Blood Price (14 page)

Chapter 10

All through her shower, Nikia had dreaded searching for Atar and confronting him about what Oksana revealed. She hoped his response would be affirmative, that he would agree with her suggestion to recover the money from her other accounts, travel far away from Eastern Europe, find a place to settle into a quiet life and live happily ever after for the rest of their days. The more likely response would be a denial of his feelings, followed by the information that he was still taking her back to Corsova.

She emerged from the small bathroom wrapped in a gray towel, to go in search of the clothing Oksana had promised. Nikia froze in mid-step when she saw Atar standing with his back to her, staring out the small window of the bedroom. The set of his shoulders suggested resolve.

He whirled around when she took another step. Their eyes met and a loaded silence fell between them, with each waiting for the other to speak first. She moistened her lips, searching for the right thing to say.

He must have found the words first. “Had she really controlled you all that time?” He took a step closer, his expression revealing he wanted to believe her, needed to. “Illiana planned the crimes you’re accused of. It wasn’t you?”

She shook her head, taking another step toward him. “I was aware of what she did, but it was as if my presence was squeezed into a tiny cage in the back of Illiana’s mind. I could see through my eyes, feel through my body but couldn’t stop her.” She closed her eyes, reliving the futility of her struggles over the years, how painful it was to stand by and be able to do nothing.

His hand on her cheek opened her eyes and she saw the tenderness in his gaze. Everything she wanted to say bottlenecked in her throat, refusing to emerge as anything other than an incoherent moan when he traced his fingers down her throat, pausing to stroke her neck.

His arms were comforting when he drew her inside them, holding her in an embrace that demanded nothing but offered everything. Atar’s heart thudded against her ear and she snuggled closer, letting the sound lull away her remaining pain. She pressed her hands against his back, anchoring him. Her brain urged her to confront him about the future but her heart wanted only to bask in his touch.

She turned her face and craned her neck, to put her lips against his neck. Hunger stirred but it was secondary to her need to prove his trust in her. Her nerves sang with tension when her mouth hovered over his carotid artery. He stiffened but didn’t pull away. Very slowly, she licked the spot, straining for each telltale signal his body emitted. He shivered but she didn’t know whether from pleasure at the sensation or lingering mistrust.

Nikia allowed him to feel the point of her teeth, pleased when he didn’t draw away. His breathing increased slightly but he stayed still when she scratched his skin delicately with the tip of her fang. Immobile under her mock assault, his heart betrayed him by thumping even faster. She still didn’t know if it was pleasure that caused the reaction, so she sank her teeth through his skin. His indrawn breath clued her in to his surprise and possible pain at the action but he withstood it.

She lifted her head, examining his expression. Her stomach quivered when she saw the warmth in his eyes. Fear and mistrust weren’t visible. Only…she hesitated to identify the emotion and her brow furrowed when she considered it.

He didn’t give her time to analyze further. Atar lowered his head, taking possession of her mouth. Unlike her cautious advances to test him, there was nothing hesitant about his touch. His mouth devoured hers, his tongue surging through her lips to sweep around the confines of her mouth, exploring every inch. He tasted of the
Lavazza
coffee and
draniki
Oksana had served them before they undertook the process of banishing Illiana. A faint hint of peaches from the compote offered as dessert offset the bitterness of the coffee and buttery potato flavor of the pancakes. Blended together, the flavors were all exotic and sensual, piquing her appetite further but for him, not blood. The peppermint of her toothpaste brought a refreshing contrast to the mix and she thought, as he lifted her into his arms, that she had never tasted anything so divine as him.

He carried her to the pallet, kneeling and placing her atop it in one smooth motion. She reached for him again when they separated during the change in position, finding him immediately. He followed her onto the pallet, supporting his weight on his arms as he stretched out over her.

Nikia stroked a strand of his hair, staring deeply into his colorless eyes. “I need you.”

He turned his head to kiss her hand, licking her palm, before speaking. “I need this too.” A slight grin teased his lips. “I hope I’ll be conscious afterward this time.”

A blush warmed her cheeks. “I promise not to hit you with anything again.”

He let more of his weight settle on her, bringing his face close to hers. “I’m more concerned that you’ll still be here.”

“I won’t leave you again.”

The unnerving intensity in her gaze must have convinced him because he dropped the serious expression and leaned close enough to nip her bottom lip. She parted them in anticipation of another kiss but his mouth ventured lower, nibbling a path down her neck, to her chest, where beads of moisture from her shower still glistened. She moaned when he licked them away with tiny swipes that gradually lengthened, until his tongue was flitting into her cleavage under the towel.

He was much closer for a second, as he relaxed his arms, before his legs took over supporting him. Nikia wrapped her arms around his back to hold him close but he pulled away enough to make her miss him, even though they were still touching.

