“I need to own you, Syn, to control you. I want to hear it from your lips. Give me this, Pet. You can do better than that,” he muttered, before clamping his teeth around my nipple, hard enough to pull a cry from my lips. His mouth released my nipple and attacked the other with the pinching pressure still in place. The combination was enough to create a new storm building inside of me.
His fingers found my mound and entered, but it wasn’t what I needed, or what I wanted. I accepted what I could get, and let the storm silently brew until it was sitting on the edge and teetering. “Nice try. Who owns you?” He demanded.
Oh fuck it! It's a dream, right?
“You couldn’t handle owning me, Ryder,” I challenged him, barely hiding a smile as he prepared to enter me with what I needed him to give me. I wanted him buried inside of me until I was a part of him.
“Is that a challenge?” he purred against my ear.
“Take it however you want to, Ryder,” I replied.
“I want to hear it. I want you to beg me to own this pussy. To punish it with this.” He rubbed his massive cock at my entrance again. “Tell me how much you want this cock inside of you. Tell me how bad you need to come. Say it, and I promise to make you come, so many times that you won't remember your own fucking name.”
“Fine, you own me.”
“Mean it,” he snarled as he pushed only the tip of his cock inside of me.
“I'm yours, Ryder,” I whispered, licking my lips.
He pushed himself completely inside of me. I screamed from the fullness he created, but the wetness he’d made smoothed the way, and allowed him to bury himself deep inside of me.
“Good girl,” he whispered, before kissing my lips harshly, his hands running through my hair to hold me still while he fucked me with his tongue and his cock. He was merciless, and I loved it. He was punishing and pleasuring, and I exploded around him, shaking and breaking into a million pieces as he continued to fuck me through the orgasms. He didn't stop there, and soon, another one crested. He kept going as orgasm after orgasm tore through me, rocking me from the inside out.
There was no one else who could do this to me. There was no life outside of Ryder, no other lover would make my body explode and shatter. My mind knew he was feeding from me, and I didn’t care. It was a dream. In the morning, I would deal with reality, but right now I wanted to submit to him—I wanted to be his.
I smiled against his mouth as I felt his body go stiff with his own release. He growled until it became harsh and guttural sounding like a wild animal. My hands fought to get out of the restraints. “Ryder,” I whimpered as I felt something growing inside of me. I moaned, and exploded again, but this time it was violent and shocking.
Something ripped into my neck, and then everything stopped around me, the room was silent. I listened in shock and fear as I felt my blood flow, as if it was being sucked from my neck by a wild animal. I fought against the restraints as stars burst behind my eyelids. My blood pulsed in my ears as the animal lapped at my neck and the blood around the wound.
“Ryder,” I whimpered as I fought against the pain. The dream had changed, and in its place was a nightmare.
Chapter Three
I woke, drenched in sweat. My hand flew to my neck and relief washed over me instantly when I realized I was safely in my bed. I laughed nervously at my own stupidity. “Jeez, Syn, it was just a dream. Nothing more.”
I sat up and looked around the room, and then fell back onto the pillows with a soft exhale. I flipped over and winced as pain shot up my leg. I pulled my leg up and scowled at the angry red welt on my left ankle. What the hell? I rubbed it and blinked my eyes open. I wondered if I must have run into something when I was running away from the mansion. My brain usually didn’t function too well when I first woke up, so I shook it off for now.
I threw my legs over the edge of the mattress, and growled when I heard the board wince from my weight. “Screw this. I need a date with Mister Coffee.”
I tripped down the stairs, set up the coffee maker, and flipped it to brew, before slumping into a chair at the table with my hands covering my face. I needed to figure out how long Adam was going to be down, or if he'd even look me in the eye again after what he'd tried doing to me. I was hoping he wouldn’t remember it.
