“My experience level?”
“Yes.” He sat forward and narrowed his eyes, looking her up and down. “Surely you are not a virgin.”
“Of course not.” She crossed her arms. “My experience level is none of your business.”
He exhaled and spoke with infinite patience, as if explaining algebra to a fence post. “When you walked in the front door of Seven, you extended an offer.” Anna started to protest, but Dante held up a hand to silence her. “You may not have been aware of such an offer, but ignorance of the truth does not diminish said truth. The Blood Ravagers are considered one percenters by humans. Do you know what this means?”
She sighed. “You mean that little yellow sign by the front door?”
“Yes. Ninety-nine percent of all biker gangs fall into the non-illegal activity category.”
“But not the Blood Ravagers?”
“No. We fall into the other one percent.”
“Which is?”
“Illegal.”
Her worry kicked into overdrive. Had Liz seen something she shouldn’t have? Is that why she’d disappeared? “What kind of illegal stuff?”
“I could tell you, but then I would have to kill you.”
He didn’t smile and she had no doubt he meant it.
She sat back, her appetite waning.
And you will have me…
“Downstairs, when you fainted, I am the one who caught you. In our world, the one who touches first, gets. Understand?”
Anna halted mid-sip of her shake. “Gets what?”
“You.” He pursed his full lips and looked at her again. “Archaic, but then we are all relics in our own way.”
“The Council set up strict rules where human-otherworld interactions are concerned.” She stood and threw the rest of her shake and her empty food containers in the trash. “If you think you can scare me off or intimidate me into leaving, think again.”
The last person who’d tried that with her had ended up dead.
She swallowed hard against the knot of guilt constricting her throat. “I want the truth.”
“You will not believe it.”
“Try me.” The only way out of the tight quarters was past Dante. Resigned, Anna squeezed through the narrow space between the table and the counter to return to the relative safety of the living room. “Let’s start with you.”
“Fine.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her before him. With his straddled position, the back of his chair dug into her abdomen. He slipped his fingers through the belt loops of her jeans and tugged her closer. “My name is Dante Selvaggio. I was born in the year 1516 in Venice, Italy.”
“I need more than that.”
“Then I am happy to oblige, Anna Frost.” He nudged the hem of her black T-shirt higher with his thumbs, gliding their rough pads over her skin. Goose bumps trailed in their wake. He cocked his head toward the door, though his gaze never left her body. “You may either have me or one of them. Your choice.”
Wicked excitement blended with the adrenaline pumping through her system, driving her tension higher. “You expect me to believe you can keep me here as your personal sex toy and everyone will just be okay with that? What’s next? Is Santa going to walk through the door with my big bag of presents? How about the Easter Bunny? Dracula? The Wolf Man maybe?”
“I am not sure about the first two, but we have several vampires in our membership. A few wolf shifters as well.” He leaned forward and brushed his lips across her quaking tummy. “As for your gifts,” Dante gazed up at her, tracing the tip of his tongue around her belly button, “I sense you have been in denial about them for many years.”
Her gifts were none of his business. Her gifts got people killed.
Knees wobbling under his sensual onslaught, she gripped the back of Dante’s chair to stay upright. The last time she’d used her powers, her cause had been good, just, right—and still tragedy struck. She’d vowed then never to use them again. She had no intention of going back on that promise now, no matter how sexy the persuasion. She fought for control over her rioting libido while he continued probing painfully into her past.
“You and your sister were not always so different, were you, Anna?” He hooked a finger beneath the waistband of her jeans and she bit back a groan. “You used to share her powers.”
“No.” She’d shoved those memories, those talents down deep, so deep she doubted she could even access them anymore. Ever since that day when she found her sister cornered by the school bully and used her gifts to attack instead of to heal, Anna had chosen the rational approach to life. “You’re wrong.”
“Am I?” Dante smiled, revealing a matching set of dimples to go with his sinful grin. “What of your grandmother?”
Nonna had taken her and her sister in when their mother had died. Raised the twins as her own. Their father had left before they were born. “What about her?”
“Liz says she spoke with her often, after her death.”
Her sister always did love a good séance and they’d both been heartbroken when their beloved grandmother had passed away. And yes, maybe the last time Liz had convinced Anna to participate, Nonna had seemed so real Anna had tried to hold her hand and hug her tight….
“Stop it.” She pushed away from Dante and this time he let her go.
Anna walked to the far side of the living room to put some distance between them. She had a hard enough time thinking when he was around, let alone when he was touching her, stroking her…
Her whole traitorous body longed to run right back to him, but she couldn’t surrender.
“You are not ready.” Dante stood and gestured for her to follow. “Come. Let me show you something to entice you, ofryd.”
“What does that word mean?”
“Angel.”
A demonic endearment. Her chest squeezed at the sweetness before she tamped it down. “Is that Rhefugi, too?”
“Yes.”
“And where precisely do they speak this language?”
“Hades.”
“I thought you said you were from Italy.”
“There, too.” He raised a brow at her then turned to unlock the mystery door she’d attempted to enter earlier.
She stood several feet behind Dante and tried to bring some levity to the tense situation. “What’s in here, Purgatory?”
