A Taste of Dawn

by Aubrey Ross

  “Obviously you got the part.”

  “The director cast me on the spot. I did two episodes with minimal lines, but they were flooded with emails, and the message boards went crazy. By the time Faelon found out where I was spending my nights, I had a bona fide cult following.”

  “Meaning fans who were willing to kill each other to be with you?” The fierce protectiveness in Eric’s gaze was so similar to Faelon’s, Mercedes couldn’t help but smile. “Was loony number two human?”

  “Yes and he is incarcerated, but Faelon refuses to let up. I will not live life as a prisoner ever again. Faelon has to accept that.”

  “I understand your passion, but I’ve not known Faelon to overreact. Are you sure there isn’t more to it than the loonies?”

  “If there have been other threats, Faelon hasn’t told me the specifics. But then he wouldn’t. Why do I need to be bothered with the details of my life?”

  “You can’t blame him for wanting to keep you safe.”

  “Every day for one hundred and forty-seven years the hag insisted she was protecting me.” She expelled the horrific memories with a sharp exhale. “If Faelon has legitimate reasons for acting like a paranoid asshole, he needs to explain them to me.”

  “How did you get to Club Carousel if you didn’t come with him?”

  “Antonelli arranged for a ride and made me promise I’d remain invisible the entire night.”

  “Does she know why you’re such a big Pyrite fan?”

  She shook her head and glanced away from his perceptive gaze. “I’ve never told anyone about us.”

  “Do you intend to?” He cupped her chin and turned her face back toward his. “I’m not sure I can continue on with our agreement. If Euterpe needs to burn off some sexual frustration, she’s going to have to find someone else.”

  “And if Mercedes wants to…”

  He framed her face with his hands, leaning in close enough so his lips brushed hers. “Mercedes can have whatever she wants, but I’m not willing to hide in the shadows.”

  The sincerity burning in his gaze made her heart flutter. He was here, looking at her with passion glowing in his gaze, touching her with tender promise. “I want -- everything.”

  He pulled the tee-shirt off over her head and lifted her against him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. They kissed with feverish urgency, lips clinging, tongues dueling. His hands moved with dizzying speed, teasing the outer swell of her breasts, squeezing the supple curve of her hips, before clasping her bottom.

  You didn’t want me to bite you before.

  She understood his unspoken question. I couldn’t. You would have recognized Faelon’s blood in me. I couldn’t risk it. Bite me. I fully intend to bite you.

  A wall pressed against her back and one of his hands left her bottom for a moment, then his cock slid against her mound. She rocked her hips, trying to bring him into position. He chuckled and rolled his hips, dragging his shaft against her slit without giving her what she wanted most.

  “You’re in trouble, baby. I’m a foreplay junkie.” His long fingers found her pussy from behind, stroking and teasing until she tossed her head against the wall and gritted her teeth. “You’re dripping. I was going to make you wait, but that’s an offer I can’t ignore.” Before she realized what he intended, he pushed her up along the wall. Her knees ended up on his shoulders and his hands grasped her hips. “Give it to me,” he growled.

  Stunned by the ease with which he’d arranged her, she spread her thighs and tilted her hips. His mouth fastened onto her pussy and she tangled her fingers in his hair. Her head was mere inches from the ceiling. She was perched right on top of his face. Trembling and moaning, she reveled in the decadence. His lips were gentle. His tongue was not. He licked her folds and stabbed into her core again and again.

  She came in a shattering burst of sensation that shook her entire body. As the pleasure began to recede his lips captured her clit. He sucked rhythmically, prolonging the waves, and increasing the cream flowing from her core.

  “Please,” she murmured, “no more.”

  He released her clit and looked into her eyes as he licked her essence from his lips. It was a useless gesture. Half his face was still shiny. “Do you trust me?”

  “People only ask that when they’re about to do something you don’t want them to do.” Her body still tingled from the incredible pleasure he’d unleashed within her.

  “I’m going to bite you, very carefully, right where I was licking.”

