Undying Thirst (Crimson Coven #2)

9. Catalina

NINE

catalina

I focused on my hands resting on my knees. I’d donned the same clothing after rinsing my body of the dirt and blood crusted on me. Sleep beckoned me, but I didn’t want to see Bastien, either. No longer could I just disappear because he awaited me there. Hunger twisted my stomach. How long had it been since I’d eaten?

The doorknob wiggled, and though I stiffened, I kept my gaze fixed on my clenched fists.

“Follow me,” Jax said in his usual delightful tone. I didn’t look up at him. From now on, they didn’t exist to me. I curled my legs up and settled my chin on my knees, closing my eyes tight. As if my cocoon could protect me. “Girl.”

I didn’t react to his barked word. A wave of air fluttered my hair against my cheek. He took a fistful, yanking my head off my knees so I looked at him. “I will drag you out by your hair if you keep ignoring me.”

I dropped my eyes to the droplets of blood on his shirt. His grip tightened in my hair, making it hurt. I let my body go limp and it turned agonizing. I couldn’t hide my wince.

“Stubborn idiot.” Jax hissed and swept me over his shoulder. I lay limp, not giving him any reaction. His shoulder dug into my ribs and every step he took was excruciating.

My nose rubbed against his back with each aggressive step. He always walked with a perpetually angry, jerking gait. Tears sprang to my eyes from the pinch in my side. It only got worse as he went down the stairs. The rug flashed in my blurry peripheral. Breathe. Breathe. I chanted to myself. Blood rushed to my upside-down head and the crevice between my shoulder and neck pinched.

There were no longer the loud noises of construction, but I couldn’t look up to confirm the human men were gone. A ringing started up in my ear—agonizing and dizzying. Jax took my hips in his big hands and easily lifted me off him, thumping me down on a stool.

My head swam and I clutched the edge of the granite counter, vomit crawling up my esophagus. I glared at Jax’s retreating back.

Asher’s cheerful whistles filled the kitchen, happy as a fiddle. Like I hadn’t slammed my knee into his cock a few hours ago. He stirred a spoon into a pot over the stove. I helplessly watched him flit from corner to corner, moving so fast it frankly made me dizzier than I was. Asher reached up to the cabinet and a sliver of his lower back peeked. His silky skin—I forced my gaze down, set my elbows on the counter and fixed my hands in front of me.

“Having someone to feed is quite nice.” He thumped a ceramic white bowl in front of me.

I didn’t react to Asher’s statement or to the food.

“You have to eat.”

I remained silent. He could talk all he wanted, I wouldn’t eat. What if they put something in it? I didn’t think it would be poison, because they didn’t have qualms with straight up murdering me, but I wouldn’t put torture past them. Asher appeared next to my stool, moving so fast my hair swayed.

He gripped my chin. I flinched, scrunching my face.

“Cat, ?lskade , please eat.” Exasperation coated his words. I yanked my chin out of his hand in answer.

He gasped as if I’d just stomped on his puppy. He took hold of my jaw again, the cold palm enveloping the bone. He pressed a warm bread roll against my clamped mouth. Glaring into his frustrated gaze, I didn’t give in.

“Fine, if you want it the hard way.” He worked his thumb into my cheek, forcing my teeth open. Turning my head, I chomped on his finger.

He freed himself and shook his hand.

“ Du bet mig .” He scoffed.

I didn’t know what he said, but whatever. I turned my head. My body wasn’t at full capacity and my shin still ached. I shouldn’t have asked Tobias to remove the casts, I still needed them since I hadn’t gotten enough of their blood to fully heal me, but they would be an overall hindrance if I had a chance to escape.

Asher sighed and gripped the bottom of the stool I sat on and pulled it out. I wobbled unsteadily, gripping the bottom of it. The legs screeched against the tile until there was enough room for him to step in front of me. He brushed hair behind my ear. I stiffened, yanking away from his touch.

He sighed again.

“You haven’t eaten since you arrived, Catalina. Humans need food.”

My stomach was about to eat itself with my hunger, but I didn’t care. I wouldn’t eat even if the salty butter he’d pressed against my lips made my mouth water. It took everything in me not to lick it off.

Since he invaded my space, all I could do was turn my head to the side. I wouldn’t be able to strong arm him away from me, but I could nail his dick with my knee again.

Another sigh. He was breaking a record.

“Do not shut me out, Pet,” his voice lowered, verging on pleading, this time, twisting his torso to get in my face.

No reaction from me.

A look of contemplation settled on his expression and the bun thudded on the counter. His statement didn’t move me. I kept stiff and unyielding. “If you eat, I’ll reward you,” he murmured, thumb caressing the side of my neck.

