Lucas (Immortal Blood) (6 page)

I felt her body freeze under me and I lifted my head, letting my canines retreat from her skin, but as
she did nothing to stop me I sank them back into her, licking the small red drops of blood around the bite mark. She moaned. I tilted her head with my hand and moved my canines all over her neck and upper body, sliding my hand between her legs. Her tights pressed against my hand. I spread my fingers, trying to open her legs, but she squeezed them even tighter against my hand, so instead of trying to do it again I slowly slid my hand up and let it rest on her hot spot. She inhaled sharply and started to wiggle in panic.

“
Shh,” I whispered, trying to calm her down.

She stopped moving and I pressed lightly with my hand. She cried out and her back arched like I’d hit her with lightning. I kissed her shoulder gently before placing soft kisses on her collarbone and the soft skin above her breasts.

“Stop,” she whispered so quietly it was barely more than a breath.

I pretended not to hear.

“Stop,” she said again, this time a bit louder.

I forced myself to stop. “Are you sure?”

I felt her nodding but I couldn’t help scratching her skin one more time with my teeth. She put her hand between us. Okay, for her this was obviously a new experience and I wondered what Dane-boy had been doing with her so far. Playing cards?

I lifted my head and looked into her eyes. They were glassy and vulnerable. Oh shit! She was most likely still a virgin. I cursed quietly. I had no problem taking her right there and then, but I needed her later, so I had to play this right. “Samantha,” I whispered and gave her my most innocent smile. She blinked. “My sweet, sweet Samantha.”

Her lips parted and I pressed my lips to her forehead. She hadn’t expected that and a quiet, relieved sigh escaped from her. I murmured how much I cared for her, keeping my lips on her skin, and I felt her body relax. I moved my lips to hers.

At first she didn’t respond, but as I forced my own need aside, being as gentle as possible, her lips finally opened some more, giving me a sign to go on. I didn’t need another hint. Slowly moving my lips, I let my tongue touch hers. She sighed with pleasure and I deepened our kiss. Her hands found my hair and when my lips moved to her soft neck she arched her head, inhaling sharply. She grasped my hair and my neck, her body betraying her. Still forcing myself to be as gentle as I could, considering the situation, I let my mouth wander all over her body while she moaned and screamed, trying to get more out of me. Her hands tugged my jeans lower and found their way to the buttons. My mouth tugged her bra aside, trying to get to the soft flesh underneath it.

Someone knocked on the door. We both froze. Sam’s eyes found mine and I saw horror creeping into them. The door was cautiously pushed open and I saw the bartender standing in the doorway.

“Out,” I croaked and she hurried away.

But it was too late. Sanity had reached Sam’s brain and she stared at me, hyperventilating. She looked like she would suffocate. Her green eyes were huge and she was shaking all over. I reached out my hand to her, but she flinched away. I swore heavily.

“I…” she stammered, but there was nothing to say.

We were both sweaty and bloody and looked like we’d just had sex. And we kind of had. I picked up my shirt from the floor and pulled it on. Sam was frozen. All of the heat between us was gone and I wanted to rush after the bartender and break her neck.

“Shit!” I threw my glass at the wall.

Sam sniffed and I felt a sting of guilt inside my chest. But what was done was done and I didn’t regret anything. Well, other than that the stupid bartender had interrupted us before I really got to taste Sam. From the corner of my eye I saw her moving and turning slowly. She picked up her torn dress from the floor and looked miserable. There were marks all over her body and there was no way she could walk through the club looking like that. Not to mention go home and meet the others.

“Maybe you should…” I glanced at the toilet meaningfully.

“Yeah,” she said quietly and shuffled towards it.

I took my shirt off again and handed it to her
. She glanced at me in surprise and took it. Desire was still raging inside me and all I wanted to do was go after her and take her against the wall. I know, I was a total douchebag. Instead, I went to the table and poured a drink straight from the decanter into my mouth. It helped a little, and when she appeared looking a bit more presentable than just minutes ago, I had myself under control. Almost.

“We need to get you some proper clothes,” I said, offering her a smile.

Her eyes were like a scared rabbit’s.

“Not that my shirt doesn’t look good on you. But you know.”

“I know,” she breathed, defeated, and I clenched my fists.

What had happened to my killer side? I actually felt sorry for her, as I knew she wasn’t the kind of girl who slept around, and all I could think about was having a little fun with her, and that left a bitter taste in my mouth. I had to get myself together before I got too involved with her. I stepped closer, expecting her to look at me, and she did. Kind of. Her eyes found my trained abs and she blushed deeply. She put her hands behind her back and backed away as if she couldn’t help herself from touching me and needed to get away before she did something she’d regret later. I grinned wolfishly. A little late for that.

She glanced at me quickly. “What about you?”             

“What about me?”

“Well, you can’t just walk around in the club looking like that.” She waved her hand vaguely.

“I’ll put a jacket on and no one will take another look at me.”

She nodded. We both knew that wasn’t true. The way I looked made both women and men look at me, and me without a shirt … well … they’d probably have to wipe the drool off the floor after we’d gone.

“If that’s all, we should go.” I grabbed her elbow and led her to the door.

“Where?” she snapped and anger flashed in her eyes. “Where could we possibly go without starting a bunch of nasty rumors?” She eyed my body but didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her eyes told me everything. We both knew it was okay for me to walk out of there half naked, but she was a totally different story. I was a stranger but this was her city, and with her attitude a lot of people already knew who she was. So the second we marched out of the door everyone would know she’d been with me, doing God knows what. I hesitated. If we separated and met outside the club, her reputation would stay cleanish, but would she bolt if I let her go first?

“Well?” she snapped.

