by Morgan Hawke
* * * *
The lights of the city spread before them and other vehicles began to course the road with them. Sygni thanked the powers that the night hid where Galen's hands were from the other drivers. She was near mindless with lust, but held onto her sanity with grim determination.
They ramped onto a lighted highway and Galen continued with his torturous ministration on her clit and nipple. Truck drivers began honking in friendly acknowledgement.
Sygni grit her teeth. The vampire was definitely going to regret this...
They rolled into the heart of downtown and Galen's hands stopped as he looked around at the fanciful glass and steel of the buildings rising around them.
Sygni turned into a parking garage under one of the taller buildings. She stopped at the blockade.
Galen leaned over her shoulder. “You live here? In a skyscraper?"
"In the penthouse.” Sygni swiped her parking pass through the sensor. She rolled onward and began the long drive up, and up and up to the top of the parking deck.
Sygni stopped the bike in her assigned parking spot with a sigh of relief.
"Sygni,” the vampire whispered in her ear. “Let's fuck. Right here, right now."
Sygni stiffened on the saddle of the bike. Her entire body howled with eagerness. She was afraid of what he was asking for, and afraid of the rabid strength of her own desire. She was afraid to let go of the handlebars.
Galen pulled his hands free, then kicked his leg over the back of the bike, dismounting. He unbuttoned his long coat and walked to her side. He reached up and unbuckled her helmet, pulling it free.
She turned to face him, still afraid to dismount.
Galen set his hand over hers on the handlebar. His eyes were dilated wide to black rings around flame. “Sygni...” He leaned forward and captured her mouth in a soft kiss.
She moaned softly and gave in to his kiss. Ferocious hunger rose. She released the handlebars and grabbed the shoulders of his coat for balance, kissing him with all the raging pent-up lust in her body.
He groaned and closed his arms around her waist. His hungry mouth devoured her tongue and nipped at her lips with distracting skill as he gently pulled her from the bike. His kisses drove her back until she leaned against the magically balancing Valkyrie. With blinding speed he unzipped her long coat and unfastened her jacket. In a single breath, he unbuttoned her shirt. He cupped her bared breasts in both palms and squeezed.
Sygni moaned into his mouth. Mother Night, he was good with his hands...
Galen dropped a hand to her pants and he had them open in half a second. He shoved his hand inside, burrowing straight down. His fingers found her wet flesh and he growled deep in his chest. He shoved a finger straight up into her, pinching a nipple at the same time.
Sygni gasped into his mouth and bucked against his hand. She felt him release her breast to grab the back of her pants. He yanked them down over her hips, then past her ass. She jerked her mouth free. “Galen..."
"Sygni, don't.” His eyes blazed with hunger and his jaw was set with determination. “We're driving each other insane, we need to fuck.” He yanked his hand out of her pants and turned her around, lifting her, then shoving her over onto her stomach across the bike's saddle. He groaned. “Mother of God, you have a nice ass."
Sygni gasped softly. He was going to fuck her over her bike? She struggled briefly but, her feet were barely touching the ground and her pants had her legs trapped together. “Galen, I have a perfectly good bed."
He pressed a hand between her shoulders to keep her down and jerked at his kilt. “I can't wait that long, and I don't think you can either.” The folds of his coat draped her hips.
Sygni felt the heat of a rigidly hard cock against her ass. Raw hunger roared through her and cream dripped down her legs. The broad head of his cock pressed between her thighs. She pushed up on her toes and raised her ass to meet him without thought.
He found her wet folds, grabbed her hip and pushed with agonizing slowness. She felt her flesh stretch to receive him and gasped. Bloody Mother Night, he was big, and hard, and long ... She hadn't had a cock like this in far too long. She groaned.
He gasped and stilled, only partway in. “Am I hurting you?"
"No,” she panted out. “No, you feel really ... good.” He wasn't moving. She looked over her shoulder. His face was tight with concentration. She rolled her eyes and shifted her hips. “I'm not fragile. Get in here and fuck me, damn it!"
