by Hart, Shauna
Alec let out a low growl of warning. “No! This one is mine.”
His eyes narrowed. “You can’t walk into my club and start laying claim to things, Alec. But to show you that I am a reasonable man, I will let you have a taste when I’m finished.”
Alec had heard enough. He flew across the room at Damien, knocking Kat out of the way. Grabbing Damien by the throat, he drove the other man into the back wall Alec’s lips pulling back to reveal his fangs.
To his surprise, Damien grinned. “Alec, you don’t really want to take me on,” he warned.
“She’s mine,” Alec said, his voice reverberating through the small room.
One side of his mouth quirked up on a sneer. “I think we both know that’s not true. If it was, I would never have gotten this far.”
Curling his fingers into Alec’s shirt, Damien threw him across the room.
“Now, if you’ll excuse us…” Damien said, starting over to where Kat stood frozen.
“Leave her alone,” Alec growled.
Damien’s eyes darkened with anger. “Do you really think you can come in here and tell me what to do? There is no Order here to back you up.”
Alec’s eyes narrowed. “I won’t need the Order.”
Damien let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Really?” he stalked across the room to kneel down. Resting his elbows of his knees, he tilted his head to the side. “Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a hundred years older than you. I’m stronger than you. I could kill you in an instant.”
Alec glared at him.
“Now,” Damien continued, tilting his head to the side. “I don’t want to kill you, Alec. We have history together. But if you don’t stop issuing orders and get the fuck out of here, I will. Is that clear enough?”
Alec straightened, his chin lifting. “Clear,” he agreed.
“Good,” Damien said with a smile. “Just to show you there are no hard feelings, I’ll let you have the other one,” he explained, motioning to Mina.
Alec’s gaze focused on Mina.
She smiled in welcome.
Damien was right.
Taking him on in the club was dangerous. He would never make it out of here alive with Kat if he caused a scene. There was only one thing he could do that might just save both of their lives.
“You’re right,” Alec replied as he covertly reached into his pocket.
Damien’s lips curled into a pleased smile. “I’m glad you agree.”
Alec withdrew the syringe from his pocket as Damien shifted his weight. When Damien went to get up, Alec slammed the needle into his neck and pushed down the plunger in one swift move.
Damien’s eyes widened in horror, his mouth opening on a gagging sound. He clutched his throat as he stumbled backward. Falling to the floor, he stared at Alec a moment before his eyes fluttered shut.
In a flurry of movement, Mina rushed across the room to Damien’s side. “Oh my God, what did you do to him?”
“I just saved your life,” he muttered as he got to his feet.
He started over to Kat but before he could reach her, Mina flew at him.
“You son of a bitch,” she yelled as she clawed at him.
Grabbing her by the wrists, he held her arms down. Looking deeply into her eyes, he reached out with his power.
“You will leave this room, forget everything you’ve seen and never come back to this place,” he explained, his tone firm.
Her eyes widened, and he waited a moment for her submission.
“The hell I will!” she cried out as she struggled against his hold.
So, Damien had formed a blood bond with Mina. Alec could only hope that the bond had not been completed with Kat or this would be the most ineffective rescue there ever was.
He glanced across the room to where Kat stood motionless as if in a trance. Seizing the opportunity, Mina elbowed him in the stomach. He grunted at the surprising force of the blow. She spun on her heel, reaching out with both hands to his throat.
Grabbing her by the arms, he pushed her away. She stumbled across the room, before falling to the floor. Pulling the silk robe from the hook on the wall, he draped it over Kat and picked her up in his arms.
A quick look around the room let him know that Mina was already getting to her feet. Racing over to the door, he hurried outside. Several people were milling about in the hallway which meant that he couldn’t use his unnatural abilities to extract Kat quickly.
Still, with Mina still conscious, he only had a few minutes to get out of here before the club’s security would come after him.
A couple in the hall turned to stare at him as he made his way over to one of the doors to the right.
“Hey,” he heard the girl call out as he locked the two of them in the private room.
The race was on to get out while he still could. The injection he gave Damien would keep the vampire down for at least another thirty minutes.
After that, he would come looking for revenge. Using his speed, he crossed the room in a flurry of motion to pull open the French doors.
The night embraced him, hid him, protected him.
For now.
All he could do was hope that he could get her to his home before the battle began.
Chapter 15
“Goddamn him!”
Damien was across the room in a flash to stand in front of the mirror. Lifting his hand, he touched the wound on his neck. Mina stood behind him, her gaze jerking around the room nervously. Her fingers toyed with the ties of the black silk robe she was wearing.
“What did he do to you?” she asked.
Damien ran a finger over skin that now held a purplish hue. Pain sliced through the raised veins along his chest. “Silver,” he muttered curtly.
The bastard had actually injected him with silver. He could feel it burning underneath his skin.
Damn him!
How dare Alec walk into his club and use silver on him!
Mina’s eyebrow arched. “You’re allergic to silver?”
