Moss
A DDVN World Short Story
Chapter 1
“I wouldn’t go in there if I were you, vampire.”
Moss slowed in his approach to the mansion hugging the side of the cliff, overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Lights illuminated the large picture windows, showing elegantly clad people standing within, drinks in their hands and smiles on their faces. By his estimation, they would be nearly ready for the transformation that would secure his boss a new generation of revenue earners.
He turned slightly, spotting a woman sitting on the hood of a nineteen sixty-nine Corvette in mint condition. Stretchy black material covered her toned body, ending in black boots with one scuffed toe splattered in deep crimson. A leather band circled her trim thigh, supporting a large blade that had likely found its way into more than one poor sod’s rib cage.
He hadn’t noticed her sitting there, blanketed in moonlight. He couldn’t even smell her, though the breeze should’ve carried her scent right to him. She had effectively hidden from him in plain sight, a rare feat with a vampire of his age.
“And why is that?” Moss asked.
Her shrug was minimal. She slowly shifted her gaze to the large house not far away. “Call it a hunch.”
His phone vibrated in his pocket, awakening the watch at his wrist. They were ready for him.
He paused in starting forward, her loose posture and easy confidence tickling his predisposition for caution. “What do you know?”
A smile drifted up her lovely face. A vein gently pulsed along the side of her neck. His hunger gnawed at his gut, he having foregone feeding in anticipation of the Turning to come.
“Oh nothing,” she said in a teasing tone. “Just that a bunch of furry men and women are waiting a mile or so away for when the vampires—you—are the most vulnerable. Same old, same old with one of these things, isn’t it?”
Moss couldn’t help the rigidity in his body. She meant shifters. If they caught vampires feeding on humans, and especially attempting to turn them from human to vampire, they’d enforce the supernatural laws and kill on sight. They loved this part of their job. Got off on it.
But his maker and boss, Darius, had personally overseen the planning of this Turning. He’d received written consent from each human, and had homes and wills properly laid out for afterward. They’d all been monitored for secrecy. If they’d told anyone of what would become of them, Darius’s people would’ve known.
Which begged the question, how had this woman found out about the Turning?
“This is Darius’s show, is it not?” she said before he could ask, her velvety voice sliding over his skin. Heat kindled in his core. “A friend of mine helped a woman under Darius’s protection. The Natural Witch, they call her. Do you know her?”
She meant Penny, a powerhouse of a magic worker that had been integral to taking down the Mages’ Guild not long ago. Which meant, this woman’s friend must’ve been the warrior druid that had been paid to stay by Penny’s side.
He barely kept his mouth from dropping open.
“Not much of a talker, huh?” she said, and slid off of the hood of the car. Shadows reached for her body, momentarily wrapping her up and confusing his mind. A moment later they were gone and she was striding toward him, her hips swaying erotically. His cock started to pound and hunger pinched his gut. His fangs elongated, desperate to be buried in her neck.
“You’re a druid,” he murmured.
“A warrior druid, yes.” She laughed, a low, husky sound. “It took you a while to realize it. I have a kill order for someone in that house. A human—soon a vampire. He’s wanted dead or alive. I prefer to take them in dead. There’s less unnecessary begging.” She reached him and ran one sharp, manicured nail down the side of his neck. “My friend respects Darius. He would’ve wanted me to warn you about the danger.”
“What about the others in the house? Did you warn them?”
“No. They are peons, yes? Expendable. But you…” She stopped in front of him, and finally her scent reached him. Earthy and rich, it crawled into his consciousness and lay there, delighting his senses. “You are in charge here. You’re also strong, and fierce. And hungry.” Her hand glided over his chest and on down, over his stomach. Down further still. “I can feel the hunger in you. The aching lust. You want to fuck me. To bite me.”
He clenched his jaw as his phone rang yet again. He was late now. He had to get inside. He had to cure this insatiable hunger.
“I’ve never had a vampire,” she purred. “Stopping you from going into that house would save you, and give me something I’ve been meaning to try. What do you say?”
“And the kill order?”
“Why waste effort killing him myself when the shifters will do it for me? I just have to go in after and bag the pieces.” She shrugged as her hand wrapped around his hard bulge.
“You called the shifters.”
Her smile was dazzling. “Maybe.”
“Why?”
Her hand stroked slowly. “The contract wasn’t officiated until after this party was underway and trying to kill vampires is tedious. I’d rather work smarter, not harder. Apologize to Darius for me. Tell him it’s business. He’ll understand.”
Moss pushed her out of his way and stalked forward, bringing the phone up from his pocket. “Odd way of showing your respect.”
“Okay, okay,” she called after him. “You got me. Stopping you was selfish. Can you blame me? You’re handsome, made more so by the power of your magic. I long to experience it.”