He smiled and chuckled softly. “My pleasure.” His hand tightened on her hip. He rammed home.
They both gasped.
"God, you're fucking tight...” His hand closed on her shoulder and he pulled back to thrust hard. The bike rocked under the impact.
Sygni gasped. “Hela's tits! Yes!"
"Fuck yeah...” He dropped over her back to cup her breasts with brutal strength. Closing her tight in his arms, he thrust into her wet and more than willing body. He pulled back and thrust again, and then again, gaining in speed and power. He fucked her hard enough to jolt her across the saddle. The wet sounds of thrusting flesh and the sharp sounds of his hips slapping against her ass echoed in the parking deck.
Sygni twisted under him. She could feel his balls pounding her clit deliciously with every stroke. Fire mounted and burned in her core. She could feel her climax rising with maddening speed and vicious intent.
"You're close.” Galen's breath was harsh in her ear. “Cum on my cock, sweetheart. Cum on my cock and make me feel it. I'll be right behind you.” His thrusts suddenly increased in tempo. “Cum now!"
Sygni tensed and her breath caught. Climax roared up in a hot wet tidal wave and crashed in a glittering blaze of erotic fire. She shouted out her release and writhed in frenzy beneath him.
He growled. “Yes...” He grabbed her chin, angling her head, then his mouth closed on her throat. His teeth pierced her.
Sygni gasped. He bit me? Suddenly a second wave of climax screamed through her. She howled with the rushing ferocity.
He thrust hard, then thrust again, then once more and held tight within her. His cock pulsed, pumping her full of his semen as he sucked the blood from her throat.
* * * *
Sygni leaned back against the wall of the elevator with her arms folded across her chest. She scowled at the vampire. Her knees were still shaking. He'd had to help her up from the bike and set her clothes to rights. “I don't believe you bit me."
Galen sighed and shifted against the far wall. His jaw was set, but his eyes were still hot as he held her gaze. “I'm a vampire, it's what we do."
Sygni's frown deepened. “Every time you have sex?"
Galen refused to look away. “Yes. I can't cum without it."
Sygni's brows shot up. “So you can't masturbate?"
Galen choked out a laugh and his cheeks pinked. “No.” He looked away briefly. “It just gets me really frustrated.” He smiled tightly. “I can't even drink blood without getting a hardon."
Sygni snorted. “That must have been quite a problem when you were drinking it from a bag."
Galen curled his lip. “It was, thank you very much."
"While we are on the subject...” Sygni felt her cheeks heat. “Do you want to tell me why I had blood running down my legs instead of jizz?"
Galen's cheeks blushed a deep red. He dropped his eyes to the floor. “My semen is blood-based."
"Blood-based?” Sygni thought it over. “Well, you are a vampire, so it makes sense..."
Galen rolled his eyes and turned slightly away. “I'm glad it makes sense to you, because it still freaks my shit out."
Sygni sighed. “Galen, according to everything I've read, vampires are normally made by infection, not by impregnation."
He scowled at her. “No one I've slept with has gone vampire."
Sygni smiled sourly. “I'm betting that you have to get them right damned close to death to knock out the body's natural immune system. Then have them drink a shit-load of your blood on t
op of your semen to turn them."
Galen shrugged. “I don't know. It's not something I've tried."
Sygni nodded. “Good. Don't.” She smiled sourly. “I don't want to go into the vampire pest-control business."
"Neither do I.” Galen gave her bitter smile. “I don't like killing people I've fucked."
The elevator door dinged and opened.
"That's nice to know.” Sygni rolled away from the wall. “Follow me."
~ Five ~
The whitewashed hallway was short and contained one door. Sygni waved at the door across from the elevator. “That's the stairs, if you ever feel like walking yourself to death. We're thirty-six stories up.” She strode for the blank wall at the far end of the hall. She pulled out her keys and waved her hand. A door appeared.
"Holy shit!"
Sygni smiled. “It's an illusion. If thieves don't know a door is there, they can't break in.” She unlocked the door and swung it wide. “Welcome to my humble abode."
