Blood: Under the Skin Book 1

by K. B. Ladnier

  Vex let out a gruff laugh. “That just sounds dirty. You’re not ready to meet Betty.”

  I gave him an amused grin. “You seriously named it Betty?”

  He shrugged. “Don’t men always name their favorite toys?” He walked out of the closet in his dark jeans, boots, and leather jacket with no shirt beneath. He’d been wearing a shirt every time I’d seen him after that night in the dining room, so my mouth went dry seeing that he decided to leave it off tonight. I still didn’t get why he did this, but I wasn’t complaining.

  I’d be lying if I said I hadn’t come to appreciate his looks these past few weeks. Vex was a beautiful specimen and now that I knew he only meant to protect me, it was hard not to appraise him constantly. Sometimes, I internally argued with myself that I had two men back home who were probably going out of their minds worrying over me. However, the connection between a vampire and their maker was one of the deepest bonds that could be formed. If either of us died, the other would feel it exponentially. It was why Claudia was so close with her maker, Abraham.

  She was hopelessly in love with him, yet she denied it often, especially to herself. I could tell he loved her the same, but he’d not pursue her further until she could admit it out loud to him. Her past was complicated, though. Claudia hadn’t been involved with any man since before she turned. I didn’t know all the gory details, but it was enough she feared being touched in any intimate way.

  Looking at Vex, it was hard not feeling things for him. I felt them now, just as much if not more than I had when I met him. I’d ignored them before remembering everything, but now I didn’t have to. Now that I knew everything, did I want to? Was it really so wrong to want Vex even knowing Hollis and Sloan were waiting for me at home. Maybe it was by wanting to be with him as more than maker and progeny without them here to give their input. Was that fair to them?

  “Why are you looking at me like that?” Vex asked me, leaning on the doorway and watching me as I snapped out of my daze.

  “Sorry. I got lost there for a second. How was I looking at you?”

  He smiled and edged closer to me, leaving barely a foot between us. “Like you wanted to bite me,” he whispered.

  If my cheeks could flush, I was sure they would be. He wasn’t entirely wrong. I bit my lip, trying my best to not look as guilty of the thought as I actually was. He saw it though, and chuckled. His finger came up and pulled my lip from between my teeth.

  “If I show you, will you not do that? It’s distracting.”

  My brows pinched together in confusion, completely forgetting what he was talking about. He laughed loudly.

  “Betty. I’ll show you Betty.”

  “Oh! Yeah. Show me.”

  He shook his head and reached behind him towards the back pocket I always saw him fiddling with. His jacket always covered whatever it was he continually carried with him. I wasn’t sure what he was pulling out, but it wasn’t what I was expecting.

  “Betty is a hammer,” I deadpanned. “That’s the big secret?” I went to grab it from him, but he yanked it back and held it above my head out of reach.

  “Nu uh! I said I’d show you. Viper was right. You can look, but you can’t touch.”

  I shook my head at him. “I cannot believe you’ve been this secretive over a hammer.”

  He brought it back down to my eye level so I could take a better look at it. The handle was a worn down light-colored wood with dark stains in some places, leading me to believe it was blood. He angled it to show me the tip. “It’s been dipped in silver. She is my favorite weapon. I’m not a fan of guns and she has a great kill ratio.”

  “Kill ratio?” I gawked at him and eyed the hammer like it would bite me. “Just how many vampires have you killed with it?”

  “Enough,” he replied before sticking Betty back in his pocket. Even in my head I laughed at seriously calling a tool by a name.

  We were abruptly interrupted by someone knocking and opening the door. Vex grabbed me and threw me down into his coffin with inhuman speed, laying himself over me and closing the lid over us.

  “What do you want?” He shouted above me, balancing himself on his elbows so as not to squish me. It was unusual for someone to come barging into Vex’s room. I could feel the tension of his body as it covered me, trying my best to quell the terror filled shivering of my own.

  “Master Bellamy wants you now,” replied a voice I didn’t recognize.

