The Chosen (11 page)

“Our appearance alters when our emotions are at their strongest, although an older Blood Breed can control those changes. You saw that earlier.”

He stopped, as if he waited for her to respond. She waved her hand for him to continue, not trusting herself to speak calmly anymore.

“We also have what is called the
Allure
, it’s a
gift
all Blood Breed’s possess. It makes us irresistible to the opposite sex. Once in a lifetime, a female or male is created for a Blood Breed. We call them our
Chosen
. Fate chooses that person to complete us—to combine our lives and hearts together for all eternity.”

Why was he telling her these things? Why would she want to even know? Why was she even allowing him to continue talking about it?

“Lana, you are my
Chosen
. You are the one fate made for me. I have waited my whole life for you to be created.” He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair. “The pull I had toward you didn’t make any sense. I thought it was just my blood lust, but when I had your soft, warm body under mine, and when I sank my fangs into your smooth skin, I knew I had finally found you. You’re mine, Lana, and I can’t let you leave.”

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Lana didn’t wait any longer. His last words confirmed her suspicion that he had no intention of letting her leave. Bolting off the bed, she ran the short distance to the door and wrenched it open. She didn’t look back to see if he followed her, just pumped her legs faster.

The stone floor was cold beneath her bare feet, but that just meant freedom. The walls were a blur beside her as she raced away. She didn’t know where she was going, but it didn’t matter. Lana followed the long hallway as it twisted and started to ascend. She took a chance and looked back, expecting to see him behind her. A wave of relief washed through her at the empty space, and she ran faster. A door came into view, and she breathed a sigh of relief. Jerking the door open, she ran up the stone steps on the other side.

Her heart raced, and a light sheen of sweat coated her body. A large wooden door stood at the top of the stairs and she smiled. Why was he letting her go so easily? Why wasn’t he following her? There was no time to contemplate the
whys
. She just needed to escape.

Stopping at the top of the stairs, she tried to make her breathing less erratic and pressed her ear to the door. She strained to hear any kind of sound, but either she was in the clear or the door was too thick for her to hear anything. Taking a deep breath, she gripped the handle and slowly pushed it open a crack.

Peering through the small opening, she saw an ornately decorated sitting room with leather furniture, a big screen television, and a bar off to the side. Not hearing anything, she pushed the door open farther and stepped through it. Shutting the door quietly behind her, she crept over the thick rug. She looked around the room in search of a phone
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but couldn’t find one. Stepping into a small hallway off of the room, she peered around the corner.

The room was lavish and expensive in taste, with antiques littering every available space. The hallway branched into a foyer with closed doors lining the walls. The faint sound of music caught her attention, and she crept toward the sound. As the music got louder, she stopped at the door it seemed to come from. The door was slightly ajar, and when she looked inside, she was assaulted with the color black.

Everything from the walls and floor to the fixtures and furniture was black.

Her eyes widened as a woman stood naked in the center of the room, her arms tied above her head and a blindfold covering her eyes.

A heavily muscled man walked in front of her, nothing covering him except a pair of loose, faded jeans. His hair was as dark as the room and fell to his shoulders. His chest was bare and smooth, a dark line of hair going from his belly button and disappearing below his jeans.

He looked similar to Aleksei in so many ways there was no doubt in her mind they were related.

She would have thought the woman was a victim, kidnapped just like her, if not for the fact that she moaned and thrust her large breasts out at his touch. He spoke to her in a strange language, which made the woman moan and thrust her chest out. He caressed her breasts so gently that his next move had Lana gasping. He walked behind the woman, his hands palming her breasts as he ran his fangs over her exposed neck. Twin rivulets of blood spilled out from his mouth and ran down her neck and over her breasts. The woman moaned loudly, the music not able to mask her sound of ecstasy. Her head was thrown back, her fangs prominent in her mouth.

Lana covered her mouth to stifle the scream welling in her throat and stepped away from the door. She turned around and ran into a very hard chest. Her hand still covered her mouth as she looked up into a masculine face. The man in front of her looked down at her with dark eyes, a smile covering his lips. Twin fangs protruded from
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his mouth, huge and deadly in their appearance. His hands wrapped around her upper arms, steadying her, but not stopping the tremors wracking her body.

“I see you’ve found your way out.” His gaze ran up and down her body as tears stung her eyes. “Why Aleksei would let you leave, I haven’t the faintest. I, myself, would have had you so exhausted you wouldn’t have been able to move.” He licked his lips and inhaled deeply. “You smell so sweet, too.”

She felt sick and on the verge of passing out. She reared her leg back, on the verge of kicking this man where it counted. Before she could actually do it, a deep and very familiar voice spoke.

Aleksei stood several feet away with a look of pure menace on his face. He spoke his words quickly and roughly in the same language she heard several times tonight. His voice sent reassurance through her, and she didn’t want to think too deeply into that. She felt calmer knowing he was there, and that scared her. She looked at him as he continued to speak fast, angry words to the man holding her. As she watched Aleksei, his eyes turned from a beautiful bright blue to piercing black. The black spread like an ink stain, covering even the white of his eye. The man still held on to her arms, a sharp intake of breath coming from him as he stared at her. He immediately let go of her arms and stepped back.

“I’m sorry, my brother’s
Chosen
.” He bowed his head and walked briskly out of the room, leaving her alone with the man she ran from.

A noise sounded behind her, and she turned around. The man with the black shoulder-length hair stood by his open door, his chest bare and the front button of his jeans undone. He smiled a knowing smile, bowed his head also, and shut the door.

The feelings washing through her confused her and made her dizzy. She had no idea what happened—had no idea what was even going on. The room started to spin, the walls twisting and turning as she fell back. Before she hit the ground, strong arms caught her and swept her off her feet.

