by J. L. McCoy
“Never has a vampire turned their nose up at bagged human blood before let alone vomit it right back up,” Oleif gruffly pointed out, his eyes full of accusation. “We do not fully understand the ramifications of creating such an abomination. What if humans aren’t enough? What if she starts draining vampires like her sire?”
“I am not an abomination!” I growled, flashing upright. I felt my anger consume me as my eyes flickered once, changing.
“Yes,” Oleif growled deeply as he slowly stood up from his chair, “you are. Your eyes betray you, creature.”
Everyone in the house, except for Emrick who was outside patrolling the grounds, flashed to create a protective shield between Oleif and me.
“Control your temper!” Hagan yelled at me as he put his hand on my chest.
I didn’t appreciate him yelling at me, let alone touching me, so I roughly pulled his hand off me and threw it to the side. I heard a sickening crunch as I did and Hagan immediately hissed in pain.
“You protect this monster even after she breaks your bones?” Oleif shouted as he pushed at the bodies in front of him. “I don’t have to see it to know you are injured.”
“Dammit, Morrison!” Hagan yelled as he roughly shoved me back onto the couch. “You crushed my fucking wrist! Sit your ass down and if you get up again, so help me God, I will make you regret it.”
“I-I’m sorry, sir,” I said, shocked I had hurt him. I felt my eyes flicker again and I knew they were back to being devoid of color. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to. I-I guess I’m stronger than I realize.”
“You’re a lot stronger,” he huffed as he cradled his wrist and turned back to Oleif. “And you, stop antagonizing the girl. You are here to watch her, nothing more!”
“I am stationed here to kill her if given just cause,” Oleif growled fiercely in response. “Assaulting a sworn member of the Army of An Dilis is more than just cause.”
“I didn’t mean to!” I shouted fearfully.
“Brother,” Archer said calmly as he stood in front of Oleif, “I do not believe Skye honestly meant to hurt Hagan. She knows not the strength she carries. She would never purposely hurt him. He has been her mentor for the past month; teaching her to defend herself should the creature Amun ever try to kidnap her again.”
“That’s right,” I verbally stepped in as I wrung my hands from my place on the couch. “I respect Hagan immensely and would never hurt him intentionally. I’m sorry I let my anger get the better of me, but it won’t happen again.” I felt tears of frustration and fear cloud my eyes.
Oleif took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut. With a frustrated growl, he dropped his hand and met Hagan’s eyes. “I leave her punishment in your hands, Hagan. But I grow increasingly weary of her.”
Hagan glanced back at me and pursed his lips. I didn’t like the look he was giving me and started to panic. After a long few seconds, he turned back to Oleif with a smile. “Would a sparring match please you, brother?”
Oleif’s eyes grew wide and he scoffed. “A sparring match between you and her? She’ll be defeated the moment it starts.”
“No, brother,” Hagan smiled. “I was suggesting one between the two of you. Now, you can’t kill her but you can play with her a bit. What do you say?”
“Hagan?” I whispered fearfully. “What are you doing? I can’t fight him!” Oleif had almost a foot on me and he was easily 245 pounds of solid muscle not to mention he was a trained killing machine.
Oleif smirked again and crossed his arms. “You mentioned you had been training her. How much knowledge does she have? It wouldn’t be any fun if she doesn’t know what she’s doing.”
Oh,” Hagan chuckled, “she knows what she’s doing. She has been training in Gráscar Lámh and Scianóireacht. She can also use a sword or dagger and she formerly trained in Israeli Krav Maga in her human life. I think you’ll enjoy the fight.”
A wide smile spread across Oleif’s face and he nodded his head. “Aye. A fight is what she’ll get. Just tell me when and where, brother.”
“Isn’t anyone going to ask me if I want to do this?” I asked worriedly as I stared at the two soldiers. “I may be a vampire, but there is no way in hell I’m fighting him. He’ll kill me for sure and say it was an accident.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” Oleif laughed. “I can just tell God you died.”
I gasped loudly and sank as far into the couch as I could.
“Oh calm down, Morrison,” Hagan chuckled. “He’s just kidding.”
