The first, his mouth was at my throat. I felt excruciating pain there as his teeth tore through my flesh and my blood burst forth into his mouth.
The second, his other hand went between my legs, cupping me over my nightgown, my panties, superhumanly strong fingers pressed in, invading.
I gasped, grabbed his broad shoulders and pushed with everything I had.
He didn’t budge.
I lost track of what his hand was doing between my legs because the pain at my neck was agonizing, unbearable, my lifeblood rushing out of me in a warm, hideous flood.
“Lucien!” I cried, bucking, pushing, fighting.
He didn’t move, he just drank.
It hurt. Killer hurt.
Intolerable.
I felt the strength leave me as my blood poured out of me into his mouth, weakening me.
“Lucien,” I gasped, still pushing, blackness penetrating at the sides of my eyes. It was my body’s response either to the terrible pain or the loss of blood or both.
I welcomed the loss of consciousness. I could take no more.
My hands fell away from his shoulders as the blackness crept closer, my strength vanished and I lay limp in his arm.
Before the blackness permeated, I felt his head rear up away from my throat and the last thing I remembered was saying on a frail whimper, “You promised.”
Then there was nothing.
Chapter Four
The Day After
I opened my eyes and saw it was morning. The sun shone weak around the edges of the heavy, drawn curtains.
I felt a moment of confusion, not knowing where I was, my surroundings unfamiliar.
Then I remembered.
My body froze stiff.
There was movement behind me and before I could register this I was gently rolled to my back. Lucien fully visible but shadowed in the feeble light, was up on a forearm towering over me.
Stark terror surged through me. I tensed, preparing for escape.
The next second I was crushed in his arms, my face tucked in his throat, his big hand cupping the back of my head, one of his heavy thighs thrown over both of mine.
“Leah,” he whispered.
My name sounded tormented on his lips.
I didn’t care. He could feel as badly as he wanted. He could be tormented forever by his actions and forever was a freaking long time for a vampire.
Promising he wouldn’t hurt me and then inflicting the worst pain I’d ever felt.
Promising he’d stop and then nearly killing me.
I assessed my options.
I couldn’t fight him, I’d never win. Even if I did get away, he could control my mind, my movements.
Therefore, I had no options.
God, I really hated him.
“Please, let me go,” I demanded to his throat, my voice sounded raspy, brittle and that scared me too.
“Leah, you must listen to me.”
I shook my head. This didn’t hurt. I felt no pain at my throat where he’d torn my flesh apart, just an odd but profound numbness, like getting your gums shot with Novocain. I decided not to think about that bit of weirdness at that moment.
I decided to focus on something else.
“The contract didn’t say word one about me having to listen to you. You feeding on me, yes. You fucking me, yes. Me listening to you, no.”
His hand left my head and went to my jaw. His thumb under my chin he pressed up cautiously as he tilted his head down to look at me.
“I’ll explain,” he declared.
I had no idea this was a remarkable declaration. Since I’d been expelled from Vampire Studies, I had no idea vampires didn’t explain themselves. Even if I had an idea, I wouldn’t have cared about that either.
“Are you hungry?” I asked.
“Leah.”
“Well? Are you?”
“Of course not,” he said on a sigh.
“No, of course not,” I shot back. “Had your fill last night, did you?”
His face grew dark as his arms grew tighter, just to the edge of pain but not quite there. “Listen to me, pet.”
“Stop calling me that,” I hissed and watched his face grow even darker.
This should have scared me.
It didn’t. I knew the worst he could do, outside actually finishing the job.
Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is torture.
“Are you going to fuck me?” I snapped in the face of his anger.
His head jerked before he asked, “Pardon?”
“Fuck me. You fed last night, you’re no longer hungry but you’re still here. I’m wondering why? I’m wondering how I’m meant to service you now, Master.”
His arms tightened again, going over the edge of pain for a fleeting second before he rolled me to my back and settled some of his solid weight on me.
His hand went to the side of my head, his fingers curling into my hair there, not gentle, not entirely painful either.
I looked into his face and it was carved from stone but his eyes were blazing like last night, but not with hunger or desire.
With fury.
Okay, so maybe now I was a little bit scared.
His eyes burned into mine for long moments before he pulled in a deep breath.
On his exhale, he said, “Considering what happened last night, Leah, I’ll let your behavior go this morning.”
“Well, thank you,” I returned with deep sarcasm.
His hand tightened in my hair. The not entirely painful part became a little more painful but not unbearable.
“Don’t try your luck,” he warned.
I really wanted to try my luck. Every bad trait that was me screamed at me to try my luck. Instead, my eyes slid to the side then I closed them so I didn’t have to look at him even in my peripheral vision.
“I hate you,” I whispered. It sounded weak, even scared and I didn’t care about that either.
His fingers loosened in my hair and he replied softly, “That’s understandable.”
With my head mostly freed, I turned it on the pillow away from him.
“Please go,” I begged.
He began sifting his fingers through my hair at the side of my head. It felt good. I didn’t want it to feel good and I hated him for that too.
His deep voice cut through my thoughts. “I’ll go, Leah, but I’ll be back tonight.”
My eyes flew open and my head jerked back to facing him.
“Tonight?” I croaked, my voice broken with fear.
His middle finger touched my temple gently then his hand flattened carefully against the side of my face. “Tonight.”
“But, you can’t need –”
“I’ll not be feeding.”
Oh my God. That meant we’d be…
“I’ll not be fucking you either,” he went on.
I shook my head. “Then why are you coming back tonight?”
“We need to talk.”
I stared at him a second before shaking my head again. “No, we don’t.”
“We do.”
“We don’t.”
He sighed again and his face dipped closer to mine. I sucked in my breath.
“We do,” he repeated.
Now I was angry, freaked out, hating him, terrified of him and confused.
“But I thought –” I started.
He cut me off. “Tonight.”
“Lucien –”
His face dipped even closer, so close I didn’t suck in breath. I quit breathing altogether.
Then his lips touched mine, briefly, softly. Then he moved from the bed.
I got up on an elbow. This took it out of me, my head swam alarmingly and I fell back down.
Whoa.
What was that? What the hell was that?