Sunset to Sunrise (Alexa O'Brien, Huntress #7.5)

She squealed girlishly and protested, wanting to stay at the party with everyone else. For what I wanted to do with her, I preferred to have no witnesses. I pulled her along, through the club to the back hall where we seemed to step from one world to another. The loud music and noise became muffled. The hall itself was relatively quiet though it burned with hunger and desire. Every room was occupied. The occasional shout or scream rang out, and my impatience grew.

No sooner had I closed the door to my room behind us than she was getting naked. I removed my jacket and shirt before pushing her down on the edge of the bed. I knelt before her and sought out the warm place between her thighs. It was ridiculously easy to please her. In no time, she was mewling like a cat in heat.

She grabbed my hair, pulling just enough to hurt. I didn’t let up, even when she begged me to. I forced her to orgasm, stopping only when I felt her body convulse. The sensual energy was delicious, but it wasn’t enough for me. I craved more. I craved fear.

Without waiting for her to come down from the climactic moment, I bit hard and fast into her inner thigh. A fount of blood emerged from her creamy white skin to stain the bedding.

I sucked hard on the wound, reveling in her shocked gasp. To encourage the unease I sensed in her, I bit her again, this time targeting the other thigh.

“What the fuck?” She slurred drunkenly. “I wasn’t ready for that. I only do wrists.”

Grasping her hand, I bit her wrist, watching the blood well from the vein. “You’ll do whatever the hell I want you to do.”

That was all it took. She began to struggle then. Confused and uncoordinated, Lily lashed out. She managed to slap me a few times before I caught her wrists. Forcing her back down on the bed, I hovered over her wearing a smile so wide it almost hurt my face.

“Please, stop,” Lily shrieked. “I change my mind. I don’t want to do this anymore.”

Her fear fed my greatest hunger. I needed my victims to fear me. Even those I left alive. Their terror brought me the greatest joy.

“Too late. You’re mine now.” I straddled her as she flung herself around in a vain attempt to escape. Pinned to the bed with my weight atop her, she screamed. It was a delightful sound. I felt it in my bones. Lily fought and cried, begging and pleading, promising she wouldn’t tell anyone. They always said shit like that. It was comical really. Who the hell did they think they could tell anyway?

“Kale, please,” she screamed. “Don’t do this.”

Those words echoed inside my mind. I had heard them before, uttered with the same terror, the night I had tried to kill Alexa in the FPA basement. It became her voice I heard instead of Lily’s. It was suddenly Alexa I heard begging me to stop.

I flung myself backwards, landing haphazardly on the floor. I couldn’t allow that to happen again, not to her. Confusion muddied my brain as I struggled to make sense of what was real and what was just a horrifying memory.

Lily scrambled off the bed, tripping as she went for the door. I lunged after her, catching her ankle. Jerking her off balance, she fell in a heap of blood-smeared limbs. She kicked and hit, anything to keep me away.

I dragged her closer, crawling up over her. The screams that drove my hunger were now feeding my madness. I couldn’t stand to hear that sound another moment. Clapping a hand over her mouth, I jerked her head to the side and buried my fangs deep in her throat.

Somehow I managed to stop short of killing her. I left her laying there, sprawled unconscious on the floor. That had not gone according to plan.

I sat on the end of the bed, staring at Lily’s naked, bloody body. I had to get her out of here. Letting her sleep it off for a while seemed like a good plan. Then I’d toss her in the shower and send her on her way. With the right kind of persuasion, I might be able to convince her that none of it had happened. Glamour wasn’t my strongest trait, but it was worth a shot.

It was early morning. I could feel it. Fetching my phone from my jacket, I was unnerved to find no return call from Alexa. What I should have done was try to get some sleep. What I did was dial her number. Much to my absolute surprise, she answered. The sound of her voice momentarily stole my words.

“You really know how to make a guy crazy, don’t you?” I greeted her, hoping she wouldn’t hear the utter relief in my voice. “I must have called you a dozen times.”

“More than that actually,” she said with a light laugh.

It was so good to hear her voice. A huge weight had been lifted from me. “Obviously, you’re still alive. Is everything ok? I knew you wouldn’t want me to send Falon, but the only way to find you was through Shya’s demon mark.”

I settled back on the bed against the headboard while she retold the events of her night. Hearing about the wolf fight and the vampire theatrics filled me with rage. Arys had allowed it all to happen. On his watch, Alexa had been endangered and exploited. He deserved to die. Every word she said convinced me of it.

Her voice shook when she told me Shaz had been nabbed by the bad guys. She was blaming herself. I could hear it in the words she didn’t say.

“You’re strong. You’ll play the heroine and save Shaz. No worries.” I wanted to reassure her but didn’t know how. Things had changed between us. She no longer found comfort in me.