by Vicki Cross
“Great,” I replied before taking another sip of my coffee.
He shifted his weight on his feet as if he wanted to say something else, but decided against it and made his way out of the room.
I checked my phone for any text messages or missed calls from Shay and grunted in disappointment when there weren’t any. It wasn’t as though she needed to check in. But her absence, if only for a few hours left a void inside me.
Shay
I needed to rest. My body hadn’t full rejuvenated from the night before and seeing Sebastian created an uneasiness in me that made my stomach churn. Closing my eyes, I allowed the sounds of the world to drift quietly out of my consciousness. Unlike humans, vampires never truly went into an unconscious state. A safe guard that kept us fully aware of our surroundings.
“Princess,” a deep voice calls to me and my eyes fly open in shock. Sitting up I look around the dark room and see no one, but I know someone is there. He is there. His voice fades in again and I’m no longer sure that I am truly awake. Something is different about the way I see. The room is dark and hazy and my vision is no clear.
“Princess,” he calls again and this time I am sure it is him.
“Sebastian,” I question pushing myself up against the head board as if to stand guard and protect myself. The dark and haziness of the room confused me and it was as if I had lost all of my senses.
“Yes,” he confirms in a deep and husky sound. His voice travels around me, and I look to find the source. It is too dark to tell where he is, but I know he’s there.
Suddenly there is a shift in my bed as if someone has crawled in beside me.
“Why are you here?” I question out to him, pulling the blankets closer to my chest as if to protect myself. I felt vulnerable in just panties and shirt.
“You asked for me,” he claimed.
I shook my head in disbelief. I would never ask for him. He was lying, I didn’t know why or how he managed to be inside my mind, but I didn’t allow it. “Never,” I denied.
A chuckle echoed around the me and I could feel the weight of him moving closer.
“Then how am I here, Princess?” he countered and just like that he was before me wearing a smile of dominating and controlling.
I thought about his question but struggled with an answer. The heat of his body so close to mine made me shiver. I moistened my bottom lip with my tongue trying to regain my composure. There was very little space between us, and I could the pull of his energy once again. Oddly, I felt safe…I felt a strength in myself I had never felt before. The conflicted emotions I displayed made him smile and he reached out for me touching my check with his hand.
“I-I don’t know,” I uttered as his thumb ran across my now wet bottom lip. He smirked triumphantly tucking a loose curl behind my ear with his free hand. I closed my eyes feeling breathless as I accepted his touch. His touch confused me, made me forget what I wanted and I could feel my inner self begging for more.
“You have never been touched,” he stated and I fluttered my eyes open as if under his trance. It wasn’t a question; he knew the truth as much as I had. No man had ever touched me but the thought of Sebastian breaking that truth shook me. His yellow eyes glazed with pleasure.
I shook my head slowly and he lowered his lips to mine inching his hand from my lips and down the length of my arm to grasp hold of my hands, which still clutched the blankets tightly. Without warning, he pressed his lips to mine and pulled me closer. His tongue quickly broke the barrier of my lips as he deepened the kiss.
I panted against him to match my kisses with his. Before I knew it, my hands were in his hair and he was pulling me on his lap and on to his hard cock.
I moaned as he grasps my hips and grinds me against him. His deep groans encouraged me and I moaned with anticipation what he would do next.
“Tell me what you want,” he demands treading kisses down my throat and around my collarbone. I could feel my wetness trickling down my thighs as I slide every motion over his throbbing cock. I rested my head against his chest too breathless to answer him.
With one quick motion he placed me on my back and pushes my legs apart with his knee.
“Tell me,” he beckoned his hands tugging at the thin material of my panties.
“To be touched,” I moaned and with that he slides my panties down to my ankles and rubbed his thumb against my swollen clit. His touch stole my breath and I cried out in pleasure. He enjoyed the way I responded to him and continued his vigorous rubbing of my clit.
I had never been so wet, and couldn’t remember feeling so good, so right. I shuddered as I steady myself for what seemed like a climax.
“No,” he groaned. “Not like this.”
I blinked at him confused as to what he meant by it and before I could question him he dipped two fingers in between my wet folds.
“oh…my…,” I cried out bucking my hips against his fingers. The sensation of his thick fingers pushing in and out of me made me wet even more. I threw my head back in pure ecstasy and bit my lip as I could no longer control moans. I was going to climax and it was a powerful feeling.
“Don’t stop,” I begged as I reached closer and closer to my climax. The throbbing sensation of my clit sent me over the edge and I moaned turning my head into my pillow and screamed his name “JUDE!”
I quickly realized my mistake and peered up at him in horror. A brief look at his face and I could see his exasperation and rage. His eyes gleamed with fury and a sign of his displeasure. He said nothing and as quickly as he had come before me, he was gone.
My eyes shot open in a panic and I found myself under my blanket, the same way I remembered when I had fallen asleep. There was no Sebastian and my room was no longer dark and hazy. This time I was really awake. A cool and wet throbbing sensation still lingered in my panties, and I could not decide if I was merely dreaming or awake.
