Gabriel Read online

  “Look, I don’t know what you did to me, but it’s killed me. You have to make up for it.”

  “You were already dead.”

  “You know what I mean,” he said, raising his voice, looking more and more fidgety by the second. “You didn’t play fair.”

  “How many people have you killed?” she said, in a sarcastic tone. “Have you been fair to them?”

  “That’s different. It’s in my nature; I can’t help it.”

  “Well, I believe you can now!”

  “Ha ha, very funny.” He snorted. She could see simple, human teeth. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “Sort of.”

  He flapped his arms. “As much as you enjoyed me? Didn’t I give you everything you wanted? Didn’t you get a real kick? Don’t I deserve something in return?”

  “Oh, I see.” Pure sarcasm was flowing out of her mouth now. “I’m supposed to do you a favour because you made me come. That’s not the way it works, pal.”

  “Why not? Besides, I won’t ask anything you don’t want to do. As a matter of fact, I’m quite sure you’ll be more than willing.”

  That got her interested. Whatever he had in mind, he must have been pondering it since she had left his crypt. Therefore, it had to be important to him.

  “I’m listening.”

  “Will you do it?” he asked, his blue gaze never leaving her face.

  “For Christ’s sake, spill it out!”

  “All right, no need to get cranky,” he said, holding his hands up. “I want you to…do your thing to another vampire.”

  “You’re kidding, right?” Calista smiled. “Aren’t you all brothers, best pals, sucking buddies?”

  “Definitely not.” He seemed sure of himself. “So?”

  “Who do you have in mind?”

  “Master Gabriel.”

  Calista shuddered. Was it from a sudden draught in the stillness of this warm summer night or the evocation of a monster crouching in the shadows?

  Gabriel, master of all dead and undead creatures. Gabriel, whose name alone had people and vampires alike fleeing in terror. Gabriel, the most vicious, powerful, and ruthless bloodsucker who’d ever wielded hell on earth.

  Arms still crossed, Calista cocked her head. “You don’t beat around the bush, do you?”

  “Forget what you heard about him, you can take him.”

  “Why should I do that?”

  The blond vampire smiled. “To get rid of him, that would be a good start. You know what he does.”

  “How come I get the feeling you don’t give a damn if he killed millions of people? That’s a bit of a flimsy excuse.”

  He dropped his ridiculous smile and held his hands up. “Okay, you win. I just want to be rid of him.”

  “Why?”

  “It’s personal.”

  She didn’t know vampires could get personal. “And you think I’m gonna fall for that? Come on, you’ve got to give me more.”

  “Let’s just say he did me wrong. What’s it to you, anyway? If you really must know, I can’t stand the sight of him.”

  Judging by his attitude, Calista thought he must be speaking the truth. She also assumed he was scared shitless of his master. The blond vampire wanted Gabriel incapacitated and so was using her as a weapon. She wasn’t sure she ought to enter such dangerous territory. At best, death would be a blessing. But if worst came to worst, she could be turned into a vampire.

  In spite of her circumspection, she was tempted. Gabriel was a legend. She had always been dying to meet him; to see if she was prepared to take the challenge up. It was obviously a huge mistake, but curiosity was eating away at her…

  “You’d be doing a good deed,” he insisted.

  “Stop being such a suck up; it won’t get you anywhere!”

  “Maybe not, but there’s something else I haven’t told you.” The smug smile was back on his lips. “Gabriel is expecting you.”

  “What?”

  “I went to see him after you left. I told him about you.”

  “What exactly did you say?” Calista asked, dread rising in her throat. “You dickhead, what did you tell him?”

  “Only that you were special, nothing more, I swear.” He took a step back. “Don’t worry, he won’t hurt you. He gave me his word he wouldn’t lay a finger on you.”

  “So I’m supposed to trust a master vampire?”

  “Oddly enough, that jerk-off is a man of his word.”

  Irritation growing inside her, Calista burst out, “Don’t call him a man!”

