Wild Ones

by Cassie Black

  "I brought you some supper. You haven't had anything for 24 hours. You need to eat." I just looked at her, and rolled over again, tugging the bedclothes around me and dragging them over my head. I ignored Steph's pleas to wake up, and they eventually left.

  XII

  Doctor Pervert was back when I woke up again. Concern was written all over his face as he gently shook me awake.

  "You need to eat and drink something," he told me urgently.

  "Fuck off," I told him back.

  He left then, but returned shortly with what sounded like Atticus in tow. The bedclothes were pulled off me and the robe pulled up to expose my butt. I felt the sting of a needle and burning as whatever it was was injected into my muscle. I lay dead still, waiting for them to leave again, but the robe was pulled down again and I was lifted by strong arms and cradled against a broad chest.

  "I think she's a bit depressed," the doctor spoke softly. "I have given her something to stimulate her appetite, but she needs to get out of here. We haven't been very kind to her."

  Fucking understatement of the year, I thought to myself, as I was carried up some stairs and through a couple of passages, my eyes tightly shut. I leaned my head against a muscular shoulder that smelled divine, I couldn't help noticing. I was gently placed on what felt like a huge soft bed, and I heard the sound of running water. I refused to open my eyes until I felt hands removing my robe. I glared up at the perpetrator of this latest outrage, and Atticus smiled down at me.

  "Bath time, Millie, then something to eat."

  "Leave me alone," I said tiredly.

  "I can't, love. You are my wife now, and you are carrying my child."

  "We're not married," I told him crossly. "And you have no right to do this to me."

  "We're married under vampire law, and tomorrow morning the paperwork will be finalised in human law too."

  "So you're adding fraud to your long list of crimes," I said in disgust.

  He chuckled as he lifted me easily, carrying me to the bathroom where a fragrant steam rose from a claw footed bath in the centre of the room. He put me down feet first, and indicated the water with an inclination of his head. I sighed, and dipped a reluctant foot into the water, which turned out to be the perfect temperature. Giving in, I sank under the bubbles, and leaned back, closing my eyes. My peace was short-lived. Atticus kneeled at the side of the bath, wielding a bar of soap, and washed every inch of my skin. Then he shampooed and rinsed my hair, gently massaging my scalp. I felt the tension in my muscles dissipate, and almost let myself forget the predicament I was in. I was reminded of it though when Atticus suggested I get out of the bath and have something to eat. I looked up at him, intending to tell him what I told Doctor Pervert, but I decided not to when I saw him raise his eyebrows in a challenging way. Grumbling, I climbed out of the soapy water and draped the proffered towel around my body, and wrapped another around my hair turban-style. Atticus grinned at me in appreciation. Whatever.

  He made me eat, too, threatening to hold me down and force the food down my throat if I didn't eat it myself. Being held down gets tiresome after a while, believe me, so I ate, reluctantly at first, then hungrily. Atticus watched me, a satisfied expression on his face. I scowled at him.

  "Bed time," he said when I had finished. I stared at him in trepidation, wondering exactly what was meant by those two words. He sighed.

  "I'm not going to rape you, Millie."

  "Again," I told him.

  "What?" he wanted to know, a puzzled frown creasing his brow.

  "I believe the correct phrase was rape you again," I explained, enunciating carefully.

  "We had to, sweetheart. There was no way you would have submitted to that willingly. I can't apologise for something I don't regret doing. You are mine now, and my child is growing inside you. It's hard for me to see any downside to this." He paused for a moment, and then chuckled. "If it helps, you can think of it as part of an exercise in conservation of a very rare species," he smirked at me.

  "You really are something else, aren't you?"

  "Thanks," he said smugly.

  "No, I didn't mean that in a positive sense," I said sourly.

  "I know, but I'm taking it that way." He smiled ruefully at me. "Millie, if we had sex now you would probably lose the baby, so you need to understand that it's not an option until he's been born. No matter how much you beg me," he added with an evil grin.

  "Jesus, everyone's a clown today." I paused, considering something. "So I'm safe for what, nine months?"

  "Eight. Vampire foetuses grow a bit faster than humans."

  "Good," I said and stood up, deliberately dropping both towels, and went to brush my teeth. A loud groan followed me to the bathroom and I smiled in grim satisfaction. It was time for somebody else to be tormented now.

  XIII

  I woke up the next morning with something prodding me in the back. I lay for a while trying to figure out what it was, and then the very masculine arm draped around me and the sleepy chuckle gave me a big clue. A really big clue.

  I tried to scramble out of bed but the arm tightened and the chuckle became louder.

  "Let me go," I told him, struggling to free myself.

  "I love it when you try to wriggle away," Atticus whispered in my ear. "It's so stimulating." I froze. "Too late, sweetheart." He pressed himself against my buttocks. I stayed frozen.

  "You said you wouldn't."

  "And I won't. But you can't lie naked in my bed and feel like that and smell like that without expecting a reaction."

  "You keep that reaction away from me," I told him firmly. He let out a bark of laughter, causing said reaction to jerk alarmingly against me.

