Bennet—his name was a whisper on the wind, unfamiliar yet just right. My wrists were bound above my head, held to the frigid fence by his palm. His skin was warm, his grip firm but gentle. A blush washed over me, every inch waiting for the pleasure that his eyes promised.
“Hannah.” His smooth, deep voice caressed me, slowly pronouncing each syllable, as his crimson eyes settled on my lips.
Bennet—again the wind spoke as it whipped around us, chilling my bare skin. His tongue traced my lips, and I opened for him. My gentle blush turned to aching need, and I arched my back to feel his chest on mine. The fabric of his shirt was soft and silky against my aching breasts, the muscles beneath hard and unyielding.
His lips were tender, his desire well-controlled. All I wanted was for him to let go, to take me there in the alley. As if he read my mind, his kisses grew more intense, his tongue delving deeper into my mouth. I gasped as his hand squeezed my breast.
“Bennet,” I moaned. Every inch of my skin was alive and craving his touch. His fangs drew, and scraped gently down my neck. The seam of his jeans pressed between my thighs, showing me exactly what I was in for. It felt big and hard. I wanted his cock, his bite. His lips parted and-
Sharp pain pierced my neck. I couldn’t move. “Bennet,” I cried, still lost in the transition from dream to reality. This was no dream. And the monster on top of me was not Bennet. My heart threatened to beat its way out of my chest as his weight suffocated me. My arms were pinned, and I could feel my life drain away. I blinked to focus, and found the blurry dark figure had pulled his teeth from my neck.
“Does he know you?” the man asked. I heard his voice, but couldn’t think. There was a slight British accent to his words, each spoken slowly, deliberately. A top hat sat upon his crown, shadowing his long, sharp nose and sunken, red eyes. Blood soaked his teeth and fangs. My blood. I could smell it all over him. I knew him. From the attack. The man I’d stabbed. The bastard that looked like a serial killer from the 1800's—Jack the freaking Ripper. I needed to shift, to control the panic that swept over me.
“What?” I growled. “Get off of me.” I wiggled and fought with all of my might but the bastard didn’t move an inch. I could hardly breathe, and would only be more vulnerable during the shift. He knew what I was. I couldn’t risk it.
“Why do you cry his name while you sleep, first in ecstasy, then again in horror? What do you mean to Bennet?” Again, each word was carefully spoken. There was no emotion. No anger. Control, while I had none.
I hated the blush that came to my cheeks. “Get the fuck off me. Now.”
“Tsk tsk.” Jack the Ripper wagged his finger. “You answer my questions or your usefulness is at an end. It’s the way with your kind. You don’t belong in our territory and sadly you can’t be glamoured. All that’s left is feed and dispose.”
“And if I cooperate you’ll let me go?” I asked, knowing that no matter what he said the bastard couldn’t be trusted. But if I could move, I could defend myself.
“Maybe,” he replied. “I haven’t decided yet. You’ve been awfully naughty, little cub. Lucky I’m so forgiving.” It was hard to hear, to think, over my pounding pulse.
“Yeah,” I said dryly. “I can tell.” At least one arm. I could fight with one arm. Maybe.
“Tell me what’s between you too? Sex and feeding? Something more?” His red eyes assessed me, waiting for my answer. Feeding. The bite on my neck. Hell if they weren’t vampires. His forearm pressed down on my throat, his weight on my chest, making it difficult to breathe.
“We don’t know each other,” a deep voice said from across the room. It was the same as in my dream, and in the back of my head I heard him say my name. Somehow it hurt that he didn’t attack the vampire on top of me. But I knew it was stupid to expect anything more. Why would Bennet save me?
“Interesting,” the beast replied, keeping his eyes on me. “Where’s your pack?” he asked.
“What’s it to you?” I asked, twisting my shoulders to inch out my arms. Just a little more. I’d save myself. I could do that. It was better if I did. “Maybe they’re all here in this building ready to take over your territory and-”
“She has no pack,” Bennet said, and took a step closer.
“That’s not true, I-”
“She’s no threat. Walter, you have my word,” Bennet said.
