I can’t stop my face from twisting under the tears, baffled. “If not for that reason, then why do you want to know about my vision?”
“Because,” he puts the white rock on the blanket in my lap, “I wanna know if my end is going to be painful, punishment for all I’ve done, or if it’s going to be a reward for completing two-thousand years of hard work.”
“A reward?” I don’t follow. Thinking. Thinking. Thinking. Then, it hits me like lightning. “When was the last time you had a woman, Sonny?”
I have hope he’ll say just yesterday. Or last week, perhaps. Anything except—
“Never,” he confesses my worst fear, gazing at me with a sudden, dreadful gleam in his eyes, as though impressed I’ve figured it out. “I’ve never felt the warmth of a woman. Never had lips on mine or hands in my hair. But I’d like too.” He leans forward again, so close I can feel his breath on my naked shoulder. “Before I die, I’d like to know what it feels like to be so connected to another that even time stands still. I think I deserve that, at the least. Don’t you?”
I don’t have an answer for him, mute with realization.
This is why he brought me to the White Mountains. We’re miles from any means of life, possibly hidden from the other witches who’d like to get their hands on me, and that means one true thing: Sonny can do whatever the hell he wants to me, and there’s no one around who can stop him.
Except for myself.
“Water,” I croak in fear, blinking through the panic. “Can I ha-ve some water?”
“Sure.” Sonny leans over and grabs the bottle off the lancet shelf for a second time today—and it’s going to be his last.
With every ounce of strength I have, I bundle the white rock in the fur blanket to avoid touching it and evoking another vision. Then I draw back with it in both hands and whack his head so hard the cracking sound resonates through the cove.
Chapter 5
I don’t care that I’m naked.
As Sonny slams to the ground—with what I presume is a fractured skull—I have no sympathy. All I can think about is seeing my loved ones again. My best friends. Brothers. Sister.
Most of all, Mom and Dad.
They must be sick with worry that I’m missing, desperate to know where I am and what’s happened. It won’t be long now, and I can tell them. It’s such a relief to know I’ll be able to share my horrifying experience. They will keep me safe. Dad will take me far away and ensure no one can hurt me—or worse.
Kill me.
It’s all the motivation a girl needs.
I sprint out of the stone-built cot with a new strength and bolt toward the only exit in the cove, feet slapping against the gritty surface of the ground. My heart pounds its way out of my chest, as fear grips so tight it’s choking me. But I don’t stop. I run for dear life—straight into what can only be mistaken as a gorging black hole.
The start of the mountain tunnels, that’s what it is.
The mere idea of them makes my soul stand on end, and no wonder. People in our town say they stretch out for miles in a maze of mystery, and that they’re haunted. Apparently, a woman screams throughout the nights, begging for someone to come and help her. And it’s only ever at night—much like now. There’s not a glimmer of light, no matter how wide I open my eyes. There’s only a musty, damp stench, and cold air breezing against my body.
A breeze!
My heartrate reaches an all new high, as I realize that must mean I’m near an exit.
I hold out my hands to ensure I don’t run smack bang into something, constantly stubbing my toes on rocks and edges as I search for a way out.
When the tunnel feels topsy-turvy, with bends that I have to climb over and bumpy steps going up, the cold breeze gets stronger. And stronger. And stronger. Until it’s gusting, whipping my hair about all over the place. My teeth are chattering like crazy, as devastating tremors wrack my senses. I want to hug myself and find warmth, but I’m too anxious of falling over and hitting the ground face first.
Just a little more, I tell myself. Keep going. Just a little more. I’m not wrong. Soon, I see light shimmering in the distance, a mixture of blue and silver reflecting on all the stone walls, highlighting the gigantic oval tunnel. I dare not look up, in fear of what I might find. Spiders? Bats? Oh please, no. Instead, I pick up the pace, sprinting at full speed to the point where the muscles in my legs burn—and it’s the mistake of my life.
“Ah!” I shriek so loud it pinches my ears, as I plummet off a blind edge, straight into a bed of water.
