by K Loraine
“You were screaming. Thrashing and screaming in your sleep.”
“No. I just dozed off.”
Glancing around, I saw the disheveled bed, felt the racing of my heart, the clammy sheen of sweat across my skin. I’d ripped the bandage off my wrist again as well. Closing my eyes, I breathed deeply, and the dream flashed in my memory. Elias feeding from me. Making me beg for freedom. But more than that. Elias making Cashel watch.
Nausea rolled through me and I bolted from the bed, barely making it to the toilet before I was violently sick. Cashel stood in the doorway, arms crossed, features pinched as I rose and flushed the toilet. “Are you all right?”
“Your father. He’s in my head.”
“If he used hypnosis on you, we’ll have to do what we can to break that. He may have engrained himself into your mind.”
“Every time I close my eyes, I see him.”
I brushed my teeth, trembling from the after-effects of being sick. While I cleaned out my mouth, Cashel walked into the bathroom and turned on the faucet of the tub. The water steamed as it filled the large egg-shaped basin. When I could taste nothing but the minty toothpaste, I put away my toothbrush and stared at myself in the mirror.
“You need to get warm, little bird. Come, get in the bath.”
The scent of roses filled the air, and I sighed. Once again, I’d need to protect myself under the guise of what I used to think was a beautiful flower. “Don’t you need to heal me again?”
He nodded. “I do. I can help you get my father out of your head as well, if you’ll let me.”
Tears sprung to my eyes. I wouldn’t be able to continue living a constant nightmare. I needed Elias gone. “Please.”
Cashel took my hands in his large ones and tugged me over to the tub. Then he released me and looked deep in my eyes. “Relax. You’ll feel a pull from my mind. Don’t fight it.”
My breaths were short and sharp, the fight instinct kicking in at the feel of falling his deep gaze created. “Cashel, this is weird.”
His palms cradled my face and he held me still. “Let me in, little bird. Let me see what he put in your head.”
Absolute relaxation took hold. I was floating, lost in the power of his gaze.
“Ah, there he is. You don’t need to continue seeing him in your dreams. From now on, there won’t be anything uninvited allowed to breach your subconscious.” I don’t know what he did, but a soft pressure released in my head and I blinked in surprise.
“What just happened?” I asked.
He smirked. “I cleaned out the remnants of what he did. He’d left a bit of himself behind. It’s sort of his calling card for every one of his prey. Tormenting humans has been a favorite pastime for my father.”
Cashel’s hands were still on my face, his mouth very near mine. “Thank you,” I whispered. “For keeping me safe.”
Backing away, he dragged his hands down my throat and over my shoulders. Then one hand reached for my injured wrist while the other went to his mouth. He placed another drop of blood onto my wound and together we watched it heal until all that was left was a raised scar, shiny and pink. “All better,” he murmured. His hand didn’t leave my wrist, thumb brushing back and forth over the scar. “I hate that he marked you.”
“Why? Because you want to do that?”
His dark gaze locked on mine. “Yes.”
“Then why didn’t you? You could have made me yours when all this started.”
Tension crackled between us. “I should’ve. We’d have a blood bond by now and you’d be all mine.”
“I can be yours right now.” I stepped closer, pressing my body against his. He didn’t step back, instead, his hand snaked around my waist until he held me close. “I want you to make me forget him,” I whispered, tilting my head and letting my lips graze his neck.
He sucked in a harsh breath. “Olivia.”
“Say yes. Make me yours.”
My hand slid down his torso, fingers toying with his belt buckle. I wanted him and he felt the same. I could see it in his eyes. Then I stepped away and slipped the thin straps of my nightgown down my arms, dropping the silk to the floor and standing bare in front of him.
“Stop this,” he said. “You don’t want this.”
“I do. You make me want things I shouldn’t.”
His hands balled into fists, the bulge in his pants making it clear exactly how he appreciated my nudity. “Get in the bath, Olivia.”
