The moment the words were out of my mouth, he spun me around, bent me over the platform bed and thrust into me.
I let out a gasp of surprise that quickly turned to a moan of pleasure as I got used to his fullness. He was long and thick and glorious. Fucking perfect.
“Jesus, Blake. You’ll be the end of me,” he whispered. Then he gripped my hips, holding me still and started to move.
Chapter 4
Jackson was unlike any other lover I’d had before. He was both savage and tender, and knew how to use both to torture me. Like now when he was holding me completely still, his fingers digging into my hips hard enough I was sure they’d leave a bruise, but working his cock like a motherfucking miracle.
With each thrust, each slight change in movement, my excitement rose, bringing me ever closer to the edge of orgasm. Yet he kept me just on the cliff of insanity by holding me still, not letting me force my own pleasure by grinding into him. And dammit, if that didn’t just excite me more.
“Jackson,” I panted, reaching down to touch myself, to do anything to relieve the pressure. “I need… to come… now.”
But he grabbed my hand before I could reach my throbbing clit, and once again, pressed his fingers to my most sensitive spot.
I let out a gasp as the first wave of orgasm hit me, then a mewling sound came from somewhere deep inside me as the wave rose higher and faster than ever before.
Jackson quickened his pace, his breath coming just as fast as mine. The wave overtook me, shattering me, and then I heard a growl, Jackson’s growl, just before he bit me once more.
I woke in the early morning hours, disoriented, but it didn’t take long for the memories to come flooding back, for the delicious ache between my legs to remind me of the night before. Of Jackson Barré, the only man who’d been able to make me come more than once in one night. I rolled over, reaching for him, ready to take up where we’d left off the night before, but sat straight up in the bed when I realized it was empty.
A sick ball of unease formed in my gut. It was never a good thing to wake up alone after a night of pure carnal sin. I glanced around the room, noting Jackson’s clothes from the night before were gone.
He’s just in the other room, I thought. Or working or waiting for the sunrise. Or maybe he wasn’t a daywalker and needed the dark room. There was no need to panic. Not yet anyway.
I padded to the adjoining bathroom, saw nothing out of place. Not even the fancy soap Cryrique supplied. He hadn’t been in here. After I used the facilities, I pulled one of the complimentary guest robes out of the closet and made my way out into the living quarters.
Again, nothing. No Jackson, no glass in the sink, no luggage. Hadn’t Allcot told me he’d had his staff bring Jackson’s things over? They weren’t in the bedroom we’d shared, nor the bathroom. The only place left was the dark room.
I moved down the windowless hall, and tentatively opened the heavy door. “Jackson?”
Nothing.
Squinting, I waited a beat until my eyes adjusted to the darkness, then scanned the empty room. The bed was still made. I moved on to the closet. Empty. Then the bathroom. Not a towel was out of place.
“Dammit!” He’d left. Not only had he slept with me and skipped out in the middle of the night, now if he didn’t show up for his meeting with Allcot, I was going to have to explain his absence. “Fuck!”
I stormed back into the bedroom we’d shared and quickly got redressed. As I dumped the robe on the bed, I spotted a single piece of notepaper on the floor. “Seriously?” I muttered to myself as I bent to pick it up.
It read: I’m sorry.
“That’s it?” I screamed and crumpled up the note. “Rat bastard.”
Fuming, I grabbed my purse that was still laying on the coffee table. At least he hadn’t stolen it on his way out. Not that he’d need to. Rich bastards didn’t need access to my pathetic bank account. But to be sure, I rummaged around in my bag, bypassing my phone and my employee badge, until I found my wallet. The few bills I’d had were still there. But there was one thing missing. My access card.
It had to be there. I couldn’t get anywhere without it. Not back into my apartment or the corporate offices. Without it, I’d have to call security. Shit!
I dumped the entire contents of my purse out on the floor, tossing old receipts to the side, and came up empty. After one last look through the pockets in my bag, I flopped down on the floor, scowling. I needed a do-over.
