by Scott, K. M.
The words almost caught in her throat, strangled by excitement and anticipation. She backed up across the threshold and beckoned him to follow her. “Come in, Vasilije.”
His speed surprised her, and in seconds he had her by the throat, her back pressed painfully against the wall. His eyes hid no desire now. Now they were simply cold.
“Tatiana.” He lifted his face in a sneer. “I can smell her here.”
Fear raced through Sasa and her heart slammed into her chest over and over as the name repeated in her head. He knew. He knew everything and he hadn’t come out of love.
He’d come to kill her for what she’d done.
“Vasilije, please! I had no choice.”
Rage flooded Sasa’s senses as his anger leapt off him in spikes. Terror touched every part of her as she watched anger twist his face into a frightening expression of hate. His long fingers squeezed against the muscles of her neck and cut off the air from her lungs. Gasping, she thrashed against his grip, frantically grabbing at his arm.
“Don’t do this! Please don’t kill me. Please, Vasilije!”
“You killed Teagan and then lied this whole time, my sweet Sasa.”
“No, please! Let me explain.”
Sasa wrapped her hands against his muscular arm to push him away. The room began to swim before her eyes as he continued to tighten his grip around her neck.
The sadistic click of his fangs snapping into place echoed in her ears. The mouth that had brought her so much pleasure and tenderly taken what she’d so willingly offered now looked only deadly.
“Talk and maybe I’ll spare your life.”
Her throat tightened and she pleaded hoarsely, “I can’t breathe. Please let me go.”
Long seconds that felt like forever passed as he stared into her eyes while Sasa’s head pounded to the rhythm of her racing heartbeat. As her eyelids drooped shut, he spread his fingers and she fell to the floor in a heap.
Sasa looked up at Vasilije staring down at her. She struggled to catch a few deep breaths and braced herself on the way to get up on her feet. His stare never left her, penetrating her, insisting she admit to her crime.
“Please listen to me,” she begged as she stood to face him.
“I’m listening.”
Sasa forced herself to meet his icy gaze and began. “My mother was sick. I told you I went to Quiterie for help. I couldn’t stand to see her suffer any more. But I didn’t have enough money. I couldn’t let her stay in pain, so I told her about my gift. So in exchange for helping her, she performed spells for Mama.”
“Helping her?”
“She reads cards, palms…I read people’s emotions to help her get a better read on them. Then Tatiana came in and Quiterie threatened to stop helping Mama if I didn’t help Tatiana get revenge on someone. You.”
Vasilije was quiet, and then asked, “By killing Teagan?”
“No! She said she wanted revenge on you and in return for making my mother a vampire, I had to help her. I swear I had no idea she was going to kill your friend. All I heard was your name and then she led me to Teagan’s.”
Sasa couldn’t hold back the tears that had lain dormant since that night she’d watched Tatiana stake Teagan. As they poured out, she sobbed, “I’m so sorry, Vasilije. I had no idea. I didn’t.”
“And then you lied, pretending to be his girlfriend. Why? To get close to me?”
“She made me. She threatened to kill my mother if I didn’t do as she said.”
Vasilije stood silently staring down at her, his anger still coming from him in painful waves. Sasa reached out for him, afraid he’d push her away but needing to feel his closeness. As she touched his chest, he flinched, but he didn’t recoil from her.
“I lied, but it wasn’t a lie when we were together.”
He turned his head and sneered, as if what she said sickened him.
“Please believe me. Everything else may have been a lie—being Teagan’s girlfriend, knowing Tatiana, helping her—but when I was with you wasn’t a lie.”
Vasilije turned back to look at her and Sasa’s heart sank. Everything in his face told her he didn’t believe her.
“Not a lie? Why do you think that matters to me? You’re just another fuck. Nothing else. At least now I don’t have to feel guilty about fucking Teagan’s girlfriend.”
“No…” Sasa touched his face, hoping to reach that part of him that had been so tender with her before. “Don’t say that.”