“No.” He grinned at her snarky tone then clicked on another light switch before grabbing her wrist and leading her inside. “This is my dungeon.”
“Dungeon, huh?” There was a place like this near her apartment back in Atlanta.
She’d nearly gone there several times, but always chickened out in the end. His room, though, looked less like a medieval torture chamber and more like a porn shop, given all the whips and cuffs and dildos neatly on display.
“Wow. Kink Central.”
“One person’s kink is another’s normal.” He rested a shoulder against the door jamb and crossed his ankles. “What is your normal, ofryd?”
Anna ran her fingers along a row of multi-colored floggers and glanced at him over her shoulder. “First off, I’m no angel. And if you think your display disturbs me in some way, you’re wrong. Believe me, growing up with a wild child like Liz gives you a whole new perspective. My shock button burned out a long time ago.”
“You fascinate me.” He watched her as she inspected his impressive inventory of spreader bars. “As does your sister.”
“So you’ve seen her then?” She turned to face him once more.
“I have. Liz is a… friend.”
She’d heard that same intonation before when it came to her beloved twin. Liz had gotten to him, one way or another. Anna might be lonely, but she sure as hell wouldn’t accept her sister’s table scraps.
Dante straightened, took off his vest and tossed it aside, then joined her near the wall. “Make yourself comfortable. We will be spending a lot of time in here together.”
She shook her head. No matter how badly her inner slut might
protest, she couldn’t lose sight of her goal. “I don’t think so.”
“Then you would be thinking incorrectly.”
“Sorry. I’m not into sloppy seconds.” She headed for the door.
He stepped in front of her, blocking her path, so fast she never saw him move. His massive body took up the entire span of the doorframe. “Your sister and I are merely friends.”
“I’m sure you are.”
“She is assisting me with a project. Nothing more.”
Anna dropped her gaze from his eyes to his crotch then back again. “I’m well aware of the kinds of ‘projects’ Liz likes to help with. I’m sure you’re very satisfied.”
Dante grinned. “You sound jealous, ofryd.”
“No.” Yes. “Will you please move so I can get out of here?”
He smoothed her hair back from her flushed cheeks. The caress pushed the blazing heat level in her blood to near scorching. “I do not think you want to go anywhere, Anna.”
Before she knew what was happening, he’d caught her around the waist and spun her in his arms, pulling her back against his hard chest once more. “Tell me I am wrong and I will release you.”
She struggled, but his hold was too strong.
“Relax. Anna. Relax.” He repeated the words over and over until she drooped against him, exhausted. “I would never harm you, remember? All you have to do is say the words. Tell me you do not want this as much as I do and I will release you.”
“I-I—” Hard as she tried, the lie refused to come. Truth was, she did want him, wanted this experience of utter submission—to him, to herself, to everything—if only for a night. Her answer emerged as nothing more than a whisper. “I want you.”
“Good, ofryd. No more lies. Not between us.”
The longer she stayed in his arms, with the steady beat of his heart strong against her spine, the more her body craved to be nearer to him. Still, she raised a final protest. “We barely know each other and human-otherworld unions are banned.”
“Feels good to be bad, eh?” He turned her to face him. “Ask me anything you want.”
“Anything?” He nodded and she didn’t hesitate. “Where is Liz?”
“Somewhere safe, where no one can hurt her.”
“Is she close by?”
“In a manner of speaking.”
“Are you feeding me a line of bullshit?”
He frowned. “Actually, I fed you an angus burger and onion rings, did I not?”
“You’re from Venice and Hades?”
“Yes.”
“So you’re some kind of demon?”
“Yes.”
“Prove it.”
“Prove what?”
“Prove to me you’re a demon. Sprout horns or a tail or something.”
“As I have neither of those, this will have to do.” He let her go, pulled the gun from his boot, then handed it to her. “Here.”
She scrunched her nose, doing her best not to stare at his half-naked perfection. “What do you want me to do with that?”
“Shoot me.”
Anna backed away slowly, hands up. “You really are crazy, aren’t you?”
“Okay, I’ll do it myself.” He turned the barrel toward his abdomen and pulled the trigger. With a pained grunt, Dante collapsed to his knees, blood gushing from the wound in his stomach.
“Oh, shit! Shit, shit, shit!” She rushed to his side, her mind racing to remember the first aid class she’d taken a few months earlier. Desperate for something to staunch the bleeding, Anna tugged off her T-shirt and pressed it to his wound, all the while cradling his head in her lap. His ragged breathing echoed in the small dungeon and his tanned complexion paled. He was losing way too much blood way too fast. The bullet must’ve ripped through an artery. She pressed the shirt harder against his wound, but nothing seemed to stem the flow.
Frustrated tears welled as Anna watched his life drain away before her eyes. And just like that, she was right back on the playground, the mean kids taunting her and her sister over being different. The school bully, a huge kid who was several years older and twice the size of everyone else, had cornered Liz. Anna could still remember the slimy cold ooze of his black energy through her. He’d been so angry, so vicious, so intent on hurting someone or something, that she would’ve done anything to save her sister. Liz had screamed and all Anna remembered was squeezing her eyes shut. She’d only meant to scare the kid, only meant to throw him up against the wall and show him the Frost twins weren’t to be messed with. But her powers were still new and uncontrollable. The bully had smashed into the side of the school building hard enough to fracture his neck.
