Because the Night

Chapter Ten

There’s a car on fire parked on the street outside the house when we return. Tonight could not get any stranger if it tried. Flames reach high into the sky as the red lights of a fire engine go round and round. But the firefighters have it under control quickly. So many nosy neighbors huddled nearby. Seems like the whole street is out there. Coming home to a fire is not so welcoming. And since when did I start thinking of this place as home?

“What now?” asks Henry with a groan.

“See what you can find out,” says Lucas.

Henry is out of the vehicle and striding toward the authorities with a confident smile in place before we’ve come to a complete stop. Benedict then drives on into the garage with a pistol sitting in his lap. Everyone is on edge.

“They could have attempted to blow up the upper levels of the house if they really tried,” says Lucas. “I don’t know for sure if the runes would stop a fire up there. But whoever it is, they’re just messing with us.”

“I assume this is more bullshit from your brother to keep us busy,” says Benedict.

“Seems likely.”

“Are we relocating?”

Lucas shakes his head. “No. The other properties don’t have the same protections as this one, and it probably wouldn’t take long to track us. Let’s stay put for now.”

Benedict just nods.

I, on the other hand, have some questions. “What if someone does blow up the upper levels? Do we just die horribly underneath the rubble or what?”

“The runes will protect us down there,” says Lucas. “And rest assured, there’s more than one way out of there in case of an emergency.”

“Any particular reason why your brother would want to kill you,” I ask, climbing out of the car and following him through the house and down to the basement level.

“It’s complicated.” Lucas scowls. “But the last time I saw Marc, he was bleeding out on the floor with a selection of my favorite daggers in his back. I also poured gasoline over him and set the building on fire that he was in. If he did survive, I would like to know how.”

“We need to talk,” I say.

“I’m aware,” answers Lucas. “Benedict, get me an update on what’s happening in the city. If there’s been any sightings of Lev or his people. Henry will also have connections.”

Benedict nods. “When do you want to deal with—”

“Later,” says Lucas, cutting him off.

The big blond dude heads into the armory. He and Henry had a couple of laptops set up on the table in there earlier. Guess it’s their new HQ.

“This way.” Lucas leads me down the hallway of the underground lair. He retrieves the key from atop the frame and unlocks a door. “After you.”

It’s another room I haven’t been in before. Inside is an office with a large, ornate mahogany desk and matching chair. Three walls are taken up with more books and curios. The man is seriously such a hoarder. And on the last wall is a chipped and faded painting of a woman.

I can definitely see the resemblance. She has blonde hair, green eyes, and the same soft curves as me. The same heavy jawline, full lips, and direct gaze. Huh.

“You did well tonight.” Lucas shuts the door and leans his back against it. “Though, you still seem pretty wound up. We should do something about that.”

I nod to the painting. “Tell me about her.”

“Her name was Ana, and she was my brother’s wife,” he says. “It was an arranged marriage. He was the oldest son and heir, but I was known for my skill at hunting. It gave me an excuse to spend most of my time in the hills. A man was attacked in our village, and I was given the task of tracking the creature responsible. It turned out to be a vampire. He was impressed with my skills and decided to turn me. And I then offered to turn Ana.”

“But not your brother?”

“No,” says Lucas. “Marc has always been an ass. I had no interest in spending eternity in his company. But I had feelings for Ana.”

“Were they reciprocated?”

“Yes. But she held sacred the marriage vows she had made to my brother. Nothing happened between us. I knew she wouldn’t agree to be turned. She had children who needed her. My brother was often busy elsewhere, and she enjoyed much of the simple life she lived.”

I sit in the seat behind the desk and cross my legs. “Okay.”

“A year later she died in childbirth. But not before my brother had gotten the story out of her about how I’d been made into a vampire and offered to make her one, too.” Lucas crosses his arms. “Finding out I had feelings for his wife…let’s just say, he didn’t take the news well. Marc searched for a vampire who would turn him and eventually found one. But he wasn’t as strong as me, and he knew it. The one who turned him was only a few years old; whereas, my sire was ancient. The bubonic plague killed most of what remained of our human family soon after. The truth is, Marc was my last real link to that life, and I was reluctant to destroy it. Pure sentiment on my part. Every century or so he made a halfhearted attempt to kill me, but it was almost a game between us.”

“You think someone trying to kill you is a game?”

He sighs. “You have to understand, he had much the same number of years as me to become an expert at whatever he pleased. I know he spent time learning fighting from the Huns and the Knights Templar. Had he been fully determined to kill me for falling in love with his wife, I would have known.”

I frown.

