The Kingdom of the Nine; The Vampire Legacy IV by Dawn Gray

I
could almost feel the pulsing underneath the slight rise and fall
of his chest. These movements, my touch, made him stop, but only
briefly as I felt his other hand, suddenly, press flat against my
lower back.
    No more playing! His mental voice trembled as
if he had spoken aloud. Stop touching me or I will make this very
painful for you.
    “You know that I can hear your thoughts.” I
whispered tracing the hard muscles I felt beneath his shirt,
finding that he seemed distracted as I did this. “So, you must know
who I am.”
    I felt the tips of his teeth as they pressed
against my skin and I arched against him, trying to move away, but
it made his grip on me grow tighter. I could feel what my actions
were doing, exciting him, but I couldn't stop the need to get
away.
    “Who are you? Why are you doing this?”
    He stopped his advance, and turned his head,
brushing his lips along my skin, his tongue touched my cheek as if
tasting my skin, then, with one last swift movement, his lips found
mine. His pressed down hard against me, as his tongue invaded, but
I was unable to resist, since it was a totally different sensation
all together and I kissed him back. But as the passionate kiss wore
on, and the strange fire I felt rage beyond both of our control, he
stopped and backed away, looking me in the eyes again.
    “Who are you?” I questioned him once again, I
could feel the wide smile against my cheek, and then he came at me
quickly and latched on to my neck. I pushed at him, trying to get
away, feeling that burning feeling in my neck and I began to
cry.
    “Fighting will only make it worse.” He
whispered.
    “Let me go.” I pleaded with him but it didn't
seem to make a difference, until I said something out loud that I
hadn't intended to. “I'm sorry, Julian.”
    It was an apology for letting my stupidity
get the best of me, because I knew I shouldn't be out at night,
alone. He drew back, letting my veins go and I looked over at him,
into his fiery eyes at a hatred that I didn't understand. He
growled at me, baring his teeth and as he backed away, he hit the
light that hung from the ceiling and in the flickering electric
light I was able to see his face and as we stared down one another
my vision started to fade. I watched him leave and I slid down to
the ground, as the blood dripped down my shirt, then I called out,
as loud as I could, as weak as I suddenly was, to Julian.
    I was crying, when he and Nick arrived,
squabbling as usual, but that stopped when they looked at me.
Julian scooped me up, as Nick walked off to find the vampire who
had done this.
    I focused on Creolas for a long moment before
I heard the words that brought me out of it.
    “Julian, maybe you should take her out of the
room.” It was Quinn's voice and he was standing right beside me, as
I looked up at him, I could see the worry in his face.
    “I'm fine.” I answered, and then looked over
at Julian who was moving closer to me. “Really.”
    “What are you doing here?” Nick asked the red
haired man who still stood there with an amused grin on his
face.
    “Same as you, Brother.” Creolas answered, and
then glanced back at Julian and Quinn. “I was called here, and I
think it was her voice that I heard.”
    I stopped the words that I was whispering to
Julian and I turned to look at him. I stepped away from Julian's
arms, for they had wrapped themselves around me only moments
before, and moved closer to him, but my way was blocked by Nick,
who took a hold of my arm.
    “I don't know you, why the hell would I call
you here?” I asked.
    “Caitlyn.” Nick's voice whispered, in a
demanding tone. I looked up at him, oddly, wondering why he chose
now to use my first name. “It would be wise for you to let Julian
take you upstairs.”
    “I'm not a child, Nick.” I answered back,
speaking quietly, so that the conversation stayed between us. “I
can handle myself, and I can handle him.”
    “I don't think so.” He replied, but it was
the worry