by Kat Cotton
“Keep going,” I whispered. I arched myself against him.
He pressed harder, still not penetrating, his breath hot on my skin.
Then he did it.
Pain flooded my body as he broke the skin, and it was like no other pain I’d ever felt: a brief moment of hurt followed by a flooding of bliss. Wow. Just... wow. If I’d thought the sex was good, this was sex intensified. The pleasure dialed up to maximum.
I floated way above the world. Nothing hurt. Nothing worried me. I just floated in a beautiful world of nothingness.
As he sucked, I moved myself, baring my neck further to him and pressing his head against me. Every part of me hummed with sheer pleasure. My nipples, my lady parts, even bits of me I’d never known could feel sexual arousal. My little toes throbbed. My fingertips. My pancreas. The whole works.
As he suckled, he thrust harder and harder inside me. I think I screamed. I think I called out his name, but I wasn’t sure what was real and what was in my head. I only knew sensation.
My nails dug into his back. Then my hands entangled in his hair, pulling as I screamed.
That groan, that was me. That orgasmic shudder. My hips rose. My entire body became fluid. The floating became falling, my stomach dropped and my limbs melted away from my body.
Then it was over.
We clung to each other as though we’d fall into a million pieces if we separated. Slowly, he removed himself from my neck.
I sighed.
Nic pressed something against the wound. “Can’t have you bleeding on the good bed linen,” he said.
I kissed Kisho again, our mouths lingering on each other. Then I kissed Nic. Lips met lips, hands fondled flesh, our limbs entwined.
Had Kisho changed? It was too soon to tell. All I knew was that I never, ever wanted to let him go. We were meant to be together, no matter how long that lasted.
Chapter 22: Feeding Frenzy
“Do you feel any different?” I asked Kisho the next morning.
I’d slept with my arm across his chest. Nic had turned during the night but had rested his back against mine. Nic always slept like the dead. Kisho made little snuffly noises in his sleep. I couldn’t remember having felt so warm in a long, long time.
“Not really. But he knows. I can feel it.”
“You’re safe while you’re here, right? He can’t touch you.”
Kisho nodded. “But I can’t stay here forever. That kind of misses the point.”
I rested my head on his chest and toyed with his nipple. “You should stay here, safe, for a while, though. At least until you get stronger. And, you know, we work out how this all affects you.”
Nic stirred beside me. “We should get downstairs and have a pack meeting. The others need to know that Kisho fed.” He pulled me toward him and checked my neck. “That should heal in a day or two.”
Hell, everyone would know. I felt like I’d been caught out doing something illicit.
“Can we do it again before we go downstairs?” Kisho said.
“Sure,” I said, but I wasn’t so sure about doing it with Nic here beside me. Last night had been fantastic, but I didn’t want it to become a regular thing.
It was only when Kisho stroked my neck that I realized he meant feeding.
“Be careful,” Nic said. “You don’t want to overdo it.”
“But I’m so hungry.” Kisho sank his teeth into my neck.
Again, the pain quickly turned to bliss. I stretched out, enjoying the sensations filling me. I could see how this could become addictive.
Afterward, I didn’t want to move. I just wanted to curl up in the warmth of this bed.
“Where’s Nic?” I asked.
“Probably in the bathroom.”
I’d been in Nic’s bathroom. I’d never seen so many beauty products in my life, not even in department stores. I had no idea what he even did with them all. He could be in there for hours, making himself look gorgeous. The stupid thing was, I’d seen him first thing in the morning, and I’d seen him fresh out of the shower, and he never looked less beautiful. He wasted his money on those products
I rested my head in the crock of Kisho’s arm. Normally, the warm smell of him comforted me, but that smell had gone. I wanted that smell back.
Nic came out of the bathroom, fully dressed and more glowing than ever.
“Get out of bed, you two. You need to get ready for this meeting.”
I sighed and slowly moved. If only we could’ve stayed in that bed forever, I’d have been happy.
“There’ll be cake.”
“Okay, okay. I’m moving.”
When we got downstairs, Jeb pursed his lips. Then he walked over and looked at my neck.
“You did it?” he said to Kisho.
Kisho nodded.
I could feel myself blushing, and I never blushed. I hadn’t done anything to be ashamed of. Everyone in this house either fed or was fed on, but I had a long history of thinking vampire feeding was a bad thing.
“We need to get into action,” Nic said. “We have no idea what will happen now.”
This whole thing seemed so risky and uncertain. I wished there was some precedent for the whole half-vampire thing, because I needed to know what would happen with Kisho. That “staying in bed forever” plan had been so much better than any alternative.
“I think we need coffee to deal with this,” I said. Coffee and maybe a few Valium. A stiff whiskey would be fine, too.
“I’ll make it,” Kisho said.
Phew. At least he hadn’t turned all macho male on me. If Kisho had changed, I’d know as soon as I tasted his coffee. His coffee never lied about his emotional state.
“You should try your zappy power on him,” Jeb said. “Since it’s the Vampire King’s power, we can see what effect it has.”
“Really? Really, Jeb? You think that’s a good idea? Because it seems full of risk to me. You know what pain that power produces. If Kisho isn’t immune to it, he’ll be in agony. If he is, it’ll come back on me. Either way, no dice.”
