Morganna's Sacrifice (Vampyre Falls: Blended Species Book 1)

by Adrianna Dane

  Keelan tightened and groaned as the slender whip Daffyd wielded struck his back. The pain wrapped around him. He felt the euphoric release take hold of him, like a drug spreading through his system.

  “Again,” he cried out.

  Daffyd’s fingers trailed across his hot, throbbing skin, cupped one of his cheeks and squeezed, then trailed down the back of his thigh, over his calf and along the sole of his foot. Keelan shuddered with the mingled sensations. He trembled when his sire trickled a thin line of cold water along his spine, allowing it to drench his crack, bathe his balls and pool beneath them. He moaned with the dark desire that swirled through him.

  “This is what you need, Keelan. If I didn’t give it to you, your mind would shatter with the yearning. Do you remember those first months when you tried to fight it? What it did to you?” Daffyd’s tantalizing fingers played across the welts decorating his back.

  Keelan recalled far too clearly what it had been like when he’d tried to resist the new hunger for the pain. It had practically splintered him apart, sending him into so dark a place, he thought his mind had been totally destroyed by Romulus. But then Daffyd had shown him a different way, and drawn him from the precipice Romulus had thrown him over. He’d shown Keelan how to survive, how to accept the pain he was now addicted to without destroying himself completely, and had given him back the ability to experience pleasure.

  Even during those black days, he understood the vampire had his own agenda as he seduced Keelan. Daffyd wanted Keelan’s surrender, his blood, his devotion, but for different reasons than those Romulus demanded.

  Yes, Daffyd provided exactly what he needed. He was Keelan’s master, his sire, and in some ways, his lover. He felt the searing heat of each stripe, lovingly displayed across his back. Before the whip, Daffyd had applied the paddle to his buttocks and thighs to warm his flesh for what was to come. Searing sensations enveloped him, lifted him, freed him. Yes, he hated the pain. But with a part of himself he also embraced it.

  “Daffyd,” he cried out as his tears wet the bedding beneath him. “Again.”

  But this time, Daffyd refused. “No more. Your back is a bloody mess.”

  “Then feed.” He wanted to feel his sire’s teeth piercing his flesh. The ache of pleasure, that intimate bond when his blood flowed for his sire, giving to him freely, sparked through him, his cock hard and demanding, pressed into the mattress.

  Daffyd released the bonds and kneaded Keelan’s arms and shoulders. “I’ve never had anyone demand and accept as much of the whip as you. But then no one has ever lasted as long in Romulus’s hands as you did. I thought when I found you that you were already dead.” Keelan shuddered beneath him as his expert fingers traced a long, enflamed stripe across his back. And then he bucked and arched as he orgasmed beneath the onslaught of Daffyd’s tender caresses infused by the throbbing bruises layered across his flesh.

  He shuddered, and the calmness finally settled over him. Balance was restored. Daffyd carefully tilted his head to the side and Keelan gasped when Daffyd’s teeth pierced the pulsing artery in his neck. Yes, such dark bliss. It was a need that had been sown while he was in the hands of Romulus, at first forced upon him against his will. He had never admitted to himself the moment when the pain had turned to unwilling pleasure, and the reason he had survived the sadistic attentions of Romulus. But Daffyd had drawn the dark secret from him, exposed his self-hate, and had taught Keelan a different way to deal with the tortured memories. With Daffyd the pain subtly shifted into searing passion, no longer invoking the nightmares of his captivity, but a form of pleasure beneath his sire’s hands.

  Daffyd completed his feeding and carefully withdrew his fangs from Keelan’s neck. He sensuously swirled his tongue to lick the last droplets from the twin wounds, then he rose. Keelan closed his eyes, sinking into the throbbing awareness of his body, replete after his demanding submission to his vampire master. He jumped when he felt the cool, wet cloth on his back as his sire attended to his flesh.

  “How are you going to tell her about this?”

