Addict (11 page)

Alan’s red-rimmed eyes filled with tears. “You have no idea. I needed it, you see. I had to do it. I didn’t want to sign anything. And I don’t want to do what I have to do. But, Kelsey, if I don’t, they’ll cut me off. Please tell me you understand.”

He looked so lost standing there, scratching at his own flesh. He didn’t even realize his claws had come out. He’d scratched through his shirt and thin lines of red dotted the ruined fabric. Someone had to talk him down.

I turned to look for Marcus because no one on the planet was better at persuasion than my lover. “Wait here for a minute, Alan. I know someone who can help you.”

I was turning to cross the distance that separated us. Marcus’s head came up, sensing I needed him. He stood with a curious expression on his face. Donovan glanced up as well, his eyes following Marcus’s line of sight.

“No one can help me, bitch.” Alan snarled as his claws sank into my arm. Pain shot through me as he turned me around with a twist. “But killing you might buy me some time.”

His free claw swung in an arc that was meant for my throat. That claw was coming for me and it would split my jugular and then no amount of Marcus would likely stop me from bleeding out. I pulled away with all my might, something that should have sent weak-ass Alan across the room. He held me tight. I barely managed to avoid getting my throat slit. Alan’s claw did damn near take out my eye, though. He dragged his sharp nails across my cheek, gouging deep. I felt every inch of that tear.

I kicked out to get him off me and landed on my ass because Alan was already being assaulted on two fronts. Trent had his clawed hands around Alan’s neck. Somehow, Alan seemed to be pulling away from the big alpha. He couldn’t get away from Marcus, though. Marcus didn’t need to lay a hand on him. Alan stopped trying to pull away from Trent. His eyes went blank and glassy and his hands suddenly sank into his own belly. Blood began to flow from the wounds.

“Marcus, stop,” I yelled. Well, I tried. My face was totally fucked up and apparently having working muscles aids in the yelling experience.

All around me the club was coming to a standstill as the blood started to flow. Quinn was on some sort of walkie-talkie and security had been called. Donovan was suddenly standing next to Alan, and I hadn’t even seen him move. He had his hands on Alan’s, trying to pull them away from his bleeding belly.

“Trent, take his left hand,” Donovan ordered.

Trent joined the effort, pulling at Alan’s claws.

Marcus’s eyes had gone pitch black, his face a mask of pure rage. He stalked toward me. I could see his mind was still inside Alan’s.

“Marcus, let him go.” The king was yelling now. He appeared to be having trouble holding Alan’s hands away from his body. You have to understand. I’m talking about the King of all Vampire. The dude’s kind of super strong, and he wasn’t able to break Marcus’s hold.

My vampire lover said nothing, merely tightened his fist, and Donovan was swearing again as Alan renewed his attempts to gut himself.

“Marcus, please.” I put my hands on either side of his face. I needed him to focus on me. While the idea that his brain could trump Donovan and Trent’s brawn did something for my girl parts, I had other problems to consider. First, getting clawed by a hopped-up-on-freaky-drugs shifter hurt like shit and second, I still had a job to do. “I need him. You can’t kill him. He has information I need.”

“He cut you.” Marcus’s fangs gleamed in the low light of the club. “He would have killed you.”

“And you can fix me,” I promised. “But if you kill him, I can’t get what I need out of him. Please. This is important to me, Marcus.”

The vampire flashed his fangs and waved his right hand in an almost dismissive manner. Alan went limp, like a marionette who’d had its strings cut. Donovan and Trent had to catch him before he hit the floor.

Marcus gently pushed my head to one side, studying what Alan had done to my face. It hurt like a motherfucker, and I was pretty sure my face was a mask of nastiness. Blood flowed freely down my neck and on to my chest. My lover’s face turned savage. Not killing Alan had been an indulgent act on his behalf, and one it looked like he regretted.

“Does it hurt?” Marcus asked with a frown. I knew he was deciding how much blood I would need and if he should do it here.

“Not bad,” I lied, trying to smile. The muscles on one side of my face didn’t work anymore, but I knew he would prefer privacy. I would, too. For some reason, I didn’t want Trent to watch me sucking on Marcus’s chest. It’s weird, but knowing he would watch made me pause.