Oleif studied the group of vampires in front of him and then lingered his gaze on Archer. “I see why most of your children defend the girl. For some, it’s because they find her interesting, others have grown attached, and one loves her, while the other lusts to have her. But you… you I can’t figure out. Why do you defend this girl knowing what is inside of her. You are their leader and your first priority should be the welfare of your family. I know you believe the girl is now your child, but surely you wouldn’t protect her at the sake of your other children. What is her appeal to you? Is it carnal? Spiritual? Is it…”
He stopped speaking suddenly as his eyes widened and a sneer spread across his lips. “Oh, I see now. How… quaint.”
“Leave it alone, brother,” Hagan said quietly as the group started to disperse. Archer, I noticed, had yet to move as he continued to face Oleif. “This is their business.”
Oleif chuckled as he resumed his seat in the overstuffed chair, his eyes still on Archer.
Archer finally turned away from him and went back into the kitchen; he never even looked my way.
Seamus sat back down beside me and patted me knee encouragingly. “Ya feelin’ better?”
I quickly shook my head, my mind in a whirlwind of thought. Oleif had been given permission from Hagan to spar with me and the thought made my upset stomach even more upset. There was no way in hell I stood a chance against him and I had no doubt he’d seriously injure, if not kill, me. On top of that were the words Oleif had said to Archer. Some of my new family put up with me because they thought I was interesting, some were attached. It was easy to figure out who loved me; that was Trey of course. I liked to think of him as my ‘brother from another mother’. But who was the one who lusted after me? That has to be Archer, I thought silently. But then I remembered Oleif had questioned why Archer put up with me, so the one who lusted couldn’t have been him. What the hell? I wondered as I sat up and looked around the room. At that second, Lochlan looked over from his domino game and gave me a wink. Ah… of course. It had to be Lochlan, the notorious flirt. His advances had always seemed like harmless jokes at the time and if it was him who indeed lusted after me, I was pretty shocked. I guess I had just never taken him seriously before. While I liked Lochlan and thought he was incredibly funny and a nice guy, I didn’t have any romantic feelings toward him whatsoever. He was absolutely gorgeous, don’t get me wrong, and I was a sucker for a red head, but he really wasn’t my type.
I heard the doorbell ring just then and jumped in surprise. In the month that I had lived here, no one had ever used the doorbell before. I stood as Trey went to answer it and prayed it was food. If I didn’t eat soon, I was sure I would die from the pain of my hunger alone.
I heard the sound of Trey greeting someone and then several pairs of footsteps as the door closed and they walked further into the house. My mouth instantly watered when their scents and heartbeats hit me.
I must have made some sort of sound because Archer was instantly next to me and had his arm wrapped around my waist. “Hold your breath and silently count to twenty. Do not allow your eyes to betray your hunger or you will scare them.”
I nodded my head and closed my eyes as I leaned my head on his shoulder. I did exactly as he instructed while he greeted them warmly and exchanged pleasantries.
“Vanessa,” Archer said next and my eyes flew open to see the curvaceous, bottled redhead step forward. I had seen her before at The
Mausoleum. She had fed Archer once and it had made me incredibly jealous when I naively thought they had slept together. “I wasn’t expecting you. What are you doing here?” he asked as I felt a low growl start at the back of my throat. As far as I was concerned, she’d be feeding Archer over my dead body.
Archer quickly pinched my ass, reminding me to behave, as he continued. “I specifically asked for Mona, Jason, Chris, and Bethany today.”
“Well,” she purred as she flipped her long red hair over her shoulder and stuck out her large chest, “I thought I’d fill in for Mona. I haven’t seen you in a while, let alone been out to your place before, and I know how much you enjoy the taste of my blood so I thought I’d surprise you. Surprise!”
Archer let out a long sigh, obviously displeased, as he motioned to the front sitting room off the foyer. “Trey, escort Jason, Chris and Bethany to the parlor and make sure they are comfortable.”
Trey smiled brightly and motioned for the three of them to follow him. “Right this way, please.”
