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As the doors opened, we found ourselves facing two guards. One was tall, the other shorter, but both were stocky. The shorter man had dark hair that curled to his shoulders and he looked vaguely Mediterranean. The taller was blonde, with a beard, and he had a Thor's Hammer tattooed in the middle of his forehead. I couldn't take my eyes away from the tattoo as he caught my gaze.
They eyed us up and down, but said nothing as we peeked inside. The room was huge--easily the entire size of our downstairs at home. At first glance, I thought of a snake pit, softly lit in shades of red. The walls, the upholstery, the tiles on the floor were all in shades of coiled red and bronze, gold and black. No windows shed light into the room, and at first all I could see was a sea of bodies writhing, twisting together in one massive mating ball.
Beside me, Rhiannon gasped, but said nothing. Leo seemed unaffected, but he was used to dealing with vampires and had probably witnessed their raves before. I sucked in a long breath, then exhaled slowly, buying time to adjust to what I was seeing. And then, as Lannan gestured for us to enter, I stepped over the threshold, into a world of sex and blood and passion.
The music shifted from the hard-hitting technowave of the outer party. Here it was sinuous, enticing us to join the dance. A long, single note rose and fell, leading into a drumbeat, a cadence, the heartbeats of the humans filling the room. And everywhere, under the music, the wind carried cries of passion and pain to my ears.
Trying to make sense of the living kaleidoscope, I focused on one area at a time. Over there--a long divan. Three women sprawled languorously across it, their gowns filmy and translucent. Two men--vampires--were taking turns with them; one licking at their necks, the other between their legs.
My stomach knotted as I realized the vamps were drinking blood from both areas and I jerked my eyes away, praying they were drinking from the artery in the thigh rather than anything more painful. But the women were sighing, and one let out a moan that set off a responsive chord within me. I sucked in another breath, reaching to steady myself before I realized I'd taken hold of Geoffrey's arm instead of my cousin's. He gave me a sly smile, but just patted my hand before removing it from his sleeve.
Another pile of bodies on the floor--again, a mixture of vampires and humans, an orgy of movement, limbs entwining, fangs flashing, necks trickling blood, heads thrown back in ecstasy. A moan here, a soft sigh there, and one woman looked up at me suddenly, her chin stained red, fangs down, with eyes so black I felt myself falling into the abyss.
She smiled, winked, motioned. Dazed, I took a step forward, but Leo stopped me. I jerked my gaze away. I heard her hiss but she returned to her bloodwhore--a man in his twenties with taut abs and the face of a Grecian god. Another woman--human this time--slowly licked his rising erection.
Shakily, I turned to Rhiannon, whose gaze was glued to the scene. She was biting her lip and I suddenly realized that maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have someone who'd repressed her fire for so many years--which intermingled with sexuality--around a vampire sex club right now. But there was no walking away. Not with Regina, Lannan, and Geoffrey flanking our sides.
Speaking of Lannan, I realized he was leaning over my shoulder, his lips precariously near my ear. "See anything you like?"
I forced myself to get a grip. "It's all very interesting. So this is where you perform your . . ."
"This is our equivalent of a costume dinner party," he said, laughing low. "You might come across a reference to feeding frenzies . . . as you can see, we aren't sharks, ripping our victims to pieces. We prefer to give pleasure where we take it."
"Somehow, I doubt all vampires hold to that creed. Are you sure you're not part of the Indigo Court?" I was joking, trying to divert the subject from Lannan giving pleasure to anyone, but apparently, my joke fell flat.
Before I could get out another word, Lannan had hold of me and in a blur, we were next to the wall and he slammed me against it. Tightly, he held me by the neck with one hand, pinning me to the wall with his body. Leaning close, his fangs glistened in the dim light.
"Don't ever suggest such a thing again, Ms. Waters, or--protection or not--you will be punished. And I will be the one to administer the punishment. And trust me, I look forward to that day. Oh yes, I do." A mixture of pleasure and anger filled his face.
I gulped in a breath of air, knowing now was not the time to try to squirm out of his grasp. That might lead his mind in all the wrong directions and with so much sex and feeding going on in the room, trying to escape was so not the thing to do.
"You belong to us now," he added, those brilliant white fangs of his just inches away. "Do not forget--you signed with your blood. Are you so eager for my attention that you willingly break the rules?" The touch of his skin against mine was cold fire. There was no warmth, just unrelenting chill that seeped through his fingers to spread through my body.
"Please, I'm sorry--I didn't mean to offend you. I was just making a bad joke," I stammered. We weren't playing a game anymore, I'd signed away my life and now any mistake I made meant they could collect bits and pieces of me any time they wanted. "I didn't realize how bad of a joke it was."
Leo and Rhiannon struggled in the background. Geoffrey and Regina restrained them, watching, their expressions neutral.
Lannan reached up with his other hand and stroked my cheek, drawing his fingernail down the skin, leaving one red weal. His strength was overwhelming. No wonder people were so afraid of vampires. And yet--if the Indigo Court had the vampires' strength plus their own powers, the other side of the army we were facing was even more terrifying.
I swallowed my pride--a hard, hard thing to do--and lowered my eyes. "I'm sorry. Please, forgive me." Those words cost me hard.
Lannan pressed against me, harder than he needed to, but then, after a moment, he slowly let go and stepped away.
"You've been given your warning. Next time you're so disrespectful, expect punishment. And when the time comes for your first blood donation, I'll enjoy taking it, and I'll make you come so hard that you'll scream my name, even if I can't put you in thrall. You have much to learn, Cicely, and humility is at the top of the list. And I am a master of teaching humility."
He turned away abruptly and motioned to one of the vampires who was standing near. She was dressed in a tight corset and long, narrow skirt. Her hair was done up in a bun and she looked flawless. Why the hell did most vampires look good? Even the aged ones, the bald ones, the scarred ones, looked delicious. Well, except Crawl. Crawl had been hideous.
"I need a bloodwhore. Female. Bring me one." Lannan's voice was hoarse and he kept his eyes averted from me.
I slipped away, over to Rhiannon's side, where she and the others flanked me protectively. Regina gave me a severe look, shaking her head slowly. Geoffrey blinked, but said nothing.
The vamp who'd sprung to answer Lannan's request returned, tugging a brunette behind her. The girl was wearing white, which so far had managed to avoid being spattered with blood. I had the feeling that was about to change.
I didn't want to watch, but Regina grabbed me, pushing me forward. She put her hands on my shoulders as she leaned down to whisper in my ear.
"You'd do well to watch, because this is what you will face if you screw up again. And if my brother is in one of his moods, it will be both exquisite and painful. Not enough to enchant you, but enough so you'll never forget his touch." She purred, laughing richly. "Or . . . perhaps you'll like it and choose to offer yourself into his stable."
"I wouldn't count on it, Emissary," I said politely, wanting to laugh in her face. But I'd seen just what reaction my sense of humor could spark off and didn't want to repeat my mistake with Lannan, who, at that moment turned to face me, his smile taunting.
