Chapter 6 #2
But before I can rip off the clothes that have been on her for way too long, she surprises me by breaking the kiss, pulling my hand from her throat, and dropping to her knees before me, like a religious worshiper come to kneel at my altar. To sacrifice herself to a dark god.
She clutches my thighs, bringing me in closer, and her breath fans over my crotch making me instantly hard. “I’m still hungry, Lucian.”
The meaning to her words isn’t lost on me, and my cock responds by fully tenting my pants.
Elliot presses her lips against it and bite-sucks on me through the layers of material, making me groan.
“Fuck, Monty,” I mutter as she unzips and pulls me out. Her hand is hot, searing in the most delicious way against my skin, and she licks me like she’s the one in control.
But she isn’t.
I am.
Wrapping her hair around my fingers, I push my cock into her mouth, stretching her lips wide, the wetness within divine as her tongue strokes against the sensitive underside.
I ease back, then thrust in, pushing as deep as I can go. She gags but grabs at me, pulling me into her.
Fuck, she’s perfect. I start plunging in and out of her hot, wet mouth as she sucks at me, my balls hitting her chin with each surge into her. And she swallows, gagging, but I push past it, into her throat with those thrusts.
I start to take her hard. Fast, wanting to come, wanting to claim.
She sucks me as best she can until she just lets me bang her mouth and throat like it’s a cunt, and it doesn’t take long for the pressure to build, the pleasure to grow to an almost unbearable level.
My balls tighten, and I grip her hair, her drool dripping over my balls and wetting my thighs as I hammer into her.
Harder and harder until the sweetest, sharpest pleasure overtakes everything, and I come down her throat, cock twitching.
I want to stay in that warm embrace forever. I want to wreck her so she knows she belongs to me. Hate or no hate, she’s mine.
But I step away.
“Is that all you’ve got?” she asks.
I wrap a hand around her nape and draw her up to me. “What I really want is to throw you on my desk, spread you open wide, and eat you out until you writhe in agony from the forced orgasms.”
“Is that a promise or a threat?”
I smile, and I kiss her again, probing her mouth with my tongue, licking my way along her teeth and lips before plunging in all over again. “Both.”
“My favorite.”
With a sigh, I release her. “On the bed is a dress. Wear it. The shoes, too. I’ll be waiting.
I decide to shower and change in the guest room. Too many distractions in mine. I’m aware the blowjob was nothing more than a taste, a precursor to more, and I want that more.
But I’m also a man of discipline, and I like to push myself. The party tonight will be a master class in the art of control.
It’s hard, fucking hard, not to go into my room to watch her dress in clothes I picked out and laid out myself before finding her.
Instead, I go to the kitchen, passing the wet bar with the blood-infused whiskey.
It’s a seminal drop, unbelievably expensive and everything we love distilled down into such purity it gets us drunk, just like actual whiskey.
But I want some real blood for sustenance. I’m sure Elliot found my supply and depleted it, so I may have to get more brought up to restock.
I open the fridge and my heart lurches sideways.
Elliot didn’t touch a drop.
That’s…unexpected.
I pull out a bag and fill a wine glass. Cold blood that’s still living in the right ways is an acquired taste, and one I like.
“I had protein bars.”
I turn, glass halfway to my mouth, and I almost forget how to breathe.
The blonde curls have been slicked back, emphasizing the elegant angles of her face.
The simple style change has given her a more refined, classic look, and the red shine of the satin, along with the black heels, completely erases the innocent fairytale facade and trades it for a dangerous edge.
She looks more like she walked out of one of my most depraved fantasies and every bit the ruthless killer she is now.
“Turn around,” I say and motion for her to spin.
She narrows her eyes but does as asked, and I down my drink before making my way to her.
Undoing the choker is easy; it slips off into my hand, and her sharp, deep intake of air and sudden tension to her muscles tell me she’s feeling her strength return to its full potential.
I hope this decision doesn’t turn into one I regret. I want to be able to trust Elliot. I want to have her at my side.
“Who and what you are is your choice.” I trace the line of her spine from nape to waist. “If you cannot handle this freedom and the power it bestows, I will reattach the collar. I know you hate it, but I like the look of it on you.”
