The Last Vampire- Complete series Box Set

by R. A. Steffan

  But it was undeniably a dagger.

  I lifted it, feeling the rather odd texture of the exposed salt crystals. It was much lighter than the metal daggers I was used to, and I wasn’t entirely sure how it would hold up under hard use during a battle. However, the way I saw it, if we got in a fight with a demon, stabbing them with a salt-encrusted dagger would either be enough to distract them so we could get away to safety, or it wouldn’t.

  If nothing else, the demon probably wouldn’t be expecting it any more than Myrial had expected me to throw table salt in her eyes. I reached for an X-ACTO knife and started paring away the odd bits of resin left over from the molding process. When I’d removed everything I could with that method, I grabbed a Dremel tool with a grinding tip and polished the edges of the handle to smoothness. I was working on sharpening the edges of the blade when footsteps on the stairs alerted me to Rans’ return.

  He approached the workbench, his gaze taking in the detritus from the molding process before settling on the weapon in my hand. A moment later, he looked up at me and raised an eyebrow.

  “Dear lord, woman,” he said, a glow of something heated and dangerous kindling behind his eyes. “Is this what you’ve been up to for the last few days? Because I feel I should warn you—watching you hone a handmade dagger blade like this is making me want to tie you up until you can barely wriggle, and ravish you until you beg me for mercy.”

  SEVEN

  MY GRIP ON THE hilt slipped, and the salt dagger clattered to the floor. I carefully turned off the Dremel tool I’d been using to grind the edge of the blade and set it aside on the bench, blindsided by the sudden bolt of lust that slammed into me. My throat clicked as I swallowed.

  “Um.... okay?” I replied, the words emerging in a hoarse rasp. I cleared my throat. “I think your fourteenth-century roots might be starting to show, lover. But, that being said—what’s stopping you from making good on your threat, exactly?”

  Rans stooped to pick up the unfinished knife and set it on the bench next to the tools. I turned to face him, and he moved to cage me against the side of the worktable, my ass pressed against the edge.

  “Not a bloody thing,” he murmured, and captured my lips in a scorching kiss. I was breathless when he pulled back in favor of rubbing his cheek along mine, until his lips were a hairsbreadth from my ear. “In fact, after being repeatedly shackled in front of a crowd, having hot wax poured over my nipples and being publicly flogged, I feel I’m about due for some sexual revenge. I believe this might be the perfect time to collect on that debt.”

  Hopefully, the shiver that ran outward from the base of my spine to my fingers and toes wasn’t obvious to anyone but me. I consciously straightened and squared my shoulders, the movement pressing my breasts against the hard planes of Rans’ chest. A low male noise teased the edges of my hearing. An instant later, I was scooped into a pair of strong arms, and I let out a surprised yelp as the ground disappeared from beneath me.

  Rans carried me upstairs, bridal-style. I clung to him shamelessly, not caring that it didn’t present the badass persona I was going for as I teased, “Mmm. So, you’re finally tired of playing subby-sub, huh? Are you going to be the big, bad Dom now? Should I be worried?”

  Amusement rumbled through him. I could feel it as well as hear it, because my ear was pressed right up against his chest as he bounded up the stairs.

  “How worried you should feel depends entirely on how bad you plan on being,” he said. “Though I’m going to go out on a limb, and guess that your inner succubus plans on being very bad indeed.”

  Before I could come up with a witty rejoinder, he ducked into the bathroom—easing me through the door sideways so I wouldn’t bump against the doorframe. I lifted my head and raised an eyebrow at him, surprised that he hadn’t gone straight for the bedroom with its spectacular four-poster bed. He must have caught my confused expression, because a crooked smile tugged at his lips.

  “Trust me,” he said. “For sex as filthy as what I have planned, only the bath will do.”

  I swallowed a thoroughly undignified whimper as my imagination tossed up several possible scenarios. At the same time, an involuntary pulse of slippery wetness dampened my panties.

  Okay, then.

