The Vampire's Love (7 page)

Darius
lifted his head from the slave girl’s neck.  “You do not eat, Joven.”

“I prefer
to eat in privacy.”  Val replied.

Darius
frowned.  “That is odd.”

“Is it?”

Darius
stroked his slave’s bare thigh before slapping it lightly.  She stood and
moved away from the table as Darius leaned back in his chair and stared at Val
across the table.  “Yes.”

Val
shrugged before glancing down at Abigail.  She was sitting on a cushion on
the floor at his feet and he stroked her hair before smiling at Joven.  “I
enjoy taking my time with a meal.  I indulged earlier in our room.”

Darius studied
him carefully.  “Where did you find her?  She really is quite lovely
and healthy for a slave.”

“I bought
her at an auction house.”  Val answered.

“She must
have cost you a great deal.”

“I can
afford it.”  Val replied shortly.

“Indeed.” 
Darius gave him a brittle smile.  “I am well aware of your wealth,
Joven.  It rivals my own.”

“Which is
why you have asked me to join you in your business venture.  Tell me more
about it, Darius.”

Darius
waved his hand. “Not this evening.  This evening we will cement our new
friendship and enjoy all that we desire to eat.  Tomorrow we will watch
the games.  I believe you will find it most entertaining.”

He nodded
to a slender blonde woman who was reclining on a chaise near the
fireplace.  The woman stood and walked quickly to Val.  Abigail
stiffened as the slave girl smiled down at him.  She was wearing a short
skirt similar to Abby’s and nothing else.  In fact, Abigail was the only
woman in the room not half-naked and as flimsy as her top was, she was suddenly
very grateful for its coverage.  Her hands tightened into fists as the
blonde slave draped herself across Val’s lap and tilted her head back. 
She stroked his arms and smiled encouragingly at him.

“Eat, my
friend.  I am more than generous with my slaves.”  Darius urged.

Val dropped
his gaze to the woman’s naked breasts before stroking his fingers between
them.  There was a sharp inhale and he looked down to see Abby staring up
at him with a look of anger and hurt in her eyes.  He raised his eyebrows
at her and she glared at him before bending her head and studying the cushion
she was sitting on.

“Come, my
lord.  Have a drink.  There are many who say my blood is as sweet as
honey.”  The blonde woman purred invitingly.

Val
swallowed thickly.  He could see the small pin holes scattered across the
woman’s throat and upper chest.  Many of them were lined with a thin layer
of blood and he licked his lips as the woman leaned closer and rubbed her naked
breasts against his chest. 

“Go ahead,
my lord.”  She whispered.

Val dipped
his head and inhaled deeply against the woman’s throat.  He could smell
her blood, could smell her sudden lust, and although he had not eaten for days
he realized that she held no appeal for him. 

He licked
her throat and the woman arched her back and made a soft moan of encouragement
before placing her hand over his cock.  She rubbed him through the fabric
of his pants before frowning at the lack of response.

“You do not
find me appealing, my lord?”  She pouted.

“You are
more than – “

The blonde
woman gave a squeal of surprise when Abby suddenly jumped to her feet and
shoved her from Val’s lap.  She landed on her ass on the floor and gave
her a disbelieving look before jumping to her feet.

“You dare
to touch me?”  She spat.

“You dare
to touch him?”  Abigail snarled at her.

“I will rip
your throat out for speaking to me in such a manner.”  The blonde slave
snapped.

“Keep your
hands off of him or I’ll cut them off.”  Abigail’s face was bright red and
her chest heaved as she stared bitterly at the woman.  “He is mine and you
will not claim him for your own.”

“Enough!” 
Val said sharply.

The slave
gave him a small smile.  “Forgive me, my lord.  I only wish to bring
you pleasure.  I did not mean to upset your whore.”

“Whore?” 
Abigail shouted.  She leaped for the woman, snarling angrily when Val
stood and yanked her into his embrace.  She gave him a furious look and
tried to head butt him.  Val jerked his head back before slapping her on
the ass.

“I said,
enough!”  He snapped at her.

He returned
to his seat, dragging Abigail onto his lap and pinning her arms down.  She
struggled furiously until Jaxen caught her eye.  He shook his head lightly
and with a muttered curse she stopped struggling and forced herself to sit
quietly on Val’s lap.  He slid his hand under her hair and gripped her by
the back of the neck before giving Darius a contrite smile.

“Forgive
the disruption, Lord Darius.”

Darius
laughed and clapped his hands.  “My only disappointment is that you
stopped them.  For only just purchasing your pet, she already seems rather
attached to you.”

Jaxen
sipped from a glass chalice filled with blood.  “Joven is well-known for
having his pets become too attached to him.  It is a burden he bears with
remarkable patience.  Perhaps, Lord Darius, it is wise if he does not feed
from your slaves.  It would not do to have them pining after him when he
is here for business.”

Faren, a
small chubby brunette clinging tightly to him, laughed loudly.  “It is
true, Lord Darius.  I have often had to practically beat the slaves off of
him with a very large stick.”

Darius
snorted lightly before studying Abigail sitting stiffly on Val’s lap.  “I
see you wear your master’s collar now.  Although with your possessive
nature of him, it hardly seems necessary, does it?”

Abigail
stared at the table.  “It pleases Lord Joven to see his collar around my
neck and that pleases me.”

“I imagine
it does.”  Darius reached out and stroked her long dark hair.  “It’s
a pity you grow so attached to your master.  I too know of many ways to
please a woman.”

Val’s hand
tightened on her neck until Abby was certain she would have bruises.  She
could feel his heart beating fiercely against her back and she stroked his
large thigh as she curled into his chest.  She placed a warm, wet kiss on
his throat before curling her fingers into his hair. 

