Blood and Metal

by Nina Croft

  It sucked sometimes being a vampire.

  Her glance went to Fergal. But he wasn’t the answer. Maybe he’d sleep with her, but ultimately, he was a loner. She’d learned that much about him at their last meeting.

  Besides, she was hardly perfect girlfriend material.

  “Keep an eye on our guest here,” Rico said. “I don’t want him to have any opportunity to call anyone. Not that I think he will, but to be sure…stick to him. And remember what I said.”

  “Which bit?”

  He didn’t go quite so far as to waggle his eyebrows in an exaggerated leer, but near enough.

  “Yeah, I remember.”

  His gaze shot from her to Fergal and back again. “You want to borrow the handcuffs?”

  “Thanks, but…no, thanks.”

  Chapter Five

  “Handcuffs?” Fergal asked, strolling across the room, hands shoved in his pockets.

  He felt better after the food—his faster metabolism meant he needed more than two normal people, and he’d also managed to slip in his medication. Already he could feel the poisons clearing from his system.

  Daisy looked better after her meal, as well.

  She was a goddamn vampire. She drank blood.

  He should have been repulsed, but he found it an enormous turn-on. Coming into the room and finding her hunched over Devlin Starke, her fangs buried deep in his throat, had sent his own blood straight to his cock.

  Fucking crazy.

  When she’d looked up and caught him watching, he’d felt like some sort of voyeur, but turned on as all hell.

  Starke hadn’t been fighting, either. He’d had a sleepy, almost sated look on his face, and no guesses what he was up to now.

  Now she was studying him, her lips in a small pout as she considered her answer. “Rico suggested I tie you up and have sex with you.”

  The image of him tied to the bed and Daisy riding him hard sent blood straight to his groin.

  He shook his head to dispel the picture. “Is that a vampire thing?”

  “Sort of. Give me a moment to check the auto-systems and we’ll go and rest up for a while. It’s been a long day.”

  “Do vampires sleep?”

  “No. But I do get tired, and it recharges me to rest.”

  She crossed to the big pilot’s chair. While she looked tiny in the huge seat, she appeared competent.

  “Everything’s good,” she said after a moment.

  He peered around him. “I’ve never seen a ship like this. Does she work totally on voice control?”

  Daisy grinned. “Better than that. She works on mind control. At least for the Collective people. It pisses Rico off that there’s something he can’t do. She can also be flown on manual, which is good, because she can be tricky. But Devlin keeps her in good condition.”

  “I can’t believe the most wanted man in the universe is hiding away as a ship’s engineer.” Fergal moved closer so he could see her face while they talked. She had a beautiful face, but her green eyes now held flecks of crimson. “Where did she come from? The ship, I mean.”

  “Callum had her built.”

  He went still. “Callum?”

  “Callum Meridian. You know, the leader of the universe.”

  “Ex-leader. He vanished. Just like a whole load of other people.”

  “He’s here. Well, not actually here right now. He’s with the captain on Trakis Five, waiting to pull Alex out.”

  “Callum Meridian has been with you all this time?”

  “Not quite. It’s complicated, but we sort of went through this wormhole and lost a few years.”

  “You went through a wormhole?” His mind was going into overload.

  “Saffira is a time-mancer. She can sort of control them, just not very well.”

  “What the hell is a time-mancer?”

  “You’d better ask Saffira. It’s complicated.”

  “I bet.” He studied her closely. Was she telling the truth? But why make up something so totally unbelievable?

  She grinned. “You don’t believe me? I don’t blame you. Like I said—it’s complicated.”

  “But the bit about Callum Meridian is true? He’s alive? There were all sorts of rumors—most people believe the Church had him assassinated.”

  “Nope. He’s in love with the captain.”

  He cast his memory back to his visit to the earlier Blood Hunter. The captain had been the sort of woman to make an impression—genetically modified with snake DNA.

