Passion Follows Pain (Passion Series Book 3) (6 page)

Well, they were kind of right about that. The girls would have no memory of their time spent with them. They wouldn’t remember they’d met two vampires, they wouldn’t know vampires existed. That was the way it had to be, to keep their identities a secret from the humans. Of course both their sire and Dominick had broken those rules but they were in love with their women who had been human at the time, neither he nor Damien had ever loved anyone and they had no desire to be stuck with clingy, needy women now. Sometimes being vampire certainly had its benefits.

Once they’d escorted the girls inside, altering their memories, leaving them looking a little like deer caught in the headlights,  they headed for home. The girls would be fine; they’d wake in the morning with no memory of what had taken place. It was a handy talent to have, wiping the slate clean so to speak, leaving women who simply had no memory of ever knowing them. It certainly saved them having to deal with clingy girls or ones who were like the Town Crier, telling everyone what they were.

It was just getting that grey pre-dawn look to the sky when Damien pulled up in the driveway of their sire’s home. When they were inside, they parted company, both ready for some sleep in the peace and quiet of their own rooms. Some thought that they were both bisexual since they enjoyed group sex but although they were comfortable performing sexually in front of one another, neither had any desire to fuck each other. They were not gay, just sexually permissive, they preferred to call it.

When Lucian stepped into the peace and sanctuary of his own bedroom, he stripped out of his clothes and walked straight in to shower, washing all traces of the women from his body and once he’d dried himself, he collapsed into bed, suddenly weary. As he began to drift off to sleep, his mind filled with images of the blonde haired, blue eyed beauty from over the road again. Damn her, he wasn’t going to wait much longer to have her. If it meant bending her mind to his will then so be it. He wanted her, he needed her and nothing was going to appease him until he was finally buried deep in that hot, tight little cunt of hers. The fact that he suspected she would be a virgin only excited him more and fuelled his desire for her.  As sleep finally claimed him and his fantasies took over his body, he convulsed, unable to control his physical reaction in sleep and without him being aware, except in his dreams, his release pumped out over his sheets. A release born by his desire for the woman across the road who had no idea how much she tempted him.

Chapter Four

Arissa

I was settling into life with Daisy, caring for her and her little dog Milo and loving it. For the first time in my life I felt safe, happy and content but underneath it all, a shadow loomed and at times I felt the nerves starting to set in. It had been three weeks and I knew that Daisy’s broken leg could be healed in as little as another three or four weeks and then I didn’t know what would happen to me.

I knew I’d have to find somewhere to live and another job, but the idea of leaving this home where I felt safe scared me. This was like a sanctuary for me even allowing for the fact that I’d run into the man from over the road nearly every evening for the last two weeks. I was beginning to think he was doing it deliberately, finding a reason to leave the house when he knew I’d be out walking Milo.

Against my better judgement he was starting to arouse my curiosity. He was beautiful to look at, so tall, with his shiny over long black/brown hair, eyes like dark chocolate that drew me in and made it hard to look away and those lips. God they were so pretty and full, too full to be on a man. His voice was deep and smooth and for some reason it made me shiver when he spoke my name. He had a trace of an accent and something about the way he said Arissa sounded so sexy when rolling off his lips.

Of course when I thought he was sexy I immediately berated myself. That was very wrong of me. Father would be furious if he knew. Thinking about a man that wasn’t him would be enough to earn me a beating, but to think he was sexy would result in me being whipped until my body was like a tragic art piece, depicting every moment of his rage in a series of welts over my body. Still, despite knowing it was wrong, I couldn’t stop thinking about him and the longer I stayed in Daisy’s home and the more books she gave me to read, the more I thought of him.

He was even invading my thoughts at night as I lay in my bed, and seeing his face in my mind would cause strange reactions in my body which frightened me. My nipples would harden and my body would ache, a throbbing between my legs that made me feel restless and empty.

As I read the romance books that Daisy seemed to have an endless supply of and I read of sexual acts between the men and women, I found myself drawn to them. They were implying quite clearly that the women were enjoying the men sticking their things in them, their penises, cocks, shafts; the books had an endless supply of names for them.

I couldn’t understand that. Sex represented nothing but pain as far as I was concerned. How could any woman willingly going there? The fact that I was even reading this was bad.  I had to stop thinking these bad thoughts. I had to stop thinking about Lucian Andreas. The man was dangerous, instinct told me that. No matter how beautiful he was. There were plenty of animals in the world that used their looks to draw in their prey and then they took their lives. Lucian might not be out to take my life but his looks and the feelings he stirred in me made him every bit as dangerous as the animals I compared him to.

Lucian

“You’re not going out to stalk that skinny little number from over the road again are you brother dear?” Francesca called out as he passed her on the way to the front door.

“Stay out of my business Fran. What I do or don’t do has nothing to do with you.”

“It does if it brings trouble for us. That one’s not right in the head. You won’t get anywhere trying to woo her the old fashioned way. Just mind control her, fuck her and move on. That’s the only way you’re getting between those slim white thighs of hers.” She mocked.

“Fuck off Fran.” He snapped and stormed out of the house. Fuck her for stirring him up. He shouldn’t let her get to him but she did. Francesca loved to put shit on them all; she got off on that, but her words tonight really pissed him off. They pissed him off because as much as he wanted to deny it, he knew, she was right.

It was true, he wasn’t getting anywhere with Arissa. Well, she wasn’t running off in the opposite direction screaming hysterically, and she didn’t freeze and end up nearly catatonic, so they’d made some progress, but it wasn’t happening fast enough. He wanted her. She was like a fever. He burned for her, his body ached. He needed to claim her, fuck her, he wanted to feed from her, he had to have her.

