Seduction's Kiss (The Allure Chronicles) (7 page)

“Oh yes, you will.” His
captors started pulling him forward. Like the rest of us, his hands
were tied behind him.

They led us back
through the VIP room. The bead curtains seemed more menacing this
time.

“Get in.”

I blinked in the
darkness. “I can’t see.” That line was starting to get old.

“Sorry.” The lights
suddenly turned on again, and I saw a long, black bag in front of
me. “Uh, what am I supposed to do with that?”

“Get into it.”

I glanced around. My
friends were situated in front of similar bags.

“You want to put us in
body bags?” Shaun said incredulously. “Aren’t you going to kill us
first?”

“Would you like me to?”
Duncan asked. His dead pan voice seemed a whole lot more sinister
this time around.

“Duncan. Go find
Lloyd,” Jeryl barked.

“Now? Aren’t you
getting ready to leave?” Duncan glared at Jeryl.

“I said to go. He’s the
only one missing.”

“Fine. But wait for
me.”

“No. We’ll see you
there.”

“You just want her
first,” Duncan snarled.

“And I will have her
first, but that’s not the issue.”

Have me first? That had
better not have meant what I thought it did.

“Why not send someone
else?”

“The sooner you leave,
the sooner you meet us.”

“Don’t harm her.”
Duncan gripped my arm so tight it hurt.

“She’ll be in one
piece.”

One piece? Gee, that
was reassuring.

Duncan released my arm
and walked through the beads. Really? He was just going to leave? I
knew he was in on this, and he’d been the one to bring me in, but
still he seemed like the safest bet of all the men around us.

Jeryl pointed to Chad
and Shaun. “Either get in your bags, or I kill the girl.”

“You just told Duncan
you wouldn’t.” Shaun seemed to have no fear.

“I said I wouldn’t hurt
Daisy. I said nothing of the other.”

“Oh yes, the one who
smells of sex,” Shaun mumbled.

“Hey!” Reyna
yelled.

I wondered if my
friends were drunk. They were handling the situation almost too
well. I was doing everything short of passing out.

I didn’t need Mr. Fangs
to experiment on Reyna again so I allowed Jeryl to push me into the
bag. I really hoped there were holes to breathe through. “If
something happens to any of those three, I will do nothing you
ask.”

“Relax, Daisy. We’ll
keep them around for a while.” Jeryl zipped up my bag.

The bag partially
muffled the voices, but I couldn’t have concentrated anyway. I felt
like I was suffocating. Were they going to kill me after all?

“Calm down,” Jeryl
hissed as I felt myself being lifted. “The heavier you breathe, the
more air you go through.”

I breathed heavier
again. I was dizzy and nauseous and my chest hurt.

“I’m here, Daisy.”
Reyna’s voice gave me some comfort. She was one of the few people
who knew just how claustrophobic I was. I refused to even take an
elevator. “Think happy thoughts.” Happy thoughts? Considering I was
inside a body bag, happy thoughts weren’t easy to come by.

I heard more talking,
and then I was put down again on an uncomfortable surface. A door
slammed, music blared, and we started to move. We must have been in
the back of a truck or van. I tried to pay attention to the turns
at first so we’d be able to figure out where we were, but I quickly
lost count. Where were they taking us?

“Next time you get mad
at me just hit me, okay,” Shaun teased.

His bag must have been
next to mine.

“If we make it through
this alive I’m going to kiss you for standing up for me.”

“Kiss me? Is that it?”
He was trying to distract me. To keep me calm. The boy changed
personality so often it was giving me whiplash.

“Don’t push your
luck.”

“You won’t be kissing
that human, Daisy.” Jeryl’s voice pulled me from my momentary
peace.

“I’m so sorry, guys.”
It really was all my fault.

“I’m sorry for being an
ass.” Shaun really was being a charmer.

“Did Shaun just
apologize?” Chad asked.

“Yeah. I guess the
thought of dying is making me do strange things.”

“Shut up back there,”
Jeryl yelled.

We listened. Maybe it
was the suddenly more intense tone of Jeryl’s voice or the
realization that we’d been driving long enough that we couldn’t
have been in New Orleans anymore, but the joking was over.