  “She’s Collective now as well. Or maybe not Collective, but she’s taken the treatment.”

  “How? The Meridian source was destroyed years ago.”

  “Another long story.” She gave the console one last look and jumped to her feet. “She’s good. Come on.”

  Fergal wondered if she was actually going to try to tie him up and have her evil way with him. Would he let her?

  Daisy today was a vastly different proposition from the earlier version. Back then, all she’d wanted from him was simple, straightforward sex. She’d been uncomplicated, carefree, happy even. This Daisy had to be about the most complicated woman he’d ever come across. And her eyes were shadowed. Something bad had happened to her, and it was more than being turned into a vampire.

  “What happened to the redhead from the last time I was here?” he asked as she led him across the bridge and into a transporter bubble.

  “My room,” Daisy commanded. The doors slid closed, and they drifted upward. “You mean Janey? She was murdered by the Church.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Crimson sparks flashed in her eyes, and he had to fight the urge to step back. “They will be. Temperance Hatcher will pay the price for Janey.”

  He went still and then shook off the feeling; Temperance Hatcher was nothing to him. They were welcome to kill the bastard. The bubble opened onto a wide corridor. The whole ship was built on a large scale.

  She came to a halt outside a door. “Open.”

  Her room was big, with a huge bed in the center and not much else. The walls were white and so was the floor, the only color a throw of crimson on the bed. To hide the blood, perhaps?

  She turned as he hesitated at the door and raised one arched brow. “I’m not actually going to tie you up. But I do have to keep my eye on you, so you might as well come in and relax.”

  He stepped through the door, and it glided silently shut behind him. “Why did he suggest it?”

  “The sex or the tying up?”

  “Both.”

  “Let me clean up first. I got some of your blood on me back there at the prison. Black clothes are great—they hide the blood—but I find the smell a little…distracting.”

  “Go ahead. Wouldn’t want you distracted.”

  She disappeared through a second door. Fergal sank down onto the bed and kicked off his shoes. He could do with a cleanup, but he lay back and closed his eyes. Kidnapped by a couple of bloodsucking monsters, and it was actually the first time he’d relaxed in years. The last of the tension drained from his limbs, and he slept.

  Fergal opened his eyes. Daisy sat at the top of the bed, her back against the wall, her knees drawn up, and her chin resting on her hands as she watched him. Her hair was loose, a fall of silver around her shoulders. She’d dressed in a black jumpsuit, but her feet were bare.

  He pushed himself up and ran a hand through his hair. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”

  “And in the vampire’s lair.”

  At least she sounded amused. “Yeah. And that. Weren’t you tempted to snack on me?”

  Her lips curled into a smile. “Not even a little bit.”

  What the hell did Devlin Starke have that he didn’t?

  She seemed to read his mind. “Your blood tastes like crap.”

  “What?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “Sort of harsh and metally. Ugh.”

  Well, it was hardly going to be normal, was it? “So back to the conversation we almost had before I fell asleep—w
hy did Rico suggest you have sex with me?”

  “It’s a vampire thing. He thinks the best thing to keep the darkness at bay is sex.”

  “The darkness?”

  “Do you always ask this many questions?”

  “Yes. Now tell me about this darkness.”

  She shrugged. “I used to think Rico was just this guy who drank blood. But it’s not like that.” A visible shiver ran through her, and she rubbed her arms. “I died and came back to life, but I’m not the same. Right in the center of me there’s this dark place, and sometimes it tries to crawl up and come out. It’s worse when I’m hungry. That’s why I try to feed regularly. Anyway, Rico thinks the best way to keep it firmly locked inside is sex.”

  “And you can’t just pick up some guy.”

  “I’d probably rip out their throats.” She sounded so matter-of-fact.

  “Why did it happen?”

  She shifted on the bed. “I was dying. It was the only way Rico could save me.”

  “And are you okay with it?”

  “Most of the time. I liked being green, though—made me sort of unique.”

