Page 5 of Taken By the Vampires
“She’s getting worse.” Someone was worried.
I wasn’t worried now, though. I floated in a nice warm cloud. Nothing could touch me here. I drew a breath. Ragged pain burst in my lungs. It was better if I didn’t breathe. Didn’t move.
The darkness beckoned. It’d be such a good idea to let it sweep me away. I reached for it, and it drew me closer, luring me in. It offered comfort. Rest. That’s what I wanted. Everything I wanted. I drifted closer.
Muted voices. Urgency.
“Do it, Cassius.” That voice was angry.
“That would mean...”
“It would mean she would live.”
I let the darkness surround me like a blanket. I could rest here. So tired. So, so tired. Someone jostled me out of the warmth. Light was shards of glass in my vision. I turned my head away. Hurt too much. Didn’t want to hurt anymore. I screamed to let me go back to the darkness, but I didn’t make a sound. Not even a whimper.
“You do it, Xander.”
“I will not be responsible again.”
“If you don’t do it, she will die. She has the Grimoire. She is the key. Deep down, you know it too.” Harsh whispers, full of desperation and urgency.
I didn’t care. All I wanted was to go to the beautiful, seductive darkness. I tumbled closer, letting my fingers brush against its velvety allure.
Someone cursed. I was lifted, folded into a lap. Fingers brushed the hair at my nape. I caught a glimpse of caramel eyes, a grim expression and sharp, white teeth. Too sharp to be real.
“For this I am truly sorry.” His mouth slid to my neck, nuzzling my skin. “May the goddess forgive me.”
Teeth bared, piercing my skin. White hot pain was washed away in a torrent of arousal, building hard and fast. My mouth fell open but I didn’t know if I uttered a sound as an orgasm sent me soaring over the edge, and darkness of a different kind claimed me.
Chapter Four
I surfaced quickly. Darkness gave way to a light-filled room. I blinked and took in my surroundings, but nothing made sense. Figures from the corner of the room I was in stirred, came towards me. I seemed to be the center of their intense focus. A focus that was all consuming. A focus that made me think I was missing something very important.
“Calm yourself. We mean you no harm.”
That voice again. The one that kept me from seeking solace in the darkness of sleep.
“Stay away from me. Who are you? Where am I?” My voice was rusty. Hoarse.
I didn’t know these men and I didn’t trust easy. They could be dangerous, owned by the Holy Trinity. They’d make an example of me if they knew my secret.
They said they’d killed someone before. My brain may have been jumbled, but I knew I’d heard that admission. They could murder me. Murder Mom. We’d just disappear into the wilderness. This was rural Massachusetts, for Christ’s sake. Things happened out here best not known.
One of the men, the dark-skinned one with startling light blue eyes sat next to me and held me back when I attempted to swing my legs out of the bed.
“Let me go!” I tried pushing him away, but I might as well have been trying to push a brick wall.
“I can’t let you do that. You’ll hurt yourself.”
“She’s already hurt.”
“More than she thinks.”
I was. My body was a mass of aches and burning throbs. Nausea pulsed through me. My stomach cramped. “I’m going to be sick.”
My world tilted as sure hands turned me. I was helpless as the bile rose my stomach turning in on itself with each cramp. Finally, the purging stopped. I panted, bathed in sweat, my body wrung out. I collapsed on my side, burying my head in the pillow. They could do anything to me, these killers, and I’d be helpless to stop them. I fought back another wave of nausea, this time mental.
“Feel better now?”