He'd tried to force himself on me. He'd been starting Transition, which no one had seen coming, or expected to happen so fast for that matter. Dristan had told Ryder that the brand on my neck might have stopped my own Transition and kept me hidden as a human. Had it tampered with Adam's, somehow suppressing his Transition? Neither one of us had any idea that we were Fae, not until Ryder had taken me inside Faery and something had affected the brand to make it fade.
Adam hadn't been able to control what he'd done. It scared me to know that, soon, I would be turning into a mindless sex machine. When the coffee maker beeped, I released my face and stared at it. The entire house was silent. The only noises inside it were mine and Mister Coffee’s, and he sucked at listening. Maybe I should get a dog to keep me company.
I smiled and made a list of things I needed to get from the store while I was out and about today. After drinking the entire pot of coffee alone, I showered and glared at my leg where there was still a red and angry looking welt. I quickly got dressed and left the house.
It took more than an hour to finish shopping and find the animal shelter. A perky maybe twenty something year old girl smiled and bounced over to me at the counter. “Hi! Can I help you find you something?”
“I think I need a dog,” I found myself blurting out to the bubbly blonde.
Twenty minutes later I was leaving the animal shelter with a shaggy dark gray dog that looked like a small wolf, who had been left in the wild a little too long, judging by the amount of ribs he was showing. We discussed names—well, I suggested names, all of which received a firm whine from my four-legged friend. I settled on naming him Mister Fancy Pants, since he had darker colored fur on his legs than he had on the rest of his body.
I smiled and started walking toward home, with Mister Fancy Pants on his brand new leash. I walked slowly, because he wasn't in the best shape, and looked like he could use a few meals to fatten him up. At least he was getting a chance at life—maybe. “I've never owned a dog,” I said to my new pet.
He whined.
I’d probably whine too if I was him, since I’d never owned a pet before and it probably showed. At least the shelter had taken care of all that shot stuff and said he was healthy. The rest was up to me.
Why the hell had I wanted to get a dog again? We walked home in silence, which I guess was pretty normal, since he was a dog after all. When we arrived at the house, he wasn't impressed at all. In fact, he showed me just how unimpressed he was by growling at the walls for at least three straight hours.
“Enough already. The wall is not gonna bark back, Mister Fancy Pants!” He growled at me. Maybe he didn’t like his name? “Don't pee on my carpet, no sniffing, no barking, and no chewing while I'm gone. Stay away from the coffee—touch it and you're gone.” He blinked at me and then snapped his head back at the walls and went back to circling them like a sentry—well, a growling, whining sentry.
My cell phone rang, startling me, and I answered it. I winced as the dog continued to go off at the walls as if they would attack him. “Stop barking!”
“What?” Ryder asked.
“I'm not talking to you. I'm talking to Mister Fancy Pants.” I should seriously change his name. It was too long.
“Who the fuck is Mister Fancy Pants?”
I snickered as he said my dog's name. Coming out of his mouth, it really sounded bad.
“He's my dog. I got him at the shelter today.” I sounded defensive, even to myself.
“Why the hell did you get a dog?” he asked with a hint of horror in his tone.
“You can't tell me what I can and can’t get, Ryder.” I tapped my foot waiting for his reply.
He laughed. He set down the phone and
laughed at me! I glared at my end of the phone, before hanging it up. I waited, wondering if he'd had a purpose for calling, or if he'd just wanted make my life hell, since he'd said nothing important. Why phone me when he could just sift here and torment me in person? The phone promptly rang again. “What?” I shouted.
“Bad timing?” Alden asked.
“Bad day. I'm getting ready now. I will be at Nightshade in an hour, and I’ll call you with the target’s location. Anything else?” I asked, slipping easily back into Enforcer mode.
“Don't die.”
I laughed. “Gee, thanks. Really feeling the confidence lately,” I said looking towards the dog as it started barking again. “Seriously! They’re walls, nothing is there.”
“What's a wall? Is that a dog?” Alden asked.
“The walls of the house. And, yes, I got a dog. He keeps acting like there is something on the other side or in the walls.”
“You need to get out more, Synthia,” Alden replied.
