The Royal Flush (Knights of the Darkness Chronicles(Book Three))

by Simmons, D. N.

  Once Richard completed his packing, he walked to his hidden vault, entering the fifteen-digit combination on the pin pad that would allow him access. When the door opened, he began to count out the two-hundred thousand dollars needed for the next day’s exchange. It annoyed him that he had been compromised. It also infuriated him that not once, but twice the price had been increased. He wanted this new problem eradicated and soon. Once he had the money, he placed the bills neatly into a special black, leather briefcase with a hidden tracker encoded in the combination lock. He smiled to himself at his own cleverness then closed the case. He took the briefcase to his bedroom, setting it beside the bed before climbing in. He would awake the next day, give Eric the suitcase and wait to see what happened next.

  ***

  Darian entered the bedroom, his gaze immediately focusing on the two figures resting in the bed. Natasha lay in Xavier's arms as he held her close to his chest. He walked towards the bed, sitting on the edge. Xavier opened his eyes when he felt Darian’s presence.

  “Hello, my love,” Darian said softly.

  Xavier ran his fingertips down the length of Darian’s arm, letting his hand rest over his lover’s. “How did it go?”

  “Well, the night has been very eventful,” Darian replied recounting the evening’s events to Xavier making sure to include in detail what transpired between the two cops and their contact. He ended by telling him of the arrangement that was made for the next afternoon.

  “Do you think Natasha will be safe? Do you think it’s a good idea to send her?” Xavier asked, unable to hide his concern.

  “Do not worry. I trust that our friends will take great care of her. But I want her to touch something. We need her to create a link since I can’t. Believe me, I care a great deal about her safety and I wouldn’t put her into such a predicament if I didn’t think it necessary... imperative, actually,” Darian said the last statement as an afterthought.

  Xavier nodded. “I know that you’ve made a wise decision. It’s just… it’s Natasha.”

  Darian smiled, leaned forward and kissed Xavier tenderly on the lips. “I know.”

  Xavier nodded. He knew that Darian understood his feelings about her being involved.

  “I need to wake her up. I want to increase the power of her ability, and her own natural resilience,” Darian said.

  “Aren’t you taking a chance that she’ll become addicted to your blood by exposing her once again?” Xavier asked.

  “I’ll let it be her decision, but I want to present the idea to her,” Darian said as he tenderly kissed her lips and cheeks. He pressed his lips gently to her closed eye lids, causing her to stir in her sleep. He smiled wickedly as he ran his fingertips down Natasha’s cheek to her neck. Leaning forward, he buried his face into the crook of her neck, his tongue darted out licking her soft, fragrant skin.

  Natasha yelped as her eyes shot open. She smiled once she recognized who had woken her and her hand darted out to whack Darian playfully on the arm. “Stop! You know how ticklish I am.”

  Darian flashed his pearly whites. “I know.” His smile faded and his expression grew serious. “I have something to ask of you.” He began to tell her everything.

  “Oh my God, I can’t believe all of this happened in one night! Well, I know this is a bad thing to say, but I’m glad Ryan didn’t get away with the money or betraying his partner,” Natasha stated.

  “What about tomorrow, do you mind?” Darian asked.

  Xavier looked at Natasha, but remained silent.

  “I’ll help, like I said before. If I’m needed, I want to do what I can to help,” Natasha replied.

  “Let me propose this one thing to you. I would like to increase your ability along with your physical resilience through my blood. Will you allow me to do this?” Darian asked.

  “Is it necessary?” Natasha asked, concerned about the possible side-effects.

  “No, it isn’t necessary, but I honestly believe it will help you a great deal. Vampires in general have very powerful telepathic abilities, which is why we can form mental connections through our blood as well as read and manipulate people’s minds. It is also the reason why I’ve been able to help you with your visions. The last time I gave you my blood, it increased your ability.”

  Shocked, Natasha looked at Darian. “Come again?”

  Darian chuckled. “Remember Eliana?”

