Escape (Vampire King Book 1) (12 page)

“Put me down,” I
whispered.

Growling, Samuel placed
me back on my feet. His fangs disappeared. Mumbling curse words, he stormed
past Leeta and snatched open the door. “Brie, I’ll be waiting by the horses.
And Leeta, I’ll be back in four days with Zumaya mushrooms. See if you can get
someone to trade me food or supplies for them…please.”

The door slammed behind
him.

“Be very cautious.”
Leeta faced me. “Samuel and you have vampire hormones bouncing around inside
your bodies. You both will be unpredictable.”

“What do you mean?” I pretended
to be confused.

“You already know he’s
a prince, a strong one. He told me you saw his marks. And I can smell you on
him.” Leeta beamed. “Your blood triggered his powers. He’s starting to mature
into a full-grown king.”

“None of this concerns
me.” I hurried to the door.

“His power sings to
your blood. I witnessed your reaction to him just now. He’ll be a king in a few
years.” Smiling, Leeta opened the door for me. “And you’ll be his queen.”

“No. I’ve already
escaped The Quiet King, I won’t be running into another king’s arms.” I left
the building.

Chapter Eight

Although Samuel had
bought two brown-and-white striped horses, we rode together on one. Supplies
draped the other horse’s back. I held the reins of our horse while Samuel sat
behind me, towing the supply horse along with a steel rope he held in his left
hand. All night we journeyed through areas that had been destroyed from the
Great War, A war The Quiet King had initiated and eventually won. The ground
out here was harder to travel on since it was more ash and decayed vampire
soldiers’ dust than dirt. It sunk in some places and hardened in others. A few
times we had to stop to let the horses rest.

Unlike in the city,
millions of stars glittered in the sky and the two moons gleamed brighter than
usual. Various scents lingered in the cool night air—smoke from smothered camp
fires, the bitter odor of blue kotaki vines as they hung from tall trees, and
the sweaty stench horses earned from riding for a long time.

Damaged forest
surrounded us. The sounds of the area spooked me the most. When the wind blew,
a haunting noise came with it as if someone were screaming from miles away.
Slurping and munching noises drifted from darkened areas full of shadows. A few
horse-pulled wagons screeched by us, packed with men coated in filth who gazed
at my breasts and licked their lips. All the wagons had been made of wood so
there was no need for us to worry. Only humans and other non-vampire species
rode in those.

Wild tigers and coyotes
jogged by and steered clear of us once they got a whiff of Samuel.
I’m glad Samuel is with me.
If I had
traveled through this area alone, they would have attacked me or perhaps the
wagon men would have gotten to me first. Samuel had given me a sharpened wooden
dagger with a button at the bottom of the handle. When I pressed the button,
the wood shifted into a silver blade. With all the possible dangers a person
could greet out here, I patted my weapon a few times as it stayed tied to my
waist.

Avoiding any discussion
about last night or what happened in the stairwell, Samuel and I talked for
hours about other things, like my life before being a domina. He asked
questions about my children, the things I enjoyed, and even some inquiries
about Ethan. Most of all, he wanted to know why my hair was so red. But I had
no answers. It was just a weird outcome of my family’s genes.

“Enough about me. How
did you begin helping people escape
Capitol
City
?” I asked after a
few minutes of silence.

He rested his hand on
my hip and then glided it up to my waist. His thumb paused an inch under my
shirt and traced circles on my skin. My blood rushed to the area. All night my
body had been reacting to him. I blamed it on the new vampire hormones inside
of me as I gripped the reins tighter and tried to think of anything else
besides his finger. I should have stopped him from touching me, but I enjoyed
it too much.

If
Ethan saw this, what would I say?
I bit my lip until
blood filled my mouth and gave me a distraction.

“Leeta raised me from a
baby to a man,” he said. “Once I was older, my mother began visiting.”

“She didn’t visit
before?”

“No. She only sent
trinkets and letters. When she finally came, the plotting began. She begged me
to help her friend escape.”

I smirked. “A domina
she wanted you to breed with?”

“Yes.” He chuckled
behind me. “Unfortunately for my mother, I felt nothing for the domina and so I
got her to the village in no time.”

“Through the sewers?”

“No. This was twenty
years ago, before the wall was built around the city.” He scooted closer to me
so his hard body formed into mine as we rocked on the horse. “It was so much
easier to leave the city when we had other kings, but of course, it was all
before the Great War.”

“I remember. I was just
a teenager.”

“Yes. I keep forgetting
how much older I am than you,” he said in a low voice. “Either way, the Great
War changed things. The Quiet King kept conquering vampire kingdoms and killed
off all the powerful bloodlines. His royal court grew. More and more, people
wanted to escape the city. By the time the king raised the taxes and limited
the amount of vampire children per household, I was aiding five to ten people
out of the city each week.”

“Why do you think he
limited the amount of kids?”

“I’m not sure. To
better control the population maybe. I couldn’t imagine being in so many minds
at once.”

“Well, now you’re known
as the top pathfinder and most trustworthy sewer guide,” I joked. He pinched my
arm. I jumped and laughed as our horse trotted along.

