Blood Guard

by Erickson, Megan

  Because I was promised to his brother.

  I was going to go out of my mind in this goddamn room. He was probably next door, lowering the fly of his pants. I wondered if he talked dirty, if he got a little rough, if his voice went a little raspy when he said, That’s it, ride my cock.

  Wow. This was extra, even for me.

  I swung my feet back and forth, side to side, then hopped up to check out the bathroom. It was sparse and all white—with just a toilet, pedestal sink, and stall shower with a see-through glass door. I didn’t look too closely at the grout between the white floor tiles as I used the toilet and washed my hands. Because if I saw bloodstains in the cracks, I might just vomit. The soap smelled like vanilla, and the scent followed me as I walked out of the bathroom. I paced the floor at the end of the bed. The inactivity was getting to me. I’d never been good in one place too long. My body didn’t seem to want to rest even though this would be a good time to do it. The adrenaline from the last twenty-four hours was not letting up.

  My gaze kept straying to the door. Maybe I could go out, just for a quick walk. No harm in checking out the hallways and the foyer. I wasn’t a prisoner. Athan had mentioned the Feeding Room, and while it made me shudder, I was also curious. I’d only seen that new vampire feed. What would it be like to see an experienced vampire feed from an adult human? It’d be nice for me to know what I was getting into. It would be awkward as fuck to witness with Athan, but a strange vampire and human—that I could do.

  I walked to the door and placed my hand on the lock. I couldn’t make noise because who knew how much vampire ears could hear next door. With a slow, steady hand, I turned the lock until I heard a barely audible click.

  I breathed out, then eased the door open. Once I stepped out into the hallway, the tightness in my chest lessened. See? No big deal. Carefully, I closed the door behind me, then stepped gingerly down the hallway.

  I heard some minor sounds behind the doors I passed, but made it out into the foyer without seeing a soul.

  The woman who’d been behind the desk wasn’t there, but I heard her voice coming from a floor above me.

  One of the hallways had a gold ornate frame, which was different than the others. I crossed the foyer and passed through it. This hallway didn’t have doors on each side. And in fact, it was a shorter hallway. At the end was a doorway covered with a curtain. Light seeped out below.

  I crept closer, straining my ears to hear what was happening on the other side. I thought for a minute about turning around and going right back, but then a tall woman with sky-high heels emerged from the curtain in a swish of fabric. She stopped abruptly when she spotted me, and sniffed.

  Her brows furrowed. “Are you here for the Gathering?”

  I took a step back and shook my head. “Uh, no, I don’t think—”

  The vampire rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath about humans.

  My hackles went up. “No, you don’t understand. I’m supposed to be back—”

  She grabbed my arm and yanked, which jerked the breath from my body, and dragged me through the curtain. If I hadn’t already been left breathless, what I saw on the other side would have done it.

  Skin. Skin everywhere.

  Skin and blood. Right in front of me on a table was a human on all fours. All she wore was a necklace and high heels. A male vampire stood behind her, fucking her from behind while she sucked off another vampire in front of her. She moaned, her full breasts bouncing beneath her, as she rocked back on the dick inside her.

  “Is this your first time? Humans go over there.” The female vampire who’d dragged me inside pointed toward the far corner. Then she left me.

  Alone.

  Surrounded by an orgy.

  Everywhere I looked, someone was getting fucked. On a couch off to the side, a woman lay on her back, one foot on the floor, the other propped up along the back of the couch while a female vampire went down on her. The sounds coming out of her mouth didn’t sound human but from the leaking bite on her neck, I assumed she was.

  A thump beside me had me jumping back with a hand on my neck. Beside me, a male vampire had slammed a human into the wall. She didn’t seem to mind, though. As he bit into her neck, he stuck his hand up her skirt. She opened her mouth in a soundless scream, then her whole body began to shake. She laughed in a high-pitched squeal as she orgasmed from his bite and his hand.

  I was a little grossed out. I was turned on. Warmth pooled in my stomach just as bile rose in my throat. The orgy was hot as hell, but the transaction of blood made me queasy.

