Chapter 3
No amount of screaming, struggling, or pounding fists would save me. I fought my captor the way I’d fought the ocean current just that morning, with every muscle, every breath, every fiber. It didn’t matter. My efforts were useless.
He stopped walking just outside the gates of the Yoshiki mansion. Not a single person had helped me. Not a single one. They’d all thought it was some entertaining joke.
Bile clawed up my throat, gagging me.
He set me on my feet, hand gripping the back of my neck. I stumbled, but his arms kept me upright. He buried his face against my throat, inhaling before groaning. “Fuck,” he hissed, dragging his nose along my skin, stopping over my erratic pulse.
A car door opened. From one blink to the next, I was tossed into back of a black sedan. My captor slid in beside me, slamming the door. I scrambled across the seat, reaching for the other door, trying to claw free. A hand clamped around my wrist, holding it in place.
“I don’t think so,” he growled. “Stop making this difficult.”
“Let me go,” I said, voice barely audible. Tears blurred my vision. “You can’t do this.”
“I can do whatever I want. Now, sit still. This will go more smoothly if you do.”
“Kidnapping is illegal,” I bit out.
A huff left his nostrils. He reached over and grabbed the seat belt, buckling me in.
“Vittorio, drive!” he barked. The car lurched into motion, locks clicking into place.
I flinched at the sound of them. My opportunity to escape narrowed, then turned nonexistent as the Yoshiki mansion disappeared behind us.
“What do you want with me?”
He didn’t answer.
For years, I’d been at the mercy of others, helpless. I never thought I’d find myself here again. But…he’d saved me from Daniel, hadn’t he?
Daniel. My stomach roiled with something that felt a lot like shame.
“My friend will call the cops when she sees that I’m missing. There will be people looking for me. You can’t do this—“
“Stop your incessant chatter,” he hissed. “You’re making my ears bleed.”
I turned to glare at him. And…my glare melted right off. He was… He was….
I’d been too busy freaking out to really look at him.
Now I couldn’t stop staring. His features were striking, timeless.
He was older than me by a decade, perhaps?
Yet, his skin was absolutely flawless. His eyes, which I’d sworn were black earlier, were silver and empty.
Like there was nothing there, no emotion, no warmth, no feeling.
An unsettling shiver raced down my spine.
I finally pried my gaze from his face, taking in the rest of him. His hulking form swallowed the back seat. His hair, so silky and white, like moonlight on snow. I wanted to touch it and see if it was real. His broad shoulders and chest filling out the sleeves of his T-shirt.
I frowned when his chest didn’t move. “Why aren’t you breathing?”
Those empty eyes turned to me.
“You… You aren’t breathing,” I repeated. I scooted closer to the door but my shoulder was already pressed firmly against it. I couldn’t put any more distance between us.
“I’m a vampire,” he said, his head tilting like this amused him. “I don’t need to breathe.”
A deranged laugh fell from my lips. “A vampire? Is that what they’re calling monsters these days?”
A low, grating chuckle filled the back seat. Despite everything I felt, it sent chills over my skin. Not the kind I expected, but the traitorous kind. Because I wanted to hear that sound again.
“You don’t believe me.” he pointed out. It wasn’t really a question. “No. Of course you don’t. You humans are all the same, so narrow-minded. I wouldn’t expect more from a spoiled party brat like you.”
I reared back, stung. Spoiled? Me?
“Shall I show you what I am?” He dropped my wrist and didn’t wait for an answer.
The change was instant. I gasped as black returned to his eyes, then spread, dark veins racing down his face.
His features grew more distinct. His skin…
changed, becoming something akin to marble.
He bared his teeth at me, his canines elongated to needle sharp, narrow points.
Beautiful and grotesque and frightening, all at once.
My emotions flickered between anger and fear. I braced a hand against the leather seat. Everything began spinning. This wasn’t real. He wasn’t real.
Suddenly, the nightmare before me retreated, returning to a thing of shameful fantasy. Like it had never happened. Like I’d imagined it. Except, I caught a hint of smug satisfaction in his expression. A moment later, even that disappeared, replaced with cold emptiness.
No. This—no. I was used to numbers and equations. I was trained to solve problems with neat, elegant solutions. Everything fit certain rules. Associative, communicative, distributive rules that dictated order, procedure. Rules.
There was no rule in any universe that explained this. “That… That’s impossible.”
“I assure you, Miss…?”
“Shaw,” I whispered, my tongue going dry. “Lily Shaw.”
