* * * *
Lana sat on the bed and waited anxiously for Aleksei to tell her what the hell was going on. She bit her bottom lip and wrung her hands together.
“Well?”
He sat there just staring at her, not moving or speaking. “What do you know about folklore?”
What a strange question to ask. “What does this have to…?”
He held up his hand and cut her off before she could finish.
“Please, just humor me. What do you know specifically about vampires?”
She would have laughed at him if not for the fact that she saw and felt those wicked-looking fangs in his mouth. “I don’t know, I guess as much as anyone else does. I don’t sit and read up on it or anything.”
If he said he was a vampire, she was making a run for the door. Maybe he was in a cult of blood drinking people who wanted to be vampires. That would explain the teeth, but what about the rest of him? His eyes had been so black, but then again contacts could have achieved that. His body grew bigger and more muscular, but maybe that had just been a trick of her eyes—her body going into shock from fear.
He shook his head and closed his eyes before opening them and staring at her again. “Okay, I’m going to tell you some things that are going to sound unbelievable, but just remember what you saw tonight.”
She nodded. The images of his massive body huddled in the corner came rushing through her mind. “Don’t even tell me you’re a vampire. There are a lot of things that could cause the things I saw tonight.” She inched a little closer toward the door. The bed was huge, and her movements didn’t seem to do anything except alert him to the fact.
“No, not a vampire…so to speak.”
“What do you mean? People aren’t vampires.”
“You’re right, people aren’t vampires, but Blood Breeds are.”
“Blood Breeds? Is that some kind of cult?” Panic swelled inside of her, and she looked toward the closed door. He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender as he inched his body closer to hers.
“Be calm. Let me explain before you jump to those absurd conclusions.”
His thickly accented voice did something to her that made her want to do whatever he said. She didn’t want to make him angry, so she willed herself to act calm as she thought out an escape route. Just one big lunge and she could make it to the door and run as fast as she could. What would she do once she opened the door, though? Where would she go? She didn’t even know where she was.
“Go ahead then.” Her voice was raised, but she made herself appear calm.
“Everything I’m about to tell you will seem like a fairy tale, but it is all the truth, whether you accept it or not.” He ran his hand through his hair and looked down for a minute before bringing his eyes back to hers. “My name is Aleksei Draukowski. I am a Blood Breed of the royal blood line—the King of my kind. My kind originally came from Russia, but as times progressed, families branched out to different countries. We are not too different from your species, although our differences are quite grand.”
“What kind of differences?” She was surprised she was able to sound calm. This was an absurd conversation she was having, and she should be running and screaming in the other direction.
“Well, for instance, we have gifts unique to each Blood Breed. Mine, for instance, is that I am able to read minds—able to see a person’s whole existence in a matter of seconds.”
“Can you read my mind?” She didn’t know why, out of everything he told her, that was the one question she wanted to be answered. Of course she didn’t believe him and his absurd story, but curiosity caught the better of her.
“Just snippets here and there, but I really have to be focusing to hear your thoughts, and even then I can’t always pick them up.”
“Huh, what else?” She sounded sarcastic. It was clear in her voice even if she hadn’t meant for him to hear. He looked at her, his face showing that same stoic expression he always held.
“Well, our life spans are immeasurable. We are faster, stronger, and our…diet is different. We require different nutrients to survive. We are not able to tolerate sunlight, either.”
“Your diet is different? What do you mean you can’t tolerate sunlight?” Her hand flew to her neck as she waited for him to say what she already suspected.
“We drink blood. It gives us the required nutrients we need for our species to survive. As for the sun, it will kill us on contact.”
“Blood?” She stared at him with shock, and even though she didn’t want to believe what he told her, the small wound on her neck told her otherwise. Forget the whole sunlight thing. He actually talked about drinking blood. People weren’t vampires, and they didn’t drink blood, not sane people, anyway. She was in a room with a crazy man, and she needed to get out right away. He continued talking as if this was all so normal, as if he had these conversations all the time.
“Our appearance alters when our emotions are at their strongest, although an older Blood Breed can control those changes. You saw that earlier.”
He stopped, as if he waited for her to respond. She waved her hand for him to continue, not trusting herself to speak calmly anymore.
“We also have what is called the Allure, it’s a gift all Blood Breed’s possess. It makes us irresistible to the opposite sex. Once in a lifetime, a female or male is created for a Blood Breed. We call them our Chosen. Fate chooses that person to complete us—to combine our lives and hearts together for all eternity.”
Why was he telling her these things? Why would she want to even know? Why was she even allowing him to continue talking about it?
“Lana, you are my Chosen. You are the one fate made for me. I have waited my whole life for you to be created.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “The pull I had toward you didn’t make any sense. I thought it was just my blood lust, but when I had your soft, warm body under mine, and when I sank my fangs into your smooth skin, I knew I had finally found you. You’re mine, Lana, and I can’t let you leave.”
Chapter Ten
Lana didn’t wait any longer. His last words confirmed her suspicion that he had no intention of letting her leave. Bolting off the bed, she ran the short distance to the door and wrenched it open. She didn’t look back to see if he followed her, just pumped her legs faster.
