The Nightlife Moscow (Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Suspense) (The Nightlife Series Book 5) (16 page)

Natalya’s eyes burned with rage, even as her lip bled from
the smack-down she’d just absorbed. She regained her feet and balled her fists
up.
No shame in that woman’s game.
She looked everyone in the eyes,
making damn sure they felt her fury. “I never worked for Dmitri! I was here
when he wanted me, when he needed me. He brought me home from the club one
night, paid me more money than I could earn in a year, and then he bit me, over
and over. I was never given a choice!”

Tears streamed down Natalya’s face and she laughed – a cynical
hate-filled sound. “Dmitri made sure I had plenty of money, and the sex was
great. Who was I to complain? He gave me the otrok so I would leave him in
peace until he wanted me again. It never mattered what I wanted, whether or not
I wanted to see him. We were not allowed in his presence until he summoned us.”

Svetlana nodded. Her eyes glued to Natalya as she spilled
the rest of the story. “He didn’t make the drug to sell it. No one outside his
household knew of its existence. He gave us two vials a week so that we
wouldn’t bother him. I didn’t even need that much. I only used one vial a week,
and only when Dmitri wasn’t in residence. Natalya used all that and more. If we
left our vials in a drawer somewhere, she would find it, and steal it.
She
sold the drug,
not Dmitri
.”

Natalya moved like she would come after Svetlana again, but
Aaron blocked her path and held her by the throat in his powerful clawed grip.
Katya knew quite well the strength he exerted when he chose to use it. He could
crush Natalya’s windpipe in an instant.

“I’ll get the truth out of you.” Aaron pulled her into a
crushing hug and buried his fangs in her throat. He held on for a long time as
the girl melted into his arms, grunting and squirming as she shamelessly moaned
in orgasm in front of everyone. Her eyes rolled back in her head and she sagged
in his grip, flesh turned to gelatin before the onslaught of Aaron’s unmerciful
venom.

Finally he let up from her and licked his lips as he looked
to his master with eyes full of knowledge. “Once I got past the block in her
mind I could see it all clearly. The tiger lady was living it up, high as a
kite, twenty four seven, riding the erotic edge of otrok, fucking anyone with
the money to pay, and shaking her striped ass all night long. She’s a one-girl
party machine, just add venom. It’s all a game to her, a high-stakes game of
pleasure and manipulation. She uses men and drugs to get what she wants. She’s
a sex addict, a voyeur, and a bloodslave who can’t go more than a few hours
without another bite or dose. But all that was simply a distraction from the
unpleasant truth. I doubt she ever admitted it to anyone. She loved him, Dmitri.
In spite of all the use and abuse, she loved him.”

Svetlana again nodded her head. “Dmitri didn’t care. He got
what he wanted from her, from all of us. The drug wasn’t made to take over the
world, it was his personal freedom. He told me stories of other bloodslave
women years before. They could not stand to be without him, constantly begging
for another bite. He told me what happened to one girl when he locked her out
of his sight for a week. She went insane and slit her wrists in the bathtub. I
don’t know what I would do without otrok. Dmitri traveled regularly. He left us
waiting for him for weeks, sometimes an entire month. The drug was for
Dmitri
,
so he could keep as many bloodslaves as he wanted, but only attend us when
he
wanted, on
his
terms.”

Ivan started laughing so hard the sound echoed back and
forth against the interior walls of the vault. “You mean all this was for
nothing? I wanted the monster dead, for my own reasons, but this drug … it’s
meaningless.” He couldn’t stop laughing. He had tears in his eyes as he cackled
like a hyena.

Urvashi’s eyes spewed daggers at everyone, especially the slumped
over Natalya hanging in Aaron’s arms. “It matters not. He died as he deserved,
and we will ensure that the drug never sees the public market again. Anyone
supplying so much as a drop of otrok outside this room will know my wrath.” She
speared Aaron with a look that could skin him alive. “Keep your whore under
tight control, Aaron, if you wish to see her live. She will not sell any more
of this drug.”

Urvashi turned towards the refrigerator filled with the most
potent drug in the world, and looked like she was about to blast it to pieces
with one of her angelic attack moves. Svetlana reached out for her with shaking
hands, but Katya’s hand fell on Urvashi’s shoulder first.

“Wait! Don’t destroy it.” Katya couldn’t hold back the
intensity of this revelation as it poured over her soul with the promise of
glorious freedom. “I need it. We need it. I don’t care if the whore gets high
and dances on fucking tables. I don’t care how many men fuck her painted arse.
I
need the drug!
”

Urvashi turned on Katya and hissed with fully elongated
fangs bared. Katya had no illusions about how deadly vicious Urvashi could be.

