“Let me.” She undid the front of his trousers, releasing his cock. He watched as she licked pre-cum from the tip.
“Ah, yesss.” His hips jerked from the intense pleasure of her mouth closing around the tip. He cupped her cheeks, caressing them as she slowly teased the crown with her tongue.
“You are a large male in more ways than one.” She moaned against his flesh. Good god, she was driving him mad. He’d never responded this way to a woman before.
“Come here,” he bit out, lifting her chin to capture her full lips.
“I-I wasn’t finished,” she stammered against his mouth as she stroked his flesh. He deepened the kiss, his tongue urgently sweeping in.
He released her lips. “Let me take this off you.”
“Yes.” She helped him slide the sleeves of her dress down her shoulders. Her lovely breasts rose and fell with each rapid intake of air. He slid an index finger to trace her pert little mounds, lightly at first. Her eyes went wild with lust and she gasped.
“Beautiful.” He latched on to the hardened peak. He licked and suckled, her skin becoming flushed, wet. She drove him mad.
“Will you stay with me?” she asked as he continued his assault.
“I do not intend to go anywhere this night. Beyond that, I will make you no promises.” He released one nipple and set to work on the other.
“Then let me be in control.” She pushed him back against the seat, seizing the front of his shirt to tear it open.
His shirt was ruined. Her response made him a little uneasy. But again he ignored it. He supposed it was fine with him if she wanted to be in charge, as it appeared by her actions she was no virgin and he could enjoy her without worry.
She lightly nipped and sucked a scorching path down his throat.
“I want you inside me.” She shuddered, gripping his cock.
He lifted the hem of her skirt as she straddled his waist and positioned herself above his straining length. Her smell was purely feminine, enticing him further. He gritted his teeth as her slick folds separated and she slowly sank down until he was buried deep inside her heat. He watched her eyes glaze over with unrestrained passion, the pleasure so intense they both cried out.
She moved against him, grinding her hips to impale his cock deeper. Her vaginal walls gripped his length. She was so tight. He lifted her and then eased her slowly down, penetrating her farther. He thrust once more and she moaned loudly. Again and again, he drove into her. He could no more deny that searing, hungry heat than he could deny his need to breathe air. All his muscles tensed as she rode him in complete abandonment. By god, her tight sheath was ablaze. His grip tightened. His thrusts increased.
“Oh yesss,” she hissed as her sex squeezed him.
“Easy, lass, there is no need to rush this.”
“I couldn’t wait to have you inside me,” she moaned. Her gaze flickered over him and her eyelids grew heavy. He tilted his hips and thrust upward, causing her to cry out again.
“Ride me, lass,” he rasped, stirring her with his cock. She gripped his shoulders as they moved against each other in a lovers’ erotic embrace.
“You are going to be mine.” She uttered a gasp against his neck.
Not likely.
“Tonight, yes.”
“Forever. I cannot have but one night with thee.” Her tongue slowly licked the side of his throat before she bit him.
Dane’s cock surged with a powerful rush of blood, causing his back to bow. Then wave after wave crashed over him in a fiery pulse. He sucked in a breath, swept away in the tide of their explosive joining. The pleasure was profound and eerily addictive.
As his mind regained some of its sanity, he felt her lips against his skin and a strong tugging sensation on his neck.
Is she drinking? Bloody hell, is this woman crazed?
Warning bells went off inside him. His rational mind warred with the exquisite rush of erotic sensations bombarding him. He was becoming increasingly dizzy and an icy fear swept over him, finally dousing the flames of his desire. As if sensing his change, she snarled, sinking deeper into his flesh.
“What the hell are you doing to me, woman?” He seized her by the back of the skull, using her hair as leverage to try to pry her off. Pain exploded through his neck as skin and tendons tore. She hissed like a wild animal, refusing to release him.
“Demon, get off me!” he roared. Fear swept through him. He grabbed her shoulders and head-butted her. She flew backward against the seat. Her eyes were hooded, fangs glistening red with his blood as it ran down the sides of her mouth.
“I’ve wanted to taste you for months. Now that I’ve had you, you’ll not escape me.”
“Taste—you bit me.” He shook his head in disbelief.
She grinned. “Yes, and now I’ll finish what has begun between us!” She lunged for him again.
“The bloody hell you will,” he cursed, barely escaping her reach. He kicked the carriage door open, hurling his body forward, landing face first on the ground below. Rocks and debris bit into his skin as his shoulder hit the hardened earth and his body rolled until he finally came to rest alongside a deserted road.
Get up, run, you fool. You can’t lie here
, his mind screamed in warning. He heard the horses whinny in protest as the carriage wheels squealed to a stop and the carriage spun around.
She’s coming back.
He tried to get up. But his limbs were like deadweights. He pushed off the ground and finally got to his feet. The world around him spun and he could only take a few steps before his legs gave way and he fell forward. Mercifully, he landed in some tall weeds.
“Help me gather him,” Dane heard her snarl at the carriage driver. Fear crept up his spine. But he was too weak to move or fight them off. What had he gotten himself into?
“Milady, dawn approaches, we should go.”
“You’ll help me gather him or live to regret it.”
The male sighed and Dane heard heavy boots hit the ground. “Wait—hear that?” The driver paused, alarm lacing his words. “The Order, they’re here. If you value your head, leave him, we must go.”
“No!” she shrilled. There was scuffling, a loud whistle and the slap of leather as the carriage took off.
What scared them off?
Dane struggled to sit up. The moon illuminated the path. His nightmare had fled, leaving him battered and bleeding to die alongside some godforsaken road. But it was better than the alternative. He was a mess and had no idea how he was going to get back to town. He was so weak.
