Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (40 page)

Taking a deep breath, I forced
myself to go right up beside him. But even hunched down as he was,
his throat was still far out of reach. I began to wish I had worn
heels instead of my sensible black flats—the four inch stilettos
Celeste used to make me wear would have made getting to the
tantalizing vein I saw in his neck a hell of a lot easier.

Standing on tiptoes, I touched his
arm lightly to brace myself as I tried to reach him. His biceps
tensed rock hard under my fingertips and he twitched, reminding me
of a stray dog uncertain how it feels about being stroked by a
stranger.

“Hurry the fuck up, will you?” he
growled. “I never did like needles and this is a damn awkward
position to be in.”

It was too much—he was too big,
too threatening. I lost my nerve and stepped back.

“I can’t reach you. Maybe…maybe
you should just go.”

“No, damn it.” He straightened up
and shook his head fiercely. “Just look at you—now that I see you
in the light I can tell you’re in a bad way.”

“
I’m fine.” I drew myself up
and crossed my arms over my chest protectively. “Just
fine.”

“Hell no, you’re not,” he said,
almost angrily. “You look like a stiff wind would blow you over.
You need blood.”

He took a step toward me and I
took a step back. I didn’t like the way he loomed over me—it made
me feel small and trapped. It brought back memories I would rather
forget.

“I can wait until you get back.” I
swallowed and heard a dry click in my throat. “Honestly.”

“No you can’t. You need to get
some now—I’m going out tonight and I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
He came toward me again and again I backed up.

“Why?” I made myself ask, though
my heart was pounding and my lips felt numb. “Are you, uh, planning
a trip?”

He barked a short laugh.
“Something like that. Sometimes when the moon calls me like she is
tonight, I…it takes me a little while to come…to come all the way
back.” He scowled. “I really can’t explain it more than that.”

“Oh,” I whispered. I took another
step back and felt something hard hit my hip. Casting a glance over
my shoulder, I saw that I was trapped with the L-shaped kitchen
counter at my back. I had literally backed myself into a
corner.

“
Look,” he began, coming so
close I could feel his heat radiating against my skin. He started
to duck down, his face close to mine—too close. “What if I
just—”

“
Please,” I whispered, my
throat tight, and turned my head away. I pressed my cheek to my
shoulder and closed my eyes tight, gripping the counter until the
edge of it bit into my fingers. “Please
don’t
.”

“What the hell?” Victor sounded
genuinely uncertain. He straightened up and took a step back,
putting some much needed space between us.

Immediately I felt like I could
breathe again.

“Thank you.” I forced myself to
look up at him. “I just…it’s hard for me. You’re…so big.”

“Sorry.” His voice was
unexpectedly gentle. “Didn’t mean to uh, scare you.”

“I’m not scared,” I said but the
tremble in my voice gave away the lie. “Maybe this isn’t going to
work. Maybe…maybe you should just go,” I mumbled.

He ran a hand through his hair and
sighed impatiently.

“I told you I don’t know when I’ll
be back. The Moon is calling me—do you want blood or not?”

“
I do. I…I
need
it,” I
heard myself confess. “But please…not from your neck.”

He frowned. “What’s wrong with my
fucking neck? I don’t offer it to just anybody, you know. If any
other were saw me giving the sign of submission to a Goddamn
vamp—”

“It’s too much. Too close.” I put
a hand to my chest where I could feel my heart thumping. “Please…if
I could just drink from your wrist? Would that be okay?”

He looked thoughtful. “Actually,
that would probably be better. Not so hard to hide the marks
later.” He gave me a quizzical glance. “Unless you can heal them up
so nobody can tell you’ve been biting me?”

I thought of the ugly scars which
had marked Addison’s arms and wrists until Corbin had healed her.
Scars which had been caused by my fangs. I shook my head
regretfully.

“I’m afraid not. I’m not very, uh,
old or experienced as vampires go. I was only born to darkness six
years ago.”

“All right, well I guess we all
have to start somewhere.” He sighed. “Wrist it is, then.” He held
out his left wrist and then changed his mind and offered me his
right instead. “Left handed,” he explained when I looked at him
questioningly.

