Crimson Debt: Book 1 in the Born to Darkness series (6 page)

“They do that every day,” I pointed out.
“Parents lose custody of their kids when they abuse or neglect
them. And believe me, if Celeste was a human parent she’d be
sitting in jail right now for what she’s done to my friend.”

“Celeste, is it?” Corbin shrugged. “Ah, she
is
a sadistic one. Although no more so than many of my
kind.”

I couldn’t understand his careless reaction.
“And that’s okay with you? Do you have any idea what she’s forcing
my friend to do?”

He raised an eyebrow at me again. “Probably
something sexual considering how upset you are. I notice that
matters of the flesh seem to trouble you.”

“Just because I’m not into casual sex doesn’t
mean I’m a prude,” I said, irritated and embarrassed by his
piercing gaze. “But this isn’t about me, anyway—it’s about my
friend.”

“Oh no, my darling.” He sat up straight and
leaned across his desk. “Make no mistake about it—this is purely
about
you
. I don’t really care what horrible things are
happening to your friend. Whatever she is enduring will either make
her stronger or kill her—that is the vampire way and all of us have
been through it.”

I was so angry I wanted to kick him. “You
honestly don’t care? Celeste is whoring her out—forcing her to have
sex with some sadistic bastard just because he’s a VIP.”

Corbin shrugged again. “As I believe the
expression goes, ‘been there, done that, have the t-shirt to prove
it.’”

I glared at him. “You’ve been forced to have
sex with someone you hated? Or you forced someone else to have
sex?”

His silver-blue eyes narrowed. “I will let
you draw your own conclusions about that. But sufficient to say,
what your friend is enduring is nothing new. And since I don’t know
her or care about her, the tale of her sad plight doesn’t move me
in the slightest.”

I threw up my hands. “Then I guess I’m
wasting my time.”

“Not at all.” He sat back again, lounging
like a lazy cat behind the expensive desk. “I may still be
persuaded to help you. Remember, Addison, I said this is all about
you
. So what can
you
offer me to make removing your
friend from her maker worth my while? Bearing in mind, of course,
that I will have to go to considerable trouble to do so.”

I thought fast. “That citation I wrote you
last night? I haven’t filed it yet. We can just pretend it didn’t
happen.”

“Please—is that really all your friend is
worth to you? A slap on the wrist and the sum of a paltry fine?” He
tsked. “Really, my darling, I had thought better of you.”

I took a deep breath. “What do you want me to
say?”

“What do you
think
I want you to say?”
He smiled, showing considerable fang this time.

Crap, I’m in so much trouble here!
I
swallowed hard. Could I do this? Even for Taylor it was a close
call. But then I reminded myself of the horrible conditions she was
enduring. She was being forced to have sex with a man she hated
over and over again. Surely I could make myself to do this one
thing, this one time to save her. Giving Corbin a level stare, I
spoke in a shaky voice.

“Fine. I’ll have sex with you. But no biting
at the same time. And I damn well hope you can control yourself—I
don’t want to end up looking like I just went through an industrial
sized blender, even to save my friend.”

Corbin stood and suddenly he was around the
desk and right in front of me though I had barely seen him move.
Damn, he was fast. And probably incredibly strong as well. I
steeled myself not to flinch as he reached for me, but instead of
pulling me to him he only stroked my cheek with one finger. His
touch was light but I felt a rush of tingles go through me
anyway.

“So you offer me your body but not your
heart.”

“Sorry.” I swallowed, forcing myself to stay
where I was. “My heart isn’t up for grabs.”

“Is that because it belongs to your friend?”
He searched my eyes. “Is she your lover as well?”

“What?” I almost laughed at the idea. “No, of
course not! Why would you say that?”

He frowned and nodded at my wrist where the
scars were hidden by my suit jacket. “She is the one you have been
feeding, correct?”

“Well, yes,” I admitted. “She, uh, she can’t
glamour humans into giving her blood. And she won’t take it by
force either. So I’m pretty much her only recourse.”

Corbin shook his head. “Such a one as you
describe is too weak to survive. She should never have been brought
over in the first place.”