Idiot! He wanted to hurl the insult.
But first…
“Get over here,” he commanded.
She came willingly, a trusting look on her face. Damien was still looking in the mirror. A drop of shiny liquid oozed out of the puncture mark.
“You’re going to have to suck it out.”
An uneasy look marred her features. “But…”
He grabbed her and pulled her to him. He didn’t have time to argue with her. If she didn’t get it out now, it would spread through his system. His hands framed her face, and he jerked her to him.
“Do it,” he ordered as he pressed his neck to her lips.
For a minute, she didn’t respond. But then he began to feel her acquiesce. With each slow pull of her mouth, she spit the liquid out on the floor. Slowly, he could feel her drawing the poison out.
Damn Alec!
He should have known better than to trust the man. The silver, however, was a surprise. Though he was fairly certain he knew who the source was. He hadn’t seen silver used to control his kind since the old country. Even then, it had never been used in liquid form. So, the Senex had concocted a new weapon to use on those who fought them.
He felt Mina climb onto his lap to straddle him as the silver slowed and she began to suck on his neck. Leaning over, she spit out more silver tainted blood, before placing her lips against his flesh again. As much as he longed to destroy Alec, he did need to work off some of the frustration that had built up during his seduction of Kat.
Reaching between them, he undid his pants. He pulled the robe off of her body to toss it onto the floor. She pressed her bare breasts against his chest as her fingernails dug into the skin of his shoulders. Lifting her, he impaled her on the thick length of his cock. Her pussy contracted on him as he began to move inside of her.
He couldn’t help but smile. Mina was always wet for him thanks to the blood bond he had created with her. He could do anything to her…and he had. His fingers twisted her n
ipples painfully making her cry out as she arched against him for more. Rising from the chair he wrapped her legs around his waist as he moved toward the bed.
Lifting her from his cock, he threw her down across the bedspread. She rose up to protest against the loss, but he grabbed her by the hair and guided her mouth to it. Her lips parted eagerly to enclose around his thick length. He twisted his hand in her hair as he moved her against him.
After a few minutes, he pulled her away, her mouth making an audible pop as he was released. Reaching for her legs, he flipped her over to her stomach. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her to him, her sweet warmth sliding all around him. His grip tightened on her waist as he slammed into her. Her head bounced with the force of his thrusts.
He pushed into her violently wanting to make her hurt because she wasn’t the one who had created this ache. Visions of Katarina naked and straining beneath him filled his mind. Within seconds, he felt the exquisite rush of release.
He threw his head back as one word escaped him.
“Katarina.”
****
Kat stretched out on the bed, her eyes slowly fluttering open. The soft spread beneath her caressed her skin as she sat up against the wooden headboard. Her eyebrows drew together creating a crease on her forehead.
Panic shot through her at the unfamiliar scene as she sat up to look around.
Where the hell was she?
She didn’t remember much. The last thing she remembered was Mina coming to her apartment for some wine.
After that it was a blur of stilted images that didn’t make any sense. The memories led to one inevitable horrifying conclusion. Mina had to have spiked her wine. It was the only thing that made sense.
But why?
They were supposed to be on the same side, weren’t they?
Still, Mina’s betrayal in all this wasn’t what worried her most. It was the images of a man with piercing blue eyes. A shiver of fear raced up her spine. There was something about him, something about the way he looked at her that unnerved her. It was like he wasn’t really seeing her—like she was just an object to him, a conquest.
It bothered her.
But not as much as the memories of her letting him do things to her body.
It was like he had the power to rob her of her will, like she had no volition.
In all her life, she had never felt so powerless, so violated. It had been one of the most terrifying moments of her life.
Drawing the comforter around her, she pulled her legs up to press her knees against her chest.
When the door opened, she jumped.
A man moved into the room.
Fear struck her hard.
Before she could move, the room was illuminated with the glow of a match and her eyes adjust to reveal Alec lighting an old fashioned hurricane lamp.
Her eyes narrowed as confusion set in. “Alec?”
He turned to look at her, his expression grim. “Are you okay?” he asked, his tone low.
She pulled her lower lip beneath her teeth as his unnerving stare set in. “I don’t know,” she managed. “What happened?”
He looked away making the fear that was burning in her stomach explode into full fire.
Her eyebrows drew together. “Where are my clothes?”
Alec moved closer to the edge of the bed, making her scoot back further against the headboard. His eyes darkened when he saw the fear in her gaze. “I won’t hurt you, Kat,” he explained softly.
Her lips formed a grim line. “Answer me. Where are my clothes?”
“What do you remember?”
She drew in a steadying breath. “Mina said that someone had information about the missing girls. So, I went with her to the club to meet him.”
“And?”
She shook her head. “And…I don’t know,” she confessed in a hushed tone. “That’s when everything gets foggy. I think Mina must have spiked my drink, but why? We’re friends…or at least I thought we were.”