  Natasha nodded. “Yeah, she was the vampire who killed those people, her and her crazy-ass wolf boyfriend.”

  Darian chuckled softly at Natasha’s descriptions. “Correct. Upon meeting you, I read your mind and knew that you were tracking the wolf and vampire you saw in your vision. You touched the wolf’s watch in a grocery store that day, remember?”

  Natasha nodded. “Evidently, I did. It was how I was able to form a connection with him.”

  “It was Eliana’s first… well, let me explain how she came in possession of the watch. She’d taken it from a victim one night against my wishes. I thought it was rather distasteful to steal from your victims simply for the sake of taking trophies. She had taken a fancy to killing for the thrill of the kill, for pleasure. Mind you, I’m not opposed to the notion, but some beings should never be our prey. For Eliana, the line that separated innocent blood from guilty began to fade and well… you know where that led her. But let me get back to my point, your initial connection became more powerful after you drank my blood, which was why you were able to get a vision of Eliana later on, even after the wolf was dead. The watch held significance for both of them.”

  “I’ll be damned,” Natasha whispered, still reeling from Darian revelation. “How long have you known this?” she asked, intrigued.

  “I knew the moment Warren told me about your vision. The only reason why I’m telling you now is so that you understand why I’m suggesting you drink from me again.”

  “You should have told me this before, Darian,” Natasha said, slightly annoyed that he had kept information about her abilities from her.

  Darian nodded. “You’re quite right. I apologize.”

  Natasha sighed and looked at Xavier who still remained silent. However, he didn’t appear to be worried. She turned to Darian again. “What will happen to me?”

  “Naturally, you’ll age a little slower, not to the point where you’ll have to change your identity or anything like that,” Xavier said, breaking his silence. “People might suspect that you’ve had a face lift. That’s about it.”

  “More or less. You’ll still be human, you’ll still age, just not at a normal rate as most humans. But more importantly, your psychic and clairvoyant abilities will be increased. I’m not quite sure to what degree. Vampire blood has various effects on different people especially if psychic abilities are present. I don’t have all the answers for this, it’s extremely mystical and preternatural.” Darian took her hand into his. “Do you trust me?”

  Natasha thought about what he was asking of her. “I don’t want to be addicted,” she said cautiously, remembering what Darian had told her about the blood of a vampire. He had said that some humans become enslaved to the blood as one can become enslaved to drugs or alcohol. She didn’t want any part of that.

  “I don’t think that you will. It has almost been a year from the first time I gave you my blood, I believe you’ll only grow stronger. Do you trust me?” Darian asked once more as he peered into her eyes.

  Natasha stared at him a moment longer then nodded. “I do. If you think it’s necessary, then I will trust you.”

  Darian smiled and sat up straight as he removed his shirt, tossing it in the chair. Xavier inched away from Natasha to allow her room to move closer to Darian. He watched the two of them quietly, but intensely.

  Darian extended his hand to her and she took it. He pulled her closer, pressing his chest to hers. “I love that you trust me. If it’s in my power to give to you, know that you will have it.”

  His powerful chest began to heave as his arousal grew. His mouth salivating as he
sensed Natasha’s lust. He knew she was anticipating drinking his blood as much as he was. The memory of the ecstasy they both shared that faithful night was returning to him in a mind-blowing rush.

  Natasha felt her heart expand as he held her in his arms and she kissed him deeply, her tongue exploring his mouth, savoring his taste. She pulled away with some effort. “I’m ready.”

  Darian’s fingernails extended and he ran a razor sharp nail across the tender skin in the bend of his arm, creating a wound over the dark purple vain. He didn’t need to tell her what she must do.

  Natasha gazed at the thick red blood seeping from the wound, then closed her eyes. “God this is so gross,” she said with a grimace.