  “It sure did, but so does being a vampire.”

  “I guess. And there are some good things. I’m super strong, and I get to live forever.”

  “So Rico suggested you have sex with me because I taste disgusting and you won’t be tempted to drain me dry.”

  “Something like that. Rico said he’d killed hundreds, probably thousands, in his early years, and not all of them on purpose.”

  “Shit.” He frowned. “So what’s with the tying up, or is that just personal preference?”

  “I don’t know. I’ve never tied anyone up before. But I guess he thought you might try to run away or fight me off.”

  He studied her across the bed. The jumpsuit was open at the neck, revealing the swell of her breasts. Her legs were long, her hips rounded, and she had the sexiest lips—when she wasn’t flashing her fangs—that he had ever seen.

  His dick pulsed in his pants, and he savored the feeling. It had been so long since he’d experienced desire for anything but survival. Scary monster or not, he wanted her, and his dick jerked again in agreement. Wanted to push himself deep inside her and forget everything for a while.

  “I don’t think I’ll be running.” He watched her face as he spoke. Her eyes widened. “Why so shocked?” he asked. “You’re a beautiful woman.”

  “I am?”

  “You must know it.”

  She looked away. “I was green. You saw me. It didn’t do it for most guys.”

  He picked up her hand, played with her fingers. “It did it for me.”

  “You’re hardly normal.”

  “Hey, I’m…normalish. And you’re not green now.”

  She grinned, her eyes flashing. “No, but I’ve hardly been dating, either. We’ve been hiding out most of the time since we got back.”

  “Got back from where?”

  “Another long story. I think I intimidate most guys. And I might have messed up one or two people. I’m getting better, but I used to completely lose it. That’s why Rico has me feeding from immortals—so I can’t kill them.”

  “Back to the sex thing. It’s not as though we haven’t done it before, and from what I remember, it was pretty damn good.”

  “It was.”

  “So…?” When she didn’t say anything else, he released her hand, wrapped his fingers around her ankle, and tugged her down so she lay on her back, her breasts rising and falling rapidly in time with her breathing. Her silver-gilt hair spread out across the crimson cover, and her mouth parted slightly. He could see the tips of her sharp white fangs, and a brief pang of something close to primordial fear jabbed him in the belly. It wasn’t as strong as the throbbing of his dick or the ache in his balls, so he ignored it and came up over her.

  Balancing on his arms, he lowered his head and put his lips on hers. The briefest of kisses. When she didn’t protest, he kissed her again, stroking his tongue along her plump lower lip, dipping inside. For a second, she kissed him back, her tongue flicking against his. She tasted different, but not unpleasant, sweet and coppery, no doubt from the blood she had taken.

  Reluctantly, he left her lips, dropping kisses along her jawline, and she moaned low in her throat. She tipped her head back, baring the line of her neck, and he kissed down, lingering on the frantic pulse point before moving even lower. He buried his nose in the V of the jumpsuit and between her breasts, his nostrils filling with the sweet, slightly musky scent of her skin.

  Balancing himself on one hand, he used the other to pull down the fastener, baring her to the waist. Her breasts were full, her skin flawless, white with pale pink nipples that puckered under his watchful gaze. The blood shot to his groin, and his balls hurt.

  He lowered his head, took one nipple in his mouth and suckled gently. Her back arched beneath him as he increased the pressure, scraping the taut peak with the edge of his teeth. She pushed herself against his mouth, urging him on.

  His dick was rock hard now, and he shifted, trying to ease the pressure. Cupping one breast in his palm, he transferred his attentions to the other nipple, licking it slowly, watching as it tightened, darkened to deep red.

