Читать книгу Addicted - Lydia Parks - Страница 9

A shot of “house special” Jake grabbed on the way out combined with cool night air managed to douse the flames running just under his skin. Or, at least, bring them down to a manageable level. He steered the Impala through the narrow, crowded streets until they’d left the Plaza behind and entered what passed in Santa Fe for suburbs.

“Turn right here,” Athena said, pointing at the next corner.

Jake followed her instructions and pulled into an empty driveway in front of a small stucco house that looked very much like every other house on the block. A dog next door barked at the intrusion.

Athena glanced at him, her hand on the car door latch. “Aren’t you coming in?”

He smiled and shook his head, regretting the words even as he spoke them. “I don’t think so.”

She looked at the house, and then back at him, her heart suddenly thundering in the night. “But, what if Chris is waiting in there for me?”

“Chris?”

Athena nodded. “You know, the one you told to get lost. He’s probably really pissed off.”

Jake frowned at the house. “Would he hurt you?”

She shrugged. “He might.”

Rage swelled unexpectedly in his chest as he thought of someone hurting Athena, and he cut off the car’s engine. He followed her to the front door.

“Does he have a key?”

She nodded as she unlocked the dead bolt. “We’ve been dating for a few months.”

When she opened the door, Jake stopped her with a hand on her arm and stepped inside. “Don’t turn on the lights,” he whispered.

“But, how will you see?”

Ignoring her question, he walked silently through the small house, checking for any hint of a heartbeat. Discovering nothing, he relaxed and returned to the front door.

He found Athena standing where he’d left her, but now she stood before him naked, leaning coyly against the wall in the living room, smiling. A single lamp cast a soft yellow light on her body, and Jake stopped.

He hadn’t correctly guessed just how gorgeous her body was—firm in all the right places, with naturally full breasts and small pink areolae. Her waist, not too narrow, but not overly large, gave way to wide hips marked by reddish pubic hair, growing in a full bush. And her legs aroused him even more as she drew one foot up, sliding it along the front of her shin. She held her braid against the front of her body between her breasts, twirling the end in one finger.

“I think we should finish what we started, Jake. Don’t you?”

He clenched his jaw at the wave of undeniable hunger washing through his body as he strode to her and held her bare waist. Then he took her mouth, unable to make himself stop, needing to taste her, needing all of her. He sensed her fear—this wasn’t usual for her, he could tell—but the thirst swelled faster than his cock, and all rational thought disappeared. Only senses remained, open and receiving everything she offered: her beauty, her scent, her warmth, her touch.

She pulled his shirttail up and her fingers singed lines into his skin.

He pinned her to the wall and caressed her breasts, enjoying the way they filled and heated his hands. He rolled the hard nipples between his thumbs and forefingers; she groaned into his mouth.

Athena unbuttoned his pants and reached in to stroke his cock, and Jake’s knees nearly buckled. Her touch was magnificent, intense, nearly unbearable.

“Damn,” he muttered against her lips. “I want to be inside you when you come.”

“Yes,” she whispered back.

“But there’s more,” he said, reaching between her legs, finding her pussy dripping for him.

“What?” she said, then gasped as he stroked her clit.

“I need more than your gorgeous cunt, sweet thing.”

She pulled his rock-hard cock forward, raising herself until she gripped it between her thighs. “What do you need, Jake?”

He groaned and eased forward and back, letting her stroke him and coat him with her juices. “I need to taste you, Athena. I need—”

The world crashed to a halt as white-hot fire exploded through his chest. Jake yelled and straightened, then spun around.

The man from the Tunnel—what the hell was his name? Chris?—stood with his hands in front of him, his feet spread, and his eyes wide.

Behind Jake, Athena screamed and slid along the wall.

The pain continued, burning through him like molten lava.

Jake looked down to find a bloody point protruding from his chest. His knees gave out and he dropped to the floor.

“Are you okay?” his attacker asked.

Jake followed Chris’s gaze and found Athena shivering in a corner, her arms wrapped protectively across her chest. For a moment, he regretted that he couldn’t come to her rescue, until he saw her nod.

