Bound: Fallen World Series Book 1 Read online

  We finally made it to the elevator, and he continued my torture by taking out and typing on the little silver device that I had seen him playing with occasionally.

  “Is that a cell phone?” I asked, wanting to break the silence. He looked up at me, a slow grin on his face. “It’s a computer,” he said. “I’m going over the recordings from today so I can look more closely at who was in the audience and what their reaction was to it. It will help me know better what leaders we have to lean on, or what Vepar are thinking of going against my plans.”

  I looked at him shocked.

  “How did it record all of that? Wasn’t it in your pocket the whole time?”

  He looked at me with what resembled an almost pitying expression. “We’re watching you all the time, surely your news media told you that?”

  I looked at him baffled; my thoughts momentarily sidetracked by what he had just told me. The elevator made it to our floor at that moment, the bell ringing to signal we were at our destination. We walked down the hallway to our suite, a million questions running around my mind. All of the questions disappeared when the doors opened.

  Evidently Derrial had the same thing in mind as I did this evening.

  The room was dimly lit with candles flickering in the breeze coming in from the open balcony doors. There were two bottles of Crystal in an ice bucket on the grand piano along with two flutes. Soft classical music was streaming in from the sound system that was wired throughout the suite. It was the most romantic setting that I had ever seen.

  And the exact opposite mood I was trying to set. One and done was my goal tonight and I didn’t need to be distracted by whatever he was trying to create here. Yes, he and his friends were the most gorgeous creatures I had ever seen. But if he thought I could forget that they were aliens who had taken over the world and ruined my life, he had another thing coming.

  I blew out the candles as I passed by them. I could see him frown as I did so.

  His hand flew out and caught my arm, pulling me against him roughly. “Kitten, did I read you wrong and you aren’t the romantic type?” He asked in a raspy voice as he trailed his lips down my throat. He bit down softly, and I stiffened, remembering the other day and his reaction to my blood.

  I pulled away from him, taking a few steps away so I could keep my wits about me. I would need them if I was going to keep control of the situation. Facing him, I slowly unzipped the side of my dress, sliding the dress off so that it pooled at my feet.

  At first, Derrial’s eyes widened, and I could see him thinking as he tried to understand my sudden willingness to play. He quickly recovered however and flashed me a wicked smile, walking up to me and tracing my lips with his fingers. The move sent shivers down my spine.

  “I’ve thought about your lips all day. I’ve pictured you on your knees with that pretty little mouth wrapped around me sucking me off,” he said, a growl rumbling in his throat as he spoke.

  I melted at his words, desire pooling low in my stomach. The sensible side of me held on though. “What are you waiting for?” I asked, trying to give him the same smirk he always gave me.

  His finger dropped from my face, trailing along my collarbone and leaving a trail of fire in its wake. “Your body was meant to be mine,” he murmured, his eyes beginning to glow as he took another deep breath that looked like he was smelling me. Maybe that was a Vepar thing. “Has anyone ever told you that you had a body that was made to be fucked,” he said, continuing his slow trail down my body.

  I was standing in nothing but a strapless bra and thong and despite my best efforts he was beginning to cast a spell of seduction on me that I wasn’t sure I could control. I shook my head at his question, thinking about the trail of boyfriends I had left that had all been terrible to boring in bed.

  “It is. In fact, I’ve never seen something I wanted so much before,” he continued. I couldn’t force a reply out of my mouth. I couldn’t think clearly with his hand touching me like that.

  “I need to taste you, kitten. It’s all I’ve been thinking about for days. Will you let me do that?”

  I moaned a yes. Derrial didn’t wait for more encouragement. His fingers caught the waistband of my thong and ripped them away. He dropped to his knees and urged my legs apart.

  “Wider,” he ordered, and I shocked us both by immediately widening my stance. “Perfect.” His hands moved along my thighs and when he reached his destination, he spread it wide and studied it for a moment, a look of appreciation on his face, before his fingers found my cleft. My eyes snapped back shut as he pushed two fingers inside of me.

