by Lucinda Dark
Maverick, I kind of expected to invade my personal space. Torin, on the other hand, was more conscious of that. At least, I thought he was…
“What were you talking with him about?” he asked, pinning me with a dark glare.
My mouth gaped open. I looked to one side and then the other. Nope. Couldn’t find it. I scratched my head. Maybe behind me? I turned completely around, but still nothing.
“Barbie,” he barked. “What are you looking for? Answer the question.”
I spun back to him and placed my hands on my hips. “I’m looking for who the fuck you think you’re talking to,” I said, “because I know you aren’t talking to me like that.”
Torin reached forward and snagged my arm, his fingers squeezing around my bicep. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to let me know that he had me in an unbreakable grip. I knew because I fucking tried to subtly pull back, but his fingers were locked on tight as he dragged me down the hallway. He didn’t stop until we were sequestered under a small side staircase, hidden just out of sight of any passersby.
“First a closet, now hiding out under a staircase,” I griped. “What’s next? An alleyway? A grate covered sewer?”
Torin released me. I rubbed my arm, feeling a strange current under my skin where he’d touched even though his skin hadn’t actually brushed mine. Just the warmth of his hand through my shirt was all I needed to know what would happen if he actually touched me flesh on flesh. I shoved it to the back of my mind as Torin stepped forward, pushing me back against the wall and further into the shadows. His arms came down hard on either side of me. A darkness covered the upper half of his face as he leaned towards me.
“Torin,” I said his name with a warning. I squirmed under his gaze, confused and ridiculously aware of his nearness. His muscles tightened and flexed on either side of me. I tried—boy, I fucking tried hard—not to look at them.
“Be very careful, Barbie,” he said. His voice was deeper than the ocean, sweltering with thick boiling lava. The sound of it sank past my defenses like a knife through butter. Easy. With little to no resistance. An ache swelled low in my stomach. “Be very, very careful.”
I sucked in a breath and shored up my fortitude. “What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” I demanded. “Don’t think I’ve forgotten about what you did. I’m still fucking pissed with you. The hell you have the right to come to me and tell me to be careful.”
Torin’s eyes closed, his lashes falling down to brush against his upper cheeks. In the darkened corner, the shadows threw a grotesquely unique image across his face. It highlighted the bridge of his nose, his forehead, and his right cheek, leaving the rest of his face—and his expression—in vague obscurity.
With a growl, I ducked under one arm and started to walk away. Before I even made it two steps, however, cold fingers locked on my wrist, skin to skin—just what I’d been trying to avoid—and yanked me back. My spine met the wall, this time with much more ferocity. A hand clasped my throat and Torin lifted his eyes. I sucked in a breath and froze when his lashes lifted and a dark red glow moved over my skin.
“Torin…” His name escaped on a breath, quiet, shocked. This wasn’t Torin anymore. This was his vampire. In school. In broad daylight. Not good. So not fucking good.
His eyes roved over me before he dipped his head in one smooth, animalistic movement as his hand slid down, leaving my neck and brushing between my breasts, moving lower until he cupped my belly, his fingers working their way beneath my shirt. A lance of pleasure-pain shot through me as he pressed his lips to my neck. Right. Over. My. Pulse. My eyes slid shut of their own accord. I swallowed roughly, my throat working against his mouth.
“You smell different than before.” It took me several moments to hear the words he spoke. When I did, I forced my eyes to open. “There’s brimstone in your veins now,” he growled, the sound vibrating over my flesh.
Fuck, it hurt. But it was a different kind of hurt. It was the kind of pain that made me flinch away at first and then lift towards it when it disappeared. As if my body couldn’t handle it, but wanted it all the same. My chest rose and fell with my harsh breathing. My vision faded as Torin lifted his head and pushed his hips forward, pinning me harder against the wall.
“I want to devour you,” he whispered.
