She closed her eyes. Flashes came to her. The blond boy in the forest, hunting with him, and splashing in the lake. Every summer her friend would return and they’d frolic and play. Then the vampire war came. She never saw him again.
When he removed his hands, she looked at him for a long moment. The boy had the same strange blue eyes, the same hair. His features had been soft and young, but the same cleft in his chin had been on her friend’s face. It couldn’t be. They’d played in the bright summer sun, not darkness.
“My friend was human. I’m sure he died during the war like so many other boys.”
“My mother was human. I didn’t know what I was until my father came to claim me just before the war broke out. A Halfling like me can walk in the sun until we taste our first human blood, after that we…change.”
“So the tales are true, there are vampires who can day walk. I thought those were just fairytales meant to keep children from wandering too far into the woods.”
“Those tales didn’t work on you, did they?”
She couldn’t help her sad smile. “No.”
“How did you come to be the lord of the city? Tales of vampires killing the Halfling children of blood slaves have reached us in the village.”
“My father tried to conceive a child with his lady wife for centuries, long before the humans knew of our people. When he discovered that the human he’d taken as a lover had a son he came to investigate. He could sense his kin, he took me to the city and shortly after that the great king declared we take the world for our own. You know the rest of the story.”
“Yes. How can you do it? How can you subject your own kind to this terrible life?”
“Humans are no more my kind than vampires are. I have no kind.” There was bitterness in his words.
“Why would you allow my father to sell me? It was a decade past, but we were friends.”
“My father died last year. When I came to gather the tribute and your father told me he had nothing by law I was to take every woman and child in the village to be blood slaves for the city, but just as I was about to tell your father this, I saw you. You were running along the trees, and back to your hut, past curfew. Even after all this time, I recognized you. Seeing that you were still such a rebellious girl I couldn’t help myself, I told your father I’d take you. I paid the tribute out of my own pocket in exchange for you, Janae. Your people are free for another year.”
“What are you planning to do with me?”
He smiled. Even if the expression was one of humor it still held menace as his fangs were more prominent. “As I grew to manhood you haunted me. You’re the most beautiful nymph in the wood and I’ll have you for my own.”
Janae didn’t know how to respond. “No one owns me. You might have paid for me, but I belong only to me.”
His smile was even more menacing, this time intentionally. His eyes never left hers as he stood to remove his clothing. She watched in awe. He showed no sign of shame or embarrassment, as he stripped naked before her. Years of battle had shaped his body into a sculpture of hard muscles. Everything about him was lean and masculine. Janae swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry.
“Before the dawn I’ll hear you scream that I own you.” He moved so quickly she had no time to think, her dress ripped from her body. Instinctively her arms went up to cover her chest as she knelt in the center of the bed. Kristo was there beside her, he ran his hands softly down her back, staring at her as if she was the most amazing thing he’d ever seen. She could feel a blush rising up her neck.
He took her bruised arm and lifted it to his mouth. His tongue swirled over her bruises and she watched as his intimate caress healed her. When his eyes met hers again he pulled her close, his lips hovered just above her own. “My mouth can heal your kind just as effectively as I could take your life. I’ve never taken a human life, but I’m no saint. I want to taste you.”
She should be afraid, but his touch melted her fear.
Kristo’s lips descended into a punishing kiss that left her breathless and wanting. She’d been kissed, but never like this. When Macomi held her, he’d never inspired her to such desperation. Maybe it was vampire magic, but now Janae only knew she didn’t want it to stop. Kristo pulled away and she found herself wrapping her arms around his shoulders and trying to pull him back. His deep seductive chuckle brought her back to reality. She dropped her hands.
“No matter what magic you use I’ll never say you own me.”
He looked at her with an intensity that left sparks in her womb.
“The only magic between us is the mystical arousal of a female responding to a male. Forget what I am for this one night.”
He pushed her back on the bed, and held her in place. She managed to smother her desire to struggle, until he spread her legs. The momentary feeling of violation made her sit up. He dipped his head between her spread thighs and she felt him caressing her with his mouth. No man had ever done that to her before. After the strangeness melted away, she felt her body come alive with sensation. When his hands reached up to play with her sensitive nipples the combination of pleasures was amazing. A moan escaped her lips.
He continued the passionate assault and something inside of her built. The couplings she’d known before had been quick rough joinings that were somewhat pleasant, but nothing like what she felt now. Kristo’s touch roamed over her breasts, and his mouth worked tirelessly between her spread legs until she was thrashing.
“I can give you what you need, but first I have to know I own you, Janae. Are you mine?” His voice floated up to her before his mouth continued its caress pushing her even closer to the edge. She bucked wildly with no concern for propriety. He was her enemy, but at the moment, none of that mattered.
“Please, Kristo.” She begged shyly.
His mouth paused, and she pushed up towards him with her hips.
“Say the words.”
He pinched her nipples, hard. She gasped and arched her back.
“Okay, I yield.”
“That’s not what I want. Never yield, but say the words.”
“I’m yours.” She panted as his longer fingers delved into her pussy while his thumb rolled against her clitoris.
