Читать книгу Real Vamps Don’t Drink O-neg - Tawny Taylor - Страница 10

“Stay the night.”

Sophie took one look at Lisse’s face and gave her head a vehement shake. “No. Thanks.” It wasn’t because Lisse looked particularly bothered by Dao’s suggestion, but the opposite, because she looked fairly pleased by it. If—and Sophie admitted this was still a big if—Lisse was a vampire, the fact that she was seemingly thrilled to have another female under her roof for the night didn’t bode well for Sophie’s health and well-being. What good would she be to Dao if she was dead?

“Please,” Dao said. “We have a great deal of catching up to do. We haven’t seen each other in such a long time, since before the wedding.”

“I was here a few days ago.”

“You were not. Don’t lie to me.”

Now, she was really worried. Never mind the fact that it seemed her already skeletally thin friend looked like he’d lost another few pounds, but now he was confused too. He needed to get to a doctor. Pronto!

“What time’s your doctor’s appointment tomorrow?”

“His appointment is at eight o’clock and it would be a great help if you could take him,” Lisse answered. “I was going to have him drive himself, but I worry about his safety.”

“That makes two of us,” Sophie said, still not feeling real keen on the idea of staying in the same home with a suspected blood-sucking husband killer.

“And I’m afraid I have a prior appointment I cannot reschedule,” Lisse said importantly. “It would be a great help—to both of us—if you’d take him. I know you’ve been a great friend to my husband in the past.”

“I’d be happy to drive by in the morning and pick him up.”

“That’s foolish!” Dao piped in. “You’ve stayed here hundreds of times. In morning rush hour it’d take you over an hour to get here. We have a perfectly comfortable spare bedroom. You’ll have privacy.”

He was systematically killing off every one of her believable excuses. Darn it.

“I don’t have any clothes, toothbrush. Can’t deny the importance of oral hygiene,” she said, frantically working her way through the unbelievable excuses now. She had a feeling in her belly that this was a bad—with a capital B—idea. That if she spent the night there, something very terrible would happen. To her, to Dao, maybe to both of them.

“Yes, you do,” Dao countered. “You left several things here the last time you spent the night. You have some toiletries in the bathroom and clothes hanging in the closet. And since I know you can wear casual clothes to work, I won’t hear the excuse that they’re not dressy enough.”

“Speaking of work, I’d have to call Tim,” Sophie said, pulling one final excuse from her stash, knowing Dao wouldn’t have a card to trump that one. “Tell him I’m coming in late tomorrow. Maybe this isn’t such a good idea. I can call the doctor’s office and reschedule the appointment.”

“Very well,” Dao said. “You can use our phone. Call him now.”

Whew! Disaster averted. “I’ll need the doctor’s phone number.”

“No. I mean your boss,” Dao corrected. “Call him.”

“He’s not in the office on Sundays,” Sophie lied, knowing he would be. Tim never took a day off work, not even when he was near death with the flu.

“You can leave a message then,” Lisse offered, handing Sophie the cordless. “Please, this would mean so much to both of us.”

I bet it would. “Well…” Sophie figured her best bet was to call Tim, the boss who expected her to show up as well when she was near death, and let him do the deed for her. There was no way he’d let her come in late on such short notice, at least not without her doing some serious groveling, which she’d been prepared to do if she hadn’t been pressured to stay the night. Now, there was no way she’d get on her knees and grovel. “Okay. I’ll give it a try but my boss is a real slave driver, let me tell you.” She punched the number and when he picked up said, “Hi, Tim. It’s Sophie. Wow, what’re you doing in the office on a Sunday?”

“You know I always work on Sundays,” was his dry response.

“Oh, really?” She tried to look surprised as she gave Dao and Lisse a what-do-you-know look.

“I am talking to Sophie Hahn, my secretary, am I not?” Tim asked.

“Yes, of course. Listen, I need to come in late tomorrow morning.”

