Vampire Thirst (22 page)

“Is there anything between his ears?” Joel chuckled.

“I think not,” Tardieh growled.
Time to turn up the volume.
 

“Tardieh, wait,” Zoricah said, but it was too late.

He had already grabbed a chunk of Phillip’s hair. He slammed the draco’s head against the brick wall a couple of times, then released him. Phillip plummeted to the asphalt, moaning.

Tardieh took a step forward and was about to resume the interrogation when he felt the air compress around him.
What the fuck?
When he lifted his eyes, a short vampire appeared out of nowhere, just a few inches from the draco.

“Pardon me, King Tardieh, but this fish is ours,” he said, then vanished with Phillip in tow.

“Son of a bitch!” Joel cursed.

Damn it!
Tardieh felt dizzy with the rage that coursed through his veins.

“Tardieh!” Zoricah shouted from the far end of the alleyway.

He darted toward her and paused by her side. He saw the short vampire help Phillip get into a van parked on the other street. Tardieh didn’t waste a second more. While he ran to them at the speed of light, he pulled up his gun and fired two shots, bursting the back tires. That caught Shorty’s attention. He threw Phillip on the back of the van and shouted a few words in Swedish. Three other vampires stepped out.

Tardieh didn’t break his stride. He leaped up and kicked the first one in the chest. The guy flew back and slammed onto a brick wall. In the corner of his eye, Tardieh saw Dyam and Joel take the other two attackers, while Zoricah faced Shorty. Her movements were sharp, yet fluid, powerful, yet feminine. Suddenly a fisted hand connected to Tardieh’s jaw, jerking his head sideways. With the impact, he lost his grip on the gun.

“That’s what you get for messing around, lover boy,” his attacker said.

Tardieh chided himself. While he was wasting time drooling over Zoricah, the vampire had recovered from his kick and caught him by surprise. Ignoring the zing in his left ear, he swung to the right and jabbed at his opponent’s ribs several times – a couple of hundred, to be precise.

Very few vampires shared the same talents. It took a long time to learn how to dematerialize or to reach the speed of light. Tardieh knew that whatever his opponent had in cockiness, he lacked in years of experience. His irises carried a red tinge, the telltale sign of a young vampire. So instead of going for his gun and ending the fucker right there and then, Tardieh stepped back and waited. He had been praying for a release, hadn’t he?
Thank you, Apa Dobrý.
 

The vampire in front of him lifted his fists and jumped around like a boxer. Tardieh rolled his eyes. Pathetic. The guy threw a double cross. Tardieh rotated his torso and bent backward. The incoming punches passed harmlessly next to his head.

Easy.

The vampire then tried a series of jabs. His quick and straight punches were powerful, but not fast enough. Tardieh bent his legs quickly and simultaneously shifted his body to the left. His opponent’s fists met only air. Tardieh weaved back to an upright position, emerging on the outside of the vampire’s still-extended arm.

Too easy.

He hunkered down and, with one hand supporting him in a half-cartwheel, he swept his legs up and around, and threw three powerful kicks, hitting the vampire right on the hips, the knees, then the ankles. The guy crashed down like a ripe apple. Tardieh stood up in one swift movement and descended, elbow first, onto the fucker’s stomach. The vampire let out a painful grunt. Tardieh took out his combat knife made of pure silver and slashed the guy’s head off. After a second, his surprised look was incinerated then blown away by the wind.

Tardieh stood up. The adrenaline of the fight pumped through his veins. Fuck Hiad, that was exactly what he needed. He cracked his neck then checked where the others were. The other two vampires had already turned to dust. Dyam and Joel were investigating the contents of the van.

“Just a bunch of large glass containers here, that’s all,” Joel declared with a frown. “What in Hiad were they going to do with them?”

“The only one who could have told us got away.” Dyam snarled, referring to Phillip, who was nowhere to be found.

“Not quite,” Zoricah replied from a few feet away. Her voice was music to Tardieh’s ears. He turned around. She had Shorty face down on the pavement, tied up hog-on-a-spit style by a shimmering rope made of pure dragon fire. Nice.

Flames danced inside her stunning cat-like eyes. Tardieh felt her heat hit him hard. His cock stiffened and his fangs ached with need. He needed to have her. Now.

