Though they kept a healthy supply of bagged red cells on ice at the compound, he found it never fully quenched his thirst. He needed it straight from the source, warm and sweet with the soothing beat of a heart pulsing against his gums. It was almost better than sex; definitely the best when combined with sex.
No sooner did he slide his ass onto the supple leather seat, than a glass appeared on the table. Two fingers of Glen Livet with a splash of water to open up the flavor, his usual drink.
“Get you anything else tonight?” Winslow, the club’s owner, inquired.
The vampire had opened the establishment back in 1934, immediately following the ratification of the Twenty-first Amendment which ended Prohibition. Things had been far more discreet back then, the club being named Winslow’s after its founder, openly serving high-quality liquor, and secretly serving high-quality prostitutes to his vampire clientele. He’d changed the name to Blood Runners back in the eighties, following the release of Blade Runners, which was still one of his favorite movies, and had revamped the decor several times since to follow the trends and the newfound vampire acceptance born of popular culture’s fascination with all things vampire.
“Yeah, I could go for a brunette. Thin, muscular, with long curly hair,” Dante responded quietly.
“I know just the one; might take a bit to get her here, if you’re okay with waiting. If not, I’ve got a couple in the other room who are close to that description, maybe plus a few pounds or minus a few curls,” the bald vampire said, pulling his phone from his pocket.
“I’ll wait. Thanks, man,” Dante said taking a slow sip of his Glen Livet as Winslow hit a few buttons and disappeared into his office.
✧
Three glasses of scotch later, Dante felt his blood quicken as the tall brunette walked through the door.
Fuck me, he thought as she moved further into the room scanning the sparse crowd, no doubt looking for him. Just a few more glasses and he could have been fooled into believing it was Cami, at least from a distance.
The human woman’s eyes found Dante and immediately filled with lust, a dead giveaway it wasn’t her. Cami had never looked at him that way; like a sure thing, itching to be close to him. A part of him ached for the challenge Cami presented, weary of all the easy meaningless encounters he’d had over the years. While they satisfied his baser needs, they never quenched the longing in his heart.
As the woman slid in beside him, Dante smelled her growing arousal and heard the increase in her heartbeat. She was a paid professional, but there was no doubt she wanted him; though it wasn’t like he would actually be the one paying her. On the few occasions he, or any of The Elite, decided to go with more, experienced companions, Winslow covered the expense, but Dante would be sure to slip a nice tip into her purse before he wiped her memory.
“So what are you looking for tonight, sweetie,” the eager working girl inquired as she inched closer and put her hand on Dante’s thigh.
Her look was right, but the voice was all wrong. Where Cami’s was somewhat low and smooth, hers was high and nasally. He cocked an eyebrow and half-smiled as he looked sideways at her, sporting some serious fang due to his increasing hunger.
Without waiting for his response she continued. “Biting is fine, so long as you keep it to inconspicuous areas; I have to make a living and not everyone is into that. Otherwise, anything’s negotiable.”
“Noted,” Dante replied sliding to exit the booth on the other side. He stood and held out his hand while she looked up with confusion.
“You wanna go get a room or something?” she asked taking his hand.
“No; just want to go somewhere a little more private,” he responded heading for the dark hallway which led to the back exit. Not that he was shy or overly concerned about being seen, given the nature of the establishment, but he was in a bit of a hurry having already stayed longer than he intended waiting for his Cami lookalike to arrive.
He’d gone looking for Cami after her team returned from their mission, hoping for a chance to talk about what had happened between them before the High Commander’s kid interrupted, but Layla had stopped him, saying she wanted to talk to him. They were on the way to his room when he’d asked her if she knew where Cami was, seemingly pissing her off right before Commander Claesson showed up with Martinez ordering her to the pit for debriefing. The look she’d given him before she left had really thrown him. It fell somewhere between anger and hurt, and for the briefest of seconds, he saw something else, but before he could say anything, she disappeared.
Though looking back, it wasn’t like he knew what to say. It wasn’t the first time he’d seen that look in her pale green eyes and, like every other time, he brushed it aside and turned his attention towards safer, less complicated pursuits. Feeling as tightly-wound as a steel spring, he’d figured it was in his best interest to go blow off some steam before he attempted to do anything else.
“What’s your name, honey?” the woman whispered as Dante backed her up against the wall and she stroked up and down his massive biceps.
“Doesn’t matter,” he replied swiping his tongue along the side of her neck, calling her vein to rise as she let out an overly-dramatic moan.