The stone floor was cold beneath her bare feet, but that just meant freedom. The walls were a blur beside her as she raced away. She didn’t know where she was going, but it didn’t matter. Lana followed the long hallway as it twisted and started to ascend. She took a chance and looked back, expecting to see him behind her. A wave of relief washed through her at the empty space, and she ran faster. A door came into view, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Jerking the door open, she ran up the stone steps on the other side.
Her heart raced, and a light sheen of sweat coated her body. A large wooden door stood at the top of the stairs and she smiled. Why was he letting her go so easily? Why wasn’t he following her? There was no time to contemplate the whys. She just needed to escape.
Stopping at the top of the stairs, she tried to make her breathing less erratic and pressed her ear to the door. She strained to hear any kind of sound, but either she was in the clear or the door was too thick for her to hear anything. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the handle and slowly pushed it open a crack.
Peering through the small opening, she saw an ornately decorated sitting room with leather furniture, a big screen television, and a bar off to the side. Not hearing anything, she pushed the door open farther and stepped through it. Shutting the door quietly behind her, she crept over the thick rug. She looked around the room in search of a phone but couldn’t find one. Stepping into a small hallway off of the room, she peered around the corner.
The room was lavish and expensive in taste, with antiques littering every available space. The hallway branched into a foyer with closed doors lining the walls. The faint sound of music caught her attention, and she crept
toward the sound. As the music got louder, she stopped at the door it seemed to come from. The door was slightly ajar, and when she looked inside, she was assaulted with the color black. Everything from the walls and floor to the fixtures and furniture was black.
Her eyes widened as a woman stood naked in the center of the room, her arms tied above her head and a blindfold covering her eyes. A heavily muscled man walked in front of her, nothing covering him except a pair of loose, faded jeans. His hair was as dark as the room and fell to his shoulders. His chest was bare and smooth, a dark line of hair going from his belly button and disappearing below his jeans. He looked similar to Aleksei in so many ways there was no doubt in her mind they were related.
She would have thought the woman was a victim, kidnapped just like her, if not for the fact that she moaned and thrust her large breasts out at his touch. He spoke to her in a strange language, which made the woman moan and thrust her chest out. He caressed her breasts so gently that his next move had Lana gasping. He walked behind the woman, his hands palming her breasts as he ran his fangs over her exposed neck. Twin rivulets of blood spilled out from his mouth and ran down her neck and over her breasts. The woman moaned loudly, the music not able to mask her sound of ecstasy. Her head was thrown back, her fangs prominent in her mouth.
Lana covered her mouth to stifle the scream welling in her throat and stepped away from the door. She turned around and ran into a very hard chest. Her hand still covered her mouth as she looked up into a masculine face. The man in front of her looked down at her with dark eyes, a smile covering his lips. Twin fangs protruded from his mouth, huge and deadly in their appearance. His hands wrapped around her upper arms, steadying her, but not stopping the tremors wracking her body.
“I see you’ve found your way out.” His gaze ran up and down her body as tears stung her eyes. “Why Aleksei would let you leave, I haven’t the faintest. I, myself, would have had you so exhausted you wouldn’t have been able to move.” He licked his lips and inhaled deeply. “You smell so sweet, too.”
She felt sick and on the verge of passing out. She reared her leg back, on the verge of kicking this man where it counted. Before she could actually do it, a deep and very familiar voice spoke.
Aleksei stood several feet away with a look of pure menace on his face. He spoke his words quickly and roughly in the same language she heard several times tonight. His voice sent reassurance through her, and she didn’t want to think too deeply into that. She felt calmer knowing he was there, and that scared her. She looked at him as he continued to speak fast, angry words to the man holding her. As she watched Aleksei, his eyes turned from a beautiful bright blue to piercing black. The black spread like an ink stain, covering even the white of his eye. The man still held on to her arms, a sharp intake of breath coming from him as he stared at her. He immediately let go of her arms and stepped back.
“I’m sorry, my brother’s Chosen.” He bowed his head and walked briskly out of the room, leaving her alone with the man she ran from.
A noise sounded behind her, and she turned around. The man with the black shoulder-length hair stood by his open door, his chest bare and the front button of his jeans undone. He smiled a knowing smile, bowed his head also, and shut the door.
The feelings washing through her confused her and made her dizzy. She had no idea what happened—had no idea what was even going on. The room started to spin, the walls twisting and turning as she fell back. Before she hit the ground, strong arms caught her and swept her off her feet.
She stared, dazed and confused, into Aleksei’s face. She should have been frightened, but it was hard to feel those emotions when so many other ones rushed through her. As hard as she tried to hate him, to run from him and avoid him, it all seemed so fruitless when she was this close to him.
His scent enveloped her, went through each of her senses until she was intoxicated. She didn’t know what he said to that man, but whatever it was saved her from the fate she had been about to receive. She couldn’t deny the relief she felt when she saw him. At that moment, something inside of her turned on, a recognition she could rationalize or understand.
