by T. S. Ryder
Aria Taylor wakes to her biggest nightmare when Gavin, the vampire king, drags her out of bed in the middle of the night. Aria’s father owes him money and Gavin has come to take him away.
There’s only one way out: Aria has to become Gavin's blood donor to pay off the debt. Too bad that she hates her bloodsucker. What right does this possessive beast have to be so handsome and yet so cruel?
Gavin is more than happy with his new blood donor. Her full curves drive him crazy and he can’t wait to pierce her skin with his fangs. The thought of teaching this virgin all the pleasures of the body stirs fires inside of him…
But Gavin has enemies and things take a turn for the worst when Aria suddenly disappears. Where is she? Gavin knows one thing for sure. No matter what it takes, he will get her back.
He’s coming for her.
Chapter One – Aria
Hands grabbed her and yanked her from her bed. Aria cried out, struggling instinctively. Sleep wrapped her mind in a cloud of fog. Even as her heart spiked and the grips on her arms became painful, she wasn't sure what was happening. Bright lights blinded her. The hands dragged her from her bedroom and into the living room. Her father was already there, sitting on the worn couch.
Aria was thrown down beside him. She toppled over, and her father put a protective arm around her.
"My daughter isn't a part of this," he said. "Please, don't hurt her."
"I'm not going to hurt anyone. But we must discuss this debt of yours."
Aria scrubbed her palms over her eyes, clearing the last of the sleep from them. When she saw the man sitting across from them, feet planted far apart in a power stance while he held a cup of tea, she gasped. Blood drained from her face and she clung to her father, unable to believe what she was seeing.
Gavin, the vampire king of everywhere from the Baltic Sea to Siberia, was in their living room. The men that stood around them –tall, gaunt, with those hungry eye – all vampires.
Her gaze turned back to the king. He ignored her, his amber eyes fixed on her father. He had a fine square jaw with sharp cheekbones and dark hair that fell loosely about his face. Whenever she saw him on the television, Aria thought he was handsome in a terrifying way, and up close she could see she was right in every respect. Handsome and terrifying.
"What are you doing here?" She tried to bolster her voice to sound more outraged than frightened. Gavin sipped his tea. He had her mother's fine china in his hand. Aria's blood boiled. Nobody touched her mother's things! "That does not belong to you. You have no right to come into our house and mess with our things."
"Oh, I have every right." Gavin set the cup and saucer on the coffee table. "Your father has a great deal of debt to the crown, and he hasn't paid any of it back for almost three years now. I am here to find a way for him to pay it off. Until it is, everything you own is mine."
Aria turned to her father. Guilt shone from his face and she clung to his hand. "Papa? Is that how you got the money for me to go to university?"
"We can discuss it later, Aria," her father said. He bowed his head towards the king. "My lord, there has to be something I can do."
Gavin smirked. "There is. Jail. All your property and belongings will be auctioned to pay your debt, and then for every hundred dollars you still owe me after that, you will spend a year in jail."
Aria jumped to her feet before she knew what she was doing. "You will do no such thing! You will not take my father's property and you will not put him in jail."
"Aria, no." Her father tried to tug her back down onto the couch.
She pulled her hand away from her father, glaring at the king. Who did he think he was, to just come waltzing in here and declare that everything would be taken away from them? She didn't know what sort of debt her father had gotten himself into, but he had been laid off at work for six months, for crying out loud. In this economy, it was next to impossible to get work.
Gavin stood slowly, his handsome face stone-cold. "And why won't I?"
"I've seen on the news that you are looking for a juice box."
"Juice box?"
Aria shrugged. "It's what we call the girls who let you vampires suck out their blood."
Gavin's gaze swept over her body. His eyes brightened. "And?"
"And I'm AB negative. That's your favorite type, isn't it?"
"Are you suggesting that I take you on as my 'juice box' in the forgiveness of your father's debt?"
