by Raine Miller
The memory of making love with him the night before made her blush, and Sasa quickly sat down next to her mother and hugged her, hiding her face in the crook of her neck. In her mother’s arms, she felt safe. Closing her eyes, she let her mind drift back to Vasilije.
“Mama, what kind of name is Sasa?”
Sandra Lambert gently squeezed her daughter’s shoulders. “It was a name from your papa’s side.”
“I know, but what kind of name is it?”
“It’s Cherokee. Your papa’s granddaddy was a Cherokee. It’s where you got your beautiful hair from.”
“What’s it mean?”
Her mother lifted Sasa’s chin and smiled down at her. “I don’t know. All I know is that from that first moment I saw you in my arms, I knew no other name would fit. You were my Sasa.”
“I’ll always be your Sasa, Mama. Always.”
As she repeated always, the truth of what she’d done fully dawned on her. Always had an entirely different meaning now.
***
Vasilije looked around the crowded bar, his gaze sharp with need. As much as he knew he should be hunting for Teagan’s killer, for the second night in a row, desire won out over vengeance. Breathing deeply, the thick smoky air filled his lungs and nearly sickened him. He couldn’t remember when he’d last fed, and hunger pinched at him as he mentally rejected one person after another in front of him.
Even he had no idea why he insisted on being so fucking picky. What did it matter what his target looked like? One was the same as the next, and they all had what he wanted. Since he couldn’t feed from one of his vampires, whichever one of the humans around him would do.
But that’s not who he was.
He found a seat in a corner, away from the crowd pushing their way toward the bar, and surveyed his choices. In frustration, he wondered why every bar on every continent seemed to come equipped with the same cast of characters. Innocent, doe-eyed blond in a barely there dress. Exotic looking brunette who looked like she was dying to get fucked. Twenty-something males who all looked like stupid frat boys. The first two bored him, and the third disgusted him and reminded him of Alex.
Whatever he thought of his choices, he had to feed soon. He couldn’t go much longer if he wanted to have the strength to find the fuck who’d staked Teagan. Another sweep of the crowd brought him to someone who’d do. Covered in alcohol from the woman who’d just stormed away from him, he’d be easy to persuade that leaving was a good idea.
In the blink of an eye, Vasilije was next to him. “I’m sure she’ll be back.”
The man gave a fake smile as he wiped gin and tonic from his face. “Doesn’t matter. We were over anyway.”
Even better.
“Sure. And in this crowd, how hard can it be to replace her?”
The man turned to look at Vasilije for the first time and smiled. “Yeah, you got that right. I can find another piece of ass here if I wanted to, but fuck ‘em, right?”
Focusing his eyes on the man’s, Vasilije began to speak slowly and methodically to the person who would provide him what he needed. “What’s your name?”
The man responded to the low tone of Vasilije’s voice already beginning to hypnotize him. “Jeremy. Jeremy Canter.”
Never averting his gaze, Vasilije answered, “Well, Jeremy Canter, how would you like to leave here and find a good time somewhere else?”
“Okay.”
“Listen carefully to me, Jeremy. You’re going to follow me.”
Nodding, Jeremy replied, his voice flat and monotone, “Yes, I’ll follow you.”
Vasilije leaned in and whispered a short chant to ensure Jeremy’s willing compliance before turning toward the door. His new friend dutifully followed behind, deeply hypnotized and under the vampire’s complete control.
As they left the bar, Vasilije scanned the neighborhood nearby for somewhere secluded. A park would have been nice, but all he saw were more bars and restaurants. Turning to Jeremy, he asked, “Do you live near here?”
The man shook his head. “Ruston.”
Unsure if that was a street name or a city, Vasilije began making his way through the crowds of the Quarter. A dark alley would have to do. Spying one, he led Jeremy through the bustling drunken mob. A left off Royal and he’d found the perfect spot to feed.
As his eyes adjusted to the sudden darkness, he saw they were alone, except for a few well-fed rats that scurried away as they moved toward them. Vasilije maneuvered around a pile of boxes thrown out for garbage and finding an empty spot along the brick walls lining the alley, took hold of Jeremy.
