by John Corwin
"Yes."
She nodded. "Well, then, that is a different matter. I do not condone the possessed using mortals without their consent."
"How can you say that after riding that poor man into the ground?" I was somewhat shocked at the directness of my own question, but held my ground.
"Did I drink his blood?"
I shrugged. "Not while I was watching."
She leaned forward, breasts dangling. "Then don't judge me."
"Fine. We'll just be on our way then."
She ran her eyes over Tyler. "Do you allow him to fuck other women?"
I shook my head. "Absolutely not. He's my"—I struggled for the terms I'd researched on the web earlier, and found the one I needed—"He's my sub and no one else's."
"He is a lovely man." She traced a fingernail down my arm.
Tyler tensed, but made no move to stop her.
"We don't share each other at all," I clarified.
The vampire sighed. "Do you allow others to watch?"
I wasn't sure how to answer that one, but decided we'd be out of place if we didn't have some kinkiness to us. "Sure. We like to watch and be watched."
She licked her lips. "I would love to watch you two."
"We're new to this club," Tyler said. "We're just looking around tonight."
She raised an eyebrow and looked to me. "Do you allow him to speak?"
I almost said, "Of course," and then remembered he was my submissive. "Did I give you permission to talk?"
Tyler pressed his lips into a line and shook his head.
"Then keep quiet."
He nodded meekly. It was so uncharacteristic of him, I almost asked if he was okay.
The woman smiled, revealing perfect white teeth, moved between us, and looped her arms into ours. "You're adorable. Welcome to my club. I am Simone, the owner."
I suddenly became acutely aware of her lithe naked body between us. "Oh, I didn't know vam—I mean, you owned this place."
She led us away from the orgy group. "I think you will find many of my kind own night establishments. It fits perfectly with our schedule."
"Yes, I suppose it does."
"You seem rather young." Simone caressed my cheek. "How long have you been in the lifestyle?"
My heart rate increased. It didn't help that I'd never met a nice vampire and expected her to snap my neck without a moment's notice. "Very new," I squeaked in a mouse-like voice.
"We're just seeing what's out there," Tyler said. He quickly realized he'd spoken without permission and looked down. "I'm sorry, mistress."
I jerked the whip from his hand and gave him a good swat on the backside. "The next time you talk out of turn, I'll make you get on your knees and beg forgiveness. Understood?"
Tyler's eyes flashed. "Absolutely, mistress." He seemed to relish the idea.
I turned back to Simone. "This is the first club we've been to."
Simone pursed her lips. "You should visit Heresy or Insurrection."
I took her hand in mine to remove it from my face and smiled. "They're on the list."
"Both have fun crowds, depending on the night." She gave my hand a gentle squeeze. "Such soft skin. Are you certain you couldn't indulge me?"
"I'm not ready for that just yet." Or ever!
Tyler nudged me.
"Do you have something to say, boy?" I almost smiled. Bossing him around is fun.
"Yes, mistress. I just wondered if there were hardcore people who come here."
Simone looked from him to me. "The members here are primarily into bondage, some whips, and group sex. If you want to see the truly debased"—she licked her lips and smiled—"then you need to go to Dante's."
I hadn't found that name when I'd searched for sex clubs. "I've never heard of it."
"I'm not surprised. You have to know where it is, much like a speakeasy."
"Well, that would explain it."
She pressed her breasts against me. "I might be persuaded to relinquish the location."
I gulped. "As I said, we don't share each other."
"I simply want to watch."
I really wanted Tyler's input on this and turned to him. "What do you think, boy?" My voice cracked a little.
His alpha-wolf grin wiped away the submissiveness. "Dante's sounds perfect."
In other words, it would probably be the most likely place to find Eyja. Dear lord, can I do this?
I mustered some courage and smiled at Simone. "You can watch." I turned to Tyler. "You are free to do as you wish." I was too nervous to make the first move.
Tyler moved in front of me and stroked my cheek. He ran kisses down my neck and whispered in my ear. "As you wish, mistress."