Apparently, the idea of us leaving separately hadn’t even occurred to her. We could go quickly, though, and try to minimize the damage. She glared daggers at me. Good. It was easier to handle my awakening feelings when she was her normal self. Sassy and spicy.

“To my hotel. You can’t go home looking like that. And you need to shower.”

“Fine. But after that I’ll go home and we’ll pretend this never happened.”

“Fine,” I grunted and pushed her out of the door.

When we reached my hotel I sneaked her in without anyone noticing, and as we got to my room she headed straight to the bathroom. Her scream made me rush in after her and I swallowed hard. She stood, wearing only her underwear, in front of a large mirror and was moaning. Her neck and shoulders were covered in bite marks, and her ribs hadn’t been spared either. My hands had left red bruises on her bottom, and her back was covered with scratches. I swallowed harder. Next to her bra were clear fingerprints. My fingerprints. To be fair, I didn’t look much better, and when she realized that, she started to cry. A lump in my throat threatened to choke me. I’d done this. I’d done this to her and would do it again if I got the chance.

“It will heal before the morning,” I said quietly.

She sniffed. “I know.”

But I couldn’t turn my eyes from her marks. Carefully, I placed a towel around her shoulders and took her to the bed. Her lower lip trembled.

“I’ll take the couch,” I said.

She closed her eyes and I pulled a blanket over her. After I went to the hard, too-short couch, I lay awake for the rest of the night, the look of her bruised body and teary eyes haunting me.

I sneaked out of the room in the wee hours. Sam was lying stiffly on the bed and I couldn’t tell if she were asleep or not. There was a bad taste in my mouth and I cursed myself for it. I had let things go too far and got myself too involved with her. I shouldn’t be feeling like this. After all, I’d done this hundreds of times. Used a girl and then dumped her. Only this time was different. There was something fierce and unique in her and somehow she had managed to get under my skin. I had to end this whatever it was between us, as I couldn’t afford to let her distract me from my purpose. What if she begged me to save Jonathan or Dane? Would I do it just to show her I wasn’t evil through and through? Or, better yet, what if my creator discovered I was messing around with her and decided to call me in? Could I defy him? As my creator he held the power to command me, yet he had never used it. But I couldn’t help wondering what kind of horrible future he had in mind for Sam and I wished things were different.

I ran down
stairs and paid one of the hotel staff members to open the gift store. After picking up a few clothes that I thought Sam might like, I went outside and called my creator.

He answered immediately. “Is it done?”

I sighed. “Not yet. Things got a little complicated.”             

The line was silent for a long time and I could almost see him looking at me disappointedly.

“How complicated?” he finally asked.

This time it was my turn to be quiet.

“How complicated?” he asked again, and a cold sweat started to run down my spine. If my creator was one thing, it was not merciful.

“What did you mean by saying you’d deal with the girl?” I asked, changing the subject and easing my grip on the phone I was absent-mindedly crushing in my hand.

“Lucas.” There was a warning in his voice. “What have you done?”

“I can’t kill her,” I blurted out.

“You’re not supposed to kill her,” he thundered. “You were supposed to leave her be! Do I have to come over there and show you how it’s done?”

“No.”

“No, what?”

“No, sire.” I straightened my back. “I know what I have to do.”

“Good. And, Lucas?”

“Yes?” I held my breath.

“Do not disappoint me.”

“I won’t.” I closed the cell and punched the wall. Shit! I should get rid of Sam, and the faster the better.

I leapt up the stairs and didn’t bother to knock before opening the door. Sam was sitting on the bed holding a blanket in front of her as if it would shield her from me.

“Get dressed.” I tossed her the clothes.
             

Her eyes widened in confusion at my cold tone and she bit her lower lip. But as I said nothing to soften the situation, just stared at her, challenging her to disobey, she slowly narrowed her eyes and her lip line tightened. I growled and went to the bathroom.

When I came back she was fully dressed sitting by the window. She looked really sad and I almost felt sorry for her. There was no way she could hide this from Dane or the others. It wasn’t her fault, as I had tricked her by making her drink more than she could handle. She couldn’t know that, of course, and I wasn’t going to tell her. Maybe she’d hear that from Jonathan, who obviously knew about old blood drinks, and perhaps that would open her eyes. I was no good to her; and besides, after hearing my creator’s tone, I wouldn’t dare lay a finger on her again. She was marked, yet she didn’t know it.

“We should go,” I said and she nodded.

She got up mechanically and followed me out of the room, but before we reached the lobby she suddenly stopped and leaned on the wall. “No.”

“What?” I snapped, irritated.

“I don’t want you to take me home. I can’t…” She swallowed and her hand flew to her neck, tugging the scarf she was wearing tighter. “I can’t go home with you.”

I nodded, understanding her completely. “I’ll grab a taxi for you then.”

She stared at me.

I held my hand out to her. “Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed, taking my hand.

I led her out and helped her into a taxi that was conveniently parked outside the hotel, waiting for the next customer. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

“Yes.” She gave me a shy smile. “But thanks for asking.”

I nodded and closed the door. I tapped on the taxi’s roof and the driver stepped on the gas, leaving me to imagine Dane’s face when he discovered what I’d done. I laughed dryly and waved at the next free taxi. Why wait when there was a fair chance I’d get to witness Dane’s rage first hand. Sam’s teary eyes flashed into my mind, but I pushed the image away, burying it somewhere deep in the hope that it would never haunt me again.

I arrived near Sam’s house just in time. Her taxi had dropped her at the door, but she was just standing in front of it with her hands hanging lifelessly at her sides. Her head was bent, guilt and remorse written all over her. I hardened my heart and did nothing. After a long time she opened the door and went in. I got out of the taxi, paid the driver handsomely, and sneaked closer to the house.