Naturally, Tim protested with all the bluster he was famous for. She turned apologetic eyes to Dao and Lisse, respectively, as she listened to Tim’s lecture about the need for him to be able to count on her to show up for work every day no matter what.

“Actually, it’s not me. It’s my friend Dao,” she explained when he paused to take a breath. “He’s ill and his wife can’t take him to the doctor tomorrow morning,” Sophie continued, figuring that last part would lay the last couple of nails into the proverbial coffin. “They want me to stay with them tonight and take him to the doctor in the morning.”

Unfortunately, it had the opposite effect.

“What?” Tim screeched. He then went into Paranormal Geek mode and told her this was the opportunity of a lifetime, one she had to take, no matter the risks. He told her to try to catch the wife by surprise, snap a picture or two when she was in her snakewoman state, and collect any scales or proof she could find, then suggested she sleep with a string of garlic around her neck and wished her luck.

As she punched the button, ending the call, for a few seconds she considered lying to Dao and Lisse but changed her mind. Maybe Tim was right. Maybe this was exactly what she needed, the opportunity to see for herself whether her best friend was married to a grotesque snakewoman. Or just a woman. At least she’d see her friend received the medical care he so desperately needed.

“It’s all set. I just need to go pick up a few things at the store.” Sophie headed for the front door.

“Wonderful!” Dao said, looking as chipper as he’d been on his wedding day.

Lisse caught Sophie’s wrist in ice-cold fingers. “Thank you. You have no idea what this means to me.”

Sophie’s gaze dropped to the other woman’s clammy hand, then climbed up to her face. “No problem. I’ll be back in a few.” She gently wriggled her hand free of the woman’s grip and, fighting a shiver, ran out to her car.

A quick trip to a local Meijer landed her all the goodies she could think to buy for a night spent with a vampire, including plenty of garlic and a throwaway camera. She returned to Dao’s house just in time for some dinner.

The only thing that convinced Sophie that it was safe to eat the delicious-smelling food was the fact that it was served family style, each person helping himself or herself from bowls of steamed rice, stir-fried veggies, and scrumptious garlic chicken. Sophie ate herself into a near coma, then excused herself to the guest room, figuring she’d better get to sleep early if she was going to prowl around in the middle of the night playing vampire slayer.

Dao ate a whole lot more than Sophie expected, considering his weight loss, and then excitedly excused himself to his office to work on his latest project. His office was next door to her room. The distant tap-tapping of his computer keys lulled her to sleep.

“A rare beauty,” a decidedly male voice murmured sometime later. The voice was rich and deep, much lower in pitch than Dao’s.

“Who’s there?” Sophie blinked open her eyes and sat up. The covers slid down, exposing her upper body to the chilly air. Not sure if the room was pitch or her eyelids were still closed, she blinked several times. No, her eyes were definitely open.

“Your skin is smooth as silk,” the voice said.

“Who’s here? And how can you see a blasted thing in here? It’s darker than a bottomless cave.”

“Pit. You mean bottomless pit,” the voice corrected.

“Whatever.” She felt the string of garlic lifting from her chest and swatted at the air, trying to find the hand that was pulling it away. “Hey! What’re you doing? Leave that alone. Dammit, why’s it so dark in here? Where’s the lamp?”

“I can see you just fine. I can see the way your hair falls over your shoulders, how one strand curls around your breast. I can see your pupils, dilated from the dark, and from your fear.”

“Now I know you’re lying. ’Cause I’m not afraid. Annoyed, yes. Scared, not.” She yanked on the strap of her tank top—it had slid down over her shoulder—and tried to pretend her heart wasn’t thumping so hard against her breastbone that she swore she could hear it. The voice-in-the-dark thing was plain too weird for words. She scooted to the side of the bed so she could flip on a light, but as she dropped her legs over the side, something pushed against her shoulders, knocking her onto her back. “Okay, deep voice guy. Now things are getting creepy. Get the hell out of here.”

