Season of Sin Read online

  Darick laughs. “You’re sexy when you get angry. I love it angry.” He approaches the bed and puts his big hands down on it. He opens his mouth and his fangs are thick. Really thick. “Angry is my thing, babe.”

  “Go away,” I whisper and wave my hand.

  He twists his neck but is forced to step back from the bed.

  I really do have some sort of control over them. I think I like it.

  But before I get too far ahead, I have a lot to do here. Lots of questions need to be answered.

  “You,” I say to Darick. “You know things about me I don’t.”

  I slowly move to my knees. I feel the rest of my body slide from the covers as I become more exposed. Behind me I can feel Layre’s eyes burning against my backside. Those heated red eyes sliding down the small of my back and beyond. I know if I lean forward a little more, he’ll see…

  “I know a lot, babe,” Darick says. “And you didn’t chase me away just then. I moved on my own. You’d best not forget who you’re in company with.”

  “You’d best not do the same,” I whisper.

  I turn my head and catch the sight of Layre standing with his eyes wide open, his fangs showing, the muscles of his well-defined top half of his body flexed tight, almost throbbing.

  At the same time, I can feel Kyran staring at me.

  As I slowly turn my head and look into his green eyes, it’s like spring. Weird, right? Like a calm and cool day. The perfect temperature outside. The calls and chirps of birds. The first fresh flowers blooming after a long winter’s slumber. But the longer I stare at him, the more I’m hit with a sadness. An intense and overwhelming sadness. So much so that I feel myself begin to cry.

  “Sweet angel, why are you crying?” Seth’s deep voice asks.

  I look to him as I touch my right eye.

  The tear droplet does the same thing as before.

  I extend my hand toward him. “Here. Take this. I want to see if you can drink it.”

  Seth moves faster than anything I have ever seen move. He can defy existence and time and distance. One second he’s ten feet away, then the next he’s sitting on the edge of the bed, an icy chill slamming against my body, making me gasp.

  Slowly, he touches my wrist.

  I feel my body shiver more. His icy, blue eyes are beautiful. His pearl white fangs, glistening like diamonds intrigue me.

  “May I?” he whispers.

  “Yes,” I say.

  Seth pulls my hand to his mouth and I feel his tongue touch my finger.

  I groan without thinking.

  I blush.

  Seth slurps the tear from my finger and puts his head back.

  “What does it taste like?” Kyran asks.

  “Everything,” Seth says.

  He quickly stands and I’m left almost breathless and desperate.

  “Clothes,” I say. “I need clothes. Right now. I need clothes.”

  Before I can repeat myself again, I’m suddenly dressed. I’m in an orange dress with thin straps on my shoulders. A very comfortable dress at that. I touch it, my mouth open, wondering how this just happened. I made this happen. I thought it. It happened.

  I smile.

  I look around to the four beautiful men surrounding the bed.

  “I want answers,” I say. “Or else.”

  “Or else,” Darick says with a grin. “She’s a tough chick.”

  “She deserves to have the answers to her questions,” Kyran says.

  “First question, what did you try to do to her?” Layre asks.

  “Brother, you need-”

  “He’s right,” I say. “I want to know what happened to you. I opened my eyes and you were face down. You were supposed to be here to help me. You didn’t.”

  Kyran swallowed hard. “Right. It was nothing that hasn’t been done before.”

  “I don’t care about before,” I say. “I wasn’t awake then. I’m awake now.”

  “Don’t make me make a call,” Seth whispers. “Don’t make me hold a meeting, Kyran. This is unfair to all of us. We’re in enough trouble as it is.”

  “Trouble?” I ask. “Why are you in trouble?”

  Seth looks at me, but he doesn’t answer right away. Instead, Darick moves to the bed again and puts his fists down on it. He pushes and the entire bed leans down to the floor, forcing me to slide toward him. He opens his mouth and turns his head, looking evil and deadly. It makes me nervous, but as I move toward him I know I can stop anything bad from happening. How? I don’t know how. I just know.

