Chapter Eighteen
Betty? Trixie texted and cringed when she hit send. Betty was on some tropical island with her soul mate Ken. He’d said Betty could pick any destination as long as it was bikini weather.
She’s asleep
Ken? She fought the urge to crawl under the table. She still couldn’t look him in the eye even though he’d forgiven her for shooting him in the ass with a tranquilizer dart. Well, a few darts. Who knew she had such great aim?
Who else would have access to her phone? And be in her bed?
Really must be true love if she gave you the password to her phone. God, she hoped Betty had deleted those pictures. The ones where they were wearing party streamers and hats and not much else.
We’re soulmates.
She could hear his mic drop from this side of the world. Okay, never mind.
What’s wrong, Trix? He used his beta tone through text. Impressive.
She hesitated and glanced at Viktor. Nothing. Could a werewolf sniff a lie through text?
You’re lying.
How do you do that?
Waiting…
I need to know the name of the tattoo artist who screwed up her life.
There. It was done. If anyone would help her with this, it was Ken. Betty was the center of his universe and her skin art had almost destroyed their future together.
After a moment, he finally responded. Why?
Viktor was staring out the coffee shop window.
She angled her phone slightly and took a picture. Quickly, she sent it to Ken. HE wants to know.
!!!Stay away from him!!!
Too late, Ken. She tongued her fangs. Boy, were they in for a surprise when they came home. Do you know the answer?
Jade Ellington. She worked at Reckless Tattoo. I already sent someone to chat with her but she couldn’t be found anywhere in the city. Then he sent. Do you know what he is?
Yes.
There are rumors about him. His pets tend to disappear. Please tell me you’re not his pet.
What‘s a pet?
Are you feeding him?
No! She was being honest. She didn’t want to wreck his honeymoon. If they knew the truth, Betty would jump on the first plane home. Trixie shouldn’t have sent that picture.
Don’t worry. Eoin is with us. Thanks! Make puppies. I want to be an Aunt ASAP.
She waited for a response, or worse, a phone call, but nothing happened.
She met Viktor’s piercing gaze and told him the information. “What is a vampire pet?” She needed to know where she stood with him. If she was one, she’d reconsider Ken’s warning with more seriousness.
Viktor reached across the table and grabbed her phone, scrolling through her text conversation. She wasn’t fast enough to stop him. He paused on his picture. “That is not my good side.” He returned it to her. “We call the humans who feed us, of their own free will, pets. The wolf is right. Some of my pets have vanished. I killed them.”
His chair squealed with the speed of his standing.
She stuffed her partially charged phone in her pocket and tossed a couple of dollars on the table to cover the coffee they’d barely drunk.
Outside, Viktor waited. “I know where that tattoo parlor is located. It is a short walk from here. But first you must feed.”
The bottom of her stomach dropped out. “I’m a little hungry but I can wait.” She wasn’t in any hurry to drink blood. No matter how much she craved it. The thought still repulsed her. How long before that changed? She feared the last trace of her humanity would vanish when it no longer bothered her to feed.
“Waiting is the first step to losing control. You must stay ahead of the hunger. Keep it banked low, otherwise it burns through you.” He sounded like a man speaking with firsthand experience.
“Is that what happened to you?”
“Happened?” He met her gaze, his eyes dead and cold. “You mean happens.” He stalked down the empty sidewalk.
She followed on his heels. “If you know this is a problem, then you can prevent it from happening again.”
“No.” He crossed the street without looking and cars squealed to a stop.
She didn’t let that stop her though. She waved an apology to the drivers as she ran across, following. “Are you crazy?”
He stopped, his glare a sharp-edged dagger. “Sometimes.” Then he continued his march.
She ground her teeth, which proved to be difficult with fangs. “I don’t believe that. I think you use that as a play to—to…” She came to a sudden halt, staring at Viktor’s retreating broad back. “So Eoin will punish you.”
Viktor’s steps slowed. He turned and strode until he loomed over her. “I did not have the privilege of having a teacher when I was made a vampire. No one explained certain rules as I do for you. Do not take these teachings lightly. Do not ignore them unless you want to bear the burdens that I do.”
“What burdens are those?” She could guess. A person didn’t tattoo hundreds of names on their body because they were feeling friendly.
“I am a killer.”
“Tell me something I don’t know.”
He blew out a frustrated breath. “If you fight the hunger, try not to feed, it grows out of control until you are a ravenous beast and ruled by bloodlust. You awake from it surrounded by whatever crimes you have committed. Live with the consequences.” The last part he whispered so low she barely heard him.
