BloodlustandMetal (6 page)

I had to control my temper. Losing it wasn’t going to get me
out of this situation. I leaned closer to Devon and caught his eyes, trying to
impart my will upon him. “Devon, if you listen to my side of the story, I’m
sure you’d see things differently.” I didn’t blink as mind control required
total concentration. If I blinked, I’d break the connection between us.

“Are you trying to entrance me, Layla? If so, you’re wasting
your time. Can’t you tell what I am?”

There was something different about him. I knew that the
first night I saw him at Vamps. But the whole incongruity of his personality
with his body language had thrown me off. I inhaled to get a better sense of
his scent.

It wasn’t human. Not the kind I was used to anyway. Besides
the masculine aroma, some type of animal scent also clung to him. Possibly
feline. Not a house cat, but something I’d encounter more in the wild.

And then it came to me as clear as a flashing beacon.

“Holy fuck. You’re a goddamn shifter.”

Devon

“Bingo. You win the prize,” I said. “How did you finally
figure it out?”

“I can smell the animal in you.”

“Aw shucks. That’s so kind of you to say. You’re not a very
good vampire, are you, because it took you long enough.”

“Maybe it’s because I met you when you were with a bunch of
stinky, sweaty humans and then you fucking drugged me and none of my senses are
up to par! Ever think of that, hotshot? Are you always such a jerk?”

I sat back down in my chair, watching her with some
amusement as her eyes widened in anger.

“It doesn’t pay to be nice in this position. I’d be setting
myself up to be taken advantage of.”

“It wouldn’t kill you to act humane though, would it?” she
spat with glaring eyes.

I thought of my response not too long ago when she was in my
bed, whimpering about something and calling out in distress. Soothing her
seemed kind of humane to me. Stroking her cheek and telling her it was okay. A
jerk wouldn’t do that, would he? Not that I’d ever reveal any of this to her.

“I can do that. Is there something you need?”

“Yes, of course there is. I need to get the fuck out of here
before you lead me to my death!” she said.

“Sorry, I can’t help you with that.” I stood up. “I can get
you something to eat or drink though.”

“I don’t think you have what I need.”

“Blood?”

Her eyes widened.

“No, I’m not going to let you bite me. I meant I have some
pouches of blood to keep you going. I don’t know when the last time was you
ate—or drank—or whatever you vampires call sucking blood. And I didn’t want you
to get so hungry that you’d look at me as your next meal—like you’re doing
now.”

“I need the sustenance after all you’ve done to me. Drugged
me, tied me up with silver. Anything else I should know about while I was out?”
she asked with raised eyebrows. “Did you violate me in my sleep like some
fuckin’ weirdo?”

“No!” I shouted in my defense. “I soothed you while you were
having a nightmare.”

Bloody hell! I swore I’d never tell her that. I don’t
want her to see a softer side of me. She’ll use it to try to manipulate me.

The defensive look on her face dropped and she asked, “You
did?”

“Never mind. I’ll get you a pouch of blood.” I left the
room, kicking myself for letting her rile me up.

What did I care what she thought? Tonight I’d be taking her
to a pissed-off vampire and who knows what would happen to her after that.
She’d be out of my life forever.

I grabbed the disgusting blood bag from the small cooler I’d
filled with ice. There was no way I was storing these bloody things in my
refrigerator.

Ha ha ha, bloody things, literally.

Focus, Devon.

The instructions from the underground blood bank where I
purchased the packets gave me options for serving temperature. It could be
consumed cold, at room temperature or heated on the stove or in the microwave.
Most preferred the blood warm. I could go back in there and ask her, but I
hadn’t recovered from my revelation about taking care of her when she had the
nightmare.

She’d have to have it warm. I put it in the microwave for
about thirty seconds and brought it back into my bedroom.

“Try not to get it on the sheets,” I said.

“How can I even drink that? I can’t sit up. And I don’t have
the use of my hands to hold it.”

I could untie one arm and let her sit up. But that might be
too dangerous. After all, she was a predator. How much vampire strength did she
hide in that deceiving little body? I pictured her luring men with the temptation
of sensual delights and then surprising them with an attack.

Don’t trust her for a second. She’ll turn on you and
bleed you dry.

“I’ll have to feed you,” I said.

“No!” she protested. “I’d rather starve!”

