The Vampire's Love (5 page)

Wesley
flinched and muttered a curse and Abigail gave him a look of apology. 
“I’m sorry, Wesley.  I never was very good at this, even with Michael’s
instructions.”

He shook
his head.  “It’s fine.  Keep going.”

She nodded
and glanced briefly at Val.  “Did you hear me, Val?  You should
feed.”

Faren had
left nearly three hours ago.  They had buried Bill and then travelled for
an hour or so.  Val wanted to keep going but Abby had insisted they
stop.  Wesley’s wounds were still bleeding and needed to be attended to.

“I’m not
leaving you alone.”  He replied.

“I can take
care of myself.”  She squinted in the dim light as she slid the needle
through Wesley’s flesh.

“I’ve noticed.” 
He said dryly.

“Sometimes
I think there would be advantages to being a leech.”  Evan said
thoughtfully.

“Evan!” 
Wesley frowned at him.

“What?’ 
Evan shrugged.  “Look how quickly the leech healed.”

Wesley
rolled his eyes.  “I would rather bleed to death than become a leech.”

“Hush.” 
Abby said.  “No one is bleeding to death – I’m almost done.”

Without
looking at Val, she said, “How did you do that, by the way?”

“Do what?”

“Heal so
quickly.”

He
frowned.  “Vampires have natural healing abilities.”

She paused,
the needle and thread held in her blood-covered fingers.  “You didn’t
drink blood though.”

He gave her
a questioning look and she snorted impatiently.  “When you were injured
with the silver, your wounds didn’t heal.  Without blood you would have
died.”

“Vampires
can heal themselves from most wounds within minutes – even without blood. 
Blood does help us heal faster but it isn’t necessary.  A well-fed vampire
will heal faster than a starving one.  Injuries from silver will heal
eventually.  But if they’re bad enough and we aren’t given blood to help
speed the healing process, we die before we can heal ourselves.”

He paused,
“Did your Michael not tell you this?  I thought he was knowledgeable about
my kind.”

“He teaches
us how to kill your kind.”  Wesley snapped.  “That’s all we need to
know.”

Val didn’t
reply and Abby quickly rinsed the smears of blood from Wesley’s side.  She
took the lantern from Evan and held it closer, squinting at her
handiwork.  “Well, it’s done.  You’re not going to win any beauty
contests but you’re not going to bleed to death either.”

“Thank you,
Abby.”  Wesley squeezed her hand and she gave him a quick peck on the
forehead.

“You’re
welcome.”

She washed
her hands in a bucket of water as Faren strolled into the camp.

“Val!” 
He sat down beside the vampire and clapped him on the back.  “How are you,
my blood-sucking friend?”

Val stared
at him suspiciously.  “You’re suddenly in a good mood.”

“Indeed I
am.”  Faren grinned at him.  “There is a cabin not twenty miles from
here.  I suggest you go to it.”

“Do you
now?”  Val said mildly.

“Well,
perhaps not the cabin itself, but definitely the barn.  You’ll find three
very lovely and very willing ladies waiting for you.”

Abigail
sucked in her breath, her hands pausing in the bucket of water, before she
pulled them out of the water and dried them briskly on a towel.  She
rummaged through a small bag and pulled out some bandages to cover Wesley’s
wounds.

“They’re
sisters and they’re very eager to meet you.”  Faren winked at him. 
“The two oldest are a bit…tired but the youngest is ready to go.  I told
her how handsome you were, and she was quite intrigued.”

Val didn’t
reply as Abby finished bandaging Wesley’s wounds and, without looking at Val,
stood and walked to the carriage.  She disappeared inside of it as Faren
stretched out on the ground beside the fire. 

Val stood
and walked to the carriage. 

“Stay away
from her, leech!”  Wesley stood, wincing a little, and glared at
him. 

Val ignored
him and stepped into the carriage, closing the door behind him.  Wesley
cursed loudly and started to follow him.  Evan grabbed his arm.

“Don’t,
Wesley.  She can take care of herself and besides, she’s already slept
with him once.  She can deny it, but you and I both know she’s letting him
feed from her.  The leech hasn’t gone hunting at all and there’s no way he
would go this long without blood.  You don’t have a chance with her now,
and you know that.”

