Trueblood 01-The-Consolation-Prize (15 page)

He moved quickly through the dark corridors with no need for a light. Luka sensed vampires stirring as he searched and then one particular scent teased his nostrils.
Selena
. The scent grew stronger as he moved to the highest floor. At the topmost point of the house, he found the vamp who’d raped him. Through a spyhole, he saw her sitting at a desk in a thin red negligee, staring at a computer screen.

“Good evening,” she said and for a moment Luka froze, thinking she was talking to him. “No problems at all. Soon. We’re just working out the logistics. Discounts? Well, we discussed this before. Three couplings for one million pounds. If no pregnancy ensues, then we have a bank of sperm to sell for artificial insemination at one hundred thousand pounds a vial.”

Luka’s jaw dropped. Anger coursed through him and his fists clenched. Did these women not care that he’d be subjected to repeated rapes to provide them with what they wanted? Selena thought there were no problems? Luka narrowed his eyes. She had no idea how large a problem he could be.

“I can book you in now if you wish. There’s a slot available next Thursday, 9:30. No, I’m afraid he’s booked solid until then… Thirty minutes a session.” She laughed and Luke ground his teeth together. “No, you can make him come as many times as you like within that period. Look forward to seeing you. Good-bye.”

Booked solid? Christ Almighty
. Luka wanted to shake Selena until the brain rattled in her head. It would probably make a loud noise because the thing had to be pea-sized. What the fuck did she think she was playing at? If it hadn’t been that he wanted to get Chloe out of there, Luka would have burst through the wall and done a bit more than brain shaking, but instead he pulled back his anger and stored it. The importance of getting Chloe out safely became a priority. She had saved him and now he had to save her because if they found out what she’d done --

Selena suddenly gasped. Unfortunately, not because someone had broken her neck, driven a stake through her heart or ripped off her head. It appeared to be because of something on the computer screen. Luka wished he could see what she was looking at.

“Chloe?”

That one word froze the blood in Luka’s veins. Selena tapped on the keyboard, gave a short laugh, and picked up the phone.

“Chloe, Chloe, Chloe… Yes…it’s me. You weren’t asleep were you? Well, that’s too bad. Stop trying to annoy me. You know I don’t like to be called Grandmother. I need to speak to you.”

Luka’s nails pressed so hard into his palms, he pierced his skin. Aware the scent of blood could alert Selena, he retreated the way he’d come, back to the person he’d trusted, back to the person he thought he’d loved, back to the one who’d betrayed him. Chloe was Selena’s granddaughter.

She’d been in on this from the start. She’d fooled him into thinking she was helping him and all the time she was part of the conspiracy. Had the bitch secreted something deep inside her to catch his seed? Luka’s fury grew with every step he took. By the time he moved back into her room he was shaking with anger, about to explode.

Chloe’s heart pounded and her hands trembled. She’d woken up, found Luka gone, his clothes gone, and thought that no matter what he’d said, that was the last she’d see of him. Then the phone had rung and she’d almost blurted out his name, thinking he was calling her.

It wasn’t Luka.

Selena had found out Chloe was staying at Washburn Hall and wanted to see her. Jumping into quicksand held more allure. Chloe called reception, said that she wanted to check out and to have her bill ready. She didn’t think there should be anything to pay, but she wanted nothing to tie her to this place. Running away as fast as she could was the sensible option. The moment she put the phone down, she saw it was a mistake. She should have just run.

The fireplace started to slide open and Chloe held her breath until she saw Luka emerging. She blew out a sigh of relief.

“I thought you’d left me,” Chloe said and smiled, the worry about Selena driven from her mind.

Luka stood at the end of the bed and glared down at her. “Who were you talking to?”

The sharp edge to his voice alarmed her.

“When?”

“Just now on the phone.”

Chloe tensed beneath the sheet.

“Reception. About checking out. It was stupid. I didn’t think. We need to leave.”

She gasped as Luka ripped the sheet from her hand.

“Liar.”

Chloe shuffled backwards and hit the back of the bed. “Luka, what’s wrong? Why are so you angry? What did I do?”

“You told me you had no family.”

“I…I don’t.”

He crossed his arms and gave a cold laugh.

“Liar.”

