The Awakening (The Bryn And Sinjin Series Book 6)

by HP Mallory

  “You’ve got to be kidding me, Sinjin,” snapped Lady Bryn in response, somehow enraged by my defense of my own actions. “You expect me to take your… overtures… seriously when you’re literally feeding from other women and attempting to seduce others still?”

  “That is an unfair assessment of my friendship with Audrey,” I countered. “And, as I mentioned, I do not plan to feed from Betta again. It was an unfortunate mistake.”

  “Friendship is an unfair assessment!” she shouted at me, and I was surprised at her openly jealous candor. “How am I supposed to believe you when—”

  At which point I decided to cut her off before she said anything that caused lasting damage to our relationship.

  “Lady Bryn, I think it best we both vacate this conversation and room, lest we each say something we later regret,” I declared.

  Gently, I put my finger under her chin and pushed upward, forcing her eyes to meet mine. Hers were full of emotion, and everything became clear to me as I put myself in her position. Lady Bryn did not want to trust me. She had been raised to trust no one besides Luce—and even Luce had ultimately betrayed her. She did not know how to deal with a gentleman like myself, one who legitimately had her best interests at heart.

  “Fine, Sinjin,” my little pet whispered. I could see the ire still brewing in her eyes.

  “Bryn, listen to me carefully,” I said quietly, taking her smaller hands in my much larger ones. She nodded slowly, indicating that I could continue with her full attention. I spoke slowly and deliberately, purposefully enunciating each word so none of my meaning would be lost. “You cannot expect me to live a life of celibacy if you will not give me that which I desire most—you. If it is time you need, then so be it. I will do whatever is within my power to help you to learn to trust me and to see that I only have your best interests at heart. But if you cannot love me the way I hope—as a lover, not a mere friend—you have to release me, my pet.”

  She took a deep breath and then nodded, releasing my hands. “I understand,” she said, and walked away.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Sinjin

  Deep into the evening, I found myself alone in my bedroom. My stomach had begun to ache, a sure sign that I needed to feed, but my stomach and my brain were in dire disagreement—I could not convince my mind to partake of the blood my body was in dire need of. Instead, I laid down upon my down mattress and glanced at my bedside table, where Stephen King’s Salem’s Lot lay unattended. I did quite enjoy reading human portrayals of my species. I found it amusing.

  As I opened the book to chapter twelve, I heard a series of knocks upon my door. They were not particularly loud, suggesting the person knocking did not want to call too much attention to themselves, but the knocks were persistent all the same.

  I sprang to my feet and walked to the door. I could detect the sporadic heartbeat of my caller from the other side of the wall. I reached out and pulled the door open—and found myself surprised. The person waiting on the opposite side was Audrey.

  “Audrey!” I said with a beaming smile.

  “Pardon the time,” she said and smiled up at me in such a way that I was well aware of the reason she had come calling.

  “You know, I am certain, that I keep late hours,” I replied with a small smile. I opened the door wide. “Please, do come in.”

  “Thank you, Monsieur Sinclair,” she said and swayed into the room, her ample hips and rear quite comely. I closed the door behind her and turned to face my charming visitor.

  You are a free man, I reminded myself. The Lady Bryn let her feelings be known, and thus whatever you do from here on out is fair game.

  “What has brought you to my bedchamber at this hour?” I asked, though of course I already knew why Lady Chevalier was knocking upon my door so late. Clearly, she was in need of some gentlemanly attention. And the more I studied her attractive face and figure, the more I decided I should be happy to supply that attention.

  She sat down on my bed and removed her jacket, placing it beside her. Her breasts strained against her tight button-down shirt, and I felt myself swallow hard.

  “I admit that I wanted some… alone time with you, monsieur,” she confessed with a wide smile.

  “Did you?” I asked, approaching her. “And what might that alone time entail?”

  She giggled and stretched her long, shapely body across my bed, grinning up at me with abandon. “It entails whatever you wish for it to entail, monsieur,” she purred.

  “I must warn you, my dear,” I began before clearing my throat and forcing the images of the princess from my mind. “That I have not fed recently…”

  Her eyes widened. “Then you would presume to feed from me?”

  “If you would oblige me, I would enjoy nothing more,” I told her and closed the distance that separated us. “I would glamour you, of course, to do away with the pain.”

  “I must admit, I have never provided a man his… supper,” she giggled, then began unbuttoning her shirt, carefully sliding it down her shoulders until she sat on my bed clad only in her skirt and black, lace brassiere.

  “And tell me, my dear, would you like me to be your first?”

  She giggled more boldly this time and tilted her head to the side, offering me her vein. I sat down beside her and wrapped my hand around her neck as my fangs lengthened. I felt her hand on my upper thigh and closed my eyes as I then noticed something quite strange.

  There was no stirring in my nether regions.

  “Bite me,” she whispered.

  “My dear, I have yet to glamour you,” I informed her as I glanced down to see that my trousers were as loose in the junction of my thighs as they had been before Audrey arrived.

  Bloody hell, I thought to myself. If the princess has spoiled me for all other women, I shall be quite upset.

