by Anya Bast
“She will. Remember, I’ve met your mother. She loves you and will accept you any way you come to her. You’ll walk in and she’ll be baking that banana bread of hers that makes my mouth water. She’ll hug you, tell you she loves you no matter what, and that will be the end of it.”
She smiled. “She always liked you.”
He spread his hands and grinned. “What’s not to like, querida?”
Her smile faded and she looked out the window, up past the opening of the courtyard and into the star-scattered sky. “We should get some sleep.”
“You need to feed again, Daria.”
He could only see her profile, but he still glimpsed her expression darken in her reflection. “I already fed, remember?”
“That was this morning. I fed from you afterward, weakening you. You’re a new vamp and I know you need more sustenance than you’re getting. Daria, you’re strong, but you’re not that strong. Stop jeopardizing the mission by resisting me.”
He knew that last sentence would get through to her. Jeopardizing the mission.
Her jaw tightened, and she closed her eyes briefly. “I suppose if I must feed, I would prefer it be from you.” Her voice sounded flat, expressionless.
“I’m glad you sound so excited about it.” He turned, switched off the light, and lay back on the bed. Daria remained at the window, staring out. The moonlight bleached the color from her form. “Whenever you’re ready, sweetheart. I would like to get some sleep, too.”
In reality, he simply couldn’t wait to get his hands on her. Couldn’t wait to get the scent of her skin on his. Couldn’t wait to share the warmth of her body.
She turned and came toward the bed.
“Uh, uh.” He made a tch tch sound. “Clothes off. If we’re not having sex, then we need skin-to-skin contact.”
Daria hesitated, anger flashing over her features for a moment before she conceded defeat. She pulled her shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor, then kicked her boots off and shed her pants.
Clad in only her tiny blue panties and white cotton bra, she walked to the bed. Alejandro’s mouth grew drier with every step she took. Daria didn’t need lace and silk to enhance her body’s allure. Her curves and soft skin needed no embellishment to make his cock hard.
“Happy now?” Her gaze flicked down to his straining crotch and she raised an eyebrow. “Forget I asked. Clearly you are.”
“I’m a man, what can I say?”
“How do you want me?”
Alejandro allowed his mouth to curve in a feral smile.
She rolled her eyes and climbed onto the bed. Even now he caught the subtle, intoxicating scent of her arousal. Daria controlled herself better than anyone he’d ever met. The woman had a will of steel. However, he knew she hungered for sex, knew it because he’d gone through the Choosing, too . . . and its hormone-filled aftermath.
He knew the score. Knew the empty place that had to be filled by questing hands and exploring lips. Knew that the only way to make the constant ache disappear was sexual contact—touching and being touched—on a regular basis.
He shifted, suppressing a groan, as she settled over his pelvis, the heat of her sex bleeding through the fabric of his jeans. In the darkness, her eyes seemed large and luminous, like the moon had been dragged into the room with them and split in two.
She gave one small sigh, maybe in resignation, maybe from hunger, or maybe even from passion, Alejandro couldn’t be sure, then dipped her head and inserted her face into the crook of his neck.
He closed his eyes, enjoying the rub of her skin against his, and wanting her scent to be joined with his on an intimate level. Alejandro let his hands drift up and rub her back. Unable to resist, he undid the clasp of her bra. She stiffened, but then relaxed against him. When he pulled the article of clothing up, so her warm, heavy breasts lay against him, she went very, very still.
He threaded his fingers through the short hair at her nape. “Drink, querida.”
Daria curled her hands around his shoulders and nuzzled his neck, making his throat go tight. He felt the hard brush of fang and braced himself for the first painful stab. It came, followed by the sweet rush of her beginner’s veil blanketing him. She drew on him and his body went tight with need.
He slid his hand down her back, enjoying the smoothness of her skin and wanting nothing more than to run his tongue over every inch of it. She shifted against him and the heat of her cunt grew warmer. Taking that as an indication of her arousal, he dipped his hand beneath the elastic of her panties and cupped her delectable ass. Alejandro wondered if she’d ever had a man give her attention there and then swiftly decided he would, if he could.
