Lured

by Ava McKnight

  She cried out again.

  Another arm wrapped around her, at the waist, and whipped her off the ground. The arms retracted and she was instantly pressed against the demon.

  Definitely not a costume!

  And the stench emitted from the creatures… It made her gag. She wanted to heave at the smell of death and decay. It was as though everything inside them had decomposed and the repulsive odor was seeping out of their pores. If they even had pores. She couldn’t tell. But she did see her captor’s pronged tongue dart out. It flicked her earlobe and she let loose another scream, not sure where she’d found the strength, but grateful she had.

  A heartbeat later, the door burst open behind her. Cass’ head snapped in that direction. Before she could get a fix on what was happening, a body flew toward her. She felt it connect with hers and she cried out as pain lanced through her from head to toe. The three of them fell to the ground—she on top of the demon, the other body on top of her, the wind knocked out of her. In the next instant, a sharp blade, shimmering in the flickering light from the candles and the moon, pierced the demon’s body, not more than an inch from her shoulder. The demon disintegrated and Cass hit the hard floor, the weight of the other body still on her.

  It took a moment for her to recognize her rescuer. Marcus leaped to his feet and Cass watched in her hazy state as he flung the pirate across the room, rendering him unconscious. Then he attacked the other demons with lightning-quick speed that made Cass’ eyes blur even more. All the colors, sights and sounds seemed to merge together so that she couldn’t make out a single figure or object. The pounding in her head worsened. She closed her eyes, certain there was no way out of this mess she’d gotten herself into.

  She heard noises around her, bodies crashing into things, metal and glass rattling and breaking, male grunts and groans.

  Perhaps this was her chance to escape!

  Gathering what little strength she had left, Cass opened her eyes, forced herself onto all fours and crawled toward the open doorway. She barely made it to the middle of the room when strong hands clasped her around the waist. She was hoisted to her feet, losing the other shoe in the process. At first she thought the pirate had her and she opened her mouth to scream again, but then she realized it wasn’t the pirate at all who’d tucked her against his hard body. It was Marcus. He wrapped an arm around her waist and stalked out into the hallway.

  No one paid them much notice as Marcus whisked them out a back door. Cass’ feet never even touched the ground. Once outside, he lifted her into his arms. She tried to hold on, but her arms only flapped at her sides. Her body had finally gone numb from head to toe.

  “Close your eyes,” he told her. “You’ll have to sleep it off.”

  “You knew,” she whispered as her heavy eyelids closed.

  “I suspected. Tried to warn you. It’s not my place to interfere with rituals. Demon politics are tricky and I don’t need the hassle.”

  “But you intervened anyway.”

  “Yes.” His voice was tight and strained. She doubted it was from the physical exertion of carrying her Lord only knew where he intended to take her. The tense evening made him wary. Did that mean she was still in danger from the demons?

  Her fear returned, but it was no match for her exhaustion. Nestled in the vampire’s arms, she couldn’t keep herself from succumbing to the drug coursing through her.

  Chapter Three

  Cass felt something slither along her leg, coiling around it. A snake? A second one coiled around her other leg. Panic seized her. She felt more slithering snakes, all over her body. Wrapping around her arms and her neck, pinning her down, restraining her. Long, thick snakes covered her body, their heads inching toward her face. She felt their tongues dart out and taste her skin, heard their collective hisses, growing louder and louder.

  She couldn’t move, couldn’t push them off her or scramble out of the way. There were dozens of them, multiplying by the second. She was paralyzed with fear, unable to pull in a full breath. As the hissing noise she’d heard in the club echoed in her ears, bringing back memories of the hellish night she’d managed to live through—though it clearly wasn’t over—she cried out.

  Cass’ own scream woke her from her nightmare. She attempted to sit upright, but only made it part of the way as she smacked her forehead on something hard. She yelped in pain as she fell back against a plump pillow. She lifted her hands from her sides, because they actually weren’t restrained. There were no snakes—she’d only dreamed of them. But she did feel the confines of walls all around her, lined with a cool, satiny fabric. Horror returned to her. Kicking and screaming, she tried to find a way out, but it seemed she was trapped in a box.