The forearm pressing into my throat eased, and in a blur of black, Walter stood across the room by Bennet’s side. I grabbed the fork from my cookie mug and jumped to my feet. I would not be caught off-guard again.
“There’s no evidence of a shifter threat,” Bennet said.
“I see,” replied the bastard that had bitten me.
Standing on the mattress in my tank and boy shorts I looked back and forth between the two men who seemed to have forgotten I existed. Both in black. Both intruders. In my room.
“I’ll give you a threat,” I said, aiming my fork at Walter. “You leave my room now or I skewer you… poke your eye right out.” The fork wasn’t really my weapon of choice. I could do better. “I’ll shift then finish what I started in that alley. This time I’ll make sure you never get back up.” How exactly I was supposed to do that I wasn’t sure. From now on I was going to listen to everything Ashley said. Everything.
The two glanced my way, and Walter’s thin lips turned up in a horrifying grin. The tips of his fangs peeked through, and my neck throbbed where he’d bitten me.
“She’s under my protection,” Bennet said, and grabbed Walter’s arm.
“Yet you don’t know each other?” Walter asked, looking between me and Bennet. “Right.” His face contorted with amusement.
“Charlie answered my call. You didn’t,” Bennet said. “Your task is being handled entirely by your progeny. Wouldn’t it be best to get back to it?”
“Very well,” Walter replied, looking me up and down like he wanted to eat me. Which I was pretty sure he did. And then he was gone, too quick for me to track. Poof. Relief quickly turned to another round of apprehension, as I became painfully aware that I was standing on my bed, in my underwear, alone with the stranger that I’d just dreamed of banging. A freaking vampire. Talk about awkward.
Chapter Ten
Bennet
His teeth had pierced her neck. My blood still boiled from the thought of Walter touching her, let alone the smug grin he had worn when he had confirmed his suspicions about my feelings.
I tried to push back my frustration, and focused on the sensation of his presence. Walter had left the vicinity. He shouldn’t have been here. He shouldn’t have bit her. Then Hannah broke me out of my thoughts with a single word—my name.
“Bennet,” she said, climbing down from her place on the tiny, single bed. She turned on the table lamp; and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust.
She was practically naked, before she pulled a pair of yoga pants up her long, smooth legs. As she slid the fabric over her bare, milky white skin, I imagined the feel of her on my palms. Her tank top clung to her breasts, revealing the round shape beneath.
“So when are you going to tell me what the hell’s going on?” she asked, meeting my eyes with an intense, electric blue gaze. “Your friend just took a chunk out of me. I deserve the truth.”
She was right, of course. How could I protect her if she didn’t understand what she was up against? “Walter, he’s…” I said, searching for the right words.
“A vampire,” Hannah replied, and met my eyes with an unflinching, sapphire gaze.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“And so are you,” she said. “Pretty obvious even though a week ago I would have sworn you were just the stuff of fantasy books and bad horror movies”
“I once thought all variations of undead merely myth as well,” I replied.
“Something tells me that you predate the movies that terrified me as a kid,” Hannah said. “Maybe they still would if I watched them.” She seemed nervous—tight muscles, talking quickly as she shifted
her weight back and forth.
“I do.”
“So what was that thing outside? And what’s the story with your buddy trying to eat me? And don’t tell me it’s just a vampire thing, because you’re different,” she said. “You are, right?” Her eyes pleaded as she squeezed the flatware in her fist.
“I mean you no harm,” I replied.
“So what’s Walter’s beef?” Hannah asked, muscles relaxing ever so slightly.
“Your kind-” I said.
“Shifters or women? Because that guy has a serious serial killer way about him,” Hannah said. It was true. He did.
“Shifters,” I replied. “There’s a unique appeal to feeding from a shifter.” I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of guilt in my stomach. I too craved Hannah, even more so than my brother did. I wanted to shove my fangs into her neck, bury my cock between her legs, and devour her in every way. The need within me was strong. She was mine. And because of that never-ending desire, I had to protect her from myself.
“Appeal?” her eyes narrowed, judging my words, my expression. Skeptical, angry, nervous—Hannah’s beauty was unmatched no matter her disposition. I wondered what she’d look like wearing a smile. Gorgeous, without a doubt.