It wasn’t at the office. I’d needed it to get into my apartment after work. Had I left it there? I was usually very good about putting it back in my purse. After I’d gotten locked out of my apartment for the second time, I’d vowed to never make that mistake again. Each time someone lost a security card, they had to pay for a new one. Allcot had said it wasn’t about the money, but about taking the security of the company seriously. And at fifty bucks a pop, I had paid attention.
Sitting on the floor, dreading the call to security, the voice in the back of my head that had been trying to get my attention finally broke through. What if Barré took it?
I shook my head. He wouldn’t. Would he? He’d left me in the middle of the night when he was supposed to be meeting with Allcot about a business deal later that morning. What made me think he wouldn’t? Wasn’t big business a cut-throat operation? With my badge and because of my position, Barré would have access to files and computers most didn’t.
“Crap.” I closed my eyes, then grabbed my phone and pulled up the security app. It showed every point a person had used their badge in the last week. It was supposed to be used for accountability, but most of us only used it when we needed to track down a badge.
It took a moment for the records to show up, but when they did, my eyes widened and my heart sank. I’d suspected Barré had taken it, but deep down, I’d really been hoping I was wrong.
I wasn’t. My card had been used three times in the last half hour. Once to get into the corporate offices, once to get into the west wing, a research section I rarely had cause to go to, and the last one my office.
Holy fucking Christ. He was looking for secrets. And my ass was going to be on the line for it. I didn’t give a flying crap who he was. He wasn’t getting away with this. I punched in the alarm code and a second later, a flashing red light filled my screen. It was Cryrique’s version of the panic button.
Short of jumping off the roof, which admittedly he might be able to do without any issue, there was no way Jackson Barré was getting out of Cryrique unnoticed.
Chapter 5
Given that I’d unleashed the panic code, instead of hurrying down the corridor, I took my time, trying my best to let go of some of the rage. Jackson Barré wasn’t worth the effort. Not after what he’d done to me. The user. He was the worst kind of low.
Just the thought of him made my blood boil. And not in the good way. There was a very real chance I’d lose my shit when I saw him, and that was the last thing I wanted to do. Not in front of Allcot or any of his minions. No one could ever know about the night we’d spent together. It was too damned humiliating.
So when I got to the underground entrance, I was shocked to find there wasn’t a guard in sight. “What the hell?” If the panic button is sounded, all exits are to be manned immediately. I punched in the number to the security office.
“Neil speaking,” a gruff voice said after the first ring.
“This is Blake Douvant. Where’s the guard for the underground entrance?”
“I’m sorry Ms. Douvant, but as far as I know we haven’t been notified we need extra security at that entrance. Is there a problem?”
“Uh, yes! I sounded the silent alarm. There’s been an intruder at Cryrique and I need to go secure my office immediately.” Because I worked directly for Allcot, some of the files I handled were considered confidential. Like the pain-relieving chocolate I’d given Phoebe the night before.
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “When did you trigger the alarm?
”
I let out a sigh. “Ten minutes ago.”
“Hold on a moment, please.” There was rustling on the other end of the line, followed by the muffled sound of him giving orders. “The technology failed. You should still be able to use your employee access card to enter the facility. A guard will be there momentarily.”
“Uh, I don’t have it,” I said. “Once I sounded the alarm, I figured it wouldn’t work anyway, so I didn’t bring it.” The system was supposed to override all access cards, ultimately shutting down the facility in order to catch the intruders.
“Right. I see you on the camera now. I’ll buzz you in.”
“Thank you.” I waited until I heard the shrill sound, then strode inside the building and headed straight toward my office.
But right when I stepped off the elevator, a ping came from my phone indicating my card had been used again. What the hell was going on over at security? The alarm system was still down. It had to be if Jackson was still using my card. I paused and glanced down. This time he’d slipped into the stairwell.
