Crimson Debt

by Evangeline Anderson

  My first instinct was to get off him and run—but run where? The huge, heavy vault door was closed—there was no way out of the small room. And then Corbin took away even that small option by clamping his big hands roughly around my upper arms.

  “Corbin!” I gasped but he was already in motion. He pulled out of me in one swift motion and flipped me over, changing our positions so that he was on top.

  I lay there, helpless under him, covered by his big body. Heavy legs pinned my bottom half to the bed and his still hard cock branded my belly with his heat. His muscular arms formed a cage around my upper half and his eyes stared down into mine, wild and feral and hungry. I had never seen his fangs so long and sharp before and they were red with blood—my blood. Oh God.

  I’m going to die here tonight, I thought numbly, and knew it was true. This small room would become my tomb. Tomorrow Detective O’Meara would be cleaning up my remains and wondering—like I had so many times before—how anyone could be so stupid.

  And then, Corbin stopped staring at me and began to move. I expected him to rip into me immediately but he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his face to my hair and inhaled deeply. Why is he smelling me? I thought, and then I remembered what he had said about my scent and how hard it made him.

  Sure enough, I could feel his cock still throbbing against my belly. If anything, it seemed larger than it had been before. Was that even possible?

  It seemed that it was. Soon, Corbin started rubbing against me, thrusting against my belly as though seeking my entrance.

  “Corbin?” I whispered, turning my head to try and look at him.

  My gesture was met with a warning growl and I froze at once. I knew from grim experience what had happened. Feeding him my blood while we made love had flipped a switch inside him. The lethal combination of sex and blood had temporarily clouded his conscious mind and allowed the ruthless predator that lived inside every vamp free rein.

  As Corbin continued to nuzzle me, I remembered what he had told me during our last sexual encounter. “Hold still!” he had ordered and it was the only time I had ever heard him sound close to panic. Probably because he knew the killing urges were coming to the surface and he didn’t want me to trigger them—as I had just now.

  But the memory gave me an idea.

  There was no way I could fight Corbin and nowhere to run, even if I had been fast enough to get away from him, which I absolutely wasn’t. But what if I offered the predator everything he wanted without any resistance at all?

  What if I just…submitted?

  Just then, Corbin began moving lower—I felt his hot breath against my throat and his long, sharp fangs scraping the side of my neck.

  I tensed, my heart suddenly beating like it was trying to pound its way right out of my chest. My overwhelming instinct was to roll away from him or at least to hunch my shoulder up close to my ear and try to protect my vulnerable throat. I started to do just that but Corbin’s warning growl above me made me stop.

  Submit, I told myself. Just submit.

  It was the hardest thing I had ever done and it went against every bit of common sense I possessed, but I did it. Instead of trying to keep him away from my neck, I turned my head to the side, baring it for him, offering my throat in a gesture of submission as old as time itself.

  Corbin struck.

  I cried out as his fangs pierced my flesh and he latched onto my neck. Dear God, this was it—I was going to die!

  Except…I didn’t. Though he sucked savagely, Corbin didn’t maul me or rip out my throat. And then, though I would have sworn it was impossible, I started to feel the familiar delicious tingle of pleasure I always got when he drank from me.

  Oh God—not now! Was I crazy, getting turned on when I was right on the edge of death? Here I was, pinned to the bed beneath a bestial vampire completely out of his mind with blood- and fuck-lust and I was getting hot again.

  Go with it, whispered a little voice in my head. It seemed like crazy advice, but what else could I do? I closed my eyes, shutting out the present and remembered instead the gentle way Corbin had kissed my pussy through my panties the night he had taken blood from my thigh. The way he had fingered me as he drank from my neck. All the hot, dirty words he murmured, telling me what he wanted to do to me, telling me exactly how he would take me. He always made me come so effortlessly, always pleasured me so thoroughly—how could I help loving him? How could I help getting hot for him even when I was in danger?