“You’re seeing Stefano in mere hours. Wouldn’t you want to
be in top form?”

She pouted. “Why can’t you let me drink it myself?”

“You’re too dangerous.”

“I promise not to attack you.”

“I’m not stupid.”

I looked at the pouch, trying to figure out how to serve it.
There were two marks, presumably for fangs. I went back into the kitchen and
pierced one of the holes with a knife. Then I searched for a straw. I found one
of those curvy straws that kids liked to drink from. I don’t even know where
that came from. One of my nieces or nephews perhaps?

The visual of putting a silly straw into a pouch of blood
made me laugh out loud. She was going to
love
this, I thought with a
shake of my head.

When I returned, her eyes widened. “You’ve got to be kidding
me.”

“It’s all I have.”

“I can’t drink blood from a straw like that.”

“Have you ever tried?”

“Of course not. It’s ridiculous! You’re only doing this to
humiliate me.”

“I would not do that to you.”

“Why not? Doesn’t humiliating your victims give you a kick?”

I walked out of the room and she called, “Where are you going?”

Returning to my bedroom, I said, “You seem to have this
whole thing wrong. I did not do all this research to find an underground blood
bank so I could humiliate you. I did it to help make you more comfortable. Now
I’m sorry that I only have this ridiculous straw, but I’m not familiar with the
protocol here. If this is too humiliating for you,” I held up the pouch, “I’ll
flush it down the toilet.”

“No, don’t do that.” She moved to try to maneuver herself
into a more upright position. “Can you please help me sit up?”

By the distasteful look that came over her face, I saw how
difficult it was for her to ask me for help.

“Yeah, sure.”

I put the pouch down on my nightstand, careful that it
wouldn’t tip over or spill, and then walked over to her warily. Her wrists were
bound, but she still had other body parts to use as weapons. Legs and fangs
came immediately to mind.

While still two feet away from her, I assessed how I would
do this. If I got within a couple of feet, she could kick me. When I bent down
to adjust the ropes, she could bite me.

“What are you doing?”

“Trying to figure out how to do this without you attacking
me.”

“Why would I attack you? You’re trying to help me. And give
me blood.”

“I’ve seen how you look at me, plotting my death.”

“That was before. Now I’ll be cooperative, I swear.”

“I’m not stupid, Layla. Now just hold on a minute. I have to
climb on top of you.”

Reaching forward, I grabbed one leg. I sensed her leg
twitch, as if she had an urge to kick at me but held back. Then I held the other
leg down and climbed on top of her to straddle her, putting pressure on her
legs so she couldn’t kick me. I reached over to grab the pouch of blood on the
dresser, watching her face for movement, especially signs of nasty fangs coming
at me.

I loosened the rope on one wrist as quickly as I could to
give her more leverage. Then I repeated the action on the other hand.

“You should be able to sit up now.”

“You’re on top of me.”

I lifted my ass off her for a moment so she could scoot her
hips up. As she moved up the bed, her pelvic area touched mine for a moment
that shot a bolt of desire through me. If she felt anything, she didn’t let it
show. In a sitting position, she said, “Okay. I’m ready.”

I sat down on top of her legs again as lightly as possible
as I might have weighed twice as much as she did. She was so little that I
didn’t want to crush her. Then I remembered she was much stronger than she
appeared.

Now that we were at eye level and so close to each other, my
eyes scanned her face down to her soft, full lips. How long I stared, I didn’t
know, but it was long enough for me to realize I needed to get my act together.

Taking a moment to regroup, I reached over to get the pouch
and used the distraction to try to force my growing erection down. “Open your
mouth.”

When she complied, I was overwhelmed by the sensation of
straddling her, our bodies touching, looking at her on my bed as if we were
about to make love. Having her arms tied and her mouth open only added to the
erotic nature of the moment. When I placed the straw in her mouth and she
sucked eagerly at the blood, her cheeks caving in, it almost did me in.

How did the simple act of providing her nourishment turn me
into a man with such little self-control?

When I first knew I’d have to help feed her the blood, I
thought I’d be disgusted by the act. But here I was turned-on by it. My desire
for her combated with another emotion as well. No matter how strong she might
be physically, she appeared so delicate and vulnerable that I wanted to take
care of her, protect her.

Yet I was the one bringing her to Stefano.

