A Loud and Dreamless Sleep

by Michelle Marquis

  A LOUD AND DREAMLESS SLEEP

  by

  Michelle Marquis

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  Published by

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  An Imprint of Whiskey Creek Press LLC

  Copyright Ó 2016 by Michelle Marquis

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN 978-1-68299-205-0

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Kelly Martin

  Editor: Merrylee Lanehart

  Printed in the United States of America

  Table of Contents

  Cover

  Title

  Review

  Other Books

  Dedication

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  About the Author

  Torrid

  WHAT THEY ARE SAYING ABOUT

  Hungry Planet

  "...narrow escapes and sexual chemistry provide plenty of thrills..."

  ~ Gail Pruszkowski, RT Book Reviews

  Other Books by Author Available at Torrid Books:

  www.torridbooks.com

  The Love Machine

  Android’s Kiss

  Hungry Planet

  Incubus Nights

  Ava’s Obsession

  The Mission

  Siren Warrior Series Co-Author

  Machine Lust: Black Copper

  Scorched Earth

  Over the Moon

  Nemesis

  Werewolf Mafia Series

  Machine Lust 2: Switchblade

  A Highly Unsuitable Mate

  Andrea’s Overlord

  Abby’s Last Stand

  Flight

  Built to Last

  Dedication

  To all the vampire fans out there just like me.

  Chapter 1

  Raven Smyth sat on the hood as the Offering fidgeted in the backseat of her Yaris.

  She took a flask from the inside front pocket of her leather jacket and sipped a mouthful of Tequila. It cleared her palate on the way down and delivered a nasty bite. She returned the flask and tried to remember exactly what the Offering looked like. Brown hair, she thought, or was it dirty blonde? She gave her memory a half-heated effort and gave up. All she could recall was he was movie-star handsome. She did remember he was big and muscular, broad like a linebacker, and of course—young. He was also very willing and that was a big plus. Physical details eluded her but she could summon up his scent; fresh, clean cotton from his new T-shirt and the woody remnant of his aftershave. The Overlords will be pleased.

  She shifted to a better sitting position on the hood. The metal thumped and made a temporary depression from her weight. She thought about a diet and gave a short laugh. Old human thoughts seeping in, she guessed. Altering the look of her flesh now was beyond her ability and had been for over forty years. Once you were turned, you maintained your looks. The only thing that could change her was the second death, the final one.

  A distant train whistle pierced the quiet night.

  It wouldn’t be long now, the train was about due. The railroad tracks were so quiet you’d never think trains passed this way. Even in the moonlight the rails shone, battered silver from all the trips they had borne over the years. How many people had traveled these tracks before her? How many would after she was gone? A hint of sorrow threatened to dampen her mood but she chased it away. There was no use dwelling on the past, nothing that was lost could be reclaimed. She wanted to be happy tonight. Well, if not happy, at least content.

  The car door opened and closed. The Offering joined her. He stood close and placed his hand on her fishnet covered thigh. His hand was soft and warm like a woman’s. He caressed her leg, unsure at first then bolder as he moved up. Her senses came to life. In an instant she was aware of everything about him: his blonde hair, the rush of his blood as his desire arced—the pharmaceutical spike of the Ecstasy he’d just taken—and the building strength of his erection. She wondered if he would have been attracted to her full figure in other circumstances. Raven decided she didn’t care. He wasn’t for her pleasure, only an Offering to the Overlords. He was currency, a debt to be paid. As long as they were delighted, nothing else mattered.

  The Offering placed a kiss on her cheek, then another on her lips. She kissed him back once and pushed him away. “Easy, lover boy. I don’t want to miss the train. You’ll get all the pleasure and sex you can handle soon enough.”

  He wrapped his arms around her and dragged fevered kisses along her neck. “You’re so beautiful. I just want to touch you.”

  Raven let him massage her ample breasts and mumble his lust into her ear. Even though he was very good looking, he didn’t do much for her sex-wise. She liked her men a lot more masculine. The Offering had too many slightly effeminate qualities to get her all fired up. But he did amuse her. He pleased and annoyed her all at once and reminded her of a house cat in his demand for attention.

  Raven heard the thunder of the train long before he did. Eager to be ready, she placed her hand on his chest and gently pushed him back. He grabbed her hand and kissed the wrist and then the palm. His arousal had gone from charming to pathetic in a single action. Raven let out a long, exasperated sigh. She pulled her hand back and jumped off the car. Then she took him by the hand and approached the tracks.