  She swallowed hard. “Won’t that… hurt?”

  “Yes, but it will also feel better than anything you can imagine.”

  Framed by her thighs, his features revealed none of the ravenous hunger she sensed beneath his patient façade. He could use his skillful mouth to bend her to his will. Instead he waited for her to surrender. He would force nothing upon her. She was safe in his arms.

  “Can we do this on the sofa or in a bed?”

  “No.” His mouth returned to her pussy and Mercedes tried to relax, to accept the new cycle of stimulation. The unusual position focused her senses on what he was doing between her legs.

  He caressed her clit, circling the nub and flicking his tongue across the soft hood. His fingers curved around her hips, then lower, squeezing her ass. She held his head, no longer tugging on his hair. He pulled her cheeks apart and she gasped. A current of air wafted against her anus. She must be soaking wet, even there. His fingers inched closer and closer to her puckered little hole. She’d told him she wanted everything.

  His fangs pricked the delicate tissue on either side of her clit. He closed his lips around her then and started sucking. Pain lanced up her spine and she screamed. He’d said it would feel good. He’d said --

  Pleasure unfurled within her, sweeping away the pain. She cried out again, staggered by the intensity. His finger pushed into her ass, anchoring her against his mouth. She writhed, lost in the throes of ecstasy as he drew her blood and her cum together from her body. Brighter, hotter, then she was falling.

  A sharp cry tore from her throat as Eric pinned her against the wall with the unyielding weight of his body. He hooked her legs over his arms and positioned himself at the entrance to her pussy. With the head of his cock wedged inside her, promising a greater fullness, he pressed her face against his throat.

  “Feed, sweetheart. I didn’t mean to take so much.”

  Ravenous yet exhilarated, she’d never felt so alive. She bit hard, driving her fangs deep as he pushed his full length into her snug passage. He pulled back and thrust again. She clutched his shoulders, savoring his blood.

  His fast, steady movements kept her pressed against the wall. She released his throat, gasping as each forceful thrust slammed into her. His taste lingered in her mouth. His cock stretched her inner muscles to the very edge of pain. Sensations blurred, then jarred into focus with sudden clarity.

  Mine. His voice erupted in her mind at the exact moment she sent the word to him. Pleasure pulsed through them and flowed across their link, intensifying the simultaneous release. They clung to each other, then Eric’s knees buckled and she landed on his lap, his shaft still throbbing inside her.

  Time passed in a sensual haze. He stroked her back and her bottom. She ran her fingers through his hair. Neither were in a hurry to get up off the floor.

  “I can cleanse my body by transforming to mist,” Eric whispered a long time later, “but a long hot shower sounds wonderful right about now.”

  “And then a king-sized bed?” Mercedes asked with a playful smile.

  Chapter Six

  Garret Olsen narrowed his gaze as the vampire before him squirmed. “Your only value to me was your connection with Pyrite.”

  Lance blanched. “If you would give me a better idea of what you’re trying to accomplish, I’m sure I could --”

  “If you bite Sylina, will she be beset by the addiction you created in Julie?”

  Sylina Tesch quickly lowered
her head, using the fall of her long auburn hair to hide the excitement in her expression. She clasped her hands in front of her and remained silent. She was an obedient little slave, eager for her master’s attention. Or so she wanted Garret to believe.

  “I don’t know,” Lance admitted. “Whatever you’re doing to her has created an energy modulation I’ve never encountered before. She doesn’t even scan human any more.”

  A subtle tremor passed through Sylina as she remembered each infusion. Garret had been saturating her with Setti energy ever since his arrival in this dimension. The process was similar to sex and yet so profoundly different, her pussy creamed just thinking about the intoxicating rush that accompanied each surge of energy.

  Her fascination with vampires had fizzled the moment she met Garret. He could give her more than any vampire. She was sure of it.

  “How great is your hold over her, sir?” Lance asked. “There are bonds I can form, bonds that would give her abilities similar to mine. If you can control her once I’ve established this bond, she might be a formidable weapon. Ordinarily the bond would allow me to control her, but… What exactly have you done to her?”

