The Vampire's Love (9 page)

“Believe me
– Neil is attracted to you.”  Abby smiled at her.  “I have never seen
him look at a woman the way he looks at you.”

Sienna
smiled tentatively.  “Truly?”

“Yes,
truly.”  Abby hugged her impulsively.  “Please, Sienna.  Promise
me that you will not say a word to anyone about me knowing the others.”

“I
won’t.”  Sienna said solemnly.  “I promise.”

“Thank
you.”  Abby hugged her again before slipping into her room.  Despite
the bright sunlight, the shutters and thick curtain blocked the light
effectively and she waited patiently for her eyes to adjust.

Violet
slipped out from her hair and Abby smiled when the pixie glowed brightly and
provided enough light for her to see the bed.

“Thank you,
little one.  And thank you for staying hidden.”  She followed the
pixie’s bright glow to the bed and quickly climbed in beside Val as the pixie
flew to her bed by the window.

Abby lay in
the darkness, listening to Val’s rhythmic breathing.  Her mind was a whir
of happiness and worry.  She was thrilled to see Neil and Maria and
Michael but she had no idea how they would rescue them.  She sighed and
turned on her side, tucking her hand under cheek.  She would have to talk
to Sienna tomorrow and find out where the slave quarters were.  She needed
to speak to Wesley and Evan, needed to let them know that Michael was alive,
and –

She jerked
when Val turned over and wrapped his arm around her.  He pulled her into
his embrace and threw his large thigh over hers, pinning her to the bed as he
buried his face into her hair.  He muttered something she couldn’t hear
before kissing the back of her neck.  She inhaled sharply when his hand
slid inside her top and he cupped her bare breast firmly.

She
squirmed a little but quickly gave up when it only made Val’s arm tighten
around her.  She yawned tiredly and relaxed into his embrace.  There
was no harm in allowing him to sleep so closely to her.  He was in his
daysleep and would not wake.  Besides, it was comforting to feel his warm
body against hers, and his presence soothed her and helped to quiet her racing
thoughts.  She closed her eyes and drifted.

Val opened
his eyes and stared at the sleeping woman in his arms.  She was tucked
against him, her ass pressed firmly into his crotch, and he was cupping her
bare breast.  He rubbed her nipple, smiling with satisfaction when it
hardened, and kissed the side of her neck.  She frowned in her sleep and
made a soft snorting noise before pulling away from him and burrowing deeper
under the covers.

Val sighed
harshly and flipped on to his back.  He stared blankly at the ceiling as
he listened to Abby breathe.  Even with Jaxen’s endorsement, Darius did
not believe he was Joven and he had no idea how to convince him he was. 
He was doing a terrible job at being Joven and he was fairly certain that if he
did not drink soon in front of Darius, the vampire would have both he and Abby
killed. 

Unfortunately
the thought of drinking from another woman, of fucking someone other than
Abigail, made him feel ill.  He had to figure out a way to convince Abby
to let him feed from her.  He wanted her and only her, and not even the
fact that he was growing steadily weaker by the day was enough to make him
drink from another.  He realized with soft wonderment that he would rather
starve than feed from any human but Abby, and icy tendrils of fear slid down
his back.  What was happening to him?  He could not remember ever
feeling this way before, not even with his beloved Karena, and he was –

He
stiffened, sitting up in the bed and cocking his head toward the door. 
His hearing was excellent, even better than most vampires for some unknown
reason, and he could hear the distinct footsteps of Darius and another. 
He knew without a doubt that they were headed to his room and he stared down at
Abigail as an idea formed in his head.  As the footsteps grew closer, he
flipped her on to her back and shook her roughly.

“Little
dove!  Wake up!”

Abigail
muttered and tried to pull the blanket over her head.  It was pulled from
her grip and she made a soft mew of discomfort when the blanket was yanked down
her body and the cool air washed over her.

“Abigail,
wake up!”

She stared
blearily at Val as he slid down her body.  His face was only inches from
her core and she stared in confusion at him.  “What are you doing?”

“He’s
coming.  Moan for me, little dove.”  Val said in a fierce mutter.

She tried
to pull away from him and he cursed violently before yanking her thighs apart.

“Stop
it!  What are you – “

Her
indignant shout turned into a moan of pure need when Val pushed her short skirt
up, shoved his face between her thighs and licked her pussy. 

“Oh my
God!”  She cried out as her hips arched up off the bed.  His tongue
slipped between the lips of her pussy and stroked her clit.  He sucked
hungrily on it and was rewarded with a surge of wetness.  She moaned and writhed
on the bed, her thighs clamping around his head as her hand gripped his hair
and she pushed him more firmly into her.