Jake steeled himself against the pain. “Why?” he managed to get out.

“We search out creatures like you,” the man said, sneering. “We must protect the mortal world, even if they don’t believe.”

Hunters. They were both goddamn hunters.

So much for a fair fight.

Jake reached back and yanked the stake from his back, crying out at the unbelievable pain as he did. Resting on all fours, he worked to steady himself as blood dripped to the floor beneath him. He looked up at his assailant, smelling the young man’s fear.

“You shouldn’t…have done that,” he said. Then he struggled to his feet.

Faster than the mortals could see, Jake charged across the room, grabbed Chris’s shoulder and his hair, and pushed his head to the side. Showing no mercy, he bit into the boy’s neck and drank, letting the healing liquid fill him with strength and warmth and pleasure.

Athena screamed and charged forward, pounding against Jake’s back with her fists.

He held her off as he took another long draw from Chris, then he released the young man, who crumpled to the floor in a heap.

Jake drew Athena close and stared into her beautiful green eyes. “I had no intention of hurting you, sweet thing.”

She pulled away and collapsed against the wall when he released her arm.

He hurried out the front door, straightening his clothes and buttoning his pants as he staggered to the car. The hole in his back bled profusely, draining his strength almost as fast as he’d drained his attacker.

Driving like a maniac, Jake managed to get to an abandoned field, where he drove his car across the dirt and parked under an elm tree. He stumbled out, unlocked the trunk, rolled in, and pulled it shut. Just as he heard the lock click, he passed out.

Athena huddled in the corner, shaking uncontrollably, trying to get her mind around what had just happened. One moment she’d been in the arms of the most attractive man she’d ever met, and the next she’d been standing in front of a monster with glowing gold eyes and fangs, blood smeared across his mouth and dripping from his chin.

The memory played over and over, coalescing into three words.

Vampires are real.

How could this possibly be?

She remembered the first night Chris had told her about his mission.

“People are in denial. It’s easier to pretend they don’t exist than it is to face the truth.”

She studied his face, his youthful skin lined with worry and determination, his blue eyes glistening.

“What truth?”

He glanced around as if he expected to find people crouching behind him, then leaned across the table and whispered one word. “Vampires.”

Athena bit back a laugh, immediately understanding how important this absurd idea was to him. “Vampires?”

He nodded, watching her face for a reaction.

She swallowed hard, trying not to compare her would-be boyfriend to her alcoholic father swearing his bed was filled with spiders and scorpions. They’d been every bit as real to him as the whiskey he craved.

“Chris—”

“They’re real. I’ve seen them.”

The red-checkered table, mugs of coffee, crowds of fellow diners, and sound of Metallica grinding from oversized speakers faded.

Soft moans drew Athena from the memory. She pushed herself up on shaky arms and crawled across the floor. “Chris?”

Blood pooled around his head and shoulders, oozing from the gash on the side of his neck. But for all the blood, the wound wasn’t bleeding as much as she would have expected, as if it were closing on its own. Or maybe he didn’t have much blood left.

“Chris?”

He groaned in response and reached toward her with one bloodstained hand.

She grabbed his hand and held it tightly. “I’m so sorry I didn’t believe you.”

His breath came in shallow gasps.

With her heart pounding in her ears, Athena brushed matted blond hair from his face. “Hang on. I’ll call an ambulance.”

Four days and three nights passed in a painful blur as Jake worked his way west. He lost the car somewhere, and vaguely remembered cornering a coyote in order to feed. Finally, he found himself crawling up the red rock trail that led to Skidmore’s castle. Unfortunately, weak and helpless, he collapsed before he reached the doorway. Giving up, he turned onto his back to face the morning sun.

The morning sun, however, did not rise onto his lifeless body to finish him off. Instead, he woke in a small, dark room that it took him a while to recognize.

Careful not to move, he tried to clear his thoughts, but the fog seemed to thicken. He turned his head to look. Beneath a half dozen paintings, the wall appeared to be smoothed red rock. It must be one of the numerous rooms Skidmore had carved out to create his elaborate underground mansion. Relieved, Jake closed his eyes again.

