Chapter 23
What was Alexander thinking leaving me in Whitechapel, alone, with no money and a killer on the loose?
Trying not to think about that, I start walking quickly in a westerly direction—or what I think is west since I have no idea where the bloody hell I am.
If this is an initiation test, I don’t think much of it.
At least I can see in the dark, and I’m glad I’m wearing sturdy boots if the need to run presents itself.
I’m amusing myself with thoughts of how that would go when a lone carriage appears, horse hooves clopping loudly on the cobblestones.
It slows as it reaches me, and I turn away in annoyance, cursing Alexander for leaving me here like a harlot.
The carriage resumes its steady pace when I don’t approach it.
I unclench my fists and take off at a faster trot in the opposite direction.
I’m passing by a stretch of wooden fencing when something seizes me around the waist, and I’m pulled through a narrow opening.
It happens so quickly I don’t have time to react.
My face is squashed roughly against the fence and my wrists wrenched behind my back.
When I start to scream, a meaty hand slides over my lips and I bite hard into a fleshy finger.
The owner gives a yelp. ‘Bitch!’ a male voice growls in my ear.
Before I can punch his lights out, I’m yanked backwards by the hair and dragged across a courtyard with a hand clamped across my mouth.
None of this hurts, but it is making me incredibly angry.
‘You’re a lively one, aren’t you?’ His rasping kipper breath is so rank it makes me gag.
He hauls my body over into the far corner, away from the street.
I go limp, letting him think I’ve fainted from shock.
It suits my purposes: I’m going to rip his throat out, and the fewer people who hear it, the better.
My blood teeth are aching with anticipation.
I’m a far more dangerous killer than he is, and he’s about to become my first victim. Good riddance.
He releases his hand from my mouth, and crouches beside me.
I bare my fangs but tense as a slim sharp blade presses against my throat.
‘Keep still, and this won’t hurt a bit.’ His stinky fish breath wafts over my face, and my nostrils flare at the indignity.
The stench of kippers will not be my last memory.
‘You chose the wrong woman, Jack!’ I hiss.
Twisting my head and ignoring the sting of the knife’s blade as it skims my throat, I champ down on his arm.
The woollen material of his coat is no protection for my lethal teeth.
I rip out a large chunk of flesh, spitting a mess of gore and fibres onto the cobblestones.
His blood coats my lips and dribbles down my chin.
The knife clatters to the ground as he sinks to his knees, moaning in pain.
I give a low chuckle of satisfaction and scramble up a brick wall, discovering that I can cling to it without any effort.
Clambering to the top, I crouch there, licking my lips.
Below, Jack clutches his arm and scrabbles for the knife.
He brandishes it wildly, peering into the darkness.
‘Up here, jackass!’
He sucks in a breath, seeing me outlined against the night sky.
‘I’m going to gut you, you little bitch!’ he growls.
I arch an eyebrow. How rude. It’s about time I taught this man some manners.
I spring from the wall, aiming directly for his throat.
He doesn’t know what hit him.
***
I arrive back at the house, blood spattered and ready to tear a strip off Alexander—literally. Growling to myself, I stomp up the stairs with my fangs out. He’s going to pay for dumping me in that hellhole. Yes, I managed. But that isn’t the point. He’s supposed to care about me.
I find him in his bedroom, standing at the window, facing the door as if he’s been waiting for my return. A copper tub of steaming water sits between us. He holds out a finger and beckons me forward.
‘Come, my darling. Let’s get you cleaned up.’
I snarl and ready myself to pounce.
‘I know you’re angry, my dear. And yes, I deserve it. And you can say anything you like to me. But first, let me wash you and look after you.’
His velvety smooth voice wraps around me, and my resistance dissolves. I wilt like a fading flower, powerless beneath his will. A hot bath does sound good, and Alexander looking after me sounds even better ...
Tilting my head back, Alexander gently rinses my soapy hair with clean, warm water from a flowered jug. The bathwater turns a pretty shade of pink.
‘Where’s Charlie?’ I ask.
‘Sedated. I fed him some of my blood mixed with a special serum I’ve been working on for vampire insomnia. It seemed to do the trick.’
I don’t say anything. Not for the first time, I wonder what else he’s been dabbling in down in his basement laboratory, which I’m forbidden to enter.
Finished with my hair, Alexander scoops it to one side over my shoulder, soaps a washcloth, and begins making slow circles over my back. I purr in contentment.
‘I was thinking’, he says idly, ‘that three vampires under the same roof isn’t necessarily the best arrangement.’
Instinctively, my body tenses, wondering what he means by that. Am I going to get thrown out on the street?
He chuckles, reading my thoughts as he’s apt to do. ‘I would never, my precious one. I simply meant that we should take a trip.’
My taut muscles ease slightly as he rinses the soap off my back. ‘A trip? Where to?’
‘How would you like to go to Paris?’
I swivel in the bath and look up at him. ‘Paris! For how long?’
Alexander cups my cheek and smiles indulgently. ‘Just for a couple of months, my love. To give Charlie some space. I’d hate for anything to happen to you.’
Anger bubbles up in me. ‘Humph, you didn’t seem too worried when you dumped me on Jack the Ripper’s doorstep!’
Alexander strokes my cheek soothingly with his thumb. ‘Shush now, my darling. I had complete confidence in you, and you handled the situation beautifully.’
‘Yes. Well, Jack won’t be bothering anyone else from now on!’ I growl, and Alexander’s lips quirk.
‘That’s my girl. But Charlie is more dangerous than a common street killer. I thought he would be mature enough to handle our relationship. It seems he isn’t.’
‘Can’t you just keep sedating him?’
Alexander purses his lips, as if considering it. ‘That’s a possibility, but it’s not a long-term solution. I’d much rather get you away from him completely, let him feel the consequences of his jealousy.’
I shrug, not really caring about Charlie and his emotional problems. He’s brought it on himself. Besides, I’m excited by the thought of a trip to Paris with Alexander. ‘Yes, all right. If you think that’s best, Master.’
‘I do, indeed ...’ He leans forward and kisses me deeply. I close my eyes, returning it, relishing his attention. And I want you all to myself, he says huskily in my mind. His icy hands reach into the cooling water to cup my breasts, and I shiver in pleasure.
Let us go to bed, my queen. I wish to make love with you and share blood before the sun comes up, in celebration of your first conquest.
I nod eagerly, and Alexander takes my hand. Under his adoring gaze, I emerge like Venus from the bath, rosy-tinted water sluicing off me. I feel like the most powerful woman on earth. I feel like a god.