Chapter 33
Eric sat next to Pam in the silver-lined cell under Felipe's casino. He didn't know what was in store for him but he knew it was going to be bad. Hopefully the King would spare Pam. Eric didn't want anything bad to happen to her, but he knew how angry Felipe was. Angry at him.
Pam took his hand.
"What do you think will happen?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know."
Pam leaned against him and he kissed her temple.
He wished there was some way to escape, but it was futile.
The elevator dinged in the distance and they heard footsteps, getting closer. Felipe appeared at the door, a huge smile on his face.
"Eric! Pam! Lovely to see you both. I'm afraid that I'm not quite ready for you, but I can assure you that I will visit with you very soon."
Felipe sounded jovial, but the rage burned behind his eyes.
Eric's stomach dropped. He was afraid and he hated feeling afraid. He wasn't ready to finally die. He couldn't lose his child. But they were both at Felipe DeCastro's mercy and Eric didn't think he could trust the King to have much of that.
Felipe took a key out of his pocket and opened the cell beside them. Johnny looked terrified.
Felipe's smile widened.
"Come, now. I have a few more questions to ask and then maybe you'll be allowed to go home."
Johnny didn't look hopeful. Felipe had lured him out with those words before and, so far, all he'd gotten was several beatings.
"Yes, your Highness."
Johnny followed the King into the interrogation room next door.
It didn't take Felipe long to get started. Eric and Pam sat together, listening to the vampire's screams.
…
Cormac thought for a moment and then started to talk.
"As I said, the first time I saw you, you were naked, stepping out of your room with your head held high, walking to what you must have known would be hell, all of your own volition. I had never seen such bravery. I knew right away I wanted you to be mine. When I tasted the blood from the lash marks on your back, I knew for sure that I had to have you."
"Let me guess. Sweetness and sunshine."
"Yes. Sweetness and sunshine. And fairy."
"Hmpf."
He laughed.
"I knew I had to find out everything I could about you. About Victor Madden, Sandy Secrest, and the King, too, and what they've all been up to. I have no need to rest, and I spent my days talking to humans who see too much and my nights with Victor or Felipe or at the VIV Club, watching and listening. I was anyone I needed to be, anywhere I liked. You're the only one who's seen my real face in a hundred years. At least the only one who remembers."
Sookie shook her head.
"Why? Why did you do all of this? Why didn't you just take me and run?"
Cormac laughed.
"Where is the fun in that? And it wasn't yet time. There was so much more I had to learn, about you and about them. And I wanted to get closer to you without getting too close. I wanted to watch you do your magic from a distance. To see what you could do."
Sookie thought for a moment.
"Emily heard her boyfriend say Felipe DeCastro will pay on the phone. I saw it in her head, clear as day. How did you plant those memories?"
"I didn't. But I did glamour her to tell me everything she knew when I got her alone. It was just the thing to arouse your suspicions. And it was true. Soon, I will make Felipe DeCastro — and Victor Madden — pay. Call the woman's thoughts a bit of… foreshadowing."
Emily had remembered being raped by Victor the night before her capture. Sookie's maker had done that. Sookie had seen it in Emily's brain. Needing to get the woman alone was no excuse. Sookie shook her head.
"And you did all this just to watch me work?"
"Well, no. I also wanted you to uncover Victor Madden and Sandy Sechrest's betrayal. A bit of an added bonus."
Sookie frowned.
"But I didn't do that. We didn't really uncover much of anything, except that it was a set up."
Cormac laughed.
"I'm afraid I got impatient. You figured out my deceit and I couldn't wait for you any longer. But you dicovered more about them than I expected. More than enough to pique Felipe's interest. We planted the seed, you and I, that Victor and Sandy are up to something. Johnny will talk. The King's suspicions will grow. And when we go back to Nevada, I'll give Felipe a push and let him take care of the traitors. Before I take care of him."
Back to Nevada. If her heart beat, it would have been pounding right then. What if her maker was captured or killed? She couldn't disguise herself like he could. How could she go back there, knowing what waited for her at the hands of Victor Madden and the King? It was just her and her maker against an army. She was terrified. She had no reason to trust Cormac and every reason not to.
But Eric was there. If Felipe hadn't ended him, anyway. Maybe her maker would die and she and Eric could run. She would gladly take another beating if it ended in her — and Eric's — escape. And with her maker dead, maybe nobody would be able to find them.
"What did Victor and Sandy do? How did they betray the King?"
Cormac smiled and stood up.
"All in good time. But enough chit chat. You must be ready for me by now. You need sex and it's time to finish making you mine."
Sookie froze. She hated that there was a part of her that wanted to please him. To strengthen the connection between them, as much as she wanted to push him away. And she was incredibly horny, to the point it was trying to take over, now that the thought was in her head. But she wouldn't be with him. She couldn't. She was still Eric's and always would be, even without their bond.
She shook her head.
"No."
He laughed.
"I do love your spirit, and I'm very impressed by your restraint. But I can smell how much you want me."
She did. She hated it, but she did want him, and her centre throbbed at the thought of having him. Her fangs longed to bite him and she longed to drink his blood. He smelled delicious. Better than the human woman in the next room. Her nostrils flared and her pupils dilated.
He pulled her to him with the bond. She fought it, but she couldn't hold out for long. She stood up and went to him and he kissed her lips. His were soft and his mouth tasted sweet. After a minute he allowed her to pull away.
"Undress."
She did and stood before him, naked.
"Good girl. Now kneel before me."
She was compelled to get down on her knees. Again. Just like thousands of times before.
"Excellent. You know, you are just perfect. I wonder what kind of gifts we'll discover. If you'll be able to withstand the sun. If you can fly. We will have to test your abilities soon. But for now…"
He stepped forward and undid his fly. His cock sprang free from his pants and he stroked himself twice. Her mouth started to water. She cursed him and herself. She closed her eyes and opened her mouth, no matter how hard she tried to keep it closed.
"Very good. Now do what you do best."
She supposed it was a fair statement. She was very talented. And she loved sucking cock. But she hated this. She hated herself and she hated her maker, who was just like all the others. She leaned forward to take him into her mouth and then popped out of sight.