The Feeder Read online

  “I’ll stay with you.” I had a feeling she would say that. Stubborn woman.

  Guiding her back through the club and up to her apartment, I looked around, taking in every detail. There was no sign of a break-in. No clue as to whom or what had made the noise she had heard. Looking around her room, I saw nothing out of place. Everything was as it should have been. “What exactly did the noise sound like?” I asked.

  “I don’t know,” she said from the corner of the room where she had placed herself the moment we had entered, arms wrapped tightly around herself as she gazed around the room. “It was a creaking sound. Kind of like metal when a lot of weight is applied to it.” Shaking her head, she sighed, “That is the only way I can describe it.”

  “Well, there doesn’t seem to have been anyone here.” There were also no scents of anyone, vampire or human, having been here. Either Eve’s imagination was running wild, or whoever it was had found a way to disguise their scent.

  “I did hear something, Thayne. I didn't imagine it.” Her eyes were wide with panic. She thought that I didn’t believe her, that I thought she was making things up.

  “I believe you. Let’s get you back downstairs and I’ll call in some of the guys.”

  “What good would that do? They can’t do anything to help with the sun being up. And won’t they be asleep?”

  “That they will. But they will get the message the moment they awake and be here the instant the sun sets to help me search the place.” And I would need their help, as it was looking highly likely that I wouldn’t be able to do that anytime soon, not with her so scared at the thought of being alone.

  A rush of nervousness suddenly hit me, a nervousness that did not belong to me. Looking back over my shoulder to where Eve remained huddled in the corner, our eyes met briefly before she glanced back at her shuffling feet. “What’s wrong?”

  “Do you think… that we… that…” she gasped breathlessly, looking everywhere but at me.

  “Come on, sweetheart. You can ask me anything.”

  Taking a deep breath, peeking up at me from beneath long, dark lashes, she forced out the words. “Do you think that maybe we could stay up here? I mean, there was a noise, I swear, and I really want you to hear it. So maybe if you stayed up here with me, you might hear it too.”

  There was one problem with her thinking – not necessarily a problem for me, in fact, I loved the thought of it – to hear the noise I would have to be in here with her, and there wasn’t enough room on the floor for me to sleep. If I were to stay here with her, in her room, we would need to share. “But where will I sleep?” I asked with a smile.

  “Well…I was hoping… in the bed with me?”

  Eve

  “Try and get some sleep, sweetheart. I'll keep an ear out.”

  We had been laid in bed together for the past hour in silence in the hope of hearing the noise that had sent me fleeing from the room. So far we’d heard nothing. “No, it's okay; I'll stay up with you.”

  “Now that's just silly. You need your rest.”

  “And so do you. You’re a vampire; you should be sleeping now.” And here I was keeping him from that sleep with my silliness. It was just a noise. It didn't mean that the stalker was here. Did it?

  “I can survive on less,” he smiled, rolling onto his side and gazing down at me, concern etched on his face. “You, on the other hand, haven't been getting enough lately. I'm here, Eve. You’re safe with me.” The plea for me to believe his words clear in his voice.

  “I know,” I whispered. I knew that now, knew that he would never hurt me. I could trust him. Though, it still shocked me that within a matter of a few short weeks I had gone from keeping myself at a distance from all vampires – other than Gideon – to truly enjoying the company of them. And in the case of Thayne, trusting one.

  “You do?” he breathed lowering his head, inching his lips closer to mine.

  “Yes, I really do.”

  Feeling his breath on my lips, I knew that this was it. This was my last and only chance to pull away, to put an end to what was happening between us before things went too far, before I got hurt – which was a very real possibility – but I didn't want to.

  It was stupid. It was dangerous. But it was what I wanted more than anything in the world. I just had to make sure he understood that my blood was off limits.

  Placing my finger against his lips, I postponed the complete descent of his kiss a moment longer. His desire filled eyes lifted to meet mine in an instant. “You can't bite me. You can't feed on me. Promise?”

