Blood Bound

by Tara Sampson

  Leo stared down at the male. He was scared shitless, yet he had enough nerve to try and stand up to him of all people. The fear coming off the couple was only an appetizer. It was the male’s liquid life-force that would be Leo’s main course.

  “You silly human, I don’t want your money,” Leo told him and stepped forward so that he was now towering over him—intimidating him further. He was a good six inches taller than the man and had no problem letting him know exactly who was in charge.

  The male’s eyes widened with petrifaction.

  “You don’t?” he asked. His voice quivered slightly as he spoke.

  Leo slowly shook his head back and forth at the male, offering up what could only be considered the true smile of a predator getting ready to strike.

  “Then what is it that you want, sir?” the male asked in trepidation.

  The female still cowered behind her man with silent tears trailing down her cheeks. Leo had no qualms about what he was getting ready to do, nor would he harbor any regrets when all was said and done. It was just merely a way of life—his way of life

  In true vampiric fashion, Leo smiled wide which showed off his fangs only a second before striking. With a speed that defied gravity, he pulled his prey into his arms and sank his teeth into the man’s jugular. He took what it was that he required. Blood—sweet, warm, and rich blood, that now flowed easily down his throat and warmed him from the outside in.

  The female let out a scream but all too soon, it was cut off when Ric struck; cutting off all human sound.

  All that could be heard in the remote vicinity was the quiet gulping of two predators devouring their meals under the darkened midnight sky.

  Shelby sat in a booth alone; sipping straight black coffee and nibbling on a baguette smothered with powdered sugar. While waiting for her friend, she started to read Nicholas Sparks’ latest novel she had picked up the night before. Shelby loved to read. It was just that she couldn’t normally afford herself the luxury of buying books. This one time though, she decided to splurge and purchased it as an early birthday present to herself.

  The door to the small coffee shop chimed when Anissa Warren waltzed in to meet with her longtime friend of six years. Her waist-length brown hair was neatly pulled back into an exquisite French braid and she looked every bit of the famous Vogue model that she was.

  “Hey there birthday girl,” Anissa said cheerily while sliding into the booth seat opposite hers. She pulled a small package from her purse and dropped it in front of her friend while smiling at her expectantly.

  Shelby looked at the brightly wrapped box with the metallic bow taped to the top of it and frowned.

  “What’s this?” she asked narrowing her gaze on her friend. “I thought we agreed no presents,” she reminded her pushing the box away.

  Anissa laughed.

  “No. You said no presents. I was just standing there when you said it. I never agreed to anything,” she said knowingly. “Besides, when was the last time that I ever listened to anything you said in the first place?” She pushed the box back toward her friend. “Now, quit being childish and open it for goodness sakes.”

  Sighing loudly in true drama queen fashion, Shelby dog-eared the place she was at in her book and closed it. She set it on the table by her coffee. Pursing her lips, she studied the box before picking it up.

  “You really shouldn’t have done this,” she said and looked up at Anissa.

  Anissa simply shrugged her shoulders.

  “What’s done is done. Now open the damn thing already!”

  Shelby rolled her eyes at her friend’s impatience but started to meticulously un-wrap the gift. Relieving it of its outer shell, she lifted the top and gasped at what she saw.

  “This is too much,” she whispered lightly and traced the diamond crusted rose pendant with the tips of her fingers. It really was the most gorgeous piece of jewelry that she had ever laid her eyes on and that was the very reason that she could not accept such an exquisite gift.

  With regret, she put the top back on the box and slid it back to her friend.

  “I can’t take this,” she told her determinedly.

  Anissa arched her brows in amusement.

  “And may I ask why not?”

  There was no way that she was going to let Shelby not accept the gift. She had it specially ordered for her on her last trip to Venice and by God, after all the trouble she went through to get it delivered on time the woman was going to take it.

  “Look at it,” Shelby yelped as if she should have already known exactly why. She waved her hand over the box frantically. “You know that I can’t accept something that expensive from you.”

  “Please,” Anissa said sarcastically, “this is pocket change for me. You can and you will take the gift,” she told her very matter-of-factly and pushed the box back toward her friend.

  Shelby lifted her chin defiantly and set it in that stubborn way that she tended to do when she was driven to get her way.

  “I’m not taking it,” she said and crossed her hands of her chest, daring Anissa to challenge her.

  “Fine!” Anissa said, picked the box up and made a move to stand. “If you don’t want it then I’ll just have to toss it in the trash.”

  Anissa knew exactly what she was doing.

  “What?” Shelby asked sounding genuinely appalled that she would consider doing that.

  “You don’t want it and I don’t need it. So…” she said, drawing out the latter word and pointing at the trash can. “I’m throwing it away.”

  Anissa was hard pressed to hide the smile from the look on Shelby’s face. She knew then that she had her.

  “Fine!” Shelby snapped, sounding very much like a put out teenager.

  “Fine what?” she replied this time not bothering to hide her smile.

  Holding out her hand, palm up, Shelby said, “Give it back.”