  The Offering grew tense as the train approached. He squeezed her hand like a child entering a dark room. The chug of the train grew louder and drowned out everything around them. It was coming fast, probably around forty-five miles per hour. She’d have to be careful not to hurt the Offering when she climbed on. It wouldn’t do to have him arrive damaged. The train was upon them now. It blew its whistle, a sound so loud it penetrated every bone in her body. Raven tightened her grip on the Offering’s hand and snatched a handrail as it rushed past. She relaxed against the train’s momentum and allowed the thing to lift and pull her off the ground. A mortal would have had their arm torn from the shoulder. But she was no mortal. Instead, she functioned as a buffer between the momentum of the train and the Offering, saving him from injury. She landed on the platform between two passenger cars and helped the Offering get his feet under him. He looked shaken but otherwise unharmed.

  The Offering let go of her hand. He looked down at it and flexed his fingers several times. “Holy crap! What a rush that was!”

  Raven sat on the platform and waited for their stop. “I’m glad you liked it. Sit down, please.”

  But the Offering didn’t sit down. He stood up, talking much too loud and babbling about how stunning all the city lights were. He was like a kid at his first carnival. She was afraid he was going to attract the atte
ntion of passengers inside the car. What the hell was this guy’s name again? Oh yeah, she’d never asked. He wasn’t going to be part of her life for long so what did it matter?

  Raven tugged on his pant leg. “Hey, buddy, sit down.”

  The Offering blinked like he’d been woken from a dream. He sank down next to her with a confused crease to his brow. She couldn’t wait for him to be someone else’s problem.

  It was time to exercise some authority. Raven patted her lap. “Put your head down. Go to sleep.” She said it in a tone that allowed no refusal. He stared into her eyes. The tension in his shoulders eased and the muscles in his face went slack. He lowered his head and placed it on her leg.

  Raven watched as they passed through the small town. The sparse lighting made it look quaint and the late hour made it look deserted. She glanced down at the Offering who was asleep. Soon he would have a night he could only imagine in his wildest dreams. A night filled with every pleasure a human could want, a night of decadence and indecency. And by the time the sun came up, he would fully realize what every person on the Earth secretly wished for, a quiet and peaceful death. The pain of living would be over and in its place the pure and welcome darkness of oblivion. What a merciful triumph that will be.

  Raven truly envied him.

  Chapter 2

  “There you are, you handsome beast,” Lady Yanping said in her most seductive, velvet tone. “You have been hiding from me, I think.” The lady took Vadim’s arm and squeezed his bicep. She was as stunning as he remembered from centuries past; long black hair, captivating cat-like eyes, and a singing voice that could make the angels in heaven weep with envy. The lady wore a long, red Chinese silk dress that complimented her petite figure. He longed to caress her honeyed skin and kiss her crimson lips. But alas, she was a higher rank than he and it was not permitted. Contact was not allowed unless she initiated it, which he was always hopeful she would.

  He pulled his lips back into a forced smile. It must have looked more like a grimace. He was restless and hungry tonight, just as he’d been every other night for the past nine hundred years. “I’m not hiding from you. I’m just not feeling very polite tonight, my lady.”

  “I love the dark side of your nature,” she whispered. The lady released his arm and prowled around behind him to stand on his right. It was amazing how intimidating she could be, standing only five-foot-six next to his soaring six-four frame. But what the lady lacked in size she more than made up for in menacing reputation. Vadim was careful not to stare into her eyes. He didn’t want to give the impression he was trying to challenge her. He bent down to tenderly kiss her cheek.

  She leaned her head back and closed her eyes to accept his kiss. A tiny grin lifted the side of her luscious mouth. Her eyes sparkled with joyful mischief. “I’m suspicious. I think you are hiding from someone. Who are you hiding from? Confess.”

  He scanned the crowded living room. “Everyone in general and no one in particular.” The music was thumping and loud. Every inch of livable space had become a dance floor. Bodies withered against each other in various stages of intoxicated abandon. Most were undressed but that alone did nothing for him. The women in attendance were all stereotypes of beauty and with nothing else to offer. The majority were blonde and thin with large, fake breasts. Their loveliness bored him. He longed for something…else.

  “Are you being stalked, you handsome devil? Is there an Offering who has taken a liking to you?” she teased.

  He smiled and it was genuine this time. “A few have offered themselves to me, but I will feed later. I really came on business. I got word you wanted to see me about something?”

  “Yes,” she said. Her demeanor changed; she became very serious. “Come with me.”

  He followed her up the stairs and into the master bedroom. The lady closed the door behind them and locked it. She walked across to the French doors that led to a large balcony. She opened them and a warm breeze caressed the curtains making them billow and wave, like a dance.

  She turned to face him with dramatic flair. “We have a concern.”

  The warm night pulled at him like an addiction. He wanted to be out in it hunting and fucking, but sadly, business always came before pleasure. He lit a cigar and sat down in a wing chair by the balcony. “It must be a big concern to summon me here from Russia.”

  She leaned against the doorframe and stared off into the inky night. “There is a wounded soul among us. The vampire in question is a New World addition to our ranks. We have been using her as an enforcer because she’s good at tracking down deviants and synthetics. She was created about forty years ago by a reckless idiot who was killed before he could properly transition her from living to dead.”

