Dark Secrets (15 page)

“Do it, Ella.”

She struck hard and quick. A guttural sound ripped from my
throat and the initial pain quickly faded to a high that was unrivaled. Ella
moaned and drank deep, pulling my blood into her.

I shuddered, my brutal claiming reaching its peak. Ella
climaxed, pulsing around me. I pulled out of her ass at the last second,
grabbed my dick and stroked. The rush of endorphins had me spinning out of
control. I came on her stomach, each pulsing jet of come extending my orgasm.

Ella leaned forward and licked the wound at my throat, her
tongue a soft, wet soothing I nuzzled into as I panted. Hands pressed to the
bed on either side of her head, I kept our bodies apart. I dipped my forehead
to hers, my hair damp, my heart beating out of control.

“Come back to me,” I whispered.

“Always.”

The second I stepped outside of the house to meet Julian, a
gust of frosty wind swept over me, reminding me that I hadn’t grabbed a coat. I
gasped at the sharp shift in temperature. The places Micah had so recently
touched stung at the shocking contrast. Ice invaded—chilling me to the core. My
teeth chattered and each breath I exhaled visibly puffed out.

Gray clouds morphed across the sky, stealing the moonlight
and blanketing the night in darkness. Leaves from the surrounding trees
trembled with the impending storm. Another sweeping gust swept through and
kicked up loose snow from the ground to create a gyrating white cyclone.

Death and violence scented the air. The shadow inside me
pulsed, roused by the threat of mayhem. My stomach churned. The nausea I couldn’t
seem to shake moved up my throat. Puking might be a real possibility. I drew in
a breath of icy air and tucked my chin down, focusing on placing one foot in
front of the other.

Eiven brushed by me, knocking my shoulder as he went, and
nearly sent me sprawling to the ground. Fucking heels. You’d think being gifted
with agility and speed would be the cure-all for the treachery of women’s
footwear. Apparently not. I jerked my head up and glared at his back. He strode
over the ground with sure, graceful steps. Show off.

“If I fall on my ass and injure myself, doesn’t that break
your little ‘protect the queen’ code?”

Another patch of snow, another wobble. Of course, the wolf
glanced over his shoulder at that exact moment. The hostile gleam in his eyes,
the lines bracketing his mouth and the “fuck you” he radiated were a clear
indication he was still pissed.

“My job is to protect you from external threats. If you slip
on the ice and break your neck,” he lifted his palms in a so-be-it gesture, “well
that’s just a happy accident.”

“Ass,” I muttered.

Curls blew in front of my face and I pushed them away. A few
feet in front of me, Julian leaned against a long, sleek limo, the glow of its
red taillights making me think of Rudolph the Reindeer. Tension radiated from
my sire, filling the space between us with an almost palpable energy. His
agitation was visible in the tight line of his jaw, in the cold disapproving
way he followed my every step. If I wasn’t mistaken, he too was hoping I’d have
a happy accident.

The bond between us was a black hole, almost as if it didn’t
exist. There was no static. No buzz. A void. I swallowed back my apprehension
and managed to keep upright.

At my approach, a man I’d never seen before stepped out from
around the other side of the vehicle and opened the rear door with a flourish.
He inclined his head, a quick dip before lifting to meet my gaze. The
splattering of freckles combined with his round face, mussed reddish-brown hair
and pressed suit made him seem so…harmless. But there was something there, some
spark that warned me.

Vampire. He’s one of yours…

I closed my eyes, drew in a breath and tasted the lingering
scent of Micah on my skin. I pushed my senses out farther and focused on the
low-level hum the chauffeur radiated. I followed the vibe until the faint
murmur of whispers reached me. A rush of addictive adrenaline hit me, beckoned
me to keep searching.

“Get in the car.” Julian’s clipped words had my eyes
snapping open.

I tore my gaze from the now wide-eyed driver to glower at
Julian. My anger rose on a swift tide, eclipsing everything else. I crossed my
arms over my chest. Where I gripped my biceps, heat built and eased my goose
bumps.

“Who the fuck peed in your Wheaties?”

He clenched his jaw and regarded me with the full weight of
his stare. “Some decorum would be nice. Do you think you could manage that for
one night?”

I curled my lip. “Not having to attend this stupid party
would be nicer.”

The bond between us flared too quickly for me to throw up my
shields. Julian’s anger slapped me across the face and filled me with heat. His
thoughts slammed into mine and I heard myself through his memories, my cries of
pleasure drifting through the house. He’d been waiting in the foyer for me.

