The Vampire's Love (15 page)

He walked
toward the door of the bedroom.  “Are you coming to the common room?”

Val shook
his head. “Not tonight.  Abby needs more rest, and after what they did to
me last night I’m not keen on joining them.”

Faren
nodded.  “I don’t blame you.”

“You need
to be careful, Faren.”  Val suddenly said.  “It would be wise for you
to not join Darius tonight either.”

“Yes,
you’re probably right.”  Faren sighed.  “I will have them send the
chubby one to my room.”

“Her name
is Sienna.”  Abigail scowled at him.  “Make sure you are kind to
her.”

“I always
am.”  Faren winked at her before leaving the room.

Abby
touched Sara’s hair lightly.  She didn’t move and Abby smiled faintly when
she realized that Violet was sleeping in the girl’s hair.

“You cannot
keep her, Abigail.”  Val said in a low voice.

Abby sighed
before joining him by the fire.  She sat in his lap and rested her head
against his shoulder.

“She’s
completely alone, Val.  Did you really want me to leave her to
Tavien?  She’s a sweetheart and you know it.”

“That isn’t
the point.  She’s an added complication that we do not need.”  He
said gruffly.

“Tavien
would have beaten and raped her.  You can’t honestly expect that I would
be okay with that?”

“I’m not
either but you cannot take in every stray waif that catches your
attention.”  He replied.

She laughed
softly.  “She was offered to you as a gift.  There was nothing wrong
with accepting it.  In fact, it probably helps lessen Darius’ suspicion of
you.”

Val cupped
her head and tugged until she looked up at him.  “I am not sure that even
now he believes I am Joven.”

“I
know.”  She sighed.  “Tomorrow morning I will kill the shifters
guarding the slave quarters and Wesley, Evan and I will kill Darius and the
others.”

He studied
her pale face and the dark circles under her eyes before shaking his
head.  “It’s not a good idea, Abigail.  You’re still tired and weak
because of the blood I took from you.  You will not be able to defeat the
shifters in your current state.”

“I’m
fine.”  She said stubbornly.

“You are
not.”  He scowled at her.  “Wait one more day.  Tomorrow night
there is another round of games.  The vampires will be tired from their
night of revelry and will sleep more deeply during the day.  It is better
to do it then.”

“Val, I – “

“Promise
me, little dove.”  He interrupted her.  “Wait one more day.”

She didn’t
want to admit it but Val was right.  She
was
tired and feeling weak
and she bent her head and kissed him.  “I promise.”

“Good.” 
He glanced at the sleeping Sara.  “You should join her in the bed.”

“I will in
a bit.”  She stroked his cheek until he looked at her.  “Was it
really thirteen months, Val?”

He looked
away and she frowned and forced his gaze back to hers.  “Tell me.”

“Yes.” 
He admitted.  “I spent the first few months searching desperately for you
and then, when I believed you to be dead, I couldn’t stomach the thought of
drinking another’s blood.  It is you I want, Abby.  Only you.”

He said the
last in a soft mutter and she kissed his warm mouth.  “I want you too, my
love.”

She
deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into his mouth and flicking it gently
against his.  He groaned and his hands tightened around her hips as she
ducked her head and licked his throat.

“Little
dove, we cannot.  You need your rest.”  He said raggedly as she
reached between them and stroked his cock through his pants.

“I need
you.”  She whispered.  The need for him, the almost overwhelming urge
for him to bite her, had returned but it didn’t bother her.  She had loved
him before allowing him to feed from her again, and she felt only a warm
rightness.

“The girl –
your new pet – is right there.”  He gritted out.

She
grinned.  “I never took you to be a prude, Val.  I sucked your cock
in a room full of vampires and you fucked me in a hallway where anyone could
have watched.”

“That was
different.”  He protested.

“It
isn’t.  Besides, I don’t think she’ll wake up.  She’s
exhausted.  We’ll just have to be very quiet.”  Abby winked at him
before unbuttoning his pants and sliding her hand in to wrap around his thick
shaft.

“I need
you.  Will you deny me?”  She whispered into his ear.

“No.” 
He groaned.  “I will not.”

“Good.” 
She gave him a cat-like smile of satisfaction before tugging his cock free of
his pants.  He took another look at Sara, she was still sleeping soundly
on the bed, before sliding his hand under her skirt. 

He rubbed
her clit lightly and she moaned softly before unhooking her bikini top. 
He sucked her nipple into his mouth greedily, rubbing at it with his tongue as
his other hand traced the scarring on her back.

“You’re so
beautiful.”  He whispered.

“Thank
you.”  She smiled sweetly at him before rubbing her thumb over the tip of
his cock.  “You’re beautiful too.”

