The Better to Eat You With: The Red Journals (6 page)

My brows
shot up into my hairline. "Sweet Jesus on a pogo stick," I breathed
in realization. "I've just been played."
Hand me my stake
, I
inwardly pleaded,
I'm going to kill myself.

"Don't
feel too bad, pet." Felix smiled softly, lean dimples playing peek-a-boo
as he sat down next to me on the bed. "Porcia has had a long time to
polish her skill."

His eyes
glittered with playfulness, and my eyes fixated on the hint of dimples.
Devastating.
If Osiris was the decadence of Belgium chocolate, then Felix was tequila
slammers. Hot, fun, and irresistibly delicious with all the salt and limes. You
might feel like shit the next day, but that never stopped you from going back
again for more.

I ignored
him, and turned back to Belgium chocolate. "Do I get to go home now?"
I lifted my chin, feeling haughty and a little pride-tender.

"Unfortunately,
no."

What?
"Can I, at least, have my phone
back?" I pleaded then. Maybe my GPS app could help me figure out where I
was so I could get the hell away.

"Again,
no."

Dammit!

Osiris
suddenly rose from his seat, smooth, silent and deadly. He moved around the
bed, and I blinked in shock. He was tall, though not as tall as Frost or Felix,
and his skin was bronzed, rare for a Vampire. His features and bone-structure
reminded me of a mix between Aztecs and Egyptians. His nose was long and
pointed, and his high cheekbones and jaw were strong and sharp. His brows were
dark and arched over tilted eyes that looked as black as night and were lined
with black lashes so thick he looked like he had eyeliner on. Loops, studs and
fine chains adorned both his ears, enough to make me envious, and his stature
was regal and straight. This guy was no slouch. There was no mistaking him for other
than what he was: the Ruler of a Vampire Clan.

But that
wasn't what held my gaze.

What held
my gaze was his hair. It was white. White, with pale streaks of silver running
through it as it fell in thick braids from an embellished gold clip at the nape
of his neck. I was so stunned by the contrast, all I could do was stare at him.
"But—" His dark gaze fell on me once more, causing my protest to die
a quick death. I had the urge to cringe away and hide in those fascinating
eyes.

Much is
my stubbornness.

"Felix,"
Osiris said, and I flinched. "I am going to call Vincent—" Felix
cringed. "—and arrange for him to visit us, for obvious reasons. I trust
you will take care of our guest." And with that statement—for that was
what it was, however much of a request it may have sounded like—Osiris swept
from the room, followed by a silent Frost and a jubilant Porcia.

Porcia
winked at me as she shut the door.

I stared
at the door in utter shock, and yeah, maybe a bit of awe too.

"Can
I curl up in a ball and die now?" I groaned. Felix made a strangled sound,
and I glared at him. "It's not funny!" I pointed at the door.
"She's lethal! Please tell me she's never let out into public on her
own!" He gave me full-fledge grin this time, and dropped onto the bed
beside me.

Oh,
hey, look... there are those dimples again.
Seriously? Focus!

Huffing,
and, frankly, irritated beyond measure by then, I twisted and hopped off the
bed, determined to get out of there. I was not going to stay. Osiris may have
been used to dictating his desires, but I was used to only following my own —
and old habits die hard. I was pretty sure I could take on Felix if he tried to
stop me. Or at least, my inner shoeless Bruce Willis was pretty sure. Those few
drops of his blood were like twenty cans of Monster Energy to my system, and I
was buzzing with liveliness and strength.

"Where
are you going?" Felix asked then, leaning up on an elbow.

I ignored
him as I curled my toes in my socks into the squishy carpet.
Where the hell are
my shoes? No! Not the pink and black ones! And my coat? No-o-o not the red
leather one with the wool hood?! Inhale...exhale…. No matter. Won't be the
first time I've run barefoot, and I have spare DC's at home.
Then I felt my
hair bouncing. Reaching up, I touched a mass of frizz and a sagging ponytail. Felix
snickered. I glared at him again, and then turned away, refusing to fix it. On
principle.