He reached down and freed his hardness from the confines of his black fatigues then grabbed her under each thigh and hoisted her up as she wrapped her long legs around his waist. He spun around and leaned back against the wall and, still holding her up with one arm, he used the other to reach between them. Fisting the wide base, he moved his cock into position and slid her moist folds down around him in one smooth motion.
She tossed her head back and let out a low moan as he stretched and filled her completely, her long dark curls spilling down her back, swaying back and forth as he rocked into her over and again. Seeing her hair moving like that, he wondered what Cami would look like with her hair all loose and wild, having only ever seen it pulled back tightly away from her face.
Just one thought of Cami and he was right on the edge. Sensing that the stranger in his arms was getting close as well, he increased the pace, pushing into her even deeper as her body started to tremble around him. He put his mouth to her neck, once again sliding his tongue over her vein, preparing it while he waited. When she found her release and cried out, he struck, hard and deep, making her climax exponentially more intense as her essence spilled into his mouth and down his throat, setting off his own orgasm.
When her body finally stilled and he had drunk his fill, he swiped his tongue over the puncture marks in her neck, capturing a few stray drops of blood and setting the rapid healing process in motion. He set her down on unsteady legs and kneeled down to look into her eyes as she opened her mouth to speak, no doubt to say something about seeing him again, or how amazing everything had been. Nothing he was interested in hearing, nor would he. Before a sound escaped her lips, he pushed into her mind extracting her memories of him and what they’d done.
“Go grab a car and head home for the night, take a nice long bath, watch a movie or something,” he instructed as he moved away, not that he cared, but the memory wipe left most humans feeling disoriented and giving them simple suggestions seemed to help. With the sizable tip he’d tucked into her bra, she wouldn’t need to work for the next week if she didn’t want to.
Without a word, she bent down, picked up her purse from the floor and walked straight for the exit. A few steps around the corner, there were several cars lined up which Winslow kept on retainer to transport his girls and the occasional patron who overindulged in his bar.
Dante wasn’t far behind, walking back to his booth only to leave a tip on the table, before slipping out the back. Right as he reached for the door, his supernatural ears perked up so to speak when he heard his name. Turning his head, he focused in on the conversation occurring on the other side of the curtain, which someone was obviously holding open slightly for him to be able to hear.
“Is Dante in there?” Layla asked the woman at the door.
> “Sorry, hon; couldn’t tell you. I haven’t been posted here long, but haven’t seen him,” she lied.
One of Blood Runners’ most appealing features was the discretion Winslow required from his staff.
“There’s a lot of first-timers in here tonight. You in the mood for anything in particular? I’m sure we could arrange anything you have in mind, boy, girl, both,” the bouncer continued, distracting Layla as Dante disappeared into the night.
CHAPTER 15 - Hope Renewed
Kaleb leaned against the wall outside his father’s “playroom” staring across the hallway at Ethan. The newest addition to his father’s army of infected soldiers stood as straight as a board with his eyes closed. He never spoke unless spoken to, even when others were talking around him and, when he did speak, his responses were short and to the point. He ate, slept, and trained according to the schedule set for him. The perfect soldier like all newly-infected vampires, but Kaleb knew better.
While Ethan was by far the best fighter, easily defeating as many as ten vampires at once during his training sessions, one look in his eyes revealed something more. Even with his irises burning red like all of the others, Kaleb recognized a sadness in them which was utterly familiar to him. It was the look of unyielding grief. Kaleb had seen the same sadness every time he looked in the mirror, the source of it having once been the loss of his brother. But over the years, the wound had slowly healed without him realizing and had been replaced with a longing for something he knew he could never have, and he grieved for the unattainable future. Luckily, his father was incapable of recognizing that type of pain. He would see it as a sign of weakness and Kaleb didn’t care to imagine the punishment which would befall them if Lucias ever noticed.
Kaleb was drawn out of his thoughts by the sounds emanating from behind the closed door and his stomach lurched. He wanted to leave, to go wait for his father in his office where eventually end up anyway, but he knew it wouldn’t be worth the reprimand he’d endure for not being present when expected.
Indeed, he suspected that Lucias ordered them to wait there simply because he enjoyed having an audience. While Kaleb had once felt somewhat grateful after his father found his pet human, Molly, her presence and participation in some of his unsavory activities seeming to satisfy his most repulsive urges, he realized the gratitude had been premature.
Not only did the woman no longer prevent his father’s killing of innocent humans, she had become his accomplice and Lucias’s appetite for murder paled in comparison to Molly’s. She went out daily, hunting for new victims, like the unfortunate young woman who was currently locked in the room with them, and would lure them to their deaths with promises of any number of things. Her small stature, beautiful face, and charming accent made her seem harmless; the perfect bait.