“Pack tendencies, mind control immunity, and superior strength make for more challenging prey,” I said.
“That’s it? Your pal the psychopath likes a girl that can defend herself?” Hannah asked.
“And because of your regenerative abilities,” I said, “feeding offers benefits my kind otherwise does not possess.” I left out the specifics. Like a limited increase in sense of smell, and the ability to survive what we cannot on our own.
“So not only am I a steak to you guys, a freaking filet mignon,” Hannah said, “but a filet braised in crack or something?” I’d never heard it put like that. Nothing close. She nearly made me smile. How long had it been since I’d last smiled?
“Something like that,” I said.
Hannah sat down on the edge of her bed. I watched, and remained still. “So will he come back for me?”
The truth was, he wouldn’t. I’d told him she was mine, and he wouldn’t betray that. He wouldn’t betray me. But Walter was not the only creature of the night in Scarlet Harbor.
“There is far worse in the city streets,” I said. “That’s why it’s best if you agree to leave-”
“Really?” Hannah folded her legs under her, straightened her shoulders, and stared needles into me. “You’re still on that? Let me make it simple for you. I. Am. Not. Leaving.”
“Okay,” I replied, though it wouldn’t stop me from encouraging her to go. It was best for Hannah to be far from this place, from the thrall, from our nest, from me.
“I guess if they’re really going to keep coming for me, I’ll need to be prepared,” Hannah said. “What can I do to ensure I don’t wake up that way again? How can I keep them out? I mean, I didn’t invite him in.”
“You don’t have to,” I replied. “That only works on the young.”
“What about that yellow-eyed guy?” she asked. “Is he or one of his buddies going to waltz in here as soon as you go?”
“He won’t,” I replied. “It’s unlikely one would come inside. The lights in the halls are too bright. And there are a lot of potential victims between you and the entry to the building.”
“Reassuring,” she said in a flat tone, and pursed her lips. “And the red-eyed, old biters? How do I keep them out once you’re gone?”
“I’m not leaving,” I said.
“You’re planning to follow me around day after day, night after night for the next three years until I finish my degree and move away?” Hannah asked.
“If that’s what it takes,” I replied. “Though your days are safe from all of us.”
“So no sunlight, huh? Who would have thought that having a stalker would actually be reassuring?” Hannah said, and flopped down on the bed. Dark waves of raven hair fanned out around her face. Her arms spread out across the pink comforter. She was so delicate, so alluring. “Bennet?”
“Yes?”
“What about my friend? Is Ashley going to turn?” Hannah asked, staring up at the popcorn ceiling. “Am I?”
“No,” I replied. “It’s more complicated than a bite.” I watched the rise and fall of her full breasts, closed my eyes and felt the slow rhythm of her heart. Heat radiated from her skin, drawing me.
“Every night,” Hannah said, her voice soft, lips tender. “Will I see you?” She rolled onto her side, and her shirt dipped down exposing the tops of her round, pale breasts.
“I’ll always be within reach,” I replied. And before I did something I would regret, I disappeared from Hannah’s room, from the building, and back into the dark night.
Chapter Eleven
Hannah
Sex-craved maniac. It was the new me, or at least in dreams. Every morning I woke with memories of the taste of Bennet’s tongue in my mouth, the feel of his big hands on my bare skin, the pleasure of his massive, hard… And that’s exactly when I, devastated, remembered that it was all a dream.
After three nights of only seeing him in my sleep, and three days of daydreaming during classes, I’d reached my limit. I’d never felt like this. I’d never been boy-crazy, never felt so… not myself. And it had to stop. Tonight I would find him, tonight I’d regain control of my life. Whatever that meant.
How difficult could he be to find? He’d promised to be there when I needed him. As soon as I stepped out of the science building, I looked into the darkness. Bennet couldn’t be far. Unless his hearing was better than mine. Could he hear me from a mile away? Two? My thoughts were consumed by a man I knew nothing about. Again, not myself.
I walked away from the bright lights of the path, toward the tall oak trees and the black of night. With each step my eyes adjusted a little more to the darkness. Until I felt two hands reach from behind and cover my eyes.