Marcus shook his head and took my hand in his. “Liar. Come along. It isn’t serious. We’ll fix it upstairs. I believe you will find the king now desires a word.” The king was, indeed, towering over me. Marcus waved him off. “Upstairs, Daniel. I need to take care of her, then she can answer your questions.”

Donovan nodded. He obviously didn’t like it, but he let it go. I seriously doubt he would allow his wife to answer questions while she was bleeding and half her face was slowly sliding off her body. “Fine. I’ll be up at your place in fifteen. I’ve called Henri and Alex. They’re the best doctors we have.”

Marcus started to lead me away. I turned back, trying to speak to the king. “He’s on something. I need a toxicology report. Also, check his clothes and shoes to see if we can tell where he’s been in the last twenty-four hours.” Something was seriously wrong with Alan and his body was my best evidence. “Maybe I should stay here until Henri gets here.”

Henri Jacobs was a doctor and an academic. He was also Marcus’s friend. I didn’t mention the other doctor. I’d been hoping to avoid Alexander Sharpe entirely.

“It’s fine, Miss Owens,” a softly accented voice said. Henri pushed his way through the crowd. His beautiful wife was behind him. Kimberly Jacobs had an ice pack in her hand. Henri looked at me and frowned. He nodded to Marcus. “Make sure she gets enough. I would not want that to scar.”

“Here.” Kim handed me the ice pack. “It’ll take the sting out until Marcus can fix it.”

I thanked her, putting the cooling pack to my face. Henri assured me he would get everything I needed. Marcus had enough of my stalling and simply lifted me up and started for the elevators.

As we passed Dev Quinn, it was hard not to notice the look of utter satisfaction on his face. I made a mental note to ask Marcus what he’d meant with that crack about “so-called destiny.”

Ten minutes later, I sighed as I pressed my mouth to Marcus’s chest and the rich velvet of his blood flooded my body. It was almost like a dark, deep chocolate, and I couldn’t get enough of it. At the heart, of course, it isn’t the taste that keeps you coming back. It’s what it does to your body. That blood gives you a hint of the vampire’s strength. You feel happier, safer, more alive than you could ever feel without it. It was the best drug I’d ever tried, and in my fucked up youth, I’d tried them all.

“Keep drinking,
cara mia
,” Marcus said.

I knew if I could see him, his fangs would be large and his eyes big and dark. It’s pleasurable for a vampire to share blood. If we had time, I was sure we’d make love again, but I could already hear the living room filling up with people.

Marcus’s hands loosened around my hair, his signal that I’d taken enough. He wasn’t telling me I had to stop, merely that I could when I wished to. I took one long last mouthful and licked the hole on his chest. The minute I stopped sucking, it closed as though it had never been there.

“Better,” he proclaimed after carefully studying my face.

He kissed my forehead, and I glanced at myself in the mirror. If it hadn’t been for the blood on my skin and clothes, you wouldn’t know I’d been in a fight at all. I regretfully pulled the sweater off and turned on the water in the sink. I had blood from my cheek to my neck and across my shoulders. Marcus’s eyes darkened, bleeding out until there was no white left.

“Baby, we have a whole roomful of people waiting,” I tried pointing out.

The king and Quinn were both out there. Trent and a security team had followed them. As soon as Henri Jacobs knew anything, he would be on his way up.

It didn’t matter, though, because I was now half naked with a vampire attached to my neck. Marcus sat on the marble counter of the bathroom and wrapped himself around me. He licked the blood from my skin with long, luxurious strokes of his tongue.

There was a short knock on the bathroom door.

“Kelsey, are you okay?” Liv’s voice was thin and reedy.

“Go in and see for yourself,” another feminine voice insisted. “Is Marcus decent?”

“He’s clothed,” I replied as he tightened his legs around me. He fully enveloped me, and he wasn’t letting go.

“Good.” The Queen of all Vampire pushed her way into the bathroom. Her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her. “Well, I suppose that was inevitable.”

Liv’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Oh, my god.” She held up her dainty handbag. “Do you want me to…I don’t know…detach him from you?” She turned to the queen for support. “Can I do that?”

I didn’t think going after one of the most powerful vampires in the world armed only with a Coach bag and righteous indignation was a good idea.

