by Siren Allen
The guard stepped to the side, making room for Lark to enter the tiny jail cell. She’d expected to find the prisoner chained up in one of Lola’s hospital rooms. Apparently he’d caused too much trouble there and had been brought here, to the dungeon.
This was only her second time visiting the dungeon since her parents’ death. During her first visit, the space had looked nothing like this. The cell was dark and dirty. The last time she was here it had been dimly lit but clean.
Now, it smelled of urine. The stench was so strong Lark feared it would cling to her uniform when she left. This problem would have to be taken care of immediately. She stepped forward and her feet sank into something mushy.
Frowning, she stared down at her white boots. Damn, now she was going to have kure-rat shit and only the cosmos knew what else to clean off her boots when she returned to her chambers. What the hell was she paying the guards for? Apparently they weren’t doing their jobs.
“When I’m done here, I want this room cleaned, top to bottom.” The guard nodded, before stepping away from the bars. She didn’t miss the way his eyes kept darting to the far corner of the cell. He took a few more steps back.
He probably hadn’t heard a word she’d said, too busy eyeing the vampire. Angry, Lark searched the cell for her prisoner. Eyes adjusting to the darkness of the room, she saw a large figure huddled in the corner.
Though it was hard, somehow she resisted the urge to laugh at how pitiful he looked. So this was the ferocious vampire her sister was afraid of. He didn’t seem so scary to her. Yeah, he was big, but he was terrified, practically shaking in his black boots.
“Vampire, rise to your feet,” she yelled and waited, and waited. He didn’t move. Impatient, she raised her stun gun. “Vampire,” she called again, taking a step closer to him. “Rise and face me.”
Still, the creature didn’t move. Then she smelled it, a horrible odor that made her stomach churn. The stench of blood filled her nostrils. Was he biting himself? Disgusting vampires. Lark grabbed his shoulder and tugged, trying to stop him from causing himself further harm.
They wouldn’t make any currency off of him if he was mutilated. He jerked away from her so violently, he damn near took her arm with him. She stumbled back, eyes still on his huddled form. Then he spoke and Lark swayed, growing dizzy.
“Has no one ever told you not to touch a vampire while he’s eating?” His gravelly voice sent chills down her spine.
He sounded dark and dangerous, not terrified. Her brain screamed for her to get the hell out of there. Her pride wouldn’t let her feet move. He now belonged to her. He had to obey her orders or there would be consequences.
Lark swallowed. “Rise vampire.” Her voice didn’t shake. That was good. “Stand now or I will have you beaten.” There, that should get his attention.
“Who will beat me?” He stood, rising to his full height, still not facing her.
Lark tilted her head back to stare up at him. Okay, now she understood why Lola was afraid of him. He had broad shoulders and was at least a foot taller than her tallest guard. This one was definitely going to be a problem. He sniffed then jerked his head to the right.
“You,” he whispered. Or had he said who?
He’d voiced it so low, she wasn’t quite sure. Before she could question him he stretched his arm out and dropped something to the ground. Lark stared down. Her hands flew to her mouth to keep from screaming or throwing up. It was a head he’d dropped. Cochran, the leader of her prison guard, was dead.
“You bastard, you killed Cochran.” She took a step back, not moving too fast. She didn’t want him to know she was planning to escape. Ending up his next meal was something she wanted to avoid.
“I defended myself.” He sniffed again and shuddered. Moving slowly, the vampire turned around. Lark stopped breathing. His eyes were black, so black she could drown in them and they were zeroed in on her. Heat flooded her system and that dizzy feeling she’d felt when entering his cell returned.
“You.”
So he had said you. “Stay right where you are,” Lark held her gun higher and took another cautious step back. “Guards,” she called out. “Get in here now.”
Their footsteps beat against the ground as they raced toward the cell. She prayed they got there in time. If not, her head might be the next to roll.
“You smell,” he lifted his head a fraction, “perfect.”