“You lie to me from the moment you meet me and you want me to be nice? Nice to the person who helped stake one of my own?”
Every word that came from his mouth tore at her heart, his emotions almost overwhelming her. God, how she wished to hold him in her arms and make him remember their time together.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know. I had no choice. I couldn’t let her hurt Mama. I never meant to hurt you. When I began to feel something for you, I did everything I could to help you. You have to believe me.”
Vasilije ran his hand down her neck and let it rest softly on her collarbone. “I don’t have to believe anything you say, Sasa. Why would I? Everything was a lie.”
“No! What I did with you wasn’t a lie!”
“No? So every time I was inside you, you weren’t doing it to make me trust you?”
As he spoke, he pushed his knee between her legs and gently massaged her pussy through her clothes. His mouth caressed her neck as he whispered, “Not a lie, Sasa?”
Even as he taunted her, she couldn’t help her body’s reaction to him. He was so close, so desirable next to her. Every part of her yearned to grind against his thigh.
“Answer me, love.”
Sasa ran her hands through his silky, black hair, pulling him to her. “Please don’t do this.”
His hands cupped her ass and squeezed as he pulled her to his stiff cock. “Don’t do what, pet?”
“Don’t use what I feel for you against me.”
His teeth grazed the soft skin just under her earlobe and he whispered, “Like you did me?”
A chill ran through her body at his words. She had done that to him. But he’d meant more to her from the first moment his lips had touched hers than anyone before. Now he wanted her to pay for what she’d done.
Sasa shook her head and silently mouthed, “No.”
“So I meant something to you, Sasa. And just what did I mean to you?”
How could she put it into words how much she cared for him as he stood glaring at her, his blue eyes icy slits in a face that seemed full of hate for her? Would he humiliate her if she told him how she felt?
“I care about you,” she said quietly, choosing to safeguard her feelings against any possible attack.
“Mere words, love. Meaningless in your case.”
“Then let me show you.”
Tenderly, she pressed her lips to his and behind closed eyes, she hoped to feel even the tiniest bit of happiness begin to come from him. Instead, she felt only more anger. Rage exploded out of him and he pressed her against the wall. “Not very convincing,” he hissed.
“Please, Vasilije.”
“Exactly what I had in mind.”
His right hand shot out to grab her leg just above her knee, and he slid his palm roughly up to the hem of her cotton skirt. One painful squeeze of her thigh and then his thumb pressed against her sex, grazing her pussy.
“Wet? Isn’t that a little pathetic, love?”
The pain of humiliation and rejection almost took her breath away. Without thinking, she scratched at him, catching her thumb on a fang. Slowly, blood bubbled up out of her skin and began to trail down toward her wrist as she watched his face, waiting for his reaction to her attack.
A growl came from deep inside him and reverberated against her chest. He brought her finger to his mouth as his eyes stared intently into hers. The anger seemed to be absent from them finally, replaced by desire. Never taking his gaze from hers, he slid her finger between his lips and gently sucked where his fa
ng had nicked her.
Need coiled tightly inside her as Vasilije flicked the tip of his tongue over her finger. When he finally withdrew it from his mouth, her cunt ached for him.
“You taste so good, love.”
He inhaled deeply and a sinister grin spread across his face. “What do you want, Sasa?”
She wanted him. All of him deep inside her bringing her to that delicious place she’d never felt before him. “Don’t tease me, Vasilije. Tell me you forgive me and then give me what you know you want too.”
His fangs made a quiet hissing sound as they slid back up into their home. “Forgive you? No. But I don’t need to forgive you to fuck you. Call me open-minded.”
Pushing him away, she straightened her clothes. “Yes, you do.”
He lifted his head and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply once again. His eyes opened slowly and focused on her as he pressed close to her. “Your body tells me something else, love.”
He was taunting her. He knew his effect on her and was using it to humiliate her. Old hurts from men who never made her feel anything like he did resurfaced and all she wanted to do was run away.
