Her eyes almost bulged out. Renewed panic had her fighting against his hold, but it didn’t matter. Lucan was stronger than her. Always had been, and always would be. He swatted her hands away and restrained her again, pulling each one tight into leather binding that was almost cutting off her blood flow. It never mattered to Lucan. He didn’t need her alive or the blood flowing in her body. He pulled the restraints to the side of the table so her arms and legs had her spread eagle on it. Then he squatted down so he was at eye level with her.
He grinned at her, almost leering. “How’s that feel?” Without waiting for a response, he stood up and ran a hand up the back of her arm, across her shoulder, and down her back. It was left exposed to him. He had ripped the shirt from her so it hung over her in rags. He took a moment to enjoy the whipped marks on her back. He enjoyed having her in this position. She tried to fight him before. She hadn’t wanted to lead Davy and the rest into his trap, making them powerless to him. She even tried to break free from him, running to jump off the cliff near his brother’s house. That had shaken him. Knowing that Kates tried to take her own life, rather than help deliver her best friend and new friends to his hands, but he would’ve rather known it then and not later. Because of it, that sealed her fate.
Since arriving back to the Mori, Kates had become his favorite toy to play with. When he wanted a drink, she was here for him. When he wanted something else, far more sinister, she was still there, and thinking about that now, his hand drew down to her naked waist. She wore her jeans. He had allowed that, but his hand caressed over her ass. He grew hard, remembering the times they had in the bedroom and when he would take her from behind.
He hadn’t done that again, not since she made her loyalties known, but he was tempted. Taking her against her will had been a game they had liked to play before. His nostrils flared, feeling his body’s blood pumping through him, remembering the feel of his dick inside of her. His hand curved around one of her ass cheeks, and she whimpered.
He chuckled. He smelled her fear in the air, but he chided softly, “Even now, even after all I’ve done to you, you still want me.” His hand squeezed the other cheek.
“No.” She tried to shake her head, but couldn’t because of the restraints.
“Yes.” His hand moved lower, falling to the curve of her ass, and he kept going. He was about to touch the core of her when the door opened. His head whipped up, then he jumped back as if burned. “Jiyama,” he rasped out.
The Mori vampiress stood there, showing no emotion, but her eyes darkened. He felt her instant anger, and she moved into the room. “You would touch her against her will?”
He didn’t respond.
“The human told me you were torturing this one.” Her eyes glanced down to Kates on the table.
Lucan narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like what he was seeing or what he was hearing. “You’re a vampire.”
“So?”
She was challenging him. Lucan frowned. Jiyama had never challenged him before. He scratched his forehead. “What are you doing here?”
“She told me you were doing this.” Jiyama pointed to Kates and the table. “She said you had a lover here, and you were torturing her.”
“She’s for me to play with. Why are you judging me for this?”
“Because it’s wrong.”
Lucan’s frown deepened. This w
asn’t the Jiyama he knew. “You’re a vampire. You drink from humans. This,” he pointed to Kates, “is nothing out of the ordinary. I’ve seen you out there, Jiyama. You enjoy playing with your meals.”
“She’s not a meal for you.” Jiyama continued to gaze at him. “Anymore.”
His jaw clenched. “This is The Immortal’s power over you. You gave her your power, and she infected you because of it.”
“No.” Jiyama shook her head. “You have this human here because you still feel for her. You’re going to turn her.”
That last sentence came out like an accusation. Lucan tilted his head to the side. His hand came up to rest against his cheek. He needed a moment to realize what was happening here. Jiyama was jealous. He thought it was disapproval, but it wasn’t. She had loved him since finding him at an early age. It was assumed among her family and the rest of the Mori clan that he would wed her, but she never pushed him. Lucan had enjoyed his freedom. Going where he wanted. Being with who he wanted, and she was right. As she said the words, he realized that was the real reason he kept Kates around.
He was going to turn her, but not till he was done having fun with her.
His eyes closed to slits, watching Jiyama carefully. She was the predator to Kates in that moment. He could see the words forming in her mind. She was going to kill Kates. He saw the intention on her face, and he forced himself to speak casually. She couldn’t know the extent of his wishes, not for Kates. He said, “She is still of use to me.”
“Why?” Jiyama still looked down at Kates. “The Immortal is gone. She will not come back.”
He shook his head, softening his tone. “She will.” His hand lifted.
Jiyama’s eyes snapped to it.
He caught himself, but still lowered it to touch the back of Kates’s calf. He had been about to caress it, but instead he touched the tip of his finger to her skin. His nail cut into it, filling the air with fresh blood. Jiyama’s gaze was focused on that now, floating toward him and the blood. Her nostrils flared and he knew Kates’s blood had done exactly what he wanted. She wanted to feed now, not to kill his ex-girlfriend.
As Jiyama stood next to him, pressing into his side, he added, “The Immortal will return for her.”
“Why?” But the Mori vampiress wasn’t listening. She was too distracted by the blood. Lucan pressed harder into Kates’s leg and more blood spilled out. He knew the power it had over Jiyama. This was slayer blood. It was the best kind to a vampire. The slayers used to use their own blood to entrap vampires and in a way, maybe that was still happening. Lucan remembered being ensnared by Kates. Perhaps that was why he still wanted to keep her.