Honoria Ravena Read online

  I sighed. Hopefully, daylight meant Zarek was asleep, but I wasn’t going to bet my money on it. Vampires didn’t have to sleep during the day. They might be a little lethargic, but they could still grind you into a sticky paste.

  The only problem with it being the middle of the day was that if the bar’s double doors were locked, I was screwed. I didn’t think they would be. Technically it was closed, but I’d heard that supernatural beings were welcome at all hours.

  I said a quick prayer and tried the door. It swung open with no problem. I let out the breath I’d been holding and stepped through. The only occupants were a group of five teenage wereanimals accompanied by their counselor.

  Most weres didn’t need their counselors after they’d learned to control themselves, but whoever made up Wereanimal Law had decided that teenagers and children would always be accompanied until they were twenty. I understood the thought behind it. Due to hormones, teenage weres were volatile at best.

  The counselor sat in a booth while the others hung out. The two boys played foosball in one corner while two of the girls studied. The one closest to me glanced up to watch the last girl, who danced seductively to a Collide song.

  “Sheila, pay attention!” The girl at the table with her snapped her fingers and tapped Sheila’s book.

  The dancer sauntered over and kissed Sheila. The kiss was full of sucking sounds and probing tongues.

  The dancer drew back and smiled. “Don’t let Anne boss you around.”

  Anne glared at her, and a growl trickled from between her lips.

  There was a bang as one of the boys scored a goal. The victor hooted while the other cursed under his breath.

  The winner stuck out his hand. “I own you, bitch! Pay up.”

  The other boy gave him the money, and he counted it. I kept a subtle eye on them as I made my way to the door that led to Zarek’s office. I doubted they would attack me, but it was best to be cautious.

  I slipped into the hallway, waiting for the panel to close behind me. “First door on the right.” I reached my destination, drew out my knife, and cautiously opened the door. There was a narrow stone staircase leading down, surprisingly with good lighting. I crept down, trying to make as little noise as possible. It wasn’t easy; vampires and wereanimals had incredible hearing. They could probably hear my heartbeat, so it might be useless to be quiet.

  “Regan? You can go ahead and hurry, no one is down here,” my brother called quietly.

  I took the stairs two at a time after that. Jason was in the cell, just like I’d dreamed.

  “Thank the gods you came back.”

  I gaped at him. “I thought you would be pissed.”

  “I’m definitely not pissed. We need to talk. I have to tell you something.”

  I glanced around, trying to spot the keys. “Spill and tell me where the keys are while you’re at it.”

  “Zarek and Laedan both have a copy of the key. They keep it on their person at all times. You won’t be able to get it. But stand still for a minute. You need to listen to me.”

  I searched for something to smash into his cell with. There were plenty of weapons on the wall that would do the job. “No, I need to get you out of here. We have plenty of time to talk after we ditch Zarek and his buddies.”

  “You don’t understand. We can’t leave this place.”

  I pulled an axe off the wall and turned back to him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

  “Zarek didn’t kill me, Regan.”

  I rolled my eyes. “That’s painfully obvious to me.”

  Jason squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “No, what I mean is, Zarek didn’t plan to change me. Someone is after us, and they tried to kill me. Zarek had to turn me, or I would have died.”

  “And who told you this bullshit?”

  “Zarek and Laedan.”

  I stared at him. When had my big brother gotten so gullible? “And you believe them?”

  “Yes. Their story is plausible. Apparently, we killed one of this vampire’s favored fledglings, and now he wants us dead.”

  “Well, that’s not a surprise to me, Jason. We’ve faced assassins like this before.”

  “Zarek says this is different. These vampires are elite. They’re the best fighters, and they aren’t technophobes like most old vampires are. They use all the latest weaponry, and they’re like bloodhounds. Once they’re on you, you can’t get rid of them. He used to be part of their force.”