She wanted to touch him, to comfort him. Offer him the solace that he obviously needed. Instead, her mouth opened. “Is that why you have so many names on your body?”
Viktor pushed his shirt sleeve up over his wrist. The button on his cuff flew at slingshot speed, pinging off the brick wall. “Including yours.”
There on the inside of his wrist, all by itself sat her name.
“You gave me a second chance.” This time, she did follow her instincts and covered her name with her hand. “You didn’t kill me. The stairs did.” She didn’t belong among those names. Viktor was her hero.
He covered her hand with his. “I made your heart stop.”
“Dude, you could do that with a wink.”
His small crooked smile appeared shy. “Come, Trixie. You make me blush.”
“I don’t see it.”
“Closer.” Eyelids heavy, he drew kissing close. “Do you see it now?”
What was she looking for again? She focused on his full, soft lips remembering how skillful he was with them. Her hand still pressed to his solid chest, sizzled with their connection and she curled her fingers.
“You make it so easy.” He ran the backs of his fingers over her cheek. “So easy to forget what we were supposed to be doing.” His eyebrows furrowed. “No distraction, Tricky Trixie.”
“You didn’t go there.”
He chuckled. “We will both feed then continue our search.”
She glanced at the time on her phone. It was late but she felt energized. She’d been working the night shift with animal control for a while so it wasn’t a big switch to live without the sun.
Her diet, though…
That sucked.
Viktor led her to a livelier area of the city. Bars lined the cobblestone street with tasteful neon signs lighting her and Viktor’s way. A few places even had terraces for customers looking for some fresh air. Like most club districts, they played dance music. The distant beat thumped in her chest.
“Is this what being a vampire means? Hunting in clubs?” This would grow old fast.
He shrugged. “Would you like to hunt in the twenty-four hour grocery store? Not many places are open all night.”
She pictured her choices at this hour. Moms finishing their late shifts and stopping for milk or college students grabbing beer. “Nah, this is good.”
Viktor took them into the busiest place on the block.
“Do vampires own this one?” She pressed against his back as they navigated through a crowded hall.
“No,” he whispered. “I’d like to avoid contact with the local nest if possible.”
She gripped the back of his shirt, fear a tangible pulse in her veins. “I thought this was your territory.”
“It is, but my lieutenant and I have a bad history. I do not want to complicate our visit with posturing. I would rather take you home as soon as possible.”
He turned her blood to liquid honey. Take her home. His home?
Viktor paused by the entrance, scanning the crowd. “We are in luck. I see a New Port pet.”
The club was sunken into the ground so they had a great view. Heads bopped in rhythm on the crowded dance floor. She found her own chin dipping in time to the thumping music and her shoulders swaying to the groove.
“See that empty corner to our left?” Viktor pointed. “Wait for me there.”
“Where are you going?” She was in a strange city in an unknown club. How would she find him if they lost each other? He didn’t even carry a cell phone.
“To see if the pet will feed us.”
“Oh.” What did one say to that? She navigated her way through the crowd. Someone touched her hair, another her ass. It was too crowded to see who. The music no longer had her attention and she searched the crowd for a familiar dark head. Finally, she crossed the human sea to the secluded spot Viktor had pointed out to her. She tongued her fangs, not sure how to use them. With the blood bags, she’d been so hungry she’d bitten on instinct. She wasn’t as hunger-crazed now as she had been. That was good. With the bags, she didn’t have to worry about hurting them. This was her first time biting anyone and she didn’t want to hurt them.
Trixie wouldn’t have called this corner empty but it was less crowded. She stood with the wall to her back, hands in her pocket, and waited. What people wouldn’t see was the sweat trickling down her spine or the tremor in her hands. Now that she knew dinner was coming, she grew hungrier fast.
The pound of the music slowly slipped away, replaced by the beat of their hearts. She could smell them.
Humans.
Their blood sang to her.
Food.
Warm and fresh and salty and—
Viktor appeared. A man in his mid-twenties next to him. He cupped her face. “I feel your hunger.” He closed his eyes and shuddered. “We will both feed.” He opened his eyes and the predator looked back at her. “Carlos works for the New Port nest as a donor.”
“I thought you said he was a pet.”
Viktor’s gaze narrowed.
“Pet,” Carlos interjected, “is a derogatory term. We prefer donor.” He smiled. “I don’t care what you want to call me.” He winked.
Viktor continued to speak. His mouth moved but she couldn’t hear him. The beat of hearts called her. The urge to follow them strong. “Trixie?” He cupped her chin, pulling her attention back to him.
