by Emily Bex
“I’m living in the condo down by the harbor in Georgetown, in the penthouse. I'll be waiting, my angel.”
“Yes, give me forty minutes.”
Hanging up, she sat down as her legs wouldn’t hold her any longer. She must be losing her mind, but she couldn’t resist, she needed to know. Was he Angel? Did he have this potion? And if so, where the hell was the potion kept? Wrapping things up quickly, she said her goodbyes to the staff she was leaving behind with tasks to complete for the spring benefit. She headed out to the G-town penthouse harbor side and wondered the whole way how the hell she was going to manage to hide this from Alec and keep Max at bay?
Arriving, she looked quickly for his parking area under the condo, found the space reserved for the penthouse and parked, sitting in the car for a moment, she took a few deep breaths. She knew she could do this, get what she needed and get the hell out of there. Taking the elevator from the garage to the top floor, she made sure no one saw her. Straightening her skirt, making sure her hair was in place, she reached to ring the bell.
Max heard the elevator doors open and her footsteps in the hall as she approached the door. When she rang the bell, he slowly opened it to her. “Rissie. My angel, I knew you would come. Look at you, as beautiful as I remember. Please, come in, have a seat on the sofa. I have some Midnight for you on the table. I’ve added a potion to it, my angel. Drink it down. I’ve already taken mine. Together, it will block our scent. That is where I failed you last time, I took the potion, but you didn’t. Come, my angel, sit.”
Max, her rugged sweet Max, his dark brown hair was down, and she loved it down, long, and lying in waves. His eyes were deep, dark and magical. He looked better than she remembered. He was the opposite of Alec in every regard. Alec was always polished, clean-shaven, his hair cut short. Max was rugged and careless about his looks. She looked at the couch, then the table with the Midnight. Was he referring to the potion used by the rogues?
“Max, a potion? It blocks the scent? Are you so sure?” She bit her lip, and tried to remain calm, but she couldn’t take her eyes off of him.
“A potion, my angel, which blocks a vampire’s scent. What I, unfortunately, didn’t discover until you, is it doesn’t block the scent from the beast. While I had taken the potion, you had not. So, drink it down”
He sat next to her on the couch, sliding his arms behind her on the back of the couch, placing his hand on her bare thigh. He leaned into her, his lips close to her ear. “And if you are thirsty for something more, my angel... you know you can always drink from me.”
Her heart almost broke. She took the drink in one gulp as she felt his hand on her bare thigh, and it was like fire on her skin. He was nothing like Alec. Max was a warrior. “Max, please, I belong to Alec.”
Quickly standing, she sat the glass on the table, her hand shaking as she turned to him. “He will know! Alec will know if I feed from you. He’s no fool. And neither am I. And how do you know that your scent can be hidden from his beast?”
“My angel, please know when you went to him after the gala, and he beat your tender skin with a whip before mounting you and picking up my scent that I didn’t realize the weakness of the potion.”
He reached up and took her wrist, pulling her back down to the couch, where he slid one arm around her shoulder, and placed the other back on her bare skin, sliding it higher up her thigh, under the hem of her short skirt.
“I have tested it since then, the strength, the dosage, and discovered if both vampires use the potion, then their scent is blocked from the beast in us all. If you drink from me, he won’t be able to taste me in your blood. That’s how I know, my angel. And he won’t kill me, nor you. That’s not in my plans.”
He lifted his hand from her shoulder and ran it through her golden hair as he looked into those blue eyes. She was afraid but tempted. He could smell her desire. He leaned in and kissed her softly on her face right in front of her ear and whispered, “My angel.”
Rissa felt a flash of panic. He knew too much! He had been watching her like a hawk, and no one knew, not Alec, not Shade’s warriors, because he was taking that damn potion. She was distracted by the feel of his hands on her, his body so close, too close. Oh, Max, you don’t know, he will kill me!