  Anissa teasingly waved the small box in front of her face.

  “You mean this?” she asked.

  The woman audibly growled in response.

  “Yes. What else would I possibly be talking about?”

  Anissa glanced down at her friend.

  “I’ll do you one even better,” she told her taking the lid off the box.

  Carefully, she pulled out the gold chain that the pendant was hooked to and held it up to admire the expert quality of the piece. When the light hit the pendant at just the right angle, it let off a cataclysmic prism of rainbow colors. It was magnificent.

  “Turn around,” Anissa told Shelby while holding the necklace out.

  She turned around begrudgingly and offered Anissa her back.

  “Come on now,” Anissa said with a smack of her lips. “A little more enthusiasm would be greatly appreciated here.”

  Shelby chuckled but conceded. She held up the back of her hair and let her friend place the necklace around her neck.

  “There!” Anissa said when she was done.

  Turning around Shelby fingered the pendant and smiled, “Thank you,” she said tentatively. No one had ever given her something so special in her life. Not even her parents. She knew that she would treasure it for as long as she lived.

  “You’re welcome,” Anissa answered back proudly. “It suits you,” she added and reached down to pick up her purse. As much as she would have enjoyed sitting and chatting with her friend, it just wasn’t possible. There were so many places to go and much more people to see. A model’s work was never done.

  “You’re leaving?” Shelby asked not bothering to hide the disappointment in her voice.

  Anissa frowned at the look on her friend’s face.

  “I’m afraid so, sweetheart. I have a plane to catch in…” she glanced down at her watch and scrunched up her nose, “thirty minutes. I have to be in London before sunrise for the new Gucci shoot and if I’m not there on time, my agent will have a cow—literally.”

  Shelby didn’t like it, but she understood. Her friend made it big and was living out
her dream. She couldn’t fault her for that.

  Standing up, she hugged her friend goodbye and fought to withhold the tears threatening to spill from her eyes.

  “Thank you again,” she whispered into her ear.

  Anissa held her back at arm’s length and smiled.

  “You take care of yourself, okay? I’ll call you and we can do lunch when I come back to town.”

  “Sure,” Shelby agreed. “That sounds like a plan to me.”

  Anissa left and Shelby sank back into the booth. It was nice seeing her friend even for the brief time that it was. Staring at her now cold coffee and hardened baguette, she sighed. Twenty-one years old and she was sitting all alone—alone in a coffee shop like an old bitty. She was probably going to grow up as one of those old spinsters surrounded with nothing but a houseful of cats for company. Yes, her life was looking real rosy if it continued on the straight arrow course that it was currently on—not!

  Depressed, Shelby stood with her new book in one hand and her trash in the other. If she was going to feel sorry for herself, she might as well go back to her apartment and do in the comfort of her ratty old night clothes and bed. At least there she could wallow by herself and not worry about making some humiliating public spectacle of herself.

  Ten minutes later, Shelby was digging her keys out of her purse while balancing her book under her arm. It took a minute but she finally found it.

  “Ah! Hah! There you are!” she stated aloud talking to herself.

  Unlocking the door, she stepped into the apartment and was instantly struck with an uncanny feeling. Someone was in there. Shelby could sense them. She didn’t understand how she knew; only that she was certain she wasn’t alone. For a moment, she silently debated with herself, the concept of fight or flight when a familiar voice filled the darkened room.

  “Hello, little one,” he said his voice sounding as smooth as warmed honey on a hot summer’s day. It washed over her like a hot wave of awareness. “It’s been quite a while,” he said snapping his fingers and the room suddenly came to life with a dozen lit candles.

  Shelby took one look at the man’s face when recognition hit her.

  “It’s you!” she said, sounding completely and utterly shocked.

  The man stood and started for her when she began to slightly sway back and forth before eventually passing out—stone cold.

  Leo lunged and reached for her just as her head would have hit the floor. That wasn’t exactly the welcoming he had expected but it didn’t really matter. She was there, in his arms and that was all that counted. A century of waiting and a whole lot of patience had finally led him to this point in his life. The time had finally arrived—he was taking her home.

  Chapter 3

  Leo stood off in the shadows of his chambers and studiously watched Shelby as she slept dreamlessly in his bed. She looked so peaceful in her sleep; like an ethereal angel sent to him from the heavens above. The scene was rather ironic really, considering who and what he was—damned soul with no real hope of a happy afterlife. All he had was the here and now and right now, a beautiful woman lay in his bed; one that he was more than ready to set his claim to.

  That thought brought a smile to his lips. In all of his one hundred and four years of existence, he had never thought about claiming a bride until he had fallen upon the young broken body of Shelby Tanner. That day, something special happened. Maybe it was the way the moons were aligned perfectly or perhaps the world had shifted precariously on its axis. Whatever it was, Leo’s world had been perpetually rocked by that one small helpless child.

