Honoria Ravena (6 page)

He examined my face for a second. “Have you been in pain every time you fought me? I just assumed you were trying to block me out. I can inflict damage with my mind, but I wasn’t trying to hurt you.”

I frowned. Why would he care if he was hurting me? “Yes, it always hurts when I try to fight you.”

He grinned, but it didn’t wash away the concern in his eyes. The concern got to me, even though I knew it had to be fake. “Okay, then I’ll save that little trick for our fights.”

“Oh, thanks a million.” I didn’t believe him for a second.

“Though, I would really love to fuck you, in or out of dreams. Mainly out.”

“Well, you won’t get to unless you’re into rape.”

“Nope, rape has never been my style. I like willing, enthusiastic participants. Though the way you look at me, I think I could make you a willing participant even without mind control.”

“Just because I look doesn’t mean I’m going to sleep with you. You’re a vampire, you’re off-limits.”

He ran his tongue over his kissable lower lip. “Why? This isn’t real. You could do whatever you want with me.”

I stared at him for what was probably a full minute. I knew that wasn’t true and so did he. It was real enough that it was probably a very bad idea to sleep with him. “Are you horny or something? Can’t you go find a willing lay instead of bothering me?”

“I could, but I like your spirit. It’s hard to find a girl who doesn’t cower in terror. You just try to kill me, no matter how badly I scare you. I admire that.”

He leaned forward and brushed his lips against mine. He pulled me back to straddle his lap. This time he wasn’t passive. He took charge of the kiss. His tongue stroked mine. God, he was a good kisser. One of his hands tangled in my hair while the other cupped my breast, his thumb caressing my nipple.

My breathing hitched. I broke the kiss. “Are you using your creepy vampire powers on me again?”

He smiled against my lips. “No, maybe you’re just as horny as I am.” He rolled his hips, and I got to feel just how much he needed me.

I wanted him just as badly, which I found odd. He was a vampire, and we had just met. I wasn’t supposed to want him like this. Something was definitely off.

Just as I was about to question him, his hand slid into my panties. One of his fingers slipped into my sex while his thumb stroked my clit. I hissed and put my hand over his, urging him on.

He growled. “You’re already wet for me. I can’t wait to taste you.”

I cried out as he pumped a second finger inside me. He was definitely good at seduction.

I closed my eyes and ground myself against his palm.

But then he was gone. My eyes popped open. I found myself kneeling in front of a small cell. My brother was leaning against the bars, his eyelids fluttering. I stood and approached the prison. His eyes flew open so fast that I fell on my ass with a shriek and immediately felt like an idiot. So much for the unshakeable vampire hunter.

Sweat dripped off his face. He shook so hard his teeth chattered. “Don’t fuck him, not even in a dream. He’s trying to gain more control over you. Do you understand?”

“Okay, discussing my sex life crosses a brother-sister boundary, even if you’re right. And no, I don’t really understand. You haven’t explained anything to me.”

“That unnatural lust you feel for him, it’s part of the whole blood-bonding. You’re compelled to touch him, taste him. It’s bad, and sex will only give him a bigger hold on you. That’s why he’s trying so hard.”

I didn’t want to believe it and prayed it wasn’t true, but I had no reason to doubt Jason. And I’d felt it, that almost irresistible pull. I wished Alaric had clued me in to this part of it. “How much of that did you witness?”

“All of it. I was trying to find a way to get you away from him.”

“Jesus, Jason!”

He glared at me. “I’m trying to make sure you don’t end up a slave to this son of bitch.”

He screamed and clutched his head. “He’s fighting me. Oh, it hurts.”

I scrambled toward the bars and grabbed his hands. “Stay with me, Jason. Where are you?”

“A cell. It’s the first door on your right when you go into the hallway.” His gaze met mine. “You shouldn’t come for me, but I know you will.”

Good, I could check that off the long-ass list of things I needed to know. “How do you know so much about the blood-bond? How did Zarek catch you? You didn’t go after him, did you? I told you not to.”

“No, I didn’t go after him. I went to Alaric begging to know all he could tell me about the blood-bond. I decided it was too much for us to fight. I went to your house to pack your things so we could run, but he was waiting. He’s so strong, Regan. You don’t know the half of it. I didn’t even see him. He jumped me and I woke up here, a vampire. You have to leave and go far.”

“Not without you.”

He pulled his hands out of my grip, stood, and walked away. “You can’t save me. It’s too fucking late. Just go.”