“Such fire. Such passion. I can smell your fear. It’s the most intoxicating aphrodisiac on earth.”

Something brushed across her breast.

“Eep!” Totally blind and not sure where the guy was, she did a log roll on the mattress and then tried to jump up. Again, she was knocked down. And these weren’t gentle shoves. They were the kind of blows a woman should never be the victim of. They were the kind of blows that sent Sophie’s head spinning and bile up her throat. She screamed but a large, cold hand clapped over her mouth, muffling the sound almost immediately.

“There’s no need for that.” Cool lips pressed against her temple as fingers traced up her arm. “I’m not going to hurt you. At least not much.” His chuckle was empty, evil.

She shuddered and tried to scream again but his hand was still pressed firmly against her mouth. Try as she might, she couldn’t even bite it.

Those icky fingers skittered up her arm like spiders, then along her collarbone and down toward her breast. She kicked at the blackness, hoping to strike him by dumb luck, but the only effect her efforts produced was the weight of a body on the tops of her thighs. That left only her arms free. She raised them to the hand pressed so firmly against her mouth that she felt like she might suffocate and dug her nails into the cool skin.

He didn’t react, at least not the way she was hoping. Instead of recoiling, he threw his weight on her arms, ripped the front of her tank top off, and with little effort gagged her. Then he tore her sweats down the front and pulled them off. In the darkness, the rending sound of the cotton blend struck terror in her. Certain she was fighting now for her life, she struggled against him as he spread her legs and tied them to the footboard, then bound her hands together.

The fabric he used was pulled so tight her skin burned and her hands went instantly numb.

Her throat stung and she realized she had been screaming, despite the gag. Hot tears ran down her temples and wetted her hair.

A split second later, the room unexpectedly filled with light, forcing her to blink and squint as she struggled to get a look at her assailant.

She was shocked. If not for the fact that the jerk had knocked her from here to tomorrow and torn her clothes off her body, she might’ve thought he was a stone fox. Almost the opposite of Ric, this guy was dark. He had long, dark hair, a masculine, square-jawed face with intense eyes. The only things they shared in common were their very large, very strong-looking bodies.

She tried to talk through the gag, ask him why he was doing this. Surely this guy, looking the way he did, didn’t need to sneak into women’s bedrooms in the middle of the night to get some action.

He stood at the foot of the bed, thick, muscular arms crossed over a massive chest, and regarded her with a stern expression. “Look what you made me do. I didn’t want it to be this way, love.” Still completely clothed—head to toe in black—he crawled on top of her. His gaze was fierce and wild as it met hers, like a dog that was poised for attack.

Her nose burned as another round of tears dribbled from her eyes. She shook her head back and forth, trying to plead with him with her eyes, hoping she might reach a soft part of him, somewhere deep inside. A part of him that could show mercy.

“This your first time?” he asked, nodding his head. His touch was unexpectedly soft as he wiped away the wetness streaming down either side of her face. “She didn’t tell me that. I’ll make it good for you. I promise.” He followed the path of her tears with a trail of soft kisses. “I’m so glad you decided to stay here tonight.”

“She? Who? You knew?” she asked around the gag. Naturally, it didn’t come out like that and he had no idea what she said.

He nodded, though she knew for a fact he couldn’t be responding to her question, and sat up on his knees, wedged tightly against her hips. “The first time is always frightening. But after this, you’ll learn to enjoy it. There’s nothing like it, or so I’ve heard. I’ve been told it’s very erotic.”

What? What are you going to do to me? Sophie’s heart hammered against her ribs, sending adrenaline through her body. Every muscle in her coiled like tight springs, despite the bindings holding her legs straight and apart and her arms up over her head. Over and over, she tested the strength of the fabric holding her, yanking, twisting, tugging, but it didn’t give. Not an inch.