  Vex stilled. “I’ll be there when I’ve finished breakfast. Leave,” he commanded.

  When the sound of the door closing signaled the coast was clear, Vex slid back the lid and sat up on his knees above me. The way he was positioned above me was a sight to behold. I laid there not sure what to do with myself as he loomed over me.

  “Shite. He’s a day early.” He ran his hands down his face in agitation, letting out a groan.

  I sat up, feeling a little awkward being beneath him with my face coming just below his chest. “Is something wrong?” I swallowed, trying to keep my eyes on his when he looked down at me and mind on the more important matter at hand.

  “I’m not sure. I need to go and for you to stay here, Lucy. Bellamy is never early or late. He has a fucking internal clock. Something’s up and I don’t want you leaving this room. If you hear anyone coming, you hide somewhere. Understand?”

  I nodded that I got it, but when he went to climb from his coffin, I latched onto his jacket as a wave of panic overtook me. I didn’t know vampires could actually hyperventilate, but that’s exactly what started happening.

  “Oh my god! What if he knows?” I whisper shouted through my rapid breathing, not sure if anyone was listening on the other side of the door. Vampires didn’t need to breathe, yet I felt like I was suffocating under the pressure of my fear that was gripping my chest like a vice.

  “Lucy, you need to calm down. You’re freaking out over nothing.”

  I didn’t believe him and started shaking my head vehemently. “No! He could know! He could be waiting to kill you! Then we’ll never be free and I just found you! I can’t do this! I can’t breathe!”

  My freak out escalated at the thought of losing my maker after only just getting to know him. I hadn’t had enough time with him! He deserved to be free! Free with me and to finally live normally and not in a drug induced state just following orders of a psychopath!

  Vex tried prying my hands from his jacket and telling me to calm down, but I held on tighter, my other hand gripping the side of the coffin as his words filtered in one ear and out the other. I needed to get us out of here. I needed to do something!

  “Lucy. Lucy. Lucy!” I barely heard him yell just before his lips crashed down on mine.

  The shock that ran through my system at the feel of his tongue rubbing against mine, was one of the most euphoric experiences of my life. My body stilled from the sudden onslaught of emotions I felt in his kiss.

  The way his lips melded to mine like they were made to fit them perfectly.

  The sensation of his fingers weaved into my hair at the nape of my neck to hold me in place.

  The vibration of his chest against mine as he moaned into my mouth.

  I was hyper aware of every. Single. Touch.

  I swear I could almost feel his emotions rolling off him in waves as he held me. Fear, passion, desperation and above all love, were just a few of the most prominent ones I felt behind his kiss. It was deep. It was violent. It was earth shattering on every level.

  I whimpered a little when he pulled his lips from mine to kiss the corners of my mouth gently. He then leaned his forehead against mine.

  “I have not waited forty-four years to lose you now Lucy Bryant,” he whispered softly, tilting my head back to make me look at him. “Whatever happens, I will be fine. If he’s early, it means he’s suspicious of something. I don’t know what he’ll do, but I will come back to you. I promise.”

  I slowly nodded my head, not trusting myself to speak. He chastely kissed my temple and climbed out
of the coffin without another word. I watched him walk out, tears threatening to fall at the thought of what he may be walking into.

  I sank back against the edge of the coffin, bringing my knees up and wrapping my arms protectively around myself. I was afraid for Vex. Not just because he was my maker and ticket out of this place for me and Diego, but because in the short time we’d had together, I couldn’t imagine not having him in my life. His kiss solidified that. I cared for him and I worried for his sanity if Bellamy kept injecting him. He was too close to the edge of losing himself.

  Who would he be if I didn’t get him away from here in time? Would I be enough to help tear the bondage that Bellamy had Vex wrapped within? Or would neither of us escape this nightmare with our sanity intact?

  Chapter Twenty

  I sat in the same spot for what felt like hours, steadily rocking myself back and forth with anxiety.