“Leave me alone! Get out of my house!”
Sasa fought against him, trying to get free, but he easily pinned her against the wall and smiled. “That only works in the movies and on TV, love. All I needed was your invitation to be able to come in any time I please.”
Everything in her struggled between wanting him so desperately and wishing he’d stop tormenting her and leave her forever. The tug-of-war brought her emotions to just below the surface, but Sasa fought to capture some shred of control.
“Then just go because I mean nothing to you. Or if you’re going to drain me, would you just turn me into a vampire so I can be with my mother?”
“I don’t need another vampire to take care of, thanks.”
Exhausted by her emotions, Sasa hung her head and worked to hold back the tears. “What do you want from me, Vasilije? Do you want to hear I want you? That whatever it is about you makes my body come alive at just the thought of you? That even now after everything you’ve done here that I’d forget everything to feel you inside me? Is that what you want to hear? Well, go fuck yourself. I didn’t ask to get involved with you fucking vampires. Maybe if you hadn’t been such an asshole to your ex-girlfriend, she wouldn’t want to stake you or people you care about.”
In a blur, Vasilije had her hands pinned above her head and was tearing her skirt and panties from her body. Before she knew it, his clothes had vanished and his cock was pressed against her entrance. Seconds later, he thrust his body into hers.
God, she didn’t want to want him like this. She didn’t want to enjoy the sound of his groans so full of desire each time he rammed his cock into her. She didn’t want to love the feel of his mouth, devouring her passion with a need that matched her own.
But she did. She wanted every inch of him, every moment of him, every touch of him.
Her body burned for everything he was.
“Let me touch you,” she pleaded. She wanted to feel everything that was him.
As if her words were his command, he released his hold on her wrists and moved his hand to her lower back, pulling her even closer to him.
“Sasa…”
His deep groans filled her ears, and she caressed the dark strands that swung into his eyes with each thrust into her. Closing her eyes, she let her body enjoy him as she opened up to feel his emotions. Pleasure flowed through her, tinged with his continued rage at her. At Tatiana. At Jeremy.
His body invaded hers, joining them but taking what he wanted—selfishness that mixed with need so completely. Each thrust of his cock touched somewhere so delicious, so perfect she could almost forget the pain that slammed into her lower back each time she was forced into the wall, his strong fingers only adding to the effect as they were squeezed between her skin and the wall.
When he spoke again, Sasa heard the change in his voice and it almost took her breath away.
“I can’t kill you, Sasa. I wanted to. I wanted to make you pay for Teagan…for what you’ve done. But I can’t.”
Vasilije stopped and Sasa opened her eyes, afraid of what she’d see. His blue eyes stared at her, not letting her look away as they searched for the answer to some unspoken question. Long black strands hung in his face, and as Sasa smoothed them back from his eyes, she felt his emotions war against one another. He wanted to hate her, but he couldn’t.
There, with her back pressed against the wall and her legs wrapped around his waist, she waited for him to move or to speak, but he stood silently, his eyes fixed on hers. With her fingertips, she tenderly traced along his jaw line, the rough feel of stubble scraping against her skin.
Knowing the tug of war his emotions were creating inside him but needing some kindness from him, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips tentatively against his. Their softness betrayed his desire, but for a long moment he remained still and she feared he’d retreated inside himself, behind a wall of hatred she’d never get through.
Unsure if he’d simply deny her or worse, callously cast her aside, she slid her tongue along the seam of his lips, lightly touching his teeth. His hand on her lower back pressed against her sensitive skin, pulling her to him.
Sensing his desire was winning out over his rage, she ran her hand through his hair and pulled his head to hers as she intensified her kiss. He came alive under her lips’ caress and slowly he matched her passion, his tongue gliding over hers as she felt his rage drift away.
His cock swelled inside her, pushing her body to accept him as he consumed her kisses like a man starved for love. He ground into her swollen clit and pulled her to him with his powerful hands as his need took on a life of its own.
