Death Comes for Her, page 4
I took in the talkative, over friendly vampire. Seemingly innocent, pretty and trapped as she was when turned undead as a young woman. She seemed like she needed someone to interact with. A potential ally?
No. I shut that idea down as soon as it reared up.
Imani might have had her fangs removed and cared for me the past week, but she was still a vampire. Tending to me had undoubtedly been an order from her masters. If she still had her fangs, she would have bitten me or killed me already.
Best she could do now would be to gnaw at me a bit.
“Five days,” I exhaled, deflating.
“Yes. My masters will be glad of your recovery.”
I shot up onto my knees, fisting the blanket in my sweaty palms. Through gritted teeth, I snapped, “So they can fucking eat me? Why take care of me just to smile, knowing they’re going to kill me?”
Imani’s brilliant eyes widened. Her expression took on a dreamy quality, and her voice almost breathless. “Kill you? No. They’ve decided to keep you for an extended period.” She clapped her hands excitedly. “You’re going to be the first fairy guest at Ambrose Manor!”
Keep you. Extended period. Guest.
“They’re going to use me as a fucking pet they can feast on.” Everything within me wilted. Any trace of hope or will to fight dried up and crumpled into ash.
I should have jumped when I had the chance.
∞∞∞
An unfortunate truth of my situation: the Ambrose Manor was luxurious—at least what I’d seen of it.
I maintained vigilance as Imani encouraged me to wash and dress for the day. All the while, the comforts and elegance of what I could only call a suite stunned me. From the warmth of the fire in the hearth, the soft, plush fabrics of the bed and couches, to the private attached bath, I was rather regretfully… impressed.
Getting swept up in lavish amenities felt somewhat vain, but after years of living on a squalid farm with Benjen and Griselda, I indulged in the splendor. However selfish it seemed, I needed to steal a moment of magnificence for myself before the reality of what came next crashed onto my shoulders again.
A long silenced, haughty voice in the back of my mind resurfaced, whispering that I deserved nothing less than opulence after all.
During a long, lush bath in a copper tub large enough for two, I assessed my circumstances. My aches and pains, along with the bite marks, had healed. The memory of their assaulting bites would remain as stains, joining the rotation of my nightmares. One more unfortunate notch in the belt of my trauma.
But I was healed, at least physically. And I wasn’t wallowing in a grimy dungeon. Which objectively felt odd considering the nature of my hosts. The vampire soldiers had treated me like a portable meal, yet the lords of the manor had me in my own room—a fine one at that.
A guest.
I scoffed to myself, sinking lower into the bubble laden tub.
It was discombobulating when your entire world turned upside down overnight. Not the first time in my life I’d face that conundrum. World shattering, potentially life ending changes. However, unlike last time, I had the maturity of experience to compartmentalize my feelings on the matter.
The war began when I was eight years old, still living in the lap of luxury—albeit strained—and lasted for ten years until the vampires ultimately won. Throughout another decade, I'd debased myself as a wet hole for a human farmer just to ensure I had food and a place to sleep.
Vincere aut mori.
Well, the vampires had conquered, and most of the fairies had died. Without the reprieve of the sun bringing protective daylight hours, the undead had run amuck, sucking and fucking until the world fell to ash and gold blood ran in molten rivers through ruined city streets.
And they took wings as trophies.
Hugging myself, I reached over my shoulder, finger tentatively tracing the top of a shimmering scar. I sneered in the mirror at the emerald green silken dress Imani delivered. The thread-thin straps around my neck and the corset bodice dipping low in the back showed off the scars. I didn’t doubt that was intentional. After years of hiding them in frumpy hand-me-down dresses stained with mud, I found myself sorely missing the coverage.
“It’s called electricity,” Imani continued, explaining the strange lights to me. Some odd human invention that ‘the greatest vampire minds’ as she called them had improved upon. I rolled my eyes several times through her explanation, and she didn’t seem to notice. Or she was unbothered by it. “And they converted the dungeon into a basement to house a boiler. Monstrous thing, that. It heats the water in the pipes. I like that more than the electricity.”
