Knight of the Hunted (NSFW Edition) (Born Vampire Book 1)

by Elizabeth Dunlap

  The orchestra was still warming up, so I had time to look around the theatre at the other occupants. There were other opera boxes, all full, but ours was not close to any of them. We had as much privacy as you can get in a dim theatre with vampires that can see in the dark.

  “Lisbeth,” James said over the orchestra tuning. “There’s something I want to talk to you about.” Any relaxation I’d gained was gone. My body tensed up instantly and I waited with dread for him to keep talking. Would it be more commands, or would he finally order me to get rid of Knight?

  Was he going to hurt me?

  “I’ve greatly enjoyed our time together, as you know. I’m pleased that you’re so cooperative.” What the fuck. “So, I’ve decided something, but this isn’t an order. This is something you are absolutely allowed to say no to.” Brilliant. Please ask me if I want to leave.

  “What is it?” I hesitantly asked him with a smile.

  He took one of my hands, reverently, with a familiarity we didn’t have, even with all his forced kisses. “I’d like you to become my mate.”

  Mother. Fucker.

  He patted my hand, mistaking my shock/rage for excitement. “I know. It’s breathtaking. Catching my attention. But you have. You absolutely have.”

  He was absolutely fucking insane.

  “And if I refuse?”

  That made him pause, looking for all the world like that hadn’t even crossed his mind. “Like I said, you are allowed to refuse. Should you decide you don’t want to become my mate, I’ll put you in some housing on the edge of town. The dog will have to go, but that won’t be a problem, I’m sure. I may require you to have one of my children, however, that will be many years in the future.”

  “So,” I spoke. “If I refuse, I still have to stay here?”

  He bellowed out a laugh like I was a child that had just said something cute. “Of course, you adorable creature. I’m not letting you leave. You’re staying here forever.” I took my hand back but he didn’t notice. I’d escaped one prison only to be caught in another one. And this one was worse. I’d put up with all of this on the mere hope that soon James would be done with me and say I could be on my way. But he wasn’t going to. And that made this situation deeper and much more dangerous than I’d thought it was.

  Nineteen

  I didn’t say much during the rest of the opera. James seemed happier, more relaxed, after getting that weight off his shoulders. Lucky him. When we got to the lobby at intermission, he had decided to pretend as if this was the age of chaperones and stolen kisses. He stood close to me, but not too close, and every so often he’d hold my hand when he thought no one was looking, and let it go again if someone noticed. As intermission ended, I half expected him to bring a chaperone back into the box with us, but he didn’t. He did, however, giggle and say he felt wicked being alone in the dark with me.

  I really wanted to facepalm myself hard enough to punch a hole in my face. Or just punch a hole in his face.

  He was always weird. That wasn’t new. But he was usually mature weird. This was putting him to bed with no dinner weird. And I was so sick of it, I wanted to jump off the balcony and be impaled on something sharp.

  When the opera ended, he insisted on walking me home. He nodded his head to everyone who passed, his face never losing that giddy grin. When we finally rounded the corner to Sara’s hotel, Drake was standing next to a limo waiting out front for James, and my feet had gone bloody from walking in the heels I was wearing.

  James took me to the door and everything giddy wiped away, as if it had never happened. He looked completely serious, the way he normally did. “Thank you for the lovely evening, Lisbeth.” He took my hand and kissed it. “I will expect your answer soon.” I nodded, and he turned around, walked stiff-backed to the limo as Drake opened the door for him, and got in. The limo drove away in silence.

  Fucking Christ.

  I took off my heels and stepped into the hotel. The lobby was empty, no Sara to greet me as usual and no Knight to help put me back together. I stumbled up to my room and sank down onto the bed, the poufy skirt of my dress all around me. I sat there for a long time, mulling over everything that had led me to this moment. I didn’t want to cry about this. Crying meant I was stretched too thin. I felt more like I’d just been broken, and I was too destroyed to cry about it.

  I’d never get away from here. Knight would leave me. Arthur would eventually find me, and I’d be executed. That threat seemed so far away, but it was there.

