by Nicola Rose
Whatever. I suspected it didn’t matter what path I chose, others were going to force me down their own, anyway. Like she’d said, I was a target. There were a great many vampires and witches out there that had their own plans for me, so I better be ready when they came.
Alex was late. I was warming up, throwing some gentle jabs at the bag. He was never late. The ring of my cell startled me mid-punch.
“Jess?” an uncertain voice said.
“Danny?”
“I’m sorry for calling… it’s just that… I…” His hesitation unnerved me. “I feel like there’s something I need to say to you, but… I don’t know what it is. It’s driving me mad.”
I closed my eyes and drew a deep breath.
“Shit, I’m sorry. I sound ridiculous, I shouldn’t have called… it’s totally inappropriate—”
“No, Danny, don’t go. Please. It’s so good to hear your voice. I miss you.” I sat down with my back to the wall and let my heart ache at the sound of his voice.
“You do? I don’t… I mean… why?”
“Because I care about you.” I could kill Alex. What had he done to his head?
“Did something happen between us? Was I drunk? Because I don’t remember… I’m so sorry if I’ve behaved—”
“You didn’t do anything wrong,” I interrupted. “I did.”
“I can’t stop thinking about you, I don’t understand why… but, I want to see you.”
“You can’t.”
“No, of course. Dammit, I’m sorry—”
“Would you stop apologising? It’s not safe right now, that’s the only reason I won’t see you. I can’t explain, not again… not right now. But I promise I will. One day.”
“The island is getting weirder. Strange people keep coming by, digging around, asking questions about you. Are you in trouble?”
“I’ve been getting into trouble every day of my life, Chief. I’ll be fine.”
“Some of them asked me where you are. I didn’t want to tell them, but I couldn’t help it… the words just came out on their own. I told them you were in L.A. at that poker tournament… I’m sorry.”
At least Alex did something right, but how long would they be thrown off my trail?
Someone cleared their throat. Speak of the devil; there he was, loitering in the doorway with an amused, arrogant look. My blood boiled.
“I’ve got to go, Danny. Take care, and call me if you get into any trouble.” I hung up before he could reply and rose to my feet, staring at Alex. “Give him back his memories. All of them. Every single memory you stole or warped—”
“His brain would turn to mush if I did that.”
I let out a howl of frustration. “If you touch him ever again, I’ll rip that cocky smile right off your face and shove it up your ass.”
He laughed, predictably. “Yes! She brought her A-game today! Show me what you got, my little badass bitch.”
The fighting lasted for hours. He never tired, and I’d be damned if I would give in to my own heaving lungs. Or the horrific cramping in my belly.
“Are you OK?” he asked as I groaned, bent over.
“I’m on my period,” I declared, hoping to make him feel uncomfortable.
“I know. I can smell it,” he shot back, pinning me with his cool gaze.
“That’s… disgusting.”
“Not really,” he shrugged. “It’s not as nice as the scent straight from the vein, but blood is blood.”
He was gross, but at least he was being honest. For all his sins, I couldn’t help feeling like I could trust him. I should have known better than trying to ruffle him anyway. That he’d only turn it back on me.
I lunged and almost got a kick on him. So close. Not close enough.
If I was going to be fighting supernatural creatures then my A-game wasn’t enough – I needed to up the training with Constance and pull something miraculous out of the bag.
I’m sitting on a beach, staring out to sea, marvelling at the tranquillity – but then it’s stormy, the waves thrashing angrily into the shore. One second it’s clear blue sky, the next it’s black rolling clouds. Nothing is right. The ground feels tilted.
I’m under the waves. Drowning. The water burns my lungs.
I keep slipping under. It’s so dark. I’m so lost.
I cough and splutter. I can’t breathe, I’m dying.
Then strong hands are lifting me out, dragging me up from the inky depths and into bright light. He feels so strong and right.
