Broken (The Captive #5.5)(16)
He shook his head in an attempt to clear it of the disconcerting mirage and turned away from the woman. "If I didn't know you so well, I'd think perhaps you had decided that it was no longer women that appealed to you with the way you've been behaving," Merle said with a nudge of his elbow. "If that's the case though, there are plenty of men in here to keep you entertained."
It was a comment he would have laughed off before, now he had to bite back a sharp retort as he fought the urge to drive his fist into his cousin's grinning face. He turned away from Merle and made his way over to a dim corner of the room. Leaning against the wall, he folded his arms over his chest and stared around the crowded room. Though most of the vampires waited for their turn to go into the back rooms with the human men and women, there was a few that weren't so discreet in the recessed alcoves of the room. He could hear their panting and moans, but what had once been something that wouldn't have bothered him, now made his skin feel as if centipedes were crawling over it.
The men and women who worked in here had been brought up with the sole purpose of knowing how to please the men that entered these clubs. The aristocratic and noblewomen that weren't married, or had been set free from their marriages, had their own clubs to go to, but he imagined they were much the same as the men's clubs. Maybe even worse from what he knew of women.
The experienced professionals in here weren't what he desired right now though. In fact, his thirst for anything within this building was about as much as it would have been for the gutter rats running through the shipyards. Unfortunately, his hunger could not be denied.
Another blond approached him but he shook his head at her and pointed to a brunette across the room. "Send her over," he commanded gruffly.
The woman nodded and hurried away from him. He spotted Merle in a chair with two half-naked women sitting in his lap. He took hold of the wrist of another standing behind him and drew it forward to rest it on his chest. The women giggled and laughed as they fawned over his good looks and known prowess. There was nothing his cousin enjoyed more than a beautiful woman; it would probably be his downfall one day as there was no one he refused to bed, not even the married ones. To be fair though, just weeks ago Atticus had been much the same way and would have had a couple of women sitting in his lap too by now.
The brunette that approached him had dark brown hair, deep brown eyes and an enticing figure. She wasn't even close to the woman he really wanted but she would do for now. Taking hold of her wrist, he tugged the woman into the back hall and past the closed doors to one of the open ones near the end. In every club there were always a few more elaborately adorned and larger rooms set aside for the nobility. He entered one of those rooms now but he barely noticed the massive bed, or the silk hangings lining the walls.
She smiled seductively at him when he closed the door but he grabbed hold of her hands before she could touch him. "I'm only here for your blood," he growled at her.
Disappointment filled her face as she took a step away and ran her gaze over him. "Oh."
Even though she was being denied what she wanted, she brushed the hair back from her neck to expose the vein that pulsed just below the surface of her skin. His eyes latched onto it but when he caught her vanilla scent, he realized that he couldn't stand to move any closer to her. Lifting her wrist, he sank his fangs into the inviting blue vein. She winced but didn't try to jerk away from him. Unable to look at her anymore, he closed his eyes and drank deeply.
CHAPTER 6
June 15, 1050
It's been almost two weeks since I last saw Atticus. I don't know what I expected. I had said I was being a silly girl and yet despite all of my reservations, I still got my hopes up. I'm a fool, I know it, but I still couldn't help myself. Life is full of disappointments and now it is time to move on. The only problem is that I find myself struggling to do so. For someone I'd known for only two short days, he managed to dig his way beneath my skin and he's still festering there like a bad splinter.
The other night Felix's beating was exceptionally brutal, I'd brought him more money than I usually do, but it still wasn't enough to ward him off. He broke my forearm this time. It's healing well enough now but I couldn't move it yesterday and there are still faint purple and yellow marks upon it. The beating was so bad this time that I wasn't able to go to town for two days. I was able to return there yesterday though and I took three good-sized purses. I buried two of the purses out in the woods with some of the stash for Camille and I. The minute Camille stops aging we'll have enough money to get us far from here, and established somewhere else. I'm counting down the days until then but it cannot come fast enough.
I think Felix's temper was even fouler than normal because Marie hadn't been home for two days. She returned last night though, with a pouch full of money for him in order to smooth things over. I didn't ask where she got the money from, and Felix didn't seem to care either. The money, and her return to this hovel, was too late to keep him from coming so violently after me though, but that's not something that she has ever cared about.
Camille has gone off to watch the orphaned vampire children again. She doesn't bring in much money by doing so but we'll take anything at this point. I must go into the woods today to find something to feed on. I never got the chance yesterday, as I had to spend most of my time stealing for Felix. Feeding today should speed up the recovery process with my arm, but I know the real reason I want to return to spend some time in the woods is that maybe he will return today.