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She stared, dazed and confused, into Aleksei’s face. She should have been frightened, but it was hard to feel those emotions when so many other ones rushed through her. As hard as she tried to hate him, to run from him and avoid him, it all seemed so fruitless when she was this close to him.

His scent enveloped her, went through each of her senses until she was intoxicated. She didn’t know what he said to that man, but whatever it was saved her from the fate she had been about to receive.

She couldn’t deny the relief she felt when she saw him. At that moment, something inside of her turned on, a recognition she could rationalize or understand.

It was a strange realization, but at that moment, she knew the man holding her would never hurt her, could never hurt her. She allowed herself to close her eyes and rest her head on his shoulder, letting a blanket of security wash over her. Something was definitely wrong with her, but how could she fight it when it felt so right? Could she really believe everything he told her? Was this man, the one who cradled her so gently and protectively, really a vampire of myth and lore? She couldn’t deny everything she saw thus far was very, very real.

* * * *

She sat naked in the dark, the room pleasantly warm. She looked around, a dim light brightening the darkness and illuminating everything. She sat alone, but she was frightened. She looked down and stared at her birthmark, the mark she always hated. She traced the outer edge, her eyes growing wide as her belly swelled right under her hand. It slowly bulged out, not stopping until she could no longer see her feet. She stood up, her heart racing as she ran her hands over the mound.

Strong jabs thrust through her stomach and against her palms. She couldn’t ever remember having a dream about being pregnant, but this
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was defiantly one of those. In the next second she was fully clothed, and her stomach was flat again. A force threw her against the wall, and her breath gushed out of her. Fear consumed her as a door appeared in front of her and opened. A large figure stood on the other side, the shadows covering him completely. He didn’t speak as he pressed their hand over her birthmark. It became warm and then hot under their hand, not easing up, just becoming hotter and hotter. She screamed, fire racing through her body until all she could feel was the heat.

She sat up, breathing heavily and clutching her stomach. She pulled her shirt up and ran her hands over her birthmark. The heat felt so real, like her flesh was actually peeling from her body.

“What’s wrong?”

She heard the voice, but her mind didn’t comprehend who spoke.

A light sweat coated her body as she continued to run her hand over her stomach. A finger lifted her chin up, and she looked into worried blue eyes. She stared at his face, the same face that saved her, the same face that was with her now. She breathed a sigh of relief and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her head against his chest.

His body was tense, but he soon relaxed and rubbed her back in soothing circles.

“It was so horrible.” She whispered the words, her tears covering his shirt and making it wet.

She didn’t feel embarrassed, although maybe she should have. She didn’t know why she was turning to Aleksei for comfort when just earlier she ran from him, but here she was doing just that. Whether he told her the truth or not, he hadn’t hurt her. In fact, he saved her. As he held her, warmth blossomed within her, branching out to reach every cell in her body.

She could still feel the dream like it was a living, breathing entity.

Her screams echoed in her head, and the terror she felt still encompassed her. She stared up at him, her tears wet against her cheek as he wiped them away. His eyes dropped down to her lips, his
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breathing picking up as they stayed intimately close. His head slowly lowered, and she knew what was about to come. She should have stopped him, but there was something about this man that made all logic and reason go out the window.

“Ty nuzshna mne bolshe vsevo na svete.”

He was so close to her that his warmth surrounded her. She closed her eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “What does that mean?”

The words were whispered, their breathing mingling together.

“You’ll think I’m crazy.” He rested his forehead against hers and closed his eyes. His hand cradled her cheek, his thumb gently rubbing back and forth.

“Please, tell me. It sounded so beautiful.”

His hand moved down to her neck, his thumb now running over her pulse. Her skin tingled with awareness, anticipation dancing through her veins at the feel of his hand there. The night’s events changed so rapidly it made her dizzy. At that exact moment, she wanted nothing more than to be with Aleksei in every sense of the word.

“It means I need you more than anything else in this world.” His lips took possession of hers, his tongue sliding over the seam of her lips and tempting them open.

The kiss started out strong and fierce, but he slowed the pace to a more sensual caress. His lips pressed against hers as his tongue swept across the seam of her lips. Their tongues slid together, hot and moist, making her vagina pulse with need. His hand moved down to her hip, his palm gently squeezing as his other hand caressed the side of her neck. Their heads tilted to the side as their mouths worked feverishly together. Their combined moans saturated the room, the sounds making her pussy weep and clench. He pulled away and buried his face against the crook of her neck. His breathing was ragged, but then again so was hers.

“We should stop.”

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She weaved her fingers through his short strands, tilting her head as he dragged his lips across her skin. His teeth nibbled and teased, his tongue brushing away the pleasure-pain before he started it all over again. The image of his sharp fangs flashed in her mind, but instead of fear, it had moisture pooling between her legs.

“Ahh, what you must be thinking about to get so aroused. I can smell your sweet cream, and it’s driving me mad.”

His hand moved lower, grasping the edge of her shirt but not pulling it up. Everything he did felt so right, so incredibly right. His mouth left scorching kisses down her collarbone and across her chest.

She lifted her arms up as he tore the shirt from her body and tossed it on the floor. She didn’t wear a bra, and her breasts bounced free to his waiting hand. One hand cupped her breast while his thumb flicked across the distended nipple. He slowly made its way down to her other breast, his mouth sucking in the other nipple and gently biting it.

She arched her back and moaned as his tongue alternated between her nipples, his teeth lightly tugging on each of them. One of his hands moved across her ribs and down to the waist of her pants. His big body pushed her back on the bed, his hands immediately pulling her pants and panties off. His hand rested above her mound, so teasingly close that she groaned aloud.