Sometime later, Tyler and I lay next to each other naked, sweaty, and completely satisfied. Once he'd gotten me in the mood, Simone's presence hadn't bothered me a bit, even when she made a show of masturbating while watching.
She softly clapped. "You are a perfect pair—poetry in motion." She leaned forward and kissed my forehead. "Perhaps in time you'll open yourself to new possibilities."
"Perhaps." I rolled over on my elbow to face her. "May I have the location now?"
"Absolutely."
We put on our clothes and left Bondage, promising Simone to come again soon, which by my definition meant never, if possible.
"It's so odd," I told Tyler as he drove us to Dante's. "It doesn't even bother me that she watched us, at least not once we got going."
"It didn't bother me either," he said.
"Yes, well I wouldn't expect so, considering your past."
He chuckled. "True. Kink is like spice."
I turned to him. "Does our sex life need spice?"
"Maybe for fun, but it's not a necessity." He shrugged. "Being with you is adventure enough."
I snorted. "I think we both bring plenty of adventure to the table."
"Sometimes, I wonder if that's a good thing." He pulled into a shopping center and parked in front of an Indian restaurant. "This is the place."
Very few patrons dined in the restaurant at this hour. I was surprised it was even open this close to midnight. We walked through a narrow alley between the restaurant and a sari shop, and down a stairway to a door. I rapped on the door in the manner prescribed by Simone. The door opened instantly.
A painfully thin woman in a skintight rubber dress motioned us in without a word. She gave me a paper membership form to fill out. Using the same information as before, I did so and handed it back.
"Two hundred, please," she said in a wispy voice.
Tyler handed her cash and slipped on his awful sunglasses.
She smiled at him. "Enjoy yourself, lovely boy."
We passed through a rubber curtain and into a room of pain.
Vinyl-padded furniture of all kinds sat in the large open room alongside crude contraptions that looked as if they belonged in a medieval dungeon. Wooden crosses, whipping poles, and even stocks had their place here. A large metal mesh bin held everything from whips and blindfolds to ball gags and rope.
A woman paddled a naked man bound and hogtied to a bed. Beyond them, a group of men took turns whipping a woman chained to a cross. Another man's arms and head were locked in stocks while a woman sodomized him with a large dildo. Those were tame in comparison to other dreadful things I saw. I did my best to avert my eyes from the couple having rough sex on a bed of nails, and tried not to vomit when I noticed two women piercing each other with large needles.
Even Tyler looked a bit pale. "Do you sense anything?" he asked in a strained voice.
"I need a moment." I bolted for the other side of a partition to get everything out of my sight.
Tyler drew me into his comforting embrace. "Breathe, baby, breathe."
At last, the nausea and shock faded, no longer overwhelming my other senses. "I don't glimpse anything right now." I looked up at him. "I'm afraid if I go back out there, I'll be too upset to detect anything."
He kissed me gently. "Wait here. I'
ll be right back."
I was more than happy to prolong the moment. As I sat there in silence, I felt the faint presence of at least one vampire tickling against the fringe of my senses. Tyler returned with a blindfold.
"Turn around."
I stepped back. "You want to blind me?"
"No, but at least you won't have to see anything that makes you sick." Tyler cupped my chin and kissed me. "Don't worry, I won't let you stub your toe on anything."
"That's reassuring." Despite my misgivings, his idea was rather sound. Other emotions made so much noise, they often crowded out my ability. I closed my eyes and felt him slip the blindfold over my face. "Lead the way."
He held me by an arm and led me around. I heard rattling chains, creaking leather, and the crack of whips against naked flesh with moans, screams, and giddy laughter their unsettling accompaniment. The cloying scents of sex and body odor invaded my nose while the cold sensation of a vampire grew stronger and stronger until it seemed we must be right next to one.
When the fuzzy vision of a glowing worm flashed into my inner eye, I knew we had to be just feet away. The sound of groans and heavy breathing confirmed it. As the glowing parasite squirmed, I noticed there were actually two of them. The vampires were in such close proximity to one another, I hadn't been able to realize there was more than one.
"Oh, shit," a male voice said. "I'm going to come."
