The Nightlife: Las Vegas (The Nightlife Series) (5 page)

Ana flinched at the unmistakable ferocity emanating from him. 
He read her instinct to flee combatting with her desire to stay.  She’d been
involved in enough violence to develop an acute sensitivity to it.  He had her
by the arm, almost painfully tight in his grip.  Leaving was not an option.

The brute let go of Michelle, setting her aside, but not in
submission to Aaron’s request.  He freed his hands to take action. 

“I don’t take orders from bitches.  Better back the hell off
boy.”  He bunched up his knuckle-popping fists, stance wide and deep for
action.

Aaron didn’t budge.  “She goes with me now.”

Aaron read his intent and stepped inside to intercept.  He
caught the meaty right-handed fist in mid-air with his left hand in a wicked
bear-trap grip.  The predator had slipped its chains and taken the driver’s
seat, putting immense preternatural strength at his disposal.

Aaron’s grip brought the man to his knees.  He twisted
slightly and little snap-pop sounds tore a gasp of pain from the man’s lips. 
The brute’s imposing manner evaporated as the color drained away from his face
turning him a pale grey-white.  Intense agony radiated from the man’s thoughts.

Aaron gave him the chance to walk away from the encounter. 
He growled, “Its time you leave.”

He punctuated his order with another tweak of the man’s fist
eliciting a grunt of pain.  He felt the vice grip pressure the man suffered. 
Several bones were at the breaking point.  The man swallowed, sweat running
down his brow.  Pride be damned, he’d met his match, bested in a split second. 
A very emasculating experience.  Aaron read his acceptance in the nod of the
man’s head and the tenor of his thoughts. 

Aaron stepped back, mercifully releasing his bone crushing grip. 
The brute staggered to his feet, favoring the hand.  He walked away, life and
limbs intact.  He’d barely escaped without serious damage, feeling humbled by
the encounter.

* * * *

“Holy shit!  That was intense.”  Ana looked at him in
wonder, developing a serious case of hero worship.

He glanced down at her fiercely, and then seemed to remember
himself with a slight smile.

“What the hell you got in there?”  She felt his left arm up,
squeezing his rock-solid biceps with both hands.  His arm felt like a wrap of
steel tendons.  She imagined pulling the skin back to find a machine
underneath, a Terminator.

He smiled wider.  “These guns are loaded.”

She busted up laughing.  “Seriously, you’re a hell of a lot
stronger than you look.”

He leaned down to brush his wonderful lips up against her
ear with a whisper.  “I know.  Don’t tell anyone, it’s our little secret.”

I’m definitely doing the right thing
.  Her choice to
stay with him filled her with satisfaction.  All the other men before him were
imposters masquerading, he was the real deal.  She had a sense that she’d only
seen the tip of the iceberg.  He had much more going on beneath the surface.

He looked down at her with a severe intensity.  “There’s no
going back after this.  You’re mine and I intend to keep you.”

“Okay … But I don’t even know your name …”  Her words
trailed off as he leaned down to brush his beautiful warm lips over her neck.

He whispered up against her ear, brushing her skin with tiny
electric tingles.  “Aaron.”

And then he struck.  His teeth sunk into her neck, but it
was so much more.  He stabbed down deep into her very soul.  The feeling of his
claim over her was like nothing she’d ever known.  He took from her life
essence, but gave in return something of equal potency.  He gave her the wonder
of his bite as they bonded soul-to-soul in a connection that left her forever
changed.

It was the end of loneliness.

She finally found the peace she sought in so many men’s arms
and the drugs and alcohol she abused.  He embodied all and everything she had
ever desired.  From this moment on her life would be an unsatisfied empty shell
without his presence to complete her.  There could be no existence without him. 
She gave him her heart and soul without question.

* * * *

He accepted her commitment, though deep down he suspected her
days would be short.  Human bodies were so frail, so easily broken.  Even if
she could find a way to survive the constant demands of a bloodslave, she’d
eventually succumb to the ravages of time.

