Chapter Nine
Emris
“ Finale?” my dear Paloma asks, her voice curious even through the post-orgasmic haze.
“ Lilibet, my sweet?” I gesture toward the timid human standing behind us. She scurries to us like a whipped puppy. “ Fetch your Madame a warm, wet cloth, and bring another blood bag to replenish her.”
“ If you are to stay here, you will not refer to them as such,” Paloma growls from where she is still impaled on my softening cock, her body limp from pleasure. I kiss her temple and then slowly lift her off, cradling her against my torso while I stand and lay her down on the sofa.
“ You ’ re right to chide me,” I tell her, flicking a finger over the turn of her nose. “ I will apologize as soon as she returns.”
“ And the finale?” Her head lulls lazily to the side as she watches me pull on my trousers. The men and women around us—all vampires who have now tasted what is mine—are stuck in limbo, my influence over them still shrouding their minds. They are still on their knees, waiting for their next command like soldiers in a naked army. Unlucky for them, soldiers rarely make it back from war.
“ The finale, little dove, is sending a message.”
“ Is that not what you ’ ve just done? You made them watch and participate in your petty little show of dominance. Can we not be done with it, Emris? Are you not tired?” She looks and sounds exhausted—bored of me and my whims already.
I chuckle. “ Over a century of life, and you still are so naive?” I grab her robe, lay it over her body, and then squat down in front of the sofa to brush stray locks of hair away from her face. “ What exactly do you think the message would be if I were to let them all live after that?” Her eyes grow wide as she realizes what I intend to do. “ After seeing you naked, their mouths and hands pleasuring you? You think I should let them all go with a wave and a slap on the ass? I think not, wife. That wouldn ’ t do at all.”
Lilibet and another human male walk in with a bowl, some cloth, and a tray with wine and cigarettes. Although, maybe they ’ ve brought more of those delicious drugs my Paloma was smoking earlier. I grab one from the tray just before Paloma flies between us, pushing me back and facing the now-shocked humans as she throws her robe around herself and ties it at the waist. I already miss the soft expanse of skin.
“ Leave.” One word, that ’ s all it takes. They obey her like acolytes, not pausing to question at all. Both turn on their heels and exit quickly through the back door. Then she whips around, her fire aimed directly at me. My cock stiffens all over again. “ You are not to lay a fucking finger on my staff or patrons. You promised.”
“ Did I?” I grin, walking backward as I light the cigarette until I turn to step down from the platform. The carpet is soft under my feet, and the smoke burns as it sinks into my lungs. “ As I remember it,” I continue as I blow out the smoke, “ you bargained with the lives of your humans, not your patrons. Which means all these poor souls are fair game.”
“ They are innocent.”
Rage blooms wildly in my chest. “ They touched you!”
“ You forced them!” A bright red flush of anger flashes over her chest and up her throat and then is gone in an instant. Her arms swing out to the sides as she watches me warily from the platform. “ Why punish them for something that was out of their control?”
“ Paloma, Paloma, Paloma,” I groan before taking another long drag. The drugs go straight to my head, making me feel light despite what I ’ m about to do. “ You are smarter than that. This is your punishment, my love. Not theirs.”
The vampire next to me trembles as I hold the cigarette between my lips and squat down to their level. I know what it ’ s like to be in their position, to have my free will taken away. Before I was turned by my maker—God rest his soul—he would do the same to me. He said if I were to learn how to control others, I needed to first learn what it felt like to be controlled. It was a way to deter me from using it.
As you can tell, that didn ’ t quite work.
I ’ m the black sheep of my clan, the one who broke away and decided their rules weren ’ t for me. And what I ’ m about to do next will solidify that choice. But I can ’ t stop myself. They ’ ve looked at my wife. They ’ ve touched her, tasted her. And she needs to learn this lesson. As much as it pains me to teach it to be the one to teach it to her, I can ’ t have her thinking she can run to my king and queen whenever she feels I ’ ve placed a toe out of line.
There are consequences.
“ Emris,” Paloma warns, her voice telling me she doesn ’ t approve.
I grab the young vampire ’ s face in front of me, give him my warmest smile, and then, with little effort, I twist and snap his head clean off.
“ Too late,” I casually tell her over my shoulder. Blood sprays from the decapitated head as the body sinks to the floor, soaking the carpet. I suppose I ’ ll need to pay to replace it after this mess.
I drop the head and move to the next.
“ You are going to ruin my reputation!” Paloma shouts as she grabs hold of my hair, her fingers almost pulling the hair clean from the root. Fuck, I love it when she ’ s angry.
“ Your reputation is weak,” I tell her, grinning up from where she holds my head next to her thighs. “ This will let everyone know you are not to be trifled with, dearest.”
“ You think I cannot handle my own business?” Her other hand wraps around my jaw in a crushing grip. “ I ’ ve been fine without you all these years. Stand down and let the rest go.”
“ Are you worried about the carpet?” I ask, taking her wrist and twisting it until she has to let go or let it break. Her fingers release my hair, and she yanks her hand back, shaking out the pain. “ I ’ ll replace it, my love. I have plenty of money.”
Before she can stop me, I separate three more heads from their bodies, blood spraying and muscles twitching as they fall. My body is covered in their blood, warm and thick like molasses. Paloma ’ s eyes are wide as she watches me move from vampire to vampire.
She crosses her arms as I stand behind the next. “ And you don ’ t think a mass murder will deter others from visiting my establishment?” One auburn eyebrow is raised, but she ’ s given up. She ’ s a young vampire and absolutely no match for me if she were to truly try to fight me on this.
“ Vampires love blood!” I say, excited as I rip another head from its body, blood landing in splatters across my chest and face. “ No one is going to think twice about it, my love. They ’ re just going to know that you are not to be fucked with. And that ’ s all that matters.”
Another and another and another. I rip off one after the other until we are surrounded by over a dozen dead vampires. I don ’ t think I ’ ve ever killed this many in a row. Maybe I should start keeping count, trying for personal bests when I have the opportunity.
I put my hands on my hips and look around the room, the smile on my face so wide it strains the muscles in my cheeks. Nothing lights me up like murder on a fine evening such as this. Bodies are littered around the room, dark red blood seeping and spreading like watercolors on the carpet. A beautiful sight.
Almost as beautiful as the angry woman standing at the center of them.