Defeat the Darkness (Hearts of Darkness) (10 page)

“Ah, a truth.” She smiled the hateful all knowing smile Kyle had come to dread.

“I wondered why you ask me to take your blood when you could very well force me.”

“And did the young servant answer your question?”

“You already know the answer.”

“Yes. Yes I do. And I know you considered escape when you didn’t see the guard.”

Apparently, he hadn’t learned how to guard his thoughts as well as he hoped.

Amyra clapped her hands and two more male guards appeared. The females from the other encounter had been conspicuously missing since the night he’d ejaculated. Amyra probably read their minds, too.

“Please bring in my surprise for Dr. Lachlan.”

The guards left and returned within moments escorting Julian’s mother, Antonia, and his little brother. When little Tomas smiled at him, Kyle’s heart dropped.

“You said we had a deal,” he said.

“Yes, we
had
a deal, as you put it, but you broke our agreement when you considered escape.” Her smile was benign as she considered the lovely little boy, petting him, wrapping his soft, dark curly hair around her fingers. “So anything that happens to this child will be your doing.”

Rocking and keening, Julian’s mother suddenly looked up frantic, first beseeching Kyle then Amyra who merely shrugged. He hated knowing he was the cause of Antonia’s predicament—hated seeing the fear and worry on her face.

“You win.” He said to Amyra in English. He wouldn’t stand by and let anything happen to the boy and the woman when he saw the trust in the little one’s eyes. “Let them go and I will take your blood.”

“Do we have a ‘new’ bargain, doctor?” Amyra asked.

“Yes, if you agree to a few stipulations. Free them now and vow to leave Julian and his family alone in the future. And...I want to continue my life’s work when I have completed the change. ”

“I will need your presence for a few weeks after that, and then you will be free to go. Does that meet with your approval, doctor?”

Kyle nodded. “Release them, now.”

“Guards, set the woman free.” She was breathless with anticipation. Her voice sounded giddy at the prospect.

Antonia Ramirez sobbed, clutching her youngest son as he wailed.

“
Gracias
, doctor.
Gracias
,” she whispered. “I am so sorry.”

“So am I, for bringing you into all this.”

His insides churned at the idea of cooperating with Amyra, but he grew weaker every day and knew he wouldn’t be able to help the jaguar people if he was dead.

“Leave us,” she said to the remainder of her guards and turned to Kyle with a curt nod. “I believe we have a ‘deal’.”

“Say the words. Take the vow.” For some reason Kyle had come to believe she couldn’t go back on her word once she’d spoken the words aloud.

“I have already freed the woman and child. I will leave Julian and his family alone in the future. And when you complete the change, after one full moon, I will release you to continue your life’s work. All this for a month of blood exchanges. You and I will drink from one another once you have been turned.” She grinned at him as if she’d just finished reciting a lesson. “Is that to your satisfaction?”

Kyle nodded and collapsed onto the nearby chair, certain there was more to this bargain than she revealed.

“How does this work?”

“The guards will prepare you for tomorrow night. When you are brought to me, we will exchange blood three times. Be prepared to stay with me in my rooms where I will care for you during your transition. The transition should take no more than a week while I provide you with all the sustenance you will need until later.”

“And later?” Kyle noted how tired Amyra looked.
The sun must be getting high in the sky.
Pale shadows fell across the outside entrance when the jaguar guard came in to escort him back to his rooms. The usual darkness became the green-gray haze of muted daylight below the dense jungle canopy, and he suspected Amyra would be ready to go to ground.

Her voice sounded weak when she eventually answered. “Later, if you wish, you will be free to see to your own tastes.”

Chapter 12 Turning

Kyle’s stomach twisted and his tongue felt thick inside his dry mouth. Over the past three days, Amyra had slowly depleted his blood yet kept him alive, drained and chained, claiming the time of his transmutation drew ever closer.

Tonight. He would be forever changed. A monster like her.

From the actions of the guards, he suspected she planned to finish the job. He hadn’t been able to handle solid food, even though his stomach felt like a hollow gourd. He’d eaten nothing all day, and he hadn’t been offered anything to drink by the guards. When he asked for water, they shook their heads, giving no reason.

Later, one of the female guards whispered some advice. “You will fare better without anything in your stomach. Take as much blood at first as you can manage to build up your strength, because the dark one will withhold it from you later.”

Perhaps they were correct. In any case, he’d find out soon enough. The largest male shifter, the one who never completely resumed his human form, growled when he entered the room. Tonight his facial features were those of the jaguar. He glanced at Kyle, then at his clothes on the bed. “Prepare yourself. Dusk approaches,” he said and turned away.

Kyle sensed the guard was jealous, resentful he wasn’t the one who could fulfill Amyra’s needs. Kyle would have been cheering the guy on if it meant being out of her grasp. His final wishes for the shifter and the twisted demon woman would have
been good luck and good riddance.