“I don’t have any family. They’re all dead,” she choked out.

“All?”

“The only ones that matter,” Chloe whispered. “We have to leave. Once they find you’re missing, they’ll search for you. We need to go now.”

“We?”

The ice in his voice unmistakable and that one word cast her adrift in the middle of the ocean.

There was no “we.” Her heart sighed in pain.

“What’s wrong?” she asked.

“You tell me.”

How could she when she didn’t know? With a speed that Chloe barely registered, Luka yanked her down the bed, grasped her wrists with one hand, and pinned them over her head. He pushed her legs apart with his knee and thrust his fingers inside her. Chloe yelped.

“What are you doing? Luka? Please.” She could see nothing in his eyes. They were black; the color had bled from the pupil into the iris.

“Lie still. Don’t move.”

He probed inside her with his fingers, not in any sexual way but searching for something.

“What --”

“Shut up.”

“Luka, you don’t need to --”

“Shut up.”

He wrenched her hands higher, her arms at full stretch, and a tear formed in her eye. It slid down the side of her face into her ear.

Chloe didn’t know what had happened, what was happening, but understood that if there had once been anything between them, it was gone.

“You were speaking to your grandmother.”

Oh God
.

“Did you cook this up between you? I just listened to her book a woman in to fuck me. They have an appointment system. Thirty minute slots. I suppose I should be impressed how much they’re charging. If I fail to perform or they don’t get pregnant, then they can buy my seed for artificial insemination, like I’m some fucking prize stallion. Slightly cheaper for a vial of sperm.

Guess the old-fashioned way of making a child is the most popular.”

His fingers were still invading her, searching, hurting. Chloe bit the inside of her cheeks to stop herself whimpering. She didn’t struggle, just let him do what he wanted. The pain in her chest was worse now, spikes striking her heart. Luka suddenly pulled his fingers out. He scooted up the bed to kneel by her head. His hand grasped her jaw and forced her mouth open, hard nails digging into her skin.

“You want this, Chloe? Is this what you wanted all along? My cock? You’re just like the rest.

No -- you’re worse.”

He released her hands and unzipped himself. His dick thrust out inches from her face. Chloe whimpered. She could make things right if he gave her the chance to speak, but he was holding her face too tightly. Luka wrapped his other hand around his cock and pumped. Chloe reached out and made one tentative stroke of his hip, wanting to calm him, trying to make him listen.

“Don’t touch me,” he said.

Her hand fell away. She looked up into his face and there was no sign of any emotion. He didn’t care. Chloe closed her eyes. She’d made a mistake. If she found any more naked men hanging in chains she’d walk on by. She was a good person no matter what he thought. She would not let this hurt her. She wrapped her heart in velvet and put it in an iron case. Locked it tight, bound it with chains. He released her jaw and pushed her head aside. Chloe opened her eyes to see him pushing his still erect dick back in his pants. She lifted a shaking hand and rubbed her jaw.

“Anything to say to me, Chloe?”

She turned her head away. It wasn’t worth wasting her breath. There was nothing she could say to make things right so why bother. She never wanted to see him again. As soon as he’d gone, she was packing her things and leaving.

“Tell your grandmother I’m reporting her to the Council.”

He could tell her himself. There was no way Chloe was going anywhere near Selena. She started to get up and Luka pushed her down, turned her head to one side, and held it against the pillow.

“This is what you wanted all along, isn’t it? You’re one of those mortals who gets off on a vampire’s kiss. Maybe one thing you didn’t know, if we feed in anger then there’s no pleasure in it for you. You betrayed me. I thought… You’ve endangered my family and for that I can never forgive you.”

His teeth scraped over her neck and Chloe jolted as he bit her. Her limbs stiffened as the pain shot through her body. Tears sprang into her eyes. She was sinking, her body slid from rigidity to a heaviness that made her head ache. She had no strength to even try to push him off. Little gasps of pain sprang from her mouth as she gulped air. She could feel her blood flowing into him, the swift surge one way in her veins as her body drained. An agonizing spasm seized her arm and she arched in agony before slumping back on the bed. Chloe’s vision wavered, white mist filled her head. Luka continued to drink from her neck. She’d helped him and now he was killing her.