  A moment later, I was back on my own two feet. My ankle-length summer dress had buttons down the front, and his hands were already busy with them. I reached for his shirt, but he made a tutting noise. “Ah, ah. Not today, love. Keep your hands to yourself unless I ask for them.”

  I pasted on an exaggerated pout... but I let my hands fall to hang at my sides, as ordered. My bra had a front clasp—one of the wonders of the modern age, if you asked me. Rans popped it open and my breasts spilled out. Cool fingers ghosted over my collarbones and shoulders, taking the sleeves of my dress and the straps of the bra with them... leaving goose bumps in their wake. The dress slid down my body to puddle on the floor, the bra falling on top of the ruched material. Fingers hooked the waistband of my cotton panties, pulling them down until I could step out of them.

  While Rans crouched at my feet, he also slipped off my leather sandals one at a time, leaving me fully nude. Fingers trailed up the inside of my left leg as he rose smoothly—barely brushing across my pussy before the touch disappeared. Then he backed up a step, his eyes caressing my curves with a slow look up and down.

  I stood before him, fully bared to his gaze even though he was still completely dressed. Oddly, rather than making me feel self-conscious, it made me feel... powerful. So much had changed in the past couple of months, and not all of it was bad. I was part succubus, damn it. Sex and sensuality were my birthright. Every time I let myself embrace that birthright a little more fully with him, it felt like coming home.

  A secret half-smile still tugged at Rans’ lips. “Beautiful. Now, you should go and run a bath for us, while I get a couple of things from the bedroom. I’ll be back before you know it.”

  “On it,” I managed.

  “Good girl.” He tweaked my nipple and I arched into it, feeling our combined sexual energy swirling around the room like mist. His smile grew devilish, and then he was gone, closing the door as he left. I swallowed against the tingles rushing along my nerves and went to run the bath. The thing was an oversized, two-person monstrosity, because apparently if you were a rich and powerful demon with houses scattered all over the world, California water restrictions didn’t apply to you.

  Or something.

  Whatever the case, the bath was deep enough it required a marble step to enter. It had four polished brass safety handles inset in the basin—two at each end. The thing was also jetted, because of course it fucking was. The plumbing was set halfway along the side, rather than at the end like a normal tub—presumably so it wouldn’t poke anyone in the back while two people sat facing each other in the tub.

  Once the water temperature was perfect and the bath was filling, I stepped into it and settled back, making myself comfortable. Maybe I should have been concerned about the fact that Rans was clearly off his sexual leash today. But it was a moot point, since my brain couldn’t accommodate being concerned and being this turned on at the same time.

  Hey. Succubus, okay? Single-minded horniness was kind of our thing. At least, that was my story, and I was sticking to it, come hell or—I eyed the bath—high water.

  Besides, it wasn’t as though Rans had never taken charge during sex before. Honestly, despite my teasing, the only time he really played the role of sexual submissive was when he was helping me feed from a crowd. And that was mostly because it was easier for me to maintain focus on pulling from multiple people—and controlling how much I took from them—when I was less distracted by my own physical pleasure.

  The doorknob turned, and I glanced lazily over the side of the tub to watch as Rans came in. He shot me a look that was positively predatory before he locked the door behind him with a decisive click. He’d shed his shirt, baring a pale torso etched with lean muscle. I moistened my lips at the sigh
t, unable to help myself, and his eyes darkened in response. Distantly, I registered that he was carrying a tangle of... something... in one hand, which he tossed carelessly onto the countertop.

  I completely stopped caring about whatever it was when the rest of his clothing came off, revealing lean hips and well-defined legs to my hungry gaze. Before he let his dark jeans fall to the floor, he pulled the belt free—braided leather snaking through the belt loops with a sound that made me shiver and press my thighs together beneath the rising water.

  “Is that for me? Ooh. Kinky,” I couldn’t help teasing. My nipples tightened to aching points as I remembered the last time that belt had wrapped around my wrists.

  “All of it’s for you, love. You should know that by now,” Rans said, his low voice nearly a purr. With that, he picked up the other items he’d brought in and crossed to settle on the edge of the bath, sitting even with my shoulders. “And as for kinkiness, you don’t know the half of it yet. First, though—the ground rules. You know you can tell me to stop any time. Just say the word. Stop.”

