She explored them with the tip of her tongue. She didn’t seem afraid, just curious. My fangs weren’t any more sensitive than my other teeth, but the touch of her curious little tongue, the idea that she was exploring the most vampire part of me, was so fucking arousing that I had to drag my mouth from hers.
I crouched over her. The bathrobe still covered her breasts. I jerked the lapels open and then captured her wrists in one hand, pressing them high above her head so that she was stretched out on the mattress beneath me.
Her chest heaved, causing her small, firm breasts to move enticingly. I used my free hand to pinch the nipples into hardness, then gave each a firm suck.
She moaned and squirmed beneath me.
I looked down at her. I’d never felt so much like a predator. I wanted to possess Mila completely and forever. To own her.
The temptation to compel her was nearly overwhelming, but I fought against it. The vampire might hunger for total control, but the human knew that it would be an empty victory.
Still, that didn’t mean I wasn’t going to take her, hard and long. “I’m going to fuck you,” I informed her in guttural tones. “So deep you’ll feel me in your goddamned soul.”
“Oh, yeah?” she spat back. But her eyes darkened, and I scented her spurt of arousal.
That was enough for me. I undid my pants and shoved them down to my knees along with my boxer briefs.
I slid my fingers between her thighs. She was slick, hot, her clit swollen. I toyed with the sensitive bit of flesh, enjoying the high, needy sounds she made.
She lifted her hips to mine. “Please, please, please…”
I wrapped my fingers around my cock and eased the blunt, sensitive head between her lips.
“Ohmigod,” she rasped. Tiny muscles tightened around me, drawing me deeper.
My lower back went rigid at the exquisite pleasure. Then I heard a single, furious bark—and the crash of breaking glass.
I stilled.
“Don’t stop.” She wriggled against me. “Please don’t stop. I need—”
“Shh.” I set my hand over her mouth. “Something’s wrong.”
It was agony, but I pulled out of her and rolled off the bed. For a moment, I stood there, hands on my thighs, sucking in air. Then I dragged up my boxers, eased myself back into the jeans.
Mila swung her legs off the bed next to me. “Gabriel?” she whispered.
“Put on your clothes,” I returned, low-voiced. “Now.”
She gulped. While she pulled on a T-shirt and shorts, I went to the head of the bed so I could reach the painting of the Adirondack chair. At least my erection had subsided enough that I could walk.
I pried the tiny surveillance camera from its hiding place in the picture frame. As I ground it under my heel, Mila finished dressing.
“Bring your shoes.” I waited until she snatched up a pair of tennis shoes and grabbed her hand, tugging her to the door. I removed the camera above it as well, and then set my ear to the heavy wood.
Silence.
Taking out my smartphone, I opened the security app and navigated quickly through the various video feeds. This hall looked clear for the moment, although I saw someone creeping through the kitchen.
Hopefully, Lougenia had reached the safe room in her apartment in time, because there was nothing I could do for her now.
Where the fuck were the vampires on duty? Had some of them joined in the attack?
A growl scraped at my throat.
Using the app, I disabled the video cams throughout the beach house because I didn’t know if I could trust my own goddamned security.
I put my mouth close to Mila’s right ear. “There’s a way out through my bedroom. Nod if you understand.”
She nodded, her eyes dark, frightened pools in her pale face.
I extended my fangs to their full length—vampires fought dirty—and eased open the door. A low shadow rushed at us. I dropped into a fighting crouch, but it was just Diesel. The wolfdog had somehow gotten in the house.
My jaw hardened as I straightened back up. Daisy was probably dead. Diesel wouldn’t have left her otherwise.
I pulled Mila into my suite, Diesel pushing in after us. When the three of us were safely inside, I input the code to engage emergency security in my suite before hurrying with Mila into my bedroom.
Behind us, several deadbolts slid home, although a locked door wouldn’t keep out a vampire for long. Even the laser beams set to slice through the body at knee, chest and neck could be circumvented if you were familiar with the system. But it should slow the intruders down long enough for us to escape.
