by Ashley Ladd
Nikolai frowned and blinked. “Forsooth? Did we meet in battle?”
“Many times, my old friend.”
‘Friend’ was pronounced with a sarcastic lilt that scraped along Nikolai’s nerves and made his gut coil tighter.
“Then I would remember, but I do not. You must have me mistaken.”
“I would never mistake my sire for another. I know your face better than my own. Your scent calls me, sickens me.”
Nikolai wondered why, if the man was so feral, so angry, he didn’t put an end to him. “What do you mean I made you what you are? Then I tried to kill you? Why do you call me sire?”
The vampire moved in closer and touched his fangs to Nikolai’s throat but didn’t puncture his skin. However, he put slight, menacing pressure on his neck. A low growl arose from deep in his throat.
“You made me into what I am, this monster that stands before you.”
Nikolai’s brain refused to function. Confusion made him bold. “Fie! You tell fantastical tales that can’t be. I don’t have the power to make anyone into a mons…” He bit off his words, thinking better of them. “Pray, I do not even know your name.”
“Dmitri. And it was two hundred years into the future.”
Nikolai’s brows knitted. Now, he knew the man was soft in the brain. He spoke of the things yet to come in the past tense.
As if answering his unspoken questions, Dmitri continued with gritted teeth, his knee still pressing into Nikolai’s abdomen, his hands still around his throat. “Do I have to add two plus two for My Lord and Sire?” When Nikolai didn’t answer, Dmitri tsk-tsked as he shook his head before going on. “You will become one of the undead, a creature of the night, no longer human, a fiend. You took my life and made me like you. That wasn’t enough. You tried to take my eternity and you destroyed man—” With a muttered curse, Dmitri wrenched away from him.
What had he been about to say? Nikolai killed a man?
“I become one of you? Before you?” He raised himself on his elbows and looked about him, wondering how to escape. Nikolai could extrapolate. “So, thou art going to make me into one of you? If you kill me, you can’t become a vampire. Would you disappear?”
Dmitri swore and whirled around, his eyes narrowed. “I don’t know. We couldn’t answer such a question even in the twenty-third century.”
Twenty-third century? Did that mean the woman was also from the future? His curiosity blossomed. “Is everybody in this village from the future?”
“Why do you want to know? What is it to you?”
“If I am to become one of you, won’t I have to?”
Dmitri lifted his finger and pointed it at his heart. “Who said it would be tonight? I can’t stand to look at you. You think I want the likes of you around here, infecting us?”
Now Nikolai was completely confused. “You are not going to kill me or turn me into one of you?”
“Not me. Not tonight.”
From what the vampire had let slip, Nikolai surmised Dmitri didn’t dare unless his anger overcame his good senses—if vampires had such a thing.
“Go now and don’t return. I can’t vouch for your safety should another of my kind find you.”
Nikolai burned to know. “Is the maiden with the short blonde hair and beautiful green eyes the shade of emerald one of you?”
Dmitri’s chest puffed out, and his fangs protruded further. He seemed to fly at Nikolai and knocked him to the ground again. “You will stay away from her, or I may change my mind. It would be far better for us all to perish than for her to know the vile likes of you.” Then Dmitri spat on him and thrust him to the ground.
Nikolai collided with a tree, and the wind was knocked from him. His mind was a jumble, but Dmitri’s threat reverberated through his mind. The vehemence in the man’s voice both intrigued and terrified him. Was he the vampire’s mate? She was obviously someone important enough to Dmitri that he would die to protect her.
Chapter Four
“There’s something I haven’t told you.” Dmitri paced before Kes, his hands linked behind his back. His eyes were stormier than the last squall that had ripped through their town. His lips were set in a stern line that told her he was in soul-searching mode.
She longed to ask what it was but kept her lips pursed as she knew it was better to let him explain in his own time. The silence stretched and feeling tense her fangs broke through the surface of her gums, but she kept them hidden.