  I raked a hand through my hair. “He’s filling your head with lies. Now stand back while I hack into your cell. Ugh, this is going to make a lot of noise.”

  As I prepared to take the first swing, all the lights went out. “Holy shit… Jason, can you see anything?” I whispered.

  “Yeah, I can see fine.”

  “Is anyone coming?”

  “Behind you!”

  I turned and swung the axe, but all it met was air before it was ripped from my hands. I stood, ready to fight, but if I couldn’t see, the fight was going to be very short.

  “Laedan, please don’t hurt her!” Jason shouted.

  Something struck my head. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

  ***

  There were eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. I didn’t want to look. If there was any light at all, it was going to make my already-terrible headache splitting.

  My hands were tied in front of me. Damn it. And my feet tied to a footboard. I pulled on my bonds, but there was no escape. I’d have to untie them if I could find a way. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my only problem. A body wrapped around me, then I heard Zarek chuckle.

  I peeled my eyes open slowly. He lay next to me, propped up on his elbow so he could stare at me. His other arm circled my waist, pressing me against him, his leg draped over mine. His erection pushed against my hip.

  Glancing down, I realized I was in a very skimpy, cerulean blue nightie. Blood rushed to my face. Thankfully, Zarek had on boxer shorts or I would have blushed more. I glared at him. “You know, it’s very creepy when you just stare at me like that. Say something.”

  He grinned and then bit his bottom lip to try and hold in his mirth. “I really didn’t think you would be coming back here. Are you that stupid?”

  I shrugged, trying for nonchalance. Hard to do when you’re tied to a bed mostly naked, with a half-naked vampire wrapped around you like a vine. “Well, you were asleep, and my brother showed me exactly where he was in the dream. I figured I could get in and get out.”

  He shrugged. “You might have made it if the little wereanimals in the bar hadn’t talked to Laedan when he stumbled down for a midday snack. They just mentioned you offhand.”

  I groaned. “Damn.”

  “Hmm.” He smiled before he leaned in. I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead he put his face to my throat and inhaled. My heart rate tripled and I tensed. I would have preferred a kiss to what I knew was coming.

  I jerked and he scowled at me. I should have noticed before that he hadn’t fed. If possible, he was more pale than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes.

  He skimmed his hand down my body and ran his lips over my throat.

  “You smell really good,” he mumbled, before licking my throat. I jumped again and tried to slide away, even though logically I knew there was no escape.

  He flipped up so he straddled my waist. “I’m starved and not up to fighting with you tonight. You’ve taken a lot of my energy lately.”

  He bent over me and I tried to push him back, but my tied hands just ended up splayed against his nice abs. He didn’t seem to notice that I was attempting to shove him away.

  Panic rose. Vampires leaning over you tended to be bad. You usually ended up dead. And being bitten hurt like a son of a bitch. I raised my feet. If I could kick him, I could get away, but they wouldn’t come loose. I couldn’t breathe. He was murmuring something in my ear. I couldn’t make sense of it. Images of another vampire holding me down when
I was a child flashed in my mind. His breath had smelled of old blood. My gut clenched. I was trapped. I screamed.

  Suddenly, Zarek jerked back, bringing me up with him. He was talking to me, clearly worried now, but all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. He rubbed my arms and then wiped the tears off my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying.

  He wrapped his arms around me. I could finally hear what he was muttering.

  “You’re all right. I’m not going to hurt you.”

  I took a deep, shaky breath as he laid a kiss on my throat. I barely felt it when he bit me. It was just a little pinch, and all the panic went out of my head.

  Pleasure swirled through me low in my stomach, and I moaned. All of a sudden, I was so horny. I wanted him to fuck me. I wished my hands were free so I could caress more of his body. I arched my throat to give him more access. I never wanted him to stop.

  My tied hands slid down his abs and into his boxers. I stroked his shaft. I could barely circle my hand around it. I shuddered. He’d feel so good inside me, and he was skilled.

