CHAPTER 10
“I think I killed her.” Damian winced as he held the phone to his ear. “Who’re you talking about?” Aidyn’s loud voice boomed as carnival music played in the background. “Jade.” She’d been out for more than thirty minutes, and he hadn’t been sure whether to call Len or his brothers. Yet, he was positive they’d all say the same thing— You killed another one? “Jesus Christ, how the hell did you manage that? It’s not even a full moon, Dom.” He rubbed the back of his neck and glanced over his shoulder at the human who lay unconscious on the couch. “I might’ve gotten a little . . . carried away.” The lights of the lounge gave her skin a dusky golden hue, and blood matted her chocolate locks. It would be like him to destroy something so innocent while trying to feed his own needs. He paced in front of the far left window, gaze trained on the woods, his eyes seeing past the trees and the bushes. “Let me guess, you were switching spit with her and got too rough?” “Maybe.” On the other end of the phone, his brother sighed. “Have you checked her pulse?” “Yeah, it’s a little slow.” “Sounds like she’ll be fine. Just watch her until I get home, and I’ll give her some pain killers to ease the headache.” With a grimace, he left the sanctity of the window, which he’d been standing at for the last half-hour, afraid he’d somehow do more damage to her. He headed toward sleeping beauty, his chin dipping to his chest in shame. “Next time, how ‘bout you try and tone down that rough side of yours?” Tone down? Was he serious? If Damian toned himself down anymore, he’d be a pansy-ass. “Women like softness, brother. You should try it sometime.” Yeah, well she seemed to like the roughness until her head bounced off the picture frame. With that, his brother hung up. He slid his phone into his pocket and took the wet rag off of Jade’s forehead. Tonight hadn’t gone as planned at all. He came home, found no Jack, went on a rage binge, destroyed the kitchen, and nearly killed the human with a kiss. He wrenched a hand over his buzzed hair, swearing beneath his breath. He’d been hell-bent on demolishing the whole house, but a voice full of curiosity had taken him by surprise and swept over him like a current, so ethereal that it felt as if cold water had splashed onto him. It awakened him and, like a sudden switch, he felt himself calming, all the tension in his mind easing. Out of instinct, his muscles had stiffened as he tried to brush off the feeling. Block it from his mind, at least. He preferred his fury when paralleled with the softening effect the human had on him. And he had turned around, prepared to tell her off, prepared to send her running for the hills . . . but the way she had looked at him as if he were an actual monster . . . It made him think that he was one. Her eyes were wide. Face pale. She hadn’t seen the real beast yet—the one lurking just beneath his skin, but she was already afraid. Maybe it was best that it stay like that. He had meant to intimidate her more as he pushed her up against the wall, but his entire body betrayed him. Mind included. “You really know how to show a girl a good time.” His attention snapped to Jade as she sat up, palming the back of her head. “It’s not like I meant for that to happen.” He couldn’t sway the harshness of his voice. “Maybe if you humans weren’t so damn fragile, you could take a bump on the head and walk it off.” “Calm down, wolf boy. Your shouting’s worsening my headache.” “I’m not shouting.” He slid his gaze around the room as his face reddened. “And stop calling me wolf boy.” She rubbed her head some more, looking as if she was going to be sick, and he started feeling even worse. He stared at his feet, “I’ll go see if I can find any Tylenol.” As soon as Dom left the room, Jade was off the couch and stumbling toward the dining hall bathroom with her hand over her mouth. The door was closed, the light on, and Dom’s soft curses could be heard through the door as he rustled around inside. Dammit. Her mouth watered as she felt the bile burn her throat. She bolted through the kitchen and out the back door, hopped off the patio deck and dropped to her knees as her stomach did another sickening flip. Yet nothing came up. So she sat there waiting to vomit like an idiot, but the feeling retreated back to the pit of her tummy. The smell of rich earth subdued the nausea. The breath of pine and oak filled her lungs and brought her head down from the bout of dizziness. Fresh air. Maybe that was all she needed. Her headed felt like a tire swing that had been thrown mercilessly against the trunk of a tree, the headache still pulsing strong. Cold wind nipped at her hot cheeks. It felt so good that she had to stop herself from lying down the grass and going to sleep. The hairs on her neck prickled as a bad vibe flowed through the air. She peered around the open field and noticed a thick mist spilling out of the woods, the slow fog reaching toward her like an open hand. Her spine stiffened. Inside her brain, she groaned. She knew what creature traveled with the mist and played in the darkness. As the fog moved, it unveiled five figures, standing near the woods serving more like ghosts rather than people. Vampires. They weren’t the dark, mysterious, sexual creatures that society had built them up to be. In all truth, Nosferatu was actually the closest in comparison to all the vampire movies. Long, sharp claws. Big buggy eyes with black shadows beneath them. Yeah, Nosferatu hit the vampire style right on the head. And