Bliss (The Custos) (5 page)

              Platelets? What the Fuc- He spun and covered my mouth before I could even finish the thought to scream. He placed a hand behind my neck as his leg swept behind my legs pinning me on my back, him hovering over me. Rather than fighting him, all I could do was close my eyes and breath, deep....God the smell of him was like Thunder storms in March, that fresh clean rain smell and something else, like pine maybe.

              "Jesus listen to yourself, Thunderstorms in March? I smell like fucking Rain?"

              My body and mind were at war with one another, I had these split seconds where I could think clearly then bam, here he is on top of me and all I care about is Rain and pine needles. Rather than fighting him, though my mind was fighting me to lick him I chose to stay still and shut my eyes. I could feel every ounce of his body that was touching mine and I honest to god had to stifle a moan.

              "At least you fight it Princess." He said before rolling back from me and reaching into the front seat. He dangled a scented tree car freshener in front of me. "Pine." He said with a nod before tossing it out the door of....

              "Why are we sitting in a Van?" I asked now that my mouth was free.

              "Because we are driving to Albuquerque New Mexico, and to answer you from earlier, we are still in Texas."

              "And why is it you are abducting me?" I asked while twining my fingers together to keep from trying to touch him. This Vampire infatuation thing was strange, I honestly wanted to do nothing more than run as far as I could get but I also wanted to rip his clothes off and lick him from head to toe. It was like Stockholm syndrome for the handicap.

              He laughed again and I knew he was hearing my thoughts and I wanted to smack him. "It's rude to read my mind, and even worse to laugh when it's your spell that has me thinking this way."

              "It's not my spell, it happens to everyone it's kind of our plan A when we need to feed, it makes it easier but I swear in a few hours you'll be able to control your mind."

              "Why?" I asked knowing he knew my question. I was desperate to know who and what and why.

              "Because there is a large amount of money on your pretty little head right now. Those Vamps from earlier, they are called Nex, they are death and Jack and Reaper both over a hundred years old could have killed you with their pinky finger. I saved you from that." He climbed in the front seat and started the van. "I’ll be four hundred seventy three this year." He said in response to my thoughts.

              "Okay, does Nex mean Vampire or something? And what are you?"

              "They are the Cruor Nex, loosely translated in Latin it means Blood death. We the good Vamps by any other name are the Custos Nex, guardians of death. We call ourselves the Custos or Vampire, they are called The Nex."

              "So what, The Nex are after me and the Custos are saving me?"

              "Exactly, good to see you’re on point Princess."

              "It wasn’t very hard to understand. What is, is why do you give a damn about a human?"

              He sighed as if he wondered that same thing. "Because human or not, we try to keep both sides happy. I'm a mercenary and I kill what they tell me to kill. When the Nex make moves that will reveal us, the Custos send me out to eliminate that problem. Being as high..... -He paused to look at me-.... Profile as you are it raises some eyebrows."

              "Do you know who put the bounty on me and are you keeping me safe or are you keeping me comfortable till payday?" I didn’t care about Vampire Infatuation or not, when it comes to life and death sexy Vampire guy takes a backseat burner and I needed to know if I were walking the green mile so to say.

              "No I have no interest in killing you; I am getting paid to keep you safe until this is over. And to answer your first question yes I do know who put the Bounty on you and I know why."

              I looked at him not needing to say or think the obvious.

              "I think you should think about that question before I give the answer because once you know the truth there will be no going back."

              "Yeah I don’t care I want to know so I can call my Father and get this taken care of, trust me he has connections that even a Vampire may fear." I looked at him, his face void of all emotion and in my experience that always meant something bad. "Look just tell me ok?" I asked my voice hitching like a traitor and showing my fear. Seriously I had never in my life wanted my dad but at this moment my life was in his hands and I really wanted my daddy.

              "You can’t call your Father, no matter what." He said before flipping on his blinker and pulling on the interstate heading south.

He answered the next question before I could ask. "Because you’re Father is the one who placed it."

*

Chapte
r
Four

London

              In life there are so many emotions, Anger, sadness, joy, fear but right now all I felt was shock, to my core. I couldn’t ask why, I couldn’t ask who told him this; I sat replaying his words over and over again.
Your father is the one who placed it
. This was too much for one day. This morning I wanted to shop for a new wardrobe and leave this place for a fresh start, now I am in a car with a deadly Vampire who 'won’t kill me unless I give him a reason'. Yeah that makes me feel better. Makes a ton of sense too.

             
Fuck, just...yeah Fuck!

             
"Your pretty funny you now that?" He said laughing, obviously listening in like a perv. "Don’t call me names Princess, I hate it and like your memory serves you I don’t want to have to kill you."