"I'm
leaving." I replied insipidly, reaching for the door handle.

"Sorry,
pet," his breath whispered past my ear, and I flinched just before arms,
like bands of steel, wrapped around my torso, trapping my own arms to my body.
How
the hell?
I hadn't even heard him move! My feet were hauled off the floor
before I could even squeak a protest.

"I
can't let you leave."

He smelled
like coffee, fresh laundry and...something clean and spicy. Ice and anise.

Focus,
dammit!

"Let
me go!" I snapped, finally getting the initiative to kick and struggle.

"Sorry,"
he said again, his British twang rumbling against my back as he carried me over
to a loveseat.

"I
don't want to hurt you!" I yelled then, putting so much effort into my
arms and legs, kicking, bucking and scratching, that he couldn't set me down. He
just laughed at my comment, and my vision glazed red.

He didn't
think I could hurt him. Had he learned nothing?

Silly
rabbit.

I slammed
my head back into his face, the impact like running head-first into a concrete
wall. Felix yelped and dropped me, and promptly fell on his ass with a hand
over his bloody face. I landed on my feet, but only just. Staggering, stars
dancing in my vision, I headed straight—kinda—for the window, thinking we couldn’t
be that far up.

"Wah!"
My fingers skimmed the sill as I fell flat on my face, Felix's hand gripping my
ankle like a vice.
Jeez, this guy is strong.
I glanced down as I twisted
and kicked, his face a mask of angry male Vampire.

Shit.

I
struggled harder, ramming my heel at his face to distract him from getting my
other foot. He dodged my blows, but didn't manage to keep his grip on me. Although,
he did get my sock, pulling it right off my leg as I wriggled away, much to my
displeasure. Scrambling to my feet, I went for the window again.

"Hey!"
A yank at the side of my top, a brief brush of cool fingers on hot skin, and
then...
shhhrrrrpp!

I froze. So
did he. Then I looked down to see my low-cut top gaping open. Ripped right down
the middle until it resembled grandmother's cardigans, exposing my breasts
crammed into my one and only lacy black bra, and scars no one else had ever
seen. Yanking the pieces closed to cover myself, I looked up at him, fury
mingled with humiliation burning my gaze with golden hues.

He
quickly glanced away, saying, "I didn't mean to do that."

"Mother
F." First my shoes, then my sock, and now my top.
Sonofabitch!
I
spun for the window in a storm of wild feminine fury.
"Eep!"

He
grabbed my mussed-up ponytail and yanked me back! He actually pulled my hair! I
didn't know whether to slap him or applaud his foul play. My 'wild feminine
fury' turned indignant, and God forgive me, admiring as I struggled to stay
upright. Damn Vampires!

With a
grunt, my back slammed into his chest, and I was off again, struggling,
kicking, screeching like a banshee and scratching the living hell out of his
arms as he grabbed me around the waist. His blood wafted warm and spicy around
us, and to keep from licking my fingers, I elbowed his skull, but not very
efficiently since he kept it tucked in close to my spine.

He tossed
me on the bed, and I rushed for the end of it. An inch between my toe and the
floor and a hand slid against my back, grabbed me by the bra clasp, and yanked
me back.

I sucked
in an outraged breath when I heard and felt the lace along the side tear.
"What the hell, Vampire?" I screeched at him as he loomed over me,
trying to get his hands past mine to pin me down. "Stop trying to undress
me!"

His mouth
quirked up into a wicked grin on one side, revealing fangs and that dimple
again as he snagged a wrist. "Then stop trying to get away."

Scowling
at him, I yanked my wrist away, but instead of letting go, he just fell with
it.

"Get
off!" I snapped my own teeth at him, fangs and all.

"I'll
let go when you calm down."

