Twice Bitten Not Shy [Vampires of Eternity] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (6 page)

“Those chains are for a type of suspension,” Christian pointed out as he crossed the room and stepped up onto the platform. He demonstrated how a person would be attached and then lifted off the ground either by their arms and legs.

Gwen had heard of suspension but could not understand how someone could subject themselves to that. Just the thought of it made her cringe. “This must be amazing when it’s filled with people.”

“Well actually, it is never very crowded. These clubs are exclusive and members only. Without an invite or membership, you don’t get in. We keep the number of clients in each room restricted as well.”

“That’s smart.”

“Yes. Well, the whole point is to give people the space to act out their scenes or fantasies. If we don’t have satisfied clientele, we won’t be very successful.”

“Very, very true.”

Gwen felt a bit overwhelmed by it all, but knew she had plenty of ideas for her fantasies now. But then she looked at her watch and realized how late it was. She needed to get going.

“This was been very eye-opening. Thank you so much for giving me the tour. But I think I’m going to have to call it a night.”

The morning’s fantasy was once again fresh in her mind. She felt warm and knew she needed to get away from them before she did something stupid like ask for a demonstration. She would swear that she could hear their voices in her head, as they were in her fantasy. She needed to get out of there
now
.

Sebastian looked paler and seemed to be using the edge of the table to hold himself up. Unsure of what was going on, she couldn’t dwell on it.

“Yes, of course. We didn’t mean to keep you so late.” Christian looked a little concerned as he answered her. “Shall I lead you out?”

“No problem at all. This will help me as I’m planning. I definitely have some new ideas after seeing the space.”

“Great, I can’t wait to see them.” Sebastian turned to Christian. “Why don’t you take her down, and I’ll meet you back in the office.”

Christian nodded, seeing the wince of pain cross Sebastian’s face. “No problem.”

“Thank you again, Gwendolyn. We really appreciate all of your work.”

“You’re quite welcome. Good night, Sebastian. I’ll be in touch soon.”

After seeing Gwendolyn to her car, Christian hurried back to his friend. Sebastian had broadcast pain loud and clear back in the dungeon, something he had never done before. They both had been experiencing increasing pain and lessening of their powers recently. Neither could go out in bright sun without feeling the burn, but that wasn’t even the worst of it. No longer able to eat food without getting ill, it was harder and harder to pass for human.

I’m coming, Sebastian. Is there anything you need?
He didn’t get a response. Not a good sign at all. He opened the office door, expecting Sebastian to be sitting behind the desk, but he wasn’t there.

Sebastian, where are you? Are you okay?

I need blood, and soon. I am in the Pride room.

I’ll bring some, but it’s going to be cold.
Christian went to the back bookcase and pushed on a hidden lever. The shelving unit slid over, and he quickly typed in the combination on the keypad, and the door swung wide. Christian’s first stop was the refrigerator, where he grabbed a bag of their blood stash. No time to even throw it in the microwave, he needed to get to Sebastian. Christian smirked to himself. They were far too civilized to drink from a person except in the heat of passion. It had been years since they’d had to drink blood at all, but this curse was definitely getting the better of them.

He poured the blood into a large travel cup and headed to the dungeon. He wasn’t sure what he’d find, but he hoped that Sebastian wasn’t in as bad shape as he sounded.

Sebastian was lying on one of the padded bondage tables when Christian entered the dungeon.

“Hey, I have your fix.”

Sebastian struggled to sit up on the table. To see him suffering was hard on Christian, harder than his own pain. Over the years, Sebastian had always been the strong one. It was ironic that now Sebastian was losing his powers faster.

Christian handed the travel cup to Sebastian and watched his friend take long swallows from the cup. He could almost see the color come back into his face. The pain that he had been unable to block had eased as well. They could both “breathe” normally.

“Bloody hell, that was close.”

“What happened?”

“When Gwendolyn felt fear, it radiated through me. My heart felt like it was being stabbed, and my whole body went weak. If we breathed, I would say I couldn’t have.”

“Shit. I felt the pain, too, but not like that. But you were standing next to her.”

“It might have been that, but being close to her helped with the pain. Something else is going on here.”

“Can you make it back to the office?”

Sebastian glared at him as he stood up without his usual aplomb.

“Yeah, well, you looked like death about five minutes ago.”

“Let’s get back to the office. We need to figure this out.” Christian agreed and followed Sebastian into the elevator.

Once they were in the office with the door bolted, they entered their hidden lair. It had been expensive and time-consuming to build but definitely worth it. They no longer had to leave the protection of Eternity. Everything they needed was within the walls, and the wards on the building added to their protection. Magic ensured that unless an invite had been issued, no one would even know the brownstone existed. Gwendolyn hadn’t realized that it was why she had never noticed the building. The invisibility ward would change slightly after the opening. All those who had invites would know it was here, but unless they purchased membership, once they departed, their memory of the location would fade.

Their living area was spacious and had all the modern accoutrements. Their kitchen had the latest stainless steel appliances, but the rest of the apartment was filled with antiques from their family estates back in England. The living room, dining room, and twin master suites looked very close to how their rooms had been before they were turned. The apartment only lacked windows, but with their deteriorating health and the weakening of their powers, they needed a home that was thoroughly secure. But they didn’t see why they shouldn’t have the luxury that they were accustomed to. Their hidden “lair” had become a safe house, and not only for them, but for any of the other vampires who needed it in an emergency. They hoped that their private domain within Eternity would soon be the home they shared with Gwendolyn.