Moss gritted his teeth as he reached the door and pulled it open. His cock throbbed and his hunger was like a live thing, scrambling his thoughts and slowing his movements. All he wanted to do was thrust into a warm body while sucking in hot, thick blood. Only now, this new development put everything in jeopardy.
“Sir, there you are.” Carmen, a slight female in her twenties with a doll-like face rushed forward, her pupils dilated and her fangs dropping from her gums. As a lower middle-tier vampire, she didn’t have nearly the control he did. Her intense hunger showed in every line on her face. “The subjects are ready. They are in the kitchen.”
“They’ve consumed the serum?” he said, bringing up his phone app.
“Yes. The transformation is starting to happen. I can barely keep the others at bay. Blood lust is setting in.”
Moss bit back a swear as he tapped Darius’s name. “We have to move. The shifters have been notified of this Turning.”
The blood left her face. She shook her head. “We can’t fight like this. We’re all starving.”
Darius answered on the second ring. “Yes?”
“We’ve got a problem, sir.” He explained quickly as he reached the kitchen.
“Get them out. Now,” Darius barked through the phone. “I’ll send you arrangements.”
“It’s not that easy, sir. I’m the only one who can withstand the bloodlust, and I’m fighting it hard.”
Carmen grabbed one of the humans leaning against the edge of the kitchen table, a tall man with thick cords of muscle. A sheen of sweat covered his face and his erection tented his pants. Before she could lift him to standing, trying to get him moving, he slid his hands up her body before cupping her breasts.
She froze and her eyes drifted closed. Her fangs finished their descent and her body trembled. Before Moss could command her to move, she yanked the man closer and swung her face down, digging her fangs into the side of his neck.
The man moaned and fell back, dragging her with him onto the table. Her hands pulled at the buttons on his pants and he ripped her shirt open in the front. Buttons scattered across the table.
Another vampire grabbed a female human before unceremoniously biting the inside of her wrist. His hand felt up her inner thigh before massaging her apex. She writhed under his touch before pushing on the top of his head, clearly wanting his mouth to replace his hand.
“Fuck,” Moss swore. “I’m losing them.”
“Get Felicia Draven and get out,” Darius yelled. “Call me with your location. I’ll send someone to get you. And kill that druid. It’s business. She’ll understand.”
Moss gritted his teeth, drowning in desire and hunger. Trying to get his thoughts back on track.
He’d barely be able to get out of the house, let alone kill a trained assassin purposely bred for the role. Darius had clearly forgotten Moss wasn’t an elder. Some things were beyond his reach.
Without delay, he shoved a younger vampire out of the way and reached for a beautiful human, her eyes dizzied with lust. The telltale sheen of sweat covered her forehead, and she was panting. She needed blood to continue the change.
He threw her over his shoulder, and then groaned as her hands explored down his back. The second he could get her to a secure location, he’d be all too happy to give her what she craved.
A loud crash tore through the house, coming from the back. Another out the side. Glass shattered as a huge wolf body crashed through the sliding glass door on the other side of the shifters.
That damn druid had sped up the shifters, he’d bet his life on it. And if he didn’t get out of there fast, his life would be exactly what he was betting.
Chapter 2
Moss dodged a lunging wolf, its jaws snapping and a line of spit flinging past him. The stench of shifter permeated the space as shapes darted in. Carmen jumped off of the writing human and into a crouch, blood dripping down her face. Her body exploded into her other form, with leathery skin, long claws, and increased reflexes. It was the vampire fighting form, similar to a shifter changing into an animal.
Canine snarls preceded a vampire screeching. A human screamed.
Moss didn’t wait around to see how it worked out.
He sped off toward the interior of the house, a direction the glorified dogs wouldn’t expect. He climbed the stairs in twos, desperately trying to ignore the firm touch of the woman on his back. At the landing, he barely caught a glimpse of a four-legged shape running in his direction.
He turned right and raced down the hall, all his focus on getting out in one piece. These wolves were clearly organized, which meant they were higher up in the shifter hierarchy. The situation had Roger, the head alpha, written all over it. That druid had gone all the way to the top.
He bit back a swear and kicked open a door before sprinting to the windows and looking down. No roof. It was a straight drop. He turned as a furry shape surged into the room after him.
Moss dropped the woman—Felicia—onto the bed before lengthening his claws. Strength and power filled every inch of his frame as the wolf attacked. He grabbed the head and whipped the body around, smashing it into the wall. One wolf was no match for a vampire of his advanced age.
The wolf rose, but Moss was there, grabbing it by the throat with his fangs and ripping out the jugular. Hot blood rolled over his tongue, heady and delicious. His senses exploded and his stomach clenched, everything in him wanting to lap it up. To give up the plight and indulge in the much needed substance.
That was a sure way to die.