  It had been a long time since I’d had sex. Nate had been out of town, and when you’ve gotten someone killed because of your vampire hunting, you didn’t take up with normal men.

  He’s the enemy, the sane part of me whispered. Why wasn’t I fighting this? The need to have his skin against mine was overwhelming. It didn’t have to be sex either. I craved his touch. I couldn’t force my body away from his. What was he doing to me?

  Black spots danced in my vision, and I had a second to wonder what was wrong with me before he released my throat. Oh right, that.

  He pressed his forehead to mine and took a calming breath while his hands ran down my back. “Sorry, you taste so good, like the sweetest wine and so warm… The bloodlust hasn’t driven me to take a life in centuries, and then you came along with your golden blood, and all my common sense goes out the window.”

  “Hmm…” I murmured as I stroked a finger over the pre-cum gathering at the head of his cock. “I’d love to taste you.”

  I squeezed his shaft, and he gasped, throwing his head back. I smiled. It was nice to see him with his guard down for once. Not that I could blame him for keeping it up. I was trying to kill him most of the time.

  He chuckled, but it was strained. He pulled my hands gently out of his boxers. “I’ve got to stop you before I lose control.”

  Stopping was good. You don’t want to stop. No, stopping was good. I had to think. I shouldn’t want him. I could never have him. This was going to end in a bloody, violent death for one of us, and it would probably be me.

  I took a deep breath, controlling my mind enough to tell him to stop, when he cupped my face in his hands and pressed his lips against mine. The pressure of his mouth almost bruising. All my fragile thoughts scattered.

  He didn’t leave my mouth as he pushed me back on the bed. Pulling away, he quickly tied my hands to the headboard.

  I laughed. “Oh, kinky are we?”

  “Oh, I can get kinkier than this, honey.”

  He leaned down and kissed me again. It was full of probing tongues. He left my lips and skimmed down to my breasts. He slid the silk nightie above my breasts.

  He licked my nipple and then blew his warm breath across it before he took it into his mouth. I arched under him. His fangs sank into my breast, and I screamed his name. It should have hurt, but it was incredible. I almost came from the bite alone. He paid the same attentions to the other breast before he moved farther down.

  He pushed my thong down my legs. The rope slipped from my ankles as he stripped the underwear off and spread my thighs. I hadn’t seen him untie them.

  “How did you untie the ropes without touching them?”

  “Handy-dandy vampire psychic powers,” he said as he put one of my legs over his shoulder and tilted my pelvis so he had better access to me.

  He passed his tongue over my clit and sighed. “You taste good in so many ways.”

  His gaze met mine and he turned serious. “You know, you only want to do this because of my bite. It’s intense and I’m completely willing to take advantage of that, but I’d like to give you an out. Even though I could hammer nails with this hard-on. Sex will bind us closer.”

  He stroked his tongue over my clit again as he slipped two fingers into my pussy.

  I gasped. “For someone who wants to give me an out, you sure aren’t making it easy.”

  “I’m not known for fighting fair. I don’t want to give you an out. I’m trying to be a gentleman, and I don’t want to argue about this later when you’re angry about us being closer. I plan to keep you forever. I really don’t want you pissed at me for the rest of eternity.”

  Eternity? That sounded bad. “Whoa, wait. What do you mean?”

  He pumped his fingers in deep, and I didn’t get to finish my line of questioning. He smiled as he ran his thumb over my clit. “So?”

  He wasn’t going to give me a chance to think about this. “I don’t care, just fuck me.”

  The smile turned into a grin. “That’s going to bite you on the ass later.”

  I rolled my eyes and then cried out when he speared his tongue into my pussy. I panted. “More like you’re going to bite me on the ass later.”

  He chuckled. “Well, that could be arranged. Though I could think of better things to do with that ass than bite it.” His free hand slid between my ass cheeks to find my anus.

  I jolted away and glared at him.

