Stephen (9 page)

“
You’ll do as I say, or so help me...” Stephen looked at him, and Samuel wanted to tell him that he might be better off leaving her there for now and trying a calmer approach. But whatever he might have been going to say was cut off when a part of the stone opening to the cave shattered.

It happened so quickly that he wasn’t sure how he was tossed to the ground. One second he was standing next to Jimmy, and the next, he was laying on the dirt with someone on top of him. He tried to move and heard a harsh voice tell him to be still. It was Stephen.

“
Someone is firing at us.” Samuel started to raise his head but was shoved back down. “Do you fucking want to get killed? Lay the fuck still while I try to figure this out.”

“
I want to breathe if you don’t mind.” Stephen shifted, and Samuel could see then. Clar was standing, but she seemed to have a glow around her. That was when he realized she had a protective shield around her and the rest of them. Stephen stood up then and looked around while still in the shield. Christ, Samuel thought, they looked so right together that he was stunned.

“
I can’t hear them.” Stephen nodded at Clar when she spoke. He saw Stephen whisper in her ear just before he put his hands on her shoulders. She seemed to glow more, and Samuel knew that he was helping her. “There are three of them. One of them is younger by far than the others. The oldest…a man about forty…shot at us. He is disappointed that he couldn’t kill me. The middle man thinks that this is just going to get him back in jail. The youngest is…he’s aroused because he got to shoot at a vampire.”

Stephen held onto Clar’s shoulders as she continued. Samuel knew that he was hyping up her abilities and was amazed by it. He wondered how much further she could read peoples’ minds when the shield was lowered. Samuel sat there for several seconds trying to wrap his mind around what just happened.

“
Will you please come to my house with me now?” Stephen started pacing when Clar shook her head. “I don’t want to have to make you go with me, but I will if you don’t try to see reason. Someone is out to kill you. Can’t you see that?”

“
I can see a great deal. What I don’t understand is why you give a shit.” Stephen stopped pacing and stared at her as she continued. “You said yourself that you don’t want me. You’ve even gone so far as to tell others that you don’t. So again, I ask you, why do you care what happens to me? Because I gotta tell you, I’m completely confused.”

Stephen pulled her into his arms. The kiss he gave her was searing and heated. Samuel watched as Stephen pulled her body to his and wrapped her around him. In seconds they were gone, and Samuel let out a long, slow breath. Christ, he felt the need from his friend as if it were his own. He looked at Jimmy, who looked just as stunned.

“
Now what?” Samuel shrugged. “Christ, I don’t know about you, but I want to go and find my mate.”

So did Samuel. And right fucking now. He stood up and shook the snow that had begun to fall off his coat. Taking off toward his home, he was astounded at his own need. If the couple that had just left them were half as needy as he was, he actually felt sorry for them. Or not. They’d likely kill each other before they finished. But they’d have a great time while they were at it.

Chapter 5

Edward woke with a start. He had no idea where he was, nor did he know why he was so sore. Moving as quickly as his body would allow him, he sat up. Realization hit him like a ball bat between the eyes. He’d fucked and been fucked by a man. Several times, if memory served him. Looking around the overdone room, he stood up and moved to the bathroom. This room was no easier on his eyes than the one he’d just left.

The red toilet and countertop made him think of blood. The tile floor, nearly the same color as the others, had black grout between each of the two–by-two inch slabs of clay. The shower stall was a flat black color, and the glass surrounding it looked like it was shattered. But when he touched it, he could see that it was the pattern of it rather than it being broken. The towels, two of which hung on the bar that was on the shower and the smaller one at the sink, were also black. It matched the room beyond well, as it too was done up in velvet of the same color. He looked at himself in the mirror above the sink.

He looked like he’d gone several rounds with a fighter and had come up short. Very short. He turned his head to the right and saw that he’d been cut a few times. But upon closer inspection, he could see that they were punctures, not cuts. Edward remembered that at one point he’d been bitten, and his mind skittered away from that thought. Reaching into the shower, he turned the water on, half expecting it to come out black or that deep red, but it sprayed out plain water. As he was already naked, Edward stepped into the spray.

His ass was so sore when he rubbed the cloth over it that he had to grab the wall for support. He knew that the man who had violated him had been large, and knew that as much as he wanted to forget the entire thing, there was no way he’d be able to so long as he was this sore. He washed his body four times before turning off the taps. Standing there shivering slightly, he reached for the towel, hoping that it was as clean as he now was. The knock at the door started a cry from him.

“
My lord, I have breakfast for you. Where would you like for me to set it up?” The man on the other side of the door cleared his throat as he continued. “If I may be so bold, sire, I have brought you some pain medications as well. In addition, there are clothes for you to put on.”

Wrapping the towel around his waist, Edward walked out of the bathroom and stared at the large man standing there. When he took a step toward him, Edward moved back. The man seemed to understand and took a few steps back as well. Pointing to the clothing on the bed, he moved to the small table in the corner.

“
Where are they?” He hadn’t meant to ask, but he needed to know if he could make a clean break. “And how do I get home?”

“
They are resting, my lord. As for you leaving, we were told you would be residing here for a time.” The man lifted covers off two plates, and Edward felt his mouth water. If it tasted only half as good as it smelled, he was going to devour the entire thing. Moving toward the table, he thought about what the man had said.

