by Chloe Grey
As I sat there, angrily munching on scrambled eggs topped with caviar, I could only think about why Dave hadn’t texted me yet. My new senses were still rusty, but I could damn well hear a ‘ding’ on my new phone a few rooms away. Maybe I got distracted and missed it.
I went back to retrieve my phone. Nope. He still hadn’t replied to me yet. I didn’t know why I was this heated. He was probably busy, or maybe his phone had died, or maybe... I don’t know. But, fuck me, I shouldn’t be this riled up.
With a sigh, I opened my contact list and pressed the only name that was displayed in there, tapping my foot as I waited for him to pick up. He didn’t. Damn it.
I put on a simple green tank top paired with denim blue jeans, grabbed Dave’s black t-shirt from the laundry basket, and exited our room, punching to call the elevator with more force than I intended to.
This was stupid. I had never been like this with any other man. Going outside to track him down? The old me would laugh at how I was acting. But I was bored anyway. If he was busy, then I would wait until he was done, then we could go find lunch or something. Hell, I could wait out until dinner, so long as I was with him.
I exited the hotel into the bustling busy street, trying to ignore the catcalls as a bunch of teenagers waltzed past me. I didn’t get catcalled often, so it bothered me a little. No one wanted to annoy a grumpy looking hunter with a rifle slung over her shoulders. Speaking of which, I kinda missed the damn thing.
Left or right?
I brought Dave’s clothing up to my nose and inhaled deeply, his masculine scent filling me up. Right. He went right.
That was what was so dangerous about scents. If you had a noticeable scent (which everyone had) and you left a belonging behind, as long as it was fresh, a vampire could easily track you down like a hound. It was hard for me, since I kept losing his scent along the way. My sense of smell wasn’t as sharp as Dave’s yet, but eventually I zig-zagged my way to a Starbucks.
I frowned. A Starbucks. Dave wasn’t a huge fan of coffee, so why was he here? I sniffed his t-shirt again. His trail had ended here, and his scent around was still fresh, so he had to be near where I stood. I walked to the side of the coffee chain, staring through the windows. It was crowded, but after a few minutes of looking, I confirmed that Dave wasn’t inside.
I circled the Starbucks, my senses perked. Then I heard Dave, his voice smooth and low. Then a woman’s. I stilled, my heart jumping in my throat. That couldn’t be. The only woman Dave knew was me, so it must be a woman further away, her voice carrying through the wind or something, but they seemed to be whispering to each other. Maybe he was talking to a saleswoman.
I edged my way towards the sounds, leaving the busy afternoon crowd and finding myself in an alleyway. Their voices were clearer in here, carrying themselves better in between these cramped brick walls. I let out deep, controlled breaths, pushing away the crazy thoughts that were invading my mind.
Not Dave. He was not that type of man.
No.
They sounded extremely close now, around the corner to my right. I crouched low, peeking through, careful to not make any sound. Dave didn’t seem to notice me, though he should have because my scent alone would be ringing all sorts of alerts.
Then I saw him.
He had his back on me, and he had a woman pinned to the brick wall, way too close to his body, almost touching.
No, not a woman—an angel.
With coiffed, long curly black hair that shone like stars and a curvy, dreamlike figure, she put every other woman in existence to shame.
And my darling boyfriend had his fingers jammed up her skirt, between her thighs. If that wasn’t obvious what they were doing, the moans that were coming out of her lips were too damn sexual to be an accident.
I felt the shirt slip from my fingers. “What the fuck?”
Chapter 17
-David-
Please don’t be her. Please don’t be her.
Of course it was her.
Shit.
As I stood there, my fingers dripping wet from Amber’s juices, my eyes on her, I struggled to find the words.
“This isn’t what it looks like.”
Cass turned on her heels and walked away. I immediately left Amber to grab hold of her wrist—having enough dignity to at least use my dry hand. “Cass, please stop. I can explain.”
