CHAPTER 16
16
ADALYN
I hadn’t secured any new clients tonight. Every time I’d tried, I froze, unable to do it.
He’d done something to me. That cruel prince truly had ruined me. I couldn’t focus properly. Even when I’d danced for the crowd, my movements had been stilted. Clumsy. I’d nearly lost my grip on the aerial hoop more than once, my concentration torn between dancing and looking for him.
He hadn’t come back, though. I’d told him not to, so I shouldn’t be surprised. Still, the empty feeling in my chest wouldn’t go away. Even now, as I readied for my first client of the evening, I couldn’t shake the feeling. It made me feel nauseous. Unsettled. Lost . And not the good kind.
Someone knocked on my suite door, and the feeling intensified, nearly swallowing me whole. I inhaled a few calming breaths and tried to settle my nerves before calling out, “Come in.”
My voice trembled. It hadn’t trembled like this in years .
What was wrong with me?
My client was definitely going to notice if I didn’t pull myself together. He was one of my regulars and knew me quite well. In fact, he’d been my first. First client. First to steal my innocence. I’d trembled then. Trembled and cried. He’d been rough, taking sadistic pleasure in being the one to claim my virginity.
It had taken days for the aches and bruises to heal, but I was still recovering from the emotional damage.
I barely flinched anymore, though. Barely showed my distaste. But I was off my game tonight, and with him, that was dangerous. Remembering how it felt to have Everett’s mouth and tongue on me, some of my trembling faded. Maybe if I just pictured him touching me and not the male who’d brutally destroyed a vital part of me, I could survive the next hour. And the following one. And the one after that.
At the sound of approaching footsteps, I adjusted my mask, struggling to wipe the emotions from my face. Confidence. Charm . Those were the emotions that allowed me a semblance of control. Without control, I couldn’t fend them off when their hunger took over.
Just in the nick of time, I managed to tilt my lips in an alluring smile, greeting my guest with a sultry look. “Welcome,” I said, holding still so the male filling the bedroom doorway could take me in.
I was stark naked, per his orders. Councilman Torres didn’t like anything getting in the way of his time with me. He was over two hundred years old, but since he was a Venturi, he had the looks and stamina of a twenty-year-old. As usual, he got right down to business and started feverishly undressing.
“I’ve missed you, my Star,” he said, greedily eyeing my breasts while he tore off his shirt. “I’ve been in meetings all week and couldn’t get away.”
“Sounds stressful,” I cooed, hating that I couldn’t quite hide a slight tremor. “Maybe you should lay back and let me do all the work tonight.”
“Not tonight, Star baby. Daddy is too hungry. I need all of you.”
My blood ran cold as he yanked off his pants, revealing how hungry he was. At the sight, another piece of me shriveled up and died. I tried to speak again. Tried to take back control. But he was on the bed in a flash, his eyes blazing with lust. Despite my years of training, I tensed, desperately trying to find a way out of this.
He would eventually feed on me as all my clients did, but he had something else on his mind right now. Something that had me inwardly recoiling. It was nearly impossible for me to stop him in this near-feral state. Without a fresh blood link, his will overpowered my influence.
So I did the only thing I could do and tightly sealed my thighs shut.
Annoyance immediately flashed in his eyes. “I thought you were over this, Star. Now stop testing my patience and open those pretty thighs.”
“I’m still sore from a previous client,” I quickly said, trying to sound apologetic. “If you could just feed on me first and share your venom, I’ll gladly spread my legs for you.”
That seemed to appease him. When he licked his lips and hungrily eyed my neck, I forced myself to tilt my head back, encouraging him to bite me. More than happy to oblige, he crawled on top of me, his fangs already descended. But as I felt the sharp tips graze my throat, I flinched.
Horror filled me.
Desperate to cover up my slip, I reached for his stiff erection. He grabbed my wrist, hard enough that I cried out in pain. His other hand gripped my jaw and forced my gaze to his. I stared at him with wide eyes, knowing that I’d screwed up big time. I was going to be in a world of pain very, very soon.
“Why is my pretty little Star acting like a frightened rabbit tonight?” he said, digging his fingers into my jaw so hard that tears filled my eyes. “You haven’t been this jumpy in years.” Before I could respond, a feral gleam entered his gaze. “Doesn’t matter. Your resistance is only making me more hungry. Fight this all you want, Star baby. I’m eager to play the predator tonight.”