  I smiled. “I know.”

  “But under the circumstances,” he continued, “I also want you to hold back from feeding on my animus while I’m playing with you—unless you need to stop what I’m doing, but can’t say the word aloud for some reason.” His lips twitched. “If, for instance, your mouth is full.”

  The jolt of heat slamming into my belly distracted me before I could blurt ‘oh, holy fuck, are you even kidding me right now’ out loud. It was probably just as well.

  “If you’re not in a position to speak, for whatever reason, you can just start pulling energy from me instead,” Rans said. “If I feel your barriers drop, I’ll pause whatever I’m doing until I can check in with you properly. All clear?”

  “Uh-huh,” I managed weakly. “If I need to, I’ll either say ‘stop,’ or start drawing animus from you. Got it.”

  Okay. Shit. I... was completely doomed, here, wasn’t I?

  Maybe so. But wow—what a way to go, whispered my traitorous inner demon.

  A callused hand trailed down my right arm and circled my wrist, lifting it. I watched in something of a daze as Rans extracted a length of silky rope from the bundle he’d brought with him, and efficiently wrapped it several times around my wrist before tying it off. Two long tails fell loose from the knot. He used them to bind my arm snugly to the inset brass safety handle that was even with my shoulder on that side.

  Then he leaned across me and repeated the process with my other wrist, tying it securely to the opposite handle. I tugged, testing the knots and the sturdiness of the fixtures. Meanwhile, the water crept over my belly, lapping at my breasts.

  Rans raised an eyebrow. “Oh, don’t bother with any of that, pet. You can squirm all you like, but you’re not going anywhere until I’m done with you. Believe me.”

  I lifted my chin, something inside me rising up, ready to test the boundaries—wanting to know they were there. “Maybe not,” I said, as though liquid heat weren’t twisting and coiling restlessly inside me, desperate for his touch. “But just because you tie me up, it doesn’t automatically mean you’re in charge.”

  He gave a low chuckle. “Doesn’t it?” His hand ran possessively down my body. “Hmm. I suppose we’ll find out who’s in charge in the next few minutes.”

  With no further warning than that, he cupped my folds and slid two fingers inside me. I arched and cursed, trying to rub those fingers over the places I most wanted stroked. He pressed deeper and obliged, sending warm waves of pleasure through me.

  The water had washed away some of my natural lubrication, but I was pumping out more at a rate that bordered on embarrassing, so it didn’t really matter. I relaxed into the slow stroking, riding the wave. In fact, I was so entranced that it took me way longer than it should have to realize he’d slipped his looped belt around my right ankle with his free hand, using the leverage to bend my leg tightly at the knee.

  I groaned in disappointment when his fingers slipped free of my body, still thoroughly distracted by my pulsing desire. A moment later, he wrapped the free end of the belt around my thigh. Then he buckled it snugly to the loop around my ankle, trapping my leg in a position like a frog getting ready to jump.

  “What—?” I asked dazedly... but he was already repeating the process on my other leg, using a second belt.

  “There, now,” he said with clear satisfaction. “That’s much more like it. What a lovely picture you make like this, all helpless and splayed open for me.”

  I lay there, bound hand and foot in the bottom of the tub, blinking up at him stupidly as the water began to lap at my collarbones. He eyed the rising level for a few more moments, reaching across to turn off the tap once he was satisfied with it. When the flow trickled to a stop, it left the bathroom in near-complete silence—broken only by ripples against marble and the sound of my unsteady breathing.

  Jesus Christ. He really could do anything to me right now. Maybe the realization should have been frightening? It wasn’t... although it still sent my heart thrumming excitedly against the barrier of my ribs. For now, he seemed content to admire his handiwork, leaning one hand behind him on the ledge where he was sitting.

  Eventually, I couldn’t stand the anticipation any more.

  “All right... so you’ve got me. Now, what are you going to do to me?” I asked, trying to make the words come out in a challenging tone, rather than a breathless one.