  The vampire beside me pulled off his human’s neck and licked his blood-red lips. He shucked down the front of his pants, hefted her off her feet, and plunged into her.

  He fucked her hard and quick, his hips rolling like a dancer’s. He gripped her hair and lapped at her neck while she clung to his shoulders. Her body trembled again, and the same squeal-laugh sound indicated she’d come again.

  Well, goddamn.

  When he pulled out of her, she slumped on the ground, and in a second, two suited vampires were lifting her up and carrying her over to the corner with the other humans. I hoped she was okay. She didn’t look pale at all just…fucked into a coma.

  The smell of iron hit my nose a second too late before I was pinned against the wall by a large body.

  I peered up into the handsome face of a male vampire. His short, dark hair was slicked back, and he had the same dark eyes as Athan. He looked a little less rugged, though, a little more Patrick Bateman to Athan’s Aragorn.

  His gaze traveled down my face to land on my neck, and dread crept up my spine. This was bad. Really bad. Athan was going to fucking kill me.

  “So,” I began, and the vampire’s gaze shot up to my face, like he hadn’t expected me to speak. “I shouldn’t be here, see. I’m supposed to be back in a room, waiting for—”

  “If you’re in the Feeding Room, you’re fair game,” he said, his expression slipping into smug. “Those are the rules and if some bloodsucker told you different, they were wrong.” He leaned in closer and drew a heady sniff behind my ear. “Are you a blood virgin? I saw you watching Warren bang that human into the wall. You wanted that to be you, didn’t you?” He eyed me with a smirk. “You want to know what it feels like to be deep-dicked while a vampire is sucking on your life.”

  His fingers unbuttoned my jeans, and I swatted them away. I placed two hands on his chest and shoved but he moved nowhere. No-fucking-where. When his lips curled back into a mask of anger, I knew I was fucked. His hand gripped my hair, and he yanked my head back. Pain shot through my scalp, and I cried out.

  His wrist passed in front of my face and I caught a whiff of somnus. My mind went hazy, and I struggled to stay alert. The vampire leaned in and bared his teeth. He was going to bite me. Do something, do something, Ten, you fucking idiot. I had one ace in my pocket, one I wasn’t supposed to draw, but this was fucking dire. So I used it.

  “Sanguivita,” I blurted out.

  The vampire’s face froze, and the threesome behind us who were finishing up their fuckfest glanced up.

  “What did you say?” he said with a whisper, his lips inches from mine.

  I swallowed and opened my mouth to explain when a large hand wrapped around the vampire’s neck from behind.

  Athan’s voice was a physical threat, low and deadly. “Get your hands off her.”

  Chapter 8

  Athan

  I told myself that the fury coursing through me was because of my duty as blood guard. It had nothing to do with my feelings about Ten. This overwhelming drive of possession raging was solely about the job; it wasn’t personal.

  At least, that was what I’d told myself as I spotted Manson’s hand twisted in her hair. Until I drew closer, until I saw the pain in the grimace of her mouth and the fear in her eyes.

  And then it all went to hell when I noticed her jeans were unbuttoned.

  Oh, yeah, it all went to hell in a handbasket.<
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  My hand squeezed where I held Manson’s throat, and the sound of his labored breathing didn’t prevent me from applying more pressure. More. More. More. Until everyone in this fucking city knew that Ten was under my protection, that she couldn’t be touched, that she was mine…

  Gurgling reached ears, and then Ten’s voice, weak, but growing stronger. “Athan. Athan. Athan!”

  I released Manson, who stumbled away from us, clutching his reddened throat. Ten stood in front of me, her back to the wall, her eyes wild, her chest heaving as she gulped in air. Her heart beat double-time, a pounding staccato in my brain.

  Her shoulders slumped, and her face looked seconds away from crumpling. “Athan,” she said again, softly this time. Tender. And a little broken.

  I reached out and gathered her to me. She wrapped her arms around my neck, her legs around my waist, and dug her fingernails in my skin like hooks. I buried my face in her neck, breathing in the scent of her blood. I cursed myself for leaving her alone, I cursed her for wandering out of her room, and most of all, I cursed this entire situation because I wanted to comfort her. In a way that wasn’t allowed. In a way that was saved only for my brother.