  I slide to the edge of the bed and wrap my legs around his thick body.

  He growls.

  “Why are you in trouble?” I ask Darick, his brown eyes burning into mine.

  “Simple, babe… we saved your ass from going bye-bye forever.”

  10.

  They lead the way from the bedroom. I decide I want food with my answers.

  I feel like a prisoner being led through jail. Seth and Layre in front of me. Darick and Kyran behind me. I’m in a whirl of emotions and feelings as I walk the long hall that almost looks like some old and fancy hotel. There are big doors everywhere. With gold trim that’s twisted and expensive looking. Skulls at each corner, some looking happy, some looking sad. The carpet beneath my bare feet is velvety and a blood red color. The walls are a really deep purple color, almost black.

  Seth pauses at the largest staircase I’ve ever seen in my life. It has two sets of stairs that are marble and curved, leading down to the main foyer of this house. Right there, on the foyer floor, is some kind of symbol. A design. It looks like a massive black rose with a pinkish color at the center. I stare at it and it makes me feel uneasy, but in a strange way. With these four men, creatures, whatever they are around me, everything feels uneasy.

  “Come, sweet angel,” Layre says.

  “Wait,” Seth orders. “Let her look around for a moment.”

  I’ve already been looking around. Nothing makes sense. This place is way too elegant for my tastes. I’m afraid to touch anything. It’s too old, too clean, too everything for me. When I lock eyes with Seth, he gives a nod to look forward again. I do, and see the large window opposite the stairs.

  First thing I notice is the sunlight coming through.

  “Wait a second,” I whisper. “If you’re…” I open my mouth and bang my teeth together. “How can you be near sunlight without burning?”

  Seth raises an eyebrow and is suddenly next to me. He leans down and inhales just an inch from my neck.

  “Delectable innocence,” he whispers. “That’s what brings me to my knees before you, angel.”

  “Stop,” Darick says. “We can survive most elements. For a period of time. Think of it like a human going under water. They could survive…”

  “For a period of time,” I say.

  “Bingo, babe.”

  “Bingo, babe?” Seth asks. “Show some respect for our guest.”

  “Respect this,” Darick says and puts up his middle finger at Seth.

  Seth is gone from my side and in what looks like a slow motion move, he pulls back a fist and throws it at Darick’s chest. I see Darick absorb the punch and he’s off his feet, flying through the air. Up and over the railing, no choice but to fall a distance that could very well be deadly. But instead of falling, Darick simply tugs on his leather jacket and opens his mouth, showing his fangs, and he comes to a stop, suspended in mid-air.

  “What…”

  “Show off,” Kyran says.

  “No, this would be showing off,” Darick says.

  He throws his arms out and the window behind him shatters into a billion pieces. The booming sound pierces my ears and I grab them, feeling a quick pain. The falling glass is like sleet as it topples down to the marble floor below. Sunlight pours through the window, brighter, hotter, and I see a ring around Darick’s body. The perfect outline of his body, but smoking.

  “That’s enough,” Seth says. “We’re all very impressed.”

  “I
’m burning for you, babe,” Darick says and winks at me.

  “It’s hurting you,” I say.

  “Of course it hurts us,” Darick says. “The sun isn’t our friend for too long. Yours either, babe.”

  “Why not mine?”

  “I believe our angel requested something to eat,” Layre says. “Fix your mess, Darick, and meet us downstairs.”

  “Save a bite for me, babe,” Darick says and laughs as though that’s some kind of joke.

  If it is, I don’t get it.

  He does a backflip in mid-air and shoots straight to the ground, head first.

  I dive at the railing and grab it, leaning forward, watching as he comes within inches of smashing into the floor at full speed. He somehow manages to stop and land oh-so-cool on his feet, knees bent, touching the floor. He scoops up a handful of the shattered glass and turns and looks up at me.

  He blows a hard breath into his hand and glass flutters from it like it’s snow. It lifts and lifts into the air, twirling and swirling around.

  I gasp and smile.