“I need to touch you.”

She nodded, closing her eyes when his fingers sought out the folded triangle of towel and loosened it, letting the terrycloth fall open. She shivered when he licked one of her breasts, carefully avoiding the nipple. His breath whispered across the sensitive bead and she squirmed, arching her hips. He breathed a husky laugh before transferring his teasing attention to the other breast, which he cupped in one hand and lifted. His tongue wriggled against her nipple just long enough to make her grunt with frustration when his mouth slid lower, away from the nipple begging for attention.

He buried his face against her stomach, inhaling. Her skin muffled his voice when he said, “You smell delicious, like strawberries. I could eat you all up.”

The idea of him eating her flooded her already wet pussy and she arched against him again. “I used the pump hand soap on the sink for my shower.” She hadn’t wanted to use the opened bar she had found in the shower.

He ignored her explanation, letting his mouth do more creative things than form a reply. She moaned when his tongue reached her mound, lightly stroking it. Fire burned inside her pussy, igniting liquid heat in her pussy. “Please taste me.”

He was slow in complying, moving his tongue in tiny increments as he went lower, until his appendage finally reached her slit. It slipped inside, taking a taste of her, before moving out again, parodying the thrusting motion his hips would make soon. “More,” she said through a groan.

Atar’s tongue surged into her, evidencing he was finished teasing. He circled her clit with small licks, pausing to flick across the tip of it several times, until she was almost screaming with pleasure. Her hands had buried themselves in his hair and held his head against her as close as she could get him. She thrust her hips to meet each surge of his tongue when he licked her slit, alternating between her clit and opening.

His tempo increased, as did the wetness of her arousal. She pushed against his face, raising her hips in a futile attempt to get his tongue deeper, although he was already in as far as he could get. Her thighs tightened around his head when convulsions started deep inside her, building in intensity as they radiated outward, causing her pussy to pulse in time with the beat of her heart as an orgasm swept over her.

She cried out at the strength of the pleasure, trying to hold him against her as he shifted. She thought he was pulling away and murmured a protest, clenching her fingers tighter in his hair, until she realized he was only sliding up her body. When his cock hovered at the entrance of her still throbbing pussy, her eyes widened with shock. Could she? “Atar?” Her uncertainty was as clear in her voice as she knew it must be in her expression. “I don’t know if I can take all of it.”

“I’ll go slow.” True to his word, he eased the head of his merged cock into her opening, stopping when her body showed any sign of resistance. “If it hurts, I’ll stop.” As he spoke, he rolled over, holding her close, so that their positions were reversed. “On top, you can control the thrusts.”

Nikia held her fear at bay, giving Atar the same amount of trust he had finally displayed to her. She nodded, signaling both that she heard him and that he could continue. For good measure, she added, “I’m ready.”

Unhurriedly, Atar lifted his hips, letting his engorged cock fill her pussy. He stretched her to the limit but in a pleasant way. She burned at the unaccustomed length and breadth of his cock but it wasn’t exactly painful, especially when he began moving in and out at a slow pace. Soon, Nikia had adjusted to his size and was meeting each thrust with her own, pumping against him, setting the pace. It was almost instinctual when she led them into an ever increasing pace, bringing his cock as deep inside as she could. Another orgasm was building in her and she clutched Atar’s waist, digging her nails into his flesh. “I’m close.”

Sweat beaded his flushed face. “Me too.” His clenched teeth made his words difficult to discern. “I can’t last much longer in your hot, tight pussy.”

She rotated her hips in a circle as she bore down on him. Her pussy convulsed around him and his cock spasmed. Their cries mingled together as his first spurt of satisfaction spilled inside her. Their hearts pumped in synchronicity, causing their genitals to spasm in concert. For a moment, they were one being, a consciousness split into two bodies but each half of the whole. Not complete unless together.

The fanciful thought flitted through her mind as the wave of euphoria took her away from the world for a few minutes, to where they were soaring together, above the clouds.

* * * * *

They must have slept for several hours. Nikia awakened abruptly to the sound of helicopter blades overhead. It was such an incongruous sound to the peacefulness of Temhoe that it awakened fear immediately. Atar was spooning her from behind and she turned to waken him but found his eyes already open, alert and full of wariness. “Do you think it’s those men?”

“Who else would it be?” He rolled into a sitting position, gaining his feet to move to the window. Over his shoulder, as he parted the curtains, he said, “You have to tell me why those men want you, Nikia. What did your mother do to provoke them?”

She shook her head, aghast. “Nothing. It’s not me they want. What have you done?”

“It can’t be me. Time has killed off my enemies.” He cursed then, letting the drapes close as he hurried back to her. “Hurry and dress. The chopper landed, letting off four people. They seem to be carrying rifles or submachine guns.”

