by Kat Cotton
She got the chocolate out of her handbag. I put my hand out, and she gave it to me. Chocolate had been almost impossible to find in this city for weeks. I’d hide that away and not even give Nic one square.
Hell, if I had more charms, I could sell them to this crowd. There was money to be milked here. A fortune. Why wasn’t I running tours myself? Screw saving people and making the city a safe place. Money and chocolate were worthy goals too.
Only, Kisho pulled me away.
“That was a stupid thing to do,” he said when we got back to the car.
“Stupid, but profitable.”
I pulled the cash out of my bra and counted it. Who knew people would pay so much for a few photos?
“I wouldn’t say no to some of that chocolate,” Kisho said. “You know Nic will smell it as soon as you bring it in the house. You can’t hide it from him.”
“Yeah, let’s eat it now.”
Kisho and I exchanged cheeky grins.
Chapter 19: Mouse
I went to Kisho’s room that night. Even if we didn’t have sex, I needed to be near him. I couldn’t sleep. A million worries were running through my head, and the cold was really getting to me.
I knocked lightly on his door.
“Yeah?” he said.
I opened the door. “I can’t sleep.”
He shuffled over on his bed, and I sat down. He put his arm around me, and I leaned my head against his chest. Lately, we’d tried a few things to minimize the coldness in me. Holy water, although I didn’t know if that worked when it had been stolen from a church. Smudge sticks. A variety of charms. The only thing that worked was Kisho. And, occasionally, the awesome chai he made me.
Sometimes the coldness was bearable. Other times, like now, not so much.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” he asked.
“No. I just want to be with you. How are things going?” I ran my hand over his stomach. He had such a nice stomach.
“Not well. When we practiced on the oranges, it all went fine. It was all like...” He made vampire teeth with his fingers. “But with the girls, nothing.”
That made me happier than it should have. I still wasn’t 100% behind this plan. Not any of it. The feeding and the killing and the war.
“Nic thinks I should have sex with you,” he said.
In every scenario in my head of having sex with Kisho, not once, ever, did we do it because Nic had requested it. My stomach wrenched. I wasn’t sure how Kisho meant it, but it sounded to me like the only reason he’d want me was to please Nic. Surely there was at least a tiny bit of desire there.
“Yeah, he said that to me too, but you know what? There is no way on this earth I’m ever having sex with you because Nic told you to. That is the absolute last reason I’d ever have sex with you.” I sat up. “In fact, if that’s the one reason you want me, I’d rather just go away.”
He pulled me to him. “I didn’t mean it like that. I always thought that we’d — hell, I don’t know. It’s not like Nic is making me do it. He’s just adjusting the timing. After all, you’re my Clem.”
Oh, Jesus, no. My heart melted into a big gooey glop, and my heart never melted. Never once, in my entire sexual history, had my heart even factored into things. I mean, there were a few times when I’d thought I loved a guy. I’d really thought so. I’d had that stirring in my belly and that song in my heart.
It didn’t take long for those feelings to burn out.
With Kisho, it was different. There was always heart involved and not just vagina.
We lay facing each other, his hand on my hip. I gulped. Part of me wanted to stop right here, because I didn’t want Nic orchestrating my life. He controlled me way too much. Kisho could be his bitch, but I sure wasn’t.
It wasn’t just that, either. I wanted things to stay perfect.
The only thing I knew for sure was, the stronger these gooey feelings got, the more I’d hurt in the end. I’d slept with guys in the past who’d turned into real bastards the next morning, but I’d never really cared for them that much. They’d just been guys. But if Kisho rejected me after he fed, that would destroy something inside me.
Why the hell did life have to be so complicated?
Waiting and holding back had never been the way I did things, but the timing for this didn’t seem right. We’d only kissed once. Even then, I’d been tentative. I didn’t do relationships. I rarely did sex with creatures I didn’t kill afterward.
Before things could go any further, Hellhound came bounding into the room.
“Hey, little guy,” Kisho said.
The dog jumped onto the bed, shaking something.