He came closer and faced off against her, his hands on his hips. “I never told you who sired me.”
She shook her head but didn’t like the sound of this. Her brow furrowed, and her toes curled. She didn’t think she wanted to know the answer. Suddenly, she felt faint and filled with dread.
“Nikolai.”
The name hung in the air, and she wondered if he’d spoken it aloud or if her mind had bespoken it. She didn’t want to believe it. She couldn’t.
“No!” She wrenched away and plunged her hands through her hair.
“He is. That’s why we can’t kill him. If he dies before he sires me, we’ll all vanish.”
Her mind was a jumble as she looked to the past and the future. Her pulse raced, and she squared her shoulders. With the advantage of her foreknowledge, she said, “Perhaps that’s the lesser of the evils.”
“It’s dangerous to play with time. We could change so many things, make so much worse.”
A gurgle of laughter scraped her throat as she whirled on him. “Then why did you travel back in time? Why chance it?”
A loud sigh escaped her father’s lips. “We didn’t exactly have time to think it over as Earth was exploding and we were flung back. We could no more stop our journey than we could stop Nikolai. It is the reason we stay isolated, and why we do not sire new vampires.”
His words were a wallop to her gut, and she clutched her stomach. She didn’t try to prevent her fangs from bursting out. She detested the direction of her thoughts but couldn’t stop them.
“So,” she mumbled under her breath, looking inwardly, “you—we—are also putting Earth at risk. Our family is responsible for murdering our world.”
Guilt riddled her, and she tried to rub away the needles pricking her forehead. Was she responsible for her sire’s sins? For her sire’s sire’s sins?
Things were muddier than before.
She had to know something and caught her sire’s gaze. “What made Nikolai turn so evil? Why did he do it?”
Dmitri looked to the ceiling as if he were gazing into the far reaches of time. He stayed silent for a long period of time as if he preferred not to impart this knowledge. Then after several moments, he said in a far away voice, “The woman he loved with all his heart and soul was savagely murdered. He blamed me for not protecting her. He blamed the universe, but in particular our world, for stealing her. He became a monster that day, and it tore our family apart. Some followed him, and the rest came with me. As our battle grew fiercer, as he and his band became more dangerous to all of humanity, the humans came together and kicked us off Earth. You know the rest.”
Her stomach clenched, and her soul screamed. Knowing Nikolai had loved someone so deeply it had ripped out what was left of his soul made her tremble. Jealousy shredded her.
Whoa! What was this about? Another fear pushed aside the others and shudders racked her. Her lips refused to stay shut. “Who was this woman?”
Her sire turned away from her, and his shoulders slumped. “We called her ‘Kay’.”
She frowned. Why did he put such emphasis on the letter? Trepidation took hold of her. Did he mean ‘Kay’ the complete name or ‘K’ the initial? “What did ‘K’ stand for?”
Dmitri’s hands fell heavily on her shoulders. “Knowing too much can be disastrous. You know too much already.”
The import of his evasion making her dizzy. She blinked. She put a hand out to steady herself. “More disastrous than Earth and everyone dying?”
As if her father could read her mind, he
sighed and pulled her into a hug. “I don’t know for sure it was you, and of course, then, I had no idea it could have been. I do recall she had your colouring, was about your height and your figure.”
A major tempest brewed inside her, and the force tore her apart. “But if you hadn’t come back yet, how could it be me?”
“All excellent questions for which I have no answer. Even in your mother’s time, they could not answer such a question.”
Her mind buzzed. “What will happen when you’re born again? Can there be two of you at the same time? Why didn’t you help your other self fight Nikolai? Did one self die and one survive the end of Earth?”
Dmitri shook his head and the light reflected off its black sheen into her eyes.
“I do not know, daughter. There are many dilemmas. The more we learn, the more questions we have.”
* * * *
As she finally fell to sleep, impossible questions plagued her. Then she awoke in Nikolai’s bed, lying naked and warm in the crook of his arm, with his soft lips caressing her neck.