Christian sat in one of the chaises, facing Sebastian as he stretched out on the sofa. He just watched the other man for a few minutes.

“So are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?”

“There’s nothing to tell.”

“Bloody hell. I was there, remember?”

“All I can tell you is that when Gwendolyn felt fear and withdrew, I felt instantly drained of all energy.”

“How is that possible?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well don’t you think we’d better find out?”

“Of course. Once I have been fully restored I’ll go through the old tomes and see what I can find.”

“The opening is only a few days away. Maybe you should stay away from her ’til then?”

“Christian, don’t worry. I’m hoping to have our bond completed before then.”

“Hells bells. Were you going to let me in on the plan?”

Sebastian glared at him, and Christian could feel the anger in his friend. It was a testament to how weak he was that they were speaking aloud and not telepathically. He wasn’t sure if Sebastian even realized. Christian had had the scare of a lifetime, hell, five lifetimes, when he’d walked into the dungeon and found Sebastian incapacitated. This bloody curse was escalating, and they were walking a tightrope. Would they be able to complete the bond with Gwendolyn before they were out of time?

Sebastian sighed. “Yes, you know I would. I’m not keeping anything from you.”

“Just make sure you don’t try. I can get into your head anytime I want.” Sebastian scowled at him. “Yeah, don’t look at me like that. You are too weak to fight me on anything.”

“I am going to retire now. We’ll continue this in the morning.” Christian could feel Sebastian’s anger, and he knew he was pushing his friend too hard. But this was life or death now. There was so much at stake for them, and he wasn’t sure his friend was thinking with a clear head at the moment.

“Do you need more blood first?”

“No, I don’t. Good night, Christian.”

He watched Sebastian make his way to his room, still not looking very steady on his feet. Christian decided he’d do a little research himself. It couldn’t hurt. Usually he left it to Sebastian, but with the way Gwendolyn was affecting him, he was more than a little concerned.

After a mental excursion to check on Sebastian, Christian was satisfied that he was resting and as comfortable as possible.

Back in their office, he perused the bookshelves and looked for answers. Christian pulled several options from the wall and sat down at the desk to begin his search. They needed answers, and he knew they were running out of time.

Gwen was about halfway to her house when she felt a chill engulf her, almost as if she had stepped in to a walk-in freezer, and she felt her energy drain.
What’s going on?
She had the overwhelming feeling that she needed to get back to Sebastian and Christian. Something wasn’t right. They needed her and she had to get there—
now.

At the next intersection she made a U-turn and headed back to Eternity. Twenty long minutes later, she was parked in front of the brownstone and staring at the front door. As she approached the building, the door opened for her, like she had been expected. It was like the building had been expecting her to return. She took the elevator to the second floor and walked the silent halls. It always seemed strange to her that she never saw anyone else around. But then again it was late and the club hadn’t opened yet.

The closer she got to the office the warmer her skin became. She was almost back to normal by the time she reached the office door. She saw the light seeping from underneath the door. She hoped that they were still awake, and she wasn’t going to disturb them. Gwen lifted her hand to knock when the door swung open and revealed a very surprised Christian.

“Gwendolyn, what are you doing here?”

“Umm, you’re probably not going to believe it if I tell you.”

“Try me…”

Gwen felt foolish suddenly, but now that she was there she might as well just spit it out. “I was about halfway home and had a horrible feeling that I needed to be here. That it couldn’t wait.”

Christian raised an eyebrow at her. “Really? What was it like?”

“Hmm, kind of hard to explain. I suddenly felt like I was in a deep freeze. It was difficult to breathe, and I was weak.”

Christian looked at her sharply. “That is strange. How do you feel now?”

“Better now, thank you. The closer I got, the better I felt. But I still have a niggling feeling that something is wrong.”

“Sebastian isn’t feeling well, but he’s resting and should be back to normal very soon.”

“I’m sorry to hear that. Maybe that’s why I felt that way. It’s just so weird. It’s like I’m drawn to the two of you.” Gwen wasn’t sure what was going on. But she had definitely never felt this way before. “Do you think I could see Sebastian? Maybe I’ll feel better then?”

“I don’t think that is a wise idea at the moment. Like I said, he’s resting now.”

She knew this was not an option. The urgency was there. She
needed
to see him and to touch them both. Gwen had to do something to convince Christian to let her see Sebastian.

She reached out and took Christian’s hand. As soon as her hand touched his, a feeling of need and hunger flowed through her. Startled, she jerked back. “What the hell was that?”

Christian looked just as surprised as she was. “I am not sure. Maybe we do need to go see Sebastian.”

“I agree.”

“Right. Please sit here for a moment, and I’ll be right back.”

Gwen took a seat at the table. Just a few hours before, they had all had dinner together. Now she was in a Twilight Zone kind of moment. She was confused, but not scared, which didn’t make any sense to her, either. She should have been freaked out, but instead, all she wanted was answers.

Christian looked at her, seemed to shrug his shoulders, and proceeded to click on something on one of the bookshelves. It swung open and revealed a hidden door.

Holy shit…what have I gotten myself into?

“Gwen, please don’t leave. There is nothing to fear.”

She nodded her head at him but really was at a loss for words. This was freaky for sure. Did people really have hidden doors in their offices? Maybe she just needed to get out more? Who knew? Shrugging to herself, she did know one thing. She wasn’t going to leave this building until she figured out what the hell was going on.

Apparently she wasn’t going to have to wait long, when moments later, Christian was back through the doorway.