Page 18 of Fangs and Family
‘Will you help me find my brother? Please? I need you. I really need you,’ I begged, leaning toward him, craving more of his tender touch.
‘Will you agree to my terms? We could be happy, Nina. If you only consider….’
I put my hand on his mouth to stop him. That was not the decision I could make today or ever. How could I risk agreeing to live with him, to be bitten when he decided? To lose my independence and trade the life I’d built for one where I’d depend on my vampire master’s whims and needs until he found my brother or got bored with me?
I couldn’t do it.
I knew my weakness, and Adam… even with his ridiculous demands and the way he bossed me around, made me feel safe, and safe was just a step away from love.
How long would it take till I opened up and gave him it all?
It was always all or nothing with me. When I loved, I didn’t hold back. It was a devastating force, and it nearly destroyed me once. Adam, the new Adam, was pulling at my heartstrings harder each day. I wanted more of him, but I didn’t want to be broken again.
‘No, that would never work. If you can’t do it for me as a friend, then please just go.’ I said, pulling away only to see his eyes darken, crimson overtaking his irises.
‘As you wish, Nina. If you come to ask for my help again, remember the price you will have to pay,’ he growled, coldness seeping into his voice, and I could only stand there quietly watching as he walked away.
1.Matron – European phrase for Nurse in Charge. The highest rank, the nurse in charge of other nurses.
Chapter 6
Adam’s hand trailed over my lips as he pinned me to the wall.
‘Do you know how beautiful you are? I could spend eternity looking at your face and hearing your laugh, my brave Nina, always ready to fight for those she loves. I hope one day I will see the fire in your eyes when you fight for me,’ He murmured, his lips trailing lazily over my neck, pausing for a moment on the collarbone.
I felt his body pressed against mine, but I didn’t object. I wanted this, wanted it so much that my breath quickened as I trembled in anticipation. Two sharp points grazed over my skin, and I gasped as fear and desire warred within me. I stared into Adam’s eyes, pushing aside the apprehension and almost daring him into action, when I tilted my head to the side, exposing the length of my neck to his teeth.
‘I would never hurt you, Nina. Not now, not ever. If you want me to stop, say it because, for you, I would wait an eternity. I would never take your blood without your consent. No matter how much I crave it. Don’t be afraid of pain because what I offer is only a pleasure.’
‘Stop talking.’ I almost growled as I spoke, still gazing deep into Adam’s captivating eyes, and his throaty laugh vibrated on my skin.
‘As you wish, my Obsidian.’
He bit me, but even as the sharp teeth cut into my flesh, the pain disappeared, replaced by the most sensual pleasure I’d ever felt in my life. My body was on fire. I wanted him on me, inside me. I wanted to give him everything and let these flames consume me. I would do anything he asked me just to prolong the transcendent euphoria that engulfed my senses, bringing me to orgasm quicker than I thought humanly possible.
I was floating in bliss, but something had changed. Adam’s touch was no longer gentle. Instead, he grabbed my hair, pulling until the painful moan escaped my lips. The torment tainted the intimacy of the bite, telling me something wasn’t right. I knew Adam. I knew my vampire, and he would never make me suffer, so I hissed, looking up to tell him to stop.
The words died on my lip as Adam’s face faded away, only to be replaced by the vampire from the hospital, his bloody fangs tearing into my flesh. It has to be a dream. It has to be a fucking dream. I’d never let another vampire touch me.
Why does it feel so real? Wake up, Nina, wake the fuck up!
My helpless body thrashed and fought to escape, the pleasure overwhelming me now a sickening parody of the feelings I’d experienced.
‘Adam!’ I screamed as if his name could save me, and the vision tore as I flung myself onto the floor, panting like a hunted animal, unsure where I was and what had happened. ‘Fuck, no… just no,’ I cried, wishing the words could erase the image of that bastard violating my body and mind.
The four walls of my bedroom slowly came into focus, and I shook, suddenly cold and drenched in sweat. ‘It was just a dream, nothing else.’ I croaked, then repeated, my voice strong and determined, as if saying that would make the situation better.
My dreams had always been wild and incredibly vivid, full of fantastical creatures that were a blessed relief from my ordinary life. I could explain the first part of the dream easily enough. My unfulfilled desires and seeing Adam again had clearly triggered the memory of the moment he had fed from me. It was so intense and rich in detail that it felt like we were doing it again as I melted in his arms, the feeling of those powerful muscles holding me tight, calling me his Obsidian. The second part, where the dream became a nightmare, I didn’t know how to explain or why I’d even conjured such a scenario.
‘Maybe fate is trying to tell me that Adam is dangerous and to stay away from him?’ I asked the universe, half-hoping for an answer as I climbed back into bed.
‘It’s not like my fucking patient bit me with no one noticing, is it?’
That thought made me frown, something niggling at the back of my mind, and a stray memory surfaced. Adam once told me that as vampires aged, they gained certain perks, but I’d been distracted at the time, and he hadn’t elaborated. I’d thought Mr Sapieha seemed older, but could he drink my blood without me remembering? It sounded ridiculous, but I had fainted, and I couldn’t rid myself of that feeling of violation; that something was stolen, and I was forced to enjoy it. It felt so wrong that I wanted to scream again.
The safety of sleep no longer held any appeal, so I stood up and headed to the bathroom. Sharp white illumination flooded the small space when I flipped the light switch, my eyes fighting to adjust to its intensity. I pulled at the collar of my pyjamas to examine my neck.
The reflection of unblemished skin mocked my fears, not even a bruise or soreness anywhere to be seen. I remembered the day after Adam had bitten me, his smile of sultry possession. ‘I like to see my mark on you,’he’d said, and even as I bristled in anger, something within me had melted at those words. Now, looking at my neck, I could see no evidence to support last night’s nightmare or the feeling of disgust.