Pulling Mila into the walk-in closet in my bedroom, I slapped a hand on the depression next to the light switch. A panel slid open behind a row of my suitcoats.
I shoved my phone into the pocket of the nearest coat so it couldn’t be used to track me, then removed a silver switchblade from a shelf. “This way.” I urged Mila into the hidden passageway beyond the coats.
She dug in her heels. “Give me a knife, too,” she mouthed.
I hesitated—not because I didn’t trust her with a switchblade, but because I didn’t think it would do her any good against a vampire—but she stared back steadily.
“Please,” she whispered.
I grabbed another one and handed it over. If it made her feel better, what could it hurt?
“Thank you,” she mouthed.
I jerked my chin at the hidden passage and then waited until she and Diesel were inside before shutting the panel behind me. We were in a narrow tunnel that lead down to the ocean and the speedboat I kept moored there. The darkness was broken only by miniscule dots of light on the walls about ten feet apart. When I’d had the passage built, I hadn’t expected it to be used by a human.
Mila flicked open the shiny silver blade with an ease that probably shouldn’t have surprised me, and peered over my shoulder.
“Stay close to me,” I said. “This leads to a—.”
She slapped a hand over my mouth, stopping me. “Don’t tell me,” she whispered.
I frowned. “You’re bugged?” I mouthed.
She nodded and took my hand, guiding it to her left earring. “Mic,” she mouthed. She brought my hand to her other earring. “GPS.”
“Hell.” We had to remove them. But maybe we could use the technology against the attackers?
The GPS had to go first. I gripped the silver hoop and gently but firmly twisted until the weld snapped.
“Trust me,” I mouthed next to her right ear. I waited until she nodded before saying in a slightly louder voice, “They’re searching the house now. We have to get to the helicopter.”
Meanwhile, I snapped my fingers for Diesel, who’d pushed ahead to sniff out the passageway. He trotted back to look up at me expectantly. I twisted the silver earring around his collar and took him back into my suite. Mila followed, watching us from the bedroom door.
I disengaged the security and rubbed my cheek against Diesel’s rough fur. “If you get out of this alive,” I murmured, “you’ll be eating steak for the rest of your life.”
I eased open the door to the hall. The door to Mila’s suite stood open now. “Go,” I told the wolfdog in a low voice. “Heliport.”
He whined, but obediently loped down the hallway.
I returned to my suite, silently closing the door and reengaging the security. Back in my bedroom, Mila had donned her sneakers. She stood with her arms wrapped around her middle, a big-eyed waif in a rainbow T-shirt and cargo shorts. The still-open switchblade glinted obscenely in her hand.
Guilt swamped me. This was all my fault.
I should’ve never shown myself to her, all those years ago in the garden. Security had been on their way to escort her out, but I’d told them to back off, that I’d handle it. But instead of ordering her off our property, I’d somehow found myself offering to show her the garden instead.
She’d been so entranced by the flowers, she hadn’t noticed that all I coul
d look at was her. By the end of an hour, I’d known I had to see her again.
Now I hauled her into my arms for a hard kiss. “Don’t worry,” I whispered in her right ear. “It will be all right. I have people looking for Joey.”
Her head whipped up. Her fingers curled into my shirt.
“I don’t care about me,” she mouthed back. “But please, don’t let them hurt him.”
And just like that, I knew Joey had really been kidnapped. No one could fake that kind of terror. Her pupils were dilated, her heart racing, her scent sharp with fear.
Which meant Mila had been forced to spy on me.
Maybe it was a fine line, but it meant everything to me—that she hadn’t wanted to help my enemies.
I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “He’ll be okay,” I mouthed. “I swear it.”
She nodded, anxious yet trusting.
My heart squeezed. “He’ll be okay,” I repeated. “I promise.”
I just hoped I could keep that promise.