Wesley
glanced at Faren, who smiled broadly at him.  “Val does like to eat on a
regular basis.”

“She isn’t
letting him feed from her.”  Wesley tried to sound confident but there was
doubt in his voice.

Evan shook
his head and pulled out some dried meat from a leather bag.  “You know
that isn’t true.”

* * *

“What are
you doing, little dove?”  Val asked.

Abby was
kneeling on the floor of the carriage.  There were built-in cabinets under
each seat of the carriage and she was sorting through one of them.

She pulled
out a short blue skirt and frowned at the thin, blue piece of material lying
underneath it.  It was a bikini top, the material so thin it was nearly
translucent, and she stared at it in the dim light of the lantern.  “What
the hell is this?”

“If I had
to guess, I would say it’s what Joven gives his pets to wear.”  Val
replied.

Her eyes
widened and she shook her head.  “Ridiculous.”

She tossed
the top on to the skirt and dipped her hand into the drawer again.  This
time she pulled out a leather collar, the leather stained blue to match the
skirt and top, and she stared at it disbelievingly.

“A
collar?  Are you kidding me?”  She muttered.

Val stared
at the collar.  The sickness that had wiped out so many of them had also
destroyed many of their more common practices, such as keeping humans as
pets.  However, in the last fifty years the balance had shifted again, and
more and more vampires were seducing humans into being their personal meal
tickets. 

In five
centuries of being a vampire, he had never taken a human as a pet.  He had
seduced them, fed from them, but had always moved on after one night.  He
found the human’s neediness for him after feeding to be more of a pain than
anything else.  Until, that was, he had fed from Abigail.  From the
moment he had tasted her blood, he had been determined to make her his.

He stared
at the collar and pictured buckling it around Abigail’s neck and claiming her
as his own.  He was ashamed to realize he had a raging erection.  He
shook off the feelings of shame.  Abby belonged to him and if he wanted
her to wear a collar, she would do so.

You
don’t really believe that.  Face it Val, you may be a vampire but you’re
not like Faren and the others.  You never will be.  Not after what
they did to Karena.

He moved
until he was standing next to Abigail.  “Many vampires use collars to show
other vampires that the human belongs to them.”

He bent and
searched through the open cabinet and pulled out a leather wrist cuff.  It
was stained in the same shade of blue as the collar Abigail was holding.

“There, you
see?  Joven wears this and his pet wears the collar.  It will
discourage other vampires from feeding off his pet.”

She slid
away from him and sat on the seat, rubbing the leather collar nervously between
her fingers.  “You’re kidding me.”

“I am not,
little dove.”  He sat down beside her, crowding up against her and
blocking her with his arm when she tried to squirm away.

“I’m not
wearing this.”  She glared at him.

“You have
no choice.”  He stroked her thigh with one large hand.  “It was you
who decided to become Joven’s pet, remember?”

“I
remember.  But you’re not Joven, and I won’t wear the collar.”  She
said firmly.

He
continued to stroke her thigh, his fingers slipping between them to rub the
inside of her leg.  He could feel the silver band through her pants and he
traced it lightly with his fingers.

“Why are
you here anyway?”  She suddenly said.  “There are three beautiful
women waiting for you, remember?”

He grinned
at the jealousy in her voice.  “Are you jealous, little dove?”

“No.” 
She lied.

He moved
his head until his mouth was hovering over hers.  “You are.”

At the feel
of his warm breath on her lips, she moaned and kissed him hard on the
mouth.  She pushed her tongue eagerly into his mouth and he stroked at it
with his as she climbed on to his lap.  She pulled frantically at the
buttons on his shirt, opening them quickly and then bending her head to kiss
his naked chest.

He groaned
and cupped the back of her head as she kissed his collarbone and then his
neck.  He cupped her breasts through her shirt, tugging lightly on her
nipples as she ground her pelvis against him.

He tipped
his head and stared up at the ceiling of the carriage as Abby licked and nipped
at his throat.  He could smell her arousal, and her blood sang its
intoxicating song to him.  His fangs lengthened and he made a low,
growling noise when she sucked on his earlobe.

“I want to
fuck you, Val.”  She muttered into his ear.  “Right now.”

He wound
his hand into her braid and tugged her head back.  “Will you allow me to
feed from you, little dove?”