  “Whatever, you have to go to him while he’s still in good spirits. ‘Cause if you don’t he’ll come for you. By then he might be pissed.”

  “I guess that doesn’t leave me much of an alternative.”

  He shrugged. “I’ll take you to him.”

  Ever since she had first heard about Gabriel, she had felt their paths would one day cross. It was only a matter of time. She wasn’t ready for such an encounter, but then she never would be. Nobody would.

  Uncrossing her arms, she took a step towards the vampire. “When?”

  “Now.”

  Chapter Three

  Calista had to let him into her car. Slumped in the passenger seat, he directed her to the eastern edge of town. The streets were bathed in shadows; not a soul in sight. They passed through residential areas and soon they were driving past sumptuous houses and mansions. Clearly they were nearing a wealthy neighbourhood.

  “Are you sure this is the right way?” she asked. The place bore no relation to cemeteries, crypts or sewers.

  “Yeah, the man lives in style.”

  “Don’t tell me,” she jeered, eyes on the road, “sewers aren’t good enough for a master vampire?”

  “Something like that.”

  “Of course, what else?”

  He gestured towards one of the biggest houses. “Here, pull over!”

  Her stomach constricted as they got out of the car. She had acted boldly up until now, but she was scared. She was about to go into a vampire’s safehold, and if she didn’t get a grip on herself she’d be dead meat.

  He led the way up the steps and rang the bell. “Tell Gabriel I’m bringing the girl”, he said, to someone Calista couldn’t see.

  They were ushered into a luxurious, preternaturally quiet and dim living room. Those creatures really enjoyed dwelling in shadows. On the right side, two couples were slouching on large plush sofas, snogging like there was no eternity. In the middle of the room, sitting across a table, a male was playing cards with a bald female.

  All heads turned to Calista when she stepped into the room. She sensed their malevolence straightaway; their hatred of the human race, their sudden, blatant thirst. With his gaze riveted to her neck, the male card player stood up.

  “Sit!”

  He obeyed the harsh voice without question. The order had come from the left side of the living room, which was plunged into darkness. Squinting, Calista could just discern a bulky shape in a chair. The blond vampire stepped forward, then kneeled before the ominous shadow.

  “This is her, Gabriel.”

  “Good. Let’s see what all the fuss is about.” The voice sounded deeper and richer when addressing her. “Come forward.”

  Legs wobbling, Calista noticed she had been holding her breath. She approached him slowly, laying eyes on him for the first time. Words leapt to her mind—huge, so huge. If she had felt free from strain, she might have been able to consider at length the jet-black hair kept short, the strong nose, the square jaw, the liquid dark gaze settled on her. But all she saw in that instant was him, the wholeness of him. To her greatest distress, he was the most attractive vampire, creature, or beast she had ever seen.

  “She’s a slip of a girl.” He seemed to be talking to himself before acknowledging the slave still kneeling at his feet. “Get up!”

  The blond vampire stood, head bowed. “She may not look much, but appearances can be deceptive.”

  “What’s your name?” Gabriel asked her.

  “Calista.” She wished her voice sounded more confident.

  “Are you scared?”

  “If I wasn’t, I’d be a fool.”

  Gabriel’s eyes glowered. “I don’t think you’re a fool. I think you’re a clever girl who should have known better than to peeve my men.”

  “I didn’t.” She gestured towards the vampire she had incapacitated only hours ago. “This one caught me.”

  “Let’s not squabble over this, shall we? The question is what am I going to do with you?” Gabriel spoke in a forbidding tone. “More to the point, what am I going to do to you?”

  “How about tea and biscuits?”

  She was flouting his authority in front of his devoted disciples, but she needed to get the upper hand. If she kept quiet, she would die.

  He stood incredibly quickly for such a massive body, towering over her like a hungry predator.

  Panic struck her. She was rooted to the spot, unable to move a single muscle. Bad as it was though, she had been frightened before and she could fight it. What she couldn’t fight was the overwhelming sensation now running uncontrollably through her blood. She was utterly and helplessly turned on.

