The dragon puffed out a chuckle. “Not yet, little warrior.” But he did grasp Nick again.
“There is the problem of this.” Viktor rattled the chain connecting him to the gargoyle. “It is time for it to come off.”
“That’s not part of the deal, Viktor. You shouldn’t have left the castle either.”
“My charge was in danger. You expected me to remain in that room and do nothing?” Trixie was his. If anyone should understand that, it was Eoin. She was a new vampire with wild urges and no one to help her control them. If he had not been here, she would have fed upon her sister, possibly killed her. “The only reason you knew where to find us was because I borrowed a cell phone on the way here to call you.”
“I thought you said he’d follow the scent trail like you,” Trixie whispered behind him.
“I did not want to leave it to chance. Eoin has been unpredictable since he mated.”
“I can hear you.” The dragon jerked the gargoyle closer, in turn making Viktor stumble forward.
Trixie rushed to his side. “Maybe we should do what the fire breathing dragon wants.”
“You are not capable of carrying three people safely. You only have two hands.” Viktor had many reasons for not wanting to return. Nothing nefarious, but he wanted to repair the damage done between Trixie and her sister. There was also that dhampir cursing shifters in Riverbend. Dark magic had a way of backlashing and Riverbend was part of his territory.
His fledgling’s gaze had gone glassy as she stared at Ruby. Her stomach growled loud enough to rival Eoin’s.
“She needs to feed. Let me take care of her before things grow out of control and you must chain both of us in your dungeon. I will return tomorrow night, you have my word.”
Eoin released the gargoyle only to grip the chain directly linked to Viktor’s neck and yank him against the window. He lost his hold on Trixie and she lunged for the only source of human blood in the room.
Ruby threw herself back against the couch.
Using his supernatural speed, he kicked Nick into Trixie’s path. They went down in a tumble of wings and chain. The gargoyle pinned Trixie to his chest and dragged her back to Viktor’s hold.
“You saved me,” Ruby mumbled as she stared at the gargoyle in confusion. “I thought you were the bad guy.”
Trixie’s shoulders shook. She sobbed silently against Viktor’s chest. He pulled her away and checked for injuries. Her face was a mess of blood-streaked tears.
“Enough of this.” Eoin reeled both him and Nick to the open window. The dragon clung to the side of the building with his claws like a huge scaly cat. Traffic below had stopped and a crowd was forming. Eoin broke the collar around Viktor’s neck with a well-placed claw. “On your word, Viktor. I’ve helped you because you asked, but don’t expect my patience to be infinite.”
He bowed as well as he could while holding Trixie.
The gargoyle blew Ruby a kiss before being dragged out by the dragon and carried away.
“What will he do with Nick?” Ruby stood on the far side of the apartment, arms wrapped around her body.
He shrugged. “Who cares?” He wiped Trixie’s face clean with his hands. “Did I hurt you?”
“No.” She glanced at Ruby. “I’m sooo sorry. I didn’t mean to jump you. I—I…”
“Lost control.” He finished her sentence. “It happens.” Hopefully, she had not inherited his lack of will power.
Viktor scanned the apartment. Three doors led from the living room kitchen combo. Two of them bedroom and the third a bathroom. “Which one is your room?”
“We’re staying here?” Trixie shook her head. “That’s not a good idea. I already tried to eat Ruby twice. We—we should go to your place or that nest you mentioned.”
Such a sweet thing. He caressed her beautiful, sad face. “But you did not hurt her. She will be safe as long as I am here to control you. I will protect you both.”
The tears in Trixie’s eyes dried. “You’re going to control me? That sounds awful.”
He ran his gaze over the silken strands of her shoulder-length hair, the bright color a contrast to his dark world, a beacon of joy. Those thick tresses tempted a man to fist his hands in the softness, tug her close, and sink his teeth—deliciously, carefully—into that full bottom lip. The curve of her waist and the flare of her hips a perfect place to grip.
“Like a master?”
“Yes.” It came out husky.
