Helaine
He held my jaw in his hand as he pulled me into a deep and hungry kiss that made me whine as he pulled away.
His husky laughter resonated through my ears, and I could tell by the tension in his voice that he was every bit as turned on as I was in this moment.
He stalked out of my line of sight, and I was left staring down at the coffin. From my vantage point, I could see all of the gorgeous details carved into the black stained wood—hundreds if not thousands of small skulls and bats were hidden among the intricate brambles of roses.
Evan had said he worked in many different mediums, and I wondered if he’d carved it himself.
My line of thinking was cut off by the sudden shock of pleasure when his hand cupped my sex, his fingers slipping through my slick to give my clit some much needed attention.
“Fuck,” I whined.
“Already so wet for me,” he purred, easily dipping two fingers inside of me before sliding them out, walking back into my field of vision as he licked them clean. “So sweet too.”
My muscles tensed with need, but I couldn’t even squirm, suspended in the air by the ropes. “Evan, please.” I was desperate for some friction, and I didn’t care if I had to beg him for it.
Even when he made that smug face at me.
“Poor thing.” He grinned, circling me with that predatory look in his eyes. “Does the needy little slut want to cum?”
“Yes,” I hissed.
I didn’t care about dignity—if this is what he wanted, he was paying good money for it.
That was a good enough excuse to throw out my pride, right? Whatever. I wasn’t about to apologize for knowing what I wanted.
I could have cried when I felt his hands caress my thighs, especially when his stubble scraped against my soft skin.
“Oh fuck,” I cried when I felt Evan’s tongue slide through my wetness.
He moaned like a starving man who’d happened upon a peach orchard at peak season, and I felt like the peach, the way my juices flowed.
I didn’t know it was possible to want a man so bad.
His tongue circled my clit as his fingers curled inside of me again, this time brushing that sweet spot inside of me that threatened to push me over the edge.
Suddenly though, he stopped, and I let out a strangled cry of disappointment. “Evan!”
“What’s wrong, sweetheart?” He stepped back in front of me, licking his teeth like an animal.
The bastard absolutely knew what was wrong, and I glared at him for it.
“Words, honey.” He brushed his fingers across my lips, and I could taste my own lust on him—it only made my need worse. “Tell me how bad you want me to make you see heaven.”
“God,” I whined, darting my tongue out to kitten lick his fingertips. “I feel like I’ll fucking die without it.”
“Good girl,” he purred, slipping his fingers into my mouth, closing his eyes and letting out a long sigh when I sucked them clean. “So good for me.”
“Please,” I begged him, and he laughed.
“Well, since you’ve been such a good girl . . . ”
He walked away from me again, sliding his fingers out of my mouth with an obscene pop. I bit my lip in anticipation, and I swear to god I saw stars the moment his hands were on me again, and his wet tongue lapped against my clit.
This time, mercifully, he didn’t stop, and I went careening over the edge of pleasure as that coil snapped within me. I didn’t care if the sound of his name on my lips inflated his ego, he fucking deserved it for this.
“Evan, fuck!” I shrieked when the pleasure became too intense, but if anything, it only made him double his efforts.
Powerless to do a damn thing about it, I couldn’t even try to squirm away as I hung helplessly, suspended from the ropes. Tears streamed down my face, and I was left panting by the time he saw fit to give me a rest.
He gave my ass a good squeeze before he walked off. I watched him with interest as I caught my breath, and my toes curled when I saw him pluck a red candle from one of the hanging fixtures.
Hot red wax spilled over his hand as he walked toward me, and he didn’t so much as flinch.
He hummed along to the music as he strolled over to me, burning candle in his hand, and he smiled as he bent down to look me in the eye, the flame flickering between us. “Are you ready for this?”
All I could do was nod, still coming down from the high of my ecstasy, but that wasn’t good enough for him. “No no, I need you to say it.”
It took me a moment to speak, but I finally managed to squeak out, “I’m ready.”
His face split into a wide grin, made almost grotesque by the candle light, but somehow it suited him.
I let out a small gasp when the first drops of wax splattered against my lower back, but by the time he had moved to my ass, I had relaxed, and the subtle burn had become a delicious sensation.
