A Taste for Blood (7 page)

“You kind of have to,” I pointed out, offering her a half-shrug as she went to put on her robe. “And in my defence, I didn’t realise it was your room until you were almost here.”

“It was a pleasant surprise on all sides then.”

I nodded and glanced down at Kassy. “Now, about that kiss…”

“What k—?”

My lips were on Kassy’s before she could finish. She melted in my arms, and I parted her lips with my tongue. Still high from the blood we shared, I didn’t doubt Kassy felt as horny as I did. And as soon as I pinched her nipple, she probably forgot all about her close call with Zee. Her hands clawed at my chest, at the buttons of my shirt that hadn’t come undone.

Lifting her up off the bed, I pinned her to one of the walls, smiling as she jumped from the cold contact. I touched my cock to her hip, which was already hard after our short trip from the bed. She growled when my shirt didn’t come off as quickly as she would’ve liked and diverted her hands to my waist, to the pants I still wore, and, finally, to my cock.

I pressed a hand to the side of her neck, refusing to let go even as she tried to pull away.

“Bedroom,” she pleaded, her lips brushing mine.

“No time,” I said, my breath catching as she took my cock in her hand. “Too many steps.”
Too many fucking steps.

“Good.”

She left the rest of her words unsaid, but I didn’t doubt the fact that neither one of us was ready to leave. Hell, I didn’t trust myself leaving this room let alone getting down the hall or back up to the top floor of the hotel. I groaned at my shaking hands as I fought with Kassy’s collar, removing it as I guided her back over to the bed.

She happily lay down, making her way to the middle of the bed as I took off the rest of my clothes. Every nerve in my body screamed for release, and they’d have one, but not yet. Not when I had the chance to bite, taste and see my sub for who she truly was—a vampire, and a damned good one at that!

Bite marks covered either side of her neck, accompanied by ones I’d left on her wrists, the insides of her arms and even on her breasts. No place on her body was safe. Then again, there were few places I hadn’t bitten or refused to bite.

She squirmed on the bed, moving her hand down to her clit. I swallowed as she arched her back and inhaled her sweet, musky scent as it permeated the room. Bite or not, I had to have her, and I couldn’t wait. Not for the stairs, our hunger or the condom that was still in my back pocket.

Fuck.

“The condom. I—”

Kassy pulled me into a kiss, smiling when I fell onto the bed beside her. “I don’t care about a damned condom.” I raised my eyebrows, and she continued, “Vampires can’t have children, right?”

I laughed at my foolishness, remembering I’d come to the same conclusion earlier this morning. “Bad habits…”

“Are never going to die, so get over it.”

I already am.

In a tangle of arms and legs, I wasn’t sure who wanted it—who needed it—more. Kassy with her insatiable kiss, or me attempting—and failing—to match her pace. I wanted to feel her—her heart beating next to mine. To hear her moan. To
be
her.

To be that new again. Free of responsibility with the coven. To have that first taste. Experience that initial high. It only ever happened once. Those that followed were just a buzz. A sniff.

Lost in my thoughts, I almost missed Kassy’s change in rhythm, her hand on my cock bringing me back to the present.

I eyed her shoulder as she stroked up and down my length, her muscles tensing any time she altered her direction. Following her example to keep from going all nostalgic on her again, I let my hand fall to her breasts and drew circles around her nipple until it perked beneath them.

She breathed in our kiss, moaning against my mouth when I did the same thing to the other one. Her hold on me tightened, and even as I parted her pussy lips with my fingers, I matched her stroke for aching stroke.

Shuddering from her touch, I bucked towards her, slipping a digit inside her pussy before quickly withdrawing it. I clenched my jaw, inhaling as much of her as I could from the electrified air surrounding us.

She moaned. Bit my lip. Someone cursed. Completely naked, it almost felt as if we were still clothed.
Too many damned things getting in the way.

When I tried to thrust into her, an arm stopped me. She arched her back, squirming when my fingers slipped past her sensitive clit.

Something had to give, and I was the first one to move. In the time it took me to grasp her hands in mine, I had them pinned to the bed.

Kassy closed her eyes, inhaled and held her breath. Kneeling between her knees, I rubbed my cock over the inside of her leg. Her clit. Her pussy.

