by Sarina, Nola
No one could tamper with our memories, and take from us that which we held so close.
Somewhere in the southern United States, we abandoned the car and took off on foot. Sunlight threatened again, so we invaded a home and found a couple sleeping in the wee hours of the morning. I ate first; biting, unhinging my jaw, and swallowing the mummified corpse of my victim once she finished dehydrating. Jack did the same, and I giggled at the mirth on his face when he swallowed, the body dissolving in his torso like an effervescent pill, filling the room with satiated mist. He laughed a booming sound, elated by the power of an immortal appetite, and I swept into his arms, thrilled to have him. And then he took me to bed, and I let it all out.
“Sychar rebelled from the moment he was bitten,” I said against Jack’s bare chest as he stroked my back, tracing my scars. My voice sounded so haunted in my ears, as if spoken by a shadow. “He refused to eat at all. He starved for six months before Levitiqas kicked him out for poor behavior, assuming he’d go on a feeding spree and come back a more mature man. What did he expect from a sixteen year old boy, anyway?”
Jack nodded and let me speak without interrupting as I processed the memories that flooded back to me so suddenly in the wake of biting Jack. I didn’t know why they returned. Perhaps it was the finality of saying goodbye to Sychar that clicked the pieces of my broken brain together again. Perhaps the whole night was just too much for my heart, and I’d broken so much further that everything beneath the pieces pushed forth, exposed to open air.
“Sychar found me when he smelled the burnt flesh. He was a blacksmith in his human life, and drawn to forges. He took me away from there and bit me. He only had enough poison to do the job because he had starved for so long. Young Vespers usually don’t have the self-control to abstain long enough, to save up the poison required to create another of us. He knew I wasn’t ready for intimacy, and he didn’t push me even once I opened my eyes as an immortal.” I reached up and traced a thick vein that ran down Jack’s jawline. It twisted around to the side of his neck and branched into faint, black streaks over his pectorals, darker on the right side where his arm had been so bruised.
“And then we were caught, and they wiped us both blank of each other. Sychar has a duty to fulfill in the future... some kind of prophecy. Vashni told me about it. So he was allowed to live because he’s important, and I was allowed to live only because he never tamed me.”
Jack kissed my hair and pulled me closer.
“Now,” I said, my voice hollow, “he’ll never know who we were, once. And I can’t interfere. I only just got the memory of him back, and I have to let him go.”
“Can you do that?” Jack’s voice was dark with unspoken fears.
I shifted to look at him and admired his black eyes. I smiled. “Yes, Jack. For you, I can.”
Jack pulled me on top of him and pressed up, and took me back to the cliff with his hardness – new hardness, stronger hands. He threw me over the edge of ecstasy and caught me again and again, and then rolled me onto my back, peeled down his jeans, and entered me. Hard and fast he moved, and I cried out for hours. He made me come. He made me cry. He made me scream his name. And I loved it.
Never before had touch of any kind felt so right. His pleasure astounded me, took my breath away, and his body – rippling with sculpted muscles, and black veins streaked over each one – sparked a desire inside me so deep no hunger could compare. Jack moved with solid confidence, pushing me on and on with his body, and I weakened beneath him in the most wonderful way. I shook in his iron embrace for hours while he moved inside me, from every possible angle, never relenting, stroking me inside and out.
When he growled a savage, unrestrained sound and slammed into me a final thrust that brought a shriek forth from my lips, I grabbed his hair with both hands and kissed him, our tongues dancing to a slow tune of love, passion, pain, and relief. He was mine, tamed to me.
And I was his. I slid my tongue across his lower lip and smiled.
Goddamn, he knew what he was doing. And I was the luckiest Maid on the planet. “You’re mine,” I whispered.
“Always,” he said. “Forever.”
“What are we going to do now?” I hadn’t considered life without servitude... life on my own. There were so many decisions to make, and I didn’t know where to start.
Jack kissed my neck from shoulder to chin, and I giggled. “I love that sound, you know. You don’t make it often enough.”
“Maybe now I will.” I smiled at him, and touched his lips.
He kissed my fingertips. “Where would you like to go? We can go anywhere you want. I’ll follow you around the whole planet.”