“More please,” I begged sweetly, earning a laugh, and a firm squeeze of my ass.
“How could I say no to that?”
He didn’t say no.
I relished the feeling of the hot wax being poured over my ass, and from the soft groan that escaped him, I’d say that he was enjoying it too.
I let out a loud gasp of shock when all of a sudden he smacked my ass, causing the hardened wax to crack off with an annoyingly satisfying sound. “You prick.”
He laughed as he walked back into view, and I stared at him with a frustrating mix of pleasure and annoyance.
He didn’t stoop this time, holding the candle at waist level as he stared down at me with that ever so smug look on his face. “Blow it.”
My eyes narrowed at him, and had I not wanted to ‘blow it’ I would have been furious, but as it were, I blew out the candle.
I looked up at him with want in my eyes, lolling my tongue out in an obscene display.
He grabbed me by the jaw, forcing me to look up into his eyes as he appraised me, a more than satisfied smirk on his face. “Aren’t you a pretty thing?”
“Yes,” I practically sang. “Pretty enough to suck your cock?”
“More than pretty enough.” He squeezed my cheeks, giving my face a teasing shake. “But, patience, sweetheart. I want to savor you.”
I pouted at him as he released me, but he only chuckled, walking over to the desk where he’d left the sharp knife from before.
My eyes lingered on the sharp steel of the blade, and he eyed me meaningfully as he walked back over to me. “Do you remember the safeword?”
I nodded, but then quickly remembered that he prefers me to answer him with my words. “Yes, sir.”
He smiled, clearly pleased with my response, and even if it was all a game, I felt a satisfying sense of pride.
I was a Good Girl.
“That’s good.” My heart raced as he left my line of sight, and I couldn’t help feeling nervous about what exactly he was going to do with that knife. “You may end up wanting to use it.”
This had been the best sex of my life, and he hadn’t even gotten his cock out yet, but I had never in my life engaged in knifeplay, let alone bloodplay.
The knife wasn’t just a prop. There wasn’t any question about it—if I didn’t use that safeword, he was going to use it.
I couldn’t help shivering as he ran the dull side of the blade down my spine, but even though I was nervous, his soft hum of pleasure made my pussy ache with need.
I didn’t know how I was ever supposed to get off to vanilla sex after this.
“You remember what I want, yes?” He all but growled. “Say it.”
“You want to cut me,” I answered obediently.
“Would you like to use the safeword?”
“I’d like you to make me bleed.”
An animalistic growl ripped through his throat, and my heart raced. Never in my life had I felt more like prey.
And I loved it.
HelaineI let out a pathetic little whimper when I felt the sting of the first cut, but I also heard the sharp rasp to his breath. It was like he was struggling to control himself, and however much the blade stung, it was worth it to hear him so thoroughly wrecked.I didn’t hold back my cries as he continued to slice my skin in what felt as though he was probably cutting intricate patterns into my flesh, and it seemed to spur him on.I had gone dumb with pleasure—more than anything physical, I was getting off on the fact that he had made me his canvas.I let out a loud wail when I came, my pussy clenching helplessly around nothing, and soon after I was startled by the metallic clatter of the knife hitting
Helaine“I don’t know, I think the villain’s motivations were a little passé.”“Passé? Come on, it was a vampire flick from the 80s. What motivation does he need beyond ‘Mmm lemme at that blood’?”“Helaine, you’re into gothic lit, right? Help me out here.”“Hmm, what?” I startled, looking dazed as my friends waited for an answer. “Sorry, I was . . . I was focused on the movie.”Lie.It was a total, complete, bald faced lie.Ever since my friends and I pooled our money together for a projector, movie night in the abandoned underpass had been my absolute favorite thing to do, especially in October, where we met once a week for a horror movie on Saturday as opposed to once a month like the rest of the year.It helped to make up for the fact that outdoor movie nights tended to be a no-go through most of winter.By all accounts, I should have been absolutely engrossed in this cheesy old vampire movie, but it was hard to focus when Evan spent the entire time sitting across the underpass sta
