Vicious In Love - D.D. Dass (book club suggestions txt) 📗

flatter yourself, female,” he interrupted. “You will have to drink packaged blood while Fang locates Xaphan from the Fourth Realm.” Ouch, okay, yeah. Leader Xaphan. He’d fed a few of the girls at training, Beth remembered having overheard them bragging about that. Each time, she’d felt bad for the guy.

Unsure of what to do, she peeked up from beneath her lashes, but found he was no longer looking at her. Instead, his brows were furrowed, eyes shut as if concentrating hard. His head was tilted so that his hand could knead at his throat. She could not look away.

He had a very appealing throat, thick and kissable and she marveled at how it would feel to sink here teeth there.

Bloodlust rammed into her. Her mouth went chalk dry, fangs cutting at her bottom lip though she didn’t notice with the flames in her own throat.

“H-How long do I have to wait…for him?” Her voice was a higher pitch that normal, on edge as she tried to breathe properly. He didn’t stop his tormenting rhythm though; up, down and around, up down…around…Oh, no.

“How long, Derik?” It was becoming impossible to breathe.

“I don’t know,” he finally replied in a frustrated voice. Beth’s breathing stopped altogether, her heartbeat going erratic as her pain skyrocketed –she needed a male.  It hurts, it hurts, was all her mind acknowledged. It was all she knew.

“You’re joking?” Please, please be joking. He finally looked at her, eyes ablaze.

“I do not joke. Take the damned bag, Beth. You’re practically on fire; I can feel it from here.” The knowing way he said that made her glare boldly.

“You don’t know anything!” At his warning growl, she tensed, pulling some air in at the same time, pulling that scent in. It animated from him, teasing her.

Hastily, she licked her lips, taking a step forward before she could think to stop herself. His eyes narrowed guardedly.

Beth tried to fight it, but whatever it was burst open and instinctively, she went for him, crashing into his body, hard. It might’ve made her head spin, it might’ve even hurt, but she didn’t feel anything but that need.

And he lost his footing, taking her with him. One second she was straddling him, leaning forward with parted lips to sink her teeth into his exposed throat, but the next she was on her knees, body forced into the mattress. His large frame held her in that position, chest inclined over his back, one hand pinning her arms over her head. She knew she couldn’t move, but that didn’t matter, she let loose the fight in her, thrashing until his breathing was slightly labored with the effort it took to keep her contained.

“Let me go!” She screamed it at the top of her lungs. He grunted a bit, reaching between them to still her wriggling hips. Oh. His hand being there lit another desire and her sex throbbed wantonly. She sighed deep in her throat, in defeat as she inhaled his scent, all male richness with a lighter fragrance—cologne, shampoo? It made her head spin with want.

“Why must you always be so difficult, female?” She shook her head, hair a mess in her face. She blew the strands away, but they simply fell right back over her face. She never got her way.

“Why must you always be so difficult, male?” Beth poorly imitated his deep accent. It was pathetic, really, but he chuckled anyway, a throaty, stressed sound that made everything below her sweats clench. She ignored that, letting out her own huff of humored indignation.

Nothing should have been funny about their current impasse, but it was, because in the darkness everything seemed completely wrong and she needed something to feel alright. And she did feel a little better.

But then her belly twisted weirdly and she gasped. “Sweet Goddess that hurts.”

His voice was low. “It’ll only get worse if you don’t drink.” No.

“I don’t want my first time to be with some plastic trash. I refuse; I’d rather you drugged me.” Beth despised needles, but she could take one for this.

It was easier than telling him–a male that hated her–she had this silly fantasy that the first male she drank from would fall in love with her. Nope, she was so not going there with him.

“You have no choice in the matter.” The hell she didn’t. She opened her mouth to tell him just that but he kept going. “If you don’t drink willingly in the next two minutes I will force it down your pretty little neck.” She blinked at the confidence in his voice.

Males. They were always with the I-Rule-You-Females bullcrap.

“I won’t let you.”

She could practically hear him roll his eyes. “And how do you plan to stop me?” He came closer so his body flattened against hers, pulling her up so that his hand could wrap around her neck, thumbing the frantic pulse-point. She wasn’t about to tell him her blood was racing from desire and not fear. Some things a girl just had to keep secret. “I’ve got you detained now and I can easily do it again.” Her blood froze.

When his hand left her neck to drag to her waist once again, she shoved her face into the mattress, trying not to scream in frustration.

“You’d force me then?” Suddenly, her eyes blurred until all she saw was red. Literally.

She blinked crazily, realizing she was crying blood-tears. She quickly shoved her face deeper into the covers, so that he wouldn’t have that power over her. She didn’t let herself think he could smell the blood.

His voice was softer when he spoke. “You speak as though that is my intention. Do you realize that if you don’t feed you’ll die? And…I promised your father I would care for you.” Well, it wasn’t a surprise, but it still hurt the same. She mentally pushed away any denial and nodded.

“Is it at least any good?” There was a gapping silence.

“That’s my girl.” As soon as the words were out, she felt him tense, but knew he hadn’t meant it literally.

