The Supplicant (3 page)

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The Supplicant

by Michelle Marquis

"Why?" she said stiffly. "Who am I to you?"

"Well, I would say that's entirely up to you, now isn't it?"

he replied. He glanced out the window. "Hold on to your questions. We're just pulling in now. We can talk in private inside."

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The Supplicant

by Michelle Marquis

The house was a gated residence situated on a seaside cliff. It was one of those houses that didn't look like much from the street, just a modest dwelling obscured by a gated privacy fence. But upon entering, the visitor was awed by a spectacular seaside view that spanned the entire living room.

A full moon illuminated the waves, making the panoramic view all the more mysterious and beautiful.

"Where do the other vampires live?" Sin asked as she took in the modern decor of the living room.

Krysis removed his trench coat and tossed it over a white couch. "In the neighborhood. Would you like a drink?"

"Can I drink anything other than blood?"

He smiled, and there was a flash of those long, sharp teeth. "Of course you can. You can even get drunk. But in order to continue to live, you must drink blood, my blood."

Sin folded her arms and toyed with the idea of sitting on the couch. She still was very uncomfortable with him, and this felt very much like a blind date. "Why does it have to be your blood?"

He went to a black marble bar with shining glass shelves and poured himself some vodka he'd pulled out of an icebox.

He held up the bottle in offering, but Sin shook her head.

"How about a nice glass of red wine?"

Sin unfolded her arms and rolled her shoulders trying to relax. "Do you have white?"

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He replied with a smooth, sexy smile. Reaching under the bar, he opened a small fridge and took out a bottle of white wine. He poured her a glass, brought it over to the couch, and set it carefully on the glass coffee table. Then he took a seat on the couch and sipped his drink.

Sin stayed where she was.

"You didn't answer my question," she reminded him. "Why do I have to only take blood from you?"

"Because you are still my supplicant," he said. "You're still human, but that will change. In about two weeks, your teeth will come in, and you'll begin to think differently."

"Differently how?"

"More like a predator." Krysis patted the seat next to him in invitation. "Why don't you come and sit? I'm not going to bite you." He laughed darkly, and gooseflesh came up on her skin.

Sin paced and, shaking her head, tried to think clearly.

Krysis had a strange pull on her that made it very hard to reason. "I need to contact my sergeant. I have family I need to talk to."

"And tell them what? That your death was all a terrible mistake and you're all better now?"

Krysis let the absurdity of what she wanted to do sink in for a moment. Of course he was right, and she hated him for it.

"You're dead, honey," he said, "dead and buried."

"This is all so confusing," Sin said, running her fingers through her hair. "I mean, I feel
normal.
" She stopped pacing and stared at him. "Why did you pick me?"

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"I felt sorry for you. My death was somewhat similar."

Now Sin was intrigued. She came over, sat on the opposite couch, and took a sip of her wine. "How did you become a vampire?"

Krysis stretched his arms out across the back of the couch.

"I was a Hessian soldier, something of a German mercenary, recruited by Great Britain to serve in the American Revolutionary War. One evening while scouting for the enemy's camp, I and another Hessian were ambushed by some American revolutionaries. In the confusion, we drove them back, but me and the other soldier gave chase instead of returning to our superiors to report what had happened.

We ended up getting shot for our trouble. My partner died immediately, but I wasn't so lucky. I was left for dead, and as I lay dying in the wilderness, a mysterious vampire came and turned me just as I did for you."

Sin was no expert on history, but if she recalled correctly, the Revolutionary War was sometime in the late seventeen hundreds. "That was over two hundred years ago. Is that how old you are?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Then what happened?"

"The vampire kept me with him for about two weeks, kind of like a pet. He never spoke to me or told me who he was.

He only kept me long enough to give me the essential second bite. Then I was on my own."

Sin considered this for a few moments. Interesting, Krysis had no trace of a German accent. But then again, he'd 26

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probably lost it being in the United States so long. "That must have been lonely," she commented.

"It was, and I would never do that to anyone I changed."

"Do vampires live forever?" she asked.

"No," he said. "We grow old and die just like humans do, but we do it at a much slower rate."

Sin pushed down her nerves and came over to sit next to him. There was a sexiness about him that teased her, and she found herself unable to stop staring at his full lips. "I can't believe you don't have a lover."

"I've had them in the past," he said, reaching out and stroking her temple. The flesh-to-flesh contact made her heart speed up. "I just don't have one now."

"Did they leave you?" Sin asked. She leaned in close, mesmerized by those diamond blue eyes.

"They died," he replied. "Sometimes out of foolishness, sometimes because they got tired of living. But they all died before their time."

"Is that my fate as well? Will I, too, die before my time?"

"That is entirely up to you, Sin." Krysis placed his large hand against the side of her face and cradled her cheek. Then his lips touched hers in a soft, seductive kiss. Swept up in his dark aura, Sin closed her eyes. Something sharp scraped, then pinched her lower lip, and she tasted blood. Pulling away, Sin realized she'd cut her lip on his teeth. But before she could complain, he placed his hand on the back of her neck and claimed her mouth again. His rough tongue lapped at the wound and made it sting. The kiss ignited a passion in her that was all animal heat.

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Krysis stopped kissing her and stood up. Stretching his muscular torso, he peeled his shirt off and prowled off down the hall unbuttoning his black jeans. If this had been her normal life, the life before she became a vampire, she probably would have left. After all, she wasn't in the habit of sleeping with men she had just met. But in a day and night, everything had changed. She was
different
now, inside and out. An old part of her heart mourned the old life as a highway patrol officer, but a new part of her rejoiced in this newfound existence.

