The Vampire's Submissive (4 page)

Alexander
stood in the middle of the parlor and turned when they walked through the door.
He was so pretty, it was scary. His platinum blond hair hung in soft waves
around his face. His blue eyes, piercing and wise, drilled into her soul. His
pale face was sculpted, as if from Michelangelo’s marble. Dressed in an impeccable
suit, he stood at least six feet tall and filled out the suit to perfection. No
one should be so perfect. It was just weird. She fought the urge to wrinkle her
nose.
No woman can resist him? Humph! He had nothing on her Jackson
.

Alexander
laughed out loud, slapping his thigh with his palm. “Oh, she’s perfect, my
friend!”

“What? What
did I do?” Katy wanted to know.

“Alexander can
read your thoughts.”

“Well, damn,”
she whispered.

“Katy? What
were you thinking?” Jackson asked.

She cleared
her throat. “Oh, I think it’s better if you not know.”

Alexander
smiled. “I agree.” He winked at Katy and she shook her head, immune to his
charm.

“Well, damn,”
Alexander said, repeating her sentiment.

“Maybe we
should sit down,” Jackson said, gesturing to the seating area. Alexander sat in
a chair, and Jackson and Katy sat on the sofa. He rested his hand on her thigh,
and she bit back a smile. She loved that he was feeling possessive.

“So what
brings you to Sweetwater?” Katy asked.

“You.”

“Me?” she
squeaked. “Whatever for?”

“The incident
last night led to a rather fascinating discovery.”

“Do you mean
my attack?”

He nodded.
“It’s complicated, but I’ll try to explain.”

Put off by his
rather obvious condescension, she said, “I’m sure I can puzzle it out. What do
I call you anyway?”

“Alexander.”

“Not Your
Highness or Your Grace?”

Alexander
laughed. “Oh, Jackson, I haven’t laughed so much in half a millennia. She’s a
treasure, I say, and in more ways than one.
Phew
. Very well. To
business. The creature who attacked you last night was one of several who’ve
descended on your little town.”

“Wait!
Creature? What was he exactly?” Katy demanded.

“Demon. And
not a nice one either, though of course, you know that better than anyone.”

“Is there such
a thing as a nice demon?”

Jackson
nodded. “They are rare, but yes, there are demons who possess a good deal of
humanity. My best friend is just such a man.”

“Oh, well,
okay, so I was attacked by a demon. How do we catch him?”

“He’s dead,
Katy girl,” Jackson said. “Turned him to ash myself.”

She looked at
him, disbelieving then realized he did not jest. “You’re serious.”

“Quite. So
clearly we need to dispose of his acquaintances. I fail to see how Katy comes
into this.”

“Katy is a
Star,” Alexander stated.

“I thought
they’d died out. None have been seen in centuries.”

“Yes, well, as
it happens, I’m in possession of an enchanted map which shows the position of
every immortal in the state, as well as those states surrounding ours. The
demons converged on Sweetwater three days ago. I’m more than a little surprised
there hasn’t been any other incidents before Katy’s attack.”

“So this map
shows demons and vampires?” Katy asked.

“Yes, and
various other supernatural beings. Including Stars. On the map, each being will
appear as a colored dot. Red for vampires. Black for demons. White for Stars.
According to the council’s records, there have been no Stars in existence for
three centuries.”

“What’s a
Star?” Katy asked.

“A human
imbued with celestial powers which become active immediately after she loses her
virginity. Because you were a virgin up until last night, your presence was
unknown to me.”

“How did you?
Oh, so a little white blip pops up on your magic map and you come looking for
me?” The whole thing sounded incredibly far-fetched.

“Yes. You’re
very valuable to the vampire community. Indeed, to the entire community. Well,
excepting demons. To them, you are a grave danger.” He chuckled. “To be fair,
you could level a vampire just as easily, but then Stars and vamps have always
got on swimmingly.” He winked at Jackson.

Oh, very
funny, Mister Perfect. “How am I a danger to the demons?”

“You can kill
them.”

“What? No. No.
That demon hurt me. There’s was nothing I could do to stop him. All I could do
was scream. If it wasn’t for Jackson…”

“I understand.
No, I don’t. I can’t begin to understand the trauma you endured, Katy, but I
promise you, things are quite different now. Your powers have been awakened.”