What?
“Shut the hell up,” Lark screamed. What was wrong with this male? “I don’t care if my sister wants you in our harem or not. You’re a killer and I’m having your psycho ass sent to Mercury as soon as possible.”
He dropped the rest of Cochran’s crumpled body to the ground. Blood poured from the hole where Cochran’s head had once been. Lark returned her eyes to the vampire and swallowed the bile that rose up in her throat. Cochran was dead. She’d known having a vampire here would ruin everything they’d built.
“I don’t want to go to Mercury.” His dark eyes roamed over her.
“I don’t give a shit. I don’t want you here.”
He stepped forward.
“Don’t move. Stay there.” She pressed the stun button, causing electrical currents to sizzle and burn bright between the two prongs on her stun gun. A warning.
He froze, the corners of his mouth lifting in a sly grin. He made her sick to the stomach. He looked exactly how she pictured an alien from his dark corner of the universe would look.
Dark hair and darker eyes made his white skin seem even paler. A chiseled jaw line complimented the hard glint in his eyes. He was handsome, but that was to be expected. His kind was rumored to be the most beautiful creatures in the galaxy.
Their beauty was a weapon. It was how they attracted their prey to them. She wouldn’t fall for his sharp jaw line or nice form. She wouldn’t end up like Cochran. Poor Cochran, he didn’t deserve to go out this way.
Her eyes remained on her prisoner, her fingers wrapped tightly around her stun gun. He studied her in return with a curious look on his face. His gaze travelled up and down her body. To say she was uncomfortable would be an understatement. But she wouldn’t show it.
Never show fear to your enemies: one of the first mantras her dad taught her. The sound of the cell doors opening behind her was music to her ears. The guards were here. But would they be strong enough to take this bastard down?
Lark didn’t look away from him as she spoke to her squad. “Take him to the prisoner transport craft. Tell Manuel I want this creature off my planet as soon as possible.”
The prisoner in question chose that moment to speak up. “Your Sovereign Ruler purchased me,” the murderer said, his gaze drifting from her to the guards then back to her. “I belong to her. You can’t send me away.”
Like hell she couldn’t. “I can do whatever I want. Once I tell Luna you killed Cochran she will want nothing more than to get rid of you.”
She nodded. Three guards stepped forward. The vampire didn’t fight them when they hit him in the back of the head knocking him to the ground. In fact, the force they were using didn’t seem to faze him.
As they clamped the electrical restraints on his wrists, he raised his head to stare at her. For a moment she was unable to look anywhere else. His eyes were like a black hole, swirling and alive yet void of any emotion.
“This room has image recording devices, correct?” He asked.
“So what? All of our cells have IRD’s.” Did he want her to watch the video of him killing her guard? What type of sadistic bastard had Luna sent them?
“You should watch the footage.” The guards lifted him to his feet. The groans they emitted while tugging on him let her know he was just as solid as he looked, all muscle. “Watch the video and you will see why I killed your guard.”
“What do you want us to do with him?” Her guard, Aron, asked.
Undecided, Lark stared at her prisoner. He wanted her to watch the video. It was either because he got off on torturing people or bec
ause Cochran truly did something to him to make him lash out. Either way, she would know the truth soon.
“Change of plans.” Her statement caused the vampire to grin. Her hand itched with the desire to slap that look off his face. This wasn’t a victory for him. This was her wanting to know the truth.
“Take him to the interrogation room and make sure he’s locked down. Send someone in here to clean up Cochr… this mess.” Her eyes stayed glued on the vampire. Lola said his name was Raynor.
She wanted Raynor off her planet and if he’d truly killed Cochran without cause that would be reason enough to convince Luna that this was the best call.
“Watch the video,” was the last words he uttered as they drug him from the room. His eyes stayed with her as they dragged him down the hallway and around the corner.