So Sin decided to follow Krysis and see where this weird relationship led.

Sin got up from the couch and followed him down the darkened hallway. It led to a huge master bedroom that could have been an apartment in itself. At the center of the room was a four-poster bed with snow white sheets and a downy comforter. Around each post were thick leather straps, and Sin felt her mouth go dry.

Krysis stood, naked, on the balcony overlooking the ocean below. His body was a masterpiece of sculptured muscle and looked perfect in the silver moonlight. His cock was partially erect, and even in that somewhat relaxed state was enormous. Sin guessed it must be around twelve inches long at full attention.

"What are the straps on the bed for?" she asked, fearing what his answer might be.

He came back into the bedroom, not bothering to close the sliding glass doors. His light blue eyes seemed to glow in the darkness. "Restraint."

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"Who gets restrained? You or me?"

Krysis smiled evilly. "Why, you do, of course." Then in an instant, he was in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and tearing the clothes from her with his sharp nails.

Sin lifted her hands to her neck certain he meant to kill her. Then she remembered she was already dead. She tried to pry his hand off her throat but couldn't budge it. "I don't like this," she croaked out.

Krysis laughed. "So stop me."

Furious now, Sin pulled back her fist and slammed it into the vampire's throat. Krysis barely registered the attack. He finished stripping her naked and tossed her on the bed like a rag doll. Sin jumped to her feet and ran across the mattress to get as far away from him as possible. But in the blink of an eye, Krysis was right in front of her, blocking her escape. She rolled away, but he caught her by the foot. She screamed in rage.

Kicking at him with all her might, Sin scanned the room for a weapon, any weapon. There was a curved dagger mounted on the wall, and Sin twisted her foot out of his grasp and lunged for it. Her hand circled the handle, and a new sense of power filled her. Armed now, she turned to face Krysis.

He chuckled. "Planning to kill me, Sin?" he taunted.

"No," she said, holding the knife out threateningly. "But I am willing to do what I have to in order to defend myself."

Krysis held up both hands in mock surrender. "I give up then."

"Why did you attack me? What was that, some kind of sick test?"

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"Guilty as charged," Krysis said. "I just needed to see how aggressive you could be."

Sin didn't lower the knife. "I don't trust you. What's the point of playing games with me?"

"Touch your tongue to your teeth," he said, settling back on the bed and playing with one of the leather restraints.

Delicately, Sin moved her tongue over her canine teeth and felt two slightly elongated points. It was weird and exciting at the same time. She lowered the knife. "I don't like being toyed with."

"I understand," he said. His demeanor was cool and a little bored. "Now why don't you put the knife down and come over here?"

Sin hesitated. Then driven by an urge she barely understood, she put the knife back on the wall. Moving with slow caution, she climbed up on the bed and crawled toward him on all fours. Krysis enveloped her in his powerful arms and kissed her deeply.

Being this close to him was ecstasy. His clean, masculine scent filled her senses, and before Sin knew it, her stolen blood was racing in her veins. Her heart started beating at such a frantic rate she was sure she it was going to explode.

But she didn't care about any of that right now. All she wanted was Krysis inside her body.

A tiny groan escaped her lips as she reached up and raked her hands through his short blond hair. Krysis pushed his chest against Sin's breasts, which made her tender nipples rise. Then his hot mouth escaped her lips, trailed over her jaw 30

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to her throat until he stopped and rested his lips against her flesh.

Sin wanted him to bite her more than she'd ever wanted anything in the world. "Do it," she whispered. "I love the way you make me feel."

Krysis pulled back. "I can't right now."

Her guts tightened in disappointment. "Why not?"

"Because I need to feed some more to replenish what I gave you earlier. Until you're ready to hunt, I have to nourish both of us." Krysis got up off the bed and dressed, and it was all Sin could do not to beg him to stay.

"What am I supposed to do while you're gone?"

Krysis moved out onto the balcony and jumped up on the steel railing. "Sleep. I'll be back soon, and then we can enjoy each other all night." Then he jumped off the balcony.

Terrified that he'd been killed, Sin rushed to the balcony and looked over the edge to jagged rocks below. Lazy waves crashed against the rocks below and disappeared into the sea again trailing sea foam. But there was no dead or injured body broken on the rocks, only a cool and wicked laugh that drifted into the enchanted night.

* * * *

Perfect.

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Prowling through the crowded living room, Krysis scanned the partygoers looking for a suitable victim. Out in the spacious backyard, a few people were standing around the lit pool talking and laughing. Then he spotted her, a young African American woman sipping a beer, off by herself. She looked tense, uncomfortable, and he guessed she didn't much like the party. He didn't blame her. If he hadn't needed to feed, he wouldn't have been here either. The place just had a sleazy vibe.

Krysis came over to the woman and smiled. "Need another beer?"

The woman blinked at him in surprise. She'd been so involved in her thoughts she hadn't seen him coming. "No."

She glanced at the bottle in dismay. "I've had enough. I'm just waiting for my boyfriend to drive me home."

"I'd be happy to drive you home if you like." He could see the wary look in her eyes. She was planning to refuse, so Krysis fixed her with his best come-hither stare. The woman scanned the crowd for a moment and then shook her head.

She made the mistake of glancing up into his eyes. Then he knew he had her.

Her beautiful brown eyes widened, and her jaw went slack.

"I shouldn't," she whispered. "My boyfriend will be mad."

"You shouldn't have a boyfriend who takes you to parties like this," Krysis said. "These are some very dangerous people."

"I know. That's why I wanted to go home. But now he's disappeared somewhere, and I'm stuck here," she said, still staring into his eyes.

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