I took Mila’s hand, and together, we ducked through my suits and into the dark passage, which was basically a rough tunnel with no steps. In a couple places where it grew too steep, I’d had the workmen install metal ladders.
Mila gamely kept up, climbing down the two ladders like a cat burglar. Even though I had to move slower to accommodate her human reflexes, we were in the cavern in under five minutes. I slapped my palm on the control, and a door concealed in the rock slid open. Outside was a strip of beach separated by a high, rocky outcropping from the larger cove we’d visited yesterday.
The boom of the surf filled the small cave. Ten yards away, my speedboat was secured to a small dock, concealed in a V-shaped cove formed by the high black rocks.
It was time to get rid of Mila’s other earring. I carefully twisted it off her earlobe and shoved it under a rock at the back of the cave.
We hurried, hand in hand, onto the wet beach. The rain had passed, and the sun had dipped below the horizon, leaving a muted orange shimmer on the dark sky. Long shadows stretched, fingerlike, across the narrow cove, and to the east, the moon hovered, a slender silver crescent above the black water.
I shot a glance up at the beach house. The windows were dark, the whole compound shrouded in an unnatural quiet. But then, vampires fought silently, with stakes and silver blades, and they had incredible night vision.
I started toward the speedboat, then froze. The boat rocked gently, the ocean slapping against the hull. But something or someone was huddled on the deck.
I pushed Mila in the direction of the cave. “Go. Hide in the passage until sunrise.”
But it was too late. A man leapt off the speedboat and stalked toward us with a vampire’s easy grace. Two other vampires dropped from the top of the sixty-foot cliff like great bats to land on the beach a few yards away. One man blocked the way to the passage—whether by intention or accident, I didn’t know.
“Gee, boys,” Mila said out of the side of her mouth. “Nice of you to drop in.”
My lips quirked in spite of myself.
The vampires closed in on us from three sides. Mila edged closer to me.
There was a series of rapid clicks as they released their switchblades one by one. The long silver knives shone in the moonlight.
“That’s Andre,” she hissed. “The man who has Joey.”
“Bastards.” I released my own blade. It was Andre Redbone, along with two young vampires from his coven. Apparently, my little trick with Diesel and the G.P.S. hadn’t fooled them for long.
A cold fear skated over my skin. Three vampires against me, a dhampir—and I was all that stood between them and Mila.
“If you get a chance,” I muttered, “take the speedboat and stay out to sea until daylight. I’ll keep them busy.”
Her swallow was audible. “I don’t even know how to start it.”
Holy Dark Mother. Could this night get any worse?
“Then you’ll have to get to the passage,” I rapped out. “But for now, get the fuck behind me.”
17
Mila
Terror squeezed my lungs. I went motionless, staring at Andre like a mouse bewitched by a golden-eyed cobra. His fangs had elongated, and his irises were rimmed with vampire blue.
“Mila,” Gabriel growled. “Snap out of it.” A long arm swept me behind him.
I lurched backward, coming up short against the tall rocks behind me. It was the slap awake I needed. I gripped the switchblade and crouched beside him.
Inside, my mind was screaming. Run. Get the fuck out of here.
But where? I had no idea how to operate a motorboat, or any boat, for that matter. Unless you counted kayaking on the Chesapeake Bay.
And despite what Gabriel had said, the passage wasn’t an option. I didn’t know if any of his security force was still alive, and besides, a vampire could bring me down before I’d gone two yards.
“Dhampir.” Andre stopped just out of Gabriel’s reach, a sneer on his handsome face. “Stand down and the woman will live.”
The other two vampires closed in, switchblades ready. Like Andre, they wore all black, making them nearly invisible against the cliffs hemming us in on three sides. It was too dark to make out their features, but I caught the gleam of blond hair to my right.
Martin.
And something about the way the man on the left moved made me sure it was Stefan.
I gulped. For a sickening moment, I was thrown back to those three days of “training” in the basement of the apartment building. I’d been allowed only a few hours of sleep at a time. Food and water had been rationed, leaving me constantly hungry.
