by Claire Marta
Jasmine clutched the blanket around her tighter. “No you won’t because you’ll be dead.”
The techno mage laughed.
“I suggest we get dressed.” Eric said stiffly. He was kneeling naked on the bed, a nerve jumping in his jaw.
Jasmine could feel his power beginning to fade. For a moment she stared longingly at his perfect body. Hard packed muscles, flat abdomen, gloriously ripped abs and the arrowing of black hair leading down his chest to his hardened cock.
This was going to be one long fucking day. She felt the urge to bury her face in a pillow and scream. Her body was throbbing and unfulfilled. This was torture.
By the time she left the bathroom fully dressed Conall had joined them. Jasmine slid her tracking ring onto a finger. The holy water bra was stuffed at the bottom of the flowery bag she was carrying with her mobile phone. It was handy and needed to be refilled.
They did not take long to follow the streets to the flat. The day was grey, but it had yet to start raining again.
Twitch was curled up on one end of a sofa. He seemed to be wearing the same rumpled clothes as the last time they had seen him. His sleek little black laptop was resting on his knees. He was paler than usual. The old burn marks on his neck and face stuck out in stark relief.
“Feed me woman.” He whined, not bothering to look up as they entered the room.
“I am not your fucking servant.” Gemma’s muffled voice responded from the kitchen.
Something abruptly hurtled out of the other room and hit the side of his head with a slap. The mage made a small pained sound. Rubbing the area he glanced down at the offending object. A smug smile crept across Twitch’s face. Scooping up the chocolate bar, he began to un-wrap it with a little eager hum. Jasmine didn’t give him a chance to enjoy it. Moving swiftly across the room she snatched it out of his hand.
“Hey that’s mine.” He snapped, raking some unkempt reddish curls out of his eyes.
“Not any more arsehole.” Taking a large bite she began to chew.
Twitch scowled. “Damn you woman that was my breakfast.”
“Take it as pay pack for this morning.” She responded around the mouthful of chocolate.
“What happened this morning?” Gemma asked curiously as she emerged from the kitchen. A bowl of cereal was cradled in her hand. She was dressed in dark blue figure hugging jeans and trainers. The pink jump she wore had “Buffy Forever” written across the chest.
Twitch smirked but said nothing. The bastard looked like he was going to keep his promise. Jasmine really didn’t want anyone else knowing about what she and Eric had almost been doing. Again.
Heat warmed her cheeks. “Nothing happened.”
Gemma’s large doe eyes were surveying the hue of coloured bruises across Jasmine’s cheek and neck that were evident from her vamp attack at the bar. Rather than comments, the huntress spooned some cereal into her mouth.
“Jazzy owes a little more cash to the swear box.” The mage said in a sing song voice.
“Fuck you Twitch.” Yanking open her bag, Jasmine pulled out the lopsided bra and threw it at his head followed by the glove he had given her. “That needs a fucking refill.”
Giggling almost hysterically he easily caught them.
“May I suggest you stop swearing now before you bankrupt yourself?” Eric recommended with a hint of amusement.
Twitch dumped the used bra on the sofa beside him continuing to giggle. Then abruptly he flipped his laptop open. “I saw the holy water bra worked wonders when you tried it out.”
Jasmine froze mid bite of the chocolate bar. “What?”
Turning around the screen, he jabbed a button. An image of Jasmine in an alley appeared. It showed the moment she yanked open her shirt and doused the vampire.
“I said you’d figure a way out to use it.” Twitch grinned ear to ear. “But I think you need to work on your stripper moves, you were kind of awkward. We should give you a name too, like luscious Lola.”
Jasmine closed her eyes in mortification. He had it all on fucking tape. She was never going to hear the end of it. This was so embarrassing.
Slapping a hand across her eyes she groaned. “This can’t be happening.”
Peeping through her fingers, she realised he had let it continue playing. Asier was now in the alleyway with Kane. This was the moment he had moved closer to her, his eyes hungry and full of lust. Eric had become deadly still beside her. When she thought she heard him growl, she frowned. This was strangely un-Eric like.