Dammit! I punched in the number to security again, but all I got was a busy signal. Son of a… I took off at a dead run, heading toward the stairwell entrance he’d used, praying I’d run into someone before I got there. If they hadn’t overridden the system yet, I wasn’t getting anywhere without my access pass. And if they had, I needed a guard’s code to move throughout the building.
I sprinted down two halls, and skidded to a stop in front of the stairs. It was too early for the offices to be occupied, and the guards hadn’t made it up to my floor yet. I dialed security again. Still a busy signal. Had the entire system gone down? What was happening?
Just then the lights flickered, and there was a small blast that came from somewhere else on the floor. The lights went out and the hum of the machinery died, filling the hallway with silence.
The power was out. I reached for the door, and pumped my fist when the handle turned. I didn’t know what I could do to stop the vampire if he was intending to jump off the roof, but dammit, I wasn’t going to let him go without a chase. Though in the back of my mind, I knew if he was moving fast enough he was already gone. Humans didn’t have anything on a vampire’s speed.
Without hesitation, I barreled into the stairwell, glanced down at the miles of stairs below me, and then took off toward the roof. What felt like miles later, though it was only three flights, I burst through the door and spotted Jackson at the far edge of the building, his back to me. But he wasn’t the only one. He appeared to be carrying someone. Frail arms were wrapped around his neck, and boney, emaciated legs hung limply out to the side.
Oh, holy Jesus. He had a hostage. Or victim. Or someone. I had to stop him. Now.
“Jackson Barré! What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Okay, on the scale of one to ten of original things I could’ve said or done to stop him from his escape, my lame attempt probably ranked a negative fifteen. But I had caught his attention long enough for him to turn and look at me.
“Damn,” he muttered, and bent his knees as if he was ready to take off.
“Blake?” the woman said, her voice so faint I wasn’t sure I’d heard her at first.
“You know her?” Jackson asked the barely conscious woman.
She said something to him that I couldn’t hear, but it didn’t matter. Her voice. It was so familiar. I’d know her anywhere. Her hair was darker, no longer bleached from the sun, and her normally tanned skin was pasty white. But those big brown eyes peering at me over his shoulder, they were all hers.
“Colleen?” I cried and ran forward, tears spilling uncontrollably down my cheeks.
Jackson spun around and took a step to the side, pulling Colleen closer to him. “Stop,” he ordered. “You can’t be part of this.”
“Part of what?” I snapped and reached out to touch Colleen’s outstretched hand. “She’s my best friend. Anything that involves her, involves me.”
“Blake.” Colleen smiled at me, her lips chapped and dry. There were circles under her eyes, and she appeared malnourished.
“Oh my god, Col. What’s happened to you?” I wanted to wrap her in my arms and drive her to the nearest hospital, but with Jackson’s superhuman grip on her that was out of the question.
“We don’t have time for this,” Jackson said. “Security is working their way through the building. It’s only a matter of seconds before they find us here.”
“Who cares about you?” I all but snarled at him. “Just give me Colleen and you can go. I’ll take care of her.”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” He turned his back on me and stepped up onto the ledge of the building.
“No!” I cried.
Colleen peered over his shoulder once more. “I’ll send him back for you.”
“Who?” I asked, confused. And why wasn’t she scared?
“Jackson. He saved me. Trust me, I’ll be okay with him. Pretend you don’t know anything. It’s important.” Her voice was earnest. “Don’t let anyone know you saw me.”
And in the next second, Jackson flew through the air, landing easily on the next building. He turned, met my eyes for one agonizing moment, and then disappeared with my best friend. The one who’d likely been at Cryrique the entire time I’d been searching for her.
Fear crawled over my skin and settled in my heart. Colleen had been a beautiful, vibrant twenty-nine-year old woman the last time I’d seen her. And now she was a mere shadow of herself. What the hell had Allcot been doing to her?