Helaine“Evan,” I whimpered against his lips, but he only kissed me again, holding me tight against him.His teeth scraped across my bottom lip, and I could feel his fangs, darkly sensual as he bit me ever so gently, careful not to draw blood.Not yet.Once the blood was flowing, it would become an exercise of restraint for Evan, and we both knew that wouldn’t be wise in public. Some how, that lurking danger only made it all the sweeter.I loved it. My whole body—my whole being cried out for more.But I couldn’t shake the lingering fear that someone would see us, as out in the open as we were.What would my friends think?Del and Roman didn’t seem too fazed by the way Evan put his arm around me back under the bridge, but there’s a pretty big difference between some harmless flirting and the naked truth that he’s paying me for sex.More than sex, he was an undead creature paying to drink my blood.I wanted to relax and enjoy the emotional foreplay of the long walk back to his apartment
HelaineWhipping around to look behind me, my lips parted in surprise at the large wheel, padded with gorgeously detailed leather.My fingers ran over the intricate patterns embossed into it, skulls and roses similar to the details on Evan’s coffin rendered in detail that must have taken years to achieve on a scale this large. Deep in concentration, my tongue slid along the seam of my lips in appreciation.“Do you like it?” His hands trailed up my hips, his touch feather-light, as he pressed himself against me, telling me that he’s been just as eager for this day to come as I have. “I didn’t build the wheel, but the leatherwork is all mine.”“You made this?” Craning my neck to look back at him, I couldn’t hide how impressed I was. “It must have taken—”“Years, yeah.” He chuckled, his breath tickling the back of my neck. “Time isn’t an issue for me.”The chill of his hand grazing my skin as his fingers carded into the back of my hair made me gasp. He turned my head toward the center of
EvanI could feel Helaine’s eyes linger on me as I moved toward the makeshift kitchen, where I’d already prepared her snack. Leaning against the fridge, I took in a deep breath, regaining my composure.My willpower and self-control was something I took pride in, a skill I’d honed over decades of living with my condition. I needed to always be in control of myself, or I could lose everything all over again.Helaine was just a human, but something about her drew me in from the first time I saw her, four years ago when she started taking classes at the art college where I spend my time.I made a deal with myself that I wouldn’t interfere with her life unless she came to me first, but she never did. When she said that she was in danger of losing her apartment, I knew that if I didn’t do something to stop it, there was a chance she’d have to leave the city, and then she’d be out of my life for good.It probably would have been better for her in the long run, but I couldn’t stop myself. I d
HelaineThe look in Evan’s eyes as he knelt between my thighs burned through me. There was a hunger in him that went deeper than his hunger for blood. His lips pressed against the soft skin of my inner thigh, trailing higher as he leaned in.“Look at you,” he sighed, ghosting his nose along my flesh, sending a shiver through me. “You’re incredible like this.”His breath was like a cool breeze, not warmed by natural life like a normal man. The not-yet-familiar sensations caused me to gasp and squirm, and he grabbed my thighs in response, holding me in place as he dragged his tongue through my pussy, tasting me.He hummed as he dipped his tongue inside of me, coaxing out a whimper of pleasure as I buried my fingers in his hair.“Evan,” I moaned, bucking my hips up against his face when his nose brushed against my clit.He didn’t answer me, his tongue too busy moving to flick my sensitive bud as he squeezed my thighs harder.Hard enough to bruise, I hoped. I almost mourned the subtle sli
Helaine“Good girl,” Evan purred, running his fangs along my sensitive skin before pressing a sensuous kiss to the back of my neck.His kisses trailed further down my spine as he crawled off of me, and when he stood, he almost seemed like a gentleman when he offered me his hand.My legs felt like jelly when I tried to stand, but he held me while I swayed on my feet.“Careful now.” The corner of his lips tugged into a smug smirk as he pulled me against him, my body flush with his. “We wouldn’t want you getting hurt before we reach the main event now, would we?”Shaking my head, I clung to him, regaining control over my legs. “No.”“No, what?” His thumb and forefinger captured my chin, forcing me to look into his eyes, bathing in their soft red glow.“No, Sir,” I affirmed, and he rewarded me by drawing me into a kiss.His lips moved skillfully against mine, his free hand carding through the back of my hair to hold me closer.Evan kissed me like he needed me, like he was a starving man,
