“If you let me come, I’ll owe you a favor.”
My grip tightened around her waist. “What kind of favor?”
“Whatever you like, sexual perhaps?”
Visions of our sweaty bodies entwined in my sheets popped into my head. Her blood on my lips. Sweet nectar only she could offer. I sighed heavily. The look on her face told me she knew she had won. “Fine. But if you get yourself killed, you have only yourself to blame.”
I gave her a pair of my sweat pants, the only thing in my wardrobe that could be made to fit her smaller frame. We finished getting dressed in silence and headed down the stairs. “Let me do all the talking,” I told her as we neared the office.
She mimed zipping her lips and tossing the key over her shoulder. It made her even more adorable, if that was possible. I opened the door and allowed her to enter the room first. Viktor was pouring himself a glass of brandy, and Bryant was sitting in one of the leather chairs, his back to us. They both turned when I closed the door behind me. “Gentlemen, I’m really glad you could come so quickly.”
Viktor nodded and took a drink. His eyes roved over Piper with a greedy glint. I held my tongue. Diplomacy was important in this situation.
Bryant offered a hand to shake. “I am Jacob Bryant, leader of the U.S. Gargoyle Clan.”
I shook his large palm and smiled. “Sebastian MacGregor, head of the MacGregor vampire clan.” I directed him back to his seat. “Pleased to meet you.”
“Likewise.” He sat down. Piper sat in the seat next to him, and I took my brother’s seat behind the desk. “How can we help you?”
“Piper appears to be cursed by a rogue gargoyle. We need your help capturing the beast,” I told him as I leaned back in my seat.
Jacob laughed, almost choking on the sip he took of his drink. Everyone else stared at him with questioning gazes. Piper raised a dark eyebrow and leaned closer to him. “I don’t find this a laughing matter. People are dying around me. It has to stop.”
Jacob stared at everyone, one by one, eyes blinking incredulously. “You’re serious?”
“Of course we’re serious. My brother and multiple other vampires have been killed by this gargoyle.” I leaned forward and worked hard to keep the anger out of my voice and glance. We weren’t allies, but life, even undead life mattered. The idea this man was making a joke of our problem was bothersome in the least.
“Gargoyles and vampires don’t get along. This hasn’t changed for centuries.” Jacob pointed out the obvious.
“I’m sure you’d take issue if your species was being openly attacked,” I countered, silently pacing the blood that was starting to boil in my veins. We needed this man’s help. I chided the demon that wanted to explode across the desk and show him just how much we didn’t get along. My brother lost his life at the hands of one of his kind.
Jacob placed the empty tumbler on the desk. “I’m not arguing that point. I’m actually not trying to pick a fight. It’s just… well, I thought you knew. Surely you can smell her blood?”
My eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?” Of course I could smell her blood. It was sweet, enticing, and it took everything I had not to partake in her life-sustaining gift.
Viktor moved closer to Piper and sniffed the air around her. The very act had my demon ready to snap. She’s mine! I bit down on my lip to keep from grabbing her and taking her far away from their proximity.
“She smells delicious. Too delicious.” Viktor glanced between me and Jacob.
“Like antifreeze to house pets?” Jacob locked eyes with me. “It hasn’t been that long since your kind had locked up half of my people.” He shook his head when none of us answered him. “She is your gargoyle.”
“I am most definitely not a gargoyle. I am a human detective.”
“A human detective that has been infected with gargoyle DNA.”
Piper shook her head. “Impossible! I’d know if something like that happened.”
“You have the gene. It is active. You should be honored. Only fifteen family lines on the planet have the ability to adapt to the gargoyle DNA.” Jacob examined her carefully. Silence stretched between them, tight and taut like a rubber band ready to be launched. “You really don’t know?”
Piper’s hand went to her side. “I was attacked in a tomb in Egypt.”
“And the wound has never completely healed?”
“The claw marks left a nasty scar behind.”
“It is your maker’s mark. Has your mate sought you out?”