With everything in him, he turned away. The door was clear, for now. He grabbed the woman and darted out of the room, giving a quick glance to make sure no one else had followed him up. They were shifters, though. They’d smell his trail. They wouldn’t be long.
He ran into the last room and found what he was after: a window leading out onto the roof. He took a moment to open it before climbing out. A moment later, a wolf loped through the door.
Moss yanked down the window and gave the doggy a wink. Wolves didn’t have thumbs, and breaking through this glass would mean it couldn’t stop in time before plunging off the roof. Sucked to have a four-legged animal for a second form.
He threw the woman over his shoulder again before jogging along the roof to the side of the house. Away from the cliff, the manicured lawn ran into coastal trees, the land quickly becoming wild. Further along and a wooden fence with a flat top closed in the backyard. He hopped onto it, jostling the woman but landing easily. With effort, he ran along the top, ignoring the snarls from around the corner of the house. The vampires were still putting up the good fight, but Moss doubted they’d make it out. Not if Roger had been in charge. Darius would lose a good few minions he’d be loath to part with.
Off the fence now, at the back corner of the property, branches reached out to cover his progress. His feet crashed through the underbrush, stealth impossible in his current state. His stomach felt like it was turning inside out, famine making his movements stiff and clumsy.
The cars waited off to the left, and if he could get inside one, he’d be fine. He’d get out of there by the time a shifter could change and break the glass. But the odds of the shifters leaving an obvious getaway unattended were small.
The scent of Felicia’s skin teased him. Her body grew heavier by the moment. Her hands more exploratory.
Laboring, he weaved in and out of the trees, putting distance between himself and the house. Soon he’d tug out his phone and see what Darius had organized in the way of pickup.
A howl drifted from behind him, near the house. Another sounded away to his left. One more, in front of him.
The wolves were on the hunt.
He changed direction and put on a burst of speed, fighting his body’s downward spiral into blood lust. His breath came in hard pants. The woman tried to hook her foot under his cock, but only succeeded in jamming up the churning of his legs.
“Hungry,” she said in a breathy whisper, her firm touch sliding down his back. “Horny.”
The sound of light feet interrupted the thrushingof the distant waves. The stench of shifter announced the wolves’ presence right before two burst through the bushes. More footfall indicated two more on the way.
They’d brought a large host to take this party down.
For the first time in decades, a thread of fear wormed through Moss’s middle.
He slowed, then stopped, turning to face the closest wolf. Running was futile. He’d have to stay and fight.
The woman mewed in protest when he set her on the ground. He couldn’t fight with her on his shoulder.
The closest wolf chuffed. The other lowered its heads and moved forward, its lips lifted in a silent snarl. Two more joined the semi-circle.
Moss felt the surge to change form, but without the resources of blood, it would drain precious energy. He cracked his neck.
“Well?” he asked, staying loose. He put up his hands in a come on gesture. “Are you waiting for an invitation?”
The first wolf took three fast steps before launching through the air. The next, then another, ran a moment later. He caught the first wolf body before ripping his claws down the wolf’s side and flinging it away. The next wolf nearly hit his middle, trying to knock him back. He grabbed it as the third made contact, forcing him to the side. If they got him off his feet, he was in trouble.
He punched claws into the wolf in his grasp before swiping down with the other hand, catching not much more than fur. Paws hit the center of his back before teeth tore into the back of his neck. He hadn’t heard the rear attack coming.
Easily ignoring the pain, he swung around, ripping out with his claws and opening his mouth wide so the fangs could fully descend. Canine teeth bit into his upper thigh. Another body slammed into his side.
He staggered again and this time, his feet caught on the rugged earth. His momentum carried him off-balance. More teeth, ripping at his chest. Another body, helping him fall.
Snarling, he lashed out in a frenzy. He’d go down, but he’d take as many with him as he could.
A mouth of white, sharp teeth opened, the animal standing above him. It moved in, aiming for his jugular.
Chapter 3
Shadows moved. Coalesced. Moss’s mind dizzied, watching that mouth dip to his throat. He tried to pull up his hands to protect himself. To lash out. But dull teeth bit into his wrists. Heavy bodies held him down.
Part of the wolf head disappeared into grays and blacks. Air swirled around them, thick and earthy. A knife came out of nowhere. It slashed down, without a hand attached. The blade pierced the wolf in the neck, sinking in deep.
The beast cried out and spun, snapping its jaws at the unseen attacker. A foot swung out of the unnatural mist, catching the newly dying wolf in the side and propelling it out of the fight.
A woman stepped out of the shadow, decked in tight black clothes and with a new splatter of blood on her heavy black boots.
“Six against one is not a fair fight,” she said in a feminine hum with a smile on her beautiful face. “I think the vampire needs fresh blood in this battle.” She winked at him, her version of humor.
