Marked: City of the Damned Book 1 (3 page)

“You needed clean clothes and food.”

“But these are
my
clothes from
my
apartment.” Sara looked down at the table and then back
to Gedeon. “How did you get into my apartment?”

“I used your keys,” Gedeon said in a matter
of fact tone. “I found your address on the lease agreement in your
bag. You should consider moving. You’re paying too much money for
rent.”

“You went through my purse?” Sara wanted to
be mad. She knew she should be mad that Gedeon had invaded her
privacy, but the idea of clean clothes was too appealing. Suddenly
remembering about Phineus she asked, “What about my cat, is he
okay?”

“Yes, I fed him, he’s fine.” Gedeon passed
her a clean towel. “You need to shower. Wash yourself twice. We
have to try and mask your scent.”

“Are you trying to tell me that I stink?”
Sara laughed.

“You’ve had a fever for two days, and fevers
cause you to perspire. Pryse will have no difficulties picking up
on your scent.”

“Thanks a lot.” Sara snatched the towel out
of his hand. It had been days since the last time she’d showered,
but that was no reason for Gedeon to be so blunt, so insulting.

Gedeon eyed her questioningly. The tone of
her voice and her playful attitude all but disappeared within a
matter seconds. Had he said something to offend this beautiful
creature? No matter how hard he tried, Gedeon could not understand
the range of emotions that humans experienced. “Dinner will be
ready by the time you finish with your shower.”

Sara was taken aback. Despite being so
beastly, underneath his rough exterior was a softness that she
never expected to find. Every so often she would catch Gedeon
looking at her, and the harsh lines around his mouth and eyes would
soften, if only for a second. If it wasn’t for the fact that he was
a vampire, Sara might have actually felt something for him. A knot
twisted in her stomach as she thought about what it might be like
to be bitten. Would the pleasure exceed the pain she’d experienced
in the alley?

“Sara, did you hear me?” Gedeon asked. “You
need to go and shower so we can get moving. It’s only a matter of
time before Pryse shows up here. I figured that it would take at
least three days for him to heal from his injuries, and our time is
quickly running out.”

“What injuries?” Sara snapped out of her
reverie and focused her attention on Gedeon.

“The injuries he sustained from out fight in
the alley. I almost had him then, but he managed to slip away.”
Gedeon stood up from the chair. “Go and take your shower. We can
figure out a plan while we eat.”

Sara gathered her clothes from the table and
walked down the hall towards the bathroom. A small rust stained
bathtub sat against one wall, and a toilet and pedestal sink sat
opposite the toilet. Other than the medicine cabinet that hung
above the sink, the room was bare.

“Son of a bitch!” Sara cursed as she stubbed
her toe on a piece of cracked linoleum tile. Droplets of blood fell
to the floor as she raised her foot to inspect the damage, forming
a small crimson pool on the battered tile below. Ripping a piece of
toilet paper from the roll, Sara bent down and wiped it up,
cleaning it as best as she could.

The water ran red as she stuck her hand under
the faucet and washed away the blood. Once undressed, she stepped
into the warmth of the shower. Rivulets of hot water flowed down
the length of her body, and a little ribbon of pink mixed with the
water and swirled on the surface of the tub before flowing down the
drain. Sara let her thoughts drift as the heat caressed her skin.
If she allowed Gedeon to bite her, what would it feel like? Would
the pleasure be as great as the pain that she’d already experienced
from Pryse’s bite? Sara could almost imagine the feel of Gedeon’s
calloused hands on her skin, and she could almost picture the
curves of his lean muscular body that was all too often hidden
beneath his loose fitting clothes. Warmth started to pool in her
belly as the naked image of Gedeon filled her mind. Sara couldn’t
understand her feelings towards him. She’d only known Gedeon for a
short period of time. Is this what he meant when he’d told her
about humans forging a connection with a vampire? Was there some
sort of a connection between her and Gedeon?
Impossible,
she
thought, and quickly banished the idea from her mind. They hadn’t
known each other long enough, had they? Was it even possible for a
connection to form between them when she’d been marked by
another?