Unable to help herself, she squirmed and moaned. She curved into him and rubbed her pussy against his hard, long cock ravenous to be one with him.
All questions subsided except for one—was she destined to be with him? Was her fate irrevocably charted?
Starving for him, she parted her lips and her legs in invitation as her thighs quivered and a slow burn crawled up her flesh.
“You’re mine,” he savagely whispered as he captured her lips and rolled her onto her back then straddled her hips.
She so wanted to be his, but she wanted more, too. “And you’re mine…for all eternity.”
Her dream self meant every word, every emotion. Theirs was a forever love, one she would fight for. If time could change, she wouldn’t die and she wouldn’t let him be destroyed. It hadn’t happened yet. He was still pure of heart. He was still hers. Surely her father knew how ‘K’ had died and with foreknowledge, they could prevent the tragic events.
Hope bubbled, adding to her euphoria at being in her lover’s arms. Eager to be joined forever, she lifted her hips off the bed and met his deep, smooth stroke as if savouring her, as if marking her his.
Fire licked her veins and was stoked higher the faster and rougher he drove his cock into her. Feverish, consumed with desire, screams ripped through her throat. A hurricane of emotions whipped at her unmercifully, pulling her into its vortex. So she wouldn’t get blown away without him, she dug her fingers into his arms and clung to his strength.
Coherent thought deserted her, and she was consumed by needy thirst.
His furiously pumping blood roared in her ears. Its luscious scent called to her. Its lure captivated her, and her fangs sank deeply into his throat.
His moans were music to her ears.
The insanity spread, and she licked her way down his throat, his chest, to his cock. She twirled her tongue around the head before she pushed his rod against his stomach and sucked the soft skin underneath.
His pulse roared in her ears, pushing her to the edge. It was all she could do to hold back her fangs.
His musky scent intoxicated her. She wanted to drink of him, but not his blood. Rising to her knees, she sat between his legs and pumped his cock. She bent low and took it in her mouth, nibbling and kissing as he writhed beneath her.
Adoration glowed in his eyes as he watched her. He made a moue of his lips and blew a kiss.
She smiled around his cock and increased her speed.
He thrust his hips off the bed and pushed his cock to the back of her throat.
She swallowed as much of him as she could until his seed burst into her mouth. Greedily, she swallowed, loving his taste.
In her dream, he didn’t require time to regain his energy. He had as much strength and agility as if he were already a vampire.
He pulled her down on top of him as a lopsided grin turned his lips. Then he rolled with her so that he lay on top of her. He sucked her lower lip into his mouth.
They gazed deeply into one another’s eyes. She searched but found no trace of evil, no guile. She read his mind, but his thoughts were pure.
He traced her jaw with the rough pad of his thumb. Then he pushed his tongue into her mouth and drank of her.
She wanted him just as badly and wrapped her arms tightly around him, pressing him into her. When she came up for air, she blinked up at him. “Make love to me. Promise me everything will be okay.”
Of course, he didn’t know what everything meant, but she needed to hear his assurance.
He lifted his face and tilted it to look askance at her. But he dropped a kiss on her forehead and said, “Everything will be okay. I won’t let anything bad happen.”
How could he be the same Nikolai her parents feared and detested? Could fate be so cruel? So mad?
He lowered his head, and his breath coasted along her throat. His teeth grazed her flesh, and he nibbled her neck.
She squirmed as his hands roamed her body and tested the weight of her breasts. When he took the buds of her nipples between his fingers, she began to quake.
She ran her hands over his back and across his wide shoulders. When his cock burgeoned between her legs, she insinuated her hand between their bodies and wrapped her fingers around its thickening girth. She spread her legs wide and opened to him. “Make me yours. All yours.”
“All mine.” He lifted and drove into her. He shifted his hips so that his cock moved in a circular motion, pleasuring all sides of her pussy.