“How do you
know?”

“Close your
eyes and hold out your dominant hand, palm up.”

“Fine,” she
muttered and did as he said, holding out her right hand.

“Now,
visualize a ball of light in any color you choose. See it moving, spinning. It
must feel alive to you. See it hovering over your hand.”

“Now what?”

“Open your
eyes.”

She opened her
eyes and her gaze was drawn to the white ball of brilliant light spinning and
bouncing above her palm. “Oh!” She flipped her hand and pushed down hard. The
ball plummeted to the rug, exploding in a burst of light. All that remained was
a pile of gold dust. “What. Was. That?” Katy asked.

“That’s your
power,” Alexander said. “You can hurl a ball of light at a demon and it will
kill him instantly.”

“O-kay. So how
do I know he’s a demon? How do I know the guy giving me the heebie jeebies
isn’t just some creep?”

“You’ll know.”

“Oh, that’s
reassuring, Alexander.” She blew out a frustrated breath.

Jackson held
up his hand, gesturing for quiet. “I hope you don’t intend to use her,
Alexander. She’s young and has her entire life ahead of her. I won’t let you
cut it short by thrusting her into a battle which is ours, not hers.”

“But it
is
her battle. And as for her life…her human life ended the moment you took her
virginity. She’s now immortal. She will not age.”

“Okay, so that
part I like,” Katy said with a grin. “The blasting demons part, not so much.”

“Katy, do you
want what happened to you to happen to someone else in your town?” Alexander
asked, laying on the guilt with aplomb. “We believe there are at least six
other demons lurking in Sweetwater’s shadows.”

“Fine! What do
you want me to do.”

“Oh, hell,
no,” said Jackson. “Sweetheart, I’ll gather some friends from nearby towns.
We’ll take care of this. You are to stay here. You can go to work, but you have
to let me drive you home.”

Katy stood and
fisted her hands against her hips. Being hesitant herself was one thing, but
being told what she would and would not do? Oh, no way! “Now, you listen to me,
Mr. Jackson Wainwright, you are not going to tell me how to live my life. I might
enjoy a D/s relationship in the bedroom, but in my day to day existence, I’m
the one making decisions.”

“Well, hell,”
Jackson muttered. “I had to try,” he said, directing his gaze at Alexander who
looked like he would die from pent-up laughter.

“He’s
outside,” Katy said.

“Who’s
outside? What are you talking about?” Jackson asked.

“He’s a scout,
of sorts. He’s already been around the perimeter of the house. They’re in the
woods behind the house about thirty yards back from the old tool shed.”

“How in hell
do you know that? How does she know that?” Jackson demanded of Alexander.

“She’s a
Star.”

“Oh, he’s a
cocky bastard. Marching right up to the door.”

“You can’t
possibly…” Jackson broke off as the doorbell pealed through the house.

“You were
saying?” Katy asked as she walked toward the door, her hand behind her back, a
ball of light already shimmering in her palm.

“Katy, no!”

She opened the
door and offered the man a smile. Dressed in business casual clothes, he looked
nothing like his friend. “May I help you?”

“Yes, may I
use your phone? Mine is dead, and my car petered out on me about a mile back.”

Putting on her
best Southern belle smile, she opened the door wider. “Bless your heart! Why,
of course you can use my phone, sugar; it’s right through the kitchen. Second
door on your left.”

He nodded and
offered a smile of his own. She stood back and let him pass, closing the door.
When he was six feet from her, she hurled the ball at his back. He exploded.

“Oh, dear god,
please tell me he was a demon.”

Alexander came
to the foyer. “Well done. So it would seem the demons don’t yet know of your
existence.”

“Oh, damn.
Maybe I shouldn’t have done that. When he doesn’t come back, his friends will
figure it out.”

“Or, they’ll
assume we are vampires and that we ended him, same as Jackson ended their
friend last night.”

Jackson stood
back, shaking his head and grinning from ear to ear. “Baby girl, I am so
fucking proud of you.”

“Why thank
you, kind sir,” she said, placing emphasis on the last word so he’d know she was
speaking to him alone.

He groaned.
“Behave.”

“Yes, sir.”
She winked at him and he covered his eyes with his hands, attempting to rein in
his desire.