“Mate?” She swallowed hard.
I shook my head. “She’s mated with no one.”
“I’d think it was your mate that has done the killing, but I can smell vampire blood on you.”
“It’s my blood,” I bit out between gritted teeth.
Jacob turned worried eyes in my direction. “You haven’t drank her blood?”
“No.”
“That is a relief.” Jacob nodded slowly.
“Why is that a relief?” Piper asked.
“Because your blood is poison to vampires. If a vampire drinks too much, he or she will die.”
“My blood is poison to them?”
“If a vampire consumes enough, yes.” Jacob turned toward Piper. “If you’re having difficulty controlling the beast, you need to come and live with us for a while. We can teach you to keep the gargoyle at bay, and teach you to live with your new destiny.”
I watched Piper carefully. She looked astonished. Either she was an amazing actress or she had no clue what was happening. “She’s not going anywhere.”
Chapter Nine
Piper
EVERY FIBER OF MY BEING was in agony as I stared out over the horizon from the patio off Sebastian’s bedroom. The man was a saint. If the news Jacob told me was true, if I was the monster that was killing all those vampires – it was unthinkable. I killed his brother. The fact that he was letting me stay here, under his protection, made no sense at all.
My fingers grazed the scar left behind by the gargoyle which was just below my ribs. Jacob had so much to say. I had a mate out there? The monster that attacked me was coming for me, coming to claim me as his. The demon that was inside of me, that shared my body, would desire the mate. It felt wrong. I didn’t find myself wanting anyone other than Sebastian. The man was under my skin. How that could happen in such a short time was something out of a romance novel, but then again, my life was now something of a horror film. The two did not mix well, like water and oil. Two separate entities that refused to blend.
Then there was me. I didn’t believe in romance novels or horror films. I wasn’t the mild mannered girl who ran toward the danger without protection, not normally. The girl who blindly walked up the stairs leaving myself no chance of escape was a far cry from my usual personality. Except lately, I couldn’t deny that my actions weren’t typical of who I was. It was like I was chasing death.
I shook my head against the cold, harsh truth of the matter. My father taught me to fight back. To protect myself. I learned long ago romance was for fairy tales, and fairy tales were not beautiful fantasies with happy endings. They were tales created to warn young children of danger, and the romance was added to keep young girl’s believing in the fantasy, despite the fact that they were in bad situations.
I’d seen too many fairy tale marriages end in divorce and many took too long to get out. Sex was a primal drive that needed to be filled. Romance was for the naïve. It wasn’t for me. So why did I find myself feeling this way for Sebastian? I wanted to react to the warmth that spread in my system at his touch, but feared the monster would come out and hurt him. It was like the gargoyle only wanted her creator. No one else would appease the beast, and she was going to make sure no one had the chance to change her mind. I suspected it was the only reason Roderick was dead. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
It was the only answer I could come up with for why the monster killed Roderick. He wanted to claim her. The monster wouldn’t have it. Th
e gargoyle needed to make sure Roderick didn’t have a chance. The thing I couldn’t understand was why it didn’t just let him drink my blood. If my blood was poison, there was no need to kill him in such a vicious way because the blood would do the trick. Jacob said it took a lot of blood to kill a vampire, but how much? All of my blood? He also said my blood would be sweet and tempt the vampire to drink as much as possible. If one did drink from me, would he or she be able to stop before killing me? I sighed heavily. I had so many questions, and so much guilt over the lives lost at my hands.
I looked at my shaking hands. There was no blood, but yet they felt like they’d been saturated in the crimson liquid. I searched my mind for any inkling of a memory over what I had done. Nothing existed. I had killed so many, but had no knowledge or recollection of the murders. How was any of this okay? How would I make things right?
“Are you okay?” Sebastian’s voice ran over me like a warm shower on a cool day. I felt invigorated and relaxed in the same moment.
