Hex and the Single Witch (Vehicle City Vampires) (29 page)

“What do you
mean your sire, isn’t he Devlin’s sire too?”

Galen paled, if
that was possible, seeing how he already looked pretty damn white. “No, I am,”
he said quietly.

I sat down next
to him in a state of total confusion. “You are? Why? How?”

He looked up at
me, shame all over his face. “Devlin was a lackey, a real Renfield to Roark. He
did errands for Roark, brought him rich customers…and victims. Devlin really
loved to watch and sometimes decided to join in, but he could not take the real
hardcore stuff, not stuff being done to him anyway. He loved to dish out the
pain though, he really got off on other people’s pain and pleasure,” Galen’s
voice quivered with the memories.

I wanted to
touch him and comfort him, but I didn’t dare for fear all his memories and
feelings would rush into me.

He wiped a tear
from the corner of his eyes and continued, “Roark strung him along promising to
turn him for years, but he never did. He decided Devlin was not good enough to
have the full dose of his power. So he forced me to do it, to change Devlin. He
is the only vampire I have ever sired, and it was an experience I would rather
not repeat.” His head fell back into his hands as his shoulders slumped in
shame.

I really didn’t
know what to say so I asked another question, “Why does he need you now?”

“He needs my
blood. I am closer to the master than he is. He has tried for years to bring
Roark back but his blood is not strong enough to complete the ritual. He tried
to get me to help several times over the years, but I never would. Since asking
had not worked, this time he took me against my will. I do not understand how
he has amassed enough power to bring Roark here. Roark was inside him. It was
Roark’s power of teleportation used to snag me from Sati’s. I cannot even
teleport.”

“I saw it, in a
vision from the cemetery. He changed, Galen. Somehow, Devlin amassed power
within himself. He’s storing it. Maybe he’s figured out a way to siphon power
from his victims, like a succubus feeds on sexual energy, maybe he’s feeding on
magick. Devlin pulled Roark into his own body using amassed power. A
possession. But I don’t think Devlin can keep enough energy in himself to hold
Roark for long. Demons can short circuit a body quick if the mind and power
levels are not strong enough.”

Galen stood up. “I
have to kill, Devlin.”

I stood up, too.
“No, no more killing, Galen, not by you. We’ll get him, stop him, he’ll be held
accountable.”

“By your puny
human laws and faulty sense of justice? I don’t think so, Anwyn, not this time.
Not when it comes to Roark. I cannot let him back into this world and Devlin is
determined to bring him back. He must have the master to serve, the crazy
bastard. He always hated I was Roark’s favorite. God, he can have it. Have him.
The things Roark did to me, had me do because I was his favorite…” he stopped with
a choked off sob and shuddered. He took a deep breath, as if trying to compose
himself, something he didn’t do often. “Anwyn, I cannot tell you all of the
horrible, depraved, humiliating things I have done. You would never look at me
the same.”

“Galen, what’s
happened is in the past…”

He cut me off. “It
has affected the man I am today. Even if I am not the one killing those women,
I did things to them, Anwyn. It was not like they were just gentle sips. I fuck
and feed together. And when I let myself go, I like to do things that aren’t
exactly vanilla. I cannot help it. Roark made sure my sexual appetites would be
quite extreme. I have held back with you, but if I did not you would be
scared…and your fear would turn me on even more.”

“I don’t believe
you, Galen. I think you’re just trying to scare me away so I don’t get hurt.” I
prayed to the Goddess I was right. I had never seen Galen like this before, not
even when he bit me at his apartment. No, it was shear hunger; he had been
close to starvation. The look in his eyes now…he wanted to eat me alive, split
me open and fuck me while he sucked the life out of me. I had to admit, it
scared me. I shivered.

He smiled a
wicked grin.

“I can smell
your fear little witch. I can see my warnings are sinking into your pretty
little head. Strangely, I can also smell your arousal. Does fear get you hot?”
He moved closer to me in a very menacing way, pushing me up against the wall.
My traitorous body responded. My nipples grew hard and poked out of my thin
cotton nightgown, lower parts of my body grew tight, hot and slick.

