| |
"THERE'S SOMEONE I WANT you to kill."
"Of course."
Aleksei turned and looked at Vlad. Lying naked on his back with either leg pushed through a leather restraint, he slowly swung back and forth on the sex swing extending down from Aleksei's bedroom ceiling, fondling his own balls and pumping his cock. Vlad had a rapacious sexual appetite. When there was no one around to satisfy it, he loved to masturbate in Aleksei's favorite sex toy. "Don't you want to know who it is before you say yes?"
Vlad shook his head, his gaze on his thickening shaft. "No. You're not like me anymore, Sei. You don't enjoy killing. If you want someone dead, he must need killing."
"It's a female."
"Makes no difference to me male or female...I will kill anyone you want me to."
Aleksei heard the excitement in the other full-blood's voice and shuddered. Once he had been like Vlad with a rampant lust for sex and bringing death to any and everyone who annoyed him. The thought of how close Vlad was to being completely out of control, scared him. Even now, the only persons he was certain Vlad wouldn't kill was himself and Katie, and only because he had promised not to touch her. Anyone else who crossed his path was fair game. As a result, Aleksei had watched helplessly as the other vampire spiraled ever deeper into the dark world they had both once inhabited.
He might still be like Vlad if he had not been redeemed. Was there no way to help him? He was afraid they were reaching the point when even he wouldn't be able to restrain Vlad. Then Vlad would be lost to him forever. Because he had no bloodlust and Vlad was so important to him, he feared Vlad's loss would send him back to the darker side.
Vlad groaned suddenly and Aleksei watched as he rapidly pumped his cock, shooting load after load of sperm onto his stomach. Groaning and shaking, Vlad released his genitals and slumped back against the swing, sighing. "Shit! I need a real fuck!" He looked at Aleksei, a question in his gaze. "I don't suppose you'd oblige?" He shrugged. “I know you never have before, but if you try it, you might like it.”
"You suppose right!" he snapped. "You know damn well that I do not fuck men! And even if I did, I would not fuck you for the obvious reason."
"I don’t fuck men either!" Vlad said.
“Since when?”
Vlad bit his lip. "Come on, Sei, I just meant..."
"We both know what you meant. Business first, then go find someone to fuck, male or female. Whichever you like. Okay?"
Vlad fondled his still hard cock. "Will this killing take long, Sei? I really need a fuck soon."
"Business first, Vlad. She needs to be dispatched soon."
Vlad's hand stilled on his shaft. "Dispatched? She's a vampire?"
"Yes."
"Why didn't you kill her?"
"I nearly did, but I felt the pull of the darker side and...Vlad I don't want to walk on that side again."
The other vampire's eyes dimmed and when he spoke his voice was filled with bitterness. "It's not very nice on this side since you left me here alone, Sei."
He flashed across the room and stood next to the swing. He touched Vlad's cheek. "Being there was destroying me. You wouldn't have me lose my mind and my soul in despair. Would you?"
"No, but that's where I'm at, Sei. All by myself."
He gripped Vlad's hand in his. "You are not by yourself. While I breathe, you will never be by yourself. Come out of the darkness and over to this side with me, Vlad."
He shook his head. "I can't, Sei. I'm not like you. My soul is lost!"
"No! No!" He closed his eyes and touched his forehead to Vlad's. "No! You must hold onto hope, Vlad."
"My only hope is to find and kill her slowly and painfully."
Aleksei sighed, despair filling him. "What if she no longer needs killing? What if she's changed?"
"I care nothing for any changes she may have made in her life. I am what I am without hope because of her. She has to die!"
He released Vlad and walked back to stare out his window, his heart heavy, his thoughts bleak.
"Who is this fem I am to kill?"
He turned to Vlad and shook his head. It was wrong of him to ask Vlad to kill Deoctra while beseeching him to fight his way back from the dark abyss he inhabited. "Forget it. It's my problem. I'll dispatch her."
"No, Sei! I'll do it. You've changed. I know you don't enjoy killing anymore. I still do. It will please me immensely to do this for you."
"There's more than one."
Vlad's eyes gleamed with what Aleksei thought of as his killer's lust. "How many?"
"Three."
"Even better. I'll fuck them all, then dispatch them. Shall I torture them for you, Sei?"
"No! Just...no."
"But it makes the killing so much more enjoyable."
He stared at Vlad. "How can you enjoy killing a fem after you've fucked her?"
"Knowing I am going to kill her enhances the sex. There's no pussy better than that of a bitch I'm about to kill."