She didn’t try to pry her hand away. “You don’t need to explain,” she said softly, not a hint of anger in her tone.
Shit. That was bad. She wasn’t angry. Did she not care anymore? Fuck. I didn’t want to lose her. She was all I had left.
“I can explain. This isn't what it looks like.”
She said nothing, just staring back at me blankly.
“Let's go back to the hotel,” I said, my voice hurried and wild. “I will explain everything then.”
I took a quick look back at Amber. She was staring at us, her gaze flitting from Cass to me.
“Master?” she said uncertainly.
I could deal with her later. I had more pressing issues.
Slowly, I let go of Cass’s wrist. She didn’t run. A good sign. I put a hand on her back and guided her out into the sunlight. She kept her gaze forward, her forest green eyes blank and steady, but her muscles were tensed. For now, I would take it. It meant that she still felt something.
I quickly hailed a cab then quickly guided her inside. This felt like yesterday. This time with the roles reversed. Yesterday had ended up fine, and my whole future depended on today ending well too.
“I’m sorry,” I said against her ear, pushing stray strands of pinks back. My wet hand was still limp by my side, away from her. “I didn’t cheat on you. I will explain.”
Cass didn't respond, her gaze still kept forward, her lips a thin line.
“Say something, love.”
She didn’t, and that made the whole ride back as torturing as yesterday’s.
CASS SLID THE KEYCARD in and pushed the door open without a glance back. I quickly washed my hands—the bathroom was next to the front door—applying an ungodly amount of soap to remove Amber’s scent.
“What are you doing?” I said as I watched Cass strip, her tank top getting tossed away, landing on top of a lamp. Her beautiful breasts popped out, or so I imagined because her back was on me.
“Cass?”
She went for her jeans next, slipping her left leg out first. The black lace underwear that I had bought for her came off next, sailing across the room. She was completely naked now, and she turned to face me, not a hint of expression on her face.
When she finally spoke, it was low and cold. “Why aren’t you naked yet?”
“Cass.” I shook my head. “I don’t understand.”
“What is there to understand? I’m just another one of your whores, right? Don’t worry, I’m fine with that. Come and fuck your whore.”
I closed the distance between us, raising both hands to clasp her shoulders. She was trembling.
“I love you.”
“I bet you tell her that too.”
“Cass, please.” I pulled her close, her nose to my chest. She didn’t resist. “I didn’t cheat on you. Amber was in pain. I needed to relieve that for her. I was going to tell you, but—”
“Why are you still talking?” Her chilly tone was muffled. “Let your cock do it.”
“Listen to me, love,” I stepped back to look her in the eyes. “You’re—”
“Are you going to fuck me or not?”
“No, but—”
“Then I will waiting be in the bedroom until you decide to do so.”
She pulled away quickly, but I grabbed her wrist.
That set her off. She whirled around and shoved me with her other hand. “Fuck off.”
“I understand that you’re angry but—”
“Why can't you shut the fuck up?” Her voice was shrill now. “If you want to say anything, let your cock do it.”
“I—”
“
You are a fucking hypocrite!” Tears began rolling down her cheeks. “Love of my life, my ass. Never had sex in two years! I—” She made one last attempt to pull her arm away. I let her. “Fucking asshole. Why did I believe you? Why am I a fucking moron?”
I said nothing because I knew it would be useless. Get her to throw everything out, then talk to her.
Cass smiled suddenly, wiping away tears. “It’s okay. I was never meant for love anyway. I was a fool to believe that I was. There is no one after you, so I will be your whore forever. You can use me whenever you like, however you like. I don’t care anymore.”
When she didn’t say anything anymore, I inched closer, my hands going for her cheeks. I almost let out a sigh of relief when she let me brush the rest of her tears away, but it soon became impossible as more streamed down.
I looked at her. “I love you.”
She tensed up. “Don’t.”
I brought her close, and she broke down, soaking my chest.
“I always loved you.”
“Don’t.”
