Into the Darkness

by Delilah Devlin

CHAPTER 17

  The raucous sound of a cheery accordion and electric guitars blared from the open doorway. Natalie kept her head down against the driving wind and rushed behind Chessa toward the bar she’d chosen for her “meal.” The hooded rain slicker she wore ended at the knees, and her feet and the bottom of her jeans were soaked. But she could smell food ahead. Her stomach was already gnawing at her backbone she was so hungry.

  Just inside the door a grinning man flashed a megawatt, white smile that looked like the disembodied grin of the Cheshire Cat against his dark face. “Welcome, welcome. Da hurricane party jus’ started.”

  Chessa greeted him with a lift of her lips, showing him a bit of fang.

  His smile grew impossibly wider, and his gaze swept them both with curiosity. “You be in luck. Da room’s full.”

  Chessa paused to remove her slicker and held her hand out for Natalie’s. She handed both to the man. “Make sure I get these back.”

  “I never say no to pretty ladies.”

  His laughter followed them through the noisy bar, past a crowded dance floor, and beyond to a dark, narrow hallway with three doors—two marked as restrooms, the last with a sign that said PRIVATE.

  Chessa pounded a fist on the thick door, and it swung open to a cloud of smoke and the smell of booze and sex.

  Natalie tamped down the urge to moan. While her mind was revolted, her body yearned toward the room. She crossed the threshold into a devil’s lair.

  Once the door shut, the Cajun-flavored music was gone and in its place a techno-beat thudded like a heartbeat. The lights were low, but with her improved sense she found couples dancing so close she had to do a double-take to realize they mated on the floor. Others sat or reclined in padded booths in various stages of undress, engaged in sexual acts, some of which Natalie could only wonder about.

  Chessa grabbed her arm and pulled her close. “Don’t stare like you’ve never seen anything like this before.”

  “I haven’t.”

  “Pretend. You don’t want anyone to know you’re fresh meat.” Then Chessa shocked Natalie to her toes by leaning close and kissing her full on the lips. She nuzzled her cheek and whispered in her ear, “Anything goes here. You can drink, fuck—just don’t kill your host. We don’t want the attention.”

  She led Natalie to the bar, and they both slid onto wooden stools. Natalie tried to keep her gaze from clinging to the other customers, but the mirror behind the bar only seemed to magnify the luridness. Bodies rose and fell in unison on the dance floor. Groans of sexual excitement and pending orgasms were only partially masked by the loud music.

  “What can I get you two ladies?” The bartender greeted them with a knowing smile.

  “Thanks, we don’t need you to find our dates,” Chessa said, then leaned toward Natalie. “Let your fangs down,” she whispered, “or they’ll think you’re here to bleed.”

  Natalie stared at the bartender’s neck and felt the downward slide of her teeth, letting them press past her upper lip to dig into the lower.

  His eyes narrowed, and he lifted his chin toward the dance floor. “Go ahead and have a look around. There are still a few who aren’t taken and several who wouldn’t mind sharing, I’m sure.”

  Natalie felt like she’d dropped through a rabbit hole, only the Mad Hatter was hosting a blood orgy. She swiveled on her chair to have a look at the menu.

  “Remember what I told you,” Chessa said.

  Like she would ever forget. In the car, Chessa had briefed her, priming her for her new adventure. She’d been told certain bars catered to vampires, and human “hosts” came willingly to be used. Some hoped for the ultimate hook-up—to be turned. Others wanted the intense sexual thrill a bite provided.

  “Just go with the flow,” Chessa had said. “Everybody knows the score.”

  “What if they want to be turned?” she’d asked.

  “Then they’re doomed to disappointment. That’s never something we do lightly. If a vampire finds someone he wants as a life mate, then maybe. Be sure to stay away from the Revenants.”

  “I didn’t think it mattered whom I drank from.”

  “It doesn’t. But you don’t want them taking a reciprocal bite. If they’ve tasted Born before, they’ll make you. Be sure you bite first. If he’s undead, make an excuse and get away quick. You do remember the difference in the taste?”

  “Pasqual’s blood wasn’t as rich.”