no, they weren’t somehow enabled to the sun. They burnt like fireworks on the fourth of July if they so much as stepped in a ray of sunshine. With her gaze focused on the vamps, she uprooted herself from the ground. Maybe she could make a run for it. She was but a few feet from the patio. As she dashed toward the steps of the deck, an arm clasped around her waist. “Where you going, sweetheart? We haven’t had fun with you yet,” a voice spoke, sounding young, like a fifteen year old boy who hadn’t hit puberty yet. “Tara was right, boys. Dom is holding humans.” She wiggled in his grip. The vamp forced her face to look up at him with his free hand, his cold claws sending shivers down her spine. “I could smell your blood a mile away, baby.” The blond vamp pressed his nose to her hair where the open gash lay beneath. He looked like a sick, old dying man, with his haunting red eyes circled in dark bruises. He smirked as she winced and shivered as one claw sliced her skin. The small knick itself felt more like he’d poured lemon juice on a paper cut. Her eyes traveled to the patio door, mentally begging Dom to step out. The vampire caught the direction of her eyes. “I’m sure Dom wouldn’t mind us taking you off his hands. In fact, I think he might just be okay with it.” Oh no. No one was taking her anywhere without a fight. She knew what vampires did to their victims, and it wasn’t as simple as them draining the life out their bodies. They had a terrible habit of dissecting their food. Her sight leveled with Blondie’s nose, and she leaned back and slammed her forehead into the bone, hearing it crack and splinter. "Stupid bitch," he hissed, showing his fangs and covering his bloody nose. Jade figured he’d let go to nurse it, but instead he slapped her with an open hand, knocking her to the ground. A stinging pain rocked her cheek as dust and dirt swam into her eyes. She cradled her face. This night just kept getting worse. Maybe she should’ve gone to the fair. “Seems we got ourselves a feisty human.” The man smeared the blood beneath his nose and bent over her with a sadistic grin. "You're gonna have to do a lot more than hit, baby." He glanced towards the other men. "Ain't that right, boys?" Terrified stares overcame his groups’ features, and they began to back up. The vamp grew confused as a finger roughly tapped his shoulder. He looked to see who stood behind him. His mouth dropped open, and his eyes nearly popped out his skull as the owner of that finger came into focus. Before a word could be uttered, a sharp knife was shoved into the bottom of his jaw, tearing through his flesh and poking itself through the inside of his mouth. The man was lifted high off the ground as blood spilled from the wound and ran down the tattooed arm of Damian. Dom growled, baring his teeth. He cast a side glance at Jade. “Inside. Now.” Jade pushed herself off the ground and hurried onto the deck, but wheeled her attention back to Dom and the vamp he had dangling in the air. Damian looked to a bald vampire who seemed to be frozen in place on the sidelines. “Give Tara a message for me.” In a flash, he jerked the knife out of Blondie’s chin and sliced his head clean off. Then tossed it to Baldy. “Make sure she gets it.” The headless body fell to a clump in the grass and caught fire. The vampires disappeared with the mist. Damian’s head bowed for a moment, his back flexing with each breath, and then he faced her, revealing the blood that glistened on his face, dripped from his arms and dyed his white t-shirt red. His inky gaze burned into hers, the murderous look in them making her throat dry. A streak of red hair running toward Dom caught her attention. “Watch out!” As Damian turned, needle pain hit his hip bone. Another idiot had decided he was man enough to come back and fight. Damian glowered at the redhead. Yanking the vamp’s claw out his skin, Damian clamped a strong hand around his throat. He didn't stand a chance as Damian snapped his neck with a flick of his wrist. "You okay?" Jade asked. He nodded, letting the body drop to the ground. Walking up the steps of the deck, he followed Jade inside the house and slammed the door behind him as the vamp corpses continued to burn. He wrenched off his shirt and tossed it in the laundry room. “What the hell were you doing out there?” He paced behind the island counter with clenched fists as Jade stood by the fridge. “Do I need to set some goddamn rules for you?” She leaned against the fridge with a cold soda pressed to her forehead, not looking remotely bothered by what just happened. “It’s not like I invited them over for tea.” Her nonchalant attitude fueled his anger, and he marched out of the kitchen. Jade’s footsteps patted behind him, and he could feel her gaze eating up his back as he made his way into the dining hall. She was slipping past him when he broke the silence. "Sit," he ordered, shifting a chair so that it faced the one beside it. She hesitated for a moment before dropping into the seat. "I'll be out in a minute," he muttered, heading into the bathroom and shutting the door. The bright lights and white walls blinded him with their harsh light. He shed out of his jeans and left his bloody fingerprints on the crystal knob as he clicked the shower on. He hadn’t been planning on killing anyone tonight, but apparently the fates had a different plan. As soon as that vamp slapped her, he saw red. Couldn’t even recall stepping off the deck. He just remembered shoving the blade into the fucker’s jaw. And