I was shaking by the time I made it back down to my office. And although I knew I had to get out of there, get as far away from the organization as possible, I couldn’t. Not yet. I’d been the one to sound the alarm. If I disappeared without any explanation, all the suspicion would land on me.
Collapsing into my chair, I eyed an open file cabinet, one I knew I hadn’t opened in the last few weeks. I’d been doing most of my work on the computer. That meant Jackson had to have been looking for something. I peered inside, thankful the power had returned. Without the light, I’d never have been able to read anything. It was reams of research I’d filed a few months ago. Something about the effects of vampire blood infusions on humans. I quickly scanned them, noting only one was missing. Case number twenty-one. The other forty-nine were still in place.
I frowned. Is that what they’d been doing to Colleen? Infusing her with vamp blood? For what? Research? And against her will? Why? It wasn’t totally unheard of for humans to ingest vampire blood. In most cases it appeared harmless. But what was different about this?
If they were experimenting on her, it would make sense that Jackson had stolen her file. The details and the initial effects would be there, but not all of them. The rest would be in the database, waiting to be compiled. I opened my laptop, typed in a few keystrokes and pulled up case number twenty-one. There was too much to read, so instead of emailing and leaving a digital trail, I took screen shots with my phone, capturing all thirty pages before pulling up the results page.
There were footsteps clambering outside my office door. Shit! Someone was coming. I kept my eyes glued to the door while I snapped photos of the screen, then exited out just before my door swung open.
“Ms. Douvant?” the man I recognized as the head security guard asked.
“Yes?” I discreetly slipped my phone into the pocket of my dress, thankful I’d remembered to close my file cabinets before moving on to the computer.
“There’s been a breach in the facility. I understand you were instrumental in bringing attention to the matter.”
I nodded, afraid to say anything, for fear I’d somehow incriminate myself.
“Have you seen or heard from anyone since you’ve been up here?”
I shook my head. “No. Nothing. I’ve been locking down sensitive files in the event we’ve had a breach.”
“We have. Is there anything missing that you’re aware of?”
I shook my head again, hoping
I wasn’t giving off a giant liar vibe.
“Okay. Thanks. That’s all. We’re going to lock the building down. It’s best if you go back to your apartment. We’ll be in touch should we have any more questions for you.”
I nodded, figuring the continued nonverbal approach was the best one for now. It didn’t appear they knew Jackson had used my access card to get in. If they did, no way were they going to let me leave. And the minute they figured it out, I’d be in for a long night of questioning. There was no doubt about it. I had to get the hell out of dodge.
The walk back to my apartment was uneventful. The guards let me pass without any hesitation, but when I got there, I remembered I didn’t have my key to get in. That meant I had to leave with only my purse and the clothes on my back. Fuck me.
How far was I going to get using my credit card that any two-bit hack could trace? There was no choice though. What Allcot had done to Colleen was too horrible. I couldn’t continue to live in his building and work for him knowing what he was capable of. I had to go. But where?
I had no one in this city. Not anymore.
Then a small seed of hope coiled in my gut. Phoebe. The witch I’d helped save the night before. She was a powerful Arcane witch who’d said something about a love-hate relationship with Allcot. Could I trust her, though? It was a longshot at best, but I didn’t have any other options. Not if I wanted to stay safe from the long arm of the Cryrique.
Clutching my purse and holding my head high, I strode out the front doors of the Cryrique condominium building, intending to turn right as if I were headed to the corner market. Only a security guard stepped in front of me, blocking my path.
“May I ask where you’re going this morning, Ms. Douvant?”
I didn’t recognize him as a regular and peered at his badge. “Good morning, Officer Woodard. I’m off to my neighborhood coffee shop. Can I bring you back something? It’s been one hell of a morning and I’m starved. Not to mention they have those fabulous apple popovers I can’t seem to resist.”
Taming the Vampire: Over 25 All New Paranormal Alpha Male Tales of Contemporary, Military, Shifters, Billionaires, Werewolves, Magic, Fae, Witches, Dragons, Demons & More Page 100