“Then in 1955, he killed my spymaster, Meriwa. I had asked everyone to stay away from him. But she didn’t like loose ends and wanted to keep better track of his movements. Not to kill him, you understand, but just to know where he was and what he was planning. He sent her ashes back to me in a silver chest. She had been part of our family for four-hundred years. That’s when I decided the time had finally come to end my brother.”

“And that’s why you went to sleep?”

“Their deaths weighed on me for various reasons. It would seem I was premature in mourning my brother, however.” He watches me in silence for a moment, before saying, “After Ana broke my dark and creepy heart, as you called it, I tended to steer clear of anyone who reminded me of her. Until you. I won’t let him hurt you, Skye.”

“When did all of this start between you and your brother?”

“Arthur had just defeated the Saxons at the Battle of Badon.”

“Wait. King Arthur? I thought he wasn’t real.”

He shrugs. “The mythology surrounding him is mostly nonsense, but the man himself was real enough.”

“What year was it?”

His lips skew to the side in annoyance. The dude definitely has hang-ups about his age. “Around the start of the sixth century.”

“You’re, um, fifteen-hundred years old?”

“Give or take.”

“You are one-thousand-and-five-hundred years old. Approximately. And you’ve been carrying that picture of her around the entire time. That’s either dedication or taking the idea of emotional baggage way too far.” My eyes must be as wide as the moon. “But you know I’m not her.”

“Oh, I know. Ana was soft-spoken. You have yet to have a thought cross your mind that you don’t believe needs announcing.”

“You really think you’re the first person to tell me I’m too loud or too much?” I ask with a bitter smile.

His gaze turns hard. “Who said that to you?”

Ignoring his question, I ask one of my own. “Why did you really turn me?”

“Who insulted you in such a manner, Skye? I want their name.”

“It doesn’t matter. Not anymore,” I say. “Answer the question. Why did you turn me?”

“I’ve already given you my reasons for that.”

“Let’s revisit them just once more for old time’s sake,” I say, picking up a heavy gold fountain pen off the desk. It’s tempting to throw it at him, but he would only catch it. “I reminded you of your first love.”

“For a moment. Yes. But the reason I turned you, Skye, was because neither Henry nor Benedict were where they were supposed to be. I woke up in a new century I didn’t understand. I knew you’d be useful in helping me adapt.”

I snort.

“Were you hoping for more?”

“No.”

“Very well then. We’ve covered the reason why I turned you.” He cocks his head. “But would you like to know why you’re still sleeping in my bed?”

“Because you don’t trust me on my own, along with the added bonus that you know it annoys me. You’d think pettiness fades with age, but apparently not.” I toss the heavy pen back onto the desk and get to my feet. “We’re done here. Thanks for finally telling me what’s going on. Move, please.”

Lucas stays put with his back to the door. “Make me.”

“I’m not in the mood to play.”

“That’s a pity, because I am.”

“Then go find Monica,” I say.

And the moment the words are out of my mouth, I know they’re a mistake.

“Who?” His dark brows draw together. “You mean the human I drank from the other night? The one on Henry’s payroll?”

“Henry really pays her?”

“Some are willing to sell their blood.” He gazes down at me with curiosity. “You’re jealous. But I was barely with her long enough to feed. Why be jealous?”

“I am not jealous.”

“Yes, you are. But all of your emotions are heightened right now. And since I’m your sire, it’s normal to feel drawn to me. It’s not usually something I encourage, but in your case, I’ve decided to make an exception.”

“Ha. No. Don’t do me any favors.”

“Come here,” he orders.

I feel the corresponding tug inside my chest. And it’s not like I didn’t ask him not to use the compulsion crap on me. “Fuck you.”

His smile has more than a flash of fang. “Fuck me yourself, you coward.”

“Great. You’ve discovered memes.” And I kind of hate myself for asking, but I really want to know. “Are you still in love with Ana?”

“No. Of course not. She was a good woman. But she’s been dead for over a millennia. Now come here.”

I shake my head and go to take a step back. But he moves forward and grabs the armholes on the front of my tank, including the lace bra straps beneath. I push against his rock-hard chest and get approximately nowhere. “Let go of me.”

“No. Never,” he says adamantly. “Especially when that’s not what you really want.”

“Like you know what I want. You are such a—”

Suddenly he’s moved us and reversed our positions. My back is hard against the door. As much as I’d like to knee him in the balls, he’s maneuvered us so that his booted feet are between mine. His body is pressing against mine from knees to chest. All I can do is push at his chest or grip his arms, and neither move does a damn thing.

He pushes his face into the side of my neck and breathes deep, making me shiver. And I hate the way I react to him. It isn’t fair—a childish statement, but true nonetheless.

“I’m such a what?” he asks, calm as can be.