Galen stepped in and looked around with wide eyes. “You call this humble?"
Sygni shrugged. “Well, no, not really."
The main room was huge with enormous Persian carpets in black and gold spread across the thick dark red carpeting. Occasional pools of amber light spilled from the stained glass floor lamps. Reproduction paintings of her favorite Art Nouveau artists were scattered all over the distant dark paneled walls. A pair of massive black leather couches commanded the very center. They faced each other across a heavy black marble coffee table covered in books.
Bookcases of every size and description acted as walls sectioning off parts of the room. Her office area held a massive black oak computer desk jammed tight with three monitors and every conceivable form of computer equipment. More bookcases filled with ring binders of printouts lined the entire area. Another area cordoned off by yet more bookcases held her big-screen TV, a black leather loveseat and her stereo system.
Sygni walked over to the apartment's best feature and hit a button on the wall. The entire wall rolled up to the ceiling, revealing a massive window that displayed her huge patio garden and small beautifully hand-tiled in-ground pool lit by underwater lights. The night-draped city twinkled in the distance.
Galen nearly choked. “You have a fucking pool?"
Sygni grinned. “That's the hot-tub.” She pointed to the smaller octagonal pool that commanded the center of one wall on the pool. The tub sat about two feet above the pool's edge. Water trickled over into the main pool, acting as a small decorative waterfall.
"How the hell do you afford all this?"
Sygni shrugged. “This is a banking tower. They pay me to live here and keep bad things away from their money."
Galen whistled softly. “Nice work, if you can get it."
Sygni turned away. “Not really. I have to do regular checks of this whole fucking building from basement to roof about once a week. Takes me all damned day to do one, too. On top of that, I'm on call twenty-four-seven."
"How often do you have to deal with bad things?"
Sygni lifted her shoulder. “About once a month; that's why I live here. They got tired of paying my contractor's fees and offered me the penthouse instead."
Galen frowned. “Who lived here before you did?"
"Nobody. The penthouse was haunted by the architect that built it, so no one wanted to stay here.” She walked across the main room. “Come on, I'll show you the rest."
The relatively small kitchen held a dining nook overlooking yet another floor-to-ceiling window, and all the appliances a chef could dream of.
Sygni snorted. “I barely know what half this stuff is for."
Galen looked around with interest. “I do."
Sygni turned to him sharply. “You eat? As in, food?"
Galen shrugged. “Uh, no, but I do cook and I can still taste."
"You can cook?” Sygni raised her brow. “What exactly did you do before you were turned?"
Galen gave her a droll look. “I rotted in the grave."
Sygni snorted. “Before that?"
"I was training to be a chef. I was going down route sixty-six heading for this bigwig chef's school in California, and then something small hit my chest. I flew backwards off the bike and woke up on a table with some guy telling me that he'd dug me out of the ground and I was a vampire."
Sygni shook her head and led the way out of the kitchen. “What were you doing in the ground this far from California?"
Galen shrugged as he followed her back across the main room to the far wall. “I have family up here, or I did. I guess they carted my body back north to bury me.” He looked away. “I don't even know what cemetery he got me out of."
"That's simple enough to find. I have one hell of a computer. All we have to do is look for corpses stolen the week before you were raised.” Sygni pulled open a pair of smoked glass double doors. “In the meantime, this is my workroom. Come on in."
The room was big and empty. The walls and the ceiling were painted stark black with more red carpeting. A broad but low circular wooden platform took up almost the entire floor covered in a brilliant and perfectly round Persian carpet. On each of the walls hung a small decorative shelf with a thick white pillar candle squatting on it. The only furniture was a broad antique marble-topped dresser set right in front of a black velvet draped window. The small statues, decorative candleholders and pagan knick-knacks that covered the dresser's surface had taken her years to collect. A pair of ceremonial daggers—one with a white handle, and one with a black—were her most prized possessions.