The sweet beginning of her orgasm grew from inside her, and she tilted against him to take him deeper into her body. Vasilije read her cues and thrust faster, his face the picture of desire.
As the first wave of pleasure made its way to the surface, Sasa fisted his soft hair and moaned as she waited for the release only he could give her. “Vasilije…yes…” she cried as she waited in anticipation of that perfect sensation to arrive.
Suddenly, he lifted her off him and planting her on the floor, grinned a devilish smile at her. “No, I don’t think so, love.”
Fourteen
Sasa looked up at him, her expression a mix of need and confusion. Her body pressed against his, arching in search of that release that just seconds ago had been so close.
“Don’t, Vasilije.”
In a flash, he had her on her back on the nearby couch, underneath him as he hovered over her. Her brown eyes, wide with surprise, looked up at him as she waited for him to move. He watched as they became clouded with fear at the very real possibility of his anger returning.
“Don’t what, love?”
His gaze slid down over her breasts, and he licked his lips before he bent down to take a rosy nipple into his mouth. It stiffened to an excited peak as he flicked the tip of his tongue over it. Sasa mewed her wish for him to continue, and he sucked the rouched nipple hard, eliciting a sound from her so filled with need that his cock surged against his belly.
Her hands grasped at his back to bring him closer and in a keening voice, she begged, “Don’t make me wait. Please.”
He loved to hear a woman beg for him to fuck her, but he wasn’t ready to give in quite yet. Shaking his head, he crouched between her legs and slowly ran his fingertip through her wet pussy as Sasa pushed against his touch.
“Yes…yes,” she said, almost sobbing.
His fangs snapped into place and as his eyes took in the sensual image of her glistening pink cunt, he ran his tongue over their sharp points. He’d get to what she wanted in a bit, but first he wanted something equally as delicious.
He slid his gaze to the vein that ran along the seam of her leg and traced the almost invisible pale blue line to her hip. Pressing his lips to her tender skin, he whispered, “Mi
ne,” and closed his eyes. He felt her tremble as he opened his mouth and then he sank his teeth into her.
His heartbeat pounded in his ears, nearly drowning out Sasa’s soft cries as he drank eagerly from her. Her blood danced on his tongue as he sucked and lapped her vein. Each drop was more satisfying than the last, and he savored the taste of her as she once again nourished him.
When he’d drunk almost enough to harm her, he reluctantly flicked his tongue over her skin to close the holes. He remained at that most erotic spot on her body and pressed his lips to her skin. Sliding his finger through her wet seam, he plunged into her slickness. At the invasion, she moaned and he looked up to see her eyes closed and her face full of passion.
She felt tight around his fingers as he slid two into her and drew little circles with the pad of his thumb on her swollen clit. Her body told him she was edging closer to coming and he slid his fingers out of her just before her orgasm took her over, again denying her what she so desperately wanted.
Sasa opened her eyes and glared down at him. Her voice full of frustration, she asked, “Is this what you plan to do to punish me? Taking me so close and then leaving me there again and again?”
Smiling, he shook his head. What he wanted to do was ride her so hard that she begged to be free of him. Fuck her like he’d never fucked a woman before to punish her for what she’d done. Make her hate him so he wouldn’t feel for her. And then leave her forever.
“Then what?”
Vasilije slid up her body and brushed his lips against hers, teasing her with the promise of what was to come. His tongue nipped at the corner of her mouth before he softly placed a kiss on that spot.
Cradling her face in his hands, he closed his eyes in ecstasy when she flicked her tongue gently against a fang, sending a jolt of arousal through his cock and balls. The effect she had on him….
“Vasilije, I need to know you believe me. That I had no choice.”
Even as he lay there ready to bury himself inside her, he remained unsure he could ever believe her after all the lies. But he didn’t care. Something about her touched him, something inside him needed her like he hadn’t needed another woman in centuries.