“It’s risky, but we need to experiment.” Jeb paced around the room but kept throwing me strange glances. If he thought he could feed on me, he was smoking the crack pipe.
“There is no way I’m using that power. You can forget it.”
Kisho came back into the living room. “You shouldn’t use it. I wouldn’t ask you to. If do, you’ll put us all at risk.”
“Yeah, so there, Jeb.”
“She’s right,” Nic said. Words I’d never thought I’d hear him say if I lived for all eternity. “You’re just being stupid.”
“Where are the others?” I asked Jeb. This pack meeting was poorly attended.
“Luis and Shelley went out,” Jeb said. “Your screams of lust probably got too much for them. And Andre — well he didn’t come home last night. They should be back soon. Tell me about the feeding.”
“We’ll discuss that when everyone is together,” I said. He wanted all the gory details, but that wasn’t going to happen.
I picked up my coffee. It didn’t taste any different. Every time Kisho’s feelings toward me changed, I could taste it. I guessed the feeding hadn’t actually changed his feelings, just his power to kill his father.
“I got a message from the mayor,” Nic said. “He’s set up a private Facebook group. Team Destroy the Vampire King. Because the ultimate evil can be destroyed via a Facebook group.”
“Oh, I want to join,” I said. “It should be good for a laugh.”
“Yeah, your friend keeps posting selfies on it! And photos of her team researching.”
“You’re not posting selfies?” I asked Nic.
“I don’t post this face indiscriminately.”
At least Nic had closed down his Instagram after Vlad left. It’d been a chore keeping up with his demand for likes.
I grabbed my phone. “Hey, I didn’t even get an invitation to join the group. That really hurts my feelings. The mayor, what a bozo.”
I picked up my coffee cup and took another sip. There was something different about it. Not obvious, just a subtle change in taste. Was that because Kisho had changed, or was he just using different beans?
“Just a sec. I’ll add you.”
I’d moved on to other things, though. The mayor’s group sounded like a yawn. “Ha, video of baby otters. That’s so cute.”
Kisho leaned over the back of the sofa so he could watch too. “Baby otters, oh,” he said.
“I know. Look at that guy. His cute little flippers.”
“You two do realize how serious this situation is? This is no time for watching baby otter videos,” Nic said.
“You’re just jealous because you can’t see it. They’re so cute.”
Nic sighed. I tagged him in the video.
“Oh, these baby otters,” he cooed a minute later.
“I told you.”
I stretched my arms up. My whole body after last night.
“I guess I should shower,” I said. “If we’re just waiting around for the others, I’ll have time.”
I was hoping Kisho would suggest we go back to bed, but he didn’t.
“We could fit in some training,” Nic said to Kisho.
“You love training too much,” I said. “You’re a training junkie.”
“I need to test out Kisho’s powers now so I can see what’s changed.”
“Actually, I was thinking of popping downstairs,” Kisho said. He rubbed his belly. He needed to feed? Again?
My insides ached, thinking of him feeding on someone else, giving them the same feelings of bliss he’d given me, but I really couldn’t let him feed on me a third time. Those bites on my neck hurt, and I wasn’t sure I could take much more. The girls had said it really hurt after the first few times.
Most vampires only fed every few days. This was Kisho’s third time in a day, less than a day. Less than 12 hours, even. Maybe he had to make up for lost time.
“Training is more important,” Nic said. Then he turned to me. “You should be working out more, too. You need to be ready to fight.”
I held my hands up. “If that guy zaps me, I have no defense. None of us have any defenses. This whole situation is dire. We need to know what you plan on doing.”
“What would you do?”
I noticed Kisho slipping away while we talked. I wanted to call him back. Hell, I wanted him beside me now more than ever, but if he needed to feed, I couldn’t stop him.
“Are you asking me that because you have no ideas yourself, so you want me to blurt out what I’d do and then you’ll steal my ideas? Because if that’s the plan, you’re screwed. I have no ideas. I have nothing.”
I folded my legs up on the sofa, but Nic’s outraged stare made me unfold them. Feet on the furniture repulsed him.
“First, we have to find the Vampire King. You know where his lair is. He has to rest sometime. If we get in while he’s resting—” Nic said.
“And he has no guards and no warning system. You know what he does have: those kids. The ones we promised to save.”
“We can overcome the guards. That’s not going to be an issue. What we need to do—”
“This plan is flawed. Totally flawed. I’m scared.” We needed a better plan. We needed something concrete and foolproof. I slammed my hands down on the sofa cushions. “Do you actually have anyone watching the King? If he leaves the lair, we can get in and scope the place out.”
“What do you think Luis and Shelley have been doing?”
“Rescuing people. Taking them to the mayor’s safe house.”
Nic rolled his eyes. “We’re vampires, not the mayor’s bitches. While they’re out doing that, they’ve been watching the Vampire King and gathering information. Even if the mayor is a bozo, he’s also the one who knows what’s going on in this city. There’s a time for action and a time for fighting. We need to know when that time comes.”
I nodded, then stood up. I really needed to get in the shower.