“That’s enough Twitch.” Launching herself forwards, she snapped the laptop shut. “Did you catch anything with the missing woman or who took her?”
The mage made a little humming sound and hugged it to his chest. “No, the cameras in that area all went off for a space of five minutes. I only caught you and your stripper routine Lola.”
Mark interrupted them as he abruptly appeared in the doorway of a bedroom. His expression was grim. “They’ve found another body.”
Jasmine’s eyes widened in surprise, she had known it was only a matter of time before Sonia would be found. Guilt tried to form a lump in her throat, but she swallowed it down. “Where? When?”
Her boss sighed, running a hand messily through his short chestnut hair. “In the early hours this morning, yes, it’s the woman who went missing on our watch before you ask. Her body was dumped in the old town square by the church. I’ve been to the morgue and examined her already. They’re going to keep it hushed up for now so we don’t tip the vamps off that we’re investigating them.”
The cold reserve on Eric’s handsome features did not falter, apart from a slight tightening around his mouth. Jasmine was more than sure he was annoyed they had been left out.
“I appreciate you letting us know.” He replied, a small almost cruel smile touching his lips. “I am intrigued to know if you have learnt anything new and why we were summoned.”
Mark seemed unfazed by the vampire’s stiffness. “I have actually, and it’s not good.” He disappeared back into the bedroom and a moment later he was back clutching some photographs.
Twitch had started humming quietly to himself on the sofa. One finger was twirling absently next to his temples. Every so often he would flick the hair, which tumbled into his face out of the way. He seemed to be finding a light fixture on the wall suddenly distracting. Jasmine could hear him mumbling to himself and guessed he didn’t want to see any gruesome pictures, which would give him nightmares for months.
Gemma had no such problem, death never bothered her. The scent of her strawberry bubble-gum was heavy in the air, as she drew closer. Mark quickly began to spread the photos over the little worn coffee table. A sense of dread gripped Jasmine. This wasn’t the first body she had seen, but this time she had known the victim, even for a short time. This made it feel so different.
Eric’s hand brushed her arm distractingly, as he moved to stand beside her for a better view. A little zing shot through her body as excitement buzzed down her limbs leaving her feeling warm all over. She had a feeling he was doing it on purpose.
When she slid him a look though, his face was unreadable. He was silent. Yet those sharp perceptive blue eyes roamed over the disturbing images with intent. Finally Jasmine lowered her gaze to the table.
Sonia’s dead empty stare glared accusing up at her from the surface. Her naked corpse was so white you could see the blue veins beneath her paper thin skin. Mutilated was the only word Jasmine could use for what had been done to her.
Deep gashes and slashes marred her flesh, which had once been peachy and supple. Claw and fang marks were not the only thing this time though. Burn marks had joined the myriad of injuries. Not one piece of Sonia had been left untouched. On closer inspection though, the burns looked like bite marks.
“These are not normal for a vampire.” Eric murmured grimly, as he picked up one of the snapshots.
Bile rose up in Jasmine’s throat. Tearing her eyes away, she turned her head to stare at th
e door. Conall hadn’t moved from his place. Back against the wall, arms crossed over his muscled chest, he gave her a sympathetic smile.
“I agree. They look more like chemical burns than bites.” Mark muttered across from them.
“Ever heard of this happening with a ripper before?” Jasmine asked. She was pleased that her voice came out sounding so calm.
“No. They never leave marks like these on their victims; only shred them apart with their mind.” Eric responded distantly. “I have never seen anything like these before.”
Out of the corner of her eye, she could see he was focused intently on the image. His brows were furrowed with concentration. Lips pursed, he seemed puzzled.
“What the fuck are we dealing with then? Is it even a vampire?” Gemma had no trouble watching. Arm’s crossed over her chest, she looked mildly intrigued.
“Something is certainly not right.” Eric dropped the photograph back onto the pile. “It is also disturbing we have yet to even discover a hint of who this illusive killer is.”