  For a moment, panic rose within me. What if he promised and then broke that promise? What if he refused and went straight for my neck the moment my guard was down?

  No! This is Thayne. Haven’t we just decided that I can trust him?

  Shaking the negative thoughts from my head, forcing the panic back, I focused on Thayne and the words coming out of his mouth. “Never without your permission, I swear.”

  That was all I needed to hear.

  The moment his lips touched mine, everything about the danger of getting involved with him, the creep stalking me and the high chance that they had been here just a few hours ago vanished from my mind. The soft press of his lips, the smooth swipe of his tongue as he coaxed me to open to him, left me feeling like I was floating on air. It was a slow kiss, a gentle meeting of mouths and tongues.

  His hands pulled me closer, my body flush with his. As the kiss turned and became more demanding, my hands began to roam over his body. I wanted closer. Even though we were laid in bed together, nothing but my night clothes and the pair of sweats he wore between us, it wasn’t close enough.

  Moving my hands to my nightshirt, I began to pull frantically at the buttons holding it closed. I wanted to feel him skin to skin, for my breasts to be pressed up against his hard, chiselled chest.

  “Stop,” Thayne gasped breaking the kiss, gripping my wrists to steady my hands. “You need to stop.”

  What? Why? “Don’t you want me?”

  A breathy laugh escaping his lips. “Want you? Fuck, Eve, I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you.”

  “Then why stop?”

  “Because things have happened lately, things that might be affecting your decision to do this now, and I don't want you to regret something like this. Don’t want you to regret me.”

  “I won't. I want this.” And I did, but looking at it from a slightly clearer mind I could see his point. Would I have pushed this, come on this strongly if I hadn't been scared into the safety of his arms earlier tonight?

  No, I wouldn't have. I wanted him; there was no denying that. But normally this was something I would never have done, a situation I would never have put myself in. That being said, I didn’t regret that I was here now. But still, he had a point.

  “You sure about that?” he asked sceptically, as if he knew what I was thinking.

  “Okay, so maybe what has happened tonight has helped push this along a little. But still, that doesn't change the fact that I want you, Thayne.”

  “I know,” he said with a smile that failed to reach his eyes. “But to suddenly go from our first kiss to sex in a matter of seconds… I know you would regret that.”

  Rolling onto his back, he reached out to me, pulling me to his side and holding me close. “We will be together like that, Eve, that I promise you. But not now. Not because of someone else’s actions.”

  Brushing his lips against my brow as I snuggled against him, I breathed in his rich, warm scent. “I hope your right.”

  I allowed my eyes to close and sleep slowly began to claim me. I wanted us to be together, to experience the pleasure that we could find together, but deep down I had a really bad feeling that our chance to be together might never happen. If Gideon got wind of it? The thought didn’t bare thinking about.

  “What happened the other night was completely unacceptable,” Gideon stormed, anger pouring off him in waves. The moment Thayne and I had descended from the apartme
nt, Gideon had been there to drag me away. He wasn’t too pleased to have found us together, never mind coming from my apartment alone. I had been stuck in his office ever since, filing paperwork and listening to his constant verbal abuse. “My club got destroyed all because some familiar got herself killed. And I missed out on a feeding because you went to pot over it.”

  There was a body in my bed, of course I fucking did.

  I wanted to yell at him, scream at him, but I kept my mouth shut. I knew that if I said anything, it would just make things ten times worse.

  “And that fucker, Thayne, wouldn't give me even a chance of getting you alone to get it. With him here it is highly important that I keep my strength up. I'm not stupid. I know the Council of Masters doubts my claim as Master. He's friends with those damn red-eyed twins, and I wouldn't put it passed them to send him here to spy on me. We'll have to up the feeds; that's the only option.”

  “What? No! Once a week, that was the deal.”