He pushed
one long finger into her hungry cunt and groaned at the way it tightened around
his finger.  He sucked her clit again and she made another desperate
mewling noise of pleasure.  He heard the bedroom door opening and he
increased the pressure of his lips until she was thrusting her pelvis
mindlessly against him.

“Please, oh
please!”  She cried out.  He made a sigh of regret and moved his
mouth to her inner thigh.  He kissed the soft skin and then bit the inside
of his bottom lip, letting his fangs sink deep into his own flesh. 
Quickly, before the wound could heal itself, he allowed the blood to spill out
of his mouth and down his chin.

“I do so
hate to interrupt such a beautiful sight but I was hoping you could join us for
an early dinner.”  Darius’ voice broke through Abigail’s haze of desire
and she shrieked and scrambled back on the bed, closing her legs and shoving
her skirt down as Val sat up.

She stared
wide-eyed at Darius and Tavien as Darius’ eyes glowed at the sight of the blood
dripping down Val’s chin. 

“I see
you’ve already eaten.”  He licked his lips and looked Abby up and
down.  “Perhaps you would like to share?”

Val wiped
the blood from his face.  “No, I would not.”  He said simply.

Anger
flickered over Darius’ face and then quickly disappeared.  “A shame. 
Here in the west we have a much more liberal policy when it comes to our pets.”

Val didn’t
reply.  From the corner of his eye he could see Abigail, a look of shock
on her face, reaching down to touch her thigh.  His hand shot out and
grabbed her wrist, squeezing it tightly until she gasped. 

“Not to be
rude, Darius, but I’d like to finish what I started.”  His eyes travelled
over Abby’s pale and shocked face.  “I will join you shortly.”

Darius
looked Abby up and down once more.  “Finish tasting your flower’s sweet
nectar quickly.  There will be games tonight.”

He and
Tavien left the room and Val released Abby’s wrist. 

She stared
wide-eyed at him.  “You – you bit me?”

He shook
his head.  “No.  Check for yourself.”

Her hand
trembling, she reached down and smoothed her hand across her thigh.  Val’s
blood marred her skin but there was no bite mark and she gave him a look of
confusion.

“You bit
yourself?  Why?”

He gave her
an angry look.  “I wanted Darius to believe I was feeding from you. 
In case you didn’t notice, he finds it odd that I will not bite you in front of
others.”

She didn’t
reply and he stalked away angrily.  “Get ready to go.”

* * *

“We have
games three nights a week.  We used to hold them every night but we were
running out of slaves too quickly.”  Darius grinned at Tavien as they led
Val, Faren and Abigail outside. 

They
approached the curved stone wall and Abby could hear shouts of laughter and the
loud murmur of a crowd as Tavien opened a thick wooden door.  They entered
into the arena and Abby stared at the large crowd of vampires that lined the
arena.  Hundreds of torches were embedded in the wall and the arena was
well-lit, despite the darkness pressing in around them.  The rows of
seating rose high into the air, to the top of the stone wall, and were
separated from the arena by a second curved wall.  This one was about
chest high on her and, as Darius and Tavien led them to their seats, she gave
Val a quick glance.

He was
staring disinterestedly at the crowd, his face unreadable and she squeezed his
hand briefly.  He glanced back at her and she gave him a small
smile.  He didn’t smile back and she bit at her bottom lip before
following him into the seating area. 

Unlike the
rows of plain wooden benches, this area had large fabric armchairs and Darius
and Tavien sat down as Darius waved his arm at Val and Faren.

“Sit. 
Make yourself comfortable.”

Val and
Faren reclined in the chairs and Abby sat down on the large pillow placed on
the floor at Val’s feet.  Val rested his hand on the back of her neck as a
slave girl, this one a redhead, entered their section and smiled eagerly at
Darius.  “Hello, my lord.”

“Sit.” 
He patted his lap and she reclined on his lap before lifting her chin and
baring her throat.  Although he had just finished eating, he buried his
fangs into her soft flesh and drank deeply.

Abby could
feel Val’s hand tightening around her neck and she gave him a nervous
look.  He was watching Darius feed, the hunger apparent on his face, and
she felt a moment of guilt.  She shook it off.  She did not need to
feel guilty for not allowing Val to feed from her.  It was not his right
and besides, Darius was more than willing to share his slaves.  He could
feed from another if he was truly desperate.