“I’ll behave, I promise. Just, lemme go.” But he didn’t. He shuffled closer, every hard muscle over every curve of her body and the pleasure was electrifying. His scent, hot and secure, enfolded her body and she thought he could feel it too, feel how he affected her because his breathing deepened.

There it was again, the buzz along her skin, the ache in her belly as she became aware of his every breath. The air was blazing and she shuddered a little, lips parting invitingly and –a phone rang.

Fabulous.

Ian cursed, but released her to go for the mobile on the dresser.

For a minute, she remained in that spot, but her eyes found the baggie again. It looked to unappetizing compared to the male across from her, but there was no way she was getting to him. The sting of rejection was just a pinprick compared to the excruciating burn so the counterfeit was her last resort until Xaphan showed.

With a breathy sigh Beth sat on the bed and grabbed the plastic in shaky hands.

Here goes nothing, she thought, pressed her lips over the side and squeezing her eyes shut just as she bit down lightly.

Pop! Just like that, the blood was flooding her mouth, cold and slightly off, but she swallowed anyway and Goddess almighty. Her breathing hiked as she moaned. Her head swam with the taste and she arched, sucking intensely. Her throat began to cool as she got more of that sweet salvation to it, but too soon, it was gone, leaving her anxious and angry and oh so thirsty…

“More.”

~~

 

 Ian hadn’t expected Beth to surrender so easily, not with the way she was acting. But, he concluded she was in more pain than she let on. Stubborn as she was.

“What is it?” he barked into his phone, only partially listening for a response. His eyes could see nothing but her from where she leaned over the bed, frozen.

Ah, hell. Immortality became her. The little changes had no affect on how he viewed her though; she was still lovely as before. Her face hadn’t lost its pale touch, but as of now, it was flushed, accenting her bowtie lips, which were–a bit sadly–fuller. And Goddess, he’d never seen anything more erotic than the small, pointed tips of her fangs, bright and beautiful. The pale blue of her eyes had become sharper; flaring with each emotion she felt, the more primitive: need, for his blood.

He wasn't ignorant to the affect leaders’ blood had on Vampires during their transitions but involuntarily, his throat tightened. Something close to panic had him glaring, though a part of him was far too excited. Nobody drank from him. He would kill them if they ever tried to get so close. It wasn’t a novelty for him, the hatred of being held down, unable to defend him…so much like drowning.

Yet he thought he could stand having her canines locked around his throat. Wishful thinkin’ Derik, his Vampire snarled, and yeah –he got that.

When he focused again, he found that she still hadn’t moved. And he could imagine what he could do to her in that position. Her arching helplessly into him, begging as his hand spread those creamy thighs, the other caressing the swells of her breasts so that she ground her hips back into him…

“Hello? Sire, are you there?” He blinked, clutching his phone. The images were too clear for comfort.

“Yeah…?” And if he sounded lost, nobody said so. Good on them too.

“As I was saying, there’s been a bit of a…issue on the other side at the moment. Lord Lucius is seeing to but by the time leader…Alocer is…erm recovered, it may be too late.” Alocer? They were bringing that demented bastard back to the Third Realm?

He was not laying a bloody paw on Beth. No, he wasn’t because she was Nick’s daughter.

“Where’s Xaphan?” He was having trouble thinking straight. In fact, his brain went overkill the second he’d called Beth his. She wasn’t his…She wasn’t for him.

He would never acknowledge how much it bothered him. He could lie to her, to Nick, to any other son of a bitch in any Realm, but he could never lie to himself.

Over the line the doctor cleared his throat. “Well, Lord Nicholas isn’t answering his phone…” No shit. “Therefore, we’ve taken it upon ourselves to request that you…” The words faded. Ian watched. He watched as Beth crawled–a sexy huntress—onto the bed, dark hair a curtain concealing her face. She snatched the bag and set cross-legged.

His Vampire roared. Take it away. Have her take from you. Prove yourself worthy enough.

It was pure instinct he fought down, listening to his Vampire and conscious mind snap at each other until –too late.

There was a muffled pop as her fangs got through the plastic and he went straight at steel, throat burning with need. This was bad. He felt as though he was about to…snap. Then she went and whimpered –there goes all self-control. He wanted her. And he wanted her now.

The phone cracked when it hit the ground, but he didn’t notice, licking his sharpening fangs suggestively, smirking with sadistic delight. Ian couldn’t hold it back any longer, the fire was lit and there was nothing to stop it from blazing.

Hunger coiled deep, but he reminded himself that he was to give her what she needed first. His female would always come first –in more than one way.

He shadowed the room, eyes never leaving her as she sucked the packet dry, a trickle of blood trailing down her unpracticed mouth as she made a sound of complete displeasure. He could taste the blood on her tongue. He would taste her everywhere.

“More.” He would give her everything.

~~~

∞∞∞

We were disconnected…” Lucius’s head snapped up at Fang’s words, his upper lip curling as he grimaced. He was not in the mood for this bullshit.

Hues of black and gray edged his vision but he reminded himself that it