The memory of Guillermo lying on the floor after he punched him in the mouth to emphasize “No” and Gui wiping the blood from his lower lip, then smiling as he licked his fingers afterwards, sent a shiver through Nathan. Truth be told, most of his discomfort was due to the strange allure of Guillermo—there was something hypnotic about the master vampire. Nathan was afraid if he spent too much time with Guillermo, he’d lose himself. Crawling back for help was almost more than he could stand, but what were his options now? Tonight’s attack was enough to prove he could not control the Beast on his own.
He arrived at the club just as burnt-orange hues threatened to breach the horizon. The club closed one hour before sunrise every day and the front door was already locked. Nathan rested his forehead on the door, weary this close to death.
He pounded on the door. When no answer came, he started kicking it. When the door opened, he practically fell into the club. As he braced himself on the reception desk near the entrance, a tinkle of laughter erupted behind him.
He didn’t have to look up. He was intimately aware of her. “Hello, Nadine.”
“So, my pet has come home at last.” Her voice sent a jolt through him, not of arousal, but of instantaneous anger.
“Don’t bet on it, bitch.”
Her backhand sent him crashing to the floor. Attired in black vinyl spiked knee boots over thigh-high, black silk hose attached to a leather garter belt and no panties, she stood over him. A black leather corset rode just above her hips and ended below her breasts, cinched so tightly it made her waist look like an hourglass. Her long red hair cascaded down her chest, framing her pert breasts. Nipple clamps attached to a chain running between her breasts and fastened around her neck.
Nathan knew that a normal woman would not have been able to wear them for more than a few minutes, let alone smile down at him as if they didn’t exist. However, Nadine was not normal. She liked pain from her nipple clamps right down to the gold ring that pierced her clit. Nadine was the bitch vampire that had turned him and she was enjoying the show.
She laughed again. Nathan was too damn tired to fight. Forcing the change had taken all of his strength. Nadine kicked him in the back. The metal spike from her boot sank an inch into his muscle. A small groan escaped his lips.
“Let him alone, chica!” a male voice barked.
Nathan barely heard the sharp command before his last breath escaped his lungs and death gripped him for the day.
Chapter 3
Candles lit the darkness. Burgundy silk sheets cocooned body. He took a few minutes to adjust, as always when he first awoke to the night. The raw silk moved against his skin like a whisper as he stretched.
“Shit. I’m naked.”
The previous night’s happenings rushed back to him all at once as he sat up. His back was sore, but he knew the puncture wound had already closed over. Quick healing was one of the benefits of being a creature of the night. His head snapped up when he realized someone was watching him.
A smooth voice with the hint of a Hispanic accent flowed across the air. “I am most glad to see you awake.” Nathan squinted until his eyes adjusted enough to see the tall, slender man standing in the corner of the room.
Guillermo.
He wore black leather pants with a silver silk shirt. It was short sleeved and fit snugly across the chest. His arms were folded as he leaned against the rich tapestry that hung on the wall.
Guillermo reached up and ran a hand through thick, black hair that was just long enough to fall into his eyes. His eyes were so dark they looked almost black. He stared intensely at Nathan, making him unsettled enough to pull the sheets a little tighter around himself.
“Why so uneasy? You are amongst friends,” Guillermo said, holding out his hand in welcome.
“Where are my clothes?”
“They were damaged, mi amigo. I have taken the liberty of discarding them.” His lip curled in a half smile.
“I had some packed in a bag. Where are they?”
“Tsk, tsk. I’m afraid Nadine… misplaced it.”
Frustration edged Nathan’s voice. “What am I supposed to wear?”
Guillermo pointed to the nightstand. Tan leather pants and a gold silk shirt similar to Gui’s lay across the top.
“What are we, the fucking Bobbsey twins?”
“Wear them or go naked. What is it to me? It is you who have come to my home, Nathaniel. I have been hospitable, perhaps more than you deserve. Perhaps I should be the one asking questions and not you.”