  Her blood called out to him like no other. It sang a pied piper’s tune that attracted him to no end. She had become his obsession over the years as he patiently waited for the time to come—her twenty-first birthday; so that he could bring her to his home and finish what he had started all those years ago. He was going to bind her to him in every way. He would never have to live another day without her by his side. Finally, the day had come. He had her with him. After eleven torturous years of anticipation and waiting, she was home.

  Possessive, carnal, and primal instincts all welled up within him as he set his sights on his bride. He wanted this woman with a voracious hunger like nothing he had ever experienced. He didn’t understand it; wasn’t sure that he even wanted to understand it. This one woman made him feel things that he had never felt before and he liked it.

  Leo had enjoyed a multitude of women in his past, but none were like Shelby. None of them would even hold a candle to his beautiful bride-to-be. They were all a means to an end. Prey. He weaved them into his web with his dark magic, used them and spit them out for the weaklings that they were.

  But not his Shelby.

  No.

  She was so very different.

  She soothed him and calmed the savage beast within him somehow. He had only two meager conversations with her and yet he was certain that she was the one; the one that he was willing to irrevocably tie himself to as soon as the conversion was complete.

  Soon, he reminded himself. Soon she will wake and all will be right.

  Shelby struggled to bring herself back to consciousness. Even with her eyes closed she knew that she was somewhere unfamiliar. Not daring to lift her lids, she stretched out and honed her senses to try and take stock of her surroundings.

  She was on a bed, a very soft and very large bed. The sheets felt cool to her touch; silk—expensive sheets. She heard the soft ticking of a clock somewhere nearby; its monotonous sound, rhythmic in nature. The echo each tick made told her the room she was in was fairly large in size.

  Then it was there—a recognizable presence; one she had felt before; one that she somehow knew and it felt strangely intimate.

  “You’re awake,” Leo spoke from his corner of the room.

  She had yet to move or open her eyes but he heard the change in her breathing and the rapid increase of her heartbeat. He was well aware that she had roused.

  Shelby froze at the sound of his voice. His deep sensual voice that seemed to instantly heat her with a warmth that she found oddly disconcerting.

  “Shelby,” Leo repeated in a tone that caressed her skin somehow. “You need not fear me.”

  Slowly, she opened her eyes to a room that was dimly lit by way of candlelight. The light was low but it worked well enough for her to see that she was no longer in her modest apartment. She had to blink several times in order to focus her eyes to see more clearly.

  “Where am I?” she asked, her voice sounding groggy and weak.

  “You’re home, my sweet,” Leo replied and she watched as he pulled himself from the shadows. He stepped closer to the bed so that he was standing in front of her. He seemed to only want to reassure her that she was in fact safe. His movements were so graceful as if he had floated to her on a billowy cloud of air.

  “Home?” Shelby replied with alarm starting to creep up her spine. Her eyes met with the dark stranger’s.

  “Yes. Home,” Leo answered bluntly.

  He pinned her with his stare and wanted nothing more than to pull her up to him and feel her body pressed up against his. The need was clawing inside him so ferociously that he had to fist his hands by his sides in order to keep his cool façade.

  “This is not my home,” Shelby quickly bit out the retort.

  The handsome man that stood before her exuded a powerful and potentially menacing aura. It unsettled her yet she had this bizarre desire to go to this imposing stranger; to have him wrap his arms around her frame and hold her against his chest so that she could sink into him.

  Shelby had to avert her gaze from those midnight-black orbs that seemed to be staring down to the very bottomless depths of her soul. It was unnerving to say the least.

  “Sweetheart, you are mistaken. This is your home now. Mi casa es su casa,” he spoke the words casually with outstretched hands in demonstration.

  Shelby was already shaking her head in denial.

  “No,” she said with firm resolv
e. “You must be mistaken. I live…” and she stopped to think. She pressed her fingers to her temples as the memories came rushing back to her with such a speed that her breath was pushed clean out of her: the accident, his voice, the same dark tone that melted over her years ago and had done so again that night, the dreams, and her knight.

  “You-” she said accusingly. “You were the one that…” and stopped when Leo nodded his head in affirmation.

  “Yes, my sweet. I am indeed the one,” Leo spoke softly, surely. He had touched her mind and knew her thoughts. He’d seen the images that she remembered as a small girl and felt the jarring of her sudden recognition.

  Shelby went to pull herself off the bed.

  “This is too much” she said more to herself than anyone else.

  She started to pace back and forth across the large room, trying to come to grips with the fact that this man, the one stranger who had starred in her dreams night after night for the last eleven years was really and truly standing there in front of her.

  How did he find me? How did he know where I was? The thoughts erroneously flitted through her head as she continued to pace the room.

  Leo couldn’t help but to continue reading her mind and touch her thoughts. She was like a drug to him; a living, breathing temptation that he had to be with in some shape or another. Through the years, he had settled with simple telepathy. Touching her mind and assuring him that she was safe and well.

  “I’ve always known where you were, my sweet. Not a day has gone by that I have not known where you were or whom you were with. I made a promise to you and I fully intend to keep it.”