Bonds of Blood (9 page)

When she obeyed, he continued.  “You do understand.”

Something in his voice made her nod her head in compliance.

“Tonight, you will be mine.”

Chapter 13

The words sounded foreign to Kat, and though she wanted to argue with him, she found she couldn’t.  It was as if the tone of his voice and the look in his eyes had sucked all of the will to fight.  All she could do was accept his words and give in to what he wanted.

When she felt Mina’s hands snake around to undo the buttons of her dress, she wanted to stop her
, but the look in Damien’s eyes warned her not to.  The logical part of her brain told her to put an end to this, but it was like something had taken hold of her, and she was under its spell. 

She felt the material slide down her shoulders.  The cold air teased her chest.  Damien smiled as he reached out to trace a finger along the line of her jaw, the arch of her neck, the curve of her breast.

“I can’t…” she croaked.

Damien titled his head to the side.  “But you can.  And you will.”

With those words, all the remaining strength she mustered seemed to vanish into thin air.  And when she felt Mina undo the clasp of her bra and begin to slide the straps over her shoulders, she didn’t protest. 

****

Damien watched the black lace bra fall to the floor. 

Ah
, but she was beautiful.

A delicacy to be savored.

Her full breasts held rosy nipples that stood out.  He ached to taste them.  Before he had the chance, Mina’s fingers reached around to tweak them in welcome.  It seemed the girl was just as hungry for Katarina as he was.

He felt his cock harden against his leather pants as he watched Mina tease her.  Pushing her hair to one side, Mina began to place small kisses on Kat’s neck.  He looked into Kat’s eyes to see if there were any last lingering traces of resistance.  But her eyes remained clear.

Unable to stop himself, he leaned in to place his lips against Kat’s mouth.  She opened to him willingly, and he took full advantage.  His tongue plundered her mouth, tasting every inch, devouring her.

She was absolutely intoxicating
—more potent than any wine, sweeter than any dessert.  He couldn’t wait to drive into her trembling, yielding body, to feel her tighten around him. 

He angled her head to the side with his hand, his mouth traveling over the pulsing vein in her neck.  The temptation to taste her right then was so
great, he had to bite his lip to keep from driving his fangs into her tender skin.

But he didn’t want to rush this.

He wanted to savor every moment with her.

She was special.

He didn’t know what it was about her that appealed to him so much, but he couldn’t turn away.  Removing temptation, he pushed Mina’s hands away to circle her nipple with his tongue.  She arched against him as he drew her nipple into the hollow of his mouth. 

God, she was responsive.

As hungry as he was, and as much as he wanted her for himself, he was glad Mina was there.  Especially when she lowered the dress the rest of the way, letting it slide down Katarina’s long slender legs to puddle at her feet.  Black satin panties covered the juncture between her legs.  He ached to rip the fabric away, to pull her to the floor and drive into her wet heat.

Soon
, he thought.

Soon, he would have her.

His hands slid around to grip her hips as he continued his sensual torment of her breasts.  He heard a rustle of fabric and opened his eyes to see Mina taking off her dress.  The corner of his mouth quirked up as he saw that she had heeded his instruction.  She wore nothing beneath it.  Her bare body pressed against Kat’s back. 

Damien kneeled before Kat, the aroma of her arousal filling the air around him.  It made him hungry.  A glance up revealed that Mina’s hands had already resumed their task of teasing Kat’s breasts.  The sight made his cock twitch, eager to take both women.

Soon…

He hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties and slid them down her legs.  Her pussy peaked through dark hair, teasing him.  Unable to wait, he parted the folds with his fingers and slid his tongue into her silky, wet heat.  The flavor of her arousal punched him in the stomach.  She let out a small moan, the sound making his head
lift. 

“Soon, my pet.
  Soon, you will be mine.”

****

Alec stood near the entrance of the club, his gaze scanning the occupants. 

Why had she come here alone tonight?

It didn’t make any sense.

After their talk last night, he thought she was beginning to trust him. 
Which made her standing him up tonight even more confusing.  He had known the second he arrived at her apartment that she wasn’t there.  As frustrated as he was with that, he knew he had to find her quick.  Things were getting too treacherous for her to be alone.