Ruby’s snort cut through the sexual tension. She no longer appeared afraid. “I’m going to make some popcorn and watch. This will be entertaining.”
“I can’t believe you’re cracking jokes. This is serious shit, Ruby.”
Viktor decided he preferred an angry Trixie to a sad one.
Her sister remained on the other side of the apartment, not cooking popcorn like she said she would. “Look, I’ll be honest and admit that feeding you scares me.” Ruby took a big, shuddering breath. “But the idea of you going off with Mr. Control Freak scares me more, so I’m willing to try.” She tentatively crossed the room and glanced at him—he nodded—before grasping Trixie’s hand. “Stay.”
He separated the sisters before the contact was too much for Trixie.
She slid behind him. Her hunger was so strong it pulsed between their connection and began to drive his own insatiable needs. Shit.
“You are willing to feed her from your own vein?” He had to feed Trixie, because he did not have anyone here to control him if he lost his shit. Never having known his own sire, he had not realized how strongly connected he would be to Trixie. So now he had both their bloodlust riding his poor will power.
“No.” Trixie dug her nails into his flanks. The sharp pain triggered dark desires of pink hair fanned on his silk sheets and her pleas for mercy a song in his soul. She tugged him away from her sister and his fantasy, plastering her slight body against his back.
He closed his eyes counting backwards from ten. Her hands were so soft. He bet the skin under her breasts was softer. Or better yet, the insides of her thighs…
“I’ll hurt her,” Trixie’s desperate whisper broke his train of thought.
“If you need it, Trix. I don’t mind,” Ruby offered.
He opened his eyes, surprised to find Ruby close with her arm extended.
“I mean, you don’t want all of it, right?” she asked.
Yes…
“Yes.” Trixie echoed his thought. “This is a bad idea, Viktor.”
He licked his lips. “Yes, I agree.” Instinct made him want to drain Ruby. Share her with his Trixie. Feed his charge and care for her.
No.
Trixie would be devastated. He knew this in the core of his heart and the link that bound them. Her tearstained face had torn at him and he never wanted to see her cry again.
“I shouldn’t have come here.” She clung to him, needing his strength, relying on him like no other had done in centuries. “What should I do?”
Hunger was a palpable force in his veins and Ruby’s poultry scent made it difficult to think. “Ruby, maybe you should back away now.”
He stared at the ceiling—praying? Pleading?—to whatever gods listened to vampires for clarity. He wanted a bright future for his fledgling and all his thoughts led to nefarious choices. Drinking Ruby dry was wrong. He had spent weeks in the castle dungeon, fighting for his sanity. He had thought he was under control, then he’d bound himself to a starving baby vampire. He took a deep breath and dove into old memories, those of when he was human, a leader among his people. In those days, he knew right from wrong. Something should still remain to help guide him.
Ruby backed away into the kitchen, hands clasped to her throat. The concern on her face was honest and pure. She loved her sister. That much was obvious. Maybe there was hope for Trixie. If he failed, she had Ruby to lean on.
“There are other ways to feed.” The red fog of need faded enough for his thoughts to clear. “I need a phone.”
“Mine’s br
oken.” Trixie’s big blue eyes met his. He could spend eternity swimming in her gaze.
The jingle of keys and change pulled his attention away from her beauty. Ruby was emptying her purse on the counter top. She grabbed her phone and tossed it toward him. “Use mine.”
He dialed, knowing the number by heart. Once it rang, he returned it to Ruby. “Tell them your address and that the delivery is for Viktor. It is all they need to know.”
Ruby did as ordered.
“Now that food is ordered, bedroom?” He guided Trixie toward the closed doors.
Ruby set her hands on her hips. “What are you planning to do? Fair warning, Trix. I think your master is into BDSM.”
“Ruby.” Trixie pressed her hand to her forehead.
“Give me a break, I’m not an idiot. I know the culture. You don’t. Mr. Control Freak keeps talking about being chained in a dungeon. Duh.” Her sister, though standing across the room, looked ready to tackle him.
His charge dropped her face into her hands, ears flushed.