EvanShe was perfect, her lips stained red with her own blood and what remained of her lipstick, even as the wound I’d made on her tongue closed. The sweet aphrodisiac taste of her blood still clung to my lips and between my teeth, and the thrumming beat of her heart called to me like a siren’s song.She looked like Jesus on the cross, her limbs splayed wide for me, promising salvation from my lonely existence. Before her, I hadn’t thought that I could get close to anyone after the carnage my condition had caused in the past.I never expected to be able to be with someone like this again—to trust myself to hold someone at my mercy. She knew the danger she was in, but she had faith that I could control myself.It was time to prove worthy of her trust.“You’re incredible,” I exhaled, my eyes roaming her body—every inch of it laid bare to my touch.Her pupils were dilated as she watched me stoop to pick up the knife. In the moment before I kissed her, it was only in the way, but now that
HelaineThe world felt different, up in the sky.Over the past few days I’d been doing what Valek said—training. I learned to use the wings that erupted from my back, learned to feel them and control them just the same as my arms and legs.But it wasn’t enough.How could it be?“You’re getting better at that,” Valek called from the ground, her cold black eyes following me as my wings beat the air. “It’s an amazing freedom, isn’t it?”“I did what you said.” My lips curved into a grimace as I landed in front of her. Logically, I knew I should still be afraid of her, but the more time I was forced to spend with this ancient monster the harder it was not to see her as a person. “I connected with my wings, but I still can’t hide them.”She let out a laugh, her eyes falling shut as she shook her head. “Your wings, yes. But you’re still fighting where they came from.” Her fingertips hovered over my heart as she leaned in, too close, but I was quickly learning that social boundaries weren’t s
EvanOne more fucking night of not finding Helaine.Snarling, I threw open the el camino’s bed cover, squinting under the light of the full moon. It was the closest I could get to the sun without burning to a crisp, and it was still a little too bright for my sensitive eyes.But it was just one more reason to be pissed off tonight.When I looked around, I could see that we were on a very rural stretch of the highway, moving west according to the rusty old road signs. There wasn’t another car around for miles as far as I could hear. Not even the kind of old truck I’d expect to hear out in these parts.Helaine wasn’t here either.My boots crunched against the abandoned gas station parking lot’s gravel as I stalked toward the driver’s side door, I slammed my hand down on the hood in a fit of frustration as Frank stepped out of my ride, lighting up a cigarette.I snatched it from his fingers, taking a long drag, hoping it would do something to take off the edge . . . but it didn’t. One of
HelaineSitting naked on the wooden chair felt awkward, and I wrapped my wings around my body as I shivered in the air’s chill.Valek had no such issue, confidently striding naked through the room to stir the cauldron that emanated a delicious aroma that reminded me just how hungry I was. I couldn’t help feeling exposed, but there was something about the way that Valek wore her own skin that gave away just how ancient she was.Unbound by societal convention for the simple fact that she predated it. By a long shot.Her body was gorgeous, as though she was a work of art carved from pure snow, but I didn’t get the feeling that she was in any way trying to seduce me. Being naked was just natural to her—the leather scraps she wore as clothes before hastily thrown together almost as an afterthought.It probably helped that she was an undead creature, and most likely didn’t feel the chill in the air.The whole atmosphere held an eerie air of domesticity as she ladled stew into a wooden bowl
EvanThe moon was beginning to descend, and that meant that soon the sun would rise. Too soon for my liking as I followed Frank through the cemetery.“The Knights really had a cache here?” My brow arched in doubt, but he didn’t so much as look back as he blazed on ahead. “In a public cemetery?”“A mausoleum,” he specified. “Knights coming and going would’ve just seemed like family members of the departed, and no one but those with authorization would have access. Seemed pretty perfect at the time.”He gestured ahead, and sure enough there was an old mausoleum, overgrown with vines and half covered in moss.“So why do you think they abandoned it, if it was so perfect?” I watched him warily as he pulled a key from the chain around his neck and used it to unlock the tomb.It seemed . . . convenient, and I had to wonder if it was really abandoned, or if the Knights of Testament had their suspicions that Frank was hiding nearby, and they hoped they could draw him out.They had apparently t