“Don’t what?”
It was a struggle to hear her in between sobs. “Don’t say it if you don’t mean it.”
“I mean it.”
“How many women besides me?”
“Only you.”
She said nothing, so I added. “The woman you saw. There is nothing between us.”
She looked up at me then, and I had to struggle to hold myself together. I hated seeing her like that—eyes red and teary, face a mess—even though it seemed like I saw that every day now. “Then why?”
“I promised that I would tell you everything, love.” I brushed locks of pink strands away from her forehead. I needed to see her whole face. “And I have been truthful. The first woman I have slept with since my ex two years ago, is you. But Amber completely slipped out of my mind. That’s how little I think of her. All I think about is you. No other woman. I swear it.”
Her voice grew cold again. “Then why shove your fingers in her cunt?”
I sighed. “You’re not really my first bond slave, Cass. Amber was.”
I waited for Cass to say something. But when she didn’t, I continued.
“Do you remember the feeling a few nights ago? Being incredibly horny, then being in so much pain?”
She nodded slowly.
“That’s due to the bond slave not having sexual release from her master. When I made you orgasm, the pain disappeared, right? Same with Amber. But I didn’t want her. So every couple of months, we meet. I make her orgasm, then we repeat the cycle. No sex, no making out, not anymore at least. Just straight to the point.”
“Why don’t you want her?”
I leaned down to kiss her forehead. She was still trembling. “Do I really need to answer that?”
“She’s prettier than me.”
“It’s not all about the looks, love. And you’re more beautiful than her.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I’m not.”
She shook her head. “She—”
“Cass,” I said, running a hand down her bare back, feeling up her lush curves. “You’re too self-conscious. You’re beautiful, okay? In my eyes, the most beautiful woman in the world. But I’m extremely biased, so...”
She smiled then. Just a twitch on her lips, but it was a huge victory for me. “You never fucked her?”
“I’m not going to lie, there were several moments where I was close, especially when you were with Logan. But I always abstained. I’m telling the truth, love. The only woman I’ve been inside, in a very long time, is you.”
“Then why did you bite her?”
“I didn’t.”
“I don't—”
“When she was forced to turn, she was given my blood instead of his. And I got tricked into drinking hers. They told me it was necessary to save Mom. We were bonded right from the start.”
“I’m sorry...” she whispered. “Why was she given your blood?”
“I don’t know, love. But my best guess is that they knew I was ‘the one’ as soon as I turned. Or maybe they knew it before. I don’t know. But they wanted to find me a suitable mate, and took the hottest woman they could get.”
I let out a laboured breath. “Amber was good. Had a family, a satisfying job, was engaged to a good man, planned to have kids with him. But...” I shook my head, my gaze down.
“Is she torn up about it?”
“No. She... Amber isn’t the same anymore.”
I brushed more tears from her cheeks. “Say something.”
Cass paused before replying shakily. “I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”
“No, please.” I gripped her tighter. “Don’t leave me.”
She was crying again. “You keep secrets from me, Dave. You let me in, but never in fully.”
“I promise I will try harder. I know I fucked up. Give me one more chance. Please.”
“I don’t want to do this anymore, Dave. But I can’t leave. I’m too in love with you.”
I pulled her close, and that set her off again. “I won’t hurt you anymore.”
“Don’t promise things you can’t keep.”
I leaned down and kissed her. She accepted it, parting her lips as I stroked her tongue long and deep, before pulling back to deliver a fierce promise. “I won’t keep secrets from you. I will never cheat on you, and I won’t hurt you anymore.”
She stood up on tiptoes and claimed my lips, her hands coming up and gripping my nape. I ran mine down her back, the other firmly wrapped around her hips, just in case she ran.
Christ. I loved how she felt—her smooth skin, her delicious curves, her flowery taste. It drove me insane.
“Take me,” she whispered.
“Not yet. I have more to tell you. No more secrets.”
She pulled back and looked at me. There were no more tears. “What is it?”
