Bad Blood Books 1-3

Chapter VII

Chapter VII

I SQUEEZED MY KNEES in a desperate embrace, trying to shrink as much as I could and fold into myself. Anthony had left me naked on the floor, too weak to reach for my clothes, despite the sudden cold shivers that convulsed my body. In the dim light, the reddened bite marks looked messy as blood still oozed out of them. A tear fell on my arm, startling me. I reached up, feeling under my eyes to find tears running down my face.

I closed my eyes, trying to stop the memories from replaying the evening for me. I failed. Anthony had been wild tonight. One s****l encounter where nothing felt rehearsed, where he’d held nothing back. Rough, animalistic, punctuated by sudden bites, pleasure and pain in a heady mix that I still couldn’t process. Unreal. I’d made no sounds, my throat dry and silent from all the screaming over that first bite. I’d clung to him, silently begging for more. Raw, open, almost angry thrusts. Did I actually like that? I’d never asked him to stop. I’d told myself he wouldn’t. I hadn’t wanted to risk him actually listening. Did I truly like it that rough? I should have asked him to stop. Maybe what followed would have never happened if I had.

Footsteps approaching rang too loud in the eerie stillness. I flinched, sliding away from the intruder as far as I could go. The stack of chairs at my back prevented me from getting too far.

“You finally look like one of Anthony’s girls.”

I tried to focus on the man talking to me but couldn’t see. I wiped my tears and looked up at him, his dark blond curls gleaming in the night. He ran his hand through his long hair, brushing it back. Recognition flared, the guy from earlier who was smirking at me, ignoring the three girls practically catfighting over him.

“Is that a sort of badge I should add to my collection?” I asked, tasting the bitterness of my words.

His eyes came alight, neon green. I whimpered at the now familiar wild glow of a nocturnal predator and pushed myself into the chairs, my heartbeats ringing in my ears. My eyes fell to his lips, but he had them tightly pressed together.

“Oh, for god’s sake, relax. It’s just a reaction to the blood on you that I don’t feel like controlling. By the smell of it, if I did bite you, there would be nothing left of you afterwards. I am sure your taste was a welcome surprise to Anthony.”

The sound of Anthony’s moans, him praising the taste of my blood, the desperate way he’d undressed me, all the details I wanted to forget assaulted me.

“Oh, anger. That’s good. Better than the fear I smell on you.” He smiled, nodding at me.

I looked away. The conversation held no interest to me.

The vampire bent and picked up my clothes, throwing them closer to me. I didn’t move a muscle. I couldn’t. My face and chest burned with shame as this guy whose name I didn’t know stood there, looming over my naked body. I closed my eyes, trying to extend a hand. It fell limply back on my thigh, trembling slightly.

“Why on earth are you crying?” He propped his hands on his hips and sighed. “I know Anthony can be a little rough, but girls are still in awe afterwards, for some twisted reason. And he always goes for the type who take at least some pleasure in pain.”

He wasn’t completely wrong. The rougher than usual s*x and the frequent biting hadn’t broken me. Nor the fact Anthony and his friends were vampires. Well, at least not after figuring out he did not intend to kill me. That enthralling combination of pleasure and pain, terror and excitement, that still lingered at the edges of my frayed mind. The conversation that had followed, a monologue really, had shattered my soul and my balance.

“At the risk of sounding obvious,” Anthony had said, his voice cold as he got up and got dressed, “I am a vampire.”

He’d looked at me as I sat on the floor, eyes unfocused. I wanted him to hold me as he usually did after s*x, but he’d disengaged the moment he’d come.

“You taste really good. I hadn’t expected that, to be honest. Well, the little gifts of life, I guess. Your blood is mine and mine alone. Try to remember that.”

He looked at me expectantly, waiting for some words of acknowledgement to come out of my mouth, but I couldn’t say anything. His coldness and matter-of-fact tone hurt and stunned me into a silent, almost catatonic state at the same time.

“I am not monogamous and I don’t expect you to be, either. However, keep in mind that my ego needs its pound of flesh, and there will be massive pain and blood loss involved with any lover you venture on taking.”

He actually thought I was somehow his. A pet or property, of sorts. Was he outlining the rules and expected me to follow them? If I weren’t so numb, I would have scoffed at that.