Meanwhile, she tried, despite panic so intense she was nearly blind, to study his face. When she went to the police—assuming she lived!—she wanted to be able to describe every inch of this bastard, right down to the mole on his ass if he had one. He would pay! Big-time!

When his hand cupped her breast, she arched her back in a quick thrust, hoping to knock it away. It worked, but only for an instant. He seemed undaunted as he grabbed the center hook of her bra and unfastened it, then squeezed both her breasts, one with each hand. “So lovely. So full and ripe.” He leaned lower and she shut her eyes, unable to watch him as he closed his mouth over her nipple. She was scared. Furious. Panic-stricken. Desperate to get away. Pissed off.

Again, she arched her back, hoping to hit the son of a bitch silly with her stomach, not that it was hard or anything. When it came to weapons, her belly was probably one of the lamest, but at the moment it was all she had. That and her head. She pulled at the strips binding her arms and legs, her mind racing, trying to grasp at a solution, an escape from what was becoming more inevitable with every breath she took.

Then, the inevitable became immediate. In a quick motion almost too fast to see, he ripped the front of her panties away, exposing all of her to his feasting eyes.

She gagged and tossed her head to the side, hoping she wouldn’t choke from her own vomit.

The man drew in a visible breath, his lips curled into a cruel smile. “The scent of your need. So sweet. Almost as intoxicating as the smell of your fear.”

“Go to hell!” she tried to shout.

“I don’t need you nude but”—he ran a finger over her sex, then brought it to his nose and inhaled—“I’ll enjoy my meal much more when you are completely uncovered. Your scent is so incredibly sweet. I can’t wait to taste you. To have your flavor fill my mouth, my throat.” When he smiled, a set of long fangs flashed in the dim lamplight. Fangs like she’d seen in the vampire movie she’d watched last month, and on that vampire romance book cover she’d checked out last week at Borders.

They’re real? Vampires really exist?

“You’ll enjoy the feeding. I promise.” He lowered his head, clearly aiming for her inner thigh.

Not fond of an insect bite, let alone the whopper of a chomp Mr. Fangs was about to impart on her, Sophie fought with a frenzy against her bindings. She tossed her head, kicked her feet, thrashed her body from side to side, twisted her wrists until she was breathless and dizzy and worn out. Finally, completely spent, she stilled and tried to psych herself up for more struggling in a minute or two.

“That’s it, my love. Relax,” he said, watching her dully. “It won’t hurt for long.” Again, he lowered his head to her thigh, but before his teeth even grazed her skin, she went into fight mode again.

Those teeth were not going to sink into her skin! Nuh-uh! That was bound to hurt like a son of a gun, never mind the whole “Will I become one of them?” question.

This time, he scowled. “You do not want to make me angry, my love. I must feed. I will feed.” This time he pinned her hips to the mattress with his hands as he lowered his head.

First she felt damp warmth as his tongue laved her skin. And then the fierce, blinding pain of his bite. She felt those teeth sink into her flesh. As he fed, there was a strange sensation of building ripples of heat washing up her body, ripples that traveled out from the point where he fed. Each one was bigger, hotter, fiercer until they were like gigantic tsunamis blasting her with white heat. She shuddered, her body thrown into an unexpected orgasm. Every part of her convulsed, even as he drew more and more of her strength from her body.

Finally, completely exhausted, she lay still. He lifted his head, licked away the blood smeared across his lips, and smiled. His teeth retracted up into his jaw. He kissed her forehead, whispered a promise to return to her, and flipped out the light. Despite her numb hands and feet, the burn at her wrists and ankles, and the throbbing on her right thigh, she fell asleep instantly.

When Sophie woke, the birds outside the window were chirping, the warm light of morning spilling in through the lace curtains. She was lying on her stomach. The bindings were gone but the red burn marks on her wrists gave testimony to what had happened last night. It hadn’t been a dream.

She tossed off the blanket to check her leg and found she was still nude. There wasn’t even the slightest bruise on her thigh where the vampire had bitten her, yet her ankles were marred with big, ugly red welts.