Jealousy
surged through her at the thought and she tamped it down fiercely.  Val
did not belong to her and besides, it would be better for her if he did feed
from another.  It would stop his hunger for her.  Still, the thought
of Val feeding from another woman, of touching her and fucking her, made her
insides burn.  She forced herself to stop thinking about it as Darius, his
teeth dripping with blood, smiled at Val.

“This one
is particularly delicious.  I can never resist her.”

Val smiled
thinly at him before looking away.  The woman on Darius’ lap purred
happily and pressed her curvy body against him.  “Thank you, my
lord.  It is my honour to have you feed from me.  I love – “

With an
impatient grunt, Darius pushed her from his lap.  She fell to the floor
with a harsh thud, flinching as her knees missed the pillow and banged against
the hard ground. 

“Enough. 
Quiet your tongue or I’ll give you to Tavien for the night.”  Darius
snapped.

The woman
paled noticeably and huddled against Darius’ leg.  “Forgive me.”  She
whispered.

Darius
rolled his eyes and pushed her away from his leg before glancing at Val. 
“Do you see how popular this has become?”

“Indeed. 
I have never seen so many vampires gathered in one place.”

“They come
from miles around to watch the games.  And all of them more than willing
to pay to watch.”  Darius said proudly.

“How much
do you charge?”  Val asked.

“A hundred
gold pieces for the front row seating, such as ours.  The price lowers as
they sit further back but even those vampires sitting there,” he pointed to the
row of seats at the top of the wall, “pay ten gold pieces for the privilege of
enjoying the games.”

“Impressive.” 
Val replied.

“We will
also accept humans as payment.”  Darius grinned.  “We hold four games
at every showing and the humans must fight to the death, so you can imagine how
quickly we go through them.”

“What
happens if they do not fight or refuse to kill one another?”  Faren asked.

Darius
chuckled as Tavien made a grunt of amusement.  “They always fight. 
They have no choice, Lord Joven.  If they do not fight each other, we kill
them – slowly and painfully.  Besides, there are rewards for winning the
games.”

“What kind
of rewards?”

Darius
shrugged.  “Usually it’s more food but occasionally we give them a room
for the night, a woman or man to fuck, and a chance to sleep in a real bed.”

“Where do
you keep them?”  Val frowned at him.

“In the
stone building we passed.  Occasionally, if there is an overflow of
slaves, we chain them to the wall of the castle.  That, however, has only
happened once or twice.  Is that not right, Tavien?”

“Yes, my
lord.”  Tavien was studying Val and Val gave him an irritated look.

“Why is it
that I find you staring at me so frequently, Tavien?”

“You look
familiar to me, Lord Joven.  Have we met before?”

“I’m quite
certain we haven’t.”  Val replied tersely.

“I think
it’s time we started the games.”  Darius said jovially.  He rose to
his feet and held his arms up.  The crowd quieted and Darius smiled.

“Welcome,
old friends!”  He shouted.  “I know many of you have travelled a
great distance to see the games and I promise you – you will not be
disappointed!”

The crowd
roared in approval, stomping their feet and clapping their hands, as Darius
waved his hand at the two vampires in the arena.  They crossed to a second
wooden door and unlocked it as Darius turned to Val.

“We provide
them with a variety of weapons to fight with and we also do hand-to-hand
combat.  Those ones last the longest and are always the most
popular.  There’s something about watching a man kill another with his
bare hands that pleases even the most cynical of viewers.”

Abigail
leaned forward, the stone wall in front of them was making it difficult to see
from her spot on the floor, and Val’s hand tightened on her neck before he
reached down and lifted her on to his lap. 

Tavien was
still staring at them and she curled into Val’s body before placing a soft kiss
on his throat and giving him a worshipful smile.  “Thank you, my lord.”

He nodded
and she kissed him again before the loud roar of the crowd drew her gaze back
to the arena. 

The large
woman named Ursula had entered the arena and she raised her arms into the air
and grinned widely as the vampires cheered.

“This one’s
always a crowd favourite.”  Darius said delightedly.  “A most
remarkable woman, wouldn’t you agree, Tavien?”

“Yes, my
lord.”

“We
captured her and her sister in an orchard to the south.  They gave us
quite a battle, did they not, Tavien?”

“They did.”

Darius
laughed.  “It took four vampires to subdue them without killing
them.  Since then, they’ve both proven to be quite skilled at the
games.  Although I believe that this one is the stronger of the two.”

He looked
up as Jaxen entered their section.  “Jaxen!  Just in time. Have a
seat next to Lord Joven.”

Jaxen
nodded and sat down next to Val.  “Good evening, Lord Joven.  Faren,
how are you?”