He slid two
fingers into her, probing deeply, as she rubbed her pelvis against him. 
“Fuck me, Val.  Please.”  She moaned lightly.

“Whatever
you want, little dove.”  He breathed.

He lifted
her and she guided his cock into her wet warmth.  As she sank down on to
him he groaned loudly and she clapped her hand over his mouth.

“Hush, my
love.  Do not wake her.”  She glanced over her shoulder at the bed as
he cupped her breasts and pulled on her nipples.

Her back
arched and she bounced up and down on his cock as he tried to stop his loud
groans.  He reached between them and thumbed her clit.  Her body
stiffened and then she was clenching around his cock, her hands digging into
his shoulders as she stifled her cries of pleasure.

“Bite me,
Val.”  She pleaded in a soft voice.  “Bite me!”

“I
cannot.”  He groaned.  “Not this time.”

She made a
soft sound of displeasure but didn’t ask again.  Panting harshly he
plunged in and out of her until, his cock swelling and his balls tightening, he
came with a hoarse moan.  He stared at her neck hungrily as his fangs
lengthened, but he controlled the urge to bite her with a fierce
determination.  She could not afford to lose more blood.  She
shuddered above him and collapsed against his chest. 

He stroked
her back lightly, the familiar rage rising up in him at the feel of the
scars.  If he could, he would find this woman - this foster mother - and
tear her apart for what she had done to his dove. 

She
burrowed closer to him as he softened inside of her and gave a sigh of
contentment.  Her body was warm and lax against him, and he hugged her
closely before doing up her bikini top and lifting her off of him. 

She made a
muttered sound of disapproval and he kissed her lightly as he buttoned his
pants.  “Time for bed, little dove.”

“Hmm…” 
She said sleepily.

He carried
her to the bed and tucked her in beside the blonde woman.  She slid her
hand under her pillow and sighed again as he sat down next to her.  He
stroked her hair as he studied her face.

She loved
him.  His heartbeat increased and he felt another unfamiliar rush of
happiness.  She loved him.

And you
love her.

His hand
froze against her soft hair for a moment before he rested his hand on her
hip.  He did love her.  God help them both, but he did.

He leaned
down and put his mouth to her ear.  “Little dove?”

She didn’t
stir and he rested his face against her hair for a moment before whispering, “I
love you.”

“Did he
take the slave?”  Darius, sitting apart from the others in the common
room, arched his brow at Tavien.

“He did, my
lord, but only because his current pet asked him to take her.”  Tavien sat
down beside him and the two of them watched the other vampires in the
room. 

“Do you
still doubt that he is Joven?”  Darius asked.

Tavien
hesitated and Darius waved his hand at him irritably.  “Speak your mind,
Tavien.”

“I do, my
lord.”

“We
tortured him quite badly last night and he did not break.”  Darius mused.

“True.” 
Tavien replied.  “But that proves only that he can withstand pain.”

“I do not
believe he is Joven.”  Darius said abruptly.  “The real question is –
why is here if he is not?  And who is his slave?  She is not like any
human female I’ve seen before.”

“She is
unique.”  Tavien agreed.

“I have
never seen a woman fight so well with a sword before.  Have you?”

“No.”

“She would
make an excellent addition to the games.”  Darius said thoughtfully. 
“How many vampires are in the estate right now, Tavien?”

“Not many,
my lord.  Most of them are out hunting.”  Tavien gave him an eager
look.  “Do you mean to kill the imposter?”

“I
do.”  Darius said quietly.  “And I will take his slave as my
own.  She will fight in the games and warm my bed.”

“I will
gather what men we have and – “

Darius held
up his hand.  “Wait, Tavien.  Are you not the least bit curious as to
who he really is and why he is here?”

Tavien
shrugged.  “Not really.”

Darius
rolled his eyes.  “That is why I am ruler and you are not, Tavien.”

Tavien
flushed, a grimace crossing his face, as Darius stared thoughtfully at
him.  “I want to know why he is here.  I want to know why he is so
fond of the slave girl and why he only fed from her when he was dying.  I
have seen vampires who have not been feeding regularly, and this Joven bore all
the markings of being hungry.”

He gazed
into the fire.  “I’ll admit I am impressed at how well he bore his
punishment last night.  If that’s how he is when he is hungry and weak,
can you imagine his power now that he has fed?”

“That’s
exactly why we should be killing him now, my lord.  Before he becomes even
more dangerous.”

Darius
sighed loudly.  “It is a pity we’ll have to kill him.  A vampire like
him would do well in my household.  Perhaps if we used the slave as a
bargaining chip…”

He trailed
off and sat silently for a moment before shaking his head.  “No.  He
is not a vampire who will be told what to do.  We’ll have to kill him.”