  I’d been there for over an hour when Knight knocked on the door. He handed me a glass of water and sat down in a chair in front of me. I wanted to ask where he’d been this whole time, but he wasn’t my servant. He could do whatever the fuck he wanted. Including leave, which he would when he found out I was stuck here forever. His ass would be gone with the snap of a finger.

  “Sara,” he said quietly. “Sara said I couldn’t come out until now. She was quite adamant. She even made tacos to bribe me.” I smiled, but it faded quickly. “She also said he was going to do something that would, and I quote, ‘Break the camel’s back.’ So, spill.”

  I took a sip of my water and stared at the perfect ice cubes. “He proposed.”

  “That’s fucking gross.”

  “But he said I could say no.”

  “Not as gross.”

  “Saying no would mean relocating me to the edge of town, and having his child at some point.”

  “Okay, what the fuck.”

  “Also kicking you out.”

  “His loss.”

  “And…” I swallowed and set my glass down on the nightstand. “He said I can’t leave. Ever.” My cheeks were set and a sob escaped from my lips. Knight was there in an instant, pulling me up and into his arms. “You can’t go. I need you. I don’t know why, but I need you. And I shouldn’t need you.”

  “Because I’m a wolf?”

  That was the thought that had run through my mind since the day we’d met, and when I searched through my heart, I found the answer had changed. “I don’t care what you are.”

  “Good.” He crashed his lips against mine, and everything felt right.

  I broke from his lips and whispered, “You said I repulsed you.”

  He laughed once and kissed me again, with so much passion I felt like I was going to burn up. “I lied.”

  I needed his lips like I needed air. More air. More Knight. I tugged on the edge of his shirt and he helped me pull it over his head, coming back to my lips in a fevered rush. Flames licked all over my body and he hadn’t even touched me yet.

  “Touch me,” I pleaded with a gasp and tunneled my hands through his long black hair to bring his mouth in for more kisses. His fingers found my hips and he roughly pulled me flush against him.

  That was definitely not a phone in his pocket.

  I rocked my hips against him and he moaned in my mouth. The strapless opera dress slipped off with one tug from his hands, baring my breasts to his view. They were tiny by normal standards, but he stared at them like they were precious gems he’d been searching for his whole life. His head dipped and he captured one nipple in his teeth and I almost came apart at the seams. I had no plans to orgasm just from him biting my nipple, but shit, I was close.

  He switched to the other nipple, making me moan and wiggle against him, and he held me still so he could slide his fingers into the waistband of my panties. They slowly moved down to the giant wet spot on my cotton briefs and he let go of my nipple long enough to whisper heatedly, “Fuck.” I gently pulled on his hair to bring his lips to mine again, and we kissed deeply as his fingers found my hot spot. It was so sensitive, I gasped and bucked against his hand. Every stroke against my clit was like magic. I’d never felt this much desire for anyone, ever. Not in 400 years. His fingers played a dance over my nub and I was dying for release.

  He released my lips and whispered in my ear, “Come for me.”

  Shit. That was all I needed, and I was falling into the abyss, the o
nly thing holding me together was his lips and his body as my orgasm took over me. Gasping over and over, I writhed in ecstasy, and he kissed every inch of my neck while I came down. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t think.

  Best. Orgasm. Ever.

  He took his hand from my panties and held me close for another breathtaking kiss. My fingers moved down to his pants and I managed to slide my palm up the hardness I found there before he stopped me.

  “No, we shouldn’t do that,” he cautioned, and kissed me again feverishly, making sure I knew he still wanted me. “If we become lovers, James will smell it. You know the scent of our kind changes when we have a lover. It’s safer to wait until we’re out of here.” He kissed my forehead gently. “Lis.” I looked up at him and stared into his deep brown eyes. “If there was ever a time to break free from him, now is the time to do it.”

  My eyes started stinging in defeat. “I don’t know how. I barely knew this type of control existed, I have no idea how to get free.”

