First Blade (Awakening Book 1)

by Jane Hinchey

  She stood at the sink washing her hands, letting the water flow over her wrists, cooling her heated blood and sobering her just a little.

  The crowd at the bar had thinned a bit. Georgia leaned against the end and sipped at her water, noticing that Veronica had cornered Zak on the dance floor. He held her against him, but in a more traditional waltz pose, one hand resting at her waist, the other cradling her hand in his. She watched as he lowered his head, so Veronica could hear him as he spoke to her. Georgia bristled, watching that dark head bent so close to the blonde, his lips near her ear.

  A surge of jealousy fired through her, quickly followed by one of anger. Was he really sleeping with Veronica while trying to get Georgia into bed? She hated to think it might be true, but he was from a different world than her, in more ways than one.

  Her anger simmered as she watched and sipped her water. They seemed to be having a fair old chitchat, heads close, taking it in turns to speak into each other's ears. Veronica was now pressed right up against him, and he didn't seem to mind. She wrapped both her arms around his neck and pulled his face down so she could reach his ear. Both of his arms were around her clasped loosely at her lower back. It looked natural, like they'd danced this way before, that they knew each other's bodies...this wasn't new.

  Veronica cast a sly glance in Georgia's direction. Making sure she was watching, she guessed. Bitch. The next time Zak lowered his head to speak Veronica slid her fingers into his hair and pulled his mouth to hers. He didn't pull away, lingering with his mouth against hers for several moments.

  Georgia hadn't expected them to kiss, and she certainly hadn't expected the shot of pain that went through her when they did. Stupid, stupid, stupid, she cursed herself, blindly putting the glass of water back on the bar, her eyes filling with tears. She had no claim on him, he was free to do what he liked, but to see him kissing her...it hurt. She hated it and hated even more that she actually cared.

  Suddenly her wobbly world was spinning. Horrified that she was about to start howling at the bar like a lovesick teenager, she quickly pushed her way to the exit, keeping her face down so no-one could see the tears about to spill. She NEVER cried.

  Skye appeared at her side, slinging an arm around her waist as Georgia weaved across the floor.

  "I gotcha," she grunted. Georgia's drunken mind had trouble processing what she'd seen, all she knew was the pain radiating through her. That and the fact she wanted to punch Veronica right in the face. And Zak. The bastard.

  "She's such a fucking bitch," Georgia cursed, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other.

  "Can you walk?"

  Georgia nodded but wasn't entirely certain. Skye kept one arm around her and navigated them towards the door. They made it outside and Skye directed them to the alley at the side of the pub. Leaning back against the building she tilted her face up to the moonlit sky, dragging in gulps of air. Her chest hurt and her eyes burnt; she felt almost...bruised inside. She didn't want to admit, even to herself, that she was starting to fall for Zak, that she'd been dreaming of him, that she'd started to wonder if perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to give in and sleep with him. But the pain of his betrayal, if you could even call it that, was so intense, so overwhelming, she was at a loss.

  Rhys rounded the side of the building.

  "Are you ok? I saw you leave. You seemed...upset." He strolled down the alley to where she stood, stopping a couple of feet away. He kept his hands in his trouser pockets, eyes darting from Skye to Georgia and back again.

  "I'm fine," she sniffed, "just being stupid." She wanted to cry even harder.

  "Come on, Georgia. Focus. Let's not cry," Skye soothed her, knowing how much her sister hated to cry.

  "I'm focusing," Georgia repeated.

  "I need to get her home." Skye looked at Rhys and he nodded.

  "You get your car, I'll wait with her." They exchanged places, Rhys sliding an arm around her and pulling her against his chest. They listened to the sound of Skye's heels clicking against the pavement and then fading into the distance.

  A pulse of energy surrounded them. Georgia looked up through blurry eyes. Zak stood three feet away.

  "What happened?" he demanded, seeing her tear-stained face and frowning at her standing in another man's arms.

  "Go away," she told him, sniffing. She pushed away from Rhys, not wanting him drawn into this mess. It was so unfair to him, she shouldn't have let him comfort her. She really was a horrible person.

