Ironic Sacrifice (3 page)

His weight settled back onto her body and suddenly he thrust inside her. Jayden cried out in surprise and overwhelming pleasure. His fangs plunged into her neck again. Her hips writhed against his until they were both undulating in a mindless dance of ecstasy. Razvan’s arms tightened around her as the climax overtook her with unfathomable insanity. She shook and trembled beneath him, feeling as if she were struck by multiple blasts of lightning.

The last sight Jayden beheld before the blackness claimed her was glowing eyes and blood-dripping fangs set within a visage whose beauty took her breath away. The last thing she heard was a masculine growl of pleasure that pulled at her heartstrings. Then there was nothing.

***

Razvan withdrew from Jayden’s exquisite body, still panting with ecstasy. Immediately, he checked her pulse. It was a little weaker than he would like, and there were dark circles under her eyes. An unpleasant sensation built in his gut, overcoming the pleasure still singing in his loins. He’d only felt this particular sensation a few times before, but he was quick to identify the feeling: guilt.

Slowly he got out of the bed and bit his finger, smearing his blood across the puncture wounds on Jayden’s neck to heal them, fighting off this new and alien urge to leave them displayed to the world.

He tucked the blankets around his new charge before burying his face in his hands. What had come over him? First he took a crazy woman off the streets, then he Marked her,
then
he had sex with her despite her weak condition and his policy about not fucking his food. What was it about this woman that made him lose his mind?

He sent her a mental command to sleep through the day, feeling an uncomfortable twinge at how easy it was in her weakened state. The Mark flared between them again with its unsettling yet pleasurable electric heat. Razvan sighed. At least he would have plenty of time to figure out this enigma. He had seen the woman’s memories. She truly was alone in the world without family or a mate to be concerned with her fate.
But did that make what he was doing right?
He shook off the disconcerting thought with a growl.

As he left the resort to return to Spokane for the day, he pulled out his phone and called the Lord of the city.

“Hello, Razvan,” the vampire immediately answered.

“
Lord of Coeur d’Alene, I beg permission for a short visit. Also, I have brought something interesting.”

Immediately came the reply: “
Was it so interesting as to delay your announcement of your arrival in my territory? If we were not friends, Nicolae…”

Razvan chuckled and broke the connection before Lord McNaught could build up to a full tangent. It was good to keep the man on his toes.

When Jayden awoke, the vampire was gone. She would have thought all that happened was a dream but for the luxurious room she was in.

“Oh my God!” Her voice seemed loud in the emptiness, but not as overwhelming as her memories of the previous night.

She’d given herself to a
vampire
. Not only had he drank her blood, he’d made love to her. On the heels of that realization, another intruded.

I am still alive; he didn’t kill me.

Those surreal facts took awhile to absorb. It was all she could do not to tear at her hair and scream like a maniac. Then she looked at the clock and realized it was six p.m. A whole night had passed. Her darting gaze settled on the door and her mind was momentarily cleansed with a goal.

Jayden slid out of the bed and stood up, pausing as a wave of dizziness threatened to drop her. How much blood did he take? When she regained composure she searched the room and bathroom for her clothes. They were gone. Why the hell had he taken her clothes?

At least he left the robe. She put it on, tied the belt securely, and crept to the door. The knob was cool on her sweaty palms. It turned easily. She’d expected it to be locked. She opened it and tiptoed into the hallway, praying no one was around to see her in nothing but a robe. Maybe she could steal some clothes from the lockers in the pool area.

The corridor was empty and quiet besides the tinny sound of Mozart playing from the ceiling speakers. So far, so good. Jayden took a deep breath and continued walking. The plush royal blue carpet muted her footsteps. Then dizziness struck again, making her head swim and spots flash before her eyes, but she kept going, determined to escape.

She was just rounding the corner when she came face to face with the vampire.

“Going somewhere?” Razvan’s lips curved into a malevolent grin.

Her breath caught in her throat as she gazed up at him. All he had done to her last night flashed in her mind with startling clarity as his midnight eyes threatened to trap her in their depths. Her gaze darted frantically to avoid them, focusing instead on the old fashioned black frock coat that he wore. An urge to run her fingers along the folds, to see if it was soft as it looked, made her hands ball up at her sides. When she looked up at the wavy mass of hair that caressed his shoulders, her stomach clenched painfully as she remembered the soft feel of it in her hands. Defeated, she dropped her gaze to the floor.

