The Darkest Pleasure (13 page)

"I told you, I heal almost instantly."

"I wouldn't say it was almost instant, I would say it was instant. That was amazing.” He chuckled and leaned over to kiss me.

"What about your fangs? How do those work?” He turned his body towards me and propped his head on his hand. He smiled, and that was when I saw his teeth grow again. I leaned close to his face and watched as they grew until they almost touched his bottom lip. In the same second, they retracted back to a normal shape and size. “Wow.” It was a stupid word for the moment, but it was all my star-struck brain could come up with. “What else?” I whispered the last words so close to his lips, we both shivered. In the next moment, I was staring at the empty spot where Kerian had been. I squeaked when I felt him settle behind me. It had happened so fast, I felt dizzy. I turned to look at him, but saw only empty air. I stood up and found him in the far corner of the room, looking out the window. The firelight threw shadows over his broad shoulders and cascading down his muscled back and lean hips. The sight of Kerian's tight ass made my mouth water. I was about to go to him, but before I could take a step, he was in front of me and had me cradled in his arms. I sighed and leaned my head into his shoulder as he walked towards the bedroom.

Kerian made love to me the rest of the night, and when I woke the next morning, it was to a beautiful note full of endearments. I clutched it to my chest and got ready for the day, waiting eagerly for the night when I could see him again.

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I went straight home, too tired to do anything. I wasn't complaining, though. This was a good kind of tired. I lay down on the couch as soon as I got through my door, and didn't wake until I heard loud rhythmic thumping. I slowly woke and stretched, wondering if I had dreamt the sound. I sat up and listened again, not hearing anything but dead silence. I was about to go back to sleep when the noise started again and I realised someone was knocking on my door. I knew it wasn't night yet, because the sun still shone bright through my living room window. I got up and walked to the door, not bothering to look through the peephole. Christian stood in the hall, a big smile on his face and an aluminium foil-covered dish in his hands. I rubbed my eyes to get them to focus and gave him a weak smile.

"Hi."

His smile broadened at my greeting and I felt a little uneasy. Christian was giving me the creeps, but I wanted to be neighbourly.

"Hello. I didn't mean to wake you."

I looked down at myself, embarrassed at my attire. When I had gotten home, I'd put on a pair of baby pink lounge pants and a white tank top. My hair was piled high on top of my head in a messy bun, and I was sure I had a red mark on the side of my face from where I'd pressed it against the pillow. I cleared my throat and looked back at him. “It's okay. I haven't gotten much sleep lately, and just took a little nap."

He lost some of his smile, but seemed to catch himself and made it broader. It looked out of place on his face and completely forced. “I made you some brownies."

I was going to thank him and take them, but he stepped closer, forcing me back into my apartment.

"Can I come in for some coffee? I thought we could have some brownies and talk."

I turned and looked around my living room, hoping I could come up with a good excuse to say no. I didn't want to be rude, and certainly didn't want to make Christian an enemy by brushing him off, but I didn't want to be social with him right now.

"Sure, come on in,” I said at last when no credible excuse appeared. I stepped to the side and made room for him to walk in. He put the brownies on the breakfast bar and turned to look at me. I shut the door and smiled as I walked over to start a pot of coffee. As I went through the motions, I heard him remove the aluminium foil.

"Your apartment looks really nice."

I thanked him over my shoulder as I waited for the pot to fill. It didn't take long, and I grabbed two coffee cups and poured the steaming liquid into them. I really wasn't much of a coffee drinker, and didn't even know why I had bought the machine to begin with. Maybe it was to fill in the empty counter space, and well, didn't all places have coffee pots?

"Cream or sugar?"

"Nah, I'm good."

I nodded before grabbing the vanilla-flavoured half and half out of the fridge and the canister of sugar off the counter. I filled half the cup with the creamer and dropped in nearly as much sugar.

"Want some coffee with that sugar and cream?"

I laughed and shrugged. “I know, I go a little overboard. I guess I want the coffee buzz, but not the flavour.” I smiled and took a small sip. Christian stared at my mouth as he did the same. It made me self-conscious, but I ignored it.

