by Siren Allen
Rhen sighed. “I’ve been here for over a hundred years. There’s never been a shortage. Not for those of us who know how to hunt. You have nothing to worry about. Remove the wards, I’ll bring him in and collect my payment.”
“No biting.”
“I have the needle and syringe in my pocket.”
“Sterile.”
“Yes, witch. Hurry, before he wakes up.”
“He won’t wake up until I tell him to.” Or until the spell wears off. Her magic was a little wonky on this plane. It didn’t always do exactly what she told it to.
“Damn, you’re that powerful?” Rhen asked as she climbed off his ride and pulled the helmet off her head.
Handing him his helmet, she told him, “Yes, I’m that powerful.”
No matter how iffy her magic was, she needed the creatures here to believe she was the baddest witch on this plane. On her good days, she was. The look they exchanged was intense. She refused to look away first.
“Warning heard loud and clear,” he told her before bowing his head.
“Good. Only you can come in.” That said, she walked away. She moved slowly, not wanting to slip down on the ice. It was supposed to snow again in the morning. She needed to reactivate her wards before they got covered up in fresh snow.
“Careful,” Rhen called out. “I don’t want my future vampire bride to break one of her sexy legs.”
Sin stuck the middle finger up and kept walking. Rhen’s laughter blended with the laughter of his crew. Sin found herself smiling also as she trekked across the ice-covered terrain.
Though she’d never give in to temptation, she had to admit that Rhen was sexy as hell. And he had a body to die for. She’d seen it once when he’d been wounded and came to her for help. She’d had to remove his shirt to examine the wound.
Abs for days. No, years. Abs for decades. He liked to joke a lot, she knew there was another side to him. A darker side. A side she hoped to never see. Though he liked to clown around a lot, that wasn’t all he was.
Whenever he wasn’t joking, whenever he thought no one was looking, there was a strange look that came over his face. It sent chills down Sin’s spine and fear into her heart. Yeah, she never wanted to see that side of Rhen.
She nearly slipped on the rocks that littered the ground outside her gate. They were covered in ice. Sin sidestepped them. On days they weren’t covered in ice, she liked to hop from one rock to the next when she made her way home.
When she neared the gate that surrounded her small cottage, she raised her hands out to her sides. Eyes closed, she continued walking forward. The locked gate door sensed her presence and opened.
“Remain open,” she whispered.
The spelled gate obeyed. She could feel the power of the wards. Their energy mingled with her own. It took blood, sweat, and tears, all of which came from her, to make those wards this powerful.
It took all of that to make wards strong enough to keep the many creatures who roamed the Frostlands off her property. Property Rhen had given to her after he killed the previous owner.
Whispering a spell to weaken the wards, Sin moved closer to her cottage. By the time she reached the front door, she could no longer feel the energy from the wards. She turned to look back at Rhen.
He was still seated on his ride a few feet away from her gate. She nodded. He nodded and climbed off his bike. She faced her door and placed her hands on the wood. She whispered another spell.
The door creaked open. It took another whispered spell for her to weaken the wards she had inside her home. Rhen said she had too many wards activated. A lie. There was no such thing as too much protection.
Sin stepped into her home. She raised her hand. Flames erupted in the fireplace. She walked to the back room of her cottage and searched through her small treasure chest. It was filled with items Winter had made for her.
She was thankful for the connections she’d made upon first entering the Frostlands. Those connections were part of the reason she’d survived for two years on this unyielding plane.
Sin found the spelled handcuffs she was looking for. Then she grabbed the charmed necklace Winter had made her and clasped it around her neck. She glanced over her shoulder when she heard Rhen enter her cottage.
“Honey, I’m home. And I’m starving.”
Sin sighed when her front door slammed shut.
It was time for her to pay for his protection.
Chapter Three
“PUT HIM OVER THERE.”
Rhen dumped the shifter’s body onto her couch.
“Gently,” Sin told him.
Rhen glared at her. “Gently? Really? Do you plan to be gentle with him when you torture him?”
Sin glanced at the male who was passed out on her couch. The man who’d been sent to kidnap her. No, she had no intention of being gentle with him.
“No. I won’t be gentle with this jerk. I plan to be rough as hell.”
“Should I be jealous?”
Tearing her gaze away from the shifter, she faced Rhen. “What?”
“The way you’re looking at him. Should I be jealous?”
“No. Because you and I are nothing to one another.”
“We’re something.”
“We have a symbiotic relationship.”
“Don’t start with the big words. Me need blood. You got blood. Give me.”
Shaking her head, she started taking off her jacket and scarf. She draped those articles of clothing over the edge of her couch then pulled her sleeve up, revealing her arm to him. The red rings around his pupils became even brighter.
“I don’t have to worry about you getting blood lust tonight, do I?”
“I’m not staring at your arm.”
Oh. He was staring at her breasts. Sin glanced down at her shirt. Right. She’d forgotten she’d worn that shirt tonight. A shirt she’d stolen from a female agent who’d been sent to kill her. The words on the shirt read, EAT ME. That could be taken two ways. Figurately and literally.
