House of Immortal PleasuresCopyright © 2010 by Katie SalidasThis book is for ADULT AUDIENCES ONLY. It contains substantialsexually explicit scenes and graphic language which may be considered offensive by some readers.
Connor spoke slowly to hold back
the rage in his voice. “What concern of yours is she? You have her money.”
“It would be a pity if something
were to happen to her.” He smiled wide and licked his fangs. “She was your last
customer after all.”
Anger forced its way though Connors
restraint and his voice came out as a snarl. “Leave her out of this,
Alexander.”
“Would you want another woman’s
death on your hands?”
Connor’s heart sped, his muscles
tensed, coiling, ready to spring into action. “You will not harm her.”
Alexander’s grin widened. “I can do
whatever I please.” He walked behind the large mahogany desk.
“I promise you this, if even a
single hair is out of place on her head, I will kill you.”
Alexander waved his hand flippantly
in the air. “Your threats mean nothing. You are weak, nothing more than a
pretty-boy piece of meat for my customers.”
Connor snarled, baring his teeth
and lunged at Alexander in a superhuman blur of motion. Grabbing him by the
neck, Connor slammed Alexander into the wall. “Just because I have not shown
it, does not mean I have no strength.”
Alexander hissed as he thudded into
the wall. He raked his hands across Connor’s face, tearing open a large gash.
He bent forward and licked the fresh wound. “I made you what you are, Connor.
Remember that. Your strength comes from me.”
Connor threw his head back, away
from Alexander’s mouth. “You gave me your blood, but you did not make me who I
am.” He balled his free hand into a tight fist and punched hard into
Alexander’s ribs. A snap and a crack echoed in the room. Connor delighted in
the satisfying sound of bones breaking.
Alexander moaned in pain but recovered
quickly, breaking free from Connor’s grip. He lunged forward, catching Connor
off balance and knocked him to the ground.
Connor caught Alexander’s arm as he
fell and pulled him down too.
Together, they wrestled on the
hardwood floor.
Connor fought to gain the upper
hand and pin Alexander down. With his teeth bared, Connor blindly bit at any
open flesh he could find. His heart beat with the pounding fury raging inside
him. He had to end this, tonight. The taste of blood filled his mouth as he
locked on to cold flesh.
A guttural groan escaped from
Alexander as he flailed wildly, attempting to free himself from Connor’s grip.
A flailing arm connected with Connor sending him crashing down.
White light flashed before Connor’s
eyes as his head slammed into the hardwood floor. Before he could regain his
senses, he felt himself lifted, by unseen hands, into the air. A momentary
weightlessness took him and then his body struck something hard.
Wicked laughter filled the room as
Connor fought against blinding pain to refocus on Alexander.
In a flash, long, white fangs were
inches from his face. Alexander’s sickening, putrid breath attacked his nose.
“You need to be taught a lesson in obedience. I think a month down in the
basement might take care of that. And as for your little girlfriend, I might
have considered recruiting her, but after your display here, she will serve as
your reminder never to cross me again. Consider her dead.”
At the mention of Daphne’s
impending death, Connor frenzied with strength. He would let no harm come to
her. Not now, not ever. He threw himself forward, head butting Alexander. The
crack as their heads collided sounded like the breaking of a wood plank.
Alexander’s body went limp.
Connor jerked Alexander sideways
and lunged at his neck. Sinking his teeth in deep, he clenched his jaw and
pulled back hard; ripping away the flesh, creating a large, bleeding wound in
Alexander’s throat.
Alexander screamed. Blood poured
from the wound, like a fountain. Down to the floor it ran, creating a growing
pool underneath both men. Alexander’s eyes fixed on to Connor’s face.
Connor licked the blood from his
lips, savoring the sweet taste of it. For a moment, he considered draining his
former master. He would savor every last drop. But reason got the better of
him. Alexander might be missed and Connor already had a record. He chose his
words carefully. “I’ve put up with you all these years because I genuinely
wanted to pay back my debt to society. But I will not take your bullshit any
longer. Now, we can do this one of two ways. You can let me go and never bother
me or Daphne again, or I can kill you and leave your body to burn in the midday sun.”
He released his grip on Alexander, allowing
him to slump against the wall.
Alexander’s hands flew to his neck
in an attempt to stem the flow of blood still gushing from his open wound. He
gulped and then slowly nodded.
Connors voice was a menacing growl.
“I want your word.”
“Fine … you have my … word.”
Alexander choked the words out.
“Wise decision. Now, where are the
keys?”
Alexander pointed a shaky hand at
the desk and then slumped further down on the floor.
Relief washed through Connor as he
opened the top drawer and extracted a large ring of keys. Finally he was
getting the freedom he so desperately wanted. He unlocked the collar. Years of
carrying that dead weight around his neck, the reminder of his one and only
mistake, fell away with a loud clank as the metal ring hit the desk. Inside, he
saw a magnetic mechanism, and the razor-sharp blades, folded against the metal
ring, that would have sliced though his neck if he had ever attempted escape
and triggered the mechanism.
He rubbed the spot where the collar
had been, enjoying the cool rush of air against his skin before turning back
towards Alexander. Connor took the collar, snapped it around Alexander’s throat
and pocketed the key.
“Now it’s your turn to wear this damn
contraption. And if you’re thinking of going to the council and spinning any
lies about me, remember, I have been here long enough to know the shady things
you do. I know about the new recruits and the compulsion tactics you use to pad
your pockets. You risk our reputation with your business practices. One word to
the council and this collar won’t be the only thing you have to worry about.”
Alexander pulled at the collar surrounding his
wounded neck. Blood oozed around the metal ring. “Just get out of here,”
Alexander rasped. “Get out of my sight.”
Read More Next Week!