Before I’d even shampooed my hair, someone knocked on the door.
“Clem, get out here. We have an emergency.”
I had no idea what Nic considered an emergency, but if it was anything to do with my wardrobe, I’d kill him.
Chapter 23: Vampire Riot
Luis had messaged Nic. He’d been trying to round up a few families who’d been barricaded in their apartments, but a gang of vampires had struck. Those families would be vamp food if we didn’t get there fast.
Kisho followed us to the van.
“Get back in the house,” Nic said.
“You need me.”
“No way. Do not leave this house until I say so.” Nic folded his arms in that “don’t argue with me” stance.
“I’m coming,” Kisho said.
Whoa. I’d expected him to cast his gaze to the ground and apologize. Kisho never spoke back to Nic.
“Don’t argue,” Nic said. “What’s the point of any of this if you get killed in a fight? There’s always a risk, and you’re much too valuable to us. Anyway, I’m not sure if you can control your feeding urges. Those people might be more at risk from you than the rogue vamps.”
Kisho nodded, but he didn’t apologize. I wondered if Nic noticed. What was I thinking? Of course Nic noticed. If he didn’t say anything, it was because he purposely avoided doing so.
We jumped in the van and took off.
“Will we get there in time?” Jeb asked.
“Hopefully. It sounded ominous,” Nic replied.
It didn’t take long for us to get to the address.
“Looks quiet outside. Hope that doesn’t mean we’re too late.” I sighed.
We jumped out of the van and rushed to the apartment door. Luis came out to meet us, and we rushed down the hall to the elevator.
“They don’t want to leave their homes,” Luis said. “They don’t believe in vampires and think this is all a terrorist plot.”
Nic sighed. “Damn. That’ll make things difficult.”
“Sure will. We’ve had a few like them before. Stubborn as fuck. But they’re on the vampire radar. Feeding’s gotten tougher in the city, with everyone leaving. Any fresh food has vampires gathering like it’s an open buffet. We’ve got to get them to safety.”
The elevator dinged, and we got in. Hopefully, it was still safe to use.
“How many of them are there?” Nic asked.
“Three families, about nine people in total. They don’t have much food and are pretty weak but are determined to stay. They think the government is going to step in and save them.”
“Yeah, good luck with that,” I said. “The government is turning a blind eye to the whole situation. A whole city out of action, and they won’t even admit it. I scoff at the government. Scoff.”
We got to the ninth floor.
“Where are the vamps? I asked.
“There were a few around, then they disappeared,” Luis said. “I don’t think they’ve gone. Maybe lurking in wait, trying to lure the families out of their homes.”
Luis banged on one of the doors.
“Go away,” someone said from inside. “Not interested.”
Nic stepped up. “You’re in danger. If you don’t evacuate, you might not survive.”
“If we have to evacuate, the government would tell us. There’d be warnings on TV. We’re going to wait it out.”
I leaned against the wall. I didn’t need this shit. People could be so blind to the truth, even when the city was falling around them.
“You need food, and you need help,” Luis said.
“There’s no such thing as vampires and other freaks,” said the person inside. “It’s all lies.”
I coughed. An acrid smell filled the hallway. “Smoke?”
Nic nodded.
It was coming from somewhere in the building. Hell. That was why the vampires had disappeared. A fire would get those humans out in the open better than anything.
“Jeb, Andre, see if you can find where tha
t smoke is coming from,” Nic said. “Luis and Shelley, you two try to talk some sense into these people. Clem, you stay here. If they open the door, you’re the only who can go in uninvited.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“Ringing the mayor. These people want official notice. He can give it.”
Nic walked off down the hallway with his phone out. I kept leaning against the wall like Nic had said. That was the perfect job for me. If I spoke to these people, I’d end up going nuts at them for their stupid stubbornness. Luis and Shelley rocked this whole peopling thing.
“Soon, the services to this building will be cut,” Shelley explained. “You’ll no longer have electricity or water. Things in the city are going to get worse before they get better.”
Nic walked back. “Got the mayor.”
“We have the mayor on the phone. He wants to speak to you,” Shelley said.
“How do we know it’s really the mayor?” said whoever was inside.
“If you open the door a crack, you can see him on video,” Nic said. “Look, see how swell he is.”
Jeb came running back. “Those vamps have made a bonfire a few floors down. They’re raiding apartments for anything they can use as fuel. We have to get everyone out, stat.”
“Hear that?” Shelley said. “The building’s on fire.”
As he said it, the alarm sounded. Damn, that was one loud fire alarm. Hopefully, they’d get out now. They couldn’t stay in a burning building — although it did mean they couldn’t hear a thing the mayor had to say. That alarm pierced my head.
“Please, come out!” Shelley yelled over the alarm.
One of the doors opened a crack. “Is it really a fire?”
“Yep. Can’t you smell the smoke? It’s anarchy,” I said. “Get out while you can.”
A woman, a man and a teenage girl came out of the apartment. They all were wearing backpacks. It looked like they’d been prepared to leave for a while.
“I’ll get them to the van,” Andre said.
Nic nodded.
Then, the worst thing possible happened. Harry McConchie came striding down the hall. What the hell was he doing here?