by K. Webster
The maids kneel in unison and then offer their wrists to us. I’m beyond starved, but Beck is proper as hell. Had he known what a loser I was before I was turned, he probably wouldn’t have welcomed me with such open arms.
I didn’t have a job.
My only income was my occasional musical gigs at bars.
I’d married a woman I didn’t love because I’d knocked her up. We fought like hell, but it was worth it in the end because she gave me a baby and I’d also gained a cool-ass kid.
I lost everything because I failed to protect them.
Beck, prior to this life, was a warrior. Though he was young, he fought in battles and dethroned authoritarians. Somehow, he made me his pet project and saved me. I’m grateful, but I still don’t understand why.
“Go on, Laurent,” Beck says, his red eyes glinting as he feeds from his maid. “You’ve shown incredible restraint. Reward yourself.”
I bring the maid’s wrist to my lips. Without preamble, I nick her flesh with my teeth and then latch on, taking greedy pulls of her blood. While the maids eat a strict diet to keep their blood infused with nutrients we need and the taste an optimum flavor, she doesn’t sate my thirst like she should. Her blood tastes bland. The blood I crave is from Castilla.
Once Beck has had his fill, he licks away the wound on his maid’s wrist, using his healing saliva to close the wound. I quickly follow suit, mimicking his actions. It was only after Beck saved me that I realized I had powers. I can’t teleport as he does, but I have unique hearing and can dreamwalk.
“We need Castilla to aid in our agenda,” Beck says, dabbing his lips with his napkin. “I can uphold my end of the bargain with her daughter, but she’ll need to uphold hers in helping me. You’ll have to refrain from taking your prize until we’ve completed this mission.”
My prize being her.
“She’s my stepdaughter,” I remind him, my morals fragile and cracking due to time passed and what I’ve become.
“That all ended the night you were turned,” Beck replies. “Besides, the way you held and touched her tonight says you don’t believe in that relationship anymore. You want another one. And not just to drain her. You want to keep her.”
A growl rumbles through me. “Damn right I do.”
“Perhaps you’ll be able to if you can control your urges. She certainly seems taken with the idea of you. Had I not intervened tonight, you might have bedded her and who only knows what.”
“I’m everything she hates.”
“For now,” he says. “Next time you dreamwalk, talk to her. Get to know her. Our kind, in the past, have used dreamwalking as a way to forge relationships with our human counterparts. To create a bond between a mate who can sate our needs in every way. In the past, our kind was skilled at mating with someone in order to keep us from devouring every person with a pulse. It’s the greed of those in recent centuries that have dropped those ideals and gone with their instinct to feed rather than mate. I see, though, you’re a lot like me. The urge to mate, claim, own overpowers your thirst. This is something we can work with.”
“What if I bite her?” I croak out.
“You will.” He shrugs. “She’ll probably be angry about it too. Doesn’t change the fact that she’s yours and you’re hers. Might should warn the dear girl that it’ll happen and what to expect so she doesn’t drive a stake through your heart.”
“Speaking of stakes…” I frown at him.
“Don’t worry, Laurent,” he says with a chuckle. “I left them in the apartment before we left. I wouldn’t leave her defenseless. Not when she has the ruby stakes at her disposal.”
“Those were my mother’s,” I reveal.
“I know.” He winks at me. “Why don’t you go lie down? I don’t want you to miss your dreamwalk. It’ll be dawn soon so you don’t have much time.”
“Do you hear it?” I ask, dragging my thumb over her plump bottom lip.
“No.” Her brows furl and she pouts. “Why do I keep dreaming about you?”
“Because you want me to bite you, Castilla.”
She gasps in horror. “I most certainly do not want that.”
“You do,” I tease with a grin, baring my fangs. “And I will grant your wish. But it’ll have to be in person. Your dreams don’t count.”
Her body relaxes at my words. “You can’t hurt me in my dreams?”
“I can’t hurt you ever.”
“But you just said you want to bite me,” she argues.
“You will like it.”
“You’re here again.”
“Every night. I’m a dreamwalker. I can visit every day until your death if I want.”
She sighs, though not at all annoyed. “Maybe I don’t want you in my dreams.”
“Then stop letting me in.”
“I’m not letting you in!”
“I can’t force what you don’t want, Castilla. It doesn’t work that way.”
Her body tenses and she frowns. “I’m used to people taking what they want. I fight back now, though.”
I stroke my fingers through her hair. “Someone hurt you.”
“He did,” she says, her eyes watering, “but I was given Mercy, so I suppose it’s okay.”
“It’s never okay for someone to hurt you. I will slaughter anyone who tries.”
“You’re not my boyfriend.” She huffs. “You’re my stepfather.”
“Really?” I murmur, dipping down to kiss her supple lips. “Because if that were true, you wouldn’t let me kiss you like this.”
She moans and I deepen the kiss. Her fingers grip my hair as she pulls me closer. I wish this weren’t a dreamwalk and in reality.
“Soon,” I whisper against her lips. “I’ll kiss you in real life soon.”
Each night she argues. Tonight, she doesn’t. No, she kisses me again.