she saw all of it. Disgusted with himself, he rinsed the blood off. The water ran red as it swirled down the drain. He didn't stop scrubbing with the soap and rag until the water ran clear. Vampire blood smelled like ass, and if you didn’t get it off fast enough, you’d smell like that shit for days. He cut the shower off and took a white towel off the rack and wrapped it around his hips. He wet a rag with cold water, then grabbed Zeke's knife from the counter, along with a needle and thread, and swung the door open, startling Jade in the process. Her eyes lit up at the sight of him standing half-naked in the archway. The look on her face almost made him drop the towel and pin her to the dining room table. Right then. Right there. With no one around. But he shook the thought from his head and refrained, because he was trying to be a good boy. And sadly, good boys did not do naughty things to young women. With the white cloth in hand, he pulled out the seat beside her and altered it toward her, while sitting the knife on the table. He sat down and tugged her chair closer to him with his foot, enveloping her between his legs. He caught her licking her lips as she peeked at his towel. She had no clue she was consorting with the son of the devil. His self-control was borderline insanity, and his forehead persisted to trickle with sweat. If she made one wrong move, her ass was his. And then he reminded himself, I am a good boy. Good boys do not fuck respectable women on dinner tables. But the thought was appealing. His eyes assessed the damage as he tilted her head up with his forefinger. He eyed the blood dripping from the corner of her bottom lip and the bloodstained skin beneath her nose. A bruise had already formed on her cheek, swelling just beneath her right eye. His gut clenched into a tight knot. He wanted to do some fucking magic on the dead vampire, bring him back to life and kill him again. Except he'd string him up by his nuts and kill him slower. He wiped at the cut on her bottom lip, all the while his instincts telling him to do something stupid. And he obliged them. Because he was stupid. Before she had time to catch a breath, he pounced and pressed his mouth to hers, flicking his tongue over the velvety softness of her lips. Her eyes fluttered shut and he slid his tongue between her lips, the taste of her suddenly overwhelming him. She returned the kiss, her lips and tongue toying with his. Her mouth was sweet. Chocolate couldn't come compare, peaches didn’t appeal, and her swollen lips were hotter than a kindled flame. He tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth and heard her whimper. He pulled away—before he got carried away—and stared heatedly at her as she recovered. “I don’t remember you being an expert,” he muttered. “Hmm?” She rubbed the cut on her lip as she sat dazed. Licking his own lips, he eyed her from head to toe. He wanted more than a kiss. He wanted her naked on the table, on the floor—hell, he'd take her in a chair. Legs spread. Lots of moaning. Hard biting. Hot and heavy panting. But most importantly, the thrusting. He swallowed back a groan and refocused on her wounds, wiping at the blood beneath her nose with the cold cloth, and then he held it to her cheek to ease the throbbing. "Again, what the hell were you doing out there?" Damian’s hungry eyes fixed on her mouth. Jade didn’t answer, but squeaked as he pressed the cold rag to the bruise under her eye. "Sorry," he said, his lips setting in a grim line. He set the cloth on the counter and stood, gripping the bottle of Jack Daniels and the curved needle hooked with black thread from the middle of the table. "Do you want help with that?" she asked, watching him tear open the bottle and take a swig. He poured the liquid on his right hip, drowning the wound with alcohol and took another drink from the bottle and put it down, then handed her the needle. He planted his palms flat on the table as he leaned back, giving her access to the gash. Jade pressed her left hand on his hip bone and he jerked at the contact, causing her to wrench her hand away. "It's fine." He winced, not in pain, just denial and full urgency to have her whole body touching his. Rubbing, writhing, and squirming underneath him in that graceful, timely fashion. She brought her hand back to his hip bone, where the tip of the deep cut sported fresh blood. Taking the needle, she began to stitch him up. “So, were you running away?” He wasn't going to let her escape the question. “Ha, running away? Where would I go?” She grabbed the rag off the counter and dabbed at the blood. “I needed fresh air or else I was gonna be sick.” He peered down at her, liking her in this position. “You’d be dead by now if I hadn’t walked outside.” “Yeah, I know. My body parts would’ve been lining the yard.” Her eyes widened for emphasis on the last word. Seemed it wasn’t the first time she’d come across bloodsuckers. The twisted creatures loved torturing their food, which was why Damian enjoyed killing them so much. And apart from that, he liked hearing them squeal as they burned. His mouth still relished from the lingering taste of her, and he had to remind himself every five seconds that she was not to be eaten, figuratively speaking. She looked up at him as she finished. He picked the pocket knife off the table and cut the black thread. She tied a small knot with what was left of the string. The thought of taking his towel off and throwing her up on the table came to mind again. Mm, yeah, tearing