“Dear boy, are you still with us?”

Thomas Skidmore’s voice.

Jake nodded.

“Well, I’m delighted. I have a drink for you. Not exactly herbal tea, but I do believe it will help what ails you.”

The scent of red blood cells snapped Jake’s eyes open. He sat up, grabbed the glass from Skidmore, and gulped down the nourishment.

Almost instantly, warmth spread through his limbs and torso, and the healing power fired him from the inside out. Unlike the drink at the Tunnel, this was fresh, warm, and full of vibrant emotions.

“What…who…” He stared at the glass.

Skidmore took the glass from his hand and smiled. “Oh, we have quite a few donors at the moment. When you feel more like your old self, I’ll show you around.” He rose and stood beside the bed. “Take your time. I’ve left clothes for you in the bath. Make yourself at home.”

And then he left.

Jake rolled off of the satin-covered bed and stood on shaky legs. His face seemed to be covered with mud and no telling what else, and he wore ragged, filthy clothes. The hunger still nagged at him, but seemed to be manageable. He pulled open his shirt and looked at the nearly healed hole in his chest.

No dusty street, no mano a mano, no matching wits, no fair fight, just a stake driven through his back while he was distracted.

“Bastard,” he whispered.

After a long, hot shower, Jake wandered through the maze of hallways, following hints of voices until he found Skidmore talking to several of his lackey vampires. The conversation skidded to a halt when Jake walked into the sitting room.

“Dear boy, you look immensely better. Here, have another drink.” Skidmore filled a glass from a dark pitcher and handed it to him.

Unable to stop, Jake drained the glass, then frowned at it. “What did you mean by ‘quite a few donors at the moment’?”

Skidmore waved off the question. “There’s plenty of time for that. Tell me, what happened?”

Jake shrugged. “I found some of the hunters.”

“I could have guessed that much.” Skidmore motioned to the others and they hurried from the room. Then he settled into an oversized chair near an empty fireplace. “You must have uncovered quite a large group.”

Jake huffed. “Yeah, two.”

“Two? Two mortals did this to you?”

Jake upended the glass to get the last drop, then placed it on the serving table and sat in the chair opposite Skidmore’s. “Unfortunately, one of them was a very tempting redhead.” He ran his fingers through his wet hair.

“Ah.” Skidmore steepled his fingers under his chin. “So they found your weakness. That seems to be the modus operandi for this bunch.”

“What do you mean?”

“Modus operandi is the term—”

“I know what an MO is.” Jake frowned at his host. “What the hell are you talking about?”

Skidmore sighed as he rose. “Unfortunately, this group is more of a threat than we knew. André’s remains were found at the cabin in the mountains. In several pieces.”

“What?” Jake’s chest tightened with instant sorrow at the news. “But, how?”

“One can only guess. He’d sworn off human blood centuries ago, so it is unlikely he was in search of a meal. The signs suggest he stopped to help someone and was attacked by a group of at least four hunters armed with stakes and swords. He fled back to the cabin, where they caught up with him and…beheaded him.”

Jake stared at the Navajo rug under his feet. André’s wisdom had been a guiding light for so many for so long. The world became a darker place without him.

“Son of a bitch.”

Skidmore sighed again. “Crudely put, but a true sentiment indeed. And there are others unaccounted for.”

Jake’s gaze snapped up to Skidmore as his sorrow turned to fear. “Katie?”

Skidmore shrugged. “She’s not due in for another night or two. I wouldn’t worry too much, however. She’s armed with the knowledge of their methods, and, as we both know, she’s a formidable foe.”

Jake knew well just how formidable Katie could be, but that wouldn’t stop him from worrying about her. After all, he’d been caught off guard.

“No, I’m not overly concerned about Katie, but I fear the worst for Michael Ponce and his friends.”

Jake knew Ponce, but not well. He moved more in Skidmore’s circle than Jake’s. Still, the idea that some of the older vampires had been hunted down had his attention. “What are we going to do?”