Zoey Donovan-Quinn smiled and shook her auburn hair. “I wouldn’t advise it.”

“Is this normal?” I asked as Marcus pulled my hair gently to get better access. There seemed to be a spot behind my ear he’d missed.

“Oh, yeah,” the queen said with a negligent wave of her hand. “Daniel does it all the time. If I nick myself while shaving, he comes running.” She took a seat in the upholstered chair attached to the vanity. “So, how was Venice? Lee said you had a good time.”

Marcus licked my cheek with a sexy groan. I was sure he knew there were other people in the room, but he didn’t seem to care. He scraped his fangs along my skin.

“It was really nice. I’ve never been out of the country before,” I replied because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. “Marcus took me all over the city. I saw the San Marco piazza, but I had to make Marcus go away before the pigeons would land on me. They didn’t seem to like him. Is he going to stop any time soon?”

“When the blood’s gone,” Zoey explained as though she was talking about the weather. She got up. “And then he’ll probably do that thing where he listens to your heart. Let him. It soothes them. I’ll let Daniel know it’s going to be a while. Liv was freaking out. We were having our monthly Bunco session and, of course, someone had to rush in and tell us you had been horribly mauled by a rabid shifter. And I was winning. I never win. I think Neil cheats somehow. One day I’ll figure it out.” Zoey opened the door. “Oh, and if Danny starts like yelling or something about how long it’s taking, don’t worry about it. Take your time. His bark is way worse than his bite.” She smiled brilliantly. “His bite is actually quite nice.”

Liv stood back, her cheeks pink with obvious embarrassment. “I’m sorry I interrupted. I was worried. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I gave her a thumbs-up. “I’m good. He got in a good swipe with those claws. Damn near took out my eye. Marcus fixed it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Liv said awkwardly. “Oh, good, he’s done with the blood part.”

Marcus’s head came up and he caught me with his pitch-black eyes and hopped down from the counter. Without a word, he took my hand and sat down in the chair previously occupied by the queen. He pulled me into his lap and immediately shoved his ear right over my heart. His arms wrapped around me and I could feel his heart start to beat in time with mine. Soothing. I was calming as he did.

“See, that’s freaky,” Liv said.

“He’s a vampire,” I pointed out. “And honestly, compared to Gray he’s practically normal.”

Marcus growled low in the back of his throat.

“And way better at making me happy,” I said placatingly. I decided to not piss off the vampire, who had obviously had enough stimulation for one night. I decided to go with it. I stroked his hair and felt him relax against me. I turned my attention back to Liv. “How bad is it out there?”

Her mouth flattened. “They’re all there, Kels. It’s like a power player convention.”

Marcus didn’t look like he was moving any time soon. I threw my former BFF a pleading look. “You have to stall them.”

“And how am I supposed to do that?” Liv asked. “They’re vampires. I can’t whip out some pigs in a blanket and call it a party. Though it would work with the wolves. You don’t happen to have any of those mini sausages, do you?”

Marcus gave me one last squeeze and then released me suddenly. “I will handle the king,
bella
. You get dressed. You are feeling better?”

I studied that gorgeous face for a moment, my hands cupping his cheeks. I wanted to soothe him, but he seemed to be back to his calm self. If he’d done anything abnormal, he wasn’t embarrassed by it. “I’m peachy now, babe.”

“I’m feeling better myself.” He set me on my feet. “Don’t take too long. I have questions as well.”

He nodded politely to Liv, slipped on his jacket, and left the bathroom.

Liv and I stared at each other for one long moment before we both dissolved into giggles. She walked over and threw her arms around me. After a second of hesitation, I hugged her back. The truth was I didn’t have enough friends that I could give up on them so easily.

I had missed her.

“I love you, Kelsey,” Liv whispered. “I’m so sorry about what happened. If I could take it back I would. I just…I miss you.”

I nodded, surprised that I felt tears pricking the back of my eyes. I shrugged them off. “I missed you, too. I promise, I’ll figure out what’s going on with Scott.”

“I know you will. I trust you.”

I trust you
—the three most burdensome words in the English language. They were certainly the three most likely to get me into trouble.

Chapter Six