  Gabriel came up to her so they were only inches apart. He curled a lock of her hair around his finger, smelling it, leaning too close for comfort.

  “You smell delicious,” he announced for the company to hear. His mouth brushed against her neck, softly going up to whisper in her ear, “And horny.”

  She blushed, glad that the dimness veiled her shame. Then he grabbed her arm and dragged her out of the living room without a word. Crossing the hallway, he pushed her into a smaller room, locking the door behind him. He sat on the corner of an enormous desk to watch her, his
eyes cold and unyielding.

  “Strip!” he barked.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “Strip. Now!”

  She was in his power—what else could she do? With no other option coming to mind, Calista undressed. He observed her the whole time, studying each of her movements. When she was naked, he snapped his fingers. The commanding gesture took her by surprise. Her body responded instinctively and she felt a familiar moistness between her thighs.

  “Lie down and spread your legs!”

  In a way, he was working for her. He had clearly decided to have sex with her, and that was the best thing he could have done. She complied, the cold desk giving her goosebumps. Trapped, she had to play the part till the end.

  “Now I see what all the fuss was about.” Gabriel moved to the side, shifting his gaze from her breasts to her shapely legs.

  “He told me you wouldn’t harm me,” she said in her meekest tone, acting scared and vulnerable. “You gave your word.”

  “I said I wouldn’t lay a finger on you.” He hovered his massive hand over her belly. “I never said I wouldn’t lay a finger in you.”

  He roughly penetrated her with his middle finger. She jerked, taken aback by the intense, unexpected sensation.

  “Mmmm…yes, what am I going to do to you?” he teased, beginning circling motions to stir her desire.

  With her breathing matching the rhythm of his finger, Calista perceived he was taking her to an unusual place. Yet she couldn’t resist him—the fact that he was fully dressed and subjecting her to his wish aroused her even more. Of its own volition, a moan escaped her lips when he started moving back and forth.

  “Do you like that?”

  She was loving it. She didn’t know she could take so much pleasure in it and wondered what his cock would feel like.

  “Answer me!” he barked at her.

  “I do, I do.” The words tumbled out of her mouth as he slid his finger out and rested it on her parted cunt. He deftly stroked the swollen lips, edging towards her softest spot, but lingering and lingering. She needed him to touch it now. The frustration was gnawing at her, and her hips were rising to him.

  “Asking for more? You are some horny bitch!”

  He thumbed her clitoris and she gasped. She had never been so wet, so desperate for a vampire’s touch.

  “Technically, this spot here”—he brushed against it—“is as much on you as it is in you.” He pressed his thumb, sending heatwaves through her body. “So as part of our agreement, you can ask me to stop if you want. Just say the word.”

  Dear God, stopping was the last thing on her mind. Almost quivering from the powerful feelings coming from her throbbing clitoris, she spread her legs wider.

  He smiled. “What was I saying? Oh yes, should I stop?” he asked again while rotating his finger, his eyes pinning her to the desk. “Answer me!”

  “No, don’t stop!” she cried, her lust mirrored in his cold stare.

  He increased his movement, pressing her clitoris, petting it, fondling it. “I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that.”

  “Please, don’t stop!” she urged him, whole new sensations surging from within her, flooding her. The desk seemed to burn her back, and she realised she was completely losing it. He was nowhere near fucking her and she was too far gone to complete the job. This had never happened before.

  Abruptly, he removed his finger. He raised it to his face to smell it. The delightful sensations ceased, but the throbbing between her thighs didn’t. She could have screamed with frustration.

  “Come again?”

  Although he was mocking her, she knew what he wanted. He knew what she wanted. Sprawled naked on a table, enslaved by a master vampire, she surrendered.

  “Touch me. I beg of you, please touch me.”