I inhaled sharply as his touch flared my lust to life. I clutched the sides of the rectangular bar seat. He dragged his fingers into the collar of my shirt and grazed the hollow of my throat. As much as I wanted to give in, I shouldn’t—no, I wouldn’t.

I squeezed my eyes shut to block the sight of the playful curve to his lips. He’d hurt me so much.

“Why are you bargaining with a human?” Ren’s deep voice intoned.

“Why are you everywhere?” Asher muttered, and his sigh brushed against my cheek.

“Your Progeny is on a call with Jaxon. She’s been trying to contact you.”

Asher frowned and with a final spine-tingling graze against my skin, he straightened.

“Looks like the cat is out of the bag.” His grin held a secretive edge.

Progeny, like a child? Asher was a father?! Vampires could have children?

“Do not injure her,” he drawled and gave Ren another warning look. “Call for me if you need me.” He gave me a final shoulder squeeze.

Over my dead body. I didn’t say it, as much as I wanted to shout it at him.

Now that I was alone with Ren, I tensed up. He was as unpredictable as they came.

Ren gripped the back of my neck and forced my cheek flat on the counter. My gasp became muffled, and I scratched against the granite, unable to breathe. It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to brace. One second he was across the room and the next his hand clamped around my mouth. My chest seized, a burn working through my lungs.

I sank my teeth into his palm and Ren chuckled.

“I do not give a fuck if you live or die.”

I whimpered and wiggled so hard my knees slammed into the bottom side of the island. Agony wove around my bone that’d been broken just a few hours ago. He dragged me higher so my stomach pressed into the edge and my feet dangled.

Ren covered my back with the front of his body. I bucked to get him off, but it was pointless. I was a human and he was a vampire, ten times stronger than me. Even if he wasn’t a vamp, he would have overpowered me as a human man.

He pressed his stiff cock into my ass.

“Keep writhing just like that.”

I froze and my pulse stuttered.

Ren rubbed his cock harder against me. The edge of the counter dug into my belly, wrenching a gasp free. My arm and shin burned like hell.

Gritting my teeth, I clenched my thighs tight together. I would not call for Asher. His smug face was the last thing I wanted to see. I didn’t want to feel like I owed it to him if he came running in.

He’d take it as me giving in to him.

Ren’s fangs grazed against my throat. A shiver coasted down my spine. Need breathed to life and I ached.

Oh God no. I couldn’t hold back my whimper. The hair raised on my arms.

He chuckled in my ear.

“The little human enjoys being bitten,” he said huskily. “You react like a needy little blood-whore.”

Every facet of my body begged for the bite. I couldn’t weaken—but it felt so damn good—no! I cinched my eyes shut.

There was the pain of his fangs as they punctured my throat and the mental battle ceased. Lust flared and my clit throbbed. Ren’s grip tightened on my chin and his head burrowed in between my neck, pushing his lips harder against my throat.

His cock ground against me and I rolled my hips toward him, rubbing my ass against his hard dick. With each suck at my neck, it drew me tight as a bowstring. He drank another mouthful of my blood and lights flickered behind my closed eyes.

“Mm, I can’t forget how good you taste,” he whispered against my throat.

A tingle blazed to life and caused my knees to weaken. He sucked again and launched me into an orgasm. Sparks burst behind my scrunched eyelids. I kept grinding against his jeans, riding out the wave of release against the denim. It allowed me just enough pressure, but I wanted him inside me, fucking me, devouring me.

No. No. No. I stiffened.

“Enjoy the memory, blood-whore, it’s the most you will get from me.”

Humiliation slapped me in the face.

“Let me go,” I croaked, breaking my self-imposed silence. There wasn’t a doubt of how wet and ready I was for him. He only bit me and I came.

I was fucking twisted. Every muscle went limp and his grip loosened. I fell to my ass and curled my legs into my chest, huddling under the island.

A sob wrenched free.

He stared down at me, cool and collected as he swiped his tongue across his lip.

I swore I wouldn’t cry in front of them and here I was.

Swiping the back of my hand across my damp face, I hiccupped in a painful breath.

My chest tightened painfully with my inhales. Like a hand wrapped around my lungs and continued to squeeze.

The grip on my lungs engulfed my throat, sending my heart racing. How embarrassing, instead of going out in an escape attempt, my fear would do me in.

“Human, get up.” Ren tapped his toe against my ankle but my body was starting to go numb. I clutched his jeans, clinging to him. My surroundings blurred.

I wheezed, my grip weakening.

I’d lost a lot of blood in the car accident and the little droplets Jax forced down my throat only served to make it manageable to get around without a cast. To not be taken down due to my crippling fear, I needed more of their blood.

Over my dead body.

Movement from the kitchen entrance dragged my focus to the approaching blur.

“Pet,” Asher murmured, gripping the back of my head.