Suddenly, her fear spiked high and her emotions boiled over and she couldn’t think. She had to leave. He looked into her eyes and she couldn’t look away. They were the deepest brown, and so intensely beautiful. They saw into her heart and he knew what she desired. If she asked, he would give it to her, he always did. Before she could think further, she felt his breath hot across her skin and his lips touched her face. His words were soft, calling her his angel, she moaned softly and closed her eyes, and leaned into him. She wanted to fight this, but she still yearned for him.
Her voice was barely a whisper, “Max. Please, I can’t do this. I don’t belong to you, I belong to Alec... he loves me, he takes care of me, protects me, and gives me everything I need. I lack nothing.”
Max slid his lips down across her jaw and onto her neck where he licked her sweet skin and allowed her to feel his hot breath, before sliding his lips to her shoulder. “Oh, my angel, if only that were true. You lack much. You lack tenderness. Do you think I’m blind to how he treats you? I remember the feel of you beneath me, how your body moved with mine.”
He slid his hand between her legs to find her panties were already soaked through, as he slipped his fingers under the delicate elastic and into her sweet sex. His mouth moved back to her neck where he nipped at her once more before covering her mouth with his and sliding his tongue into her mouth to tangle with her tongue, tasting her sweetness for the first time in years.
Rissa didn’t resist and in seconds she had gone too far. She had taken a fatal leap from which she couldn’t climb back. She ached to have someone hold her, touch her like this, with gentleness, need and want, not of power or pain. But she felt the incredible betrayal to her master ripping through her and feared she would never be able to hide this from him, no matter how much she blocked him. She feared Alec would feel this, and he would know. He would hunt her and kill her dead. She will have lost him. She raised her arm and pushed hard against Max and raced to the door. “No, Max! Please, I can’t do this.”
Max immediately teleported to the door, blocking her path, catching her as she ran headlong into his arms. Her face was stained with her blood tears, and he gently licked them away. “Oh angel, my sweet angel. I feel your anguish. I feel your fear. He can't hurt you now. He will never hurt you again. Let me remind you of what love feels like.”
He gently lifted her in his arms and carried her to his bedroom, laying her on the bed.
She curled into him, torn between her fear and her desire. She convinced herself he could protect her. He could love her.
She raised her hand to his face and begged, “Max, please listen to me, just hold me, I want to talk to you. I am begging you, don’t make me hurt anymore. I’m breaking inside.”
He lay down beside her and pulled her close, as she snuggled into his chest. “I’m listening.”
“If I belonged to you, if you had turned me, spent years to make me your own, it would be different. I’m his progeny, Max. He made me. He’ll never forgive. This is my death sentence. Think of what you would do if I was yours and did this to you. Please don’t tempt me further, just hold me.”
“Of course, I’ll hold you, my angel.” He could feel her heartbeat against his chest. “But don't you understand. He’ll never know of this. You don't need to fear him. You owe this to yourself. Do you want an eternity with him just because he’s your maker? Or would you prefer an eternity with me, making your body scream with pleasure, not pain? You should be worshipped. He’ll never give you that.”
He slid his hand slowly down her back and onto the curve of her ass, pulling her hard against his hips, so she could feel the heat and steel of his cock, as he kissed her neck and watched her face respond with passion.
She
heard her own moans and turned to him in his arms, gripping his hair and kissed him deep and strong. There was tenderness, but also an aching need of something she couldn’t explain. He responded with deep longing and she felt it in her heart. How, in such a short time, could he make her want this, make her ache for him? She bit her lip and scrambled off the bed. “Max, I need to go, I can’t do this. I can’t make love with you, not now, please let me go!”
“My angel, I love you. I have always loved you. I didn’t turn you and I’ll forever have to carry the burden of that. I didn't think I would lose you. I won’t force you. I want you in my bed, lying beneath me, with your legs wrapped around me and your hands tangled in my hair. I want to feel your body ride the rhythms of my own again. And I will, my angel. I’ll take you there. We have time. We have plenty of time. If you need to go, if you need time, I understand. But we’ll be together again.”