“Alexander,
shouldn’t we sit down and plan our attack?” Jackson asked.

“Yes, of course.
But first, I’m rather famished. Might you share a pint or two of your stock?”

“Of course,
I’ll be right back.”

When he
returned from the basement, Alexander was seated at the dining room table. Katy
sat on the other side of the table and finished munching on her sandwich. She
took a sip of tea and sat back and sighed. “What would you like to eat,
Jackson?”

She knew,
dammit. She knew full well. He settled into the seat beside her and pulled her
onto his lap, brushing her hair away from her neck. “You don’t mind if
Alexander watches, do you, Katy girl?”

“Oh, um, no,
of course not.” She couldn’t stop staring at Alexander. Yes, he was pretty, but
right now, he looked positively terrifying. His eyes were dark with hunger as
he drained the first pint. “Oh!” she cried as Jackson bit her neck and began to
feed. Unseen by Alexander, he reached under her skirt and nudged the crotch of
her panties out of the way. He shoved two fingers deep inside her and began to
finger fuck her, his thumb rubbing her clit, bringing her closer and closer to
the brink. Oh, dammit, Alexander could read minds. He knew. Oh, god, he knew,
and he was watching.

Alexander
finished the second pint and tossed it on the table. Maybe he would leave now.
Alexander shook his head.

Jackson’s
thrusts became more forceful, and he sucked harder and harder at her neck. Her
head began to spin. “Oh, Jackson, please!” She didn’t know what she was begging
for, but he kept eating, kept fucking. Her release slammed into her with the
force of a runaway bus, and she felt herself falling. Jackson tightened his
grip on her back, holding her up, his mouth still at her neck. Finished, he
kissed the tiny wounds and tucked her head against his shoulder. “Rest now,
angel,” he whispered against her ear. She felt herself drifting. “Oh, but I
need to help you two plan…”

“Shh,” Jackson
coaxed and tucked her snugly against him.

“Now, tell me
how you and I are going to kill those bastards, because I won’t have her
endangered any further, no matter what she says.”

“You’re going
to make her very angry, my friend. Denying her the opportunity to fulfill her
destiny.”

“She may be
immortal, but just like us, she can die, yes?” Jackson demanded.

Alexander
nodded.

“The plan.
Now.”

Alexander
raised an eyebrow, no doubt unused to being spoken to in such a manner. Still,
when the treasure in question was Jackson’s woman, Jackson felt he had every
right to speak as he thought best.

“True, true.
She reminds me of my Matilda. So headstrong. Determined.”

“Yes, well,
I’m
determined
to keep her safe.”

“What are you
going to do, Jackson? Lock her in the basement? You can’t protect her from
everything. That’s not the way life works.”

“This from the
man who lived with the love of his life for nine hundred years.”

“I was
blessed, indeed. I still can’t believe she chose to… No, enough of that. Very
well, we could approach them, encourage them to leave town. We could organize a
team to take them out. We could use her as bait.”

“Hell, fucking
no! Didn’t you hear anything I just said? I’m protecting her not putting her in
harm’s way.”

“Why so
possessive, Jackson? We both know you don’t do commitments. Not since Belinda’s
death.”

“I don’t know.
I just…I can’t lose her.”

“And you
won’t. She’s not powerless. She’s powerful.”

His sweet,
docile little flower had decimated a demon. Dear god. Where would this new
power lead her? To her destiny? Away from him?

“Trust her, my
friend.”

“I do. I just
don’t trust Fate.”

“Why?” Katy
asked, her voice muffled by sleep.

He sighed. “Because
of what happened to my wife, Belinda. She was human. She wouldn’t let me turn
her. We’d been together ten years when another vampire…”

“Oh, darling,
I’m so sorry.” She pressed her lips against his cheek. “I’ll be fine, though. I
promise. I trusted you last night. Now, it’s your turn to trust me.” She
paused, her eyes gleaming with unnatural light. “Jackson? What effect does fire
have on a vampire?”

“It kills.
Why?”

“Because
that’s what they’re planning, to set fire to the house at dusk.” She peered at
the clock. “Two hours. We have two hours.”

“So what’s it
going to be, Alexander? Do we sit here and wait or do we go to them?” Jackson
wanted to know.