I missed magic. Gods, I truly fucking missed magic.
Hours had passed since I’d woken, washed, eaten, and dressed. With each passing minute, I wondered when my world would tip again. Anxiety crested and sank within me any time a noise outside the door or outside the manor startled me. I gnawed at my nails, staring outside the window at the darkening red sky indicating the encroaching night.
Several times I almost asked Imani about the lords of the manor. When would they come for me? What are the chances they just kill me?
What if they wanted to fuck me?
An odd twinge flared behind my navel at that thought.
It had to have been a lingering effect from the soldiers’ venom in my system—that repulsive, wanton heat that made me ache for more. A sickening dread curdled the stew in my belly. Vampire venom had addictive qualities, and I wasn’t keen on experiencing those side-effects again.
If the lords of Ambrose Manor fed from me, they would become aroused and frenzied by my blood. And their bites would poison me with desire in return. A fucking symbiotic relationship.
A darker thought curled to life, rising over the horizon in my mind like the reaching shadows outside on the lawn. They crept higher and higher, sweeping my thoughts with wicked darkness.
Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.
I’d traded my body to Benjen for years to ensure my survival. He bent me over and groped at me, and in return he made sure his wife didn’t report me or starve me.
For so long, I believed that my life was enough. At least I was alive with a place to sleep, I’d reminded myself. Even days ago, I’d thanked fate that Benjen and Griselda weren’t vampires.
So far, the vampires I’d only briefly met existed outside of my expectations for the undead. It wasn’t in their nature to have a fairy tossed in their lap and not devour it on the spot. The two lords I recalled in those last moments of consciousness before vomiting had refused to consume me until I’d recovered.
Very curious.
And the manor was far nicer than the struggling farm. As much as I hated to admit it, it wasn’t the worst trade of my life—so far. The vampire lords hadn’t come to assault me yet. That might be the tipping point I was gnawing my nails to the quick over. The speculative dread of what they might do while feeding on me strained every nerve ending in my body.
Things born to fly endeavored to avoid cages, yet there I was, pacing over a rich carpet in a deceptively cozy, luxurious suite. I’d traded one cage for another, and while my new one appeared gilded and warm on the outside… it was still a fucking cage.
A confident knock on the door served as my only warning. Alarm flared through me as the handle twisted and the hinges swung open. With my eyes glued to the paned glass of the window, I felt more than saw the rippling power of the two vampires entering the room.
In the charged seconds before they crossed the threshold, my gaze cut to the stone landing far below the window. I imagined—with nothing short of morbid longing—myself, twisted and broken at the bottom.
Chapter 4
Fairies didn’t dream of falling—crashing—it went against our nature. Our imperative in life was to feed, to fuck, and to fly. Every instinct ingrained in the visceral depths of my being screamed at me to leap out the window and soar away from the impending danger.
But clipped wings couldn’t flutter.
“My lords!” Behind me, Imani dipped into a bow.
“Leave us,” a cool voice drawled.
She scampered from my side without hesitating. I watched her reflection in the window until it vanished. Even when the door shut, I remained facing the window, staring out at the red sky and expansive lawns of the manor.
“You know, it is customary to thank your hosts for their hospitality.” A deeper, rough voice sounded all too pleased. “Isn’t that right, brother? That sounds like some poncy shit you’d say.”
“It would be customary. However, I don’t expect polite manners from a wild thing,” the pale one sounded bored. His apathy was almost worse than the insult.
“Don’t expect anything at all from me,” I snapped. Catching myself before I turned around, I gnashed my teeth, fist clenching at my side.
“Ah, she speaks!” The dark-haired vampire moved into my periphery, lurking between me and the fireplace, but inching closer.
“It’s insolent.” Then the pale one snapped into existence at my side, angled between me and the other vampire. A startled yelp escaped my lips as I stumbled back. “Tell us your name.” An order, not a question. Like he deserved the information.
