Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (24 page)

“Not,” Corbin said coolly. “I need you to
stay just a little longer for the benefit of a guest who is a bit
late to the ceremony.”

“Are you talking about Roderick?” Taylor rose
and came to stand by me.

“Of course.” Corbin closed his eyes for a
moment. “And I believe I hear him coming…now.” He looked at Victor.
“Be ready and remember your vows, were.”

“I’m not likely to forget them,” Victor
growled. “What do you want me to do?”

“Simply claim and protect your female,”
Corbin said. “Now.”

As he spoke the last word, Roderick strolled
into the room, an ugly look on his face.

“Hello, Corbin,” he said, frowning. “I am
here for your inspection. What is this I hear about a wedding going
on?”

“I am afraid you are too late to witness the
ceremony,” Corbin said smoothly, taking a step forward and putting
himself between me and Roderick. “The vows have just concluded. But
at least you’re in time to wish the bride and groom well.”

“And I see the bride is Taylor, the
delectable little female I wanted for myself.” Roderick shot Corbin
an angry look. “If you think you can keep her from me with this
cheap trick, you’re much mistaken.”

Corbin frowned. “It is no trick, Roderick.
Taylor and Victor are bound together by blood. By the laws of the
goddess which we all live under, they may not be parted.”

“We will see about that.” Roderick stepped up
to Taylor, a cold light in his eyes. “You’re looking lovely
tonight, sweetheart,” he murmured, looking her up and down in a way
that left no doubt of his intentions.

Taylor said nothing but I could see her
trembling and she refused to meet Roderick’s eyes.

“That gown suits you,” he continued. “It
makes you look extremely
fuckable.”

He reached up to touch her cheek but his arm
was knocked out of the way. Victor was suddenly standing between
him and Taylor.

“What part of “she’s married” don’t you
understand, fanger?” he demanded, glowering at the vampire. “The
girl is
mine.
You try to touch her again and I’ll rip your
fucking arm out of its socket.”

Roderick’s eyes narrowed with
displeasure.

“How dare you speak to me in such a manner?
Do you know who I am or what I could do to you,
dog?”

“Yeah, I see your ink.” Victor gestured at
the six blood red stars tattooed under Roderick’s eyes. “I’m sure
you could fuck me up pretty bad. But guess what, fanger—I wouldn’t
be the only one fucked up when it was over.” His eyes glowed molten
gold and his voice dropped to a deep, inhuman growl. “You wanna try
me?”

“Surely there is no need for violence,”
Corbin said, stepping forward. He gave a long, low whistle and
suddenly a vampire girl with hair as long and dark as Taylor’s was
standing by his side. She looked up at Roderick adoringly.

“Is this the one you spoke of, Master?” she
asked Corbin. “The mighty Inquisitor come all the way from the
Empress herself?”

“Indeed it is, my dear. And he is sadly in
need of female company at the moment.”

“Only since you put the one I wanted to fuck
out of reach,” Roderick snarled, still staring up at Victor. A low
growl was building in the were’s throat and it still looked like
violence was imminent.

However, I had underestimated Corbin’s
cunning.

“Come, my dear,” he told the female vamp.
“Perhaps now is not the time. The Inquisitor appears to be more
interested in Taylor.”

“Taylor?” She gave my friend a contemptuous
look. “What does he want with
her?
She’s so weak she can’t
even glamour a human to give her blood. She has to live on the
bagged
stuff.”

I saw Taylor blush pale pink with
embarrassment and Victor’s growl grew even louder. But the female
vamp’s words seemed to have a positive effect on Roderick.

“What?” He turned toward Corbin. “Is this
true? Did Celeste give me a defective fledgling for a bedmate?”

“Alas…” Corbin sighed and spread his hands.
“I fear Taylor was wrongly turned—she simply hasn’t the temperament
for our kind. I have been trying to get her off my hands ever since
I was forced to acquire her in order to keep my consort happy.” He
glanced at me and rolled his eyes as if to say,
Women.

Roderick frowned suspiciously. “So this was
not
simply a ploy to keep me from having her?”

“I will admit that giving Taylor back to you
would be most upsetting to my consort,” Corbin said. “But I also
had to get rid of her when the opportunity presented itself. And
besides, I thought you would be much more comfortable with
Lucinda.” He nodded at the girl vamp who made a little half curtsy
to Roderick.