Gods, yes. Micah. Harder. Harder. So good.

I didn’t just hear it, I saw it, experienced the sensations
of Micah pushing into me, claiming me. Pleasure swam through me, speeding my
breaths. The bedsprings creaked, a steady noise that punctuated each heady
thrust of Micah’s cock.

I swallowed at the realization Micah and I hadn’t exactly
been alone. On accident, or maybe on purpose, knowing him, Julian had helped
himself to an X-rated peep show.

I narrowed my eyes, refusing to show my disgust. Despite the
wind and the cold, I dropped my hands to my side and lifted my chin.

“My house. My bedroom. I can do whatever I want, no one
invited you inside.”

Julian curled his lip at me, exposing is fangs. He crossed
the distance between us in a flash, vanishing and then reappearing when he was
inches from me.

“Get in the car, Ella.”

My name was a harsh, rough word from his mouth. The bond
between us, a link I tried and failed to close down, flared red hot. I could
feel him lurking inside my head, searching for the means to control me, to
force me into submission.

I slammed up my shields, cutting him off.

I cupped his shoulder, drawing closer to him. His nostrils
flared and I wondered if he was inhaling
eau de Micah
. A petty type of
pleasure filled me. I tightened my grip, sinking nails into his skin until I
heard the hitch in his breath. When I spoke, my voice was colder than the
arctic blast sneaking under my dress. “If you don’t like what you see, maybe
you should stay the fuck out of my head.”

I shoved him away and slid into the back of the limo,
scooting to the far side of the vehicle. Leather creaked and I looked to the
sound as first Eiven, then two of his wolves took the bench seat across from
me.

Hostility radiated from the packmaster, filling the confined
space with enough suppressed energy to set off a nuclear bomb. Asshole. I
lifted an eyebrow at him, silently inviting his commentary. The wolves beside
him shifted their gazes—just as hateful as Eiven’s—to me. No one said a single
word.

Fan-fucking-tastic. This party thing was a great idea.

Julian entered last and sat as far from me as possible. The
door shut behind him, sealing me in with three pissed-off werewolves and a
testy vampire, all of whom acted as if I were shit on the bottom of their shoe.
It was nice to know I still made friends everywhere I went.

The hour-long ride to wherever it was we were going was
almost completely devoid of sound. No radio. No hum of tires. I couldn’t hear
the cars zipping by us. Julian had soundproofed the interior. Did all rich
people do this? I thought of my sister, trapped in the backseat of a limo with
Cash Vladimir, a master vampire who’d intended to rape her before turning her
into the next queen.

News in the underworld had spread quickly about my familial
line stemming from Lizbeth’s. If I’d become a queen because of my genetics,
then it stood to reason so would my sister—if she was turned.

I lost myself to the rhythm of the wolves’ heartbeats—to
visions of violence and bloodshed. If I was serious about this queen business,
I needed to prove it. The best way to protect my sister, to keep humankind
safe, was to step up and embrace my inner vampire. Could I do that and still be
me?

Tonight was my chance—assuming no one cut my head off first.

The trees thickened the farther north we traveled. Snow
lined the narrow, curving road and weighed down branches, painting a greeting-card-worthy
picture. Too bad I hated snow—I was more of a rain type of girl. I looked away
from the window and closed my eyes as exhaustion slammed into me. The warmth
from the car thawed my bones and I drifted silently into dreamland, moderately
sure Eiven wouldn’t let Julian molest me in my sleep.

The limo rolling to a stop jerked me awake. The door opened
and Julian slid out, followed by the wolves, before I could even blink the
sleep away. I took a deep breath and tried to prepare myself. One night. Just a
few hours. Then I’d go back to Micah. He’d kiss me, touch me, make me go all
girly and soft.

I could do this.

I exited the car, my heels sinking into the layer of fresh
snow blanketing the ground. Heavy flakes rained from the sky in a blur. My
breathing sped, quickening my heartbeat. Through the swirling fog, I took in
the beautiful stone-and-wood mansion.

My heart stopped. Dread engulfed. I knew this
place—intimately.

I turned my head and glared at Julian with all the fury of a
woman scorned. Was this some kind of a prank? Was I being punked?

“You’re shitting me, right?” I asked and wondered how
quickly I could get the knife I’d strapped to my thigh out and into his
eyeball.

“Problem?” Eiven asked, pausing in his sweep of the
perimeter to look at us with a bored expression on his face.