“Bite me!” I spat, hackles raising like a cornered cat.
“That can be arranged,” a deeper voice murmured.
“Who are you?” Cold eyes narrowed into blade thin slits.
“She won’t tell us, brother.”
“She will if she knows what’s good for her.”
“I don’t think she knows. After all, they found the pretty little thing out in a devastatingly small nothing village. If she was raised in a barn… well.”
“She will learn to respect her masters—her betters.” Simon’s haughty tone made me want to stake him through the heart.
“I’ll never respect a vampire.”
“Brave and arrogant for a fairy presumably raised in a barn,” Simon noted, stepping closer.
I shifted back.
A solid chest stopped me. The taller, mountainous undead had maneuvered behind me when the pale one distracted me. Effectively trapped between the two men, a rush of fear cascaded over my skin like claws of ice.
Without the influence of exhaustion and vampire venom obscuring my mind, I clearly assessed the men caging me in. The bigger, louder one at my back, Lord Dante Ambrose, was as I remembered. Dark hair, hazel eyes, and intense scars across his face that reached across his mouth, nose, and one eye that didn’t take away from his looks.
“We could teach her a lesson,” he offered.
The one in front of me, Lord Simon Ambrose, I got a better view of than last time. With his face leering at me inches away, I took in every detail. He was slimmer than Dante, but even his well-pressed black clothing didn’t detract from the muscle on his build. His eyes, glaring down at me, were livid pools of ice, each blue fragment as sharp and clear as a glacier. A few stray strands of snow-white hair had fallen over his forehead, but the rest remained in place. Shorter on the sides and finger length in the front.
It looked as soft and cold as icy silk.
“That we could,” Simon agreed. “After all, she’s going to be here with us for a while.” He leaned back, unimpressed with whatever he’d found of his assessment.
Two iron-like hands grabbed my arms, yanking me into the chest at my back. Adrenaline surged through me as panic flared through my belly. I squirmed against the vampire holding me.
“No! I’d rather die than let any more of you filthy, fucking undead bastards get your nasty mouths on me!” I screeched, flailing like a rabbit in a snare.
“Well, you see, the thing is, we don’t want you dead,” Dante stated.
My leg flew up, intending to kick Simon in the chest and force distance between us. He deftly caught my ankle in his cold, long fingers. The strength of his grip halted my leg mid-air.
He quirked one pale brow at me, and the corner of his lips twitched before he smoothed his expression back into one of indifference. I almost missed the change.
“On the contrary.” Simon kept his grip on my leg.
“You just want to feed on me over and over again for as long as you like, is that it?” I tried kicking the other leg, but the pale vampire caught that one, too. Now dangling between the two men, I screeched like an unleashed, infuriating banshee.
“Feisty little thing, isn’t she?” Dante chuckled, grip painfully digging into my arms. He’d leave bruises, but that wasn’t the worst of my worries. They moved in tandem, crossing the room with me hanging between them. I realized with dawning horror that they were aiming for the long couch facing the fireplace.
“Indeed,” Simon drawled. Something unreadable glinted in his eyes, and his frigid aura set my teeth on edge.
“But she’s correct.” He buried his nose in my hair, trailing it up the side of my neck and inhaling loudly. “Fairies are rare these days. We’ll endeavor to keep a gift as enticing as this one for as long as possible. Who knows when we’ll have such an alluring treat dropped on our doorstep again?”
The vampires sank onto either end of the couch with me splayed out in the middle. I continued uselessly thrashing, which only caused my dress to hike up my legs. Simon’s hands skimmed higher, drawn forward with a strained expression, as if he couldn’t quite help the temptation. Tingles spread over my skin, following his touch as it reached for my knees.
Dante pulled me back against his chest, belting one arm around my waist and collaring my throat with the other hand. The hand on my throat smoothed over the side of my face before tangling in the golden waves of my hair. Tightening his fist, he snapped my head back, forcing me to rest it on his shoulder.