He would, too. I knew it. I could feel it in my soul. “I’ve always wanted to see the Caribbean.”
Jack hummed, inhaling along my chin once more. “And you’d look beautiful in the moonlight on the beach.”
So would he. “There’s just one thing I need from you before we go.”
Jack tilted his head with curiosity, that sneaky grin on his face. “Your orders, Milady?”
I traced the veins of his temples, and he traced mine.
“Dominate me,” I said, and with a delicious groan, he slammed into me again.
Epilogue
Sychar strode across the countryside at an easy pace beside Festus. Tension radiated through the air between them, but that was nothing new.
He toyed with the idea of sneaking away from his elder brother to see Samantha, but he had to report home, first. It was a stupid idea to behead the Maid before Levi got there. Levitiqas would be pissed, and probably administer Sychar a beating for jumping the gun. And he’d eaten the traitorous trainman in the process, which was not a part of the plan.
“How much trouble am I in?” he asked Festus.
Festus scowled at him, his mood foul as usual. “Well, let’s see. You did Levi’s job, and you ate the trainman instead of bringing him home. Levitiqas would have made a healthy example of him for the other trainmen, and now that chance is gone. How much trouble do you think you’re in?”
Sychar sighed. “Heaps.”
“Damn right. And you’re dragging your feet like a frightened little pussy. Keep up.”
Sychar rolled his eyes. “I can beat you home by three days, if I pick up the pace.”
“Why don’t you fucking do it then, you arrogant little prick?” Festus snapped.
“Fine.” Sychar broke into a sprint and within seconds, Festus was long out of sight behind him.
The nighttime was quiet, his mind too empty, and his thoughts hushed. Glimpses of Samantha flashed into his mind – her kissing his palm – and his heart constricted. I miss her already. Damn. He traced the bracelet around his wrist that he planned to give her: leather cord woven with jade beads. Would she like it?
He inspected the bracelet as he raced effortlessly forward. Where had he found the thing?
A passing breeze startled Sychar out of his thoughts and he stuffed the bracelet safely away. He arced his course and zipped in front of Levi, who stumbled to a halt at his appearance.
“Fuck, Sychar!”
Sychar laughed. “Caught you off-guard.”
“What are you doing here? Did you get the prisoner?”
Sychar cringed. Better to admit it directly to Levi before Levitiqas. Couldn’t hurt to have an ally, though Levi couldn’t do anything to prevent the punishment ahead. “I, uh, jumped the gun.” He shrugged, feigning nonchalance to cover his fear. “Kind of... ate the train man, and murdered the Maid.”
Levi let out a breath and his enormous, aggressive posture relaxed. “Thank God.”
“Really? I thought you wanted the honor.”
“I was ordered to want the honor. Wanting it and being required to want it are two very different things.” Levi’s long, dark hair swung forward and half-covered his face, and the dismay in his voice was haunting.
“Job’s done, anyway,” Sychar said.
“You’re gonna get the shit beat out of
you for this.”
“I know. At least it’s not by you.”
Levi cocked his head to the side. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Huh. Why do I care what Levi thinks of me? Is he my friend?
I don’t have any friends. “You’re my superior. If I’ve only got two superiors angry with me, it’s better than three.”
“Three was the Maid, right?”
Sychar tried to picture her face, and failed. He heard her screams echo in his brain. He must have killed her brutally, but the memory wasn’t quite there, not quite touchable. He hated how his traumatized brain sometimes buried things it didn’t like to remember. “Yeah.”
“Shame.”
“Yeah.” Sychar shifted, uncomfortable.
Levi shrugged. “At least it’s done. We don’t need any distractions from figuring out who bombed the train.”
“I don’t think it has anything to do with us, really. It could have been completely random. Humans are fucking stupid, sometimes.”
“Yes, and I agree. But Levitiqas is paranoid, so we will continue to search until we have a better answer, or he punishes us for failing.”
Sychar groaned. As if it wasn’t enough to admit one crime, Sychar soon might be responsible for another. Jack had been the only surviving train driver of the explosion, and thanks to Sychar’s impulsive appetite, that source of information was gone.