She growled from her frustration, fisting her hands every time I pulled away. It was a tease, and she knew it. We’d played this game countless times before—a mind fuck—only now, the rules had changed.

She could’ve just as easily pinned me to the bed, but she waited, submitting not only to me but to every ounce of what she’d become. What I had turned her into.

Her hands relaxed. She started to take a handful of calming breaths. I urged her to widen her stance by widening my own.

“Good girl.”

Before the words had even left my lips, I pushed against her folds, past her pussy lips. Kassy sucked in a breath as mine caught in the back of my throat.

I thrust again, sighing almost peacefully once I slipped inside. Kassy’s eyes opened, fixed on mine. I released her hands and took a few steadying breaths as I held on to her hips.

Somehow, through all the chaos that was our hands and legs getting in the way, we found our stride. And when I touched my hips to hers, Kassy rocked hers back, drawing me in even deeper.

I repositioned my hand, holding my thumb above her clit. And each time she rocked her hips, we made contact.

“That,” she murmured, screwing her eyes tight.

I smiled and held the same pace as before. “Like that?”

She nodded. Moaned. I circled her clit with my thumb. My arms shook. My legs weren’t doing any better, and as the first tremor ran through me, I doubled my efforts on Kassy.

“Fuck.” It was barely a whisper, a word formed by her lips, but silent or not, it said so much more.

She’s close.
So was I, blinking at the haze to keep some semblance of control.

“Faster,” Kassy pleaded, wrapping her arms around my neck. “Please… Faster…”

I licked my lips. “I won’t be able to hold back if I do.” Another tremor.
Shit.
If I kept at even this pace I was screwed. “I’ll… I’m gonna…”

I growled and furrowed my brow, pounding into Kassy fast and hard—just how she’d wanted it. She dug her nails into my neck and threw her legs over my hips.

Blinded by her need, by her submission, I rammed into her until I saw sparks. Her body tensed, and as she released the most delicious cry of bliss, I let myself go.

Sighing at the now absent tension, I kissed her on the forehead and collapsed beside her. She whimpered, or maybe it was a moan, but for a single moment she was calm, the lust inside her put to rest.
For now.

Lifting my head from the pillow before I could pass out into sweet oblivion, I looked around the room.

Zee was gone, and with her, the temptation to drink again.
So soon.
Through our delirium, Kassy and I hadn’t even heard her leave. And for the time being, nothing else existed outside of what was in that room—peace with the one I had turned.

“Sleep now. We can feed once you recover,” I said.

Even as my mind began to drift, my thoughts came back to Zee and her silent disappearance. I’d have to thank her for the room later. Properly.
Privately.
Until then, I took my own advice, and as I drew in a contented sigh, I slept.

Chapter Seven

By the time Kassy and I had woken up and had our fill of blood, it was later in the evening. Still a little drunk from our last meal, we slowly made our way up the stairs, bumping into walls and railings whenever we got the chance. The smile on my face didn’t last long. As soon as we reached our floor, I knew Corvis would be waiting for us outside our room.

The smell of dried blood and sewage filled the halls and cascaded down through the stairwells. And while it wasn’t the odour he usually wore, it stank of the other covens, underground passageways and stale rain. Kassy noticed it, too—pausing once we got to the top step.

“It’s Corvis,” I explained, opening the door to our hall. “Business as always.” I forced a smile but was pretty sure she could see right through it.

For whatever reason, Kassy didn’t ask. I didn’t speak after that, mentally untying the knot in my stomach. I wasn’t sure what was worse—knowing Corvis had brought news from the other leaders or not knowing just how bad things actually were.

And you’re about to find out.

Corvis turned to face us, his eyes weary from travel. I drew in a deep breath. It was something I never envied him for. He had to fix whatever the coven screwed up, and in most cases, he had to fess up for it to the other leaders. I could only imagine how frayed his nerves were, and I stepped lightly as we reached the door to our room.

“Where have you been?” Corvis growled as I unlocked the door.

“In the den with—”

“I told you to stay here—”

“In the
hotel.
”
And weren’t you the one who mentioned the blood dens in the first place?