Aria shook her head. There was no way she was going to be forced to stay with this vampire for the rest of her life. "I'm suggesting that I work for you as your juice box paying off my father's debt, and once it's paid, I'm free to go."
"No." Her father jumped to his feet. "No. I'll go to jail. You can't do this, Aria."
"She can." Gavin smiled. "Your terms are acceptable. Your father may keep his house. We will discuss the finer details of our agreement once we are back at the palace." He glanced at one of the vampires. "Bring her to the limo."
"Wait." Aria drew back. "I need to pack and say goodbye."
"I will provide your necessities and you can say goodbye on your way out the door," Gavin said over his shoulder. He was already heading outside.
A vampire clamped a huge hand over Aria's arm and dragged her towards the door. She glanced back helplessly at her father. He was being held back by another vampire, worry and guilt shining from his face. For his sake, Aria made herself smile. The vampire dragged her through the front door.
"It'll be fine, Papa," she said. "I'll call you. I love you."
"I love—"
The door slammed behind them. Aria shivered. Their neighbors watched through windows, a few of them standing in doorways. She tried to wave cheerfully at them. They'd be talking about this for weeks. From two doors down, she saw a blonde rush from her home, dressed in a flimsy nightdress, her hair in two braids.
"Aria!" the blonde cried. "What's happening?"
"It's fine, Sonya," she called back. She dug her heels in to earn a few more moments to reassure her best friend. "I'll call. I promise."
The vampire picked her up, making her yelp, and carried her to the shiny black limousine that sat on the road. He stuffed her in and slammed the door after her. Aria grimaced as she straightened herself. The limo had two bench seats facing each other. She had been put on the forward-facing one, while Gavin sat opposite to her. Their knees brushed each other.
Aria fastened her seatbelt, determinedly ignoring the king. The least he could have done was give her an hour to dress. Now here she was, her bulky PJs making her plus-sized body look like a box stuffed with sausage. She was braless, which meant her boobs were flopping around with every bump they went over – not even wearing underwear. At least she had decided to actually wear PJs that night. Usually, she slept buck naked. But it had been cold lately, and she needed the extra warmth.
"Your name is Aria," Gavin said. "And you're in university?"
"Your name is Gavin and you're the freaking vampire king."
Gavin's mouth twitched. Whether he was amused or angry, she couldn't tell. "What were you in university for?"
"Marketing. Business management. Accounting." Aria slumped in her seat, folding her arms over her chest. "So I can open my own business."
He didn't reply to that, and Aria was grateful. She still hadn't figured out what kind of business she wanted. The streetlights passed one by one as they drove away from the neighborhood she had lived in since she was five years old. She and her father had moved here a year after her mother died. She knew everybody here and they knew her.
Her lip began wobbling, and she bit it hard to stop. She was not going to cry. Yeah, the situation wasn't ideal, but she had made her choice and she wasn't going to back down.
What made this worse was the many times she had fantasized about meeting a handsome, rich vampire that would sweep her off her feet and take her to his mansion to marry her. Now she was being taken to a palace by the king – and she hated it.
The thing she
hated most was how attractive the bloodsucker was, though. What right did he have to be so handsome and yet so cruel?
"I'm going to drink your blood now."
Aria jumped. She pressed herself back on the supple leather seat, her heart hammering. "You're going to drink my blood?"
"Yes." Gavin stared back at her, completely calm. "I need to verify your blood type. And if this arrangement is going to work, I have to know you're willing to give me blood whenever I need it. Don't worry, all I need is a mouthful every so often. You can be my living donor and still give blood to clinics once a year."
He grinned, flashing his fangs at her. Aria swallowed hard, trying to convince herself that the twisting in her stomach was just because this was new and frightening. Not because she found the idea of him biting her exciting in any way… This was a business arrangement. No, it wasn't even that. This was her desperate attempt to keep her father out of jail. Nothing more.