But Razvan was not so easily placated. His fingers grasped her chin and tilted her head to look up at him.

“You were trying to escape.” His voice sounded amused, but frightening all the same.

She nodded. There was no point in denying the obvious.

“But I thought we had a bargain, Jayden.” His tone was now patient and gentle, like a parent with a recalcitrant child.

“But you didn’t kill me.” A triumphant smile touched her lips and she met his eyes in challenge. “You’re the one who didn’t hold your end of the bargain first. So I guess the deal is off.”

Surprised laughter echoed through the hallway. “That is indeed a good argument, but I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

“How so?” she asked with a small frown. Her bravado was replaced by confusion.

Again he laughed. “You should dress and eat first. Then I will explain.”

She frowned. “I don’t have any clothes.”

He held out a shopping bag, previously unnoticed. “You do now.”

The vampire took her arm with his free hand as he steered her back into the room. “Come, let us see if one of these gowns does you justice.”

As he opened the shopping bags and began pulling out impossibly expensive clothing, he said jovially, “By the way, that police officer who harassed you the other day… he made a delightful breakfast. His daughter will be safe now.”

Jayden’s heart thudded in her skull. How had he known about the cop who’d stopped her yesterday? And about the terrible things he’d done?

As inhuman as it may be, she couldn’t help but be relieved that the vampire had stopped him from harming anyone ever again.

“Thanks,” she murmured.

Razvan grinned and pulled two gowns from one of the shopping bags. “What do you think? The black or the green?”

***

Jayden kept her eyes downcast as she nibbled on her dinner. Not only was it hard to eat in front of someone who wasn’t doing so, but with all that had happened between them, especially the things he’d done to her body, she was terrified to look at him. Razvan didn’t make things any easier. She’d hoped for immediate explanations but he refused to speak to her until she ate.

“You are much too thin,” he’d stated with a baleful glare.

The food was sumptuous, but she could barely choke it down. Her stomach felt like a cement mixer. Finally, with a curious stare at Razvan, the waitress took the plate away.

“I have never been on the boardwalk, have you?” the vampire asked.

She shook her head, eyes fixed to the lapels of his coat.

“Well, let’s go.”

He took her hand and led her outside. She shivered in the night air and buttoned her new fur coat…or faux fur anyway. She didn’t know whether he was being cheap or cared about animal rights. The man—vampire—whatever was the most puzzling being she’d ever met. Her heart pounded in anticipation of what he was going to do with her.

“My youngling and good friend is Lord of this city,” Razvan commented. “Beautiful isn’t it?”

She looked up and around. Everything was bathed in moonlight, from the smooth planks of the boardwalk, to the gentle lapping waters of the lake.

“Yes.” Her voice sounded harsh and alien in the still night.

He lapsed back into silence as he led her further down the path. She wondered if he’d brought her here, to a thin strip of wood surrounded by inky water, to further discourage her from escaping. A couple embraced on a bench nearby. A whisper of a vision struck her when she passed them. Quickly, she averted her eyes and willed her focus on the rippling water.

“You saw something,” he stated, nodding towards the couple.

It unnerved her that he could read her mind.

“The man is married to another woman,” she replied.

His brows rose. “You did not touch him to see that.”

She rolled her eyes. “He’s reveling in his affair so much that I’m surprised the whole world doesn’t know.”

He laughed. She trembled.

“The point is, Jayden, you can see people’s secrets without touching them. That makes you very powerful…and interesting.”

They climbed a set of stairs and came upon a narrow arching bridge. Razvan leaned over the railing to peer down at the water. A slight breeze ruffled dark locks against his cheek. He was so beautiful.

“Why aren’t you going to kill me, Razvan?” she whispered.

He smiled and scratched his beard. “Sometimes my kind will keep a human companion. Some of us call them ‘pet mortals.’ I think you shall make a nice one.”

“You want me for a pet?” She didn’t know whether she was more shocked or outraged.

Uncomfortable with that subject, she moved on to another. “What made you change your mind about killing me?”