He got up on the bed and began licking at her wounded neck, taking away the sting. His fingers never stopped between her legs. Then she felt a sharp sting. Kristo was biting her. She slapped at him. His cock slid inside of her and an unbelievable bliss consumed Janae as the two sensations combined. She came screaming in his arms as her pussy clenched around his cock. Her back arched, tears leaked from the corner of her eyes. She made unintelligible sounds as the pleasure coursed through her body. He stiffened a moment as her arms wrapped around him, and she felt the warmth as his cock spilled inside of her.
When it was over, he looked down at her. She was helpless to deny the truth; she’d given him ownership of all she was. Her heart belonged to him.
By the Fireside
by Shermaine Williams
“He’s waiting for you.”
With her gaze trained on the dark archway ahead of her, the disembodied voice startled Andrea, who thought she was alone in the small foyer. The sudden instruction stiffened her shoulders, excited tension rising to seize her throat like a tight grip that prevented her from replying to the shadow that appeared. Like an apparition, it gradually became dense to clearly take the form of a female figure with supermodel proportions.
Peeling herself off the seat, Andrea went from squirming with nerves in the high-backed red leather chair to concentrating on walking in a straight line as she followed her guide. She became indistinguishable from a real woman, her looks seeming to inform her actions as she walked like she was on a catwalk, her fluid gait akin to a big cat silently stalking its prey.
Andrea focused, her gaze drifting to her high, taut bottom encased in painted-on black trousers, and felt a sense of calm circulating through her chest.
They walked through a long arched corridor, oppressively n
arrow with dark grey walls, dimly lit by a faint white glow that had no obvious origin. A dry heat that made the space airless intensified as they closed in on a large wooden door, the click of her heels becoming loud enough to echo.
The model stopped dead a few feet away and stood aside, looking down at her temporary charge. She smiled, for the first time, revealing gleaming white teeth. The minor gesture had a powerful effect on Andrea, urging her to ask her name in a first step toward the rapport she desperately wanted to build.
The model took away her chance with her suggestive, “Have fun.” Letting the words hang in the air, she glided back the way she came, leaving Andrea standing at the door so highly polished that the dark wood would make an effective mirror.
Putting aside the thought of making friends, Andrea frowned at the door, debating whether to knock. The thought of keeping him waiting made her decision and she took a deep breath before pushing the door, the thick timber unexpectedly warm. Her heart commenced a heavy pounding rhythm as she took a step into darkness surpassing that of the arched corridor, potent bitter air rushing through the gap to fill her nasal cavities. A flash of light and a rounded whooshing sound made her jump, forcing her into a reflexive step back before she recovered and continued inside.
The aroma—like what remains after fireworks have been let off—faded into a great windowless hall that appeared empty, until she peeked around the edge of the door.
A fireplace dominated the far left wall, large enough to house several people standing side by side. He stood in front of the blazing fire within, his dark formidable form surrounded with an orange glow as he studied the flames. The alluring sight made her heart skip—he demanded attention without saying a word.
“Greetings Lord,” she breathed, her echoing voice adding to the crackle of the flames.
“No need to be so formal,” he replied, still looking into the fire. “I’ve known you for a long time, Andrea.”
Turning as Andrea approached, he revealed his broad expanse of bare chest, stepping forward to meet her. “You can call me Lucifer.”
“Thank you, Lucifer,” she gushed, taking his proffered hand, a bolt of heat streaking up her arm to hammer at her heart.
Walking backwards, he displayed an intricate tattoo on his taut chest, over where his heart should be. The thick black line woven in an asymmetric pattern stood out against the rich tan of his glistening barrel torso.
The heat of the fire seeped through her skin, filling her entire body though entering through her side as she submitted to his scrutiny. “You’re so beautiful and you never believed it, did you?”
Sheepishly, Andrea shook her head, only briefly dipping her gaze as if unable to look away from the red glow in his dark irises, reflecting the intensity of the fire.
With his hand at her throat, he forced her to tilt her face skyward to fully meet his gaze, his skin hot and calloused. “Instead you chased a fantasy and ruined yourself with surgery.”
Suddenly her heart swelled to a size large enough to thud against her ribs, causing a dull pain as if from a sharp punch. At that moment, she bitterly regretted each one of her surgical procedures, though not for the first time. Andrea shook her head ruefully, a slight motion due to his restriction.
“Now that you’re here with me and I have your soul, you can look however you want.”
Lucifer drew his free hand down her spine to let it fall on the small of her back, holding her tightly and dropping his head with a deep breath. “Let us begin now,” he said quietly.
Andrea didn’t want her to let him go and, in turn, he spoke into the crown of her head, glossy dark locks absorbing his words and shimmying them down to the tips. Her body quivered as he slowly released her.
Instructing her to undress, Lucifer stepped back to observe her obedient actions, fixated on each section of her trembling body as she bared it.
Her clothing lay crumpled on the marble floor for several minutes before Lucifer deigned to act, raising his palm level with her face, hovering approximately five inches away and slowly moving downward.