“Stop staring,” Sin told him while walking over to the love seat.
“When was the last time you had that pussy eaten?”
Sin nearly fell onto the love seat. Ignoring him, she sat down and held her arm out.
“You’ve been here for two years. Motherfuckers know to stay away from you because you’re mine.”
“Not yours, Rhen.”
“I know it’s been at least two years since anyone other than yourself has touched that pussy.”
“Must you be so vulgar?”
“Before coming here, did you get dicked down on a regular basis?”
No. Before coming here, she wasn’t allowed to leave the safety of her coven. The few times she’d gotten dicked down decently had been by her college sweetheart. He left the coven the first chance he got and never looked back. The other few times was by her ex who didn’t know one hole from the next. Rhen didn’t need to know that though.
“If you want payment, take it,” Sin told him.
“What if I don’t want blood today?”
“Blood is all you’re getting.”
“What if I want to eat that puss...”
“This pussy is not yours to eat.”
“It could be. It should be.”
Sin pulled her sleeve down. “Get out before I put the wards back up.”
“Hold on a second, damn. Why you always act like this?”
“Why you always asking for sexual favors? You and I both know you have a dozen females you’re currently sleeping with. Two of which who hate me and want me dead because they think I like you.”
“I won’t let them hurt you,” Rhen told her while pulling a syringe from his pocket. It already contained some of his vampire venom, to keep her blood from clotting. He stayed prepared.
“I can whip their asses myself. I just hate the fact that they think we have a relationship when we don’t.”
“We do. You just don’t want to admit it.”
“We don’t. S
o, keep your chicks in check.”
Rhen stalked over and grinned down at her. “I like it when you get all jealous.”
Sin shook her head. “Sometimes, talking to you is like talking to a brick wall.”
“You like it though.”
“It passes time.”
He grabbed her arm and lifted the sleeve of her shirt that she’d just pulled down. He smacked the vein at the center of her arm. The grin on his face had wicked written all over it.
“You like the way I smacked that, don’t you? This could be that sexy ass of yours, but you keep denying your true feelings.”
She couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re so stupid.”
Still smiling, he went to work. Sin looked away. She didn’t like to watch. She jerked a little when the needle pierced her flesh.
“Did I hurt you?” Rhen asked, voice low.
“I just hate needles.”
“You could always let me bite you.”
“Your fangs are sharper than a needle.”
“Damn right, they are. I know how to make it painless though.”
“I’ll pass.”
“One day, you’re going to crave my bite.”
“I doubt it.” She glanced over to see him pulling the needle out of her arm.
Her gaze darted to the numbers on the syringe. He’d gotten three CC’s and no more than that. Good. She quickly looked away. A shiver raced down her spine when he licked the puncture site, sealing it shut. As always, his tongue lingered a second longer than it had to.
“Rhen?”
“Finishing up,” he told her.
“I’m thinking of trading my fire for some Band-Aids.”
“Why, when I can just seal your wounds with my saliva?” He stepped away and placed the cap back on the needle.
“I’m tired of you licking me.”
Rhen placed the needle in his pocket. “That’s something no female has ever said to me before.”
“Great, I get to be your first. You’ve gotten paid. You can leave now.”
“You sure you’re going to be okay with him?” He nodded to the shifter on her couch.
“I got this.”
“No killing.”
“I’m not going to kill him. When I’m done, he won’t even remember he met me tonight.”
“Damn, you’re a bad...”
“If you say, bitch, I will hurt you.”
“I was going to say, witch.”
“Don’t play.”
“I’m serious, witch.”
“Okay. Your crew is waiting.”
He slowly began making his way over to the door. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“No, you won’t.”
“The next day then.”
“Nope.”
“You should get out more.”
“No thanks.”
“How do you plan to return him to his home when you’re done with him.”
“I don’t. I plan to take him back to the train station. That’s not far from here. And I’ll encounter fewer creatures that way.”
“Good idea. I’ll see you at the train station in three days.”
“Bye, Rhen.”
“Bye, love.”
Shaking her head, she watched him open her door and leave, shutting the door behind him. Sin walked over to the door and waved her hand over the lock. It clicked and the windows vibrated gently as the house went into lockdown.
Only she would be able to enter or exit the home now. Sin looked out the window, watching, waiting for Rhen to exit her gates so she could activate the protective wards. When he reached the gate, he looked back and bowed.
She smiled. If he wasn’t a man-whore and a vampire, she’d give him a chance. Once he was off her property, she whispered the spell that would activate the wards. They had enough energy to last a couple of days. Hopefully.
She wouldn’t chance it. Tomorrow, she’d take a few drops of her blood, sweat, and tears and concoct a new potion to strengthen the wards once more. The sound of the snowmobiles roaring to life was music to her ears.
With Rhen gone, she was able to relax a little. As much as she could with an unconscious shifter asleep on her couch. She’d rather deal with a shifter than a vampire. Shifters were easier to manage. Sin faced her captive, her would-be kidnapper. He belonged to her now. She couldn’t help but smile.