He was so long, so wide and so masterful she screamed. She clung to him and dug her fingers into his arms. She met his thrusts and when she was on the brink she pulled back. She wanted to prolong the ecstasy.
She flipped him over and straddled him. When he began to protest, she gave him a sly smile. “My turn again. I promise you’ll enjoy this.”
His cock stood erect, slick and shiny with their juices and oh-so inviting. He had nothing to worry about. She couldn’t wait to mount him. She moved forward and rubbed her pussy along the tip of his cock, teasing him as well as herself. “Do you like that?”
He reached out and caressed her breast. “Witch. You taunt me, unmercifully. Do you not want to consume our love?”
She wiggled her brows and leaned closer so he could better minister to her breasts. “Oh, but I do.”
First, however, she slid her hand between her legs and stimulated her clit as his cock kissed the hood of her labia. She closed her eyes, spread her nether lips and guided his cock into her. Slowly, inexorably, she slid down his cock. Halfway, she pulled up to the tip.
“Pray, fair maiden, you are making me addled. Why are you teasing me so?” Nikolai pinched her nipple.
She yelped, but when he bent forward and licked her breast, she purred her pleasure. When he splayed his hands on her shoulders and pushed her down on his cock, she didn’t protest. She ground against him all the while rubbing her clit.
Waves of pleasure rippled over her. They grew stronger and she flung back her head.
Nikolai sat up and wrapped his legs around her. He held her and closed his lips over her breast.
Rapture overtook her, and she howled. She pressed her breast deeper into his mouth as she pushed down on him, holding him as deeply as she could. She longed to be one with this man for eternity, and her fangs burst forth. She wanted, no needed, to drink of him, to make sure he would be like her so they could be united.
With an intoxicating intensity she’d never before experienced, his gaze penetrated into her very being.
“Verily, is this real? Or am I dreaming again?” he asked.
His eyes glowed red, his fangs blinded her, his lips… Inebriated on him, she murmured, “I don’t know.” If this wasn’t a dream, what had she done?
Oh God! She’d just made him a vampire. This was real. It wasn’t a dream.
As the cobwebs of desire cleared from her mind, she gasped. Knowing their fate was foreordained, that her father had foreseen it, didn
’t ease the ache in her gut.
“How do we find out?” Nikolai didn’t release her, didn’t release his hold of her. Instead, he nuzzled her neck. His cock remained inside. They were still as one and their hearts pounded in unison.
He let her slide back enough to make his way down her body, and buried his face between her breasts. As she was about to bemoan being bereft of his cock, he suckled her nipple. His thumb stimulated her clit, and she bucked against his hand.
“We can make love again…and again. For all eternity.”
As appetising as it sounded, as lost as she was in desire, she had to know. She wondered if that spoke of a waking status. But if it was still daylight, was she, were they, in danger of the sun’s deadly rays?
“If this is real, we must remain in the dark until sundown or we’ll perish.”
He lifted his head, and his eyes smiled into hers. “Then we shall stay barricaded from the sun for I want nothing to come between us.”
She felt wholly awake. Troubled, she knew she mustn’t keep secrets for even a night longer. She sat up and linked her fingers through his. Scooting around so that she faced him, she also took his other hand in hers. “As much as I long to stay in your arms forever, as much as I desire your kisses, we need to talk.”
A naughty smile curved his cheek, but he let her slide off his cock. He rearranged her on his lap and cherished her with kisses.
She fought the euphoria trying to reclaim her, lifted her face to his and gazed deeply into his eyes. “This is extremely important. It could mean life and death. You must hear me out. You must let me explain. There is much you must know.”
Nikolai kept her in the circle of his arms, and at several intervals as she spoke, scowls marred his beautiful face, but he listened without interruption to the story that always boggled her mind of how he had been the leader of a band of evil vampires that had tried to kill her parents and destroyed Earth in the twenty-third century. After she fell silent, his lips remained pursed for so long she thought he wouldn’t reply. He probably thought she suffered from a brain malady.