“I see.” I looked at the strong
wrist and muscular forearm he was holding out to me. His hands were
large and well formed, the fingertips tapered like those of an
artist. He was surprisingly unhairy too—I hadn’t been around many
weres and I’d always imagined they must be almost as hairy in human
form as they were when they took their animal shapes. But Victor
only had a light dusting of coarse black hair on the back of his
arms. I wondered if he had a hairy chest and pushed the thought
away. What was wrong with me? He was offering me blood and I was
starving—I needed to feed, not admire his admittedly impressive
physique.

I focused my attention on the
bracelet of blue veins that pulsed on the underside of his wrist
and tried to concentrate on one in particular, calling it toward
me.

In the week and a half since
rescuing me from Celeste, my new master Corbin had given me some
tips on how to be a better, more effective vampire. Most of what
he’d taught me was simple, including calling a vein to the surface
as I was doing now. If only Celeste would have had the time and
patience to teach me, maybe I would have made a better vampire. But
my petite blonde ex-mistress had no patience with ignorance or
incompetence of any kind so I had remained at the bottom of the
food chain, uneducated and uninformed about my new existence until
recently.

To my relief, the vein began to
swell until it presented a decent target for my aching fangs.
Unfortunately, I still wasn’t good enough to give pleasure as I
fed, like a master vampire could, but at least I could strive to
hurt my donor as little as possible.

Victor said nothing to the
subtle display of my power. He simply stood there waiting, his arm
at the right height for my mouth. When I gave him a quick glance,
his eyes flashed bright gold and he gave me a barely perceptible
nod as if to say,
do
it.

I couldn’t wait any longer. The
warm musk of his scent filled my nose and under that I could smell
the hot copper of his blood. My empty stomach twisted and my throat
was parched.

I struck, my fangs piercing the
big vein I’d called, slicing through his flesh and digging deep to
get the nourishment I craved.

Victor grunted and I could tell
I’d hurt him. But he didn’t try to jerk away—he held rock solid as
I fed from him, drawing the rich, delicious blood out in great, hot
mouthfuls, gulping it down like a starving beggar, feasting for the
first time.

And God it was good…so
incredibly
good
and different from anything I had ever
tasted
.
I
had never had were blood before—most vamps haven’t since we
consider each other mortal enemies. To be honest, though, I hadn’t
even had much human blood, aside from my friend Addison’s, which
was sweet and tasted slightly of strawberries. That was nice but
this was special…
incredible
.

Victor’s blood reminded me
of fine, rich, strong wine. Or maybe an expensive whiskey. It
gushed down my throat, quenching my terrible thirst in the first
soothing wave and setting a warm fire glowing in my belly. I could
feel its effects immediately—my throat was no longer lined with
barbed wire and my stomach wasn’t trying to gnaw a hole in my
backbone. I felt refreshed…
healed
.

Beside me, Victor shifted
impatiently and I reminded myself that my miraculous meal had a
name and a burning desire to get outside and answer the call of the
wild. In fact, he was probably only about two minutes from turning
into a huge, shaggy wolf with appetites of his own.

I could have drunk from him all
night, sipping that warm, rich blood, savoring it like the most
expensive vintage—but that wasn’t an option. I took two more hasty
mouthfuls and then drew back, retracting my fangs.

Victor was watching me, an
unreadable expression on his stern features.

“I’m sorry,” I said, licking my
lips to get the last traces of his miraculous blood. “Did I hurt
you?”

He shifted from foot to foot,
frowning. “It was nothing. Not as bad as I thought. Except—”

“Except?” I asked, humbly, trying
to prompt him. “If you tell me I might be able to make it better
for you, uh, next time.”

“
Better than that?” He
looked at me incredulously and shifted again. The movement drew my
eyes to his crotch. With a shock, I saw that he had an extremely
impressive erection pressing hard against the front of his jeans.
Had
I
caused that? And if so, how?