"Do you kill all your lovers?"
"No! What do you take me for? I'm not evil...exactly. Not completely. Don't look at me like that, Sei. I only kill the women who remind me of her."
"What I have been trying to get across to you for the last fifty some years is that women who remind you of her, ARE NOT HER. And they don't deserve to be humiliated, raped, or killed."
"I don't do it all time, just when I can't find you to help me to overcome the urge. If you don't want me to kill them then you shouldn't hide from me."
So it was his fault Vlad went around brutalizing women? "I have a life of my own."
"Well, I don't! You promised you would never leave me!"
"And I will not! Never! However, sometimes the darkness in you overwhelms me and threatens to pull me back to that side. When I leave you, it's because I have to for my own sanity. You would not have me pulled back there, would you?"
"No, Sei! Never! I'm glad you don't dwell in utter despair anymore, but I miss you when you're gone and it's so much harder not to spiral further down when you're not here."
"Vlad, I am always with you and you are always in my thoughts and heart, even when we're not together. You have to cling to that belief."
"I do, Sei...and sometimes it helps and I don't kill them because I know you would not approve."
Sometimes he was almost childlike in his need for Aleksei's approval. That's why having Vlad punch him had been so unexpected. "No, Vlad, I would not approve."
"But you were going to tell me of the fems I am to dispatch."
"Never mind. I don't want to start you on a killing spree."
Vlad maneuvered himself out of the swing and crossed the room to look at him. "Let me do this for you, Sei. I promise that I will not dispatch anyone else unless I have to protect my life."
"I have your word?"
"Yes."
He hesitated, still not certain that sending him after Deoctra was a good idea. Then he recalled what Deoctra had planned for Katie and he hardened himself. Let her see what it was like to meet an out of control vampire bent on revenge for an imagined wrong.
"Show her no mercy!"
"I will kill her slowly, Sei. Just for you."
Aleksei's eyes glowed. "Make her suffer as she intended Katie to suffer."
"I will, Sei. Now who is Katie?"
* * * * *
"MOM! WHAT SHALL I DO if he won't have me?"
"Not have you? Would he dare to imply that you are not good enough for him? I am misunderstanding you. Yes?"
Katie, sitting on the floor beside her mother's favorite chair at the Dodge House, smiled. Her mother, a full-blood vampire for nearly four hundred years, bristled at any suggestion that her children were not the cultural and social equal of any full-blood vampire, who, in general were very conscious of their social status.
"Mom, not everyone thinks being a vamp is such a wonderful thing," she said indulgently.
Her mother sniffed. "This is so? Nevertheless, no child of mine would care to associate with one of such exceeding ignorance. No?"
Her smile turned into a grin. Her mother was something of a snob when it came to bloodlines. "No," she agreed. "But I do like Mark, Mom."
"You are sure, my pretty one?"
She nodded.
Her mother looked bewildered. "But his cock...it is so small. Yes?"
"It's not small, Mom. Not as most cocks go. And when we're fucking it fills me up and gives me such pleasure that I feel as if I've died and gone to heaven."
"But surely his fucks are short and infrequent. Yes?"
"Why do you say that?"
"He is so much older than you, my pretty one."
"Mom, he's only a few years older than Dad was when you two met."
Her mother sniffed. "It is entirely different. Yes?"
Actually, it was exactly the same, but she decided not to argue the point. "Maybe," she said. "But he is so...he excites me, Mom, in a way no other man ever has."
Her mother stroked her hair. "Oh, my Kattia, must you too bloodlust with a human?"
She shook her head. "It's not bloodlust, Mom. I...when Mik and Serge fell in bloodlust they didn't want other women. I still need and want other men. And that's part of the problem. He's starting to resent what I do for a living. He's already asked me in a roundabout way to give it up."
"You would allow a human male to dictate your fate?"
She stared up at her mother. "But, Mom! You allowed Dad to dictate yours!"
She watched in amazement as two small red spots appeared on her mother's cheeks. She'd never seen her mother blush before. "Mom?"
"Your father is my bloodlust. That makes me vulnerable and in great need of him. I could not risk losing him so I had to make concessions. You understand. Yes?"
She nodded. "Yes, I do. But how can you still want him so much after such a long time?"
"It is bloodlust. I will need and desire him as long as we both breathe. He will forever be my perfect partner and mate. Before him there were many heartaches and pains in my life...so much darkness and...too many vengeful, evils deeds lay heavy on my soul. He gave me love and hope. I had to have him and let him redeem my soul. Yes?"