Nikia got up so quickly her head spun. She rushed from the bedroom, searching for the clothing Oksana was supposed to have left. She found a stack on the kitchen table and began dressing as she returned to the bedroom. She found Atar fully clad as she entered the room, struggling with the buttons on the wool slacks. The matching black sweater was itchy but she wasn’t going to complain. “My boots. Have you seen them?”

He shook his head. “Come on.”

Abandoning the idea of shoes, she went to him, following him dubiously into the bathroom, where he locked the door and braced it with a small vanity table that would do little to keep out anyone. Her doubt grew as he pried open the small window. “We can’t fit through there.”

“Yes, we can. I can shift to a leaner shape and you can transform to a wolf if you have to.”

She bit her tongue to silence any further protest and stepped forward when he held out a hand. He boosted her up to the window when she was in front of him and Nikia gripped the sill. Her head fit without difficulty but her shoulders at first refused to go through. She slithered and wriggled as fast as she could, somehow forcing them through. The rest of her body fit through easily and she tumbled headfirst to the ground, twisting at the last moment to avoid a head injury.

She moved out of the way and waited for Atar, who was changing his physiology to fit through the small opening. She saw a leaner version of his head and shoulders slip through the window before the sound of cracking wood in the bathroom caught her attention. She saw Atar struggling and his shape began to morph back to normal as he disappeared through the window. She ran toward the front of the small building as the sounds of running footsteps thudding through the house moved away from the bathroom.

She skidded to a halt upon reaching the porch, where she found a man dressed in camouflage, with his face covered, standing guard. He pointed a nasty-looking rifle in her direction and his finger hovered on the trigger. Instinct urged her to rush past him to get to Atar but reason prevailed as three men emerged, dragging her struggling lover.

His movements were sluggish, indicating they drugged him during the capture. She watched with horror when they dropped him on the rough surface of the wooden porch with little regard for protecting the parts of his skin bared by his partially buttoned shirt. She winced when they jerked his arms behind him and clapped him in handcuffs. She couldn’t stand by any longer, watching this. Instinct propelled her forward, letting her pass the man with the gun trained on her without fear.

She was growling unintelligibly when she closed in on the men surrounding Atar, so enraged she couldn’t utter anything coherent. Who were they? What did they want? She hoped she was screaming those questions but didn’t think so. All she could hear was a stream of animalistic sounds coming from her.

They ended abruptly when the man behind her caught her around the waist, squeezing so hard on her middle that he pressed against her diaphragm, cutting off her air supply. She struggled in his arms but he was surprisingly strong. Her vampire blood made her more than a match for any human but this one held her immobile.

“What shall we do with her, sir?” he asked the man standing slightly back from the two who were lifting a limp Atar between them. “Shall I dispose of her?”

Black spots danced before her eyes and she struggled for a breath, wanting just one more before she felt a bullet. Her eyes clung to Atar, hoping for one last visual connection between them. She wanted to communicate with her eyes how she felt about him but he didn’t stir.

“No, I’m certain Herr Koenig can find some use for her. Sedate and load her in the helicopter.” His accent was thick and Nikia couldn’t place it over the noise of the helicopter they had left running but presumed it was German, by his usage of “Herr.”

She tried to twist away when the man holding her loosed one of his arms from around her middle to get something from a pack on his hip. The ability to breathe came back and her first lungful of oxygen brought a return of mental clarity. Peripherally, she was aware of Yuri, who had brought her to Temhoe, approaching the man on the porch. To her shock, Oksana was a step behind him, appearing much too calm under the circumstances. “Help me,” she said, catching her cousin’s eyes. Her voice was weak but audible.

Oksana hesitated. “I already did.” There was a trace of guilt in her eyes, which made no sense. “Remember, I didn’t have to do anything for you.” Then she turned her back, keeping her gaze focused on Yuri and the man in black.

Nikia frowned with confusion, until a jab in her neck diverted her attention. She turned her head in time to see the man holding her drop a syringe onto the porch.

“Very good.” The man who seemed to be in charge handed over a small pouch to Yuri. “I had doubts you would call if she showed up, but Herr Koenig assured me you would.” He smirked. “Money outweighs blood every time.”

Nikia gasped when the realization sank into her mind, which was becoming fuzzier by the second. They had betrayed her to these men. Her eyes fell on the bag Yuri clutched.
Blood money
, she wanted to shout but her tongue was too thick to wield for speech. She tried to kick her legs when her captor lifted and carried her to the helicopter but couldn’t be sure her body moved at all. A black fog crept over her vision and by the time she was lying on the cold metal surface of the helicopter’s floor, she couldn’t see anything at all. Complete loss of senses followed within seconds, until she was unconscious.