Now that I’ve come into my powers, I’m learning I can glamour, dreamwalk, and spike—short transport through hard materials like doors and walls. While glamouring is nice to get my way and dreamwalking is great for visiting Castilla, it isn’t until I quietly pass through her apartment door that I enjoy the ability to spike.
Beck will be pleased at the growth in my power.
The apartment is quiet. I creep through the dark space, wincing slightly when one of the boards beneath my feet creaks. Tilting my head to the side, I listen for any sounds. Nothing. Just the rustling of the bat in Mercy’s room. I start to step forward when something attacks me, taking me by surprise.
I hear everything.
But I didn’t hear this or even sense it.
Something sharp digs into my flesh beneath chin as a tiny female tackles me to the floor. Red lightning lights up her big brown eyes.
“Good evening, love.” I grin at her. “I wanted to surprise you.”
Her features are still twisted in anger but then confusion bleeds through. “Why doesn’t this burn you?” She pulls her ruby stake away and holds it between us.
“Because those belonged to my mother and were passed on to me. Since, they’ve been passed on to you. But the stakes never forget their owners.”
Castilla
I’m puzzled about the ineffectualness of the stakes and slightly annoyed by Laurent’s sneaking in, but I can’t ignore that I’m also secretly excited to see him.
Which makes no sense.
I’m exhausted after hunting down the pale-haired twins all night to no avail. Every night it’s more of the same. They leave a trail of bodies or infected vampires, but are quick to hide or run away before I can get to them.
Yet, I’m feeling quite awake now that Laurent is here.
As though his presence makes my body thrum and my chest tighten. I should be disgusted over the fact I’m straddling the waist of a vampire and haven’t killed him yet because I’m too drunk on the memory of his dream kisses.
“Dreamwalking is real, isn’t it?” I ask, frowning at him. “You were there, weren’t you?”
“I needed to see you
.”
That means, for the past two weeks since he and Beck first came into my apartment, he’s been kissing me and talking to me and touching me in my dreams. Before that, for those three months, he was also there. Every night since that night in the park, I’ve spent with Laurent.
“You should go,” I grumble, though deep down I don’t mean it, which scares me.
“I’d rather stay.”
With those words, he rises to his feet with me in his arms, so quickly my head spins. He prowls through the dark apartment, carrying me to my bedroom. My heartrate quickens when he lowers us onto the bed, this time with me beneath him.
“Laurent,” I murmur, a weak protest before his lips press to mine.
Unlike my dreams, this feels real. It took me years to let Jude close to me, but Laurent is storming my heart without problems. I want to push him away and tell him to go, but I like his touch.
This is sick.
He’s a murdering vampire who wanted to eat me as a child.
He won’t hurt me.
“Doesn’t this disturb you?” I murmur when he pulls away. “The last you saw me, I was a child.”
“You’re different to me now than you were then,” he whispers. “I still have the desire to protect you with everything in me, though. That never went away.”
He peels away my gown, leaving me in only my panties. I let him. I let him strip away my only barrier between us. What is wrong with me?
I don’t care.
I just want him.
“Are you glamouring me?” I ask, my chest heaving with each breath I take.
He pulls away to turn on the bedside lamp. His dark hair is disheveled, and his red eyes shine with need. “I don’t think so.”
“How can I be for sure?”
“Take your panties off and spread your legs,” he rumbles, his voice almost musical. My nerve endings flare to life and a whine crawls up my throat. I start to lift my ass to obey when he splays a palm over my stomach. “Leave them on.”
The fog clears and I gape at him. “You just did it.”
“Feel the difference?”
I nod, hating how much of my want is just on me. He’s not doing anything but being himself. I’m to blame for this intense craving for him.
His lips crash to mine again, his teeth nicking my lip. It stings and the metallic taste of my blood spreads over my tongue. A feral growl escapes him as he sucks my lip into his mouth. His cock—hard and impressive—rubs against my clit, making me whimper.
I want less clothes between us.
I want all of him.
“You taste divine,” he growls. “I want more.”
The wound on my lip closes and he pulls away, his crimson eyes blazing with lust. I practically pout from the loss of him. His kisses are gentle and reverent as he trails them along my jaw to my neck. He laps at my skin right over my carotid as though he wishes he could bite me there. I almost beg him to but then figure it’s a bad idea considering the location. He continues his trek to my collarbone and then to my breast. When his lips wrap around my nipple and he sucks, I buck off the bed. Each time he swipes his tongue over my nipple, I see stars.
I want more.
I need more.
“Bite me,” I whisper, terrified at my request.
“I should show restraint.” His teeth tease at the flesh. “I really should.”
“I want you to. It’s my choice. You won’t kill me.”
At least I hope not.
“Never,” he growls.
A moan escapes me when he pierces the skin on either side of my nipple. An animalistic groan rumbles from him as he sucks in a long pull of blood. Immediately, my body feels as though it’s flying. My nerves are buzzing with need and my arousal can be felt as it soaks through my panties.
He bites me again, this time on my other nipple. The heady, blissful sensation intensifies. Another bite below my ribs. Another one on my stomach. Again, lower, near my pelvic bone, just above my underwear. And then the fabric is being shredded like it’s nothing. His teeth sink into my thigh.
