Darkened Days

by C. L. Quinn

  Her finger slipped deeper and she laid her head back. When she opened her eyes a moment later, she watched as his eyes darted back to her hand again.

  He’d had enough. She should know better than to tease and tempt him. A whoosh of air and he was on her, pulling her hands up and away from her crotch. Starla leaned into him and pushed up on her knees to wrap her arms around his neck.

  He turned his head aside.

  “Starla, no. I’m your protector. I was sent here to bring you safely back to the villa where Eillia is waiting for you. You can stop right now. I won’t take advantage of you.”

  She grabbed his head and forced it around to face her breasts within inches of his tongue.

  “Sorry, protector. It’s too late for safe. And everyone else has taken a piece of me. Come on. You vampires love sex. I’m not too bad for a novice. I can give you a great hard-on and orgasm. Been told I have a wicked tongue. If I do that for you, will you show me what you meant? About making a woman scream?”

  He looked up at her just as she surged forward to press herself against him again. Her nipples grazed his forehead and he felt the rush of hot blood fill him. This could not happen. No matter how enticing, he would not become just another man who forced himself inside her to use her young body. It made him sick that he had not been able to find her sooner. Now that he had, she was going back to Koen’s if he had to carry her the entire way on his back. He smiled as he thought that it was probably exactly how it would go.

  Starla found him a challenge. Every vampire and human man she’d met the past few months wanted inside her. Jacob was the first one she thought she might want there. And he was telling her no. Pushing her away. It was a rejection she couldn’t accept. What made him different? Because he thought of himself as some sort of hero? Fuck that!

  He made a move to step back just as she lunged at him, her long legs curled around his waist, her arms wrapped tightly around his broad shoulders. She could feel heavily muscled arms catch her before they both fell to the ground. He was so much bigger than the cadre. Why did she find that so stimulating? And why the hell did she wonder if he would feel different inside her than the others? The last thing she ever thought she’d want was to encourage a vampire to fuck her.

  Wrapped so close, his scent overwhelmed her. Her lips were nearly touching his neck. She shot her tongue out to taste his skin and felt his body jerk. With no warning to either of them, Starla suddenly buried her fangs in his neck and began to draw. It wasn’t her intention; she knew it was considered rude to draw blood from a vampire without consent. Just suddenly she wanted to taste him so intensely, she didn’t even think about what she was doing. She barely heard his deep groan of protest. Funny, she thought, as she drew hard and fast on blood that tasted better than anything in her life. Funny, how his groan of protest was more erotic than protesting. She was stunned and thrilled when his arms tightened around her and he pulled her against his fully engorged cock as it strained against his jeans. His hands moved up to encircle her head, his fingers twisted into her hair as he nudged her back against the wall and then licked all the way down her neck as she sucked from his.

  Was this what it was supposed to be like? Starla felt intoxicated and so turned on she wanted him inside her immediately. His tongue couldn’t be doing anything much different than the boys had done, right? But it electrified her skin every place he touched.

  Starla pulled her fangs and leaned back to give him full access. His tongue became more aggressive, twisting down her neck, nipping, and stopped suddenly only when she snapped the bra loose and her breasts were free for him to continue his taste test.

  Jacob held her close and stared at the perfect rose tipped breasts with nothing at all between him and those nipples. It was obvious she wanted him to continue. He desperately did, too. But he lifted her off him, ignored the straining penis that already missed her against it, and pushed her gently back away from him. It was a struggle to stand upright as he pushed himself back from her to gain more distance. Every neuron in his brain told him he needed to get back on her and bury himself in her until he did make her scream. In ecstasy. Right now, he wanted nothing more than to taste every inch of her.

  His voice was deep as he spoke, desperate to sound normal.

  “You need to get anything you want to keep from the cadre’s lair. I’m taking you to Eillia as soon as I can.”

  With her hair wild and her breasts exposed, the nipples still erect, Jacob almost said to hell with it, and took her right there on that dirty carpet.

  Starla stood proudly in front of him, no need to cover herself.

  She knew she turned him on. She knew she was making this harder for him. Just to punish him, she ran her tongue around her lips and moved her hand caressingly across her taut stomach.

  “You think the cadre will let you take me?”

  “You think they can stop me?”

  “I think you’re a lot bigger than they are. But there are a lot more of them. So, yeah. I think they’ll stop you.”

  “What about you? Do you want to stay with them?”

  She was silent. And turned away. She moved at vampire high speed toward the front of the market and just cleared the entrance when he grabbed her.

  A struggle began, but Starla realized she’d never win, so she stopped and went slack in his arms.

  “What the hell do you want from me? I offered you sex, but you refused. I told you I won’t go back with you. So what is it you want?”

  “I want to make sure they aren’t abusing you. I want to get you back to the Orientales safely. Back to Eillia who really does care for you. These asshole baby vamps don’t.” He hesitated, then decided to push forward. “Are they abusing you? Sexually? You have to tell me. I’ll kill every one of them permanently.”