From any other vampire, that might have been a threat. A warning of death to come. From Torin, though, it merely reminded me of the last time he’d “devoured” me. My body tightened at the memory. My thighs clenched for a brief moment before he shoved one of his knees forward. Separating them and pushing up until the inside of my jeans rubbed insistently over the pounding bundle of nerves between my legs. I gasped and reached out, my nails gouging into his arms as I latched on, needing something to ground me.
“Yes,” he hissed in my ear. “Mark me, Sweetheart.” My fingers tightened, my nails digging deeper as his hand slid down another few inches, just above my waistband. It didn’t matter what my brain said, my body was screaming at me to take him. My stomach cramped with need.
I panted, the desire too much, and he hadn’t even kissed me yet. My brain descended into a fog of longing. I felt the scrape of Torin’s fangs up the side of my throat, each soft scratch against my skin lifting me higher and higher until I was floating on the feeling of his body against mine. His knee was right where I needed it to be. All I needed to do was give in and stop fighting my hunger for him.
“Let me, Barbie,” he said against my face, his lips touching my jaw and sliding back up to my ear. Shivers chased down my spine. My hips shifted and he moved closer, a hand sliding behind my back as he canted my body forward until I slid down the length of his thigh. My clit ground against the inside of my jeans, sending volts of pleasure racing through me. It hurt so fucking good. I didn’t want to stop. “Let me feed you,” Torin said.
Feed.
Desire.
Hunger.
Fuck.
So close. I was so close to the fucking pinnacle, I was trembling beneath the weight of it. I knew all I needed was another touch. Something firmer. Something rougher. And I’d be there. He must have known it too.
Torin’s fingers moved down into the waistband of my jeans and straight past the elastic band of my panties until they touched my core. Thick, strong fingers slid through my folds, touching my wetness, and pressed against the button of my clit and fireworks erupted. I cried out as white blinded me. A mouth landed on mine—either to muffle the sound or drink it in, I wasn’t sure.
Torin barreled through until his tongue swirled against mine. His hand at my back urged me forward, closer to him. His fingers in my underwear played against me, not stopping long enough to let me catch my breath as I went skydiving into the next orgasm. It stole my very breath from my chest. I couldn’t fucking see. I couldn’t fucking breathe. All I could do was let myself be consumed by him.
It took several minutes for me to come down from the high and when I did, I regretted it almost immediately. Not because it had been him. Not because I hadn’t enjoyed it. But because as soon as I came down and my eyes opened, a spike of agony sliced through my abdomen. It took every ounce of willpower I fucking had to keep from screaming out. As it was, I felt wet fluid against my fingernails as I dug them into Torin’s shoulders. I’d drawn blood, I realized.
He hadn’t fed me at all. He’d just made it worse. I shoved him away without preamble and used the last of my reserves to stumble away from him lest I jump his fucking bones which was exactly what my body was demanding I do.
Even knowing that he could catch me had he wanted to, I sprinted for the exit. I didn’t even stop when I got to my car. I shoved my key into the door and then the ignition before fumbling for my backpack. I yanked the zipper open so hard that it snapped in my grip, breaking off. I didn’t give a shit. I reached inside, found one of Esperanza’s vials and popped the cap. I held my breath, pinched my nose and dumped the contents down my throat. It tasted like rotting rat carcasses, but I swallowed it.
> As soon as the pain receded, I sank down into the driver’s seat and covered my face with my hands. This couldn’t keep going. I couldn’t keep this up. One way or another, I was going to break. Maverick or Torin. Whoever was there when I did would have no choice, no say in the matter.
They’ve already had their say, Satrina reminded me. And they want you as much as you want them.
I screamed and punched my steering wheel. “Shut the fuck up!” I snapped. “This is your fucking fault.”
There was a moment of silence and then she replied. As she spoke, her voice remained even. Impassive. Chilled. You agreed to the contract, Barbie. You can place the blame wherever you want, but I didn’t force you to sign. You wanted my power and I warned you of the circumstances. You didn’t heed that warning. Desire comes with consequences. Especially the desire for power.