  Both men looked puzzled, not sure who she was telling to go away. Perhaps both. Zak grabbed her hand but she snatched it back, turning on him with a snarl, "Will you just fuck off!" she yelled, her emotions so strung out she felt she could burst into flames. Pain and anger warred through her, and whenever she glanced at Rhys, guilt too. She hated this. Hated it.

  "You saw." Zak nodded with a sigh.

  "Everyone fucking saw, Zak - you kissing your girlfriend. You're one twisted bastard, you know that," she cried.

  "She's not my girlfriend. I've told you that."

  "Your fuckbuddy then? 'Cos I know you had sex with her just a few days ago, and don't even think of trying to deny it, you asshole," she challenged.

  "I'll errr...wait for Skye out the front," Rhys muttered, spinning on his heel and quickly striding away.

  Zak crowded her up against the wall with superhuman speed, his body pressed against hers from knee to shoulder.

  "Get the fuck off!" she screeched at him, pushing and trying to kick, though he had her legs trapped. He grabbed both her wrists and pinned them on either side of her head against the wall. She was trapped. Her heart was thundering in her chest, the pain temporarily forgotten, anger the ruling emotion.

  "Calm down," he cursed, her wriggling distracting him until all he wanted to do was rip her clothes off and take her against the wall, here and now. She felt his erection pressed against her stomach and stilled.

  "That's better." He lowered his head to press his lips against her neck, softly trailing his tongue over her skin.

  "Don't. I'm fucking pissed off with you, you don't get the right to touch me," she growled.

  "I know you are." His lips were doing magical things to her neck, things that were making her knees go weak and heat pool between her legs. Damn him.

  "You know what I am, yes?" She nodded. "While I am only half vampire, I still need blood to sustain me. Often, with vampires, sex and blood are not mutually exclusive. Drinking your lover's blood while having sex heightens the experience for both parties."

  She was trying to listen, not sure what his words had to do with kissing Veronica, but talk of sex was heightening her arousal.

  "I don't understand." With her mind fogged by all she'd had to drink, she couldn't fathom why he was telling her this.

  "I have fed from Veronica, and when I've fed, yes, I've fucked her. I sired her 200 years ago; it is inevitable over that period of time that we would find ourselves in bed together. But we are not a romantic item. Our bond is different and I do not think of her in those terms, although I am starting to see that perhaps I have misjudged her feelings for me."

  "So you have sex with her so you can drink her blood."

  "Not always. I can drink blood without having sex." He knew where she was headed and wanted to reassure her he wasn't some crazed sex addict. "And Veronica isn't on hand to be my food source - it was the first time in ten years that I'd fed from her, and, by the way, we did not have sex then. No matter what she may have told you."

  "Ten years?"

  "Yes. She's messing with you, Georgia." He could feel her resistance starting to melt. "She knows I'm interested in you, and she's jealous. I will deal with her; you have nothing to worry about."

  "I don't?" she repeated, dazed. His lips were moving up her neck, across her cheek and he was dropping light caresses against her lips, not deepening it into a kiss, not yet, just teasing her and keeping her on the edge. He released her hands to wipe away the wet tears on her cheeks, smiling when she
didn't fight him but let her arms rest against his chest.

  "It's been a long time since I've had to reassure a woman my interest in her is genuine," he admitted ruefully, resting his forehead against hers, "and it is so much more difficult with you because I can't read what you're thinking...although..." he pondered, lifting his head to look at her.

  "What?" she breathed, eyes focused on his mouth - all she could think about was him kissing her.

  "Let me taste you." He teased her mouth with his again, this time letting the kiss deepen, invading her mouth with his tongue, stroking and teasing. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled herself into his body, her hips thrusting against him. She was lost in a fog of desire, her body felt on fire and the world was starting to spin.

  "Say yes," he said into her mouth.

  "Yes." She groaned, head falling back as his hand caressed her breast and his mouth traveled back to her neck where he stroked her with that magic tongue. His fingers teased her nipple and all she could think about was having his hot mouth replace his fingers, to have that magic tongue of his teasing her sensitive flesh.

