Page 34 of Fangs and Family
Was he going to force himself on me like the other vampire had?My thoughts were racing, my heart beating so loud I could hear it drumming in my ears. Adam must have heard it, too, because his lips slowly moved, kissing down the column of my throat, his breath teasing it as he whispered.
‘Yes, my prey is dead. I couldn’t find the one who hurt you, so when my hunger grew too strong to control, I found someone else who deserved to die. My beautiful, cruel Nina, you broke me. I no longer desire to give my donors the pleasure of my venom. That will always be yours alone, but I can’t touch you, not after what this bastard did to you, so I fed on their pain.’ Adam’s breath trailed over my skin as he inhaled my scent while his tongue traced the artery that pulsed rapidly to the drum of my racing heart.
‘You are my weakness, my obsession. I want you so much I could rip that shirt away and fuck you, filling your body with bliss while I feed on you… but you don’t want that, don’t want me. Gods, your fear is like an obsidian dagger buried deep in my heart,’ he murmured, shaking his head as if he woke up from a fevered dream.
‘Can you please… Calm… the fuck… down. What can I do to help you? Adam, this isn’t normal. Yesterday, you were so angry I thought you were going to break my neck when I refused to answer your questions, and today I find you like a horny dog ready to hump everything that moves. Please talk to me. How can I fix this?’ I said, placing a hand on his forehead to check for a fever. ‘Are you ill?’
I hadn’t finished talking when he vanished. One moment, he stood there pressing his body to mine; the next, he was gone, only to reappear again a few moments later. I yelped, unsure of what had just happened. Still, he appeared much calmer, and his eyes had lost their glassy sheen.
‘Yesterday, I was struggling, but how could you believe I’d hurt you? You are the only one who should never be afraid of me. No matter what you say or don’t say or how deep your insults cut, I would never hurt you. I wish you could see past my nature and see the man who would lay the world at your feet, but you only see the monster, don’t you? A bloodsucker, no different from the one who attacked you.’ The self-loathing in his voice broke through the fearful thoughts burning through my mind as I realised he thought I’d detested him.
I pushed Adam away. He winced, tilting his head and avoiding my gaze, so I grabbed his chin, forcing him to look at me.
‘You said I shouldn’t be afraid of you. Well, I’m not. You left me here all alone, with no explanation, and the last thing I saw was an enraged vampire, but I didn’t run away, did I? I didn’t call Sara for help. I just waited. I waited for you without knowing what would happen when you returned. So stop this bullshit because I’m at my wit’s end right now. If you don’t tell me what happened and why you’re acting as high as a kite, so help me, god, I will shove your naked arse under an ice-cold shower until you can think again.’
He snarled. He actually snarled at me, but I already knew I’d won the argument when the tension left his body.
‘I haven’t fed in a while, and the fight in the playground, together with the blood loss, left me starving. I could barely control myself. I had to go, Nina, or I would have hurt you. I crave you, and what a man could easily control, a starving beast couldn’t. Yesterday, I was more of a beast than a man. Do you understand now? There were some raiders at Nadolny’s warehouse,’ he ground out, angrily pushing forward and placing his hands on either side of my body, caging me in. ‘They murdered two security guards before I arrived. Five men. Stupid bastards with blood full of drugs and with simple brutish weapons. I killed them all, and I enjoyed every last moment,’ he snarled, as if challenging me to condemn him.
My sigh of relief was loud, even to my ears. I don’t know why, but Adam’s revelation eased something in my chest.
‘You are an idiot, Adam,’ I said, noticing the question in his eyes. ‘I’m sorry? Should I react differently? Did I not meet your expectations? Oh, forgive me, Master. So you wanted to paint yourself as a monster because you killed thugs who murdered two guards? Maybe you should find yourself some oversensitive damsel in distress because the only thing I care about right now is you and… feeding…? You should have asked. You fought for me. If you’d explained about the hunger, I would have accepted it.’ I said, but he shook his head in denial.