I gasped as a wave of it hit me. As muted by the potion as it was, I still felt it. A typhoon in my body, pounding against the barriers I’d thrown up. Each time they hit, a little bit more was chipped away. Soon enough, I’d have no resistance at all and any choice I could make would be made for me.
I closed my eyes as scalding hot tears leaked out. They ran down my cheeks, and I lifted a shaking hand to cover my mouth. I knew what she meant. I knew what my body was saying. And as much as I hated it, the time for me to realize it was coming.
Resistance was utterly futile.
Twenty
Torin
I tore into the blood bag with a vengeance. My thirst was at an all time high. I sucked down first one and then a second bag in record time. Still, the hunger churned in my gut. Slapping the empty bags on the countertop, I took a step back and scrubbed a hand down my face.
What I’d done to Barbie today … I hadn’t been able to stop. My vampire had taken over so quickly that I’d had no time to stop it. But I could still remember the smell of her in my nose. The taste of her flesh, salty and delicious, lingered on my tongue. I could practically feel the pounding of her heartbeat echoed in the throbbing of my dick. She’d come so beautifully against my fingers and even after she’d run off, I’d stayed behind and I hadn’t been able to resist the urge to lick her essence from my hand.
My jeans tightened over the strain of my erection as I recalled it. With a growl, I yanked the refrigerator door open and snatched another blood bag, tearing into that as if it would lessen the desire hammering at my insides. Was it because Barbie truly was my vampire’s mate? I couldn’t deny that she not only roused him but gave him power over me that I’d never seen or felt before. Or was what happened in England the cause? I didn’t know what else had been done to me other than the experimentation of how long I could go without blood and remain sane.
A noise from the front of the house drew my attention. After a few minutes, I had drained my last blood bag and dropped the plastic into the trash container before following the sound to the foyer. Katalin stood with her arms crossed as servants loaded up a town car. Her long legs were encased in tight black slacks and despite the fact that night had already fallen, she wore a pair of large sunglasses that covered most of her upper face.
“Katalin?” She turned my way as I approached.
“I’m leaving,” she announced. “I’ve been requested in Europe.”
I fell silent, but my whole body tensed. “England?” I finally managed to grit out.
She shook her head. “Not this time, no. I’m going straight to Arrius.” She turned back as a servant paused by her side and handed her a ring of keys. It didn’t escape my notice that she didn’t tell me where the bastard was or where in Europe she would be going. I didn’t ask. I knew I wouldn’t receive an answer and I was not in the mood to either be lied to or ignored. “I don’t know when I’ll be back,” Katalin said. I nodded, but she remained where she was. Turning her head marginally, I felt the weight of her gaze through the thin plastic of the sunglasses. “You still haven’t heeded my warning.”
“What warning?”
“The girl, the boy, and the witch remain unharmed. I warned you, Torin. See that it is done. This is your last notice.”
“Your warning is duly noted,” I replied cautiously. “But I actually have another question I’d like to ask.”
One delicate brown eyebrow arched over the top of her sunglasses. “Oh?”
I swallowed and stepped closer. “What can you tell me about vampire mates?”
Katalin froze and for a split second, I thought she wouldn’t answer. Then, carefully—oh so carefully—she reached up and withdrew her sunglasses from her face. When her lashes lifted, cool human hazel eyes stared back. “Vampire mates are rare,” she said quietly. “A vampire in possession of a mate is both at his or her strongest and … their weakest.”
“What if a vampire has a mate but is unable to claim them?” I pressed.
Ever so subtly, her brow arched even farther and then lowered just as quickly as she folded her glasses and put them in the purse dangling from her arm. “A vampire in the vicinity of his or her mate but unable to reach or claim them will experience a rush of side effects. For example, I can’t be certain since you’re dhampire and not full vampire, but if you were to be in this situation, you would notice certain changes in personality. You see your vampire as other from yourself. You would begin to exhibit more vampiric traits. Higher bloodthirst, etcetera. A true vampire, uninhibited by human qualities at all, would not be able to resist claiming their mate.” She met my eyes with a cold calculating stare. “Should you ever meet or come into contact with a possible mate, Torin, I suggest you do what I’ve already suggested.”
