Broken

by Zara Novak

  Copyright © 2020 by Zara Novak

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Epilogue

  Also by Zara Novak

  Mailing List

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  Vampire Guardians Book 1

  Zara Novak

  1

  Rachel

  I ran down hallways, my feet pounding on marble, the figures of oil giants staring down at me from their gilded frames. Looking back over my shoulder I saw him walk slowly around the corner, a silhouette against the dark museum interior.

  In that darkness I saw two red points shining in his eyes.

  Bright eyes.

  Red eyes.

  Eyes that weren’t human.

  Eyes that were looking right at me.

  The corridor came to an abrupt end and I took a sharp left, banking for the Courts of Ancient Egypt exhibition. I could cut through here and get out the building through the southern fire escape. I could still escape while I had a chance.

  But then he was in front of me, somehow appearing right before me as a blur on my vision. The blur halted about ten feet ahead, forcing me to skid to a stop.

  His red eyes smirked at my terror. He hadn’t even taken his hands out of his pockets. He wore a black leather jacket, a white cotton t-shirt, and denim jeans. His black hair was tussled and perfectly sculpted.

  He looked like a model from a magazine, but his looks couldn’t disarm me. This man was going to kill me.

  I just wish I understood why.

  “Why are you running from this?” he asked. His voice poured from his lips like caramel. “I can taste your desire. You need this.”

  “No,” I said, shaking my head. I didn’t know who this mysterious man was, or even why I was running from him, but I had the feeling I had been here before. I noticed that fear wasn’t the only emotion I was feeling. An undercurrent of raw arousal beat through my chest, pebbling my nipples and making my pussy slick.

  I did want this man… this thing. I’d never wanted anything so much in my life.

  “Stay away,” I said to him. “I’m warning you.”

  In another flash he slid through the air, coming at me like a cloud of impossibly fast shadow. The next thing I know I’m on the floor and he’s over me, mere inches separating our bodies as his bright red eyes burned into mine.

  He opened his mouth and I saw long fangs where normal human teeth should be.

  “That’s right,” he said through a dark grin. “You run. But you don’t know why. All you need to know is this: Your body is mine. Your soul is mine. That tight little pussy belongs to me, and the sooner I claim you the better. You’re a rare one, Rachel Stone, and I will have you.”

  He drew my name out on his lips, taking his time with the syllables as if they were precious gems. Though I couldn’t ignore the absolute lust I felt towards this man I wouldn’t let myself fall prey to him.

  With a sharp thrust I sent my knee between his legs and he rolled off my body. I was up on my feet a second later, running straight for the fire escape door which was only seconds away.

  Then something hit me from the side. I flew sideways through the air and hit the wall hard, cushioned by the arms of the very thing that had caught me. My pursuer had one hand around my throat and another between my legs, holding me up against the wall and lifting me off the ground.

  “Oh, so you’re a naughty girl?” he teased through a dark laugh. I wanted to strike at the bastard and hurt him, but the only thing I could focus on was the feeling of his hand pressing against my damp crotch.

  “Let me… go!” I managed, my words struggling against the strength of his hand.

  “Only when you’ve learned your lesson,” he said. “Never disobey. You’ve earned a punishment, little one. Time to turn that sweet little ass red.”

  “What? Hey!”

  With his hand still around my throat he used the other to tear off my clothes. My smart trousers and jacket ripped away easily, leaving me in my soaked panties and shirt blouse. Then he dropped down to one knee and bent me over it. Before I could say a word, his hand sliced through the air and spanked me hard.

  “Fuck!” I yelled, the sound echoing across the spacious exhibition room. He lifted his hand and spanked me again straight away, his palm brandishing my soft skin with pain and punishment.

  “That’s right, Miss Stone,” he laughed. “Scream for your master. Tell me how much you like it.”

  I would tell him to go fuck himself, and that was my intention until his hand came down again, stealing the words from my mouth and replacing them with more cries of pain. Amid the pain however was an undeniable pleasure. Each time his hand struck my body my pussy clenched tight and I longed for something greater than this.

  My body actually wanted him. I actually wanted him.

  Fuck.

  In a moment of good fortune, I managed to snap my foot up and connect my heel with the side of his perfectly chiseled face. I was up and running again, almost at the door when he caught me once more. This time we were back on the floor. My knees were on top of his shoulders and he perched between my legs like a jaguar waiting for the kill.

  We were naked now, somehow. He towered over me as a cage of terror, strength, and perfect muscle. In all the confusion I couldn’t take my eyes away from those red pearls, and I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted him. Glancing down I saw the long and dark shadow between his legs. It hovered only inches away from my slick opening.

  “If there’s one thing you need to learn Miss Stone, it’s that you can’t run from destiny.”

  He thrust forward, his huge cock penetrating me in one slick move. I cried out, my nails clawing at the floor, my back arching up toward the ceiling.

  I wanted him. I wanted this. He was irresistible.