  He blew out a thin stream of smoke and considered this. “How did she survive?”

  “She is smart and talented. But ever since her change there have been periods of deep melancholy. The other Overlords wanted me to destroy her long ago, but I waited. That act of compassion might have been a mistake because rumor has it she is…” The lady touched her throat as if to ward off a terrible spirit. She sighed and her gaze seemed very far away. Vadim could tell the lady liked this woman, admired her even. “Rumor has it she is suicidal.”

  Vadim let the last word hang in the air like curling smoke from a growing fire. Among his people, no act was as despised as that one. He examined the tip of his cigar considering what the Lady had just told him. Surely she must be mistaken. “But her intention is only a rumor,” he said trying to clarify what they were really talking about.

  The lady’s brow wrinkled. “Perhaps, but oh, Vadim, I fear it might be true. There have apparently been incidents. If she is that distraught and succeeds, it would put us all in danger.”

  For a vampire, suicide was almost impossible. The only way to be successful was to get human help and that carried a serious risk of discovery. Not only would the human enlisted to assist find out about the vampire’s true nature, they would also now have an immortal body to show to others. The vampire hunting that ensued would wipe out every last one of his kind in only a few years.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “I want you to become her partner so you can evaluate her. There is a group of synthetics kidnapping vampires to hold what they call immortal parties. For a substantial fee, they drain the vampire of its blood and transfuse it into a human. The result is an immortal with no training or restraint. They have eternal life with no consequences. They are basically animals killing with no rhyme or reason. These outlaws must be stopped and all of their creations destroyed. Your new female partner has been hunting them for the past month and has a few leads. I want you to assist her in finding these people and destroying them along with their operation. But as you work with her, you’ll also watch her mental state.”

  Vadim puffed on his cigar. “And if her mental state is not good, I am to end her suffering. Is that it?”

  The lady folded her arms. Her eyes looked sad and lost. “Yes.”

  Vadim stood and stalked out onto the balcony. He wasn’t surprised the lady had summoned him for this. He was a legendary killer. He was one of the only Overlords to have killed others as old and powerful as him. But that didn’t mean he took his work lightly. He hated these kinds of assignments, but they had to be done. He smoked his cigar and felt his canine teeth grow with the need. He was starving and needed to feed.

  “Alright,” he said crushing the tip of his cigar out on the floor. “I’m ready. Let’s go and meet this enforcer of yours.”

  Chapter 3

  As far as Raven was concerned, she was done. She’d delivered her Offering, exchanged greetings with most of the Overlords, wandered around the party and looked like she was having fun. She even stopped to gorge on a twenty-something Offering who could easily have passed for a smoking hot Chippendale’s model. Now all she had to do was sneak out without being noticed.

  But just as she was discreetly making her way to the door, she spotted two Overlords
prowl into the crowd. One was a towering, aristocratic man dressed in a black three piece suit. His turquoise tie set off his bright green eyes. The other Overlord Raven recognized as their beautiful Chinese hostess, Lady Yanping. The two stalked among the guests, stopping here and there to smile and talk. They looked great together, one commanding and masculine and the other, delicate and feminine. Each one of them as attractive and deadly as the other.

  They appeared to pause for a moment and look right at her. Raven was certain it was her paranoia playing tricks on her. She was a nothing to them, a simple nobody. Then the moment passed, and the male stalked up to the dining room table. The table was covered with bowls of snacks and row upon row of brightly labeled alcohol. With a dramatic sweep of his hand he swept everything onto the floor. Bottles flew through the air and caught the colored lights illuminating the dance floor. The crash was so loud it froze all the guests leaving them looking like manikins in a storefront. The sharp, sweet aroma of liquor filled the air.

  Vadim reached out and helped an Offering as she climbed up on to the table. She was a young woman with long blond hair and a short white dress. She wasn’t thin like many of the other Offerings that had been brought, but a heavier woman, more in line with Raven’s plus-sized figure. Raven was transfixed as the woman laid back on the table. She looked both beautiful and fearless as she seemed to accept anything that was to come.

  The master vampire crawled over her relaxed body. He moved like a python, with slow, dangerous ease as he eclipsed her. His long, sharp, black nails dug into the polished wood leaving vicious scars in their wake. He glanced at the crowd standing nearby, then looked down to focus on his willing victim as if there was a slight possibility she might escape. His eyes blazed an impossible bright green with a duller dark border around the iris. His gaze not only immobilized the Offering, but transfixed everyone else in the room. He was magnificent in a nightmarish kind of way, a pure predator masquerading as a man. Two pairs of long sharp teeth flashed as he opened his mouth, one set were his canine teeth and another smaller set of fangs behind them. The primary teeth elongated at he leaned down to kiss the woman’s neck.