by Taylor Dawn
Layton peppered kisses along her collar bone as he began thrusting in and out of her body. She lifted her legs and hooked them around his back, drawing him deeper inside her. When one of his hands reached up to her bound wrists, Gia wondered if he would release them so that she could run her hands along his cool skin. But that wasn’t his plan at all. Instead, he grabbed the fabric in between her hands and jerked upward as he buried himself further. Gia loved the rough edge he added to their love making. She needed it to release all of the stress and worry that she was under. Each time he slid into her, he would put more pressure on her wrists making her moan with pleasure.
“You’re mine, Gia,” he growled.
“Yes, I’m yours.” She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she belonged to him and him to her. There was no denying what they shared and it went past only a physical connection. It was as if they were magnets, attracting each other until they became one solitary life form. It was hard to tell where one of them began, and the other ended when they were together. No, they weren’t the ideal couple, but to them, it didn’t matter. When you found that one person you were meant to be with, you shut out the naysayers and followed your heart. At least that’s what Gia was doing. She let Layton possess her, body and soul.
“Show me you’re mine.” He pulled himself from her then slowly slid back inside her heated core. “Give me everything,” he added.
Closing her eyes, she let the sensations overwhelm her. Each thrust of his cock inside her channel brought forth an emotion that she wasn’t privy to but she found a level of ecstasy that she wanted to feel over and over again. The coolness of his skin complemented the heat of hers, producing a balance of harmony that she’d never dreamed before. Her body opened like a flower bloom, reaching for the rays of the sunlight to take her over the edge and catapult her into ravishing bliss. She wanted it—craved it. What she was reaching for was no longer just a bodily reaction to him, it was a purity of possession and she was ready to hand it over.
The tingling began to overtake her—starting at the tips of her toes, traveling her spine and landing where she and Layton were connected so intimately. Her core fluttered as if warning each of them that something big would soon ensue. Her nails dug into her palms while her hands were tied with the soft fabric above her head. Everything wound together, creating a perfect storm that would soon overtake them both. But she wanted more. Gia wanted to feel everything he had and everything he was. “Bite my neck,” she cried.
He didn’t stop his movements, but said, “I can’t. It’s not allowed.”
“I don’t care. Just do it!” she tilted her head to the side, tempting him with the pulsing jugular vein at her neck.
“Gia, don’t tempt me.” She could see the pain of indecision pass across his face.
“I want to tempt you. If I am yours, then I want you to know all of me.”
“Fuck!” Layton cursed as he lowered his head, licking the vein on her skin.
Gia waited, wondering what was taking him so long. But soon, she didn’t have to wait. When his fangs pierced her skin, Gia’s release slammed into her, her body convulsing with pleasure. With each pulse of her core, she could feel him drinking from her. His pace was unhurried as if he were enjoying an aged Italian red wine instead of the blood that flowed through her body.
It wasn’t long though before his head snapped back and a groan of pleasure exited his blood stained lips as he spilled himself inside her body.
Gia laid on the bed with Layton on top of her. She didn’t want to break the bond they had formed so she stayed still, careful not to move him. He didn’t lift his head to make eye contact and that bothered her. “Did I do something wrong?” she asked.
Layton pulled himself from her body, picked his clothes up off the floor and fled the room like his ass was on fire. Gia sat up, tears forming in her eyes at the obvious shun. Not sure what to do, Gia climbed from the bed and began frantically grabbing her discarded clothing from the floor. After she was dressed, she padded down the hallway to the bathroom and shut herself in. As soon as the lock clicked into place, the tears began to fall like a torrential downpour. Each salty streak carried with it an emotion of hurt at the actions of Layton. She wanted to scream and pound her fists into something hard to feel physical pain instead of emotional devastation. Sure, she asked something of him that should’ve never passed her lips, but in the moment, she needed to know what it felt like to have his fangs sink into her flesh and drink from her. There was no regret on her part for what transpired. In fact, she would do it again if he was willing to go there. It was obvious that he wasn’t, though.
What was once a blissful coupling had shifted into Gia being pushed aside, making her feel as if everything was now falling to pieces.
Fourteen
FUCK, FUCK, FUCK. That was the only thought that would come to Layton’s mind as he stood in front of the fireplace in the living room of his home. His hands were braced on the mantle and his head hung down, staring at a spot on the floor. He had crossed a line with Gia and he would have to pay the piper for what he’d done. There were rules to being a vampire and drinking from the source was equivalent to one of the seven deadly sins. Hell, he would’ve gladly exchanged what he’d done for wrath or even pride. But no, he chose to sink his teeth into the woman upstairs. She hadn’t forced him to do what he did, he made a fucking choice and now, he was screwed.
“Hey, boss,” Layton’s head snapped up at the sound of Gaith’s voice. “You don’t look so good,” the muscled bouncer crinkled his brows.
“I just have a lot on my mind. How was your outing?”
“Fine.” The concern on Gaith’s face didn’t go unnoticed.
“Where’s the human?” Astrid walked in carrying her expensive stilettos in her hands.
“She’s upstairs.” Layton brushed past them and headed toward the kitchen.