With him gone, Lark could breathe once again. She inhaled deeply, the stench of urine and blood filled her nose. The smell was beyond unpleasant, but at least it washed away the smell of him.
He smelled of power, raw power. Wait, what was she thinking? How the hell did power smell? She didn’t know. All she knew was that the scent rolling off him brought power to mind. His presence seemed to make the room vibrate.
Suddenly dizzy, she placed her hand on the wall to keep from falling down. It was the smell of blood that was making her sick. In a matter of five minutes this vamp had turned her world upside down.
He’d killed her guard and caused her to feel something she hadn’t felt since she was a little girl, fear. She removed her hand from the wall and rubbed it through her hair, not missing the way her hand trembled slightly.
She was the one vibrating, not the room. His presence made her vibrate. Lark clenched her hand into a fist. That wasn’t a vibration, she told herself. I’m trembling because I’m upset. Beings tremble when they’re upset and scared.
That had to be it, because the alternative was unimaginable. After shoving her stun gun into its holster she placed her hand over her racing heart. Fear wasn’t an emotion she was accustomed to feeling.
There was no room for fear in her life and it had taken her years to create her tough exterior to protect herself from it. That protective barrier had crumbled the moment his black eyes landed on her. Fucking vampires. What was Luna thinking sending one of them here?
She was going to get them all killed. Vampires were vicious creatures. They ate people, aliens, animals, anything that had blood pumping through its veins. And they couldn’t be controlled. Lola had said the vamp was supposed to have a collar around his neck.
Lark hadn’t seen one. Then again, she hadn’t been paying much attention to his neck. She was too busy worrying about her own. She walked over to Cochran’s body and squatted down next to it.
“What the hell did you do to piss this vamp off?”
She tilted her head to the side. There was a rumor going around that Cochran was nasty to the prisoners. Lark had never witnessed this with her own eyes. Every time she went to view the video from the accuser’s cell it was either mysteriously gone or the guards had forgotten to turn the cameras on.
She’d had her suspicions and Cochran’s conduct was currently under review by the Council. He might have been an egotistical and ornery bastard, but he didn’t deserve to die this way. No one deserved to die this way. Lark stood up and pulled out her Stat-Phone.
“I want the video from cell 2A delivered to the interrogation room STAT.”
“Copy that,” the voice on the other end of the transmitter replied.
Lark stared at Cochran’s body one last time before turning and leaving the room. A couple of times she nearly slipped down on the blood covering the floor, but righted herself before doing so. It didn’t matter whether the vampire’s attack was warranted or not, she still wanted him off her planet.
The Queen of Jupiter would have to find herself another vampire to screw.
****
Interrogation Room
Seated across from the vampire in the interrogation room, Lark watched the video from cell 2A. She’d hoped what she saw would prove that the vampire wasn’t fit to be a part of their harem. It didn’t.
Damn you, Cochran, why did you have to be such an idiot?
“Now do you believe me?”
She could feel Raynor’s eyes on her as he waited for her to answer his question. Of course she believed him, now. That didn’t mean she was happy about it. The video proved that Cochran was in the wrong.
Cochran had ordered all the other guards to take a ten minute break before he stormed into the vampire’s cell. He hadn’t gone in there to fight the vampire, or even to kill him. The idiot had gone in there to force himself on Raynor.
Lark shook her head. How could he be so stupid? Fortunately Cochran had never done that to any of the other prisoners. He admitted that on video. The vampire had asked him did he do this with the other captives.
Cochran’s response had been, “Hell no, if I did, Lark and her bitch ass sisters would have me killed. But not before skinning me alive. I only hit the other prisoners. I beat them, because they deserve it. But you’re a vampire. I’ve heard all about your kind. I heard that your bite can make a being have an orgasm without the act of intercourse. But I also heard that it’s even better during the act of intercourse.”
Lark closed her eyes. But that didn’t block out the sounds from the video. She could still hear Cochran’s filthy words.