  “Exactly. I’m not sure of the physiology, but it has something to do with red corpuscles and the constant cycle of replenishment to keep their corpses animated.”

  “Lovely,” Natalie murmured, shuddering at the description. “How will I know if he’s Born or a Revenant?”

  “Assume all males are Revenants. We don’t bear male children.”

  “Ever?”

  “Not since Inanna’s time, at least.”

  Natalie wondered why only female children. She opened her mouth to ask why—

  “Would you like to dance?” a voice came from behind her.

  Natalie’s eyes widened. For a moment, she’d forgotten where she was. Casting a wild glance at Chessa, who nodded her approval, she rose from her stool and turned to find a man who appeared to be her age. His hair was curly and blond. His eyes a muddy hazel. His smile was nice if his body was a little tense.

  She leaned toward him and raised her voice loud enough for him to hear. “Your first time here?”

  He nodded, a sheepish grin stretching his lips. “My friends know this place. Said they have the best parties.” His glance dropped to her breasts and below.

  Best sex he meant, Natalie thought wryly. “You said you wanted to dance. Was that just a euphemism?”

  His puzzled stare told her he didn’t understand.

  “Never mind.” She opened her mouth and touched her tongue to the tip of one fang. By the wideness of his eyes, she guessed he’d thought his friends were only joking.

  With one last glare at Chessa who gave her a thumbs-up sign, she led him to the dance floor.

  They stood apart for a moment, and Natalie reached out to put her hands on his shoulders. “It’s all right. You can touch me.”

  His arms pulled her close and despite the energy of the music, they shuffled on the floor for a turn or two.

  “What’s your name?” she asked.

  “Jason. Yours?”

  “Lisa,” she lied, not sure about who might be listening in. “You know, I need to be higher.” Another blank stare, and Natalie sighed. “Pick me up. I’d like to kiss you.”

  “Oh! Sure.” His eagerness made him a little awkward as he gripped her waist and hauled her up his body.

  Natalie draped her arms around his shoulders and bent to whisper in his ear. “Closer. Let me wrap my legs around your waist.”

  His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, but he brought her body closer. When her breasts brushed his chest, they both shivered.

  She grinned, sharing a moment of communion with her nervous meal. Slowly, she raised one leg at a time and gripped his hips. Now that her crotch pressed against the placket of his jeans, he got the idea.

  His hands glided down her back and cupped her ass, giving her a squeeze and gentle roll of his hips, and they both finally caught the rhythm of the music.

  They slid together, sinuous as snakes, rubbing chests, grinding their groins together, building a friction that melted Natalie’s inner walls and had his cock straining hard against his jeans.

  When his eyelids dropped to half-mast, she bent and kissed his mouth. His opened beneath hers. His tongue was cool and tasted like rum. She sucked it, earning a moan that gusted into her mouth.

  Natalie trailed her mouth to his jaw and down his throat, tonguing his clean skin until she found the vein. She sucked the skin above it, lulling him for a moment, drawing out the excitement for her own gratification.

  When her teeth pierced his flesh, he gasped and strained away, but only for a second when she continued to feed. Jason groaned deep in his
throat and gripped her ass hard, pushing her up and down his clothed cock quicker than before.

  As blood seeped around her fangs and into her mouth, she remembered to seal her lips tight over his skin and suction. No use letting any of his precious gift stain their clothes. Her bite was just deep enough to puncture the vein, not sever it as she had Gerard’s.

  She could sip him like a smoothie, drawing deep to pull blood quickly into her mouth, and resting in between to let them both savor a respite in the buildup.

  She opened her eyes and watched the other couples around them, no longer shocked by what she saw. She was part of it. Neck deep in it. Their fervor only added to her own, and she knew places like this could become an addiction.

  Her gaze swept the room until she found Chessa who’d pressed a huge, muscled behemoth onto his back on a bench. She straddled his hips and held his arm to her mouth as she drank, and he rutted helplessly upward.

  Natalie smiled around her mouthful. She guessed Chessa liked being on top.

  Her gaze continued to sweep the room as Jason shuddered, his cock jerking and rubbing frantically against her as he neared his release.

