An Angel Among Vampires (6 page)

We walk inside the warehouse into a sea of people spread throughout the large interior of the building. Some are dancing close together on the dance floor in the middle of the room, while others are walking around mingling. The lights are very low and the beat of the music closely resembles the pulse of a beating heart. Small bar tables surround the dance floor. Most of them are full with people that look to be having a good time. There is a crowded bar off to the left and the DJ booth is in the corner off to the right.

Austin guides me through the crowd. People seem to part as we approach them. I look around in curiosity as Austin drags me behind him. Mesmerized by all the action around me, it is shocking to witness some vampires feeding on humans openly on the dance floor. Now aware of what is happening around me, I notice humans and vampires making out all around us.

Austin offers me a chair at a reserved table close to the edge of the dance floor. I sit in the offered seat and he takes the chair across from mine, on the opposite side of the table. Men and women are watching us expectantly.

Austin turns to me. “Do you have any sexual preference for feeding?”

Shrugging, I answer reluctantly. “Not really. Whatever.”

A leggy brunette female with short hair and wide brown eyes moves closer to us and lies down on the table, exposing her neck between us. Her short, black dress barely covers her body enough to consider what she is wearing legal in most states. There are old scars from vampire bites on her neck.

She must have vampires chomping down on her quite often if the wounds have not fully healed or left scars.

The woman smiles up at Austin. He fondles her breasts, exposing her body to the crowd. She moans as if she enjoys the attention. Austin runs his pinky finger across her left breast in front of him and draws blood with his fingernail. He licks and sucks on her breast, forcing more blood from the small opening.

“Please do not let me stop you from feeding.” He says while pinching the woman’s nipple.

The smell of her blood has my eyes nearly glowing silver. I bend over to her neck and lick her pulse. She moans. Austin moves his hands down her body and under her skirt. She bucks from his touch. He must be good at whatever he is doing because in seconds, her breathing is labored and shallow. I plunge my fangs into the vein on her neck, sucking deep.

I can taste her rising excitement as her blood races into my mouth. She reaches her climax and the rush of her orgasm hits me. I suck deeper, experiencing a feeling I have never felt before while feeding. It is as if whatever he is doing to her is actually happening to me.

I can hear someone saying something, but I cannot really make out any words. Too caught up in the rush I am feeling, I don’t notice her heartbeat slowing. Something hard hits my head and I feel a sharp pain. Retracting my fangs in just enough time to prevent me from ripping out the woman’s throat, I snarl in anger from the interruption. Since I have just fed deeply, any damage from the blow to my head heals instantly.

Opening my eyes slowly after the pain in my head dissipates, I see Austin standing in front of my chair. Two men pick the woman up and carry her away towards the back of the building, out of sight.

People close by are staring at us from the dance floor. Austin’s eyes flick towards the people gawking and everyone that was watching us, look away, returning to what they were doing.

“Did you just hit me? What the hell did you do that for?” I yell at Austin, coming down from my euphoric high.

“Get up and come with me right now!” Austin demands angrily.

“I’m not going anywhere with you!” I try to get up to leave, but I stumble, full from drinking too much blood and still feeling high from my feed.

“There are some things we need to discuss. If you refuse, I’ll have Drake remove your head.” He replies irritably, walking away from the table without looking back.

Drake has a sword in his hand and is in the optimal position. Seeing no way out, I successfully get to my feet on my second try, only wobbling a little, and follow Austin in the same direction the two men carried the woman moments ago. Drake follows close behind me, pulling up the rear. Austin reveals a hidden door to me and Drake pushes me inside a long hallway with several doors on either side. I take a step forward and Drake motions me towards an open door on the right. Walking inside cautiously, I notice another door on the opposite wall before Drake urges me to sit down on one of the white leather couches in the large seating area dominating the room. Austin takes a seat in a matching chair next to the couch.

“Has anyone ever taught you how to control your blood thirst? You drink as if you have no experience with a donor. If you have been killing your donors, it would explain the sudden increase in deaths and disappearances in the city I have been hearing about over the past few months. You behave as if you are a fledgling, yet your mind is strong.” He states plainly.

Knowing that I will not be able to leave without fighting my way out, I return to my seat and flop back down on the couch with my arms crossed over my chest sulking.

He lectures to me how important it is to feed from multiple donors and to keep the humans alive. “If all vampires drained their victims, we would soon run out of humans to feed from. If we take care of our food, they are more willing to feed us and the experience is much more pleasurable. Fear is an aphrodisiac, but sex is usually how most vampires acquire food.”

“That’s easy for you to say, but not so easy for me to do. Things were much easier for me to control my blood thirst when I was only drinking bagged blood. I never had a problem stopping. When the bag was empty, I was done. I guess it doesn’t work the same way when feeding on humans.” I reluctantly confess.

Austin ponders what I have said for several minutes. He nods in resolve. “Very well, since you are still learning and do not have a master, I may be willing to add you to my
get
.”

“Your what?” My confusion is visible on my face.

Austin chuckles then sighs, his temper forgotten. “A vampire’s
get
is another way vampires describe their household or vampires under their protection. You will need to blood oath to me if you accept my offer, but we can take care of that later.”

“Blood oath?” I ask skeptically. “What is that?”

