by Lola Gabriel
“First of all, you are my best friend, so you should know how I feel about things like this,” Pyre growled. “Second, I am not running away from my feelings, because there are none.”
Eric stood from the barstool and approached a very defensive Pyre. “Just promise me one thing, please.”
“What is that?” Pyre asked.
“Stop being so afraid all the time. Feeling something for someone isn’t always such a bad thing.”
“Even if it’s towards the wrong kind?”
“Especially then, buddy.”
Pyre nodded. “I’ll talk to you tomorrow. I have to call Axl and find out what the hell is going on.”
“Be safe, Pyre.”
“You too.” Pyre pounded his fist against Eric’s and quickly left the bar. As he walked to his truck parked on the opposite side of the road, his phone vibrated in his pocket. He quickly retrieved it and answered. “Axl, it’s about time,” he glowered.
“Sorry, I was just caught up with something,” Axl apologized.
“Please tell me you found something,” Pyre responded as he crossed the road to reach his truck.
“I did, and it’s pretty bad,” Axl answered. “Apparently, there’s a rogue vampire in town, but he’s just passing through, with no intention of staying. He’s kidnapping women and turning them into vampires for his own personal harem. Masses of women, just for him.”
“Sounds like he’s playing with fire. Where is he located?” Pyre demanded.
“That’s just the thing, though. They’ve all been wiped out.”
“What do you mean, wiped out?” Pyre asked as he climbed into his truck and slammed the door.
“Luka found out about all this, and he was furious, of course. He threw a massive vamptrum and ordered his mercenaries to kill every last one of the harem women, everyone who was working for the rogue vampire, as well as the boss man himself,” Axl explained, sounding very amused by this story. “They torched the house he lived in, which was a cover for an underground containment area where they kept the women.”
Pyre started his truck and drove homeward. “Like a dungeon?”
“Something like that. The whole place burned down, and we all know what happens when a vampire gets burned. But just to be safe, all Luka’s men chopped their heads off. It was brutal. Almost a thousand vampires were killed, along with the leader of the gang and all his henchmen. Imagine if they didn’t torch the place. The body count would have been insane. The cops would have had a field day.”
“Sound like a party,” Pyre muttered grimly.
“You should be happy. Now there’s just Luka and his vampires again. This rogue could have done serious damage.” Axl commented.
“I am. Trust me, no one is happier than I am that all those vampires are dead.”
“Then what’s wrong? Or should I rather not ask?”
“You already did. And nothing is up my ass, if you must know.”
“You having lady trouble, Pyre? Because I know this trick that will make any woman—”
“No, thank you,” Pyre quickly interrupted him.
Honestly, Axl was the last person he’d ever go to for advice regarding women, or anything. Axl was the runt of his family, and Pyre was convinced that his egg had taken a hard fall before he’d hatched, causing some neurological problems. Axl wasn’t the sharpest claw on the paw, but he was loyal and especially good at retrieving information. He was also an elusive Air Dragon, so he could go undetected even by Pyre, which was an amazing skill to have.
“Suit yourself,” Axl said. “Oh, and there’s one more thing. Zeke told me to tell you that he found the stone.”
Pyre’s back straightened, and his jaw clenched. “Where is it?”
“At the vampsion.”
“Where?”
“You know, the vampire mansion. The vampsion.”
“Axl, you can’t just combine two words and think that it’s going to make sense.”
“It worked with vamptrum.”
“That’s beside the point,” Pyre said and rolled his eyes. “So, Luka has it?”
“He does.”
“And you’re sure about that? I don’t want to get there and kill a bunch of those pests to find that your intel is untrustworthy,” Pyre insisted.
“I am so sure, if it’s not there, you can tear me limb from limb. How does that sound?” Axl suggested.
“That sounds like a great idea. Thank you for the intel, Axl. I appreciate it,” Pyre said flatly.
“No problem. Are you sure you’re okay, Pyre? You sound a little distracted.”