Gavin slid onto the bench beside her. He reached for the first button on her top, but Arai shoved her wrist into his face. Mustering her dirtiest glare, she shook her head.
"You don't need to undress me to have a taste of my blood. You can drink from my wrist. I've seen it done on TV all the time."
Gavin scowled. "I prefer neck blood."
"You can have my neck after all the details of this arrangement are hashed out."
Gavin continued to frown for a moment, then shrugged. He grasped her wrist. Aria opened her mouth to ask if it would hurt just as he bit into her flesh. A sharp jolt of pain made her yelp, but with the first pull, she forgot all about it. A fire was lit low in her belly, shooting tingles up her spine and down her legs. Her skin tingled where his lips clamped on in. Something swelled inside of her core. With the second pull, her head fell back and she moaned, desire pooling. What had she been thinking when she said he couldn’t drink from her neck? Suddenly all she wanted was for his mouth to be on her neck.
The rush of pleasure stopped, leaving her dazed and confused. Gavin wrapped a piece of gauze around her wrist and put it onto her lap.
"You are AB negative," he said, licking his lips. "I think this will work out just fine."
Aria nodded silently as he moved to the opposite side of the limo. Her heart continued to pound. What have I gotten myself into?
Chapter Two – Gavin
It was seven o'clock AM and he needed blood.
The king didn't bother knocking on the door to the apartment he'd given Aria in his palace. He expected to find her in the little breakfast nook, with a cup of coffee in hand. Maybe making breakfast on the hotplate he had installed, or rooting around the mini-fridge for some of the fruit he'd stocked it with. But she wasn't in the main room. The door to the bathroom was open. It was empty.
Maybe she was dressing? It was a little late for that, but given that it was her first day here and the interrupted sleep she had the previous night, he could overlook it.
He knocked on the door. No answer. Frowning, he knocked again. A moan came from the other side. A deep, throaty moan. The kind that women made when a man was between their legs. Hot, irrational anger filled his chest. She was his! Any vampire who dared come into her chambers and into her bed had to be punished swiftly.
Gavin kicked down the door. He charged in, searching for the vampire who dared take what was his. Aria was on the bed, alone. She gasped and flailed, head jerking up from the pillow. In a tangle of limbs and blankets, she fell off the bed. She hit the floor hard and stared up at him, mouth agape.
"What the heck, man?" She yawned and rubbed her eyes before glaring at him. "I was sleeping!"
She wasn't with anybody. Gavin took a step back. It wasn't often that he was wrong. But he had kicked open her door… How was he going to explain that? "I told you to meet me this morning."
"It is morning. The sun's barely up."
"You mean the sun is already up."
Aria got to her feet. "It's morning until noon, and I'll get up when I damn well please."
He wasn't used to people talking back to him. Mostly they simpered and agreed with whatever he said. And in the rare case that they disagreed, they bowed and apologized and assured him that his will was what was most important. And yet here was this human with her hair all over the place, sleep sand in the corners of her eyes, wearing faded pajamas, telling him exactly what she thought.
Gavin wasn't sure if it was refreshing or annoying. "You are here to work for me. That means you keep the hours that I assign you."
"Be clearer, then. You can't just say 'morning' and expect me to know what you mean..." She checked the clock and groaned. "It's seven. I'm not a morning person."
Gavin cocked his head to one side. He had intended on giving her a stringent introductory course to what her life at the palace would be like from now on, but perhaps she needed a little more time. Besides, he wasn't a cruel man. He could be lenient in this case.
"Fine. You can go back to bed, but I need some blood first. I have several important meetings today, and I need my full strength."
Aria tensed but nodded. She walked past him, into the main room. Gavin followed her, admiring her full ass. It would be delightful to see her form out of these baggy clothes. Everything she wore from here on out would be perfectly tailored for all her curves. And perhaps soon he'd be able to see her without clothes at all.