  From the rubbing Corbin was doing against my belly, I wasn’t the only one getting turned on. He was trying to find my entrance in earnest now, thrusting against me in an increasingly frustrated way as he growled softly against my throat.

  Again, my first impulse was to close my thighs tightly—he could literally fuck me to death in this state. Allowing him access was crazy.

  But you have to, whispered the little voice that I was beginning to think of as my survival instinct. You have to let him in. Submit, Addison. It’s the only way to survive. Submit.

  Submit. Right.

  Taking a deep breath, I spread my thighs for him, opening wide for the thick battering ram of his cock, surrendering to my fate.

  It was the only thing I could do.

  Corbin found my entrance almost at once. I muffled a gasp as I felt the broad, mushroom shaped head of his cock press hard against me. Then, with one savage thrust, he was seated deep within me again, the tip of his shaft pressing hard against the end of my channel. He was thicker than he had been before—I was sure of it. He was stretching me wide, so much wider than he had earlier. I had never felt so completely helpless and yet I was still hot. As frightened as I was, I still wanted him.

  “Corbin,” I whispered as he pulled back until he was almost out of me. “Please…if you’re still in there, don’t hurt me.”

  My only answer was a low, animalistic growl.

  And then he was pounding into me, taking me hard and fast with thrust after punishing thrust until I moaned with a mixture of pain and pleasure. His fangs were still buried in my throat and his cock pinned me to the bed. I was reminded hazily of the very first time we had been together—the night he had accidentally drawn my blood and barely held himself back from the brink of madness—the same madness that gripped him now.

  “I want to fuck you, Addison. Not gently, either,” he had said. “I want to take you thoroughly, want to claim you completely and know that you’re mine. I want you on your back, helpless under me. Your legs spread, your pussy open for my shaft.”

  Well, he had me in exactly that position now and despite my fear and the rough way he was fucking me, he still hadn’t torn me apart. In fact, if anything it almost seemed like he was holding himself back some. It wouldn’t have looked like it to an outsider—Corbin was pistoning into me as though he wanted to literally nail me to the bed, making me gasp with every thrust. But he easily could have done much, much worse. He could have killed me by now but he hadn’t.

  For the first time, I began to hope I might survive this. You can, whispered the little voice. If you just submit. Submit and give in to the pleasure.

  “Corbin,” I moaned, spreading my thighs even wider for him, giving him greater access to my pussy. “God, yes…take me. Take me.”

  I didn’t know if he could understand me or not but he certainly seemed to respond to my words. With a low growl, he reached beneath me and shoved his arms under my thighs. His broad shoulders split me wide as he pushed my legs higher, opening me wider, making me feel even more utterly helpless.

  I cried his name breathlessly as he changed the angle of his approach and began thrusting again. Somehow this new position allowed him to reach deeper inside me, to reach places I had never felt before. One spot in particular seemed to shoot sparks of lightning through me every time he hit it.

  Oh God…oh God… I could barely breathe as once again the pleasure started to build to a peak despite my predicament or maybe even because of it. I had never been so out of control in my life
, had never been so completely at anyone’s mercy as I was now at Corbin’s. He had me trapped, spread wide and pinned to the mattress, my body open for his pleasure, his fangs buried in my neck and there was nothing I could do about it. But somehow, I didn’t want to do anything about it.

  God help me, it made me hot.

  His very roughness brought me pleasure, the animalistic need I could feel coming from him, the predator’s urge to conquer and subdue. He wasn’t just fucking me anymore—he was breeding me. Claiming me as his own, marking me so that no other male would come anywhere near me. Corbin owned me now—he had stamped his mark on my heart as surely as he was marking my body. I was his…utterly and completely his.

  With that knowledge and my complete and total surrender, I began to come.

  “Corbin,” I moaned, daring to lift my arms and run my fingers through his hair. “Corbin, please…coming. Coming so hard.”