“Get in with me, Cash.”
The tick in his jaw had hope fluttering in my chest. If I could get him to give in to his desire, maybe I could convince him that bonding with me was worth the risk. I could have him, I could be free, and maybe, he could be free too.
His eyebrows pulled together, the crease between them deep and evident. “Stop tempting me. The last thing you need right now is for me to fuck you.”
Tingles built low in my belly. His tone wasn’t angry. It was filled with desire, thick and heavy. If I pressed a little harder, maybe we could both get what we wanted. “It’s exactly what I need. Replace something terrible with something beautiful.”
That was the moment I lost him. He closed off completely. Posture stiff and straight, shoulders tense, he backed away from me. “There’s nothing beautiful about being with me, and if you think there is, you’re delusional. We are monsters. We will kill you.” He dragged a hand through his hair. “Take your damned bath and cloak your scent so I don’t have to stand guard. I’m tired of playing your nurse.”
Turning away from me, he strode for the door without looking back, but I saw the tightly clenched fists, the near shaking in his arms. Once again, I’d lost.
15
Olivia
It might have been possible that I turned Cash off of me for good. I’ve spent the last five nights being ignored while he stood by guarding me. He was like a phantom, I knew he was there, but I couldn’t interact with him in any way. Maybe it was for the best, because I wanted him far more than I should have. Still, if I was going to get myself out of this predicament, I needed him to blood bond with me. That was my only option. Ruin my blood, get off the radar of every vampire on this earth, then I could escape.
“I can see you,” I muttered, my gaze finding him in the corner of the library. It had quickly become my favorite haunt since my night of wine and conversation with his siblings, and I passed countless hours there reading, losing myself in the vast collection of books.
He didn’t answer me, just continued skulking in the shadows. I heaved a sigh and cocked my hip. “You know, this would be a lot more fun if you’d come over here and talk to me. I get that you’re responsible for me and all, but I’m not interested in having a silent bodyguard. Especially one that wants to eat my face off.”
That got a slight smirk from him, but no words. “We could play a game,” I offered, hope lifting my spirits.
“We don’t have games in this house. At least, not the kind a human would want to play.”
Excitement hummed in my blood. He’d responded. After nearly a week of icing me out, he’d spoken. “Try me.”
Long legs stretched as he stood to his full height before he began striding toward me. “I don’t want to eat your face off.”
That took me by surprise. “Okay, maybe that was a poor choice of words. You definitely want to eat me, though.”
His lips twitched and fire burned in his eyes. “Yes.”
Something like lust twisted low in my belly. It was mixed with a healthy dose of fear though, and I couldn’t process how I felt about that. “Look, I’m sorry about the whole…bathtub thing.”
I couldn’t read his expression, but his eyes flicked away from mine for barely a second before he said, “I wasn’t aware of a bathtub thing.”
“You know, what I did…” I trailed off, not wanting to continue this conversation as soon as it hit me that he was giving me an out.
He brushed past me, the sensation of his sleeve against my bare upper arm making me shiver
in a delicious way. Running his fingers over the spines of the books, he murmured to himself before climbing the ladder to a higher shelf.
“How many of these books have you read?” I watched him peruse the options, taking his time, examining each shelf.
“All of them.”
My eyes widened and I let my focus drift from his magnetic presence to the hundreds, maybe thousands of books that lined the walls. “All?”
“I’ve had lifetimes to read. We don’t always take on guests as problematic as you.”
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“You said you wanted to play a game. I’m coming up with a game for us.”
Tugging a book free from the shelf, he grinned and tossed it to me. I turned it over and ran my fingers across the embossed title. Les Liaisons Dangereuses.
“Dangerous Liaisons?” I asked.
He leaped down from the top of the ladder and landed like a cat, nearly silently and with inhuman grace. But I suppose that made sense. He wasn’t human.
“Have you read it?”
I shook my head.