  “Look. I’ve reconciled with this. I know what I am. They made it clear. So you can stop taking responsibility for me. I doubt I ever had a grand future anyway. Beats carving up fish and frying it in whale lard for six kids in a shack. Anyway. You don’t even know me. I sure the hell don’t know you. Tell Eillia I’m fine and she can stop worrying. The time to have given a shit was before I fell into this steaming pile of vampire crap. But she didn’t trust me enough. Oh, well. Some of us are predators and some of us are prey. Luckily, I’m not just prey anymore. Goodbye, Hero.”

  Once again, she tried to speed from him, but Jacob could move much faster than a new vampire. Age brought more strength and power, not less, in a vampire.

  He caught her easily again, took her wrists firmly in his hands, and held her loosely enough to avoid hurting her, but tight enough she couldn’t even begin to pull free. And she tried. Minutes later, she looked up at him.

  “There’s no point in this, old man. I’m where I belong now. There’s no way to make me human again, right? Just…” She sighed deeply, her uncovered breasts pushed into him. Then she glanced away and back at him. “Just let me alone. Go home, Jacob.”

  He looked into her eyes and saw defeat. Pain. Shame? Nothing in this world would convince him now to leave her behind. He unbuttoned his shirt, slipped it off, and gave it to her.

  “Cover yourself. We’re out in public.”

  She took the big shirt, buttoned up two of the buttons, and hugged her arms close to her body as she inhaled his scent from the soft fabric. He really did have the sexiest scent. Her eyes moved across his body, now partially unclothed, and studied the tight muscled chest, arms and beautifully defined abs. Warring instincts attacked her. She wanted to keep the shirt close so she could always smell him. And she wanted to throw it off to press against his naked skin. One look at his face made the decision for her. She kept wrapped tight inside his shirt.

  Starla wasn’t sure she’d ever felt as safe as she did right at that moment. Because she was beginning to believe he might actually be some kind of hero.

  “Is there anything at the cadre’s lair you want?” Jacob asked again.

  Starla shook her head. “Nothing. Except I
want to say goodbye to someone. I’ll go with you without resistance if you let me tell someone I’m leaving. He’s been a good friend.”

  “He?”

  “Yes. The only one of the lot who’s been kind all this time. Most of the others are complete assholes. I figure it comes with the territory.”

  “It doesn’t.” Jacob captured her face in his hands and forced her to look at him.

  “It doesn’t. Vampires are not assholes. We’re human just as we have always been. It’s just that some asshole humans become asshole vampires. And some humans think that our special abilities make them gods. That’s why we have rules. That’s why your cadre of youth are riding for a fall. I want you gone when that happens. You don’t belong there. So, I agree to those terms. But make it quick.”

  Starla nodded and followed him to a car he’d “borrowed” from a man back in Paris.

  Once back in the city, she took him into the basement of a long-abandoned warehouse. As she led him through the hallways and down the narrow stairwell, she realized she’d never really noticed how bad it smelled. She was embarrassed to have him know she’d been living like this for two months. When they hit the bottom of the stairs, she turned to him and pressed him back with her hands.

  “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”

  “No. I’m coming with you.”

  “It won’t go well. They’re likely to consider you a threat. You might get hurt.”

  Jacob tilted his head.

  “You think so? You have so much to learn about vampires, little Star. I’m not letting you go in there alone. It’s my way or we’re gone.”

  She shrugged. “Okay. But I warned you.”

  Leading him deeper into the darkened cavernous basement, she moved around several pallets of boxes that looked like they had been there for decades. Finally, a dim light came from beyond a distant wall.

  “That’s where we sleep. It’s safe for daytime. And pretty defensible if someone found us.”

  As they reached the final turn around a dust-covered large industrial machine, Jacob had an immediate sense of terror. Someone in that room was terrified, he could feel it. Starla had surged ahead of him and he rushed to pull her back. But it was too late. He saw several young people in various positions all around the room. None of them were moving. He knew immediately what it meant.

  “Starla…” he started to say as she ran over to a tall young man frozen in position in the center of the room.

  It was all he got out as he felt his entire body stop, unable to move a muscle, or even speak. It wasn’t unfamiliar to him, he’d felt it before. Once. A year ago in Vancouver. The ability of a first blood. Freezing humans and vampires was just one of their skills.

  He could still hear and see what was happening around him although he couldn’t move anything. Starla was within his line of sight and he saw her press her hands against the still face of the tall young man.

  She called out “Henri” and turned toward Jacob just as she froze, her body twisted and locked in the movement of turning. Jacob saw the panic in her eyes. He wanted to be able to reassure her that it was alright but he couldn’t speak.

  She couldn’t know what was going on. He did. The first blood that resided in Paris, the one his friend Sarah was blood-bonded to. He must be here to deal with the cadre. They’d broken too many covenants to be allowed to continue unchallenged. Jacob and Starla were just in the wrong place at the wrong time and swept up in his wake.

  He knew eventually he could sort this out. But for the moment, all he wanted was to assure Starla it was okay. They were trapped until the first blood decided to let them move again. He knew they’d be transported to a secure location before that happened.

  A flash of movement to his right drew his attention. Someone was moving amongst the frozen bodies. He came into view a moment later. A huge vampire. Koen’s size. Long blonde hair tied back. Sharp cut jaw, intense glowing eyes. First blood, without doubt. Sarah’s vampire, Xavier. He stopped briefly to stare at Jacob.