She couldn’t believe it! Vampires did exist and she’d been a snack for some dark-haired bloodsucker! Worse yet, he’d made her come! She wasn’t sure which part was the hardest to swallow.

She was still trying to deal with it when she stole a quick glance at the clock, then, shocked by the time, scurried from the bed.

“No way!”

Eleven freaking o’clock? One hour before noon! Not only did she miss Dao’s doctor’s appointment, but she was also late for work. “Shit!” She gathered her clothes from the closet, raced to the bathroom, showered, and dressed.

No one stirred in the master bedroom. Maybe Dao’d gone to the doctor without her? She hoped he was okay. Damn it, she’d known something bad was going to happen last night. Lisse was behind that little social call she’d received last night. She had no doubt. Probably to keep her from taking Dao to the doctor.

“Dao? Are you in there?” When Sophie received no answer to her knocks, she tried the bedroom door. It was unlocked. She pushed it open and peered into the darkened room. Right away, she saw there were two people in the bed.

One of the heads lifted—Lisse’s. “Did you sleep all right?” she asked, with the kind of smile that suggested she already knew the answer.

“I…missed the appointment.”

“That’s all right. I rescheduled. It’s just as well,” Lisse whispered. “My dear Dao. He’s so very tired. I didn’t have the heart to wake him this morning. You will lock the door on the way out?”

Was he sleeping or dead? “Yes. Of course,” Sophie said, not intending to do any such thing. She needed to see Dao, to make sure that blood-sucking, no-good snake hadn’t done something awful to him.

“Very well. Thanks anyway. Your heart was in the right place.” Lisse rested her head back on the pillow, effectively ending the conversation.

Not sure what to do, Sophie shut the door. She went back to the spare room; gathered her torn clothes, unused camera, and purse; and went to the living room to place it next to the door. Then, she unwrapped the camera and tiptoed back to the master bedroom door. She’d missed the doctor’s office visit but she had to at least make sure Dao would survive until she could get him to a doctor later.

She did everything in her power to turn the doorknob and push open the door swiftly and silently. Lisse was lying on top of Dao, her head tossed back in bliss as she rode him. The covers were thrown off them both.

It was clear Dao was very much alive. But that didn’t make Sophie feel any better.

A long serpentine tail coiled under Lisse’s torso. The very tip twitched like a rattler’s tail.

Breathless with fear, Sophie raised the camera to her eye to snap the picture. The exact moment she pressed the button, Lisse twisted her neck to look at her and bared hooked, white fangs.

“How dare you!” the snakewoman hissed.

Sophie snapped several shots, then made a mad dash for the front door, her heart up in her throat. Tim was right! Poor, poor Dao. He was being drained of life by the woman he thought he loved.

Sophie left her friend’s house vowing to do whatever was necessary to get him away from that monster. She was so furious, she didn’t even remember driving to work. But, despite her mental gymnastics, she couldn’t come up with a single idea on how to save him.

She walked into the office, late as she said she would be, and answered Tim’s scowl with a wave of the camera. “I have your proof!”

“You’d better because I was ready to fire you. I’ve had to sit here all morning answering phones. I missed two appointments.”

“It’s here. I saw her. She looks like a hairy cobra. Scary.” She gave an involuntary shudder. “I never in a million years would’ve believed it if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes. Vampires are real! Vampires…are real.” She dropped into her chair and hit the power button on her computer. She caught sight of the red burn marks on her wrists as she moved. “Oh, and there’s more.”

“More?” Tim grinned gleefully. “What? What?”

“I think one of her evil minions paid me a visit last night too. At first I thought it was a dream but take a look.” She held out her wrists for him to inspect. “He tied me up and the marks are still there.”

“Do I want to ask what he did after that?”

She felt her cheeks flame. “No, he didn’t…you know…you sicko. But he bit me.”

“Where?” Tim’s wide-eyed gaze flew to her throat.