“I don’t know. But if you start going on about my scent again…”

“Why do you keep not finishing sentences?” he asks. “It shows a real lack of commitment on your part.”

If my heart still worked, it would be racing. I growl in frustration and the bastard actually laughs. Then he drags the flat of his tongue up my neck. Which shouldn’t turn me on. But I am now a mass of nerves, and every damn last one of them is titillated by the jerk. Dammit. All of this tension simmers inside of me, pushing me to fuck, or fight, or I don’t know what.

The backs of his fingers move restlessly against my skin, where he’s still got ahold of my tank and bra. “All the times I have thought of you with your hand between your sweet thighs,” he says.

“You don’t need to be thinking about that. It has nothing to do with you.”

“But it’s not enough for you, is it?” he asks. “You need me.”

“The ego on you…holy shit.”

“You don’t just smell good, Skye, you taste good, too. Yours was the sweetest blood I’ve ever had. I think it’s time you took your clothes off.”

I bark out a nervous laugh. “Absolutely not.”

“Why not?”

“You don’t want to have sex with me. You said so. What happened to a newborn’s infatuation being a horrible inconvenience and all that?”

“Like I said, I changed my mind.”

“Change it back again. I’ll wait.”

“I tried, you know,” he says. “I attempted to convince myself this infatuation with you was foolish. But it didn’t work.”

“It’s only been a few days. Try harder.”

“No. Be as angry as you like. I am, without a doubt, the most selfish creature walking the face of this Earth. Because no matter what is best, I refuse to give you up. Having you with me, keeping you close, it makes me happy.”

I screw up my nose. “It makes you what?”

“Henry explained to me how obsessed people are with the search for happiness in these modern times. I am surprised to find I agree. Duty, loyalty…they don’t often keep you warm at night. But you, my dear Skye, do.”

Without another word, he tears the front of my tank in half right down the middle. The pads of his fingers glide over the lace of my bra, his thumbs toying with the hard imprint of my nipples. The way he rests his forehead against mine, keeping us as close as can be. Shit. This is not good.

What is also not good is the way everything low in my belly has drawn tight. How the crotch of my panties is wet with need. It makes it hard to remember how much I kind of, maybe mostly, hate the man. At least, I think I should?

“I miss the days when women wore skirts all of the time,” he says. “You’re going to make getting those boots and pants off you a chore, aren’t you?”

“Lucas…”

“And there you go, starting a thought and not finishing it again. It’s turning into a habit.” His hands cup my breasts over the lace of my bra. The hardening length of his cock presses against me, making me squirm. And there’s no way he hasn’t noticed. “I have just one question for you, Skye.”

“What?”

He grips the back of my neck and kisses me hard. His tongue sliding straight in and taking me over. The way he pushes his mouth against mine is punishing in its intensity. I hate the way he goes straight to my head and lights up my body from top to toe. Never in my life has anyone had such an effect on me.

When he draws back to look me over, to take in my reaction to him, it’s with a self-satisfied smile. I despise how damn pleased he is with himself.

He winds a lock of my blonde hair around his finger, and that’s when I see it over his shoulder. The painting of Ana. She stares vacantly out from the canvas with her golden hair, green eyes, and vapid expression.

And I refuse to be a poor imitation of some dead chick he pined after way back when.

No longer am I a mixture of confused and turned on. Now, I am also righteously angry.

He might have a point about my emotions being heightened. I have never hit anyone in my life. But I barely stop to think it through before slapping him hard across his perfect face. A violent red outline of my hand appears on his cheek before fading away.

“What was that for?” he asks in his annoyingly calm tone.

“I am not Ana.”

“No,” he agrees. “You’re not. Didn’t we already discuss that?”

Before I can open the door and make my escape, he’s reversed our positions again. The door is at his back, he’s guarding the only exit, and I am caught once more between him and the desk. “I am not your toy to play with. Whatever your reasons.”

“We might have to agree to disagree about that.”

“Shut up and listen. I may not be able to deny a certain attraction between us. But it is absolutely not going any further. For so very many reasons, but especially not so long as you have that damn painting of her on the wall.”

“You want me to take down the painting?”

“Yes. Now get out of the way.”

He shakes his head. “No.”

“No?”

“You heard me.”

The violence this man brings out in me. How dare he order me around and put his hands on me. Never has someone bossed me around and turned me on in equal measure. I don’t like feeling this out of control.

It wouldn’t be an overstatement to say I have no idea what I am doing. Not really. But it doesn’t stop me, let alone slow me down. My rage doesn’t have time for reason. I fly at the man, and he catches me with ease. I might want to learn how to fight before trying to take on Lucas. Ask Benedict for some lessons or something. It would probably be the smart thing to do if I wanted an actual chance in Hell against this particular fifteen-hundred-year-old vampire.