  Fuck it all.

  I began to walk, wanting to get her alone, knowing she’d want to break down in private.

  Manson’s voice penetrated the fogginess of my mind. “Athan, I’m sorr—”

  I whirled around to face Manson. “If she’s hurt, I swear to God, I will hunt you the fuck down and break every single bone in your body.”

  Manson’s eyes went wide. “I didn’t know. She was in here unsupervised.” His face hardened. “Maybe you should be doing a better job taking care of our Sanguivita, then.”

  I curled my lips back, and Ten whimpered into my neck. “I’m sorry. I had to tell him. I didn’t know how else to get him not to bite me.”

  This was fucked more than I thought. By the look on several faces around us, I knew Manson wasn’t the only one who’d learned who she was.

  Fuck.

  “What happened here does not leave this room,” I growled, loud enough that only those immediately around us could hear. “Do not tell anyone you met our Sanguivita. The future of our clan rides on it. Do you hear me?”

  Silent head bobs.

  I didn’t know what else to do. Make a larger announcement and risk more people learning about her? No.

  “And you.” I pointed at Manson. “If I didn’t have to take care of her right now, I’d show you just how well I’d take care of you.”

  He scoffed, but shrank back at the same time. I was done with him. He wasn’t worth it, and Ten was worth everything.

  I left the Gathering and strode down the hallway. After crossing the lobby, I opened up the door to her room—the one she should have stayed in—and closed it behind us.

  When I tugged on Ten to get her to unwrap from me, she only clung tighter. With a heavy sigh, I crawled onto the bed and held her in my arms. Brex jumped up on the bed as if sensing her discomfort and curled up at her back.

  Her body was shaking, and it wasn’t until I felt a wetness running across my neck that I realized she was crying.

  It didn’t last long, and after a while, her body loosened. The shaking stopped. And then she pulled her face away from my neck, wiping at her eyes and smearing her black eyeliner.

  She peered up at me, tugging on her bottom lip with her small, blunt teeth. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I’m so sorry.”

  I brushed her hair off her face and spread it out on the pillow beneath her head. “That was not smart.”

  “I know, I…I know.” She sighed heavily. “I have no excuse. I was restless and curious. I never thought I’d stumble into something like that.”

  “What happened?”

  She told the brief story. When she got to the part where Manson caged her against the wall and opened her jeans, the fury came back swiftly.

  She must have seen it, because she placed a hand on my face. “Hey, I’m not there anymore. I’m here. Safe with you.”

  I blinked, working to control myself. “You did the right thing, calling on the Sanguivita title.” Even if it made my job a lot more difficult here on out.

  She shook her head. “Sure, but everything before that was the wrong thing to do. I’m sorry that happened, that I put you in that position. I hope that won’t cause problems between you and that vampire.”

  “No, it’s fine. Manson likes to backtalk, but he knows his place.”

  She shuddered. “I’m not sure I’ve ever been so terrified.”

  I placed my fingers on her scalp and rubbed. “Are you hurt?”

  She winced slightly. “He pulled my hair, so it’s a little sore. It’ll be fine tomorrow.”

  It took a lot of willpower not to march out of the room, go to the Feeding Room, and rip Manson’s heart out. “We’ll stay here tonight. Get some rest. Start new tomorrow.”

  She swallowed and gave me a shaky smile. “I’d like that a lot.”

  I rose onto my elbows, and her face quickly morphed into fear. She gripped my shoulder. “What are you doing?”

  I froze. “I was going to head back to my room.”

  Something crossed her face, but it was gone in a flash. “Why? Is your…human still there?”

  I frowned. “What? No.”

  “So you were”—she swallowed—“done?”

  “I fed and then sent her to another room before coming to yours. It wasn’t long.”

  Her eyes widened. “Oh, I thought you’d…” Her voice trailed off.