“I smell them,” she whispered. Them. It was no longer us. Closing her eyes, she swallowed reflexively. A predator. A hunter who would prey upon humans for the rest of her unnatural life. Her mouth watered. They shouldn’t smell like fried chicken though. That wasn’t fair. It had been twenty-four hours since she’d fed though. Her control was growing better. She had managed to sit in a coffee shop surrounded by people and not think about draining of them dry.
Silver lining, she would take it.
“The hunger makes your senses more acute.” Viktor drew her aside, forcing her to open her eyes or trip over his feet. He gestured for Carlos to follow and led them to the farthest corner of the club where even the dance lights didn’t reach that well.
She held out her hand to Carlos. “I’m Trixie.”
He shook her hand. “A pleasure to feed you.” His eyes were caramel soft as they caressed her curves. Carlos glanced at Viktor, whose smile appeared feral. “We could do this at my hotel room.” His gaze stoked over Viktor in the same manner as it had her. “I wouldn’t mind.”
Viktor’s expression darkened. “Be careful with such invitations. You might not walk away one day.”
Carlos dropped her hand. Her hearing suddenly focused on his heartbeat alone and left her dizzy. She wanted him to run. Not to escape, but so she could chase. His fear would smell delicious.
She caught a glimpse of Viktor’s face and realized how dangerously close Carlos was to dying. “Maybe we should get take out like at my apartment?” She stepped between the men, forcing Viktor to break eye contact.
He shook his head. “No, you need to learn this.”
This being how to bite people.
Carlos’ pulse slowed as he pressed against her back, his hands on her hips.
She froze. “Take it easy, Carlos.” What kind of deal did vamps have with their donors? Because she didn’t like the way Carlos kept eyeing her. Yanked from his hold, she found herself engulfed in Viktor’s arms.
“I do not share.”
“No problem, boss.” Carlos met her gaze. “I hear it’s your first time though. Don’t worry if you hurt me. I’ve fed fledglings before.” He undid the top button of his shirt.
“No.” Viktor frowned. “We will use the wrists.”
Carlos shrugged. He rolled up his sleeve and offered Viktor the inside of his wrist.
Viktor bent over, his gaze catching hers. “Come closer and feel the pulse.”
Feel? She could freaking see it. She set her fingertips over the spot.
“You want to feed from the arteries. They flow easier and it is oxygenated blood, which is what our bodies need. Press your fangs along that spot.”
Hunger burned in her veins. It was a full body ache. She glanced at Carlos—all sun-kissed skin and caramel eyes. How had he gotten mixed-up with vampires? Would his name grace Viktor’s skin one day? What if she killed him with her lack of knowledge?
“Maybe you should show me first so I don’t harm Carlos.” She’d spent a good part of her life rescuing animals. She didn’t even kill spiders in her house. Being bitten seemed painful.
“Trixie.” His glare snapped her out of her racing thoughts. “You can do this.”
Sure, she could. She just didn’t want to. “What’s wrong if I choose to live off blood bags?”
“Bags are not always available,” answered Carlos. “The Red Cross keeps a tight lock on theirs. New Port and Riverbend have catering services but they aren’t reliable. Only so many bags per day, and if someone buys them all, then you’re shit out of luck.”
She blinked. “You know a lot about this.”
“I donate. It’s a livelihood.” He offered her his wrist. “People are always available. Come on, baby. You know you want it.” He sang in a teasing voice.
If Viktor frowned any deeper, it would turn into a full-blown snarl.
She laughed. How could she not? Setting her fangs on the spot, she could sense Carlos’ pulse soar.
“Now,” commanded Viktor.
She sank them in, quick and deep. Warm liquid flooded her mouth. Salty and thick, it coated her parched throat and eased the burn in her veins. She was surprised how little she required this time. But how did she stop without making Carlos bleed out? She made a questioning noise.
Viktor stepped in and took her place at Carlos’ wrist. The man leaned against the wall, eyes closed, a look of ecstasy on his face.
Okay…
She licked the blood off her lips. He didn’t taste like chicken. He tasted better.
Viktor waved for her attention. He’d finished drinking and was now pressing his tongue to the wound. Not for long, maybe five seconds before he straightened. “Our saliva has properties to heal.”
“Nice.” The bite mark closed and was already beginning to fade.
Carlos pressed his hand to his wrist. He seemed a touch paler.
“Will you be all right?” She touched his forehead but he seemed warm and steady.
His eyebrows rose. “I’m fine.” He regarded Viktor. “She’s sweet. Too sweet. You better take care of her or they’ll eat her alive.”