She
stiffened on his lap, her hands digging painfully into his chest.  “You
know I won’t.”

“Then I
won’t fuck you.”  He said quietly.

She gave
him a look of disbelief.  “Val, I – “

He shook
his head and interrupted her.  “No.  There will be no bargaining with
this.  I won’t fuck you again until you allow me to feed from you.”

She shoved
her way off his lap and glared at him.  “I’ll never allow you to feed from
me again.”

“And I will
never fuck you again.”  He replied.

“Fine.” 
She snapped.

“Fine.” 
He snapped back.

She crossed
her arms over her chest and scowled at him.  “Then I guess we both know
exactly where we stand with each other.”

“Indeed.” 
He stood up and walked to the door of the carriage.  “If you’ll excuse me,
I have a dinner engagement in the form of a beautiful and willing woman.”

He ignored
her look of hurt and left the carriage.  She stormed to the door and
shouted, “Enjoy your dinner, you arrogant asshole!”

“Which way
to the cabin?”  Val growled at Faren. 

“North, my
hungry friend.  You won’t be able to miss it.”  Faren grinned as Val
disappeared into the forest.

“What’s the
story between you and the bug?”

Abigail,
standing guard at the edge of the camp, ignored Faren’s soft voice drifting
across the camp.  Violet turned on her shoulder and glared at Faren before
sticking her tongue out.  She twisted back to face Abigail and continued
to rub her cheek softly, giving her a look of pity.

“I’m fine,
little one.”  Abby muttered.  “What do I care if the leech feeds or fucks
other women?  He’s probably fucked a hundred women since I was taken.”

Violet
shook her head and held her hand up.  She made the shape of a zero and
stared at Abigail.

Abigail
blinked.  “He hasn’t slept with another human woman?”

Violet
shook her head again and then pointed at Abby before making a crying gesture
with her fists.

“I highly
doubt he was crying over me, Violet.  And I’m sure he fed from other women
when you weren’t around.”  She sighed and stared into the darkness,
listening intently for any strange noises.

She
stiffened and drew her dagger, turning to glare at Faren who was suddenly
standing directly behind her.  “Don’t sneak up on me, leech.”

He held his
hands up.  “Sorry.  Won’t happen again.”

She looked
behind him.  Wesley and Evan were sleeping lumps around the fire and she
glanced briefly at Faren before staring into the darkness again.

He stood
beside her and stared at Violet.  She stuck her tongue out at him again
and he chuckled. 

“Will you
tell me the story between you and the pixie?  Please?”  He asked
politely.

“I saved
her life and she saved mine.”  Abigail said shortly.

“Why is she
not with her own kind?”

“Her voice
was stolen from her and they drove her away.”

“How was
her voice stolen?”

“I don’t
know.  She couldn’t tell me.”  Abby said sarcastically.

Faren
laughed.  “You’re funny for a human.  I can see why Val is so smitten
with you.”

“He’s not
smitten with me.”  Abigail snapped.

“You don’t
think so?”  Faren raised an eyebrow at her.  “He seems rather smitten
to me.”

Abigail
shook her head.  “Have you forgotten that he is, at this very moment,
fucking and feeding from your barn whores?”

“That seems
like a harsh comment to make about your own kind.”  Faren raised his gaze
to the large tree about ten feet in front of them.  Although it was very
dark, he could clearly see Val sitting on one of the larger branches.  He
ignored Val’s warning look and grinned mischievously at Abby.

“Besides,
we don’t know for sure that Val is with your – what did you call them – barn
whores?”

Abigail
snorted.  “He is.”

“Perhaps,
or perhaps he’s simply sitting in a tree like a giant, pale squirrel.” 
Faren laughed and Abby followed his gaze to a large tree.

She
squinted up at the tree but it was too dark to really see anything.  She
rolled her eyes and gave Faren a stony look.  “You’re an idiot, Faren.”

He laughed
cheerfully.  “There are many who think that.”

“Go
away.  I wish to be alone.”  She said grumpily.

He bowed
briefly.  “As you wish, human.”

* * *

“We’re only
a few miles from Darius’ estate.  Are you ready?”  Wesley asked when
Faren and Val descended from the carriage the following evening.