  A box!

  Oh my God! I’ve been buried alive!

  How could everything have gone so unbelievably wrong tonight? And what had happened to Marcus?

  She pounded on the lid. “Let me out!” she screamed, yet again. She scratched at the satin lining covering the walls, then hammered on the hard wood of the roof of the box with her fists. Her voice was still weak and raspy, but she continued to yell anyway. “Let me out of here!”

  She heard a latch unhook and then the lid flung open. Marcus stood over her, dark, imposing, intimidating. His handsome face glowed in the light from the candle he held. Cass’ mouth gaped. It took only a moment for her to realize where she’d been trapped. She stared up at him, incredulous.

  “You put me in a coffin!”

  Marcus set the candle aside. “It was the safest place for you,” he said in his low, intimate voice. “They followed us.”

  “They did?” she gasped, instantly losing all the verve she’d mustered to confront him. So the nightmare wasn’t over?

  He nodded to confirm they’d been pursued, but his hard features softened as he said, “They couldn’t detect your presence in here or smell your scent. It was the only place I could think of to keep you safe.” His eyes drifted over her body from head to toe. The shimmering ice-blue pools glowed in the candlelight that filled the room. “They weren’t willing to let such a succulent sacrifice get away.”

  Cass’ breath caught. “Are they still…hunting me?”

  Marcus gave a slight shake of his head. “Not anymore. I’ve taken care of them.”

  Along with the others he’d annihilated at the party, Cass thought. She stared up at him, wondering once more what the hell kind of trouble she’d gotten herself into. But something about the easy set of his jaw and the vibrant glow of his brilliant blue eyes put her mind at ease. She was safe.

  As his gaze swept over her again and she thought about his words—succulent sacrifice—she caught the hot flash of lust in his pale irises. A tremor of desire caused her stomach to clench.

  Marcus reached down and scooped her out of the confining box. He held her close to him and she found a huge amount of comfort in his strong embrace. But her body still trembled from the horrific events she’d somehow lived through—not to mention the erotic sensations he so easily evoked.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and held on tight. He carried her out of the cold, dark room, up a flight of stairs, down a hallway and into the living room. Flames from a roaring fire cast shadows across the furniture and walls. Candles flickered on the end tables. She could hear raindrops hit the windowpanes.

  “How long have I been asleep?” Her voice was hoarse from so much screaming.

  “A few hours,” Marcus said. “The sun will come up soon.”

  He crossed to a large black leather sofa and started to place her on one of the cushions.

  “No,” she whispered, unwilling to relinquish her hold on him. She felt safe in his arms.

  Still holding her, he sat down on the couch. Her body curled into him of its own accord. She rested her head on his shoulder. One of his powerful arms wrapped around her waist, the other draped across her shoulders. She inhaled his intoxicating scent, so musky and masculine. His fingers caressed her bare shoulder, then swept higher in
to her messy hair. He worked the pins out until the strands cascaded over both of them. He ran his fingers through the long, plump curls.

  Her lips were close to his neck. All she had to do was lean forward a mere inch and she could press her mouth against his skin. She wanted to. Desperately.

  Instead, she asked, “What happened tonight?”

  She felt his muscles tense all around her. She pulled away and stared at him. His gaze was hypnotic, but she refused to let it sidetrack her. She narrowed her eyes.

  “If this was all some elaborate scheme to get me to come home with you, I’m going to be seriously pissed,” she told him. “I only refused to leave with you because I thought you wanted to drop me at the door and disappear.”

  He grinned at her. It was soft and sexy…and it made her insides burn. “You’re spunky.”

  Cass tilted her head, regarding him thoughtfully. “I don’t like being screwed with.”

  “I’m not screwing with you.”

  “Those…creatures… They were real? That sacrifice was real?”

