A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2)(18)

She froze, her heart beating a fast, frantic rhythm. Maybe he’d only feed from her and not take her to one of the beds.

He smiled, tipping his head back in pleasure, clearly a fear-feeder enjoying her anxiousness. Slowly, he lowered his head and peered at her curiously. “Why the fear, little human? Still taken aback by the eyes?” He smiled, revealing sharp twin incisors. “And the fangs? Have you ever felt them pierce the tender flesh between your legs?”

Her heart rate spiked, and he felt it, his smile broadening.

“I have,” a brash, tart, and wonderfully dear voice said behind her. “And what I like even more is some vampire mouth sucking on my huge-ass tits. Forget that scrawny-ass Asian. She’s flat as a board and as cold as you are. What you need is some warm, soft Jazlyn.”

The heavyset, dark-skinned Jazlyn brushed past Lily, heading straight for the vampire.

The vampire’s expression turned amused. “She fears me, Warm Soft Jazlyn. You don’t.”

“No. But once you show her the real joys of vampire-loving, she’ll lose that fear. Which would be a shame, wouldn’t it? ’Sides, I’m in the mood for some vampire cock-loving. Ain’t never sixty-nined with a vampire.”

Jazlyn was too wise, and far too experienced, for her eighteen years. Lily only had a vague idea of what a sixty-nine meant, but the vampire’s eyes lit with interest.

“Come, then.”

Jazlyn threw Lily a wink over her shoulder, then walked right up to the vampire and slid her hand between his legs. With a grin, he took that hand and led her into the nearest room and closed the door.

Lily darted into the next bedroom, pulling the air in through her nose, fighting to settle her racing heart before she had every fear-feeder in the castle hunting her down.

That was too close.

She exhaled deeply, at once relieved and sad for her friend, although Jazlyn had assured her she really did love sex with the vampires. Despite Lily’s being three years older, Jazlyn had usurped the role of protective older sister the first night Lily arrived. She’d taken one look at Lily, and said, “Damn, girl! You still a virgin?” Lily hadn’t replied, but it hadn’t mattered. Jazlyn had gone on to tell her she hadn’t been a virgin since her cousin raped her when she was eleven. The girl was often prickly and tough, at least with others. But she was always there for Lily. They exchanged confidences on their pallets at night, and whatever extra food one or the other had managed to stash away. Most nights, they fell asleep pressed back to back, sharing body heat in the cold storeroom where the female slaves slept. And more than once, Lily had felt Jazlyn’s hand slip into hers, the girl-woman seeking a child’s reassurance that she wasn’t alone. That everything was going to be all right, when both of them knew nothing would ever be right again.

Lily knew it was ridiculous to care about her virginity in a place like this when most were struggling just to hold on to their lives. But Jazlyn was fiercely determined she should protect it, especially after Lily had told her about Zack. Jazlyn refused to accept that he was gone, preferring to think of him as some romantic hero, a David who’d undoubtedly slain Goliath.

But Zack was just a young man, and an inexperienced one at that. Lily had known he was the one for her the first time she met him. She’d recognized him on some gut-deep level, as if she’d always known him and had simply been waiting for him to show up in her life.

He hadn’t recognized her in return, unfortunately. Not in the same way. As friends, yes. Totally. But he’d been dating a girl at the time and had continued to for a while longer. Even after he broke up with that girlfriend, he’d dated others, though never seriously. And less and less. In the past year and a half he’d dated no one, spending all of his time with her. But never once had he made a move to indicate she was anything but his best friend.

She’d believed that eventually, when he was through with school and settled in his career, he’d begin to think about finding a wife. And when that happened, when he was finally open to the idea of love and marriage, he’d realize what Lily had always known. That they belonged together.

Now that would never happen. Because Zack was lost to her. Even if he hadn’t died in the Games, she didn’t have any idea how to find him. All she could do now was survive and find a way to escape this place. She would do it for her parents, who she knew were heartbroken at her disappearance. And she’d do it for Quinn, who had to be frantic at her brother’s vanishing.

Mostly, she’d do it for Zack. Because as long as her love for him lived inside of her, Zack lived.





Chapter Six

Quinn took her seat beside Zack in the back of what appeared to be an old hay wagon, then turned so that Arturo could wrap a rope around her wrist to make it look like she was tied. The wagon was partially covered by a canopy stretched across the top of curved bows, falling to within eighteen inches of the wooden sidewalls on each side, allowing her a view if she ducked her head just a little bit.

“Don’t fidget,” Arturo warned. “Or the ropes will fall off. They’re barely hanging on to your wrists.” When he was through, he moved to the other side of the wagon. As he reached through and “tied” Zack’s wrists, his gaze found her. “If anyone approaches, keep your eyes closed, cara. It would not do for anyone to see your eyes glow if your power sparks.”