  My nipples were so tight they hurt and I could feel my inner muscles contracting around him, could feel my pussy milking his shaft, trying to draw him deeper into me, to get more of him inside. Corbin must have felt it too because his furious rhythm speeded up until I moaned in a mixture of pain and pleasure. The sensations were so intense I couldn’t tell the difference anymore. The push and pull of his cock inside my cunt, the ruthless way he pistoned into me…every harsh, delicious stroke was driving me out of my mind.

  Can’t take much more, I thought numbly as a second orgasm followed the first, exploding inside me like a star going nova. Can’t do it. Can’t—

  And then Corbin began to come. I groaned as I felt his cock thrust to the hilt inside me and his seed spilling into me in a hot flood. It was the same sensation I had felt the first time we made love but there seemed to be more of it this time. More of everything, I thought deliriously. More pain, more pleasure, more blood…

  More blood? Why was that important?

  I realized that black spots were dancing before my vision. It occurred to me that this entire time Corbin had been fucking me, he had also been sucking my blood. How much he had taken, I didn’t know but I was beginning to feel lightheaded and dizzy. Was he going to kill me after all? Would he drain me dry even if he didn’t fuck me to death?

  Even as I asked myself the question, I felt his fangs leave my neck. I cried out weakly at the sensation—for some reason they hurt more coming out than they had going in. And then his shaft was leaving me too, pulling out of my limp body too suddenly, making me moan again.

  Corbin was gone. And I was going too.

  Chapter Twenty-five

  My eyes drifted closed. I felt so empty…so drained. I was all used up. Completely spent. For a time I simply floated, alone in the void. And then a voice intruded.

  “Addison?” it whispered. I wanted to see where it was coming from but my eyes had closed and I felt too weak to open them.

  “Addison?” the voice said again, sounding anxious and worried. Someone patted my cheek and my head lolled limply to one side—I couldn’t stop it, I had no strength.

  “Darling, no…No!” The deep voice was choked now, it sounded like whoever was speaking was on the edge of panic.

  I’m okay, I wanted to tell the owner of the deep voice—I was sure he was someone I knew. I’ll be fine if you’ll just let me sleep. So tired. So…tired…

  “No,” I heard him saying again. “Gods, no—what have I done?”

  I tried again to tell him that I was fine but nothing came out. The darkness was eating the world, sucking me down into the void. I was leaving…floating away…

  Suddenly something warm and wet was pressed against my lips. I felt it dribbling down my chin and then strong hands were prying my jaws open, forcing the hot, sticky stuff down my throat.

  I wanted to cough and gag but for a long, horrible moment I could do neither. I could only lay there, my mouth filling with the rich, salty liquid, feeling like I was drowning.

  Then someone lifted my head and massaged my throat, forcing me to swallow whether I wanted to or not.

  “Drink it,” he muttered. “Damn you, Addison, drink it.”

  I swallowed convulsively and felt a little less like I was drowning. The warm liquid rolled down my throat and exploded in my belly like expensive single malt Scotch.

  The effect was amazing—like someone had given me a shot of instant energy. A tingling warmth started in my center and radiated outward until even my fingers and toes felt like live wires. It was like my entire body had been electrified—like every hair on my head was standing on end.

  My eyes popped open and I saw Corbin hovering over me, a look of fear and determination stamped on his face. He was holding his wrist against my mouth and there were tears of blood standing in his silver-blue eyes.

  “Corbin?” I asked, when I finally managed to push his wrist away. “What…what happened?”

  “You know exactly what happened,” he said thickly. “Just drink for now—we’ll talk about it later.”

  “Yes, but what—?” I started to say but he pushed his wrist against my mouth again, forcing me to take great, salty mouthfuls of his blood.

  But now that I realized what the salty stuff was, I started to gag. What the hell was he doing? Vampires took blood, they didn’t give it—ever. Unless…was he changing me into a vamp? Was I becoming what, until recently, I had always feared and hated the most? Things had changed for me—I could love a vampire—I did love Corbin, with everything that was in me. But that didn’t mean I wanted to be one.

  My eyes widened and I fought to push his wrist away.

  “No,” I gasped, shaking my head. “No, not that. Anything but that.”