Zac! I’m so relieved. I sink against him, lying on top of his reassuring body. He’s here. He came, he saved me.
I look up into his eyes. They’re so blue it’s dazzling. A silver scar almost sparkles in the moonlight.
Alex! I try to pull away but he drags me back against him. We’re naked. Our bodies are slick with seawater, slipping and sliding against each other. His erection presses between my thighs.
My hands glide over the wet skin on his chest.
It’s not water. It’s blood.
I smear it upwards, along his neck, painting him red. He’s so beautiful. The redness intensifies as our hands caress each other, spreading the colour. I lean down and lap at the metal bar pierced through his nipple. The metallic taste makes me groan. I keep licking. Everywhere. His chest, his neck, his face… until he’s clean. I lapped all the blood away.
In his arms, I feel a peace that I’ve never experienced before. Like everything is mine, like I don’t have to fear a single thing, because the world will fall at my feet.
He’s inside me, his cock slippery with blood and my own desire. I grind against him, faster… harder… my head thrown back in ecstasy.
Together, we’ll own anyone and anything that crosses us.
I woke up with a jolt, my hair plastered to my face, my pulse galloping.
Did he put that in my head? Or did I come up with it by myself? It didn’t seem to matter. Either way, I was so aroused and confused that I felt like a complete fetish freak. That dream should not have left me so horny; I should have awoken repulsed, not eager to close my eyes for more. But the warmth of the blood against his cold skin – so smooth, so firm, so wet…
“Hello, Darlin’.” His voice came from nowhere, so loud, so close. I cried out and shot from the bed, whirling around in confusion.
Please tell me it was a dream. We didn’t just do that.
His laughter filled my head. I ran to the kitchen, the bathroom… where the fuck was he? I knew he could move with lightning speed, practically invisible, but when he did so he left an energy in his wake. That wasn’t here, but his presence bore down on me, the weight of him crushing against my skull.
“Sit down, would you? I’m closer than you think. I thought I’d test the water, see how you like having me directly inside your head. It’s quite satisfying for me, given how much you’ve been trying not to think of me.”
Son of a motherfucking whore. The invasion made me nauseous.
“Get out! What happened to changing your ways, and not messing with my free will?” I shouted out loud, although I clearly didn’t need to.
“I’m not making you do anything, or think anything. I’m simply here, saying hello.”
“Planting twisted dreams in my head isn’t messing with me?”
“Did I? I certainly enjoyed that, Jess, but I didn’t plant it there.”
Something in my core darkened at his presence. I could feel it reaching for him. Purring, even. Thrumming and mewling under my skin. Every sense heightened. Every nerve alive with unspoken desires…
“Get. The. Fuck. Out.”
“Yes, Ma’am.”
His sudden withdrawal made my stomach lurch. Emptiness. Loneliness. A brief feeling of rightness vanished, and I was left reeling.
20
Jess
Constance called and told me that she had to go away for a few days. I didn’t bother to question her about what could be more important than training the protégé that she’d waited cen
turies for. I was glad for the break. Her sessions were full on and always left me frustrated by slow progress. It was like something was still locked away inside me. I knew it was there, she knew it was there, but we couldn’t reach it.
I debated what to do with my free day. I could sit around the apartment. I could go out and watch people get drunk. That about summed up the options. I didn’t even know how to live a normal life any longer. What else would a person do? Enjoy a hobby of some sort? Hang out with friends? Danny was out of bounds.
What about Anna?
Alex said she’d returned to his apartment, but I’d heard nothing from her. I tried not to let that sting too much. If she wasn’t going to make a move, then I would go to her. It was high time I woke up to this revelation and dealt with her resurrection.
So I found myself at Alex’s house, knocking on the door and ringing the buzzer. No answer came, but I knew he was home, I could hear music.
I tried the handle and the door swung open. Walking through the entrance hall, I scanned the living area. Simple, uncluttered, open space. Much smaller than his mansion on the island, but still bigger than most people could afford.