She bent, the knife striking out, her movements lithe and graceful. Oh so lethal. Her knife dug into a furry body before she yanked sideways cutting off the howl of pain. Her face showed no emotion as she moved to the next, diving away from snapping jaws, rolling, and popping up without so much as a grunt. A bow came out of nowhere, an arrow nocked in a moment, before loosing at a wolf running into the scene. A fletching blossomed red in gray fur before the wolf staggered and died where it stood, the shot perfect.
Without skipping a beat, she slashed her knife to the side, opening a throat, then switched stance and kicked out, dislodging a jaw.
Moss blinked in utter confusion, not having seen many non-vampires fight with the ruthlessness of this woman, and never seeing such a beautiful, graceful dance when they did.
“You like when your women do all the work, yes?” The woman gave him a smile before she stowed the bow out of sight and slipped her knife back into the sheath, the movements fast, practiced and elegant, easily disguised from prying eyes with her magic. She grabbed the wolf chewing into his side and threw it. It landed on its back before scrambling to its feet.
The woman uncoiled to standing, a grin on her face, murder in her eyes.
Three wolves waited in the clearing with their heads lowered and lips pulled back from their teeth. They stared at her from wary, yellow eyes. Bloody bodies law strewn around the dirt, Moss’s being one of them. He was the only downed creature still alive.
The woman whistled, like she was calling a pet. “Here Fido. Heeere Fido. Mommy has a treat for you.” She whistled again and put out her hand like she was offering that treat. “Here boy.”
Despite the situation, and his severe lack of energy, Moss couldn’t help but smile. He liked her style.
One of the wolves took a step forward and its body braced. Moss rose to sitting, fatigue dragging at his muscles and hunger churning his stomach.
The wolf paused, its head swinging his direction. The others started backing up.
“Even nearly dead, you give them pause,” the druid said, approval in her voice.
“I am fully dead,” Moss said, struggling to standing. “Which is why I heal quickly.”
The wolf furthest away turned and loped off into the trees. A moment later, the rest followed.
“They’ll get reinforcements.” Moss staggered and reached for his pocket, needing to call Darius.
“Wait here. I’ll be back,” the druid said. Shadow formed, clouding his mind and draping across her body. A moment later, she was gone—her body, her smell, her sound, everything.
He blinked at the empty space. He’d seen the effect before, but every time, it left him befuddled.
Or maybe he just needed to feed.
“Hungry,” he heard in a weak mew.
Legs protesting, body strung out, Moss moved to the untouched human-in-transition, knowing the shifters had intended to bring him down before moving on to her. They wouldn’t have let her live. She couldn’t be salvaged at this point. Either she got the necessary blood and became a vampire, or she withered away into nothing. She was an easy kill for the shifters—entirely vulnerable. She’d be dead now if it wasn’t for the druid. They both would.
Of course, she’d be well on her way to becoming a vampire if it wasn’t for the Druid, too…
Claws morphing back into badly shaking hands, he crouched by the woman while tapping Darius’s name on his screen. The sweet scent of her body called to him, driving him to his knees. The world tilted as she reached forward and ran a firm hand up the inside of his thigh.
“Please,” she whispered. “Hungry…”
The world spun, his answering hunger blotting out thought. The phone fell from his hand and he pitched forward, fangs once again filling his mouth. He slid his body along hers, moaning when she dropped her knees wide to accept him. He grazed his lips along her neck, sucking in the scent of her. The exquisite desire.
“Oops. Probably a bad idea just now…”
That soft, sultry voice of the druid rolled heat through him. He wanted them both, at the same time.
The druid stood beside him with his phone to her ear and a nondescript plastic bag held in her other fist.
“I’ve mostly disguised your trail,” she said, “but shifters have a great sense of smell. I can’t hide yours and the girl’s like I can hide my own. So we need to get out of here, I’m afraid.” She turned her attention to the phone. “Yes, hello—vampire call center? I’d like to order a pick-up.”
Soft lips created a trail of heat along Moss’s neck. A blue vein pulsed under the human-in-transition’s creamy skin, inviting him.
A long howl drifted behind the druid speaking on the phone, giving coordinates. Another answered it, the wolves re-organizing.
“Who’s up for a jog?” the woman asked.
A hand fisted against his back before his body was yanked from the human-in-transition. He hit the dirt and rolled, rising with a hiss.
“Wow. You’re beastly. I’ve never seen a vampire as old as you reduced to this untamed sort of creature. You guys are usually so…glossy. Refined. I rather like this change. ” The druid grinned at him as she picked up the mewling human-in-transition. “I wonder if you’ll rip into your victim’s skin? Because that could be interesting. I do love violent sex. It’s thrilling. Just don’t change into your other form before I fuck you. It’s hideous. It’ll be a deal breaker. Come on.” She jerked her head before throwing Felicia over her shoulder. “Let’s get moving. We need to get you out of here before you lose the plot entirely.”
