Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (16 page)

Of course you would, don’t be silly. Why
are you even thinking about this?
I scolded myself angrily.

“Roderick will be here shortly,” Corbin said,
breaking into my inner debate. “Come, we need to go out and get
ready to greet him.” He held out his arm for me and raised one
eyebrow. After a long, cold silence, I took it and we walked out of
his office.

This was
not
going to be fun.

We stepped out into the main area of the
club, which looked deserted without the steady flow of human
patrons looking for glam-sex and bored looking vampires looking for
blood. The lights were turned up, although the area was still
pretty dim, and the raised dais in the center of the club where
Corbin usually sat was empty.

And then, suddenly, it wasn’t anymore.

In the blink of an eye Roderick was standing
on the dais looking down at us. I didn’t even hear the door open
and shut—he was just
there
without warning. The display made
my gut tighten—not even Corbin was that fast.

I took a firmer grip on the strap of my
purse, glad for my hidden Glock. No matter what Corbin had said
about bullets being no use against a vamp as old as Roderick, I
still preferred to be armed. And if push came to shove, we’d see
how well a six-star vamp stood up to hollow points filled with
silver nitrate. Since the bullets explode on impact and the silver
eats into the vamp like acid, I was betting Roderick would have a
little more trouble with being shot than everyone seemed to
think.

“Good evening, Corbin,” Roderick said coldly.
He was wearing an old fashioned suit that looked like a costume
from a historical drama set in the eighteen hundreds and his dark
hair was carefully coifed in place.

“Good evening, Inquisitor.” Corbin nodded his
head in a kind of half-bow. “Where is Celeste?”

“Here.” She strolled up in a much more
leisurely manner, smiling as though she didn’t have a care in the
world.

Hmm, for someone on trial she doesn’t seem
too terribly upset,
I thought, giving her a blank look.

Behind Celeste trailed two human women, a
tall black Amazon looking girl with cheekbones sharp enough to cut
glass and a tiny petite Asian with a curtain of long black hair
that fell to her waist. Both of them were dressed like me—which was
to say, as if they expected to be attending a semi-formal party.
Neither looked up at all but kept their eyes trained respectfully
on their designer shoes.

I wondered if I was supposed to be acting the
same way—respectfully averting my eyes, acting demure—but there was
no way I was going to look down in such a dangerous situation. My
eyes were trained on Roderick and Celeste, both of whom could tear
me limb from limb in four seconds flat if I gave them half a
chance.

“Welcome to my establishment,” Corbin said
formally, making a sweeping gesture with one hand. “I would offer
you refreshment but it seems you brought your own.”

“Indeed, we did.” Roderick smiled and
beckoned to the tiny Asian girl who came to him at once. “Celeste
has been most accommodating in satiating my needs.”

Thinking about how she had given him Taylor
to “satiate his needs” made me grit my teeth. My fingers itched for
my Glock but I had promised Corbin to be on my best behavior so I
forced myself to say and do nothing.

“Before we get on with the trial, why don’t
we all have a little snack?” Celeste suggested.

“A very good idea, my dear,” Roderick said.
“These kinds of proceedings are always thirsty work.” He turned to
the small Asian girl at his side and gave her a look. She seemed to
understand his wordless command for she pulled her long black
curtain of hair to one side and bared her throat for him. Roderick
pounced at once, sinking his fangs deep in her neck and sucking
savagely. The girl shuddered but made no complaint though it looked
extremely painful.

To one side, the tall black girl was also
baring her throat for Celeste. However, there was no way the petite
vampire could reach her human snack’s vein.

“Kneel,” she snapped and the girl fell to her
knees at once and looked fawningly up at Celeste.

“Yes, Mistress.” Clearly she was in thrall to
the vampire—I could tell by the tiny red pinprick in the center of
each of her pupils. I reminded myself to look for the girl next
time I inspected Celeste and write her a very expensive citation.
She would also have to go to court and the girl could be taken away
from her—maybe before it was too late, as it had been too late for
Taylor.

But before I could plan any more legal
action, Corbin was taking my hand.