“No,” I choked out past the lump in my throat. I turned toward him. He was tall, tan, and muscular. He looked like a statue in the firelight. The red streaks in his dark hair lit up like a halo around his chiseled face. The man made my insides quake. Standing there, from across the room, guilt eating me up inside for what I did to him, I still felt desire in my limbs. I craved his strong arms around me. “I don’t think I’ll ever be okay, not really.” My voice cracked as I fought back the tears that threatened to fall.
He was next to me in the blink of an eye, his hands inches from my body. My mind begged silently for his touch. “You can’t blame yourself for what happened.” His calloused fingers caressed my cheek. “I can feel your agony over the deaths.”
“I killed your brother.” The words croaked past the lump, sounding hoarse and high pitched at the same time. I closed my eyes as warmth spread through me from his touch.
“You didn’t have control over the gargoyle.”
“It doesn’t change the fact that I was responsible. I came here for help and all I did was destroy your family.”
He grasped my shoulders, his fingers biting into my skin as he shook me, forcing me to look at him. “You are not responsible. The beast that made you is more responsible than you.”
His grey eyes, with flecks of silver and green, drew me in. “What if I had done the same thing to you?” My heart plummeted as I voiced my darkest fear.
“I refuse to believe this is something you can’t learn to control.”
My hands dropped to my sides and my shoulders hunched in defeat. “So you think I should go with Jacob.”
“I think you have a choice. If you decide to stay here, I’ll help you. We’ll find this supposed mate of yours and handle him accordingly. If you decide to go, then so be it.”
“I don’t know if I have that much of a choice. Gargoyles and vampires are enemies. I don’t know what I’d do if I hurt you or anyone else again.”
“You always have a choice. No matter how dark your demon is, no matter how much control she has over you, there are ways to manage the beast, ways to co-exist.”
The look in his eyes sent a shiver through my soul. Instinctively, I knew he was talking from experience with his own demon. A beast that he had to learn to control.
The pain that played in those eerily sexy silver eyes was like a lightning strike, shocking my heart to life and grounding my feet to the floor in front of him. I was trapped. I knew a part of me would always belong to him, no matter what our futures held. Without thought of consequences I dug my toes into the plush crimson carpet and pressed my lips to his. It was a simple, tentative touch, innocent in my own shyness and contradictory boldness.
A rumble vibrated his chest and he pulled me closer, making it clear he desired me as much as I did him in that moment. Shyness gone, we both deepened the kiss. Tongues clashed eagerly, hungrily wanting to claim the other. His fingers dug into the hair at the nape of my neck and the small of my back as he connected our cores. With deeper access, his tongue plunged into my mouth, tasting every inch. Passion filled me, and I closed my eyes as I let him take charge.
Our fingers rushed to rip the clothes from our bodies. I finally breathed when my bare flesh was against his. His coolness made my warmth shiver, the contrast intoxicating. He lifted me up and placed me on the bed. His teeth and nails shredded the clothing that covered my most private places.
“Look at me, Piper,” his voice commanded.
I gazed upon his nakedness. He was breathtaking. The fire blazing in the room shadowed his tanned skin in an intricate design. I licked my lips as I took in every long, hard inch of him.
“I know we’ve just met, but something tells me if we work together we can overcome this obstacle, tame the beast inside, and eliminate the threat. I want this.” He lowered himself onto the bed, straddling my body as he slowly moved up toward my neck. His lips and tongue delivering teasing touches along the way. “Is this something you’d like to try?”
A moan escaped my lips as his tongue circled around my nipple and this teeth scraped against my sensitive skin. My fingers found his head and raked his dark locks into a tangled mess as he continued his passionate assault on my tender flesh.
“I need an answer, Piper.”
“I can’t think right now.” I pulled his lips toward my mouth and claimed a kiss. He didn’t hesitate to reciprocate. My fingernails cut into his back as his body pressed against me. I felt his erection pressing into my belly just as his teeth gently nibbled my lower lip.