Katya quickly backed away out of reach “Don’t you see? It’s
the only way I can ever be more than ten feet from him!” She pointed at Aaron
and tried to still the shaking of her fingers. This was her one chance – she
had to make Urvashi understand – or lose it forever. “You owe me this. You
brought these leeches into my life. Now let me take my life back. Let me have
my freedom once again.”

Urvashi was speechless. She looked at the bloodslaves,
looked at Katya, looked at Ivan, and looked at Aaron. The stainless steel vault
and all its occupants awaited her, silently.

Ivan chuckled once more. “She is right. Dmitri needed to
die, of that there is no doubt, but Katya is right about the otrok. Look how
difficult it is for her, for these women. The drug is for them. They need it.”
Ivan stepped up to Urvashi casually, like a friend giving wise council to
another friend. “Your globe-trotting adventures will be much simpler if you
aren’t forced to drag these poor women around the world every time you take
Aaron for a joyride.”

Urvashi cursed in a language that Katya had never heard
before and slammed her fist into the steel wall hard enough to leave deep, Urvashi-shaped
dents. “Damn you all!”

She wrapped her lethal claws around Svetlana’s throat and
lifted her off the ground with one hand, choking her with her feet dangling in
the air. “You will account for every drop of this drug. I hold you responsible.
Supply it to the bloodslaves as if your life depended on it – because it does!”

She tossed the blonde bloodslave aside and stomped out of
the vault and through the outer room to the stairs leading up into the main
hallways of the mansion. Svetlana picked herself up off the floor and rubbed
her sore neck. She found blood on her fingers from where Urvashi’s claws had
cut into her skin. Her wide blue eyes reflected a well-earned fear of death at
the hands of an avenging angel.

“That was fucking intense.” Aaron grinned, bloody lips and
fangs on display. He looked around the room until his eyes rested on Katya.

She could hardly meet his gaze. She felt the growing divide
between them, and hated herself for it, but she had meant every word. She needed
that drug. She needed to find her way back to the life she once knew, before
Aaron and his damned teeth and ramrod cock had sunk into her body and soul.

* * * *

Aaron held Michelle on his lap and stroked the smooth, soft
skin of her back with his hand up her sweater. He tried to ignore the noisy
Russian gibberish from Anatoly as he paced back and forth across the great room
arguing with someone on his cell phone. The wolves were planning a smash and
grab over in Iraq, the latest of several missions they had pulled off over the
years. He’d expected Ivan, Anatoly, and Nikolay to jet off as soon as the dust
settled on Dmitri’s estate, but it was Katya that had him worried.

She had been avoiding him. Last night he caught her shooting
up otrok in the bedroom she had claimed as her own. She shoved him out of the
room without a word of explanation and locked the door in his face. She hadn’t
come to him for a bite in over three days. He’d tried talking to her several
times today, and all he got for his trouble was a series of non-answers. She
was stonewalling him, trying to keep him out of her heart, mind –
and pants
.

The scent of youth entered the room, and Lana made her way
to him, like she always did. No matter where he went in this monstrous mansion,
she always found him. The girl had adopted him. As always, Lana pulled up a
chair and sat next to him, like it was totally normal to hang out with a pair
of cuddling vampires. He smiled at her and ran his hand through her hair. She
presented a huge problem for which he had no solution.

“Lana, sweet Lana. What am I supposed to do with you?”

Her somber eyes held no answer. Before he could dig into her
mind to see how she was dealing with the loss of her mother, Urvashi cut into
his mind with a sharp directive. {{We need to talk. Now. Privately.}}

Lana put one hand cautiously on Michelle’s knee, and her
other hand on Aaron’s knee, her eyes addressed them both. “You can take me to
Paris … to see the Eiffel Tower.”

He chuckled as Michelle looked at him with a crinkle of
amusement in her eyes. This quiet little thing had already gotten under Michelle’s
skin.

“Perhaps.” Aaron pecked Michelle’s cheek and laid his hand
atop Lana’s with a gentle pat. “We will see the world, eventually. But not tonight.
For now, I need to keep up with the Kardashian.”

With that he slid Michelle off his lap and settled her on
the chair next to Lana. A vampire assassin and a six year old werewolf sitting
together as friends.

He walked away with a grin on his face, wondering what new
pile of steaming crap his master had for him. Their little talks usually led to
some serious shit.

He found her in an upstairs bedroom, standing in the cold
night air on the balcony with the french doors open. She stared down at the glistening
white snow covered fountains in the courtyard below.

As soon as he locked the door behind him she started in. “The
help I acquired for this operation was not without cost. As you and yours are
accountable to me, so am I accountable to others. We did not pull off this coup
alone.”

As usual, her words were more enigmatic than enlightening. “What
are you saying? We owe somebody?”