Sygni knelt to roll up the carpet that covered the platform, revealing the gigantic and intricate pentacle carved into the highly polished wood. The detailed design was painted in brilliant colors that glimmered with spectral light. “Come on up here and let's take a look at your binding."
Galen stared at the glowing star and took a startled step back. “What?"
Sygni pushed the carpet onto the floor. “I want to see if I can remove the spell on you, so you can't be turned back into a corpse."
Galen frowned. “Why?"
Sygni got to her feet. “That is a stupid question."
Galen's hands fisted at his sides. “No, really, why would you want to do that for me?"
Sygni rolled her eyes. “Galen, it's my job to fix magical messes..."
"So I'm a mess?” He scowled. “Is that all I am to you?"
Sygni gave him a level stare “Right now you are what I consider a mess. You are a human that has been bewitched into something he never should have been, with the potential to become a serious problem."
"So now I'm a problem?"
"A potential problem.” Sygni scowled to keep from showing the pain gripping her heart. Damn, stubborn, idiot ... “You are currently the slave of a sorcerer that obviously has no idea how to use the vampire he's made. That makes you a mess, not a problem, at least not yet."
"Use me?” Galen threw out his hands. “I'm strong and fast. Big deal! I can only operate past sunset. What good is that to anyone?"
Sygni focused on Galen's pained expression. “Like I said, your sorcerer didn't do his homework or he would have known that vampires have the power of command. You didn't have to break into Morwyn's castle, you could have gone to her front door and asked for it."
"Say ... what?"
"You can stare into someone's eyes and influence their mind."
Galen raised a brow. “You're saying that I have the ancient Jedi mind trick?"
"In spades, Fang-boy.” Sygni smiled sourly. “Galen, very few people can resist a vampire's influence. Haven't you noticed that getting laid was really easy once you caught someone's eye?"
Galen snorted. “I noticed that it didn't work so good on you."
Sygni gave him a tired smile. “I'm a very powerful sorceress. I can resist it, to some degree. The average person doesn't even stand a chance."
"Oh...” Galen turned his head and stared into the shadows. “It's not something I di
d on purpose..."
"No, you wouldn't.” Sygni rubbed her forehead. That had to be a blow to the ego to realize that people weren't sleeping with you because they liked you, but because they were being influenced into it, and didn't have any real choice. “You're not the kind to abuse a talent like this."
Galen dropped his chin and lowered his brows. “If this guy does figure out how to use me, you honestly think I'll just let him do that?"
"Galen, I have no doubt in my mind that you will fight him. You are a creature of magic and as such, you possess some natural resistance to it.” Sygni set her jaw. “But you are no match against a trained sorcerer. Sooner or later he will make you do his bidding. When that happens, you become a serious problem that I will be called in to fix, probably by the authorities."
"Fix? How?"
"I will have to hunt down this sorcerer, and either break his power over you, or kill him.” She took a deep breath to speak past the sudden lump in her throat. “And once his power is gone, you will revert to being a corpse."
"Shit..."
"And I don't...” Sygni's voice tightened to whisper. “I don't want that to happen if I can prevent it. You may have been raised from the grave, but you're alive now and deserve to keep what life you have.” She stomped her foot in frustration and sucked in a deep breath. “Now, will you let me see what he did, and maybe do something about it?"
Galen let the coat slide from his shoulders. “What do you need me to do?"
Sygni released her breath. “Get naked, then get up here."
* * * *
The dozens of lit candles on the dresser—her altar—along with the four candles on the walls cast very little light compared to the ephemeral blaze from the pentacle on the floor.
Galen groaned, spread out on his stomach stark naked and magnificent in the center of the blazing star. His arms and legs occupied four of the star's points with his head at the fifth. “I feel like a human sacrifice waiting to happen."
Sygni stepped over him and straddled his hips, facing his head. “According to what's scrawled all over your body, you've already been there and done that.” Her brows lowered as she examined the shimmering colors of the sorcerer's spell bleeding from under his skin. She did not like the look of what she was seeing. The tracery of power was everywhere, running through every damned inch of him. “Mother Night, you're a mess."