A final bloodcurdling scream rang out, though the sound was muffled by the thick walls, signaling that playtime was coming to an end as Ethan opened his eyes and moved to stand beside Kaleb.
Several minutes later, the door swung open, the smell of fresh blood filling the air as Lucias stepped out into the hallway, naked from the waist up with exception of the blood streaking down his chin and chest. Kaleb wisely masked his disgust and remained impassive, waiting for his father to speak.
“Ah, yes; I nearly forgot I summoned you,” Lucias said with a smile. The ancient vampire always seemed to be in the best of moods after one of his sessions in that room.
Molly sauntered up behind him, completely nude, and handed him a towel.
“Here you go, darlin’,” she drawled sweetly as if she and Lucias were just a normal, happy couple.
Lucias took it and began wiping the blood from his face, while Molly eyed Ethan and Kaleb hungrily.
“I’m gonna go hop in the shower before I fetch a couple of boys to clean up in there. That girl put up a quite a fight; good thing I took these off of her first,” she said holding up a pair of cream and black pumps. “Made sure we were the same size before I brought her home,” she added winking at Kaleb as she slipped on the shoes, stood up on her toes and licked a stray drop of blood from the side of Lucias’s face. Then she headed down the hallway, humming a tune none of them recognized, her naked hips swaying seductively with each click of her newly-acquired heels. Lucias stared after until she was out of sight.
“She truly is exquisite,” he said in a tone akin to admiration to no one in particular.
✧
Back in Lucias’s office, Kaleb and Ethan stood in front of his desk, waiting where he’d left them while he took his time showering. That was his father’s way, always making ridiculous demands to demonstrate his control.
Finally, almost an hour after they’d first started waiting, Lucias emerged, neatly dressed in a fresh gray suit and took a seat in the large wingback chair behind the desk.
“Sit,” he commanded, gesturing to the two chairs across from him.
The two did as ordered, finding themselves needing to look up at Lucias from their new positions. Another demonstration of power; Lucias had built the platform for his sitting area several inches off the ground while the already short chairs in front remained at ground level, always making him the highest in the room, literally.
“Ethan, tell me what you know of the abilities of The Elite. Is there some way they could have escaped from directly under my son’s nose without detection which I am as of yet unaware of, or is it more likely his failure is due to his own competence, or disobedience?” Lucias questioned turning to glare at Kaleb.
Ethan cringed inwardly, screaming in his mind not to reveal any more than he already had, but his mouth opened obediently and he began to speak.
“There are many powerful vampires amongst them, Sire. I have heard of one who has the ability to shield objects from view,” Ethan replied, his voice in monotone.
Ignoring the fact that this new information relieved Kaleb from responsibility for the mission’s failure, Lucias continued. “Tell me, Ethan; what other powers are amongst them?”
“Forgive me, Sire; I do not know of the others. My sister only recently started speaking to me again and the information came to me by mistake when I overheard her talking to someone else the night I met with your men in Fishers.”
“You are referring to the night you slaughtered three of my soldiers.”
“Yes, Sire,” Ethan responded with no emotion.
“No mind,” Lucias said as he stood. “I have given the matter a great deal of thought since our last discussion and it occurred to me that the only way to gain access to their compound is for one of them to let us in. So tell me, Ethan; where can we find one of these so-called soldiers? Your sister, perhaps; but any one will do. They can’t possibly spend all of their time locked away behind the protection of their precious witches. They must go out to feed, at the very least.”
“Blood Runners,” Ethan replied over the blaring in his head. “It’s a nightclub downtown.”
“Ah, yes; I believe I have heard the name before,” Lucias stated as he stepped down from his platform. “Kaleb, go and find Mason. I believe it is time for some of my men to partake in some of the pleasures of Boston’s nightlife.”
Before Kaleb reached the door, Ethan let out a loud groan and fell forward onto his knees as he gripped his head.
Kaleb’s eyes shot to Lucias, assuming that his cruel father was simply using the bond to further torment Ethan for his own amusement; but he saw only confusion and interest in his eyes.
“Ethan, what is it? Do you require blood?” Lucias questioned in a tone that could almost be mistaken for concern.
“No,” he replied simply as he struggled to regain control. Inside his mind, one word kept repeating over and again.
Alexa.
“Tell me what is afflicting you, then,” Lucias demanded.
Powerless to deny Lucias’s commands, Ethan responded.
“Alexa; my mate.” In one small moment, the tiny remnant of connection he still felt to her blared to life again. “I stil
l feel her.”
Redemption of Fate (Fate Series Book 2) Page 15