He walked over, leaned down and lifted Shorty by the collar. “Take the van and this prick back to the villa. I want you to find out everything he knows, no matter what,” he told Joel, whose small smile showed he’d be glad to do the task. Then Tardieh cocked his head toward the pile of ashes on the floor. “Dyam, get rid of any evidence.”

Dyam nodded in acknowledgement.

And without another word, Tardieh grabbed Zoricah by the arm and dragged her down the dark alley.

Chapter 12

“What the…?” Zoricah didn’t like being manhandled, not even by the man of her dreams. “Tardieh, let go of me!”

His grip tightened around her arm. The dark alleyway was completely empty; not even a rat made a presence. She struggled against his grip, but he was much too strong. The only other option would be to kick him on the knee and follow it up with a few punches, but she didn’t want to fight with him. She could never lift a finger against Tardieh, even if he was acting like a raging bull. She had seen him like that only once before, just before he killed Yerik.

“Tardieh, where are you taking me?”

He didn’t reply, just kept on pulling her farther down the dark street. Suddenly, he turned around and shoved her against the wall. Her back hit rough bricks. Zoricah swallowed dry.

“So, am I just a friend now?” he growled.

“Tardieh, I was just –”

Before she could react, Tardieh pinned her hands above her head and shoved her legs apart with his knees.

Then his mouth claimed hers.

Zoricah’s heart skipped a beat as her body lit up with his intense kiss. Still holding her wrists in place with one strong hand, he cupped the back of her neck with the other and pulled her head back, compelling her to surrender. She did.

Her tongue danced with his. His delicious scent of male arousal reached her nose, making her wet. She wiggled her wrists free and wrapped her arms around his broad shoulders. Strong hands clasped her ass and pulled her closer. His engorged shaft rubbed against her core.
Oh, Gods!
He felt so hard, so good! Zoricah lifted one of her legs, giving him even more access. By Apa Dobrý, she was burning for him. But instead of taking her, Tardieh held her hips in place and pulled away. She stood against the wall, panting, and watched him pace back and forth like a caged lion. His red eyes burned, his breath as ragged as hers.

With trembling hands, she reached down to her shorts. Tardieh’s eyes were glued to her fingers. She knew it was dangerous for them to be out in the open like that, especially so close to a draconian club, but Zoricah didn’t care. She needed to feel Tardieh inside her, his tongue on her, and she’d do anything to get that.

Slowly, she unfastened the small zipper, knowing her black panties would be on full display. Then she widened her stance, leaned back against the wall and looked straight into his eyes.

“Take what’s yours.”

Tardieh bared his fangs at her; his eyes flashed an intense red. His movements were too fast for her to follow. One second he was a few feet away, the next, he was crouched between her boots, ripping her tight shorts and panties into pieces.

His cold hands gripped the back of her thighs, while his mouth found her moist core. Zoricah dropped her head back and let herself be taken by the amazing sensations his tongue lit up inside her. He licked, sucked, rubbed, and drove her completely insane with need. His caresses weren’t delicate; they weren’t tender. She didn’t want tender. She wanted him to take her as roughly as he could. She felt his fangs rasp her most intimate folds. A shudder of pure pleasure ripped through her body.

“Bite me,” she heard herself beg. “Bite me there.”

Tardieh groaned. He paused and looked up into her eyes. She didn’t know if he’d do it until she felt his arms snake under her inner thighs and lift her exposed core wide open. He drew in a long breath. His eyes closed for a split second, as if savoring her female scent.

“Blue mist,” he murmured. Then he opened his mouth wide and sunk his fangs down on her.

Zoricah cried out with the intensity of his bite and clutched at his hair. He sucked her blood, while his tongue licked her clit. She’d never experienced anything so overwhelming before. The orgasm built up with every pull of his mouth. But before she reached her release, Tardieh pulled away and stood up.

“No!” she heard herself shriek in protest.

“Unzip my pants,” he ordered. His eyes at half-mast, his chest lifted up and down with each breath he took.

She reached out and slowly pulled the zipper down. His cock sprung out, hard and thick. Her mouth salivated.

“Touch me,” he growled.

