Well This Sucks

by CoraLee June

  Fucking prick. One of these days, I was going to ruin Graham. Star was nothing more than a plastic bitch who spent her free time compelling shops to give her free designer clothes. The only contributions she made were with her body in Graham’s office, and he knew it. Not that I had any right to shame him. I still couldn’t quite figure out why I allowed Drew to join our coven. I attempted not to fidget in my seat, but I was struggling to keep my decorum under the circumstances. I really didn’t want to find out what the consequences would be for me if Drew couldn’t prove herself to be an asset to our community. I might have been king, but my enemies were waiting for an opportunity to ruin me.

  There had always been discord between the council and the royal family. As king, my bloodline allowed me different abilities than others. I could glamour other vampires. I was stronger. Faster. The council was a group of power-hungry vampires who didn’t enjoy having someone stronger than them in their midst. They wanted that power for themselves.

  The dinner didn’t officially begin for another ten minutes, but it was proper etiquette to arrive early and be seated before the blood round was served. The blood round was almost an event in and of itself. The hopeful humans would serve us in grand, carefully orchestrated movements that reminded me more of a group dance than being served my dinner. I checked my watch for the hundredth time when Claire reached out her hand to squeeze mine.

  “She’ll be here,” Claire leaned in close and whispered.

  Claire hadn’t even pulled back when I caught a flash of red material out of the corner of my eye. Relief flooded my body, and I could feel the tension I had been holding in my shoulders lift. I turned to face her, hungry for the image of Drew’s perfect curves in the dress I chose. Normally, I would have sent a personal shopper out to find something suitable for Drew to wear. It was customary for the sponsored vampire bringing in a human to make sure their sired vampire knew the proper dress code and customs of our coven dinners. But I ended up shopping for the dress myself. I couldn’t help but imagine how the material would fit like a glove over her toned body.

  I stared, expecting to see her hazel eyes greeting mine. But instead, my gaze was met with Betty’s. She mouthed thank you and smirked as she shimmied her breasts in my direction. Bitch. What the fuck?

  Standing next to Betty was Drew, wearing a tight-fitting black dress that made my cock stir. The fabric clung to her round breasts and plunged deep between them. She caught my eye and wiggled her fingers in a wave.

  “There she is,” I growled as Drew found an empty seat and planted herself there.

  “I guess the rumors are true,” Graham said with a grin. “I suppose she is pretty. I can see why you let her feed from you.”

  I ignored his condescending statement and got up from my seat. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  I caught Claire smiling over the rim of her glass as I walked away. Drew was inspecting her bright pink nails when I walked up. “Nice dress,” I said to Betty.

  “Fits me like a glove,” she cooed while running her hands up and down her body.

  Drew bit her lip before dragging her gaze up to me. “Hello, Diego. What about my dress? You like it?” Her challenging question made me want to lay her out on this table and feast on her for dinner.

  “It wasn’t what I was expecting you to wear, but it suits you,” I replied. “Are you adverse to my gifts?”

  I vaguely paid attention to the gaping lower level vampires surrounding us. I wouldn’t fault Drew for not knowing that she should be sitting with the other members of court—with me.

  “I once had a guy demand a blow job at the end of a date because he bought me a burger. Nothing is ever given freely, Diego. And I don’t want to owe you something worthy of a designer dress.”

  I gritted my teeth. She was really trying my patience, and as much as I wanted to make her grovel at my feet for her insolence, I extended my hand to her instead.

  “I solemnly swear that my gift was given with no ill will. I simply wanted to enjoy the pleasure of seeing you in that dress. Please join me at my table. I have a seat reserved for you.”

  “Nah. I’m good.”

  I saw red. It took everything I had to not punish her on the spot. I couldn’t lose my composure, not here and not now. I didn’t want to make a scene in front of the entire coven, including Graham and Claire. What was worse, I knew they could all hear her. Vampire hearing was such a bitch.

  “I really must insist,” I growled through my clenched teeth.

  “Okay, okay. Don’t have a heart attack. Can vampires even have heart attacks?”