  “I encourage the pain,” Audrey continued as she closed her eyes and opened her mouth, ostensibly so I would kiss her?

  She slid her hands up along my thighs until she met my unwilling todger.

  “The sensation will be quite uncomfortable, my dear,” I explained as I stood up, not wanting her to take note of the fact that my appendage was not acting as he should have been.

  Stop thinking about the princess! I yelled to myself. She has made herself clear! She wants none of you and you, therefore, must move on. I looked down at the comely French woman who was bearing herself to me. Lose yourself in Audrey. Taste her, take her, repeatedly—all night long.

  “I must admit, I have thought of your bite on many occasions, mon ami,” admitted Audrey.

  “Madame,” I began, but she opened her eyes at the same moment that her hand splayed across the front of my trousers, searching for my cock—which was, regrettably, as limp as a wet noodle.

  “Bite,” she ordered and I dropped my head as my fangs found her neck. I sunk them into her flesh, and she bucked beneath me. As I held her in place, she began moaning and I began sucking on the wound, drawing her blood into my mouth. She rubbed my cock, but the stubborn bastard would not rise to the occasion.

  This would not do. My reputation was that of the rake, not the man in need of Viagra. I could feel my own embarrassment as it lay claim to my entire body. Soon, urgency was replaced with panic.

  Think of Bryn, I told myself. An image of the princess spread out before me suddenly infiltrated my mind and the memory of her taste filled my mouth, replacing the tartness of Audrey’s blood. My cock immediately hardened and Audrey giggled in response. I sucked on her fervently, lapping at her blood as I wondered whether I could orgasm by imagining she was the princess. Perhaps I would have to close my eyes to make the deed easier.

  “Touch me,” Audrey invited. I separated myself from her neck and glanced down to see she had undone her brassiere and her white breasts were now on display, complete with large nipples which were erect and quite alert. I dropped down to my knees and suckled each one in turn as she rubbed my head and I eyed the few drops of crimson blood that still cour
sed down her neck.

  My bloody todger began to go south again, so I closed my eyes and imagined the folds of the princess’ flesh and the feel of her wetness as my finger penetrated her. Immediately, my dick jumped to attention. Audrey began rubbing it again as I reached down and shoved her skirt up her thighs.

  I wanted to taste her, until I realized her taste would be quite different to Bryn’s. And once I’d tasted that difference, I wondered if I would be able to maintain this charade.

  Audrey toyed with the button of my trousers and undid my belt in record time. Before I could comprehend it, my pants were around my ankles and I stood there in my boxer shorts, with a todger at half mast. Reaching out, she yanked my shorts down to my knees, her eyes feasting on my naked cock.

  Hunger appeared in her eyes and a moment later, she took me into her mouth. And the bloody useless appendage acted quite like a turtle, withdrawing into its shell. She glanced up at me and frowned, emancipating herself from my limp sausage.

  “Are you not attracted to me, sir?” she asked.

  “You are quite beautiful—no man could deny that,” I responded, hating every second of this absolute mockery of my manhood.

  “Then why does your penis appear otherwise?”

  I did not have an answer for her and, quite frankly, was not in the mood for such discussions. Instead, I pushed her down against my bed, spread her legs wide, and dropped down between them, intent on delivering her to her own ecstacy. It was the least I could do.

  And then there came a knock on the door. Before I could even ponder who could be on the other side, the door suddenly opened and, much to my complete and utter shock and horror, the Lady Bryn boldly strode in.

  “Sinjin, I have to tell you,” she started and then swallowed her words as soon as she saw Audrey and me. She stopped in her tracks; her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. “Oh, my God,” she whispered.

  I immediately stood up and faced her squarely, only then realizing my boxer shorts and my trousers were still wrapped around my ankles. Lady Bryn made the mistake of glancing down and at the very moment that she eyed my disobedient cock, it sprang to action, elongating faster and harder than Pinocchio’s nose.

  “Oh, my God,” she repeated, turning around and starting for the door again, in the biggest hurry I had ever seen her.

  “Bryn!” I called out as I yanked my bloody shorts and pants up to my waist and wrestled with the button and zipper at the same time that I ran after her. She was already halfway down the hallway by the time I caught up with her.

  I grabbed her wrist as she turned to face me, her eyes pools of intense anger, jealousy and… pain? She attempted to throw my hand off, but I held her tightly.

  “What the fuck, Sinjin!” she yelled at me and I was not certain if her anger was in reference to the fact that I would not release her or if she was outraged over what she had just unfortunately walked in on.

  “You were not meant to witness that. Furthermore, someone needs to school you in the art of waiting for a response before you barge into someone’s bedchamber,” I offered and quickly realized my mistake as her eyes narrowed.

  “Trust me, I regret walking in more than you do!” she snarled, still attempting to free herself from my grip. “Let me go!”

  “Not until we discuss this,” I said, and dragged her back down the hallway.

  “There’s nothing to discuss.”

  “Obviously, there is.”

  “You had every right,” she started but I stopped walking and turned around, nearly pulling her directly into my naked chest. As soon as she realized her destination, she took a step back and glared at me.

