Authors: Ella J. Phoenix
promptly brought them a round of vodka and Red Bull.
‚It’s not a proper cocktail, my dear, but it is very refreshing,‛
Phillip said, raising his glass in a toast.
Sam raised hers in reply and took a small sip. ‚Phillip, Zoricah
asked me to come to you.‛
‚Indeed? Is she back in London?‛ Phillip asked, looking at her over
the glass’ rim.
‚Yes,‛ Sam lied bluntly and took another small sip.
‚I have heard quite interesting rumors about a mêlée taking place
on the outskirts of New York City. Some even dare suggest she was in
alliance with the vampire king.‛ Sharp blue eyes locked on hers. ‚Is it
true?‛
‚Oh, well, I wouldn’t say ‘alliance’ per se,‛ she lied again. Phillip’s
suspicious glance released hers and slowly moved down to her lips and
her throat and stopped on her breasts.
Shifting on the chair, Sam carried on. ‚King Tardieh just offered his
support. After all, a number of female vampires were abducted, too, not
only draconians.‛ Sam tried to sound nonchalant. Zoricah had warned her
that Phillip was a very good informant, but just like any other snitch, his
loyalties were directly proportional to the size of the reward being offered.
Taking advantage of the fact that his eyes had not left her bosom, Sam
leaned forward, hoping she could pull the voluptuous bimbo act as well
as his companions had done in the past. ‚Phillip, Zoricah is willing to
reward you generously for your services.‛
His eagle eyes took in all she was offering. His thick mouth quirked
upward in a mischievous smile as he reached across the table and took her
hands in his. ‚I’ll tell you what, love. You get rid of your vampire
boyfriend over there, and we can go to my hotel room and discuss what
sort of reward Zoricah has in mind.‛
Sam’s blood ran cold. Turning her head around, she saw who
Phillip meant. A tall man with amazing dark eyes was watching them
from a stool at the far end of the bar. Hikuro.
Bloody hell!
He had
surreptitiously taken a place where his presence was safely hidden in the
shadows, just behind the front door. That’s why she hadn’t seen him
when she first came in.
Damn it, Sam, you should have been more careful
, she
chided herself.
Turning back to face her informant, she returned his smile with one
of her own. ‚He’s not my boyfriend. Don’t worry about him.‛
‚I couldn’t agree more,‛ Phillip replied, caressing her fingers.
‚Let’s go back to my hotel room, love, and
away from prying ears.‛
Sam wasn’t ready for that kind of situation. She had been in the
field, fighting alongside Zoricah and Yara for decades, but Yara was
usually the one sent to engage in those sorts of tricky situations. Sam was
usually the geeky one who did the research and hacked into high security
websites, but since Sam had been the only one besides Zoricah who had
met Phillip before, they had no other option than to send her instead of
Yara.
Taking a deep breath, she tried to incarnate Yara and save her skin.
‚That’s a fantastic idea,‛ she said, lifting her lips in an Angelina Jolie way.
‚It’s a pity I don’t have much time. Why don’t you tell me now what you
know about the razbian’s operations in London and then we’ll set up
another time to
Sam tried to free her hands from his caresses, but his grip
intensified, holding them in place. ‚Hmm, so you want to know about
Yerik’s experiments and his new weapon, hein?‛ he asked, unveiling all
her cards on the table. Raising her hands to his lips, he slowly licked the
joints between her fingers. Sam’s stomach churned in revulsion.
Fuck!
She
had to find a way of convincing him to give her the information they
needed and get out of there ASAP.
Carefully attempting to pull her hands away, she tried to deter his
attentions with one of the only weapons Yara had taught her: the
all-powerful ego massage. ‚I can see your reputation is not unfounded,
Phillip, but a girl has her obligations.‛
Once again, Phillip held on to her hands. ‚Nonsense, love, I am
sure a can convince you that your only obligation is to yourself.‛ He took
her middle finger into his mouth and sucked it deep. Sam swallowed dry.
Strong, cold hands suddenly covered hers. ‚Let go of her.‛
Sam’s head snapped up at the dark command. Hikuro was
standing right beside her with murder in his eyes.
‚Hikuro!‛ Sam barked at him.
‚Let. Her. Go. Now,‛ he repeated the order crushing Phillip’s
wrists.
‚I believe your girl here wants to try other fishes in the sea, my
vampire friend,‛ Phillip replied with a deceivingly laid-back voice, but his
blue eyes were intent on Hikuro.
Sam managed to set her hands free from both men’s grips.
‚Hikuro, leave now,‛ she said, standing up.
Hikuro didn’t even look at her; he kept his gaze pierced on Phillip.
And then Phillip made the biggest mistake in his long life. He
grabbed Sam’s arm and pulled her down to his lap. She had barely found
her ground when Phillip’s lips crashed into hers. She struggled against
him, but he held her in place with an iron-tight embrace.
The next thing Sam felt was her body being swung off Phillip’s
hold and crashed on top of a nearby chair. She managed to stand her
ground and avoid falling on her ass on the lovely chewing-gum-washed
carpet. When she looked up, Hikuro had Phillip’s head pinned down on
the table.