Razvan smiled wickedly. “I never said I was going to kill you. I just accepted the offer you made: your life for that woman’s. And I intend to keep you…and your life.”

Waves of heat rushed through her body at his serious tone even as her skin prickled as if chilled. He meant every word he said. Her stomach knotted at his trickery as her heart thudded at the possible implications of the situation. What would it mean for her? Would she become a mindless zombie like in the Dracula movies? Or would he keep her as a regular food supply, locked up in a cold basement where no one could hear her screams?

Cautiously she asked, “Were you going to do that with the other woman, Charise?”

He shook his head, still smiling in that unnerving manner. “No. She did not amuse me.”

Jayden trembled with fear and confusion at his cavalier attitude at the prospect of making her his plaything. “Why do I amuse you?”

Razvan chuckled. “Come now, Jayden. You are a clairvoyant so powerful that you are half mad with it. What’s not amusing about that?”

She choked back a gasp. “You are evil.”

He laughed low and sinister. “Only when I’m bored. Any more questions?”

“Plenty, but you kinda unnerve me, so I don’t know what to ask.” She sighed and turned away from him, leaning on the railing to stare out at the dark water. Maybe jumping in wouldn’t be a bad idea. Wasn’t there a myth about vampires and water?

The vampire leaned beside her on the railing, still laughing softly. “I am sure you will come up with something. Women never stop with their questions.”

Jayden ignored the jibe and watched a boat pass under the bridge. Finally, she had a question. “Why don’t I have visions when I touch you?”

“I have control over my thoughts.” Something that almost sounded like respect tinged his voice. “You will not see what I do not wish you to. Don’t worry, dear pet, I will get help for you to control your powers as well. That way, you will only have visions when you choose to.”

“You can
do
that?” Tentative hope bloomed in her breast. Perhaps belonging to this creature wouldn’t be so bad. She would give anything to have her sanity back…
anything.

“Of course,” Razvan said. The arrogance and amusement returned to his tone. “I am a Lord Vampire.”

No way!
Not only did she end up with a vampire, he was also a big boss vampire? “Is that a power thing, or political?”

He inclined his head in a mock bow. “Are they not the same?”

“Well… I guess so, but I meant, what does being a Lord Vampire entail? How did you get the job?” She couldn’t help her curiosity.

Razvan grinned. “I control the vampire community in my city. Any who live and hunt there need my approval. If one wants to open a business they must go through me. And if any want to enter my city, they must offer gifts and beg my approval.”

“Vampires run businesses?” she asked in disbelief.

“Of course,” he replied patiently. “We need money too. What did you think? That we skulk around cemeteries, sleep in sewers?” He turned to rest his back against the railing, a deceptively casual pose. “Power grows with age. Only centuries-old vampires can be Lords and I am probably the oldest in the region… well, besides the Lord of Seattle. I don’t know which of us is eldest.”

Jayden chewed on a fingernail. “How old are you?”

“Nine hundred and fifty? Sixty? I cannot recall exactly.”

The offhand manner of his grandiose statement made her feel as if she was in another dimension, but she didn’t doubt his words. He reeked of power. Nine hundred years, what could one possibly learn and experience in that amount of time?

Razvan broke the silence. “Tonight, you shall meet the Lord of this city…and his pet. She is extraordinary. I may have claimed her for myself if Silas hadn’t gotten her first.”

Jayden fought off a surge of jealousy.
Don’t be ridiculous.
She chided herself.
You’re not supposed to want to be a pet!

She turned to deliver a scathing retort, but he had pulled out his phone and was ordering a cab. The sight of the ancient vampire using a cell phone like a normal person added to the realization that Jayden was far out of her element.

“Well,” he said after putting away his phone. “We had best get your bags packed.”

The cab ride was over before she had a chance to worry much over meeting another vampire. They stopped at an auto-repair shop on the corner of 15
th
and Sherman. Jayden was perplexed. She’d expected a fancy mansion. The neon “Open” sign glowed a bright blue. She frowned. She’d also expected any auto shop to be closed at this hour.

Razvan winked at her. “Silas is out hunting. I don’t believe you would like to witness that. For now, there is someone I would like you to meet. ”