His tone was pleasant, almost amused. Nathan’s ire turned to embarrassment. He was acutely aware that Guillermo wanted him in a way that Nathan would not reciprocate, but…
“I need your help,” Nathan said quietly.
The way Guillermo looked at him made him nervous. The Hispanic man seemed to glide to the bed. Nathan was struck by the grace and beauty of the master vampire. Everything about this man oozed sex.
“Perdon, I did not hear what you said, mi amigo.”
Nathan quickly found his anger again. A vampire could hear a Tic-Tac fall to the floor across a crowded room. Guillermo was playing with him. Nathan sucked his fury down inside. He needed Guillermo’s help, but at what price?
“I said, I need your help.” He looked down to avoid those intense dark eyes.
“Ah, you need my help.”
“Yes.”
Guillermo stretched his hand out to Nathan as if to stroke his face. Nathan flinched. Guillermo withdrew without touching him. “You look so very guapo, so very handsome tonight.”
The words slithered down Nathan’s skin. “Cut the shit, Gui.”
“So vulgar. Tsk tsk,” Guillermo responded, shaking his head. “It is becoming to you.” He chuckled.
“Forget it!” Nathan grabbed the sheets around him, intent on getting dressed and getting the hell out of there. He needed help controlling his Beast, but he would find another way.
“Now, now.” Guillermo extended a hand.
“Keep your fucking hands off me.”
“I am sorry, Nathaniel. I am glad that you have come to me. I am gratified that you have come to me. I would like to help you.”
The last thing Nathan had expected was an apology from Gui. He wondered what game the man was playing now. Nathan closed his eyes. The picture of Sandra helpless in his hands flashed through his mind. He shook his head, trying to erase the painful memory. If he had known of another master vampire, he would not have come to Guillermo Perez.
For the last three years, he had avoided the vampire scene. He only knew three vampires other than himself—Guillermo, Nadine and Beth, and it was his fault that Beth had become a vampire. Nathan put his hands over his face and grieved for his lost humanity.
He slid his hands behind his neck, digging his fingernails into the flesh until he broke the skin. The pain did little to ease him.
“Amante,” Guillermo whispered to him. “Do not mistreat yourself so.”
“I am not your lover, Gui.” He hesitated for a moment. “I am nobody’s lover, thanks to Nadine.”
For a moment, real compassion crossed the vampire’s dark face. “You are too hard on yourself, Nathaniel.”
Guillermo’s tongue flicked quickly across his lips and Nathan realized that the vampire was looking at the blood welling from the fingernail wounds on the back of his neck. Nathan could feel his own hunger building. He needed blood to survive and had lost access to the pints he kept at home.
“Will you help me or not? I am too damn tired to keep playing cat and mouse with you, Gui.” Especially when I am the mouse.
“Clothe yourself, Nathaniel, and we will talk.” Guillermo spun on his heel and left the room.
“Shit,” Nathan murmured.
There was a full-length mirror in the bathroom. The leather pants fit like a second skin and were remarkably soft and comfortable. The shirt was one size too small for him and fit very tightly across his well-developed chest. He had to admit that the colors, tan and
gold, looked rather good on him.
“What am I doing here?” he asked his reflection.
“That is what I want to know.” A high feminine voice pierced his ears. “You bastard, I thought I was well rid of you.”
Startled, Nathan looked up to see Nadine. She was dressed as she had been that morning, but had added a white see-through blouse and a short, black leather skirt. Her brown nipples pushed at the white fabric.
“Nadine, I don’t know what your problem is or why you hate me, but I wish you would leave me the hell alone.”
“You’re my problem!” she shrieked and swung her open hand around to slap him.
This time Nathan was ready. He grabbed her hand and pulled it roughly down to her side. She lashed out with her other arm and he gripped it with his free hand. Nadine pushed herself against him, pressing her face to his as if to kiss him, but instead, she bit hard into his lower lip. Eyes watering, he shoved her away, sending her sprawling to the floor. “You crazy bitch!”