Chapter 7
Sebastian
“Damn it!” I rumbled tossing the contents on my desk before me. I had Shay exactly where I wanted her. She was about to give herself to me and then she said his name. Jude. The thought of her voice crying out for him only pissed me off more. I hated not getting my way, and patience wasn’t something I exuded often. But that is what it meant to be a leader. I was responsible for every one of my kind.
“You said she would be ready!” My temper was rising. Henry Dansfield sat before me calmly in the chair. Vampires rarely sat calmly in my presences, they knew better to not piss me off. Nothing ever good came out of getting me angry.
“Give her time,” Henry retorted. “She is still a young vampire.”
It was the truth. I had been around for nearly a century before her, but his answer didn’t calm the rage inside of me. No woman, human or vampire had ever spoke another’s name in my presences. But time wasn’t on my side. I needed her. If this was going to work, I needed her to be ready for me.
I raked a steady hand through my hair and made my way around the desk. “I don’t have time,” I bit out coldly. Another harsh truth.
Henry cleared his throat and replied, “What do you want me to do?” His frustration was clear.
“Make her see that she has no choice. If we’re to start a new age for vampires, I need her by my side. She is the last of the pure vampires that have never tasted human blood.”
His clan wouldn’t follow mine without the heir to the Dansfield name becoming my bride. Too many years of deceit and lies have destroyed the relationship between our two clans. However, together our forces could convince the others that our time hunting humans was quickly coming to an end.
“I will talk with her,” Henry replied shifting in his seat.
“Don’t talk…convince her” I instructed.
He nodded, “And what of your father? Once he finds out you don’t truly intend to go back to killing humans after marrying my daughter, he will try to have you killed.”
“I know,” I added bitterly. That was the least of my worries. I c
ould handle my father. He no longer had control over the clan, but there were those that still were loyal to his old ways. That, I would deal with my own way.
I brought my focus back to the mysterious human that clouded Shay’s judgement. I needed to know more about him. It was becoming increasingly clear that this human would need to be out of my way, if I had any hope of making her my bride.
Who is this human, Jude?”
Henry stiffen in his chair, the once calm man seemed to perk up at the mention of his name. He placed in elbow on the arm of the chair, rubbing his chin as he did so as if he was lost in thought. The man was stalling and his hesitation was pushing my limits.
“Jude Monroe. He is a guardian…her guardian,” he revealed.
I raised my brow in disbelief. “He took the blood oath?” I questioned even though I knew the answer. Henry didn’t hesitate to nod in agreement.
“Fuck!” I shouted before slamming my fist against the desk.
“I had no choice. Shay had revealed herself to him and I could not have killed him. It would have destroyed her and go against everything I believe.” He retorted.
His guardianship of her only made my task more difficult. He would need to be out the way, one way or another. Which meant, I was going to have to pay Jude Monroe a visit.
“Go,” I said dismissing Henry.
He stood up from the chair and straighten his suit jacket and disappeared into a cloud of black smoke.
There was nothing more to say. Our business was done. If he could convince Shay, part of my plan to unite us would be in order. She didn’t love me now, but she would learn to. Once we were bound together, she would have no choice but to love me. Once she had my blood, it would become a craving she could never fix. She would need me and she would be mine forever.
A hard knock at my door interrupted my thoughts as I did my best to regain my composure. Her defiance couldn’t rule my mind now, there were more important matters to attend to.
“What is it,” I barked out, clearly irritated with the distraction and making my way back around my desk.
“I need to speak with you,” the all too familiar voice of my brother Eli announced behind the door.
I cleared my throat to take a better tone with him. After all, my aggregation had nothing to do with him. “Enter.”
Eli pushed the door open quickly and immediately scanned the room. His yellow eyes tracing the damage of my temper with knowing and understanding.
“I suppose things did not go well,” he smirked. “I told you, controlling her emotions wouldn’t fare well” His amusement annoyed me, but I let it go.
“Say what you’ve come to say,” I retorted not in the mood for his games.
He nodded taking note of my tone and quickly moving on. A wise move on his part. He was my brother, but that didn’t mean I tolerated his disrespect.
“The Huntsman have found Jackson. We’ve left him alive as you’ve requested.”
“Good,” I grunted as the news of his finding brought me satisfaction. “Where is he?”
A grin crept onto his face as he slid a hand into his pocket. “Waiting for you of course.”
Eli was very much like me. Similar in build and looks. He craved control, demanded what he wanted, and was a skilled fighter. I trusted him above all others, which is why he was in charge of my Huntsman. The Huntsman protected our kind, watched for the human hunters that wished us dead, and those that didn’t quite agree with our new way of life. Unlike my father’s reign, killing humans was not what I wanted for my kind. Over the years, the humans had become more skilled at tracking us and we have adapted as best we could but they still out number us.
I stood up and walked around my desk. “Bring him in,” I told him.
Eli turned his head to the door and shouted, “Bring in the traitor.”
Within seconds, two of my top ranked huntsman dragged the badly beaten Jackson by each of his arms. His head was bent low, as if he didn’t have the strength to keep it up himself. Dried blood stained his clothes where fresh wounds lay open. Eli clearly had his way with him first. That didn’t bother me. As long as I could finish him.