The vision faded as Tyler led me away from them.
"We've covered the whole place," he said at last.
I sighed. "Well, there were two vampires having sex, but that's about it."
"Really? Where were they?"
"They were the last couple we passed."
"Well, actually it was a threesome, but that's impressive you knew there was more than one vampire." He blew out a breath. "Damn, I guess she isn't here."
"On to the next club?" I asked.
"I suppose." He didn't sound enthused.
I felt his hands on the blindfold and stopped him. "I want to keep this on until we're out of here."
Tyler chuckled. "I got you, babe."
As we passed by the two vampires, I stepped on something small and round. I stumbled. Tyler's firm grip on my arm held me up, but in the instant I staggered to the side, I glimpsed a burning sensation that wasn't Tyler's Beneath the odor of sweat and sex, I smelled something sickly sweet and sulfurous.
A soft and unnaturally warm hand steadied me by my other arm. "Is this little thing yours?" asked a female with a southern accent. She purred. "I'd love to taste her."
I knew without a doubt that we'd found Eyja.
Chapter 9
After regaining my balance, I lifted the blindfold and looked into crystal blue eyes made all the more striking by the woman's smooth ebony skin and frame of silky black hair.
Two exhausted male vampires lay on the bed behind her. I couldn't imagine the frenetic sexual activity that would burn through the reserves of men with supernatural strength. Though covered in a sheen of sweat, the woman looked more than ready for another round.
Even more troubling than her interest in me, I had no idea how to signal Tyler that this was Eyja. Though she was still holding my arm, I sensed no pattern or name and quickly realized I would have to touch her.
Smiling, I caressed her cheek. "You are quite lovely."
Eyja purred. "You are whipped cream on my dessert, honey." She pushed my hand down her abnormally warm skin to her chest.
My hand slipped over her generous bosom and found cold metal. I glanced down and repressed a shudder. A small chain ran between large rings piercing her nipples. While I enjoyed boobs as much as the next girl, I had no desire to play with these. Despite direct skin-to-skin contact, I hadn't glimpsed anything more about her than what I usually did about Tyler.
Tyler tensed, apparently realizing my behavior was way off from earlier.
I looked up at him. "I think we've found the perfect woman to play with, dear."
He managed an uneasy smile. "Finally."
Eyja reached out to touch him, but I intercepted her hand, afraid that when she discovered his skin was much warmer than mine, she might suspect his true nature. I slipped her finger into my mouth and bit it gently.
She hissed in pleasure. "You'll have to bite harder than that, sweetie."
I bit harder and slid her finger from my mouth as my mind searched desperately for some way to divine her true name.
Tyler leaned over and nipped my shoulder. "I saw the perfect bed further back, babe."
Another wooden partition divided this area from the next. I took Eyja's hand. "Let's go play."
She rubbed her naked body against me. "Pull me by the chain, sweetie."
The last thing I wanted to do was lead a woman by pierced nipples, but if that was what she wanted, I could just pretend she was a horse. I clasped the chain and tugged. Her nipples stretched.
She moaned and looked at Tyler. "Make yourself useful and whip me while we walk, boy."
"With pleasure." He popped her across the ass so hard, the snap startled me.
Eyja screamed with ecstasy. "Oh, god, that was good!"
In that instant, I glimpsed a pattern. It vanished too quickly for me to see. It suddenly occurred to me how we had to extricate the information from this woman. Barboar had been in extreme pain when I'd divined his secrets. Though I didn't relish the thought of torturing anyone, we'd have to do the same to Eyja.
I saw a narrow table with padded leather thongs. "Lie down," I told her. "You've been a very bad girl."
She giggled, leaned over, and kissed me. Her tongue pressed into my mouth. I was so surprised, I didn't resist as her hand ran up beneath my skirt and slapped my backside. The kiss wasn't as awful as expected, at least not until she bit my tongue hard enough to draw tears.
I jerked back and tried not to show how much it had hurt. "Facedown on the table, now!"
"Yes, mistress." She did as instructed.