“Jesus, what does he have in his mouth?” I said.
A mouse?
And it was still alive!
I screamed and jumped up.
“What do we do?” I asked Kisho.
Kisho frowned, that big frown that crumpled his whole face. “He’s killing it.”
The mouse gave a plaintive squeak.
“I guess he’s a dog,” I said. “Dogs kill things.”
“We can’t just let him murder it on my bed.”
“If we get the mouse off him now, it’ll be too injured.”
Kisho grabbed Hellhound around the neck, trying to pry his mouth open. “I know, but at least we can kill it humanely. That’ll be better than letting the poor thing be tortured to death.”
I wasn’t too sure about that plan. I wanted to be humane, but I also didn’t want mouse blood and guts all over me.
“Drop it. Drop it now,” Kisho said.
I walked to the bedroom door. “Nic, come and deal with your dog,” I called out. He’d stolen the dog off me, and he’d made such a big deal about it being his dog, the least he could do was clean up its mess.
Hellhound gave a low growl as Kisho tried to get the mouse from him. Even though Kisho wanted to rescue that mouse, he was trying to be gentle so he didn’t hurt the dog either.
Nic ran in and sized up the situation. “Gross. That mouse is dead now. Let him eat it.”
“We can’t do that,” Kisho said. “We should at least bury it.”
Kisho got a handkerchief from his drawer and wrapped up the mangled mouse body.
This was the person they thought would kill the Vampire King? The same person who couldn’t even bear to see a mouse get killed. How could I have faith that Kisho could win? The thing that made Kisho Kisho was his soft heart.
Kisho took the mouse to the garden with Hellhound yapping at his heels. That dog still wanted his mouse snack. Nothing surer that as soon as Kisho buried it, Hellhound would dig it up. I didn’t want to tell Kisho that. Let him think the mouse would have a decent burial.
Nic stripped the linen from Kisho’s bed. I wasn’t sure if any of the mouse gunk had gotten on it, but you couldn’t be too careful with that stuff.
“You aren’t very good at seduction, Clem Starr.”
I put my hands on my hips. That was going too far.
“Huh? It was your dog. No one has sex with a mouse murder going on right there beside them. Well, no one normal, anyway. There are some kinks I don’t even want to get into.”
With that, I went to join Kisho in his mouse funeral. There’d be no sex tonight, that was for sure.
Chapter 20: Electric
Nic messaged me to go to his room. Like he couldn’t walk a few steps to get me.
I planned on ignoring that message. He’d just nag me about having sex with Kisho again, and that wasn’t something I wanted his input on. But then, Nic’s room was where the cake was.
I got up and walked downstairs.
“What’s this about?” I asked as I opened his door.
I wasn’t expecting to see Kisho strung up in the middle of the room. I sucked in my breath. Kisho had his shirt off but was still wearing pants. His body was stretched out with his hands bound over his head, connected to a hook in the ceiling.
“Come in,” Nic said.
I knew exactly wh
at he was doing. I wanted to think I was way beyond this, but hell, Kisho had a hot body. Just the sight of it made my resistance fall away.
I gulped.
Nic took my hand and dragged me from the doorway into the center of the room.
“You want to do this, Clem Starr. You know it. We need to punish Kisho.”
His low, husky voice cut right through me. How did he know me better than I knew myself?
The last time we’d done anything like this, Nic had been angry. He’d refused to let me touch Kisho, even to comfort him. This time, Nic wouldn’t refuse. He wanted us touching.
Kisho squirmed, but the leather cuffs on his wrists held him tight.
Nic grabbed my hand again and ran it down Kisho’s back. Kisho’s body quivered beneath my touch. The next time, Nic didn’t need to force me to touch him. I ran my fingers down the crease between his shoulder blades. Then my fingers trailed down his sides. That squirm — was it pleasure, or was he just ticklish?
“Do you really want this?” I whispered in Kisho’s ear. I had to know he did, or I’d walk away.
Kisho nodded. “Please, Clem.”
