cat in heat at the time.”
Seeing her blush was getting him hard again, which was proof he needed to get away from her quickly, but he couldn’t leave her standing here feeling like it was somehow her fault she’d reacted that way.
“When I take blood, I can make it arousing to the person I’m taking it from,” he admitted. “It’s that or it hurts.”
“So, you did it so it wouldn’t hurt” she asked, sounding a lot younger than he’d guess she was.
“Yes,” he said just before realizing what a lie that was. “Actually, that’s not true. When that silver guy, Arawn, was talking about you being his, I snapped. Something inside of me went more than a little crazy, and all I wanted to do was claim you. I would have fucked you in front of him to mark you as mine.”
Kyleigh flinched.
“Sorry. That was crude,” he said. “I’m not doing a good job of explaining this. Probably because I don’t understand what happened myself.”
“The bond between us is new, and it was affecting you too,” she assured him. “There’s nothing for you to apologize for.”
“What does this bond mean for us?” he asked. “I mean, I get that the blood bond means I can find you anywhere, and you can’t kill me. Beyond that, I’m not sure it means much of anything to us. Then again, I’m feeling even more possessive now that my blood is in you, so maybe I’m wrong.”
“The other bond is more complex, and I’m not sure of all the specifics,” she admitted. “I’m sorry, Ian.”
Ian felt a strange desire to hold Kyleigh and comfort her, but she stepped further away, obviously needing space.
“I’ll go find you some clothes,” Kyleigh said, and just like that, she was gone.
Ian walked into the house. A shower was the best solution for the time being— a very cold shower.
Chapter Five
Arawn was furious when he returned from his confrontation with Kyleigh and her vampire. Stupid vampire had no idea who he was messing with. Arawn was considered a god of terror, revenge, and war! He ruled the underworld and fed from lost souls. People feared his power with good reason. At least, they’d feared his power back in the good old days, when people still believed in magic, and though he was still feared, it was not on the grand scale it had once been.
Arawn really missed the days of having control over the lives of countless humans. Not that he had much respect for humans, but being worshipped was like a drug, one he’d had trouble giving up.
He took a moment to muse over what things could have been like if the vampires had come into existence a mere two hundred years earlier. The vampires would have been his personal army. After all, they were stronger and more resilient than other humans. He would have used them like puppets. Now, the Fae were mostly confined to their own realms. The problem was, they needed people to believe in them to exercise much power over humans. Stupid Christians had started to destroy his fun many years ago by declaring any belief that wasn’t Christianity a heathen religion. Fear of persecution caused people to hide beliefs that deviated from the Christian faith. Very few Fae had benefited in any way from Christianity. Oriel was one of those few, and sadly, he’d developed a soft spot for humans.
Now, Arawn couldn’t just send a plague into the vampire’s settlement to relieve a little tension. No, he’d have to come up with something more behind the scenes, and Arawn hated the feeling of lurking in the shadows.
Arawn’s lips curled into a slow smile as a plan formed. He knew about the recent unrest in the vampire’s territory. That unrest gave him an idea. A human by the name of Roger wanted desperately to destroy the settlement Kyleigh’s vampire was from. Well, Arawn supposed Roger was technically a vampire now. Arawn suspected that only made Roger more ruthless.
Flashing to Roger, Arawn didn’t find the power hungry man he’d been hoping for. Roger had never appeared dangerous on the surface. He was an unremarkable man with brown hair and brown eyes. The man was not very tall, and his features would do nothing to draw the eye. Skinny with little muscle at all, Roger appeared harmless.
While the unremarkable part wasn’t a surprise, the pathetic grieving was. Arawn knew him to be ruthless. In fact, Arawn admired this vampire and his companions. One was already food for the shadows. The other had repented in the last weeks of his life, escaping Arawn’s shadows. Now, only one remained, and he looked beaten down, sad, and weak. This would not do at all.
Arawn sneered at the fool’s grief. He’d watched this man before and expected more from him. “Are you really just going to sit here and feel sorry for yourself?”
The vampire jerked his head up and opened his mouth to reveal his fangs, obviously hoping they would frighten Arawn.
Arawn laughed. “Calm down, Roger. I’m not your enemy, not at the moment. Since we share a common enemy, I suppose that makes us friends.”
Roger seemed shocked that Arawn knew his name, but quickly pulled himself together, much to Arawn’s relief.
“How the hell did you get in here?” Roger snapped.
“Does it matter?” Arawn asked and lounged on one of the threadbare sofas, frowning at how uncomfortable it was. Really, was it too much to expect nice things in the human realm? He shrugged off that concern since he wouldn’t be here long. “Shouldn’t your main concern be how I can help you deal with our common enemy?”
“You’re not human,” Roger said thoughtfully. “Are you one of those things that changes shape?”
Arawn smiled approvingly at the calculating way the vampire was watching him. “I can change shapes,” he admitted, “but I’m not one of those dirty little shape-shifting creatures. I am more powerful than you could ever imagine, and I can bring suffering the likes of which your twisted mind could never comprehend.”
After studying Arawn for a long moment, the vampire nodded. “For some reason, I believe you. You already know my name. What should I call you?”
“Call me Arawn,” he said with a regal tip of
his head. “You‘re in luck today, Roger.”
“Luck?” Roger scoffed. “I’ll be lucky if the blood whores don’t attack this compound today and destroy us all. I’ve been unable to get information from any of my spies at the blood whores’ settlement due to tightened security, but it’s only a matter of time before they attack.”
“Not to worry,” Arawn said calmly. “I’m going to help you.”
“Powerful or not, you’re only one man,” Roger said.
“One man who knows what you need to do to destroy our enemy,” Arawn said impatiently. This fool really had no idea who he was dealing with.
“Why would you help me?” Roger asked suspiciously.
“One of the vampires took something of mine,” Arawn said bitterly as he thought of that vampire touching Kyleigh. “The only way to deal with that is to destroy what matters to him.”
Roger gave a satisfied nod. “Revenge I can understand. What’s your plan?”
“First, stop feeling sorry for yourself. Death is inevitable, and as long as it’s not yours, there’s no reason for you to concern yourself with it.”
Roger nodded. “You’re right, and I’m surprised I’ve been having so much trouble with this. Honestly, I’d planned to kill my cousin myself, and that hadn’t bothered me very much. Yet here I am mourning his death. Tell me your plan.”
“You need to plead your case to the people in charge of all the vampires in this area. Even the leader of your local vampire settlement has to report to a higher council.”
“That would be a good idea if I had any idea how to contact them,” Roger said.
Arawn waved off his concern. “Steal transport and I’ll get the information you need. I’ve studied them before, and tourism is their main concern. The main vampire council gains a lot from tourism, and they don’t want any petty conflicts interfering with that profit. As a result, they try to maintain peace and keep all vampires under their thumb. Part of what they do to maintain control is offer protection to the vampires who willingly follow them.”
Seducing Death Page 4