  She was moving restlessly now, twisting on the scarlet cover, and quite the most erotic thing he had ever seen. He kissed lower, over her flat white belly, pushing the fastener down with his teeth, and burrowing his face in the curls at the junction of her thighs. The clothing prevented him from getting any farther, and he paused for a moment before coming up on his knees beside her. He slipped the jumpsuit down over her shoulders, and she lifted her hips from the bed so he could slide the garment from her and toss it on the floor. It was all she wore, and now she lay naked in front of him. Perfection. Flawless, and his breath hitched. He trailed a finger down from her throat, over the swell of one breast, down the flat plane of her belly, dipping into her navel so she squirmed, and into the silky curls.

  The hair was the same silver gilt as on her head. He ruffled his fingers through its softness, and then rubbed one along the line separating her sex. Her thighs fell open, giving him access, and he parted the folds. He found her swollen and wet. He teased a lazy circle around her, flicked her with the tip of his finger, and a shudder ran through her.

  “No, stop,” she moaned. “I can’t—”

  “Of course you can. Relax.” She was going to come so sweetly for him. He stroked over the nub, increasing the pressure slowly. She’d gone silent and was holding herself very still, a strange tension radiating from her. Pausing, he peered up the line of her body as her eyes fluttered open.

  Everything stopped.

  They were crimson pools of darkness.

  Her nostrils flared.

  Something told him to move, get away from her, but he was locked in place. Then it was too late. She reared up, faster than he could have thought possible. Her hands gripped his shoulders, and the momentum knocked them both off the bed, so they crashed to the floor. He landed on his back with a naked woman sprawled on top of him. She came up, hands still hard on his upper arms, and lunged for his throat.

  Shock held him still as her teeth ripped into the flesh at his neck, sucking frantically at the vein. Fergal gathered himself to throw her off, but he didn’t get the chance. She released her hold, came up on her hands and knees, and threw up.

  All over him.

  Chapter Six

  Daisy crouched on all fours, head hanging like an exhausted dog as she fought the urge to throw up again. But there was nothing left. The contents of her stomach were splattered all over the floor and all over Fergal. The scene looked like something from a slaughterhouse.

  He was still on the ground but up on his elbows, regarding her with a wary expression. Who could blame him? She’d lost it completely. If he’d been an ordinary human, he’d be dead.

  It had felt so good. As she’d relaxed into the feelings, eased up on her control, something had woken inside her. But
by the time she’d recognized the danger, it was too late and the darkness had taken her over, filled her.

  Only the foul taste of Fergal’s blood had brought her back.

  She was naked, a pulse throbbing between her legs.

  Crap. Bet he thinks I’m sexy now. Not.

  Finally, she sat back on her heels, forced herself to look into Fergal’s face. “Sorry.” He snorted but didn’t speak, and she gave a small shrug. “You probably have naked girls puking on you all the time.”

  “It’s my technique.”

  He looked so serious, lying in his blood- and vomit-spattered uniform, that a giggle rose up inside her.

  His eyes widened as she laughed, but a grin curved his lips, followed by a look of resignation. “Well, that didn’t go as planned. You know how long it’s been since I was with a naked woman? Too fucking long. Shit, my dick’s still hard even after all that.”

  She glanced down at his groin. Definitely still hard. God, she wanted that erection. Life—or she supposed death in her case—sucked sometimes.

  She forced her gaze upward. There was a ragged wound in his neck. “Does that hurt?”

  “Hell, yeah. But not as much as my dick right now.” He sat up, pushing himself to his feet. “I need to clean up.”

  “Through there.” Nodding toward the bathroom door, she waited until he disappeared before calling one of the cleaner drones. She wrapped the scarlet cover about herself and perched on the bed while it cleared the floor.

  Fergal probably thought she was some sort of cross between a lunatic woman and a bloodsucking monster. Rico had warned her that she wasn’t the same person. He’d told her that she had to accept what she was.

  They were predators, killers.

  But this was the first time she had caught a glimpse of what he really meant. Before, when she’d been consumed by the need to feed, it had been as though she was controlled by something outside herself. This time the darkness had awoken, and it was part of her. She craved blood and death.