  “So you spent all your time walled up in that castle and you didn’t bother to learn anything about how your own kind work?” he snapped. “Sorry, I’m sorry.” His lips kissed me gently.

  “It’s forbidden,” I said feebly once he’d let my lips go. It was the excuse I’d been saying for a long time, over a lot of different things.

  “Being informed shouldn’t be forbidden, Lis. You have to know how to combat what’s not allowed instead of just ignoring it.”

  I kissed him this time and wrapped my arms around his neck. “Hunters know. Olivier would know.”

  He looked hopeful. Much more hopeful than I was. “Can you contact her?”

  “I’m not sure,” I said. “It’d be dangerous, for me at least. Maybe Sara could help.”

  We made a plan and got to work.

  I slept with dreams of the French Revolution and woke up to Olivier sitting at the end of the bed wearing Hunter gear. Knight was sleeping beside me and she was eyeing him like he'd gotten dirt on her shoes. I gasped and sat up, looking around for Arthur.

  “He's not here,” she said in a weary tone. “I'm alone. Which is good news for the dog. I think. I got your message.” Sara had left a message with Renard, who then got in touch with Olivier and told her we needed to meet with her. “Lisbeth, you can't stay in this town. We're so close to catching you, and if you stay still, we'll find you. Arthur will take you back to the castle.” To execute me, most likely. It pained me, but I had to tell her.

  “I can't.”

  “What are you talking about? Did you not hear me?”

  I pulled my shirt aside to show the bite. Her face was worse than Sara's. She brought her hands to her mouth in utter horror and then worried her fingers around the bite like a mother trying to make a skinned knee feel better. Worse still, she hugged me so tightly I could feel my chest creak. When she pulled back she had tears in her eyes, and she touched the bite again with a mournful look. Then she breathed deeply to shake it off and took my shoulders.

  “You have to fight back.”

  “I don’t know how. That’s why we contacted you.”

  She shook me a little. “Focus. You can break free. But...”

  I gave her a questioning look. “But what?”

  “It means breaking some rules. But you're already on the run, so what the hell. Let's go crazy.” She looked over at Knight’s sleeping form on the bed, then back at me. “Are you drinking from him regularly? I can smell you on him.” I shrugged one shoulder, non-committal, almost ashamed. She leaned forward to whisper in my ear, “Was it gross?” I playfully shoved her away and thought I heard a noise coming from Knight's pillow. “Okay, business talk. Whether you drink from the dog, eww, or from a human, you need to be drinking several times per day. Four at the least.”

  “Four? The side effects will be monstrous.”

  “I know the side effects. I've lived the side effects. It has to be done. Unless you feel like being captured by us, or staying here to be this James’s lady friend until you die. Or both.”

  “Not really.”

  “Good girl.” She glanced at Knight again and reached out with one heavily buckled boot to lightly kick his leg. “You. Get up. I know you're not sleeping.” He rolled over and sat up, wide awake.

  “She can drink from me,” he affirmed, without any prompting. He locked eyes with me. That would mean helping me in a way he had only done once, and that time had been an emergency. At least we were kind-of lovers now. Right?

  “I didn't ask,” Olivier said back, even though she'd definitely not excluded his blood as a possibility a mere moment ago.

  His eyes narrowed at her. “And I wasn't offering. I'm telling.”

  Olivier's nails started to grow from where they sat on her shorts, scratching her dark brown legs slightly. With a measured sigh, she looked back at me. “I don't like your mutt.” This made Knight growl loudly and I was worried he might get a boot to the face. But, Olivier stood, her nails retracted, and she gave me another hug with a slight glance towards the bite. “Do what I said. I’ll do what I can to deter Arthur until you can break free. And when you do, keep running. Next time you see me, I hope you're not in trouble anymore.” She jumped into the windowsill, then she turned back and grinned. “Oh. I almost forgot. Your evasion methods are impeccable. If I wasn't the one hunting you, they'd be chasing their tails for a century.” Then she was gone.

  “Nice friend,” Knight commented dryly.

  “She's an acquired taste.”