  I heard a couple of the other fledglings snicker. They quickly sobered up with one pointed look from me. I placed my hand on Drew’s lower back and guided her to the table at the front of the room.

  “Don’t embarrass me and don’t make a fool out of yourself,” I hissed into her ear as we walked. “Sit, eat, and keep your fucking mouth shut. Got it?”

  “Yep. Sit and look pretty. Got it,” she said, flashing me a big fake smile.

  “You and I are going to have a talk later.”

  I led Drew to the seat next to mine and settled her in before taking my own. I was going to be on edge until this dinner was over. I hadn’t been this stressed out in over a century and briefly wondered if vampires could have a heart attack. Fortunately, the lights were cut moments later as the blood course began.

  Humans danced out between the tables, wearing nothing but their underwear. The music thumping through the speakers was haunting and sexual. Steady. They danced with their hips swaying, their limber bodies contorting in various positions as they lyrically made their way to their assigned tables.

  “What in the cult fuck is this?” Drew whispered when the humans started crawling onto the tables.

  “Keep quiet,” I hissed. If she had read the goddamn pamphlet, she would have known to expect this.

  “Oh. Hello there. I’m Drew, what’s your name—oh, you’re just going to dance on me. Okay. This isn’t weird at all.” I saw flashes of Drew’s face in the candlelight as a particularly eager human straddled her and started grinding her lap. “So, do you come here often? Wow. You’re just really going to grind all up on me. I’m not mad about it, because you’re surprisingly attractive, but personal space is kind of a thing for me…”

  I pinched the bridge of my nose and took a calming breath. “Drew. It’s part of the ceremony.”

  “I think I’ve ceremony-ed enough for the night. Can you, uh?”

  “Enough,” I said before calling the blond man in his boxers over to me. I could smell his sweat on his skin. I could hear his thudding pulse. “Lie on the table so my fledgling can feed. She doesn’t know how to control her venom yet. You might become a vampire tonight, Archer.”

  He started trembling on the table. “King,” his low voice said. “That would be such an honor. I’ve been waiting all my life for this privilege. Thank you—”

  “Shut up. I said she might turn you. She could kill you, too.” He gasped but kept silent. Most humans were willing to risk death for a chance at immortality. I turned to Drew, who looked terrified. Her plush lips were parted in shock, and she looked like she wanted to flee the dining room. Graham and Claire were already feasting on a woman that was a regular server here. “Feed,” I ordered her.

  “Yeah, that’s not happening,” her raspy voice replied. I could hear the lusty hunger in her tone. She was hungry. I recognized the look in her hooded eyes.

  “Feed, Drew. I know you want to.”

  “What if I kill him?” she snapped, and Graham stopped his feed to chuckle.

  “Looks like our new vampire is afraid of a little bloodshed. Perhaps she’s not cut out for our lifestyle after all?”

  Various council members laughed at his joke, but Drew simply pushed further away from the table, unaffected by their teasing. The server waited patiently, his eyes pleading with me to feed—to change him. Drew looked up at me, her big hazel eyes full of disgust. This was a battle that
I clearly wasn’t going to win.

  “Drew, you are dismissed for the evening. Return to your room immediately,” I commanded, trying to save face. “Human, as a reward for your willingness, you may go take your chances with the fledglings at table number four.”

  Drew stood frozen to her spot, eyes boring into my soul as if she were accusing me of something. Graham wasn’t even trying to hide his laughter anymore.

  “It’s okay, Drew. Go to your room. I know this night can be overwhelming,” Claire said softly, her voice holding a surprising amount of empathy. My colleague had crimson blood dripping from her mouth, giving her soft words a menacing effect.

  Drew didn’t respond to Claire, but after a moment’s hesitation, she turned and gracefully exited the room. I imagined her stomping down the hallway until she got back to her dorm and slamming the door shut. She was completely out of control, like a petulant teenager. I needed to get a handle on this now.

  “I’m sorry for the disruption to your dinner. I will go take care of this. Please enjoy the rest of your night,” I said to both Claire and Graham and left the banquet.