her clothes off and hearing her beg for more was tempting. He snapped his mind back to reality, becoming distinctly aware of the twitching bulge beneath his towel. As she stood, he dragged her with him into the bathroom and turned the knobs of the sink. "Thanks." She brushed past him. "Ditto." Damian left her there and made his way through the kitchen and into the laundry room. He stripped off his towel and took a pair of jeans out the dryer, not having a second thought about finding somewhere decent to change. "Thanks for—" Jade's words hung in the air as she walked into the opening of the kitchen, her eyes zeroing in on Damian’s toned and bare backside. With a slow and torturous turn, he faced her with his jeans in hand. Licking her lips, she did a quick head to toe, following his broad shoulders down to his wide chest and then to his hip bones, which led her to a certain happy appendage. Holy fudge and crackers, he could knock somebody out with that thing. To look away or not look away? That was the question. Not. Hung like a stallion, she thought, gazing in awe at his master piece going on below. Damian tilted his head to the side with a smirk playing on his lips. "Like what you see?" His eyes flickered downward. Every possible comeback emptied out of her mind, and her voice caught in her throat. "I thought you would." He smiled as if she'd given him an answer. Taking the jeans from off his shoulder, he stepped into them and pulled them up his muscled thighs, "Now you don't have to wonder what's just below this zipper." She nodded, hypnotized as he zipped himself up. In as little as three strides, he stood a few inches away from her. His eyes studied her as he brought up his hand and brushed a strand of hair off her forehead. "Anytime you wanna wild ride," his thumb skimmed her lips, "I'll give you one." His head dipped down and his mouth smothered hers, leaving her with another spicy taste of his tongue. Abruptly, he broke the kiss and stepped around her, the dark scent of him drifting away from her as he walked back into the dining room. She stood there dazed and stunned for a couple of moments, not wanting to move in case all of it had been a dream. "I need a drink," she muttered to herself, letting out a deep breath. She scratched her forehead and grimaced, unsure of how she’d explain the mess. Aidyn walked in with a case of drinks in his hand and Erica on his arm. When they saw the mess of the kitchen, they paused by the island counter with a puzzled expression. Zeke followed soon after, carrying five boxes of pizza and eating a slice at the same time. And just like his brother and her sister, he too stopped and looked around. Cabinet doors lay on the floor, pots and pans were spread over the counters and the marble tile, and right on time, the light fixture in the middle of the room broke and swayed with a creak. Instead of Dom standing in the middle of it all, it was her this time. “I had a wild party while you guys were gone.” The chandelier behind her suddenly fell, crashing onto the wooden kitchen table. She jumped as the crystalline glass shattered into millions of pieces and sprinkled to the floor. “The most expensive room in the house, and he has to trash it,” Aidyn said, looking bored as he glanced to Zeke. “I’m not fixing it this time.” So this did happen often. “Uh, so . . . how was the fair?” she asked. Her sister kissed Aidyn’s cheek. “Zeke rode all the rides with me, because Aidyn’s a pansy.” “I’m not a pansy. I just don’t see the hype of rollercoasters.” “’Cause you’ve never rode one.” Zeke bit off another piece of his pizza and popped open a can of Pepsi. “And how was your night?” Humor shimmered in Aidyn’s eyes as he looked at Jade, but they suddenly dulled and narrowed. “What happened to your face?” Zeke marched over. “Did Damian do that to you?” She knew it looked bad: standing in a room that had been destroyed by Dom, and also having a puffed, red face to boot. “A pack of vampires decided to drop by and say hello.” “Don’t cover for my brother, Jade.” His nostrils flared. Why did he think Dom would do something like that? If it wasn’t for him, she’d be dead. “I’m not covering for him. If you don’t believe me, look out the backdoor.” Zeke didn’t move, but he looked to Aidyn, who in turn, peeked out the french-doors. “Mm, fried chicken,” Aidyn said, grimacing. “I’m not shoveling that up either.” “I’ll take care of it,” Damian’s deep voice answered. He stood in the archway, expression void of emotion. When no one spoke, he stepped to the island and opened the top pizza box and grabbed a slice, “From now on, how ‘bout you keep a muzzle on that whore of yours, Zeke? Or I’ll put her down.” Zeke’s face twisted in confusion. “Who’re you talking about—Tara?” “She let everyone at Jay’s know we’re harboring humans.” His eyes flitted to her for a fraction of a second and slid back to Zeke. “That’s why they were here.” Dom closed the box and started to walk off with it. “And, uh, what about this kitchen?” Aidyn asked with a hint of sass in his voice. “Get Jason to fix it,” Damian said, both his brothers eyeing him as he left. A knot had already formed on the back of Jade’s head, and she knew she’d be feeling the after effects of tonight’s battles in the morning. As Aidyn and Zeke got into a heated argument about fixing the kitchen, she slid out of the room. To hell with helping them with the mess. She just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for a week.
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