“I’ve heard so much about you, Inquisitor,”
she gushed, batting her eyes at him. “And I understand you’re
extremely…
creative
when it comes to pleasure.”

“That I am, sweetheart.” He turned to her,
ignoring the still growling Victor as though the werewolf wasn’t
there. Holding out an arm to the female vamp, he murmured, “Shall
we go? I’m here for an inspection but I’m certain Corbin won’t mind
if I take a few minutes from my busy schedule to sample your
charms.”

“Not at all.” Corbin smiled. “Use my office
if you like—it’s completely soundproof. But please mind the stacks
of paperwork on the desk.”

“Of course.” They turned to go but Roderick
shot Corbin one last look. “This isn’t over, Corbin. I’ll return
momentarily and we can discuss your many breaches of conduct.”

“I’ll be waiting anxiously.” Corbin sketched
him a little salute and watched as Roderick and Lucinda walked out
the door.

The minute they were gone, I think everyone
in the room breathed a sigh of relief. Even the vamps who, strictly
speaking, didn’t have to breathe. Taylor still did because, she
said it was a habit and besides it helped her smell and taste. But
if she had to hide somewhere, say, underwater, she could easily
have held her breath indefinitely.

I hoped she wouldn’t have to go to such
lengths to get away from Roderick. Maybe now that he was distracted
with Little Miss Perfect Vamp, he would lose interest in Taylor. If
he did, then I owed Corbin an apology…now
there
was a
pleasant thought.

Victor was still looking at the door, which
Roderick had closed behind him, and growling.

“I don’t like that guy,” he remarked, his
voice still inhumanly deep. “Arrogant son of a bitch.”

“Arrogance comes naturally to Roderick,”
Corbin agreed. Stepping forward, he held out a hand to Victor. “My
congratulations—holding your ground against one of our kind,
especially one as old and powerful as Roderick—is no easy
task.”

“Well, I wasn’t gonna let him just fucking
take
her.” Victor shook his hand and cast an uneasy glance
behind him at Taylor who still looked both unhappy and upset. “What
the hell is his problem, anyway?”

Corbin shrugged. “He is, as you said, an
arrogant son of a bitch. Absolute power corrupts absolutely and
there are few vampires more powerful than Roderick.”

“Well, he’d better stay the fuck away from
her if he knows what’s good for him.” Victor looked more closely at
my friend. “Hey, you all right?”

“Fine.” She lifted her chin, obviously trying
to put on a brave face. “I’m fine.”

“Uh…good.” Victor looked at her for a long
moment and it seemed like he might have something else to say. But
at last he simply shook his head and turned to Corbin. “I really do
have to go. Will she be all right here?”

“Now that you have claimed her and Roderick
is busy with other matters, there will be no further problem,”
Corbin assured him. “It’s been a pleasure doing business with you,
Victor.”

“Yeah, right. Business.” He shook his head.
“What a fucking weird night.”

“I have a feeling it’s only going to get
stranger,” Corbin murmured.

“Well, I can’t stay for that.” Victor looked
at Taylor once more. “Uh, bye.”

“Goodbye.” She turned her head, not looking
at him. “I suppose I’ll see you later.”

“Yeah, about that—just let me get my place in
order and then…oh hell…” He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I
really do have to go.”

“Go on. Nobody’s keeping you,” I told
him.

“Right. Okay, see you.” Victor nodded at all
of us and walked out the door, leaving the little room feeling
strangely empty without his animal energy.

“Well, that went better than expected.”
Corbin clapped his hands together and turned to Taylor. “My
apologies, Taylor, for Lucinda’s rude words. I thought it would be
the best way to get Roderick to redirect his attentions.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Master.
Everything she said was true.” Taylor looked like she might cry—if
she had enough blood left in her system to do so, that was. “May I
go?” she asked in a low voice.

“I’ll go with you.” I hurried to her and put
an arm around her waist. “You look like you’re about a quart low,”
I told her. I looked at Corbin. “I know you don’t want me feeding
her but can’t you send in
someone
to give her a little
blood? She can’t live on the bagged stuff forever.”

He shook his head. “I’m afraid that now
Taylor is bound to Victor, he is the only one she can drink
from.”