She went to him so fast she didn’t even know what propelled her and hugged him tight. “Max, let me go for now. I’m confused, I’m scared. I don’t like being scared. I need to go. I can’t think when you’re so close to me.”
Snuggling her face into his hair, smelling the musky scent of him, she almost changed her mind. He was giving her a choice. She let go of him and ran to the door, rushed out and teleported to her car. Her hands were shaking, her body weak with want, but she could handle that, she was used to that. Control, get control! Racing out of the garage, she drove away, and his voice reached to her.
“You're safe, my angel, I watch over you always. I am your protector. You will need no other. And we have time. We have an eternity of time.”
Rissa drove straight to the gym. It was still early, and Alec would think nothing of her being there. She was still scared. Did this damn potion work? Would Alec smell him? Would he know her fear? Things were so confused. She worked out for two hours, hard, letting it all go.
Going to the showers, she scrubbed her body raw, doing all she could to remove any signs of him from her skin. Driving home, she saw Alec's car in the drive and knew he was home. Rissa drove around the block twice, trying to calm herself before she finally pulled into the driveway. This is it, Rissa, let go of the blocking, be calm, act as if nothing has happened.
Walking into the house, she went straight to their bedroom and began her normal routine of putting her soiled gym clothes in the laundry and changing into something relaxing.
Alec was working in the study when he heard her come in and immediately headed up the stairs. “Darling, why don't you join me once you change?” He called to her.
Rissa felt a moment of panic. Oh hell, he knows! But his voice sounded normal, no hint of anger. “Be right down, Alec, let me get changed.”
Scurrying quickly to change, she didn’t want to anger him. She went downstairs and found him in the study. “How was your day, Alec?”
He poured a glass of Midnight for both of them, handing one filled glass to her. “The kind of day that makes me want a drink, my darling. Arguing with mortals is so much more difficult than just killing them.” He took a large gulp from his own glass before sitting down and patting the sofa for her to sit next to him. “You know, I think it was easier gaining power over other vampires than trying to gain power over the mortals. The game playing wears thin, my darling. It wears very thin.” He lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply before passing it to her.
Rissa was trying to gauge his mood. He seemed fine, but exuded an air of weariness. Taking the glass of Midnight, she sipped it slowly, trying to act normal and sat next to him on the sofa, curling her feet up under her and sliding her hand along his cheek. “I have no doubts you can handle them.” Taking the cigarette, she took two long drags and worked to keep her hands relaxed, her body relaxed, her voice normal. She handed the cigarette back to him. “I sometimes wish there was no such thing as mortals. But then again, I would have no entertainment if that were true.”
Alec threw his head back against the sofa as he laughed. “My darling, how quickly you forget. If not for mortals, there would be no Rissa. No, I think we need mortals. They can just be more troublesome than I care to deal with, some days. But we’ll achieve our goal, we always do.”
Smiling wickedly at him, she laid her head on his shoulder. “Well, I think being called First Lady might be quite powerful. I can hear it now. President Canton has a most musical sound to it, don’t you think?”
He took a deep drag from the cigarette. “Indeed it does, my darling, indeed it does.”
Rissa relaxed. Nothing, he smells nothing. She couldn’t believe it! She breathed easily for the first time since getting to the gym. “I think I’m going upstairs to rest.” She snuggled into his neck, “Join me?”
“Go ahead, darling. I’ll be up shortly. I still have some work to do here.”
Rissa absorbed the disappointment. Of course, you do, Alec, and I’ll be asleep long before you get there. I’ll fall asleep alone, as always. Standing up, she leaned in and kissed him softly on the cheek. “Try not to let them get to you, after all, Alec, they’re just mortals.” Letting her hand slide down his arm, she walked to the study door and turned to him. “I love you, Alec. Good night.”
Already preoccupied with the House bill that went to vote next week, his mind was elsewhere. “What, darling? Oh... yes, I love you too. Get some sleep.”