I watched the three of them eagerly follow Trey and disappear around the corner. When I looked back at Vanessa she was smiling like she had just won the lottery.
“So, where should we go?” she asked as she slowly walked up to Archer. She never even looked at me which surprised the hell out of me (okay and royally pissed me off too) as she stopped in front of us. Archer’s hand tightened on my waist as he addressed her.
“Would you like a tour of the grounds before we begin? I have an amazing pool and hot tub in the back.”
“Ooh, a hot tub?” she purred seductively.
“Quinn, why don’t you show her around while I get Skye settled?” Archer asked, his words heavily laced with meaning. I was guessing that he was pissed Vanessa had invited herself here and after Quinn was done with her, she’d never remember Archer’s name.
“Come on, gorgeous,” Quinn dutifully obeyed as he opened the back door. I watched Vanessa saunter out the door with a heavy sway to her hips and when it was closed I turned around in Archer’s arms.
“You pinch my butt like that again and I’m going to pinch you right back,” I said with a frown.
“Promise?” he purred deeply with a crooked smile as he brushed the tip of his nose against mine. It sent a shiver down my spine and it irritated me that he still had such an effect on me.
I growled softly and then huffed with impatience. “Can I eat now, please? Their heartbeats are really distracting and it’s making my stomach hurt worse.”
Archer chuckled and grabbed my hand, leading me to the foyer. Oleif wasn’t far behind and I narrowed my eyes at him over my shoulder. He gave me one of his famously bored looks and said nothing as usual.
As we turned the corner, the scent of our guests slammed into me full force. They smelled so good that my mouth immediately watered. Archer tightened his hold on my hand and introduced me to them. The one nearest to me was Chris. He was tall and thin with mocha skin, an innocent face, and big brown eyes. He couldn’t have been any older than twenty if he was a day. The girl beside him was Bethany, of course. Bethany looked like your average girl-next-door with her curly, shoulder length brown hair and small brown eyes. She wore a yellow sun dress that accented her sun-kissed, dark skin and she smiled widely at me in greeting.
Lastly, I was introduced to Jason. Jason sat on the loveseat a few feet away and looked like every girl’s wet dream. He wore a tight black t-shirt that accentuated his muscled physique and an expensive pair of designer jeans. He looked older than the rest of our guests and I estimated his age around 28 or so. I tried not to lick my lips and fangs as I studied his tight body, but I think I failed because he gave me a sly, knowing smile.
“Who would you like to try first?” Archer asked me, breaking me out of my daze.
Chapter Six
“Um,” I struggled as I looked at each of them again. It felt completely wrong of me to treat them like they were nothing other than a piece of meat. I mean hell…when you go to a steakhouse, the cook doesn’t take you in the back and ask you which cow you’d like your Porterhouse from. “I…um…”
Archer saw that I was uncomfortable and chose for me. “Why don’t we start with Chris?” Archer smiled as he gently rubbed my back with one hand in a calming gesture. “He happens to be quite delicious and I think you’ll be more comfortable starting out with him than with Bethany.”
“Why? What’s wrong with Bethany?”
Bethany smiled knowingly at me as Archer explained. “Well, when a vampire feeds it can be a very emotional and seductive experience. You will experience intimate feelings toward your feeder, as they will you, and I don’t want you to start out with a woman and perhaps feel uncomfortable.”
My mouth dropped in surprise. Of all the things I was expecting him to say, that wasn’t one of them. Intimate feelings? Please, Lord, tell me I’m not going to get turned on while I’m eating and shamelessly rub myself all over these people. I will never get over the humiliation.
Archer chuckled as he read my mind. He took my hand and led me over to Chris. Bethany politely scooted over to the far side of the couch to allow Archer and I to sit on either side of him.
“Since this is your first time, we’ll have you feed from his wrist,” Archer patiently explained. Chris held up his wrist with a polite smile and offered it to me. I gently took it in my hands and dubiously stared at it. What if I hurt him?
“You won’t hurt him and there is no wrong way to do it,” Archer said gently. “You will sense his pulse immediately as you go to bite. It’ll direct you to the vein.”
