Trueblood 01-The-Consolation-Prize (5 page)

He looked at the shopping looped over her arm. “Lander’s Hardware?”

“I need to do a bit of repair work.”

“I’ll give you a hand.”

“Not here. At home,” Chloe said.

“I meant I’ll give you a hand with your bags.” He reached for them and Chloe lurched away.

“They’re not heavy. Apart from the stuff from the hardware shop, obviously.”

Shut up!

Her sixth-and-a-half sense and her common sense chimed in together but too late. He frowned and it was more a “what are you up to” frown than one cast in disdain at a stupid woman. Chloe marched into the hall, his eyes burning holes in her back.

Reception was empty; presumably Miranda lurked on the floor with her book and chocolate.

Back in her room, Chloe locked the door and attached the chain. For all she knew, the gardener could be part of whatever conspiracy was keeping the guy downstairs a prisoner. She’d decided naked man was the good guy and whoever had chained him up was the bad. She waited. No voice of disagreement.

Chloe made her way down the dark passageway to the basement. Her light caught the shelf of toys and she stumbled to a halt. Hadn’t she put the princess on the shelf below? Chloe shook her head. She had more important things to worry about. She wasn’t sure what she hoped for when she lifted the flap. That she’d imagined the whole thing? That he’d still be there?

He
was
still there, hanging just as he’d been before. Oh God, and she’d left the lights on. Big mistake. She crawled into the room and tried to keep her eyes away from the area between his legs. Failed again. Oh God. If it was that length now, what would it be like erect? How would it feel sliding into her? Would it reach a place none had reached before? Chloe gave herself a mental slap. Where had her mind gone? This guy needed help. Thank God he didn’t know what she was thinking.

“Are you still unconscious?” she asked.

No, you idiot, he’s sleeping standing up
. Of course he was unconscious. He had to be really uncomfortable. No wonder the chains were cutting into him.

Chloe took the bolt cutters from the bag. The chain was so tight against his skin it seemed impossible to get the blades around the metal without nicking him. She located a free link by his left ankle and forced the handles together. They bit around the chain and moved no further.

Using every ounce of strength she possessed, Chloe struggled to jam the blades closed. She couldn’t do it. She could have wept with frustration. What the hell point had there been in letting her buy bolt cutters that didn’t work?

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I can’t do this. I’ll have to get help.”

“No.”

“No.”

“No.”

Chloe dropped the bolt cutters, clutched her head, and tumbled to the edge of the bed. Not a good idea. It left her at eye level with his lovely equipment. How come there were no chains around his crotch? In fact, it seemed it had been deliberately left exposed. Not that she was complaining and neither would he, if he was aware of it.

She wanted to touch him, feel the silky soft length of him, pump until she made him hard. He wouldn’t know. He was unconscious. Temptation surged, carrying Chloe on a torrent of rushing whitewater in the right direction. One little touch. Just one. Who’d know? One stroke with her finger. One kiss. She made a sound somewhere between a sigh and a whimper. Nope, it was no good. She’d know.

Chloe stood up and took a deep breath. Her panties were wet. She had that tingling between her thighs that normally required a few moments of rubbing with her fingers to produce. Chloe couldn’t remember the last time she’d been affected in this way by a guy and this one wasn’t even conscious. It seemed wrong and yet right. She wanted him.
You can’t have him
. She spoke to herself in a very firm voice. It made no difference. Every cell in her body wanted him, needed him.

She peeled the tab from a can and held it to his lips, letting the bubbles burst under his nose.

“Hey, try and take a swallow.”

He didn’t move. Chloe wavered over tipping anything into his mouth. She didn’t want him to choke. She wasn’t going to be able to drag him onto the floor and give him the kiss of life. More was the pity. She stuck her finger in the fizzy liquid and wiped it across his lips. They were soft and smooth but unresponsive. And a bit cold.

“Wake up,” she pleaded.

He didn’t.

In the end, she drank the contents of the can herself and ate one of the sandwiches. She sat having a picnic on his bed, staring at his cock, eating chocolate, and thinking he was one of the most beautiful things she’d ever seen. She was losing her marbles.