  A sharp sting in the side of her neck made her gasp, but then the molten lava that flowed through her veins brought her to her knees. Unable to stand, he supported her against him, pushing the top half of her body against the wall and pulling her legs up around his waist, opening her to him fully. Her dress was hiked up around her waist and she didn't care. She wanted him. Inside her. Now.

  Zak lifted his mouth from her neck, capturing hers in another deep kiss. She tasted the tang of blood on his tongue and knew it was hers, but couldn't bring herself to care. With one hand he reached between them, allowing his fingers to brush against her core. She gasped and jumped at the contact, her nerve endings fried. Instinctively she pushed against his fingers that were now stroking her through her panties; she clutched at his shoulders pulling him closer to her and trying to move against him but finding it impossible pinned to the wall.

  His thumb pressed against her, and she groaned, wanting more, so much more. His fingers brushed, teased and rubbed as his tongue did wonderful things to her mouth. She could feel the tension building, release so close. His mouth was at her neck again, open and pressed against her hot flesh. This time she knew the sharp sting was his fangs, but the sensation that followed simply melted her mind. As his fangs penetrated her flesh, his thumb pressed in tight circles against her and she came, exploding like fireworks in his arms, trembling and shivering at the overwhelming sensations flowing throughout her body.

  He held her, allowing her legs to slide down to the ground. She watched in a daze as he gently smoothed her dress back into place, then touched a hand to the side of her neck where she felt the familiar tingle of him healing her.

  "Ok?" he asked, taking her hand. Speechless, she nodded.

  Zak smiled at the dazed woman in front of him. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes glazed. She swayed before him and he pulled her against his chest again, allowing her to rest against him while she gathered herself.

  His own arousal was uncomfortably tight in his trousers, with little room for movement, but tonight hadn't been about him, it had been about Georgia. She was probably going to be mad at him when she sobered up and relived the night's events - which is why he didn't have sex with her, as badly as he wanted to. Even though he'd told her he'd take advantage of a drunken woman, he wanted Georgia fully alert when they slept together.

  He'd hoped that drinking her blood would give him an insight into her mind, and it had to some extent, but her blood was tainted with alcohol and all that he saw had been blurred, rambling images. He'd felt her emotions though, the heady passion, the arousing anger, and the cutting pain. The anger and passion he could handle any day; the pain wasn't something he liked to think he was responsible for, but he knew that wasn't the case. Among the blurry images, he'd seen one clear image. Veronica kissing him. It had hurt Georgia, and for that he was sorry.

  She let out a soft sigh against him and he looked down at her, her eyes starting to droop.

  "Ready for home?" he murmured. She nodded. Gathering her closer in his arms he used his magic to teleport them back to her house. Reeling slightly from the sensation of whizzing through time and space, Zak held her tightly until she oriented herself and handed him her front door key. Unlocking the door he carried her upstairs and into her bedroom. He badly wanted to throw her down on the bed and sink into her, losing himself in her, but she was almost asleep on her feet.

  With great restraint he unclasped her belt and tugged her dress down, leaving her standing before him in a strapless bra and knickers.

  "So beautiful," he breathed. She watched him with hooded eyes.

  "Are you going to fuck me now?" she wanted to know.

  "No," he growled. He pulled the bedcovers back and gently tucked her into bed, pulling the covers up to her neck to hide the temptation of her body.

  "Oh." She seemed disappointed and he chuckled.

  "But I will. Soon. I want you to be wide awake and sober when I fuck you. I want you to know exactly what I'm doing, what my touch does to you, what your touch does to me," he told her.

  "Ok." She closed her eyes on a sigh, sleep quickly claiming her.

  Zak watched her sleep for a moment, brushing her hair away from her forehead and placing an affectionate kiss upon her creamy skin.

  Now he had to go and sort Veronica out. What on earth had she been playing at? It wasn't like Veronica to play such games.

  11

  Georgia woke with a pounding headache and her picture all over social media. A shot of her dancing with Zak, him dipping her back and kissing her neck. Then the shots of Veronica in his arms and their kiss. All sorts of speculation on a love triangle dominated the Redmeadows Tribune's Facebook page.