“Like a pet?”
“Like you’re mine,” I whisper in her ear, and I don’t miss the shiver that races over her.
Reaching into my pocket, I slide the other choker around her throat, this one encrusted with diamonds, and lock it in place.
“What does this one do to me?”
“Apart from announce you belong to me? Not a damn thing.”
I pour her some blood, and she drinks it hungrily. I take the glass, put it down, and guide her closer to me.
Then I lick the lines of her lips, lapping up the blood. “You make blood even better, Elliot. Who the fuck thought you’d do that?”
Elliot turns from me and walks out of the kitchen, right as my phone beeps. Vittoria has arrived at the party already, and knowing her, is skulking around the edges, watching everyone there like a hawk that’s been honed by starvation.
We need to go.
I follow Elliot into the great room and call the elevator, punching the code.
She’s still silent as it arrives. As the doors open, I motion for her to enter, but she pauses at the entrance.
“Give me time, Lucian,” she says.
“Time?”
“To…be okay with this.” She steps inside. “It’s not something I signed up for. I just… I need time.”
The doors shut.
“I understand.”
Her blue eyes swing to me. “Do you really? Because I don’t think—”
“I wasn’t given a choice in my turning either.”
She blinks. “You…?”
“None of us are born this way,” I say, casting my gaze onto the silver doors. The night I awoke a vampire was a long, long time ago, but you never forget the day you’re reborn. “The only difference is that you have me to guide you through the transition. Some of us weren’t given that luxury.”
The elevator dings and the doors open. Two of my men greet us.
“This way sir…ma’am,” one says.
We’re driven to the glittering high rises of Tenebris City. It isn’t far from us, but entrances need to be made. As Andrew pulls in front of the old train station, the event’s venue, I begin to explain to Monty what tonight is.
“That’s it?” she asks, raising a brow.
“Keep watch,” I say, “and if you see anything odd, let me know.”
“It’s an engagement party,” she says, her hands clasped tight. “Right?”
“Yes, but I’m interested in what’s below the surface,” I say. “And I know you like to…gather information.”
“That’s a nice way to say nosey.”
I smirk but it’s quick to falter. “One more thing.”
“Don’t eat the humans. I got it.”
I lock gazes with her. “Stay away from a vampire named Santiago.”
“Santiago?” she asks, confused. “Why? Is he a friend of yours?”
The car door opens. “He was. Now, he’s nothing but trouble.”
On the surface, this is a regular party, a place for the rich, the famous and infamous, the criminal element, all to rub shoulders and exchange information. Of course, the most interesting interactions will end up on tomorrow’s blogs, sites, papers, and TV, courtesy of VMR Media.
But beneath the surface, another story breathes and seethes.
Too many vampires are here, doing their best to blend in with their prey. There’s mafia here, too. Human, but powerful in their own way. Especially now that Benicio is gone.
I spot some of the Rogues hiding in the shadows. They stick out in their cheap rented suits and second-hand dresses. I’m surprised they were invited at all, given their lower economic status. Maybe they snuck in. I wouldn’t put it past Raleigh.
Speaking of, the young Rogues leader is not here.
That’s unusual.
But I’m more interested in my old nemesis and why he’s here.
Santiago doesn’t come near me, but his underlings do. And as Elliot moves around the room like she was born for this, I realize a few things.
One, the deaths of de Santis and his men have opened a vacuum in the power dynamics of the city and others want to pounce and take advantage.
Two, Santiago’s people’s talk bothers me. I think he wants more. He always wants more.
It’s been years, decades, since I last saw Santiago, before I set up VMR and helped create the rules for vampires to abide by. And after our blow-out, I thought he’d never be on this side of the world again, let alone in Tenebris.
His being here can’t be anything good.
Awareness prickles along the back of my neck, and I glance across the large ballroom to where Elliot is. Only she’s not alone.
Santiago approaches her, then kisses her hand.
Fury nearly burns me to a crisp.
Does he think she’s important? Does he know she’s mine?
Either way, he’s about to find out.