Vamps in the City (3 page)

Grant felt like his body was on fire. As the woman he
’
d filled took his blood, it connected them deeper than he’d ever experienced before. Drinking was a very intimate act. He had done that before, but he was shocked at the feeling of possessiveness that overtook him now.

Each draw of Paige
’
s mouth against him felt directly connected to his cock. He moaned long and loud urging her to take more.

He continued to thrust into her wildly until he couldn’t take it anymore. She released her fangs from his throat just in time as he threw his head back and yelled his completion once again. Paige’s inner muscles clenched around him as she climaxed at the same time.

Spent, he could barely hold himself up above her, careful of her injuries. Paige’s eyes were closed and a look of such pure pleasure covered her face, it would have been enough to make him breathless even if he wasn’t already currently fighting to gain his breath back.

He placed soft kisses all over her, enjoying the feel of her delicate skin under his lips. His arms started to shake so he gently pulled out of her and lay on his side, pulling her body against his.

Grant knew they should get up but he wanted
—
no,
needed
—
a minute to collect himself. If there had been any doubt that Paige was meant to be with him, it had disappeared. He felt complete for the first time in years. His entire existence had been for one purpose. He’d solely been after one thing. And in the blink of an eye, a woman he’d never met before had changed everything.

He tightened his arms around Paige while she sighed and moved a little closer in. He knew what she’d been through and a wave of anger crushed his chest. It wasn’t fair that she had suffered. Been abused and tortured at the hands of a madman
—
one Grant had taken great pleasure in killing.

But there was still a threat out there, and more girls who hadn’t been found. He still had a mission to fulfil.

He had to make sure Paige would be all right, though. That she would never face the same acts of evil she once had.

Grant wondered if she really didn’t know everything that had happened after her escape, or if she just didn’t want to tell him. He could help her to heal, give her the answers her eyes seemed to plead for. She just needed to trust him.

Beside him, Paige started to shift and he knew his time was up. It was probably for the best anyway.

He’d take her to meet some of the others and hopefully she would choose to stay. If not, he’d follow her anywhere.

Paige’s body was relaxed and her mind remained in a cloud of pleasure even as she fought to regain her senses. She stared at the ceiling with Grant wrapped around her side.

“Are you okay,” he asked with a calm voice.

Paige knew that if she answered she would still be breathless so she only nodded. She waited for regret and fear to invade the moment. She was confused when it didn’t come.

She’d broken her only rule—to not get involved with another like her. Why wasn’t she screaming and running from the room? She didn’t understand.

“Would you like to take a shower?”

Paige turned her head and just looked at him. God, he was so good-looking. All that tanned, muscular flesh and those caring eyes gazing back at her. He looked at her like she was the most precious person in the world.

“If you want to take a shower, I’ll get you some clothes to wear. The ones you wore last night were ripped and bloody.” He ran a hand over her cheek and Paige actually leaned into the touch.

It wasn’t supposed to be this way. She shouldn’t feel so good. What was happening?

“It’s okay. Let me put you in the shower and we’ll talk.” His voice held warmth and kindness.

She nodded again slowly.

He got out of bed, pulling up the pants she’d only managed to get to his knees. Then he held out the robe she’d worn to bed.

Paige let him lead her to the door. When he opened it, she saw a long hallway with doors on both sides.

“Where are we?”

He looked down and gave her a half smile. “Somewhere safe.”

They took the long hallway to the right. He paused at a door and knocked. No response, so he opened the door and led her inside.

For a bathroom, it was pretty simple—white walls, white tile—but it had a big vanity sink, and a large standing shower. On a shelf, there were rows of towels.

Grant nodded to the towels. “There’s plenty of towels. In that cabinet—” He pointed behind them. “—is extra shampoo and soap, all kinds of things.”

Paige looked around and nodded again.

“I’ll be right back with some clothes and then wait outside.” With that he turned and walked out.

Paige opened the cabinet and found he was right. It was packed full of shampoos, soaps, face wash, body wash, everything a girl could need. They were all in small disposable bottles. She grabbed what she wanted and took the four bottles to the shower. There was a trash can just outside the shower and she noticed a few used bottles in there.

She leaned into the shower stall and turned the water on. Immediately three showerheads started spraying out water and steam started to fill the air. She let the robe drop to the floor and stepped inside.

She could feel the tension in her shoulders melt away. It was a great shower. Tilting her head back, she let the water run over her body. It wasn’t until she started to wash her body did she remember the bandage.

She peeled it off carefully and looked down at her wound. It was still an angry red colour but almost completely healed.

Paige spent more time than she probably should have in the shower but didn’t want to get out. She wasn’t sure where she was. Wasn’t sure who she was with. And knew she wasn’t safe, no matter what Grant said.

With a heavy sigh, she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a large towel around her body and picked another one up and had started to dry her hair before she finally noticed the clothes that had been left on the vanity—a black pair of cotton pants and a black T-shirt. They looked new.

It hit her again how strange all this was. Everything packaged for single use and new clothes instantly available. She didn’t know what was going on. But she had to keep up her guard, no matter how much she wanted to give everything over to Grant.

She dressed quickly and ran her fingers through her hair. Then she dropped the towels in a basket and the used bottles in the trash and made sure she left the bathroom clean.

The clothes fit, even if the top was tight across her chest. She hadn’t been given a bra so her nipples were obvious as they pointed out. The clothes were comfortable though.

She opened the bathroom door and was surprised to find Grant leaning against the frame. He stood with his arms folded and his ankles crossed as if he didn’t have a care in the world. He was also talking to another man who was no doubt also a vampire.

She yelped and jumped back into the bathroom but Grant caught her around the waist. “It’s okay.”