He looked into my eyes. “I’m going to drink
from you now, Addison,” he said quietly. “Prepare yourself.”

“All right,” I murmured, my heart starting to
hammer in my chest. I pushed my hair to one side, baring my neck,
but he shook his head.

“Remember what we spoke of earlier.”

I felt a sinking sensation in the pit of my
stomach. Oh, right—in order to prove his true dominance over me he
had to drink from my thigh. Well, this was probably going to be
about as much fun as a pelvic exam and about ten times more
painful. Still, I had given my word to behave and do as he said so
I nodded.

“All right. But how—”

“Like this.” Corbin sank gracefully to his
knees before me and placed one hand on my thigh. “Hold on to me,”
he instructed, just as he had while he was putting the shoes on my
feet.

I did as he asked, trying to keep my balance
as he parted my legs and lifted my left thigh. I had a moment to be
thankful I had worn my good black lace panties and then he was
raising my dress and rubbing his rough cheek against the sensitive
skin of my inner thigh.

Suddenly my heart was beating even harder and
the blood seemed to be rushing to all the most sensitive parts of
my body at once. My nipples were tight and my pussy felt hot and
swollen.

Stop it,
I told myself furiously.
Stop it and get ready, he’s about to bite.
I was certain
that the moment those long, sharp fangs I saw peeking from beneath
his sensual lips pierced my skin, every trace of excitement I felt
would fly straight out the window. I was both dreading and
anticipating the pain—not because I’m a masochist—I’m not. But
because I didn’t want to feel this warm, tingling feeling that made
my palms damp and my breath come short when Corbin touched me.
Didn’t want to acknowledge the effect he had on me, even in a room
full of dangerous vamps when my attention ought to be focused on
survival, not sex.

So I waited for him to sink his fangs into me
but for some reason he wasn’t biting. Instead, I felt slow, hot
kisses against the tender flesh of my inner thigh. He was getting
closer and closer to my black lacey panties and I was beginning to
wonder exactly how far up he intended to bite me. I squeezed my
hands into fists and bit my lip as the excruciating pleasure
continued. Was Corbin putting on a show for Roderick’s benefit? Or
was he actively trying to drive me crazy just for the hell of
it?

“Corbin,” I whispered at last, looking down
at him.
“Please
just…just bite me.”

He looked up at me, his eyes dark with lust.
“I will bite you when I am ready, Addison, and not before.”

I wanted to come back with a smart remark but
Celeste and Roderick had finished their respective “snacks” by now
and they were watching the little show Corbin and I were putting
on. I bit my tongue and stayed silent even though I felt like
shouting with frustration. God, he was driving me
crazy.
Was
this never going to end?

At last Corbin reached the thin panel of
black silk that covered my pussy. He had my legs spread so wide now
that my inner folds were open and vulnerable beneath the flimsy
little panties. God, did he know how wet I was getting? How hot he
was making me? I didn’t want him to know—I didn’t want to know
myself
—but there was no denying the effect he had on my
body. My breath caught in my throat as he looked up at me and then,
very deliberately, laid a gentle, hot, open-mouthed kiss directly
over my throbbing clit.

The implication was clear—he wanted to do
much more than just drink from me. Or maybe he was demonstrating
his self-control, showing Roderick and Celeste that he could take
me sexually without “breaking” me as Roderick had put it. But at
that moment, the way he was kissing me and nuzzling my open pussy
through the thin silk panties didn’t feel like a display for anyone
watching. It felt intimate—deliberate.
Hot
.

“Corbin…” I whispered, forgetting that I
needed to keep my eyes on the other two vamps in the room. “God…” I
was so wet and hot I felt molten from the waist down and I was sure
he knew it. The way he rubbed and kissed the panel of silk that
barely hid my spread folds made it obvious. I could feel his hot
breath against my sensitive clit and the thought that only the thin
panties separated me from his tongue was almost more than I could
bear.

“Darling,” he murmured, kissing me again.
“Your scent is so sweet…so delicious. I’m going to drink from you
now.”

