Sonja stood up and walked around to the chair where he sat. He grabbed her by the arm and then encouraged her up on the padded back-end of the chair. She needed little instruction. Her knees straddled his head, which was now leaned back, and sunk her pussy on his face.
While his hands guided Pixie’s hips, his tongue raced over Sonja’s hard clit. She bucked against his face while the other girl ground herself on his groin. He tortured Sonja until she was reduced to mere whimpers. Then he shoved his tongue up inside her, making her gasp as he touched that spot deep inside. With his freakishly long tongue, he needed no instruments to reach that which turns all women to mush. She thrashed on top of him as she came hard, which made him fuck Pixie even harder.
The younger girl screamed as her own orgasm overtook her. She was ready, and both vampires knew it. Sonja was still trembling as she climbed down, and straddled behind the girl on Raven’s lap. Her hands wrapped around Pixie’s body and grabbed both tits, her fingertips brushing over the hard peaks. Pixie threw her head back with a scream from deep inside her soul as Raven sat up, grabbed her waist and slammed her down on his cock. He was getting close, but there was one thing he wanted to see before he came.
“Do it,” he commanded Sonja. She groaned at the thought before diving into the young girl’s neck. Her fangs sunk into the sweet-smelling skin, and he watched has her bright blue eyes opened wide as Pixie stiffened. Then, to her surprise, she dissolved into a pool of ecstasy she’d never before experienced.
Raven couldn’t hold back any more. He sank his teeth into the other side of her neck and drank from her as he rode her hard to his amazing climax.
As he fell back, he caught a glimpse of how pale Pixie had grown -- how vacant her eyes. “Sonja,” he cautioned, but she growled at him as she continued to suck, her eyes rolled back from her orgasmic paradise of lust and blood.
He could do nothing but watch as the life drained out of Pixie and into Sonja. Within moments, it was over. Barely a woman, Pixie was now gone. He felt his own desire die along with her as he slipped from her body. Sonja stumbled away, and blood trickled down each side of her face.
Gently Raven picked Pixie up into his arms and carried her over to the bed nearby. He laid her down and touched her face, then mouthed a silent apology as he kissed her once more.
Sonja, once again coherent, lovingly covered her up as she cuddled against her. He held out his hand but she shook her head. “She is mine now. I will wait for her.”
He nodded, and only momentarily recalled the girl Sonja herself had been just a few days earlier. He knew she’d never be the same again; and this was the first of many lovers she’d turn out of the selfish desire to keep them forever.
He dressed and exited without another word and shut the door on yet another conquest, and what he felt might have been yet another mistake. To walk among unapologetic killers without the desire to destroy wasn’t easy, but was the difficult road that Raven had long ago decided to walk.
Chapter Nine: Damien
Raven stared out into the moonless night from the second floor of his old plantation-style house. The rumor was that it was haunted. Raven figured as long as he lived there, it was.
His mind kept returning to the night before. Sonja and her blood lust, Pixie and her sacrifice. As much as he himself hungered, he just couldn’t bring himself to leave the solitude of his home. His lip curled with the ironic thought that one night wouldn’t kill him.
Maybe it would, maybe it wouldn’t. Maybe, just maybe, it was what he deserved.
With a sigh he pushed away from the window.
At least he’d saved one life. He supposed that was going to have to be enough for now.
Little did he know that just across town Abigail sat at her dressing table and styled her hair. She had no intention of staying away from the club, this night or any other. She’d never been one to do what she had been told, and this would be no exception.
She was not afraid, she kept telling herself. She hoped eventually she’d even believe it.
The club was alive with music that stirred her heartbeat as she entered the room. Her eyes scanned the crowd for Raven’s face, expecting to see disapproval etched so deeply in those dark eyes. She had her speech all ready, and had even practiced it all the way there. It started with “Who do you think you are?” and ended with “You don’t get to tell me what to do!” She hoped she managed to get through it without any kind of pout.
It sounded so familiar to the arguments she had had with her parents, her father in particular. He had done his best to shelter his daughters. Her sister grew tougher under his rigid hand, but Abigail had simply rebelled.
She dated the bad boys, got in trouble with the head mistress at their private school. But despite the fight between them, she had made her father secretly proud as she set out on her own and did everything she said she was going to do.
She went to college on her dime, not his. She worked her way through four long years of no social life, just study-study-study, work-work-work.
Her sister had not gone to college. Instead she had traveled overseas in a quest to “find herself”. Apparently it had worked, because no one had seen her since.
To each their own, Abigail had long since decided. She had other things to worry about.
She was so focused on finding Raven she never spotted the other redhead behind the bar. But the newest bartender noticed her. She managed to hunch down and slink out of sight before Abigail’s gaze swung back around in that direction.
The new bartender bumped right into Sebastian, who was making a rare appearance during peak party hours. He’d grown tired of that scene and normally avoided it at all costs, but he wanted to see how she was doing.
“Gina,” he said in a low, commanding voice.
The redhead straightened to greet him. “Sebastian.”
