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Chapter Fifty Six
He blurred so fast it felt as if they'd disappeared and then reappeared in front of a small stone cottage.
He still had her legs wrapped around his waist as he carried her through the door and she craned her neck to look around him before he reluctantly set her down.
"My place," he said with a sweep of his arm.
Her heart was beating wildly and she forced herself to calm down and take stock. “His place” would’ve been very cozy if it wasn't so sparsely furnished, she noted, thinking it did not look like the lair of an evil vampire. In his living room to the left was a fieldstone fireplace, one couch and a large screened T.V. To the right there was a small kitchen and an eating area, one table and one chair. She took note of two closets and walked slowly through the living room, pushing open a door to a large clean bathroom.
She turned to face him and found him watching her, still studying. Her movements? Her reactions? Her heart was thudding against her breastbone, unnerved by the way she’d responded to him. She kept repeating "condemned" in her mind like a mantra. So what if he had looked like suffering the first time she'd seen him, he had not put a stop to the horror, had not tried to help her. He was definitely in the "turned" vampires camp.
You're here to get some weapons. Don't let him confuse you again.
He took a step toward her, then another, his gaze never wavering from her face. His stride made her think of a lion stalking its prey. She concentrated on the thought she was supposed to be projecting: No, you can't take my vein. No, you can't...He reached her and her heart sped to an alarming rate. A slow smile spread across his face as he placed a hand on her racing organ and her thoughts stuttered. Pure sex, this male was Pure. Sex.
His arm snaked behind her neck and he grabbed a fistful of hair, then put his hand under her bottom again and lifted. He didn't stop at his waist this time, he brought her up eye level with him so her legs were spread wide, her knees straddling his chest.
And then in a movement so fast it was like a cobra strike, he sank his teeth into her neck. He was not knocked to the floor in unimaginable pain, and as soon as he began sucking she could not imagine telling him to stop.
She’d often wondered what it would feel like since she’d never been on the receiving end…and now she knew. Nothing had ever felt so good. She could feel an orgasm ripping up through her body and ground against his chest. She cried out as waves of sensation washed through her. The scent of vanilla and honey filled the air, the first time she’d smelled it since she was in heat.
He pulled back and his eyes were glorious. Lit with that inner light the ice was broken into tiny diamonds. He carried her into his bedroom and as he tossed her on the bed she vaguely realized she was in trouble. She wanted him more than anything else in the entire world.
Her body was still trembling from climax, her mind on hiatus as he fell on top of her and ripped her blouse away, snapping her bra in one fluid motion. His hot breath on her nipples was almost enough to make her come again. As he sucked them, first one then the other, her mind fractured completely. He leaned back and tore his own shirt off, and God in Heaven, glorious, incredible, absolutely fucking beautiful did not do his massive body justice.
He smiled slightly as he took in her appreciation, then yanked on her leather pants and slid them off. He stripped his own pants off and.....That won't fit in me!! Her mind finally came back and slammed against her brain. Austin had been big. Jared was inhuman. I can't do this, she thought, and then realized, He can't do this. Without love for her or breaking the virgin clause with a vow, he would be....she felt her legs get pushed backwards and watched wide eyed as if it were happening to someone else. His fingers caressed then slid in and she gasped. He pulled them out and replaced them with the enormous head of him.
She shouted "NO!" just as he nudged her and suddenly he was lying on the floor, his arms wrapped around his legs, howling in pain. She stared at him in shock. She hadn’t yelled no for herself. In that instant she hadn't wanted this to happen to him, but it was too late. I could free him right now and explain....EXPLAIN WHAT?!
What the hell was wrong with her, this was a fallen vampire who could pop her head off her shoulders like a dandelion! She snapped herself out of it and pulled her pants back on. Since her shirt was ruined she had to use his and it flowed around her like an ill made nightgown.
Her mind was going numb yet somehow she managed to continue moving. She looked down at him and the noises pushing through his lips were terrible, causing guilt to gnaw at her stomach. He seemed to focus on her for a moment and fury warred with the agony in his eyes. She was suddenly afraid he might fight through the pain to get at her.
She flipped the light on in his room and pulled open his closet, darting glances behind her to make sure he wasn't getting up. She couldn't reach the top shelf so she blurred to the kitchen for a chair, then came back in and climbed up. There were two leather sacks all the way in the back and she pulled on them. One was weighty, the other flew towards her with the force of her yank.
She reached into the light sack and pulled out what appeared to be leather gloves with fangs exuding from them like claws. Jackpot, she thought feeling a little giddy. She shoved them back into the bag and pulled the object out of the heavier sack. It was a bludgeoning weapon, a club with fangs coming out of it like spikes. She shoved it back in and jumped from the chair.