  Following the same steps down the hall and up to the fifteenth floor that Drew had taken minutes before, I paused outside her room. I took a deep breath to calm my temper and knocked firmly on her door. She opened it almost immediately and tried to slam it shut again when she realized it was me. I caught the door and forced it open, pushing my way in.

  “What the fuck do you want?” she greeted me.

  “How dare you embarrass me like that, in front of the court and the entire coven,” I snarled.

  “Embarrassed? You’re embarrassed? You wanted me to murder someone!” she fired back.

  “What did you think this was, Drew? Where do you think those bags of blood come from?” I gestured to the fridge.

  “Well, I was hoping it was donated from a nice blood bank where people were given orange juice and a cookie for their donation,” she spat. “How was that even sanitary, Diego? That man laid on our table in his underwear, and I was what, supposed to take a bite out of his thigh?”

  I understood where she was coming from, but that didn’t mean I liked it. To a human, what we did was abnormal. Disgusting. To us, it was a way of life. “I don’t think I’ll ever be able to feed on a human,” she said with a shudder. “It’s gross.”

  I walked into the room, ignoring the copious amounts of pink decor and the cheap sheet dividing the space in half. She stepped backward, nearly tripping over her kitten heels. “You had no problem feeding from me,” I stated while taking off my jacket and draping it over a chair.

  “That was different,” she stammered.

  “How?” I asked while closing the space between us. Her chest kept rising and falling. I loved the way her breasts filled out her dress. I’d wanted her to wear the expensive gown I had picked for her, but I loved this one even more.

  “I-I,” she said when I reached out to run my index finger along the strap of her dress. “I wasn’t myself. I was out of my mind with hunger.”

  I licked my lips. “I like you hungry,” I whispered before running my tongue along her throat. She whimpered and gasped. My fangs ached with need. I craved her.

  “Shit. Are you doing your vampire voodoo to make me horny?” she asked while resting her hands against my chest. I waited for her to push me away, but instead she grabbed the collar of my shirt and pulled me closer. She smelled divine. Delicious. Like decadent strawberries dipped in chocolate.

  My instincts were begging me to compel her. This would be so much easier that way. Forcing my coven to obey was something ingrained in me, but something she said earlier made me pause.

  Consent was important to her.

  I wasn’t going to fuck her unless she was begging for me. “Nope,” I murmured before grabbing her hips. “I bet if I ripped this tight little dress off of you and touched that perfect little pussy of yours, it would be drenched, hmm?”

  “Oh gosh,” she whimpered before running her lips along my neck. I knew she was hungry. With the right partner, feeding could be very sexual, and I wanted to fill her up. “You’re going to ruin me.”

  “That’s the plan, fledgling,” I replied. “Accept who you are. Feed, Drew. I know you’re hungry.”

  Drew

  I was hungry. But I also didn’t want to give Diego the satisfaction of being right, especially not after everything that went down at the coven dinner. I hated the power he had over me, making me feel like a small child being put in time out. I was a grown ass woman, damnit! My stomach betrayed me with a long low gurgle.

  I also hated not knowing if wanting him was my natural response to an attractive, powerful man or if it was my weird sire bond. It was all so confusing.

  “Fine. I’ll feed from you, but only because I’m starting to get ‘hangry.’ Not because you told me to. AND because I have fed from you before. AND because I won’t accidentally kill you,” I said, stepping toward him. I reached out for Diego’s arm, but he stopped me, catching my hand in his.

  “No. Not there,” he grunted, pulling me closer.

  With one arm around my waist, he gathered me into him. Instinctively, I pressed my body to his, wanting to be as close as possible. His musky scent and the feel of his well sculpted muscles made my skin tingle with desire.

  Diego reached up and brushed my hair back, running his fingers through my dark chocolate strands. When his palm met the nape of my neck, he stopped and gently guided me toward him. He tilted his head to the side and brought my lips to meet his neck. The aroma of his blood and earthy cologne was dizzying. “What are you doing?” I asked against his skin.