“You pledge your loyalty to me. You will have to drink my blood to bind us together. It is the way vampires maintain order among each other. It is not a big deal. It is just a formality. All vampires make a blood oath to their masters.” He replies, unconcerned by my wariness.

“Why should I blood oath, pledging my loyalty to you? I have no ties to anyone right now. What makes you think I want to tie myself to you?”

“I am surprised your sire’s master did not bother hunting you down. It could be that your sire’s master is still looking for you. In that case, it might be better that I do not blood oath you. If they find out that I bound you to me without permission, they would consider that an act of war.” He muses to himself.

“What makes you think someone is looking for me?” As the question leaves my lips, my thoughts flash back to the man in my aunt’s house a little over a year ago, the night my life changed. Closing my eyes, I remember what he asked my aunt. “
Where is the girl? The abomination derived from my vampire.”
Chills run down my spine as I recall the cold look in that vampire’s eyes.

Austin watches me with interest. “Did you think of something?”

My eyes pop open and I stifle a yawn. “No, I was just thinking about everything you are telling me.”

He shrugs. “It will be dawn soon and we have a lot to discuss. We should continue this conversation tomorrow after you have fed a little more and wake at sundown. You can be a guest in my home today. Come.” Austin stands and extends his hand to me.

“I didn’t think you wanted me to feed anymore. I think I got enough to last me for a while.” I comment, afraid of what may happen if I go with this vampire.

“I have human donors in my
get
that you can feed from while under my supervision. Once you have had enough to drink, your blood thirst will lessen and you will become more relaxed.” Austin wiggles his fingers on his outstretched hand for emphasis.

Biding my time until I can escape undetected, I accept his hand as he escorts me out the back door. Immediately after we exit the room, two black men, each well over six feet tall, flank us as we leave the warehouse. The one on my left has cocoa colored skin, black eyes and a short buzzed hairstyle. He is wearing a tight black t-shirt and new, black jeans. His shoulder holster contains a black 9mm Berretta. My gaze travels to the other guard on my right. He has lighter skin than the other guard does. His rich coffee colored skin looks smooth and soft. He has a perfect goatee and is nearly bald. The upper body of this guard is hiding behind the tailored suit jacket he is wearing to conceal the revolver he flashes at me when he notices me staring at him.

Tightening my grip on Austin’s hand, I nervously follow him to a limo waiting. The lighter guard opens the door for us, giving me a knowing smile so he can expose his fangs in an attempt to intimidate me. Austin climbs inside, pulling me in beside him. Both black men climb in behind us and sit in the seat across from ours, shutting the door behind them.

Chapter 7

Austin gently strokes my fingers, staring at me as the limo pulls away from the curb. Trying to ignore his steady gaze, I pay close attention to where we are going and to my surroundings as I stare out the dark, tinted windows. I can sense the guards eyeing me with a mixture of curiosity and contempt the entire way to our final destination. Although the tension inside the limo is high, the ride to Austin’s house is short and quiet.

We pull up to Austin’s house and I stare at it in admiration. His house is not quite a mansion, but it is not small by any means. It is located in a decent neighborhood, but too far away from the city for my liking. The two-story house is a newer build with a three-car garage with a long driveway in front of it. The house has a large front yard with mostly desert landscaping.

The limo door opens and we all get out. Austin leads the way as we walk towards the front of the house. The darker guard steps closer to walk at Austin’s right side, as the other lighter guard in the suit moves up to my left.

The darker guard opens the door and Austin walks inside, pulling me inside behind him. I am surprised to encounter no resistance when I enter his home.

I’ve never tried going into a vampire’s house before. Maybe I do not need an invitation to go into a vampire’s house. Maybe the invitation only needs to be from a human’s house. Normally I have to wait outside anyone’s house until I get an expressed invitation to enter. At least that part of what I read about vampires is true.

Austin interrupts my thoughts, answering my unspoken question. “I silently invited you in, in case you were wondering why you did not need an invitation.”

“Oh.” Nodding, I take a quick look around the house. There are stairs directly off to the right and directly ahead of us, there looks like a family room. To my left, someone has converted the formal living room into another family room. Vampires are lounging on the couch, watching TV. All of their heads turn towards us to stare when we enter. Some begin to stand to greet Austin. Many of the women frown when they see me standing next to him, but none of them voice what they are thinking aloud so that I may hear.

I wait patiently and quietly for Austin to finish his greetings, trying my best to be unforgettable. When he finishes his greetings, Austin nudges me up the stairs. Keeping my head down, I allow my hair to obscure my face.

We enter a large bedroom at the end of the upstairs hallway with a king-size bed. The black lacquered headboard is flush against one of the four blood-red painted walls. The bed covers are black silk. The blood-red leather couches and ottomans skillfully placed around the room match the walls perfectly. I stand in the nearest corner, out of everyone’s way as Austin waves his hand at the vampires that followed us into the room.

I listen to the soft footsteps drift away before raising my head. My eyes scan the lavish room again, this time in appreciation, when Austin’s stare captures my attention. He unbuttons his shirt and rolls up his sleeves, keeping his eyes on me the entire time. He sits on the bed with his back facing me, while he removes his shoes and socks. I can hear him unbuckling his pants when my cheeks heat in shyness.