The shock of it stuns me. I don’t know if it’s hot or cold. All I do know is, within seconds, I’m choking for oxygen. Cheeks bloating. My arms and legs kick out, fighting for the surface, but my entire body is spiraling against a harsh current. I’m tangled in my own hair, too, being pulled down toward the darkness. That’s when I hear another splash under the surface, and the current beats fiercer. I blink about with a violent stinging sensation in my eyes, spotting a dark figure up above in a beam of light. It’s coming toward me, moving so fluent, so effortlessly.
Sonny.
No!
I scream on instinct, expelling what little air remains in my lungs, creating a wall of white bubbles. Not that it matters to him. He comes anyway and grabs my arm with an iron tight fist, yanking me to the surface.
I’m not nearly ready for oxygen.
It hits me all over, causing my head to rush with dizziness. I suck down lungsful in a frenzy, choking and spluttering everywhere while screaming in a panic.
“Get off! Let me go!”
“Not a chance!” Sonny shouts over the crazy splashes coming from my arms, dragging me to the edge of the watering hole.
I’ve no idea what comes over me, but the fear of never seeing my family again turns my panic into a mad rage. I’m like an animal, scratching and biting for freedom. Sonny isn’t the slightest bit bothered. Holding me in one hand, he erects sharp claws from the fingers of his other. He digs them into the stone wall with a severe screeching sound, like nails down a blackboard. It makes me cringe and shudder. That’s when I feel something sharp graze my shin. My head snaps down, struggling to see through the ripples of the water. I think it’s his feet—and it’s confirmed when he uses them to climb out of the water. Big ugly claws poking out of his toes, embedded in the stone wall.
I’m stunned by the sight of them as he pulls me out of the water, shifting to hold me in one arm, so I’m pressed tightly against his side. He climbs up the wall with ease, all the way up until we reach the top. That’s when I know it’s all over. As much as I hate to admit it, I don’t think I’m ever going home. I’m never going to see my family or friends ever again.
If hitting him over the head with a rock won’t put him down, nothing will.
“There we are,” Sonny says, setting me down on the gravelly ground. “Take a beat. Catch your breath.”
Screw that.
I scramble to get away a second time, stumbling over myself in a battle to run. Of course, it’s useless. Sonny whisks past at the speed of light and stops in front of me, blocking my exit. So, I guess there’s only one thing to do. I charge at him with a threatening scream, yanking up my knee to hit him where it hurts. To my horror, it does nothing. It actually makes him laugh.
What is this guy made of?
While he’s still chuckling, I shove at his chest to put some distance between us, glaring like a monster. He looks disheveled with his clothes soaked through, clinging to the chiseled muscles of his body. Glossy black hair sticks to his exquisitely evil face, framing the piercing greenness of his eyes—which suddenly narrow in on mine.
“Stop this, Vi,” he warns, leveling a finger at me. “You’ve had your fun, now you need to stop. You can’t escape. If powerful witches cannot best me, you certainly can’t, either.”
“Doesn’t mean I won’t try,” I attempt to hiss but wind up choking, doubled over with hands on my knees. “You shouldn’t have saved me,” I splutter. “You
want me dead anyway, so why not leave me down there to drown?”
I would rather that. I’d rather anything than meekly serve his warped appetite.
But he won’t allow it.
He says as much, that he’ll have me first before I meet my maker.
My blood runs cold, as I wonder who my maker is. Another vampire? More witches?
The Devil?
If Sonny senses my fear, he doesn’t show it. Once I’ve caught my breath, he comes over and grips my arm again, making me stand up straight. His eyes feast on the sight of me, scanning me from head to toe. At first, I don’t understand why. Then I come to my senses and realize I’m butt-naked, barely hidden beneath the white, wet mane of my hair. I hide what I can; one arm strapped around my breasts; legs crossed.
It makes Sonny laugh.
“What’s so damn funny?!” I shout so hard it wracks my body.
