Bloodline (9 page)

Inigo sucked and licked and slurped, winding himself tighter. When Micah’s tongue circled the tips of his fangs, they both tensed, but Micah pulled him closer, kissed him more deeply, and Inigo’s undead heart rejoiced.

Their bodies molded together. They kissed as if there was nothing else in the world that was as important. It didn’t matter that they were in a dismal dungeon, on a dirty mattress, and that they’d likely not live much longer than another day. They were alive now, and that was all that mattered.

They rocked together, cocks surging against each other, and their slow and steady rutting shifted to fast and furious frotting and then back again. Fingers around each other’s shafts, hands spread on each other’s backs, they rubbed and teased themselves toward release. Their stomachs wet with precum, their hands and cocks slid and slipped together until they were frantic with desire. Micah came first, the warm flood of his cum spreading between them, the silky fluid wetting their hands and tipping Inigo closer toward the edge.

The ache in his balls matched the one in his head, and as his entire body became caught up in an electric storm, he lifted his mouth from Micah’s before he bit him. Lightning flashed down his spine. His cock swelled, jerked, and he spurted over their entangled fingers, each wrenching spasm more pleasurable than the last.

Damn, that was good.

The moment he could move, he shifted to Micah’s side but still held him close.

“I wish you could speak,” Inigo whispered. “You could tell me how good I am.”

Micah thumped him.

“That you’ve never had better, never seen a more sexy vamp, never touched a more wonderful cock, a more beautifully tattooed cock.”

Micah thumped him again.

Inigo leaned on his elbow, looked into Micah’s eyes, and sighed. “Just as I’ve found someone I want more of, I’m going to die.”

Micah shook his head.

“Well, I’m already dead, but this is not going to end well. That tattoo isn’t going to stay on his skin. He definitely said one drop the first time. But ten drops probably isn’t going to work either. Even if it does, he’s not going to let me go. For the first time in almost two hundred years, I’ve walked in sunshine. I don’t know how they made it happen, but they’re not going to let me tell any other vampire.”

Micah put his hand to Inigo’s face and cupped his cheek.

“So this might be it,” Inigo said, a lump erupting in his throat. “My last night. I can’t tell you how glad I am to spend it with you. Well, I can. I am.”

Micah smiled.

Inigo reached for his jeans and pulled them closer. He took the flask from the pocket. When Micah saw what he held, his eyes widened and he sat up.

“Do you know what’s in this?”

The faerie shook his head.

“Something powerful. I tasted a tiny drop, and it made me…zing. It’s blood, I’m sure, but whose, I have no idea. What I’m wondering is what would happen if I drank it? It might render me dead-dead, but it could make me strong enough to break the bars and get us out of here. If it does, where would we hide? The king’s guards would go straight to your home, so is there anywhere else you can think of we could stay while we figure out what to do? Friends or relations you can trust?”

Micah shook his head, and his heart sank.

“Know a way for me to get back to the other side?” Inigo asked.

Another shake of the head.

“You feel strong enough to run? Assuming I can get us out of here.”

Micah nodded, wrapped his hand around Inigo’s where it held the flask, and gave a little tug.

“You want some too?”

The faerie pointed to his throat.

It might bring back his voice? Inigo hadn’t thought of that. He pushed the container into Micah’s hand. “If you’re sure.”

I’M NOT SURE, but what do I have to lose?
Micah took the stopper out and tipped a small amount of the liquid into his mouth. It was the vilest thing he’d ever tasted.
Bloody hell
. His mouth tingled, his throat protested, but he swallowed anyway and handed the flask to the vampire. As Micah watched him drink, he felt as though a fire was brewing in his belly, the lick of flames growing stronger and stronger and spreading up his chest.
Have I made a mistake?
He opened his mouth to try and speak and gasped as a spasm gripped his throat.

The vampire’s eyes fluttered, an ecstatic expression on his face, while Micah thought he might be about to combust.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” he gasped.

Inigo’s face lit in a smile. “You spoke. Are you okay?”

Micah made a sharp inhale. “Did ‘fuck, fuck, fuck’ not give you a clue? Feel like I’m going to breathe fire any second.”

Inigo stepped back. “Don’t exhale in my direction. Maybe it’s dragon’s blood.”