He screamed and sank to his knees. “He’s breaking through. I can’t keep him from you.” He flung his hand out toward me and I jumped. “Time to wake up.”

I gasped and my eyes flew open. It was still pitch black outside. I threw back the covers and got out of bed, heading toward my weapons stash. I pulled out guns, knives, anything I thought I would need to bust my brother out. He was going to be pissed that I’d come back for him, but I didn’t care.

I grabbed a change of clothes and then went to shower. I was thankful Zarek had kept his promise to stay out of my head unless we were fighting. I found it odd that I could trust him at all…

Chapter Six

I was standing in front of Zarek’s bar for the third time. This was officially getting monotonous. I was armed to the teeth, as always. The only difference this time was that it was eleven o’clock in the morning, and the bar was closed for the day.

That, and the fear was different. I didn’t want to go in there, but at the same time, something was drawing me to him. I had to be mistaken, because I would have noticed if he was using his evil vampire mind control on me. It had to be the bond itself that was causing this reaction, and that scared me more than anything. I couldn’t fight off the strange pull. I was worried this confusion would compromise me in a fight.

I sighed. Hopefully, daylight meant Zarek was asleep, but I wasn’t going to bet my money on it. Vampires didn’t have to sleep during the day. They might be a little lethargic, but they could still grind you into a sticky paste.

The only problem with it being the middle of the day was that if the bar’s double doors were locked, I was screwed. I didn’t think they would be. Technically it was closed, but I’d heard that supernatural beings were welcome at all hours.

I said a quick prayer and tried the door. It swung open with no problem. I let out the breath I’d been holding and stepped through. The only occupants were a group of five teenage wereanimals accompanied by their counselor.

Most weres didn’t need their counselors after they’d learned to control themselves, but whoever made up Wereanimal Law had decided that teenagers and children would always be accompanied until they were twenty. I understood the thought behind it. Due to hormones, teenage weres were volatile at best.

The counselor sat in a booth while the others hung out. The two boys played foosball in one corner while two of the girls studied. The one closest to me glanced up to watch the last girl, who danced seductively to a Collide song.

“Sheila, pay attention!” The girl at the table with her snapped her fingers and tapped Sheila’s book.

The dancer sauntered over and kissed Sheila. The kiss was full of sucking sounds and probing tongues.

The dancer drew back and smiled. “Don’t let Anne boss you around.”

Anne glared at her, and a growl trickled from between her lips.

There was a bang as one of the boys scored a goal. The victor hooted while the other cursed under his breath.

The winner stuck out his hand. “I own you, bitch! Pay up.”

The other boy gave him the money, and he counted it. I kept a subtle eye on them as I made my way to the door that led to Zarek’s office. I doubted they would attack me, but it was best to be cautious.

I slipped into the hallway, waiting for the panel to close behind me. “First door on the right.” I reached my destination, drew out my knife, and cautiously opened the door. There was a narrow stone staircase leading down, surprisingly with good lighting. I crept down, trying to make as little noise as possible. It wasn’t easy; vampires and wereanimals had incredible hearing. They could probably hear my heartbeat, so it might be useless to be quiet.

“Regan? You can go ahead and hurry, no one is down here,” my brother called quietly.

I took the stairs two at a time after that. Jason was in the cell, just like I’d dreamed.

“Thank the gods you came back.”

I gaped at him. “I thought you would be pissed.”

“I’m definitely not pissed. We need to talk. I have to tell you something.”

I glanced around, trying to spot the keys. “Spill and tell me where the keys are while you’re at it.”

“Zarek and Laedan both have a copy of the key. They keep it on their person at all times. You won’t be able to get it. But stand still for a minute. You need to listen to me.”

I searched for something to smash into his cell with. There were plenty of weapons on the wall that would do the job. “No, I need to get you out of here. We have plenty of time to talk after we ditch Zarek and his buddies.”

“You don’t understand. We can’t leave this place.”

I pulled an axe off the wall and turned back to him. “What the fuck are you talking about?”

“Zarek didn’t kill me, Regan.”

I rolled my eyes. “That’s painfully obvious to me.”

Jason squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head. “No, what I mean is, Zarek didn’t plan to change me. Someone is after us, and they tried to kill me. Zarek had to turn me, or I would have died.”

“And who told you this bullshit?”

“Zarek and Laedan.”

I stared at him. When had my big brother gotten so gullible? “And you believe them?”

“Yes. Their story is plausible. Apparently, we killed one of this vampire’s favored fledglings, and now he wants us dead.”

“Well, that’s not a surprise to me, Jason. We’ve faced assassins like this before.”

