“I haven’t compelled you, Kat. This is all on you.”
“I don’t think I’m getting enough oxygen to my brain,” I mutter.
Lou laughs. “Let’s get you stronger then, replenish that blood, see if you get your senses back. Come. I will arrange for meals for you. What kind of food do you prefer?”
Lou
It’s an unexpected joy, taking care of someone. I need to stock the closet with clothes that fit her, and lingerie, and she would probably appreciate something to do. I need to find out what she likes.
The thought of dressing her in black little nothings of a thong and a bra kicks my heart alive. I carry her to the bed and lay her down with care. Her eyes are glossed over and her lips slightly parted. She stares at me with a hunger that shoots straight to my cock.
“I eat anything,” she says. “Surprise me.”
Her gaze travels down my body and it’s as if all the years and all my weariness washes away. Her double entendre and her coy little smile do me in and I’m on the bed in the next instant, pushing her down, pressing my rock hard erection against the apex of her thighs, annoyed by the thick towel between us.
“You,” I growl, sinking down on her, pressing my nose against hers, “have no idea what you’re playing with.”
Her sweet breath wafts against my lips, her pupils widen, and her blood sizzles. The ripples of fear and excitement that shoot through her are transferring into my dead heart, making it do a double beat with joy, with need, with hope.
“Lou,” she whispers. “What have you done to me?”
I fight not to tear off the towel and claim her. I almost tremble from the effort. “I believe the correct question is what you have done to me,” I grit out. I lower my mouth to her neck, putting my lips to her sweet-smelling softness. Just a nip. I just need a nip. One drop. I let my fangs descend and prick the flawless skin, making her twitch.
“Ow!”
“Shh. Breathe.” I press my mouth against the wound and lick the tiny drop off of it, savoring it as her taste explodes on my tongue. The day I drink from her fully will be the day I bury my cock in her tight pussy. I will never let her go. Never. There is only one thing that eventually will take her from me, that claims all human lives, but we will have some years and I will keep her safe and healthy up until the inevitable end.
Permeated by her essence, all I can think about is how I will one day lose her. Life has kept slamming doors in my face and all things come to an end, as will my adventures with Kat. It saddens me greatly, and at the same time it makes me want to experience her fully, uninhibited, uninterrupted.
“How do I taste?” she whispers, her voice hoarse, a little shaky.
I raise my head and meet her dark eyes, huge, questioning. “You taste like summer. Like sunshine and flowers. Like a mild breeze on the beach. Like laughter and joy.”
“Really?”
“You also taste diluted.”
“Figures,” she mutters. “He took a lot. Definitely a couple of liters. I feel heavy. Sluggish.”
“He never meant for you to live.” I sit up and prick my wrist, planting a drop of my blood against the wound on her neck, watching it disappear.
She touches her neck. “How do you do that? Can all vampires heal their… victims?”
“The gifts that comes with the curse fall randomly. Most can heal, though, yes.”
“What else can you do?”
I smile. “I think we’ll save that discussion for another time. We have things to do. I’m sorry for being so inattentive, I’m not used to caring for someone. You are going to have to dress in the same clothes again. Only for a little while. We will go out shopping. I’ll make sure this doesn't repeat itself.”
Her head perks up. “We will? I get to go out?”
I laugh at her sudden eagerness. “Yes, of course. Food. Clothes. I won’t keep you in misery in a cave. I want you to be the strong, radiant woman I met. I want you to feel good about yourself.”
“Can I get some things at my apartment?”
I think about it for a moment. I can easily make it happen and make sure no one notices us. “You may.”
Kat throws herself around my neck and gives me a tight hug. “Thank you!”
I stiffen and push her back, holding her at an arm’s length, suspicion rising in me. “You are very accepting of this.”
Her heartbeat speeds up and she averts her gaze.
“Kat. Don’t try anything.” She still stares over my shoulder and I take hold of her chin, turning her head toward me. “Do not try me. You will not like the consequences.”