  Both Darian and Xavier chuckled as she leaned forward and tentatively darted her tongue between her lips to catch a drop of the blood as it flowed freely from the wound. Her body felt electrified with the first taste of Darian’s blood. She leaned forward pressing her open mouth on the wound and began to drink. Darian watched her with keen eyes as she fed from him greedily. Tiny ecstatic sensations coursed through his veins as his blood continued to flow into her. His head rolled back, his breathing increased and he wrapped his other arm around her, holding her close to him. Natasha sucked harder and faster on the wound, savoring the delicious taste of his blood as well as the pleasurable feeling it was inducing inside of her. The pleasure was all around her, she didn’t want it to end and groaned loudly when Darian forced her from the wound.

  “Please!” She cried out.

  “No, Natasha... No,” Darian whispered softly as he shook his head. He held her still in his hands as she struggled in vain to recapture his arm. He forced her to be still, releasing her only once the glazed effect left her pupils. “How do you feel?” he asked finally as he watched her regain her control.

  “I feel all this tingling sensation inside me, even on the surface of my skin,” Natasha said as she ran her hands over her arms. “I don’t remember feeling like this before.”

  “That’s to be expected. The last time I gave you my blood, it was to save your life. Needless to say, your mind was on other things. But more importantly, you were able to regain your composure. You’ll be all right, just a little giddy for the rest of the night,” Darian said with a chuckle.

  Natasha smiled merrily, causing him to laugh outright. Xavier hugged her close to him, pressing her back to his chest lovingly.

  “You should get some sleep. Let me know if you feel anything unusual with your ability or anything else,” Darian requested.

  “Oh believe me, you’ll be the first to know... Well the second, cause I’ll be the first,” Natasha said as she giggled, smiling drunkenly.

  “You are adorable.” Darian smiled seductively as he rose from the bed to finish undressing. Afterward, he joined the two of them, sliding his arm around Xavier’s waist holding him close and together they rested.

  ***

  Natasha dreamed of the three captives held in the tiny white cells. Their hunger was immense, their painunbearable. She felt their despair and fear; fear that they would surely die soon. Their fates were becoming evident even to them. On the full moon, they believed they would be hunted down in their weakened state and killed by merciless humans. Rachel in her anger and misery began to cry. She missed her Pride and her family. Nicole prayed that she would be saved. She swore if she were to survive this, she would never sneak into the “HumanOnly” district again. Gary was terrified even though he knew that Darian was working on rescuing him. The lack of communication frustrated him. He wished he knew where he was and that he was stronger so that he could relate that to Darian, thus expediting his rescue. The unrelenting agonizing gnawing in his stomach nearly drove him mad. He cursed himself for having ever left with that couple! Natasha felt sorry for the three of them, and wished what they all were wishing… that they weren’t there. She hoped she would get some sort of vision that would actually give her a clue to where they were… she hoped.

  There was a knock on the door jarring Natasha out of her deep sleep. She immediately became aware of the cold body that was holding her close. Regretfully, she removed Xavier’s hands and climbed out of the bed. She turned around gazing down at the two sleeping figures and smiled. Darian held Xavier in his arms, in the same way as Xavier had held her in his own. The knocking on the door continued reminding her of the reason why she had awakened in the first place. She pulled on her blue feathery bathrobe Elise had bought her to match Elise’s pink one. Natasha had giggled when she first saw the fluffy, feathery cuffs, collar and trim, but cherished the gift. God bless Elise’s extravagant taste in fashion, besides, she was French; who could blame her. Natasha tied the bathrobe and walked to the door, opening it to find Billy on the other side.

  “What’s the matter?” she asked curiously.

  “Hey, Natasha, your friends are here to see you, they said they needed you to go with them somewhere,” Billy said with a shrug.

  “Oh yeah! I’m running late!” Natasha exclaimed. She looked at her watch, it was a little past noon. “Shit, I’ve got to get ready. Tell them I’ll be right down.” She attempted to close the door, but Billy stopped her. She looked him. “What’s wrong?”

  “They said they wanted to talk to you before you got dressed,” Billy replied.

  A look of confusion flashed across Natasha’s face as she wondered what they wanted to talk about. She closed the bedroom door behind herself and walked downstairs to where they were waiting. She entered the living room and saw four people sitting in chairs. Three she recognized, one she didn’t. All eyes were looking at her.