I lowered my voice and led him along with Kassy inside before locking the door behind us. “We never left.” I crossed my arms over my chest as Corvis refused to sit. “I told you we needed to feed. What else did you expect us to do? Starve? Wait for you to get back? Then what, huh?”

I hated when he looked at me like that. Always judging. It never failed to put me on edge, even if I hadn’t done anything wrong.

Corvis’ eyes darkened. “I can see feeding hasn’t improved your mood.” He stepped closer to me so Kassy wouldn’t hear.

I watched her go into the bathroom and waited for her to close the door before continuing. “It’s kind of hard when you keep judging my every move like I’m some kind of kid.”

Corvis raised his eyebrows, and damn it, if he didn’t wear that ridiculous grin he got anytime he hit a nerve.

“You know what I mean,” I said. “No matter if you’re my creator or not, I have a right to make my own choices.”

“Then tell me, who did you drink with today, hmm?”

Like you have to ask.
I bit my tongue but decided to play along. “Zee was with us for the better part of the morning. Ask her if you must know.”
Not that I haven’t told you myself already.

Corvis’ posture stiffened, and he lowered his gaze.

Something’s wrong.

I swallowed around the lump forming in my throat. “What? What is it?”

“Alex…” He glanced back over his shoulder at Kassy as she stepped out of the bathroom. “Zee’s dead.”

I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t think. Every sound, everything in the room, felt like it was a million miles away. Corvis had brought news like this to me before, but either because of the deaths happening all over Boston or the rogue vampire he had yet to address, his approach was cold.

I choked out a series of words that must’ve been in another language as neither Corvis nor Kassy offered a reply. Kassy’s eyes searched mine, her unshed tears causing my emotions to close around my windpipe.

My knees buckled, and with Kassy’s help, I somehow managed to make it over to the bed before my legs went from underneath me. “S-she can’t be. I just saw her.”

“You were in her room for hours.” Corvis stepped closer, his gaze fixed somewhere on the floor instead of at me. “But tell me, how long did she stay there with you?”

I furrowed my brow as nausea slowly crept into the back of my throat. “I-I don’t know.” I watched Kassy as she squeezed my hands and knelt in front of me, but I didn’t feel a damned thing. “Where?”

“Where what?” Corvis asked.

“Where did she die?” I spoke through my teeth as my hands started to shake.

“I don’t see why—”

“Where. Is. She?”

“At Horizons… Same as all the others.”

I went to stand, nearly losing my balance as the blood rushed to my head. Corvis stopped me at the door. “What about the rogue?”

Corvis shook his head. “Never found him.”

“Then you didn’t look hard enough, did you? Move aside.”

“This isn’t your fight, Alex.”

“No, it isn’t. But since you haven’t done a damned thing to prevent it, it looks like I need to clean up your mess yet again.” I glanced at Kassy and bit back a growl. “If you’re coming with me, don’t get in the way.”

Things just got personal.

Chapter Eight

Shuffling past humans and vampires alike, I fought against my emotions—from my anger at Corvis and the rogue vampire, to the fear of what I might find, and finally to my guilt for barking at Kassy. But as I strode out of the hotel and into the open streets, Kassy wasn’t far behind me. She matched me step for step, her eyes a mix of fear and concern.

I caught her reaching for my hand a few times out of the corner of my eye, but for whatever reason, she didn’t take it. Perhaps she was waiting for me to close the distance between us, or to see if I would take the lead. But no matter how much I begged my hand to hold hers—to hold on to this reality—it didn’t move.

My legs and feet were about all that did, pushing me closer to Horizons as I tried to figure out what I’d do once we got there. I was drunk. Dangerously so. We should’ve turned back—waited until morning for me to clear my head.

We kept walking. And as we rounded the corner to the club, neither of us stopped. Kassy picked up her pace just enough to open the door, leaving me to walk right into a room that stank of adrenaline, dried blood and fresh kills.

My heart stopped, jump-starting moments later when I realised who—what—was sitting at the front desk.
Tyler.
I tightened my jaw as my vision started to darken. Against all my efforts, I bit at my bottom lip, and I adjusted my jaw before I could do any kind of damage.