Katalin wasn’t an idiot. I knew as much when I asked the question. “How would I know if I came into contact with my vampire’s mate?”
In a silent turn of her head, Katalin closed her eyes and sighed before reopening them. “Your vampire would know,” she said, keeping her eyes lowered before lifting them. For the first time in my life, I saw true pity reflected in those depths. I couldn’t once recall, as a child, any sort of sympathy. Understanding, yes. Anger, certainly. Perhaps even caring. But never once had I seen pity as I did now. “It truly is the worst kind of cruelty to kill one’s mate.” The words were mere echoes of a whisper. A story wrapped in a single sentence of an action that may have long since passed, but whose agony still remained. “If you ever find her, Torin,” she said. “Kill her as gently as you can. Spare her what Arrius would do. Because if he were to get his claws into a dhampire’s mate, you would regret not doing it.”
I had nothing to respond with. No words would come to my lips. No action to my limbs. And Katalin didn’t wait for a response. She simply turned and strode for the front door, letting it swing closed behind her. The sound of her goodbye reverberated throughout the empty house.
I knew Katalin cared for me as much as she could care for another person. But still, with what I’d asked and with what she already knew, I wasn’t so naive to think I could keep all that I had. Maverick or Barbie. I needed to tell Barbie what I knew, and I needed to find a way to kill my father. I had little doubt that sooner or later, he would know everything. Katalin was as strong as she could be and I knew that even if she wanted to keep my secrets, she wouldn’t be able to. Arrius was old enough, powerful enough, that the truth would be forced from her now that she was within his reach.
And she would cave and bow down to him as pawns were meant to do to their king.
Twenty-One
Barbie
I was a liar. So much so that it was damn near compulsive at this point. When I came home after what happened with Torin, I was lucky enough that no one had been home, but by the next morning, I wasn't over it. I told Beth and Jon I was sick. I said I wasn’t sure what was wrong, that my head hurt, my body ached. Perhaps it wasn’t so much lying as it was directing their perspective of the truth. My head did hurt and my body did ache. But not because of any illness. I hid out like the fucking coward I knew I was.
The behavior lasted. I didn’t go to school
for the rest of the week. I didn’t answer my phone even to talk to Olivia when she texted to tell me about Ben approaching her. Maverick knocked on the door and I refused to crawl out of bed to answer it.
On Friday night, I tossed and turned, sweating profusely as yet another dream landed me smack dab in the middle of my soul, right in front of the bitch that had started it all.
Tall octangular columns spanned the sides of a dining room rich in golds and reds. And in the middle of the luxurious space sat a table covered in white lace with a pristine floral tea set. A crystal chandelier dangled overhead as the woman with the dark corkscrew curls and the mismatched eyes arched a brow at me and delicately sipped from her cup.
"Did you know that in the mid-1800s women weren't allowed to dine in a restaurant without an escort?" Satrina asked as she settled her teacup back in its saucer.
I approached slowly and took a seat across from her. "I didn't expect a history lesson when I came here," I said.
She shrugged and reached for a tray of small scones. The scent of lemons rose as she bit into it and chewed thoughtfully. "There is much to be learned from history," she said. "For example, historically, those who have been possessed by demons don't generally make it out alive."
I blinked. "If you want to go there, then historically no human makes it out alive because ... well ... humans die. It's kind of our thing."
"Ahh, but demon-possessed humans tend to die much earlier than anticipated," she said, setting the rest of her scone back on the tray. Satrina lifted her head and looked me right in the eye. "You don't realize how lucky you are," she said.
"Lucky?" I echoed. "What the fuck do you mean 'lucky?’"
"What human kills several vampires and lives to tell the tale?" she countered.
"I lost my family," I reminded her, my fingers curling into the lace tablecloth. "My parents. My brother. My home. My fucking life was ruined. All I did was survive. None of that was lucky."
