I stopped in front of a cell. “This is Gustav, he is one of mine. He is my favorite,” I told him. “I keep him around as he tastes like you,” I added to enrage him further.
“Aefre, what are you doing here? This isn’t you,” he said with disgust.
“Call me Lucretia, it’s more fitting,” I growled. “And you don’t know me. Not anymore.”
In an instant, he had me up against the iron bars. “You are mine. I will always know you. But you need to stop this, Lucretia.” He emphasized my name. “You are drawing too much attention to yourself. Unwanted attention.”
“No attention is unwanted,” I said as I brought my hands up to his chest to push him off me.
Again, he was surprised by my strength and the concern showed on his perfect, handsome face, as he knew the reason why.
“Stop this, at once,” he ordered. “You do not want what is coming for you, I assure you.”
I laughed a cruel laugh and turned from him. Opening the cell, I moved to the prisoner. I kept him well, like I would a favorite pet. He desired me as his sire, and he reached for me as I got closer to him. I let him touch me and kiss me, knowing that Constantine was watching this display. I had a need to let him see someone else bring me pleasure, so he could see how much I had changed. I kept my eyes on my sire’s as he glowered at me unmoving from a few feet away, his eyes like two hard flints and his expression unreadable.
“Do not say that I didn’t warn you,” he said and was gone in a flash, leaving me to feed alone.
Later that night a loud, insistent banging on the front doors brought me out of the dungeons in a temper at being disturbed. Feeling a familiar tingle down my neck, I grinned cruelly as I opened the door expecting my sire’s return. But instead of Constantine, it was a stranger. Evil, pure black eyes met mine from a very tall Vampire with pitch black hair and the palest skin I had ever seen. The figure said, “Hello, Sister. How I’ve been dying to meet you.”
A nd my penance had arrived.
I sigh and turn over again. Sleep is eluding me because I want Cole in my bed, next to me, safe from all the horrors of this world. I’m glad that I am no longer one of them.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Several days later, Cole is perfectly accepting and at ease now. He still hasn’t seen my fangs and we have a tacit agreement of no biting of any kind during sex. He has all but moved into the mansion, which is to my delight, but Devon has pulled his face once or twice. We are about to head off to work while Cole has gone to sort his own business out.
Devon storms out of the front door, all business. I sigh as I follow. My boy is not happy.
“Devon,” I start.
“Don’t want to talk about it,” he snaps.
“We have to at some point,” I press.
Clear blue eyes glare at me. I glare back and he submits, as I knew he would.
“I’ll get over it, if you’d just let me,” he says through gritted teeth, eyes on the briefcase in his hand. “I always do,” he adds bitterly. I flinch at the look of sorrow on his face. “But FYI, I am not jealous of Cole, just the fact that I won’t be your only charge anymore because you will turn him.”
“Oh, Devon,” I sigh. “Just talk about it with me. Let me reassure you.”
He sighs and says, “I really don’t want to.” Then he adds to my utter surprise, “I guess I was hoping it was going to be me and you again this time.” He shrugs. “It doesn’t matter, you found Cole and now he knows and it’s all good.”
“I don’t know what to say.” I move closer and place a light hand on his arm.
He stares at it for a few seconds, then sighs again. “There’s nothing you can say. I just need to get used to you not needing me as much anymore,” he says sadly.
Ah, I see. It really doesn’t have anything to do with Cole, exactly. He just needs to know that I still love him. “Oh, baby, I will always need you,” I say.
He pulls me into a tight hug, asking, “And when he asks you? And he will. What then? I’ve had you to myself, as my sire, for over five hundred years. I will find it difficult to be replaced.”
I pull away sharply. “You will never be replaced. It will never happen. Please don’t ever say that again. I can’t bear you feeling this way. You will always be with me. Always. Besides which, he hasn’t asked, and I don’t think he will. He hasn’t even asked me to bite him, let alone turn him,” I exclaim.
He looks surprised and somewhat relieved by that. “You haven’t bitten him yet?” he asks.
I shake my head. He laughs woefully and says, “Well, at least you still need me for something.”
My heart breaks. Making a quick decision, I say to him, “Come on, with me.”