  One particular man snagged her attention. He was beautiful—his skin a creamy chocolate, his hair jet black. His body, although slender, sported an impressively wide set of shoulders which a woman in a short, dark skirt gripped so hard her knuckles whitened. She’d hooked her thigh high over his hip, which raised her skirt, baring her bottom to everyone near enough to see. With her head flung back, she issued an invitation for him to nibble at her throat.

  His hands clutched her generous buttocks and squeezed, easing her closer as he bit, absorbing her momentary jerk of shock by pumping against her.

  Natalie realized his trousers were loose and his cock likely deep inside the woman’s pussy. Her own pussy clenched and liquid pleasure seeped to wet her panties. She ground harder against Jason.

  The dark man’s eyes opened, and his gaze pinned hers. Sin-filled delight danced in his eyes. While he drank and fucked his host, he challenged Natalie, silently urging her toward her own release.

  It was as though he’d slid inside her body. Each rough motion of Jason’s hips felt like a fluid glide. And although Jason still gripped her ass, she felt more hands caressing her back, rubbing over her breasts, fingering her clit until she cried out, lifting her mouth from Jason’s neck.

  Jason’s trembling brought her back to earth. His legs shook so hard she felt sure they’d both land on the floor in a heap.

  Giving the dark man one last questioning glance, she licked away Jason’s wounds. “You can put me down, now.” Once her feet touched the ground, she was ready to be away.

  “When can I see you again?” he asked, his arms still encircling her body.

  Now that she’d had her fill, she found she had no interest in him. Her belly was full, the urgency quenched. “I’ll see you around.” She stepped away, forcing him to drop his arms.

  When she turned toward where she’d last seen Chessa, she found the dark man planted in her path.

  Instantly, her arousal reawakened. “How do you do that?”

  “Do what?” he asked, his glance seeming to catalog every one of her features, one by one.

  When his glance fell to her breasts, she fought a losing battle to keep her nipples from beading against the thin silver fabric of her blouse.

  “May I?” he asked, his tone polite, but his raised hand indicated a more shocking intent—it hovered above her breast.

  Don’t let a Revenant get a bite, Chessa’s voice intoned in her memory. But she’d never said anything about not enjoying a touch.

  She breathed deeply, lifting her breast to his palm.

  His hand didn’t squeeze, just lay there, warming her flesh. “Now, we can get to know each other,” he said. “I haven’t seen you here before.”

  Natalie remembered to lie—just! She swallowed to moisten her suddenly dry mouth. “I was turned just last week.”

  “Was your lover Chessa?”

  Natalie blinked at that question. He knew Chessa. Must know she was a Born. “Yes, she made me.”

  “You don’t seem her type. She likes cock.” His hand lifted from her breast, then trailed down her tummy to the waistband of her jeans. His fingers traced the edge of the rough fabric, rubbing back and forth, grazing her belly and making it tremble.

  Natalie’s breath caught at the intimacy of his touch. Why was she allowing him to do this? His aroma was delicious, heady—a combination of spice and citrus—and sex. They were close enough to scent each other. Close enough to share a moment of mutual arousal. His nostrils flared and his palm flattened against her stomach. His fingers slipped beneath her waistband to touch her curls. “My name is Fernando. Yours?”

  With her breaths becoming ragged, she gasped, “Lisa.”

  “Really?”

  “Uh-nnnnh,” she moaned, as his long fingers reached the top of her sex and rubbed the hood protecting her clitoris.

  “Dance with me,” he commanded, pulling out his hand and turning her in his arms to fit her bottom against his rigid shaft.

  Her waistband gave, loosening, and his fingers delved deeper, sliding between her lips, stroking into her cunt. Her head fell back against his chest, and she found their reflection in the mirror. His darkness was a shadow next to her pale, luminous skin.

  His cock pressed against her in time to the beat of the music and she undulated, curving her belly to bring his hand deeper between her legs, urging him to stroke his fingers in and out.

  “Sweet, so sweet,” he whispered against her hair.

  “Hey there, Fred.” Chessa stepped in front of Natalie and placed her hand over Natalie’s crotch, halting his movements. Anger tightened her features.