The thought of tying her to one of the benches out there, displaying her butt for everyone to see, making her squirm with humiliation before I make her skin blush and burn, makes me wish she would, in fact, be disobedient.
She swallows audibly. “I won’t.”
I smile. “And that was a lie.”
Her face drops and she shakes her head. “No.”
I flick her around in a moment and tear the towel off her, making her squeal.
“Lou!”
“Get on your hands and knees.”
“I— Why?”
“Do it,” I roar, making her twitch and immediately scramble to get into position. I grin as I caress her delectable butt, breathing in the heady aroma of her arousal. She is quivering. “Are you afraid?”
“Yes,” she gasps.
“Are you going to try to run from me?” I drag a finger along her wet slit, then I lean in and follow up with my tongue. Kat cries out and buries her face in the pillow. Her femoral artery is so close, the pulse thudding so hard. My need to bury my fangs in the vessel is as desperate as my desire to bury my cock in her pussy, but instead I nip at her clit, making her shoot forward, away from me. I grip around her hips and give her butt one harsh slap, making her scream, her scent shooting up several notches in sweetness. She’s responding to me like no one I have ever met.
“Won’t,” she gasps, the words barely coherent. “Won’t— try anything.”
I play with her swollen folds, circling her clit, making her buck. “Are you sure?”
“I don’t know what to answer! I don’t know what you’re asking anymore,” she mewls.
I grin and pull her into my arms, cradling her to my chest. “My dear, sweet human. Do you like it when I punish you?”
Her gaze speaks volumes. She is so turned on that I ache just from looking at her. Our union will be glorious. Nodding, she then slams her palms over her face. “Oh my God,” she breathes.
Kissing her forehead, I stand and set her down. “Get dressed. We have work to do.”
Chapter 9
Kat
Lou takes me straight home on foot, cradling me to his chest, running faster than any human eye can catch. I squeeze my eyes shut and bury my face against his shirt. The speed is dizzying.
“Don’t you have a car?” I groan.
“I haven’t had the time to acquire one yet. And in a city, with stoplights and other annoying obstacles everywhere, this is faster, anyway.”
It takes a few minutes, then we’re outside the gates to my apartment complex. I gape. “You know where I live?”
He pushes open the door and lets me down on weak legs, an arm around my waist as we make our way to the elevator. “I do.”
I swallow hard, tilting back my head, squeezed between Lou and the wall. “Did you follow me?”
“I did.”
I’m speechless, and a little happy. I felt so achingly alone those last two nights before he found me bleeding in the alley, and now I know I wasn’t. He was close the whole time.
Standing before my front door, I realize I don’t have my keys. My bag got lost when I was attacked. I hold up my empty hands, looking up at him. He solves it with one push and the door flies open. Before I can step into the dark hallway, he grabs my arm.
“You need to invite me in.”
“Why? Oh!” The myths are true! A rush of adrenaline shoots through me
as I think of the possibilities. If I can only make it into my apartment, he can’t reach me! I can… I don’t know… call someone? For help? My heart plummets. How would I do that? He’d compel anyone who got here. Or worse. I really am trapped. I lick my dry lips and meet his dark gaze. “Come in.” My voice is shaky and I look down, clenching my fists as the predicament I’m in strikes me to its fullest extent. Lou still holds me as we enter and I flick the switch.
“I know what you’re thinking,” he says as he closes the door. “I’ll say this once. Do not try to run from me. I will catch you, and people will get hurt. Do you understand this?”
I’m tense as a piano wire, looking around me, the surroundings so well known. My life. Pain laces my heart as I wonder if this will be the last time I ever set foot here.
“I understand,” I say dully.
He grips my chin and forces me to face him. I cry out and jump back as his fangs descend.
“Do you really?”
I nod. “Yes.”
“I can help you let go if you want. Just a little nudge of your mind.”
My stomach clenches. “You said you wouldn’t do that.”
“I couldn’t wipe your whole knowledge of me without risking dire consequences, but this I can do.”
“No, please,” I whisper.
“What will you miss?” he asks and looks around us. “About this?”