We drove and drove
until I lost all sense of time. Each bump hurt as we banged around
in the back. I was terrified, but knowing I wasn’t in this alone
helped. Still, I knew we’d be lucky to get out of this alive, and
by the way Jeryl had been talking and looking at me, it wasn’t
going to be pleasant. Maybe death would be better than what they
had in store for me. I quickly shook off the thoughts, I couldn’t
afford to panic.

Eventually the vehicle
stopped, and my whole body tensed. I hated being inside the bag,
but I wasn’t sure I wanted to face what would be waiting for me
when I was removed from it.
If
I was removed from it, I
reminded myself.

“We’re only letting
Daisy out. I want her to see her new home,” Jeryl said from right
near me.

My new home? I
shuddered. I really hoped Reyna or the guys had told someone where
we were, or that someone would track my cell phone. That is if my
purse had made the trip. Somehow I didn’t think my captors were
concerned about my stuff.

I gulped in air as the
bag was unzipped. I blinked, seeing the blur of a face in the
darkness. “Where are we?”

“Home sweet home.”
Jeryl took my bound hands and pulled me out. “This is your new
castle.”

I squinted to see what
he was talking about, but everything was pitch black.

We moved forward, and
my eyes adjusted enough in the moonlight that I could see men
carrying the other bags on their shoulders. I felt awful. I was the
one who got us into the mess, and I was the only one walking.
Still, I definitely wasn’t safe. Who knew what these crazies had
planned?

“Here we are,” Jeryl
said with pride.

I looked up to see a
ramshackle old home. “Oh.”

“Oh? Is that the only
term in your vocabulary? This is your new nest. You should be
happy.”

“Nest? Happy? The only
way I’m going to be happy is if you let my friends and me go. Don’t
even worry about driving us back. We’ll walk.”

“Walking works for me
too,” Shaun agreed from a distance. He was thanked by having his
bag tossed on the wooden porch. The bag fell all the way through
the wood.

He grunted. “Fuck, that
hurt.”

“Shaun!”

“I’m alive, baby.
Thanks for the concern though.”

I let the baby thing
go. Considering he’d just been dropped through a wood porch, he was
off the hook.

“Isn’t anyone going to
get him?” I asked.

“Why?”

“Why? Because he’s in
the dirt and stuck in a bag. Go get him.”

“From what Duncan said
this boy means nothing to you. Isn’t this what he deserves?”

“If anyone gets to
punish Shaun it’s me. I should have kicked him in the balls, but
that was for me to do.”

“Thanks for that.” At
least he was still talking.

“We’re going inside.
The rest of your friends will wait out here.”

“What?” I gasped.
“No.”

“I already told you,
you’re the only one we want.”

I wanted to argue, but
why? They were probably safer outside. I only wanted them with me
for my own protection. “Please, just let them go.” I knew the
request would fall on deaf ears, but I had to try.

“No.” Jeryl picked me
up and slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

I kicked him. “Put me
down.”

“No. I run this nest
and you belong to it. I can do what I want with you.”

“No you can’t.” I
fought against him.

“We can make this easy
or difficult. One word and your friend dies.”

Considering they’d
dragged us out here in body bags I didn’t doubt the threat, but
wasn’t he going to do that to all of them anyway? “What do you want
with me?”

“I’d be happy to
explain everything to you upstairs.”

Again with the
upstairs? He walked into the front door, and a few men turned to
look at us. “We’ve got a nice Halloween present this year.”

“What’s that smell?”
One of the waiting men asked.

“It’s her. I can’t wait
to see what her blood tastes like.”

What my blood tastes
like? Were they really all convinced they were vampires?

“Listen, my blood
doesn’t taste good. Insects don’t even like it. I never get
bitten.”

“Well, that’s going to
change.” One of the guys laughed. “You’ll be bitten plenty.”

“In lots of places,”
another added.

I started to shiver.
This was getting real. Why were they so fixated on me? A tiny voice
in my head screamed the name Kalisa. Did the witch’s potion have
something real to it? Did she want me dead?

Jeryl placed me on the
worn floor of a bedroom. He untied my hands, but completely blocked
the doorway. “Why don’t you get changed? I’ll wait outside.”

