Lure of Forever (9 page)

Coralie
swallowed nervously when the giant smiled, showing several rows of razor-sharp
teeth. He stood back, gesturing for her to step past him.

"This way, and move it, human.
Carmen is an impatient woman."

Clearly, so was he. The hurried
flick of his head revealed pointy ears and
Coralie
swallowed a hysterical bubble of laughter.
So much for
fairies being cute, little things at the bottom of the garden.
She
winced when his large hand grabbed her arm to guide her along. Long, perfectly
manicured fingernails dug into her flesh and
Coralie
shook his arm off with a terse, "Do you quite mind? That
hurts
."

"Oh I know that, little human.
I'm rather fond of some pain myself." Those purple eyes changed to a
yellowish red and the evil smile accompanying the next words sent a flood of
ice-cold dread down
Coralie's
spine. "I'm rather
hoping Carmen will let me play with you a little, once she's had her fill. Now
move it."

Coralie
had no choice but to follow the far-from-graceful fairy as he marched her along
the multitude of corridors at dizzying speed. The
fact that
every other occupant of the place hurried to get out of their way – in fact,
one of the maids double backed so fast that she tripped up – did not fill
Coralie
with confidence that she would like this encounter,
or survive
it.

When they finally stopped in front
of huge, double doors she had no idea where they were and could hardly breathe.
Three rapid knocks on the door were followed by a bid to enter.

The tall blonde facing them looked
horribly familiar, and
Coralie
bit back the curse she
was about to utter. This was Carmen? The snooty ice queen who'd referred to
Coralie
as a snack on Lucas's boat? Snack indeed. This was
one snack that would stick in her throat, even if it was literally the last
thing
Coralie
would do.

"Ah,
about time.
What took you so long,
Bughar
?
I hope she didn't give you any trouble?"

Bughar
gave
Coralie
a shove that sent her flying face-down
to the floor in front of Carmen.
Coralie
immediately
tried to get up, but the fairy's big, booted foot in her shoulder blades pushed
her back on the stone tiled floor. Her chin smashed into the floor and she
tasted blood.

"You'll give Carmen the respect
she commands, human."

To hell she would.
Bughar
could just bugger off.
 
She spat the blood pooling in her mouth on
the floor.

"You can both just fuck off.
I'll do no such thing."

Tears sprang into her eyes when
Bughar
yanked her to her feet by her hair. "Oh, I
won't fuck off." One of his hands settled on her breast and
Coralie
had to fight the urge to bring up her lunch.
"But I
will
fuck you."

"You assume too much,
Bughar
."

Carmen's cool voice held a hint of
amusement and
Bughar's
hand slid under
Coralie's
blouse, his heavy breath in her ear turning her
stomach.

"Forgive me, Carmen, but you're
welcome to watch."

Oh God, no fucking way, she'd rather
die right now.
Coralie
leant in as far as the brutal
grip on her hair would allow and bit the fairy's cheek. The minty taste of
fairy blood filled her mouth, and
Bughar
pulled away
with a roar, leaving bits of his cheek in
Coralie's
teeth. His retaliating punch snapped her head around and sent her body flying
halfway across the room. Fueled with the flood of adrenaline,
Coralie
landed on her feet and when
Bughar
advanced on her again she ran at him. Using all her bodyweight, she managed to
unbalance the giant temporarily, and with her momentary advantage, she rammed
both fists into his groin, bringing him to his knees with another roar.

He grabbed her arm and pulled her on
top of him, his razor-sharp teeth missing her shoulder by inches.
Coralie
screeched in terror as he rolled them both over.
His now blood-red eyes bored into hers and he ripped her blouse clean off her
with one hand. Trapped under his giant bulk,
Coralie
couldn't breathe, couldn't think. Spots danced in front of her eyes as
Bughar's
hand fumbled with the button of her jeans. He
grunted his excitement like a pig and
Coralie
welcomed the encroaching darkness. If he were going to rape her, at least she
wouldn't be conscious for it.

The light faded and the noises
stopped and
Coralie
floated, in her own little bubble
for several blissful seconds of oblivion before the pain in her ribs brought
her back. The heavy weight of
Bughar
lifted off her.
She sat up in confusion and clutched the torn sides of her blouse around
herself.

Lucas had
Bughar
pinned against the wall, looking every inch the ruthless killer and at that
moment in time, the most wonderful sight ever to
Coralie
.

"Enough." Carmen's cool
voice held an unmistakable air of demand. "This has been fun but I'm bored
now. Lucas, let
Bughar
go.
Now."

Lucas growled his denial, one
claw-shaped hand raised above
Bughar's
heart.
"He went too far, Carmen."

"I said,
let
him go.
Now.
Obey your maker, Lucas."

Maker?
The ice queen and Lucas?
Coralie
couldn't quite suppress her gasp and Carmen's attention settled on her. In the
blink of an eye Carmen had
Coralie
pinned to her
side. She effortlessly bent her back over one arm, and
Coralie
screamed when Carmen's fangs sank into her neck.

"Hmmm,
so tasty, Lucas.
I can see why you like this
one."

Chapter
Ten

It took all of Lucas's control to
not the gut the bastard where he stood. Instead he released the fairy slowly.
Bughar
straightened to his full size, and the superior
smile on his face as he strolled back to Carmen made Lucas's fangs itch.
 