“Modesty,” he chuckles to say, beaming with the brightest, most beautifully terrifying smile. “It won’t save you, Vi. You should just accept defeat. Enjoy what’s going to happen, and die with dignity.”
I grimace at him, disgusted with his lack of compassion. “You’re stone cold. So damn cold!”
“Oh, I’m sorry.” He tips his head with raised eyebrows. “What do you expect from me exactly, huh? Sympathy? A shoulder to cry on?”
“A little compassion would do,” I spit, grimacing even harder. “Don’t you feel anything, Sonny? Are you really that callous?”
He leans in, putting us nose to nose, making me cower away in terror. “Yes, I really am that callous. Five-hundred lonely years of nothing but murder will do that to a man.”
I struggle to believe he’s been without a woman for that long. The guys at school were screwing as soon as they hit puberty, and nothing nor no one could’ve stopped them.
Sonny must be able to see I’m doubting him, but he doesn’t seem to care. He nods in the direction we came and says, “Let’s go.”
“If you’re that old”—I tug at his grasp to delay the inevitable, flooding with dread—“why have you never been with another? What were you doing between hunts?”
“Why do you care?”
“Just tell me,” I say, pleading with sudden tears in my eyes. “Please, I want to know. You owe me this at the least.”
I don’t know what happens precisely, but something shifts in Sonny. He sighs, blinking off in a state of reflection. An age of silence passes between us, with my heart booming in my ears. Then he says, “I’m programmed differently to you...to humans. I have an insatiable desire to kill your kind, nothing more.”
“What about before you changed?” I ask through clenched teeth, tugging and tugging at his hold on my arm to keep him here. “You must’ve wanted someone before then?”
Everyone wants someone. That’s the fact of life.
“I did want someone,” he admits, frowning to himself. “But my parents kept me locked up for my entire life—and before you ask, it was to avoid anyone killing me. There aren’t many Albino Hunters left, so you could say I was valuable.”
That makes no sense at all. Surely breeding him would have more value? It’d create more hunters. It’d ensure they don’t go extinct.
“I’m infertile,” he says, on the same page as I am. “I was tested at a young age, and doctors confirmed I could never have children.”
“So, your parents locked you up until your change?”
He nods, and I can’t help feeling sorry for him. Again. As beastly as he is, he was once a person, an innocent person who has only learned by example. He knows only what his parents have taught him, and that’s the saddest part of all this. He’s never had a sincere role model. He’s never had someone to teach him right from wrong.
“Come on.” He nods for us to go again, like he’s done talking. “I don’t wanna drag this out any longer than I have to.”
“I don’t care what you want!” I dig in my heels, refusing to walk humbly to my rape and death. “I won’t come willingly, Sonny. You’re going to have to make me.”
“Sure you want that?”
My lips twist, as I glare at him and hiss, “Yes.”
He shrugs. “All right.” Then he yanks at my arm and hunches even closer than before, putting us nose to nose. At first, I have no idea what he’s doing—then I do.
It happens so fast I’ve barely a second to process. One touch of his fingers on my face. One deep look into my eyes, and I’m spellbound.
Chapter 6
My final moment on this earth is going to be erotic, whether I like it or not.
Whether I want it or not.
Sonny compels away my fear of him, saying the only thing I’m allowed to feel is attraction—to him.
And only him.
“You will let it consume you,” he rasps, as the pupils of his eyes expand in size. “You want to please me. At no point will you be frightened of me or what is to come. You will not think of anything before now. You will not care of your nudity, either. You will simply just indulge.”
I nod in soft motions, even though my subconscious should be screaming, no! Don’t do this! Think of your family, Vi! Your friends! You’ll never go home!
Sonny seems pleased by my submission. He smiles with wicked triumph, brushing his fingers against the puffiness of my cheek, tickling the spot there. It ignites the sensation I felt when I first saw him: pure, unadulterated lust. I want to kiss him. I want his lips on mine, devouring me. The need is so strong that I lean closer, breathing faster.
But he shakes his head.
“Not yet.”