Once I secured the leather straps around her wrists and ankles, I motioned Tyler over and whispered in his ear. "She has to be in pain for me to see her name and pattern."
An evil grin stretched his lips. "It's time for your punishment."
"Punish me please, master!" She cast a sultry look over her shoulder. "I need a hard spanking."
Tyler took a wooden paddle off the wall. Without warning he flicked it down with an incredibly loud smack.
Eyja shrieked with pleasure. Her pattern flashed in my head, but once again vanished.
"More!" she cried. "More!"
Tyler gripped the paddle with both hands and let her have it. I screamed with Eyja, though mine was a cry of horror.
"That was amazing," she moaned. "I'm so close to coming, master. Please, punish me more."
Tyler gave me a look of disbelief. Eyja might be a demon, but her body was that of a human. The pain should've been too much for her now.
I shook my head to let Tyler know I still hadn't seen what I needed. He looked long and hard at the paddle and seemed to come to a grim conclusion. He raised it as if to smack her one more time, then chopped it down on Eyja's arm like a machete. A bone cracked and Eyja's moans turned to a true cry of pain.
"What the fuck?" she screamed.
Eyjaphlkutarveterya! The word drowned out her screams for several seconds and the pattern flashed blue before my mind's eye. I wished I had a photographic memory, or some way to record the pattern, but the name would have to do.
I nodded at Tyler.
He pressed a hand over Eyja's mouth, muffling her screams, and removed his sunglasses. "Eyja, you should have told me you were back in town."
Tears poured down her cheeks, but her eyes flared with recognition.
"I have a surprise for you." Tyler turned to me. "Tell her."
"We have your name, Eyjaphlkutarveterya." Despite the tongue-twisting consonants, I had no problem repeating it precisely as I'd heard in my head.
She went absolutely still, face frozen in shock.
> Tyler released her mouth. "What are you and the others up to? Why are you fucking with my companies?"
"Grim, please, do not exorcise me." Her lips trembled. "I am not here with the others. You know I never joined them when they tortured you."
"I do remember." Tyler narrowed his eyes. "But the timing is coincidental."
"I didn't even know they were back in Eden." She whimpered. "Please, let me be. You know I have only one pleasure in life."
As she pleaded for freedom, I realized there was something slightly different about her aura when compared to the nauseating feeling from Barboar. She seemed somehow different, though I couldn't put a finger on it.
"I have your true name, Eyja." Tyler uncuffed her uninjured arm. "If you interfere with my life I will banish you to the Abyss."
Her body trembled and sagged. "I am already cursed, Grim." Tears ran down her cheeks.
Tyler frowned. "Yes, I suppose you are." He grabbed my hand and we walked quickly for the exit. Once outside, we hopped into the car and took off.
Nausea swelled in my throat as the image of Tyler breaking Eyja's arm played back in my mind. Separating the demon from the young woman was terribly hard for me. To see the man I loved committing such violence on a bound and helpless person made me sick, even though I knew it was absolutely necessary. I opened the window and gulped fresh air to combat the feeling.
Is this the part of him that's like Barboar? I couldn't bear to think of him in the same category as that creature.
I wanted desperately to discuss my feelings with Tyler, but was afraid I might undermine his ability to do what needed to be done when we encountered the next former associate.
He touched my leg. "I'm really sorry you had to see that, Em."
I covered his hand with both of mine and shivered. "I wasn't expecting it."
"It was the only way I could cross her pain threshold." He blew out a disgusted breath. "I don't like myself right now."
I looked at him. "Do you really feel that way, or are you just saying it to make me feel better?"
He stopped at a red light and looked directly into my eyes. Pain frayed the edges of the window to his soul. "I truly mean it."
"She felt different than Barboar." I tried to put the sensation into words. "He was repulsive and putrid. She felt almost pleasant in comparison." I took out my phone and recorded Eyja's true name precisely as I heard it in my head—Ey-JA-phlku-tar-VET-erya. I was still amazed I could pronounce it, but like Barboar's name, once I'd glimpsed it, I'd been able to say it, at least until the impression faded from my mind.