“I’ve known you long enough to notice when something’s wrong. What the fuck happened while we were gone?” Astrid tossed her shoes on the floor.
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Layton opened the refrigerator, staring at the pitcher of blood that took up space on the top shelf. It only succeeded in reminding him what he’d done to Gia. Slamming the door, he swiftly turned and pounded his fists on the top of the kitchen table. The immaculate floral centerpiece tumbled across the wood then fell to the floor. When the glass vase hit the floor, it shattered, scattering shards in every direction.
“I think you need to talk about it before you end up having to renovate this place due to stupidity.” Astrid crossed her arms over her chest.
“I bit her,” Layton said quietly.
“Wait, can you say that again? I don’t think I heard you correctly.” His sister said.
“I fucking bit Gia!” he yelled.
The shock was evident on both Gaith and Astrid’s faces. “I need you to tell me that you’re joking.” She stood with her mouth dropped open.
“This isn’t a joke. I sank my teeth into her neck and drank from her.” He admitted.
He’d never seen his sister so frantic in all of their time on the earth. She was glancing around the room, maybe searching for something to ground her at the moment. “Okay, we can handle this. First of all, you need to leave. Get on a plane and go to Europe or fucking Africa. You have your passport, don’t you? Of course, you have your passport, what is wrong with me?”
“Your behavior isn’t making this any better Astrid.” He scorned.
“Really? Because you using your human for snack time doesn’t make my life any better either. What in the hell were you thinking?”
“She asked me to do it,” he said.
“I don’t care if she held a wooden stake to your heart, you know the rules.”
“Astrid, I wanted to drain her. I wanted to pull every drop of blood from her body until she was nothing but a cold corpse.” Layton hung his head.
“You want to kill me?” Gia’s sweet voice entered the conversation.
> “Shit. I didn’t mean to…”
She interrupted him. “To what? You didn’t mean for me to hear you say that? How could you say something like that?” A hurtful expression covered her features.
“You want her dead? I can make that happen,” Astrid turned, grabbing Gia by the neck and holding her up to the wall.
Gia’s feet dangled as she clawed at Astrid’s hands, trying to extricate herself from the vampire’s fierce grip.
“Put her down!” Layton roared as he sped across the room. When he yanked his sister away, Gia’s body slumped to the floor. Gia sat on the floor with her back to the wall. Her neck was flushed and she began coughing to catch her breath. “Are you okay?” Layton crouched down to check on her.
“Don’t fucking touch me.” She jumped to her feet and pinned him with a vicious stare. “I gave you everything. My heart, my body…everything. How could you just throw me away like I was nothing?”
“You have to understand, this is who I am. This is part of my nature.” He defended.
“I thought you were different than the others. You made me believe that you had some humanity left inside you. I was wrong.”
“Gia, can we please calmly discuss this?” he begged.
“I’m done, Layton.” She walked to the doorway of the kitchen then turned back, “Oh and to answer your question, no, I will not marry you. I can’t spend the rest of my life with someone who wants to see me dead.”
He stood rooted in his spot, wishing he hadn’t opened his mouth at all. As a vampire, he would always have the lust for blood. That was what drove his kind. That’s how he survived. But now everything was in tatters.
“Well, I guess that’s that,” Astrid said.
“I don’t want to be on this Earth without her by my side.”
***
Gia was completely lost. Hearing Layton say such horrid things about her, managed to emotionally wreck her. She’d left his house and began walking. The night air chilled her skin, making her wish she’d grabbed a jacket to keep her warm. The crickets chirped and the small rustling of animals in the trees spooked her as she walked down the side of the main road through the town of Blue Creek. It was the middle of the night and most of the businesses had closed up shop, except for a club that she spotted. The Horney Wolf didn’t sound like a place she should be, but she needed to find a phone to call her brother.
Gia made sure her face was clear of tears and took a deep breath before pulling the door open to the bar. When she did, the scent of fried food, alcohol and cigarettes smacked her in the face, making her nauseous. Laughter filled the small establishment as she stepped in but as soon as the door closed behind her, everything went deadly quiet. Eyes of all colors glowed in her direction, warning her that this wasn’t the place for her kind. She didn’t give two shits about what they thought.
“Can I use your phone?” She stood by the bar area and asked.
An attractive man with short spiky hair and tattoos pinned her with a stare. “No and I suggest you walk your ass out the way you came before you stir trouble in my club.”
“And by trouble you mean you guys are going to turn into furry beasts and rip me apart?”
The man laughed. “You could say that.”
“Back off, Mason. She’s with me,” Gia watched Micah approach her.
“So this is the half-breed the pack’s been talking about.” The bartender said. “Good to know.” The man eyed her up and down as if he were sizing her up for his next meal.
“Don’t worry about him, he’s all bark and no bite.” Micah looked her over. “Come on, there’s a room in the back where we can talk.” He grabbed her hand in his, leading her toward the rear of the club. “In here,” he said as he opened a door and ushered her inside. When they were away from prying eyes and ears, Micah looked her over. “Shit, G. You’re shivering.”
“I walked here from Layton’s house.” She admitted.