“I-I’m sorry,” I stuttered. His
blood had had a calming effect one me but suddenly I felt nervous
all over again. Was he going to come after me now? Was he going to
try something?

“
No,
I’m
sorry,” he said roughly.
“I don’t know why that, uh…damn. So fucking
weird.”
He shook his head,
his eyes going hard. “I have to go,” he said abruptly.

“Oh. Of course.” I slid away from
him, trying to give him more room. “Um…have fun.”

“Don’t expect me back for
awhile.”

“Oh…I” But before I could finish,
he was out the kitchen door and gone into the night.

“You can’t do this to me.”

The harsh, grating voice took Saber by
surprise as he stepped in the sliding metal door of his suite. He
spun around to see who was speaking and, more importantly, who was
in his home without his permission. The suite he and Lissa shared
in the Kindred Mother Ship had been locked when he came in—he would
swear to that. So how…? And then he saw him.

A hooded figure crouched in the far corner of
the living area, his face hidden in shadows.

Saber knew it was a male—there was no
question about that. The figure was half a head taller than he was,
which was saying something since no Kindred warrior was under six
foot six, with shoulders to match.

“You can’t…fucking…
do
this to me,” the
voice snarled again.

“Who are you?” Saber demanded, taking a step
toward the huge, crouching figure. “And what are you doing in my
home?” He was glad that Lissa was out with Kat, planning the
redheaded Earth girl’s joining ceremony. If he’d had any reason to
think she was here with this strange figure and in any kind of
danger…

“Saber? Is that you?” Lissa’s light, feminine
voice drifted from the back of the suite and Saber felt the short
hairs on the back of his neck rise. What was she doing back? And
what had been done to her in his absence?

“
Lissa,”
he sent through their link as
he circled carefully closer to the hooded invader.
“Stay where
you are. Don’t come up here!”

“Who are you?” he barked aloud at the strange
male, since the invader still hadn’t answered. “Goddess damn it, if
you’ve touched my female—”

“Don’t worry, old friend. Lissa is perfectly
safe.”

The invader raised his head and at last,
Saber was able to catch a glimpse into the shadowy confines of his
hood. Pure silver eyes, like melted starlight, flashed at him and
Saber felt the knot of protective tension and rage that had been
building inside him suddenly melt.

“Reddix? His voice was thick with relief. “Is
that you?”

“Who else would it be?” Reddix growled. “Are
you expecting another old friend you screwed over to show up this
evening?”

“But what are you doing here? I wasn’t
expecting you for at least another week.”

“I came early. Couldn’t wait to see you and
try to talk you out of this madness.”

“Watch what you say, Brother.” Saber heard
the growl enter his own voice and did nothing to try and stop it.
“Loving Lissa and choosing to spend my life with her is the sanest
move I’ve ever made and I won’t hear anyone say otherwise—not even
you.”

Reddix made a noise at the back of his throat
as he rose from his crouching position and came into the light.

“Then you won’t want to hear what your mother
has to say about it.” He unrolled a small vid screen and thrust it
at Saber. “Here. She made me swear by the Goddess to be sure you
watched her message.”

Saber pushed the screen away before the
recording could start playing and sank down onto the couch.

“I don’t care what you or she or anyone else
has to say, my mind is made up.”

Reddix sat down beside him, on the opposite
side of the large leather couch.

“So you’re really going to do this? You’re
going to give up everything, your home, your future, your position
as the Clan Overlord—all for a female?” Reddix’s gravelly voice was
incredulous.

“I’m afraid so.” Saber sighed and ran a hand
through his hair. “I know it’s hard for you to comprehend, Reddix,
but for the right female it’s worth it and Lissa is the right one
for me. Try to understand—I’ve loved her from the moment I saw
her.”

“By the laws of our people she’s your
sister,” Reddix pointed out.

“I know.” Saber shook his head. “I know how
wrong this seems to you—to everyone back home. But there is no
blood tie between us and for some reason, the kinship compounds
didn’t take for either Lissa or myself. So we’re not repelled by
each other as any other male and female of our clan would be if
they tried to be together.”