“I’m fine. I have to go deal with something. I’ll talk to you later,” he answered as he glanced in his rearview mirror and noticed a black SUV with tinted windows driving right behind him.
“Okay.”
Pyre scowled as the call disconnected, and he dropped his phone onto the center console on his dashboard. His mind filled with thoughts about the conversation he’d had with Eric. It wasn’t a bad idea to convince the vampire in his basement to retrieve the stone for him, but he wasn’t sure whether he would be able to trust her. He didn’t even trust himself around her, hence why he couldn’t be in her presence for that long. There was something so strong and significant about her, it terrified Pyre just thinking about it.
He looked in the rearview mirror again and stepped on the gas pedal. His truck accelerated quickly, but the SUV stayed on his tail. Pyre sighed with agitation and made a sudden turn onto a side road. The SUV swerved and continued to follow him.
His phone rang again, but he didn’t answer it. He kept weaving through the streets of Miami, trying to get rid of the SUV. It passed his truck, and Pyre recognized the three men sitting in the front, a shudder creeping up his spine.
He referred to them as the Blood Brothers; three brothers who had been turned into vampires in the prime of their lives. They were soldiers for Luka, and this wasn’t the first time they had chased Pyre. Mostly, they did it just for kicks, but the malicious expressions on their faces made it abundantly clear that they didn’t appreciate being spied on. Luka had a diverse and integrated underground operation, with resources that could run the entire world if they wanted to. Luka ensured that his business operations went smoothly, and he wouldn’t think twice to get rid of anyone who tried to sabotage it.
The Blood Brother sitting by the window closest to Pyre dragged his thumb across his throat and pointed maliciously at him. In true Pyre style, he returned the gesture by showing them his middle finger, mouthing slowly, “Fuck you.”
The SUV swerved suddenly and hit the truck on the side. Pyre managed to keep the truck on the road, but before he could retaliate, the SUV sped off without any trouble. Pyre’s jaw clenched as he drove himself home, feeling frustrated. Upon entering his house through the front door, he looked around him carefully, in case the Blood Brothers, or any of Luka’s team of idiots, were there. When Pyre was satisfied that he was alone, apart from the vampire he had locked in his basement, he turned on the light and fixed himself a quick dinner of leftover pizza.
He ate in silence, trying to deliberate what he was supposed to do with Finley now. He couldn’t exactly kill her, could he? And he couldn’t exactly let her go. Where did that leave him then? He couldn’t keep her, even if he wanted to.
A strange thought suddenly occurred to him. Maybe he should ask her what she wanted? He hadn’t ever considered that before. He had never considered asking any vampire that, actually. Eric was right. He had also never given a vampire the chance to explain themselves. He was quick to kill them, like they meant nothing.
It sounded heartless, but after what he had dealt with and been through because of them, he had every right to be vengeful when it came to them.
Still sitting at the table, he glanced over at the basement door and sighed. He stood, cleared his plate from the table, and walked to the refrigerator. He opened the door, took out the blood bag he had taken from Finley when he’d caught her, and closed the door ag
ain. He held it with both his hands, and his eyes glowed for a moment. His palm radiated with heat, and the blood started to boil. Being a Fire Dragon certainly had its perks, like never getting burned to a crisp, being able to stay out in the sun on even the hottest days without getting sunburned, and heating up anything with just a touch of his hand.
Although Finley’s gaze had sent a fire through him that was even hotter than he could handle. Was that how it felt when he found his True Mate? Was that the moment of Bonding his mother had told him so many times? He had not believed that anything could possibly feel so intense, yet there he was, trembling at the mere thought. Sure, he had the ability to outwardly look composed and in control, but inwardly, he was a mess, especially in Finley’s presence. He found it hard to keep his walls up with her, and there had been one instance where she had broken through them without even realizing it. Pyre wanted to know her, he wanted to spend time with her, and that was both stupid and dangerous. He didn’t know what she was capable of, and he doubted even she knew.