  “You’re mine,” he growled. “Don’t you forget it.”

  “Rachel? Rachel? Hello? Please don’t tell me you’re actually daydreaming right now.”

  “Huh?”

  I snapped back to reality at the sound of Barry’s voice. My awareness immediately came to the room and I saw my overweight colleague staring back at me, his hefty physique bulging out of his ill-fitting suit and creased shirt.

  “Did you say something?” I asked, tucking a lock of my long dark hair behind my ear.

  “Yeah. Can you get your head out of the clouds for one second and pay attention? This is only the most important night of our careers.”

  “You’re right. I’m sorry. Where’s Doctor Turner? How long until everyone gets here?”

  “The old man is taking a leak. You know what he’s like. As for Harkin and the rest of his men, they should have been here an hour ago. God knows what they’re playing at. What are you daydreaming about anyway? Fame and fortune? If your prediction pays off this could be massive for us, for you.”

  I wouldn’t dare repeat my daydreams out loud, especially not to someone like Barry, who had finally given up on asking me out to dinner after five straight months of m
e rejecting him. I think he’d finally got the idea that I wasn’t interested, but if I started spouting off over-the-top sexual fantasies, he might think I’m trying to start something.

  The truth was that I wasn’t a natural daydreamer. I had always been incredibly focused; I had been like that since I was a young girl. I liked to think my sharp focus was an attribute to my current success. As a history and archaeology major, I had finished Summa cum laude and been awarded a research position on Doctor Turner’s team at the University of New York.

  Part of me considered it luck, but I had worked hard and earned my way into the most sought-after graduate position in America, and things had only gone up from there.

  It was close to midnight and very much after hours at the Museum of Natural History. We were here to break open the Shén Tiàoma a thousand-year-old stone casket that was thought to contain the remains of a long-deceased Chinese lord.

  I suspected different, however.

  After months of research I believed I had found evidence suggesting a priceless artifact was hidden inside the sarcophagus. With Doctor Turner’s influence and a lot of persuasion the museum had finally agreed to open up the tomb.

  If my suspicions were right, we would find the Halo Amulet inside, an ancient artifact that had been lost for hundreds of years. The entire archaeology community was waiting on the edges of their seats to see if Doctor Rachel Stone was right.

  I had become something of a celebrity within the field unfortunately. I was well-known as an up and comer in the field, a ‘plucky young woman with a mind as great as her figure’, as the antiquated Archaeology Digest had put it.

  I didn’t care for the attention at all. Half of the community had put me on this strange pedestal and the other half thought I was an irritating young woman that needed to go away. My notoriety at least had helped sway the museum into opening the sarcophagus tonight, so that was one thing at least.

  But tonight, my focus wasn’t with me. It wasn’t with me at all. In truth I hadn’t been able to think straight for the last week, ever since the details of the meeting had been put into place. During this last week I had felt as though someone was following me, watching my every move, and I had been haunted by endless daydreams that were both disturbing, confusing, and… overly erotic.

  “Rachel? Hello? God. You’ve gone again. Where the hell is your head?”

  “I’m fine,” I snapped at Barry. “When are we getting started? Where the bloody hell is everyone?”

  Doctor Turner returned then, as if on cue. The old man walked into the large atrium and clapped his hands together. With his tweed suit and untamed white hair, he looked every part the mad old professor. “Enough chit-chat! Where’s Gable?”

  “Right here Doctor Turner,” a voice echoed from the other side of the room. It came from a tall and statuesque blonde in her fifties. Juniper Gable was the head curator for the museum and the only reason this meet was happening in the first place. “Harkin and his family have just arrived now. Security are escorting them. Apparently, there was a hold up at the airport.”

  “Hold up?” Barry scoffed. “What’s the hold up? They’re billionaires. They fly private wherever they want.”

  “Watch your damn tone, Doctor Cook,” Doctor Turner said to Barry. “Without Harkin’s approval this excavation wouldn’t be happening at all. The sarcophagus belongs to his family, and we’re sure as hell not getting it open without their good nature.”

  Barry turned a shade of deep red and decided to study the marble floor. “Just saying, a little heads up would have been professional. I don’t see why they wanted to be here anyway.”

  “It’s unusual Barry, but so what?” I said. “If the family wants to be here its entirely in their prerogative. It means we get to open up the vault, so what’s the problem?”

  “Problem?” a sharp voice said, echoing down the hall to our left. We turned and saw Harkin walking with an entourage of fifteen men in suits. “I certainly hope there aren’t any problems, not on a night like tonight.”

  “Mr. Harkin!” Doctor Turner said enthusiastically, putting on his best professional front. “It really is an honor to have you here tonight.”

  “Cut the crap Turner,” Harkin said as his group came into the atrium. “I know you and your scientist friends couldn’t give a shit about me being here. You would have had this thing open weeks ago if you had your way.”