He smiled as his eyes traveled from her uniquely colored hair, her dark glasses and her generous curves. He knew it had probably been a mistake hiring another human for Sonja’s old position, but she had enchanted him. She was strong, much like Sonja had been – yet his psychic prowess could tell was even stronger. “How’s it going?”
“Good,” she said, not one for long conversations. “I just needed a break.”
He nodded. He understood. “Get Xavier to fill in for you.”
She nodded and then walked away, making sure they didn’t touch. She was aloof, Sebastian noted, but in this place who could blame her from reserving judgment on whom to trust. She was a rabbit in the den of many wolves.
He still had a smile on his face as he entered the club. Despite whatever mistakes he’d made with Sonja, he hadn’t lost her. Better still, her replacement gave him hope that one human could stand strong among them. The smile died however when he caught sight of the other redhead who was surveying the crowd. Had Raven sent for her, Sebastian wondered. If so, why did she return?
Humans. They were like moths drawn to the flame.
He made his way over to where she stood.
She watched the handsome man approach, and was instantly captured by his mysterious light-colored eyes. He reached out a hand. “Abigail,” he said, and it made her wonder how he knew her name. “I’m a friend of Raven’s,” he answered her unspoken question. She had no way of knowing that this was a vampire who fed upon the psyche, rather than the flesh. “My name is Sebastian.”
Instantly recognition sparked in her eyes. “You own the club,” she stated. She had done her research. But nothing prepared her on how to respond to his intense aura. Despite how weak-kneed it rendered her, she had the innate sense that he meant her no harm. She smiled. “It’s nice to finally meet you,” she added. He knew in an instant she was out to use her wiles to pump him for information, never assuming for a moment that he was carefully decimating her aloof aura to reveal the things she would never say.
If that wasn’t enough of a win, perhaps she would also be willing to share some of her sublime energy he could feel deep in
his soul as he stood next to her and absorbed her. Unlike his newest bartender, this human was not as guarded. Her essence filled his nostrils, intoxicating him. He allowed her to lead him over to a secluded booth.
Back in the staff area of the club, Gina located Xavier, the spiky blue haired Goth vampire who doubled as a bartender. It was the best way he’d found to lure beautiful humans and trap them under his spell, so he didn’t mind the rather menial job for an immortal. He watched this new human with fascination. “Sebastian said you could cover for me,” she said. No pretense, no waffling. Just direct and to the point.
He liked that.
“Sure,” he said as he rose in a languid stretch. He sauntered over to where she stood. “Provided you’d be willing to return a favor for a favor one day.”
“Like what?” she asked, again direct.
He slowly moved around her as he drank her in. He loved the smell of her musk, which seemed to rise the more agitated she got. “You tell me,” he whispered and ran his tongue along his fangs.
“Sorry, I don’t mix business with pleasure,” she told him and turned away.
He grabbed her but the minute their skin touched he wrenched away like he’d been burned. “What the hell?”
“Should have listened,” she said as she turned away again. This time he grabbed her and this time he held on even though he looked as though it caused him great discomfort.
“Listen, bitch,” he hissed, and that was all it took for her to flip him around and push him up against the wall.
“Don’t call me names,” she warned in a low voice. “And never, ever touch me again.”
He wasn’t sure what hurt worse, the way she had his arm bent or the touch of her skin on his. “Got it,” he bit out. He normally didn’t allow women to get away with such disrespect, but it was crystal clear she wasn’t just any woman.
She let him go. They stared at each other for one long moment before he finally turned away and headed back toward the club.
She took one deep breath to calm down and then flopped into a chair.
“That was quite impressive.”
She swung around to see a man who was leaning against the door frame. He wore a goatee and a mustache and long, wavy dark hair. His dark eyes were playful as they danced over her rigid frame. “Relax,” he said as he causally strolled over to another chair. “It was just a compliment.”
This was an old vampire, from England, most likely the 19th century if his accent was any indication. “Do I know you?” she asked, her voice as stern as her face.
He did a mock bow. “Damien Cross, at your service.”
“The only service you could do me is to leave me alone,” she said. She was still on edge because of what happened with Xavier.
Luckily, or unluckily, for her Damien seemed to know that. “Young Xavier has not yet learned how to deal with the fairer sex.”
Her eyebrow rose. Was that a sexist remark?
He smiled. He liked her already. “Of course I couldn’t say you were weaker, now could I? You seemed to dispatch young Mr. Luna quite efficiently. Well done.”
“Thank you,” she finally managed.
“Wise, that,” he went on, her participation in the conversation seemingly irrelevant. “Being a human in a nest full of blood suckers, it’s a good idea to have a few moves like that up your sleeve.”
It was her turn to smile. “I’m not afraid of vampires,” she assured him.
“Then you are a rare human being, indeed,” he praised. Whether he believed her or not she couldn’t really be sure. “My I ask the lady’s name?”
“Rambo,” she quipped. He gave her a hearty laugh. This eased her nerves a bit. Generally jovial vampires weren’t out to kill anyone, at least in her experience.