  "You are so adorable," he breathed against my neck, nuzzling the skin. "And you smell so good, I'm just going to have to have a little taste again."

  Before I had fully realised the implications of this statement, the bed clothes had been thrown off and I was on my back again with my legs held apart. Like I said, the current default position for me. It was inevitable, really - I should have expected it. What I didn't expect, however, was that hot tongue licking and probing and eliciting the all too predictable response from my pathetic body, which not only lacked self control, but seemed determined to enjoy itself at my expense. I tried to fight the building waves of pleasure, and failed miserably, wailing in frustration as the orgasm exploded through me. Atticus chuckled in satisfaction and nuzzled my lower belly while I waited for my body to return to my control. I didn't trust myself to speak.

  "We need to get you vaccinated," he said eventually. He lay next to me with his head on my belly. I looked down at his tousled blonde hair. Vampires get bed hair. Who knew.

  "Vaccinated?"

  "We have venom in our teeth that stops clotting. Think aspirin on steroids. If I were to accidentally bite you, you could bleed out and die. Fortunately there's a vaccine to prevent that. I should have thought of it before."

  "So don't bite me." I said it as plainly as I could. I had always been something of an expert at stating the obvious.

  "It's not that easy, lovely Millie. Our fangs come out with hunger or lust. Guess which one you generate. I almost bit you now, actually. Especially when I saw my name on your thigh."

  "What?" I sat up suddenly, and pushed his head off my belly. He sat up and watched me examine the tattoo on my inner left thigh. It had been all scabbed over yesterday, but today I could read 'Atticus' in neat flowing script. My left wrist was still a bit scabby, but I had no doubt that it was similarly decorated.

  "What!" I yelled at him. It was not a question this time." You had me tattooed with your name?" I paused for a few seconds. "There?"

  "I thought you knew," he said. "Once Andronicus wrote my name on your skin you became my wife under vampire law. It protects you from other vampires - they would never dare touch you now."

  "Even Dr Pervert?" I asked, remembering that tongue.

  He grinned. "Any vampire. So yes, Andronicus may not touch yo
u now unless it is to save your life or if you give your expressed permission for him to do so."

  I considered that for a while. A small tattoo and I was protected from the entire species of massively over-endowed sex-mad bloodsuckers. Except for one, of course. Oh well, can't have everything. And I did have eight month's grace there. I looked at it again. It really was very tastefully done.

  "My parents have always wanted me to get a tattoo. They're going to be so pleased." I paused. "Although I won't be showing them the thigh one."

  "Your parents wanted you to get a tattoo?" he looked amused.

  "I am a source of constant disappointment to them. I don't smoke pot or have tattoos, and I like science." I emphasised the last two words, trying to convey their reaction when they discovered my dirty little secret.

  He laughed. "I met your parents, you know."

  "Annie told me. You were the bogus boyfriend." He nodded.

  "I really liked them."

  "Not as a light snack, I hope," I said dryly. He gave another shout of laughter.

  "No, my sweet love, not as a light snack. They seem like good people. Eccentric, but good." What the hell would he know about good people, I thought bitterly.

  "I miss them," I said almost to myself.

  "We can go and see them tomorrow, if you want." I stared at him in surprise.

  "Really?"

  "I don't see why not. You need to introduce me formally, you know. As your husband."

  "I'm really not comfortable with that term."

  "You'll get used to it. In the meantime, you need breakfast."

  "I need clothes," I said, suddenly very aware of my nakedness. I had crawled into bed last night after brushing my teeth and had fallen asleep almost immediately.

  "No, you don't."

  "Seriously? I need clothes. I can't walk around naked."

  "I don't mind," he grinned at me. I was about to start arguing with him in a loud voice using lots of small words with four letters, when the door opened and Julius strolled in. I dove off the side of the bed towards the pile of bedclothes on the floor and crawled underneath them.

  "Now that's something you don't see every day," said Julius, laughing. "Enjoying domestic bliss, brother?"

  "You might want to knock in future," Atticus told him.

  "And miss that?"

  "It's law, Julius."

  "Oh shit, I forgot. Sorry, brother. It's a shame though. She really does have a lovely body."

  "It's my lovely body now."

  "True. I can still smell her though. Smells even better than yesterday."

  "Yes, she does. Tastes better too."

  "Ah, you're killing me, brother," Julius groaned. Atticus chuckled.

  "Is there a reason for this visit of yours?"

  "Father's downstairs. He wants to meet Millie. He's also brought a name and address for us. A woman with a two year old. From out of town and staying with her sister for a week or so. Father picked up her scent two days ago and did some investigating. She's apparently going back to her husband day after tomorrow, so we'll need to move fast."

  "Excellent news, Julius. We haven't had one in eight years and now two within the space of a week. When were you thinking of taking her?"

  "As soon as possible. Father says there are a few vamps sniffing around her as we speak."

  "Today, then. Millie can stay here. The house and grounds are very secure, so she won't be disappearing anywhere."

  "She can hang out with Father and get acquainted," chuckled Julius.

  Oh what fresh hell, I thought sourly in my haven under the sheets. And from the sound of it they were planning to abduct another woman. She has a small child, I thought bitterly. Poor little thing.