She looked down at his contorted form. She felt guilt sneaking up on her again and shook it off violently. Preys on humans, drinks them to death. She turned away from him and headed for the other two closets she'd spotted in the living room.
The first closet was empty but she hit pay dirt in the second. Hanging on a nail just inside the door was a leather sack that contained a battle axe with fangs projecting off the sides and one protruding from the front. She grabbed it and raced out the front door, wanting to get back to Michael’s as soon as possible and release him from his pain, condemned vampire or not.
Focusing on Jenna's scent and taste she blurred.
Anna stopped outside of a bar and hid the weapons underneath the enormous shirt, cradling them with one arm. She eyed the sign which stated The Haunt, and peered in the doorway. Should she dim? She’d have to undim for them to see her. Which would be more conspicuous, she wondered, walking in as if she owned the place with a tent for a shirt that did nothing to conceal the bulges beneath it, or appearing out of thin air, even if just for a second?
A second. Every second she wasted was one more second he had to suffer. She closed her eyes tightly for a moment, willing away her guilt. Okay, no dimming, just walk in and let them see you, then walk out again.
The moment she crossed the threshold she spotted Jenna who jumped to her feet, then turned and went back outside. Seconds later they were with her and she patted the sacks beneath her shirt.
“Got ‘em,” she grinned.
"Oh my God, you did it! You actually did it!" Jenna was ecstatic.
"That was quick!" Jess stated grinning, "How did you do it so fast?"
"What time is it?"
"You've only been gone an hour," Harriet told her. She was smiling as well.
"Look, we've gotta go now. I left him in a state of horrible pain, and no matter what he is I can't bring myself to let him suffer like that for long."
As soon as they were in the car they began firing questions at her. She opened her mouth to answer and froze, her mouth drying up. Oh shit, she thought, I let him drink from me, he can track me. Not good. Not good at all.
Jenna grabbed her arm. "What? What is it, you're face just turned white as a ghost!"
She stared at her friend unblinking, then took a breath. "I, oh crap, I screwed up."
"What do you mean, you've got the weapons...
"He drank from me."
"What?!?"
"I thought that's how you put him in his state of pain!" Jenna exclaimed.
She flushed and forced herself to explain. When she was finished she stared at her hands. "I don't know what was wrong with me, it's like my body wasn't connected to mind, in fact my mind wasn't connected....it was like when I went into heat." She finished lamely.
"It's all right honey. You still got the weapons. And Michael's house is protected, he can't get in," Harriet spoke to her in the rearview mirror reassuringly.
She nodded weakly knowing full well her housemates would not be happy.
They pulled in the driveway and as soon as they were safely on the porch she let the others rush inside. She stared out at the night and thought about Jared, remembering vividly his contorting form. Because of me, she thought and whispered fervently, "You are forgiven."
An instant later he appeared directly in front of her on the walkway and her heart slammed against her chest. His eyes were shooting off flames, his fangs bared in a snarl, and she watched in numb shock as he lifted his arms in the air with a roar and brought them back down again, shaking the ground beneath her feet.
Coderin burst out on to the porch, took one look at the irate vampire and hauled her inside.
The girls were standing in the middle of the sitting room, their faces pale.
"That was him?" Jess asked fearfully. Another tremor rocked the ground. "How is he doing that?" she squeaked.
Anna shook her head, unable to speak. Her heart was still pounding with fear, and when the house shook once more she nearly dropped to her knees.
"What the hell is going on, why do you look like that?" Coderin demanded, looking her over, lingering on her face. "Who is that, and why is he so fucking piss...what do you have?" He focused on the leather bags she held dangling from her fists and understanding lit his face. "Whoa, you have the weapons? Holy shit!" His boyish face broke into a grin and she smiled shakily in return.
Tyros, who was standing across the room leaning against the wall, spoke up. "Not bad, but you do realize Michael, Matthias, and even Seth are going to be oh, just a little pissed at you for putting yourself in danger, not to mention leading that monstrosity here. And something tells me they won't like your new look much either."
She gave him a pained look. "Thanks, thanks for that, I wasn't already worried or anything."
"Oh come on!" Coderin said to Tyros. "She got the weapons, that kicks ass!” He turned back to her, “Let me see them."
Anna handed them over and he pulled them out one at a time laying them reverently on the coffee table.
Jess went to Tyros and tugged him over to them.
"Hate to break up this little viewing, but shouldn't someone call and warn the others about Senor Scary,” he said casually.
Coderin looked up, his worshipful expression transforming into alarm. He whipped out his cell phone and punched in speed dial.
Generously created for me by @son-of-satire