“We’ll know more once the coroner report comes back.” Mark informed them briskly. “Twitch can contact you when we learn something new.”
“So what do we do now? I mean if it’s not a vampire we’re hunting…” Jasmine asked sinking down onto the sofa beside Twitch.
Tilting his chin he fixed her with a wary unblinking stare. For someone who loved horror movies, he seemed to be having a hard time dealing with the real thing. Patting his knee, she gave him a reassuring smile. Eric had shoved his hands deep into the pockets of his tailored black trousers, as he watched them through narrowed eyes.
“It is still linked to Lida’s nest. We must proceed as we are and hope that this mystery begins to unravel for us soon.” Eric stated.
Mark nodded. “I agree with the vamp. We‘ve worked hard to get this far. We need to figure this out fast before someone else dies.”
THE COLLAR HUNG LIKE A lead weight around Jasmine’s neck. She had started to hate wearing it. Being thought of as property was demeaning. Tonight Eric had given her a different one. All of them worn by the women in the room matched. Black leather with a buckle at the back, there were studs decorating it either side of the silvery loop. It reminded her of something you would find in a pet shop.
This evening she was in a yellow bikini. Strangely she was starting to get used to the barely there clothing. They stood in the doorway of one of the sitting rooms. A few of the companions were already inside. No one was kneeling. They were silent at their vampire’s sides.
Lida and Andel were missing. Asier also did not seem to be present.
Jasmine was still thinking over the information Twitch had contacted them with, just a few minutes before. Burn bites on Sonia had been riddled with venom. This had attacked her nervous system so ferociously, that it had practically been liquefied. The more bites the more damage done. This had resulted in shock and then death. She had been bled out some time after.
It also wasn’t natural. The venom had definitely been created in a lab somewhere. This they had determined could be an experimental phase. Test runs on victims. Eric had become grim. He had concluded that perhaps it was not a ripper they were dealing with after all. The vamp had not relished the idea of an ‘artificial monstrosity’ as he had called it. This had left them all ill at ease.
“If you continue biting on your lip like that, I will fuck you against the nearest surface regardless of who is watching.” Eric warned her in a husky tone.
Gasp leaving her lips, Jasmine stared at him wide eyed. Where the fuck had that come from? His gaze burned with red hot lust. The ice he always had in place had melted away. Emotions she had never seen before glittered in his bright blue eyes.
Jasmine had never witnessed so much in this vampire’s gaze. Eric’s detachment was no longer in place and this was strangely unsettling. A small growl left him.
Realising she still had her lower lip between her teeth, Jasmine released it. Once more unfamiliar magic whispered against her senses. Elusive as ever, it was gone before she had a chance to seize hold. Jasmine knew she was going to have to mention it. She had felt it more than once now, but each time had been so brief she had forgotten about sensing it.
“Lida requests that you await her in the library Eric.” The voice of one of the twin’s broke their gaze.
Eric frowned. “Very well, come along Jasmine.”
“Without you’re companion.” The twin continued with a bland bored look.
Eric paused, frown deepening. “Jasmine, remain here. I shall not be long.”
Standing in silence, she watched him stride from the room quickly on long legs. She was left feeling vulnerable. After what had happened in the play room the night before, she was loathed to be parted. Nervously Jasmine began to fidget with her collar. Index finger curled around the metal ring, she tugged.
“You do not like wearing it?” A familiar accented voice enquired from directly behind.
Turning her head she regarded Asier. Tonight he was dressed in a black Armani suit. The shirt beneath the expensive material was ruby red. Ebony hair hung loosely down his shoulders like a smooth silken curtain. One fine dark eyebrow was lifted in enquiry.
Jasmine felt her cheeks pinked slightly with embarrassment. Only the night before she had been over his knee as he had spanked her to orgasm.
“I’m still getting used to it.” She admitted distractedly. “This is all still a little new for me. I feel like I should change my name to Fido.”