It might have been a throwaway line, but they both winced. Micah’s body began to cool, his stomach not churning as fast, and he sighed in relief.

“I guess that wasn’t a bright thing to do,” Inigo said. “I’m already dead, but it could have killed you.”

“I can’t believe it worked.”

“Tell me how brilliant I am before you lose your voice again.”

Micah laughed. “You’re brilliant.”

“You’re too kind.”

“My voice might not last,” Micah said.

“On the other hand, it might, Mr. Glass Half-empty. Now that we’re brimming with…magic, let’s see if we can get out of here.”

Inigo jumped over to the bars. He wrapped his hands around them and tried to pull them apart. They didn’t budge.

“I’m bitterly disappointed I’ve not turned into Superman.” Inigo pouted. “You try.”

Micah concentrated his power on the bars, then on the lock, but nothing happened and he sagged. “Sorry.”

“Oh well.” Inigo slumped back on the bed. “Makes sense they’d have cells hard to get out of. Cavan said the bars were laced with silver, which should stop me touching them, but it doesn’t. I don’t think he was lying because the flask is silver too, and when I first touched it, I burned my fingers. Now, it has no effect. That has to be down to whatever we drank.”

“I wonder what else it’s done to us.” Micah’s gaze dropped to the vampire’s cock, already hard again, as was his.

“Shit,” Inigo said. “I used to be twelve inches long.”

Micah chuckled and sat next to him.

“What the hell did you do to piss off the king?” Inigo asked.

“Made a stupid mistake, and now my family’s in danger too.”

“What happened?”

Micah explained about the Kewen, and when he got to the part where Ellie had suggested the king might be descended from one of the kidnapped mortal children, Inigo winced.

“Damn.” Inigo groaned. “That probably explains why the tattoo won’t stay on his skin.”

“If he’s part human, why doesn’t ordinary ink work?”

“Maybe adding the stuff out of the flask stopped it sinking in. I don’t know. Assuming I’m given the chance, I could try and tattoo his skin without adding the secret ingredient. Whether it works or not, I don’t expect to live longer than another day. As soon as the tattoo is done, so am I. Even if we get the chance to run, what if my immunity to sunlight has gone? I assumed it was the faerie dust they threw on me. It’s probably worn off.” He looked straight at Micah. “Can you protect me?”

“I don’t know. My mother told me faerie dust doesn’t work on this side, but I can try.”

Inigo shivered. “
Try
doesn’t reassure me.”

“We should get out tonight while it’s still dark,” Micah said.

“We can’t budge those bars.”

“We need to think of something else.”

Inigo suddenly smiled. “How loud can you scream?”

Chapter Six

“Why do you want to know how loud I can scream?” Micah asked, a wary look on his face.

Inigo licked his dry lips and pulled on his clothes.
You
should
be wary of me.

“We need someone to come down here. If I attack you, and you scream, they’ll rescue you.”

“You think?” Micah dragged his fingers through his hair. “They put us in the same cage. I’m not sure they care what happens to me. Plus I’m not supposed to be able to make a sound. You could scream.”

“But I really want to hear you scream. Maybe the shock of me biting you brought your voice back.”

“Biting me?”

“They’ll expect a raging vampire with fangs out and blood on me and you.”

Micah narrowed his eyes.

Yes, I know. I’m so bad
. “Only a little bite. I promise not to suck.”
Too hard
. “We’ll overpower whoever comes, and you can wear their clothes.”

“Then what?”

“I have no idea. Let’s concentrate on getting out of the castle.”

Inigo could barely think about anything but biting Micah. “Are you ready?” he asked.
Damn, did I slur that?

Micah backed up to the wall, and Inigo followed.

“Don’t get carried away,” Micah said, his eyes narrowing.

Inigo danced his lips over the faerie’s mouth, along the line of his jaw, and down his neck. His fangs were already out. He could hear blood pulsing in Micah’s arteries, the rhythmic rush as the heart pumped oxygenated blood around his body.
Delicious blood
. Micah was so tense that for a moment Inigo had second thoughts.

Then the faerie screamed, and Inigo jerked back. “What’s wrong?”

Micah raised his eyebrows and screamed again.