  Keelan’s mind was cocooned in euphoric exhaustion. “When the time is right, I’ll find a way to make her understand.” His words were slurred as he attempted to remain alert to the conversation. Daffyd stroked expertly across Keelan’s inflamed cheeks, parting them, and a finger penetrated his anus.

  “Will she understand this?” he asked as he drove deeper inside. “Will she understand that you may speak of love for her, but you need what I give you? Possibly more than you need her?” His finger sawed in and out of Keelan’s rectum, and Keelan groaned as his passions built once again.

  “I won’t give her up, Daffyd. Not even for you. I’ll bear it all if I have to, but I won’t give her up.”

  Daffyd widened his channel with two fingers, pressing inward, and Keelan’s cock rose in rigid response to the pleasurable ache. His breaths turned to pants of need as Daffyd worked him, pushing him hard, forcing him to recognize his own desires.

  Three fingers shoved deep.

  “I won’t give her up,” Keelan yelled as he orgasmed powerfully once again.

  Chapter Nine

  Morganna navigated her way through the maze of corridors until she came to what looked like a sitting room. She stopped at the doorway when she saw the two men already inside posed intimately together. She recognized Keelan, but not the other man, who was approximately the same height.

  His head was close to Keelan and the gaze they shared spoke of an intimacy that she had once enjoyed with Keelan. His knuckles grazed along the definition of Keelan’s strong jaw. Keelan’s hand was wrapped around his wrist, a thumb grazing across the skin of the fisted hand.

  And then Keelan turned his head toward the door and saw her. Slowly, he moved away, removing himself from the lover-like embrace and walked to her.

  “Come in, Morganna. I see you found your way. I was just about to come get you.”

  Carefully, she stepped into the room, her attention focused on the brooding eyes of the stranger. “Were you? It seemed to me you were quite involved in something a bit more engrossing.”

  He tucked her hand beneath his arm as he drew her across the room. “I want you to meet Daffyd. He’s a very important part of my life now.” He looked at Daffyd and she saw something pass between them. “This is Daffyd Angelus, one of the founders of Vampyre Falls. He saved my life.”

  Daffyd offered her a polite smile as he studied her. “I’m very pleased to meet you at last, Morganna. Keelan has spoken of you often.”

  She met his probing stare, determined not to waver, but something in that black look, the pinpoint of silvery light at their heart seemed to draw her energy. She felt herself folding and her head began to hurt. She lifted a hand to rub at her temple.

  “Daffyd, don’t. This is not a contest. She’ll tell you whatever you want to know.” Keelan led her toward a black velvet love seat. He encouraged her to sit and wrapped a steadying arm around her.

  The pain in her head began to subside and she straightened away from him. Bounding up, she strode away from the overwhelming energy of the two men. Whoever Daffyd Angelus was, he was extremely powerful.

  “Don’t let him frighten you, Morganna.”

  Her attention shot to Keelan. “Frightened? I’m not scared of him. I just don’t know what he wants. And he tried to get inside my head—without permission, I might add.”

  Daffyd shrugged. “I apologize. It’s habit. Anyone new who comes to the Falls. I’m suspicious, especially with someone from your realm. Keelan may trust you, but I don’t know you, do I?”

  She riveted a look back at Keelan. “Why did you bring me here, Keelan? He’s obviously your lover now. What do you want from me?”

  Keelan glanced at Daffyd quickly and then back to her. “It’s complicated. I won’t lie to you… I do care for Daffyd. He saved my life and since I’ve been here we’ve become…close. But it doesn’t change how I feel about you. Or the fact that I want you with me.”

&
nbsp; She paced around the circumference of the room as she studied both men, arms folded across her chest. “How did you know what Syril had planned for me?” Daffyd’s wary dark gaze tracked her movements, she could sense the magnetic gaze locked onto her. It made her feel like a moving target and he was just waiting for the moment to pounce. He wanted something from her.

  Keelan was the one to answer her. “Daffyd has a spy among the vampire coven that Syril bartered with. A witch.”

  “Enough, Keelan. Don’t reveal too much,” Daffyd cautioned.