  “Huh,” the first blood said, then turned away.

  A moment later Jacob lost consciousness.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  He woke disoriented. Every muscle in his back and legs ached. With a push, Jacob lifted himself off a hard concrete floor. Even his eyes hurt as he moved them around the room to assess the situation. The air had a cool dankness, a certain dense, moist quality that told him they were underground again. Only this time he was in a cell, the thick iron bars crossing the front of the small enclosure were evidence he was exactly where he thought he would be. In a holding cell. When he was steady enough on his feet, he walked over to the cell door and tried to disengage the lock, but it didn’t budge. He didn’t expect it to. First blood skills. It was spelled to stay locked. Shit!

  After his eyes adjusted to the low light, he looked around to see if he could find anyone else, but could only see the front of many cells lined up and down a corridor. Between his cell and the adjacent cells, a concrete wall kept him from seeing his neighbors. He heard no other sounds so he assumed the others were still unconscious. All he cared about was Starla. Just before he’d gone out, he’d had a desperate need to get to her. To protect her. He’d awakened with the same need.

  Jacob hated the loss of control more than anything. Vampires generally did what they wanted to do, so to be at someone else’s mercy was awful. He should be able to break free and find his woman with no trouble.

  He dropped back and leaned against the wall. His woman? Hardly. Never. She was his mission, was all. He’d be an idiot to think of her as anything more. Eillia entrusted him to get her back safely and he would do that if it killed him. Or anyone who got in his way.

  A loud scraping sound and then the screech of hinges on a heavy metal door let him know someone was coming. He pushed upright quickly and was at the front of his cell when a smaller figure came into view. A woman. Vampire. Not first blood, he thought. He hoped. Bleached blonde. Pretty. Pitch dark eyes like most vampires. Brilliant electric red lipstick that seemed to hurt his eyes when he looked at her. She smiled.

  “So. Are you the leader of this misbegotten group of baby vampires?”

  Oh, fuck! They thought he was responsible for this. He was the only older vampire on the premises.

  “No. Just unfortunate. I was there to bring someone home who had been turned against her will. If you would want to…”

  The smile faded and she cut him off.

  “You’re a pretty one. No wonder you were able to charm the kids. Of course, you weren’t smart enough to figure someone would take an interest. Our own little Fagin. You have been around long enough to know the rules. Probably shocked the fuck out of you when he froze you. It shocked the fuck out of me the first time he did it to me. Now, I’ll take over.”

  She stepped closer to the cell.

  “He doesn’t get his hands dirty with this part of it. I’m Crystal, and you’re all mine now. You see, I get to be judge, jury, and executioner. We don’t change humans against their will. We don’t build obvious groups of young feeding vampires to make the human community take notice. We don’t use our “makes” for sex and playthings. You, sir, have a lot to atone for. I don’t know yet how this will play out for you. My investigation and recommendation will determine that. So, comply and maybe you’ll live to see another summer. For now, here’s your dinner. Bon appétit!”

  She threw a clear plastic bag into the cell, then turned away. Nothing Jacob said brought her back.

  This was a totally fucked up rescue from day one to now. Two months of hell to end up here in serious jeopardy of taking the fall for all of this. Bas and Eillia would look for him, but he didn’t know how soon. And he didn’t think they would know where to start. This was something he could never have anticipated. Being implicated in this was serious unless he could get his friends to clear his name. Or if the young vampires would clear it. He turned to sit down on the cold floor again and rolled the blood bag between his hands. He doubted the
arrogant young vamps would be any help.

  “I’m humped,” he said out loud as he tore open the bag, turned it up and squeezed. God, that was awful!

  Starla woke so abruptly she twisted her neck. She grabbed it and massaged the strained curve as she stood and looked around. Okay. They were in jail? What the hell? Well, a jail cell couldn’t hold a vampire. She started toward the cell door to open it and leave when she saw Marina balled up in the corner. How did they get here? The last thing she remembered was Jacob. With his arms around her. She felt a flood of warmth between her legs at the memory.

  No. Not the last memory. The warehouse. They’d gone there so she could say goodbye to Henri. And found something terrible going on. She remembered Jacob calling her name before she lost consciousness. Wait. There was something else. Something weird. Yeah. She’d been frozen in place. Couldn’t move a muscle. So had Henri. What were they, that they could freeze powerful vampires?

  For a moment she thought about kicking Marina with her foot to wake her. They weren’t friends. Marina had treated her worse than anyone these last months. Repeatedly told her she was puny and ugly when she knew she wasn’t. But it rocked her confidence, which was never that strong before she was a vampire, and only a little better since.

  The nice girl buried inside the wild vampire still reared her head sometimes. So she squatted and shook Marina gently.

  The ill-tempered vampire woke up ill-tempered. Surprise, thought Starla as she stood up and backed away.

  Marina rolled upright and looked around, bounced accusatory eyes back to Starla.

  “Il n aurait jamais du te transformer!”

  “English, bitch!” Starla barked. The nice girl inside approved. “And I wish he hadn’t changed me too.”