“Just relax,” he whispered next to his ear in the same hypnotic tone as before. “And stay still.”
Vasilije’s mouth touched the soft skin of Jeremy’s neck just over his slowly throbbing pulse. Fangs punched into his mouth as Vasilije prepared for the first blood he’d had in days. Jeremy instinctively flinched, and Vasilije steadied his head with a hand on his jaw. “Still,” he ordered sharply and then a second later he sunk his teeth into the man’s vein.
The thick liquid he hungered for slowly slid past his lips and over his tongue, its taste the usual tanginess. As Jeremy’s blood began to flow down his throat, Vasilije closed his eyes and pretended the man was one of his own, a fantasy he sometimes found necessary to enjoy the blood of a human.
Jeremy made soft, pleading noises at first but then fell silent, his hypnotic state overpowering his body’s natural reaction to attack. Vasilije was thankful he gave in easily as he had no desire to fight for this tonight.
As the blood continued to drain down his throat, Vasilije’s mind traveled back to thoughts of Sasa. He hadn’t seen or heard from her since they’d drifted off to sleep in one another’s arms the day before, but she’d crossed his mind a few times since then. Some small part of him felt like prick that he’d slept with her. She was Teagan’s girlfriend, for fuck’s sake.
Teagan.
Just the thought of him still stabbed at Vasilije’s gut. Teagan gone from the Earth wasn’t something he wanted to accept. Rage exploded in his mind at the thought of the stake plunging into Teagan’s heart and the look of surprise that surely crossed his face just before his body turned to dust.
Vasilije’s mouth pulled roughly at Jeremy’s neck as the feeling of loss overwhelmed more pleasurable emotions. Without knowing, he took him past the point of no return. Lifting his head, he looked into Jeremy’s eyes all glazed over and knew he had a decision to make. Either he drained him and left him to die, or he turned him and made him one of his own.
Wiping the blood from the corners of his mouth, he looked at Jeremy’s face for a moment, studying him. The similarity to Teagan struck him as his gaze glided over his light brown hair, brown eyes, and slightly crooked nose.
Instinct took over and his fangs sunk into his own wrist to begin the process of making Jeremy a vampire. Close to death, Jeremy’s pale face turned toward him, his empty eyes staring up at him. For a second, Vasilije felt a pang of guilt. Alex he’d wanted, but Jeremy was a mistake a four hundred year old vampire knew better than to make.
Pressing his wrist to Jeremy’s mouth, Vasilije forced him to drink and as he began to greedily take what he needed, Vasilije closed his eyes, letting the feeling of siring another vampire take him over.
CHAPTER 7
Vasilije awoke from a long day’s rest almost as tired as when he’d finally gotten to bed just before dawn. Jeremy had needed the attention required of a sire and struggled in his first hours as a vampire. After resisting for almost two hours and refusing to accept his new life, he finally succumbed to the power of an ancient spell Vasilije reluctantly used on him. Its effect would last for at least another day and keep the new vampire sedated, which would give Vasilije time to begin his search for Teagan’s killer.
Throwing his arm over his eyes, Vasilije considered his choices, mainly where he’d find his own kind. A Mecca of sorts for vampires, New Orleans provided him with ample opportunities to meet with
others like him. The problem wasn’t where to find them but which place to begin.
As he lay there in thought, his sharp sense of hearing picked up the sound of the doorknob slowly turning on the front door. Quickly, he leapt out of bed and positioned himself behind the bedroom door. In moments, the uninvited guest stepped into the room and he had them pushed up against the wall, under his control.
One look at the person in front of him told Vasilije he was in no danger.
“Sasa, pet, you’re going to get yourself hurt doing things like that. You’re lucky I didn’t snap your neck.”
Undeterred by his greeting, Sasa said, “Who’s the guy on the couch? I didn’t know you knew anyone here but me.”