He grabbed the
neck of my gown and ripped it right down the middle. The fabric fell uselessly
to the floor with a soft slithering sound as I sucked my breath in with a gasp.
I didn’t even see him move, but felt fangs pierce my breast around the nipple.
I cried out in pain, but my body clenched with need. He pulled away and looked
up at me. A surprised expression flickered across his face, so fast I almost
missed it.

Then with a
sneer my Galen was gone again. He latched back onto my breast and sucked hard
on my nipple. I felt the blood flow into him. I couldn’t control my body as it
quivered and thrust against him.

He ripped off my
panties with an easy tug then forcefully thrust two fingers deep inside me.
Even though I was already slick the force tore at my tender flesh and hurt, but
he paid no attention to my cries as he forced another finger inside me and
roughly pumped them in and out. Soon pain gave way to pleasure; I spread open
as much as I could by putting a leg up on his thigh to give him more clearance.
His thumb circled my clit. I was on the edge of orgasm when he stopped.

He grabbed me
roughly and tossed me to the floor. “You’ll come when I tell you to come,
bitch.”

My wide-eyed
look of shock, coupled with the whimper of pain, must have startled him out of
his…whatever because the menacing sneer quickly turned into one of concern. It
was like he was waging a war within himself. His posture completely changed as
he kneeled down by my side.

“My god, Anwyn,
are you alright?” He delicately touched my bleeding breast. “I did this?” he
asked quietly, like he had no recollection of what just transpired between us.
Before I could reach for him, he stood up and ran out the front door not even
taking the time to shut it behind him. Good thing I didn’t have any close
neighbors who could peer in from across the street.

Confused and
utterly defeated, I thumped the back of my head on the floor and just lay there
for a moment, all sprawled out, staring at the ceiling and trying to figure out
what the hell had just happened.

Probably not a
good idea considering I was totally naked, almost spread eagle, and bleeding. I
must have dozed off…maybe from all that pesky blood loss.

The next thing I
knew, Malone was cradling me in one arm while the other was calling in “officer
down” on the radio. I tried to stop him; this was way too embarrassing to have
the police force in my house.

“No, no, Mike,
I’m fine. Really. It’s not what you think.” Whatever he saw in my face must have
convinced him.

As the
dispatcher asked for a location, Mike responded, “Never mind, it looked worse
than it is. Everything’s okay, cancel that.”

I looked around,
crap the door was still open and I was still naked. “Mike can you shut the
front door and grab me a blanket or robe or something to cover myself?”

He gently let go
of me and grabbed the nightgown on the floor. When he realized it had been
ripped to shreds his face grew very dark. Those tingly hunter senses of his
probably told him a vampire had done it. He dropped the gown, pushed the door
shut and grabbed a blanket form the sofa, handing it to me while he wore a big
scowl across his face. “What happened here, Annie? It was him, the bloodsucking
leech wasn’t it? Did he rape you?” His fists clenched at his sides and his
muscles tightened and bunched all over his body. He was going to pop like a
spring at any moment.

I stood up and
wrapped up in the blanket. “Yes, it was Galen, and no he didn’t rape me. But it
wasn’t…I don’t know Mike, he wasn’t himself. It was like he was possessed.”

“He’s a vampire,
Annie. That’s how they get when they’re hungry.”

“No, this was
different, he was trying to scare me, punish me with rough sex.” At the mention
of sex Mike twitched with jealousy. I could see it seething inside him.

“So he fucked
you hard, bled you, then just left you lying there?”

“No, he didn’t.
He stopped and ran out. It’s like he realized what he was doing…”

“He assaulted
you, Anwyn. He needs to be stopped. There have been way too many vampire assaults
lately. I’m filing a report.”

“No, you’re not.
I am not pressing charges. It was consensual. I never said no.”