Paige tried to squirm out of his hold but when she twisted there was a sharp pain in her side. Grant loosened his grip but didn’t let go completely.

“Stop. No one’s going to hurt you,” he told her quietly.

Paige stopped struggling. There wasn’t much she could do anymore. She didn’t know where she was or how many more vampires there were. From the number of supplies in the bathroom, she would say a lot.

Uncomfortable, she shifted from one foot to another and her head down, not wanting to look at the newcomer.

“Paige, this is a good friend of mine, Sam,” Grant introduced him to her.

She nodded a cautious hello. She really didn’t want to be dinner to this guy. He was over six-six, built like a linebacker, with long blond hair.

“Nice to meet you, Paige.” A large beefy hand made its way under her eyes.

He wanted to shake hands?

Glancing first at Grant then at the new guy, she gingerly put her hand in his. He lifted it to his mouth and she wondered if he’d take a nip right there.

When his cool lips pressed against the back of her hand, she jumped. But he only kissed it.

Grant pulled her closer to his side. “Sam, stop teasing her.”

Sam smiled at Grant in a very sweet, little boy way. “Sorry. It’s just she was so scared.”

Grant shook his head at the big man. “That’s not nice.”

Sam stuck his hands in his pants pockets, frowning, then turned and looked at her. “I wasn’t going to bite you,” he said.

“All done?” Grant asked. Paige nodded.

“I want you to meet someone,” he told her. They started back down the hallway with Sam following behind. Paige didn’t like having her back to the other man, but Grant had a good hold on her.

They stopped at the end of the hall. “If you’d like your own room, you can stay in this one,” he told her and opened the door.

A beautiful woman stood on the other side of the room. She was tall with long red hair. She nodded, asking, “Paige Gilmore?”

She tried to back up. This wasn’t just a woman—she was a vampire and power poured off of her.

“My name is Marissa. I would like to welcome you.” The woman held out her hand.

Grant was still blocking her escape by standing directly behind her. With no other choice, she placed her hand in the woman’s. Marissa smiled at her and after just a quick shake, let her go.

“I am the director here,” the woman went on to explain. “If you have any questions you can always come to me, or of course, Grant.”

“Where’s here?” she asked, suspiciously. The room was better than the underground cell she had been put in after she’d been made, but she was not ever going to be a prisoner again.

“This is a safe place where people like us can come to when they are in the city,” Marissa told her. “I set this place up a couple of years ago so new or injured vampires would have a place to go without fear.”

It sounded too good to be true. “Why?”

“Because I was once very much like you.”

Paige snorted in response. This woman was too powerful to have ever been like her. A vampire took some power from their Master when they were made. Then every time they killed or drank from another of their kind, they gained more.

“You don’t have to believe me,” Marissa told her reasonably. “But I am giving you a chance to learn everything you were not taught before going out on your own.”

“I’ve been on my own for the last couple of months and did just fine,” Paige argued.

“You were weak and ready to die,” Marissa told her smugly.

Paige looked over her shoulder at Grant. He only shrugged at her accusing look.

She turned her attention to the other woman. “I’m doing fine.”

Marissa moved quickly, placing her hands on either side of Paige’s face. Paige cried out in surprise.

She met the other woman’s eyes and found herself losing any fight left inside.

“You’re hurt and in need. I offer this to you,” Marissa told her quietly. “You have gifts you’ve yet to unlock, and others who would use you for their own purpose.”

Paige knew what the woman was doing. She was putting her in a trance but she couldn’t stop it.

“You will accept what I offer.”

Paige nodded.

Chapter Four

Paige was pissed. How dare that woman put her in a trance? She paced the room she’d been locked inside, trying to come up with a plan.

Never mind that her side no longer hurt or that the headache she’d had for months had finally gone away. The woman had put her in a trance and made her feel helpless once again.

Grant hadn’t been any help, only telling her this was for her own good and leaving.

She screamed and slammed her fist against the wall. The concrete didn’t even crack and her hand exploded with pain.

“Is that really going to solve anything?” someone asked from behind her.

Paige narrowed her eyes as Grant walked through the door and closed it.

“I want out of here,” she demanded.

“I’m sorry, Paige, but you need to be here. We can help you,” he told her with eyes that pleaded with her to understand.

“You can’t keep me hostage. You are no better than anyone else I’ve ever met,” she accused. So it may not have been completely true, but she had believed for a moment that everything would really be okay.

She had believed him.

And that’s what hurt the most. She had begun to think Grant was different. She had wanted to finally trust someone. She hadn’t recognised the feeling until she’d been betrayed.

“One day you’ll understand,” he told her with conviction.

Paige laughed. “Oh that’s rich. I’m not some little girl who needs her daddy to look out for her. I’ve made it on my own and I don’t need you.”

Grant was in front of her before she could blink. He yanked her to him. “Be careful how much you push, Paige,” he warned. “I want you. I want more than just your body, and I feel nothing fatherly towards you.”

Paige wrenched herself out of his arms. “Go to Hell!”

Grant’s eyes flashed. “I came in to see if you needed to feed. You didn’t take much this morning.”

“No, I don’t need to feed,” she yelled into his face. “I don’t need anything but to be let out!”

“If you do need anything just let me know,” Grant told her before walking to the door.

Paige had the strongest urge to reach out for him so she fisted her hands at her sides to help fight against it. Disgusted with herself, she threw herself onto the bed once the door closed.

* * * *

Paige didn’t know how long she slept but when she woke up she felt light-headed and confused. She tried to lift her head but her vision blurred, so she sank back down and pulled the covers over her.

The bed dipped down a little while later and Grant’s voice soothed her aching head. “Baby, what’s wrong? I can feel that you don’t feel well.”