“Stay away from him!” she screamed.
“Stay away from who?”
“You know damn well! Stay away from Guillermo!” Nadine screeched as angry tears began to streak her face. Her heavy black eyeliner ran, making her pale face look even more Gothic. “He is mine! He is fucking mine! Do you hear me? Do you?” The last of her words choked off into a sob.
“I don’t want him,” he told her flatly, unmoved by her display. He couldn’t feel sorry for her. He hated her too much.
“He wants you.” She spoke as if the words burned when they left her mouth.
“It doesn’t matter. I don’t want him,” he repeated.
“Yes, it does. As long as you’re here, you’re a constant reminder. He’ll screw me, but he craves you. You said you didn’t know why I hated you, well—now you do.”
As if on cue, Guillermo walked into the bathroom. “Have I missed something?” he asked nonchalantly, looking at Nadine on the floor and Nathan’s bloodied lip.
Using his thumb, Nathan wiped at his lower lip and without thought, licked the sticky substance. It reminded him of his growing hunger.
“I’ve got to get out of here,” he muttered to himself as he brushed past Guillermo and Nadine.
Guillermo put his arm out to stop Nathan and came so close they were almost touching. Nathan tried to turn away from the powerful vampire but found that his back was pressed against the doorjamb.
Guillermo moved his face closer as if to kiss him. At the last minute, Guillermo simply touched his tongue to the blood that seeped, almost drying, from Nathan’s bottom lip.
“Back off.” His body was shaky and weak. He knew that even on a good night, he couldn’t defeat Guillermo, but he tried to hold his ground.
“You are positively anemic, amigo.” Guillermo stepped back a little.
“Your concern touches me. Now back the fuck off.” The hunger seized him. Spasms in his stomach became cramps and his muscles ached with weakness. He sucked his lower lip into his mouth and tasted the blood. It gave him no comfort. He needed fresh blood soon or he would die.
Once again, Nathan tried to move out of the room. Guillermo placed his hand against the wall to block his path and motioned to Nadine. “Hand me that razor on the counter, chica.” His tone was casual, but Nadine knew better than to defy him.
Nadine scrambled from the floor, cursing as she picked herself up. She grabbed the straight razor and handed it to Guillermo, shooting him a look that told him she was not pleased. The look she got said he didn’t care.
The cramps as his insides withered became more intense, almost doubling Nathan over. He crouched to the floor, no longer caring what the master vampire was planning. All he could do was concentrate on the agonizing pain. Guillermo took the straight razor and neatly slit his wrist the long way to effectively open a vein. The bright red blood flowed freely and splattered onto Nathan’s arm. He looked up at Guillermo. His body shook with repressed yearning as he tried to resist his overwhelming desire for blood.
“Drink,” Guillermo said calmly.
“No,” Nathan whispered, barely able to utter his denial.
“You will die.”
Nathan squeezed his body closely with his muscular arms and rocked back and forth. “I don’t care. I don’t care,” he mumbled to himself even though his body told him differently.
He gasped in pain and clutched his stomach as a severe cramp gripped his abdomen. Guillermo grabbed him and shoved his lacerated wrist into Nathan’s face. The clean wound was already starting to heal as the edges sealed and blood slowed to a trickle.
“You don’t care if you die?” he accused Nathan. “That is a lie. A lie!” Guillermo’s eyes spoke volumes as to the depth of his anger, but Nathan felt there was something more, something that felt like real concern. “If you wanted to die, you would not have come to me. Now, drink.”
Nathan looked at Guillermo almost with gratitude, but not quite. His resolve broke when the pain of deterioration sharpened. He gripped Guillermo’s wrist, sucking it tentatively and cautiously at first. The blood flow had slowed and his body demanded more.
Guillermo’s blood was fresh with a feeding, and the mixture of the master’s blood with that of his victim filled Nathan with a power that he’d never felt before. He imagined that this was how a heroin addict must feel shooting up for the first time. Instinct took over.