“Amber came to me with news. Our ‘brother,’ Tobias, is coming for me. He wants me dead.”
“What?”
“There are three of us. The royalties, or so they call us. Me, Amber, and Tobias. Tobias hates me. Actually he hates everyone that is not him. He believes that he should be the one to mark a new era, build a dynasty of his own.”
I breathed her in, her scent soothing my nerves. “Tobias is bad news. Uncontrollable. He wasn’t before he turned. But power and bad blood corrupted him. He leaves me alone for the most part since I refused to mate with Amber, or anyone. But somehow he knows that I have a new mate, and now he‘s desperate for me to be dead. He’s dangerous, love. An S rank.”
I heard her breath catch. “What do we do?”
I snuggled her close. “I don’t know. Most will try to stop him, of course. Since my death means the extinction of the vampire race sooner or later. But I doubt anybody can stop him. And I won’t risk Amber.”
“Most?”
“Yes. Tobias is well respected. Some are even bold enough call him the true heir. Everyone knows him, but Amber and I keep to the shadows. All they know about me is that I was a traitor for leaving. Thank god that only a few know what I look like, or we would be hunted constantly.”
“Can I stop him?”
I felt warmth radiating through me. She would risk her life for me. “No. You’re still newly turned, and even if you’re not, you stand no chance. Bond slaves only inherit a fraction of their master’s powers.”
She looked at me. “Don’t tell me—”
“I have no choice.”
“Don’t.”
I sighed. “You know, once upon a time, I would have welcomed death. I lost everything. Mom. Laura. And you were taken by Logan. When I left that night, I wanted to hole up in a corner and stay there until the end of my days, taking the curse with me. I thought it would be the most heroic thing to do. But in truth, I never really cared. I knew I was a selfish person, but I deluded myself into thinking otherwise.”
“Dave...”
“When I saw you lying there, bleeding out,
I really thought I lost everything. I didn’t know how much you meant to me. Now I know. You gave me a reason to live again.”
I pecked her forehead. “I love you, Cass.”
She shoved me. “Stop it, Dave. Just stop. You’re talking like you are about to die.”
I lifted her chin with my thumb, watching her lips tremble, and looking at the tears that were dripping down her pretty chin. She cared. She really did.
“Did you take notice the appearance of the vampiress that night?”
Purple skin, huge fangs, bright violet eyes, claws. “Yes...”
“We’re monsters. That is our true form, and only the strongest can revert to that state. I don’t know why I’m different. Why I don't have violet eyes, why my blood is still red, why I can mate? But I have something else. I—”
Cass squeezed my hand, a silent urge to carry on. I offered her a tight smile. “I think it’s because, for some miraculous reason, I managed to keep this... monster in me the whole time, trapped inside me. And he speaks to me, in my head, though not as often anymore.”
I continued on, trying to keep my voice steady, but failing. “I let him out, once. He did work. Though in the end, no one was alive to see it. He is strong. Stronger. If I let him out again, I want you to run, understand? Run as far away as you can. And don’t look back. I don’t want you to see—”
I was thrown back when her lips collided with mine. Love, compassion, care, devotion. I could taste them all in that single kiss. She linked her arms around me, trying to keep me close, but I pulled away after a brief moment.
“Cass, I’m serious. If I lose control, I don’t want you to be there. He will hurt you.”
“Will he kill me?”
I paused. It was the perfect moment for him to finally speak up and answer. But he stayed silent. “I don’t think so.”
“Then I will stay.”
I frowned. “Are you even listening? You—”
“I don't care about pain, Dave. Not physical anyways. This monster you speak about... he can do whatever he wants. As long as he doesn’t kill me. I really don’t care.”
“Christ. Do you have no regard for your life?” My hands came to her shoulders, gripping tight. “Listen, I’m not going to use the bond to force you to obey. But I beg you, for your sake, for mine. If I have no choice but to let him out, run. Please.”