He bound my wrists with his hand above my head, his free hand roaming my body, twisting my nipple, squeezing my breast, and moving further down, down… painfully, slowly down my torso. Everything changed as he inched closer to my core. The beast roared behind my eyes as she came to life, the sound like an echo in time. She was coming. She’d destroy him. I had to get away. Escape was the only way I could save him.
Knowledge is power, or maybe a curse. Knowing the beast that had killed so many was alive inside me made me hypersensitive to the impending change.
My heart raced. The passion I had felt only moments ago was replaced with adrenaline. I slammed my knee into his groin. The shock on his face shattered my heart. No part of me wanted to hurt him, but what little logic I had left in the midst of the change told me to run. He rolled off me and groaned over the pain, just as my skin started to grow dark and harden. I tried to scream, to run, but my voice was different, gravelly, and the words were a screech. Unidentifiable. I scrambled off the bed and rushed to the corner. Escape was the only thought I could focus on.
“Piper, control it.” Sebastian’s voice was my only life line. I clung to the sound, to the idea that maybe he could save me.
He moved toward me, but I cowered back, shaking my head, knowing I was incapable of words. “It’s okay, love. You can control it. You won’t let her hurt me.” He reached a hand toward my face. “I trust you.”
His eyes, those beautiful pools zeroed in on mine, touching my soul, anchoring me. In that moment, I believed him. I could control the beast. She was invading my body. A body I had owned since my birth. I kept my focus on his eyes, even as the pain scorched through me. Everything else faded away. I reached for him. The spark in his eyes faded and he fell back, his hand grasping his neck, blood seeping between his fingers like grains of crimson sand.
My heart stopped beating. Time froze. I’d killed him! Water flowed down my cheeks. “No!” The word croaked out, but it was a word. I looked at my hands. The cement-grey colored talons were replaced with pale, shaky fingers.
I crawled to Sebastian’s side, my human side taking control. I pulled his head into my lap, careful, ever so careful. The cut was so deep that his head was hanging on by a thread. His eyes told me he forgave me. I never would. I would never forgive myself if he died.
I didn’t think. “Sebastian, I need you to stay with me,” I pleaded with him.
His eyes opened and closed. He was fighting for me. I needed to hel
p him, but how?
“Please, baby, what do I do?” I cried out in agony.
His eyes started closing for longer intervals and panic seized my heart. I was losing him. He was dying.
The image of my father appeared in my mind, a long forgotten memory. We were about to storm a building full of suspected cartel members. Our only concern was one man. The authorities were equipped to deal with the rest. I made my way to the half open window, created to vent the building from fumes. We peeked through the grimy glass, barely able to make out what was behind the grease. It was the first time I’d seen anything like it. A man was feeding on the neck of a woman in the midst of a lewd sexual act.
My father pulled me down and whispered, “He’s a vampire. We’re not able to fight him yet. Let’s go.”
“But he’s right there.”
“Listen to me, girl. He’s stronger! The blood he drinks to stay alive makes him practically immortal. We do not engage these beasts unless we are prepared to kill them.” He pulled me away from the building as the memory faded.
“The blood he drinks makes him practically immortal,” I whispered as I shoved my wrist to Sebastian’s lips. “Baby, drink, please drink.”
He didn’t move. I’d waited too long to save him. The tears flowed like rivers down my cheeks. “No, no. Please, Sebastian.” His hand fell from his neck. The thump of his wrist on the floor invigorated my resolve. I laid him down and searched the room for something sharp.
Without thinking, I slammed my fist into the mirror with more force than I thought possible. It shattered. I picked up one of the shards of glass and cut my wrist, careful not to go too deep. Then I placed the open wound over his lips. Blood flowed into his mouth. I could hear the tick of the clock indicating multiple seconds, which seemed like hours before he started to suckle the life providing liquid that I knew would bring him back. His wound started healing, as if by magic, right before my eyes. When his eyes started to flutter open I pulled my wrist back, mindful of the warning from Jacob.
‘Your blood is poison to vampires.’
Cursed: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 6