  “Are you always this wet?” he asked.

  I shook my head again. “Do I do this to you?” he asked, fucking me slowly with his fingers. I nodded. “Say it, kitten.”

  “Yes.”

  “Yes, what? What do I do to you?”

  “You make me wet,” I moaned.

  “Good girl,” he murmured with approval. He continued to tease me with his fingers for a few seconds and then the warm rasp of his tongue sent a series of shivers trembling through my body. He licked across me leisurely as his fingers continued to plunge into me. I began to shake as I neared the edge. He pulled away; the effect similar to being doused with ice.

  “Not until I say, kitten.”

  I whimpered at the command, but it gave me the resolve I needed to try and take back control. I didn’t need to enjoy tonight, I just needed to get through it. Taking his hand, I pulled him towards one of the bedrooms. I could feel his frustration trailing behind me as we walked.

  Despite the fact that his ministrations thus far had lit my entire body on fire, I aimed for a look of nonchalance as I crawled across the bed and laid down on my back looking at him.

  I was acutely aware of his eyes on my naked skin as I laid there, but I pretended to ignore the effect he had on me. If he didn’t think I liked it, he wouldn’t want it again, right? No one wanted a disinterested lover. I was just hopeful that my momentary lapses where he was concerned would be forgotten if the overall package was disappointing.

  Derrial slowly took off his jacket and undid his tie. It was amazing that after everything that had happened already this evening that he could still look perfect. He undid his shirt, showcasing a perfect tapestry of golden skin that defied all logic. I had somehow forgotten how good he looked without a shirt over the past few days. He was unreal.

  I wondered again if this was his real form or if the Vepar could somehow change their forms to look pleasing to the human eye. If that was the case, he had nailed it. My thoughts flickered over to thinking of what Thane and Corran looked like without a shirt, but Derrial quickly got my attention back by unbuttoning the top of his dress pants and pulling out the most impressive cock I had ever seen. He began to stroke it while looking at me through a hooded gaze. I couldn’t keep my eyes off of it. If they did change their appearances, he had gone a little too big. He must have seen my look of panic because he chuckled darkly and took a few steps closer to the bed until he was standing right on the edge of it.

  “Don’t worry, kitten. It will fit,” he said.

  “Spread your legs,” he ordered, and somehow, I found myself dropping my legs open as he finished dropping his pants so that he was completely naked standing in front of me. He started to crawl across the king bed towards me, so blatantly seductive that I could feel myself becoming wetter just by watching him.

  He moved on top of me, hovering there with those strange glowing eyes staring at me as if he was looking for something in my eyes. I gulped. This was actually happening. “Aren’t you forgetting a condom?” I asked, suddenly thinking of getting a strange alien disease or worse, a strange alien baby. They had us on mandatory birth control, but I had never seen a discussion if it worked on the Vepar.

  Something flickered in his eyes again, but it was gone before I could tell what it was. “Your birth control protects against pregnancy by any species. It’s infallible unlike the birth control your human doctors were giving
you before. As for diseases, it’s impossible for us to carry diseases as our bodies have evolved past that. You’ll probably be healthier after this,” he said wryly.

  I hesitated, not sure if this was a trick. What would he have to gain by getting his hapless human prisoner pregnant? Surely that would be the last thing he wanted. “Ok,” I told him, hesitantly.

  His eyes glowed up even more before he suddenly struck, sheathing himself inside of me at the same time as he bit into my neck, causing me to cry out as a wave of euphoria like nothing I had experienced before passed over me. I came immediately, tightening around him in what already felt like a vice grip.

  He drove into me in relentless strokes, moving to my mouth after his initial taste of my blood. I could feel it running down from my wound. I could taste the coppery flavor as he attacked my lips.

  I found myself crying his name as another orgasm splintered through me in violent waves. He continued his thrusts as he raced towards his own, not taking his eyes from me as he did so. There was blood all over his face. He looked more heathen than man in that moment, his eyes glowing so brightly that it almost hurt to look at them.