“I assure you, Miss Shaw, this is very possible.” He lifted a hand, reaching for his hair, tucking it behind one ear—one very pointed ear.
No, that was—
Without thinking, I reached over to see if it was a prosthetic. He snatched my wrist, holding on when I tried to reclaim it. So I just sat there in his grasp, processing.
Minutes ticked by, one into the next. The car hugged the city, heading north on the freeway. Until the skyline disappeared, replaced with rolling hills.
“Where are you taking me?” I demanded, finally tugging my wrist free.
“To my home.” His tone didn’t invite more conversation.
“I don’t want to go to your home. I want you to stop this car and release me. I’m a human being and I don’t deserve—“
He growled, lunging for me. A blur too quick to follow. Nobody moved that fast. Not unless he really was—
A vampire.
I whimpered as his hand closed around my throat, tilting my face up toward his.
I smelled a faint hint of cinnamon on his breath as he said, “This is not a negotiation. So stop your pointless whining before I lose my mind. Understand?” He stared at me, his eyes flicked toward my mouth, the motion so brief I wondered if I imagined it. “There now. That wasn’t so hard, hmm?”
I scoffed. The sound died in my throat as he brought his face closer to mine. For a moment, I thought he was going to kiss me. Which was absolutely ridiculous! He dipped to the side and pressed his nose against my throat, breathing me in.
Something tightened low in my gut, immediately followed by mortification. “Get your hands off me,” I said through clenched teeth.
He didn’t. Instead, he inhaled again. I swore I felt his teeth ghost over my pulse. A tiny whimper fell from my lips, but it wasn’t from fear. His low rumbling laugh purred against my skin. “Why should I? When you seem to like it so much?”
“Please, stop.” The plea was quieter this time—halfhearted.
“I already told you, Miss Shaw, I do what I want.” But he slid back into his seat. My body trembled with relief.
He was a monster. A fucking monster.
“Consider this our first lesson together,” he said. “This is my world. You are only in it because I wish it so.”
I stared at him, then turned to face forward, doing my best to ignore him. To ignore the confusion in my body. My mind.
Twenty minutes later, we pulled through a set of ornamental iron gates, up a long drive to a monstrosity that put the Yoshiki mansion to shame. One was loud and garish, the other, classic and tasteful.
The circle drive framed a large fountain. In the dark, the windows glowed with life, a beacon for anyone lost at sea. I could barely make out the vast grounds stretching out on all sides, and the woods far beyond that.
The car stopped before a grand entry. I looked upon a set of wide steps, flanked with gargoyles, leading to a pair of arched doors. I finally glanced toward our driver, Vittorio, noticing him for the first time. He sat motionless, staring straight ahead.
Another vampire. Chills raced down my spine.
“Out, Miss Shaw. And don’t try running.”
My eyes darted toward my captor, who studied me predatorily. “And what if I do?”.
He exhaled through his nose—not to breathe, since apparently he didn’t need to. “All those fancy myths about vampires are true. Most of them vastly underestimate our abilities. Mine, especially. Your efforts would be futile.”
“Am I supposed to be impressed?”
“Miss Shaw,” he snapped. “I want nothing more than to sink my teeth into your delicate little neck and taste your blood. Don’t give me a reason to.”
I swallowed. “You want to bite me.”
Pieces fell into place, like a mathematical equation balancing on both sides.
Why was I surprised? He’d claimed to be a vampire—had proven that he was.
Something about my blood affected him, enough that he’d stolen me from a party, despite believing I was a party brat.
He could have taken anyone, but he’d taken me.
Something pathetic flared to life deep inside me–something that liked the idea of being chosen, even if the circumstances were abhorrent.
“Quit smirking and get the fuck out of the car.”
I climbed out. Shoulders back, I adjusted my dress.
“This way,” he said, motioning me forward.
I glanced behind me, toward the iron gates. How far would it take me to reach the city on foot? If I ran now, did I stand a chance?
“Today, Miss Shaw.”
Clenching my teeth, I stepped forward. It was impossible to ignore the staggering gothic architecture in front of me. It took my breath away. The dark gray bricks were water-stained in multiple places. I counted at least four levels. It was a miniature castle, complete with gargoyles.
“You really live here?” I managed to make it sound condescending to hide my awe.
“Obviously.”
“Let me guess, it’s all for show? A whole mansion for a pathetic little coffin in the basement?”
He stopped halfway up the stairs—