“I plan on it. Getting ready right now to do just that.”
“I meant that you should go out now. Try to enjoy life before Transition hits, ya know?”
I snorted. “Is this a pep talk, Alden? Because, if it is, you need to stop, now. I am far from normal. I have never been that person, and I’m not about to start now. Transition could happen at any time now, and I need to be practical.”
“No, of course you’re right. I just think you deserve something normal for at least a little while. You be careful tonight. Call me if you need help.”
“Will do. Hey, Alden? You should date.” I smiled as I listened to him snort from the other end of the phone.
“Fat chance in hell, and I don't need a pep talk either. Point taken.”
We hung up. The whole conversation was surreal after the way he had behaved at the Guild yesterday. I looked down at the dog, who was now sitting at my feet, still growling at the walls. I took a quick peek at the walls. Nothing different. The wards that circled the room were quiet and still looked like nothing more than a pretty border around the top of the wall where it met the ceiling. I shook my head, before heading to my bedroom to change. It was easy to slip back into Enforcer mode, but the pinch of regret that my team wouldn't be with me this time stung.
“Think you could be my back-up, Mister Fancy Pants?” I asked the now silent dog.
He wagged his tail and lay down at my feet. I watched his head roll back and smiled. “I can do this. I'm strong, I'm fast, and I miss my friends…” And I was talking to myself again. I dug through the small closet and pulled out leather pants and a metal studded belt.
I quickly kicked off the jeans I'd been wearing and slipped into the leather pants, glaring at the dog as he lifted his head and eyed me. “I am not dinner, so stop looking at me like that!” I pulled off the long sleeve shirt and slipped into the leather top that hugged my curves perfectly.
I looked in the mirror and exhaled. My eyes were more of an electric blue right now, rather than the azure I was so used to. I had no idea if it was from my body changing to Fae, or my magic was trying to recharge. Or, worse—a little of both. I applied a touch of blush, some eyeliner, and mascara, before adding the ruby red lipstick to match the Big Apple Red OPI nail polish I was sporting today.
“Okay, Mister Fancy Pants, let's go get you some food and water,” I said, talking to the dog—who was wagging his tail and watching me. But, hey, at least he’d finally stopped barking at the walls.
Chapter Four
Nightshade was full tonight. Humans and Vampires mingled together while Vlad once again, tended his own bar. I smiled and walked over to him. “Full crowd tonight,” I shouted over the music as I took the only free seat at the bar.
Vlad smiled, showing off his wicked set of fangs. “The band is playing, and there’s a lot of press in here tonight. I didn’t figure I'd be seeing you for a while, Syn. What gives?” Vlad said as his silver eyes took in the leather I wore. “Hunting? Because I hope you didn’t come in here, thinking you could take me out.” He clasped his hands over his heart and rolled his eyes in mock fear.
“I'm not hunting you, Vlad. I'm wondering if you have seen a new vamp, someone who doesn't care if he drains the blood bank.”
“We don't allow anyone to be drained inside my club. Ever. Anyone who disobeys the rules inside this club forfeits his life, or hers,” Vlad replied testily. Great, I’d managed to offend him. Like my day wasn’t bad enough, now I’d pissed off Dracula!
I smiled at his play on words. “And what would be the rules?” I asked, narrowing my eyes as he rolled his.
“Don't hunt inside my club, Syn. You won't like the results. This place is a neutral zone; we don’t allow our own to get harmed. Nor do we allow those who come inside to get hurt. If they are dumb enough to leave the premises…” he let his words trail off with the implication hanging in the air.
“So, let's say someone is here, and they’re draining humans…what happens then?”
“The Horde takes care of it.”
“Without its King?” I replied lifting a blonde eyebrow in surprise.
He smiled and leaned over the counter with his elbows resting on it casually. “Look, Syn, I respect you. You get knocked on your ass, and you get up swinging. You have every reason to hate me for what I did to Adrian, and hell, maybe you have every right to mark me as a target, yet you didn’t. You're smart, so do the math. No one is leaving here tonight in a body bag, and no one from the Guild is being allowed through the doors, so if that was the plan…I already sent your back-up packing.”