The human offered her wrist to him, but Gavin shook his head. "I need something fresher. By the time blood has gotten to your extremities, it's already used some of its energy. I need something closer to the heart."
His gaze dropped to her neck. She swallowed, but when he reached for her she didn't resist him at all. Good. She was already warming up to him. He undid her top two buttons and moved her top off her shoulder, exposing her skin to him.
"Ready?" he asked, glancing up.
Aria's eyes were bright. She chewed on her lip as she nodded. Gavin put an arm around her and drew her closer. He frowned at how tense she was. But this would be the first time he took a proper drink from her. She was probably just nervous. He kissed her neck gently. Aria shivered and burrowed herself closer to him.
So she was receptive. She just needed a little encouragement. With a grin, he placed his fangs against her pulse and bit down.
The woman jumped, then let out a throaty moan that surprised him. He felt her vibrate as he sucked, pulling in the sweet, sweet taste of blood. Everything tightened inside of him. It tightened, even more, when Aria grabbed his hand around her waist and tugged it upwards. She pressed him against her breast, her body undulating beneath him.
Gavin groaned, pulling her even closer. Who cared if he had meetings to attend to? He was the king, his time belonged to no one except for himself. If he wanted to stay here with this beautiful woman, he could.
He dropped his hand from her breast to her waist, pushing it under her elastic waistband. Aria moaned again, lifting her hips to his touch. He grinned as he felt she wasn't wearing any underwear, and slid it down between her thighs.
Aria shuddered. She slammed her hand against his chest, making him jerk away from her.
"No," she gasped. "No. I'm a virgin, and if you want to be the first man who takes me, you have to forgive my father's debt first."
The king's hand was still on her hip. Her blood dripped from his lips. At first, only one word jumped out of that. Virgin. Fires stirred inside of him. It was his opinion that virginity was overrated. Give him a woman who knew what she was doing over a nervous, inexperienced girl any day. But the thought of teaching Aria all the pleasures of the body…
Then the rest of what she said hit him. He drew back, his brows furrowing. "What?"
She clutched her top closed, though blood dripped from her neck to stain it. "You heard me. If I'm going to be your personal prostitute, that's my price. My father's debt wiped out."
Prostitute. He hated that word. He hated it as much as what Aria was saying. He drew back. "So that was what you were hoping for? Why you let me – no, encouraged me
– to touch you? I don't need sex. You're a beautiful woman, but I have hundreds of beautiful women who want to please me. I'll pay for your blood. That's all. I'm not paying for your body. No matter how much you tempt me."
"I tempt you?" Aria got to her feet and backed away from him. "I'm not the one who started pumping you full of aphrodisiacs. You could have at least warned me that having my blood drunk would be like foreplay! I bet it didn't even cross your mind, did it? You thought that I was agreeing to be your sex toy as well as your juice box. Well, I'm not!"
Aria's face was flushed, her hands clenched, eyes narrowed. She really believed what she was saying. She hadn't known about the side-effects of drinking.
Gavin got to his feet. "You're the one who suggested our arrangement. I thought that you already knew what it would entail."
"Well. I guess I know now. And I mean it. You don't get this body unless you wipe out my father's debt."
"Fine." His own hands clenched. For a wild moment he wanted to forbid her from being with any man other than him while she lived in the palace, but given her temperament, she'd probably go out and sleep with every man she could find just to spite him. "Like I said, I don't need sex from you. Now get cleaned up and dressed. I expect you downstairs in half an hour."
"But you said—"
"I changed my mind. I'm going to be meeting with a human police representative. Apparently, there have been an unusual amount of kidnappings this year. You will be there in case something happens and I need some fresh blood. In fact, you are to be with me at all times except for night. Now go get ready. You have clothes in the wardrobe."
Aria bared her teeth at him but didn't say another word as she spun on her heel and marched back into her bedroom. Gavin turned away, carding his fingers through his hair. What was it about this woman that drove him so crazy?