  Keelan wheeled on Daffyd. “She’s not going to betray us. I told you she can be trusted.”

  “She worked for Grimstarker. How can you possibly know what she’s capable of after all these years? Her kind want us all dead.”

  Keelan turned to Morganna.

  She saw the trust in his eyes, remembered the love they had shared so long ago.

  “Because I know her as well as I know myself. She would never betray me.”

  “How do you know she didn’t deal with Grimstarker all those years ago? Maybe she has something more in her sites than emotion. She’s a faery and they’re not known for their depth of emotion.”

  “Stop it. I’m right here,” Morganna said. “Stop talking about me as though I weren’t. You are the ones who brought me here.” Morganna turned on Daffyd. “I would never do anything to hurt Keelan. How dare you suggest such a thing.” She studied him intently. “But you. Why did you allow him to bring me here if you don’t trust me? You want something from me; I can feel it.”

  His gaze was dispassionate as he returned her cold look. “You’re here because Keelan wants you. I’ll admit you are appealing in a faery sort of way. Your blood…interests me.” He stepped toward her. She refused to back away and stood her ground as he approached and stopped in front of her. There was something in the way he looked at her. His gaze smoldered, and the thick wisps of lust stroked and penetrated her. The energy emanating from him was dangerous…and it was tantilizing.

  Something split open inside her in response to the vampire, and her stomach twisted, her breasts swelled, and her nipples grew tight and sensitive. She felt the steady rush of her blood throb in the vein at her neck. His attention dropped to her neck, and she knew exactly what he yearned to take from her.

  Her faery blood.

  “He was right about you,” Daffyd said softly. “ I can see it. But not for the reasons you think.”

  As he leaned closer, Morganna held her breath. He brushed lightly across the fullness of a breast. His fingertips seems to draw sparks from her over-sensitized flesh and she hissed at the touch, yet she still couldn’t bring herself to move away from him.

  “Keelan,” she moaned his name.

  “I’m here, Morganna,” he said from across the room. “I won’t leave you. And Daffyd’s not going to hurt you. Are you, Daffyd?”

  Daffyd grinned. “Not unless she asks nicely.”

  His gaze captured her like a moth drawn to a bright, deadly flame. She should have been able to fight the draw. She was faery, not human. And then she realized why. Her gaze slammed to Keelan.

  “It’s your blood. That’s why it feels like I’m…” She didn’t want to finish the thought. “That’s why he’s stronger,” she amended.

  “Yes. I told you, things are complicated,” Keelan said.

  “Do you find me repulsive, Morganna Starlight? Or are you simply afraid of what you don’t understand. Does your response to me frighten you?”

  This time she did step away, although it was difficult to break the hold that seemed to bind her to him. He followed her. “Do you even want to understand our world? The world that Keelan lives in now?”

  “I-I don’t know. I don’t belong here.” But, if Keelan was right, she couldn’t go back, either. Could she?

  Daffyd leaned closer and inhaled deeply, then exhaled on a sigh. He turned to settle a look at Keelan. “Her blood smells delightful. It’s very powerful, almost as powerful as yours. It’s clean and pure, infused with sweet energy. I can understand how you were drawn to her. She must be one of the most potent of her kind.” Then he straightened and stepped away.

  Keelan moved to her side, a set look on his face. “Daffyd, leave us. I want to talk to her alone. You always have been a bit too overbearing in situations like this.”

  Daffyd shrugged. “Very well. I’m going down to Silver Creek. My company will be welcome there.”

  “Daffyd—” Keelan began.

  The vampire held up a hand. “No. If she’s to stay, she needs to understand what will be expected. And you did say she’s a skilled healer as well. We could use one of those. I’ll return later. We can talk then.” Talk was not what she saw in his eyes as he studied her for long moments before he whirled around and vanished from the room.

  Once he left, she faced Keelan. “I think you need to tell me what’s going on.”

  Chapter Ten

  Silence fell between them after Daffyd left. Needing some distance, she walked across the room to study a painting depicting a passionate encounter between a dark-complexioned man and a young woman, her thoughts in turmoil. The man reminded her of Daffyd Angelus.