She turned and started to jog.
“What a fun experience,” he heard her mutter. “I had no idea what I’d land in when I started this contract. Pure stroke of luck.”
The druid was right, he was far gone. Hungry beyond rational thought. He needed to be closed away from society until he’d properly fed and fucked his way back to level.
He barely remembered the jog to the small coastal road, and definitely didn’t remember the car ride where the human had been unceremoniously dumped in the back of the vehicle and he’d sat in the middle seat alone, doing everything in his power not to rush one of the two viable blood sources in the car.
They landed back at a moderately sized house on the outskirts of the small coastal town, a place of refuge on the route between San Francisco to Los Angeles. Besides the generic remodel done a few years prior, it had largely been left as is, nothing more than a daytime sanctuary and place to safely feed.
“Instead of dining in, you took your food to go?” Marie, a middle-level vampire Moss had worked with a lot lately, said as she pulled into the barren garage. She hit the button to lower the door. “And you got one for me? How thoughtful. Which is mine, Moss? The desperate human, or the silky woman with dangerous eyes?”
“If you don’t have a dong, you do not belong, love,” the druid said with a laugh, exiting the vehicle. “I want the male lost to blood lust.”
“That just makes me want you more.” Marie slid out of the SUV, her gaze following the druid through the windows.
“Maybe we’ll team up one day, who’s to say?” The druid opened Moss’s door with a flurry of her scent, raw and earthy, rich and complex. “I’ve gotten to the age where mundane sex bores me. Maybe I’ll strap on a…well, strap on. Why not. We can play at sword fighting.”
“Something is…amiss with you,” Marie said slowly.
The druid laughed, putting out her hand. Moss stared at it in a dumb-stupor, coherent thought laborious. Movement stiff and unpracticed. Her eyes sparkled and she withdrew her hand slowly before bringing up her other hand and sticking out a glittery blue nail with a sharp tip. The skin in her wrist dented with the pressure, and she drew that glittery blue across lightly tan skin. Crimson welled up in its wake.
The fresh scent of blood blasted through his awareness, firing all his nerve endings and surging electricity through him. He lunged for her, grabbing her wrist and yanking her toward him. She twisted and jerked her arm to the side, breaking his hold.
A lusty smile curled her full lips. “Shall I lead the way?”
Without a word she turned and stalked to the door at the side of the garage. He followed behind her like a starving dog sensing a meal. Through the door and she stopped at the kitchen, eyeing the fringe of curtains hanging half over the window. Her gaze took in the few ornaments along the window sill, large and colorful roosters with large plumage. They matched the brown and red roosters decorating the curtains, and that etched on the sugar and flower canisters.
“My, my. Someone really loves cock.” The druid’s eyes sparkled with humor. “It’s a different sort of cock than I am into, but to each their own.”
“It’s a farm theme,” he managed, summoning all his strength to attempt some sort of decorum.
“It’s some kinda theme.” She turned for the hall as Marie strolled through the garage door with the human-in-transition cradled in her arms like a baby. A smear of blood marked Felicia’s neck and a red trickle dribbled down Marie’s chin.
Moss’s legs lost feeling, and he sank down to his knees.
“Uh oh. Here we go.” The druid picked him up under the arms and hoisted him to his feet.
There went decorum. It had been a good effort.
Marie tsked. “Moss, this will be very embarrassing for you tomorrow.”
Didn’t he know it. But there was nothing he could do about it now.
The druid helped him into the last bedroom, the cock theme carried through in the curtains and on the bedspread. A wooden rooster adorned the dresser.
“Cocks everywhere,” the druid said as she directed him to the bed before shutting the door and throwing the lock. She huffed. “Stupid me. Vampire magic can unlock doors.” She shrugged, leaving it.
Her gaze snagged on Moss, laying on the bed, doing everything in his power to maintain control. She pulled her hands up her middle before reaching behind her. A bow and quiver drifted away to the side, her ability to keep them hidden amazing. Her knife came away a moment later, dropped to the ground.
“Ordinarily I’d just go for it, but I have a feeling you’ll rip through my clothes,” she said. “I need these for tomorrow.”
“Just say when,” Moss ground out, his voice rough and thick with strain. He dropped his head back onto the bed, desire pumping through his body. Hunger throbbing. “Just say when.”
“I’m going to fight you. Just so you know. I want to see if you can overcome me.”
“Stop fucking talking and fucking say when.”
“Hmm,” he heard, her voice silky. “Very cocky. Maybe this house was fashioned after you, only, you don’t get the joke.”
He didn’t give a shit about jokes. He needed to sink his fangs into soft flesh, and his dick into her warmth.