  He chuckled, his deep voice sending tremors throughout my body. My reaction to him was infuriating and desperate. I craved him like I craved pancakes at brunch. Extra syrup. I licked my lips, and my tongue brushed against his sweet skin, making him groan in appreciation. “I’m helping you feed, Drew,” he rasped.

  “This feels intimate,” I pressed while breathing him in.

  “That’s the point. Stop stalling and feed.”

  His demand created a visceral need within me. I wanted to please him. I wanted to feed. My throbbing fangs seemed to elongate, and I slowly sunk them into his neck, right over his pulse.

  The first time I fed, it was needy and frenzied survival. It felt like the time I stole a five-hundred-dollar bottle of merlot from the wine cellar of one of my foster parents when I was a teenager. I drank it on their roof in my pajamas. It was a beautiful contradiction of expensive tastes and a simple environment. He tasted rich and full of flavor. The sweet floral notes of his blood burst on my tongue, and I felt his power flowing straight from his veins into my mouth. I moaned in appreciation as his hands roamed my body. He gripped my ass, and I took a big gulp.

  “My turn, Drew,” he whispered. I pulled away and licked my lips, feeling a bit high and on sensory overload.

  “What?” I asked. I sounded dazed.

  “I want you to feel what it’s like to be fed from. I think it’ll help you accept your base instincts,” he said before grabbing my neck and pressing on my throbbing veins. I stared at the puncture hole in his neck with hunger.

  “I’m a fan of reciprocation,” I replied teasingly, though the idea of being fed on terrified me.

  I barely felt his fangs penetrate my skin, but the sensation that came after was undeniable. A pleasant warmth spread through the veins Diego drank from, starting at my neck and traveling down throughout my entire body and back up again. I could feel my heartbeat quicken, aching to pump Diego through me as quickly as it could.

  A moan escaped from my lips as I reached for Diego, pushing him deeper into my neck. Squeezing my eyes shut, I focused on the rush. I never wanted this feeling to end. Every desire within me was awakened, fueled by Diego’s touch. I felt safe and exhilarated at the same time; I could do anything. I was invincible.

  I felt lighter than air, like the only thing tethering me to the earth was Diego. I needed him to c
ontinue drinking, otherwise I might float away. I looked up at the ceiling to see where I would end up if he stopped. Seeing the yellowing tiles with their dimples and pock marks made me giggle. I didn’t belong up there. My giggles turned into hysterical laughter.

  Then there was nothing but hollow emptiness. My laughter died along with the feeling of euphoria and safety. Diego had withdrawn himself, leaving me cold and alone. “More,” I cried desperately. “I need more!”

  “I took too much, Drew. I’m so sorry. I wanted to give you a taste but couldn’t make myself let go.” He looked at me with genuine concern. “This will only last a moment.”

  I felt cold. It was like coming down from a bad high. My head pounded. “Fuck, what did you do to me?”

  Diego picked me up and cradled me to his chest. Blood dripped from my neck and stained his white shirt. “Where are you taking me?” I asked when he kicked open the door and carried me out into the hallway.

  “My apartment. I want to make sure I didn’t take too much blood, and something tells me Bitchy Betty won’t like playing nurse,” he murmured before making his way to the elevator.

  “I thought I was the only one that called her that,” I replied, peering over his shoulder. Rocky and the rest of Diego’s security detail followed us. Were they listening to us? How embarrassing. Rocky looked hungry and annoyed. Or maybe constipated. His scowl made me press closer to Diego.

  “Don’t tell Betty I said so. That woman scares me. I partly think the council made an exception for her because she’s so terrifying.”

  “Preach,” I slurred. We got in the elevator, and Diego hit the button for the penthouse. Of course the king would live at the peak of his modern kingdom.

  Just before the doors shut, Diego spoke to his team. “Please arrange for brunch with the council tomorrow for Drew’s formal introduction into society and apologize for our absence.” The doors shut, and we were alone.

  “And don’t forget to tell Bitchy Betty not to wait up, I won’t be coming home tonight,” I proclaimed to no one. “Brunch sounds good, I’ll have blueberry pancakes.”