I let Ren’s jeans go and tipped to the side. If Asher wasn’t holding onto me, I would have banged my head on the hard floor.

His arms snaked around my waist, and I collapsed against his hard chest.

I could get through the attack. I could do it. Getting my heart to chill out was the only way and as much as I wanted to deny it, his arms warmed me. A wave of calm settled over my mind and cinched my eyes closed. His palm rubbed down my back in soothing rubs.

It was like he was a life-sized inhaler calming my squeezing lungs. It sickened me how well being held and petted calmed me.

“Ren doesn’t fuck humans, breathe.” Asher’s voice rumbled in my ear, but . . . it held a thicker accent. This wasn’t Asher. “He will not hurt you.”

I locked up, keeping my eyes shut. This will all disappear like a bad dream. I’ll wake up in my seedy LA apartment, the last place I had been before moving to Washington.

When I opened my eyes, it would all be gone . . . my lungs stopped constricting in my chest. I opened my eyes to clash with Jax’s blank gaze. It wasn’t a dream. Tears welled again, but I beat them back. His attention dropped to my throat where it tickled and felt wet.

“Why will you two not leave the girl alone?” Tobias said and crouched. His nose twitched and fangs exploded from his gums.

I gasped, cringing into Jax, but immediately stiffened. Jax was the furthest vampire I’d seek comfort from.

Tobias frowned.

“She’s bleeding. Close her wounds.”

Jax’s jaw fluttered and he loosened his hold at once, yanking my fingers from where they curled around his shirt.

“I’m not healing her.”

Tobias’s jaw ticked and he looked at Jax like he thought he was scum.

“Very well, hand her over.” Tobias slid his arm around my back to prop me up. “I need to close your wounds.”

I had no energy to fight Jax transferring me over to Tobias. I was limp and aching. My legs slid against the tile, scooting as Tobias cradled his arm behind my back to drag me close. He had no right to be so gentle. Who was he trying to fool, me or himself?

Electric pinpricks traveled through my limbs. I shoved at his chest. My move caused the wetness at my neck to trickle toward my cleavage.

“Shh,” he murmured and brushed my hair back from my face.

I blinked tears away, too weak to make an appropriate effort to get away from him.

“I won’t hurt you,” he murmured and his head lowered, gaze fixed on the rise of my breasts. His tongue slid up the column of my throat. The warm lash of his tongue was a smooth caress that brought my goose bumps to life.

I shuddered, closing my eyes tightly.

His tongue paused mid-lick and his fingers tightened around my waist. I waited between the precipice of not knowing what he would do and wanting to beg him to keep touching me.

When he finally moved again, it was to sigh, his warm breath puffing me with sweet orange as he retreated.

“What happened?” Asher scowled. “I left you alone for only minutes.”

Tobias smoothly stood and extended his hand to help me up. I ignored it and struggled to stand on my own. He must have had enough of my fawn-like movements because he cupped my elbow and hoisted me to my feet.

I wavered. It couldn’t be good losing as much blood as I had. In addition to that was the hunger twisting my stomach. My head swam and I swayed. Tobias’s grip tightened.

Asher tsked and plucked at the blood drenched collar of my shirt.

“We need another outfit.”

I didn’t like him talking about us like we were a unit.

I glared at him and yanked my arm from Tobias’s grip.

“He burned all of my things,” I spat, letting my temper get the best of me. Ren’s eyebrow raised and he lifted his hand. A bright flame sputtered to life across all of his fingertips. The five small flames were faintly blue at the base and brightened toward the tip.

“Would you like me to set you aflame?”

“Go ahead,” I said, gritting my molars, with more bravado than I felt. I tensed so much it hurt, but it was the only way I stayed in place instead of pointlessly running like a bat out of hell.

“Enough,” Asher muttered. He clapped his hands. “I have some gowns in the upstairs storage.”

The flames hovering over Ren’s fingertips sputtered and extinguished. Only then did I process Asher’s statement.

“I’m not wearing one of those hideous gowns belonging to that vampire woman.”

The entire room went utterly still. I swear the oxygen sucked out of the room with my words.

True fear skittered down my spine. If anything would drive them to rip my head off it was talking about their precious Imogen. Instinctively, I crowded closer to Asher.

He grinned and swept me close to him.

“My Pet is quite funny,” he cooed, and he strolled out of the kitchen with his arm around my shoulders. The foyer was devoid of workers, but the space was swept clean and the broken, jagged edges of the walls were smoothed with plaster. “That will be finalized and painted tomorrow.”

Whatever. I didn’t think I’d be alive long enough for it to matter. There was only one place this could possibly head to, and that was my death. Once Asher grew bored of me as everyone that knew him insinuated he would, I had no doubt he’d toss me to the side. If he didn’t off me, then it would be Ren or Jax.