  Rans smiled his most dangerous smile, and reached back to flick the switch that controlled the tub’s jets. Warm water bubbled around me, rolling across nerves that were already stretched taut with need.

  “Oh... I’m going to do all sorts of things to you, love,” he said with relish, and reached into the water to grasp my hips. With a steady pull, he dragged my body toward the other end of the tub, until my bound wrists were stretched behind me. “Not to worry—I’ll make sure you’ve been thoroughly used by the time I’m done. For now, though, I believe we’ll start with this... mostly because I’m curious to see how you decide to play things.”

  He swung his legs over the edge of the bath and stepped over me, one foot on either side of my body. For a long moment, I looked up at him from my bound position in the water, and he looked down at me, watching my expression. From this angle, I could hardly fail to notice his dick jutting out between us, hard and ready.

  When he lowered himself into a kneeling position that straddled my chest, I sucked in a surprised gasp, my stomach swooping oddly. Though he kept most of his weight off of me, the movement still pressed my upper body further against the bottom of the tub, while his added bulk simultaneously raised the tub’s water level. Now I had to crane upward, tilting my chin up to keep my head above the surface. Water from the jets churned and bubbled, tickling my ears and splashing against my jaw. There was nothing to brace against, and the feeling of helplessness increased exponentially as I squirmed beneath him—trying to gain more breathing room and failing utterly.

  What I did succeed in doing was brushing my lips against the tip of his cock, which was poised right in front of me. I seriously doubted the suggestive position was an accident, so at least for now, this was apparently the game. The part of me that reveled in sex and seduction was ready and willing to play it.

  I eyed his thick erection. “What? You think I’m going to suck that for you while you’ve got me trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey? Pfft. Dream on,” I taunted, because poking the man-eating tiger with a stick to see what he’d do was a totally reasonable response in this situation.

  Rans looked down at me with thinly veiled amusement. “Oh... that’s completely up to you, love,” he said. “I’m more than happy to offer you an alternative option. Although, while I might find that alternative rather cathartic, I don’t know how much you’ll like it.”

  With that, he lifted one hand and rested a single finger in the center of my forehead. His eyebrows rose in challenge. My gaze widened in disbelief.

  “
You wouldn’t dare,” I scoffed, because apparently I was an idiot and still didn’t know him at all.

  “Wouldn’t I?” he asked, and gave a gentle push.

  With absolutely no leverage to counter him, down I went, the water closing over my head. The finger held steady for a second or two and disappeared, at which point I burst to the surface, spluttering and blinking my eyes clear. I gaped at him, scandalized, even as my inner demon rubbed her hands together in glee at the prospect that Rans might finally be ready to play rough.

  For now, though, the human part of me won out. “I cannot believe you just did that!”

  He snorted. “You forget. Not only have I seen your enviable form while performing the butterfly stroke in Guthrie’s swim spa, but I was also the recipient of a decidedly competent underwater blowjob in his Jacuzzi not so very long ago.”

  And... okay. He kind of had me there. Yes, I’d gone out for swim team in grade school, before my health issues started to pile on during puberty. And while I hadn’t exactly been a top pick for the Junior Olympics, I was both competent and comfortable under the water.

  I also might have been showing off just a tiny bit on the occasion in question when we’d defiled Guthrie’s innocent hot tub—trying to impress my experienced vampire lover by bobbing for his cock beneath the surface like an enthusiastic trick-or-treater bobbing for apples. He’d seemed to enjoy it at the time, but it looked like I might be about to reap the consequences of that little stunt now.

  “Smug bastard,” I muttered.

  “Well... you’re half right, pet. But as it happens, my parents were duly wed by the local parish priest years before I came along,” Rans said conversationally, and pushed me down again.

  I came up and spat water, ignoring the sting in my eyes so I could glare at him. “Ever heard of pegging?” I asked. “I read about it in a book once. Maybe I’ll take it up as a new hobby the next time the tables are turned, and I’ve got you trussed up at my mercy.”