“Mine,” he murmurs, dragging blood along my upper thigh to the mid portion.
His teeth bite into me again, this time perfectly on my femoral artery. The room spins as he sucks hard. Light dims and I close my eyes. He rubs his thumb along my clit as he sucks harder. My body weakens, drunk on the bliss.
“Stop,” a voice commands. “Now, Laurent.”
I can’t open my eyes. I’m drifting into the darkness. Snarling can be heard and then my wounds are being licked closed.
“Drink,” the voice orders. I recognize it as Beck. “Drink, darling.”
Something metallic and tangy drips on my tongue. I wince, but it tastes like something I need. I latch my mouth to his wrist, sucking what must be his blood. Clarity hits me like a freight train.
What happened?
When I open my eyes, I’m covered by a sheet and Laurent is gone. Beck frowns at me as he pulls his hand away and licks the wound closed.
“Laurent can’t seem to control himself around you,” Beck says. “I think it would be best if you don’t invite him in.”
“He didn’t ask for an invitation.”
“Next time, whether it be a dreamwalk or in real life, ask him to leave.”
Tears well in my eyes at his words. I don’t want to send him away. I just found him. I missed him. My plan to kill him—mercy be thy way—feels ridiculous and monstrous now that I’ve kissed him.
“I don’t think I can,” I whisper.
“He’ll kill you if you don’t,” he warns. “You’d be dead by now if I didn’t show up looking for him. All it takes is a good bite to a main vein, darling, and your life drains far too quickly. He hasn’t learned to control himself yet.”
Beck pulls away and then stands. “Tomorrow night, we try again to find the twins. Be ready.”
He flashes away, leaving me cold and lonely. Sadness creeps inside me, infecting every part of my being. When I finally do drift off to sleep, eager to see Laurent, I’m met with empty dreams.
He doesn’t show up.
“This way,” Beck says, prowling through a dark alley.
Laurent is at my back, but he’s cold and distant. After what happened the night before, he hasn’t spoken a word to me. At first, I thought it was for the best, but now it just hurts. Sure, he bit me a few times, but I asked for it. And, like Beck said, he couldn’t control it, but it’s not his fault he’s still a new vampire.
If Jude knew what I’ve been up to lately, he’d throttle me. Slayers aren’t supposed to fraternize with vampires. We can use them as allies and have them as friends, but romantic relationships are frowned upon. Hard to kill them when you’re in love with them.
Eventually, I’ll be forced to kill Laurent.
My chest aches just thinking about it.
Beck slows at the sound of voices around the corner. One of them is familiar. I’m racing past Beck before he can stop me. I discover Ricardo—the vampire from the Castlerock bar who stood me up for our one-month date for information—pinning a feral vampire to the wall, snarling at him.
“Ricardo,” I bark out.
“Leave, girl,” he hisses. “This doesn’t concern you.”
“It concerns me,” Beck rumbles. “That vampire has the blood plague.”
Ricardo cocks his head, eyeing up Beck. “And you know this, how?”
“Experience.”
“You’re like twelve,” Ricardo grumbles.
“I’m old where it counts,” Beck states. “A seventeen-year-old body means nothing to me except what I was forced to be in for eternity. My experience and knowledge outmatch yours.”
“We want the same thing,” I tell Ricardo, approaching slowly. “We can compare notes.”
An arm encircles my waist and I’m pulled against Laurent’s chest. I’m shocked by the claiming move.
“Start talking,” Ricardo says, his hold steady on the vampire that fights him to no avail.
“But what about the ones they’ve infected?” Ricardo demands. “If it’s a plague, it’s only a matter of time before everyone’s got it.”
“I’ve been following this problem,” Beck tells him, “and because of their royal blood line, they’re the carriers. All they can do is infect others, but those infected can’t continue the infection. If we deal with the source, the problem will be eliminated.”
“You’re gonna kill ’em, slayer?” Ricardo asks, smirking.
“The infected ones, sure,” I reply, “but the twins are going home.”
“Interesting.” Ricardo releases the feral vampire. “Do what you do, slayer.”
On instinct, I shove Laurent away while withdrawing my stakes. Since I’m the only blood pumping body here, the vampire charges my way. The red lightning crackles to life as I swing at the approaching psychopath. My stake drives through its heart, a perfect hit.
It screeches as it falls to the ground. Flames light up the dark alley. The vampire screams until all that can be heard is the popping of its flesh as it burns.
“That will always be disturbing as fuck,” Ricardo mutters. “So what now?”
“Don’t be a stranger and contact me if you hear anything on the twins.”
Ricardo stalks away without another word, leaving us in silence. I peek over at Laurent, catching him staring intently at me. He looks away and it makes my heart crack down the middle.
“You and Mercy need to come by my home soon,” Beck says, snapping me from my thoughts.
“Why?” I frown at him.
“Her condition worsens each day. I know you haven’t fulfilled your obligation to me yet, but you’ll just be in debt.”
Laurent’s jaw clenches, like he wants to approach me, but he remains still.
