Page 93 of The Cruelty of Thorns

He started to bat my hand away but I pushed, sinking the tip of the blade into his flesh until a bright bead of blood appeared. I didn’t know if it was enough or how long the poison would take to affect him. Apparently it wasn’t instantaneous, because he closed his hand around mine and tried to force the dagger away. I pushed harder, sinking it in deeper, and he leaned closer, his eyes glittering with that same salacious glee I’d seen when I threatened his life all those years ago.

“You’re my kind of crazy. Lucky for you, I like a little blood play.” His tongue flicked out and licked my lips. “Is this how you thought to kill me?”

I knew the smile I showed him was as cold and empty as his own. “It’s only the start.”

I hated him with every fiber of my being, but I couldn’t deny the sexual attraction I felt for him. It was my particular curse, and becoming a vampire had only made it worse. We craved sex as much as we did blood. His hand dropped to my chest, sliding lower across my abdomen to close around my stiffening cock, and I didn’t fight him.

“Remember how much I liked to suck this?” he whispered against my lips. “That and your sweet ass.”

Without thinking, I crashed my lips into his, shoving my tongue into his mouth, pulling him closer while I pressed the dagger deeper into his flesh, his blood now spilling over my hand. He met my thrusts with his own tongue while pressing his body closer, grinding his cock against mine. When he reached up and grabbed the hilt of the dagger, I released it, letting it drop to the floor, figuring it had either done its job or the old man’s poison was useless.

“Save that for later,” he panted. “We can use it on the girl.”

I gave myself over to the kiss, allowing him to believe he had won. He turned me around and inched me toward the bed while peeling out of his jacket. Blood flowed down his neck, soaking the fabric and wetting his hands. He smeared it across my lips and shoved his fingers into my mouth.

“Taste me.”

Blood from humans was a necessity, life-giving and meaty, but blood from another vampire was transforming. I hadn’t had it since my last tryst with Anastacia, but the taste remained in my consciousness. Christopher’s blood sent fire sizzling through my veins, and I couldn’t stop myself from lowering my head to lap at the wound on his neck.

He chuckled deep in his throat. “Now, now, pretty boy, it’s only fair that you let me do the same to you.”

He shoved me back on the bed and was on me in an instant, his teeth tearing at the flesh of my neck. I turned my head and met Myra’s frightened gaze, imagining how this must look to her. Regardless of what happened here tonight, there was no going back to the way things were between us.

Christopher tore at my clothes, pulling off my hoodie and shoving my jeans out of the way to release my cock while his mouth continued its assault on my neck. I could have fought him, held him off until the poison did its deadly work, but the truth was, I hadn’t had this kind of raw, abandoned interaction with another person since those long ago days in Anastacia’s bedroom.

As much as I may want to deny it, Christopher was right about one thing. In this way, I was just like him. It was in my nature, even before my conversion. I had always been a sensual creature, always looking for my next fuck, just like Anastacia had once told me. It’s why she picked me. Whether she saw it in me on the street that night all those centuries ago, or she discovered it in her bed, she knew I was ruled by my cock.

Even now, with the threat of death imminent and Myra’s life on the line, all I could think about was getting myself off. It ruled my nights every bit as much as the bloodlust.

Christopher had apparently drunk his fill of my blood and was looking to satisfy his other appetites. He wriggled out of his pants and pushed me over onto my stomach, his hands squeezing my cheeks and teasing my entrance.

“This isn’t going to be gentle,” he murmured against my ear. “I’ve been waiting a long time to reclaim this ass.”

I gasped when he rammed his dry cock inside me. He growled and leaned against my back, his breath now coming in slow gulps, and I realized he was slowing. That he was running out of steam.

That he was dying.

“What…did you…do to me?”

I smiled to myself and shoved back against him, working his cock in deeper, still chasing my own satisfaction. He pulled out and tried to stand, but he was clumsy and fell over his own feet, tumbling to the floor. I waited a moment to ensure he was down before sliding off the bed and standing over him, watching him fight for breath like a fish out of water, his pale face drawn, his ice blue eyes wide with shock.

I took my time pulling up my pants, observing his suffering with cold detachment. He grabbed for his throat, as though he could push the blood back inside, then extended the bloody hand up to me. Like I would help him. I squatted down next to him and smiled.

“I told you what would happen the next time I saw you.”

“H-how?”

“A little something I picked up.” I leaned closer, my mouth against his ear. “When you get to Hell, tell Anastacia hello for me.”

The poison, once it started, worked fast. In a matter of minutes, Christopher was truly dead and my revenge was at long last complete. I said a little prayer for Rosetta over his body, then straightened up and looked at her likeness on my bed.

Myra needed medical attention, but I was at a loss as to how I would get her to the hospital. I didn’t own a car, and the last thing I needed was to have an ambulance show up here with Christopher’s bloodied body on the floor. Even if I could claim self-defense, there would be more questions once he was taken to the morgue. Questions I couldn’t answer without implicating myself, and my self-preservation wouldn’t allow for that. Spending eternity in a prison cell or a government lab didn’t sound all that pleasant.

In the end, I decided to take her someplace where she could be found and call someone to pick her up. I had just the person in mind, which was fine, since I was sure she no longer wanted anything to do with me.

I untied Myra and got her dressed. She didn’t fight me, didn’t say anything. At that point she was barely conscious. Maybe the stress of her ordeal with Christopher had finally caught up to her.

I picked her up and slung her over my shoulder, carrying her out of the house and down the street, taking care to stay in the shadows so as not to arouse suspicion. The campus was a fifteen-minute stroll on most nights, though I’d never made the trek while carrying a body. The biggest problem was getting there without being spotted. Between the city cops and campus security, I knew everyone was on high alert due to Christopher’s recent escapades and my close call at the house the other night.

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