Holding her gaze on his, she lifted both hands and cupped his scrotum. Tardieh gasped, but his hungry eyes were still pinned on hers. Raw desire poured out of them. Without any preamble, Zoricah wrapped both hands around his heavy shaft and slid them up and down. Tardieh’s body shuddered in response. A small flicker of victory touched her heart when he finally closed his eyes and let his head roll backward. She kept going, increasing her tempo when she saw sweat trickling along his chiseled jaw.

A low groan escaped his lips. His hand stilled hers. “Stop.”

The order startled Zoricah. Why wouldn’t he want her to…

In a smooth, light-speed movement, Tardieh bent down, snaked his forearms under her knees and lifted her off the ground. She was up in the air, completely at his mercy. He paused just a moment. Their eyes locked. Then, he slid inside her in one hard thrust.

The impact of the penetration shook Zoricah’s core. ‘
Yes, Yes!’
her brain screamed.

“Fuck!” Tardieh cursed out loud, then he pulled out and drove himself inside her again, and again, and again.

Zoricah’s worries vanished with each thrust. Her loud, desperate cries fused with his.

Tardieh held her tight then lifted her hips high up,
pulling out almost all the way,
and brought them crashing down, impaling her on him.

“
Oh, dear Gods!”
she cried out, as she quivered wildly.
 

He repeated the movement over and over again. Deeper, rougher, faster. Zoricah held on to him for dear life. That was all she could do, all she
wanted
to do. Her insides clenched, the need built into a delicious, unbearable ache. One more thrust and her orgasm exploded, burning her core, reverberating all the way to her curled toes.

She heard Tardieh roar, then shudder and burst inside her. His cry echoed across the alleyway.

Wow.

She wanted to stay in Tardieh’s arms until her panting subsided and her brain returned from the stars, but there was no way they wouldn’t be discovered after all that sex-serenade.

“Hold on,” he whispered in her ear, and pulled her close against his chest.

Zoricah felt the air tighten around her, then the familiar free fall consumed her senses. Moments later, Tardieh laid her down on soft grass. His villa was not far from the garden he had teleported them to.

He stretched out by her side and opened his arm in invitation. She rolled across and lay against his torso. His fingers ran along her hair and massaged her skull. A soft purr escaped her lips.

They lay there under the stars for a long time, just enjoying the rare moment of peace.

“Why?” he whispered after a while.

Zoricah didn’t need any further explanation to that question, but her brain couldn’t form an answer.

“Z,” he called her again. “Explain to me why we can’t be together.”

She lifted her head up and gazed into his eyes.

“And don’t give me that bullshit about the vampire senate,” he added softly.  “I know you. You would welcome a good fight with those leeches.”

His reference to his own kind as leeches brought a fleeting smile to her lips. She lowered her eyes and rested her chin on his chest. Before that night, Zoricah had really believed she was afraid of the snowball effect their interracial relationship would evoke, but seeing Tardieh so broken, so raw, so vulnerable, had cut her deep. She realized she felt exactly the same way, and
that
had freaked her out.

She drew in a deep breath and voiced her biggest fear. “I’m not marriage material.”

He frowned. “Excuse me?”

“Tardieh, I’ve never been in a long relationship before.”

He lifted his eyebrows. “You’re telling me…Wait, what are you saying?”

“I don’t know how to be a wife.”

There, she said it.

He blinked. “So?”

“So?”

“So what, you’ve never had a long term relationship before. I have, and fucked up every time,” he snorted. “Isn’t that worse?”

Was it?
It was Zoricah’s turn to blink, then frown.

“Tardieh, it’s not that simple. People expect certain things from a queen. I’m good at fighting, leading an army, kicking ass, not ruling a country.”

“Well, I guess that makes the two of us,” Tardieh replied. “Do you really think I was ready to become a king when my father died? You remember what a pitiful playboy I was when you broke me out of that draconian prison.”

Zoricah did remember it very well. It was the first time they’d met. “We were both very young and naïve.”

“The first step to becoming a good leader is to
be
a leader. You know that,” he said as he brushed the back of his fingers along her cheek. “How long have Sam and Yara been fighting by your side?”

“A long time.” It hadn’t been easy, but she’d managed to train them and help them overcome their fears and strive for something better.