Amusement darkened his lavender eyes. “Bella – by wearing it you gift Eric the right of dominance. You surrender your control to him, and in exchange he will meet all your needs and protect you. The relationship between Master and Sub is give and take. One can’t exist without the other.”
Reaching out, his fingertips gently brushed her throat below the collar. The caress made Jasmine shiver with a spark of desire which rushed through her blood. Nervously she wet her lips. Confusion marred Asier’s beautiful features when she stared back at him with uncertainty.
“Cazzo – Has he not explained all this to you?”
Jasmine bit at her lip. “We haven’t talked much about it.” She began to pull on the metal ring a little bit harder.
The sweep of the vampire’s long eyelashes lowered, hiding the look in his gaze for a moment. Jasmine knew she had left him with the impression they had been doing other things. Sex was the most likely answer. She wasn’t going to correct it though.
“I wished to apologise for last evening. Mi dispiace.”
“It wasn’t your fault.” She assured him quickly. “I should have told Eric I couldn’t play. It was stupid of me.”
Jasmine was not even sure if Asier had been the one to affect her. Had he used his powers to force the memories out? Had he been the one to dig out her fears?
“I hope you are feeling better now?” His intent stare searched her face.
She nodded slowly. “Yes, thank you.”
“No one I have played with has ever experienced the level of fear I sensed from you. I would never have hurt you, Jasmine –credimi.”
Surprise hit her when she felt a high quivering vibration against her skin. Eyes widening slightly, she watched an amber glow faintly blazed around the vampire. Shakily she took a step back as the warmth of his power glided across her skin. Gentle, it was a reassuring, comforting caress.
Asier’s gaze suddenly turned guarded.
“Is there something wrong - cara?” His voice had become soft with enquiry.
Jasmine quickly shook her head. “No…please Asier it’s ok really. I’m fine now. It was just a panic attack.”
The Italian had an aura just like Eric. What the fuck did this mean? Was he a Vampiria, a born vampire too? Eric had told her, his kind liked to be secretive, but surely they recognized each other. If this was true, did Eric know, and why had he kept it from her?
Before she released what was happening, Asier had moved closer. His scrutiny had become preda
tory. The burning intelligence behind his violet eyes was fixed on her face. She could feel the force of his will pushing against hers. He wanted to know her secrets. Jasmine could sense it.
“Asier you have played with that female enough. Let someone else choose her tonight.” Lida chided from the doorway.
She was watching with a look of distaste. Tonight her curvaceous figure was dressed in mid-night blue. The twins stood either side of her. Expressions cold they were watching Jasmine hungrily.
Asier regarded the nest mistress for a moment. When he looked back at Jasmine his expression looked troubled.
“As you wish Lida.” His smile never dropped, but his jawline tensed. Without a backward glance, the Italian swept from the room.
Lida grinned smugly. Then with a toss of her golden hair, she strutted after him.
“You come with me.” One of the twins commanded briskly.
Jasmine recognized him as Vilem. As Mel had said, he had flecks of gold in his brown eyes, which his brother lacked.
Jasmine’s focus strayed to the door and back. “I don’t think I…”
“You are not required to think.” He snapped back cutting her off. “Your purpose is entertainment. Eric will not mind, it was planned for this evening. He knows that partners were to be shared.”
Yet hadn’t Eric promised he wouldn’t let anyone touch her again. Apprehension tightened her gut. She didn’t believe he would lie to her, but what choice did she have now? Jasmine knew she had to maintain her cover.
“I only require some blood.” Vilem continued eyeing her grimly.
Blood? The only one who had ever taken that was Eric. At least Vilem wasn’t asking for anything else. Slowly Jasmine padded towards him. The brothers stood side by side like a mirror image. Once again they were dressed identically.
In silence, she followed them from the room. This bothered her. Why were they taking her away from all the other companions? Tensely she looked up and down the corridor, but Eric was nowhere in sight.
They soon stopped by another door. Glancing nervously inside Jasmine found herself in a library. Simon looked up startled from where he sat reading. He looked tired and oddly pale. Confusion creased his face and he looked bewildered by their presence.
