Sunlight peeked through the shades nearly blinding Emery as she hazily remembered the previous night. A group of her friends followed her to the club for the girl's night out, and two of them left early to bar hop. She ended up on the arm of a handsome stranger who invited her bac to his apartment. They ended up in the bedroom, and she spent the night intending to sneak out in the morning.
A hand rested on her hip.
Fuck.
Consciously pulling the pillow against her, she prayed he didn't play the game 'guess-her-name' because she didn't want to play the game ' guess-his-name' either.
" Morning, Emery,"
" Drake?" Turning slowly, the reality hit hard to selective memory. She would've remembered if he picked her up at the club. His face, his name forever ingrained into her memory that fateful night three weeks ago.
The facial structure of the lean man next to her shifted, lean muscle bulking up too rapidly to be considered remotely human. She wanted to inch away but his hand firmly held her in place. He leaned over and brushed back tangled hair with surprising tenderness. Well, maybe if he was a lamb in bed and a lion in the real world, she might let him take up a year or two of her time.
As if he sensed her thoughts, his lips crushed hers. " I have business to attend to," His red eyes shifted to brown again, inevitably turning back to red. " Are you hungry?"
Yes. " No,"
He dragged his knuckle along her exposed neck, worshipped the pulse with open reverence. " Money is on the counter. Do not leave the apartment," Without explanation, Drake abandoned her in the bed and stalked off to the massive closet full of suits, jeans, and tunic type t-shirts.
Sitting upright in bed, she watched him remove a black suit and disappear into the shower. Sliding out of the bed, she followed him and slipped into the shower behind him. A smirk she could not see graced the monster god's lips. He turned and pinned her against the azure blue tile. She continued to gaze up at him. " I need to shower too,"
His lips twitched. " You just want to admire my body," Not that she could see much given one hand pinned her throat to the wall with the other cupping her lower back. Hot water bounced off Drake's back occasionally splashing onto Emery.
" Don't you have business to attend to?" She swallowed hard, questioning her own wisdom at tempting him.
" All business can wait. I am Dagon, Dracula. I am Drake. All vampires bow down to me. When I want to fuck my queen, I will fuck my queen," He declared with possessive authority at the volume of a whisper. Her skin prickled remembering exactly the horns that appeared when he took his other form.
Emery wanted him to make a move already, and when he released her throat, she exhaled. Raising his wrist to his fangs, he dragged the veins across opening a free flow of blood. Offering it to her, Drake observed her shy toward the corner. Tentatively she took hold of his hand and covered his wrist with her mouth, tongue lapping at the hot blood. He said something she didn't understand, the next moment he eased his wrist away. His mouth sought hers, blood freely shared for half a minute. His fangs pulled away and sunk into her neck.
Pain assaulted every sense.
Resistance faded into meek submission. His voice pulled her from the haze. " You are weak." Buckling knees threatened to give way if he stepped back. " You are going to pass out soon, and you will begin to change," She blinked rapidly trying to pull back clarity as the cliff called her to the edge of unconsciousness. " You have done well, Emery," Strong arms held her up. Her neck throbbed, open wounds requiring attention.
She didn't know why she allowed herself to become such easy prey to a known monster, but better to accept her inevitable future as his toy rather than fight it. He called her his queen, shared his blood, and told her that all of the vampires bowed to him. As his toy, he intended to take care of her. Contented with being looked after, she accepted his help back to the bed of soft furs. Curling into the pillow, she closed her eyes again.
Drake showered quickly, the suit transforming him into the image of a gentleman. He checked on her after dressing, making a note to speak to her brother and give him proper payment. With an after thought to leave her an additional 100, he instructed the familiars to look after her every need.
When she woke an hour and half later, a maid cleaned the shower on her hands and knees. Emery tip toed toward the open door, seeing right through the glass walls that enclosed off the average sized shower. " Hello?"
The woman looked up. " You should be resting. His Lordship demands it," She answered Emery immediately.
Grabbing the black robe from the door hook, she wrapped herself within it. " What else has he demanded?"
" That you are to be served a lunch of your choosing and a fresh change of clothes. Your new wardrobe is on the opposite wall," The maid then entered the bedroom, moved to the large bleached wooden bed headboard, and seemingly reached into the wall. On closer look, Emery noticed a handle, and gradually the outline of a door panel revealed itself. Whereas Drake's closet was on full display with easily seen doors on the opposite side of the bathroom wall, he hid this closet most cleverly. At least six feet of hanging space and beneath two levels of cube storage spanned four feet, the remaining two feet reserved for jewelry. On the rod, pant suits, skirt suits, several formal dresses, casual dresses, and various t-shirts, blouses, and long sleeved sweaters from the most expensive name brands. Diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires, onyx, and Jade necklaces, earrings, rings, and bracelets filled the mini drawers. Emery suspected the collection amounted more than she'd earn in a lifetime.
As she perused through the clothing, discovering that it fit her without exception, the maid presented her with a menu. She randomly picked a dish and continued to discover how prepared Drake was. He didn't just pick her up and sex He purchased her an entire wardrobe and jewelry collection. Mulling over this new information in the shower, she didn't hear his return.
" I believed you would have picked the blue over red,"
She looked up and through the glass at Drake, suddenly conscience of the extra flab around her hips. " We need to talk," She turned off the water. " You can't just sweep me into your life without telling me what I need to know," If she thought that her brother was bad about not warning her about French cuisine, Drake upped the standard for leaving her in the dark.
He offered her a large fluffy black towel. " I always intended to educated you. You are my queen, my jewel, my strength, my weakness," She allowed him to hold her close. " What do you want to know?"
Resting her forehead on his shoulder, she let herself relax. " When you say you're Dracula, did you really seduce all of those women? Will I be the only one or will you grow a harem?" She hated the idea of sharing a man, monster or not, and she knew she couldn't stop him from going out and pursuing another woman.
He touched the fang marks on her neck. " Fret not. A harem is impossible to please, and I prefer to sleep with two eyes closed," Of course the thought did occur to him. Times changed. A harem today would be ten times more expensive and demanding.
" Who is Dagon?"
" A god of agriculture and fertility," Threading his fingers through her hair, he wished she changed faster. At least she would be able to walk in sunlight like all of his previous servile warlords. The centuries of breeding removed the tolerance for sunlight. " Fear not, you will not bear a child. No consort or queen of mine was ever able,"
She sighed. " You'll want me to live here, yes?" If the wardrobe and jewelry were any sign of things to come, her life would be domineered by him. It should've frightened her.
Guarding his tone, he guided her to the body length mirror and began to dry her off. " I already contacted your brother. Your boss is aware that you're working here now-"
Her eyes narrowed.
Drake recognized the anger and naturally dismissed it. "-and naturally I contacted your landlord. Your belongings are in storage," He handed her a blow dryer from the bathroom closet shelf. " We'll discuss expectations after you dress. The longer you're naked, the more I want you in the bed," She wanted to laugh and cry at the same time, not sure if she should celebrate the attentions of someone so dominant and attentive or flee for the hills. Since fleeing for the hills meant only a delayed comfortable prison of a relationship, she faced her monsters and monster head on.