  He nodded his head. His jaw clenched for a moment before he said, “They needed your blood and your body. They would’ve pierced both of your wrists and let the blood drain into the bowl, mixed with a few other ingredients I’m sure you’d rather not hear about. Then they’d drink the concoction, chant a few ritual incantations and leave your body for their master. He’d possess it for a while, move around as you until the spell wore off. Eventually, someone would find your body and confirm for your family that you weren’t just another missing person on the side of a milk carton, but that you were, indeed, dead.”

  Cass’ mouth dropped open for a moment as horror and shock raced through her. “But…how? I mean…” She shook her head, unable to comprehend or make sense of what she’d seen tonight, of what Marcus had just told her. “Why?”

  Marcus eased her back toward him, so that she was tucked against his body. “There are demons all around us. They prey on easy targets.”

  “Like women who go to hedonistic parties alone,” she said in a soft voice.

  He remained quiet, having the good grace not to point out her near-fatal mistake.

  “What about the pirate?” she asked. “And the Grim Reaper, for that matter? He was the one who invited me to the party and directed me to that room. He said it was a bathroom.”

  “Minions. The pirate tried to help you, as much as he could. But he’s bound to those demons and has to do their bidding.”

  A chill slithered down her spine. “Like luring women into a death trap?”

  “You’re okay now.”

  For several minutes, Cass let him hold her, finding comfort in his embrace, mixed with something more erotic. Something sensual and primal. Her hand splayed on his wide chest, at the opening of his shirt. Her fingertips touched the skin exposed there. It was cool and smooth. She wanted to touch all of him.

  She asked, “Are you a demon too?”

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  Cass tried to reconcile what that meant, exactly. He couldn’t be evil. He wouldn’t have bothered rescuing her. He wouldn’t be taking such great care with her now.

  She considered the superhuman strength he’d exhibited at the club and the flash of a fang she’d seen. She’d thought he’d dressed as a vampire for the party. He’d saved her from demons and then he’d put her in a coffin to protect her.

  All signs were leading in one direction. Yet it was impossible to accept the truth that tickled her brain.

  Instead, she asked, “So you go to the ball to spare foolish women from a terrifying fate?”

  “No.”

  Cass was quiet for a moment. When no further explanation was forthcoming, she asked, “Then why did you save me?”

  His fingers tightened around her long strands of hair. “You’ve stopped trembling.”

  She hadn’t realized it, though she did notice how smoothly he’d changed the subject. “Yes,” she answered. “But I’m having trouble breathing.”

  He laughed, low and deep. “I’m not surprised. Your top is probably cutting off your circulation.”

  She knew that wasn’t the only thing wreaking havoc on her system. Being so close to him made it difficult to focus on anything beyond how hunky he was and how incredibly delicious he smelled.

  Marcus said, “Let me loosen these ties.”

  His fingers skimmed down the long line of her spine, touching the skin between the crisscrossed laces. His touch was light and velvety. He tugged at the double-knotted bow at the bottom of the corset and unraveled the ties. His fingers spread wide across her back, loosening the laces until Cass was no longer packed into the top.

  She sucked in a deep breath, then let it out slowly. “Better.” Though her chest still rose and fell with the excitement that seeped through her veins, naturally sparked by Marcus.

  His hand moved up her back until his fingers tangled in her long hair again. Cass was still tucked against his body, her lips so close to his throat it was all she could do not to brush them against his skin or trail her tongue over the thick cords of his neck. She wanted to taste him. Not just with her lips and tongue. She had the overwhelming desire to graze his neck with her teeth, nip at the flesh.

  His other hand, resting on her outer thigh, moved slowly to the exposed skin between the lacy top of her thigh-high stocking and the bottom of her leather skirt, hitched up from the way she sat in his lap. His fingers caressed her flesh. His hand moved higher, under the hem of her skirt, pushing it farther up.

  This was what she’d wanted in the club. She’d wanted him to shove the material up to her waist and drive himself deep into her pussy, which was wet merely from the nearness of him.