  Sitting at her kitchen table nursing a coffee, she slowly sipped as she flicked through her text messages - and there were plenty. Half a dozen from her sister, wanting to make sure she was okay. She'd returned with the car to discover her gone. Thankfully Rhys had told her Zak had taken care of her. A couple from Rhys asking if she was okay. And a ton of sleazy propositions.

  She responded to Skye and Rhys, telling them not to believe everything they see and hear, that she was fine, but hung-over and wasn't up for company. Which was true. She really didn't have the patience to deal with the idiots of this world today.

  A hot shower and a couple of painkillers worked wonders. Loosely braiding her wet hair, she was pulling on shorts and a halter neck top when a text arrived from Zak.

  "Come to the book signing," it read.

  "No."

  "We need to talk."

  "We truly don't."

  Turning off her phone she strolled outside. It was hot. But she loved the heat, loved summer. One day she promised herself her a swimming pool. Not yet though, now she needed to work hard and save to afford such luxuries. She headed to the workshop; working always soothed her, and right now her nerve endings were feeling a tad raw. She didn't want to think of Zak...and Veronica...and Zak kissing Veronica...and then Zak kissing and touching her and the other bone-meltingly wonderful things he'd done. No, she didn't want to think, or remember them, at all. Much.

  Grabbing some sand paper, she sat on the floor, a leg either side of one of the dining table legs, and started sanding. The legs were beautifully curved and had a subtle design, similar to ivy climbing up a terrace, carved into them. She didn't want to obliterate the carvings, which she would have done if she'd used an electric sander. Instead, she painstakingly sanded by hand, bringing the legs, one at a time, back to their natural timber.

  The light outside had started to fade when she sat back with a groan, finally finished. Scrambling to her feet she stretched, easing the kinks out of her protesting muscles and stamping her feet to try and get some feeling back into her backside, which was numb from sitting on the floor for hours on end.

  Her senses fired a warning. A vamp was in the vicinity. She wished her early w
arning system would kick in earlier, giving her time to actually do something to protect herself, but alas, one second she sensed them, the next they were there.

  This time she had two visitors. She recognized the thug vamp, but not the taller, slimmer one moving ahead of him. Power rolled off him in waves.

  "You, Georgia Pearce, have created quite a stir amongst my people." The tall blonde vamp spoke. "Allow me to introduce myself, I'm Erik."

  "I suppose good manners dictate I say I'm pleased to meet you, but I'm not. What do you want?"

  "You're right," Erik smiled, turning to the thug vamp behind him, "she is feisty."

  "Told you."

  "I had to see for myself this human female who broke a vampire's nose," Erik told her, moving around her and studying her intently from every angle. She froze.

  "However, no matter how intriguing I find you, or how feisty you may be, the fact still remains that you have not done what was requested of you, Georgia." He tsked, like she was a naughty child.

  "Nothing has been 'requested' of me," she snapped, "your thug comes in here, threatens me, hurts me, and you'll expect me to go and steal some guy's jewelry?"

  "The ring will be mine, Georgia, and YOU WILL retrieve it for me. I can see that you're strong willed, so I'm going to give you two more days to get the ring - with a little extra persuasion I know you can do it." He smiled slightly, running a finger down her cheek.

  "You smell delicious by the way," he murmured, eyes dropping to her chest before rising up to settle on her lips, then meet her eyes once more. "Next time we meet, I shall have you...unless you have the ring."

  And then he was gone.

  Heart thumping in her chest she dragged a deep breath into her burning lungs, not realizing she'd been holding it while Erik had been sizing her up as his next meal. She wasn't sure if he intended to bite her or rape her or both.

  She soaked in a hot bath, easing away the aches in her muscles but not the worry from her mind. She didn't know how on earth she was going to get out of this mess. She'd been thinking about telling Zak until he'd kissed Veronica right in front of her. She couldn't trust him, that much was clear. He'd lied through his teeth about the other woman. She didn't want to think about what he'd done to her in the alley, the way he'd touched her, made her fall apart in his arms.