Tavien
breathed a sigh of relief.  “I will take care of it tonight, my
lord.  In fact, I will – “

Darius
grunted in annoyance.  “Hold your tongue, Tavien.  We will kill him
but first I want to know who he is.”

“My lord,
there is no way of – “

“He came
with two other slaves, did he not?”  Darius asked.

“Yes. 
They are in the slave quarters.”  Tavien’s eyes gleamed as he stared at
Darius.

“Bring one
of them to me.”

“Which one,
my lord?”

“The bigger
of the two.”

* * *

“What is
your name?”  Darius stared at the dark-skinned man standing before
him.  He was tall and broad and his bare skull gleamed in the torch light.

“Wesley.” 
The man grunted.

“Do you
enjoy being Lord Joven’s slave?”

“Where is
the Lord Joven?”  Wesley asked in reply.

Darius gave
him an admiring look.  The human was in a room with powerful vampires but
he could smell no fear radiating from him.  “You are brave for a human.”

Wesley
didn’t reply and Darius leaned back in his chair and crossed his legs. 
“Tell me who he really is.”

“Who?”

“The man
pretending to be Lord Joven.  I want to know his real name.”

“He is the
Lord Joven.”  Wesley gave him a confused look. 

Darius
chuckled.  “I know he is not.  Now tell me his real name or suffer
the consequences.”

“His name
is Joven.”

Darius
sighed irritably and waved his hand at Tavien.  Tavien was standing on
Wesley’s right side and without a word, he grabbed the big man’s forearm and
twisted it sharply to the right.  There was a loud crack and Wesley
screamed as his skin split open and white bone protruded.

Blood
poured out of his arm and both Darius and Tavien licked their lips as Wesley,
his face turning grey, clutched at his broken arm.

“Tell me
his name.”  Darius demanded.

“His name
is Joven.”  Wesley whispered.

With a soft
hiss, Darius moved.  He was nothing but a blur and Wesley cried out when
Darius grabbed him by the neck and dragged him forward.  He tried to
struggle back but the vampire was incredibly strong, and he screamed hoarsely
as Darius sunk his fangs deep into his neck.  He drank until Wesley fell
to his knees. His head dropped forward and he panted harshly as his eyes
closed.

Darius
crouched before him and tapped him lightly on the forehead.  “His real
name.  Give it to me now.”

“Joven.” 
Wesley breathed.

“You are
going to die.  Do you hear me?  I have drank you nearly dry and you
have, maybe, minutes left in your stupid, insignificant life.  You will
tell me what I want to know.”

With great
effort, Wesley lifted his head and stared directly at him.  “I will die
before I tell you anything.”

Darius
grinned.  “You will tell me everything.”

He brought
his own wrist to his mouth and with a flick of his fangs, sliced the skin
open.  As dark blood poured down his pale skin, he grinned again at
Wesley.  “You will make an excellent vampire, my dark-skinned friend.”

Wesley’s
eyes widened and with one last burst of energy, staggered to his feet.  He
lurched toward the door and Tavien, laughing under his breath, tripped
him.  He fell to the floor with a harsh thud and rolled on to his back.

He shook
his head and clamped his mouth shut as Darius leaned over him and held his
bleeding wrist over his mouth.  Blood poured on to Wesley’s face and
closed mouth and, with a sigh of annoyance, Darius glanced at Tavien. 
“Open his mouth.”

“Yes, my
lord.”

He kneeled
on Wesley’s chest and forced his mouth open.  Wesley made a gurgling
scream as the blood poured into his mouth and tried desperately to spit it
out.  Darius laughed and held his wrist closer to his mouth until the
blood was flowing thick and heavy into Wesley’s mouth. 

Wesley went
rigid, his eyes closing and his hands clenching into fists, before his back
arched and he bucked Tavien off of him.  His eyes popped open, their dark
brown colour was slowly fading to the golden colour of honey, and Darius
grinned when he clamped his mouth around his wrist and drank eagerly.

* * *

“Stay close
to me.”  Val murmured as they followed Darius and Tavien to the
arena.  “Something doesn’t feel right.”

Abigail
nodded as Sara gripped her hand tightly.  Val was right.  Darius and
Tavien were acting no differently but she couldn’t ignore the warning tingle at
the base of her spine.  Something was very wrong.

She gave
Sara a reassuring smile that turned into a grimace when she saw Violet’s head
peek out of the woman’s blonde girls.

“What is
she doing here?”  She muttered to Sara.

“She didn’t
want to be left in the room.”  Sara whispered.

“Keep her
hidden.”  Abigail warned.

Sara
nodded, cringing a little when they entered the arena and she caught a glimpse
of the vampires sitting in the stands.  “Abby?”