  Sylina stiffened. If Lance created a blood bond between them, he would sense her vampire heritage. She couldn’t allow it. Her latent abilities were the only thing that kept Garret from truly controlling her. She pretended to be his slave, even reveled in his domination, but she would not lose her free will to either of these men.

  “I’ll consider it, but not yet,” Garret said. Exhaling slowly, so he didn’t hear her sigh, she waited to see what he had in mind. “Sylina is responding too well to the bond I’m forming with her. I’m not willing to jeopardize that. However, I propose the opposite. I know you keep mind slaves. Let me infuse one with Setti essence and we can study the result.”

  “All right.” Lance cleared his throat, then continued in a stronger tone, “I’ll deliver several in varying stages of dependency. Is there anything else I can do for you?”

  “There might be.”

  “Name it. If it’s within my power, it’s yours.”

  * * *

  Mercedes awakened in Eric’s arms at dusk the following day. She couldn’t believe how wonderful she felt. Her body hummed, replete and content for the first time in her life. She knew it had to end, that countless complications were waiting to intrude on their perfection, but she wanted to savor every moment until reality barged through the door.

  “I could get used to this,” Eric murmured against her shoulder. His hand eased between them, cupping her breast. “Mercedes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.”

  “I think you’ve had a lot more of me than I’ve had of you.”

  With a wicked grin he rolled onto his back and folded his hand behind his head. “I wouldn’t want to be accused of being selfish.” His cock lay against his belly, long and thick, already erect.

  She smiled. “When did that happen?”

  “As soon as I woke up with you in my arms.”

  She leaned over him and exhaled her warm breath. The tip of his cock flushed and the shaft grew even harder. “Very nice.” Creating a silken brush out of one thick strand of hair, she teased his thighs and his abdomen. Each time she neared his cock, it rose off his belly, begging for her attention.

  “Keep it up, you little tease, and you’re going to get spanked.”

  An image flashed through her mind. Eric held her face down over his lap and her ass cheeks were bright red from the firm slap of his palm. Her pussy fluttered and she looked into his eyes, showing him the image in her mind. “Promise?” she whispered.

  Scalding desire rolled across their telepathic link. He approved of her subtle suggestion. She cupped his balls in one hand and lifted his cock with the other, circling the engorged head with the tip of her tongue. He bucked in silent demand and she sucked him into her mouth.

  A shrill alarm sounded.

  “What the hell is that?” Reluctantly she let go as he scooted toward the edge of the bed.

  “Perimeter breach.” He rushed across the room and touched the screen inset in the wall beside the door. A six section security monitor came on screen.

  “Ooh, fancy,” she muttered. Faelon used werewolves for security.

  “I don’t believe this. It’s Lance.” He grabbed a pair of jeans out of the closet and tossed her his bathrobe. “Stay out of sight. I’ll get rid of him.”

  Mercedes slipped into the bathrobe and followed him to the door. “Why would Lance come here? Didn’t you have him fired?”

  “The answer is in the question. He is either going to grovel or pick a fight. Knowing Lance, he’ll start out groveling and end up picking a fight.”

  “Is there any way he knows about me?”

  “I don’t see how, but I’m not lowering the shields so it doesn’t matter. This panel is video only. I have to go downstairs so I can talk to him.” He gave her a quick kiss. “I’ll be right back. Why don’t you blink out of sight just to be on the safe side?”

  Despite the trepidation twisting through her belly, she smiled and faded from view. She was just being paranoid. Faelon had warned her about the dangers of the outside world for so long she finally believed him.

  She watched Eric’s progress on the monitor. He descended the stairs and moved to the front door. Lance appeared on the single screen display. Too anxious to wonder what they were saying, she opened a link to Eric’s mind.

  “Take it up with Thane. As you pointed out that night, I don’t make those decisions.”

  “That’s bullshit and you know it,” Lance protested. “If you tell Thane to give me my job back, he’ll do it. I just want a second chance. I deserve that much after all we’ve been through together.”