  “I have a feeling it takes a few centuries to acquire that particular taste.” He sat up, popped his shoulders, and ran a hand through his long locks. “First things first.” Smiling, he leaned in and stroked my cheek before kissing me slowly, like he was memorizing every inch of my mouth. Fuck, he was a good kisser. “And now…” No, more kisses. I pushed him back against the headboard, sat on his lap, and kissed him again, and again. “We should,” he got out between kisses. “Lis, we should focus.” I moved to his ear and I nibbled at the lobe before licking up the side while my fingers danced over the scars on his chest. “God damn it, woman. I am going to go insane.”

  Back to his lips, and I kissed him like he was the only man, or woman, I’d ever kissed. I adjusted my spot on his cock until both of us gasped with pleasure.

  “No sex,” I breathed against his mouth. “I just want to hear you moan.”

  “God,” he gasped, his hot breath only fueling my flame. Rocking ever so slowly, my clit bumped against his cock with every thrust of my hips. My panties and his shorts were the only things between us, and I wanted so badly to remove any barrier that stopped my skin from touching his. He was right, though. If we became lovers, our scent would change, and James would know.

  A few orgasms wouldn’t make a difference, and as much as Knight had teased me, it was my turn to tease him.

  Clit against cock, bumping over and over. His hands found my hips and he increased my rhythm until I couldn’t think, couldn’t breathe. His moans were the hottest thing I’d ever heard. I wanted to listen to them for as long as possible. Every moan made me wetter, and every bump brought me closer.

  Growling, he pushed us down until he was on top of me, and he picked up speed against my clit until I was breathless with need, and he kissed me, taking the breath from my lungs so I gasped for more.

  “Oh god,” I moaned. “More, faster.” I didn’t think he could go faster, but he did, and my clit throbbed against him until I knew I was going to explode. “I’m going to…” He cut me off with a bruising kiss and brought his hands to my nipples, and I was gone. Waves of pleasure hit me and his screams announced his own orgasm, his hips moving slower and slower as we both came down. Wet, and sweaty, all I could think was how much more I wanted from him. Our ragged breathing was the only sound in the room now, where moments before it was screams and moans.

  “You think,” I puffed against his neck. “You think Sara heard us?”

  He laughed and rested his head against my shoulder. “We
were pretty loud. She might’ve.” Lifting his head, he stared at me with that brown puppy-eyed stare and kissed my bruised lips tenderly. “Fuck James and his fucking fuck face. He’s keeping me from having you, and I hate him.” He gathered me in his arms and sat us against the headboard again. “Sex is over, it’s time to drink. I'll need some breakfast afterward. Not because I need it to grow new blood, I'm just hungry enough to eat my blanket. And maybe yours too.” He moved his head to the side, exposing his neck.

  I wanted to refuse his offer. I really did. I’d seen what the extra blood did to James, and it scared me. I didn't want to lose myself, but I was almost beyond caring. I was tired of being James’s puppet. And drinking from Knight was the only way to be free.

  “I'm scared,” I told him. No use in hiding it. “You saw James. That's what happens when we drink more than once a day. We become like addicts. Except it's the power we crave. I'll become uncontrollable. And weird.”

  He kissed me and stroked my hair. “I won't let that happen.”

  I stared at his face, saw the determination he was trying to convey to me, and wished that it was true. “It will happen. It doesn't matter how much you try.”

  His eyes traveled around the room in thought and a muscle ticked in his jaw. “Okay. Then I'll monitor you. If I say you've had enough, then we stop. Agreed?” I nodded. As long as he could keep me in check, I could do this. “Are you starting, or are we going to sit here while my stomach rumbles? As much as I love having you in my lap.”

  I bit into his neck quickly and his arms came up to cradle me like he’d done mere seconds before as he brought me to climax. I drank for a long time. Normal feedings only took about two minutes. I stayed on Knight's neck until my stomach started hurting from being so full, and my stomach can hold a lot of blood. He never pulled away. As soon as my teeth retracted, he slumped his head against my shoulder and brought his arms closer around me to hold me in place.