Inigo laughed. “Bloody hell. You nearly deafened me.”

“Get on with it, vampire.”

Inigo grinned and bit Micah’s neck. He could hear the faerie yelling, but the sound receded as blood poured into his mouth.
Oh fuck
. Those dribbles he’d licked from Micah’s body were nothing compared to this. Pure, sweet, intoxicating faerie blood. He didn’t want to stop. Ever.

You have to.

Why?

Just stop. Right now, while you still can. Pretend you’re still drinking. Your mouth and Micah’s neck will be covered in blood if you break away now.

Keep sucking.

Don’t you dare.

Inigo listened to the angel on his left shoulder, licked the wounds to ensure they healed, and shifted his head so his mouth was no longer pressed against Micah’s neck.
Still bloody tempting.

“Help!” Micah shouted. “Get him the fuck off me.”

Inigo suddenly found himself yanked away from Micah and his face squashed against the bars. His head was swimming, his legs trembling. That taste.
Oh hell, I’m ruined
. Nothing could ever compare to that, not even the stuff in the flask. Drunk on faerie blood and he’d only slurped a few mouthfuls?
I am such a lightweight
. He was dimly aware Micah had stopped screaming and some sort of kerfuffle was going on behind him, but if he let go of the bars, he was fairly certain he’d fall over.

A hand grabbed his arm and jerked him round.

“I could have done with a bit of help,” Micah said.

He was dressed in a guard’s uniform of gray pants and blue shirt, and he still looked delicious. Two faeries lay motionless on the floor of the cell, one stripped of his clothes.

“Come on.” Micah tugged him toward the stairs.

Inigo concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other, and fortunately by the time they stepped outside, he felt steadier. Micah put his finger on his lips. Inigo nodded, then gave a noisy burp.
Shit
. He was relieved it was dark, so no test of his resistance to daylight, but there seemed to be faeries everywhere.
Or am I seeing double? Triple?

He shook his head to clear it. There were still a lot of faeries. Micah beckoned, and they slid from shadow to shadow across the courtyard, only to find the gates closed and guarded.

“I’ll draw them away,” Inigo whispered. “You stay close, get the gates open, go through, and I’ll follow.”

He stepped in front of the guards before Micah could argue.

“Good evening, faeries,” Inigo said. “My name is not Inigo Montoya but Inigo Rafael Cavendish Fitzwilliam McIntosh and my father isn’t the issue, but prepare to die anyway.”

The two guards lost their blank looks, jerked to attention, and made straight for him.

“Vampire,” one of them snapped.

“I am indeed.” He beamed. “I’m in therapy for it and also for my terrible behavior. My doctor says I have a preoccupation with blood and violence. Hmm. Perhaps he’s right.”

Inigo leaped at the first faerie, spun him round, and flung him into the second. Before either of them could catch hold of him, he zipped from one spot to another, crossing the courtyard in a random zigzag, faeries in hot pursuit. When he caught sight of Micah opening the gate, he changed direction, headed straight for him, scooped him up, shot out of the castle grounds, and kept going, down the lane, through a village, and out the other side.

Bloody hell, I’m not usually this fast
. When he finally stopped, they were next to a wheat field, ripe ears of corn swaying in the moonlight like a golden sea. He put Micah down.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Micah asked. “I’ve never seen a vampire move so fast.”

“Neither have I.” He gave a rueful smile. “I’m fueled with faerie blood. Let’s find somewhere to hide before dawn breaks. Just in case.”

They were halfway down the edge of the field when he stiffened. “What’s that whirring noise?”

Micah groaned. “They’ve taken to the sky. We need shelter.”

“Let me run again. Get on my back.” His knees buckled as Micah climbed on, but the moment Inigo started to move, he didn’t feel the faerie’s weight. He sprinted and doubted he was leaving more than a blur in his wake. This had to be a result of either drinking from that flask or the faerie blood. Maybe a combination of the two heightened by desperation and fear. He’d run for his life before but never in a situation like this.

He skidded to a halt next to a group of dark farm buildings, and Micah slipped from his back.

“Pick somewhere without animals,” Inigo whispered. “They don’t tend to like me.”

“Animals will disguise your scent.”

Inigo bristled. “I smell?”