  “All we’ve been through together?” Eric laughed. “That’s a bit melodramatic. It’s a job. Find another one. You’re finished with Pyrite.”

  “This is ridiculous. Can I at least come in and explain how things with Julie and me got out of control? It didn’t happen all at once.”

  “I’m not a councilor. Get off the property or I’ll have you removed.”

  Violet mist swirled around Lance, sweeping away his body.

  “Damn it!” Eric stepped back from the door and poured energy into the shields.

  Mercedes flew down the hall, rushing toward the staircase. More than one person was attacking the shields. She could feel the barrier eroding faster than Eric could reinforce it. Her feet barely touched the stairs as she joined him in the front room. Expanding their link, she poured strength into him assisting him in the only way she knew. He absorbed her energy and wove it into the shields.

  More, he panted in her mind and she increased the saturation. Gathering every molecule she could spare, she abandoned her invisibility shield.

  The assailants moved closer together, focusing their attack on a single spot. Eric swung around frantically trying to block their penetration. An entity sank through the wall. Eric blasted it with destructive power. It spun in a tight spiral and materialized with a flash of light.

  Lunging with preternatural speed, the intruder grabbed Mercedes from behind. One of his hands grasped her throat and his other arm trapped hers against her sides. “One move and I’ll snap her neck.”

  Eric’s gaze focused entirely on the shifter, narrowed and lethal. “Get your hands off my mate and I might not kill you.”

  The shifter holding her chuckled. “You vampires are all so arrogant. I don’t give a damn about your mate. I need to speak with her guardian and killing her will bring him just as quickly as her telepathic call.”

  Eric flew across the room. The shifter batted him aside with a sharp head motion. Rolling once, Eric got to his feet and prepared to lunge again.

  Stop it! Mercedes reinforced the thought with a blast of anger. This isn’t helping.

  I can’t get a lock on him. Do you know what he is? Eric’s expression didn’t change, but his posture relaxed, became more watchful.

  “What I am is
impatient.” He tightened his hold on her throat cutting off her air supply.

  Her crystal pendant warmed and a sense of wellbeing relaxed her tight muscles. Precious air flowed past the shifter’s bruising hold. Mercedes didn’t question the gift. She remained quiet and still, concealing the movement of her chest. If she struggled Eric would launch another attack.

  “Lower the shields so Faelon can sense her peril. She doesn’t need to die.”

  “I’m not blocking her mind from Faelon.” Eric took a menacing step forward. “She’s doing that herself. If you kill her all the vampire clans will unite to hunt you down.”

  A shimmering blue cloud appeared in her peripheral vision. She blinked and tried to turn her head. She must not be getting enough oxygen after all. She was hallucinating.

  Faelon flashed into view, snarling, fangs dripping, claws extended. The shifter shoved Mercedes toward Eric. She collided with him, rubbing her bruised throat.

  “Now this is more like the vampires to which I’m accustomed.” The shifter pointed toward the front door. “Let my companions in.”

  “Fuck you!” Eric snapped, wrapping Mercedes securely in his arms.

  Faelon sent a wave of power blasting toward the shifter. The shifter neatly deflected it, incinerating the door in the process. “Thank you.”

  Lance and an auburn-haired woman walked into the room. Lance glanced around, fooling no one with his bravado. The woman’s calm, however, was genuine.

  “You dare lay a hand on my kin?” Faelon sneered.

  “I have no real interest in your niece. My interest is in her mother. Tell me what you know of Ezetta.”

  “How do you know my mother’s name?” Mercedes tugged against Eric’s protective hold. “Who are you?”

  “Ezetta was dragged to this dimension by…”

  The blue cloud appeared again, curving in on itself, becoming denser and taller. In an instant an outline formed within the haze and the silhouette became a figure. Mesmerized by the transformation, Mercedes watched a muscular man form within the cloud. A flurry of long black hair obscured his face for a moment, then the blue cloud dissipated entirely, leaving only the man.