Roman frowned. “Very little.”
“What about you, Dakota? How much do you know about Roman’s past?”
I didn’t like that it was currently nothing, so all I could do was give a dismissive shrug.
Lucas’s questions were doing nothing for the tension in the room.
“Are you sharing her?” Lucas asked Roman. “Even from here, I can tell the scent of her blood is tantalizing.”
“No, I certainly am not,” Roman snapped. He turned to me. “Dakota, go back to your room. Now.”
I stood my ground, and Lucas laughed. “She has her own room? Is your bed too good for her, Roman? I find that hard to believe.”
“Roman likes to bring other women back,” I stepped in. “Don’t you, Roman?”
He scowled at me. “You’re pushing your luck, Dakota.”
I tilted my head to one side and pouted. “Are you going to punish me?”
“You’re acting like a brat. Stop it.”
I arched my shoulder down, lengthening my throat on one side, and tugged at the collar to lower it. “Don’t you think it would be rude not to let your guest have a taste? After all, it’s not as though you want me, is it?”
Roman hit me like a solid wall of muscle, and my feet lifted from the ground. Then I was flying backward, completely against my will, the movement so fast it whipped the hair from my face and tore the air from my lungs. I was thrown, unceremoniously, and landed on the soft cushion of the mattress of my four poster bed.
“What the hell!” I managed to gasp when I’d caught my breath.
Roman stood over me, thunder in his eyes.
He turned his head to speak over his shoulder. “Lucas, please see yourself out. The elevator is unlocked and free for you to use.”
I didn’t hear anything, but I assumed the other vampire had left. I figured Roman would have known if he hadn’t.
Roman turned back to me. “What the hell is wrong with you?”
“Me?” I pushed myself to sitting. “What the hell is wrong with you? You’re the vampire who doesn’t want to touch the courtesan he bought. You’re the one acting abnormally in this situation. If you don’t want me, let someone like Lucas have me instead.”
His eyes darkened with fury. “Is that what you really want? To be handed over to someone else?”
My anger died away. “No, I just want you to want me.”
“I’m trying to protect you. Why can’t you see that?”
“I don’t want to be protected. I’ve spent my whole life locked away from freedom and pleasure. I’d thought coming to you would be the end of it, but it’s even worse than if I were back in the center.”
“I don’t want you to feel that way,” he said.
I looked into his eyes. “So make me feel good instead.”
Roman stared at me for a moment, as though considering something, and my heart stepped up its pace. “Stand up,” he ordered.
My breath grew shallow as I did what he told me, getting to my feet in my heels. We were face to face, only a matter of inches between us.
He reached out and swept my hair from my throat, pulling it into a ponytail at my nape with his fist and then knotting it in his hand. “I want this away from your neck at all times, do you understand?”
I nodded, as best I could with the hold he had on my hair.
His full bottom lip was slack, and his tongue flicked out and wet it as he kept his eyes on me.
I swallowed hard. This was what I’d been asking for the whole time, and now that he was going to give it to me, I was terrified.
I was also ridiculously turned on, tingling heat gathering between my thighs, and my nipples hardening.
Roman leaned in and brushed his nose up the side of my neck, inhaling as he did so, as though taking in the scent of a fine wine. “I haven’t even tasted you yet, but I know you were worth every penny.”
With his free hand, he took hold of my dress and tore it right down the front, exposing my bare breasts. I gave a little squeak of shock, and he smiled wickedly.
“I warned you I wouldn’t be gentle, Dakota.”
My legs grew weak, but he held me upright. With a quick flick of his wrist, he tugged the dress from my shoulders, and then yanked my underwear down my thighs.
“Step out of them,” he growled.
I did as he instructed, kicking the panties away. I was naked, a vampire holding me in place by my hair. Sudden fear and panic set in. He was going to fuck me, and bite me. It was really going to happen. I’d been begging for it, but now I was frightened it would hurt.
“Roman…” I said, not sure how I was going to end the sentence.
“Hush. You said you wanted this.”
And then his hand pushed between my thighs, touching me in a place no one had ever touched before. His hold on my hair tightened, as he slipped his fingers along my smooth, wet skin, and then pushed inside me. I yelped in shock at the invasion, but then his finger began to move inside me, cold against my heat, and I found my body start to react to him. My hips began to move of their own accord, rocking against his hand.
“Good,” he growled. “I can feel you getting wetter.” With that, he pushed another finger inside me, and I moaned, automatically reaching out to grip his shoulders. His mouth captured mine, his lips cool and firm. I parted my lips, my tongue eagerly seeking his, and we did a slow dance, learning each other’s mouths. My excitement built and I pressed my body harder against his, sinking down on his hand.
Roman broke the kiss and pressed his lips against my ear.
“I’m going to fuck you and bite you at the same time,” he warned.
I could only nod.
He released my hair and pushed me over the bed, though his fingers remained inside me. My naked backside hit the sheets, and I fell onto my back, waves of pleasure sweeping through me at the way his digits slipped effortlessly in and out of me. Roman leaned over me and ducked his head, his cool mouth enclosing over my nipple as his fingers still worked me. His tongue laved the hardened peak, sending sparks of excitement racing down and gathering directly between my thighs. Then his fingers pulled from me, and his head lifted from my breast as he stood up straight. I tried not to wilt in disappointment at the lack of contact, but the sight of him standing there was enough to distract me.