I understood that he was warning me he was
about to bite and some of the heat I’d been feeling dissipated at
once. Okay, this was going to
hurt
. Every experience I’d had
with Taylor told me so and she had never bitten me in such an
intimate and sensitive area. I tensed my body and gripped his
shoulders hard, trying to get ready.

It’s all right,
I told myself.
It
will all be over soon.
I hoped anyway.

Corbin seemed to understand my fear because
he kissed my inner thigh gently and murmured, “No pain, my darling.
No pain.”

What is he talking about? Of course there’s
going to be pain! His fangs are much bigger than Taylor’s and
he—

But the thought fell right out of my head the
minute he sank his fangs into my thigh. I felt a sudden shock but
it wasn’t pain I experienced—it was pleasure. A pleasure so great
and intense I could barely stand it.

“
Ah!”
I gasped as a whipcrack orgasm
rushed through me. My hands tightened into fists, wrinkling the
immaculate fabric of his expensive suit and my legs nearly gave
out. I would have fallen if Corbin hadn’t been holding me up. God,
how did he
do
that? My nipples were suddenly painfully tight
and my pussy was so wet I was sure my panties were soaked. And he
had done nothing but bite me. Bite me and make me come in front of
the enemy.

I felt a rush of shame when I looked up and
saw Roderick and Celeste smirking at us. Corbin should have warned
me that sinking his fangs into my flesh would make me come! I was
definitely going to talk to him about it when this was all
over.

“Very impressive, Corbin,” Roderick said.
“Your self-control really is quite amazing, being able to bite your
little human in such an area without feeling the need to fuck her
to death.”

“Yes, Corbin always was a show-off.” Celeste
sounded bored. “I say why bother? Sex and blood and death go
together—it is the natural order.”

“Only if you’re a fucking psychopath,” I
snapped, wishing I could wipe that self-satisfied look of
superiority off her face with a gun.

Corbin withdrew from my thigh and then lapped
at my flesh to heal the wounds.

“Now, Addison,” he said, frowning.

I glared back. He’d said I had to be nice to
Roderick and so far I was at least being civil. But Celeste, who
had gotten Taylor into this mess in the first place, was fair game
as far as I was concerned.

“Your little pet needs to learn some
manners,” Celeste said, giving me a nasty look.

“I’m better at teaching manners than learning
them.” I could feel the comforting weight of my Glock swinging by
my side in the little black purse and I wanted to use it on her so
badly I could taste it. Honestly, I’m not usually a psycho
murdering bitch. There’s just something about being in the same
room with people who have raped and tortured my best friend that
brings out homicidal tendencies in me.

“Why don’t we simply get on with the
proceedings now that we’ve all quenched our thirst?” Corbin said,
rising smoothly. “I believe we are here to put
you
on trial,
Celeste, for taking and turning a human against her will.”

“Indeed, we are.” Roderick turned to Celeste.
“Celeste, have you knowingly and willingly turned un unwilling
human to darkness?”

She nodded, looking contrite. “I have. But in
my defense, she
seemed
willing at the time.”

“Only because you glamoured her within an
inch of her life!” I exclaimed.

“Corbin, control your consort.” Roderick
glared at me. “She must learn not to speak in the presence of her
betters.”

“You—” I started but Corbin laid a
restraining hand on my arm.

“Addison,” he said warningly.

“Fine.” I clamped my jaw shut and contented
myself with staring daggers at Roderick.

“Now,” the vampire Inquisitor went on. “If we
can proceed without further interruption, Celeste, you are in
violation of our new law and as such you must be punished.”

“Yes, Inquisitor.” Celeste bowed her head
submissively.

Roderick puffed himself up, looking
important. “I pronounced that you must pay a fine of one hundred
dollars and swear to never do this again. Do you understand?”

“Yes, Inquisitor.” A small smile curled the
corners of Celeste’s red-lipsticked mouth, making her look like a
little blonde cat that had gotten into the cream.

“Very good then. We’ll consider the matter
closed.” Roderick nodded. Apparently the trial was over.

Despite Corbin’s restraining hand on my arm,
I couldn’t be silent anymore.

“What?” I demanded. “You mean that’s
it?
She ruined my friend’s life and she gets a slap on the
wrist? This trial is a joke!”