  Adrian smiled. “Well, don’t you look dreamy?” he teased as he gazed at her feathery bathrobe.

  “Thank you, and not another word about my robe.” Natasha said. “Now, what’s going on?”

  “Well, there has been a slight change in plans. Since Darian said you were going to go with us, we decided to add a little 'something' to today’s meeting. You’ll need to put this on,” Sergio said, handing her a box.

  Natasha took the box and looked at him, then Adrian questioningly. She opened it and saw a skimpy, black leather outfit with matching leather spiked-heeled boots that zipped up the back. She looked up at Sergio, shocked.

  “Before you begin to protest, listen to the plan, hear me out,” Sergio pleaded.

  Natasha held her thoughts and her protest. “State your case.”

  “Okay, we don’t want to seem like a group of people who don’t know what we’re doing. So we will be acting today. I’ll be the gangster that got the drop on the deal that went bust last night. You’ll be my kinky, sex-crazed, hot-to-trot piece of ass”

  “‘Piece of ass’?”

  “What? I’m just trying to get you into the mindset, hence the sexy leather ensemble and heeled boots. Okay, would you prefer lover?” Sergio asked; one eyebrow cocked.

  “I would.”

  “Very well. You’ll be playing the role of my kinky, sex-crazed, hot-to-trot lover.”

  “That’s better, but are you sure you have enough adjectives there?” Natasha remarked.

  Sergio snorted with a smirk. “Very funny. Nagesa, Adrian and Justin will be my body guards. That’s Justin over there.” He gestured to a young man with spiked dark brown hair and light brown eyes. His tanned golden skin was flawless and smooth. He was dressed in a dark gray tank-top and black jeans and stood about six feet. He was extremely handsome bordering on pretty.

  Natasha couldn’t tell his age, but she suspected he was older than he looked. She struggled to comprehend Sergio’s plantheir plan. She wasn’t sure if she could be a sex-crazed, hot-to-trot, slut or ‘piece of ass’ as Sergio had put it. She didn’t even know how to begin to pull it off. She looked at Justin, “Nice to meet you.”

  “Same here,” Justin replied in a silky, masculine voice.

  She turned back to Sergio shaking her head. “I don’t know about this plan.” She reflected on her own acting ability and remembered being booe
d in grade school when she had played the lead in a class play she had written. It was one of the most embarrassing moments in her life. It still hurt her a little whenever she thought about it... just a little. Old, painful memories die hard.

  “Natasha I know that you probably have no idea how to pretend to be a sex-crazed slut, I mean, lover,” Sergio said. “I’ll give you some pointers.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Have experience in this area, do you?”

  “I’ve moonlighted,” Sergio joked causing her to laugh before continuing. “The reason why I think it is a good cover; is because it will allow you to run your fingers over the man and his belongings without him suspecting anything past you being a sex fiend. You’ll have a tough enough party with you to pull it off. Do you think you can handle it?”

  Natasha reflected on his words, nodding.

  “I’ll have you know that I was voted the worst actor in grade school,” she warned.

  “What about high school,” Adrian asked playfully.

  “High school, too, now that I think about it.” Natasha lifted the tiny leather outfit up so that she could look it over. There were straps, slits, buckles, hooks and zippers all over the ensemble. “What is this contraption?”

  “What? It’s a dress,” Sergio said, darting a glance at the black get-up.

  “This isn’t a dress, I’ve seen dresses before, and this isn’t one of them.” She had no idea how she was going to even get into the damn thing.

  “Trust me, it’s perfect. Why don’t you go upstairs and put it on. We’ll wait here.” Sergio gently nudged Natasha towards the staircase.

  Taking the hint, she went to her own bedroom and laid the leather garment on the bed, after her shower she returned, taking up the dress and studying it. When she thought she figured it out, she began dressing. Shortly after climbing into the outfit, she called for help... literally. Seconds later, there was a knock on the door.