He’d died instantly.
My fault. All my fault.
Anna bit back a sob and pressed the shirt to Dante’s wound with one hand and stroked his hair back from his forehead with the other. His eyes never left hers, the crimson glow behind his pupils fading. The air around her smelled of gunpowder and her ears still buzzed from the noise. “Why? Why did you do that, Dante?”
“Believe.” He coughed, blood gurgling from his lips, then went still.
Gone.
Anna hung her head and took a ragged breath.
He was gone. Dead.
Just like the kid at school.
My fault. All my fault.
She scrambled to her feet and backed away. Trapped. She had to find a way out. Someone must have heard the gunshot and would investigate. The gang leader’s face flashed through her mind. If he found her here…
You may either have me or one of them.
Terrified and panicked, she ran back into the living room.
Voices issued from out in the hall. The window. She’d jump. It was thirty, maybe forty feet down. Yes, she’d break something in the fall, but what other choice did she have? The most beautiful man she’d ever met had just killed himself in front of her because she’d dared him to do it and she couldn’t stay here. She was a bad, awful, twisted person, just like that kid’s parents had said at his funeral.
She needed Liz. She needed to calm down.
The overwhelming urge to cut herself burned hot in her blood. There was a paring knife on the kitchen counter. She ran over and grabbed it, held the blade to her forearm. One cut, just one, to ease the tension, the strain, the overwhelming guilt…
“Anna.”
Dante’s voice halted her movements.
“Anna, give me the knife.”
Impossible, and yet…
“Anna, I have died once already tonight. Please do not make me do it again by wrestling you for that blade. Regeneration is usually quick, but draining.”
Shaking, she whirled to face him.
Dante’s abdomen was still caked with blood but his wound had healed. He stepped closer and she saw the shimmer of greenish scales just below the surface of his tanned skin. She blinked and they disappeared.
Fingers trembling, she set the knife aside then reached toward his torso, where the bullet had ripped through his body. “Oh, Lord.”
“No, pain demon. Though I appreciate the promotion.” He reached past her to grab a dish towel, then wet it down and turned away to clean himself off. She stared at his back. More greenish scales covered the upper portion, along with scars, so many scars.
“Do you believe me now, ofryd?”
He was alive. Alive and well.
Her knees buckled and he swiveled fast to catch her yet again in his arms. Dante carried Anna to the sofa then settled her on his lap. “Does that answer your question?”
She had no idea how to proceed. None. “What about the other people downstairs? Are they all… like you?”
“Demons, you mean? Some, yes. As I said before, others are vampires or shifters.” He stopped and scratched his chin. “And there is one man. Blue. I think he may be some type of alien. I am not sure.”
Yep. She’d seen turquoise dude. “Wouldn’t want to leave out the token alien.”
“I believe he is Andorian, not token.”
She might be a schoolteacher by day, but at night and on the weekends she was a diehard sci-fi geek. “As in the blue people with the antennae from the TV show? I guess Gene Roddenberry knew about the otherworlders before anyone else, huh?”
“He was a friend to us, yes.” Dante eased her off his lap and stood. “Would you like to discuss this with Blue? I will call him up here now.”
“No.” Awkward silence descended. Finally, Anna glanced up at him and asked, “What do we do now?”
“I am a pain demon. I must inflict pain to help me heal. It is the least you can do after demanding your proof.” He looked her up and down. “Take off your clothes.”
“Excuse me?”
“Your clothes.” He waved a hand in front of her. “Take them off. You may leave the bra and panties, for now.”
“But what about the gun shot? Someone must’ve called the police,” she said, stalling. “Besides, you can’t expect me to shift gears that fast.”
“If someone called the authorities each time a weapon was fired at Seven, they would have to set up a special outpost at our location. Besides, your human police do not come here. Not anymore.” Dante started back toward his dungeon then stopped and turned back to Anna. “You will need a safe word as well.”
She sat up, toeing off her shoes and socks without thinking. “Can’t I just say stop or no?”
“Only if you do not wish me to do either of those things.”
“But—”
“Those words are part of the scene, the fantasy. You must pick something completely unrelated. That way, in the heat of the moment, I will know you have had enough.”
The way Dante said “heat of the moment” conjured all sorts of erotic images in Anna’s frazzled brain as she removed her jeans. Seemed her body had made the decision for her.
She stood before him now, in only her bra and panties, her bare toes curling on the cold hardwood. “How do I know this isn’t some type of demonic mind-control voodoo?”
“Mind-control voodoo?” He gave her an incredulous look.
“Yes, like earlier when you made me turn around to face the wall.”
“Ofryd, I have never once infringed upon your free will. Everything you have done since you stepped foot inside Seven has been of your own accord. Accept that now, or we are done.”
Blood Bound (Blood Ravengers Book 1) Page 4
