Freak Show (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7)

“Well, I’ll be damned,” Jenner murmured. He rubbed my hand against his face, inhaling the scent of the blood pumping beneath the surface of my skin. The scruffy bit of facial hair he sported was softer than I expected.

“Do you want to taste me?” The question came unbidden. I slipped into the zone, to the strange place I went when the vampiric power consumed me.

“No, I don’t want to,” he said, a crack in his voice. “I need to. And I hate you for that.”

I hushed him with a finger against his lips. His words were a little too close to something I’d heard from someone else. This wasn’t the time to question the morals of my actions. Power was the only thing vampires understood.

A shudder racked me as Arys nipped playfully at my neck. The touch of his fangs and tongue on my jugular vein had me ready for him. The chaise lounge was starting to look inviting.

I pulled Jenner forward, planting one hell of a kiss on him. I breathed the manipulative force through him, dragging him deeper under. A quick nip of his lip spilled enough blood for me to get a taste of him. With my curiosity sated, I offered him my wrist.

He grasped it tight, eyes locked on Arys, waiting for him to spill the first drop. I licked my lips, my breath thin and choppy. With my free hand I reached back to stroke a finger along Arys’s face.

Arys’s low chuckle echoed around us, though I wasn’t sure if it had only been inside my head. His bite forced a cry from me and nearly drove me to my knees except he had wrapped an arm securely around me.

Without hesitation, Jenner followed suit and sunk fangs into my wrist. I watched those sharp points pierce my vein. The blood burst forth, and like a good performer, he ensured the audience got a good view before covering the wound with his mouth. At the first taste of my blood, Jenner’s head snapped up, and he stared at me like he was seeing a ghost. He mumbled something that didn’t sound like English and dropped to his knees before me. Never loosening his hold on my arm, he licked the crimson flow and groaned.

I grew dizzy, not from blood loss but from the heady rush of having two vampires feast upon me. It was exhilarating, a storm of overwhelming sensations.

Wind whipped through the theatre, howling like the creepy breeze in a horror film. It took me several moments to realize the howl came from Shaz. After a month away from us, he was still ours. Would any amount of time ever change that?

Arys’s hard-on pressed against my rear end. I wanted him to take me in all ways.

‘Sorry, my wolf,’ he spoke inside my mind. ‘You want it now, but I’d catch hell for it later.’

A pout curved my lips. His denial displeased me. He bit me a second time, and my displeasure was swept away on a sigh.

Jenner responded to the call of my desire. With one hand, he gripped my wrist while the other slid up the inside of my leg. From calf to thigh, he touched me with the brazenness of one completely under my spell.

I caught a glimpse of the spade tattooed on the back of his hand before it disappeared beneath the hem of my skirt. His skin was hot on mine.

Impatiently, I waited for him to find the throbbing ache between my legs. The arousal of both vampires created an intoxicating buffet of energy for me to devour. Despite what they took from me, they gave as much in return. A beautiful arc of power encompassed the three of us, spilling over to the audience who had grown increasingly restless.

“Touch me,” I commanded Jenner. My patience had run out.

I gazed down at him, watching him lick every drop of my blood that dared to attempt escape. Our eyes locked, blue on blue. Staring up at me like a smitten fool, Jenner slid his hand toward the warm place nestled between my thighs.

There was no time to enjoy the shock of pleasure. The bliss moment was shattered suddenly, our spell broken by the explosion that rocked the building.

Chapter Nine

The theatre shook from the blast. I tumbled off the stage and hit the floor hard with Jenner crashing down on top of me. Winded and stunned, my mind scrambled to make sense of what had just happened. People screamed and rushed for the exits. Smoke began to seep into the room, coming from the arena. The wall between the two rooms still stood, indicating a small blast.

“What the f**k was that?” I said through strangled breaths.

Jenner shoved himself off me and hauled me to my feet. I searched frantically for Arys and Shaz, finding neither of them in the crowd’s mad dash to escape.

“You need to take the fire exit and get upstairs,” Jenner shouted over the commotion. “Find Sloane. Take her and your friend and get out of here. Go to Planet Hollywood and find Roscoe. Send him here.” He indicated the emergency exit at the back of the theatre and gave me a push to get moving.

I remained rooted to the spot, refusing to go alone. “I’m not leaving without Arys and Shaz.”