My first instinct was to maul. My nerves were fried, and I pictured the crazed grin of Jack the Ripper. But it wasn’t him. I’d been so lost in my own little world that I hadn’t heard her approach. Though I should have recognized her scent right away. I should have known better. Ashley took a step back, and I realized that my fingers were wrapped tight around my friend’s wrist. I hadn’t even realized I’d grabbed her. The smile on her face faded to concern.
“Since when did ‘guess who’ turn into a threat?” Ashley asked. I let go of her.
“Sorry,” I said. “I didn’t hear you.”
“You didn’t hear me? And I wasn’t even in the middle of telling you anything. Are you okay?” she gave me a small smile, and laced her fingers in mine. “Come on, we need to catch up.” I couldn’t believe I’d been so close to harming my best friend. I was worse off than I had thought. “I can tell you all about the amazing couple of days I’ve had and you can tell me about the fifty mug brownies you ate without gaining a pound.”
“Yeah, right.”
“And,” she said, ignoring my protest, “why you were walking out into the woods like one of those brownies was spiked with ecstasy.”
“Yeah,” I said, fighting the urge to yell his name, to run from my friend, to try to deal with the emotions that were clouding me. Just one word and he would come. Wouldn’t he?
“Hannah?” Ashley’s head bobbed back and forth in front of my face, her grass-green eyes wide as she fought for my attention.
“Yeah,” I said, “sorry.” Bennet would have to wait. Ashley made sure of it. Plus, I really did want to hear all about her three days away from our dorm with her vampire groupie buddies. “You first,” I said, though I wasn’t sure what exactly I could share once my turn came around.
Ashley led me back to the path, ten feet from where I’d been, and toward our building. It was almost as if I could feel Bennet slipping away, left behind in the dark of night. I fought the urge to look back, and instead focused on Ashley.
“We all met up at this sleazy bar where Ledo works,�
�� Ashley said. I tried to remember if I knew who Ledo was. By context it seemed like I should have. “Strips and Dips.”
“As in chicken wings and ranch?” I asked, and narrowed my eyes as I awaited her response.
“No. And yes, the dip thing seems to be about salsa or something. Strip, not so much,” Ashley said. I pictured flashing lights in a dark room, disco balls, poles, and half-naked women serving nachos.
“Sounds classy,” I replied.
“But anyway,” Ashley said, “after he finished his shift we went to Scott’s lair.” Scott. That was a name I knew. Piercings and eyeshadow.
“Lair? As in super villain hide out?” I asked, picturing her emaciated crush hiding out in the sewer. It didn’t seem too far fetched, though I had pictured him as being the type that lived in his mom’s basement.
“I get it,” Ashley said. “You think it sounds weird, but he’s got this big, open apartment in an old warehouse, and it really screams vampire lair.”
“Okay,” I said. “So you just hung out in a warehouse with those guys for three days? Did you go to any of your classes?”
“No,” Ashley replied. “But if it were you in my place, you wouldn’t care about class either. Well maybe you would, but that’s only because you’ve got that supernatural determination.” What I really had was a terrible time concentrating on anything since Bennet showed up in my life. Ashley saw the best in people, even if what she saw wasn’t really there. “But, Hannah, it was amazing.”
“So what did you do?” I asked.
“We slept all day, and stayed up all night. And Scott told us what happened when he was turned. It was like what happened to me, and so much more.”
“Ashley-”
“I know, don’t worry. There’s been no skin burning away in the sun. And I’m not going all blood-lusty, so I know. It hasn’t happened yet. But that’s because you stopped him,” she said. “And I know it’s because you wanted to help. I don’t resent you for it. I’ll still have my turn. Scott said the same thing happened to him, except no one stopped it. His blood was drained, his life taken. Then, BOOM, he wakes up in the dirt at night, and get this… craves blood.” This time I took in the details of her story. Bennet had said there was more to turning into a vampire than just a bite. Could Scott really have been changed? Or was he lying for attention?
Pierced: A Wolf Shifter & Vampire Paranormal Romance (Vampires of Scarlet Harbor Book 1) Page 5