He didn’t care about the repercussions or consequences.  Something
inside him connected deeply with this beautifully flawed woman.

Ana hit her venom-soaked climax quickly, and spiraled into a
multiple orgasm.  She convulsed and twitched with cries of ecstasy till Aaron
finally released her.  He held her close, supporting her weight.  Her knees had
collapsed halfway through the ordeal.  She shook with the aftershocks of a life-changing
experience.  Forever marked, hooked, an addict, a
bloodslave
.  He’d done
it to her on purpose, to bind her permanently.  He’d broken Michelle’s primary
rule.

Aaron transmitted the entire experience with Ana to his
master.  Intense silent communication passed between their wide-open bond.

“
Ah
mon
cher
, what have you done?
 
It is a mistake.  You will destroy
what you seek to keep
. 
C'est
un acte horrible
.  Bloodslaves face unspeakable dangers you know nothing
of.  Ah,
cher, mon
cœur se brise pour toi. 
Love, my heart breaks for you.”
 
He
heard her mental sigh of resignation
.  
“Ah, it is done. 
C’est fini
. She is lovely.
”
 
Her stare added gravity to the unspoken words.

He spoke loud enough to be heard above the music, “This is
Anastasia Lucilla Makarova.  Ana meet Michelle.”

Ana did a double-take.  “I never told you my name ….”

Michelle smiled at her invitingly, a hint of something else
there in her smile.  Looking more closely she could see it.  They both had it. 
Fangs.

He watched Ana looking back and forth between him and
Michelle, in wonder, awe, amazement.  She thought, “
They look mostly human,
but there’s something more to them
.”  She found it fascinating.  He didn’t
look at all like Michelle, but they were definitely of the same breed.

Michelle accepted their new acquisition, enfolding Ana in an
intimate embrace, kissing her full on the mouth.  She caught Aaron’s eyes again
with the stare of admonishment.
 “
The girl is already hooked.  She does
not yet know.”

He looked away, avoiding her blazing truth.  He focused on Ana’s
thoughts as she cuddled in between her new owners, warm and happy.  Ana’s
stomach fluttered in anticipation of the wonders yet to come.  Words were
insufficient to describe her euphoria of being accepted, understood and
protected, by these two majestic creatures.  To Ana their embrace felt like a
warm security blanket covering her body and soul.  Fear, anticipation,
excitement, longing, lust, desire, and even love, following Ana’s mind was an
emotional roller coaster ride.

Michelle sent a pointed psychic barb his direction. 
“
We
will talk of this tonight
. 
She does not know her position is the most
dangerous place in all of Las Vegas.”

Poor Ana wasn’t aware of her peril.  The girl had her
priorities seriously mixed up.

He enjoyed the rest of the concert playing with his new pet,
treating her to all the affection and attention she needed and wanted.

They returned to their room at the Caesar’s Palace at 3:00
a.m., their beautiful new pet in tow.

* * * *

Chapter 6

In the hotel room, Anastasia
wanted champagne and strawberries, but Aaron wanted to ensure she maintained
her health.  He ordered her a full course meal.  As an afterthought he added
bottled water and juice.  She would need to stay hydrated.

Michelle’s patience with the
situation had worn thin.  She watched Aaron closely, jabbing another psychic barb
his way. 
“
It may be too late, but she must be fully cognizant of all the
repercussions
.”
 

He barbed right back,
“Tell
her what you will.  It changes nothing.”

Michelle stepped up to
Anastasia, holding her gently.  “There are things you should know about us,
about the life you have chosen.”

He followed Ana’s thoughts. 
She was utterly seduced by the charming French purr of Michelle’s voice.

“The feelings you have with
the bite, is from the venom.  Is like a drug.  You feel very excited, its
wonderful! 
Comme
c'est merveilleux!
 Is very sexual,
but also addictive.  There is no cure I know for the addiction … except
permanent separation.”

He popped up as she spoke of
separation.  “That’s not happening!”