“You can take that up with Celeste—she’s the
one who decided my friend had ‘potential’.”

He looked thoughtful. “Hmm. She is not
usually so mistaken. Her retinue is one of the strongest in the
state because of her instinct for finding those who should be born
to darkness.”

“Well, she was wrong in my friend’s case,” I
said. “And I still don’t see why the fact that I give Taylor my
blood would make you think we’re more than friends.”

“You really don’t know?” He shook his head.
“You spend so much time pursuing my kind and yet you have no
conception of how we think or what we really are.”

I was beginning to get impatient. “Just tell
me already.”

“Sharing blood is a very erotic action for
us,” Corbin murmured, stroking my cheek again. “Which is why we
generally prefer to feed only from those we find attractive and who
are attracted to us.”

I stepped away from his touch, feeling
nervous. “Seriously?”

He nodded. “Yes. So giving blood to someone
you are not sexually attracted to would be a very uncomfortable
experience.”

I thought of the squirmy feeling I got in my
stomach and the way it felt like insects were walking all over my
skin when Taylor bit me. “So
that’s
why it feels so weird,”
I murmured. Well, at least now I knew I didn’t have any hidden
lesbian tendencies—I wasn’t attracted to Taylor so giving her blood
felt wrong to me. Not that giving blood to any vamp would feel
right—especially the one currently standing in front of me, so
close I could smell a hint of his expensive cologne.

“I am glad to see your heart is not given to
another. Even if it is not, as you say, up for grabs,” Corbin said
softly.

“Don’t get too excited. My best friend might
be a vampire but that doesn’t mean I want anything to do with the
rest of you.”

“You will have to have
something
to do
with me if you expect me to rescue your friend from her sad
plight,” he pointed out. “So I ask you again, Addison, what do you
offer me?”

Here we were, back at the crux of the issue.
My heart started to beat triple time. “I already told you I’d sleep
with you. What else do you want?”

“What I do
not
want is an unwilling
bed partner.” Corbin frowned. “Rape holds no appeal for me.”

“Who said anything about rape?” My throat
felt suddenly dry. “I…I’m offering myself to you. This would be
completely consensual.” As well as completely illegal but I didn’t
want to think about that.

“No.” Corbin shook his head and leaned back
until he was half sitting on the edge of his desk.

“No?” I frowned. “That’s it? You just refuse
my offer?”

“I do not want your body unless your heart is
also involved.”

“Well, I’m sorry,” I said, feeling at a loss.
“But I can’t
make
myself love you.”

“Indeed, you cannot. So it seems I must make
a counter offer.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “You spoke of
Celeste having a VIP in town. In all probability, he is the area
Inquisitor.”

“Area Inquisitor?”

“We have a government too, as you know,”
Corbin said mildly. “And it is only slightly more corrupt than your
own. So if the Inquisitor is with Celeste now, chances are he will
visit me next.”

“Taylor said his name was Roderick,” I
said.

Corbin nodded. “Yes, that’s the one. When he
comes to me I must either flatter him with gifts or impress him
with a display of my strength. Otherwise, he will think me weak and
ineffective and attempt to have me replaced.”

“I can’t imagine that’s ever been a problem
for you,” I said dryly.

He grinned. “No. But one gets tired of doing
the same old thing, year after year. This year I think a more
subtle display is in order.”

“What are you thinking of doing?” I asked
warily. I had a feeling I wasn’t going to like his idea, whatever
it was.

“I am thinking that nothing would be more
impressive than to have a non-glam human Auditor as my
consort.”

“So…you want me to pretend to be your
date?”

“My lover.” Corbin’s silver-blue eyes were
hooded. “And you would have to play the part very…
very
well.
If the Inquisitor suspects that I am attempting to deceive him, the
consequences would be…unpleasant to say the least.”

“So I have to—what? Hang on your arm, pretend
to be all lovey-dovey?” I was beginning to feel cautiously
optimistic. This actually sounded doable—a lot more doable than
having sex with a vampire, anyway.