  “Deal? There is no fucking deal, you piece of shit. You do as I tell you. I gave you a job, put a roof over your head and kept your little secret. You should be grateful I don't tell everyone here what you are. You wouldn't last a minute if they knew, and you know it.”

  I did. If the vampires in this place – or any place for that matter – knew what I was, they would drain me dry in minutes. No one could know. No matter how much I hated it, I would have to give my wrist to Gideon… whenever he demanded it.

  Thayne

  Something was going to happen, something bad. I didn't know what, but I just had the most horrible feeling that something was going to happen tonight. So far it had been pretty quiet, quieter than normal.

  Gideon was in his office doing fuck knows what, as per usual. I needed to go over the video footage from the cameras I’d installed in his office, but with everything that had been going off with Eve and this fucking stalker, I just hadn't had the chance. For the first time in my life, a woman was coming before my job. Shit was I messed up.

  Moving around the outer edge of the dance floor, I kept an eye out for trouble, all the while waiting for an update over the radio of Eve’s position. After what I had felt the night before I’d switched Vince with Reese. I knew I could trust him to keep her safe. Vince hadn’t been too happy about it, which made me even more suspicious of the bastard, but headed upstairs to the balcony bar as instructed. Hearing a beep over the radio, I pulled it from my side. “Reese, what’s your position?”

  “Eve has just exited Gideon’s office and is heading back towards her own.”

  “Good. Stand guard outside the door and let me know if anything changes.”

  “Will do.”

  Continuing my rounds, I checked in with Dean at the bar from time to time. He wasn’t the same, you could see the pain and sorrow in his eyes from Pippa’s death and probably would for a long time yet, but I was in doubt that he would heal, maybe even find someone else someday.

  Just as I was about to move upstairs to relieve Trent from his position so that he could feed Vince’s voice came yelling loudly over the radio. “Thayne, we have trouble.”

  “Where?” Nothing was happening here in the club. No shouts or screams. No fresh whiff of blood strong enough to mean more than regular vampire feeding was going on. Where the fuck could there be a pissing problem?

  “Outside the main doors… and hurry, I don’t think it is going to be long before the police arrive.”

  Shit, that was all we needed. “Guys, did you hear that?”

  “Got it!”

  “On the way.”

  Stepping outside the main doors of the club onto the street, I glanced around at the scene before me. Two girls lay bleeding upon the floor, another just a few feet away, unconscious but no visible injuries. A crowd was quickly gathering, people rushing over the road to stare at the injured girls. Thankfully no sirens could be heard in the distance, but it wouldn’t be long before there was. We needed to sort things out quickly. Find out what had gone off and get everyone the help they needed. All before the human police descended upon us and made things more complicated. It was at times like this that I missed a certain red eyed vampire and her hypnotising stare.

  Scanning the crowd I searched for Vince, but couldn't spot him anywhere. The next moment Chad came ploughing through the doors, slamming into my back. "What's gone off?"

  “That's what I want to know.”

  Reese and Trent joined us a moment later and we set to work, checking the girls out and arranging the appropriate care for them. The girl with no bleeding injuries had a large goose egg on her head, but apart from that seemed fine and was already coming around. The other two were not so lucky. Neither was dead, which was something, but their injuries would need serious medical care and there would be scarring. What the fuck had happened here?

  “Thayne, you might want to hear this,” Reese shouted, calling me over to the small group of familiars he was talking to. The guys had been in the queue waiting to get in and had seen what had happened.

  “We were in the queue behind those girls. Stuart was working the door when he got a call to see Gideon immediately. He rushed right off the moment someone turned up to take over, that’s when things went to hell. He was letting everyone in. Things seemed normal. Then suddenly he flipped, grabbed the two girls and ripped into them for no reason what so ever. The other one tried to stop him and got knocked back. Then he turned and glared at us before walking right back into the club as if nothing had happened.”

  “Who?”

  “Vince.”