In a flash, he savagely bit into my neck and crushed me to him. I gasped from the pain, a pain I knew wasn’t going away anytime soon. He had no intention of sharing his venom with me tonight, not after I’d pulled away from him. There was only one thing I had left to protect myself.
As I struggled to gain control of his mind, he started to grope me. Each touch was a punishing bruise, a reminder of how mortal, how weak I was. My body couldn’t handle the rough treatment without breaking, and that’s exactly what Councilman Torres seemed intent on doing.
“Please,” I whimpered, cringing away from his hands. I needed to focus. Focus . But I was too scared. Too terrified . So terrified that a scream built in my head, just like the last time I’d been attacked. But this time, I directed it toward something. Toward someone . Toward the male who’d invaded my world and saved me when I’d needed it most. Who’d proved himself to be so much more than a cruel, witch-hating prince.
As the desperate scream exploded through my mind, I heard an actual explosion, one that rang in my ears and rattled the bed. Startled by the noise, Torres jerked his fangs free to lift his head. In the next instant, he bared his bloody fangs at something I couldn’t see.
“I’m not done yet. She’s mine ,” he growled, clutching me to him so hard that I couldn’t breathe.
“No, she isn’t.” The intruder’s voice was dark and dangerous, promising untold violence. “And you’ll pay with your life for touching what isn’t yours.”
“We’ll see about that!” Torres roared, then shoved me aside so forcefully that I tumbled off the bed and hit the floor. As the two males collided in a blur of fangs, claws, and fury, I crawled to the corner of the room and curled into a ball.
Within seconds, the room was a warzone. It looked like a bomb had gone off. Glass and wood exploded through the air, and I covered my head as something sliced into my arm. The two males raged across the room, destroying everything they touched.
As quickly as the fight started, it ended with Torres on the ground, a huge chunk of the bed’s frame protruding from his stomach. He bellowed in agony, reaching up to pull it out, but the other male shoved it farther in and savagely twisted. At the awful wet sounds Torres made, I uncovered my head to morbidly watch him.
He’d tortured me so many times. He’d stolen something priceless from me. Seeing him so miserable spoke to that dark part of me, the part that he had helped create. It took pleasure in his anguish, basking in the glow of sweet revenge. And when the other male punched a hole straight through Torres’ chest, grabbing his heart so he could rip it out, the darkness all but sighed in contentment.
As the light left Torres’ eyes, I continued to watch, wanting to make sure that he was good and dead. That he would never, ever touch me again. When his heart hit the floor with a wet thump , I finally focused on the other male. On my rescuer. My savior. My . . .
“Everett?” Disbelief coated the word. It couldn’t be him. This was only a dream, my imagination wishing it was him. I’d pushed him away. I’d told him not to come back.
He had no earthly reason to be here.
But he moved toward me anyway. He crossed the room in great strides and knelt before me. And then he reached for me. Hesitantly. As if afraid to touch me. To hurt me. Not caring if this was only a dream, I uncurled from my protective ball and threw myself at him. He gently caught me, and I tightly wrapped my arms around his neck.
He might not be real, but I was going to hold on to this dream for as long as I could.
“You’re safe now,” he said, the earlier violence in his voice replaced by soft reassurance. “He can’t touch you anymore.”
Hearing the words out loud, I finally broke.
The dam on my emotions burst wide open, and a wretched sob tore from my lungs. Everett lifted me into his arms, cradling me close as I cried. He was covered in blood and gore, but I didn’t care.
Because I suddenly felt safe . Safer than I could ever remember feeling.
Unable to speak, unable to do anything but cling to him and cry my eyes out, I barely noticed when he carefully wrapped me in a robe.
“I’m getting you out of here,” he said, lifting me once more. The words didn’t register at first, not until he adjusted his hold to make a phone call. “Loch, I’m taking her to the lakehouse. Meet me there.”
I immediately stiffened in his arms. “E-Everett. I c-can’t.”
“You almost got raped ,” he said, so forcefully that my heart stopped. “There’s no way I’m letting that happen to you ever again.”