“It’s a story of evil, immoral people.” He walked slowly around me, stopping when he was behind me. “Who only want to corrupt a young, innocent for their own pleasure.”
“I’ve seen Cruel Intentions, I get the gist.”
“Then you understand, beauty is dangerous. It can be used to seduce and destroy everything.”
“Are you saying that’s what I’m doing?”
His fingers trailed over my shoulder, brushing my hair back until my throat was exposed. “I’m saying your beauty is dangerous.”
“To whom?”
He grabbed the book from my hands and tossed it onto the couch behind us. “Choose a book. Something you’ve never read and read a passage aloud to me. See if I can guess the title. Then, I’ll do the same for you.”
Shaking my head, I heaved a sigh. This game was weird, but at least I had someone to talk to. I mimicked his earlier behavior, running my fingers over the spines of the books until I found a thin, black tome.
“This one,” I said, locking eyes with him.
He nodded and the intensity in those irises had my breath tight in my chest. “Close your eyes and open the book. Then read the first passage you see. No hesitation.”
I did as he told me and thumbed through the pages, eyes closed. I ran my finger along the paper and stopped, opening my eyes and focusing on the words. My mouth ran dry as I began to read a scene which described a woman named Beauty being woken by her prince, but not simply with a kiss. He fucked her, deep, taking her virginity even as she came back from the depths of her sleeping curse.
My voice became a breathy, needful thing as the erotic words filled the space between us, and when I finished the last sentence, I couldn’t look at Cash. He’d see the lust in my expression. He’d know I pictured him and me on a bed, his body hovering over mine, waking me like that. But I wouldn’t have any issue with consent. I’d welcome him.
He cleared his throat. “The Claiming of Sleeping Beauty,” he said. “A. N. Roquelaure…though I think you know her best as Anne Rice.”
I took a shuddering breath. “The mother of vampires.”
A low chuckle left him. “Oh, if she only knew the truth about us.”
“I didn’t know she wrote…erotic novels.”
“There’s an entire series. Sorcha is quite the collector. She has every edition of Ms. Rice’s works.”
“And you’ve read these?”
“Were you not listening?” He stepped closer and took the book from my hands. “I’ve read them all.”
I swallowed and forced myself not to look away. “Your turn.”
“I think I’ve heard enough.” The tightness in his jaw spoke of desire and desperation. “You seem to have a knack for teasing me with what I can’t have.”
“That’s what you want from me? To rape me like the prince did to her?”
“No, little bird. When I have you, it will be after you’ve begged me for it.”
My thighs clenched. “You’ll be waiting a long time.”
“It’s a good thing I age slowly then.”
God, the man hadn’t even so much as kissed me and I was already on edge. “I think this game was a bad idea.”
“Why? Don’t you like how I make you feel?” He stepped closer. “Your heart is racing, the call of your body to mine is like a homing beacon. You want me. I can sense your lust.”
“Your beauty is dangerous,” I told him, echoing his earlier words. “Are you trying to seduce or destroy me? Or is it both?”
“Maybe I’m tired of fighting this thing between us.”
My breasts ached for his touch. “What good is fighting? Are you happy alone? I’m not.” I closed the distance between us, my palm resting on his broad chest. For the briefest moment, I let myself search for a heartbeat, fighting a gasp when I found one, slow and steady. “We don’t have to be alone.”
He let out a shuddering breath and clutched my waist, tugging me flush to his body. I could feel the steel length of his erection pressing into my belly. He wanted this. He wanted me. “Olivia,” he whispered. “This is dangerous.”
“Good. No risk, no reward.”
Then, in the quiet of the library, my vampire gripped me by the waist and lifted me until my legs wrapped around his hips. I wanted him to kiss me more than I wanted air to breathe in that moment, but he didn’t. He stared at me with tortured want in his eyes. “Are you trying to ruin me?”