Taking a step closer to the bed, he nodded. “Your instincts are correct. I think your friend has been working with you for her own reasons.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “I just don’t understand why she would do something like that.”
“I don’t think she did it by choice.”
A crease formed on her forehead. “What do you mean?”
He hesitated for a moment, his hands twisting together. The concern in his eyes made her heart beat faster.
“What do you know about your father?” he ventured.
Kat’s gaze shifted back and forth. “My father? What does he have to do with anything?”
He lifted his chin slightly. “What did your mother tell you about him?”
She shook her head. “What difference does any of this make?”
For a minute, he didn’t say anything which only increased her current state of unease.
When he did speak, nothing could’ve prepared her for what he said.
“Your father is alive, Kat.”
“No, my father is dead, Alec. Now, are you going to answer my questions about Mina?”
Alec’s lips formed a grim line. “Your father isn’t dead.”
The words rocked her to her core. All her life she had wished that she could have known her father, that she could have a relationship with him. To know that it might actually be a possibility now was shattering.
But one thing still troubled her.
“How do you know that?”
“Because he’s the reason I’m here.”
Her mouth fell open. “What?”
“Your father asked me to watch over you,” he explained.
Kat looked away.
Was it possible that he was telling the truth?
After all, she didn’t know much about her father…just bits and pieces her mother had let slip. She had always wanted to learn more about him, to know what kind of man he was, but every time she asked her mother would close off. In the end, the answers she sought always seemed to cause more pain than they were worth, so she abandoned the search.
“If he’s alive, why didn’t he just come here himself?” she asked.
****
Alec had known that the question would come. He had hoped to have more time, gain her trust before he had to reveal the truth about her origin. Still, he also knew that there was only one way to answer her question.
With the truth.
Lying to her now would only make her more vulnerable, vulnerable to Damien or anyone else who wanted to take advantage of her. He couldn’t allow that.
It was time for Katarina Montague to know who she really was.
“Your father is a vampire, Kat.”
Chapter 16
“Come in.”
The command was offered in a terse voice.
Closing her eyes, Genevieve steadied herself before opening the door. A nude brunette lay sprawled across the bed to the right. Bite marks marred the skin of her thighs. Gen’s gaze lifted to focus on Damien who was pacing back and forth in front of the window.
“You called?”
His head snapped up, his gaze sharp. “I need a tracker,” he ordered briskly.
One eyebrow arched. “For?”
He let out a low growl. “You damned well know what for,” he bit out angrily. “If Alec thinks he can march into my club and take what is mine he is mistaken. I will kill him first.”
She wet her lips nervously. “I don’t think getting a tracker involved is the best solution,” she reasoned.
He stopped pacing to glare at her. “And as I’ve reminded you time and time again, I don’t care what you think. “
She shook her head as she threw up a hand. “I wouldn’t even know where to look.”
“Don’t lie to me, Gen,” he warned. “You won’t like the consequences.”
“Damien,” she began carefully. “Trackers rarely come out and introduce themselves. They are trained to hide. It’s what they do best.”
He was across
the room before she could finish her sentence. His hands gripped her arms as he leaned in, an evil grin sliding across his mouth. “I also know that you are aware of everything that happens in this city…even the things that happen in the shadows. And if you don’t find me a tracker quickly, I will end you.”
Her gaze lifted to meet his. “I won’t declare war on the Senex, Damien. It’s a fool’s mission.”
He reached up to caress her cheek, but the gentle motion held an air of malevolence. “I’m not declaring war on them,” he replied evenly.
She pursed her lips. “Alec…” she began.
“Is nothing more than one of their trained dogs,” he finished for her. “They won’t start a war to save one animal.”
She swallowed nervously. “I’ll see what I can do.”
He leaned down to place a chaste kiss on her lips. “Good girl,” he said, releasing her to walk back to window.
When he was at a safe distance, she glanced over at the girl on the bed. “What of this one?”
He shrugged. “You can have her if you want,” he offered.
Gen looked at the woman. Full breasts held rosy nipples that piqued as if begging for attention. Catching her gaze, Damien focused on Mina.
“Mina, show Genevieve how willing you are to make her happy,” he instructed.
Mina reached up to cup her breasts, her fingers tweaking the nipples. One hand trailed lower to disappear into the mass of dark curls at the juncture of her thighs.
“Gen,” Damien called out.
Genevieve’s eyes met his.
“First, the tracker,” he ordered. “You can play later.”
****
“A vampire,” Kat repeated woodenly.
Alec nodded.
Her tongue came out to slide along her lower lip. “Uh huh.”
“I know that this isn’t easy to hear,” he said.
Kat stared at him.
His gaze was trained on her.
Man, could she pick them? She finally found a guy that she was attracted to and he turned out to be a lunatic. Obviously, he was on drugs or was one card short of a full deck. She had seen stories about people who got involved with psychos on Dateline but she never expected to be starring in her very own episode. Of course, with the story he was telling her they might end up on Supernatural or Buffy the Vampire Slayer instead.