I make a slow spin, taking in my home, my memories. “My work.”
“I can’t help you there.”
“My parents.”
“Do you want to leave them a message?”
I grab his suit jacket, clenching the fabric. “Yes!”
“Then do. Something else?”
“I don’t want to live in the basement of a sex club the rest of my life.”
“It’s only for a few days, until I find something else.”
I exhale. Thank God. “Will you make me like you?”
“No.”
“I—”
“Pack whatever you need, write your parents a letter. We have more things to tend to before the dawn.” His mood seems to change, the lethal being that he is surfacing. His voice is suddenly stern, leaving no room for further questions.
I have more bags than I can count, filled with some seriously indecent clothes, and a few classy. I have the basic beauty products, a sinfully red lipstick, a few gorgeous pairs of shoes with the famous red sole, little nothings of lingerie, lace, latex, and leather. I have my laptop, my old photo albums, and a few books.
I have a vampire who keeps me as his toy but treats me as if I’m his whole world.
Shopping with Lou was surreal. And fun. Somehow I hadn’t expected him to be so comfortable in a high end fashion store, but he acted as if he owned it. I have never been so pampered in my life.
When we left the club, there were only a few of the staff, but when we came back, people had begun to line up on the sidewalk, giving me dirty looks as I stepped out of the limo with Lou. I’m his captive, but he manages to make me feel like a queen. I’ve always had to take care of myself. My parents were numb with grief after my brother’s death, and my home was never the same. I moved out early. I have always worked hard, leaving little time for play, and no time for a partner. I should scream and yell and demand my freedom, but I’m enjoying this too much.
And even if I wasn’t, I can’t escape Lou. I have to obey him. I have no choice.
I’ve been left alone. Again. He left to feed and told me to pick an outfit and surprise him. I have strewn clothes all over the bed, the chair, and the desk, but I already know what I’ll choose. A champagne colored halter neck latex dress keeps catching my eyes. It has a loose fit, bares almost my whole back, and ends only a few inches below my butt. It’s both indecent and classy at the same time.
I get a burst of energy as I make up my mind and clear the room in a mere few minutes, filling the closet, pushing his few belongings to the side. My life has taken the weirdest turn, but right now every minute is an adventure and I want to live it. Everything good comes to an end sooner or later, and whatever happens, this won’t last so I’ll just have to make the best of it.
I head for the shower, pleased that I’m not as dizzy anymore. Good food with lots of red meat, vitamins, and resting have made me able to at least walk around without risking fainting. I probably won’t run a marathon anytime soon, though.
Blow drying my hair, I take care to leave it curly and wrap it into a loose bun high on my head. I shimmy into the dress, smack on some lipstick, and then I wait. A new glance in the mirror makes me pull off my thong. The unbroken line of the latex caressing my butt is a much prettier sight. I’m jittery. The memory of his touch makes goosebumps chase each other along my thighs, and peaks my nipples. Slouching on the bed, I jerk from the sudden knock on the door and sit straight up. Before I can do anything, the door opens and in comes a woman unlike anyone I have ever seen.
Her moves are cat-like, elegant and predatory. She is very pale and wears no make-up that I can discern. Long, white-blonde hair rests untamed over her shoulders. In her white dress, she looks like an angel. An angle with fangs, because even though I can’t say for sure, I’m convinced she’s a vampire. I don’t know if I should worry.
“Kat?”
I scramble to get out of bed, making a completely unnecessary move to smooth out my dress. Latex doesn't wrinkle. “Yes,” I gasp, out of breath as if I’ve been running.
Her eyes travel my body before she looks back up at me with a little smile. “I’m Selene. Why don’t you come with me?”
“I’m— I’m not sure I’m supposed to…”
“Psh. Your Lou is a guest here. As long as he’s under our roof, he can’t make demands. I’ll keep you safe, that’s all he cares about.” She holds out her arm and crooks her index finger, beckoning me closer.
My Lou.
I’m not sure we have started with the possessive pronouns yet, but the words send a trickle of warmth through my chest nevertheless.
