Blood Price (2 page)

Chapter 2

She regained consciousness slowly, with a pounding thump resonating through her head. Nikia opened her eyes and saw a smooth white ceiling, with a stain in the left corner that could have been rust or old blood. She struggled to sit up and further identify her location but a sharp pain in her wrist and arms made her pause. She craned her head and saw she was handcuffed to the slats of a headboard. She lay on the bed attached to the board, with her head propped up by a pillow.

Movement from the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head in that direction. She immediately recognized the man who had taken her prisoner in the techno club’s bathroom. Only now, he wore a light sweater and sinfully tight, faded jeans that hugged his muscular legs, instead of the uncomfortable leather outfit from earlier. His colorless eyes seemed to be watching her every move.

Nikia licked her lips. “Who are you?” she asked in a raspy tone.

He didn’t bother to answer as he got off the other bed and walked toward her. Her insides crawled with fear and something less definable as he drew nearer. When he lifted a paper cup of soda from the nightstand and brought it to her mouth, guiding the straw through her lips, she experienced a curious sense of letdown and relief. She drank greedily, wondering why her throat was dry.

“Is that better?” He had a smooth voice and it held a slight note of concern.

She nodded. “Why is my throat so sore?”

He lifted a brow. “I imagine it was all the screaming you did.” He seemed amused, as he smiled down at her with a small quirk of his lips. “I had a helluva time getting you out of the club when three young men decided to be your rescuers, drawn by your shouts.”

She frowned, having no memory of that. Her stomach clenched and she wondered if Illiana had taken over again for a short time. “Who are you?” she asked again.

He returned the cup to the nightstand but didn’t go back to the other bed. “Consider me an errand boy for your sister.”

She had already guessed that. “Do you have a name?”

“Atar,” he said, after a brief pause.

She tried to sound dispassionate when she spoke. “Well, Atar, do you know what will happen to me back in Corsova?”

He shrugged. “Nothing less than you deserve, I’m sure.”

She winced, recognizing the truth in his words. Wasn’t she equally responsible for the actions her body had committed, despite the fact her mind hadn’t been in control? She had learned during the past thirty-five years that life was seldom fair, so why should her opportunity for freedom be more than transitory?

Still, she couldn’t help trying to escape the fate in store for her. “Whatever she’s paying you, I’ll double it.” The clandestine account in
Switzerland
would more than cover the expense of buying this man’s loyalty. If it didn’t, she could wire funds from one of the other accounts Illiana had secreted around the world.

“The Protector is paying me nothing, aside from the assurance of solitude.” Atar shook his head. “You can’t top that, Nikia.”

His desire for solitude puzzled her but she had spent all of her life, except for the past few days, locked in a tiny corner of someone else’s mind. “Is your solitude worth purchasing with my death?”

He shrugged again. “From what I’ve learned of you, the punishment would fit the crime.” A frown settled on his face. “Although, I must admit, your aura isn’t what I expected. You’re much more innocent than I anticipated.”

“I am innocent—”

He didn’t let her finish. “Except, there’s a core of darkness in you that I can’t discern. That is where the real you dwells, isn’t it?”

“What are you talking about? Are you a vampire?” He didn’t smell like a vampire, who usually bore the faintest trace of copper in their scent. Atar smelled like something alien. She didn’t think he could be human.

“No. I am Makheet.”

“What is that?”

“I am a shape-shifter but not like the werewolves in your country. I can become anything, as long as the new form’s mass is similar to my own.”

That explained the girl in the bathroom, whom she had dismissed in her quest to escape. “Why are you here? You obviously don’t care about the safety of Corsovans. You don’t even call it your country.”

To her surprise, he sat on the edge of her bed. “As I said, my solitude is important to me. I want to ensure your actions don’t expose the existence of vampires to the world. If humans eradicate vampires, Corsova would be destroyed and my haven would cease to exist.” He looked down at her, and his emotions seemed as bland as his eyes. “I don’t care anything for you or the crimes you’ve committed. My only reason for coming after you is my own benefit.”

Nikia tugged at the cuffs binding her, desperate to free herself. She knew this man would not relent in his duty and he would never believe her, simply because he didn’t care to believe. Still, she had to try the truth before resorting to measures that were more drastic. “I’m not who you think I am.”

He chuckled. “Nice try, but I merged with your aura back in the hospital. I know you’re Nikia Draganescu, illegitimate but acknowledged daughter of Valdemeer Draganescu. You’re also a murderer and the attempted executioner of your half-sister, the Protector of Corsova and her lifemate, Demi Golina.”

“I am but I’m not.” She stopped trying to fight the cuffs when they bit into her wrist. She was too weak to break them with force, so the only way out of them was through the man beside her.

One corner of his mouth lifted. “How very cryptic. What is it that you are but aren’t?”

“I am Nikia Draganescu but until three days ago, the spirit of my mother possessed my body. The coma broke Illiana’s hold on me.”

Atar stared at her for a moment, with a look of bewilderment on his face. Then his confusion passed and an expression of boredom replaced it. “I have no time for your lies and games. Perhaps your sister will listen to them, but I won’t.”

She let out a deep breath, knowing the truth hadn’t swayed him. There was only one option left but she wasn’t sure she was strong enough to manipulate his mind. First, she would have to penetrate his mental barriers, to let her ease inside. The fastest way to do that was through sex. Did she have any hope of seducing him?

She eyed him, searching for signs of attraction. Experimentally, she arched her back, bringing her breasts into prominent display. His eyes settled on them and there was no missing his indrawn breath or the way his silver pupils dilated. No, he wasn’t unaffected by her.