“Needless to say, we’ll have a long chat about that book of yours. Some things you’ll never write about. Maybe we’ll kill it entirely. It all depends on you,” Anthony had said, shrugging.

I winced, pressing a weak hand over my chest. No, not my book. The idea of having it taken away from me made me shudder, my chest constricting in fresh pain. That book was my baby, I wasn’t ever letting it go. I’d clung to it for so long, planning for the day when I finished it and shared it with the world. My beacon of hope through all that heartbreak and the harsh recovery I’d experienced in Silema, and Anthony wanted to kill it?

“Why the f**k would I do that?!” I’d yelled, the power of my own voice startling me.

“Alexa, don’t be an i***t. I might not be able to kill you because too many people know where you are and with whom, and they’d ask questions. There are quite a few of us who value our privacy. But make no mistake…I can kill anyone in the blink of an eye. Unless you love no one in this world and are mad enough to think there actually is a place where you can hide, I suggest you start listening and do as I say.”

His eyes flashed green, his fangs out and gleaming into the night. His body tensed as he towered over me and I closed my eyes under the scrutiny. “Fine! What don’t you want in my book?”

“Another time.”

“No! Right now,” I said, pushing myself closer to him. Once again, my voice not breaking came out of nowhere.

“As you wish. I want no mention of the trueborn, the off-world vampires, as you call them. Us baseborn don’t want any mention of them, ever.”

Baseborn. I remembered the word from a fantasy series unfolding around an iron throne. So they were the bastard children of some highborn vampires then. I smiled to myself, delighted at having guessed right. Fascinating as they were, I’d never thought vampires to be real. Pleasure spread through me at knowing my imagination had been spot on.

“Stop smiling and thinking of how smart you are.” He scowled at me, his lips twisted in a vicious snarl. He looked younger with that angry frown on his face. I’d seen that look before on snarky teenagers.

“Get out,” I whispered, my smile twisting into a grimace of disgust.

My lungs screamed as Anthony’s hand closed around my throat, squeezing. “You f*****g need a lesson in humility, you crazy b***h!”

“Get out,” I muttered, the words unclear and harsh. Bile rose in my mouth, his hand on my throat making me squirm. His touch felt wrong, like he shouldn’t have the right to put his filthy hands on me ever again. I scowled, fixing my glare on him and whispering the command again. Anthony unclenched his tight hold on my neck and I fell in a lump to the floor. In a flash, he turned his back to me, disappearing, the door closing behind his shadow.

I wiped my tears and the memory of it along with them. I looked up at the man in front of me and asked, my words tinged in bitterness, “He’s a twisted little bastard, isn’t he?”

The man laughed, almost doubling over.

“What the f**k is so funny?” I scowled, hot sparks of anger coursing through me.

“My dear, it is hilarious. Anthony thinks he’s got you all figured out and wrapped around his fingers.”

His smile was beautiful. Warm, deceptively human. He’s a vampire. Don’t forget that.

“Come, stand up,” he said, extending a hand to me. I squeezed my knees harder in response. My body void of all energy, I knew better than trying to stand. Besides, the thought of him seeing me fully naked sent a fresh wave of disgust and anger through me. He took a step closer, took my hands in his and pulled me up. He frowned as his eyes roamed over me, stopping on every bitemark marring my body. Blood still oozed form some of them, but it didn’t hurt at this point.

“He has no control whatsoever.” He frowned, tilting his head as he inspected the damage. “Listen closely. I need you to stay very, very still. This will be difficult to pull off without biting you myself, even if you don’t make a fuss.”

I took a step to the side, my legs wobbly. He groaned and glared at me, tightening his grip on my hands. “Don’t move.”

He crouched in front of me and bent to lick the bitemarks Anthony had left on my thighs. I whimpered at the intrusive touch, goosebumps forming all over my body. He squeezed my hands and his words came back to me. Don’t move. He looked up at me, eyes a brilliant green, fangs sharp and menacing. I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to control the shivers and wooziness swaying me all over the place.

“Our saliva helps the bleeding stop and the wound heal much faster. Just like your saliva, only much more effective.”