Chloe opened her eyes as the door closed. Along with her blood, Luka had sucked all the energy from her body. She felt as though he still lay on her, an overpowering weight on her lungs making it hard to breathe. A few hours ago he’d treated her as though she was the most precious thing in his world. She thought he might have loved her and now she was sure he hated her. He hadn’t listened or wanted to hear her side of the story. She deserved someone better than that.

Someone who wasn’t a vampire. Only, why did she want him to come back? Why did she want his arms around her? Chloe shivered. She was so cold. She needed to get dressed, only she had to rest for a while and muster up some enthusiasm.

He’d taken her car keys. She’d heard them chink when he picked them up. She supposed he’d just try every car until he found hers. How was she supposed to get home? She had to leave before Selena came looking for her, only her legs didn’t seem to work properly. They shook when she tried to move. Her brain on the other hand was working overtime.

Chloe guessed that Selena had never sold Washburn Hall. She hadn’t been a vampire when Chloe had last seen her, though Chloe and her sister had thought she was a witch. Prophetic, as it turned out. At some point after the accident at the hall, Selena had become a vampire, and it seemed likely that she controlled Eve and Krista, and that she was behind Luka’s abduction.

Luka thought Chloe was helping Selena, which was why he’d gone crazy. If Selena discovered Chloe had freed Luka, then Chloe would be in deep shit.

The door burst open and Selena stood there in a transparent red negligee. Chloe’s heart jumped into her throat and began to suffocate her.
Yep, deep shit
.

“Chloeee.” Selena drew out the word and smiled. Not in a nice way.

Chloe used every last ounce of her strength and yanked the sheet over her body. Waves of dizziness be damned, she pushed herself up to lean against the headboard.

“What on earth are you doing here?” Selena asked.

“I won four days’ stay as a consolation prize.” It seemed a lifetime ago.

“How long have you been a vampire?”

Chloe’s brain slipped into panic mode, thoughts skittering around like mice. Why did Selena think she was a vampire? Was she a vampire? Had Luka turned her into one?
Christ
. Slow down, she told herself. She didn’t have a craving for blood. All she felt was exhausted fear.

“Not long,” Chloe said in a quiet voice.

Selena picked up the empty blood bags from where Luka had dropped them.

“I wouldn’t have known you were here if I hadn’t checked our blood supplies and seen your name alongside five bags of B negative. Five bags! Most of our guests aren’t so greedy.”

“I’ve developed expensive tastes,” Chloe said, taking a guess that the rarer the blood group, the dearer the product.

Was she really a vampire? Chloe felt very tired, but not that different. She looked at Selena’s slender neck. Nope, no inclination to bite it, only to snap it. So how come Selena couldn’t tell the difference? Was she making the assumption that Chloe was one of the undead because Sunset Spa was a vampire retreat or was Luka’s scent masking her own? Or maybe Selena was just stupid.

“Who turned you?” Selena asked.

Chloe searched her brain for a likely name. Dismissed Lestat, Dracula, and Spike. “Sebastian.

What about you?”

Selena had always liked to talk about herself and Chloe was counting on that still being the case.

She could feel her body beginning to respond to her commands. Just a little longer and she could get up and dress. A tempting bottle of water sat by the side of the bed. Reaching for it would give her away.

“Constantine Nevchek.”

She said it in such a way that Chloe knew she was expected to recognize the name.

“Ahh, Nevchek,” Chloe said and nodded in what she hoped was a knowing manner.

“I was traveling and when I returned I discovered someone had taken up residence in the hall. I wanted him out but Constantine intended to stay. Over several nights he changed my mind. The first time he bit me, I knew my life would never be the same again. He promised eternal youth, everlasting beauty, fantastic sex. All of which I have, and I never liked eating anyway.”

Chloe listened in fascinated horror. “You like being a vampire?”

“Don’t you? Look at me. I’m young and beautiful. Not a wrinkle in sight.”

“But we can’t go out in the sun. Don’t you miss that? Not being able to eat chocolate? Drink wine? Have kids?”

Selena tilted her head and gave her a curious look.

Shit
. “I’m still adjusting,” Chloe said. “It’s very new for me.” Oh God, she hoped that wasn’t true.