It was easy to follow her
scent, he had been following it for years.  He moved through the crowd easily, his gaze searching for her. 

Where was she?

After everything they talked about, why would she come here without him?

He had picked up another
familiar scent at her apartment.  The scent was definitely human, not vampire.  That should have provided some comfort but he was still so confused about her motive for not meeting him that he couldn’t quite enjoy it.

He sniffed the air.  She had definitely been here recently.  The scent was still fresh.  But where had she gone?

“Looking for someone?”

He should have known that his presence wouldn’t go unnoticed for long.  There wasn’t much that happened here that escaped Genevieve.

“Where is she?’ he demanded.

A flame colored eyebrow arched.  “And who would we be talking about?”

His jaw clenched.   “You know damned well who we are talking about.”

“I do?”

“You rarely ask questions you don’t know the answer to,” he pointed out.

She let out a heavy sigh.  “That is true.  But it is
so
boring.  Sometimes, I wish I could live in suspense like the rest of the world.”

He shook his head. “You could never be like the rest of the world, Gen.  You are one of a kind,” he offered, his gaze still searching the club for any sign of Kat.

As much as he hated wasting time playing games with Gen, he knew her well enough to know that demanding answers right now would get him nowhere.  Genevieve lived to play games.  And the only way he would get any information out of her right now was to play along.

She licked her lips as she took a step closer.  “You always did have a sweet tongue, Alec
.”

“Only for you, Gen
.”

H
is entire body was itching to turn the club upside down until he found Kat.

She let out a low chuckle.  “If only that were true,” she mused, her tone taking on a hint of melancholy.

When he didn’t say anything, she continued.  “Why is it that we stopped enjoying each other, Alec?”

He drew in a steadying breath.  “You were simply too much for me.”

“As much as I wish that was the case, I remember things a little differently.”

His lips formed a grim line.  “I had to go
,” he explained, wishing that she would just drop the subject.

Her eyebrows lifted.  “No, you chose to leave.  The two are entirely different.”

“Gen…”

She held her index finger up in the air.  “As I recall, you wanted something more.”

He didn’t have time to rehash the demise of their relationship.  He needed to find Kat, needed to make sure she was okay. 

“Would that ‘something more’
be the lovely Katarina Montague?” she asked, her chin tilted upward.

His gaze met hers.  “Where is she?”

“What is it about her, Alec?  She’s not human.  At least, not entirely.  I could tell that the second I met her,” she said.

He tried to school his expression, but Gen was too perceptive.  “Is that the draw, then?”

“Does Damien know about her?”

“If he doesn’t know for sure, he will soon,” she pointed out.

He pinned her with a steely stare.  “Where?”

The word came out as a growl instead of a request.

She studied him for a moment as if she was trying to glean some truth he was hiding. 

“I believe you will find her in one of the private rooms,” she offered softly.

When he started to walk away, she reached out to place a hand on his arm. 

“He won’t let her go eas
ily, Alec,” she warned.

His fangs lengthened at her words, the tips biting into the edge of his lips.

“I don’t expect him to,” he acknowledged.

With that, he headed toward the long hallway that led to the private room
s.  His gut tensed as he got closer to his destination.  Images of what he might find assaulted him.  It had been many years since he had actually felt fear.  After all, what was there to fear when you were immortal?  There was even less to fear when you were an immortal that didn’t care if you lived or died.

It wasn’t that he was one of the melancholy few who bemoaned his existence.  On the contrary, he had reveled in the newfound freedom that immortality afforded.  If anything, he was ambivalent.
He had no ties to this life, if that is what it was.  He had already died once.  He wasn’t afraid to do it again.

No, he didn’t fear death. 

But in this moment, he felt fear like he had never known, not even when he was human.  If something had happened to her, he would never be able to forgive himself.  If something happened to her, the true death would be a kindness.

After what seemed like an eternity, he came to stand in front of the door where her scent stopped.  He reached for the knob, every inch of him
bracing for what he would find on the other side.  His fingers tightened on the metal as he stilled the raging impulse to rip it off the hinges.

In one swift move, he pulled the door open.