He helped me get dressed, his touches soft but sure. The more his fingers ran over my skin, the less bile rose. He gave off a strange feeling a safety. The lack of fear scared me and I moved to the side, away from his support. My knees gave out and I almost fell to the floor again. He caught me and held me tightly in his arms. Whatever strand held me together broke and tears flooded my eyes. Anger, pain, fear, and betrayal powered them on, turning my silent crying into ugly, desperate sobs. They sounded harsh, jarring my nerves. I couldn’t show such weakness in front of a stranger. Anthony’s friend. Anthony’s vampire friend. No matter how hard I tried, there was no stopping the outpour.

“It will be all right. Don’t worry,” he whispered, pulling me closer. I recoiled at the touch, but he pressed me to him, holding me in place. I relaxed, too weak to keep fighting, and let the tears flow.

“Can you walk?”

I ran the question through my mind, doing a quick assessment of my state. My head hurt from all the crying and breathing through my nose was a no-go. Damned crying! My thoughts had cleared up, though, my entire body less numb than it used to be. I nodded, my head moving against his chest, and he shifted me towards the door, walking me toward the exit.

The door to the club loomed at the end of the stairs. I shivered and clung to the man supporting me. I forced my feet to move, but they wouldn’t. Nothing good waited for me on the other side.

“Hey, just breathe,” he said, voice gentler than before. He turned me around, my back to that dreaded door, facing another exit. We stepped through it into an alley behind the club and he walked me to the back door of a Honda Civic.

He helped me inside and closed the door behind me. Just as he got into the front seat, Anthony appeared out of nowhere, right next to him. I shuffled further into the back seat, putting as much space between me and Anthony as I could.

“Leaving so soon?” he said, a cold smile twisting his face.

“Your fault, Anthony. You’re never careful enough and leave girls in a state of shock. If you want to play longer, learn to abide by human limitations.”

“What’s the point if you can’t go all wild and enjoy their helplessness? That just diminishes the pleasure,” Anthony said and shrugged. Anger swelled inside me, but I crushed it down, too frightened of that deadly gaze Anthony unleashed upon me.

“The point is she can stay out and play longer, but you have a horde more inside, so I get it. Now I need to take her to your place and clean up your mess. Again.”

“Fine, have it your way. I won’t be going there for a few days. I need to keep her alive and I am sure you can guess how tempting her blood is. Keep an eye on her. I don’t want sweet Alexa getting any ideas and making me chase her around Europe.”

He turned on his heels and left. Apparently, he had no need to wait for any form of consent.

I finally relaxed when the car drove off. It was warm inside and I allowed myself to lie down on the seat and close my eyes.

I woke up as I was being carried inside. I looked up at him and he smiled in return, the twist of his lips encouraging and seemingly genuine. My lips trembled as I tried to return the smile, but I couldn’t form it, as if my muscles resisted it. He placed me on the big sofa in the living room and covered me with a soft blanket. He stepped into the kitchen, the sound of drawers and cabinets being opened and closed following in his path. The familiar sounds of a microwave oven signaled his preparing something. He returned a little later with a big bowl of steaming liquid.

“Here, drink this. All of it,” he said, handing me the bowl

I sniffed the thick soup, frowning at it. It didn’t look horrible or smell revolting, so I ventured and took a sip, praying I wouldn’t gag.

“Easy, it’s really hot.”

I shrugged and took another sip. “Don’t worry about it.” I had this abnormal tolerance to hot liquids. The taste of his concoction filled my mouth. At first, it was good as it slid down, but then the aftertaste hit. Metallic, yet familiar, as if someone had poured some iron dust in it. “God, this is awful.”

“Just drink it. You’ll thank me in the morning.” He winked and gave my shoulder a little squeeze. He watched me closely as I drank the deceitful goo, giving me an occasional nudge to make sure I finished it. His twitches and frowns got on my nerves, so I swallowed it down as quickly as I could and showed him the empty bowl. It didn’t seem to matter.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, annoyed by his hovering.

“You’re very weak. You almost passed out three times while drinking this.”

I gaped at him, blinking fast. “I didn’t realize. I’m sorry.” I didn’t feel weird, neither light-headed nor sleepy.

“Well, you managed to drink it all. Now you’ll get some sleep and you should be fine.”

I frowned, eyeing him as he spoke. His look didn’t match the lightness of his tone. “What’s your name?” I asked. He’d never given it and I suddenly wanted to know.

“Louis,” he said, taking the bowl from my hands and tucking me in.

“Thank you, Louis. And nice to meet you…sort of. Well, not really.”

“Go to sleep, Alexa.”