He was tired of spending his nights buried in the hot cunt of some woman he didn’t really want and his head filled with images of the woman he did want, just so he could stay hard and finish fucking whoever the hell he was fucking at the time.

Lucian stood on the front verandah for a moment, head up, nostrils flared as he smelled the air for her. He heard the click of Mrs Appleby’s front door and suddenly she was there.

She was dressed to suit the warmer weather but like the rest of her wardrobe, the dress she wore was nearly shapeless and hung off her thin frame like a sack. It was long, nearly sweeping the ground. Francesca’s words might have been a bit harsh, but she wasn’t far off the mark all the same, something wasn’t right with Arissa.

A woman as young and beautiful as her shouldn’t be dressing in ugly clothes that hid that slender body, and she shouldn’t be spending all her time with an old woman, never going anywhere. She never went anywhere from what Lucian could see. Of course he was sleeping during the day so maybe she went out then? Still, he was fairly confident there was no man in her life. She was too timid for that, but dammit even if it killed him, he was going to change that. Like it or not, he was going to make her his.

He took the stairs two at a time and jogged across the road, arriving at Arissa’s side just as she reached the top of the drive. The look she shot at him was not encouraging though and he felt a stab of irritation. He couldn’t help but wonder if Francesca was right. Should he forget about this woman? He was vampire for fuck sakes. They didn’t do long courtships, they didn’t romance a woman, they fucked them. So why did she tug at him so much? Why did he go against every natural instinct he had with her? What was it about her that made him want to do the slow dance with her, the slow dance to try and win her heart?

“What do you want Lucian?” Her voice although softly spoken as usual, was firmer this time.

“I just want to walk with you and talk with you. Is that so bad?” He raked a hand through his hair, struggling not to let her see his frustration.

“Yes but what do you want? We do this most evenings and I would like to know what you are expecting from this?” Her eyes lifted to his briefly before lowering to the footpath again as they walked.

“I just like to walk with you, and to talk. I want to get to know you better. Is that so wrong? You have not made it easy for me. I would have to be blind not to notice your very obvious mistrust of men or is there some dislike there as well?” He shifted closer to her, noting that she didn’t recoil from him like she normally would. “Or, is it just me that you don’t trust?”

“I…I...my father...my father…he…well…he told me that men are bad.” She finished in a rush and Lucian pulled back from her in surprise at her words, his eyes searching hers. Suddenly he was beginning to understand. This was an issue with her father. He must have been the boss of the household or something. Possibly some control freak who brainwashed her into thinking all men were bad. One of those self-centred bastards who wanted to keep his little girl in the fucking tower away from men, life, any temptations, and stop her growing up. He’d seen his type before. Well, now that he had an idea, or at least he thought he did as to what made her the way she was, Lucian felt a bit lighter, happier. He knew how to work her now, how to manipulate her and he could slip some mild mind control in and start convincing her that not all men were bad. He chose to ignore that little voice inside that asked him if what he wanted to do was right. After all, what did he want from her, really? He wanted to fuck her, but with the level of effort he was putting into it, did he want her beyond a night of fucking or would he treat her like every other woman and wipe her mind? Did he want her for more? Did he care enough to start a relationship with her despite the obvious issues like her being human and him being vampire? Or would he fuck her then wipe her mind, removing all memory that she had ever known him beyond just being the neighbour from over the road?

As if she’d read his mind she turned to him. “What do you want Lucian? Why do you walk with me? It’s not necessary you know.”

“I want to walk with you, I want to be here. I like you, I like you very much Arissa. I suspect you don’t like me but I would like you to consider something. I will give you one week to think about it then I wish for you to give me your answer. Please do not dismiss what I am about to say without giving me that much, a week for you to think it through.” He touched his fingers to her cheek but dropped his hand hastily to his side again when she recoiled from his touch. “I would like you to consider coming out with me next Saturday night. We can go to the club for a little while. If you are concerned about being alone with me, I can bring my brother Damien. I will not harm you arketa ena, my pretty one.” He translated hastily when she looked at him suspiciously.

“I am not your pretty one. I am not pretty, I am not pretty.” She said almost forcefully.  “I don’t know about a club. I’ve never been to one. I don’t like crowds much. I don’t know why you would want to take me anywhere. I’m not very interesting and I’m not like the other girls you’re probably used to asking out. I’m not sure it’s such a good idea to suggest I go with you.”

“I asked you not to dismiss before giving me at least the courtesy of thinking about it for the week.”

She still looked doubtful and he could see the wary look in her eyes. Suddenly she stopped walking and when she didn’t move, he stopped too, turning to face her. “I don’t understand why you would ask me to come with you Lucian. I mean it. I am not like other women and I don’t have anything to wear to a club. I don’t have any pretty clothes, father wouldn’t….” She suddenly broke off mid-sentence and Lucian silently cursed. What had she been about to say? Her father sounded like he had a lot of control over her life, and he couldn’t help but wonder where he now.

He stepped closer, carefully reaching out to her, his movements unhurried. Her eyes widened and he could see how taut she was holding her body but he didn’t back away. Gently he cupped her cheek, feeling her tremble under his touch. She didn’t pull away, but he could see her body was frozen, rigid, as he took yet another step closer. He didn’t want to startle her since he could see that just one wrong or rushed move from him, would more than likely have her running away.

Slowly, inch by torturous inch, he lowered his head to her, his eyes locked on hers although he made no effort to mind control her and she watched him, her pupils so dilated he could hardly see the startling blue any more until finally his  lips touched hers.

Arissa

Oh my god! Lucian was kissing me and his lips, oh my, his lips were so soft. I hadn’t expected that although I hadn’t given it a great deal of thought either.