Max had monitored her since she had left his place, stayed tuned into her. Felt her fear and anxiety as she approached Alec for the first time, and now felt her disappointment. “You would not sleep alone, my angel, if you were in my bed.”
Rissa ignored his message to her, as she curled up on her side in the large bed she shared with Alec. She wept softly. The cold bed which never bothered her before seemed like a cavernous lonely pit to her.
Max felt her sorrow and her loneliness, and he wished he could pick her up and carry her back to his bed. He sent a light caress across her cheek. “My angel.”
Moaning softly, Rissa felt the softest, most tender caress on her cheek. Max had no idea his torture was far worse than any Alec could bestow on her body. Hearing Alec's footsteps coming up the stairs, she quickly wiped her tears and settled into her pillow as if she were sleeping. ”No more, Max, Alec is coming... please, no more.”
36
Kate woke before him, heard the soft whir of the electronic blinds and knew he would awaken soon and return to the streets. He seemed less stressed with his own warriors here, and she had heard him tell Luca things were going better... whatever that meant. The warriors seemed to have settled into their own routines here as well. But sunset came too quickly, and he rose from the bed, donning leathers once more and leaving her to join them all in the bunker before he went back into the night.
Kate dressed and went to find Luca so they could begin whatever he had in store for her this evening. They had not spoken all the way back from the woods after killing the deer. And she had not brought it up, while she had walked with him and Marcello during their tour of the property. Killing the deer still weighed heavily on her, and she would tell him she wouldn’t kill another animal again. She tapped at his door and he responded, leading her outside for their run.
As they started their loop, she finally said to him, “Luca, about the deer...”
Luca answered, “I know, Kate.”
She responded apologetically, “I'm sorry, I know you don't understand it, but I just can't.”
“I won't force you. And it's not my place to say, but I think master shields you too much from our world. There is much violence there.”
She looked over at him as they ran. “There is violence in the mortal world too.”
Luca smiled sadly at her. “It’s not the same... not even close. And some of the violence you see in the mortal world is carried out by vampires.”
She was taken aback by this admission. “Do you attack mortals, Luca?”
“No, not me. Not anyone from master's coven, unless a mortal presents as a direct threat to us. But there are other covens,
which see mortals as nothing but easy prey. The coven our master fights against currently thinks nothing of killing mortals or turning them and leaving them on the streets.”
“What do you mean? Just leaving them on the streets?”
“Kate, I’ve never turned a mortal, but every vampire is taught how, and what a huge responsibility it is. A maker must stay with the mortal through the turning, first to make sure they survive it, and then, once they are turned, to train them to survive in our world, how to hunt, to feed. I know how you feel about feeders, but they actually keep the vampire from feeding on the mortal population. They’re not always available, and when there’s no access to feeders, and a vamp is not mated, it’s not uncommon to seek out mortals. Vampires seek to feed from them, not to kill them or turn them. Some vamps will find mortals who come very willingly... like...”
She looked at him. “Me? Like me?”
“Yes, like you. But vampires don’t normally fall in love with the mortals they feed from. And usually, the feeding is exclusively one way. The vamp feeds from the mortal only. And the relationship is a temporary one. It’s only when the vamp falls in love with the mortal, wants to mate with the mortal and they plan to eventually turn them that they allow the mortal to also feed from them. It helps to strengthen the mortal, bonds them to their maker, and prepares them for the turn. But the rogues... They hunt the mortal as prey, turn them, and don’t allow them to feed from them, leave them on the streets. The mortal is then just a machine for killing and draining other mortals. That’s what’s happening in D.C. now, what master is fighting.” Luca watched as her expression changed to that of horror.
Kate asked, “But... why don't I see this in the news? There is no report of it. If these turned mortals were just roaming the streets... and killing...”
“Because they aren't roaming the streets. Those rogues must be destroyed, and quickly, before they can be detected. The rogue vamps choose wisely, selecting the homeless, the addicts, and the displaced. The mortals that have lost their way and won’t be missed, and not much energy invested in the investigation of their deaths when they’re found... if they’re found.”