Daria moved her hands from his shoulders to the spokes on the bed frame, rubbing her breasts against his chest. His cock was hard as a steel rod and he needed to come. Just touching her, making her orgasm, would make him happy. It would help her, too. So he eased his hand between her spread thighs, straight into heaven.
Ah, yes, she was aroused. Her cunt was like hot silk against his fingers. He found her clit, ripe, full, and swollen—like a decadent little cherry just dying to be nibbled at—and eased the pad of his finger over it and over it again, petting it. It swelled under his touch, growing larger and more needy. He took it between his thumb and forefinger and stroked.
She broke the bite and gasped. “Alejandro.”
“Mmmmm . . . let me bring you ease.”
He moved his head, finding her earlobe and dragging it between his teeth. She shuddered against him and rose up, but she didn’t push him away. She only drew her arms from her bra and tossed it to the floor, baring her lovely breasts with their lickable hard, red nipples to his gaze.
Her eyes were wide and dark, the pupils enlarged from her arousal. She shifted against his hand, rubbing her cunt against it, and shivered. Still, something warred on her face and in her eyes.
“Shhhh . . . It’s okay,” he murmured. “I know you need it. Just take what I’m offering you, Daria.” His voice sounded strained to his own ears. Fuck, he wanted her.
She slipped her hand between their bodies, pressing his palm against her and rubbing her pussy more firmly against it. He shifted his hand, letting two of his fingers penetrate her. She closed her eyes and groaned, began to rotate her hips, fucking herself on his fingers.
“That’s it. There you go,” he encouraged. “Ride them.”
She tipped her head back and moaned. She was only using him to relieve herself of the sexual pressure of the Choosing. Alejandro understood that. One day maybe it could be more than that between them. Alejandro was surprised to realize just how much he wished for it. He wanted Daria to care about him. For the time being, he’d take what he could get.
His gaze dropped to where her pretty pink pussy lips slid up and down on his fingers. If only it was his cock sliding so snugly into her wet, velvet cunt. Daria could have no idea what doing this cost him.
He leaned forward and captured one of her nipples in his mouth. Latching on, he stimulated it with the tip of his tongue, while he gently rolled and pinched the other one between his thumb and index finger. All the while, Daria rode him, taking the climax he offered her.
Daria finally shuddered and came. He reveled in her pleasure as much as she did. The only thing that would have been better would have been to have his cock buried deep her sweet, tight cunt. As it was, he was still unsatisfied. Good thing he’d learned a lot of control during his years with Lucinda.
She rolled to the side the second it was over. “Damn it, Alejandro.”
“Just accept that you like sex with me, Daria. Get it over with. Give it up.”
“I never said I didn’t like sex with you, Alejandro.”
She tried to roll away, but he lunged across the bed, wrapped his arm around her waist, and dragged her back against him. Daria fought him for a moment and then gave up, relaxing into him like warmed butter.
He nuzzled the hair at the nape of her neck and slid a leg over her thighs, trapping he
r. “Sleep now.”
“I don’t take orders from you,” she said with a tremble in her voice.
“Come on, Daria. Relax. We have a hell of a day ahead of us tomorrow. I wonder what we’ll find.”
She sighed, and took a moment to reply. “The theories out of the ABI are all dark—drugs, sense chips, or blood slaves.”
Sense chips were microchips people could insert into special bio drives on their arms or in their necks that immersed them in a false real-life experience for a time. The most popular sense chips were porn, of course. They were illegal because they were addictive—not physically, but psychologically.
“I guess we’ll see,” he answered, closing his eyes.
“How can you be so relaxed about everything?”
“Why worry now about stuff that’ll happen tomorrow? How can you be so uptight about everything?”
She turned in his arms. “I’m not uptight.”