"Have a knife?"

I nodded, grabbed one and handed it over to him. I watched as he cut into the brownies and lifted two from the pan. I grabbed a couple of napkins and set them in front of him. I surreptitiously eyed the clock, wanting to get this over with, but trying not to be obvious.

"So you made these by hand?"

"Sure did. Betcha didn't know I was a chef, huh?"

He smiled as he cut another chunk for himself. I picked mine up and took a bite. “Mmm, this is really good.” He smiled and took a sip of his coffee.

"Can I use your restroom?"

I pointed him in the direction and took another bite of the brownie. I had just finished it when Christian returned. He sipped his coffee and smiled.

"Like the brownie?"

"It was delicious. I feel like a pig for scarfing it down when you haven't even touched yours.” He looked down at his untouched dessert and pushed it aside.

"Oh, well, I'm not going to eat it."

"Why?” I was perplexed why he wouldn't eat it, but wanted me to. I turned around and rinsed out my cup, not wanting to look at him as I started to become a little frightened.

"Because it's tainted."

"What?” I had the water running and didn't know if I'd heard him right. “Tainted? What are you talking about?” I smiled, thinking he was joking, at least hoping as much. He didn't look amused and my own smiled faltered. “What did you do, Christian?” As I reached for the knife, a wave of dizziness washed over me. The room started to spin and I had to grip the side of the counter to steady myself. I looked at Christian, who grinned and finished his coffee.

"You're our ransom, Ashliyn. We need you to get to him."

His words sounded distorted. His form was wavy and unfocused. I tried to clear my vision, to no effect. I moved towards the front door, surprised Christian let me. I reached for the handle when I could no longer keep my balance and fell to the floor. I moaned as my head bounced on the slate tiles. I wanted to reach for my head, but my arms lay limp at my sides. Christian walked to me and hoisted me over his shoulder. I looked out the window, the sun was still high in the sky. I turned my unfocused eyes to my counter and saw Christian had cleaned everything up. A crisp white piece of paper lay folded on the counter. That was the last thing I saw before everything went black.

I woke to the sound of cracking and popping. I could hear voices, but they were far away and unrecognizable. I shook my head and instantly regretted it as nausea assaulted me. I lifted my head and blinked my eyes. As my vision cleared, I could make out two forms in the shadowed corner of the room. The room was expensively decorated and smelled like flowers. A fireplace dominated one wall, the fire in it blazing wildly. A huge picture hung over it of a beautiful young woman with pale blond hair and amber eyes. The brush strokes along her hair brought out the bright highlights. Her eyes reminded me of someone, but my brain was still hazy and I couldn't place where I'd seen them before. I cleared my throat and winced at the pain. It felt like I'd swallowed a bucketful of sand, and each grain was rubbing the inside of my throat raw. The voices in the corner stopped and I glanced at the tall, shadowy figures. I hadn't seen a window in the room and couldn't be sure how long I had been out. I looked down; my legs and arms were tied to the chair I was sitting in. I didn't know why I hadn't realised that sooner, but it didn't stop me from trying to free them. I looked up as I heard someone tsk in my direction.

"Come now, Ashliyn. Do you really think I'd make it that easy?"

Christian's voice sounded like fingernails on a chalkboard.

"Why are you doing this?"

He laughed and turned to look at the other figure still cloaked in the shadows.

"Didn't he tell you?"

I knew my confusion showed on my face. “What are you talking about?"

"Your little boyfriend. What's his name, Kevin?"

I knew Christian knew his name was Kerian, and I wasn't about to fall into that trap. I kept my mouth shut as he walked closer to me. He ran his finger down my cheek and I snapped my head in the other direction. His finger felt like acid on my skin. I hoped he took the hint and didn't touch me again.

"You know, this has nothing to do with you. I think you're a great girl, but your boyfriend has to pay for what he's done."

"What the hell are you talking about, Christian?"

"Don't play stupid. I know you know what he is."