Skidmore, with another of his dramatic waves, motioned toward the door. “Come, dear boy, let me show you what we’re already doing.”

Jake followed Skidmore down several long, winding hallways, which seemed to take them well below ground level. The last hallway opened into a tremendous room filled with people, vampires, and a variety of mechanical devices. Rings protruding from rock walls held chains attached to the wrists and ankles of men and women, many lacking clothing. Even the vampires wore little more than loincloths.

“Welcome to my dungeon,” Skidmore said.

Bile rose in Jake’s throat. “What the hell are you doing, torturing them?”

“Torture?” Skidmore laughed. “No, dear boy, I would never do that. Here, let me start at the beginning.” He led the way to a heavy wooden door and pulled it open to reveal a room full of mortals lounging in chairs and on sofas, most watching television or playing video games. “See? These mortals are my guests.”

One of the nearby men sneered at the two of them. “You motherfuckers are doomed to walk through eternal hell.”

“Ah, yes.” Skidmore grinned at Jake. “Such a pleasant lot.” He led the way back out and closed the door.

“As we find hunters,” he explained, “we give them two days to decide if they wish to continue to hunt us, or join us. If they make the choice not to join us, they’re moved into the donors’ room.” He walked to the next door and slid back a small window.

Inside, a dozen or more mortals lay on tables, hooked to IVs. A young female vampire worked at switching out full bags for empty ones.

“They’re all drugged,” Skidmore said. “As far as they’re concerned, they’re simply sleeping. After a week or so, we’ll finish them off, and they’ll move into death. All in all, not a bad way to go.”

Jake shook his head. “I don’t know. This doesn’t bother you, huh?”

Skidmore stiffened. “Dear boy, I watched my family, friends, and most of the village I grew up in die slow, agonizing deaths at the hand of the Black Death. That bothered me. This is a pleasant way to dispose of a very unpleasant part of the population.” He sighed. “And don’t forget what you are, after all. Their blood sustains us. You made the choice to live this way.”

Jake decided not to argue the point. He hadn’t actually made an educated choice when he was brought into the Night, but he hadn’t fought it, either.

“So, what about the others?”

Skidmore relaxed again. “Those who choose to join us will either be allowed to remain mortal, or offered eternity. We must first decide their worth. And that is the group you see here.” He motioned toward the vast main room. Lowering his voice, he leaned close to Jake. “This is my favorite part.”

Skidmore led the way around the room. “Only a few will be given eternity. The rest will be allowed to go, once we’re assured of their allegiances. But first, we must be sure that the ones we choose are truly sensuous creatures.” He stroked the side of a young woman’s face as she looked up at him with wide eyes. “This is Ruby.”

Ruby had lips as red as her namesake stone, and coal-black eyes. Long, dark hair hung in front of her shoulders, partially covering her bare breasts, but not enough to hide their fullness. She wore jeans cut off into shorts, and as Jake studied her, her hands slid between her thighs and her legs opened just enough to suggest interest. Above her bare feet, fur-lined cuffs encircled her ankles, attaching her to the wall.

In spite of his weakened state, Jake felt his body react, and a mild ache started behind his fangs. And then he heard all the heartbeats in the room, as soft and sweet as songbirds on a cool, fall morning.

“Ah, dear boy,” Skidmore said, his hand falling on Jake’s shoulder. “I see you haven’t lost your interest. Good. You may help me weed through them. What do you say?”

Jake remembered Athena, standing before him gloriously naked, using her beauty to lure him into a trap. And he had been terrified of hurting her. The betrayal still stung when he thought about it. “What the hell?”

Skidmore beamed. “Wonderful. I have a perfectly marvelous idea or two. I’m quite sure you’ll enjoy assisting me.”

Jake watched the tip of Ruby’s tongue run slowly over her top lip.

“But first we take care of your more immediate needs.” Skidmore took Jake’s arm and turned him toward the main door. “We want you in prime condition, my boy.”

“What exactly do you want me to do?”

Skidmore’s smile grew into a wicked grin. “You’ll see.”