She sensed a pain in her mother, which she'd never shared with them. She reached out and squeezed her mother's small hand. "Oh, Mom, I feel such sorrow and pain in you. Let me share it with you."
Her mother shook her head. "I cannot, my little one. You would think badly of me if you knew the depths of darkness I dwelled in before your father's goodness and hope rescued me and my soul."
"Mom! I don't care what you've done. Nothing could ever make me feel anything but deep love and respect for you."
"You are so kind and generous of spirit, my pretty one. So like your father. My past makes me unworthy of him or of the honor of being the mother of three such wonderful blessings from God."
"Mom, please! Don't talk like that! It's not true. I don't care what you did. It won't matter to any of us."
"Oh, I did not mean to cause you grief, my lovely little one. You came to talk of your life, not of mine of long ago. You will forgive me my moment of selfishness. Yes?"
"No, Mom!" She kissed her mother's hand. "You have never been selfish. I already knew what I needed to do with Mark. I just wanted to...I needed to talk to you."
"We are glad you came. Your father is always missing you. He wears his most foolish grin when you are home. Yes?"
She smiled and nodded. She had always been her father's ”little girl.” "Yes."
"You will stay awhile. Yes?"
"I'll stay the weekend." She released her mother's hand and leaned back against her chair. "Mom, when is the last time you saw Alex?"
"It's been such a long time. You have news of him? He is well. Yes?"
She heard the eagerness in her mother's voice. "Mom...what do you know about him?"
"Aleksei? Not much. He does not like to talk of his past. This I understand."
"I know, but...he said he'd walked very close to the dark side and I was wondering...Mom, I sense a deep, painful ache in him. He needs help."
"He is not well?" She flashed to her feet and stared down at Katie. "Where is he? How can I help him?"
She rose and embraced her tiny mother in her arms. "Mom! Physically he is fine. I just thought that the next time you see him, maybe you could encourage him to talk. I think it would help him if he had someone to talk to."
"I will do what I can." She sighed, a sad look in her eyes. "Aleksei stays away from us far too long. He does not seem to understand how much he is missed when he is not here. When he is not here...sometimes I cannot sleep and my soul is uneasy wondering where he is and if he is well." She looked at Katie. "Why does he not come to visit more often? Does he not know how much he is cared for?"
"He knows now, Mom. I told him."
"Yes? And he will come soon?"
"I...I don't know, but he does know we...you love him."
"Yes...I do. Why, I do not know, but I do."
"I know." She led her mother to her chair and urged her back in her seat. "Mom, while I was in Philly, Deoctra and two other fems came after me."
Her mother flashed to her feet again, her eyes blazing, her incisors bared. "Were you injured, my pretty one?"
"No. They would have killed me but Aleksei came and stopped them. He staked Deoctra and told her if she came near any of us again, he would kill her and the fems with her."
"That is not sufficient! She has threatened a child of mine for the last time. Now, she dies!"
"Mom! Wait! No!"
But her mother was gone in a flash almost too quick for her to see. She went in search of her father. She found him standing on the veranda, looking agitated and running a hand through his hair. "Dad? Where did she go?"
"To kill Deoctra." He shook his head. "I couldn't stop her." He sighed and studied her. "Did she hurt you, my sweet?"
She shook her head and burrowed in his arms. "No. Aleksei showed up before they could do any real damage."
"I wish he had killed her."
She lifted her head and looked up at him. She'd never heard him advocate violence. "I don't think he really wants to. I got the feeling he's done more killing in his life than he'd like and really didn't want to do any more."
She looked in the direction of the house on a hill several miles away, outside the Dumont compound where Deoctra still lived. "Dad, should I go after her...just in case?"
He sighed and slowly shook his head. "No. Your mother can take care of herself. Just in case Deoctra or some of her clan come here, I'll need you to help protect Erica."
She sucked in a breath at the thought of Erica and the baby being in danger. Mikhel should be there to protect her, not in Philly fucking Serge's woman. "I'll call Mik."
"No." Her father shook his head. "He has needs that only Derri can fulfill at the moment. You and I will protect Erica. Yes?"
She nodded. "Yes. We will protect her and the baby, even if we have to kill every damned vampire in this place."
"And I'll help."
She swung around. Erica stood in the door leading to the house, a stake in each hand, and a hard, determined look in her eyes. No fear. Katie nodded. Although human, she was a wife worthy of Mikhel.
Katie smiled at her. "There is no need to fear, Erica. No one will harm you or our baby."