  There’s something beautiful and innocent about the sight.

  “Just watch,” Layre whispers as he steps up next to me.

  The glass moves back toward the window. And it begins to put itself back together.

  “I’m dreaming,” I say. “I have to be dreaming still. None of this is real. Right?”

  I look at Layre.

  He leans down toward me. “If it wasn’t real, then how can you feel it…?”

  He brushes the tip of his nose against my neck and I shiver with a heated excitement that races down to my toes and right back up to my neck.

  “He’s absolutely right,” Seth’s voice says on the other side of my neck.

  He moves so fast, it’s sort of unfair.

  When he brushes his nose against mine, an icy chill races through me.

  I gasp again and hold tighter to the railing.

  I watch as the window slowly puts itself back together.

  A vampire on each side of my neck, touching, breathing, leaving me feeling a way I’ve never felt before.

  Then I feel a presence behind me.

  I look down just in time to see hands touching my sides. A body then presses against my back and backside.

  I’m left with an overwhelming sense of death and peace at the same time. Something fresh, yet sad. A hint of sweetness, honey, but a burnt kind of smell at the same time. It’s very intense to take in.

  “There is no dreaming in this state,” Kyran says.

  “What state is that?” I whisper, out of breath.

  I feel so turned on. No, it’s beyond that. I feel… pleasured. Like someone has been down there doing stuff to me. I’m warm. I’m shivering. My nose is twitchy from the smell of each man surrounding me. When I look down, I see Darick with a handful of glass. He blows another breath and the glass lifts from his hand. He then gently runs his tongue across his right fang. He repeats the same move on the other fang.

  “I… I’m going to faint…”

  I barely get the last word out as it echoes slowly in my mind.

  I pass out.

  11.

  I wake from what has to be a dream, but it’s not. I’m on an island in a massive kitchen. The four men - vampires, whatever - are surrounding me. I look around, slowly, regaining myself.

  “She’s awake again,” Seth says. “Sweet angel…”

  “Sorry,” I say. “I got…”

  “It’s okay,” Layre says. “Sit up. We’ll get you something to eat.”

  “Right,” I say. “Is that window fixed?”

  They all laugh.

  I sit up and look around, annoyed that they’re laughing at me.

  “The window is fine, babe,” Darick says. “Although you could have done it yourself.”

  “Me? I could have fixed it?”

  “Yeah,” Darick says. “Faster than me, too.”

  “How?”

  “Easy now,” Seth says.

  I turn my head to face him. “I’m getting tired of you saying that to me. Okay? I don’t know my name. I don’t know where I am. I don’t know who you all are. You have fangs. You’re… vampires? I’m in a massive house. You can float or fly or whatever. A window shatters and it’s put back together like it never happened.”

  I touch my forehead.

  I feel dizzy again.

  “She’s got to eat,” Layre says. “Pizza?”

  “You’re kidding me, right?” Kyran asks.

  “What? Who doesn’t like pizza?”

  “I like pizza,” I say, without knowing I’m saying it.

  I don’t know why I like pizza, but I do.

  “Nice,” Layre says. “She’s perfect.”

  “I apologize,” Seth says. “I shouldn’t have put Layre in charge of food for today. You deserve something more elegant. A real meal. A proper meal.”

  “Pizza covers all your food groups,” Layre says.

  “We don’t have food groups,” Kyran says.

  “Just blood types, right?” Darick asks with a snicker.

  “Blood types,” I say. Then something comes to me. The dreams… the blackness I was in… I touch my neck. I don’t feel anything, but that doesn’t mean that nothing is there. “Did any of you bite me?”

  “Several times, babe,” Darick says. “And each time we did, you came harder and harder… and harder…”

  Seth flashes himself across the island, a hand around Darick’s throat. He slams him against the stainless fridge, putting a perfect imprint dent of Darick in it.

  “You did not do that to her,” Seth growls.

  “How do you know, brother?” Darick asks with a laugh.

  “Ignore them,” Layre says as he brings me a plate with two slices of pizza on it. “They love to fight. Brother thing.”