Chapter 14

The sight that greeted him made his hands curl into fists.  Kat stood in between Damien and a naked woman.  The woman behind her had her hands all over Kat. 
But that wasn’t what angered him the most. 

It was the fact that Damien’s head was between her legs.

And the look on Kat’s face was one of complete abandon.

Was he too late?

Had Damien already won?

At the sound of his entrance, Damien’s head turned slightly.  Spotting Alec, he slowly climbed to his feet, an unmistakable grin settling on
his moist lips.  Using the back of his hand, he wiped away the remaining traces of Kat’s arousal making Alec want to tear the other man apart.

“Alec…to what do I owe this honor? Or are you here for a room? 
Because, as you can see, this one is already taken.”

Alec’s fangs elongated as he stilled the impulse to race over and end the man right now.  Rushing into a fight would only serve to make things worse right now. 

“I claimed this one the other night,” Alec asserted.

Damien’s eyebrows arched. 
“Really?”

Taking Kat’s hand,
Damien pulled her away from the other woman.  Placing his hands on her shoulders, he eased her in front of him.  Moving her hair over her shoulder, his eyes met Alec’s.

“That’s interesting.  She never said anything,” he pointed out, his hand reaching around to cup her breast.  “Are you sure that you claimed her properly?”

Alec’s jaw clenched.  “Don’t fuck with me, Damien.”

Damien’s eyes narrowed.  “Or you’ll what?”

When Alec didn’t immediately answer, Damien continued.  “This isn’t the old country, Alec.  Your master doesn’t rule here.  You do still obey a master, don’t you?”

“Don’t push me
.”

Damien cocked his head to the side, his hands settling around Kat’s waist.  “How does that feel…to know that all of the decisions in your life are made by someo
ne else?  To know that you can never just indulge yourself,” Damien continued, his fingers reaching up to tweak Kat’s nipple. 

Alec’s fingers curled into tight fists.  “I indulge,” he replied.

“But it’s always calculated.  You couldn’t just take…say her if you wanted, could you?”

The words were like a punch to the gut. 
Harsh and all too painful.

No, he couldn’t have her.

And watching another man do the things he wanted to do was driving him insane.

Damien lifted his chin in defiance. 
“I don’t answer to anyone, Alec.  Do you know how freeing that is?  How liberating?  If I want her, her body, her blood, I simply take it.  It is the way we were meant to live.  Not as trained dogs waiting for the next command.”

The tips of Alec’s fangs bit into his lower lip as he spoke.  “The
Senex ensure order.”

“Whose order?”
Damien challenged.  “Theirs?  What about my order?”

It wasn’t the first time that someone had spoken against the
Order.  Centuries ago, the Order of the Dragon was formed by the Senex, the world’s oldest known vampires.  It was created to bring peace to a chaotic time when vampires were running wild in the street risking exposure. 

Suddenly, a set of edicts were imposed upon
his kind.  Edicts whose very purpose was to protect them from a time when witches were being burned at the stake.  It wasn’t an easy change.  And many fought the new rule.  In the end, the benefit far outweighed the loss of freedom.  The order was accepted much more readily in the old country for this purpose.

Here, there were too many people like Damien who wanted to create their own rules.  And unfortunately, there were not enough
Vindicates to ensure the rules were followed.  What was left was a state of unrest.  The Senex were aware of the situation in America, and they were trying to devise a solution.

But until they did, the country was a powder keg waiting for flame.

“The order was created for all of us, Damien.  It is meant to protect our kind,” he reasoned.

Damien snorted.  “Protect us from
who?  Them?” he asked pointing to the two girls in the room.  “We both know that the humans are no match for us.”

“If they knew we existed…”

Damien pinned him with a steely stare.  “They would
what
?  Face it, the Senex have scared you into submission with a fairy tale about vampire hunters that don’t exist.” He made a dismissive motion with his hand.  “Now, if you will kindly leave we have a few things to finish here.”

Alec let out a low growl of warning.  “No!  This one is mine.”

His eyes narrowed.  “You can’t walk into my club and start laying claim to things, Alec.  But to show you that I am a reasonable man, I will let you have a taste when I’m finished.”