His nostrils flared and his gut folded in on
itself upon seeing
Coralie
struggle in Carmen's hold,
her huge brown eyes filled with tears and full of pain and terror.
 
It was that sheer terror that had alerted him
to her peril.
 
He had sensed her unease,
her fury and her wonder, ever since he'd regained consciousness three days ago,
after Carmen's healer injected several vials of her blood straight into his
heart. But he'd kept away from her. He wanted to be fully restored to his
normal self before facing her.
 
Carmen
had thankfully been too involved in establishing the origin of
Jacomo's
summons to bother with
Coralie
– until now.

Whatever she had discovered had
clearly put Carmen in the mood for a bit of torture.
 
And his feisty little human had been chosen
as the entertainment. His fingernails drew blood inside his clenched fists and
he willed his fury to subside. He had to beat Carmen at her own game to save
Coralie
, even if it meant she would never speak to him
again.

"Come on, Lucas, why the sour
face? Don't want to share?" Carmen pouted and pulled
Coralie
up straight. Her long fingers dug into
Coralie's
neck, causing the girl to wince in pain.

"Not at all, Carmen, go
ahead." He steeled himself against the hurt in
Coralie's
eyes as he advanced on her. "I got fucking fairy blood all over my suit,
that's all." He dismissed
Bughar's
growl with a
wave of his hand. "You really need to control your pet. The way he went at
her, there wouldn't have been much left of her to share…and that would be a
shame."

He bent
Coralie's
head and allowed his fangs to sink in just far enough to give the impression he
meant business. As he hoped, Carmen lost interest instantly. There was no
fun
to be had if the prey was so easily available, and if she couldn't torture him
in the process. Such was the price he paid for turning away from his former
lover.

Carmen dismissed him with a wave of
her hand. "I'm not hungry. Compel her and send her on her merry way.
 
I need you focusing on
Jacomo
.
He's too close."

 
He flashed his fangs at Carmen and pulled
Coralie
closer, willing her to co-operate. She pushed
against him, but went limp when he tightened his hold on her enough to hurt and
whispered in her ear, "Follow my lead if you want to live."

He tilted her head up and focused
his thoughts. Like the last time he tried, his hands heated but this time
Coralie
didn't repel him. Instead he got her thoughts loud
and clear
. You bite me again and I swear I'll stake you, you bloody
obnoxious, good for nothing…thing, you.

****

She was going to kill him, she
really was. Here she was about to be eaten alive and he smiled at her as though
it was the most amusing thing ever. She trembled and her stomach clenched as
the adrenaline that swamped her system dissipated.
 
Every bone in her body hurt, her skin felt
too small for her frame and she could swear even her hair ached. Against her
better judgment she leaned into Lucas, and some of the tension left his
shoulders as he pulled her closer into him, supporting her with an arm around
the waist.

"She won't remember any of
this, Carmen."

Coralie
did her best to adopt a vacant expression. Not that Carmen paid any attention
to her. She'd dismissed her like
Coralie
would an
annoying fly, and had it not been for Lucas's arm tightening around her waist
in warning she'd have swung for the bitch.

"Let me take the human back to
her quarters."
Bughar's
snarl made
Coralie's
skin crawl and she leaned further back into
Lucas's hard chest just as his answering growl vibrated through her and curled
her toes.

"You keep your filthy hands off
her, Fairy, or I'll wear your guts as a necklace."

"Hah, you got lucky last time,
De Tourneau. I was too busy enjoying your whore to notice you." Lucas
leapt onto the fairy in one dizzying blur of air and the floor shook, as the
two of them fell down.
Coralie
watched in horror as
they rolled around the floor. Lucas sank his fangs into
Bughar's
chest and the fairy roared a high-pitched squeal that hurt
Coralie's
ears and shattered the large glass windows at the far side of the long room.

"Boys,
boys, really.
All this fuss over a little
human."
Carmen laughed, clearly enjoying the spectacle in front of
her.

God, that woman really was a
monster. They all were. As
Coralie
watched,
Bughar
seemed to get the upper hand. He shook Lucas off and
the vampire slid across the floor and crashed into the wall with such force it
cracked.
 
He lay motionless on the floor
and
Coralie
almost ran towards him. To do what, she
wasn't entirely sure. Thankfully before her brain could send the message to her
feet, Lucas got up.
 
Head down, hands
raised into claws he readied himself to fight the advancing fairy again.

"Stop this, for goodness sakes.
They're
gonna
kill each other."

Carmen laughed at
Coralie's
plea, but she did clap her hands and order the
vampire and fairy to stop.

"It seems your little human is
worried about you, Lucas. If I had a heart it would be bleeding right
now."

Coralie
breathed a sigh of relief when Lucas walked away from
Bughar
and her stomach fluttered at the expression she thought she glimpsed in his
eyes for a fleeting second. She must have imagined it though, because his
sinister laugh replaced the butterflies with shards of fury.

"Just goes to show that humans
have no sense, Carmen."

Tears of frustration at her own
stupidity rose in
Coralie's
eyes and she resolutely
blinked them away. What did she expect, really? It took all of her survival
instinct kicking in to not slap away Lucas's hands on her backside.
 
How dare he treat her as though she was some
sort of amusing pet? She crossed her arms and bit her lip to keep from blurting
those thoughts. The lecherous way
Bughar's
eyes
roamed across her skin, made her all too aware of her state of undress and she
pulled the ends of her torn blouse around herself as best she could.