  I wasn’t sure what I was going to do if Vex didn’t come back. My mind raced a million miles a minute as I watched the second hand on the clock in Vex’s room tick away. I was lost to the silence. Anyone watching me would’ve assumed Vex’s insanity was rubbing off a little on me by how I just sat staring at the door.

  Finally, I heard the lock click on the door just before it swung open to reveal a dazed Vex. I jumped from my seated position and approached him cautiously, fearful of what would happen if I made any sudden movements.

  “Vex…” I whispered to him as I took several small steps closer.

  His eyes were far more red than usual, telling me without a shadow of doubt that Bellamy had shot my maker up with more of that shit. He seemed lost as he closed the door behind himself and leaned against it, his eyes closing slowly and his body tense.

  “Vex. Please talk to me,” I could feel the tears welling. I was scared that this was it. This was the final straw to make my beautiful maker snap once and for all.

  It truly was amazing how fast a maker-progeny connection could be established between two vampires. Could he feel me as I felt him, though? The drug was numbing any of the usual things that I felt from him and it terrified me to no end.

  “Please … you have to say something to me or I will lose it,” I tried one final time to get his attention. Anything would do at this point, as long as he stopped standing and feeling like a statue.

  His eyes suddenly snapped open and zeroed in on me. It was a predatory stare. I felt that stare all the way down to my bones.

  “Lucy…” he finally said softly.

  Somehow, that’s all it took. My name on his lips was everything and nothing. Every doubt I’ve ever had of holding back my love was shattered into pieces so small, you couldn’t differentiate them from sand. I was done hiding behind doubt and indecisiveness. I would take what I wanted. I wanted Hollis. I wanted Sloan. I wanted Vex. All of them would be mine. I’d learned how short life was even for an eternal creature like myself. So much had been taken away from me before I truly had the chance to just enjoy it. The time wasted would be lost to me forever, but if forever is what I had left, then I’d take every second to bask in the love I’ve been offered on a silver platter.

  With this decision made, I leapt onto him, wrapping my arms around his neck and sealing my lips to his. His response was immediate.

  One second he was against the door, us both fully clothed. The next, I was against the door and we were bare, tearing into each other violently. Desperately. He crashed into me with a vicious hiss and I was immediately a goner. We bit into each other simultaneously, giving ourselves over to the rapture of our mutual climax. Blood ran down between our bodies, lubricating our touching skin as we started all over again.

  After one rather forceful thrust, the door splintered beneath my back, making him pull me away. He carried me to the bathroom and managed to turn the water on in the shower without his mouth leaving mine, stepping in under the hot spray. He set me on my feet and turned me, pressing the front of my body against the cool tile of the shower wall.

  One hand ran up my thigh and to my hip, the other fisting into my dreads to pull my head back.

  “I will never tire of seeing you like this. Feeling you writhe in my hands.” His hand moved to my inner thigh, tracing up higher and higher until his fingers were gliding along my sensitive flesh.

  I moaned loudly as he played with me, his other hand grasping tighter into my hair just before his mouth came down onto my neck. I felt his desire behind me, pushing against my backside with need.

  “Come for me, Lucy. I want to hear you beg for more as I take you,” he whispered against my neck just before ramming hard and deep inside me. I screamed with pleasure, every nerve ending inside me firing at once. My fingers clawed uselessly at the tile as he went faster, harder, deeper.

  Over and over I fell apart, the hot water slickening every inch of our skin. Until finally, I felt his release coincide with another of my own.

  He pulled away and turned me, taking my face in his hands. Vex stared at me with more love and adoration than I thought was possible with his eyes still clouded with the drug.

  “You are my resistance,” he whispered before leaning down and kissing down my neck once again. “Your blood is fire, burning away the effects of the drug in my system. And your touch a caress on my battered soul.”

  “We’ll fight through this, Vex. I swear to you, you will be free of him,” I replied into his chest as I ran my lips along the skin there and dragged my nails down the corded muscles of his back.

  “As long as I have you, I am free of him.”