I walk toward her, enticed by her beauty, curious about meeting another vampire. “Is it your club?” I glance at the door that she has left ajar. The music pounds, and heat wafts in, carrying with it scents of cologne, sex, and sweat.
Selene laughs. “It’s Lucius’. He will appear in a little while. Come if you want to meet him. We are all curious about the little human our guest houses here.”
“Do you work for him? Lucius.”
“Oh no. He’s my lover, my mate, my forever.”
“He turned you?”
She cocks her head and gives me a once-over. “That’s a story for another time.”
I move up to her, feeling as if I’m walking through a fog, a fog that manifests itself as we walk through the corridor. Selene twines her lean, strong fingers with mine, the gesture surprising me with its intimacy.
My memories from a couple of days ago, when Lou carried me through the dungeon-like basement, are a fragmented mess and I’ve had a hard time telling my own pain and fear apart from the waves of rapture, of desperation, and satisfaction that washed over me. I remember quivering bodies, whips lashing through the air, palms slapping against flesh. I tiptoe next to the beautiful vampire, apprehensive and morbidly curious. We pass a row of doors, much like the door to Lou’s room. These are closed and I don’t hear anything from behind them. The passage opens up into a large room, separated into several sections that each seem to have their own use. I stop and stare, awed.
“Your heart rate just doubled, dear.” Selene’s sensual voice in my ear makes me jump.
I glance at her, then back at the scenes before us. At the other side of the room is a large bar in a polished dark wood, its side dressed in sinfully red velvet. It’s crowded with men and women. I can’t tell a vampire from a human, but the apparent pecking order makes me suspect who’s who, especially the ones with collars who sit on the floor by the feet of their masters. They have to be human. It looks humiliating, terrifying, but that’s not what I r
ead on the faces of the submissives. They look hungry and somewhat desperate. Some look blissfully content.
Next to the bar is a podium with two throne-like chairs, both of them empty at the moment. I give Selene a quick glance and her barely-there nod confirms my suspicions. Hers and this mysterious Lucius’.
My palms turn damp as I scan the rest of the room. There is… furniture that looks more like medieval tools for torture. A cross with a young woman tied to it, buck naked, red horizontal welts adorning her back and butt. A man kneels between her legs and… I squeeze my thighs together, a wave of heat crashing through me, thinking about where Lou had his tongue a few hours ago. The man looks up and puts a finger to his lower lip, wiping off a smear of red. Along the inside of the woman’s pale thigh there’s a trickle of blood. He meets my gaze, his expression turning leery, and I look away, my cheeks burning.
“Bass, behave,” says Selene and he shrugs and returns to his… food. I have to force myself to look away. Is this my future?
In the center of the floor there’s a man and a woman dancing. They move with the grace of professional ballroom dancers, him in a tux, her in a long, red dress, the slits up the sides showing off her toned thighs. He bends her back, the angle dangerously steep, then snatches her up and twirls her around him. The sight is odd in this cave of carnage but when I zone in on them, I notice her eyes are glossed over and that there are two pricks in the skin on her neck. Whatever game they’re playing, they probably fit right in.
“Can I offer you something to drink?” asks Selene.
“Give me a Bloody Mary,” I mutter.
She laughs and pulls me with her, right past the strange couple. The man looks up as we pass and it feels as if the skin on my back shrinks as his eyes flash red. Lou, with his gracious kindness, has made me forget what they are, but looking around me, I realize I’ve been seduced into a treacherous calm. These creatures are dangerous.
It’s as if Selene reads my mind. “Don’t worry, Kat. No one here will hurt you. You’re under the protection of Lou, and he is Lucius’ guest. That makes you near-invulnerable. Untouchable.” She flicks a well-manicured finger toward the bartender, then points to the floor next to the two thrones. “Sit.” I sink down on my knees and tie my hands in my lap. Selene lays a cool hand on my neck and guides me so that I’m looking at the room again. “What do you see?” she asks.
Her Vampire Hero (Midnight Doms Book 4) Page 7