Page 24 of Taken By the Vampires
I rose, but my thigh muscles were tight and when I moved, the bruising throbbed. I groaned and an instant later I was lifted off my feet and carried to the bed.
“I can walk!”
“But it’s so much nicer when I get to hold you.” Davon sent me such an impish smile, I didn’t have it in me to argue.
Instead I said, “That’s really nice of you, but I have to attend to some personal concerns before I can sleep.”
His brows furrowed, until Cassius snorted. “She has to use the bathroom.”
“Oh.” He spun on his toes and headed into the ensuite. Memories assailed me of what he did to me the last time he took me in here and my skin heated in anticipation. I concentrated on trying not to be so aware of him, but he only set me on my feet and stepped back.
I glanced to the toilet and back but he still didn’t move. “I can take it from here. Thanks, Davon.”
“Are you sure?”
I was sure they had all seen every inch of me when they’d looked after me when I was lost to fever, but being ill and needing help were not the same as being in a fully functioning mind and body. I nodded before I said something stupid to him, like that fact I’d like to take another shower with him.
He merely nodded. “I’ll just be outside. Only a step away. If you need me, just yell.”
“Thank you, Davon. I really appreciate it. I’ll let you know.” The fact was, if he didn’t leave me to some privacy, I was liable to need a fresh set of clothes.
I wasn’t sure whether I was disappointed or relieved when he shut the door behind him. I didn’t waste any time and used the facilities.
I looked at myself in the mirror after I’d brushed my teeth and combed my hair. The girl looking back was scratched up, a fading purple bruise on her forehead. She leveled a gaze at me. “You can do this. Ignore your body. You have to get back to Mom and the farm and the animals, not to mention your only customer. It all depends on you.”
If I didn’t provide some level of customer service, it would be all too easy for him to look elsewhere. A sobering thought, but at least I hadn’t lost the Grimoire. I’d be sad to see it go if it came down to that, but survival was survival. The burden of responsibility was crushing.
I opened the door to be swept off my feet by Xander. I didn’t bother telling him I could walk. He wouldn’t listen to me anyway, but somehow his high-handedness only made me feel safe. A part of me reveled in the fact that tonight someone else was looking after me.
Oh, I knew they wanted to get into my pants. There was that little motivation for them, but I didn’t get the feeling it wasonlythat. Why else stay up all night playing cards? Why else save me, feed me, make sure I was occupied with their vast collection of ancient books? Why else do anything for me? There were three of them. They could be just like the Trinity and take whatever they wanted. But these men didn’t.
My fingers curved over his biceps as he carried me the bed. He lowered me until I lay down on the soft mattress. I was surrounded by his particular scent, which was entirely too good when he drew the covers over me and tucked me in like I was a child.
All three men stared down at me. Xander by my head. Cassius on my left and Davon on my right.
“Good night, Ella.” Davon bent to press his lips to my forehead.
Next was Cassius. “Sleep well.”
“We shall watch over you during the night. You will be safe.” Next, Xander pressed his lips to my forehead. His lips softened. Lingered. More than half of me wished he’d kiss me where I wanted his lips. I tilted my head to offer my mouth, but he withdrew, leaving me wanting.
They left the room. The door shut with a quiet click, leaving me alone with the dancing flames and moving shadows. Sleep didn’t take long to claim me, which was surprising given how my body ached, and not just by bruises and scratches, but by how much I really had longed for them to stay with me.
My dreams were alive, filled with erotic snippets. I reached for them, only to grab at nothing. Laughter echoed in my mind, but there was nothing nice about the laugh. Not the way I’d been sharing with them all.
This laugh was malicious, happy that it tortured others, delighting in their darkness. I turned away from the voice, only to see three men writhing in mud, their clothing torn, their skin covered with mud and blood.
A woman stood over them, hair tossed in a breeze I couldn’t feel. Her hands were spread over them, her eyes were wide, gleeful and completely mad. Her clothes fluttered about her trim figure, her legs were braced wide beneath a voluminous skirt, her breasts spilling over a deep neckline. Her clothing, although refined, was from a different age. It was blackened, in places burned all the way through.
She tossed her head back. Energy crackled from her fingertips, blue electricity shooting the poor figures on the ground. One of them – Xander – tossed his head back and made the most awful sound. Agonizing. Crushing.
Davon opened his mouth, so much in pain that no sound came out. There was something about his teeth. Elongated canines cut his bottom lip, where more blood mingled with the rest over his body.
“Stop! You’re killing them!” I screamed, but my words faded into the roaring of their choked, miserable sounds.
Blue energy encircled their bodies, sending them into rigor. Muscles tightened like concrete, cramping and throbbing beneath stretched skin. Their backs arched up, arms pushing on the ground, jolted by untold amounts of electricity.
The woman gasped, her chin folding onto her chest, and her body sagged as the electricity faded from her hands. She panted as though she’d run a marathon, her hair a wild mess.
