Lost in the dark, Nadya ran down the corridor. What little light spilling through the windows from the full moon provided just enough illumination to show nothing blocked her path. The chill of the stones transferred to her bare feet as they slapped against the floor with a sting each time she took a step. Her heart pounded in her chest, and sweat beaded her brow. She risked a glance over her shoulder. The shadowy form of the man chasing her still remained behind her, closer than the last time she had looked.
With a sob, she redoubled her efforts to escape, though her heart seemed close to exploding, and her breath echoed through her ears like the sound of thunder. She ran, pushing herself harder, until a haze settled over her eyes. Desperately, she turned her head, unable to spare the breath to cry out when she saw her pursuer was right on her heels. The stretch of corridor was without windows, but she knew who grabbed her even as his hands settled onto her arms, and he spun her around.
“Jalen,” she said with a harsh exhalation.
He didn’t speak. His hands were vices, clamping her in an inescapable prison, as he drew her into his arms. Feebly, Nadya struggled to escape, though her heart wasn’t in resisting. His mouth took hers in a deep kiss that allowed no protest or rejection. She gasped at the hardness of his lips and firmness of his body as he pulled her even tighter to him. Jalen seized the moment to plunge his tongue inside her mouth. Her nipples hardened as his tongue caressed hers, seeking out every niche. His touch was possessive, and she yielded happily.
Her arms ached even after he released his hold to drop his hands down to her back. Jalen’s large hand pressed her lower back inward, emphasizing the hardness of his stiff cock jutting into her stomach.
Emboldened by proof of his desire, Nadya slipped her tongue into his mouth. One of his fangs scored a furrow into her tongue, and she recoiled from the sharp dart of pain. He growled low in his throat, his hand on her back keeping her from escaping. As if determined to remind her of his nature, he raked his fang over her lip, and then swiped away the streak of blood with his tongue. Rather than repulsion, Nadya reacted with a surge of desire.
He cupped her buttocks in his other hand. One of his fingers explored the cleft through the thin fabric of her dress, and she thrust backward instinctively. His digit rubbed against the puckered bud, and she held her breath, torn between curiosity and fear as she wondered if he would slide his finger inside her.
Instead, his hand slid lower, to grasp the hem of the dress where it fell at mid-thigh. With a vicious tug, he tore the garment from her body, leaving her naked and vulnerable. Nadya shivered, but not from the chill in the room. Her eyes widened as she tried to focus on his face. The darkness was almost all-pervasive, but she could make out the red gleam of his eyes, shining like an animal’s. Fear racked her, and she trembled, but didn’t try to run when he released her long enough to shed his clothes.
She met him without resistance when he pulled her back into his arms. Nadya cried out as her vampire lover lifted her into his arms and pushed her against the cold stone wall. His cock found a slick welcome as he nudged it inside her pussy. They both inhaled sharply when his cock sank to the hilt inside her—Nadya from the hot flash of pain, and Jalen from the tightness of her untried passage, no doubt.
He thrust into her forcefully, making no allowance for her inexperience. The pain soon faded, and unimaginable pleasure spread through Nadya. Her loins ached, and her stomach tightened as an orgasm approached. His shaft hardened even more as she began convulsing around him. Nadya held her breath as Jalen thrust deep inside her, while simultaneously bringing his mouth to her neck. She tilted back her head, frightened and excited to have him feed from her. His teeth hurt when they penetrated her skin, but soon, satisfaction took over. As he pumped his hips and sucked on her neck, her body trembled. Convulsions started in her womb, and she cried out, knowing completion was seconds away…
“Nadya, wake up.”
In a stupor, still caught in her dream, she blinked her eyes. It was a shock not to see Jalen in front of her until the remnants of slumber cleared. She recognized her grandmother and tried to push the dream from her mind—while ignoring the ache of incompletion consuming her body. “Granny? What?”
“You were crying in your sleep.”
“Oh.” Nadya was thankful the grayish light coming through the covered window hid the flush in her cheeks. She doubted crying was the right word. More likely, she had been moaning with passion.
Granny looked over her shoulder. “Hurry, child. Tribute is this evening. You must go into hiding before the vampire master appears.”
Nadya held her tongue, knowing an argument would be futile. She had tried approaching the issue logically, by pointing out how families and friends of eligible girls had been punished if the vampires discovered not every girl was there. Granny didn’t care. She refused to lose another child to the vampire scourge. She could understand her grandmother’s position, knowing the knowledge of how her daughter had been selected as a tribute and had never returned to the Q must haunt her every day. At the same time, Nadya knew she would be in line with the other girls now that she was finally old enough to participate, and not for such noble reasons.
Ever since she had overheard one of Jalen’s previous tributes recounting memories of domination and dark sexual encounters to a group of younger women four years ago, she had been determined he would select her. Even before that, since the night she first saw him, Nadya had known her fate was intertwined with his. It wasn’t until Melana had provided details of what she could expect to endure as his tribute that she had known precisely where her future was headed. The idea of enduring his dark mastery filled her with perverse excitement and haunted her dreams. Many nights, she woke to weak moonlight trickling through the window, her heart pounding in her ears, and her body limp from the orgasms her vampire lover gave her in her dreams.
“The other girls are leaving in less than an hour. You are to meet them at the Gugg’hem Musm. One of the elders will be your guide through the wilds outside the Q Zone.” Granny paused in her instructions to hug Nadya. “I will pray for your safe return.”
She patted her grandmother’s shoulder, guilt assailing her. The older woman was convinced Nadya would get away safely and avoid the fate her daughter had endured—whatever that might be. Granny would be hurt and confused when she saw her granddaughter join the other young women in the square later tonight. A thick swallow allowed her to speak. “All will be as it should, Granny.”
When the older woman withdrew abruptly, tears swimming in her eyes, Nadya didn’t call her back. She knew her grandmother wanted to hide her emotions for fear of upsetting Nadya. Instead, she settled back against her pillow, closed her eyes, and struggled to immerse herself in the dream that had gone uncompleted.
Soon, she was back in the state she had been in before Granny awakened her. She clung to the mental image of Jalen thrusting in and out of her pussy. Her hips rocked in time with the rhythm of her imagination. Her fingers found wet purchase in her own folds as she thrust them deep inside her core. She pumped her hips while rotating a thumb around her clit until she hovered on the edge of orgasm. Nadya bit down hard on her tongue to contain a cry of satisfaction when she climaxed. Her body shook with the force of her release, but it was still shallow and unfulfilling. As she relaxed on the thin mattress, slowing her breathing to regain control, she knew she would have that vague, empty feeling as long as her orgasms remained solo events. After tonight, everything would change. She only hoped the reality of being Jalen’s tribute could live up to the fantasies she had created.