She nodded. “Yes. If only it were that simple.” She turned
to him and brought her cold hands up to his face. She added a hint of her
powerful aura to warm and energize him, probably trying to manipulate his
emotions. It felt suspiciously good in her embrace.

“I don’t think anything will ever be simple again. Please
tell me what’s going on.”

She kissed him. “I’ve told them you’re not ready, but these
people do not listen as well as they should. They want a meeting.”

Aaron looked into her eyes, wishing he could catch the
depths of unspoken meaning she hid behind the wall closing her mind away from
him.

“It would be unwise to capitulate to their demands – for
now. We will meet them next week, after the New Year. I want you to listen to
them, but speak only the words I advise. They are very dangerous, Aaron, and
the more they know, the more dangerous they become. There is much you need to
learn, and little time for me to teach it.”

“I trust you, Vash. Whatever you want me to say, that’s what
I’ll say.”

She kissed him again, imparting another tingle of her aura
and energy. He felt like a dog catching a biscuit for good behavior.
Good
dog
.

“Does this have something to do with Dmitri’s estate?”

She nodded again, but he sensed she had finished with her
revelations and admissions for the night.

* * * *

Aaron found Michelle where he left her, sitting with a
seemingly happy Lana, reminiscing about the wonders of Paris. He interrupted
their chat. “We’re out of here. I need to get out of this house for the night.
Let’s see what Moscow has to offer.”

He grabbed Michelle’s hand and pulled her up from the chair.
When Lana slid off her chair too, Aaron shook his head. “Aht! This is an
adult’s night out. Sorry, girlfriend, where we’re going, there’s no children
allowed.”

She frowned, but Aaron dipped down to one knee and smiled at
her. “I promise we can do all the fun stuff you want to do. Soon. Okay?”

She perked up and gave him a tentative smile. She didn’t
quite trust him completely, but, she was giving him a chance. He really liked
this little girl, and hoped he continued earning her trust. He pecked her soft
little cheek with a light kiss and snagged Michelle’s hand.

“Let’s change our clothes and hit the town.”

Michelle’s wondrous hands settled on his shoulders and she
pulled him into a kiss. When she parted, her emerald eyes held him enrapt,
filled with love and understanding. With that wicked vampire sexy beast look,
she whispered. “I know what you need.”

More and more he’d been thinking about escaping all this,
running off to parts unknown, just him and Michelle. Let Urvashi and the wolves
deal with the clusterfuck mess.

But that wouldn’t be fair to Lana, or Oksana, or Svetlana,
or even Natalya. And Urvashi probably wouldn’t let him get very far before she
yanked his chain to pull him right back to this monstrous mansion big enough to
house a Walmart.

* * * *

Aaron pulled Michelle down the massive circular staircase to
catch the limousine waiting outside. As they came around the corner, Aaron came
face to face with the full trio. Natalya, Svetlana and Oksana surrounded him
and Michelle. Their faces almost looked hopeful, with unsure grins.

Dressed in a fur cap and a matching fur coat, with only a
scrap of see-through fabric over her breasts and a narrow black thong covering
the rest of her, Natalya could have been a Victoria’s Secret underwear model on
a runway, if not for the 1000-rubles-a-fuck look in her eyes. She cleaned up
nice, but that didn’t change who and what she was –
a whore
.

Svetlana stayed true to her personality, dressed in a
reserved, creamy patterned skirt, and a light brown fur-lined coat. She looked
like the Russian girl next door, who also happened to be a bloodslave living
off a billionaire’s dime.

Surprisingly, Oksana was decked out in a gorgeous black
cocktail dress, fuck-me pumps, and a long black wool coat.

The truth of it struck him. They were dressed to go out,
waiting for him.
How the hell?

Natalya slipped her arm into Aaron’s and let her coat slide
open even more to show off all that pale skin and long, shapely legs. “Lana
said you were going out somewhere?”

Svetlana spoke up. “We thought we could be your guides.”

Beneath the smiles and glittery, glossy lips and half-naked
bodies, Aaron caught a distinct impression of fear in their auras. It only took
him a second to surmise their fears –
abandonment
.

Their relations thus far had been nothing more than several
nightly meetings to accommodate their needs. They didn’t quite trust the
arrangement. The insecurity of it all was manifest before his eyes. These women
were deathly afraid he and Michelle would leave them behind.

Oksana moved in on Michelle and kissed her full-on the
mouth. Oksana’s mind was filled with arousal and anticipation. Aaron
understood. Michelle wore a form-fitting emerald green dress that
almost
covered the lower curve of her ass. The dress matched the precise color of her
entrancing eyes – a stunning effect.

When Oksana let go of her preferred vampire, Michelle’s
glittering eyes locked with Aaron. “Is a wonderful idea.” Michelle’s hand
encased Oksana’s ass and the two of them looked like they were ready to get a
room.