Erica smiled and gave her a hug. "I know. Believe me, I know how important this baby is to everyone in the family and in the community."
"Please. Let me take you back inside so you can rest. All will be well."
Linking arms, she and Erica went inside. She heard her father call out, "Princess. Guard."
Their pack of dogs was well trained. Twenty years earlier, Aleksei had presented Serge with Princess. The huge white German Shepard, who led the pack, could detect, and was not afraid of vampires. Aleksei had found her dying in the street after being hit by a car. He had saved her by allowing her to bite him and ingest a large quantity of his blood.
Princess and her pack would die to protect them.
After settling Erica into the room she and Mikhel shared in the main house, Katie armed herself with her blade and stakes and went back onto the veranda to stand watch with her father.
"Dad, I need to talk to you."
Her father turned from staring at the house on the opposite hill. After watching her in silence for several moments, he sat in one of the chairs on the veranda and patted his knee.
She sank down at his feet, pressing her cheek against his leg, sighing in contentment as he stroked a loving hand down her hair. "What's bothering you, my sweet?"
"I've met a human man I care deeply for."
"Are you in bloodlust, Katie?"
"No, Dad. I still want other men."
"Are you in love with him?"
She frowned. Was she in love with him? What she felt was certainly more than just liking or affection. But was it love and if it were love, would it lead to bloodlusting with him? She shuddered at the thought.
"I don't think so."
"Where did you meet him?"
She lifted her head and looked up into her father's blue eyes. "Dad, you've been snooping and having Serge and Mikhel snooping. You know I met him at work."
"Kattia, it is not snooping for the males of this family to want to protect the females!"
"Okay, Dad. I'm sorry!" Her father had been born and raised nearly a hundred and sixty years earlier, in an era where women were helpless and required the protection of the males of the species. "I didn't really mean snooping. What I meant was that you three have been watching me."
"It's our right," her father said, no apology in his voice or eyes.
Katie stifled a sigh. Damn, the Dumont males were stubborn. "Okay, Dad. It's your right."
"Tell me what's troubling you, sweetie."
"Over the last few months I've really become...fond of Mark. Now he wants me to stop working and sleep only with him. Mom says I shouldn't allow him to dictate to me how I live my life. What do you say?"
"Your mother is right. Any man who has to buy sex is not worthy of my little girl."
Since her mother and father frequently disagreed on many subjects, his response was unexpected. She blinked up at him in surprise. "But Daddy, I'm a prostitute! How can he be unworthy of me?"
"You're only answering the call of your blood. It's no fault of yours that you enjoy sex so much. Please don't use that term when referring to yourself again."
Her father's blind spot with her was at least a mile long. He would probably never fully accept that his "little girl" was a prostitute. She smiled up at him. "I won't, Daddy. I'm sorry. I know what I do displeases you, but—"
"Kattia, you are my little girl. I love and adore everything about you. Nothing you do shames or disappoints me. Nothing."
Her eyes filled with tears. "Oh, Daddy!" She rose and hugged him. "I love you so much."
"And I you." He pulled her down on his lap and held her in his arms.
She rested her head against his chest. Even though her mother was more powerful physically than her father, she always felt safest in his arms.
"What will you do about this man?"
"Mark. His name is Mark, Dad, and I will do what I must. He's not ready to accept me for what I am and I'm not...I'll do what I must."
They were still sitting on the veranda half an hour later when Katie heard vehicles approaching. She lifted her head from her father's shoulder. Two dark SUVs moved quickly up the road leading to their compound.
She closed her eyes briefly, then smiled, and bounded to her feet. "It's Mik, dad!"
Ten minutes later, Mik and several men from his security firm alighted from the vehicles. Mik spoke to them softly, gesturing and giving instructions. Then as the men fanned out around the compound, he ran up the drive to the veranda.
He snatched Katie in his arms and hugged her tightly. "Katie! Honey, are you all right?"
"I'm fine, now stop trying to squeeze the very breath out of me." Even as she spoke, she clung just as tightly to him.
He kissed her on both cheeks, gave her another painful hug, and released her. He turned to look at their father. "Hi, Dad." He looked around. "Where's Erica?"
"She's asleep inside."
"She's all right?"
"Of course she is. Do you think we'd allow any harm to come to her?"
"No. Of course not."
"What are you doing here? I thought you'd be in Philly fucking Serge's faithless bitch in every available hole."