I nodded my head and shyly looked up at Chris. “Um, thank you for the…food?”
Chris chuckled and smiled widely. “That’s a first for me… being thanked before the bite. You are very welcome. I hope you enjoy it.”
“You’re really nice. Thank you,” I whispered with a small, grateful smiled as I turned my attention back to his wrist.
I could no longer ignore the pounding of his heart and his appetizing scent. I ran my nose along the underside of his forearm as I took a deep breath in. I was picking up hints of his cucumber and melon moisturizer, the morning sun, and grass. Without another thought, I bit deeply into his wrist, my fangs finding his vein perfectly, and sighed in ecstasy as his blood gushed into my mouth.
His taste exploded on my tongue and I was blasted with so many different and unique tastes that it was overwhelming at first. I focused and tasted what I thought might have been the last thing he had eaten. I was picking up garlic and onion and… earthiness. I tasted the environment he had been living in and my brow furrowed as I tasted the nicotine he must have been second-hand inhaling on a near-daily basis. I had started to taste the vitamins he must have been taking when his heartbeat suddenly doubled and a deep, sensual moan sounded.
I opened my eyes to see him staring at me through hooded eyes as he slowly writhed in his seat. He was looking at me with such carnal need and I vaguely became aware of him rubbing his massive hard-on through his khakis.
I was so shocked by the display that I immediately retracted my fangs and sat up. “Oh… oh God. I-I’m sorry,” I said as I looked over at Archer with wide eyes. He was staring at me with much the same look Chris had.
“Why did you stop?” Chris asked, his voice sounding utterly disappointed and needy.
“I-I uh…,” I tried to explain but I had no words for how uncomfortable the scene had made me feel. Archer had warned me that I would have feelings for my “food” but that wasn’t the case. It was VERY apparent that my “food” had feelings for me, though.
“It felt so good,” Chris breathed as he sat up straighter. “I’ve never felt anything like it before. It was like being on ten tabs of MDMA at once.”
Archer’s brow furrowed as he spoke. “What do you mean? Is it different from when others of our kind feed on you?”
Chris emphatically nodded his head. “When the night walker’s feed, it hurts a bit. When you or the others like you have f
ed on me, it feels really good. I mean really, really good. But just now… with her… it was stronger than anything I’ve ever felt before, ten times stronger. I hate to say it, but I was seconds away from the best orgasm of my life when she stopped.”
Archer’s eyebrows rose as he looked up at me again. I just shrugged my shoulders and looked down at my hands. I was way too embarrassed by what had just happened to look anyone in the eye.
“Well, at least she didn’t kill him like I thought she would,” Oleif grumbled from the doorway.
“Your control is very impressive, Skye,” Archer praised. “Very impressive indeed. How do you feel right now?”
I rubbed my forehead and sighed before looking up at him. “Completely mortified… but still hungry.”
“You can feed from me again,” Chris offered quickly and a little too eagerly.
“Uh…” I bit my lip, “I appreciate what you’ve allowed me to drink so far but, I think I’d better not drink any more from you. I don’t want to take too much.”
“You can have as much as you want,” Chris smiled widely.
“I… uh… I taste smoke and nicotine in your blood and I’m really not a big fan of it,” I said honestly and tried not to feel bad when his face fell in disappointment. “I’m really sorry.”
“It’s okay,” he said with a sad smile. “I promise to stay away from smokers if you’ll consider giving me another chance to feed you in the future.” His eyes had taken on that ‘puppy-dog’ look and I nodded my head in agreement. I was never good at telling someone no when they looked at me like that.
“Chris, why don’t you go into the kitchen and have Trey prepare you a glass of orange juice while we finish up in here,” Archer said politely, clearly dismissing him. Chris looked back at me longingly before he stood up and reluctantly left the room.
“Well, now I’m eager to see what all the fuss is about,” Bethany smiled as she crossed her legs beside me.
“I think I’ll share Bethany with you if you don’t mind, Skye,” Archer licked his bottom lip as he stood up and then squatted down in front of her. “You don’t mind, Bethany dear, do you?”