Standing in front of me, Roman slowly undid the buttons of his shirt, exposing his naked chest. He shucked the shirt from his shoulders and then his hands moved down to the button and zipper of his pants. Instead of moving slowly this time, he acted with his vampire’s speed, shedding himself of his pants in a blur of flesh.
I stared at him, utterly naked, and devastatingly beautiful. My eyes trailed down his abs and navel, down to the area I’d only briefly gotten a feel of before, and that had been over the top of clothing. His erection stood out from the thatch of dark curls, proud and thick. My fingers itched to touch him, my tongue longing to taste, my nose wanting to inhale the musky scent of him. This was the first time I’d seen a man of any kind completely naked, and I wasn’t disappointed.
He reached out and spread my legs wider, his hips settling between them. We had no worries about pregnancy or diseases. After all, he was a vampire.
Roman leaned over me again, his mouth finding mine, kissing me deep and firm, asserting his ownership. Then his lips left mine and traveled down my throat and back to my breast, his mouth covering my nipple once more.
His erection pushed against my entrance, feeling too big, and a stab of panic made my heart race. But my body wanted him, and my hips lifted to meet his. As he breached me, pushing inside me, hard and firm, his fangs sank into the skin around my nipple. Pain speared through me, both through my breast, and deep inside me, and I cried out, my hands gripping his shoulders.
But then he began to suck, drawing my nipple and my blood into his mouth, and I heard his gentle swallows. His hips thrust, pushing his cock so deep inside me, I thought I might split open. He was so big, and I’d never been filled in such
a way before. He pulled out and thrust again, bringing a fresh stab of pain, but also a heady rush of pleasure. A building heat and tension coiled through my body, and I squeezed my eyes shut, pleasure and pain swirling together, making my head spin. How long would he feed? Would he drain me dry?
Roman’s movements grew faster, more aggressive. I hoped he’d be able to hold back enough to remember I was human. He could shatter my pelvis with one thrust if he wasn’t careful. But he seemed to know how to use exactly the right amount of force to capture my body in pleasure. My breathing grew faster, every one of my muscles a wound spring.
I was climbing toward my orgasm, grasping for it. I was so close now. I was hovering on the precipice, dying to tumble off the edge.
Roman reached between my thighs and made contact with the swollen little bundle of nerves that was my clitoris. My back arched from the mattress and I cried out. Wave after wave of bliss shattered through my body, making my toes curl, as Roman gave a cry of his own and exploded inside me.
I lay there, panting, my eyes flickering open.
Was I lightheaded from my orgasm, or was it the loss of blood?
Roman pulled himself from my body and then licked my nipple, healing my wounds with his saliva, and sending a fresh jolt of lust through me. I touched the back of his head, lacing my fingers through his soft hair as he finished his administrations.
I exhaled a sigh of contentment.
Roman pulled himself up to lie beside me, propped up on one elbow as he looked down into my face, a knowing expression on his. “So was that more what you had in mind when you thought about your life as a courtesan?”
I pushed my hair away from my face. “Abso-freaking-lutely.”
He laughed. “I’m glad to have finally met your expectations, Dakota.”
Chapter Eleven
We lay, curled up on the bed together, still naked. My head rested on his chest, my fingertips tracing the lines of his abdominals. A warm glow filled me, and I wanted to hug myself tight at my happiness that Roman had both taken my virginity and fed from me, all in the same moment.
I was thrilled that he’d given in to me, but I still didn’t understand why he’d been so cautious in the first place. Yes, he’d said it was because of my age, but I didn’t believe that was the full story—after all, he’d known exactly how old I was before he’d bought me.
I lifted my head from his chest and looked at him. His dark eyes met mine, and a smile touched his lips.
“What?” he said, perhaps sensing I had something to say.
I took a breath and then dived in. “Explain to me what all of this is about, Roman. Why did you buy me in the first place? Despite what we just did, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t to use me as a courtesan.”
He paused, glancing away, and then looked back at me. He reached out and laced his fingers with my own.
“I’m trying to find the woman you call Mother.”
I frowned. “You are?”
He nodded. “Yes, and I figured purchasing one of her girls would be the way to do so. I had hoped you’d have known more about where she kept you all than you do.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “Everything was kept secret.” Then I thought of something. “But why didn’t you just ask one of your men who brought me here where they collected me from?”
“Those weren’t my men who brought you here, remember, they were hers.”
“Oh, of course.” He’d already told me this piece of information, but I hadn’t considered the importance of it before.
He nodded. “I could have taken them captive and tortured them to find the location, but not only would that have made her suspicious when they’d not returned, they also make sure they’re only around in the daylight, which makes things a little… difficult for me. I assume that’s the reason she arranges delivery while we’re still sleeping.”
He’d finally started answering some of my questions, but I still didn’t feel any the wiser. “But why do you want to find Mother?”