He laughed, letting his gaze trail over her bare breasts. His Daria had a good heart and would go to the ends of the earth to right a wrong. She was brave, beautiful inside and out, intelligent, and tougher than most men he knew . . . and she also was definitely uptight. “Then give me one reason you’re turning down no-strings-attached sex with me when I know you’re dying for it, Daria.”
“Damn, you’re so arrogant. It’s incredible.”
“Yeah, I’m arrogant. We’ve already established that. So give me a reason. Flat-out. Are you afraid of me?”
A small smile curved her sensual lips. She leaned in toward him, gathering his hand and pressing it to the mound of her warm, soft breast. Then she brushed her mouth across his. Alejandro’s world spun for a moment. He went in for a deeper taste, hoping to finally get some ease for his aching body, but she pulled away.
“I’m not afraid of you,” she murmured against his lips. “I just don’t want you as much as you think I do.” With that, she pulled from his grasp, grabbed her clothes, and went into the bathroom.
Alejandro collapsed back onto the mattress and covered his face with his hands. The woman was going to kill him with this shit. He had half a mind to tie her to the bed and just get it over with.
He didn’t believe the line she’d just fed him. For some reason he scared the hell out of her, but he had no idea why.
That morning a woman named Guo Jia Ying had rousted them from bed at the crack of dawn to go to work. Daria had only grabbed a couple hours of sleep, since she’d spent most of the night trying to avoid Alejandro. She’d spent the bulk of it in the garden, looking up at the stars and trying to ignore the sight of Alejandro’s nearly nude body sprawled on the bed.
He’d probably slept great.
When she’d finally broken down and climbed into bed, she’d only caught a few winks since she’d been fully clothed and curled up on the very edge of the mattress. It hadn’t been a recipe for deep sleep and today she was a bit grouchy.
And flabbergasted.
Jia Ying smiled, her lovely brown eyes twinkling. She obviously loved her job here, loved life under the dome in general. Or maybe she was just a naturally happy person. Was it bad that Daria had taking a liking to the older vamp the moment she’d met her? “Not just any teddy bears. These are handmade teddy bears, collector’s items. There’s a demand for certain items that aren’t bot-made. These teddy bears are famous throughout all the settlements.”
Beside her, Alejandro frowned and scratched his head, probably just as confused as she was.
“So this is how the Shining Way supports itself? It makes, um, teddy bears?” asked Daria.
“It’s not the only way. There’s a honey farm on the opposite side of the compound and we also maintain a small apple orchard.”
Alejandro blinked. “Teddy bears, honey, and apples?”
Jia Ying smiled. “Yes. We thought you and Alejandro would be happiest here in the factory but if you’d prefer to work the honey or apples, we can switch you.”
“Uh. Teddy bears are fine,” answered Alejandro.
A line of people worked the mounds of teddies in various stages of completion. Stations were set up along the way. One group of people stuffed them, the next sewed seams, the next added a bow or clothing, depending on the line of teddy bear. Finally, the completed product disappeared through an opening at the end of the line and into another room.
It had to be a cover. It just had to be. There was something else going on here, something illicit. No way was Christopher Sante running some crunchy granola commune for Chosen that supported itself through cute and cuddly handicrafts, honey, and apples. Sante didn’t work that clean and wholesomely. Either they were stuffing the bears with something after they left the work area, or this was just an elaborate ruse meant to cover up the slave trafficking business they had going on the side.
“What happens in that room down there?” she asked, studying the people at the end of the conveyor belt who joked and talked as they worked. Just beyond them was the opening, covered by a large industrial flap, where the finished product disappeared.
“That’s the packaging room,” answered Jia Ying. “That’s where the bears are stitched up, tagged, and put in boxes.”
Daria frowned. “Why is there a separate room for that?”
Jia Ying laughed. “I wondered, too. They told me they want to make sure no one puts anything into the teddy bears that shouldn’t be there before they ship. It’s a safety thing, since the bears are ultimately meant for children.”
Hmmm. Or maybe so they could put something into the teddy bears before they shipped.
“That room is full at the moment,” Jia Ying continued, “so I thought we’d put you two on the line.”