An odd squeaking noise caused her daydream to
shatter and her eyes to flutter open. Sara looked around for the
source of the noise. Her eyes came to rest on a small gray mouse
that had perched on the side of the bathtub, and was now curiously
watching her as she showered. Sara opened her mouth and a blood
curdling scream escaped her lips.

The sound of loud, thunderous footsteps
echoed through the hall as Gedeon ran towards the bathroom. With a
thud, the bathroom door flew open. Gedeon stopped suddenly as the
smell of her blood overwhelmed his senses and caused his fangs to
unsheathe. The hot steam from the shower only intensified the spicy
aroma of her essence.

“Sara?” he asked in a hoarse voice.

Sara peaked at him from around the tattered
shower curtain. His stunning eyes that were once blue now burned
black, and for the first time Sara understood what it meant. Gedeon
stared at her with such powerful desire that it rendered her
speechless. With thoughts of the mouse all but forgotten, and
without second guessing herself, Sara pushed the shower curtain
aside as longing spread through her, longing for his touch.

“Sara.” Gedeon whispered as he took a step
towards her. His hands lifted to her waist and he pulled her
tightly into his embrace. The need to be with her, to touch her,
shattered what little of his self control remained. Her lips parted
in welcome as he crushed his mouth to hers. The smell of her blood
that wafted through the humid air, the feel of her silken skin
beneath his hands, the taste of her as his greedily tongue parted
her lips and dove deeper into her, drove him mad with desire.
“Sara, we can’t. Not yet,” he whispered softly against her
mouth.

“Yes, Gedeon, we can.” Sara tugged lightly at
the hem of his sweater, and Gedeon raised his arms as she pulled
the sweatshirt up and over his head, tossing it to the floor in the
corner of the room. Her hands greedily explored the curvature of
his hard chest and abs, softly trailing along each contour as if
trying to memorize each and every inch of him. She paused briefly
as her fingers reached the button of his jeans and felt his body
tense. Ignoring the butterflies in her stomach, Sara reached down
and stroked the length of his massive, throbbing erection.

His body shuddered and a low guttural moan
worked its way up his throat and past his lips as his cock pressed
hard against its denim restraints. Gedeon reached down to stop her,
but the back of his hand brushed lightly against the curly thatch
of hair between her legs, and his resolve shattered.
MINE.
NOW.
In one hurried movement, Gedeon bent over and snapped off
the flow of water before sweeping Sara up into his arms. He cradled
her tightly against his chest as he moved swiftly and surely down
the hall towards his bedroom. He
was
going to take her, but
not in the bathroom, and not like some lust ravaged maniac.
Bringing his lips down to meet hers, Gedeon kissed her hard on the
mouth. His moist tongue forced apart her lips and their kiss grew
deeper as he laid her gently in the center of his bed.

The cold touch of his skin against hers sent
a shiver up her spine, but provided little relief from the fire
that was consuming her from within.
Just like fire and ice,
she thought. Sara needed Gedeon like she needed air to breath. She
needed to feel his touch, to feel him in her. Only then could the
raging fire be extinguished. Sara gasped as Gedeon placed a strong
hand on her thigh and spread her legs.

“Take me,” she ordered, her voice rasping
with need. The denim felt rough against the softness of her thighs
as he positioned himself between her legs and pressed hard against
her. Sara arched into him, her fingers ripping at the flesh on his
shoulders as she moved her hips back and forth in a rhythmic
motion. She could feel the throbbing of his cock through the fabric
of his jeans as he pressed harder into her sex. She needed him to
be inside her. She needed to feel every inch of him as he slowly
slid into her, filling her with his arousal. “Gedeon,” Sara moaned
as she buried her face in his chest.

“Not yet,” he growled. His warm breath
caressed her skin as he whispered the words against her heated
flesh. Grabbing her by the wrists, Gedeon pinned her arms to the
bed above her head. He was going to have her, and he was going to
give her what she begged for, but first he had to break the mark
that bound her to another. He had to kill Pryse.

“Yes, now,” she whimpered. Sara quiver as he
took her firm ripe breast into his mouth and began to suckle her.
Her nipple hardened as his fangs gently grazed her milky skin.
“Bite me.”