“I desire
Lord Joven and no other.”  She said softly.  She took a deep breath
and tugged Val’s face to hers.  She kissed him deeply, pushing her tongue
into his mouth and licking at his as his hand cupped her breast and squeezed
hard. 

Her face
flushed, she pulled away and nestled her face into his neck.  His hand
squeezed her breast again before he dropped it reluctantly. 

Darius gave
Val an amused smile.  “I have heard a great many things about you, Joven,
but I’m beginning to realize that there is still much to learn.”

Val smiled
thinly as Darius leaned back and clapped his hands together briskly.  “The
sun will rise soon.  Let us finish our meal before we go to our daysleep.”

* * *

Abigail
carefully eased her way free of Val’s embrace.  He didn’t stir and she
slid out of the bed and grabbed her cloak.  She hesitated and studied Val
carefully.  He slept more deeply in his daysleep and she stroked his hair
back from his face before tracing his cheekbones with her fingers. 

There was a
soft whirring and Violet landed gently on her shoulder.  She kissed Abby’s
cheek and studied Val for a moment before smiling at Abigail.  She
puckered her lips and made a kissing noise and Abby gave the pixie a light tap.

“That will
be enough out of you, Violet.  I have no interest in Val.  He is
simply a means to rescuing Michael.”

Violet
rolled her eyes and shook her head before disappearing into Abigail’s hair.

“You should
stay in the room, little one.  What I am about to do is dangerous.”

The pixie
pinched her ear and Abigail flinched before sighing.  “Fine.  But
stay hidden.”

She
buttoned her cloak and with one final look at Val, slipped out of the bedroom.

The hallway
was quiet and dark.  The vampires were in their daysleep and their slaves
would have adapted to the vampires’ schedule.  Her eyes were burning from
lack of sleep and she rubbed wearily at them as she slipped quietly down the
wide hallway.  After they had retired and Val had fallen asleep, she had
waited a few hours.  She was tired but her need to find Michael, to assure
herself that he was alright, was too strong to ignore.

“Of course,
I have no idea where the slave quarters are.”  Abby muttered to
Violet.  “Do you think they keep them under the castle?  In the
movies, the dungeons are always under the castle.”

She passed
silently through the great room where they had dined with Darius and the
others.  She eased open the large door and peered into the hallway before
quickly walking to the door at the end.  Already she was a bit turned
around.  She thought she might be headed deeper into the castle but for
all she knew she could be –

She gave a
startled yelp when the door opened and the short, plump brunette that Faren had
been feeding from last night, pushed her way into the hallway.  She was
carrying a large tray that was piled high with bread and she screamed
breathlessly when she saw Abigail.

The tray
dropped to the stone floor with a deafening clatter, and both she and Abby
winced and glanced around nervously before the slave girl dropped to her knees
and began to gather the scattered bread.

“I’m so
sorry!”  Abby crouched down and picked up a few of the loaves.  “I
didn’t mean to startle you.”

“That’s
alright.”  The girl gave her a timid smile.  “Are you lost?”

“A
little.”  Abby admitted.

“Why are
you awake?”  The slave girl asked curiously.  “Do you not sleep with
your master?”

“I
do.  I guess I’m just a little too keyed up to sleep.”  Abigail
replied.

“I am
surprised that the Lord Joven does not chain you to the bed, seeing that he
only just bought you.”  The girl said.  “My first master kept me
chained for months before he was certain that I was too attached to him to
leave.”

Abby
frowned.  “The Lord Joven knows I can be trusted, despite our short
acquaintance.”

“I suppose
that’s true.  You do seem to fancy him quite a bit.”  The girl gave
her a shy look.  “He is a very handsome man.”

“Is Darius
your master?”  Abigail asked.

“Oh
no.  I’m one of the lower class slaves.  I have no master.”  She
raised her head to show her bare neck.  “Darius’ men share me.”

Abigail
frowned.  “How do you control your need for them once they have bitten
you?”

“It can be
difficult.”  The girl admitted.  “It is,” she hesitated, “strange to
find yourself longing after a different man nearly every night.”

“You were
with Faren last night?”  Abigail asked.

“Yes.” 
The girl paused and flushed prettily.  “I do hope he chooses me again this
evening.  He was very kind to me when we retired to his room.”

“Do you
really have no choice in who feeds from you every night?”  Abigail asked.

“No.”

“That’s
awful.”

The girl
shrugged.  “I’ve been in a lot worse situations.  At least here there
is a warm, dry place for me to sleep and only a few of Darius’ men like to use
their fists.”

Abigail
took her arm and squeezed it gently.  “You are beaten?”

“Only
occasionally.”

“Who beats
you?”  Abigail scowled.

“Tavien is
the worst.”  The girl shuddered visibly.  “Luckily he doesn’t pick me
often to feed from.  He favours the slender ones.”

“Tavien? 
Is he the one with the birthmark?”

The girl
nodded.  “Yes, he’s the Lord Darius’ closest advisor.  He’s got a
nasty temper.”

“What’s
your name?”  Abigail asked as they finished piling the bread on the tray.

“Sienna.”

“I’m
Abigail.  It’s nice to meet you, Sienna.”  She held her hand out and
the girl hesitated before shaking it briefly.

“It’s nice
to meet you as well.”  She heaved the tray up, her biceps bulging with the
effort, and Abby quickly took one end.

“Here, let me
help you with this.”

“Oh, that’s
alright.  I can manage.”  Sienna puffed.

“Don’t be
silly.  I don’t mind at all.”

The two
women carried the tray down the hallway.  As they rounded the corner,
Abigail realized they were back in the main hall.  She could see the front
door ahead of them and she gave Sienna a curious look.

“Where are
you taking all of this bread?”

“To the
fighting slaves.”  Sienna opened the front door and they stepped out into
the bright sunlight.