“Ready.”
That one single word flipped the switch. One minute he was focusing everything he had on control, and the next he’d given himself over to bloodlust entirely.
She said she’d fight. He’d seen her skill and ability. She thought she could handle it.
He’d let her try.
Chapter 4
He surged up, his age and vampirism lending him super human speeds, and his blood lust giving him a boost. He hit his feet in a frenzy, his fangs down and his cock aching.
She was ready for him, her nude body gleaming in the soft light from the window. Her hands waited at her sides and delirious anticipation spread across her face. One shapely hip was cocked sensually to the side.
He ran straight at her, seeing her hands dart up at the last moment. She struck him in the sternum with one hand and batted away his reach with the other. He pushed through it, hitting her body with his and ramming her against the wall.
She head butted him, hitting his nose and breaking it. He jerked back. Her hands grabbed his side, and then he was flying across the room, her strength incredible.
He fell to the ground, hearing her feet thumping across the floor to him. He waited a moment, strategy flitting through his mind. His goal programming his movements: blood.
She reached him, planted one of her feet, and pulled back the other, readying a kick. He grabbed her ankle and yanked, pulling her weight out from under her. She fell on him, her elbow out, cracking him in the ribs.
Blood dripped from his nose. Pain blossomed. His desire and hunger rose exponentially. Excitement vibrated through his body.
Invigorated, he rolled and took her leg with him, knocking her off kilter. She tried to bring her elbow down again, but he was ready. He flipped and caught her, pulling her down on top of him. He rolled quickly, using his heavier weight to pin her under him.
She shot up with her upper body, aiming for another head butt. He dodged to the side and grabbed her wrists, forcing them above her head.
She groaned in desire, her legs spreading.
“Take me,” she said with a breathy whisper.
He released one of his hands, holding her wrists with the other, before running his palm down her chest and over her budded nipple. He let his fingers slid over her smooth stomach and pulled off of her a little so he could reach between her spread thighs.
She ripped her hands out from his grasp, but he didn’t give her a chance to pummel him. He struck down with his fangs, digging them into her yielding flesh and releasing his vampire serum.
Her moan preceded her hands speeding across his back before rubbing down to his butt.
“Holy fuck,” she said, tilting her head away so he had better access. “Holy—”
If he could speak, he’d mirror her sentiments.
Her blood exploded across his senses, soaking into him and clouding his mind. Sweet and savory, the elixir was one he’d never tasted before, delighting him. Entrancing him.
He sucked, swallowing her nectar. Unable to fight just now. Not wanting to.
He slowly ground his hard cock against her, feeling her eager gyrating to match his movements. He released her neck and licked her wound before pushing himself up, allowing his dizzied mind to settle before continuing.
Her sparkling gaze tracked him, and she ran her palms down her nude chest, watching as he unbuttoned his shirt.
“That feeling is incredible,” she mewed, approval in her voice.
“We’re predators. We stun with pleasure before claiming our victims.”
“Yes. I like being your prey.”
Lust washed through him, and he quickened his movements. He shrugged out of his shirt before drifting his hands down to his fly.
“Let me.” She sat up, pushing him back as she did so. Her hot mouth fastened on one of his nipples before she ripped his fly open, sending shivers of anticipation through him. Her lips slid down his stomach, and her teeth nipped his fevered flesh.
He groaned and closed his eyes as his pants were pulled down. His boxers followed a moment later, released his hard length.
“Hmm,” she said in appreciation. “This will be a treat.”
A hot mouth took in his girth before a hard shove forced him off balance. He fell to the ground, stopping himself from rolling and rising, a natural response to aggression. He was rewarded for his self-control.
She pulled his pants off of his legs before running her palms up his inner thighs. Her breasts slid against his skin as she got into position. Her pink tongue flicked across his tip before swirling around it. Her lips widened before she looked up at him, her blue eyes dancing wickedly. He watched his cock disappear into her greedy mouth, all the way until his blunt head bumped the back of her throat. Her chin hit his balls and his eyes rolled with the suction.
He put a hand to the back of her head, feeling her rise off of him, before plunging down a second time. Without thinking, he fisted his hand, clutching her hair.
“Hmm,” she said, resisting his direction just enough to make him push harder. “Mmm,” she moaned again.
A predator could sense the demands of the prey. Could feel what it would take to overcome, with fear, with pain, or with pleasure.
He was the ultimate predator.
He yanked her up by her hair, dragging her head off of him. Without warning, he sat up and grabbed her shoulders before throwing her. The springs screamed in protest as she hit the bed. The wood of the frame cracked under the duress.
He ripped off his unbuttoned shirt, nude now, like her. Her gaze raked down his body, appreciation in her eyes. She needed a different kind of pounding, one she would strain toward, and not away from.