“Your hair smells like rose
petals,” he said, as if it were the most normal thing to say to a woman with a
husband and kids. My cheeks warmed into a blush.
Don’t think about the effect he has on you. Think about Ethan.

“And how do you know
Ethan hasn’t replaced you?” Samuel asked.

“You said you wouldn’t
read my thoughts.” I scooted up on the saddle, away from him.

“No. I said maybe.” He
dragged me back to him. The two moons aligned in the sky. “And you didn’t
answer my question.”

“I forgot the question.”
I grinned.

“What will you do if
Ethan found someone new?”

I shrugged.

“I’ve been helping
people for years.” He leaned toward me and rubbed his face against my cheek.
“If the couple have been separated for a year or more, it’s a good chance the
other spouse has moved on.”

I snorted. “So I should
just turn around right now and forget about going home?”

“I’m not saying that,
but I do think you should be prepared,” he said. “What will you do if he’s
found someone else?”

I patted the side of
our horse’s head. “Dawn is coming. The horses have been running all night and
you need to get away from the sun.”

“Answer me.” In
seconds, he dragged the tip of his fangs across my neck. My blood’s temperature
soared to boiling, like someone had poured hot embers into my mouth. I arched back
into him.

“I’m too hot.” I
panted. “What are you doing?”

He leaned away a
little. “Sorry.”

My normal temperature
returned instantly. My erect nipples rose in the air. His fangs trailed the arc
of my shoulder, stirring my hormones into frenzy. Moaning, my head fell back
into his shoulder as I closed my eyes, no longer guiding the horse or caring if
he rode us into a tree or off a hill.

Do
you know how hard it’s been to not fuck you this whole journey?
he asked inside my head.

We
can’t have sex,
I thought.
Put your fangs away. I hate the affect they’re having on me.

“Why can’t I make love
to you? Your husband sent you off to breed with a vampire.” Samuel’s fangs
retracted. “Last time I checked, I was a vampire.”

“No.”

He growled.

“We should camp now.”
Opening my eyes, I blew out air and yanked the reins, stopping us near several
trees. Their branches extended in a downward arch like umbrellas. Their leaves
stretched larger than my face and were as black as the soil on the ground. I
figured the huge trees would provide good shade from the sun during the
daylight hours.

“And if Ethan has
fallen in love with someone else, what will you do?”

“Goodness, Samuel. I
don’t know.” I climbed off the horse. My legs rubbed against his. “So much has
happened in these past days. Leave me alone.”

Besides,
I’m more worried about my girls.

He hopped off our
horse. His feet landed on the ground. Dust rose around his boots. His lips
formed into a frown as he stomped toward the horse that carried our supplies.

“I just want to go
home,” I said, hoping he heard me. “Let’s not make this whole situation even
more uncomfortable. You already have a mental bond with me and my body does
weird things around you now.”

And
I’m enjoying your touch too much.

He grumbled something
under his breath. After taking the supplies off, he untied the reins from both
horses and patted their backs. The creatures sped off into the darkness.

“There’s a river
ahead,” he stated. “They’ll rest near it and drink.”

“Okay.” My body
relaxed.
Maybe he’s decided to leave the
whole situation alone. Good.
As much as I wanted to stay true to Ethan, I
couldn’t stop my body and blood’s reaction to Samuel.

He yanked out a massive
fur blanket the color of the night sky and laid it on the ground. He grunted
and dragged out a huge pack of folded black leather from a box. Within seconds,
he turned, twisted, and hiked the thick material up into a decent-sized tent,
his image blurring with the action.

“The tent is up,” he
announced.

“How will it stay up?
Where are the poles and rope?” I asked, circling and studying the sides for any
weakness. He approached me on my right. His lips straightened into a line. His
eyes shimmered in the moons’ light.

“You need to understand
that if you won’t be with your husband,” He stepped closer, “then we’ll be
together.”

Warmth spread across my
skin.
Don’t listen to him. He’s just a
vampire. I can’t get hot and bothered over him.
The pregnant woman
decorated in old bites flashed in my head.
Think
about Ethan.
His face didn’t come. I swallowed and focused on my girls’
faces instead.

“Where is the food?” My
voice screeched a little.

He pointed to a silver
box. I twisted that way, headed toward it, and pulled out a packet of dry
cherries. A slapping noise sounded behind me. I glanced over my shoulder as
Samuel disappeared into the tent.

Will
we discuss this, Brie? Or should I just read your thoughts?
His
voice still came out smooth in my head but held a tiny edge.

“I wish you would stop
that!” I tossed some of the cherries in my mouth. The sweet fruit teased my
taste buds. I peeped at the tent.

One
tent? Samuel should have bought two of them. I can’t sleep in there with him so
close to me.
My heartbeat sped up as I considered
how tight it would be in there.
Could I
even go to sleep with his hard muscles right next to me?

I
could think of other things we could do
. His voice filled my
head.

“That’s it!” I slammed
the pouch down to the ground. It dropped by the box. I stomped to the tent and
formed my hands into fists. “I don’t want you reading my mind! Don’t do it
again!”

His hands clamped onto
my arm as I crawled into the tent. He tenderly drew me onto him, covering my
mouth with his full lips. I shoved him away.