  Natalie wanted to scream. She’d been so close. Chessa’s interruption reminded her of rules she wanted to forget just long enough to let his fingers fuck her into orgasm.

  “Chessa, do you want to join us?” Fernando asked smoothly. “Your lover is very, very near her release. Would you rob her of pleasure?”

  Chessa’s glance dropped to Natalie, and she leaned close and sniffed, all the while her glance held Natalie’s immobile. She lifted a hand and cupped her breast. “She’s a bit of a slut. You can see why I have to keep her on a short leash.”

  Natalie bit her lip. With Fernando’s fingers stroking deep, and Chessa now pinching her nipple, she feared she’d shatter into a million pieces.

  Chessa lifted her gaze to Fernando and tilted her chin. Holding his gaze, she lifted Natalie’s shirt and unclipped her thin bra, exposing her to the room. She stepped closer, her thighs pressing Natalie’s wider. Her hands cupped her breasts, plumping them, thumbing her nipples until they drew tighter, harder.

  “She’s my treat,” Chessa murmured and bent to suckle one nipple, her tongue curling around it while her lips drew painfully hard.

  Natalie gasped, and her head rolled on Fernando’s chest. A wash of fresh cream bathed his fingers.

  When Chessa’s teeth bit the tender skin of her areola, Natalie jerked and cried out, unable to stop the rocking motion of her hips as she rode the fingers shoved deep inside her, and Chessa drank from her breast.

  Her orgasm buckled her knees. If not for Fernando’s hand anchoring her crotch, she’d have slid bonelessly to the floor.

  Chessa laved her nipple, her ministrations quick, efficient. When she lifted her head, she wiped the back of her hand across her mouth to sweep away a trace of blood. “You may let her go, now.”

  Fernando pulled his hand from her clothing and tugged Natalie’s head back by her hair. His mouth came down hard for a kiss that promised this wasn’t the last time they’d meet.

  “See you.” Chessa grabbed her hand and dragged her from the room, back through the bar. Natalie tugged down her shirt, leaving her bra dangling inside. When they stood outside the bar, rain pelting their heads, Chessa leaned close. The anger on her face cleared, and she grinned. “Not bad.”
<
br />   “What did you mean by ‘not bad’?” Natalie asked as she drew a fresh T-shirt over her head, feeling a little awkward at flashing skin at Chessa after what had happened between them.

  Chessa bent at the waist to rub a towel over her dripping hair. “You think on your feet,” she said, her voice muffled, until she threw down the towel. “You remembered not to give away your name or what you are. Even under Fred’s considerable powers, you didn’t betray yourself.”

  “Oh,” Natalie said, feeling a little disappointed and not really wanting to know the reason why.

  “And you tasted delicious.”

  Natalie blushed at Chessa’s sultry tone while her nipples tightened. “Was that necessary?”

  “Oh, yeah. Fred and I go way back. Knows me too well to believe I would turn you without a really good reason.”

  “I think he doubted you were my lover. He said you liked cock,” she said, lifting an eyebrow, not believing she was having this conversation.

  Chessa flashed a grin. “My first preference, sure. But you will find that we vampires aren’t that fussy about how we get off. Don’t get too wound up about it. You did good.”

  “Why do you call him Fred?”

  “Because he hates it.”

  Natalie flopped on the mattress on her back and laughed. “That was the wildest thing I’ve ever done. Well, other than raping Rene.”

  Chessa’s eyebrows shot up. “You had to rape him?”

  She tried to fight a smile, but gave up and grinned. “He didn’t hold out long.”

  Laughing, Chessa flopped down beside her. “That sounds like our Rene, all right. Stubborn to the end. He doesn’t think he deserves happiness.”

  Natalie turned toward Chessa. “Why is that?”

  Chessa’s breath bled slowly out. Her lips pursed and she looked as though she fought herself whether to tell her or not.

  “You can trust me, Chessa,” she said softly. “I only want what’s best for Rene. Whichever way this turns out.”

  Chessa rolled onto her side, and rose on her elbow. “You know he was married?”

  She nodded.

  “His wife died in a car crash, sitting right beside him,” Chessa said slowly. “I think he won’t forgive himself for not dying, too.”