The draco tried to set himself free by elbowing Hikuro’s jaw, but
the vampire was faster. Within seconds, the fight was over with Hikuro
hooking both Phillip’s arms on his back at an impossible angle. Phillip
snarled in pain.
‚Don’t you wanna know why your girlfriend is the key to all of
those abductions?‛ Phillip tried to negotiate desperately. His posh British
accent was nowhere to be found.
‚What?‛ Sam stepped in. ‚What did you say?‛
‚Fucking liar. Stay away from her,‛ Hikuro replied, twisting the
draco’s arms.
Phillip was breathing heavily; sweat broke on his forehead. His
beautiful blue eyes were wide and red. Sam couldn’t take anymore.
Phillip being an alpha male himself was going to push Hikuro until
someone got really hurt, and she would lose the opportunity to know
what in Hiad had he meant by she being the key to the abductions.
‚Hikuro!‛ Sam took a few steps forward, on a feeble attempt to
place herself between Hikuro and Phillip. ‚Let him go, now!‛
Phillip let out another painful howl. He looked up at Hikuro and
said the two words that sealed his fate. ‚Fuck. You.‛
‚What did you say?‛ Hikuro said in the draco’s ears.
Sam averted her eyes just in time. The sound of bones being
snapped echoed across the bar. Anyone who hadn’t stopped to watch the
fight very much tuned in. Phillip let out a loud, agonizing cry.
Hikuro didn’t seem fazed. He kept his gaze locked on his
adversary. Sam could swear he was really thinking of twisting both
Phillip’s arms out of their sockets.
Damn it!
Now there was no way Phillip
would happily tell to her what she wanted to know. Zoricah’s voice came
to her mind: ‚When you find yourself at a crossroads, the best solution is
always the one you can’t see. The wise warrior removes himself from the
situation and examines it from afar.‛
Sam grabbed her overcoat and walked away.
It was still raining outside.
Bloody hell!
Putting her overcoat on, she
started walking toward the tube station. After a few moments, she heard
footsteps approaching fast from behind. Her training kicked in. She
slowed her pace and waited for the attacker to get closer.. Just before he
reached her, she twisted her body sideways, blocking her attacker's arm,
and using the heel of her hand, she hit him hard on the nose.
‚Aww, Sam!‛ Hikuro’s voice was muffled by his broken nose.
‚What the fuck are you doing?‛ Sam asked, not knowing what to
think about having successfully struck the vampire kung fu master.
‚I came looking for you when I realized you had left,‛ Hikuro
answered, holding his bloody nose.
‚Oh yeah?‛ Sam snapped. ‚Then that served you well.‛ She spun
on her heels and walked off.
Hikuro was right behind her again. ‚Wait, Sam!‛
She ignored him and kept on walking, heels stomping hard on the
concrete floor.
‚Damn it, woman, I said wait!‛ Hikuro said, grabbing Sam’s elbow.
She spun around and slapped his hand hard. ‚Do you want me to
break your nose again?‛ She was furious! How dare he ruin her
assignment? How dare he show up like that after everything that had
happened the night before? He had no grounds for being there, no
business following her around.
He raised his hands up in surrender. ‚Let’s talk, okay?‛
‚Oh, you want to talk now,‛ she replied sarcastically. ‚No problem,
Hikuro. We can talk now that you're ready, now that you're not blinded
by your chauvinist ego, now that you're not busy breaking the arms of the
only good lead we’ve had in freaking weeks!‛ She knew she was almost
hysterical, but she didn’t care. She was simply, absolutely, utterly raging.
She started walking again to try and calm down, but it didn’t work.
She spun on her heels yet again and faced him. ‚Why did you do it?‛
‚Why did I do what?‛ His jaw tight with tension.
‚Why did you attack Phillip?‛ Sam tried hard not to shout. ‚I had
the situation under control.‛
‚Oh please!‛ It was Hikuro’s turn to lose his cool. ‚He was all over
you. He was touching you and caressing you. He was fucking licking your
fingers, for crying out loud!‛
‚And why is that so bad, hein, Hikuro? Maybe I liked it. Have you
thought about that?‛
Hikuro lowered his chin and snarled. Sam saw his fangs elongate.
‚Don’t. Say. That.‛
‚Just so you know, a lot of guys find me attractive.‛ She didn't care
if the whole neighborhood was watching them. He could pull the fang act
all he wanted; she would not be intimidated. ‚As a matter of fact, I am
going back to that pub right now and offer my loving help to tend to
Phillip’s wounds.‛
‚Don’t you dare.‛
‚Why, Hikuro? Why?‛
Sam felt strong hands grabbing her arms and pulling her close. His
lips were inches from hers. Hikuro’s beautiful slender eyes flashed red.
‚Because you are mine,‛ he replied darkly.
Her heart skipped a beat.
Author Bio
Ella J. Phoenix was just nine years old when she discovered her
passion for the paranormal world. That passion led her to a bachelor’s
degree in Performing Arts which enabled her to start her first attempts
into the literary world, writing children’s plays and adapting Shakespeare
masterpieces to the modern fast-paced audience.
After years travelling around the world, translating other people’s
novels and devouring paranormal romances, she decided to put her
passion into words and write her first series, Dragon Heat.
She is currently living in Queenstown, New Zealand, with her
husband of six years.