  He wove his hand back into my dreads gently and pulled my head back to kiss me passionately.

  If I could choose between living a thousand lives, or living just one with him and my other two men by my side, I’d choose them all twice over.

  After making love several more times in Vex’s shower, he pulled me down into his coffin next to him, wrapping his arms around me and holding me the whole day we rested.

  I dreamed for the first time since I was taken of a time when I’d have Hollis, Sloan and Vex all next to me. Loving me. Each holding a special place inside me that completed me in their own ways.

  Hollis and his protective soul.

  Sloan and his golden heart.

  Vex and his chaotic mind.

  They were me and I was them. They each played a specific role in my life and I’d be broken if even one were to fall. I would never let them fall.

  A crashing sound jolted me and Vex out of our rested state just before the lid of his coffin was ripped away. Ten BloodLust drugged vampires stood around us and began yanking us both up from the coffin. We both hissed in anger at being manhandled as they tugged us out of each other’s grasp.

  “What the fuck is going on?” Vex shouted at the vampires just before someone started clapping behind the crowd.

  “Well done, Vasiliy! You really believed I had no idea of your philandering with your young progeny here? I see everything.”

  A man stepped between the crowd of vampires, still clapping his hands. He was beautiful, but the darkness behind his eyes only made me realize I was finally meeting Bellamy in the flesh. His skin was so pallid, it was almost translucent, but it only added an unearthly glow to him. His raven black hair was a mess of curls and he had a full beard to match. He was a massive man and would’ve been easily mistaken for a body builder. His accent was hard to place, but definitely European. It had a deep lilt to it that commanded obedience.

  “Who the hell is Vasiliy?” I had to ask.

  Have I mentioned my mouth runs away from me when I’m scared?

  “That’s my real name, Lucy. He’s the only one who uses it though,” Vex – Vasiliy? No Vex, replied through gritted teeth, not taking his eyes off his Ancient maker.

  “I’m going to have to get you to explain where Vex came from one day,” I said, trying my best not to show how terrified I really was.

  “Oh, that won’t be happening, little dove. You won’t live to see someday. My progeny here signed you
r death warrant the moment he made you. It was only a matter of time until he led me to you. I just had to be patient.”

  Vex tugged against the restraining hold and managed to take a step closer to Bellamy. “You will not fucking touch her!”

  Bellamy smiled. “Oh, I won’t be the one to do it,” he stepped closer to Vex. “You will.”

  Wait what?

  “Take them to the common room. Better give this little vampire a fighting chance with some more room to run. I wonder if she could kill her own maker if it meant saving herself.”

  My eyes widened with anguish at what he was insinuating. He’s going to command Vex to try and kill me…

  The vampires started shoving us forward, both of us yelling and clawing to break free. It was hopeless, though.

  When we were ushered into the big room I had first seen when Vex took me from my cell, I was thrown to the floor. I landed hard on my hip and groaned in pain at the impact. I looked over my shoulder and saw the vampires vacating the room, leaving Bellamy holding Vex in a chokehold with a massive syringe to his neck.

  “I honestly don’t care how this goes. Either he will kill you on a stronger high than he’s ever experienced and I will be rid of you once and for all, freeing my progeny. Or, you kill him and rid me of a traitor only to die another day when I take you and your city down. The choice is yours, Lucy Bryant.”

  Vex’s eyes were fixed on mine. Bloody tears ran down my face as I watched him. His fear was almost palpable as he mouthed the words ‘I love you, Lucy’ just as Bellamy pushed the end of the syringe, emptying a massive amount of BloodLust into my maker.

  I cried out as Bellamy let go and Vex fell to his knees. His body convulsed and blood began dripping from his nose, eyes and ears. Bellamy walked backwards through the double doors leading out of the room, an elated smirk stretched across his lips.

  “Have fun with my progeny, little dove.”

  He slammed the doors shut and a lock clicked into place, but I ignored it all as I watched my maker steadily stop convulsing.