With shaking hands, he managed to dress in the loose black silk pants the female guard had laid out, understanding he would be taken to Amyra soon. He ignored the shirt, too lightheaded to bother with anything more. There was no point going to all the
trouble, since if all went as usual, she’d want to feed immediately and have him stripped for easy access.

The very thought of drinking Amyra’s blood turned his stomach, but to his disgust, his mouth salivated. He was afraid in his weakened state there was no way he would survive if she took more of his blood without replenishing it. No food, no water, drained of blood—every cell in his body screamed for nourishment, and the jaguar roared for sexual satisfaction.

The male guard returned shortly to deliver him to Amyra. This time as he entered, Kyle could barely walk on his own as he stumbled across the threshold. The guard held him upright, and then Kyle sniffed. The most delicious scent filled his senses. His stomach growled.

He was surprised at how Amyra held herself back. When she approached him, her fangs extended but she didn’t give the order to have him tied to the bed as she usually did. Amyra tilted her head at the exit, silently ordering the guards out. Once they closed the enormous wooden door behind them, she bit her full lower lip and approached him from the large bed with the enormous carved headboard. Upon looking closer, the carvings were of a sadistic sexual nature.

“Kyle?” Amyra drew his attention back to her—only her. He stared at the deep crimson drop, hunger radiating through him. The dark droplet slid over her plump lip and contrasted against her pallid skin. His gaze traced the path of the rich blood as it slowly dribbled down to her chin.

The scent drew him closer. The delicious smell was her blood. Sniffing the air and moving ever nearer, he ran his tongue across his lips. All his vision narrowed to that spot when another drop oozed to the surface of the tiny wound and spilled over. This time he was close enough to catch it with his tongue. He closed his eyes and savored the flavor. As she bent in and kissed him, every cell in his body begged for more.

Kyle wouldn’t, couldn’t refuse this time. He’d bargained with the devil and lost. Even a tiny taste made him feel stronger. What would more do?

Her fang pierced his tongue and she gently sucked, mingling their blood in his mouth. Without backing up, he allowed her to
rub her glorious body against his. She stroked his tongue with hers and more blood flooded his mouth. The ravenous need within him was being satisfied and he didn’t want it to end. Suddenly, the touch of her nipples brushing back and forth across his chest felt tempting, good, and right.

He swept his tongue over the spot on her sweet lower lip that still bled, relishing the flavor. The delicious taste of her blood in his mouth surprised him. It wasn’t distasteful, not at all what he expected. In fact, it had a rather sweet essence, and something made him want more—need more—demand more.

When she sank her teeth into his muscle, feeding lightly from him, he cupped her head and her hips. The sensual pull of her lips at his chest made him hunger for something, anything, everything. He tossed his head back, his eyes rolled, then closed, and he groaned in pleasure as he licked the blood still on his lips.

Kyle clutched her body firmly against his own and reluctantly acknowledged a sudden magnetic attraction. The need for Amyra grew, first in his head and then in his loins. Her thoughts began to seep into his mind. The minute she turned her gaze up at him, he believed he was starving for her—his mind and his body hungered for her. A low, guttural growl leached from his parched throat. The jaguar wanted her blood and her body. He didn’t have the strength to fight the cat over both.

He bent, lifting Amyra into his arms, and carried her to the bed. Dark hair tumbled about her shoulders and over her breasts. One delicate nipple peeked through. Oh, how he wanted to taste her blood and suckle from that temptation at the same time. His voice sounded ragged when he climbed on the bed beside her. “Feed me.”

The satisfied smile turned the corners of her beautiful mouth when he rose over her and leaned in to brush his lips over a tempting petal soft nipple. As much as he wanted to block her suggestions, they overwhelmed him. He kissed her again and licked the wound on her lip, sucking and hoping to find a trace left of her blood, the sweet essence that fed his hunger.

“We have all night and the transition will be easier on you if we take this slowly.” She undid his pants, then trailed her hair over his chest and down his abdomen as she lowered her mouth to his erect cock. He winced, waiting for the pain.

Because he repeatedly refused to accommodate her, she always took blood painfully from him. Kyle’s refusal was self-defeating, but it was his way of maintaining control. The pain was her way of getting even with him for rejecting her, but watching her frustration with him was worth it.

This time, he braced himself, prepared for the tearing at his sensitive flesh. But when her teeth sank into him, there was no pain, just unbearable pleasure.

After a few pulls from her lips, Amyra retracted her fangs and began licking his length as he gripped her hair in his hands, holding her head between his thighs.

She lifted her face, her lips a half smile. “You see how much you’ve been missing by being so stubborn? If you had accepted my offer sooner, I could have blocked your pain as I’m doing now and given you all this pleasure.”

Really?
Suddenly, she was concerned for his well-being after nights of torturing him? He didn’t believe it for a minute, but he couldn’t stop the need driving him, either.

“Please, I need another taste of you.” Had he just begged for her blood? He was losing his mind and the battle to stay in control. The jaguar needed to feed, and both he and Amyra knew it.