I didn't respond to him. I sure as hell wasn't going to talk about Kerian with him.

"We're going to take from Kerian what means the most to him. An eye for an eye."

The voice that spoke was deep and dark. I looked into the shadows and saw the owner of the voice move into the light. He was tall and well built. His hair was sandy blond and his eyes were bright blue. Even though he was handsome, I could tell the man standing in front of me wasn't a man at all. He was pure evil in every sense of the word. He wore a crisp white button-down shirt. The first three buttons were undone, and I could see a gold band hanging from a chain around his neck.

"Who are you?” He smirked at me and walked closer. As he stood in front of me, I admitted to myself he was the scariest thing I'd ever seen. He squatted on his haunches so he was at eye level with me, every one of his muscles bunching. I didn't want to seem like a coward, so I stared him in the eye.

"You don't scare me. You're weak for wanting to hurt a woman.” I had no idea where that little bit of courage came from, but as soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. I heard his hand whistle through the air a split second before it struck my face. My head whipped to the side and I tasted blood in my mouth. The side of my face throbbed and stung. Christian sucked in a breath and I turned my head to look at him. He had an expression on his face I couldn't quite read. I thought it was regret, maybe sorrow. I heard him speak in a strange language to the monster in front of me. They seemed to be arguing, and then the stranger yelled something that shut Christian up. Christian looked at me for another second before turning away. Blood dripped down my chin. I tried not to pay attention to it. I didn't miss how the stranger's eyes seemed drawn to the trail of blood. I could see his fangs as he walked closer. He smiled at me, and made sure that they flashed proudly under the light. If Kerian hadn't showed me everything he had, the sight would have terrified me. As it was, I managed to not show any emotion.

"Ah. I see dear Kerian has told you some things."

He walked to Christian and smiled, patting him on the back. There was a strong resemblance between the two. I wondered if they were related.

"I assume you realise Kerian and I are one and the same. Although I know him very well, I am saddened that he knows nothing about me."

He grabbed a chair and set it in front of me. His hand shot out, and before I could move my head away, he slid his finger through the blood dripping down my chin and licked it away. I couldn't help the disgust that crossed my features, but he didn't seem to care.

"You're beautiful, young and petite. I can see why he'd take such a liking to you."

He gestured for Christian to come over and whispered something. Christian nodded, left the room and returned with a glass of what looked like thick wine.

"Thank you, son."

I looked back and forth between the two men. When I assumed they were relatives, I had no idea they were father and son.

"How is that possible?"

"How is what possible? How can a creature like me father a child?"

I didn't respond, just looked him dead in the eye.

"Even vampires can make babies, darling."

He looked at the portrait above the fireplace, a dreamy expression on his face. I too looked over at the picture, and finally realised who her eyes reminded me of. I turned to look at Christian.

"She's your mother?” I whispered the words, not knowing if he heard me.

"She was his mother. She was the love of my life,” the evil one replied.

I didn't know what was going on, but I had a bad feeling the woman in the painting had something to do with it.

"She was my mate, the woman who gave me my child. She was the love of my life, and if he hadn't taken her life, she would be by my side right now."

I watched as he turned towards me, rubbing the gold band around his neck.

"I don't understand.” I didn't know what he was talking about. My mind was still fuzzy, and I had a throbbing headache from the fall I'd taken. I looked at the floor, and suddenly it all clicked into place.

"She was the one Kerian accidentally killed?” I was shocked, and I knew I had a surprised look on my face. “How can this be? How did you know where to find him? Or me, for that matter?” I had no idea what they planned to do with me, but I knew it wouldn't be good. An eye for an eye, he had said.

"We're getting way ahead of ourselves. Let me introduce myself. I am Roman Drago, and of course you've met my charming son, Christian."

He pointed to Christian and then the portrait.

"That beautiful creature was my Evie."

He ran his fingers along the band, clearly recalling a long-ago memory. “I gave her this ring as a token of my love for her, a symbol of how we would spend eternity together."

I moved my hands, trying to free them, but I knew it was pointless. They had tied the knots like experienced sailors.