In the past, he had always followed his heart, which admittedly wasn’t always the right choice, but Pyre learned to deal with those choices by being smart. He had a way of smooth-talking himself out of any kind of trouble, and he used that to his advantage. With Finley, he knew it wouldn’t work, as True Mates could see right through each other’s masks and facades. True Mates saw one another as they truly were, and that was the most terrifying thought to Pyre.
“Fuck it,” he muttered as he opened the door of the basement and proceeded down the stairs, carrying the blood bag with him. He saw her still in the chair, and she looked up at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, and he could tell she was hungry for blood. “I brought you something,” he stated as he held up the blood bag. “Better late than never, I guess.” Finley didn’t say anything. She was too weak to come up with any kind of witty retort. Pyre walked up to her. “I’m not going to untie you. I don’t know what you’re capable of.”
“Neither do I,” she said, in a foreign sounding voice.
Pyre brought the bag closer, and she opened her mouth. Her fangs grew at an alarming rate, and she sunk them into the plastic bag. She drank slowly, making soft sounds that made Pyre’s inside go wild. Yet he stayed perfectly composed.
When the bag was half-empty, he took it away from her. She stared at him indignantly, and he was pleased to see her eyes had returned to normal, revealing a penetrating blue gaze. There was blood on her lips that he desperately wanted to wipe away, but his arm might not come back attached to his body.
“It’s so warm,” she whispered.
“I heated it up a bit,” he stated simply.
“Why?” she asked.
“Some things are just better when they’re hot,” Pyre pointed out, only realizing then how suggestive his words were.
“Why are you giving this to me? I thought you wanted to kill me,” she said.
“I can’t kill you,” he admitted.
“Why is that?”
“Because it turns out that you are more important than either of us thought,” he answered, shifting his weight.
“Important to who?” she enquired carefully.
“To more people than you think.”
Finley raised an apprehensive eyebrow at him. “To you, too?”
Pyre turned away and placed the bag on the table in the corner of the basement. He turned back to Finley and approached the chair. “I need you to do something for me.”
“In exchange for my freedom?”
“No. It’s not in exchange for anything. If you don’t want to do it, then you don’t have to,” he answered.
“What is it?”
“Can I trust you?”
“I’ve had half a blood bag, so I think it’s safe to say that I am thinking quite clearly.”
“Luka, the Vampire Regent, has something that I want,” Pyre started.
“Let me guess, you want me to get it for you because I’m a vampire,” Finley interrupted him. “Why don’t you just get it yourself? Are you afraid of this Luka guy?”
“I’m not scared of any vampire.”
Finley sneered. “Yet here I am, tied to a chair.”
“When vampires are hungry and angry, they become aggressive, and when they bite us,” Pyre said and stopped abruptly when Finley frowned at him, “their bites hurt, okay? It’s uncomfortable, like a rash that doesn’t want to go away.”
He silently scolded himself for almost telling her what he was. He wasn’t going to tell a vampire that he was a Dragon Prince, even if she was his True Mate. He wasn’t ready to share this with her
“So, you’re not a human, but you’re not a vampire, either,” Finley stated. “What exactly are you?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“What can you tell me then?” she enquired coyly and licked her lips. The desire started to build up inside Pyre again, and it was difficult to contain, standing this close to her. He glanced down at her body, and it beckoned him to come closer. “Can I ask you a question?” she asked in a sultry tone.
He nodded. “Sure.”
“Have you ever had sex with a vampire before?”
“Why? Am I about to?” he asked in return.
“Why don’t you untie me and find out for yourself?”
Pyre’s eyes flashed as he walked closer to the chair and lightly touched the restraints with his fingertips.
“Don’t try anything,” he warned.
“I’ll be as good as gold,” she whispered, her breath warm on his face as he loosened the restraints around her wrists. He crouched down on the ground in front of her and loosened the restraints on her ankles. While he undid the shackles, her fingers raked through his hair, and electricity bolted through his body. He looked up at her, his hands now resting on the armrests.