I blink, expecting confusion or a stab of rejection, but I feel neither. Just sadistic glee as he clasps my hand and walks me back to where we came from, down the curvy bends of the tunnels and into the shimmery blue cove.
It looks different this time around. Mystical. The mist coming off the plunge pool is thicker, clinging to the cool air. The crack of light in the stone wall is fading, nearly sheathing us in darkness.
“You should light the candles,” I say in a blank tone. I’ve no idea why. Maybe I want romance?
“Good idea.” Sonny bends to kiss the top of my hand before letting go, making my skin tingle all over. He strolls across the cove and kneels beside the stone-built cot, grabbing the candles to light one by one. He dots them evenly around the cove, setting an ambiance, causing the flames to flicker like crazy.
It’s beautiful. I can’t deny.
Once a warmth tints the air, he begins to disrobe. Slowly. It turns my stomach into a sphere of butterflies. He kicks off his boots first. Then strips out of the wet shirt he’s wearing, laying it over the foot of the stone-built cot. All the while, he watches me through hooded eyes that are dripping in his wet hair, radiating some seriously intense vibes. I watch him right back, scorching with desire. He’s an incredible beast, all chiseled abs and a monster V on his pelvis where the waistband to his jeans sits. There’s a sprinkle of hair on his navel, winding down to forbidden depths.
All-man forbidden depths.
I know it’s true when he tugs down the impending zipper of his jeans, cutting through our tension. He’s not wearing any boxers, jutting free to reveal a girth so thick and long it makes my stomach tighten. It’s veiny, mounted on a bed of hair.
I want a taste. It’s so strange. Never in my life have I craved such debauchery.
“Come.” Sonny motions at the cot as he fists himself with a free hand. “Get comfortable.”
Compelled, I do as I’m asked. Puttering over, I crawl onto the fluffy blanket and lie back, face up. He’s towering over me now, gazing with raw want.
“What should I do now?” I whisper, poking out my tongue to wet my dry lips.
It makes his nostrils flare. Harder when I arch my back, mentally wishing him on top of me.
“Move your hair off your body.” That’s his next order.
My hands are steady as they smooth my hair aside, so it’s like a halo circling my body. Sonny approves with a sly no
d. He leans over and traces a single finger down my center, over the dip in my throat, through the trail of my breasts, and to my stomach. There, he tickles back and forth, tracing my pubic line. My core quivers.
More...I crave more.
“Can I tell you something, Vi? A secret?”
“Yes,” I breathe, all but moaning under his touch.
“They say vampire blood is like ecstasy to humans...they say it makes them feel things even your wildest dreams couldn’t create.”
I don’t understand his point—until a light pops on in my head.
He wants me to feed on him.
“Imagine orgasming from every sense in your body,” he says. “Imagine cumming so hard your brain could fall out.”
His words turn up my body’s temperature. And what he does next rocks my world. He lifts a hand to his mouth and bites into his own wrist with sharp fangs. Blood oozes out, dripping onto my chest. It’s warm. Thick. I smear my fingers in it, lusting after the ecstasy he speaks of.
“Drink,” Sonny says, offering his wrist to me. “Enjoy it.”
I do, gladly. Reaching out with greedy hands, I shackle my fingers around his wrist, cover the wound with my lips, and suck. The coppery-flavored liquid inundates my mouth, going down like silk, making me so ravenous I’m like a stranger to myself. He wasn’t lying when he said it’d make me feel things I could never feel in my wildest dreams. The first hit of magic is euphoric, like colors dancing all over my senses. It washes through me in slow motion, causing my eyes to roll back and my head to rush. Soon, the air in the room sits on my skin, tingling. Every breath I inhale through my nose makes my head rush faster.
I can’t stop, now gripping his wrist with my nails to have a full feel. I don’t even notice his hand on my head, cradling me against the carved muscles of his stomach. Here, I can smell the clean muskiness of his skin. Feel the ridged hardness of his shaft against my shoulder.
I want to taste that next, and I do—without permission.
Bite Me: A Vampire Anthology Page 40