  Dread filled my being, panic threatening to take over as I looked over the scene before me with the knowledge that Vince had been responsible for it. Vince had attacked two girls and injured a third for no reason what so ever. He had called over the radio knowing that we would all respond within an instant. And I had felt his want and desire for Eve the night before when we discovered that girl’s body…

  As the realisation hit, my eyes swung to where Reese stood talking to the human police officer that had just pulled up. He was meant to be watching Eve. If he was here, then that meant…

  “Trent. Reese. Chad. With me,” I ordered as I sprang for the door.

  I had failed her. I had been trying to protect her, and, all this time, I had been assisting the one trying to harm her. How the fuck could I not have picked up on it sooner?

  Probably because the fucker always avoided me. But still, this was unacceptable.

  “Thayne, what’s wrong?” Chad asked, catching up to me.

  “Vince is the stalker.” That was all that needed to be said; they would put the rest together themselves without my help. It didn’t take long either.

  “Shit! I left her alone.” Reese almost stumbled as the knowledge hit him. “Thayne, I'm so sorry.”

  “We don’t know if anything has happened to her yet,” I ground out, but I didn’t believe my own words. “She may well be fine.”

  As we entered the corridor leading to Eve and Gideon’s offices, the faint scent of fresh blood hit me. It wasn’t strong, so at least that meant there was only a small drop that had been spilt, but it was a scent I would know anywhere. A scent that sent my throat burning and my fangs pushing through my gums and into my lip.

  “Wow,” Chad gasped as he and the other guys had the same reaction. “What the fuck is that scent?”

  Stopping in the doorway of Eve’s office, I glanced at the smashed remains of her room, my eyes narrowing on a small dark patch on the carpet by the desk. All three guys zeroed in on it, their eyes black with hunger. “That my friends is the sigh that our stalker has got his mark.”

  Eve

  I was a nervous wreck. Feeding Gideon hurt, a lot. And now he was expecting me to feed him more often than before. I was in no doubt that he would expect that first feed tonight either.

  It had actually surprised me at first that he hadn’t demanded that I give him a feed then and there, but when I left the room I knew exactly why he hadn’t. Thay
ne and the guys had been following me since this whole mess of dead bodies started, and they still were. Reese had been stood a little down the corridor when I’d exited Gideon’s office, pretending to view something on his phone, but I wasn’t stupid. He was watching me, and the moment I entered my office I was in no doubt that he’d informed Thayne of my whereabouts.

  I tried my best to concentrate on the papers before me, but it was hopeless. If I wasn’t thinking about the pain that was to come from feeding Gideon, I was thinking about Thayne and how much I wished that it was him that would be sinking his fangs into my flesh, draw my power-giving blood into his body. And then my mind would hit the gutter and the image of Thayne, his naked body pressing against me, would enter my mind. And then all I could think about was those other parts of him that I wouldn’t mind sinking into me.

  Argh! I would never get anything done at this rate. Thayne seemed to have taken up residency in my brain since his appearance here, and it seemed like he was in no rush to vacate it.

  What was it about him? I’d never had this kind of instant attraction to a vampire before. Not that I’d ever really had the chance. Until I had come to the club, I’d only ever know four other vampires, Gideon being the forth. The three that came before him I tried my best not ever to think about, it just brought up bad memories, ones that I’d done my best to suppress since my escape.

  Would Thayne be the same as everybody else if he knew? Would he force me to submit to him? To feed him?

  In the past, I would have said yes, he was a vampire after all. But now that I had gotten to know him – I mean, really know him – I wasn’t so sure.

  Forcing myself to forget him for the moment, or, at least, attempt to, I managed to work my way through a small portion of the paperwork mountain Gideon had left me to do. Just as I placed another form on the pile of completed forms and reached for the next, I heard Reese curse from outside my door. Something was kicking off in the club no doubt. For the first time in a long while, I wasn’t worried. I knew Thayne and the others would take care of it.