“Not there. On the leg. But there’s no mark. Not even a little red bump. Nothing.”

“Mmmm. That’s bad.”

“It’s bad that there’s no mark?” Despite the fact that the bite had been on her leg, her hand flew to her neck.

“No, it’s bad that he bit you.”

“Why?” she asked, fighting another shudder. “Do real vampires carry some bizarre disease I need to know about? Or am I going to become one of them? I really, really like the sun. I don’t think I could live in eternal darkness.”

“It’s bad because that means he’ll have a certain measure of power over you the next time you see him.”

“I don’t like the sound of that, either. I pride myself in my independence and bullheadedness.”

“I’ve noticed.”

Sophie stuck her tongue out. Yes, it was juvenile, but then again, so was Tim’s comment. “What kind of power will he have over me? Will he be able to hypnotize me? Will I be like a zombie, unable to think for myself?”

“You’ve been watching too much late-night TV.”

“No, I don’t watch any TV at all—outside of The Apprentice. I’m addicted to that show, I admit it. I just have an active imagination.”

“Let’s put it this way, after one bite you might not become a zombie but you’d also find it mighty difficult to resist any commands he might make.”

Her heart stopped. “Even if they were to hurt someone I care about?”

Tim nodded gravely. “Even if they were to hurt someone you care about.”

“Shit.” Was Lisse trying to find a way to use her? To kill her husband? Oh no! “Is there a cure? Please, please tell me there’s a cure or I won’t be able to trust myself around anyone I care about, especially Dao.”

“There’re a couple of ways that I know of. One, you have to defeat the one who made him, if you can figure out whom that was.”

Defeat? Her stomach turned. She could just imagine what that would involve. “Could it be Lisse?”

“The lamia?”

“Yes. That’s the only Lisse I know.”

“It’s possible but unlikely. There’s no record of any progeny from the lamiae.”

“Shoot. Then I have no clue where to start. I didn’t even get the bloodsucker’s name. What’s option number two? I’m assuming there’s at least one other way. You said ‘couple.’ That implies two.”

“Yes, two. The other is to get another vampire to bite you. Not just any vampire, a member of another—”

“Not on your life! That hurt like hell. I’m not letting any more vampires near my person, under no circumstances. That option is out. Besides, it’s not like I can put an ad in the paper asking for vampire volunteers. Could you just imagine the freaks who would answer that ad? Crazies with a blood fetish. Or nuts who haven’t taken their happy pills for a few weeks. I wouldn’t know where to hunt down another real vampire.”

Tim shrugged. “I don’t know what to tell you then.”

“In other words, you’re saying I’m screwed.”

Tim nodded again and patted her shoulder. “Sorry to say it but yes, I think so.”

“Shit.” How would she help Dao now? She didn’t even dare get near him.

“Say, do you mind if I take a few readings from you?” Tim asked, eyeing her like a scientist might a frog stretched out in a tin pan. “If you cooperate, I might be convinced to give you a bonus.”

“A bonus? What kind of bonus?” Sophie had a feeling that might come in handy very soon. She had no idea what it was going to take to save Dao and herself from the bloodsuckers, but she figured having Tim owe her a favor or two might be to her advantage. “Tell me your tests don’t involve needles? I hate needles. Or pain. And have I told you that blood—”

“Most of them are painless. But I know you’ll be a good sport. It’s for The Cause. I’ve never had the recipient of a real vampire bite in my office before.”

“Just promise me job stability for the next five years. And any help you can offer regarding vampires would be appreciated too. I’ll give you free reign—as long as you don’t expect me to strip naked for you. That would be too creepy.”

“You got it.” He offered his hand, and for the second time in twenty-four hours, she found herself shaking a man’s hand in a deal.

“Okay. I’m all yours. But be gentle, will you? I’ve been through a lot the past twenty-four hours.”

“No problem.” He raced back to his office and returned with what looked like a medieval torture device.