“What?” I shook my head in disbelief.
“But…what kind of a rule is that?”

“It’s not just a rule—it’s a biological
imperative,” Corbin said. “For the next three months until the Laws
of Ownership are satisfied, she will be physically ill if she
drinks from anyone but him.”

“You bastard,” I snapped. “You did this on
purpose to keep me from feeding her.”

He frowned. “I admit the fact that Taylor
would be unable to drink from you crossed my mind but that was
not
the main reason I bound her to Victor.” He nodded at the
doorway. “Roderick was.”

“But now she’ll die of thirst,” I
protested.

“Nonsense.” Corbin frowned. “The blood from
the chalice will sustain her for a few days until Victor returns to
claim her. And wouldn’t you rather see her go thirsty for a little
while rather than being abused?”

He had me there but I was still upset about
the sneaky, underhanded way he’d kept me from helping my
friend.

“It’s all right, Addison,” Taylor murmured,
giving me a pale smile. “I’ll be fine.”

I didn’t see how she would be but there was
nothing I could do about it now.

“Come on,” I told her. “Let’s get you back to
your little cubby. Maybe you can lie down and get some rest.”

“Sounds good to me.” She nodded at Corbin.
“Good night, Master. And thank you for protecting me.”

Corbin looked troubled. “I have done the best
I could for you given the short amount of time I had to work in,
Taylor. I hope you will be happy.”

“I’m sure I will be,” Taylor murmured
unconvincingly.

“Come on,” I said again, steering her toward
the door.

“Addison.” Corbin’s voice made me turn my
head to see him standing there, frowning.

“What,
Master?”
I said, not bothering
to hide my sarcasm.

“You may spend some time with your friend but
I need you by my side when Roderick finishes his business with
Lucinda.” He looked at me sternly. “See that you are there.”

“Oh, don’t worry,” I told him. “I’ll be there
all right. I wouldn’t miss the end of our business relationship for
anything.”

“Addison, you and I were doing so well for a
while but we seem to have returned to our original animosity.”

Corbin was leaning back behind his desk when
I walked into his office after tucking Taylor into her tiny, narrow
cot. Apparently, either Roderick was already finished having sex on
his desk, or he and Lucinda had chosen another place to do the
nasty.

“Yeah, well, I tend to get a little hostile
when someone kicks me out of their place and then arranges for my
best friend to be married to a werewolf,” I snapped.

“Victor
is
a little rough around the
edges,” Corbin conceded. “But he is very powerful and extremely
protective as well. He won’t let Taylor come to any harm.”

“I guess…” I looked down at my hands. “I
guess I can see your point about that. I just…I worry about Taylor
so much. I feel responsible for her because it’s my fault she was
turned in the first place.”

“Oh? How so?” Corbin looked interested.

I told him briefly about going to see
Celeste’s show with Taylor, how I had been warned to keep an eye on
her but had left her alone to go to my class.

“If I hadn’t left her, if I had stayed
there—”

“You would be dead,” Corbin said flatly.
“Darling, do you really think Celeste would have allowed you to get
in the way of having the one she wanted? She would have killed you
and taken Taylor anyway.” He came around the desk in one of those
sudden, faster-than-light vampire movements that still took my
breath away. “Addison,” he said, looking into my eyes. “It is time
to let Taylor live her own life.”

“It’s just that her life has been so crappy
lately.”

I wanted to cry when I thought of everything
my poor friend had been through. Between being turned against her
will, Celeste’s abuse, the horrific sexual torture Roderick had put
her through, and being forced into an arranged marriage, her life
hadn’t exactly been all roses and rainbows for the past few
years.

“She will be all right.” Corbin took my hands
in his and looked at me earnestly. “She is stronger than you think,
darling.”

Immediately my heart began to pound.

“What…what are you doing?” I muttered,
looking down at my small hands clasped gently but firmly in his
much larger ones.

“I am trying to apologize. To “make up” as
you humans say.” He ducked his head slightly to look in my eyes. “I
am sorry I asked you to leave last night, Addison. I was feeling…”
He shook his head and gave a rueful laugh. “Well, what does it
matter how I felt? The point is,
I felt.
Do you know how
long it has been since I have had true, genuine emotions for
another person?”