             
"Do me a favor and stop trying to be my friend. I don’t know you, I’m bound in the back of your creepy van and I have no clue what is going on other than the fact that all of the monsters in my dreams are real, it kinda makes me want to curl in a ball and scream."

             
"Go ahead, nobody here to stop you but get your head right if you want to live."

             
His words chilled me and I almost screamed but decided against it choosing sanity over crazy, I glared at him and looked out the window my mind blank.

             
"Princess...." I heard his voice scratchy smooth and my skin crawled, but it crawled towards him.

             
I looked up to meet his gaze. His eyes were dark and the lines of his face smooth but frightening, beneath his ultra dreaminess he was a killer. I knew it to my core."My name is London not Princess. You want to be friends learn my name."

             
His voice took on an edge that made me shiver. "I’m not your friend and everything you think about me is true so don’t be stupid."

             
Like that he became my enemy. He didn’t care about my fear or the shock that came from knowing Daddy dearest wanted me dead. Knowing he could hear my thoughts I refused to be taken without a fight, let alone told to watch my step out of fear. I raised myself and I did
not
raise a pussy. I looked at the back of his head and spoke through my mind.
You are a fiend from hell and I refuse to do business with the devil, smite me mother fucker I don’t care.

             
The last thing I saw was him fly from the driver’s seat, completely disregarding the fact that the car was now driving itself. His eyes were dark and his fangs out and on display. He raised his hand, palm out to face me and a force of energy slammed me so hard, it was the KO all MMA fighters dream about. My eyes closed on their own accord and my body followed, but my mind fought hard but inevitably lost the battle because I lost all memory for the next three days.

*

Cacius

             
Fuck, I really put her out was my first thought then relief was my second. The longer she was out the more time I had to think about what to do next. We had made it with record timing to Preacher in Albuquerque but the minute Preacher saw how heavily I knocked her out I got a look of disapproval. "Did you have to put her in a coma?" He asked his accent thick only added to his sarcasm. But what disturbed me the most was the distant tune from an old Rusted root album singing 'Send me on my way'.
 

             
Fucking Preacher
.

              "She pissed me off." Was all I said back, it was the truth and he should have expected no less of me. It’s not like I hit her I just mentally knocked her out....for three days but nobody's counting.

             
"Well we lost a night on you getting here, but another on her sleeping beauty performance. Wake
er' arse
up!" Now Preacher and I were a team and as far as friends went I was glad to have one but right now he was pissing me off. If Vampires could have headaches I would have one.

              I looked around the room and wanted to laugh at him because I was with this pain in the ass for a total of ten minutes awake in the van and had to put her out. I couldn’t wait till she pissed Preacher off. "Fine but be prepared, she’s a fucking peach." I walked over to London and leaned down cupping her cheek in my palm. A blast of lust filled heat hit me when I felt her smooth skin, warm and inviting and my fangs popped on instinct. I forced her awake with my touch and stepped back leaving the room immediately. Let Preacher deal with this, I was either gonna bite her or mark her both would make her mine and god damit I didn’t want her!

              I swear I didn't.

              Really.

*

London

             
I came to, my wary eyes scared to open in fear that the previous events were a dream, but the warm tingling feeling on my cheek told me I wasn’t so lucky. Turns out it was worse. Instead of my original sinful lusty captor I was with someone new, someone just as beautiful with thick long blonde hair full of kinky curls and blue eyes and he smelled like sage and some real sticky icky. Praying he wasn’t a Vampire I tried to speak but he had read my thoughts.

              "
Tis
what I am love, sorry bout' that." He stepped forward and reached his hand out in greeting, a gentleman at least. "Names Mac O'Conner but you call me Preacher."

              "Preacher?" I asked my voice full of gravel caused by deep sleep.

              "Yup, in the flesh but not a beatin' heart." He said the words and tapped his hand over his heart.

              "So you’re a mind reader too then?" I asked thinking that this one smelled like sage and smoke and kinda reminded me of my younger days smoking weed.

              "Not a mind reader Cookie comes by not knowin' me it'll go away soon as will the infatuation but I thought Cash took care of that?"

              I was confused, by sleep and my surroundings. Was he asking me? And who the hell was Cash and why was he calling me Cookie? But as if on cue the good Vampire before me answered without my asking.

              "Soddin' Vampire didn’t even tell you his name." Preacher said but I think he was talking to himself more than me. He caught that too because he looked at me and smiled. "Sorry luv, yes Cacius is the gentleman who brought you here."

              "Ok, and who are you, I mean I know Preacher but who are you to him?"

              "Well his best friend o' course, he idolizes me actually, taught
im'
everything he knows."

              The way he said it made me smile because I knew he was full of shit. He knew I knew it too because his deep laugh filled the room and actually...calmed me.

              "I’m glad it calmed you Cookie." He said with a smile. "I actually learned it all from him, though you wouldn’t guess it by his manners."