The thumping beat was coming from upstairs, growing louder as my feet carried me upwards. Something stopped me from calling out his name. He’d already know I was there.
I pushed open a door and stepped into an immense bedroom. All the drapes were drawn, but through the semi-darkness I could make out shapes.
Bodies. Naked. Writhing and groaning.
A four poster bed sat in the middle of the room, with a woman tied to the frame – in a standing position, her arms and legs spread apart. Her head lolled as someone, another woman, drove her face between her legs.
To the side of the room, farthest from the windows and almost in complete darkness, a woman was bent over and being taken from behind. The man had a glassy, far away expression as he pumped her rhythmically. Blood ran down his neck, dripping onto her back. She cried out in delight, then whipped her head to face me. Smiling, she licked her lips – plump lips that I knew too well.
Another naked form sprawled in the corner. Honestly, I couldn’t tell if they were alive and sated, or dead.
“Fuck, yes!” Alex’s voice startled me.
He was lying on the bed, surveying the room like King of the Orgies. Then his heated gaze locked onto mine and my knees wobbled. I placed a hand on the doorframe. He bit his lip and grabbed the hips of the girl who was riding him in reverse cowgirl, thrusting himself upwards, pounding into her so hard that she screamed. Her neck was also bleeding. So was her left breast – two little bruised holes weeping with redness. She groaned, her eyes rolling in her head, not in pain, but in pure desire.
He was taking her to heaven. His eyes burned through me with the promise of the pleasure he’d bring. The invitation didn’t need to be spoken. One word from me and he’d dismiss the pretty little thing riding him, and have me take her place.
Anna let out a gasp of satisfaction. Even she was getting more fun than me. Why did she get to enjoy time with Alex in this way?! Had he fucked her? Would he? Jealousy ran rampantly through my core.
“Join us,” Alex spoke.
“In your dreams,” I scoffed.
He laughed, pausing his thrusting, and the girl let out a whimper of frustration, wriggling her hips. “My dreams, huh?”
I tried to drill a hole through his skull with my angry glare.
He pushed the girl away and she plopped back on the bed. “Sit. Stay,” he said to her.
Swaggering toward me, his rock solid shaft stood upright and bounced softly as he walked. Heat spread across my cheeks. I looked away and found Anna grinning at me. I didn’t know which was more uncomfortable – seeing her in such an intimate state whilst eyeing me up, or having Alex’s schlong bouncing around unrestrained in all its impressive glory.
“You’re single now, no ties. You don’t have to be intimate with me if you’re not ready for that, just pick someone else and go release some of that tension. I have more guys and girls waiting in the other room. Choose one… or several.” His head tilted, eyes ablaze with hunger.
“That’s not who I am anymore.” I cleared my throat.
“Why not?”
“Because I need to change.”
“Says who?”
I exhaled noisily. Over Alex’s shoulder I could see the girl waiting for him, scowling at me.
“Says me, so stop with the bedroom eyes, and for the love of everything, put those fucking ridiculous abs away… and don’t even get me started on the cock. Are you chiselled straight from the hand of God?”
He laughed.
I laughed.
I forced it out. I wouldn’t let him see how much my jealousy and complete raging desire was destroying me from the inside out. I spun on my heels and rode home.
The further I got from his house, the heavier my limbs felt. I was exhausted. Tired of fighting what I wanted, or what I thought I wanted, or maybe what he wanted and was making me believe I wanted.
I booted up my laptop and logged straight into a porn channel. The throbbing ache between my legs was relentless; it hadn’t died away one bit since leaving. In fact, it had been there for days, weeks. A constant reminder of how much I needed sex in my life, and how I was getting none.
Browsing through the categories, I contemplated ‘naughty schoolgirl getting spanked’ and ‘fake cop takes two girls’, before settling on ‘rough orgy’.