He pushed one of her muscular thighs up before bending between her spread legs. He licked up her center before circling her clit. She gasped, her body stiffening. He sucked in that small nub, working his tongue around it while threading his fingers into her wetness.
“Mmm,” she said, gyrating up toward his mouth.
He started a fast pace, working her with his mouth and fingers. Making her writhe and moan with pleasure. Her muscles flared as he worked her higher, keeping her straining for more.
“Yes,” she said, arching back. “Mmm yes…”
He pulled off of her, keeping his fingers thrusting into her, and sank his fangs into her exposed thigh.
“Oh!” He pumped in as much serum as he could, flooding her body to offset the pain. To heighten the pleasure. “Oh fuck. Holy…fuck. Oh fuck!”
She stiffened, shaking under him. Her nails dug into his shoulders, ripping skin.
He sucked in a few mouthfuls of her blood, feeling the magic pulse through his veins. Feeling his energy ramp up. One drop of her blood was worth a swallow of a humans. She was intensely powerful and deliciously mighty. He’d gladly take Darius’s punishment for this experience.
Slowing now, letting her soak up the moment, he kissed up her skin and sucked in a nipple, twirling it in his mouth languidly. He switched to the other, hearing her breathing increase again. Her chest rise and fall with mounting desire.
He continued up, settling his weight over her. Her greedy mouth met him and her arms curled around his neck, the fight gone, pure pleasure taking over.
“You’ve won, vampire,” she said languidly. “Claim your prize.”
He smiled against her lips. “Your wish is my command.” He gave her a teasing kiss before pulling back his hips, dragging his tip against her wetness. It snagged on her opening and he stopped before applying pressure, pushing against her.
Her breath caught and held.
He pulled back a little and let his tip slide by, disappointing her. Increasing the anticipation.
A shaky laugh disturbed the silence. “You play women like a violin.”
“Yes.”
“I like it.”
He took her lips again, plunging in his tongue. Her blood called to him, but he couldn’t take too much at one time. It would decrease the time she would last, and he wanted her for as long as he could have her.
His tip slid along her again, her wetness dizzying his mind. Desire clouding his thoughts. Like her magic. Like her.
Her palms roamed his back and she moaned into his mouth. His tip snagged, and this time he thrust, hard. His shaft dug into her tight depths until he was fully sheathed, hugged by her warmth.
“Fuuuck.” The word road her long sigh. “Mmm yes,” she said.
He let his lips skim her chin while he pulled out and then thrust, keeping his movement coarse. Firm and rough. Her eyes fluttered and her legs tightened around him.
“Bite me again,” she begged, her voice wispy. “Please.”
He trailed his fangs across the hollow of her neck before increasing the pressure when he reached that throbbing vein. Her breath caught again, and like before, held.
He wouldn’t disappoint her this time.
He pulled back his hips before ramming into her as he bit down on her fragile skin. His fangs tore through and blood once again rolled over his tongue.
He sucked and thrust, over and over. Keeping a fast, hard pace. She groaned before her volume increased. Her nails scratched down his back. He rammed into her, releasing the vampire serum. Pumping into her body.
“Yes. Oh yes. Oh yes,” she said, loudly. Out of control.
He lost himself to the blood. To her body. To the moment.
Pleasure washed through him. Around him. Her essence invigorated him, made him strive harder. Pump faster.
He hit a plain and released her neck, thrusting low over her. Rubbing her budded nipples with his hard chest. Her words were nothing more than sounds now, wild. Animalistic.
He kissed her, sucking in her tongue and letting her taste the sweetness of her blood, which sent her to new heights in their passion. They hit the edge of the cliff, stalling.
He slammed into her body.
“Oh!” She screamed with release, her body shaking.
He succumbed a moment later, feeling an orgasm tighten his balls and explode through him. It filled up every inch, out through his limbs and heating his middle. He shook over her, sweaty and satisfied.
“Wow,” she said as they came down, hugging him close. “That was…”
He let silence linger for a moment, letting the final stages of the orgaism tingle his body. A moment later he said, “That was…just getting started.”
He chuckled darkly, giving her another moment to relish in the euphoria, before starting again.
Chapter 5
Moss opened his eyes as soft murmurs drifted through the closed door. He lay on his back in the king sized bed, the sheets twisted around his body, and the space next to him empty.
He let his head fall to the side, looking at the empty pillow where the druid—she’d never given her name—had slept. Her scent still clung to the sheets, and to his body. Sitting up, he saw that her clothes and weapons were gone from the floor. She’d banged him, then taken off.
He couldn’t help a smile. He would expect it of a woman like that. She was wild. Not one to be tamed. Not one to stick around after she’d gotten what she wanted. He respected her more for it. She’d been a damn good lay. Exactly what he’d needed after the night he’d had. A night she had created.