“Not good,” he groaned, falling back against the earth as his vision faded in and out of focus. He touched his ravaged neck, trying to put pressure on the gaping wound, without much hope of stopping the flow of blood.
I’m done for.
The snapping of twigs caught his attention as the shape of a large male in a long coat stepped into view. His hair was pulled back tight. A curse breached his lips as he moved closer.
“Help me,” Dane rasped as his vision became a blur and the world around him faded to black.
* * * * *
“You’re finally awake,” a deep voice said.
Dane’s eyes fluttered open and he quickly reached for his neck. The wounds were gone.
What the…?
“Where am I?” His throat was parched as if he’d swallowed sand.
“You’re safe but still very weak. I’m surprised you survived after such a vicious attack.”
Did this stranger see the woman who’d attacked him? “Who are you?” His eyes finally focused on the imposing figure standing over him.
“My name is Ta’breyian and you are?”
“Dane Voss.” The thirst was becoming more unbearable.
“You are lucky I happened upon you when I did. The female who attacked you was a vicious creature.”
“Indeed.” He lay back against the pillow. “Thank you for saving my life.”
“I wouldn’t thank me just yet.” He frowned.
There was an air of isolation about this male and Dane wasn’t sure what to make of that last statement. He was dressed all in black, with blond, shoulder-length hair. His eyes were a strange iridescent blue that glowed in the dim light.
My eyes must be playing tricks.
“How long was I unconscious?” He became suddenly wary.
“You have been in my company at least a week.”
“My brother…I must go.” Alarmed by this knowledge, he quickly sat up.
“I’m afraid that’s not possible. You cannot go back to your old life.”
“The bloody hell I can’t.” Dane rose to his feet. If he had to fight for his freedom, so be it.
“I do not wish to battle you,” Ta’breyian replied.
“Then you will let me leave. I’m grateful that you saved my life. But I must go.”
“Very well.” Ta’breyian stepped aside. “But I must warn you the sun is out.”
What is that supposed to mean?
“So it is. Good day.” He made his way out of the room and saw a door that he hoped would lead to freedom and the end to this nightmare.
His brother must be sick with worry.
Dane reached for the handle and yanked it open. A blast of heat seared his skin and he stumbled back, kicking the door shut as smoke billowed off his flesh.
“Dear god!” he bellowed in pain.
“I tried to warn you,” Ta’breyian said from behind.
Dane trembled as pure terror settled over him. “Why did my flesh catch fire? Did you douse me with some sort of flammable liquid?”
“Don’t be ridiculous. If I had, your skin would still be ablaze. There’s no cloud cover. In your new condition, direct sunlight will burn your flesh.”
My new condition—what the fuck does that mean?
His brain tried to make sense of this puzzling mystery but in the end he came up empty. “What’s wrong with me?” He sat on the ground and hugged his knees, resting his temple on his forearm.
“I’m not sure you’re ready to accept the truth of what you’ve become.”
“What am I? Tell me.” Dan lifted his head to meet Ta’breyian’s penetrating gaze.
“You have become a creature of the night. Forever bound to walk in its shadows, my friend.”
He growled, “We’re not friends.”
“Listen to me very carefully and take heed of my words. Tonight the urge to feed will be upon you. There is no stopping it. If you attempt to drink from the living, I will end you, are we clear?”
“Feed, feed on whom? Are you insane? What kind of craziness do you speak of? I shall do no such thing.”
“Do you love your brother? Is his life important to you?” Ta’breyian knelt in front of Dane.
“Do not speak of him in such a manner,” he said, rage taking hold at the unspoken accusation. Did Ta’breyian believe he would attack his own brother, for Christ’s sake?
“Until I teach you how to control your thirst, yes,” he said, answering Dane’s unspoken words.
“I would never!” he sputtered in disbelief.
Is he insane? There is no way I could ever harm him. I’ve done nothing but try to protect him all this time. Why would that change now?
“Oh, believe me, it’s quite possible. And if you do, I will end your miserable existence before it has even begun.” His tone remained calm, never elevating to anger.
Dane ran his fingers across his face and felt the prick of sharp points sticking out from under his upper lip. “What did she do to me? My teeth…I’ve become a beast. She’s turned me into a demon from the pit of hell.”
How can this be? Am I dead? Good lord, this can’t be real.
“
Vampire
is a more precise term,” Ta’breyian said dryly.
“Why do your eyes glow like that?” He scooted back, unsure how to come to terms with what he’d learned about himself, and trusting no one.
“We are one and the same.” He rose. “But I’m not like the female who attacked you. I don’t drink from the flesh. Besides, there is another way to live.”
Did he really want to know the answer? “How?”
“You can hunt animals instead. It’s a difficult transition but you’ll soon adjust. We all have.”
Dear lord, there are more of you blasted creatures running loose here in London?
“What choice are you offering me?”
“Marcus, will you join us, please?” he said in a loud voice.
A man appeared, dressed in similar attire. He had dark hair and was of the same build as Ta’breyian.
“How’d you do that?” Dane reared back. “Are you a ghost?” Could it get stranger?
“I wish I could offer you an explanation that would make sense of the situation you find yourself in. Fate, I’m afraid, has dealt you a terrible blow, as is true for all of us who have fallen victim to this dreadful curse. But you can have a sense of purpose, if you choose, by joining us in the fight against the creatures who have stolen your life from you.”
“Doing what, pray tell?” This wasn’t his plan. He had a business to run.
“You will become a Hunter like Ta’breyian, as part of the Order of the Dragon.”
This is sheer madness.
“And if I refuse?”
“That is your choice. I would never force anyone to join against their will. As long as you refrain from seeking out a human to satisfy your bloodlust, you are free to live in peace among us.”