  “Not at all,” Turner said. “Respecting the wishes of the living is the best way to honor the dead. As historians we must—”

  “Yawn,” Harkin shouted. “Let’s skip the theatrics, shall we?” Harkin turned his gaze on Juniper Gable. “So, you’re the bitch that won’t tell me where my property is.”

  “Hey,” I said sternly. “What’s with the hostility?”

  Harkin simply sneered at me. “Ah yes, Miss Rachel Stone. The pinup that all these old scientist geeks jerk off to. No need to get your knickers in a twist, I’m just being cute. Miss Gable is very protective of her catalog, isn’t that right, Miss Gable?”

  Juniper’s eyes darted about beneath her large thick-rimmed spectacles. “Mr. Harkin it’s standard procedure to keep our catalogue safe-guarded. Your family’s property encompasses some of the most expensive items in our holding. Their location must be kept top secret at all times.”

  “You’ve tried to see the sarcophagus already?” I said to Harkin. This thing had lay hidden in the museum’s warehouse for three decades, and all of a sudden Harkin wanted to see it. What was that about?

  “You got a problem with that?” he snapped. “The sarcophagus belongs to my family, and whatever is inside belongs to my family too, you’ll all do well to remember that. If it’s too much trouble I’m sure we can always cancel the opening.”

  “No!” Doctor Turner said, laughing nervously to himself. “No, that won’t be necessary. We’re all very grateful you’re here, Harkin.” He shifted his attention to the curator, Juniper Gable. “Miss Gable, shall we get started? Where is the star of the hour?”

  She managed a smile. I got the sense that she liked Harkin and his entourage just as much as I did. “Follow me. Everything is prepared and ready. We have set aside a dedicated research chamber.”

  A few minutes later we were in the underbelly of the museum, in the expansive basements that housed the warehouses and research facilities. Juniper led us to a large room in the center of which was a smaller glass room. Inside was the stone sarcophagus.

  “Impressive display,” Harkin said under his breath.

  “Atmosphere control is necessary when opening ancient artifacts like this,” Juniper said. “There’s no telling what kind of pathogens might be lurking inside. We will all need to suit up before heading inside. There are sealed hazmat suits hanging up on the wall to your right, though—” she paused and looked at Harkin’s greater entourage. “I’m afraid we don’t have enough for your men. They will have to wait outside.”

  “You heard the woman,” Harkin said as he grabbed a hazmat off the wall and suited up. Once the rest of us had dressed, Juniper used her keycard to open up the sealed room and we stepped inside. Air hissed all around us and another set of doors opened. We all circled the sarcophagus. My heart was beating in my temples.

  “It’s beautiful,” Barry said, his voice crackling through a speaker in my suit.

  “Quite remarkable,” Doctor Turner said.

  “It’s hard to believe we’re finally opening this thing,” Juniper said. “Let’s get the cameras rolling.”

  Harkin just sighed. “Christ. Let’s open this crock of shit already. Is there a jack hammer about?”

  Juniper laughed nervously before wheeling over a silver cart of tools. “Procedures like this are delicate. We will have to take our time opening it up so not to damage the artifact. Rachel, would you like to do the honors?”

  “Certainly,” I said, my heart swelling with pride. I took the stone chisel Juniper was holding out and started tapping along a crease near the top of the tomb. It wo
uld probably take about twenty minutes just to break the seal, but care was important in cases like—

  “Hey!”

  “While we’re young, yeah?” Harkin said as he snatched the chisel from my hands. He swung the chisel through the air in a wide arc, smashing the point into the sealed crease.

  “Christ!” Barry shouted. “Be careful with that thing!”

  Harkin wasn’t even close to being respectful, but the way he handled the chisel made me think of some trained assassin. His control of the blade looked effortless, and I couldn’t fault his aim, even if he was a giant prick. In thirty seconds, he had delivered several sharp blows around the perimeter of the sarcophagus. With one last one something cracked, and I knew the lid was finally free.

  “Don’t send a woman to do a man’s job,” Harkin said as he launched the chisel onto the ground behind him.

  “Now we need to take great care removing the lid,” Juniper said, looking keen to take back control. “There’s a hoist above—”

  “Forget that, stand back!” Harkin roared. Without warning he thrust his fingers under the edge of the seal and threw the sarcophagus lid up. I watched it spin through the air in slow motion. Doctor Turner and Barry had to scramble out of the way to avoid getting crushed. I couldn’t understand how Harkin had just done that. The lid had to weigh a couple hundred pounds by itself.

  “No!” Juniper shouted, vocalizing our collective dread as the lid shattered in a thousand pieces on the floor.

  “Oopsie,” Harkin said, not sounding sorry at all. “Now for the grand reveal.”

  I think everyone, Harkin excluded, needed more time to mourn the precious artifact that had just been permanently destroyed, but we were all too keen to look inside. As one we all moved forward and peered over the edge of the crypt’s top.