Oh, how the tables have turned.
***
HIS HEAD ACHED SOMETHING fierce.
Kaede’s entire body felt like it had been run over by a train. An enemy train that after running over him once, backed up and ran over him again and then parked on his head, crushing his skull. No exaggerating.
He tried to sit up. Not happening. Moving only made his headache worse. Was he spinning around in circles or was it the room spinning? He didn’t know. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and released it slowly.
All of that spinning was starting to make him nauseous. He took another deep breath, held it in and laid completely still. He wasn’t spinning. Neither was the room spinning. Though he thought he was lying still, a swaying sensation crept over him.
Drugged. Only drugs could make him feel this way. Powerful drugs. He’d only felt this way once in his life. That was many years ago, back on the Mortal Plane. It was the day his world fell apart.
Now was not the time to relive memories of the past. Someone had drugged him. Who? Why? When? Head still pounding, Kaede released the deep breath he’d been holding and slowly opened his eyes.
He stared up at the ceiling. There was a weird image painted on the ceiling. Kaede squinted. It looked like flames. Then again, his vision was blurry. It could be a drawing of icicles.
He couldn’t truly make out what the painting was. What he did know was that this wasn’t his home. Neither was this his hideout spot in the Frost Forest. Where the hell was he? He tried to sit up again. Oh no, the spinning returned.
He relaxed against the couch and closed his eyes, waiting for the moment to pass. Never had he felt so fucking weak. If there was a predator around, he’d be dead by now. Kaede inhaled deeply.
He didn’t sense any predators. Then again, there was a ringing in his ears at the moment and the only thing he could smell was... he inhaled again. The only thing he could smell was, chocolate.
His stomach growled. He couldn’t recall the last time he’d smelled chocolate. Sweets were a hot commodity in the Frostlands. He’d have to trade a finger or a toe to the cannibals who roamed the frost hills in order to get a few barks of chocolate.
If his nose wasn’t failing him, he did indeed scent chocolate. He turned his head in the direction the scent was coming from. That was when he noticed the lights. Christmas lights. Or rather, Christmas flames.
No wonder there was no chill in the air. In the corner of the room was a huge flame in the shape of a Christmas tree. It’s orangish-yellow flames flickered but didn’t lose the shape of the tree.
Floating in different sections of the tree were miniature flames of various colors in the shape of tiny bulbs. A string of smaller blue, green and yellow lights was strung around the flaming Christmas tree.
He’d never seen the likes of it in his life. It was both beautiful and comforting. It reminded him of home. Of his childhood. Not because he’d grown up around flaming Christmas trees.
But because his mother loved decorating their home for Christmas. And there was always a fire blazing in the fireplace during the winter months. In some dragon households, there were fires blazing during the summer months also.
Dragons loved fire. In his culture, Christmas didn’t hold the same meaning as it did for other cultures. However, it was still a time for family gatherings. It was a time to celebrate the ones you loved.
He and his siblings would sit around the fire and listen as their father told them tales of the dragons of old. He would tell them of the legends who came before them and the battles they fought.
Sometimes, other members of the pack would come to their home
just so they could sit in the living room and listen to Kaede’s father, the pack alpha, tell stories of their ancestors.
If Kaede closed his eyes, he could vaguely hear the deep timbre of his father’s voice. And the soft musical sound of his mother’s laughter. Those had been the good old days. Until tragedy struck.
As they say, all good things come to an end. Everything good and pure in Kaede’s life had been taken away from him. He no longer believed in good or bad. All he believed in now was survival.
So why the fuck was he lying in unknown territory, admiring a fire tree and reminiscing about events that no longer mattered? Whatever drug he’d been given was starting to wear off.
The pain in his head was ebbing. His body no longer felt heavy and lethargic. He moved to sit up. This time his actions weren’t accompanied by a swaying sensation or a feeling of nausea.
When he sat up, the beige sheet that had been pulled up to his chest dropped to his waist. Kaede stared down. He was naked. He was butt-ass naked. Why the fuck was he butt ass naked?
Even though he knew what he would see, he still reached for the sheet to look under it. Well, he tried to. He nearly tore his arm from its socket in doing so. Kaede’s gaze jerked to his hand that hadn’t budged.
He was handcuffed to a small table. He jerked his hand again. It didn’t budge. The table appeared to weigh no more than ten pounds. Why couldn’t he move it? He should be able to smash the small thing to free it from the other end of the cuff.
He couldn’t. He continued jerking. Nothing. Fuck. He swung his legs off the couch. The sheet dropped to the floor. He was indeed butt-ass naked. Ignoring that for the moment, he used his free hand to try and lift the table.
The damn thing was cemented to the floor or something. He stared at the legs of the table. They weren’t fixed to the floor. He tried to move the table again. Nothing. Frustrated, Kaede began to growl as he kicked at the table.
“Someone woke up grouchy?”
That voice. His gaze jerked to his right. A woman entered the room wearing a T-shirt that read, Bite Me, I’m Delicious.
Something inside him stirred.
Chapter Four