Page 83 of To Crave Deeply
“Oh, but I am, darling. Look.” He pulled the neck of his shirt down and showed me the mark that matched my own. The sign of a true vampire bond was emblazoned on his skin and my heart fluttered at the sight of it.
“What happened to you?” I couldn’t make sense of it. He was here in front of me, but it wasn’t him. Something was different.
“I met someone.”
“In the Pit?”
He nodded. “And you can’t imagine the wondrous things he showed me.”
Was he possessed? Entranced?
“What do you mean?” Dread swirled in my stomach. There was probably only one person capable of controlling an elder vampire like Jasper. He was over four hundred years old, not some newly turned creature.
“He freed my mind, Lori. I feel so much better now. We’re going to change the world. You, me and the Master.”
This was not good. Shit, this was up a creek without the fucking boat.
“Jasper, we can fix this. Whatever happened down there in the Pit, we can undo it.”
He laughed, and it was joyless and hollow. “But don’t you see, Lori? I don’t want to. I feel more powerful than I ever have.” He spread his arms wide, and my heart flew up into my throat. “We’re going to rule the world, and you’re going to be right by my side.”
Tears filled my eyes. “Jasper, no. This isn’t you. You’ve got to fight this. Come back to me, please.”
But he just laughed. This wasn’t right. A sob threatened to claw its way out through my chest.
“He won’t be coming back. It’s much too late for that.” The words whispered around me on the breeze, and I gasped. There was no one here apart from Jasper and me, and the dead creatures that littered the ground.
“Who said that? Show yourself!”
The wind caressed my cheek and I shuddered. A soft, melodic laughter surrounded me. It was a beautiful sound. Enticing. It seeped deep into my bones and –
“Enough with the parlour tricks,” I spat. “Show yourself, or are you a coward that likes to hide in the shadows? Because let me tell you, the shadows are where I like to play.”
The mysterious figure laughed again, and I moaned. The sound was so sensual, so delicious. Like a whisper of a kiss against my skin.
“Such fierce words, Lori. Such bravery in the face of something you can’t even see.”
“Come out, come out, wherever you are,” I crooned. I wanted to see this creature. I wanted to know who had the power to manipulate Jasper. I also wanted to know who that laugh belonged to because it was making my insides fucking quiver. Nothing should sound that sexy.
“As you wish,” echoed on the wind before a figure started to materialise in front of me. A rush of wind pulled at the tendrils of my hair, and I felt it circle my waist and tug me forward. I tried to fight against it, but how are you supposed to stop the wind? You can’t exactly grab it.
Suddenly, I jerked to a halt, inches from where a small whirlwind of dust was settling, and out from the dust stepped a man with a face that would make even the angels weep.
“Hello, Lori. My name is Mordecai, and I’ve been dying to meet you.”
Oh, crap. “The original vampire.”
He smiled and I got an eyeful of sharp pearly white fangs. For a guy who had spent six centuries in a dark cave, he looked ridiculously alive. His skin was as pale as the moon, flawless and smooth like glass. Thick blonde hair fell past his shoulders, so blonde it was almost silver. It was completely straight and hung around him like a curtain. His mouth was sensuous, and it caressed every word he uttered. Everything about him was perfect. Even those eyes that glowed a bright, ruby red had my attention well and truly fixated on him.
This wasn’t just a vampire. He was a creature designed purely to entice, entrance, and entrap his victims.
He was so beautiful. I could stare at him for hours.
Mordecai leant closer, his nostrils flaring as he took a deep breath. Wait. Was the guy smelling me?
“You smell exquisite, little one. I can’t wait to taste you.”
Taste me? His words snapped me out of whatever he was doing to me, and I took a step backwards. The extra distance afforded me some clarity and I managed to put my thoughts into some sort of order.