“I can’t.” He moaned in frustration. Gedeon
had to force himself to say the words. His body ached for her. His
mouth yearned to taste the life essence that lay just beneath her
skin. The thought of the bliss he would soon feel as he sank into
the warmth of her sex while drinking the sweet crimson nectar of
her essence caused his erection to strain painfully against the
rough denim. Sara wanted the bite of the vampire. Yes, he would
give it to her, but not now, not until she was free to be his.
Reluctantly, Gedeon released his grip on her wrists and sat up on
the side of the bed. For now, he would have to control the beast
within, but soon, very soon, he would have her. “Sara, I can’t.”
When he spoke, his voice was thick with longing and regret. “Not
while you’re marked by another.”

“Gedeon?” she whispered, her body aching with
need. Without the feel of his body pressed against hers, Sara felt
empty, as if this was all just a dream about to come to an abrupt
and untimely end.

“You should get dressed. Dinner’s almost
ready.” Without another word or a backwards glance, Gedeon walked
out of the room, leaving Sara lying naked and alone on the bed.

Chapter
4

Sara should’ve been furious at Gedeon for
walking away from her. She should’ve felt angry and rejected, but
as hard she tried, she couldn’t. The logistics of being a vampire
were completely unknown to her, and by the look on Gedeon’s face,
Sara could tell that his desire for her ran as deep as the desire
she felt for him. A soft knock on the door caused Sara to startle.
Hastily reaching for the satin sheet on the bed, she used it to
cover herself as the door slowly creaked opened.

“Here are your clothes.” Gedeon placed the
neatly folded pile of clothes on the foot of the bed. “Dinner’s on
the table.”

“Gedeon, wait,” she stammered.

“Sara, please. Don’t make this harder than it
already is.” Gedeon turned his head and averted his gaze from the
slim naked form that lay just beneath the sheet, and well within
his reach.
Soon
he thought to himself, but soon couldn’t
come fast enough.

A sweet and spicy aroma filled the air, soft
jazz music drifted from the speakers of the stereo, and the
iridescent glow of candlelight flickered gently on the walls and
floor of the apartment. Sara approached the table where Gedeon sat
waiting for her. If she didn’t know any better, she might have
actually thought that this was a date. Gedeon raised his head and
the look of something that was neither love, nor lust, nor hunger
flashed in depths of his aqua blue eyes. It was longing; longing
for something that he couldn’t have, longing for something that was
not his to take.

“It smells delicious.” Sara sat down quietly
in the seat across from him and placed the napkin in her lap.

“I hope you like Thai food.”

“I don’t know. I’ve never had it before.
Stuff like this is hard to come by in backwoods Montana.” A small
laugh escaped her lips. Sara knew not to push him too far. It
didn’t take a rocket scientist to be able to figure out that Gedeon
was very close to his breaking point.

“Listen Sara, about what just happened. I
should’ve never let it get that far.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, Gedeon.”
A faint blush colored her cheeks.

“Yes, I do. I don’t want you to think for one
minute that I don’t want you, because I’ve never wanted anything
more in my life. But if I were to drink from you now, while you’re
marked by another, it would poison me. Your blood would eat away at
me from the inside out, and if I were to make love to you, I don’t
know if I could control myself enough to
not
drink from
you.” Gedeon bowed his head in shame. Never in his life did the
blood of a woman have this kind of effect on him. It drove him mad
with hunger and crazy with lust.

“What will happen when you kill Pryse?” Sara
asked as calmly as she possibly could. The idea of killing someone,
even if it was a vampire, scared the hell out of her. “If I’m no
longer marked, will my blood still have the same effect on
you?”

“No.” The hint of a smile crept up the corner
of his mouth. “The bond will break and your blood will be
clean.”

“Then we only have to wait a little while
longer, don’t we?” Sara picked up the glass of wine that Gedeon had
poured for her and smiled as the bitter sweet taste danced across
her tongue.

Gedeon let out a husky laugh. “I hope
so.”

“So do I, Gedeon. So do I.” The taste of the
Thai food was unlike anything she’d ever had before. It was good,
but it was something that would take some getting used to. Sara
tried to keep the conversation light, but a question had been
burning on the tip of her tongue all night. Building up the
courage, she finally asked, “What is it that Pryse wants from you?
In the alley, you told him that you’d give it to him if he let me
go.”