“Festus is pissed, I gather?”
“Furious,” Sychar replied. “But he’s always mad at me. I don’t care.”
Levi crashed into the younger Gent with his shoulder. “He’s an idiota. Come on. I’ll go home with you. Can’t stop the torture, but I’ll make fun of your screams when you’re done.”
Sychar nodded and broke into a jog, the promise reassuring in a peculiar way. Levi couldn’t match his top speed, but he came close, so Sychar kept it slow to stay with his elder brother. As they ran, Sychar wondered if perhaps they could be friends. They shared a homeland and native Italian language, after all. And Levi had blacksmithing experience, just as Sychar did.
But friendship wasn’t in the cards for Vespers, just as love wasn’t.
Yet in Samantha, Sychar had found both of those wonders: friendship and love. So although the endless night ahead was paved with unspeakable horrors and slavery to a master of hate, at least he had that much. One woman to cherish, two wonders to bring him hope.
Maybe someday he’d have three.
Acknowledgements
I have so many people to thank this time around, who made the experience of writing JADED TOUCH a joy. Before I do that, however, I’d like to thank the generous people of High River, Alberta, for your perseverance, unbreakable spirit, and volunteerism. High River and the surrounding communities were affected by the June 20, 2013 flood to a level none of us could have expected, but none were hit as hard as High River. This has been a trying summer for everybody in Alberta, and I’m so proud to be a part of this community. For working together, supporting one another, and doing everything possible to recover from this most unfortunate disaster, I’m so thankful. And to everyone who donated to disaster recovery in the area, thank you, too.
Without my beta readers, this book would still be full of typos, awkward body movements, and bumpy sentences. Thank you to Jonathan, Janine, Ireene, Rebecca, Christine, and Jackie. Your feedback is always the highest quality, and helps me see where things can be just that tiny bit better, and that makes me a million times happier with the final project.
Thank you to my incredible :batman: agent Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency – without you, I’d be lost in this exciting, beautiful, daunting world of writing and publishing. You’re the most helpful, patient, supportive agent any author could have!
To all the reviewers and bloggers who have supported me through all my projects: you freaking rock. The way you support authors like me is so valuable, and your generous gifts of words, time, and blog space shows what amazing people you are. Thank you. And readers of GILDED DESTINY, the first Vesper novella: you encouraged me forward when I was scared of taking risks.
Stephanie White at Steph’s Cover Design: what can I say? I love what you do. This cover is brilliant. YOU are brilliant. I could never have expected such a perfect cover, and you exceeded every single expectation I had. Thank you so much for being the incredible artist you are.
And of course, to my family in all forms: you are such beautiful people, and I’m so honored to be a part of your lives. Keep being the incredible human beings you are. You are the brightest stars in the sky.
Nola Sarina is the author of the VESPER series and co-author of WILD HYACINTHE with Emily Faith. Represented by Michelle Johnson of Inklings Literary Agency, she writes dark romance, paranormal everything, and urban fantasy, and is a blogger about Biblical FanFiction at New Stories, Old Book blog.
Learn more about Nola at http://www.facebook.com/AuthorNolaSarina
...where she can often be found posting pictures of creepy cakes/shoes, triumphs and challenges of the writing process, and commentary about her favorite TV shows.
Also be sure to stalk her on Twitter @NolaSarina
Nola highly values reader comments, and you can review JADED TOUCH on Goodreads at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18140965-jaded-touch
...as well as on Amazon.com (Pretty please?)
GILDED DESTINY, the first Vesper novella, is available in eBook and Paperback on Amazon at http://www.amazon.com/Gilded-Destiny-Vesper-ebook/dp/B00CRFXT5Y/
Stay tuned for a third Vesper novella.......
Table of Contents
Epilogue
Jaded Touch. 3
Three. 4
Crash. 12
Capture. 21
Fall 36
Secrets. 49
Duty. 61
Alpha. 69
Trigger. 71
Busted. 93
Touch. 101
Hell 112
Home. 127
Damned. 133
Creator. 135
Epilogue. 145
Acknowledgements. 149