A shift in his jeans made him hoist himself up, and he grabbed Finley’s wrists. He had already been dreaming of this moment ever since he had seen her, and even though it did not make a shred of sense to him, it just felt right. Her body pressed up against his and set him on fire, and he had to fight with every shred of energy inside him not to literally explode into a fiery inferno.
It had almost happened once before, and the effects of that had almost been devastating. He had caused so much damage that large parts of London had been completely destroyed, and it was still remembered to this day. The Great Fire of London, the humans called it. His family referred to it as the day Pyre lost his mind. Of course, he preferred neither, as he didn’t want to be reminded of it.
Focusing his attention back on Finley, whose hands were under his shirt, quenching the fires within him with her ice-cold touch, he let out a slow breath.
“You really shouldn’t be doing that,” he breathed.
She simply bit her bottom lip. “Why not?”
“You have no idea what you’re in for,” he whispered.
“Neither do you,” she whispered in return and pressed her lips against his. Although they were cold, they soothed the fire inside him, and she tasted better than he had ever imagined she would. Her lips parted, allowing him access to her mouth, and he wrapped his arms around her. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he took a few steps towards the wall. Pressing her back against it, he grabbed her wrists, and her legs slid down his sides. Despite the complete lack of lighting in the basement, both Pyre and Finley could see one another clearly and proceeded to remove their clothes as quickly as possible. Finley paused for a moment as she noticed the tattoos on his skin, running her fingers along their surface.
“I love these,” she breathed, her eyes practically smoldering, much like his own. Pyre leaned in, kissing her again, her back pressed against the wall. He lifted her slowly, and she wrapped her legs around him. He lowered her slightly, onto him, and she moaned softly against his ear.
“Oh, my god,” she panted as she tilted her hips, sending a frenzy of desire from her body to Pyre’s. He grabbed her wrists, raised them above her head, and thrust himself d
eep inside her, using her wrists against the wall as support. The muscles of his back and shoulders rippled under each movement; slow at first but increasing in speed and fortitude.
The heat built up inside him, but it was quickly cooled off by Finley, as her wrists broke free from his grasp and wrapped around his shoulders. The tips of her nails sunk into his back as his thrusts continued, and she moaned against his ear, causing him to step on the edge of losing control. He didn’t want to burst out in flames or do anything that might harm Finley, so he took a step back and let her slip off him.
“What are you doing?” she panted.
“Just give me a second,” he answered. She licked her lips and looked around her, seeing the chair with the restraints. A glimmer appeared in her eyes as she walked over to the chair and bent over it. “When you’re ready,” she said to Pyre, playfully smacking her ass and coyly winking at him.
Pyre, feeling a little more in control of himself, approached her like he was on a mission. He placed his hand in the small of her back and slid inside her. She moaned loudly, and her back arched for a moment before Pyre pushed her back down against the chair. He grabbed her hips and thrust himself inside her, deep, fast, and hard. Droplets of sweat trickled down his back, and he was in pure ecstasy. It was only him and Finley in that moment, and nothing else mattered.
Pyre felt her tightening around him and sped up. Finley cried out in pleasure, gripping the armrest of the chair until her knuckles turned even a paler shade of white. Finally, Pyre’s back arched as he climaxed hard, causing him to cringe, and a growl escaped his throat, echoing through the basement. His grip loosened on Finley’s hips, and they rested on her bottom for a moment as Pyre caught his breath. He sunk down on the floor and took sighed in pleasure.
Finley turned to him, sitting down on the chair as she leaned back against the backrest. “You’re definitely not human.”
“What gave it away?” Pyre asked proudly.
Finley chuckled and swept her blond tresses over her right shoulder. “Are you up for another round?”
Pyre raised his eyebrows with intrigue. “Bring it on.”