“You bet your sweet ass there’s a problem.” I jerked a thumb
in the direction of the place Julian had not only popped my cherry, but later,
had turned me into a vampire. “Not going in there.”

The trees surrounding the multi-level structure were just as
I remembered them. Tall, looming and majestic. Large, oblong windows glowed
with light that silhouetted the people—vampires—moving within. Three stone
chimneys of various heights jutted from the rooftop and piped curling smoke
into the air.

“We agreed,
min askling
, that you would accompany me
to three functions, two without your mongrel. This would be one of those times.”

Julian had negotiated the terms when I’d been on my deathbed
two months ago—I’d just been trying to stay alive. I clenched my fists at my
side in an effort to keep from punching him in the face. There was a smug tilt
to his mouth that I really wanted to rearrange.

Eiven smirked at me. His words, spoken in a low, rolling
timber hit my ears as both of his wolves flanked him. “So on top of everything
else, you’re a liar?”

I blew out a white cloud of breath and fought to regain
control of my anger. My heart thundered. A house was just a house. The quicker
I went in and faced my demons, the sooner I could leave.

“I’m not a liar. And since we’re talking, check your
attitude. I didn’t get your men killed. Put the blame where it belongs, with
the man you stabbed between the eyes. He’s dead. They’re dead. Anyone, at any
given time, is seconds from death. Even you. Get over it.”

I walked away from the men, sensing the Fenrirs’ approval
and Julian’s annoyance. With each step, my heels clicked across the
symmetrically broken slabs of concrete leading toward a single mahogany front
door. I pushed on the old-fashioned brass door lever and strode inside.

Dark, elegant music drifted through the house, mixed with
the low hum of conversation and clinking glasses. Somewhere, someone moaned—a
heady mixture of pleasure and a touch of pain. My nose twitched at the scents
of blood and sex lingering in the air. A subtle buzzing filled my head as I
felt each vampire milling throughout the house. I’d never been around so many
of them at once, or sensed them so easily.

They belong to you. Can you feel it?

Oh, I felt it all right. I shook my head and banished the
sound of Julian’s voice. The dagger I’d strapped to my thigh was a cold,
reassuring block of weight I used as a focus to keep my shields in place.

As we passed through the anteroom, closer to the vampires
dressed in expensive evening wear, I categorized the changes since I’d last
been here. A rich wood-finished trim lined the top and bottom of the beige
walls, contrasting with the cream décor. It was hard not to pick out the spots
where Julian had kissed me, where’d he’d pushed me up against the wall and
fucked me. It was disgusting how easily I’d fallen into his web.

I’d been fifteen and grieving the death of my father, unsure
of what my future held despite my so-called gifts. There’d been something so
alluring about Julian, something forbidden. My rebellion had started out as a “Fuck
you!” to the agency that had cost me both my parents but ended up something
twisted and dark.

We passed an open, curving stairwell that led to the upper
level of the house where the bedrooms, drawing rooms and studies that rich
people felt they needed were located. Conversation stopped the moment we walked
through the set of double doors into the ballroom.

The wood floors gleamed, reflecting the light from the dozen
high-hanging chandeliers. In the center of the room a massive table stretched
from one wall to the other. What lay on it had my palm itching for a stake. My
instincts flared, warring with a hunger that revolted me.

Humans. Bound. Gagged. Naked. Artfully arranged to create an
elaborate centerpiece. Vampires drank openly from their necks, arms and groins.
Dark rivulets of blood rolled over various shades of skin and my fangs pulsed
at the sight.

As if my gaze called to them, the feeding vampires looked
from their meal and stared at me with burning blue eyes. I swallowed, lifting
my chin and allowing the cold, hate-filled disapproval I felt to show on my
face.

“Put your weapon away,” Julian said calmly.

I hadn’t realized I’d pulled my knife.

“These pets are here willingly. No harm will come to them, I
assure you.”

“No harm?” I lifted an eyebrow in disbelief and I motioned
to the all-you-could-eat buffet. “They’ll bleed to death.”

Julian shook his head. “Their masters won’t let them die.”

“Masters?” I had to force myself to look away from the
scene.

My sire turned to me and used a finger under my chin to
force my mouth closed. “This is the vampire life,
min askling
. We drink
blood. We fuck. We hold dominion over humans. The sooner you realize this, the
better it will be for everyone. Tonight, you take your place and leave your old
life behind.”