She stayed him with a hand on
his shoulder, “She must know the truth.”

“Fine!  But she’s not
leaving.”

Ana put her hand atop Aaron’s
in reassurance.  “I’m not leaving, don’t worry.”

Michelle continued, “You
understand what we are?”

Ana shook her head.  “Not really,
no––I have an idea, but I’m not sure.”

Michelle sent a furious spike
of anger directed his way along with a scathing accusation. 
“She knows
nothing of what you have done!  She knows not what we are! 
Imbécile!
”

She turned on him.  “
Avoir une
araignée au plafond
?
 
Something
about a spider on the ceiling.  Metaphorically she had questioned his sanity. 
Her speech regressed to French as she became emotional.

“
Quelle mouche t’a pique
?
”  She made
reference an irritating fly, the French equivalent of
what’s gotten into
you?

This was headed south fast. 
He tried to diffuse Michelle’s concerns.  “She knows more than you think, more
than she realizes.  But let’s stop dicking around about it.  Tell her what
you’ve got to say.  She needs to hear it.”

Michelle sighed in
exasperation.  “We are vampires …
Oui
?
  You understand?”

Ana’s eyes glittered with
excitement.  He followed her jumble of emotions through a roller coaster ride
of fear, anxiety, and anticipation with a little too much adoration mixed in.

“This is so exciting, I’m not
sure I understand it all, but I wouldn’t miss it for the world.  I’m not going
anywhere!  You can’t scare me off that easily!”

Michelle eyed Aaron with one
of her murderous looks.  
“She should be very afraid
.”
  She spoke
aloud to Ana.  
“You must understand.  There is much danger to be close
with us.  This life will bleed you dry.  The passions you feel can be deadly. 
Is too easy to hurt you.  Your life will be at risk, always.”

Michelle held Ana’s hands looking her straight in the eyes,
imploring her to see reason. 
It was a lost cause.

“
Il est difficile de vaincre ses passions, et impossible de
les satisfaire.
” 
He understood her better this
time, no metaphors.  
It is difficult to master your passions and impossible
to satisfy them.
  She had quoted a famous line from De La Sabliére.

He kept a constant monitor of Ana’s thoughts.  She had no
grasp of the French, but she understood Michelle tried to talk her out of what
she wanted most, to be with them.

“I know he won’t hurt me, not on purpose.  I can’t explain
it, but I know it’s true!”  She looked back and forth between him and Michelle.

“
Oui
,
Aaron tries very hard to maintain control.  He is careful.  He is respectful,
usually.  But this should not happen.  You should not be with us.  Is a
mistake.”

He sensed Michelle’s pride in his normally rigid
self-control.  His caution and respect for women had been a complete surprise
to her.  Her only prior experience with a male vampire, her former master, had
been a harsh lesson in extreme violence and sadism.  Her master had enjoyed
abusing women, using their frail bodies to feed and pleasure himself, discarding
their corpses when he finished.

Ana continued pleading her case.  “I can’t leave you, don’t
you see?  He is the only one, the perfect one for me.  I know it.  I can feel
it.”  She picked up Michelle’s hand and placed it over her breast to feel the
beating of her heart in an attempt to explain the inexplicable.  “He knows it
too.  He knows my heart.  He understands me like no one else has ever
understood.”

Ana glanced to Aaron for confirmation.  He nodded silently,
beginning to see the sensibility of Michelle’s entreaty, yet unwilling to let
Ana go.

He lifted Ana into his lap, handling her hundred twenty five
pound weight as if she were a child.  He stroked her hair as she cuddled up in
his arms.  He refused to let her go and she refused to go.  There was nothing
for it.  Nothing could change the situation.

Michelle sighed in resignation.  “You must take care of
yourself, be careful.  Is too easy to have
accidents
with us.”

He stood up with Ana in his arms and walked her over to the
table, depositing her in the chair with a fatherly peck on the forehead. 
“Michelle’s right, you need to eat and drink your fill.  Room service is here.”