  XIV

  I heard the door shut and a voice saying, "It's safe to come out now." I stood up, draping one of the sheets around my body. Atticus stood at the window, staring outside at the vast greenness that surrounded the house.

  "Where are my clothes?" I demanded, suddenly furious with them all, and wanting more than ever to get myself out of this place and away from these evil bastards.

  "In there. Steph bought you some new ones too," he pointed towards a huge antique wardrobe that stood against one of the walls of the bedroom next to its twin. Atticus seemed distracted, which suited me just fine. I walked across to the wardrobe and opened it, revealing neatly packed piles of clothing, some of which I recognised and some of which was most definitely new, and usually way out of my price range. I grabbed some of my own jeans, underwear and a t-shirt and waltzed off to the bathroom, pointedly shutting the door behind me. I dressed, flossed and brushed my teeth, and sat down on the closed toilet lid, reluctant to go out there and interact in any way with Atticus, knowing as I did what he and his brother were going to do to that woman.

  The bathroom door opened after a while and Atticus came in. I glared at him sullenly from my perch on the toilet.

  "I have something I need to do today," he told me.

  "Kidnap a woman and rape her. I know."

  "It's not like that."

  "It is exactly like that," I said.

  He said nothing for a few long seconds, just looked at me pensively.

  "My father is waiting to meet you."

  "I really don't give a shit."

  He frowned at me. "Nonetheless, you will meet him. And you will have breakfast."

  "Make me," I said, regretting the words as soon as they were out of my mouth. Idiot, I scolded myself. Next thing I'll be saying bite me. To a vampire. That would not go well for me at all. When will I learn, I thought glumly.

  He lifted me up and draped me over his shoulder, my butt in the air, and carried my downstairs. I refused to react, and just lay there seething. I was eventually deposited on my feet in a spacious room containing a polished mahogany table, several chairs, a matching mahogany sideboard and a very good-looking middle aged man, who lounged in one of the chairs, an elbow on the table, and regarded us in amusement.

  "Sit," Atticus ordered me, pulling out a chair. I looked at him mutinously and was just about to say something sarcastic when I caught the warning glint in his eye.

  "Whatever," I said, sounding for all the world like a grumpy teenager. I sat.

  "You may leave us, Atticus," the man at the table suggested casually.

  "Yes, Father," Atticus replied respectfully. He left without another word. I was awestruck.

  "You need to teach me how to do that," I said to the vampire sitting across the table from me, who smiled in response.

  "My name is Titus, and you must be Millie," he said in a deep cultured voice. "The boys were not exaggerating. You really are very lovely."

  My eyes narrowed. I wondered exactly what it was that the boys had told him.

  "I have been reliably informed that you are carrying my grandchild," he continued.

  "Ah, Dr Pervert," I said knowingly.

  "Excuse me?" he seemed taken aback, but his eyes twinkled.

  "He licked me," I told him in a disgusted tone. Titus chuckled.

  "I see you have experienced our obsession first hand." I said nothing, but waited for him to elaborate, wondering how he was going to explain this so-called obsession.

  "I am sure you are aware by now of our uniqueness."

  Gosh, what to say. Which uniqueness? There were so many, all of them dreadful in their own unique way.

  As if he had read my thoughts, he explained. "We are the only species in the world that relies on another species to reproduce. It has been our curse over the millennia, that we have no females of our own kind." He looked at me solemnly. "As a result, reproducing and all that entails has become something of an obsession with us. A woman who smells right is the most wonderful, marvellous thing in the world. Irresistible, because you are so rare, and when we find you we just have to have you. In every sense of the word."

  "Now, when one of those women is pregnant with a vampire foetus inside her," he continued, "she becomes almost impossible to resist. The smel
l alone drives us wild, and the taste is indescribable. Being alone in a room with you is the greatest test of willpower in the world for any vampire, myself included." My eyes narrowed at this, and I regarded him with deep suspicion, ready to jump off the chair and run for it.

  "It is for this reason that once a woman is pregnant she is marked with the name of the father of the baby. Once that is done, she may not ever again be touched by another vampire. Ever. The penalties for this are severe, and rigidly enforced. If I were to touch you now, I would suffer greatly as a result, for a long time, and then I would be executed," he said wryly.

  "You must understand the gravity of this. We live for over five hundred years on average. We are strong and powerful and vital. And there are fewer than a thousand of us in the world now. To execute one of our own when we as a species are so rare is an unbelievably serious matter. And for the vampire concerned, to know you are going to die when you have several hundred years of life left in you is devastating, horrific even. But the law is there to protect the future, and to protect the women who carry that future."

  "And this is why it is so important for us to impregnate a woman as soon as we can. Vampire law states that these special women cannot belong to a specific vampire until she carries his child. So, if you were not pregnant, and you went to visit your parents, for example, and another vampire smelled you, he would have the prerogative to take you himself. They would even be able to abduct you from here if they were able to raise a big enough force. We would have no right under our law to retain you. And we are forbidden to kill our own kind. Even if we were able to repulse the attack, the threat would always be there."

  I said nothing, digesting this new information and its implications.