Val nodded
as Faren winked at Wesley.  “As ready as we’ll ever be.”

Val turned
to Abigail but she had already disappeared into the carriage.  He sighed
harshly.  She had been ignoring him since the moment he had returned to
the campsite.  He cursed himself in his head for letting his anger get the
best of him, but her refusal to allow him to feed from her was puzzling and
hurtful.  She wanted him to bite her, he knew she did, and her constant
denial was driving him mad. 

He took a
deep breath as Violet flew towards him and hovered in front of his face. 
She gave him an anxious look and he smiled grimly at her.  “It’ll be fine,
bug.”

He looked
around the forest.  “You should stay here. Hide yourself in the trees
until we return.”

She scowled
at him and shook her head no. 

He
sighed.  “It’s going to be dangerous, bug.  It’s safer for you to
stay in the forest.”

She shook her
head again and landed on his shoulder, wrapping her limbs around his long hair
as though she was afraid he would simply disappear.

He reached
up and patted her small back.  It was ridiculous how fond he was of the
little pest, and he ignored Faren’s grin as the carriage door opened and Abby
descended the short steps.  Behind him, he heard the sharp inhale of
Wesley and he hissed lightly in response.  Not that he could blame the
human, his cock had hardened in his pants at the sight of her, and he thanked
God that everyone’s attention was on Abby.

“Very nice,
human.”  Faren said silkily.

“I look
ridiculous.”  Abby muttered.

“Ridiculous
is not the word I would use.”  Wesley cleared his throat and ignored Val
when he hissed again.

Abby had
changed into the slave outfit and Val couldn’t stop staring at her.  Her
long dark hair was unbraided and hung down her back in a dark waterfall. 
The short skirt and translucent bra left a shocking amount of her creamy skin
visible, and she crossed her arms nervously over her torso as her gaze fell on
Val.

He strode
jerkily to her, stopping when he was only a few inches away, and looked her up
and down.  His eyes darkened when her nipples, clearly visible through the
thin top, hardened noticeably and she immediately crossed her arms over her
breasts.

“Stop
looking at me like that.”  She snapped quietly at him.

“Like
what?”  He asked innocently.

“Like you
want to eat me for dinner.”  She gave him another scathing look and he
grinned at her, his fangs long and white in the dim light.

“Where is
your collar?”  He was already wearing the leather wrist cuff.

“I told you
– I’m not wearing it.”  She replied.

He frowned
at her.  “Abby, the collar has a very specific purpose.  You need to
wear it.  If you don’t, the other vampires will believe you are free for
the taking.  You cannot – “

“Drop it,
Val!”  She snapped again.  “I’m not wearing it and you can’t make
me.”

“Abby,”
Wesley began hesitantly, “I think the leech is right.  You don’t want – “

“Be quiet,
Wesley.”  She glared at him.  “It’s bad enough I have to wear this
stupid outfit, I’m not wearing the collar and that’s final.”

Wesley
nodded as Val reached behind her and opened the carriage door.  “After
you, little dove.”

Without
speaking, Abby turned and climbed awkwardly into the carriage.  The skirt
she was wearing was extremely short and Val caught a flash of her white panties
as she climbed the steps.

“Little
dove?”

“What?”

He
indicated for Faren to wait outside and followed her into the carriage before
shutting the door behind him.  He stared down at her as she glared at him.

“What do
you want?”

“Take off
your panties.”

She gaped
at him.  “What?  No!”

He leaned
against the door of the carriage.  “No vampire allows their human slave to
wear underclothes.  It defeats the purpose of the slave.”

She snorted
with anger.  “Pigs.”

He
shrugged.  “Perhaps.  I will not force you to wear the collar,
although you are safer with it, but I must insist that you remove your
panties.  Wearing them is a clear sign that you are not under my
control.  Do you understand?”

She stared
at the floor of the carriage, her leg jiggling nervously and he took a step
closer.  “Do you need my help in removing them, little dove?  I’d be
happy to lend a hand.”

She
skittered back and shot him a frosty look.  “No.  Don’t touch me,
Val.” 

He frowned
and stepped back as she reached under her skirt and yanked her panties down her
thighs.  She stepped out of them, rolled them into a ball and stuffed them
into a leather bag sitting on the seat.