  “Marcus,” she whispered, giving in to the urge to taste his skin. Her head dipped and her lips eased over his neck. Her tongue flicked over the rigid cords before she used her teeth to gently clamp down on the skin. She suckled his flesh, eliciting a groan from him.

  The hand on her leg moved forward to her inner thigh and she willingly parted her legs for him. She wanted him to press the pad of his thumb to her throbbing clit, to push those long fingers into her pussy and make her come.

  But was she still playing with fire tonight?

  She should go home. Process all of this. Yet she couldn’t help but fear she might still be in danger with the demons. Staying with Marcus seemed the more prudent route, though he’d admitted to being a demon too. And she was clearly nuts about him, not exactly a sensible choice for male companionship. How hazardous was it to be alone with him?

  Oh the dilemma…

  “Will more creatures come for me?” she asked.

  His jaw tightened. “It’s possible, when word gets out you escaped a sacrifice. If the demon council thinks you’re a threat because you now know about our world, they might turn a blind eye to retaliation. I can’t say for sure. This has never happened before that I know of.”

  A tremor of anxiety skittered through her. Home clearly wasn’t a practical haven.

  “What do I do?” she asked.

  He fell silent and she listened to the sound of fat drops pinging the window and the snapping of the fire. What she didn’t hear, she realized, was his breathing.

  She had to confront the obvious. Or at least, the suspicion she had—because she wasn’t sure she believed in the undead. Then again, she hadn’t believed in demons either, and look how that had turned out for her this evening.

  Pulling in a deep breath to steady herself, she blurted out, “Are you a vampire?”

  He didn’t speak for several tense moments. Then looking off toward the fire, he simply said, “Yes.”

  Cass shifted in his arms and stared at his strong profile. She’d been instantly and intensely attracted to him the moment she’d seen him at the party. She’d been obsessed with him, really. This wasn’t like what she’d experienced with Darien the past few months. That had been superficial, she knew.

  Words on a screen written by someone she’d
never seen or touched did not constitute a relationship or even a true emotional and physical bond. And though he’d fulfilled a need on some level, he’d never completely satisfied her. He couldn’t, not over a computer and certainly not being the evil entity he’d turned out to be.

  But weren’t vampires just as demonic? They couldn’t all be Edward Cullens, right? That was just a fairy tale for women who liked Robert Pattinson’s striking looks and intense demeanor, along with the romanticized idea of an eternal creature being so in love with a mortal he’d protect her against all odds and love her forever, despite all of her insecurities and shortcomings.

  Cass doubted very seriously that Marcus would sparkle like diamonds in the light of day.

  “Do you want my blood?” she brazenly asked.

  His gaze shifted to hers and a flash of lust lit the abnormally translucent irises.

  “Yes,” he admitted. “A taste.”

  She instantly moved from his lap, but he reached for her and gently pulled her back. “Wait,” he said. His fingers were wrapped around her wrists and she felt the strength in them, despite how gingerly he held her captive. “I’m not going to hurt you.”

  Of course, she wanted to believe that. But again, this wasn’t a movie and she’d already had her life threatened this evening. Actually, it was likely still threatened, according to Marcus.

  With anxiety prickling her, she asked, “How do I know you didn’t steal me from those demons rather than rescue me from them? How do I know you didn’t bring me here because you wanted me all to yourself?”

  “I do want you all to myself,” he was quick to say. No hesitation. “But not in the way you’re thinking. I’m not going to drink your blood and leave your corpse to rot.”

  A shiver made her squirm on his lap. He let out a low groan as her ass rubbed against his erection.

  For a moment, the sensual sound derailed her. Curiosity got the best of her. “You can get an erection, but you don’t breathe?”

  “I do breathe. Just so lightly you can’t hear or feel it. My organs are still intact, they didn’t shrivel up when I became a vampire. They’re just not as necessary to sustaining my existence as yours are. I still need to have blood pumping through my veins, just not as much. So my heart still beats, but too slow and softly for a human to hear it.”