Backing away from her, a still naked Vasilije walked casually over to where his clothes were flung over the back of a chair. As he stepped into his pants, he said, “And Teagan. But that’s a new friend. Jeremy.”
Sasa walked across the room and stopped in front of him, her hands on her hips. “When you say friend, do you mean a drinking buddy? Maybe a guy you plan to watch the game with tonight?”
Her questions amused him. “Do I look like someone who watches games?”
“Well, no. Then who is he?”
Vasilije slipped his shirt on, leaving it unbuttoned. “He’s a vampire, Sasa.” To punctuate his point, he smiled and let his fangs click into his mouth. “Remember, vampire?”
Sasa stepped back with a look of surprise on her face. “Did you make him into a vampire? Why?”
Vasilije stopped and thought about what a ludicrous question that was. Why did he sire a vampire? That was like asking humans why they breathed or why they ate.
“I’m a vampire, love. It’s what we do.”
Walking past her, he looked for where he’d left his shoes hours before. As he finished dressing, she grabbed his arm and he turned to see her disturbed expression.
“You didn’t do that to me. You didn’t even bite me.”
“Regretting that?” he teased.
“I’m serious. How can you say that’s what you do since you didn’t do that to me?”
“Sasa, you were Teagan’s girlfriend. You’re obviously someone my kind accepts, so I respected your choice.”
The look on her face seemed to indicate she was hurt. Confused, he considered asking what was wrong but assumed it wouldn’t take long before he found out what was bothering her. He wasn’t wrong.
“You don’t have to go around biting people, do you? And...well...would you if I hadn’t asked you not to?”
Vasilije ran his finger down the side of her face and then down her neck, letting his gaze follow its trail. Even frustrated like she was, she still stirred something in him that made him want her. Looking up into her eyes, he licked his lips at the thought of just a taste of the woman standing so close to him and smiled.
“No to the first question. And as for the second question, with pleasure.”
An awkward silence hung in the air and Vasilije wondered if he’d ever have the chance to have her that way. He would have already, if she hadn’t asked him not to. Whether he should have slept with her was a question to be debated, but drinking from her was something he was sure Teagan would have allowed, even encouraged, knowing his past times with him.
“Sasa, I have to go. I have work to do.”
Tagging along behind him, she said, “Great. I’m coming with you.”
Vasilije stopped dead and spun around. “No. You don’t want to go where I’m going.”
Putting her hands back on her hips, she frowned. “I thought we got this bullshit out of the way. I want to help you find Teagan’s killer.”
“I’m going to see others like me. You seem to have developed a problem with vampires.”
Sasa followed Vasilije’s gaze toward a sleeping Jeremy on the couch. “I’m going. I’m not worried. You protected me the other night at the bar, so I trust you.”
Vasilije looked at her defiant expression and wondered how she’d safely made it this far in life. Trusting a vampire she barely knew was dangerous. How naive she was.
“I protected you from a bar full of horny men who wanted to get their dicks wet. A room full of vampires might be a different story.”
“Will they be horny too?” she asked sarcastically.
Shaking his head, Vasilije had to smile. “That mouth is going to get you in trouble, pet. If I let you come with me, you have to promise you’ll keep it shut.”
Reluctantly, Sasa agreed. “Fine. But do you really think I might be in danger where we’re going?”
“Don’t worry. Just act like you’re mine and you’ll be fine.”
“Your what?”
“Mine. Act like you’re my girlfriend, lover, whatever you want to call it and you’ll be fine. A vampire wouldn’t mess with another vampire’s woman without his permission.”
As they headed out the door, Vasilije cringed at the irony of what he’d just said. They walked silently through the night, and when they arrived at a large house that looked like every Southern house he’d ever seen in the movies, he hoped he hadn’t made a mistake allowing her to join him in the New Orleans vampire scene.
***
“What is this place, Vasilije?” Sasa asked as she looked at the home in front of her.
“The offices of the Louisiana Archon.”
As he stepped past her, Sasa grabbed his hand to stop him. “What’s a vampire archon?”