The way his voice hitched shot straight to my insides.
I touched him gently all over, my fingers trailing over the strong muscles of his arms, then down his back, stopping at the waistband of his pants. Each touch brought a shudder from him.
Nic placed the riding crop in my hand. “You know what to do.”
I wasn’t sure, though.
“Please,” Kisho pleaded.
When Nic played with him, Kisho remained silent. That’s what Nic demanded. Personally, I enjoyed each plea.
I started slowly, running the leather edge lightly over his skin. A light sheen of sweat covered his back, enough to make it glisten.
“You’re too slow,” Nic said. “Get into it.”
He sat on the edge of the bed.
“If I do this, I do it my way,” I told him.
Nic nodded, then held his hand up as if to say ‘go ahead.’
I teased Kisho with the edge of the crop some more. His shudders turned to writhing. His fingers twined in the leather bindings.
I reached around him, undoing his zipper so that his pants fell to the floor. The white jocks soon followed. Kisho stood completely naked and rock-hard. I ran my hand along the length of him before stepping back. I needed a moment to pause. I wanted to watch him, strapped there naked. The sight of his strong body turned so helpless filled me with heat. He wanted me, and he trusted me. I had total control of that body.
My heart was beating like crazy. I needed to calm a little, so I took a deep breath. I shut my eyes, steadying myself, and tightened my fingers around the handle of the crop.
I’d wanted this from the first time I’d seen Nic and Kisho together.
I raised the crop and flicked it against his shoulders. He flinched, followed by a low moan. I struck again. The way his body moved when the leather struck his flesh sent echoing shudders through me. A knot of excitement grew in my belly.
I struck again, imagining the smile on his face. Nic really needed to have a mirror set up here, because I wanted to see Kisho’s reaction. This time I struck harder and his moans became louder, each throaty sound reverberating through me.
My body tingled. I needed to touch him. I wanted his arms around me, but I also wanted to continue like this.
I moved a little, then brought the crop down on his butt cheek. His back arched, and I struck again. His moans became so loud, they echoed through the house. That urged me on.
He cried out.
“Oh, Kisho.” The words shot out of me.
I pressed against his back. My need for him could barely be contained within my body. I bit into his shoulder, making him writhe against me. I tried to undo his wrist cuffs, but my fingers fumbled with the buckles. Hell, I couldn’t get hold of those straps. My chest bounded with the frustration.
Then Nic stepped forward and unbuckled Kisho’s hands. He could shut up with that grin.
Kisho fell to the floor, and I lowered myself beside him, my arms around his neck. His lips found mine, this kiss no tentative exploring but a magical explosion of all I’d held within me. My chest tightened and my breath almost stopped. I felt like I’d fallen, spiraling out of control.
The way my pulse pounded, I was sure I’d have a heart-shaped imprint on my chest. Was this love? If it was, love felt a helluva lot like some kind of internal organ failure. My body was hammering with the most urgent need I’d ever felt. The intensity of this moment became more than my body could handle.
Then I saw it.
My hands. The blue glow. Only a slight glow, but enough.
I gasped and scrambled back, needing to get away from Kisho.
Next thing I knew, Nic’s arms had circled my waist pulling me to my feet.
“Relax. Breathe.” Nic kept holding me tight, pressing his body to my back. “You can control it.”
Could I, though? I might hurt Kisho. I might cause him pain, real pain, not just “playing around sexy pain.” I could never live with myself if I did that. Now that I knew the horror of that pain, this power terrified me. I couldn’t make it stop.
“I can’t do it. I can’t,” I sobbed.
Kisho rose to his feet, but I couldn’t turn to him. Instead, I clung to Nic.
This had never happened when I’d had sex with Nic. The risk had never occurred to me. Did this mean I was incapable of ever having sex with Kisho? It was Kisho and Kisho only who could cause this.
My body heaved with sobs. Tears ran down my face, ugly-crying tears. My nose ran. I’d turned into a blubbering mess.
Nic grabbed hold of my hands, squeezing them between his own. Slowly, the light went out.
