TangledHunger (8 page)

Duncan carefully lifted the short necklace off the figure
and studied the brain amulet. It looked exactly like a student version of a
human brain. His fingertips traced across it with the lightest touch and he
found a hairline fracture. With a hint of pressure the brain broke open and
Duncan found an old-fashioned microchip.

Fifteen minutes later Duncan stared at his comp monitor.
They had completely and utterly lost their minds. If they continued on this
track they wouldn’t just cause a war with humans.

It would lead to the total extermination of Vampires.

* * * * *

Hours later Duncan stumbled into his complex. He’d been
talking to his sources, trying to verify what he’d found at Hugo’s. He was dead
beat and only wanted a tall glass of Baijiu, then to get a shower and try to
rest his brain.

What he didn’t expect was to be attacked by a fury in his
own lobby.

“Where have you been? Do you have any idea how long I have
been waiting for you? Hours!” She punched his shoulder. “Where the hell were
you?”

Duncan captured her wrists and shook her a little. “Tanasha,
pull yourself together. What happened?”

Hours earlier he parted ways with an immaculately dressed
and controlled Naema, who’d snuck into his head and made herself at home there.
She’d made his heart race and his cock hard.

Now her hair was tangled, a smudge of dirt decorated her
cheek. Her clothes were disheveled and her pants had a small tear. And
controlled? Nowhere close. Her emotions bombarded him. He felt her fear and
knew it was the predominant reason for her screeching.

He released her wrists and took her by the shoulders.
“Tanasha, calm down and tell me what happened.”

She took a deep breath that turned into a sob and threw
herself into his arms. “Ferals attacked me outside the house.”

Duncan felt as if he’d been punched in the gut. He pulled
her close for a second, and then pushed her back so he could look into her
eyes. “Ferals? Are you okay? What did they want?”

He pulled her against him again, for the first time thinking
over what she’d said. “What do you mean, Ferals? How can they have attacked
you? It’s impossible to get into the Naema District.”

“Well, it looks like nobody told them!” Tanasha snapped.
“They waited outside my building and jumped me. It was pure luck that I managed
to get away.”

Duncan shook his head in disbelief. Ferals were packs of
lawless Vampires who fed on humans and killed them. After their discovery three
hundred years ago, Vampires had the option to either stop feeding on humans and
use synth-blood or be declared Feral with a shoot-on-sight order. It had taken
years for the Vampires to bow down and now Ferals ruled the uninhabited outer
planets, where no human or Naema dared to tread. But they never came to highly
inhabited or civilized areas.

Having Ferals invade Tanasha’s home meant that she’d become
the top of the kill list. Combined with what he’d found out earlier, Duncan
knew they were in deep shit.

He hugged her close. Her pulse raced and she shivered with
reaction.

And she’d come to him.

He pulled her even tighter, giving her his body and strength
to lean on, to ground herself, to realize she wasn’t alone.

“Why? How did they find me?”

“Come on, let’s get you upstairs.”

Duncan put one arm under her knees, the other behind her
back, and lifted her up. He carried her through the lobby and instructed the
elevator to take him up to his apartment. The door opened for his fingerprint
and mental connection.

Once inside, he tried to put Tanasha on the sofa, but her
breathing grew labored and she clung to his neck so tightly she nearly
strangled him. Duncan sat down with her in his lap. “It’s okay, baby, I’ve got
you, you’re not alone,” he crooned over and over again.

Bit by bit Tanasha relaxed, her breathing evened out. She
loosened her stranglehold on his neck and rested more comfortably against him.
Duncan didn’t ask any questions. He just kept stroking his hand up and down her
back.

“I was just walking toward my home and there they were,” she
began. “How did they make it into the District, how did they even know it was
my house?”

“They had inside help.”

Tanasha stiffened and moved slightly so she could look him
in the eyes. “What do you mean?”

Duncan exhaled and pulled her back against his chest. “I’ve
been hearing rumors for months now, rumors of an underground human trafficking
ring. Ferals are smuggling humans as blood slaves. Wealthy Vampires have the
opportunity to purchase their own blood slave or two. They no longer have to
use synth-blood and hey, if the slave dies, they can always get another.”