He turned to look at her, his dark eyes cold and hard. "I will tell you this just once, Kattia. Derri is not a bitch and you will not call her that or any other derogatory name again in my presence."
She attempted to trade stares with him. After just a few moments of defiance, she averted her gaze. When Mikhel was in his big brother mode, she found him more difficult to defy than their father. Unlike their father, who had never hit her and rarely raised his voice to her, Mikhel was not averse to backhanding her across the room if sufficiently provoked. Judging by the look in his eyes, it would not be hard to provoke him.
She struggled. It seemed the charming Derri had wrapped him as tightly around her finger as she had Serge. Even Aleksei, who never allowed a woman to touch his emotions, had soundly defended her after fucking her. She must be packing some good pussy to make all three vampires jump to her defense.
"I'm waiting for your answer, Kattia."
"You're right. I'm sorry," she said wearily. Now was not the time to challenge him and risk getting backhanded across the veranda. She knew from past experience that their father wouldn't intervene unless he felt Mikhel was getting carried away.
He immediately smiled and engulfed her in a bear hug. "Besides, she wouldn't let me fuck every hole," he whispered, surprising her.
"Did you enjoy the hole or holes you did fuck?"
"Yes."
The wealth of desire and satisfaction in that one word unsettled her. Had he liked it more than he should? She looked up at him as he released her. "Mik?"
He shook his head. "We'll talk about it later."
She shrugged. "How did you know to come?"
"Aleksei told me Deoctra and two other fems had attacked you. Oh, honey, I am so sorry."
"There's no need. It's not your fault she's not your bloodlust. She should have learned to deal with the reality of that."
"That bitch has threatened us for the last time." He frowned suddenly. "Where's Mother?"
"She went after Deoctra."
"Alone?"
"We couldn't stop her and Dad and I thought it best if we stayed here with Erica, just in case."
"You were right. And now you have even more help. All my men know what we are. They will fight to the death, if necessary. I'll go back up Mother."
Almost before he finished speaking, he was gone in a blur.
A tall, dark, rugged man mounted the stairs to the veranda. He extended a big hand. "Mr. Dumont. Ms. Dumont. I'm Cal Harris."
Katie and her father shook hands with the man.
"I just wanted you both to know that the men and I will remain alert and ready to do what is necessary to protect everyone in the compound."
Katie was impressed by the man's rugged, rather than handsome face. There was an air of assurance about him that she liked. She nodded, certain he was a man of his word. When this was over just maybe she'd pay Cal Harris a nocturnal visit. She cast a swift glance at his groin but could see no evidence of his cock size. Oh, well, that wasn't that important. As long as it was hard and thick. She couldn't stand a skinny dick.
She sighed. Now was not the time to think of cock. When her mother and Mikhel had returned safely, she'd think about sex again. For now, she needed to focus on the job at hand.
The night passed slowly for Katie and the others as they waited for Palea and Mikhel to return. Erica spent most of the night crying, certain that both Mikhel and Palea had been killed by a vampire horde. Katie and her father took turns holding Erica and rocking her to sleep.
Just after dawn, Mikhel and Palea returned. Katie, lying on her parents' bed, eased the sleeping Erica out of her arms and ran out to the veranda. Mikhel flashed past her and down the hall to his parents' bedroom.
Katie rushed at her parents, who were clinging to each other, and threw her arms around them both. "Mommy! Mommy, are you all right? We were so worried."
Palea disengaged from her father to wrap her arms around her. "I am sorry to have caused you grief, my pretty little one. Mikhel and I are fine."
"And Deoctra?"
Her mother's eyes glowed and she bared her incisors. "She has fled, but those who acted with her have been dispatched in a manner befitting their cowardly act! All on-lookers now know what a slow and painful death awaits any who would attempt to dispatch a vampire from the Walker-Dumont line!"
Katie felt a rush. "Did you meet with opposition?"
"Much, but we dispatched them all."
"We? Mik too?"
"Yes."
Katie bit her lip and glanced towards the house. She should have gone in Mikhel's place. He had never liked the idea of killing, even other vampires. Now in one night he had probably killed several times. "Is he...was he all right with that?"
"He took no joy in it, but he did what was necessary, my little one."
"What about Deoctra?"
"If she returns, she will die immediately," her mother said. "There will be no mercy shown." She shuddered suddenly and her eyes filled with angry tears. "That she should try to hurt you, my little one...my baby...for this she must die a thousand deaths."
Katie glanced at her father, expecting him to try to calm down her mother. Instead, he nodded, his blue eyes cold. "I would like to stake her myself."