  “I am well aware!” I announced, peering down at her. “I had every right and do have every right to return to my bedchamber and continue what I started with Madame Chevalier at this very moment!”

  “Then why aren’t you?” she demanded as she continued trying to pry my fingers from around her wrist.

  “Because you are upset.”

  “I’m not upset!”

  “Then what would you term it?”

  She took a deep breath and glared at me. “I’m surprised at walking in on you with your… pants down around your ankles and her blood all over your mouth, and her… half naked!”

  “Thus, you are upset.”

  “I could care less about the fact that you were fucking her!” she railed at me.

  “The correct phrasing is I could not care less,” I corrected. “And I was not…fucking her,” I ground out, then paused once we reached my bedroom door. I glanced inside the room and was relieved to notice Audrey was nowhere to be seen. I would have to apologize to her most ardently later; for now, the princess was my chief concern.

  “Did I walk in before or after… that happened?” she insisted.

  “Before or after what happened?”

  “You… penetrating her!”

  I could not help my fangs as they lengthened. It was the way she said the word that suddenly set me on fire. “It had not occurred by the point you walked in.”

  “Then what were you doing?”

  “She,” I cleared my throat and stopped speaking.

  “She what?”

  “Can we finish this conversation within my chambers, please?” I asked, glancing down the hall and wondering if Audrey would reappear—or worse yet, her brother. “I would rather not continue in the hallway, in case the circus decides to come visit.”

  “I can come back later. You obviously were busy with Audrey and I imagine she’s wondering when you’ll return.” She jutted her chin out stubbornly.

  “Audrey has vacated the premises.”

  The princess appeared both relieved and guilty as she took a deep breath. “Aren’t you going to go after her? I’m sure she’s upset.”

  “I will apologize to her once you and I have had our own conversation on the topic.”

  She swallowed hard. “Okay, but I’m not staying long.”

  I finally released her once we were within my bedchamber and I had closed the door behind us, being careful to lock it in case any one with equally terrible manners decided to come calling.

  “What were you doing when I walked in?” she demanded again.

  “Must we really do this?”

  “Yes.”

  I paused momentarily. “Very well. Madame Chevalier…”

  “Will you please call her by her name? This isn’t a fucking romance novel!”

  I frowned. “Audrey… was… in the process of… taking me in… her mouth.”

  The princess swallowed audibly. “And did you enjoy it?”

  “Bryn,” I began and frowned. I could not, for the undead life of me, figure out why she was asking such pointed questions. “I fail to understand how this conversation is helping either one of us.”

  “Just answer. Did you like it when she was… sucking you?”

  “Ordinarily, it is a most pleasurable experience for a man.”

  “Ordinarily?”

  “At the moment, I found I was in need of something… else.”

  “What does that mean?”

  There was no way I was going to willingly admit to her that the only way my blasted todger was able to get hard was by my summoning an image of her. I had to protect what shred of pride I still maintained.

  “It means nothing, and we are no longer having this conversation.” We took turns glaring at one another before I broke the silence. “Now, what did you come to tell me?”

  She inhaled deeply and continued to stare at me through narrowed, angry eyes. I could not understand her fury, for she had made her feelings for me quite known. “I… I can’t remember.”

  “Very well, then perhaps you should be on your way.” I did not intend for my words to sound so cold, but the truth of the matter was that I was in turns exhausted and completely confused. Why was this woman standing here in extreme disquietude when she had made it clear her feelings for me were not what I hoped they were?

  She nodded, but
made no motion to leave. Instead, she stared at the floor and wrapped her arms against her chest.

  “Did Audrey taste the same as me?” she asked when she finally looked up and met my eyes.

  “What?” I demanded, shaking my head. What the bloody hell was wrong with her? “Why are you asking me such a bizarre question?”

  “Because I want to know!” she insisted. “Did she taste the same as me?”

  “I would not know, for I was on my way to that region when I was… rudely interrupted.”

  “That wasn’t what I meant.” She scowled at me. “Did her blood taste the same as mine?”

  I felt myself flush, which seemed an impossibility for I had never before flushed as a vampire. Of course, this woman caused reactions in me that bore no explanation.

  “No, she did not.”

  She cleared her throat and frowned at me. “Then you never tasted her?”

  “I just told you, I did taste her and her taste was quite different to yours.”

  “That’s not what I meant.”

  “Satan, if you are down there, please collect me at once,” I begged, addressing the floor. “I cannot stomach another moment of these incessant and wholly bizarre questions.”

  “You never tasted her down there?” she insisted.

  I faced her and grimaced. “No.”

  She nodded, seeming pleased with that fact. “Did she feel the same as me?”

  “You are going to drive me to take my own life,” I grumbled.

  “Answer the question, Sinjin!”

  “Did she feel the same as you in what way?”

  She swallowed again. “When you touched her… there… did she feel like I felt?”

  “No.” I was quiet as I further considered the question and, in further considering the question, sorely wondered if Satan had heard me. “I do not know because I did not make it even that far.”