“Sounds great,” Daria answered, but she still fully intended to investigate the packaging room when she could.
In fact, every inch of the factory was going to get her special attention. If there was anything illegal going on, they would find out about it and add it to the list of things to prosecute Sante for. She studied the industrial flap. It would be an easy way to get in there, as long as it wasn’t the locking kind. Of course, with her luck, it probably was.
Jia Ying led them to the stuffing station and introduced them to the two other Chosen there. There was Rodrigo, a sultry-eyed, effeminate succubare, and Emmet, an older vamp with chocolate-colored skin who threw his head back and laughed with his whole body, typically showing fang while he did it.
“So, you two are new here?” asked Emmet.
Alejandro nodded. “Arrived the day before yesterday. Do they always throw parties for the new members?”
“Oh, yeah. Every time.” Emmet nodded, smiled, and showed a disconcerting amount of shiny, sharp fang. “And sometimes they just throw them for the hell of it. Christopher Sante knows how to treat us right.”
Hmmm. Indeed, thought Daria. She stayed quiet, continuing to stuff teddy bears.
“With blood slaves and everything?” Alejandro inquired.
“They aren’t blood slaves, man,” Emmet answered. “Those humans come of their own free will. They want to be here. They’re donors and come because they crave the dark kiss.”
“I’m not complaining,” answered Alejandro with a grin. He could look so nonthreatening when he wanted to. “Who organizes all that? Man, I could get used to those parties, my friend.”
“Us peon dome residents don’t get a heads-up on any of that, mi hermano,” Rodrigo said. “That’s all the domain of Christopher Sante and the Shining Way board of directors.”
Daria frowned. “Board of directors?”
“They’re not really a board of directors,” answered Jia Ying. “We just call them that. They’re the Chosen closest to Sante. Sort of his advisors. They make all the decisions around here. Pretty much, they run this place.”
“Seems like they’re doing a good job,” replied Alejandro, lifting a teddy bear and examining its stuffing. “I noticed you don’t see Sante much. Too bad. I know him from way back. I was hoping I might get to say hello, ca
tch up on old times.” Alejandro was good at this, making subtle conversation that drew answers from people.
Jia Ying shook her head and grabbed another bear. “He doesn’t come out much. He’s kind of a recluse. We see him once in a while, usually just on special occasions. He’s got a house on the east side of the compound and it’s heavily protected. He values his privacy. We’re all very grateful to him, though, for providing this community for us.”
Heavily guarded house on the east end of the compound. Maybe that’s where Ari was. Daria filed it away to think about later.
“I bet your head is spinning,” Emmet said, nodding at Daria. “I can feel how young you are. You’re just days old, little girl. All this must be quite a change for you. You’re lucky, though, getting in here. It can be a cold universe out there for Chosen. We’re too outnumbered by the normals.” Normal was a slang term the Chosen had for humans. “This place is a good community, like-minded, and close-knit. You’ll see. You got lucky being let in here so soon after your Choosing.”
Daria tried not to gag as she answered. “I’m thankful I got in here, too.” She shot him a smile. Hey, it wasn’t even a lie . . . mostly.
“So how did you two meet?” asked Jia Ying.
“We met in New Chicago about three years ago,” Alejandro answered, sticking with the story they’d agreed upon beforehand. “At a party of one our mutual friends.” He gave Jia Ying a playful sidelong glance. “Valerie was so into me. Dios, she couldn’t resist. I had to fight her off that night. Remember . . . baby?”
Daria resisted the urge to kick him. Instead she smiled sweetly, “You tell your version, honey, I’ll tell mine.” She put her hand to the side of her mouth and whispered at Jia Ying. “He followed me around like a lovesick puppy dog all night.”
Jia Ying laughed.
“Anyway,” Alejandro continued, “it wasn’t long before things got serious. Eventually Valerie decided she wanted to take things to the next level and she demanded I Choose her even though she lacked the genes. I tried to persuade her it was a bad idea, but”—Alejandro shook his head—“Valerie wants what she wants.”