He tucked her hair behind it and traced the lobe. “I too know this culture, but I refer to the dragon’s actual prison hold in his castle and he is not my lover.” He shuddered. “Thank you for that horrid image, Ruby. It will take weeks for me to forget it.” He leaned closer to Trixie and whispered, “Show me your room.”
Chapter Ten
Trixie pried her hands off her face. The heat on her cheeks felt like sunshine and she was amazed that she didn’t turn to ash. BDSM? Ruby had to make this about sex. She couldn’t really blame her with Viktor parading around half-naked, arriving with a collar and chain, but to blurt it out was not cool.
Viktor nudged her.
“This one.” She opened the closest door a crack. She assumed he wanted to place a wall between her and Ruby. That did seem best, but they should put a whole city and a castle wall, guarded by dragons, between them. “Why didn’t we go with Eoin?”
“Because your sister is afraid of you.”
“Shouldn’t she be?”
“Not forever. You both need to understand that with a little planning, you can still be a family.”
Something fluttered in her chest that had nothing to do with her heart. She concentrated on it for a second and decided to name it hope. Since leaving the castle in Nick’s arms, she’d been lost in despair, unable to believe she could return to her prior life. She smiled. It was weak and shaky. “Thank you.” He understood that hurting Ruby would destroy her. Maybe he wasn’t as unstable as she had thought.
Viktor gently pushed her inside the bedroom. He glanced at Ruby. “Tell me when they arrive.” He followed Trixie inside and halted over the threshold, mouth hanging open.
She pressed her lips together and waited for the comments. Everybody had an opinion on her hobby once they discovered she had one. Even when she didn’t ask for one, they told her what they thought. She waited some more.
Viktor strode inside, examining the drawings taped to her walls. His movements were deliberate, quiet, watchful. He communicated tightly controlled aggression yet he touched some of her work with such care it was at odds with his nature. Their nature. “You drew these?”
She nodded then realized he had his back to her and couldn’t see. “Yes.” Her voice cracked and she cleared her throat. Being an artist was tough. People weren’t standing on the street corner shelling out money, no matter how talented. An artist needed connection, drive, and people skills. A breakthrough moment that came as often as winning the lottery. She had none of those. She just wanted to draw.
“You are very precise.” He stepped back, assessing the whole wall. “I assume this is not all your work.”
“Just my favorite pieces.” Under her bed, she had boxes and folders full.
He crossed his arms, the muscles in his chest flexing in a distracting way. “Eoin paints and sculpts.”
“Oh.” She wasn’t sure how to respond. Great for him?
Viktor closed the bedroom door with his foot.
The space was small. She had enough area for a twin bed and one bureau. It was more of a large closet than a bedroom. Ruby’s was bigger since she had so much more maintenance needs. Viktor’s presence seemed to suck all the air out of the room. The vacuum he left in his wake pulled at her.
“If you want to fix my relationship with Ruby, maybe we should wait on the couch.” Not alone, with a bed, and her with an increasing fascination.
“It will be dawn soon. We must secure a safe place to rest.”
“Oh.” She tried not to sound disappointed and failed miserably. The small mirror over her dresser reflected a prettier version of herself. Blood stained the front of her shirt and dirt caked her back. “Holy crap, I’m a messy eater.” She gestured to her back. “And where did I get all this?”
Viktor threw back his head, mouth open so she could glimpse his saber tooth fangs as he let out a deep, rolling laugh. “The dungeon floor is never swept. I will log a complaint with Eoin next time we meet.” He tapped her under the chin with his knuckle. “You are adorable.”
“Yeah, thanks. That’s what I strive for.” Not for him though. She wanted to see something else in his eyes besides amusement when he looked at her. “I need to change. Could you step out?”
His smile vanished. “Last time you were left alone, you ran.”
“I ran here. I’ve got nowhere else to go.”
He trailed his gaze over her. There it was. The hunger she desired and her heart hiccupped. Okay, she wasn’t ready for more, like she had thought. Viktor was out of her league in every aspect of the word and he’d be appalled at her attempt of seduction.