“
I’m not staying here. I don’t even know where here is. I’m assuming I didn’t drive here.” The butler or whatever he was shook his head as he poured orange juice into a glass from a large carafe. “Can you call me a cab or something?”

“
I cannot. Shall you require something else to eat, sire?” Edward told him no and asked again about transportation. “They have said you will stay. It is not possible for me to go against the mistress’s wishes. And if you were smart, sire, you would not either.”

After the man left, Edward looked at the food. There was so much of it, he wondered who the man thought he was feeding. There were ten sausage links, as well as thick slices of ham. Several eggs had to have been broken to make the omelet that took up his entire plate. And the coffee smelled like heaven. Biting into the croissant that was still warm, Edward picked up his fork. He was nearly finished with the meal when he thought of what the woman had said to him before he’d fallen asleep.

“
I need for you to get me Stephen. I have a few people out looking for him, but I want you to invite him to your house when we go back there.” She’d moved over his body again, nipping at his flesh as she made her way to his cock again. “When you have him where I want him, I will give you a great gift. Would you like that?”

“
Christ, yes. Suck me again.” He had felt the man behind him, and when he moved down his body, Edward had moaned. Now all he could think about was that the man had forced himself onto him. Then, all he’d been able to think about was him taking his cock again. But neither of them had touched him as they moved down the bed and off it. When Velvet had told him to sleep, he did. Edward wondered if he’d ever be the same after this.

Finishing the meal completely, he stood up. The butler had made the bed while he’d been in the shower, and Edward sat down on it. Exhaustion pulled at him, but he needed to get home. If nothing else, he had to call in to his office to make sure that no one was slacking off. Heading down the stairs, he made his way to the kitchen, where he heard voices.

“
Sire. Are you finished with your repast?” Edward nodded, and one of the women standing there left the room. “Do you need something else? You should drink more liquids. You’ll feel better if you do.”

“
I don’t want anything to drink. What I want is to leave.” The man handed him a glass of orange juice, and before he could think to splash it into the man’s face, Edward drank it down in one gulp. Handing the glass back to him, Edward walked to the door.

“
Sire, I would not if I were you. The mistress was quite firm about you staying until she releases you.” Edward turned to look at the man. “She will be most unpleasant when she finds you gone from here when she rises.”

“
Rises? You’ve said that before. What do you mean?” The man looked a little frightened, and Edward had a feeling he didn’t want to know the answer to his question. For that matter, he wished he could forget the entire night. Moving to the door again, he froze when the man behind him spoke.

“
A vampire must rest during the day, my lord. And her minion, Ted, will rest with her as well. In the event she gets hungry during her rest, he will be there for her.” Edward didn’t want to think about all the times she’d bitten him. He’d tried his best to tell himself she was giving him love bites, as had Ted. But the butler continued before he could try to come up with a better reason why she was resting. “She will rise when the sun is gone, sire, and when she does, she will be most angry with you if you are not in her bed again.”

Edward was surprised to find the door unlocked when he turned the handle. There was no way he was staying in this madhouse. Moving down the three little stairs, he felt the sun on his face and wondered why it burned just a little. Moving down the long drive, he walked along the sidewalk, keeping his mind purposely blank. All he thought about was his left foot, then his right one going forward. There was no way he’d just left a house of vampires.

By the time he was able to hail a cab, he was sweating. His body ached in places he was sure he didn’t have a name for. And when he had the cabbie wait while someone from the house came out with money, he was shaking so hard that he could hardly stand. It took his own butler four tries to get him into the house. When he was wrapped up in his bed, several blankets all around him, Edward was afraid that he’d been poisoned. By the time he was drifting off, Edward was wishing for death.

~~~

Clar tried to pull away from the man who held her, but Stephen wasn’t having it. He was touching her everywhere, and she both wanted him to let her go and to take her. When something soft touched her back, she yanked his hair up and looked him in the eyes. What she saw there made her pause.

“
I want you.” She didn’t say anything, but didn’t pull away from him either. “Let me take you the way I want, and I’ll give you so much pleasure you’ll never want anything else.”

“
And then what? You’ll toss me to the street again? Or will you turn me over to my stepfather? You’re a great deal like him. Did you know that? Ordering people around as if you’re the king of the world.” Stephen moved slightly, and she could feel his cock right at her entrance. When she looked down her body, she could see that she was as naked as he was. “Do you plan to rape me too?”

“
You will not think it’s rape when I finish.” He moved into her slightly, and she moaned. “Do you want more? Would you like for me to go deeper? I can.”

“
I want you to stop this.” His grin told her that he didn’t believe her any more than she did. “You don’t want me.” This time when he rocked into her, she felt herself stretch and fill with him.

“
I think we can both agree that I do want you. Badly.” He moved again, this time moving out before sliding back into her. “You’re very wet and hot. I feel you around my cock like a hot furnace.”

Her feet moved on their own, wrapping around his calves. “You don’t want me. You want to fuck me. Get off me.”

His laughter made her angry, but he moved again, moving deep within her. She cried out. It wasn’t as if she were a virgin, but he was much bigger than she was used to. When she suddenly straddled him and he was on his back, she looked down at where they were connected as only a man and woman could be. She moved, just enough to try and get off him, when he put his hands on her hips and held her still.

“
You move too much, love, and this will be over long before we get started.” His voice had grown husky, and she looked into his face. She knew a couple of other vampires and had learned that when their eyes were dark, bloodied like his were now, they were either very pissed or hungry.