HelaineA groan of protest left my body before my eyes deigned to flutter open. My head was pounding, and my mouth felt impossibly dry.A black spider with spindly legs skittered across my field of vision, but I was too exhausted to scramble away from it like I might’ve otherwise done if I were coherent enough to be afraid.My body felt unreasonably heavy when I tried to adjust myself into a sitting position, and it became clear exactly why when I looked over my shoulder to see the whitish feathers, sticky and flecked red, matted together with dried blood.Choking out a ragged sigh, I rolled my head back as I tried to rub the pain out of my aching throat. If the wings were real, then everything that happened to me last night was real.And Evan . . . well, I had no idea where he was, which meant that he probably had no idea where I was.Hell, I didn’t even know where I was.Getting to my feet was a struggle with the added weight of the extra limbs now protruding from my back, but it wa
Evan“I’m coming Helaine,” I whispered as I made my way down the porch steps. “I promise I’ll find you.”It was a promise I intended to keep. Valek didn’t strike me as one to keep a low profile—there’d probably be a trail of corpses once I got close enough to whatever den of horrors she was calling home these days.Only . . . I didn’t have a clue where to start looking, and there wasn’t time for me to go chasing my tail without any direction trying to find her.Whatever was happening to Helaine after she used her powers, it was obviously some kind of transformation. I didn’t know what I was going to find when I did finally catch up with her.But she was out there somewhere. I could feel it in what remained of my soul that she was still alive, but with her in Valek’s custody it was impossible to say for certain what to expect.What I didn’t expect was for Frank’s door to open behind me, creaking in protest when he followed me outside. “Kid,” he called after me, a desperate edge to his
HelaineWind whipped my face as Valek flew through the air, but I could hardly feel it.I hardly even remembered being taken from my childhood home. Everything after my body had erupted with that dark blast of energy felt unreal, like everything around me melted away in the inferno of the pain that racked my body.But in whatever conscious part of my mind that still struggled to hold on, I knew that Evan was still at my father’s house, left so far behind that there was no way he’d ever find me.What would he do? What would Frank do?Valek had frozen Evan and cast him off as easily as if she were flicking away an ant that had crawled onto her deathly pale skin. The only thin assurance I had that he was even alive was that in some strange way, I could feel him.Maybe it was like Lilith said—his damned soul was bound to me. I would feel it if he’d been killed.I hoped.There was precious little I could feel in this moment other than the searing torture my body was enduring.But he had to
Evan“Helaine . . . ” I could hardly hear my own voice in this moment, like my head was in a fish bowl, and my mouth had gone impossibly dry. I pawed weakly at Helaine, trying to pull her toward the door. “We need to leave. Now.”My whole body felt like there was ice in my veins when I saw her—Valek, the Mistress of Blood, with her cold, black eyes fixed squarely on the woman I loved.“Helaine,” I urged.She yanked her arm out of my grip, looking back at me with desperate eyes, still clouded with inky black tears as she protested, “I can’t let her kill my dad!”“He tried to kill you!” I pleaded, reaching for her again, but it was useless.Evan after all he’d put her through, Helaine still saw the man as her father. She was like a scared little girl right now, and I couldn’t blame her.She wasn’t the only one who felt small—helpless.It was impossible not to feel that way when an ancient horror beyond mortal comprehension made herself known.Frank Fairgrieve made a pathetic effort to p
HelaineFrank’s brow furrowed as he openly stared at me, the shotgun clattering to the gravel below as it fell from his hand. No doubt, I was the last person he expected to see rolling up to his house tonight.“Helaine . . . ” His voice was barely above a whisper as his head shook slowly, side to side, like he knew this wasn’t just a social call.Like he knew all his lies would catch up to him eventually.Evan followed, climbing out of the driver’s seat and eyeing my father dangerously over the el camino’s hood.“Who’s he?” Dad asked, his eyes narrowed suspiciously as he gestured toward Evan.“Never mind who I am,” Evan spat without an ounce of hesitation, his eyes never leaving my dad as though if he stared hard enough his gaze would pierce through him. “Your business is with her, not me.”In some cases, I supposed that Evan’s gaze could do just that to a person’s mind, but he wasn’t using his ability now. He wouldn’t meddle like that when he knew how badly I needed this.“I think yo