“It’ll be
fine.”  Abigail squeezed her hand again as Val sat down.  She sat on
the pillow at his feet, urging Sara to sit beside her.

There was a
loud crack of thunder, and lightning flashed across the sky.  The wind was
picking up and Sara huddled against her as the first few drops of cold rain
fell from the sky.

Darius
glanced at the sky.  “We are in for quite a storm tonight.  Don’t you
agree, Lord Joven?”

“Yes.” 
Val nodded to Faren when he joined them.  Sienna trailed after him and she
sat at his feet as he stroked her hair gently.

“Where is
Jaxen?”  Val asked abruptly.

“There was
a matter I’ve asked him to attend to.”  Darius replied evasively.

Val glanced
at Abby.  She was giving him an anxious look and he squeezed her shoulder
briefly.

Darius
stood and waited patiently for the crowd of vampires to quiet.  “My
friends, welcome!  Tonight we have something very special in mind and I
believe you’ll be immensely entertained by it.”

The crowd
cheered loudly and Darius raised his hands and motioned for them to
quiet.  “Let us begin!”

The thick
wooden doors to the arena opened and Ursula stepped into the arena.  She
stared silently at the crowd as they roared their approval.  Abigail
waited tensely to see who her opponent would be.  She did not believe it
would be Maria but she couldn’t relax until she knew for sure. 

The minutes
passed and when a second fighter did not join Ursula, the crowd murmured
impatiently.  Darius, still standing, grinned as Tavien stood. 

“Are you
ready for her opponent?”  Darius shouted.

The crowd
screamed yes and Abby, scanning the arena anxiously, felt Val’s hand on her
shoulder tighten.  She glanced up at him, her gaze widening, when she
realized Tavien was holding his sword to Val’s chest.

Darius
grinned at her and held out his hand.  “Come, my pet.  The crowd
waits for you.”

“No!” 
Val snarled.  He started to stand and hissed loudly when Tavien pressed
his sword into his chest and blood bloomed on his shirt.

“Be still,
Lord Joven.  Unless you want to die tonight?”  Darius said
softly.  He turned to Abigail.  “You will fight the large bitch or
watch your master die.”

“Abigail,
do not – “  Val began fiercely.

She ignored
him and stood up quickly.  “Don’t kill him.  I will do what you ask.”

“Excellent.” 
Darius grinned widely and pointed to the arena.  “Go on, then.  Show
us what you can do.”

Her heart
thudding and adrenaline singing in her veins, Abby bent and quickly kissed Val
on the mouth.  “I love you.”  She whispered before turning and
leaping nimbly over the stone wall in front of them.

She landed
in the dirt with a soft thud and walked to the center of the arena. 
Ursula scowled at her.

“You are
the one who killed my sister.”

“She gave
me no choice.”  Abigail replied softly.

“I’m going
to enjoy hurting you.”  Ursula responded.  “You will suffer more than
any human has suffered in this arena.”

Abby stared
silently at her as two vampires appeared and handed them each a sword. 
She breathed a sigh of relief at the weapon choice and gripped it tightly as
she glanced back at Val.  Tavien still held his sword to his chest and he
was staring at her with a look of fear on his face.  She gave him a
reassuring smile as the vampires disappeared and left her alone with Ursula.

With a
sudden shriek of rage, Ursula charged at her.  She swung her sword and
Abigail blocked it, nearly collapsing under the weight of the larger woman’s
swing.  She backed away as Ursula grinned at her.

“You’re
such a puny, weak human.  I don’t know how you bested my sister.”

“Your
sister was slow and clumsy.”  Abby taunted.  She had seen the woman
fight before and she wanted her to be angry.  Anger had a way of making a
person careless, making them lose their concentration, and she smiled with
satisfaction when Ursula howled again and attacked. 

The
vampires were cheering and screaming but Abigail paid no attention to
them.  She swung and parried and thrust her sword as the two women moved
around the arena.  Their blades clashed repeatedly and Ursula gave an
inarticulate bellow of rage and pain when Abby’s blade slipped past hers and
sliced across her midsection.

She clapped
her hand over her stomach and stared at the blood slipping through her fingers
before raising her gaze to Abby.  “You bitch!  I’ll kill you, I swear
it!”

“You’ll be
seeing your sister soon.”  Abby said coldly.  “Tell her I said hello,
would you?”

Ursula
hesitated and Abby attacked her, swinging her sword in a short and powerful
arc.  Ursula raised her sword and blocked it before swinging her fist at
Abby.  Abigail ducked and charged forward.  She grabbed Ursula’s
wrist, twisting brutally until the woman screamed and the sword dropped from
her numb fingers, and then thrust her sword into Ursula’s stomach.