Angels of Darkness

what happens between you and me, your daughter will be safe. I will never use her against you. Everyone is afraid of me, and she will never be bullied or mistreated.”
    Karina stared at him in surprise.
    â€œYou wanted to start this right,” he said. “We can do that. Let’s be honest. The bitch in the hotel poisoned you. Technically she infected you with a virus that secretes a toxin into your bloodstream. To counteract the virus, you need my venom. I’ve already bitten you once but it will take several feedings before you’re in the clear.”
    â€œYou’ve bitten me?”
    â€œLeft thigh,” he said. “I was in the attack variant at the time, and biting you anywhere else would’ve caused too much damage.”
    She grabbed at her leg, trying to feel the wound through the fabric of the jeans.
    â€œIt was a very quick bite,” he said. “To keep you from dying. This will be worse.”
    He was serious. The thought of him feeding on her, chewing on her, was almost too much to contemplate. “Can we do a blood transfusion instead?”
    â€œNo. We’ve tried in the past and failed. There is some sort of relationship between your blood, my venom, and my saliva that we don’t understand. I have to feed on you. You need me to survive and I need you to . . .” He paused. “To counteract my venom.”
    He was holding something back, she could feel it.
    Lucas’s eyes held no mercy. “I’m a predator and my body knows that you’re my prey. Your fear is exciting. Try not to be so scared. Don’t struggle. The more you flail about and whimper, the more excited I’ll get. If you get me excited enough, I’ll chew up your veins and end up fucking you in a puddle of blood. I take it you don’t want that.”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThen stay calm.” He nodded at the cord in her lap. “You sure you don’t want to be tied?”
    â€œYes.”
    Lucas stretched out on the bed, took her by the waist, and pulled her down, flush against him. They lay together, her butt pressed against his groin, her back tight against his chest. Like two lovers. Jonathan and she used to lie like this after sex. The perversity of it made her shiver.
    â€œLie still.” His arms pulled her tighter to him. The hard shaft of his erection dug into her butt. She tried to edge away from it.
    â€œDon’t worry. I can’t help it, but I won’t molest you. Unless you start moaning and rubbing your ass against me.”
    She stopped moving. The odor of hot copper was overpowering now. Karina cleared her throat. “I feel light-headed.”
    â€œYou’re breathing in my scent. Your body’s reacting. It will speed things up.”
    That explained the shirt coming off. He wanted no fabric barriers between her and that smell, so it could roll off his skin and take her under. “Do I need to do anything?”
    â€œJust lie there and endure. Your body needs my venom. As I said, I’ve bitten you already to kill the poison, but you got just enough to keep you alive. This will take some time.”
    She brushed her hair from her neck, exposing skin. No point in drawing this out.
    A low laugh answered her. He spoke into her ear, his breath a warm touch on her skin. “You ever watch hockey?”
    â€œNo.”
    â€œThe Buffalo Sabres had a goalie—Clint Malarchuk. Steve Tuttle, a guy on another team, was trying to score a goal, and as he charged at the crease, a defenseman grabbed him from behind and swung him up. Tuttle’s skate caught Malarchuk’s neck. A shallow cut, only severed the exterior jugular. Blood sprayed like water from a hose. Covered the whole crease in seconds.”
    For some reason she couldn’t understand, his quiet voice steadied her nerves. “Did he survive?”
    â€œHe did. Had the skate cut a bit deeper, he would’ve been dead in about two minutes.” He gathered her even tighter against himself. “The neck nuzzling is fun, but the pressure within the jugular would expel your blood so quickly, it would kill you.” His finger traced an outline on the vein on her neck, sending electric shivers along her skin. She wished he hadn’t done that.
    â€œIf not the neck, then where?”
    â€œThe arm works well.”
    â€œCan you . . . get on with it?”
    â€œNot yet. The longer we wait, the less painful it will be for