  “Anything but that, eh? Fine. You should live now, anyway. ” His eyes were hard when he finally pulled his wrist away.

  “Corbin,” I started to say but he shook his head and looked into my eyes.

  “Sleep,” he commanded and I felt him slip the suggestion under my mental shields. In my weakened state, I couldn’t stop him from glamouring me.

  The last thing I saw was his angry face and then the world faded to blackness.

  * * * * *

  When I woke up I was lying in a small, dark space on a narrow, uncomfortable cot and it seemed like my whole body ached. Someone had dressed me in a silky kimono type robe that felt cool and soft against my skin. I blinked, looking around uncertainly.

  “Where am I?” I muttered aloud, not expecting an answer.

  “Here, in my room.” A dim light popped on and Taylor was suddenly hovering over me, an anxious look on her pale face. “Addison, are you all right? Are you finally awake?”

  “I guess so.” I tried to sit up and was too dizzy to manage at first. Taylor helped me considerately and then sat beside me on the cot.

  “I was so worried about you,” she said, taking my hand and squeezing hard.

  I winced, expecting to feel pain at her too-tight grip but for some reason I didn’t.

  “How long have I been out?” I asked, looking down at my new robe which was a nice shade of dark green. At least it wasn’t crimson—I’d had enough of that color for a while.

  “All day and most of tonight. You were so still…barely breathing. And I thought…I was so afraid I’d lost you.” She made a little sobbing sound and a single droplet of blood welled in her eye but refused to fall.

  It was my turn to be concerned about her. Was she really so dehydrated she couldn’t cry? Her blue eyes looked huge and her face was even thinner and paler than last time I had seen her. She was wasting away before my eyes.

  “Taylor,” I said, grasping her arm. “Honey, you look terrible.”

  “I look terrible?” She gave a little sobbing laugh. “Addison, you should look in a mirror.”

  “What? Why?” I felt my face with my hands, as though whatever was wrong would be immediately apparent to my touch.

  “It’s not your face so much—although your neck is kind of torn up,” she said. “It’s your body—you’re bruised almost from head to toe
. You look…” Her voice dropped. “You look like somebody beat you. Addison, what happened between you and Corbin last night?”

  “Corbin…” Suddenly it all came rushing back to me—the way I had chained him down, foolishly thinking my puny restraints could hold him. The way he had turned into a mindless creature, bent only on sex and blood. The rough sex that had followed and the way he had made me come until I felt like I was wrung inside out, completely spent and exhausted…

  But the question was—had it worked?

  “Corbin,” I said again, grabbing Taylor’s hand. “Is he…alive?”

  “Yes, of course, he is. He’s back to his normal self—although he’s in a horrible mood. I’ve never seen him so angry.” She shivered. “Luckily I’ve been staying out of his way back here with you. He’s been checking on you every once in a while but even though he said you’d be fine I was still worried.”

  I was still worried myself. Had my actions really broken the power of that damn soul eating stake? Or had I only delayed the inevitable?

  “Addison,” Taylor began. “What—?”

  “She’s in here. The master said to put her where he didn’t have to see her.” The snotty voice outside Taylor’s door couldn’t be anyone but the annoying barmaid, Bambie.

  There was a cursory knock and then the door was flung open to reveal the barmaid and, standing beside her, Gwendolyn LaRoux.

  “What is this, a broom closet?” the witch asked, shouldering her way past Bambie and into Taylor’s room without so much as a by your leave. “I mean, why are you hiding in here?”

  “We’re not hiding,” Taylor said with dignity. “This is my home—for now, anyway. You ought to ask before you come barging in.”

  “Sorry,” Gwendolyn muttered. "I didn't know."

  “Why are you here?” I asked and my heart was suddenly in my throat. “Does it…does it have to do with the stake?”

  “You’re damn right, it’s the stake,” the witch snapped. She fumbled in the giant, oversized purse she was wearing and pulled out something that looked like an old, dried up tree branch.