DanceoftheVampires by Cornelia Amiri Page B

strides. Her arms, hips
and breasts swayed in an entrancing rhythm. As she moved, he could see her
erect nipples beneath the veil of thin fabric.
    His mouth went dry. He couldn’t speak. Ian couldn’t touch
her. If he touched her, he would never let her go.
    “I am Sorcha. What’s your name?”
    Ian’s head spun from the whisky and he wanted to look at her
and hide at the same time. His palms were sweating and his stomach lurched. He
turned his head to avoid dumping the contents of his shaky belly on her. He
retched.
    Sorcha leapt back. “What are you doing?”
    “Sorry, I did not mean to.” Ian shook his head. “I had one
too many pints.” Humiliated, he looked away.
    His gaze latched onto his brothers and their dance partners.
The women were doing more than dancing. Savagely, they pulled his brothers’
clothes off. Raking their nails down the men’s bare flesh, they licked and
suckled their skin. It looked as if his brothers and the strange women were
going to have an orgy right here in the field. He stood there gaping. He had to
be dreaming.
    Tight pressure gripped his swelling groin as a jolt of heat
shot through him. He imagined Sorcha’s tongue on the fiery bulge of flesh
between his thighs. His pulse hammered, causing his breath to catch in his
throat. Then a coppery smell drifted in the air.
    Ian tried to block out the buzz from the whisky. He
squinted, peering closer at the wild escapades in front of him. He watched as
Angus dropped to the ground with a thud. Where desire flamed inside him just
moments before, now icy fear coursed through Ian. A woman just stood over
Angus’ still form, refusing to help him. Fresh, crimson blood dripped from her
full mouth and her long, sharp nails.
    “This isn’t an orgy.” The realization hit Ian full force.
“It’s murder. They’re baobhan sith , dancing vampires.”
    His shock turned to fury. He grabbed Sorcha, who still stood
between him and the smelly puddle of vomit. He dug his fingers into her flesh.
He didn’t care if he hurt her or not. She wasn’t human. He slammed her to the
ground and leapt on her back. He couldn’t stop all of them, but he wouldn’t let
this one hurt his brothers or him. He pushed with all his might, holding her
arms down. She couldn’t suck his blood.
    A shivering wail like a cat in heat blared from her open
mouth.
    He pushed his body onto her as hard as he could. His
brothers. He had to save them. What could he do? If he got up, he’d have to let
go of her and she’d kill him. Claw him to death. No. This couldn’t be
happening. He wanted to fight, to help his brothers. What could he do? Really
do? He’d stop this one. He could do that.
    “Mortal, unhand my sister.” A baobhan sith released
one of his brothers to leap through the air and land on Ian in attack mode.
Fighting to free Sorcha, she fiercely clamped down on Ian’s flesh, digging her
nails and teeth into his vulnerable human flesh.
    With all his might, he held Sorcha as if his arms were steel
restraints. His full weight like an anvil crushed her prone body. He’d never
let her go. If he couldn’t save himself, he would save his brothers.
    Her six vampire sisters cawed like a flock of ravens. They
swooped down, hungry, winged scavengers who found a corpse to ravage. Ian held
on to Sorcha, even with all six creatures piled on top of him. They pecked and
clawed but didn’t feed. Their frenzy to free Sorcha drove them more than their
hunger for his blood.
    Ian twisted his head toward his brothers. “Get Angus to the
hospital. Run.”
    “No,” Malcolm shouted. “Not without you.”
    “Then we will all die.” He couldn’t keep the pain from his
voice. Raw, stinging cuts and bites covered every inch of his body. “Go now. I
do not know how long I can hold on.”
    “We’ll get help for him. He’s lost a lot of blood.” Tavish
lifted Angus’ still body over his shoulder and met Ian’s gaze. “We’ll come back
for you.”
    His six brothers fled. The