“Zarek says this is different. These vampires are elite. They’re the best fighters, and they aren’t technophobes like most old vampires are. They use all the latest weaponry, and they’re like bloodhounds. Once they’re on you, you can’t get rid of them. He used to be part of their force.”

I raked a hand through my hair. “He’s filling your head with lies. Now stand back while I hack into your cell. Ugh, this is going to make a lot of noise.”

As I prepared to take the first swing, all the lights went out. “Holy shit… Jason, can you see anything?” I whispered.

“Yeah, I can see fine.”

“Is anyone coming?”

“Behind you!”

I turned and swung the axe, but all it met was air before it was ripped from my hands. I stood, ready to fight, but if I couldn’t see, the fight was going to be very short.

“Laedan, please don’t hurt her!” Jason shouted.

Something struck my head. I was unconscious before I hit the ground.

***

There were eyes on me. The hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention. I didn’t want to look. If there was any light at all, it was going to make my already-terrible headache splitting.

My hands were tied in front of me. Damn it. And my feet tied to a footboard. I pulled on my bonds, but there was no escape. I’d have to untie them if I could find a way. Unfortunately, that wasn’t my only problem. A body wrapped around me, then I heard Zarek chuckle.

I peeled my eyes open slowly. He lay next to me, propped up on his elbow so he could stare at me. His other arm circled my waist, pressing me against him, his leg draped over mine. His erection pushed against my hip.

Glancing down, I realized I was in a very skimpy, cerulean blue nightie. Blood rushed to my face. Thankfully, Zarek had on boxer shorts or I would have blushed more. I glared at him. “You know, it’s very creepy when you just stare at me like that. Say something.”

He grinned and then bit his bottom lip to try and hold in his mirth. “I really didn’t think you would be coming back here. Are you that stupid?”

I shrugged, trying for nonchalance. Hard to do when you’re tied to a bed mostly naked, with a half-naked vampire wrapped around you like a vine. “Well, you were asleep, and my brother showed me exactly where he was in the dream. I figured I could get in and get out.”

He shrugged. “You might have made it if the little wereanimals in the bar hadn’t talked to Laedan when he stumbled down for a midday snack. They just mentioned you offhand.”

I groaned. “Damn.”

“Hmm.” He smiled before he leaned in. I thought he was going to kiss me. Instead he put his face to my throat and inhaled. My heart rate tripled and I tensed. I would have preferred a kiss to what I knew was coming.

I jerked and he scowled at me. I should have noticed before that he hadn’t fed. If possible, he was more pale than usual and he had dark circles under his eyes.

He skimmed his hand down my body and ran his lips over my throat.

“You smell really good,” he mumbled, before licking my throat. I jumped again and tried to slide away, even though logically I knew there was no escape.

He flipped up so he straddled my waist. “I’m starved and not up to fighting with you tonight. You’ve taken a lot of my energy lately.”

He bent over me and I tried to push him back, but my tied hands just ended up splayed against his nice abs. He didn’t seem to notice that I was attempting to shove him away.

Panic rose. Vampires leaning over you tended to be bad. You usually ended up dead. And being bitten hurt like a son of a bitch. I raised my feet. If I could kick him, I could get away, but they wouldn’t come loose. I couldn’t breathe. He was murmuring something in my ear. I couldn’t make sense of it. Images of another vampire holding me down when I was a child flashed in my mind. His breath had smelled of old blood. My gut clenched. I was trapped. I screamed.

Suddenly, Zarek jerked back, bringing me up with him. He was talking to me, clearly worried now, but all I could hear was the blood rushing in my ears. He rubbed my arms and then wiped the tears off my cheeks. I hadn’t even realized I’d been crying.

He wrapped his arms around me. I could finally hear what he was muttering.

“You’re all right. I’m not going to hurt you.”

I took a deep, shaky breath as he laid a kiss on my throat. I barely felt it when he bit me. It was just a little pinch, and all the panic went out of my head.

Pleasure swirled through me low in my stomach, and I moaned. All of a sudden, I was so horny. I wanted him to fuck me. I wished my hands were free so I could caress more of his body. I arched my throat to give him more access. I never wanted him to stop.

My tied hands slid down his abs and into his boxers. I stroked his shaft. I could barely circle my hand around it. I shuddered. He’d feel so good inside me, and he was skilled.

It had been a long time since I’d had sex. Nate had been out of town, and when you’ve gotten someone killed because of your vampire hunting, you didn’t take up with normal men.