Chloe wiped his face and body with the cloth she’d brought from her room. She hoped it made him feel better. Afterwards, she rubbed cream over the sore red lines, taking her time about it, making sure she soothed every one. She couldn’t ignore the heat pooling between her legs.

Touching him, even in this way, turned her on and she felt terrible, as though she was taking advantage. One thing she was proud of. Though it was a constant temptation, she never once touched his cock. She gave him one last look and returned to her room.

“Rufus, you could have been a bit gentler. Yelling into her head like that.”

“I’m a dragon, Phoebe. I yell. It worked, didn’t it? No police. And no help. Angel, are you
asleep?”

“No, I’m just wondering how she’ll react when she realizes what he is.”

“He’s yummy. He’s got no scales and only two legs. She’ll love him.”

Luka’s eyelids fluttered open, hoping for a nightmare, but when he tried to move and couldn’t, he knew this was real. He strained against the chains and only stopped when the coppery tang of his blood reached his nostrils. He licked his lips and grunted at the strange taste in his mouth.

What the hell was that? He needed to feed, though he wasn’t desperate. Hunger was a normal accompaniment to waking, because while he slept, his body used blood to repair cells. Luka could go a couple of days without feeding so long as he didn’t abuse his body by doing something stupid such as pressing the boundaries of his exposure to light, or getting wrapped up head to foot in silver chains. He looked down and frowned.

His chances of breaking free diminished every minute that he remained pinned to the wall because as his body struggled to heal itself, he grew weaker. The silver was eating into him, his flesh sealing around it. Without fresh blood, he would never be strong enough to break free. It was not yet sunset. But it would be soon and then they’d come. He’d resisted last night, though wasn’t sure he could hold out again. There was one tiny ray in the darkness because he’d sensed someone near who wanted to help, but the feeling was hazy.

They’d darted him when he’d been captured, he suspected, with holy water. Injected into his bloodstream it had been enough to render him instantly unconscious. Now they wanted to seduce him. Correction. Not seduce. They wanted his seed and they were prepared to rape him to get it.

Luka grimaced. If they succeeded, he was as good as dead.

The door flew open and the two bitches walked in. Raven-haired Eve and the younger vampire, Krista, whose long straight hair shone a luminescent silver in the dim light. Luka tried to picture them ugly and spotty. It didn’t work. The pair wore transparent negligees, their nipples tenting the sheer material.

“My turn first,” said Eve, pushing Krista aside.

“Not fair. You went first last night, I want --” One glare from Eve and Krista shut up.

It confirmed to Luka that Eve was in charge, though the pair were equally dangerous. Eve stood before him, kept her eyes glued to his, and let the only thing she was wearing slide from her shoulders to puddle on the floor. A puff of smoke flared in Luka’s groin and he snuffed it out before sparks developed.

“Well, hello there, big boy,” she purred.

Luka wished he could laugh at the corny line. Eve moved her naked body as close to him as she could without touching the chains. He wondered if they’d not thought of that problem when they’d come up with this plan. Silver was as unpleasant to them as it was to him. Eve cupped her breasts and licked her lips. Luka tried not to think about what she was doing and concentrated on the metal cutting his skin. He tugged at his wrists, using the pain to distract him.

Eve wrapped her mouth around his nipple, sucked, then tore her lips away.

“Yuk! Yuk! That’s disgusting.”

Luka’s eyes opened wide. Eve pawed at her tongue as though she wanted to rip it from her mouth.

“You taste foul.”

He didn’t know whether to be pleased or insulted. Krista bounded over, gave a tentative lick to his other nipple and screwed up her face. “Shit. What the hell is that?”

“Probably something he secretes to repel unwanted attention,” Eve said.

First Luka had heard of it. What a great idea. Maybe he could -- the deluge of icy water hitting his face broke his train of thought.

“Idiot,” Eve yelled at Krista. “What did you do that for?”

“I was washing it off.”

“With cold water? You want to send his cock into hibernation?”

Krista’s face fell. “I didn’t think.”

“You never do,” said Eve.

Krista giggled. “He looks even better wet.”

Eve dropped her head to a spot at his waist and licked. Luka tried not to shudder, and hoped she could still taste whatever was on his skin. He felt the rasp of her tongue sweep lower.
No, she
couldn’t. Shit
. Instead of concentrating on his groin, Eve slithered to his feet and worked her way up his body. She teased, caressed, licked any section of skin that was free of metal. Luka gritted his teeth.