“Name, girl. Come on, be a good little pet and tell us,” he growled.
“Fuck you,” I tossed back.
My chest heaved, breaths coming in as sharp gasps. Every inch of my skin prickled as their breaths assaulted my flesh. Worse than the knots in my stomach or the painful pounding of my heart, a hot and heavy coil tightened behind my navel.
As if overlooking the strain and terror of being fed on, my body yearned for the effects of vampire venom once again. I nearly bit my tongue, choking down the unbidden whimper as my back arched off the couch. A distasteful throbbing roused between my thighs. I squeezed my eyes shut, willfully ignoring the sensations of two powerful and regretfully attractive males besieging me.
It wasn’t like Benjen launching himself at me in the barn. There was no heavy, burdensome body rutting against me or the stench of dirt and sweat assailing my nose. There was no hay or dirt digging into me and tangling in my dress or hair as a thin prick rammed into me, or clumsy fists pawing at my curves.
“Her name doesn’t really matter.” Simon’s mouth lowered to the sensitized flesh just inside my thigh, right above my knee. His warmth breath caressed my skin, making my core flutter with its own heartbeat. Those chilling blue eyes riveted on a spot inside my leg, and his full lips parted to show off his dangerously eager fangs.
His refined mask slipped, replaced by a feral hunger. He surged forward, warm mouth sealing to my inner thigh. A traitorous thrill jolted through my pussy as he latched onto my leg and his hands bunched the green silk around my waist.
“No, please don’t!” If he looked up, he’d see the betraying evidence of my desire soaking through my underwear. I tried to shove my legs closed, but the width of his shoulders and his fingers digging into my thighs kept them braced apart.
“All that matters is that she’s ours now. Our personal serving of sunshine, isn’t that right?” Dante yanked my head to emphasize his newfound control over me.
“Gods, that smell.” He sounded agonized, groaning against my thigh. His gaze cut up to me, and a smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth as he read my expression. The black of his pupils blew wide, obscuring the blue.
“No. No!” I wanted to fight back, but my body betrayed me, writhing instead. “Don’t fucking touch me. Please, don’t do this.”
“There now, be a good little fairy for us and hold still,” Dante’s voice was low and husky in my ear. His teeth tugged my earlobe without warning, and a pitiful mewl flew free. Then his mouth dropped to the pulse point at my throat, and his fangs grazed my skin, teasing where he intended to bite down.
The hand in my hair tightened, and tension spread across my scalp. I clenched my eyes tight, refusing to watch the pale vampire between my legs or catch another glimpse of the dark-haired vampire in the corner of my eye. My entire body tensed, going still as I balanced on the edge of anticipation.
Simon’s tongue darted out, flicking over his intended spot. It was wet and surprisingly warm. My core clenched with something frighteningly close to desire. He emitted a masculine groan that vibrated against my thigh.
“Now there’s a good girl,” Dante praised, skimming his lips over my neck. His chest rumbled behind me, cocooning me in the sound of his wild enthusiasm.
Almost as if they’d coordinated it, the vampires bit into me simultaneously. Pain pricked into my flesh as their teeth sank into me, and the ache radiated through my leg and throat. A garbled scream tore from my lips but died on the wind as their venom seeped into my veins.
Simon’s dilated stare remained on my twisting body as he fed. Each flicker noted my expression, warring between pain and pleasure, then along the columns, grooves, and curves that made up my frame. Liquid gold spilled from his lips as he drank, greedily and with abandon. Hot, gilded blood escaped his mouth and trailed down my inner thigh while his grip increased on my soft flesh.
My pulse thrummed under my skin. An aching need coiled low in my belly as their venom addled my senses.
A delicious tingling spread over my neck. It radiated out in waves from Dante’s mouth, where his fangs were locked in my throat. A hint of his facial hair tickled the tender skin and a drunken smile split my lips. His arm around my waist shifted and the next thing I knew, his large, overbearing palm was groping my breast through my bodice.