It was a strange realization, but at that moment, she knew the man holding her would never hurt her, could never hurt her. She allowed herself to close her eyes and rest her head on his shoulder, letting a blanket of security wash over her. Something was definitely wrong with her, but how could she fight it when it felt so right? Could she really believe everything he told her? Was this man, the one who cradled her so gently and protectively, really a vampire of myth and lore? She couldn’t deny everything she saw thus far was very, very real.
* * * *
She sat naked in the dark, the room pleasantly warm. She looked around, a dim light brightening the darkness and illuminating everything. She sat alone, but she was frightened. She looked down and stared at her birthmark, the mark she always hated. She traced the outer edge, her eyes growing wide as her belly swelled right under her hand. It slowly bulged out, not stopping until she could no longer see her feet. She stood up, her heart racing as she ran her hands over the mound.
Strong jabs thrust through her stomach and against her palms. She couldn’t ever remember having a dream about being pregnant, but this was defiantly one of those. In the next second she was fully clothed, and her stomach was flat again. A force threw her against the wall, and her breath gushed out of her. Fear consumed her as a door appeared in front of her and opened. A large figure stood on the other side, the shadows covering him completely. He didn’t speak as he pressed their hand over her birthmark. It became warm and then hot under their hand, not easing up, just becoming hotter and hotter. She screamed, fire racing through her body until all she could feel was the heat.
She sat up, breathing heavily and clutching her stomach. She pulled her shirt up and ran her hands over her birthmark. The heat felt so real, like her flesh was actually peeling from her body.
“What’s wrong?”
She heard the voice, but her mind didn’t comprehend who spoke. A light sweat coated her body as she continued to run her hand over her stomach. A finger lifted her chin up, and she looked into worried blue eyes. She stared at his face, the same face that saved her, the same face that was with her now. She breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head against his chest. His body was tense, but he soon relaxed and rubbed her back in soothing circles.
“It was so horrible.” She whispered the words, her tears covering his shirt and making it wet.
She didn’t feel embarrassed, although maybe she should have. She didn’t know why she was turning to Aleksei for comfort when just earlier she ran from him, but here she was doing just that. Whether he told her the truth or not, he hadn’t hurt her. In fact, he saved her. As he held her, warmth blossomed within her, branching out to reach every cell in her body.
She could still feel the dream like it was a living, breathing entity. Her screams echoed in her head, and the terror she felt still encompassed her. She stared up at him, her tears wet against her cheek as he wiped them away. His eyes dropped down to her lips, his breathing picking up as they stayed intimately close. His head slowly lowered, and she knew what was about to come. She should have stopped him, but there was something about this man that made all logic and reason go out the window.
“Ty nuzshna mne bolshe vsevo na svete.”
He was so close to her that his warmth surrounded her. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “What does that mean?” The words were whispered, their breathing mingling together.
“You’ll think I’m crazy.” He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. His hand cradled her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing back and forth.
“Please, tell me. It sounded so beautiful.”
His hand moved down to her neck, his thumb now running over her pulse. Her skin tingled with awareness, anticipation dancing through her veins at the feel of his hand there. The night’s events change
d so rapidly it made her dizzy. At that exact moment, she wanted nothing more than to be with Aleksei in every sense of the word.
“It means I need you more than anything else in this world.” His lips took possession of hers, his tongue sliding over the seam of her lips and tempting them open.
The kiss started out strong and fierce, but he slowed the pace to a more sensual caress. His lips pressed against hers as his tongue swept across the seam of her lips. Their tongues slid together, hot and moist, making her vagina pulse with need. His hand moved down to her hip, his palm gently squeezing as his other hand caressed the side of her neck. Their heads tilted to the side as their mouths worked feverishly together. Their combined moans saturated the room, the sounds making her pussy weep and clench. He pulled away and buried his face against the crook of her neck. His breathing was ragged, but then again so was hers.
“We should stop.”
She weaved her fingers through his short strands, tilting her head as he dragged his lips across her skin. His teeth nibbled and teased, his tongue brushing away the pleasure-pain before he started it all over again. The image of his sharp fangs flashed in her mind, but instead of fear, it had moisture pooling between her legs.
“Ahh, what you must be thinking about to get so aroused. I can smell your sweet cream, and it’s driving me mad.”
His hand moved lower, grasping the edge of her shirt but not pulling it up. Everything he did felt so right, so incredibly right. His mouth left scorching kisses down her collarbone and across her chest. She lifted her arms up as he tore the shirt from her body and tossed it on the floor. She didn’t wear a bra, and her breasts bounced free to his waiting hand. One hand cupped her breast while his thumb flicked across the distended nipple. He slowly made its way down to her other breast, his mouth sucking in the other nipple and gently biting it. She arched her back and moaned as his tongue alternated between her nipples, his teeth lightly tugging on each of them. One of his hands moved across her ribs and down to the waist of her pants. His big body pushed her back on the bed, his hands immediately pulling her pants and panties off. His hand rested above her mound, so teasingly close that she groaned aloud.
The Chosen: A Tale of the Blood Breed Page 8