‘You didn’t want that. Nina, you were afraid of me. I may be a bastard, but I would never demand that from you,’ he insisted, and I wanted to punch him.
‘And? I was scared because I didn’t know what was going on. We are partners, for fuck’s sake. I may not enjoy it, and I would certainly ask you to not do the pleasure thing, but I would do it for you. We are in this together, and since you’re working for me, you should at least ask me. To give me a chance to be there for you. As for the killing, I know you would never take the life of someone who didn’t deserve to die. Oh, and next time? Choose someone who’s only drunk. You are an obnoxious arsehole when you’re high.’
I kept pushing, watching as he relaxed a little more with each sentence. Whatever was in his head, Adam craved redemption and understanding. I lifted one hand to his throat, sliding my fingertips over his soft skin before lightly pressing as I studied his expression, and when Adam didn’t react, I tightened my grip, pulling him closer.
This man, no, this vampire, had just killed five men and now stood there as my nails dug into his flesh without flinching. It shouldn’t have aroused me, but it did, and I pressed even harder.
‘If you knew what I’ve seen… what I’d done to survive in Kosovo. Those men were the real monsters. No, I don’t condone your actions, but you didn’t murder some poor innocent on the street, so stop acting like an idiot, and next time, give me a fucking choice.’ I punctuated my speech by pushing him back, his response another wordless snarl as he reached for my arms.
‘Oh no, none of that. I’m so angry at you right now I’d sooner kick your bollocks than let you touch me,’ I said, batting his questing hands away. ‘Also, unless you want a puddle on your pristine floor, you’ll give me some privacy. If you’re that desperate to please me, you can make those scrumptious pancakes from before. Maybe then I’ll forgive you for all this mess.’
I dismissed Adam with a casual flick of the wrist and moved toward the toilet facilities, a little intrigued by all the buttons.
‘When I’m finished, we can have a civilised conversation. You promised to find my brother and the vampire that bit me. If you feel such a strong need to kill, I will find you a better target than some random idiots.’ I couldn’t resist a look over my shoulder, glancing down at the impressive hard-on he was sporting, almost like our argument was foreplay for him. ‘Oh, and don’t forget to leash the beast. We wouldn’t want it drooling during our discussion.’
His jaw dropped, then he took a deep breath, and I braced myself for the screaming threats and arguments, but in the end, he just shook his head.
‘What are you doing to me, Nina?’ he muttered, but left me alone.
As soon as the doors closed behind him, I fell to the floor. The ugly truth was that he killed someone because I’d disrupted his life so much that he’d lost control. The darkness he kept hidden away had emerged so unexpectedly, it left my head spinning. Still, even when drugged and suffering, my monster didn’t turn on me.
I felt like I was betraying my profession by excusing his actions, and God knows why I felt so damn thrilled to have so much power over him, but I couldn’t deny the darkness I held in my heart any more than I could deny my attraction to him.
My noble monster. Adam could unleash himself on the world, but all he did was kill the murderers.
I need to call Sara,I thought, picking myself off the floor. My feelings were a mess, and I needed to talk them through with my friend,but first, I had to talk to Adam and judging by the aroma, he’d taken the pancake business seriously.
I quickly showered, brushed my hair and walked to the kitchen table just as Adam dropped the fluffiest pancake I’d ever seen on a plate in front of my chair. He looked like a sinful god with black silk trousers and nothing else, and I quietly moaned, suspecting it was his ‘home casual’ style.
‘I’m sorry for earlier and for yesterday. It is difficult to control the hunger when I’m in that state. I should have explained it, but I wasn’t sure if I could restrain myself,’ Adam said, avoiding my gaze but clearly in control of himself despite his pupils still flashing with hints of crimson.
The bastard knew precisely how good he looked dressed like this, and I had a feeling after our bathroom encounter, he was testing me now.
‘I told you to dress,’ I said, changing the subject, and he pointed to his trousers.