Suddenly a chill ran across her skin. She’d expected they’d meet some of his fellow vampires at a bar or some other public place. Somewhere out in the open where she’d be safe. Not some out of the way house of some powerful vampire with a title.
“Don’t worry. This is just a formality. As a foreigner, I have to inform the local officials of my whereabouts in their area.”
“Oh, like a sex offender?”
Sasa immediately saw that Vasilije hadn’t appreciated her joke.
“Love, what did I tell you about your mouth? No one will ever believe you’re mine if you say things like that. No self-respecting vampire male would have a female who talked to him like that.” As he began climbing the steps to the front door, she heard him mumble, “Nor do I suspect a human male.”
Sasa stood in stunned silence as he continued up the stairs. Her mouth was not the reason she was alone! She had her mother to take care of—or she had. Plus she had to find work to put food on the table and keep a roof over their heads. And then there was the reality of the dating scene. No, there were many reasons why she was still single.
Indignant at his insult, she snapped, “I’ll have you know there are many men who would love to call themselves mine!”
Vasilije turned around and with a smile that sent a jolt of pleasure straight to between her legs said, “I have no doubt, love. Could we discuss your appeal later after we finish here? I promise to give you my undivided attention.”
God, he was infuriating! Just when she wanted to be angry with him, he turned on the charm like he was turning on a light and she wanted to melt.
This is what I get for having sex with him.
Sasa grudgingly stomped up the stairs to join him and stood scowling at the door.
“You’re going to have to pretend you like me a bit more than that, Sasa.”
Unable to stop herself, she grimaced and shot back, “Don’t worry about me. I can be quite an actress when I need to be.”
“Good. Now take my hand and don’t let go.”
Placing her hand in his, she was once again surprised to feel her body respond to him. Curious, and a little insecure, she wondered if he felt anything for her. Focusing on his emotions, she waited to feel any sense of attraction from him. As he rang the doorbell and waited for an answer, all she felt coming from him was irritation and a tiny flash of fear.
Nothing else. No desire for her at all.
The front door opened and someone she assumed was a butler listened as Vasilije explained the reason for his visit. Sasa barely liste
ned, consumed instead by the fact that he seemed to feel nothing in response to her being so close.
She wasn’t sure why she felt anything for him. He should only be the vampire she was spying on for Tatiana. That’s all he was supposed to be. Instead, she found herself thinking about him when she wasn’t around him, remembering how he felt next to her, inside her.
Vasilije turned to look at her and nodded his head toward the man they had to follow inside. Sasa dutifully walked next to him while she considered her dilemma.
Definitely some kind of spell or something. Look at those eyes. Ice blue and just as cold looking. And that hair. Jet black. Definitely not the brown or blond I prefer. And that mouth? Hello? He’s got fangs, for God’s sake! No, it must be some vampire trick he’s used on me.
He roused her from her daydreaming with a nudge of his knee against her leg, and Sasa looked down where their bodies touched, avoiding his gaze. “What?”
“You faded out on me for a bit. Are you okay? You don’t need to be afraid. I won’t let anyone harm you.”
“I’m fine. What’s going on?”
“We’re waiting for the Archon. Once I finish this legal formality, then we’ll begin hunting for Teagan’s killer.”
Vasilije squeezed her hand as he said Teagan’s name, as if in sympathy for her loss. Sasa saw the same look of sadness she’d seen that first night cross his face for just a moment and then it was gone.
The mention of Teagan’s name brought her situation back into sharp focus. She was working for Tatiana against Vasilije, and if she didn’t begin to remember that, she was going to have much bigger problems that him not wanting her.
Just then a man Sasa instantly understood she should fear entered the room. Rather ordinary in appearance, he was much shorter than Vasilije’s just over six foot frame and looked like someone who would easily blend into a crowd. But it wasn’t his looks that made Sasa uneasy. As soon as he’d come near her, she’d felt a coldness—almost like an evil presence. As he sat down in front of them, it took everything in her not to run away. Squeezing Vasilije’s hand, she hoped if the man attempted to harm her Vasilije could protect her, like he’d promised.
