Dark Desire by Shannan Albright Page A

wait to start. Who the hell are you?” he demanded in a soft rasp. His
throat felt seared from the inside. He needed to know where the hell he was and
work on a plan to get the fuck out.
    “Oh, how remiss
of me, in my excitement I forgot all about introductions.” The voice sounded
nearly on top of him now. If only he could get the hell out of the manacles holding him down.
    “I’m Doctor Haub , vampire. We will be working very closely together you
and I, but first some blood for you. You must be strong before we start, don’t
you agree?”
    Merde . The man was
insane!
    Before he could
respond the good doctor gripped his jaw in a painful vise grip, forcing his
mouth open and placing a bag of blood in front of him. The enticement worked as
his incisors lengthened, the sharp tips piercing the plastic and drawing the
cold substance into his blood stream. Dimly, he noticed something off about the
blood, but he was too far damaged to stop feeding.
    In seconds, the
bag emptied. Replaced with a second and then a third. Only then did he feel the last vestiges of the silver nitrate leave his body.
The blood, no matter how off it tasted, set to work repairing his internal
organs, bringing strength back to his muscles and limbs. Yet, he still couldn’t
break free of those damnable manacles pinning him to the table. The good doctor
chuckled at his struggles, and a tight ball of cold fear formed in the pit of
his stomach.
    Oh, this was not
good.
    His vision chose
that moment to clear, giving him a good look at the small dark man who watched
him with a disturbing curiosity as if studying a bug pinned to a board. No
trace of compassion filtered through his dark gaze. Cody took note of the
rumpled lab coat the doctor wore, as if he slept in it and the thick glasses
perched a large nose. His bald head shone in the harsh lights.
    The doctor’s
assessing gaze traveled over his naked body making his flesh crawl. With slow
deliberate steps, he moved closer to the left side of Cody. Stopping near a
stand of surgical implements he placed one hand over his leg, stroking up
toward his thigh with gentle fingers. Desperation made him fight even harder.
Whatever twisted thoughts formed in the doctor’s mind, Cody knew would be the
beginning of a nightmarish reality he wouldn’t easily escape.
    Dr. Haub gave him a slow smile as that one hand traveled up
toward his groin. “Very impressive, I think we will start here.” He spoke
absently as if Cody were only an object with no real purpose except to satisfy
his own perverse agenda. “I wonder how a vampire’s reproductive system differs
from that of a human. If only I had a female to better study. Oh, well, no
matter, I’m sure we can find part of the question from you, hum?”
    The sharp glint
of a scalpel caught the light as Dr. Haub grabbed it
with his free hand from the arsenal of surgical implements. His gaze held more
than a glint of madness as studied Cody. Terror tightened his throat as the
lunatic watched him like a bug under a microscope.
    As the doctor
cut into the sensitive flesh, Cody screamed out and didn’t stop until a thick
wall of blackness covered him and he knew no more.

Chapter Eleven
     
    Lori groaned.
Her feet may have found terra firma, but the rest of her still struggled to
catch up. She closed her eyes against the rising bile climbing up her throat as
her stomach did a sickening summersault.
    The sharp bite
of fingers digging into the soft flesh of her upper right arms let her know she
still lived, but for how long? The man who accosted her was really pissed, but
her brain did a black screen effect as she struggled to remember … anything . Being accused of attempted
murder shocked her, and the idea she could be capable of such an act filled her
with horror. Could she really be the type of woman to attack another with
intent to kill?
    According to him she could and did just that.
    Lori pulled in a
ragged breath and opened her eyes to find herself in a living room.