The video launched right into the thick of things, numerous spankings and spit-roasts taking place. I shed my clothes and settled into a comfortable position on the bed where I could play with myself. Watching the sucking, licking, fucking… I climaxed in about three seconds in a dizzyingly powerful release.
It wasn’t enough. I carried on watching and rubbing.
Closing my eyes this time, I let the sounds of the video lead me, but in my head it wasn’t the porn star fucking me, it was Zac. His cold, firm hands roaming my body as I sat astride him. His minty tongue sweeping across mine. I eased up and down his length, slowly teasing him. My lips left his mouth and I tasted his cheek, running my tongue along the scar—
My cell rang, springing my eyes open.
‘Hot Stalker’ flashed on the screen.
Fuck! My heart nearly exploded from my chest. I couldn’t answer it quickly enough.
“Zac?!” I gasped.
“Jess,” he murmured.
“Where are you?”
“Too far away. I want you so much.”
“Oh, God, Zac, please come back. I need you.”
“I can’t… I can’t be near you. I can’t be trusted. But you’re mine, understand? I might not be there, but you’re still mine.”
“I know—” I started.
“Do you? Because I was enjoying that fantasy you were having about me until you started tonguing a silver scar and I got booted out.”
Fuck!
“You want him more than ever.” Not a question, more a resigned statement. “I can’t believe I had to walk away and not only leave you with him, but actually ask him to help you.”
“I’m sorry.”
Poisoned silence filled the space between us.
“Why didn’t you tell me that you’re schizophrenic? That the voice of the beast is a real thing to you, but not other vampires?”
“Lie back down on the bed,” he commanded.
“What?”
“Now.”
I settled down against the pillow.
“Suck your fingers. Let me hear you slurping on them.”
“Zac—”
“Now!” he yelled, his voice so deep and animal I didn’t recognise it.
I placed a finger tentatively in my mouth.
“You think my cock is the size of one finger? Get more in there.”
I shoved another two in and closed my eyes, licking and sucking.
“Good girl,” his voice, heavy with its southern drawl, made me cry out with need.
&
nbsp; “Imagine that’s me in your mouth. You’re on your knees at my feet and I have hold of your hair. I’m face-fucking you so hard that you’re seeing stars.”
I rammed my fingers into my throat making me splutter. They were soaked now, spit dribbling down my chin.
“Mmmmm,” he groaned, and I could hear the sound of his hand pumping his cock.
“I want to taste every inch of your skin, Jess. I miss it so much. The way you taste of honey and heaven. The way you fucking glow like an angel. Fuck! I bend you over the bed and spread your cheeks wide. My tongue circles your ass. I lick all the way from your clit to your fucking tight asshole. Sliding it into your wet pussy, tasting your need.”
I groaned around the fingers in my mouth.
“Touch yourself. Slip your fingers into your needy little cunt and think of my tongue in there.”
I whimpered as my fingers delved inside. So wet. So desperate for him.
“That’s it, that’s my girl. You’re a good girl for me, Jess. I own that pussy. Any fucker that touches it will die. Understand?”
“Yes, Sir.”
“Flick your clit. Make yourself come for me. I’m so close.”
I rubbed furiously at the nub of electrified nerves, crying out his name.
“I take my tongue away and I replace it with my throbbing dick. I’m rock hard for you. Fucking you so hard you can’t breathe. You have to hang on to the bedpost so you don’t dissolve into a wet mess.”
“Yes, fuck me, please. Fuck me harder.”
“I’m going to bite you, Jess. I’m going to drink your blood as I fuck you into delirium. You taste so fucking sweet. God damn, fucking come for me, baby. Now.”
His command was all I needed. I was his submissive and so close to orgasm that one word and one more furious stroke was all it took. The orgasm washed through me, my body spasming in delight.
His strangled growl filled my head as his own release took hold.
Gasping for breath, I lay utterly still. Waiting.
His own panting eventually evened out.