Alec had heard enough.  He flew across the room at Damien, knocking Kat out of the way.  Grabbing Damien by the throat, he drove the other man into the back wall
Alec’s lips pulling back to reveal his fangs.

To his surprise, Damien grinned.  “Alec, you don’t really want to take me on,” he warned. 

“She’s mine,” Alec said, his voice reverberating through the small room.

One side of his mouth quirked up on a sneer.
  “I think we both know that’s not true.  If it was, I would never have gotten this far.”

Curling his fingers into Alec’s shirt, Damien threw him across the room.

“Now, if you’ll excuse us…” Damien said, starting over to where Kat stood frozen.

“Leave her alone,” Alec growled.

Damien’s eyes darkened with anger.  “Do you really think you can come in here and tell me what to do?  There is no Order here to back you up.”

Alec’s eyes narrowed.  “I won’t need the
Order.”

Damien let out a sarcastic chuckle. “Really?” he stalked across the room to kneel down.  Resting his elbows of his knees, he tilted his head to the side.  “Perhaps you have forgotten that I am a hundred years older than you
.  I’m stronger than you.  I could kill you in an instant.”

Alec glared at him.

“Now,” Damien continued, tilting his head to the side.  “I don’t want to kill you, Alec.  We have history together.  But if you don’t stop issuing orders and get the fuck out of here, I will.  Is that clear enough?”

Alec
straightened, his chin lifting.  “Clear,” he agreed.

“Good,” Damien said with a smile.  “Just to show you there are no hard feelings, I’ll let you have the other one,” he explained, motioning to Mina.

Alec’s gaze focused on Mina.

She smiled in welcome.

Damien was right.

Taking him on in the club was dangerous.  He would never make it out of here alive with Kat if he caused a scene.  There was only one thing he could do that might just save both of their lives.

“You’re right,” Alec replied as he covertly reached into his pocket.

Damien’s lips curled into a pleased smile.  “I’m glad you agree.”

Alec withdrew the syringe from his pocket as Damien shifted his weight.  When Damien went to get up, Alec slammed the needle into his neck and pushed down the plunger in one swift move.

Damien’s eyes widened in horror, his mouth opening on a gagging sound.
  He clutched his throat as he stumbled backward.  Falling to the floor, he stared at Alec a moment before his eyes fluttered shut. 

In a flurry of movement, Mina rushed across the room to Damien’s side.  “Oh my God, what did you do to him?”

“I just saved your life,” he muttered as he got to his feet.

He started over to Kat but before he could reach her
, Mina flew at him.

“You son of a bitch,” she yelled as she clawed at him.

Grabbing her by the wrists, he held her arms down.  Looking deeply into her eyes, he reached out with his power.

“You will leave this room, forget everything you’ve seen
and never come back to this place,” he explained, his tone firm.

Her eyes widened
, and he waited a moment for her submission.

“The hell I will!
” she cried out as she struggled against his hold. 

So, Damien had formed a blood bond with Mina. 
Alec could only hope that the bond had not been completed with Kat or this would be the most ineffective rescue there ever was.

He glanced across the room to where Kat stood motionless as if in a trance.  Seizing the opportunity, Mina elbowed him in the stomach.  He grunted at the surprising force of the blow.  She spun on her heel, reaching out with both hands to his throat. 

Grabbing her by the arms, he pushed her away.  She stumbled across the room, before falling to the floor.  Pulling the silk robe from the hook on the wall, he draped it over Kat and picked her up in his arms. 

A quick look around the room
let him know that Mina was already getting to her feet.  Racing over to the door, he hurried outside.  Several people were milling about in the hallway which meant that he couldn’t use his unnatural abilities to extract Kat quickly.

Still, with Mina still conscious, he only had a few minutes to get out of here before the club’s security would
come after him. 

A couple in the hall turned to stare at him as he made his way over to one of the doors to the right.

“Hey,” he heard the girl call out as he locked the two of them in the private room.

The race was on to get out while he still could.  The injection he gave Damien would keep the vampire down for at least another thirty minutes.

After that, he would come looking for revenge.  Using his speed, he crossed the room in a flurry of motion to pull open the French doors.

The night embraced him, hid him,
protected him.

For now.

All he could do was hope that he could get her to his home before the battle began.