  The moment felt too intimate and I turned my head away from him. “No,” he growled, in a voice that was so dark and deep that I didn’t recognize it in the moment. My gaze flew back to his. It was as if something inside of him had taken over and it was no longer Derrial in the body above me.

  His hands clenched my hips tightly, and I was sure there would be marks there in the morning. He continued to thrust until I could tell the moment that he came undone. Just as I felt him tighten inside of me, he reared back and struck at my neck again. This time the pleasure was so powerful that I passed out, the last thing I saw were those glowing eyes of his looking at me possessively. Everything was dark after that.

  10

  When I woke the next morning, my body felt like I did right before the flu hit; achy and feverish. I laid in bed for a moment with my eyes closed, getting my bearings, wondering how a sickness could have struck so quick when I’d been feeling fine before. I shifted and an ache bit between my legs and on my neck. Instantly, I sat up with a start, my eyes flying open as I remembered what happened last night. I scanned the room for Derrial, but I was alone. He’d gone and left me here? We’d scratched our insatiable itch, so was I now free? I ignored the part of my heart that flickered with what felt like pain at the thought.

  This was what I had hoped for, so now I could go home. Thinking of my hovel of a loft and my job that gave me just enough for bare essentials and not anything else didn’t fill me with the happiness it had in the past. But it was still freedom in a way.

  No sooner had those thoughts passed through my mind then the front door of the suite opened with a click, and a second later Derrial came into view. I tugged the blanket up to my neck, suddenly very much aware of the fact I remained naked. Of course, I shouldn’t have been shy or had my cheeks on fire after our time together last night, but in truth, those memories of letting myself go made the embarrassment worse. I’d wanted him like I needed air, and just remembering our time together sent a shiver of excitement down through me.

  He looked somehow brighter this morning, a huge smile on his face, the corners of his eyes crinkling. He seemed to carry a vibrant sexiness this morning. Plus, his skin seemed to have a sun-kissed glow. He wore a perfect suit as usual, today’s was a black pinstripe one with a light blue shirt underneath. In a word, I couldn’t believe I slept with a specimen that looked that perfect. An alien who for years I’d detested. Now, my emotions left me lost and confused.

  I glanced at myself in the mirror hanging on the side wall and saw how tired I looked, dark circles under my eyes, and my hair sat limp, in desperate need of a wash. My skin appeared abnormally pale. I glanced back at Derrial who stared at me with a speculative gaze. I tried to remember if I’d ever heard of health repercussions for humans who had sex with Vepar, but all I could think of were the stories I’d read about women, and men, who became addicted to whatever the Vepar did in bed. How they spent every moment trying to get the Vepar to notice them and “keep” them. Those people had become obsessive, and I prayed that didn’t happen to me, especially with the way I admired Derrial.

  So, if the Vepar weren’t hazardous to your health, then why did I look and feel like an extra in the Night from the Living Dead?

  “How are you feeling this morning, kitten?” Derrial asked in a nonchalant tone.

  I scowled at him, now even more suspicious. “What did you do to me?” I asked, my body shaking from the flu like symptoms that seemed to be growing worse. “

  “You mean besides the best sex of your life?” he stated in that same casual tone that was beginning to drive me crazy as my anxiety escalated.

  I gestured between the two of us with a flick of my hand. “Why do you look like you just got off a yearlong vacation whereas I look and feel like I’m hovering on death’s door?”

  He stared at his nails as if there was something on them before answering. “Oh, are you feeling the effect of the incomplete bond? I’ve heard that can be painful to experience,” he explained nonchalantly as if we were discussing the latest score of the Lakers.

  Bond.

  What the fuck.

  My heart slammed into my ribcage. What was he talking about? Granted I hadn’t done my best to learn as much about the Vepar after my parents vanished as I could, but I’d think if there was such a thing as bonding between humans and Vepar, surely someone would have mentioned it by now?

  “What do you mean? What bond?” I whispered in a hoarse voice, curling forward as I clutched the blanket to my chest tighter.