Shocked, I didn’t respond until he was storming through the suite toward the exit.
“Everett, I can’t leave. Everett .”
He halted inches from the door he’d just violently destroyed. “You told me you weren’t being forced to work here against your will. Then prove it. Let me take you away from here.”
“It’s not that simple.”
“Well, I’m making it that simple. You aren’t staying here.”
Before I could protest some more, he marched through the exit and into the hallway.
“Everett, please. I really can’t,” I insisted, squirming to be let down. His arms tightened, causing me to suck in a sharp breath.
“You’re hurt ,” he growled, slightly loosening his grip.
“Not much. I’ve had worse.”
Realizing my mistake, I savagely bit my tongue, but it was too late. Fury whipped through me, so intensely that it stole my breath away.
“Everett,” I gasped out, shocked to my core.
“I can’t do it. I can’t let you stay here. You’re coming with me whether you like it or not.”
“But, Everett —”
“No. I won’t budge on this. Nothing you say will change my mind.”
As the fury continued to whip through me, my shock turned into panic.
The emotion. The fury. It was him. It was Everett .
I could feel him.
Before I could completely freak out, he came to a dead stop.
“Your Highness, this is a surprise. I didn’t expect to see you here. Is something wrong?”
My heart started to pound. Turning my head, I spotted Mistress standing directly in front of the elevators, along with Heath, Rocky, and the other bouncers.
Belatedly realizing that Everett wasn’t wearing a mask, I broke into a cold sweat. He must have lost it in the fight with Torres.
“I’m in no mood to speak with you right now, Madame Faircroft,” Everett replied, that dangerous edge to his voice returning. “Now get out of my way before I make you.”
Spirits save us all, he was furious . I could feel it in my chest like an angry swarm of hornets.
Instead of arguing with him, Mistress turned her attention to me. “ Remember your promises, Star. You can’t run away from this life.”
Swallowing, I nodded, knowing she was right. But I wasn’t running. I was literally being carried out of here whether I wanted to or not. Surely, she understood that. She had to.
With one last pointed look, she stepped aside and said, “Let them through.”
“What?” Heath hissed, gaping at her like she’d lost her mind. “You can’t do that. She’s half mine .”
A growl rumbled in Everett’s chest, vibrating my insides.
“Heath, we’ll talk about this later,” Mistress firmly said, staring him down. “Star isn’t a blood slave, and if the prince wants to take her, he has every right.”
Heath’s lips pulled back in a silent snarl, but after a tense moment, he stepped aside and motioned for the bouncers to do the same.
The second they did, Everett resumed his course. Even when Heath openly glared at him, he didn’t falter. He had no reason to. Even this outnumbered, he was one of the most powerful vampires in existence. Going up against him was certain death.
Benjamin Osborne and Councilman Torres could attest to that.
When the elevator doors finally closed, I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t. I could barely breathe . Nothing like this had ever happened to me before. No one had ever tried to rescue me from this life. I’d never asked them to, convinced that no one could. I still wasn’t convinced, but it felt nice, really nice to have someone take me away from it—if only for a moment.
There would be hell to pay when I returned, though.
Still, with each second that passed, the tension in my body eased. This was happening. This was really happening. It wasn’t a dream. The vampire I should hate was carrying me away from my nightmares. What’s more, I could feel his tension ease too .
When we finally left Dreamscape behind, relief hit me so hard that I knew the feeling wasn’t solely mine. He carried me all the way to his car, then gently placed me in the passenger seat. At how attentive he was being, my throat closed. It had been years since I’d felt such tender touches. Since I’d been treated with such care.
Overwhelmed, I lapsed into silence as he drove. My exhausted mind was spinning, trying to sort through all that had happened. But eventually, there was only one thing I could truly focus on.
“I felt you,” I said, pulling my robe shut as the admission left me feeling more than a little exposed.
“I felt you too,” he quietly replied.
My heart skipped several beats.
“So what does that mean?” I asked. Deep down, I already knew the answer. I could feel the truth of it settling into my bones, leaving an undeniable mark that couldn’t be erased.
But I needed to hear him say the words anyway. Needed to know that he had come to the same conclusion.
And he did. He slowly released a breath and said with finality, “It means that we’re soulmates.”