“They will set off another war. Where have you heard about
this?” Tanasha shivered and cuddled closer into him.

“Here and there.” Duncan tightened his embrace and kissed
the top of her head. “They’ve been very clever so far and stuck to the outer
planets as well as high-risk groups. The Consortium has enough planets with
vagrants, street courtesans, seasonal workers and minority communities. People
from those groups usually don’t inform the Sentinels when one of them goes
missing. And if they do, the Sentinels tend to only do superficial work, not
bothering to find out anything.

“They can build up a quick and ready supply by just sticking
to those groups. There has been some talk about settlers and other civilians
going missing, but if they spread it far across the planets and don’t repeat in
the same area?” He shrugged. “Nobody is going to put things together.”

“But what has that got to do with me or the District?”

“I have a feeling that the Ferals may be branching out,” he
said.

Tanasha pulled back abruptly. “You’ve gotta be kidding!” She
shook her head. “That is suicide. There are too few of us around, we would
notice if somebody went missing.”

“Unless they have found a way to make everybody believe the
person has left of her own free will.”

She paled. “Sydney, you think they took Sydney?”

He shrugged. “Look at the situation. We have a Naema who has
a shipload of power, power intertwined with Feral magic. As a result he can
manipulate everybody he comes in contact with. But only after he ensured he was
engaged to and then married into a high-powered Naema family. Then his
brand-new wife disappears and nobody around him asks questions.”

“Yes, but he would have to explain her absence soon. Sydney
has a lot of friends and acquaintances. They wouldn’t just accept her vanishing
into thin air.”

Duncan stroked her hair. “I have the feeling that in the
not-too-distant future the tragic announcement of Sydney’s accidental death
will make the rounds.”

Tanasha gasped. “How could he?”

“Nasha, Marius has unlimited access to Sydney’s funds. He
would have no trouble setting up a convincing accident. Somewhere on the outer
planets, maybe a small tropical one where she went to relax and prepare for
their honeymoon. He’ll have evidence, maybe even witnesses to what happened.
Everything will appear above board. There will be a big funeral. Everybody will
grieve.” He kissed her enticing lips. “And then everybody will go back to their
daily lives. Nasha, under those circumstances nobody would look for Sydney.
Marius could continue however he likes.”

Tanasha rested her cheek against his broad chest as she
processed his words. “You’re right, if he presented evidence her death was
accidental and used his power nobody would question him.”

“Except you.”

She swallowed. If Marius worked with Ferals her questions
made her a target.

But Duncan’s heat surrounded her like a security field. His
muscular body held her close and she felt the beat of his heart against her
side. His hand stroked up and down her back.

She felt safe. She pushed the real world back for a moment.
Too much had happened. Tanasha needed time to process.

With a sigh she exhaled the last of the fear the attack
burned into her. His hand cupped the back of her neck and tilted her head up.

He gave her ample opportunity to turn away. Instead she
leaned forward and met his lips halfway. It was a gentle kiss, a meeting of
minds, but the fire didn’t hold back for long. It overtook them, turning their
kiss into a duel.

Tanasha scrambled up until she straddled his legs. She
moaned when his member hit her in just the right spot. She rubbed against him.
He cupped the back of her head and her rear as if to keep her from moving away.

She chuckled and nipped at his lower lip. “I’m not going
anywhere.”

“That’s good.” His husky voice rasped across her senses.

His lips crushed down on hers. She framed his face and
enjoyed the texture of his stubble under her hands. Their tongues tangled, his
rich velvet taste sinking into her like the heat of a fire. Her clit throbbed
and she grew even wetter.

One of Duncan’s hands moved from her head down her back,
curved around her side until he reached her breast. He deliberately ignored her
nipple and cupped and circled the soft weight.

Tanasha couldn’t stand the fabric between them and tore his
shirt open. They both moaned when she dug her fingers into the flesh of his
chest. The firm skin was silky-soft over hard muscles. She imagined rubbing the
hard tips of her breasts through the light covering of springy hair. His tight
brown nipples firmed when she began to play with them.

“Are you attached to your clothes?” he asked, his voice
rough.

