Page 23 of Pucking Vamps

I jump the last few steps and land with a thud, swaying a little as my balance is compromised. The front door is in sight, and I sprint toward it. If I go out, I just need to follow the driveway to the gate. I’m pretty sure that if I can reach it and leave his property, I will win this little game I started.

“Hayden. You can’t escape me,” Leander’s deep and smooth tenor taunts me, each sound a feather-light kiss on my skin.

My dick is bulging my briefs, making it a little uncomfortable to run. My nipples are hard. I swallow and keep going, the door now inches away. It’s locked. Leander chuckles, his pleasant voice reverberating through me.

Oh fuck. What do I do now?

Movement on the landing with the humanoid statues that’s halfway to the second floor pulls my frantic gaze. An amalgamation of shadows slithers out from the space between the two marble sculptures. It resembles them in its form, with two strikingly green eyes that glow like beacons calling out to me. They stare at me, and I stare at them, mesmerized and paralyzed and drowning in them of my own accord.

The shadowy mass moves, hovering in a way so uncanny it can never be mistaken for human. It snaps me out of the stupor, reminding me that I need to run or I’ll probably regret it. After giving the door one final try, I abandon it, dashing down the entry hallway toward the back of the mansion. I have no idea where the corridor leads, but I bet there must be another way out.

I pass through what seems to be a lounge, Leander’s predatory presence getting closer. Just when it feels like he’s about to make his move, I spot an open window by a piano and two bonsai pots. Veering sharply to the left, I pick up speed and vault over the sill, grateful that the ground under it is grass and not pebbles.

Moonlight illuminates my surroundings and soft breeze rustles the trees nearby. I can smell flowers, their scent sweet and relaxing as if trying to convince me to sit down and wait for my captor to catch me. The urge to give in is almost too good to resist, but I do, picking out a dirt path through the luscious garden. Leaves and blooms shimmer in a sheen of silver light as I pass them. I am on the side of the house, my eyes scanning for a way to the front.

I don’t see one. Where it should be is a tall wall of blooming rose vines with a tiered fountain in front. I run past it, not lingering once I am sure I can’t climb over. The path leads me to a pond with a bridge over it that seems to lead to a greenhouse on the edge of a cliff.

Fuck, it’s a dead end. I need to circle back. Head over to the patch of woods I saw where the path forked. That’s ought to lead somewhere.

I turn around and go completely still, my eyes wide and my jaw clenched. I can’t feel Leander’s presence. It was here, just seconds ago, hunting me through his fairytale-like garden.

Where did it go? When did I lose it?

My insides twist, my heart hammering mad against my ribcage as if it wants to get out. He’s playing with me, like he did in the club. Confusing me, so he can strike without giving me the chance to react. Arousal and adrenaline pulse in my blood, my cock still rigid even as my senses heighten in search of telltale signs of danger.

I look around, turning in a slow circle. The bushes sway, the crowns of the trees whisper. The pond’s surface gleams with the light of the moon and the breeze smells of ocean and seaweed. My skin is damp with sweat, my pulse racing. I swallow, overly aware of the way my neck moves with the action, of the loud gulp I am sure he can hear.

Where will he come from? The terrain is relatively open, I see no places to hide. No shadows are moving in a way that they shouldn’t either. Is it possible that I lost him? Or did he get bored?

My eyes flit to the looming form of the mansion. What if the only way out is through it? What if those woods are another dead en—

I yank to the side, barely avoiding his arm as it tries to wrap around my midriff. The tips of his claws graze my oblique, sending tingling heat that spikes my heartbeat once again. Leander is standing where I just was, his muscled body naked and dripping water. Did he come out of the pond? How did he end up there? When? His free hand is coiled around his erection, stroking it lazily as his glowing emerald eyes feast on me. Fire blazes in them, its flames entrapping me where I stand.

God, he’s gorgeous. In a wild way. How his chest is rising and falling, the smile that curves his pretty lips. His vampiric fangs are out, the tips poking out, and he swipes his tongue to collect the drops of water clinging to his mouth. He’s got some swirly tattoo right above his groin, the patterns and lines and circles resembling a crest.

“I think I have humored you enough for tonight, Hayden,” he says in a voice dripping sex, sliding that captivating gaze down my heated body.

My dick jerks, ready and eager. My blood pounds in my ears. “Oh, but I’m just getting started, vampy.”

I only glimpse the hint of amusement in his expression before I turn on my heel and sprint like my life depends on it. I suppose it does, in a way, the consequences of defying him both scary and exciting.

I make it to where the path forks before he collides with me. We fall to the ground, and for a few heartbeats I manage to hold my own against him, but then that comes to an abrupt end as he pins my hands above my head and restrains my hips with his powerful legs.

“So naughty,” he hums, his eyes drinking me in from above. “Even though you agreed to my rules when you came to live with me.”

I rub my thigh against his erection as much as the constraining position allows me to and open my mouth to counter him. But I don’t get to say anything, don’t really get to even conceive a smartass remark, as his mouth smashes into mine with possessive greed. His tongue swipes over the seam of my lips, probing them open with urgency.

The snarl I start turns into a filthy moan when his dark taste hits me, overwhelming and so much stronger than the last time we kissed. He presses his body into mine, his weight pinning me to the grass-covered ground as stars blink above us in the black sky.

I try to push him away. I fight him. His tongue as it tangles with mine, his scent as it rubs into my skin, his taste as it settles inside me. It’s a reflex, a self-preservation thing, because this feels like I really am his prey. Like he’s about to make me submit in a way that there is no turning back from.

My instincts scream at me that this is no longer a game, that I need to run, but at the same time my body is begging for more. Enjoying it, yearning to yield. It’s like some switch has flipped both in me and him, unlocking our suppressed sides and they are now in charge, barreling forward with disregard for everything else.

We part for air. His thumb wipes the saliva from my mouth. I bite him. I don’t know what comes over me, but I dig my teeth deep enough to break skin. His eyes go wide, filling with scorching intensity and desire.

“I see I must tame you the proper way, Hayden,” he says, grabbing me by the hair with his free hand. He pulls my head back roughly and exposes my neck, licking a line from the base to my chin. “I must teach you that a deal with a vampire is no game. I own you while you live here.” He lets go of my hair and pinches my left nipple, licking the other one, then shoves his hand between us. “Your body, your pleasure. Do you understand?”

My eyes roll back when he rips my underwear and grasps the base of my cock, squeezing to show me how much he means those words.

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