  “You’re really brothers?” I ask. “You don’t look much alike.”

  “Same father, different mothers,” Kyran says.

  “Did he get four women pregnant at the same time?” I ask. “He must have been a real player.”

  “Something like that, angel,” Layre says with a wink.

  He jumps up on the island next to me and I feel the entire thing bounce.

  I lift the plate to my mouth and take a small nibble of the pizza.

  “Oh, no way,” Layre says. “Don’t be shy. That’s not how you eat a slice.”

  “No?” I ask.

  Across the kitchen, Darick and Seth continue their scuffle. They’ve worked their way to a knife block. Darick takes out a long butcher’s knife and slices at Seth. Seth blocks the slash but takes a nasty cut to his forearm. I gasp at the sight of the wound. Blood quickly runs down his arm, but then it reverses itself and flows back into his arm and the wound heals up within a few seconds.

  “Kyran, go stop that,” Layre says. “It’s worrying our angel.”

  Kyran jumps up on the island with ease. He steps across and jumps down, then charges at his two brothers. Now it’s all three of them tangled up, each with a knife, working their way out of the kitchen.

  Now it’s just me and Layre.

  “Don’t worry about them,” he whispers. “Tensions are high around here right now.”

  “Because of me?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Did I do something wrong?”

  “Nothing about you is wrong,” he says. “Well, except the way you eat pizza. Can I show you what to do?”

  “Of course,” I reply.

  I offer him the plate and Layre grabs a slice. “Watch. First you fold it… then you eat it like a sandwich…”

  He folds the slice and dangles it over his mouth. I watch as a droplet of grease falls and hits his tongue.

  Why does that turn me on?

  I see his fangs, just there. Just like normal teeth.

  I catch myself running my tongue against my teeth again, wanting to see if I have fangs too. Because that’s how it works, right? If a vampire bites you, you become a vampire? Unless the
vampire drains you of your blood, then you die. Right?

  Layre brings the pizza down to his mouth and he takes a bite so big that half the slice is suddenly gone.

  “Wow,” I say.

  “See?” he asks with his mouth full.

  He chews and swallows.

  “You try it.”

  I take the piece I had taken a nibble from and fold it in half like he did. I begin to eat the delicious pizza, nodding, knowing this is the right way to do it.

  “This is good,” I say.

  “Here’s a hint,” Layre whispers, “It’s an old school style pizza. Really old school style.”

  “I don’t know what that means,” I say.

  “You will soon enough.”

  I eat the rest of the slice and watch as Seth, Darick, and Kyran walk back into the kitchen. I gasp at the look of them. Their faces are deformed from punches. As though someone had been beating them with sledgehammers. But when they stop walking, it takes all of ten seconds for their faces to go back to normal.

  The power to heal is impressive. And scary.

  “They can do that because of you,” Layre whispers.

  “Me?” I ask as I chomp down on the super crunchy crust of the pizza. Crumbs explode everywhere. “Why me?”

  “Because you’re everything to us,” Kyran says.

  “You’re everything we’ve been searching for,” Seth says.

  I chew on the pizza crust, crumbs hitting the orange dress I’m wearing. My breath tastes gross. I can’t imagine the last time I showered and actually looked decent.

  “Me?” I ask. “Why me?”

  Layre reaches for my hand and lifts my arm up. He puts his nose to the bend in my elbow and takes a deep breath. His eyes shut and his mouth opens. His fangs look bigger, engorged, if that’s even possible. He looks poised to attack me. But I don’t pull my arm away. I feel confident that I can stop him if need be.

  “Because you have the blood that we all want,” Seth says. He approaches me slowly. “The blood we crave. In some sense, the blood we need. A blood that’s so rare, it’s only been spoken of through stories for hundreds of years. A blood that wars have been fought over, only to learn that what they were fighting for wasn’t even real.”

  “I don’t understand,” I say.

  Seth is now just inches from me. His blue eyes shining so brightly, like a clear blue sky after a snowfall.