Bonds of Blood (8 page)

Chapter 12

Damien stepped into the parlor of the Dragon’s Lair. 

It was quiet now.

There were only a few patrons milling about.

But in a few minutes, it would be filled with humans.

He inhaled deeply
—not because the scent of human blood permeated the air but in anticipation of what was to come.  Right now, all he could smell was the scent of the nameless mortals that filled the room.  Each of them had no idea of the danger they were putting themselves into for an illicit thrill. 

A smile ghosted across his face.

If they had been bold enough to get their kicks out in the open, they wouldn’t be in danger at all.  But they all preferred to hide in the shadows.

He chuckled softly.

They thought it was safe here. 

But dark things lurked in the shadows.  Things that wanted to destroy. 
Things that wanted to feed. 

And feed they would. 

Both parties would pay plenty for their pleasures.

But the thought of money wasn’t what pleased him most tonight.  It was the fact that she would be here soon.  His blood began to burn in his veins as he thought of her.  He had waited too long to take her. 
For a man with limited patience, it was beginning to become a volatile situation.  He had had to take his passions out on several tonight already just to hold out this long. 

Mina had been one of them.

He had used her, fed from her.  Though he would never have believed it in the beginning, Mina had become quite valuable to him.  More importantly, she had been instrumental in getting Kat here tonight, even helping to concoct the story.

Yes, Mina was doing well.

Better than he ever could have expected.  She was very eager to please him thanks to the blood he fed her.  Still, as much as she tried to make him happy, she was just a means to an end.  His true objective was Kat.

He wanted her.

Wanted her beyond reason.

He wasn’t sure what it was about her that made her so appealing.  All he knew was that she was no ordinary human. 

She was different.

T
onight he was going to find out what the difference was.

Of course he fully intended to enjoy her first.  He had waited too long not to take full advantage of the situation.  Eventually, he would tire of her and dispose of her just like the rest, but first he would savor every inch of her.

“Do I even need to ask what has inspired that look?” Genevieve asked interrupting his vivid musings.

“I am just enjoying the night
.”

He didn’t feel like explaining himself to anyone, least of all Gen.

She came to stand next to him, her gaze surveying the number of patrons.

“I don’t need to remind you that the whispers have already started to circulate around town,” she said evenly.

He let out a heavy sigh of irritation.  “Let them talk.  They would never believe the truth even if we came out and told them.”

She turned to pin him with a steely glare.  “I’ve made a home here, Damien.  And I don’t intend to lose it because you want to play games with the locals,” she asserted.

He returned her look with a condescending smile.  “Relax, Gen.  You won’t have to leave.  No one will ever know that we are feeding on the citizens of this good city.”

Her jaw clenched.  “If enough girls go missing, they will start to investigate.  Surely you know that.  You’re taking too many chances…going through them too quickly.  You’ve got to stop before it’s too late…for both of us,” she warned.

His mouth formed a cynical sneer.  “Is that an order?”

She tilted her chin up arrogantly.  “If that’s what it takes to make you see reason, then yes.  I won’t lose everything for you Damien.”

Without warning, he grabbed her by the arm to pull her closer.  His lips formed a thin slash as he leaned in closer.  “Then, let me remind you of a few things.  First, I’m a few hundred years older than you.  I could snap you like a twig, and we both know it.  Second, I don’t take orders from anyone, least of all you.  And third, if I want to feed on every person in this room, I’ll do it, and there’s not a damned thing you can do to stop me.  Now, are we clear?”

“Crystal,” she
said through gritted teeth.

He released her arm, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek softly.  “Good.  Now, calm down, Gen.  You are way too beautiful to be this uptight.  Why don’t you enjoy one of the young men…or women?”

Her gaze bounced around the room.  “Perhaps I will,” she conceded.

He smiled.  “Good.  I think some recreational activity is exactly what you need to ease your tension.”

He watched as she began to move around the room to greet the patrons.  There had been a time in his life where he had craved her more than blood.  But in the end, she had consumed him only to toss him aside.  Despite how much he felt for her, she had always seen him as a friend.  The thought still made him want to throttle her.  Watching her give her body away to others had only fueled his resentment over time.

Still, as much as he wanted to hate her at times, he couldn’t.  Even now, he didn’t
want to be rough with her.  But it went against everything that he was to be ordered around by her.  She needed to understand the situation clearly. 

He knew Gen. 
She would be angry now, but she was smart.  She knew better than to fight a losing battle.  It was a quality that had kept her alive for so long.

Thankfully,
it served her well tonight.

****

The moonlight cast an eerie glow down the alleyways of Bourbon Street as Kat followed Mina.  Wide open club doors and music beckoned the people outside to join the party within.  Up ahead, Mina deftly made her way through the throngs of people.  Kat leaned her head back, her gaze lifting toward the sound of catcalls.  Overhead on the balcony, several people called out as they dangled beads over the railings. 

She lifted her hand to her forehead as her vision clouded and the lights began to
dance.  Even though, she only had two glasses of wine, she felt more than a little buzzed. 

She stumbled and strong arms came around her middle. 

“Well, hi.”

Kat looked up to find herself in the arms of a tall man with blonde hair.  He couldn’t have been more than twenty-two.  His striped polo shirt was unbuttoned at the collar and his brown eyes were glass
y.  Definitely a frat boy on vacation, she thought.  Somehow he balanced a plastic cup of beer as he steadied her. 