“Where was he?” I questioned as the two of them threw him down to my feet.
Ryder stepped forward eagerly no doubt looking to stay in my good graces. “We found him hiding in a campground out in Biloxi.”
I chuckled. This piece of shit actually thought he could out run me.
Jackson stirred on the ground in pain clutching his abdomen as he did so. The largest wound seemed to come from it. He didn’t beg. He knew better than that.
“So you thought you could hide?” I stated stalking around him watching him try to take in each shorten breath. He didn’t answer and his short rasp for air only fueled my temper more. Having him here was exactly the distraction I needed to take my mind off of Shay.
Stopping in front of Jackson, I turned slightly to face Eli. “Was he with anyone else?”
“No.” he replied before shifting his weight to one side.
I nodded and with a quick wave of my hand and dismissed the two huntsman. I made my way to my desk and pulled open a drawer. Inside the drawer was my most prized weapon. A silver hunting dagger engraved with my family’s crest, a gift handed down to me by my father.
Elli stayed behind, knowing exactly what was coming next and why I must do what needed to be done.
I made my way back to the helpless piece of shit on my floor and knelt on knee before him, grasping a hand full of his brown hair and yanking his head back so he could peer into my eyes.
Jackson was weak, I could see the yellow of his eyes glazing over as he held on to every breath knowing each one could be his last.
“Where is the girl’s body?” I questioned.
Jackson took in two large gulps of air smirking wickedly as he did so. “Y-you…are pathetic,” he seethed.
I tighten my grip on his hair and he let out an instant cry of pain. “I won’t ask again,” I hissed trying to not to let my annoyance get the best of me.
He swallowed hard and I could feel the slow movement of his throat giving way to each gasp for air.
“Tell him, just like you told me. Make this easy on yourself, Jackson.” Eli interjected.
Jackson looked over at Eli and then back at me smiling as much as his beaten bloody face could allow. “In the Biloxi campground. I buried the bitch six feet down,” he gloated.
I smiled taking in his words knowing them to be true. Unlike Eli, I held the talent of knowing when someone was lying to me. And Jackson was certainly telling the truth.
Eli had first given me the news of the missing college student two weeks ago. He had heard whispers that the disappearance came from one of my men. It didn’t surprise me. Jackson had hunted the girl down for two weeks, before he stalked and took her blood.
It would take me a while to clean up the mess my father had made. But I had every intention of doing it. With Eli by myside, I knew it would be done correctly.
“Where?” I grunted pushing for more information.
“Under the bridge,” he gloated even more. Every inch of me wanted to rip him from limb to limb. The urge to watch his dying breaths created a wicked sense of excitement in me, and I reveled in it.
“Find her body, Eli. Close the wounds on her neck and leave it out in the open for the cops to find.” I explain without my eyes once leaving Jackson’s soon to be lifeless ones. Hopefully, the girl wasn’t drained too much of her blood. It was important the cops didn’t get the idea that any vampires had a hand in her death.
Gripping the handle of the blade tightly, I give him a demented smile.
Eli could track the girl’s body down, knowing now where to look. It was the least I could do to right the wrong. I wanted him to know that I would be the last thing he saw. Taking his life wouldn’t bring back the girl he killed but it would satisfy my needs. Others would have to know what it meant to cross me, and showing weakness now wouldn’t make anything better
. No. Jackson’s death was needed.
“Pathetic. Your f-father didn’t give a shit about human life. We were here…before them.” Jackson choked out. “They deserve to die! You think we can live peacefully among them? They will hunt us down and kill us and it will all be your doing!”
“No. Vampires like you will be our undoing,” I informed him just before thrusting the dagger into his heart and twisting swiftly. Jackson let out a deep howling cry and collapsed before me. His lifeless body gave me great satisfaction. It was vampires like him that disgusted me the most about my father’s reign. It was why I promised myself that once I gained control, it would never be like this again.
“What do you want me to do with his body?” He questions.
“Bury the bitch six feet under,” I say giving Eli a wicked smile.
Chapter 8
Shay
I sat at the edge of the stairs listening to my mother and aunt welcome home my father. I could hear the worry and despair in my mother’s voice, as she described how I was dealing with the news of my pending marriage to Sebastian. I couldn’t help but wonder if my father truly cared, seeing as though it was him that offered me up like a piece of meat to Sebastian.
“She hasn’t fed or hunted in days,” my mother whispered in a hush tone, although I could hear them well. They were together in my father’s study trying to catch him up to speed.
I let my head fall to my knees as I thought about what she said. Although harsh, perhaps she was right. Tears began to sting my eyes and I couldn’t hold them in. I was frustrated with myself. Be normal. Blend in. Jude’s voice ranged through my mind and I couldn’t help but ball my hands into the sides of my green dress to steady myself.
They were all right, I had a responsibility to my family and to my kind. I would have to let Jude go. I could never be human and I couldn’t be the woman he needed. I was being selfish to think that I could have do both. Selfish to believe that I could be with the person I truly loved. How could I be so stupid? I would have to let Jude know, I would have to break both our hearts in order to do what is right. I made him a promise that I would choose him, and had never intended on breaking that promise.