“Speaking of Adrian, why him? Why did you turn him, and not me?”
“He was the easier target in the coven.”
“That's a fucking lie. Larissa was the easiest target. Try again.”
His face shut down and he stood back up, narrowing his eyes. “Adrian was more accessible.”
“No, he wasn’t. We were all at different locations inside that parking garage. I was the easiest to get to, second only to Larissa, who was in the van alone. Someone sent you to take him and only him. I want to know why.”
His eyes swirled, and he shook his head. “Like I said, you're smart. Leave this one alone, Syn. It isn't something you could come back from anytime soon. This wasn’t his choice exactly, but the kid’s got heart. He’s doing the best he can right now, and he needs to know you are okay with it. Your opinion means more than it should to him.”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” I asked, feeling anger rise within me. He was telling me that Adrian had been handpicked to be turned, but to leave it alone. Was he serious? I was about to argue when a guitar started from the stage. I turned, finding Adrian staring right at me as the band played a few notes doing a quick sound check.
I met his turquoise eyes and smiled until he returned it, showing off his fangs. He'd been my first love, and Vlad had turned him Vamp, because he'd said I'd gotten too close to him. As a warning, he'd taken Adrian, which I hadn't understood. Still didn't understand. Vlad had a secret, and I needed to know who had ordered Adrian to be turned. Adrian set the guitar down on a stand and approached the main microphone on the stage.
He smiled, even though I was no longer smiling. “This first song goes out to my girl, my first and only girl.”
The band began playing Buckcherry's Sorry, and it took everything inside of me to hold the tears back. I stood before I knew what I was doing, and walked towards the stage. He looked good, even if he was undead. His dark hair was pulled back and hidden in a ponytail. His skin was a little lighter, and he lacked a pulse, but he was still Adrian. He was still the first boy I'd ever loved.
I sang silently along with the lyrics, his lips moving with a cocky grin as he sang. I stopped at the edge of the stage and watched as he moved to stand directly in front of me. I hadn't expected him to stop in front of me, but he did. The microphone still in his hand and held up to his mouth, so that it didn’t disturb the song he was still singing. His hand reached out and
grabbed mine. I closed my eyes so he wouldn't see the flinch that came with his icy touch. I tried to pull away, but he held me in place as the song slowed and then stopped.
He leaned his face close to mine as if he would kiss me, but instead he kissed my cheek and pulled me against him. “Mark’s in the back with a willing victim, and I'm your back-up baby.”
I pulled away and smiled at him, but it left my face with the implication his words held. “Adrian, no—” His mouth crushed against mine, cutting off my words. His lips weren't as cold as the rest of him, and I felt his fangs graze my lips, before his tongue pushed into my mouth.
His kiss was gentle, and yet I could feel his urgency…and it was more than just to shut me up. There was fire inside of it. I melted against him, uncaring who was watching, even as the entire club erupted with cheers that he'd gotten the girl. When he pulled away, his eyes narrowed. “You let him mark you?” There was hurt in his tone, and regret.
Unfortunately, I had no idea what the brand on my hip did, but I had a feeling it was to repel all other men and deter them from being interested in me. It sounded like something Ryder would do, since he tended to mark ownership on the things he wanted. It’s what I was to him, just a pretty thing to own. Adrian sensing the brand confirmed it, and made me want to spit nails at Ryder.
“I didn’t let him do anything,” I replied crisply, knowing exactly who he was referring to.
“Do you have any idea of what that means, Syn?” He countered, ignoring me.
“I don’t care, and as soon as I finish Transition I won't be seeing him again!”
He shook his head as his eyes flashed from turquoise to red. “Good fucking luck with that. You can't just undo a brand like that. He owns you right now, and it’s dangerous to play games with Ryder.”