“I want you to suck my dick vampire. Then I’m going to fuck you from behind while you bite my wrist. If you try any of that funny business I’m going to flip the switch on this remote and shock the hell out of your ass, while I’m in your ass.”
Lark’s eyes popped open as Cochran’s maniacal laughter filled the room. The remote. She glared at Raynor. “Where’s the remote to your collar?”
He grinned.
Shit.
There was only one weapon protecting her from this beast. And he had it.
Chapter Three
“Raynor, where’s the remote to your collar?”
“You mean this collar?” He tapped the thick black band around his neck.
“Yes, that collar. What other collar would I be talking about?” Calm down Lark. Don’t allow him to agitate you. Like her sisters, she was prone to talking to herself, sometimes out loud. Not this time.
“Where’s the remote?” And she didn’t even yell. Improvement.
“The remote is in my pocket.”
Lark swallowed and stretched her hand toward him. “Give it to me.”
The fool actually smiled at her. Did he think this was a game? She wasn’t playing with him. Though, he did have a nice smile. It wasn’t a full smile like one would display when they were happy. It was only a slight lifting of the corners of his mouth.
But on him, it was striking. Biting her tongue, she chastised herself for noticing his smile. Yeah his smile was sexy, but behind that grin were two sharp fangs. It was true what her mother always said, just because something looked good, didn’t mean it was good for you.
“Give it to me now.” He didn’t move, just sat there smiling at her. “What’s so funny? Why are you smiling?” Please stop. Lark crossed her legs. He was making her feel weird.
The silence was deafening, until finally he spoke. “You make me smile. I didn’t think it possible.” The corners of his mouth lifted a fraction. He had dimples. She loved dimples, just not on him.
“You didn’t think what was possible, that you could smile?”
Raynor nodded.
“Are you telling me you never smile?”
He nodded.
“As in never… ever?”
Another nod.
Well of course beasts like him didn’t smile. They killed. They would be even creepier if they sported huge grins on their faces when they ripped their victims’ throats out.
“For someone who never smiles you seem to be smiling a great deal right now.”
“I know.”
Stars, those dimples. “Well, ju
st stop smiling. And give me the damn remote.”
“First, tell me whether you believe me or not.”
Rolling her eyes she said, “How can I not believe you? I have two eyes. I’ve watched the video, twice. I saw what Cochran did.”
“So you agree it was within my rights to take his life? That is the rule on this planet right? Forced intercourse is a crime that is punishable by death.”
Lark nodded. Rape was a horrible crime and anyone capable of doing that to another being deserved to die. There was no judge or juror needed. That crime was not tolerated on Venus. Cochran knew that, yet he’d done what he did anyway.
He deserved what he got. Had she been in the leech’s shoes, she would’ve done the same thing. That didn’t mean Lark wanted the vampire there. His presence was still a problem and right now, she didn’t have time for problems.
“Was I right or was I wrong?” He pressed.
Lark sighed. Uncrossing her legs, she leaned forward. “You were not wrong in defending yourself. Cochran deserved what happened to him. And because of that, I’m not going to send you to Mercury.” No matter how bad I desire to do so. “However, you’re still here to be part of the harem, which means you must have the enhancements done.”
“Your Sovereign Ruler assured me enhancements wouldn’t be necessary.”
Frowning, Lark asked, “Why would she do that?”
“I am already capable of pleasuring a female without any added parts. I’m perfect as I am.” He gave her a lopsided grin.
Lola was right, he was sexy as hell. He was also dangerous. The affect that combination had on her body was mind blowing. Crossing her legs, she clinched her thighs together and leaned back in her seat. She could practically feel her eyes glowing red.
“Your eyes,” Raynor whispered.
The expression on his face was one she didn’t recognize. It wasn’t disgust, that she was certain of. Disgust was normally the look directed at her when her eyes glowed red, another reason why she tried to keep her anger in check, especially now that she was the leader of their military.