“He probably had
you enthralled.”

“You forget I’m
immune to the thrall.”

“So you like it
rough?” he asked low, dangerous.

Shit, I wasn’t
up for round two of “who’s your daddy, bitch.”

“No, Mike, it
was just different. It all happened so fast…”

“Did you get off
on it, the pain, the roughness?”

“That’s a really
personal question, Mike. I am not going to answer.”

He moved close
to me, pushing the blanket aside. “I’ve seen you naked, I’ve tasted your body,
I’ve been inside you, Anwyn. The question isn’t too personal. We’re lovers. I
want you, Anwyn. I want to know what turns you on, what gets you hot.” The
blanket fell and his hands were all over me, then they slid around my back and
pulled me into a hug. “I don’t think I can hurt you, Annie, not even if you
want me to, but I’ll do just about anything for you. Anything to please you,
just tell me what you want.”

Holy witches
circle! He pretty much said he loved me, almost. Maybe what he said was even
better than those three simple overused words. He said he’d do anything for me
and do anything to please me.

I sagged against
him. The night had simply been too much.

“Can I run you a
bath or something?” he asked with his mouth against the top of my head.

“No, I’m too
exhausted. Can you take me to bed?”

He didn’t
answer, just scooped me into his arms and carried me to my bed where he tucked
me in. I was dozing slightly when he climbed in next to me. His warmth curled
around me and a strong arm pulled me close as I drifted into a wonderful,
dreamless sleep.

Chapter 37

I woke up alone
but smelled the tantalizing aroma of eggs and sausage coming from my kitchen.
More importantly I smelled coffee.

My stomach growled
as I slipped out of bed and put on a robe. I followed the delicious smells and
found Mike wearing one of my aprons, looking utterly domestic and sexy as hell.
He was flipping pancakes and adding them to a platter already full of eggs and
sausage.

“Wow, I can’t
remember the last time I woke up to someone making me breakfast.”

He smiled. “I
was starving since I missed dinner last night, plus I knew you would need some
replenishment today.”

I touched my
breast and his smile disappeared. “How are you feeling?” he asked.

It didn’t really
hurt, but I still reeled from what had happened. I know Galen had not been in
control, it was Roark. But the million dollar question was how many times had
Roark been in control of Galen’s body?

“Mike, I know
you don’t like vampires and you especially don’t like Galen because of my
connection to him, but I need you to listen to me with an unbiased outlook.” I
waited for him to say something but he didn’t. I grabbed mugs and filled two
cups and sat down at the table with one in front of me.

He didn’t say a
word as he moved about my kitchen like it was his; he seemed to know where
everything was. He set the table and placed the platter full of food between
us, then he sat down across from me, his expression intense as he forked food
onto both of our plates. He didn’t say anything, just chewed thoughtfully with
his brows knitted together and his jaw tight.

“Okay, Anwyn,
tell me why I need to listen to you with an open mind.”

I swallowed a
mouth full of the most delicious pancakes I had ever tasted and said, “Galen
did attack me last night, sorta, but he wasn’t himself. I think he was
possessed by a demon.”

Mike dropped his
fork and it clattered onto his plate. “I didn’t think demons could possess
vampires.”

“Yeah, well
normally they can’t. This isn’t your average demon though. He was born a
vampire and a demon so he’s some weird hybrid. That probably makes him able to
possess a vampire. His original earth bound vampire body is gone, but that’s
not the whole story. I think this demon is able to possess Galen because…” I
paused and chewed my lip. Revealing this could be very, very bad. Mike just
looked at me, waiting for me to spill. “The demon is Galen’s sire.”

Mike stood up
abruptly and tipped over the chair. “You’re telling me your fangboy is a
fucking vampire and a demon?”

I stood up, too.
“I’m not exactly sure. I don’t think he’s a demon, but he may have special
abilities only demons normally have. Plus, because this demon hybrid is his
sire, they share blood, which makes the demon able to possess Galen’s body.”