“That’s at least two miles from here. Why the hell are you out walking in the middle of the night?”
“Something happened.” She took a seat on a small sofa in the corner of the room.
“Did he hurt you?” Micah instantly went on high alert.
“No, not exactly. I asked him to bite me.”
“Mother fucker! I will tear him apart.”
“That’s not what upset me, Micah.” She proceeded to explain what she’d overheard. “I’m so stupid for getting involved with a vampire. Who in their right mind does something like that?”
“I don’t want to stand here and judge you, Gia. But I knew something like this would happen.”
“It wouldn’t have mattered if the warning signs were plastered on a billboard in Times Square, I still would’ve fucked up.”
“It’s not too late to make things right.” He grabbed her cold hands in his.
“I just need to go back to Las Vegas and pretend none of this ever happened.”
“G, you can’t do that.”
“And why not?” she yanked her hands from his.
“The pack doesn’t plan on letting you leave Blue Creek.”
“The pack can kiss my ass. I’m leaving whether they like it or not.” She jumped from her seat and headed to the door. When she felt Micah’s hand around her upper arm, she instinctively spun around and slapped him. The sound echoed in the room and the dumbfounded expression on his face almost made her wish she hadn’t hit him.
“I probably deserve that,” he rubbed the spot on his cheek where her hand made contact.
“Do not grab me like that, Micah,” she warned.
He held his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I’m sorry.”
“I need to go somewhere so I can think and make sense of all of this. Everything is so fucked up now.”
“Here,” he pulled the keys to his truck from his pocket and handed them to her. “Take my truck back to the house. I’ll grab a ride with someone when this place closes up for the night.”
“What about your brother, isn’t he staying at the house?”
“No, he left. Didn’t want to be involved with the drama.” Micah shrugged.
“I guess I’ll go then.” She grabbed the doorknob and pulled on it.
“I’d better walk you out. The pack can get a little feisty at this time of night.” He placed his hand on the small of her back as they left the room.
On their way back through the club, she was watched like a hawk. She knew that every single person who stared was just one more in the long line of those who wanted to see her dead. She wasn’t going to let that happen though. Somehow, Gia would find a way out of the mess she’d stumbled into. Why in the hell had she fallen for a vampire?
Fifteen
“I’M FINE, ZACH. I just needed some time to think.” Gia held her phone to her ear as she gazed into the fridge with a blank stare. She wasn’t hungry—but it was something to keep her mind off of the cluster-fuck that was her life.
“How about you pack your stuff and I’ll drive us back to Vegas?” he suggested.
“Apparently I can’t do that,” she slammed the door of the appliance and rolled her eyes.
“Why the hell not?”
“Because Micah claims that his pack are out to get me. Either I commit to him for the rest of my life or I essentially become dog food.”
“Fuck Micah and his pack. They don’t own you and we can’t help that we are what we are.”
“The one thing that confuses me is why are they coming after me, but not you? You’d think their death warrant would apply to all so-called half breeds.”
“I think he’s full of more stuffing than a Thanksgiving turkey, G.”
“I’m starting to feel the same way. Just give me a day or two to get my head on straight.” She sighed.
“I can do that. But in the meantime, keep one eye open and if you fall into any trouble, call me.”
Gia was glad that her brother had her back. As a fellow Dahmpir, it was nice to have something in common with her youn
ger sibling.
After she ended the call with Zach, Gia tossed her phone on the kitchen counter and headed for the bathroom. As she twisted the knob to turn on the shower, a sharp pain bolted through her stomach. She doubled over, wrapping her arms around her midsection. Bracing one hand on a nearby wall, she managed to make it to the commode before emptying the contents of her stomach.
Once her stomach pain let up, she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand.
“Hey, is everything okay in there?” Micah’s voice sounded through the door. He must’ve just gotten home.
“Yeah,” she paused as another slight pain hit her, “just feeling a little sick.”
“Do you need me to get you anything?” he asked.
“No, I’ll be all right—I think.” She stared at herself in the mirror. The dark circles under her eyes and pale cheeks were doing nothing to make her feel better. Sleep had been hard to come by and her entire diet consisted of over sugared coffee and a snack cake every now and then. It was more than likely the reason her clothing was starting to feel more snug than usual.
Taking a few deep breaths, Gia finally stepped into the shower. The steaming spray relaxed her tense muscles and eased her mind to some extent. It wasn’t long however, until the water began shifting from piping hot to lukewarm. With a deep sigh, Gia turned the water off and stepped out onto the bathmat. Just as she grabbed the towel she’d laid out, her vision became fuzzy and her legs went weak. Shaking her head, she tried to pull herself out of whatever was happening but it was no use. Before she knew it, her body was slumping to the ground in a wet heap. Just as her head smacked the tile floor with an audible thud, she tried calling out for Micah. Her voice didn’t sound like it was her own as his name slipped from her feeble lips. It would be a miracle if he was able to hear her.
***
Later that evening, Layton burst from the comfort of his coffin in a fit of worry. He could sense something wasn’t right with Gia and he needed to be by her side. Unfortunately his instinctive nature couldn’t nail down the exact cause of her distress.