Corbin seemed to catch my relief because he
frowned. “I am afraid this will be a little more involved than you
seem to think.” He stood up from the edge of the desk and reached
for me. I stepped back by instinct and he shook his head. “First,
you must not flinch from my touch. You will have to get used to my
hands on your body, my mouth on yours.” He reached for me again and
pulled me up against the hard planes of his chest. Then he kissed
me.

It had been a long time since I’d locked lips
with anyone and I have to be honest—it was good.
Damn
good.
Maybe because he’d had centuries of practice kissing or maybe
because of the little thrill of danger that ran through me when he
took me in his arms. He could break me in half with less effort
than it would take me to break a pencil. But though I could feel
his immense strength in the tension of his big body he was
gentle—even tender.

I was tense in his arms at first—nervous and
uncertain. But despite my hostility for Corbin, there was no
denying that he was hot. Against my will, I felt myself melting and
even kissing him back a little. But when one of his needle-sharp
fangs nicked my lower lip, I pulled back abruptly.

“Ouch!”

“My apologies.” His voice was even deeper
than usual and his pupils were dilated, the black eating the
silver-blue of his irises.

I touched a finger to my hurt lip and it came
back with a red smudge. It was a damn good thing we hadn’t been
doing anything more sexual than kissing or there might have been
trouble. I didn’t care how much Corbin talked about his
self-control, there was no way I wanted to be with a vampire who
was feeling the urge to feed and the urge to fuck at the same
time.

“I’m bleeding,” I said.

“I know.” He took my hand in his and sucked
my finger into his mouth. I felt his tongue, warm and wet, lap
gently against my fingertip. Shivering, I pulled my hand away.

“Your blood is sweet. You
taste…innocent.”

I frowned. “I’m not a virgin if that’s what
you’re implying, so don’t get your hopes up.”

“No, but you have not often known the
pleasure of a man’s body against your own.”

Speaking of which, I could feel something
hard pressing insistently against my thigh. I looked up at him.
“And this is different from having sex with you how?”

“Not as much penetration.” He smiled down at
me, showing his fangs. “Although I may need to bite you again in
front of the Inquisitor to prove my ownership.”

“Ownership? Now wait a minute!” I tried to
push away from his chest but he held me close, not letting me go.
“Nobody said anything about you owning me,” I said angrily.

“Of course not,” he said smoothly. “But the
Inquisitor must
believe
that I own you—body and soul. And if
he believes I am also able to glamour you, so much the better.”

“But you can’t,” I pointed out. “I’m a
non-glam. I have resistance.”

“You have a natural shield around your mind
that most humans do not,” Corbin said. “But shields may be let
down…or penetrated.”

“I’m not letting you inside my mind,” I said,
pushing against his chest again. “That’s a deal breaker.”

This time Corbin let me go but he continued
to pin me with his intense gaze. “What are you afraid of, Addison?
That if you let me in and came to know me intimately, you might
begin to feel something for me?”

“Hardly.” I straightened my jacket and
reached up to smooth my hair. “I just don’t want a vamp inside my
head. I’m not about to become your puppet or one of those pathetic
glam-sex addicts you have panting outside the doors of your club
every night.”

“Those who become addicted to what we can
provide have a weakness in their soul. The same weakness that might
lead them to become addicted to any other pleasurable activity.
Drinking. Smoking. Physical sex. You, my darling, have no such
weaknesses. You are one of the strongest humans I have ever
met.”

“Thanks. And I’d like to stay that way.” I
shook my head. “I’m serious, you can
pretend
to glamour me
if you want but I’m not actually going to let you do it. Letting
the Area Inquisitor
think
you can get into my mind will have
to be good enough.”

Corbin frowned. “All right, we will table
this issue for now though I may want to return to it later.
However, there is one point on which I must insist.”

“What?” I asked nervously, wondering what he
wanted now.

“I must heal the scars on your arms. Take off
your jacket and roll up your sleeves.” He gestured at me
impatiently. “Now.”

“Why?” I asked, reluctant to show even a
little skin in his presence.

Corbin sighed. “Because in my world, leaving
such scars on one’s consort is the mark of either sadism or extreme
ineptitude. I do not wish to be thought either a bumbling fool or a
savage.”