His fangs slid forward, widening the cut. The blood flowed freely once more. He sucked harder on the wound and the energy rushing through his body compelled his organ to grow stiff in his tight leather pants. He glanced at Guillermo and saw a look of pure pleasure on the vampire’s face.
He remained squatting on the floor as Guillermo stood in front of him. He noticed that there was also a significant bulge in the master vampire’s black leather pants. Without thinking, he let his hand find its way to Guillermo’s growing arousal. His finger traced down the zipper stretched so tight it was ready to burst. Even with his lips covering Guillermo’s wrist, he couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like to take the master’s erection into his mouth. The thought scared him, breaking the spell he was under.
Nathan tore his mouth from Guillermo’s arm and stumbled forward into the bedroom and, for the first time since the pain had hit him hard, noticed Nadine. Her face was slack with disbelief. She stared at Guillermo, who appeared to have his feelings hurt, her disbelief turning to pissed off. She pushed her way roughly past the master vampire. “You are both so fucking pathetic!” she screamed. “You make me sick!” She spat at Nathan before she stormed out of the bedroom, leaving the two men alone.
Nathan felt strangely drunk with passion and power. He pulled himself up on the bed. “What did you do to me?”
“I have done nothing but save you.”
Nathan looked away, afraid to meet Guillermo’s gaze. “You did more than that, you bastard.”
Nathan was unsure as to why he was so angry, especially now, when trying to deny his desire for Guillermo. He wanted to touch Guillermo, caress his hair, suck his cock and fuck the master vampire as if he were the only person that could make him feel alive. Worse than that, he wanted Guillermo to touch him—to have those pale lithe hands of his over every part of his body. That alone was enough to make him think that Guillermo’s blood was tainting his mind and changing him even more.
The master vampire sat beside him. Placing his hand under Nathan’s chin, he tipped Nathan’s puzzled face up. “I have given freely to you and you took from me while you were still in control of your impulses. You have not done this before?”
“Yes, I have. I am in control every time I feed…” he managed to say. The problem was that even though the change had not taken place, he definitely had not felt in control.
“I am not talking about bottled blood, amigo. I am talking rich, vibrant blood coursing through the vein of a living being who gives it to you of his own free will to save you, to feed your hunger on my emotion with the very thing that keeps me alive, to kee
p you alive. Do you not understand the difference?”
“I understand.” Nathan pulled his face away from Guillermo’s hand.
Guillermo shook his head sadly. “I will see you out in the club, Nathaniel. Don’t keep me waiting long.” He bowed gracefully before leaving the room.
Nathan wanted to scream as he pounded his head with the ball of his hand. Physically, he felt good. Well, “good” was an understatement. He felt great, charged with an energy not felt before, not even when he was “alive.” Nathan Greer hated himself for feeling aroused with the power he’d received in that one feeding, but on the other hand, he was relieved to feel it without turning into a monster. To know it was possible gave him hope, but even that hope scared him. He gathered his wits and made his way to the club area.
Chapter 4
Strobe lights flashed across the dimly lit dance floor. It was a macabre scene. Men and women writhed against each other vertically in movements that were normally reserved for horizontal. Nathan’s skin tingled with the sensation of millions of needles endlessly pricking him. The sexual energy in the room was almost too much to bear, but somehow he remained in control. The feeding received from Guillermo was the only reason he wasn’t turning primal and ripping out the throats of everyone around him.
The hair on his forearms stood up as static charges emitted from his fingertips. He spotted Nadine easily. She was attending to a small, balding man who was dressed in full body latex. There are people who like to give pain and those who like to receive it, and from what Nathan could tell, Nadine and this little bald fellow were perfect for each other.
Nathan walked to the center bar and sat down, avoiding the bar areas that housed caged erotic acts. He just wasn’t up to dealing with it. His head was still slightly buzzed from his feeding.
A Reluctant Vampire Page 2