She frowned. “Not particularly.”

“Right answer.” Duncan dug his hands into her top and tore
through all her layers, literally ripping the clothes in half, and pulled them
off.

Heat shot into her face but Tanasha threw her head back when
his hot palms ran up and down her back, the calluses on his fingers raising her
sensitivity through the roof. He cupped her breasts and rubbed across the hard
peaks. For a moment she wanted to hide. Duncan’s eyes fixed on her breasts, but
there wasn’t a hint of distaste or an indication that her bosom wasn’t to his
liking. Instead of hiding she grabbed her courage in both hands and ground her
wet pussy against his hard penis, trying to give herself the stimulation she
needed.

“Not so fast, little Naema.” He grabbed her hips to stop her
movement. “We’re going to build this up slow and easy.”

“Any slower and a snail walking backward would get there
first,” she moaned.

Duncan pinched her nipples. “As long as we get there.”

She dropped her head onto his shoulder. He curled his arms
around her and pulled her flush against him.

Tanasha sank her teeth into the firm muscles before her.

He howled. “What the Jade are you on?”

“Get us there faster,” she demanded.

He rubbed his chest and studied her face. “You want faster?”
he asked. “You’ll get faster.”

Duncan jumped up and threw her over his left shoulder. She
screeched, not expecting this drastic change in attitude. His big palm on her
rear to keep her balanced, she had the most excellent view of his prime behind.
She loved a nice curve to a man’s butt and Duncan’s was just right.

“Put me down, you idiot.” She was too heavy, but he didn’t
even breathe hard. Instead he used his Vampire super speed to carry her
upstairs.

Hanging over his back like a sack of potatoes, Tanasha still
managed to smooth her palms across his rear more than once. He paused and
groaned. “I thought you wanted fast. This is not helping.”

When she moved her hand to the front of his pants, he
slapped her butt hard. The pain of that slap shot right between Tanasha’s legs.
She groaned and clung to his belt until they reached their destination.

His bedroom took up the whole second floor of his apartment.
He’d indulged himself with lots of bright colors and a bed that stood across
from a fireplace. Floor-length draperies and a number of classic abstract
prints completed his haven.

Duncan didn’t waste any time. He flipped her over his
shoulder onto the bed and crawled over her until he knelt at her waist. Tanasha
crossed her arms over her chest negligently, hoping he wouldn’t recognize her
hiding. She thrust her hips up in an attempt to distract him and to connect to
the mouth-watering bulge in his pants.

He chuckled and tilted his hips away. “Now I will show you
that fast is not always the best way to go.”

A shiver ran down Tanasha’s back. His smile held a hint of darkness
that made her heart skip a beat. She finally realized that he held something in
his hands. It was a long piece of fabric torn off her clothing.

Duncan leaned forward and kissed her. “No hiding, Nasha. I
want to see every inch of you.”

So much for her attempt.

He took her wrists and lifted her arms. For a second she
resisted, but Duncan didn’t push or force her to move. With a deep breath she
relaxed and he proceeded to bind her wrists and tie them to the metal frame of
his bed. For a second panic raced through her.

“Shh.” He stopped and leaned forward to kiss her, slowly,
gently. “It’s okay. If I ever do something you don’t like, tell me and I will
stop.” He nibbled on her lower lip and moved to her chin. “I want to take my
time. I want to drive you higher than you’ve ever been. Will you let me?”

Tanasha studied his face. That hint of darkness, the cruel
tilt to his lips was still there. But his eyes? His beautiful gray eyes turned
silver by his arousal held a vulnerability she’d never expected to see in her
Vampire. She relaxed her hands around the cloth and let the tension flow out of
her body.

The smile that lit up his face touched something in the
deepest recesses of her heart. She lay back against the high-thread cotton
sheets. “Do your worst.”

Duncan halted. “Is that a challenge I hear?”

Tanasha grinned. “That’s your own fault. You said you would
drive me higher than I’ve ever been before. Now put your credits where your
mouth is.” She had no idea where her confidence came from, but being with Duncan
was like breaking through the containment field that had held her sexuality
prisoner. With him she could be herself.