“No,” he said as he turned his back and looked at her art work. “You have ten seconds before I turn to watch.” He counted down.
“You’re such a jerk.” She dragged open drawers, grabbed the most available items, and changed off clothes with swift tugs.
“Eight.” Viktor spun around as she zipped her jeans shut. He frowned, eyes narrowing. “Next time you only get five seconds.”
“There won’t be a next time.” But then she recalled he was her sire. That meant they were bound forever. That was a long time and this stranger would be part of her future, like it or not. She sat on the edge of her bed. The empty pit of her stomach howled in protest again. Viktor was a good distraction—he had turned her thoughts away from Ruby until her body reminded her again. Had he done that on purpose? She didn’t know how to read him. Part of him seemed playboy and the other part dictator warrior.
He seemed engrossed in her Mandela experiments. “These are so intricate. Freehand or traced?”
“Freehand.” She stared daggers at his back. Like she would bother with tracing. Those designs were hard to draw. She had even mathed to get them right. Her geometry teacher would die of shock if he ever heard.
The doorbell rang. It was the sweetest sound. She didn’t need her super hearing to know Ruby answered the door. The walls were paper thin. A second heartbeat joined Ruby’s. Trixie pressed her hands to her ears, not having realized she’d been focused on her sister’s pulse all that time. The heart sounds called to her to join them, make them quiet.
Viktor cracked the bedroom door open, placing his big body between her and escape. “Let him approach.” She could hear him even with her hands over her ears. Stupid vampire hearing.
She dropped her hands since they were useless in silencing the siren call of pulsing blood.
A man in a three piece, navy blue suit stood outside her room holding a small cooler.
“Who’s that?” She rose to her feet, unable to resist the scent of what he was carrying.
“HDBP, ma’am.” The stranger handed her a card. Home Delivery Blood Professionals.
“Oh honey, you ordered take out?” She pocketed the card. This couldn’t be real.
The delivery man opened the cooler. Five bags filled the case. “Tonight, I’m carrying blood from a vegetarian, some with high cholesterol for a richer bouquet, a competitive run
ner for a pick me up. This one—” He fingered a bag. “Drank three espressos before donating and this one drank five ounces of fifty-year-old scotch.”
Her eyebrows rose higher with each description. Choices? “Do they taste different?”
“Yes,” answered Viktor.
She didn’t know what she’d like.
“Were they tested?” Viktor asked.
“None of them are anemic. All iron levels are within normal limits.” The HDBP representative handed Viktor some paperwork, which he flipped through. She had been thinking diseases when he’d brought up tests, not lab work.
“We will take them all. Charge my account, George.” Viktor closed the lid and took the cooler.
“It’s always good doing business with you, sir.” He paused to offer Ruby a card. “In case you’re looking for a side job. I can always use pretty girls.”
Ruby didn’t need any encouragement to be bad.
“Stay away from my sister.” Trixie tried to exit, however Viktor’s iron grip prevented her from moving.
She walked George out and Viktor closed them back in her bedroom before Trixie could listen to their whispered conversation.
“Wait a minute…” Her nostrils flared as he opened the cooler. “Are they all for me?” She clapped her hand over her mouth, ashamed at how greedy she sounded. “Sorry.”
“No apology needed. I was half-expecting you to tear the cooler from George’s hands. You are quite well-behaved for a young vampire.” He tapped her nose. “You get two tonight and one in the morning.”
He sorted through the bags and handed over her share.
That was the last thing she recalled until she blinked and discovered she hunched in the corner of her bedroom, empty bags in her hands. She dropped them as if they were made of fire.
Viktor peered over her shoulder. “You didn’t spill a drop this time.” He sat on her bed. An empty red tinged wine glass sat on the floor next to his feet. Ruby had given him their one good glass? She noted the cooler wasn’t around.
“Where’s the rest?” Her head spun as she jumped to her feet.
Not His Vampire: Vampire Romance (Not This Series Book 3) Page 7