Andre had made it clear that would be my life if I didn’t do exactly as he said. But I was used to being tired and hungry. What had made those three days a nightmare were Stefan and Martin. The two vampires took turns browbeating me, telling me I was a weak human, and that Gabriel had never loved me. Reminding me they had Joey—and that they knew where my parents lived.
Worse, one of them was constantly in my room. I’d wake up to find Martin watching me like a hungry boy who’d been promised a piece of his favorite candy. Or Stefan would be sitting on my narrow cot, touching me: my face, my throat. Especially my throat.
Andre had promised me to them first, they’d told me, and he’d confirmed it right before releasing me.
“They’re young, and they can’t get enough blood”—Andre had smirked—"and sex. But don’t worry, do as you’re told, and you’ll be free to go along with your brother.”
Gabriel growled, breaking into my memories. I gave myself a shake.
This time, I reminded myself, you’re not alone.
I had Gabriel, and my own weapon. My fingers tightened on the switchblade’s handle.
“You’re dead,” Gabriel said, low and cold.
Andre’s fangs shone white in the darkness. “You think you can win against three vampires?”
“Maybe not, but at least I didn’t send a human to do the job for me.”
“A distraction.” Andre waved a dismissive hand. “And it worked even better than I expected. You literally had your dick inside her as we broke through your security.”
Gabriel’s sharp breath was audible. “You thrice-damned bastard.”
Hatred burned in me. My fingers clenched so hard around the silver handle, I’m surprised I didn’t put finger-sized dents in it.
The vampire’s gaze flicked to my knife. “Try it,” he invited with a chilly smile, “and our bargain is void. My coven has been eager to meet your brother. Fresh meat is always welcome, and a young man like him will be especially sweet.”
Martin and Stefan hummed their agreement.
Horror skittered up my spine. That bargain had been the only thing protecting Joey. I hesitated, nauseated at the very thought of my kid brother enslaved by these evil pricks.
But I was through running, and I was damned if I’d watch Andre kill Gabriel right in front of me. I’d have to trust that Gabriel and
his people would save Joey. I might be a slow, weak human, but I could still do some damage with the long silver blade.
But to do that, I’d have to get closer. I lowered my gaze, let my shoulders cave in.
Let Andre think he had me cowed. Meanwhile, I’d watch for an opening.
Gabriel sprang, feinting left and driving Andre and Stefan back. When Martin swooped in from the right, Gabriel was ready. He struck out, lightning fast, with his knife. The blond vampire shrieked and fell to the sand, hands clutched to his groin.
Gabriel didn’t wait for him to recover. He struck again, shoving the long, thin blade up through Martin’s rib cage into his heart.
Martin groaned and went limp.
“Burn in the bright fires of noon,” Gabriel snarled.
His profile was outlined against the rising moon. It was like seeing a big cat from the side, his fangs long and white. Scary as shit.
The man wasn’t even breathing hard.
My lips peeled in a feral grin. That was my Dark Angel. Maybe we had a chance, after all.
Andre and Stefan came at Gabriel from either side. The fight became a blur of motion, all three men moving at insane speeds.
I crouched nearby with my switchblade, desperately wanting to help. But I couldn’t even tell which one was Gabriel.
Then Stefan stepped back, circling behind Gabriel while Andre attacked him from the front.
Stefan stopped a few feet away from me, his body partly turned so I could see his back. His gaze on the two combatants, he barely spared a glance at where I crouched against the rocks. He held his blade a little in front of him, its sharp point twitching right and left with the fighting men in a chilling dance.
My gaze zeroed in on his exposed nape.
The teacher of one of my various defense classes had been a hard-eyed ex-Marine. He’d explained in detail why you never turned your back on a man—or woman—holding a knife. Severe the spine at the nape, and it was over, even for a vampire.
Pursued: A Vampire Syndicate Paranormal Romance (The Vampire Syndicate Book 1) Page 13