  He laughed and returned his attention to my cunt. He had a wicked tongue. I dug my heel into his back and arched my hips to meet his mouth. That delicious pressure grew as he licked and sucked. His fingers pumped into me, and his hot breath brushed the inside of my thigh before he bit.

  I shouted his name as I exploded. I writhed and tangled my hands in the ropes securing me to the bed. I needed something to hold on to.

  He didn’t give me time to rest. He climbed my body and kissed me. I brushed his fangs and tasted blood. He groaned and deepened the kiss a second before drawing back.

  He grabbed his thick cock and aimed. Vaguely, I wondered where his boxers had gone. He pressed inside me slowly. I gasped as my muscles stretched around him. He was so big it was almost painful.

  “Screw going slow,” he growled before he plunged into me fast and hard.

  “Oh yes, Zarek!”

  I wrapped my legs around his muscular ass and matched his thrusts. I was on fire. There was nothing but him.

  My orgasm suddenly blinded me. I screamed as my thighs tightened around his hips. He kept pumping into me, driving me higher.

  He came with a roar. His cock spasmed as his cum spilled deep into my clenching sex. Breathing heavily, he collapsed on top of me. How could a woman resist this once she’d had a taste?

  Chapter Seven

  He pulled his limp cock from me with a groan and slid down to lie next to me.

  “Wow,” I said as I glanced at him.

  His chuckle was shaky. “Understatement.”

  He leaned in and pressed his mouth against mine. The kiss was slow and tender. So unlike the kisses we’d shared before. I could almost believe he cared for me. He withdrew and I licked my lips. A little zing of power went down my spine as trace amounts of his blood hit my tongue.

  I frowned. “Why are your lips all bloody?”

  He ran his thumb across his lip and looked at it. “I had to stop myself from biting you again. I fed deeply from you and then bit you three more times. It’s a lot of blood loss. Speaking of…”

  He climbed out of bed and walked to a mini-fridge next to bay windows. I looked around the room. I hadn’t really noticed anything when I’d woken up except the gorgeous, dangerous vampire leaning over me.

  The walls were dark and wood-paneled. A black, L-shaped desk sat in the corner to the left of the bed. The laptop on it glowed in the darkness. Deep-red blackout curtains covered the bay windows across from the bed. No light shone from behind them, so it was dark ou
tside. Three doors took up most of the right wall.

  Zarek returned with a package of Nutter Butters in one hand and a Gatorade in the other. He set them on the bed and leaned over me to free my hands.

  His hardening cock brushed my cheek. I turned my face and took the head into my mouth before I could stop myself. I swirled my tongue over the slit. He gasped and drew away from me.

  “Watch it, I’ll take you up on that offer, and you really can’t deal with that right now.” He sat me up and black spots danced across my vision.

  “Whoa.”

  “Yeah. Take a deep breath.” He piled the pillows behind me so I could lean against them.

  I grumbled. My hands were still tied together. I struggled to get my little nightgown to cover me again.

  He grinned and brushed my hair out of my eyes. “So sorry, but I don’t trust you yet.” He unwrapped the cookies and handed me one. “Now eat something before you get sick.”

  “You make me feel like I just donated blood. They’re big on cookies and sports drinks when you do that.”

  “Well, you did donate blood and this way, no poor innocent will have to give to me.”

  I glared at him and ate my cookie in silence while he opened the Gatorade.

  He handed it to me while he watched me.

  “Why are you staring?”

  He scrutinized me like he was trying to read my mind. I wondered if he could. “Well, you could explain why you had that panic attack earlier.”

  I blinked, trying to remember what had come before the fantastic sex. God, that was sad. Where was my head? “What?”

  “When I was on top of you, about to feed, you flipped out, but you were fine when I sat you up. What was that about?”

  I glanced away from him. “Nothing,” I muttered. I wasn’t about to explain my weaknesses to an enemy. He didn’t need to know about my childhood and how Alaric had come to raise my brother and me.