  “Now, that’s much better,” he said with complacency. “Let me see, where was I? Right here, I believe…” His thumb took possession of her again, rolling, twirling, spinning the delicate flesh. The sudden, incredible feeling was almost painful. She let out a vibrant moan, causing his smile to stretch.

  “I don’t know who you are, princess, but I do know what you are.”

  How could he? She should have torn herself away from him, but his skilful touch was inflaming her, his fingering burning her up. Her head rocking from side to side, she plunged into the whirling ocean of delirious bliss he had created for her. The crashing waves swirled and churned, slinging her further away from reality and well on her way to happiness. Then he removed his thumb.

  “You and I are going to strike a deal,” he said without a flicker of emotion on his sensual, magnetic face.

  Brutally cut off from her body’s desire, she uttered a sharp cry, her thighs quivering from tension. “Oh God, oh God, don’t do that to me. Don’t leave me stranded!” She wasn’t breathing as much as panting. “I’ll do anything you want, but keep going, please.”

  “I knew you were a clever girl,” he said, sounding self-satisfied, showing her his glistening thumb, “but I’m going to need your word.”

  Looking at his finger, she cursed her own weakness and wantonness, cursed his compelling bestiality. Standing between her sprawled legs, the huge master vampire was waiting for her answer. Although she couldn’t guess what he had in mind, at this point she didn’t care. She wanted him to make her come.

  “You have my word.”

  “Good girl,” he whispered, passing out of her sight.

  She wasn’t sure what to expect, but she cried out when he licked her cunt. He clasped her lips in his mouth, sucking deeply on them. When he inserted his tongue into her sex, she gripped the sides of the desk, holding on for dear blessedness.

  She thought she wouldn’t be able to bear any more tarrying; she thought she would pass out. He had her panting, he had her whimpering, he had her supplicating. “God, I can’t take this. Finish me, please, finish me!”

  His tongue settled on her bursting clit to flicker over it. Her body jerked, overpowered by the fiery sensation coming from her guts.

  “Oh shit,” she groaned, feeling her orgasm rushing out of her. “Oh shit!”

  His tongue flicked to and fro, unrelenting. It darted about until she climaxed, clenching her muscles, gritting her teeth. It was so staggering she shouted out, blown away by his overmastering strike. When she exploded in his mouth he kept on licking her, his slow motion appeasing the violent tremors, lapping up her juices, drinking her.

  She let his mouth soothe her as her ragged breathing rent the silence and sweat coated her body. He had raised her to a pinnacle she hadn’t even known had existed. He was the first one and, deep down, she believed he was the only one.

  He straightened up, his massive body seeming to fill the room. He looked at her—breasts rising up and down from exertion, hair damp, legs apart, hands still clinging to the desk. A thin smile stretched the corners of his lips as he gloated over his triumph, and she felt like killing him.

  When he spoke, his self-assured tone did nothing to alleviate her murderous impulse. “Can we talk now?”

  Chapter Four

  He pointed at her discarded clothes on the floor. Sliding off the table, Calista went to pick them up, then dressed quickly. Having gone around the desk, he sat in a big chair, though not fast enough—from the corner of her eye she noticed the bulge stretching his trousers. So the episode had excited him after all, maybe more than he’d wanted, and she took a small measure of satisfaction from it.

  “Have you heard of Spade?” Gabriel asked.

  “I guess.”

  “He’s also a master vampire. He owns the southern part of the city.”

  More in control of herself, her cheeky nature came back full force. “Do you mean to say he’s more powerful than you are?”

  “Don’t use that tone with me,” Gabriel growled, “I could kill you for that.”

  “But you won’t, because apparently you need me.”

  He sighed, fiddling with a paper knife. “I want him out of the picture.”

  “So you can have control over his creatures and his territory.”

  “You catch on quick.”

  Calista nodded, glad he didn’t believe her a hopeless fool. “Why don’t you kill him?”

  “He’s not stupid. He’s guarded at all times and he hardly ever goes out.” The huge vampire hesitated. “But he has a weakness.”