  “Talk to me, Morganna.”

  She couldn’t look at him. Not just yet. “I don’t know what you want me to say.” She bit her lip, and remembered how abandoned she had felt, which brought back flashes of pain. It was that unyielding ache of loss that had driven her to Syril for a dark potion. “I don’t know what’s between you and Daffyd Angelus. I don’t know what you want from me.” She turned around and finally confronted him. “I don’t know if I dare trust you.”

  Keelan met her look without flinching. There was nothing in his expression that hinted of subterfuge. But he wasn’t the dark elf she had learned to love so desperately. He was now a vampire.

  “I would never hurt you, Morganna. You must know that. I brought you here only to protect you. You don’t know what they would have done to you. Romulus is sadistic. His followers thrive on pain.”

  “Who is Romulus?”

  “He’s Daffyd’s sire. Daffyd broke away from him long ago. He and the others who came to Vampyre Falls were wounded and hunted. They wanted a place to hide and heal. It’s since become a sanctuary for more than just vampires. The strength of the magic here keeps Romulus and his kind at bay. Daffyd has made it his mission to save as many people from becoming Romulus’s victims as he can.”

  “And he saved you.”

  Keelan nodded. “I was close to death and he healed me. I’ve come to know him, to respect him, and to want to help him.”

  “So you gave him your blood.”

  “In order to fight Romulus it takes great cunning and strength. My blood mixed with his gives him an advantage. The two of us together gives us even more leverage.”

  “And you want to make me like you are. You want to add my faery blood to the mix.”

  “No one is going to take from you by force, Morganna. I would never allow that. I’ll find a way for you to stay even if you can’t become one of us. We have a need for a healer as Daffyd said. That alone would provide a home for you here.”

  “But I can’t return to my home.”

  “Not if you want to live.”

  She hesitated a moment before speaking again. “There are things you aren’t telling me. Why doesn’t Daffyd just outright kill Romulus and his followers? Wouldn’t that end all this once and for all?”

  “He can’t. There are strict laws even among vampires. As I said, Romulus is his sire. He would be hunted as a rogue by every vampire out there, both good and evil, if he destroyed his own sire, let alone another vampire. Right now, the best we can hope for is to thwart him. To try to remedy the damage and destruction he creates. For every one of his followers we destroy, he creates ten more. And he is cunning.”

  She turned away. “I don’t know, Keelan. So much time has passed.”

  In an instant he was behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders. “I lo
ve you, Morganna.”

  “But you love Daffyd, too. What if it came to a choice?”

  “It won’t.”

  “How can you be so certain?”

  “Daffyd has always known of my love for you. He knows you own my soul, love. He would never make me choose between you. I hope you won’t either. There are things I share with Daffyd that I cannot share with you. That I would never want to share with you.”

  She reeled at his words. When it was said like that, it felt as though he had slapped her. She faced him. “So you would keep secrets from me? From the woman you say you love?”

  “You don’t understand.”

  “Then help me to do so. If I stay, it means I sacrifice everything I have known. If I become…like you, it means I can never cross back over. I’ll be as hunted as you. I’m surprised you didn’t just kill Syril for what he did to you.”

  “Do you think I haven’t thought of it? But I have some principles left. I won’t kill one of our own people in our land and destroy my soul even more than it already is. Not even Grimstarker. I can’t kill one of my own kind any more than Daffyd can. But if Grimstarker ever steps foot onto human soil, the outcome may be different. He’s wily, but even he knows his limits.”

  “What is it you share with the vampire that you won’t share with me?”

  Keelan stepped away from her and remained silent for a long time as though attempting to come to a decision. She saw the war of emotions in his expression, pain and yearning among them. Then he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it aside. She gasped when she saw his scarred torso and flew across the room to him.

  “Oh no. What happened? Who did this to you?” His arms, chest, and neck were riddled with tiny crisscrossed scarring, others longer that snaked around his body. There were several spots of bruising, which appeared fresh.