“You would never hurt Kisho,” he said. “Deep down, you know that. It’s okay. You have control.”
The smile he gave me was one that would cure the world, a gentle, healing smile. The stupid thing was, when he smiled that smile, I believed him. He kept smiling at me as he brushed my hair from my face. If only Nic would smile at me like that forever, I’d never punch him again.
Then Nic picked me up and laid me on the bed. He settled on one side of me and Kisho on the other. They both stroked me gently.
“It’s okay,” Kisho said. “See, your hands are back to normal.”
That was fine for him to say. I had no freakin’ idea what had happened there. My body had stopped being mine and had become an enemy. I couldn’t live inside a body like that.
“Try it again,” Nic said, turning me to face Kisho. “Try kissing him, but this time take it easy. I’ll be with you. I’ll keep you safe.”
I hated that vampire because, when he said things like that, I believed him.
Chapter 21: Feed
I kissed Kisho gently, just a brush of his lips with mine. Then I jolted and looked at my hands. Nothing. I breathed again.
Then I turned and kissed Nic, a much less gentle kiss this time. As I kissed him, Kisho stroked my back.
I tried kissing Kisho again. I moved closer to him and put my arms around him. While I didn’t relax, I didn’t tense up, either. His lips felt so good against mine.
“Okay?” Nic asked.
“So far.”
Then Nic leaned across me and kissed Kisho. That was so hot, I thought my blood would boil. My hands cupped their heads as they kissed, and their bodies pressed against me. Hell, both of them were as hard as rocks. That got my body pounding. Then they broke away and Kisho kissed me again. I ran my hands up his chest, finding the hard nubs of his nipples.
I needed to take this easy, but every part of me cried out to get into it. I didn’t want to wait. Screw my cock-blocking glowy hands. I’d cut my hands off if they didn’t behave.
Nic eased my top up, and I only broke my kiss with Kisho so he could raise it over my head. My hips rocked against Kisho’s. I wrapped my leg over his, pulling him closer. I needed the feel of his cock against me. The taste of him became intoxi
cating. Part of my brain was aware of Nic stripping me, but mostly I was preoccupied with Kisho.
One moment we were kissing; the next, he was on top of me. I tried to focus on my breathing. I didn’t want to lose control again, but when Kisho entered me, all control slipped from me in the best possible way. All I knew was the sensation of him.
I gasped as he entered me.
I kept gasping as he slowly, oh-so-slowly, inched his way deep inside me.
The whole time, Nic stayed beside me. That wasn’t weird at all. Somehow, it seemed right. Comforting to know he was watching over me and would stop me from getting all glowy again. I’d never have been able to relax otherwise.
I writhed beneath Kisho, wanting to take him even deeper inside me. My body heated, truly heated, all coldness gone. I wanted to close my eyes but forced myself to look at him. His face, rising above me, was so beautiful. He smiled that shy smile.
The world became pure bliss. Not the red-hot passion I felt with Nic but something more fulfilling, like a rainbow symphony of color. Like a carnival ride of pleasure. Like the best cake I’d ever eaten. Nothing else in this world compared.
As he thrust harder, my fingers dug into his shoulders. I moved with him, arching my back. Why had I waited so long? Being with Kisho felt more right than anything in my life ever had.
I kissed him again, but this time felt different. I pulled my head away.
His teeth. He wanted to feed.
I’d never had much respect for anyone who let vampires feed on them. I mean, the groupies were all nice girls, but the feeding seemed like a degrading thing to me. Now, though, I wanted it. I wanted to be the one. His first.
“Do it,” I whispered.
“I can’t.”
“Do it. I want it. Please.”
I cupped his head, pulling him to my neck, and he didn’t resist. Nic’s hand joined mine, and the two of us urged Kisho on. He could do it with me. I’d never wanted him to feed, but I knew I couldn’t stop it. There was only one way this would play out, and if he was going to feed, it made sense that it would be me.
His teeth scraped against my skin. I squirmed with the pleasure-pain of it.