He vaulted to his feet. “You are amusing, love,” he said as he gave her another bow. “And therefore I will leave you to your solitude. Good night. Rambo,” he added with a wink and then left her alone.
Out in the club Sebastian sat with Abigail, who drilled him on information about Sonja and Tracy Lynn.
“People come and go here every day,” he assured her. “This is a community of vagabonds and gypsies. Some stay for a while, some stay for a moment. It’s not up to me to keep track.”
“Then why call the police?” she countered.
“I was worried about Sonja. I’d grown very fond of her.” He gestured to the dance floor. Sonja stood close to yet another young woman in an intimate dance. “But as you can see, she’s returned.”
“As a vampire?” Abi pressed.
He chuckled softly and leaned in towards her. She felt herself swoon slightly from the force that surrounded him. “Undead is still not dead, Abigail. I’m afraid to tell you that without a corpse, there is no murder mystery.”
“But…,” she tried to continue but he put his hands over hers.
“Our culture is not your culture, Abi. The minute you try to bring human sensibilities into it, you’ve already lost. We are all thieves and murderers in our own way. My advice to any human who cannot accept that is to stay far away from us.”
But even as he said it, she felt herself lean in towards him, wanting more of the mysterious power he seemed to possess.
“That’s what Raven wants for you, Abi,” he told her as she toppled into his amber eyes.
“Raven doesn’t own me,” she managed. This made him smile as he touched her hand. Without another word he pulled her from the booth and led her on the dance floor, never once breaking their gaze.
She melted against him as she felt the warmth of his hard body spread over the coolness of her own. She couldn’t look away from him if she tried. His eyes bore down into hers. His full lips were slightly parted, and she could almost feel a kiss he hadn’t yet decided if he wanted to deliver. It wasn’t that vampires were faithful creatures, necessarily. They were lustful. Sinful. They coveted, they stole. But the man Sebastian had always been had been loyal, and it was Raven he thought of in that moment, rather than his lovely Sonja.
His resolve grew weaker as he watched her lovely lips part in anticipation of a kiss. There was nothing wrong in holding her, he decided. They swayed to the music and she could imagine them together in an ornate ball room centuries ago. Her imagination came alive with satin gowns, lovely jewels and a mysterious stranger with bright amber eyes.
The more she gave her spirit to him to render to his will, the stronger his aura became. He drank from her energy without reserve until she finally fainted against him just as he began to grow against her. She was not ready for him yet, he realized. He hoped she never would be.
He picked her up into his arms and carried her to one of the back rooms. Red velvet and satin, to match her fiery mane. He laid her upon the bed, touched her alabaster face, and contemplated for more than a moment kissing her sexy mouth. A sound from behind him startled him right out of his internal struggle.
It was Sonja, and her fangs were full. “She’s lovely,” she purred as she crawled up the bed. She didn’t have to struggle whether to kiss her. She simply did it.
Though he stirred at the erotic sight, he touched Sonja’s arm. “No, my love. Not this one. She is Raven’s.”
Sonja pouted as she slunk away. “I’m hungry,” she whimpered.
He put his arm around her. “I know, my precious. Let’s go back out on the floor to find someone for you to taste.”
This seemed to perk her up somewhat, but she sent another longing glance Abi’s direction before she left.
Sonja still pouted from the bar as she watched all the couples evenly matched on the dance floor. Xavier leaned across the bar. “Something wrong, pretty lady?”
She gave him a hungry look, one he’d long since come to recognize. Gina had already joined them again and was waiting on a customer at the other end of the bar, so Xavier took her hand and motioned for her to follow him.
They were all over each other as they tumbled out into the night air, away from the prying eyes of the people in
side. Their tongues played together and she felt the cool steel ball from his tongue stud. She could only imagine would that would feel like elsewhere. She whimpered as she pushed him down to his knees.
In one fluid motion he pulled down her panties and pulled up her skirt. She spread her legs for him and with his own hunger he dove right in. She felt his tongue and the tongue stud as it flickered across her clit. She cried out in the night as her hand clasped handfuls of hair.
Long moments had passed while Abi slept there in that red room. The candlelight flickered and died. When she awoke it was completely dark, and she had to wonder for a moment if it had all been a dream. But she felt the satin sheets beneath her and she knew she was once again in one of the rooms that hid behind the coven.
Immediately her hand went to her neck. She sighed with relief that there were no marks there. Just cool, perfect skin.
She sat up on the bed and that was when she heard the sound. She listened in the darkness to make it out. Again she heard it, it sounded like a hissing sound. Her hair stood on end as she realized she couldn’t tell where it was coming from, as it sounded like it was all around her.
Just outside, Sonja was coming against Xavier’s mouth, crying out as her fangs punctured the sides of her face. She screamed when she felt him puncture the skin of her groin and drink from her. She was delirious with need.
Inside the room, the hissing sound grew louder and closer. Abi gulped as she slowly made out the edge of the bed with her fingers. She had no idea where to run, but she knew she couldn’t stay still. Just as her foot made contact with the floor, a claw-like hand grasped her ankle. She screamed as another claw grasped her other ankle.
Raven Walks Page 8