The cold truth settled into my heart.

Either way, there was no use dwelling on the inevitable. Ren attacking me like that couldn’t have made it more transparent and with that came the realization that I didn’t care to hold my tongue. In fact, if I could get all of this over with sooner, then all the better. I’d try to escape, but if all else failed, inciting their wrath to kill me quickly would be my way to go. I was too much of a coward to off myself, anyway.

“Why can’t I wear something from the stuff you ordered?”

“None will suit.”

He shuffled me up the two flights of stairs until he reached the rounded alcove that broke into two directions. He headed left and dramatically shoved through the two swinging doors. This side was as large as the one that mirrored it.

“We moved back in here a few months ago. We try to rotate through our homes every ten years or so as to not raise suspicion by staying in one place.”

In the corner of the room were four large leather chests fastened with metal bands. A large rectangular object under a white sheet leaned against the wall behind it.

Setting me on my feet, he flipped the latch of the closest chest and rifled through bright colored tulle, releasing a burst of musk with his movements. Skirts spilled out from the edge and he pulled the ends of a dress. All I could focus on was the gaudy purple that would wash out my tan skin.

Imogen didn’t have good taste, there, that was the truth. And evidently a truth these vampires were unwilling to hear. Other than Asher. He’d been the only one willing to speak about her to me.

They were so secretive about their precious Imogen.

It wasn’t kind, or nice of me to think this way of a dead person, but I couldn’t lie to myself when her shadow hung over me at every moment in their presence. All this drama was caused by her in the first place. They were angry that I took her ashes. The fact that my mouth became as dry as sawdust at the thought was something I’d happily ignore.

He hooked the dress over his shoulder and the clingy, silky skirt molded to his chest. In a few steps he was in front of me.

“Hey,” I gasped as he disrobed me as easily as if I were a doll. He jerked my shirt over my head. I sputtered. Then I was standing in my bra and panties. He paused, admiring the swell of my breasts. “Hey.” I crossed my arms over my chest, scowling.

Asher smirked and jerked the dress over my head. I remained stiff and unrelenting. He gently pulled my hair through the collar.

“Hurry it up if you don’t want Jaxon seeing your gorgeous body.”

Gritting my teeth, I slid my arms through the long scratchy sleeves. As soon as my arms were through, Jax slammed through the doors. They swung behind him. Asher didn’t even look, he just

continued straightening the skirt. Turning me so my back was to him, he pulled the string of the corset until it banded around my stomach.

“She shouldn’t come,” Jax said through gritted teeth.

Did he ever say anything while not angry?

My lips tightened, but I tried to keep my expression neutral.

“Leave her here.”

Asher paused for so long that I peeked over my shoulder, in time to see him throw his head back, laughing. “She is mine to do with as I want.” He tightened the corset another rung. “Unless you would like to share my Pet, but you gave up your claim when you voted for her death. That means anything to do with her will be handled by me and Tobias.”

Jax scoffed and walked toward a large open window at the furthest end of the room. Then returned to where Asher and I stood in a few clipped steps. A pacing vampire.

I focused on Asher and pressed my hand to the ribbed corset compressing my stomach. The dress pushed up my cleavage and the tight fit didn’t make them any less prominent. Asher popped another chest open, unveiling a bunch of shoes.

I pursed my lips at the glittering heels. The stilettos would kill me since my leg wasn’t fully healed. That wasn’t taking into consideration that they weren’t really my style. I peeked up at him under my eyelashes. He stared at me without a twitch. Whatever, I’d grin and bear it for the chance of getting outside of this prison. I didn’t have any false hopes that I’d manage to escape, but at least I would get fresh air.

“She would make you pay for allowing a human to touch her things.”

“If she were alive, Jax,” Asher drawled. “But she is not, so I have nothing to worry about.”

Eesh, that must have stung. I rolled my lips between my teeth to stop my smirk.

Asher crouched and lifted my good leg, leaving me on my aching one. I gripped his shoulder to balance. I could stand on it, but a dull pain speared through my shin.

His shoulder bunched. The muscles were quite nice?—

I clenched my teeth and shoved on the other heel and let him go. Fucking vampire was too tempting to be around. My mind and body battled. They drew me in like a month to a flame. I’d get incinerated soon enough.

As they argued, I hobbled over to the window to peek at my obliterated rental.

The charred, half-turned-to-ash building, sprawled below. I had a clear view of my driveway from here.

I pressed my palm to the cold window pane, and an outline of condensation formed around my hand.

My room no longer existed. It was a gaping hole now, just like the one in my chest.

Believing in vampires got me that. I couldn’t make the mistake again.

Not that my decisions mattered since I’d be dead soon.