Aaron pulled Natalya in close. “Show us the way.”

Aaron and Natalya led the ladies out to the sleek black
stretch limousine parked outside the front doors. Proving she wasn’t wearing
any underwear, Michelle showed off miles of shapely, pale legs and a flash of
shaved pussy as she slid onto the plush black leather of the limo seats. Oksana
slid her hand up and down Michelle’s thigh with a whistle of appreciation.

Natalya gave the chauffer instructions and then pressed the
button to seal off the privacy glass to the back section of the limo. She pulled
off Aaron’s black leather coat and ran her fingers over his burgundy shirt and down
to the thigh of his black slacks. The bloodslave’s eyes conveyed her gratitude
and appreciation, and the fact that she intended to prove it to him.

Oksana didn’t waste a minute. She broke out the vodka, a
green labeled bottle she called ‘green mark’, and poured shots all around.
Oksana made a toast to “good health,” while winking at Michelle, and Svetlana
dutifully served a snack tray of crackers and spread that had already been prepped
on a shelf in the limo wet bar. When they finished their shots and
fishy-smelling crackers, all three of them focused their attention on Aaron and
Michelle.

He had a sneaking suspicion this was a routine they had done
many times before. Oksana began by shrugging off her coat to kneel at
Michelle’s feet. She offered her bare wrist for a bit of live refreshment.

Michelle grinned. “Is only fair. I could use a drink.” She
had a sparkle of mischief in her eyes, and Aaron caught a sense of Michelle’s
delight at how well this arrangement was working out – for the bloodslaves –
and for her.

As Michelle took a nip off Oksana, Svetlana slid closer to
Aaron and smoothed her skirt as she kneeled before him, her slim, bare wrist offered
for the taking. Aaron held her hand delicately and looked deep into her blue
eyes. No fear, no reticence.

He took a small but tasty sip off her wrist, a gentle
puncture. When he finished, he licked her wound once to seal it and leaned
forward to peck her lips. “Thank you very much. This is going to be a wonderful
evening.” She blushed and could hardly look him in the eyes as she moved away
to sit back in the same seat, on the opposite side of the limo.

Natalya moved in next. Aaron watched her carefully, never
quite certain what to expect from this wildcard. She slipped her coat and hat off
and tossed them on the seat, then lifted her leg over the top of him and
straddled his lap. With a sultry look, she settled her warm mound covered in
only thin lace over the lump in his pants and then freed her right breast and
brought the little handful of creamy round flesh to his lips.

He glanced quickly at the other two bloodslaves who were
watching with curious looks. They wanted to see how he handled her. Some kind
of test…

He had no idea what they expected, but he knew what Natalya
wanted. Without warning he sank his fangs all the way into the soft tissue of
her breast and growled as she gasped and twitched in his grip. Tasting her
blood, he also tasted the intensity of her emotions. This woman frequently
blurred the lines between pain and pleasure.

After a few moments of drinking her syrup as she ground her
hot, wet, center on his groin, he let up. She grunted in frustration, and
squished her pussy down onto him harder, trying to grind through to her peak. A
few seconds later, panting and moaning, she finished her business. She had wet
the crotch of his pants with her juices. The woman presented an endless
temptation for sex.

Apart from the bites she craved, he had purposely stayed
away from Natalya. He hadn’t taken what she blatantly offered, but that never stopped
her from getting off on him every time she felt his teeth. The woman was
definitely a sex addict, probably a drug addict, and lived from one high to the
next, forever seeking immediate gratification.

Natalya slipped back into her coat, not bothering to button
it up, and downed another shot of vodka with a cracker and spread. The girls
repeated their vodka-snack routine several times as they called out various points
of interest flowing past the darkened windows of the limo.
The Choral
Synagogue, the Red Square
, and a couple of museums Aaron could hardly
pronounce. Mostly they noted their favorite restaurants, hair stylists, and
clothing stores.

Finally, after an hour of turning every which way across the
city, the limo pulled to the curb in front of a high-rise building, the bottom
floors Aaron instantly recognized –
411
. He snatched Natalya up by the
arm. “What kind of game are you playing?”

“Ow!” The hurt look of confusion in her eyes spoke of a
genuine misunderstanding. “I want to give you a good time. This place is safe.
Please, trust me.”

Svetlana rolled her eyes. Aaron watched her to see if she
would speak up. The woman was unnervingly silent all the time. “What? You don’t
want to be here?”

Svetlana looked to Natalya and sighed. “She brought you here
to show you
a good time
. I don’t care what she does, or who she does it
with, but I don’t want you to think that I would …”
fuck you.
Aaron felt
her unspoken words in her eyes. After an awkward pause, she finished. “I only
came to get out.”
And to ensure she wasn’t left behind.