“There.” 
She said a bit sulkily.  “Is that better?”

“Much. 
Be careful when you sit down – that skirt is delightfully short.”

“Thanks for
the tip.”  She replied peevishly.

“I’m only
trying to help.  I do not want others to see what belongs to me.”

“One - it
doesn’t belong to you and two – do you really think I want a bunch of leeches
seeing my goddamn hooch?”

Holding the
skirt she sat down on the seat and quickly opened the thick wooden shutters
before staring moodily out the window.

Val opened
the door and Faren climbed into the carriage.  He sat down opposite of
Abigail and grinned at her.  “May I just say that you’re looking lovely,
Abigail?”

“Shut
up.”  She replied without looking at him.

She
squirmed over as far as she could when Val sat next to her.  The carriage
started with a jolting thud and she clasped her hands together nervously as
Violet flew out from Val’s hair and landed on her knee.

She smiled
softly at the tiny pixie.  “When we reach Joven’s estate, I want you to
stay in the forest outside of his home, little one.  It’s safer for you.”

Violet
shook her head violently and flew up to hover in front of Abby’s face. 
She pressed her mouth against Abby’s lower lip and shook her head again before
giving her a pleading look.

Abby
sighed.  “Violet, it is not safe and I don’t want – “

Violet
clapped her hands together sharply and then reached out and yanked on a piece
of Abigail’s hair.

“Ouch!” 
Abby flinched and frowned at the pixie.  “Why you little – “

Violet flew
to Val and tangled herself in his long hair again, peering out defiantly from
the strands of hair at Abigail.

“Val, tell
her it isn’t safe for her.”  Abby said suddenly.

“It isn’t
safe for any of us.”  He replied.  “If the little bug wants to go, I
will not stop her.”

“Asshole.” 
Abigail breathed before turning to stare out the window again.

* * *

“Here we
go.”  Faren said softly.

They had
arrived at Darius’ estate.  It was surrounded by an enormous stone wall
and Wesley had driven the carriage to the massive wooden gate.  As they had
approached, Val had shut the shutters without speaking, and Abigail strained to
hear the conversation between Wesley and the vampires standing guard at the
entrance.

She could
hear nothing but soft murmuring and she swallowed thickly.  Her stomach
was a ball of nerves and she prayed that Wesley and Evan would stay calm. 
The minutes ticked by and she gave Val a sick look.

“Why is it
taking so long?  Shouldn’t they be letting us in?  They are expecting
– “

There was a
loud clanging noise and she jumped on the seat, inhaling sharply as her pulse
thudded heavily.

Val frowned
and slid across the seat until he was pressed against her.  He wrapped his
hand in her hair and tugged lightly until she was staring up at him.  Her
lips were trembling, and she resembled the old, timid Abby so strongly that he
was tempted to pick her up and carry her away from the madness they were
heading into.

“Do not be
frightened, little dove.”  He said soothingly as the carriage began to
move forward.  “I will take care of you.”

He stroked
his thumb across her bottom lip and her mouth parted invitingly.  He was
leaning down to kiss her when she suddenly pushed him away.  She
straightened in the seat and he watched as she closed her eyes and took several
deep breaths.  When she opened her eyes, the scent of her fear was gone
and calmness radiated from her body.

“I’m not
frightened and I don’t need you to take care of me.”  She said
quietly.  “I can take care of myself.”

“Little
dove – “

She shook
her head.  “I will play the part of your slave, Val, because it means
saving Michael but when we are not around Darius or others, I don’t want you
touching me.  Do you understand?”

He scowled
at her.  “Perfectly, Abigail.”

Violet, a
distressed look on her face, flew to Abigail and buried herself deep within her
hair as Val and Abby continued to glare angrily at each other.  Faren
leaned forward.

“Well,” he
said cheerfully, “this should go well.  I don’t foresee us all dying
horrible deaths at the hand of Darius at all.”

When
neither of them replied, his usual cheerful grin faded and he gave them both a
solemn look.  “I get that the two of you have a love/hate thing going on
but may I suggest that you,” he pointed at Abby, “do a better job of pretending
you’re obsessed with Val and you,” he turned his gaze to Val, “do a better job
of pretending that she’s nothing more than a tasty snack to you. 
Otherwise, we’re all dead.”