She closed her eyes and concentrated on finding the link that supposedly allowed him to sense her mind. She didn’t think he was reading her in the classic sense or he would have moved away from her by now, upon realizing she planned to seduce him so she could gain access to his psyche. She pictured a link between them and it clarified in her mind. The bond looked like invisible waves and she was the carrier, while he was the receptor. It was as if he had tagged her, so he could track her anywhere.

She allowed her thoughts to flow along the wave carrying back to him and she felt a slight connection, although his mind resisted. She lightened her presence, until it was little more than a burr, trying to burrow its way in subtly. She was vaguely aware of Atar muttering something under his breath but didn’t open her eyes to judge his response. Instead, she concentrated on making him aroused by filling his mind with erotic images.

She was woefully lacking in heterosexual experience, so she allowed her imagination free rein. As she sent a picture of his mouth on her nipples, they beaded against the cotton scrub top she wore. She barely bit back a moan as she pictured his tongue flicking across one of her sensitive nipples.

His harsh exhalation broke the silence of the room and Nikia knew she was getting to Atar. She increased the images flowing to him, to include her mouth, painted in bright-red lipstick, cradling his cock. When she ran her tongue across the tip, she heard him moan in reality.

“Witch,” he said under his breath, sounding disturbed.

Nikia opened one of her eyes when Atar placed his hand on her stomach. His cheeks bloomed with color, his breathing was harsh and a quick glance at the bulge in his jeans revealed his cock was hard with arousal. Once again, she closed her eyes and sent out a single thought, “
You won’t be satisfied until you fuck me.
” Then she opened both of her eyes to measure his reaction.

Atar shook his head, as if resisting her command, as his hand slid higher, to rest under her left breast. He seemed to be fighting her mental suggestion, even while he rubbed his thumb over her nipple.

Nikia gasped at the sensation. Her breast tingled and heat pooled in her stomach when he increased the pressure of his digit. Her response shook her. She would have to be careful not to get lost in his touch and forget about escaping. She took a deep breath, restored the bond between them and once again said, “
You need to fuck me. Lose yourself in me.
”

His hand crept higher, until he cupped all her breast in his hand. There was a time when he couldn’t have done that, even with his large hands, but she had lost a lot of weight while in the coma. Darts of electricity emanated from his palm when he rubbed it in lazy circles over her areola, pressing firmly against her nipple. Nikia drew her lower lip into her mouth and bit down to keep from crying out. She tasted her own blood and her hunger piqued. How long had it been since she ate? Surely, no one had provided blood for her during the coma. The lack of proper nourishment caused most of her weakness. Against her will, her eyes focused on the pulsing vein in his throat. She licked her lips as need assailed her.

He seemed unaware of her thoughts. His attention remained on her breast, as his other lifted the cotton scrub top. His nails lightly grazed the flesh of her stomach, pausing to trace a couple of her ribs, prior to bringing up the hem to just below her breast. He moved his hand from her breast to lift the top, before pinching the bead between his thumb and forefinger.

Her gaze wrenched from his throat to his hand. Nikia’s pussy spasmed when he tugged on her nipple. Another kind of hunger temporarily supplanted her need for blood. That appetite hadn’t been fulfilled in a long time and never completely. She didn’t share her mother’s taste for women. The lovers she’d had might have brought her possessed body pleasure but none had satisfied her craving for more.

When Atar lowered his head, she held her breath, anticipating the wet rasp of his tongue on her sensitive peak. She almost groaned with frustration when he hesitated, hovering over her breast.

He turned his head slightly to look at her, wearing a frown of confusion. “What’s happening?” He shook his head. “I shouldn’t be doing this.”

Damn. She had allowed pleasure to distract her from maintaining the connection between them. She closed her eyes and intensified the link. His mind resisted for a second but she regained control. “
You want this more than anything.
”

“I want this,” he repeated in a dreamy voice, even though his eyes reflected his doubt. He turned his head and lowered his lips to her breast, sucking the turgid bud into his mouth.

She moaned when his tongue laved her nipple, wanting to lose herself in the sensation. Two things held her back. The first was knowing she had to escape Atar and the fate awaiting her in Corsova. The only way to do that was to manipulate him into a trance state. That was the second thing holding her back—an attack of conscience. How could she, who knew more than anyone did what it was like to have someone control her body, impose her will on him?

She tried to console herself with the thought that he was enjoying tasting her but that did little to quell her guilt. She too had enjoyed some of the things Illiana had subjected her body to but that didn’t alleviate the sense of violation that accompanied the experiences, knowing she had no control over her own body.

As much as she enjoyed Atar suckling her breast, she knew she had to stop this. He was entranced and she focused all her power on sending him one thought. “
You want to free me. Unlock the cuffs.
”

His mouth stilled on her breast and he slowly lifted his head. “No,” he said, but his tone lacked conviction.

She concentrated harder, amazed at his mind’s ability to repel her. Only fear gave her the edge she needed to force him to comply. “
Sex will be amazing between us but I need my hands free to please you. You want to free me.
”

His internal struggle was obvious as he slowly removed a key from his pocket and brought it to her wrists. Once again, he hesitated, as if trying to throw off her control. He almost succeeded and she gasped with the effort to maintain the link. It was a relief when he slipped the small key into the double lock and the cuff opened a second later. As he freed her other wrist, she lowered her hand to her stomach, grimacing at the sting of returning circulation that accompanied the change of position.

When both of her hands were free, he sat in a semi-frozen state, as if not certain what to do with himself. Nikia sat up, smoothing down her shirt at the same time. She leaned forward, lightly grazing his lips with hers. He trembled at the touch but she didn’t know if it was from excitement or revulsion. “Sleep,” she whispered, moving her mouth to his ear. She didn’t have to project the thought mentally. At that moment, he was completely at her mercy. The thought made her sick.