An attempt at biting him soon turns into us kissing. Again. Our tongues tangle furiously, and my teeth sink into his bottom lip. The way his grip on me tightens, holding me to him. I think I understand now why he keeps sniffing me. Because his masculine scent is otherworldly. A hint of salt and sandalwood and I don’t know what.

I shred the material of his tee, tearing it from his body, needing to be skin to skin. The seductive smile he gives me in return makes my knees quiver.

The next thing I know, my back hits the desktop and my boots, socks, and jeans are gone. Just gone. Same for the remains of my torn tank top. He is amazingly adept at destroying clothing. My lips are numb and swollen from kissing, and my head spins in dizzy circles. I can’t keep up. But the way my pussy clenches at the sight of him half naked cannot be denied. The way all of the smooth skin of his chest is on show. His wide shoulders and muscular neck, in particular, make me stupid with lust. He says I am his weakness, but he is also mine. That’s the truth of the matter.

“I like the lingerie of this time.” He stands at the end of the desk, gazing down on me. At my black lace Brazilian brief. His palms glide over my thick thighs, holding them apart. “You can keep the bra. For now.”

“Lucas, wait,” I say. But I might as well have saved my words.

He tears my underwear from my body and drags me farther down the desk. Closer to him. Then his face is buried in my pussy.

I hadn’t given much thought to vampire sex. But it is definitely something to be experienced. His stamina and strength are unmatched. Guess you can learn a lot about anatomy in a thousand or so years. He drags the flat of his tongue through me, over and over again. Then he suckles at my labia, giving me just the right amount of pressure. The decadent, wet sounds of him eating me are obscene. Same goes for my moans.

My hands find his thick hair and hold on tight. The way he grinds his face against my sex is wild. How his thumbs hold me open, as he fucks me with his tongue. No man has ever come at me with such raw enthusiasm.

It’s mildly embarrassing how quickly he makes me come. How fast the sensation builds down low in my spine before shooting out to every part of me. He sucks on my clitoris and slides two fingers into me. And those digits faithfully find their target. My mind goes into freefall as the orgasm consumes me. All of me drawing tight before unraveling. I am stardust. I am gone. What remains of me is floating in the heavens high above.

He moves me back up the desk and I barely notice. It takes a while for my mind to come down. For me to put myself back together. But when I do, it’s to the sight of his body covering me. His jeans are pushed down, he’s positioned between my legs, and oh wow. We are really doing this.

“Do you want me inside you?” he asks.

“Yes.”

With one hard thrust, he buries himself deep. And there’s a lot of him.

A squeak of surprise escapes my throat. The length is blissfully fine, but the width requires a moment to adjust. His face is stark with need, his gaze glued to mine as he holds perfectly still. My mouth opens, but nothing comes out. I officially have no words—which might be a first.

He nods. Happy with whatever he sees in my expression. One hand has a tight grip on my hair while the other has an equally firm grip on an ass cheek. He’s in the perfect position to do as he wants with me. And that is exactly what he does. Lucas fucks me with brutal efficiency. I have to wrap my legs around his waist and grip the sides of the desk to stop him from driving us both off the damn end and onto the floor.

His hips piston, burying his hard length deep, time and again. My hard nipples rub against his strong chest through the lace of my bra. The way the delicious friction is building me right back up again is almost sinful. Coming twice in one night has happened to me approximately never. Not with someone else involved. But the blood is rushing through me, hot and sweet. The pressure is gathering in a tight ball low in my belly and back. All of me is focused on the knot of tension between my hips.

The blue of his eyes is my whole world—the beginning, the end, and everything after. It’s like I am lost, and it doesn’t even occur to me to care.

I know he’s getting close when he presses his face into my neck. A sign that he can’t control himself for much longer. Which is fair enough. He hasn’t had sex in over seventy years. His grip on my ass tightens and he lifts me just a little. Just enough to have the wide, blunt head of his cock start hitting a beautiful spot deep inside of me. Making me light up from top to toe.

When it comes to fucking, the man is magic. No joke. Never have I been so thoroughly railed. Being with Lucas is like an out-of-body experience.

The sound of wood cracking and splintering as I come is loud. My heart is stuck in my throat, and all I can manage is a moan. But my internal muscles lock on him, trying to keep him deep. The feeling of coming with him inside me is just so sweet and strong.

His roar as he comes echoes through the room. Maybe the whole damn house. That noise shakes my soul, I have never heard anything like it. His hips buck against me a couple of times before he finally stills. For a while, his eyelids remain shut tight, but eventually he opens them.

And we stare at each other warily for a good long time. Completely awkward as fuck.