Her eyes had been fixated on mine as she drank, but then she
closed them as if seduced by the blood. Rather than being disgusted by watching
a vampire drink blood, I was so turned-on by the exhilaration on her face as
she savored the warm fluid.

What did it feel like for her?

For someone who declared he hated vampires, I was completely
fascinated by the one in my bed.

When the pouch was empty, she sucked a few times to try to
capture the last drops of blood.

“It’s done,” I said and pulled the pouch away from her lips
to throw it into the wastebasket next to my bed.

A single drop of blood lay on her lips and I fought an urge
to reach out and lick it. Kissing her at that moment, tasting the blood pass
between our lips.

You’re a sick bastard, Devon. Get a hold of yourself.

Then she licked that last drop of blood from her lips. My
cock, which had been on the verge of breaking through my jeans, grew even
harder, aching to get closer to her, begging to get into her.

“Thank you,” she said.

Without knowing why I did it, I leaned forward and kissed
those soft, reddened lips. I tasted the saltiness from the blood and instead of
turning me off, it made me hungrier for her. As her lips parted, my tongue grew
bolder, exploring her delicious mouth still tasting of the warm coppery fluid.

My senses were overwhelmed with the need for her, from the
taste of her mouth to the floral scent of her. And the soft touch of her lips
on mine drove me to a point near insanity.

She moaned softly and relaxed into the kiss. While I kissed
down over her neck, my hands traveled down the side of her body and over to one
breast. Her nipple was already hard, inviting me to touch her more. I traveled
to the other breast and felt that taut nipple.

Damn these clothes. I wanted to touch her skin.

I returned to kiss those soft, gentle lips, wanting another
taste of her. She pulled away and I thought she would put the brakes on this
crazy idea.

She didn’t. She then kissed my jawline and her lips traveled
to my ear. The heat of her mouth and caress of her tongue around my ear shot
another bolt of excitement through me.

“Untie me,” she whispered. “So I can touch you.”

“I’m sorry, but I can’t do that.”

A piercing sensation rammed into my neck and I realized
she’d plunged her fangs into me. I pulled away, the excitement that coursed
through my body replaced by adrenaline.

“You fucking bit me!” I put my hand onto my neck and felt
the warm liquidy substance. Pulling my hand away, I saw my fingers covered with
blood.

“You fucking kidnapped me!”

As I backed away from her, I no longer saw her as the
seductive woman I desired just moments ago. With my blood dripping off her
fangs and her eyes glowing red, I saw her for what she was.

A goddamn bloodthirsty vampire.

My fingernails changed to claws and my teeth sharpened
before I controlled my physical reaction.

Layla

Devon began changing from man to beast in front of my eyes.
Claws extended from his fingers and tawny fur was sprouting over his hands.

“I can’t believe you bit me,” Devon said as he touched his
fingers to the wounds in his neck and looked at the blood. “What is wrong with
you? I took care of you and helped you drink some goddamn disgusting blood.”

As he spoke, I saw his teeth had elongated into sharp
points.

“What’s wrong with me?” I shouted. “What’s wrong with you?
Are you shifting on me?”

“I can shift anytime I like. And when someone, no
something
,
attacks me, it tends to happen instinctually.”

He left the room and came back a minute later with a
facecloth pressed to his neck.

“Do you think a couple of minutes of courtesy makes up for
the facts that you, one, kidnapped me; two, tied me up; three, drugged me;
four, took me overseas to another goddamn country; and five, will take me to
someone who will murder me without blinking an eye?”

The grim look on his face answered for him. But I noticed
his claws retracted back into his hands and became human fingernails once
again. The fur disappeared back into his skin and I imagine the long teeth
retracted as well.

“Besides,” I added, “I was still hungry. And you smelled
like a delicious meal.”

His mouth dropped open, reflecting his horror at being
thought of as food. Good, I wanted to hurt him after all he’d done to me.

“It didn’t seem as if you thought of me as a meal a little
while ago when my tongue was down your throat.”

“I let you in close to disarm you.” I rolled my eyes and
added, “Obviously.” Although I tried to remain aloof, I found it hard to keep
my emotions even. “I would never sleep with you, Devon. Not after what you’ve
done to me! And I like my men to be men. Not animals!”

His eyes widened, but he quickly covered it with a smirk.

“Good. Because I would never sleep with you. I like my women
alive, not dead. Especially in bed.”