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

He leaned in, his breath wafting over her neck.  “No problem, sweetheart.  I told my friends that today was my lucky day but they didn’t believe me.”

Kat felt his hand travel down her back and she reached up to place her arms on his
shoulders.  She knew she should push him away but her head was still swimming.

“I don’t feel right,” she stammered.

His hand traveled lower to cup her buttock as he angled his head to whisper in her ear.   “I would say you feel pretty damned good.”

She could feel his erection pushing insistently against her stomach.  She put her hands on his chest, determined to push him away, but she never got the chance.

“Sorry, big guy,” Mina said as she eased an arm between the two of them to push them apart.  “But this one’s mine.”

A wide smile stretched across the blonde’s face.  “Hey, the more the merrier,” he said, reaching for Mina.

Mina swatted his hand away.   “I don’t share,” she replied firmly her arm circling Kat’s shoulders as she turned.

“Ah, come on.  Can’t I at least watch?” he pleaded.

“Peep shows are never free,” she quipped.

Mina started to walk away, dragging Kat behind her. 

“I’ll pay,” he offered.

Mina continued to lead Kat through the people ignoring his calls.  Once they were at the corner, Mina led them down a less populated street.  She lowered her arm to link her fingers through Kat’s.

“Sorry, I think the wine…” Kat began.

“Here we are,” Mina
said, punching in the code on the keypad.

The gate opened into the courtyard and Mina pulled her inside.  The front door to the club opened and Kat followed Mina inside.  Kat’s gaze traveled around the room.  A dark haired woman straddled a man in an overstuffed chair.  His fingers were inching her short skirt higher and higher as he kissed her neck. 

To her left, a woman stood against a wall.  One of her breasts was exposed.  A man stood next to her, his dark head bent over as he licked her nipple.  Another man crouched in front of her on the floor, her leg resting on his shoulder.  The woman’s skirt covered his head.  Kat didn’t have to look to know what he was doing and from the look of ecstasy on the woman’s face he was apparently doing a very good job. 

Kat’s nipples tightened at the erotic scene
, and her pussy quaked.

“He’s in the back,” Mina explained startling her out of her fantasy.

“Who?” she asked.

Mina pinned her with a look of sarcasm.  “Our informant.  The man we came here to meet.”

Kat nodded as she tried to get a grip on herself.
  “Right,” she replied.

Mina shook her head as she took Kat’s hand and led her down the hall.  Kat followed her through what seemed like a maze of turns that made her head spin.  She had
never realized how big the club really was.  No one would ever assume it from looking at the outside of the building. 

Mina led her into a small room at the end of the hall on the right.  Kat walked into the dimly lit room.  To the right was a long black sofa.  To the left was a set of black drapes.  Behind her, Mina closed the door making Kat
spin around with narrowed eyes.

“Where is he?”

Mina smiled as she walked across the room to join her.  “He’ll be here soon.”

“I thought you said…”

Her words were cut off when Mina pulled on a black cord to draw back the curtains.  Beyond the drapes was a large window. 

But that wasn’t the shock.

The shock was the scene that was playing out behind the curtains.  In the other room, a woman with black hair stood with only a black sheer robe covering her bare skin.  Two men stood on either side of her.  But her gaze remained focused across the room.  Kat’s eyes followed the woman’s to find Damien sitting in an ornately carved chair.

His blue eyes seemed to hold the woman in his thrall.  With a nod of his head, the woman slipped the robe off her shoulders exposing her nudity.  Kat looked back at the man
across the room.   His full lips slid into an answering smile.  With an inclination of his head, one of the men standing next to the woman reached out to stroke her cheek as the man behind her moved in close. 

Kat watched in awe as the man standing behind the woman grabbed her hips to pull her back against him.  Taking the unspoken cue, the other man tilted her head to the side.  The man behind her took the opportunity to snake his tongue along the curve of her neck as the man in front of her began placing tiny kisses along her chest before circling her nipple with his tongue.

A look at the woman’s face revealed that she was enjoying every minute of their tender ministrations.  Never in her life had Kat witnessed such an intensely erotic scene.  She had never thought of herself as a woman who could enjoy the attentions of two men at the same time, but watching the passion on the woman’s face made her curious.

That wasn’t the only thing she was curious about.

Kat turned to look at the blonde man in the chair, but he was gone.

“Where did he go?” she asked, turning to give Mina a quizzical look.

Mina offered her a sly grin as she turned to look at the back of the room.  From out of the shadows, the blonde man appeared before her.

“Hello, Kat
arina,” he greeted, his deep voice making her insides flutter uncomfortably.

Something about the deep scratchy bass of his tone spoke to her in a way she didn’t understand.  He closed the distance between them, his mouth sliding into a sensuous smile.

Kat couldn’t look away from him.  She barely even noticed when Mina moved behind her.

One side of his mouth curled up.  “I’ve waited for you for a long time, Katarina.  And I am not a man who waits for anything.
”

Before she could ask what he meant, she felt Mina’s hands on her shoulders.

“Why?” she managed, her voice coming out breathless.

He reached up to stroke her cheek in a move so similar to what she had witnessed beyond the glass. 

“Because you are simply too delectable to pass up,” he replied.

His hand trailed down the line of her jaw to her throat. 

“I don’t understand,” she confessed softly.

He smiled.  “Look into my eyes,” he commanded.