His expression grew hard. “She took someone from me, my daughter.”
My heart stopped. I hadn’t been expecting that answer at all. I saw the pain in his eyes, caused by an event that had happened so long ago, but that still felt so fresh.
“I’ve been searching for her for years—the Madam, that is, not my daughter. I’d looked for my daughter for several decades, but eventually I was forced to give up. Assuming she wasn’t turned into a vampire, old age would have claimed her by now.”
I frowned, my mind trying to piece things together. I understood now why he’d struggled so hard to touch me when I’d first come here. Had he been thinking of his daughter in my place? No wonder he’d rejected me so harshly all those times. I was thankful he’d finally come to see that I wasn’t his daughter and never would be.
“But, if your child was taken from you, it must have happened when you were human, and that’s over a hundred years ago. How could Mother possibly be responsible?”
He twisted to face me fully. “She’s a vampire.”
I gaped at him. “No, she isn’t. She’s just a woman.”
“Are you sure about that?”
Could he be right? Surely I’d have known.
I thought back. Had I ever seen her eat? Walk in the daylight? We’d been kept inside most of our lives, but there was a small garden we’d been allowed to walk in. I’d definitely seen her outside during the daytime, and I said so to Roman.
He nodded. “That’s what makes her especially dangerous. Her ability to walk in the light.”
“I didn’t know vampires could.”
“Most of us can’t, but there are always exceptions to the rule. She is one of them.”
My head was reeling. Mother was a vampire. She’d just been an older woman to me. Had I seen her age at all? It wasn’t something you noticed when you were young, especially not when I’d seen her every day since I was twelve years old. Perhaps I’d have noticed the lack of change if I hadn’t seen her for several years, but that hadn’t been the case.
“Tell…” I started, stuttering over my words from the shock. “Tell me about her. I mean, the woman—vampire—I’ve been calling Mother. Tell me about how she came to be what she is.”
Roman sat up in the bed, and I pulled myself up to sit beside him, our backs rested against the headboard, the sheets pulled up around us.
“She was a courtesan in the early nineteen hundreds. Her vampire was ancient and very powerful, but he was also madly in love with her. Rumor is that he saw her aging and couldn’t bear it, so he turned her. Problem was, she hated the control he had over her. When vampires are created, their maker will always be stronger than them in order to maintain control. Plus, there is a blood bond between them so the original vampire can look into their child’s head and influence them.
“But the woman you know as Mother was different. She was able to walk in the light, and when her maker was sleeping, she could do as she liked. He had no power over her. She got to liking that side of her life, so much so that she grew to resent and eventually hate him. After several decades, she decided she couldn’t take it anymore, and decapitated him in his sleep.”
I clutched my hand to my mouth in shock. Mother had never been the most warm and loving of people, but the idea of her ripping off a vampire’s head while he slept seemed insane, almost as insane as the idea she was a vampire as well.
The possibility Roman might be lying popped into my head. But what would be the point? What would he be trying to achieve? Besides, I’d come to trust Roman and he’d given me no reason not to—with the exception of the other woman he’d brought back here, but he hadn’t even fed from me at that point.
“How did she come to cross paths with you and your family?” I asked.
He continued with the story. “After her maker was dead, she’d lost her main source of income. She had plenty of money from what he’d left behind, but she was a greedy woman and always wanted more. I guess she saw a business opportu
nity in taking young girls, training them to be blood courtesans, like she was, and then selling them on to vampires.”
My mind began to put all the parts of the story together. “And you think she took your daughter to be a blood courtesan like she was?”
He nodded.
“And like I am,” I said, thoughtfully. How strange to think I was in some way connected to Roman’s long dead daughter, that we had essentially lived the same lives. “So,” I continued, “you’re trying to find her to take revenge on her stealing your daughter?”
He nodded. “Yes, and to stop her from doing to anyone else what she’s done to both of us.”
I knew what he meant. Him losing his child. Me losing my childhood and my freedom.
Something occurred to me. “But, if you had a child, you must have been human when she was taken. How is it that your child was taken by a vampire, and now you’re a vampire, too?”
“It was intentional, Dakota. Back in the days when I was human, it was a lot easier to believe in the supernatural. It was rumored that a vampire—a woman—was taking children. I didn’t know the reason back then. I guess a part of me hoped she was just unable to shake whatever natural maternal instinct she’d had as a human.” He gave a cold laugh. “Of course, now I know differently. Anyway, I knew I’d never be able to track down a vampire as a human, so I set on my own mission to find a vampire to turn me.”
“What about your wife? How did she cope with all of this?”
Roman glanced away, his lips pressed together. “She couldn’t cope after our daughter was taken. A year passed by and she wasted away. Eventually, she couldn’t take the heartbreak any longer and she killed herself.”
“Oh, Roman. I’m so sorry.”
He nodded. “Yes, me, too. It was after that I decided to go down the route of becoming a vampire in order to find a vampire.”
“But that was what? A hundred years ago?”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“And you’re only just narrowing down on her now?”
Stolen: A Vampire Blood Courtesans Romance Page 6