  Ah, she thought I’d fuck the human. Honestly, it hadn’t even crossed my mind. I’d smelled the human’s arousal while I fed but it’d done nothing for me. I’d wanted to gain my strength and get back to Ten, that was it. “I only fed, Tendra. The only reason I suggested I leave now was because I thought I’d give you privacy—”

  “No,” she said firmly. “Please. If it’s okay, I want you to stay here with me. I feel safe this way.” Her voice trembled. “I just want to feel safe.”

  I lay back down immediately. “Of course.”

  She snuggled against me, her hands curling under her chin, her face tucked into my chest. Her back rose with a deep breath, before her exhale coasted over my skin. Within minutes she was asleep.

  Half an hour ago I’d had a moaning, wet and ready human under my fangs, and I’d wanted nothing to do with her. Now I had Tendra snuggled against me, fully clothed and sleeping, and my dick was rock-hard.

  I stared at the ceiling, willing my body to behave. Telling myself over and over again that protecting her was my job, and that was why this felt so right. That was why she fit me so well. I was born to protect her.

  That was it. Protect. Protect. Protect.

  Not touch. Not love. Certainly not that.

  Never that.

  I closed my eyes and focused on all my training, all I was taught.

  But nothing had prepared me for Tendra Parrish. There was no manual for someone like her. And as she pressed closer to me, I knew without a doubt that I was completely out of my depth.

  —

  During the night I’d managed to extricate myself from her clutches. She must have been comfortable, because she spread out like a starfish and began to snore softly. I tried to ignore how fucking cute she was and spent time performing quiet exercises—push-ups and sit-ups. After my feeding I’d been energized, which was all the more reason it’d been good that I hadn’t let my anger get to me. In that state, so shortly after drinking fresh human blood, I could have easily killed Manson.

  The human I’d fed from had asked me to stay. To fuck her. Instead, I’d sent her to the Feeding Room, which was how I found Tendra against the wall with a vampire about to feed from her.

  Fuck, I was getting angry again.

  By the time Ten woke, I was showered and sitting on a chair by the bed. She blinked at me a couple of times, and glanced around the room, adorably confused. She rubbed her eyes. “Where are we?”
/>   “The private feeding rooms at Bite.”

  She nodded, then muttered something about how weird it was to have a normal conversation about feeding rooms. She stretched, and I had to pry my eyes away from the strip of pale skin that showed beneath her shirt.

  “Do you feel better?” I asked.

  “Yeah.” She swung her legs over the side of the bed. “I slept great.” Squinting at me, she added, “Thanks for staying with me.”

  “You snore.”

  She scrunched her nose. “Do not.”

  “Do, too.”

  She stood up and smacked my shoulder with the back of her hand. “Okay, well, at least I sleep.”

  I smiled at that and rose to tower over her. “We should get going.”

  She waved at me. “Right, right. On the run, assassins hunting me, vampire husband waiting to drink my blood. Just a regular ol’ day for Tendra Parrish. No biggie.” Her laugh was slightly hysterical.

  I touched her shoulder gently. “Look—”

  “I know, I know. It’s our duty. Neither of us asked for this. I get it, okay? But I’m still adjusting to the fact that this is my life now. So excuse me if I deal with it with sarcasm.”

  I didn’t care how she dealt with it. I only wanted her to know I was there for her. But all I could manage to say was, “Okay.”

  She peered up at me. “Thanks.”

  “Of course.”

  “No, thanks. Because you could be a cold bastard. You could be a total asshole and not give a fuck about my feelings. But you do, and don’t think I don’t notice or appreciate it, okay?”

  “I’ll always be here for you.”

  She studied my face. “You really will, won’t you?”

  I nodded. More than she could imagine. I’d die for her.

  She pressed her lips into a thin line, and her fingers brushed the back of my hand. “Yeah, I guess you will.” She tilted her head. “I know we need to get going, but can you please tell me one more thing about Idris? Anything.”

  Of course she’d be curious about him. I thought about what to tell her that would put her at ease. “He’s very smart. And he believes very strongly in protecting humans.” In fact, his sole focus was on defeating the Valarians. He saw them as a constant threat to us. I didn’t disagree, but I preferred to maintain things the way they’d been for hundreds of years—leaving each other alone. Idris wanted war. Sometimes I worried what he’d do once he possessed the power of Tendra’s blood.