“Before I allow you to drink from me, I must take precautions. Your jaguar may become dangerous. I can’t risk having the cat overpower me when I am in a weakened state. As a precaution, I will chain you and feed you a little at a time. First, I will take from you, and then I will return what I have taken. Eventually, you will have enough of my blood to survive the transmutation.”

He remembered the guard’s words, but was too desperately hungry to argue. He reached for the manacle and clamped his own wrist. She smiled and locked the other.

The room spun as she reopened the vein at the base of his thigh, sending sexual pleasure to every trigger point in his body. He was on fire and as she drank from him, his hunger deepened.

He heard a growl and Amyra’s laughter as she rose above him. “So impatient my sexy cat.” She sliced a fine line above her left nipple and bent close to his mouth. The minute the blood came to the surface, the scent enticed him. Kyle dove for her, lapping at
her breast, and suckled like a babe as long as she allowed. He was voracious, like a man dying of thirst in the desert, parched, allowed to take single drops of water to sustain himself.

The process of draining him and feeding him carried on. Each slice of her nail was strategically placed—her breast, her mound, and her clit—all for her maximum satisfaction. Amyra took pleasure in forcing Kyle to take blood from places where she would derive her own utmost sexual pleasure.

Still disgusted by the thought of satisfying her in any way, he drank liberally, quickly sucking in as much blood as possible before she forced him to stop.

“Slow down and savor the taste and the experience,” she said, insisting when the gentle suggestion entered his mind.

He wouldn’t. Kyle fought her suggestions with everything in him. She continued to take more blood from him than she returned.
Even with her ancient blood, Kyle wasn’t regaining his full strength. If nothing else, at least he could have his sexual revenge. Preventing her from climaxing, yet taking as much blood and strength as possible, was his ultimate goal.

She shouldn’t have kept him so starved. The cat wouldn’t slow down to her satisfaction, and she had to halt the feeding before he took too much of her blood.

How much more of his blood could she take before he lost control of his mind and his actions?

Not much more, he speculated.

“When will the transmutation begin? I am still so weak.”

“The weakness is normal. I will allow you to drink from me one last time before the dawn. While you transform, I will take you with me into my sarcophagus and send you into a deep sleep to minimize your suffering.”

He raised a silent prayer of thanks.

“When you awake the next evening, I will feed you, then drink from your newly changed blood and our ‘deal’ will be almost complete.”

“Except you want to feed from me several more times before you release me. Right?”

“I will release you to Dr. Salazar so you may do your work. When I come for you, you will feed me as we agreed. Now sleep.”

An image of Salazar flashed through Kyle’s mind. The man was dressed in medieval clothing and rode a giant horse. Kyle shook off the vision and succumbed to Amyra’s strong suggestion.

~~~~

Despite what Amyra did to help, Kyle suffered the agony of the transmutation. The nausea, the aching pain, freezing cold, and sense of burning flames ravaged his body.

In the end, he survived, and he woke up with a toothache. No, all his teeth hurt. Not his teeth. He swirled his tongue in his dry mouth and winced as he bumped against a razor sharp fang. His own blood had him realizing how hungry he was. Ravenous.

The sarcophagus was black, but he could see in the dark. Amyra’s naked body stirred beside him. He smelled her. Hungered for her.

Her eyes popped open, and her gaze travelled the length of his body, pausing at his erection. Before allowing her eyes to rise and meet his, she smiled, those deceptively innocent dimples forming in her cheeks.

“Come to me,” she ordered him.

As promised, she fed him, but only enough to cut the pain wreaking havoc on his senses.

“Now let us see if your blood is the answer I have been seeking.” She tasted him, drinking lightly of his newly changed blood and then sighed. The broad smile on her lips indicated she was satisfied with their deal. “Ah, it is everything I hoped for.”

“How long will this pain last?” Kyle doubled over and groaned. “Every cell in my body is on fire with hunger.”

“I have given you my blood,” she replied coyly.

He raised his face with his fangs fully extended, a growl from the beast within rumbling through his chest. “Feed me as we agreed.”

“If you want more of my blood, perhaps we could arrange another ‘deal’?”

Kyle crawled on his hands and knees, groveling at Amyra’s feet. His new fangs ached. “What kind of deal?”

“We will share blood and…more. You will grow to enjoy it. All of it if you stop fighting me. Trust me, Kyle.” She lifted him to his feet.

He shuddered at her use of his given name. The familiarity was worse than her physical touch, worse than their mind touch, or exchanging blood.

She placed his hand on her breast and moved closer. Brushing aside her long hair, she exposed her neck to him for the first time. His focus narrowed, and his fangs extended. He leaned in to bite and barely noticed her hands caressing him all over.

After allowing him a miserly taste, she stopped him from feeding, but continued her exploration of his body. Still aching but relieved from the excruciating pain he’d suffered upon waking, he wasn’t going to allow her this advantage. “I need more,” he said and gripped her wrist.

She eyed him ruefully when he removed her hand from his cock.

“Later, perhaps. Go freshen up. I will have you brought to me when I am ready.”

Kyle returned to his room and showered, his hunger building mere moments before she called for him again.