Andrea held his gaze as his power took effect, feeling like a hot strap had been lashed around her body, pulled tight as his hand moved downward. Alteration came as distinct fiery sensations that faded as quickly as they came, tightening sagging skin and repairing scars to leave a flawlessness she hadn’t known for years.
“For some,” he began in a low tone, barely audible. “I alter their face to ensure they will be successful at their job.” Dropping his arm to his side, he rolled his bulging shoulders and inclined his head a little. “But it’s not necessary for you, just some minor upkeep.”
Looking down at her newly pert breasts, Andrea marvelled at the transformation Lucifer had effected and stroked her hands down the sides of her toned torso. Snatching up one of her hands, Lucifer shocked her with the unexpected action, making her drop the other as he tightly held it to his chest.
“Your body belongs to me. Not only is no man ever to touch it, you need my permission to do so yourself.”
Andrea nodded stiffly, her lips parted in readiness to stutter an affirmative reply but unable to before he swooped down to take her breath away. His kiss was forceful, like he succumbed to a yearning to taste her that he made no attempt to fight.
Leaning against his arm supporting her back, Andrea reached up to grip his shoulders as a feeling of instability persisted, creating the sensation of being about to fall. The touch of his lips had an instant effect, swirling emotions around her core gradually becoming dense to infuse her with strength and confidence that wasn’t her own. Heat flooded her core, streaming downwards like water and pooling between her thighs to swell her clit.
His release seemed begrudging, a vibrating hum emitted into her mouth before he caught her lip between his teeth before pulling back.
Andrea’s breasts heaved with her panting, leaving her only able to offer a breathless, “Am I more desirable to you now?” desperate for the satisfaction of him taking advantage of her body.
“You were always desirable to me, but I’m prepared to give you what you want.”
With a sweep of his hand, Andrea stood in an off-the-shoulder black dress with a hem that fell at her thighs, tapering down to open toed stilettos that glittered when she tilted her ankle to admire the shoe on her foot. Pride in the outfit that perfectly suited her was tempered by disappointment at no longer being naked in his presence. It put an end to a possibility.
“Get me what I need, Andrea, and I’ll give you what you want.”
Flames flared up, crackling ominously and illuminating the room to improve Andrea’s view of the being she desired.
“I hope so.” An attitude stemming from her newfound confidence made her automatically answer back, only recognising her frankness after the words were free.
Andrea fought the temptation to reach out to him, feeling an urgent need to pull him into an embrace that would seal their unholy union. The couple remained locked in a stare that spoke volumes though they didn’t say a word.
“Go.” His voice shook her body with a power that was unassailable, leaving no room for argument. “I know you won’t disappoint me.”
Walking away, she vibrated as his words repeated on a loop, ricocheting through her like a pervading voice. Feeling as though her walk was affected by the pulsating pressure warming the space between her thighs, Andrea felt no hint of the self-consciousness that would normally be a hindrance. Instead, she used the stirring to her advantage and enhanced the swaying motion of her swaggering saunter. At the door, she turned to see him looking into the fire, the rippled sinew of his broad back on display, his dusky skin gleaming.
Though reluctant to leave, Andrea’s eagerness to be at his side was like a fuel that pushed her into completing her task to return to him. The craving she felt for him clawed at her insides like the most potent of drugs had her firmly within its grip, demanding that she get that next hit by any means. However, there was no substance that could satis
fy her, she need only complete an allocated task in order to claim her prize.
It turned out that her mission was easier than she expected, only requiring her to sit at a bar for approximately six minutes after leaving the hot, secure confines of her new home. Her unwitting victim was a handsome man, relying on his chiselled features rather than an invitation to sit on the stool next to her. Andrea let him buy her a drink and he was ready to go home with her before she had even finished it.
Holding him under her spell was effortless for Andrea, finding it easy to keep his attention until she could put her new powers into effect, materialising in Lucifer’s room with her offering on his knees, held in place by her fist entwined in the soft hair at the crown of his head. “His name’s Kieran,” she advised, by way of a greeting.
Lucifer briefly cast his eyes downward before returning his gaze to her face, the look of satisfaction in his eyes caressing her hot skin and hissed like steam.
Kieran’s pained whines and protestations muddied the quiet of the sanctuary, but went unheeded by the couple who only had eyes for each other. He broke the stare that linked them by calling for his assistant, instructing her to take away the brand new minion.
“Very nice,” she growled, surveying the man that Andrea released. “Can I have him?”
Andrea’s stare remained resolutely on the only reward she wanted, seeing his eyes glittering back at her through the dim light. “Of course you can.”
Kieran’s plaintive cry faded into the distance as he was dragged away, failing to earn a second glance from Andrea as she advanced when prompted by Lucifer’s outstretched arm.
“Congratulations, my darling.” He squeezed the hand that she placed in his. “Looks like my newest demon is the most efficient.”
“Can I be rewarded for my efforts?” Pulled to his body, Andrea’s words were muffled by the firm humps of his abdominal muscles.
Just One Bite Volume 5 Page 7