  “I’m sure you remember my bites from last night?” he asked with a smirk as if proud of himself. “The bite is something that dates back to Vepar ancestors, it was a way to claim property...or claim their mate. It made it so that the intended creature was bound to males because of the enzymes that are deposited in their skin. The symptoms you’re feeling are withdrawal symptoms. They’ll only be evened out by either me biting you again...or you drinking my blood.”

  I stared at him in shock, fury rising inside of me so hot and thick that it might as well be burning me alive. It must have only been a few hours since he’d bitten me for the second time. How often did I need him to sink his teeth into me in order to stave off these symptoms? Symptoms that grew worse as the minutes ticked by, to the point that if I stood, I was certain I’d collapse. And drink his blood? Was he out of his mind? I wasn’t a vampire. Just the thought had bile hitting the back of my throat.

  “I have to leave in just a few minutes for the Summit, kitten. What’s it going to be? Take a small sip of blood and be fine, or let me take a bite?”

  My stomach turned at both options even as I remembered how my body buzzed, how aroused I grew from his attention last night.

  Thinking about it, the bite felt more intimate than I was willing to admit this morning. And he’d said just a “sip of blood,” which couldn’t be that bad, right? Hell, was I really contemplating this? I had a feeling that I was going to regret this, but what was the alternative? Keep feeling like I’d been run over by a truck, which then backed up over me, again and again.

  “I don’t want to bite you, so you’ll have to cut yourself,” I told him. Something like triumph flashed in his eyes, and I immediately wondered if I was about to make a horrible mistake.

  He already pulled out a pocket knife from his pocket and slashed his hand before I could think further about it. “Hurry,” he said. “This will heal quickly as my blood coagulates fast, and I’m not going to offer you this chance again.” I gaped at the blood puddling on his hand. It wasn’t red like mine but carried a bluish-green hue. Yet another reminder of who stood in front of me - a perfect being who wasn’t human.

  “Kitten,” he growled, a thread of urgency in his voice as the wound started to close up in front of my eyes. Not allowing myself a chance to think anymore, I pulled his hand towards me, clo
sed my eyes, and pressed the wound to my mouth. I took a slurp.

  It was sweet, nothing like the salty tang of human blood. It wasn’t an unpleasant taste at all, but the second I swallowed a tingling started to spread throughout my body just from the one small mouthful I’d taken. I broke away, pushed his hand from my mouth, and glared at him accusingly.

  “Was that enough? Is it supposed to tingle like this?” I asked, gasping as a warm heat started to follow the tingles.

  Derrial grinned, more satisfied than I’d ever seen him look. “The bond is forming. You should be back to your normal self soon,” he said. He leaned closer and stroked my face softly, a expression on his face that was new, soft and tender. “I’ll be back as soon as I can,” he said before brushing a kiss across my lips, then he turned to stalk out of the door in that fluid, graceful way that all the Vepar had.

  “I hate you,” I threw after him.

  He turned to look at me. “You know this is forever, right?” he asked with a sardonic smile appearing on his face even as I plotted a million ways to escape from this hell I’d found myself in.

  He left the room, and I stared after him flabbergasted as the front door closed, signaling he’d left the suite. Still drowning in the tingling and warmth encasing my body, I wanted nothing more than to forget I’d just drank alien blood. What had I been thinking?

  One thing was for sure. After taking his strange blood, I better wake up feeling like a brand-new woman, full of energy, or I was kicking someone’s ass.

  I curled up on my side and fell into a fitful sleep haunted by images of me sprouting horns and a tail and drinking the blood of hapless humans I came across.

  * * *

  By the time I woke up, I laid spread out on the bed, the bedsheets tangled around my legs, but I was breathing easy. I didn’t know if it was the glorious sunlight drenching me in warmth from the window, or that I fell asleep so heavily, or the blood I’d taken from Derrial, but regardless, right now I felt incredible. So much so, I could swear I’d fly if I headed outside.