At least now he wouldn’t have to kill her. Darius wouldn’t ask him to hunt her down. The situation had worked itself out, in a way. He’d take the punishment without a problem.
He pulled the sheets from around his legs before swinging them over the edge of the bed. The murmuring outside rose and fell, a conversation going on between more than one person. He knew better than to think the druid was out there making nice with Marie. So then, who was?
He checked the closets, but didn’t find any satisfactory clothing. No one had kept up with stocking those types of things for the vampires passing through. He’d have to rectify that situation.
After stepping into his pants and securing them around his waist, he made his way out of the room, leaving his shirt on the floor. Wearing soiled clothes didn’t interest him. He would’ve gone nude if he didn’t think Marie would take that as an invitation.
At the edge of the hallway, he caught a glimpse of who awaited him in the kitchen.
He froze. Then started to backpedal. He hadn’t expected the absolute worst case scenario. He was on a nice little high from the day before with the druid, he didn’t need that tarnished.
“Well, well, well,” the she-devil said, pushing back from the table.
Reagan Somerset. The bane of his existence, and the absolute best asset Darius had in his arsenal.
“I never thought I’d see you doing the walk of shame.” She gave him a shit-eating grin as Darius stepped into view. “Not even a shirt. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like you have glitter all over you or anything but, I mean, you have sex hair, Moss. Sex hair and dirty jeans. Who are you right now?”
“Is there a reason you’re here?” Moss asked her, forcing himself to continue forward. He hadn’t even put on shoes. She’d never forget this. She’d taunt him about it for the rest of eternity.
She clasped her hands in her lap demurely, but her delighted smile said she wasn’t even close to being done. “You got used and abused. She hit it and quit it. Loved ya, and left ya. That’s gotta sting.”
Moss paused next to the wall at the edge of the kitchen. Marie stood by the counter, presentable in front of their boss. She’d brought a change of clothes.
“I couldn’t dispose of her like you’d asked,” Moss said to Darius. “At the Turning site, I was too weak. She kept me from an eternal death. Then back here…” He let his voice trail away. He didn’t have an excuse, and so he wouldn’t bother making one up.
“You saved the key target,” Darius said, thankfully ignoring his bond mate and her taunting. Trying to quiet her would just make her more violent, and Moss wasn’t in the mood. “And you entertained one of Cahal’s favorite people.”
Cahal was the very old warrior druid that had helped them take down the Mages’ Guild. While the woman he’d…entertained had been incredibly skilled and excellent under pressure, Cahal was in a league of his own. He was the best their was, and his help had been invaluable.
“Had any harm come to Abarrane, he would’ve attempted to kill us all,” Darius went on. “Even knowing he’d likely die trying, he would set out to avenge her.”
“Let’s hope he’s not jealous, eh Moss?” Reagan flapped her eyebrows at him. “You’ll have your hands full. Stiffed by the girl, beat up by the guy… A real shitty situation, that.”
Moss wasn’t sure what he’d done in a past life to deserve this woman hanging around, but whatever it was, he was sorry for it.
“As it stands,” Darius went on, “Cahal feels he owes us, since she unraveled my plans in order to get her mark. I can only be thankful her mark was different than my target.”
“I’m going to be honest, what she did was genius.” Reagan leaned against the table. “She just pitted one magical species against the other and sat back. She’s good at her trade.”
“She is lucky she has the protection of Cahal,” Darius said, his voice flat. The small hairs rose along Moss’s body. She was very lucky. People didn’t get in Darius’s way if they hoped to live.
“She didn’t just save the damsel—I mean, Moss—because she wanted to bang him.” Reagan rose from her chair and went to the fridge. “She probably knew that saving him would alleviate some of your anger, Darius. Everyone you lost was replaceable. You know it, and she likely knew it. She warned Moss not to go into that house. He did anyway. She followed him when he got out. Then stepped in when things were dire. She would’ve played this whole situation easily if it hadn’t been for protecting your right-hand-man.” Reagan nodded and took out a water. “She knew the score, and she put herself on the line to protect your asset.” She eyed Darius. “Her allegiance is to you over the shifters. And we get Cahal for sure, now. We’re in a good spot. This worked out well.”
A slow smile drifted up Darius’s face as he looked on his bond-mate. “I’ll teach you strategy yet.”
Reagan rolled her eyes. “Ew. No thanks. You do the thinking, and I’ll do the killing.”
“There’s no point in teaching a blunt instrument how to think,” Moss murmured.
Her face turned slowly and she laughed. “Sticks and stones, Moss. Stick and stones.”
Moss shook his head and turned back for the bedroom to retrieve his clothes, his mind drifting back to the druid. He wondered if he’d ever get a second chance with her, and if he did, if he’d want her to stay.