Wait outside? Was he
actually going to give me privacy? “Change into what?”

“Your dress.” He
gestured to a lace garment lying on the bed.

“Why would I do
that?”

“Because I asked you
to.”

I decided not to argue.
This was the first time he was leaving me alone. I needed to use
the freedom to my advantage.

“I’ll be outside. I
want to see your body for the first time when I rip that dress off
you—with my teeth.”

“Great.”

He closed the door, and
I walked over to the window immediately. I tried to open it, but it
wouldn’t budge. I pushed up against it as hard as I could.

“What are you doing in
there?” Jeryl called.

“Just getting
changed.”

“You have thirty more
seconds. If you’re not changed when I open this door, your friend
is going to have a problem.”

Damn it. I gave up on
the window and picked up the dress. It was a faded white lace dress
that looked like it was fifty years old. I stepped into it and
started to slip my arms into the sleeves. The door burst open.
“What are you doing?”

“Putting on the
dress.”

“But you are still
wearing your other clothes. Take them off first.”

“Why? It will fit.”

“I want you naked
underneath.”

“You didn’t specify
that.”

“Then let me make
myself clear.” He walked over and put his hand over my neck again.
By the look in his eyes, I seriously wondered if he was going to
let go before he choked me. “I want you completely naked underneath
that dress. Not a stitch of clothing. Underwear and bra included.
Do you understand me?”

I tried to open my
mouth, but I couldn’t from the pressure of his hand.

He released me, but I
stumbled back. “You may think I’m stupid, but I’m not. You are
going to learn to listen.”

“Or what? You’re going
to threaten my friend?”

“Is that not enough of
a threat for you?”

He called down the
hall. “Bring the girl up. It looks like we will have to do a
demonstration.”

Panic seized me. “No!
I’ll do as you asked.”

“Good. I’ll stay in the
room this time.”

“What happened to not
watching?”

“Watching you do as I
command might be just as rewarding. And this way I know what’s
going to be waiting for me.”

I cringed at the
thought. Not happening. I slid off my skirt underneath the dress,
and I let my underwear follow. I had to pull off my shirt, but I
was able to slide my bra off while covering myself with the dress.
Unfortunately parts of the dress were nearly see-through.

Jeryl just watched with
his arms crossed, so evidently he was ok with me getting around the
rules as long as I didn’t technically break them.

“You may lay down on
the bed now.”

“Lay down?” What the
hell?

“Yes. I need to tie you
down while I take care of some things.”

“Tie me down?”

“Do you have to repeat
everything I say?” He grabbed me around the waist and pulled me
over to the four-poster bed. “Lie down on your back, arms above
your head.”

“You don’t have to do
this. You scared me enough, I won’t run.”

His lips turned into a
frightening smirk. “I have better hearing than you give me credit
for.” He pushed me back on the bed. “Did you really think I’d leave
you in a room with a window that opened?”

Yes, but I kept that
reply to myself.

“The best part of being
in our nest is I don’t have to gag you. You can scream all you
want, and no one will come for you.”

“Why do you want me?
I’m not worth all this.”

“You’re the most
irresistible human I’ve been around in years. Your blood calls to
all of us, which means you are meant for us.”

“Meant for whom?”

“Us. The nest.”

“Wait. You don’t mean…
aren’t there like fifteen or twenty of you?”

“Twenty-three.”

“And you expect me
too…”

“Have sex with them
all? No. Of course not, Daisy. Your body is for me—and Duncan
because he brought you in after all, but your blood. Your blood is
for the nest.”

“Fuck.”

“I look forward to
doing just that to you, Daisy, but like I said, I have things to
take care of.”

He grabbed my arms and
tied them to the bed posts. “Might as well rest, precious. You’re
going to need your energy.”

“I’m not tired.”

“Perhaps this will
help.” He held up a needle. “It’ll make the bloodletting easier,
but you’ll be conscious before I join you in bed. I promise you
that. I want to make sure you get to enjoy every minute with
me.”

I gazed at him in
horror just as he jabbed me. He left the room, and I fought against
the restraints. Slowly things got fuzzy, until I couldn’t fight
anymore, and my eyes fluttered shut.