“You’re so beautiful,” Eve whispered. “I want so little, just for you to get big and hard.”

Luka saw Krista pulling a pathetic face behind Eve’s back and he let out a choked laugh. Eve’s head spun round, her teeth barely missing his balls. Luka winced. He should have kept quiet.

“We agreed,” Eve said in a cold voice. “We work together on this.”

Luka wondered if he could encourage their disagreement and use it to his advantage. Krista looked contrite for a moment, but as she stood twirling her hair in her fingers, her gaze locked in on his cock and she bared her fangs.
Not good news
.

Eve’s tongue slid underneath his balls and Luka shivered. He struggled to think of something unsexy. The time the toilets blocked at the club. Luka blamed the werewolves. They ate too much meat. Heightened senses were another downside of being a vampire. The smell had been fucking awful. Dan and Luka had both gagged.

Eve grabbed his dick and put it in her mouth. She sucked and Luka thought of the guy they’d paid to come and suck out the backed up shit. It looked like brown porridge. Smelled somewhat different. His stomach lurched. Eve let his flaccid cock drop from her lips.

“You are such a waste of space,” she said. “I bet you can’t get it up, can you?”

“He shuddered,” Krista said. “That’s a good sign.”

Luka sucked in his cheeks to stop the smile spreading across his face.

“How could shuddering be a good sign?” Eve said. “Krista, get over here. We’ll do this together.”

While Eve sucked his balls, separating them in her mouth, Krista ran her tongue up and down his cock. Luka couldn’t deny that it felt good. Too good.
No, don’t think about how it feels
. He began a long division in his head.
Two hundred and ninety six divided by seventeen. Christ, that
was tricky
. Krista kissed her way up from his stomach, picking bare patches of skin, her long hair brushing against him. He hardened a little and felt a frisson of excitement rush through the two naked women. Eve kept sucking.
One hundred and twenty-six divided by seventeen. Er
…

Krista’s mouth latched onto his nipple, landing delicate kisses around it before drawing it between her teeth. The bastard hardened and he saw the delight in her widening green eyes. Her hands caressed his stomach and her mouth moved higher, skittering along his collarbone to his neck. Luka willed his blood to stay right where it was, pottering around his veins and not go racing for his dick. Krista’s fangs grazed his jugular. He could smell the dark, spicy scent of her arousal summoning his. He was in trouble.

“I want you,” Krista whispered in his ear. “I’m wet for you.”

“Is it raining?” Luka forced the words out, the first he’d spoken since they’d taken him.

His dick and balls swung free as Eve sprang to her feet. Krista remained where she was, her tongue tracing the pulsing vein in his neck. He knew she was close to biting him. Eve nodded and moved her mouth back onto his dick. Luka groaned as Krista’s teeth sank through his skin.

The rush of pleasure that followed the pain was instant and irresistible. Liquid fire flashed through his veins to every erogenous zone he possessed.

No, no
. Luka imagined himself shriveling in the sunlight, which was what would happen if he let them get his seed. The Vampire High Council was unforgiving. He’d be pinned out and the sun’s rays would melt him. Forget pleasurable fire, this conflagration would be pure white pain. The agony was said to be indescribable, but Luka was certain he could describe it in those long minutes before the rays made his brain bubble in his skull. Concentrating on that kept his cock in a state of distressed, indecisive panic. To grow or not to grow, that was the question. The pair kept sucking.

Luka was one of the Trueblood clan, direct descendants of the original vampire family.

Truebloods had retained and amplified their fertility, passing on that genetic capability, and had for centuries dominated vampire politics. Over time, a few powerful vamps stirred up resentment against those who owed their elevated position to birth rather than merit. Truebloods were blamed for everything, including drawing the attention of mortals to their kind through books and film. Luka was fairly certain they’d pin global warming on them if they got the chance.

Although many older vampires still considered Truebloods a kind of royalty, once the VHC had turned against them, they’d been forced underground. Considered a threat to the authority of the Council, their rate of procreation was now under strict control. If Luka made another vamp pregnant he was dead. Forget that he’d been captured, chained, and seduced. There was no excuse.