I wanted to say yes. To tell him I needed him to betray his family to free me. Instead, I grabbed his face and crushed my lips to his in a frantic kiss. His shoulders stiffened and for a moment, I thought he’d deny me, but then he walked forward until I felt the press of the bookshelf against my back. His kiss became powerful and hungry. Tongue begging entrance to my mouth, he moaned when I let him inside. He tasted like wine with a hint of oranges and cloves. I ground myself against his hardness, pulling a moan from him and swallowing the sound in my own mouth. This was what we’d been dancing around from the moment he found me. Even in the elevator, there had been a connection between us.
“Cash,” I murmured against his lips. “God, Cash.”
“I have to taste you, Olivia. Please, say I can taste you.”
Did he mean my blood? My body? I didn’t care. I just wanted him. Wanted this ache to stop. “Yes,” I whispered.
With one hand, he kept me in place as he dropped to his knees before me, settling my thighs on his shoulders. It seemed like no effort at all for him to hold me up, something I was sure a human man couldn’t have done. I didn’t have long to ponder my situation though, because his large palms slid under my dress, shoving the fabric up, up, up, until my lacy lingerie was exposed. His lips trailed along my inner thigh, and I wondered where he’d bite me. Where would he sink his fangs in and taste me?
Strong hands gripped my ass, holding me in place as his mouth wandered over my panty-clad pussy and up to the soft skin of my lower belly. He inhaled deeply, a groan of pleasure leaving him before his teeth gently nipped my hip. I could smell my own desire and was sure he’d find me soaked for him.
“These are pesky and unnecessary,” he grumbled before gripping my panties between his teeth. The soft sound of tearing lace floated to my ears a moment before those lips of his found their mark. Bolts of electric pleasure ran through me at the sensation of his tongue sliding over my needy clit. My hands went to his thick hair, gripping the strands for all I was worth as he sucked and swirled, his groans vibrating against sensitive flesh and making my toes curl.
“Cashel,” I moaned when he slipped a finger inside me as his tongue continued rolling that tender bud.
“Hush, little bird,” he said, the motion of his lips against my sex making me bite back a sob at the wash of pleasure desperate to crest. “The whole house will hear you.”
Then he added a second finger and pumped them in and out while sucking me. My skin burned everywhere but w
here he touched me. That contrast of his cool touch and my overheated body was a deadly combination. I didn’t just fall off the cliff. I flew. My whole body lit from the inside as an orgasm took control of every synapse in my brain.
By the time I came floating back to earth, I was in his arms, boneless and sated. “You tasted better than I imagined,” he whispered. “I won’t be able to ever have enough of you, little bird.”
“If that’s how you taste me, you can take me to dinner any time you want.”
“I’d call that an appetizer.” He set me on my feet but kept his arms around me after my wobbly legs couldn’t hold me upright.
I needed to get my bearings, recover for a moment after a vampire just rocked my world. “Did you…take my blood too?”
“No. I can’t do that. Aside from being strictly forbidden, your blood is too precious to waste on me. There’s so much we can do with it.”
“Like what? You can walk in the sun, isn’t that all? Are you planning to sell my blood and make a fortune?”
He didn’t say anything, and I knew, right then and there, I knew that was their plan. “Oh. So that’s a yes.” I backed away from him, anger burning in my chest. “Is that what all this was?” I gestured to the bookcase. “Eat her pussy and make her come so she’ll be happy and stay?”
The flinch that rolled over him was almost palpable. “No. It’s exactly why I shouldn’t have done that. It’s not just that we can sell your blood. It’s…you might be able to cure us.”
“Cure you?” I frowned. “Of what? Being a vampire?”
A slight smirk lifted one corner of his perfect mouth and he closed the distance between us. “No. There’s no cure for what I am. You can cure us of the disease that’s killing all of us.” In a rare tender gesture, he cupped my cheek and ran his thumb over my lower lip. “I didn’t want to desire you, but it’s happened and there’s nothing to be done about it. But you can save my brother, Olivia. Before he meets the same fate as my mother.”