"You
pinning me isn't gonna make me calm!"

"I'll
give you that, but just so you know, I do enjoy the squirming."

I froze.

"Aww."
He stuck his bottom lip out in mock sulk.

I growled
low, "Pervy Vampire."

He
grinned. "Indeed."

I tugged
my wrists in his grasp. "Let go."

"You
can't leave, pet."

"Stop
calling me pet!"

"Well,
I don't have anything else to call you."

"Don't
call me anything!"

Click!
"I don't know what—"

Both our
heads jerked back at the voice cutting off at the door. Porcia stood there,
Frost just behind her, both frozen and staring. I could see what they were
seeing. Every mortifying inch was seared into my over-imaginative mind like
high-def on sixty-seven inch plasma. Felix and I on the bed, him on top and his
hands basically holding mine, my top split wide, nearly baring all, my hair
free of its ponytail, my hair-tie lost somewhere in the melee. Our legs were intertwined,
the visible one of mine bare of its sock and bent at the knee as if to cradle him,
and our faces—well, mine anyway— flushed.

Utter
mortification? Check!

Porcia
kicked out a hip and rolled her eyes. "For goodness sake, Felix, you could
have at least put a sock on the door handle!"

My eyes
bugged as she shut the door.

Kill
me. Kill me now,
I
thought as I scowled up at Felix with renewed vigor. Then I thought,
I've
become uber-suicidal in less than half of an hour.

"Get
off me!" I shoved him hard as he frowned at the door, taking advantage of
his distraction. He rolled lazily to the side, wiping at the drying blood on
his face from where I'd head-butted him. His nose, however, was already
perfectly healed.

I lay
there breathing heavy, trying to slow the racing of my blood and bring down my adrenaline
high as I once again pulled my top together to hide myself. I silently assessed
myself for any damage the Vampire might have done, but all I could sense was a
little dented pride.  Okay, severely dented pride. Well, that and my head hurt
a little, but I think that was my own fault. I should know better than to use
my skull against a Vampire, unless I was fond of concussions.

Fact was;
Felix was trying to not hurt me, while I had had no regard for the damage I
did, as evidence of his bloodied face and arms. I tried to tell myself that I had
only caused so much damage because I was trying to escape, and because he was a
Vampire and healed almost instantly, but I knew that wasn't true. Even as his
power hummed against the side of my body, I knew it wasn't true.

I had
meant to hurt him. And, boy, didn't that make me feel just swell.

I sighed,
"Why can't I leave?"

He
dropped his hand to the bed. "Because we know about you."

I
frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."

"Tell
me about it. It's all political. You are a Vampire, though only half, in
Osiris's district—"

"My
territory." I scowled.

"—and
therefore, you fall under his jurisdiction. If, for any reason, you were to
cause issue among other Vampire clans, he would take the brunt of it. To avoid
fallout with other district rulers, Osiris has a duty to inform them of your
existence. However, because of your unique DNA make-up, we need to verify, and
then take action to keep you protected." He waved a hand negligently, but
I saw the shifting shadow of worry in his expression before he swiped it away.
I suddenly pondered the delicacy of my ambiguity. "I'm sure it will be
sorted soon. The sooner you're off breaking someone else's nose the
better."

I
snickered, pleased that the new bump on my noggin wasn't for nothing. "You
knocked me out twice. You had it coming." Out the corner of my eye I saw
him turn his head and stare at me in shock. I turned my head and blinked back
at him.

"I
was being a gentleman, and you hit me with a silver baton!" he exclaimed,
and I watched how his indignation made his eyes a more intense green, like
fresh spring grass with swirls of a darker, almost a deep moss-like shade
spreading out from the pupil like ink bleeding into cotton. There was a ring
around his irises of a similar shade, but the color was so dark that it could have
almost passed for black. The contrast in colors was stark, and looked all the
brighter with his frame of dark lashes against pale skin—stunning and hypnotic.