Slowly, I raised my hands in a gesture of peace as I backed up. The gesture didn’t appear to work. Not in the least bit placated, he followed me out of the bedroom. Shit. Clearly, he still intended to obey Gina’s order to kill me. “Wait. Salem.” I gulped, admittedly terrified at the rage now emanating from him. “Salem, you have to come back now.”
Another snarl. He made a grab for me, but I quickly backpedalled again. Maybe if I made a run for it and fled from the apartment…? No. He would surely follow me, and I couldn’t be certain that people wouldn’t attack him in an attempt to save me.
“Salem. Snap. The. Fuck. Out. Of. It!”
He dived at me, shackling my wrist in a harsh grip. But I easily broke free of his hold and retreated. Every muscle of his body seemed tense with fury as he advanced on me again.
Finding myself in the kitchen, I glimpsed the knife block in my peripheral vision. Out of any useful ideas, I snatched the chef knife and held it in front of me. I didn’t think it would, for even a fraction of a second, scare him. But I was hoping that the threat might pierce his daze, make his resolve falter for even a moment. It didn’t. He spared the knife the briefest glance, dismissing it, as he continued to stalk me around the kitchen.
“Don’t make me use this, Salem.” Like I ever could.
He lunged. Cursing, I leapt to the side and turned to make a dash for the living area. That attempt was hampered by the arm that looped around me, pulling me back against his chest. His fingers wrestled the knife out of my hand, and he slung it somewhere behind us. I kicked and punched, trying to get free despite that I was tired of running and trying to talk him out of a thrall – which, in hindsight, was ridiculous.
Suddenly I was twisted in his grip so that I was facing him; his irises were glowing red as he glared at me. “Ava,” he rumbled. “My Ava.”
“What?” The word rung with shock.
“You ran from me.” He bit down hard on my neck, no warning or finesse. Helplessly, I moaned. The breath slammed out of my lungs as he backed me into the counter, grinding against my stomach. What was it Gina had said? Predators are elemental at their core – they want to feed and fuck. Apparently, she was right. His hand dove down my shorts, his finger circled and flicked my clit until I was squirming. The circumstances of the moment didn’t matter; my body was trained to respond to him. It always would, it knew what he could give me, and it readied itself for him.
His teeth released my neck just as he tore off my shorts and panties. He plopped me on the counter, and unsnapped his fly. Without any preamble, he rammed into me so hard I almost yelped. I locked my arms and legs around him as he fucked in and out of me so deeply and ruthlessly that I knew I’d be aching afterwards. But I didn’t care. Because even under a thrall it was me who he’d come to, it was my body he was craving and taking.
He nipped my earlobe hard. “Mine, Ava.”
I would have agreed but his cock was hitting a really delicious spot inside me and his pelvis was teasing my clit with every thrust, and all I could do was moan and scratch at his back.
“Come all over my cock, Ava. Do it.”
A particularly hard slam of his cock sent my climax barrelling into me, tearing a scream from my throat. I felt as my body constricted and rippled around him, felt as he came deep inside me, biting out a harsh curse into my neck.
When he brought his face to mine, the rage was gone. It was Salem looking at me, disorientated and lost. It seemed that now his body had the relief it needed, the thrall had worn off. “It’s okay.” I wrapped myself around him again, comforting him this time. “It’s okay.”
(Salem)
What the fuck had happened?
The last clear memory I had was of standing outside the apartment building. I’d scented Gina, knew she was coming up behind me, and I’d intended to chase her off. Then nothing. There was this huge gap; it was like I’d gone into some kind of deep sleep. Most of it had been dreamless, but then I’d heard a voice saying Ava’s name. That same voice had told me I couldn’t have Ava, had wanted to keep me from what was mine, pissing off every instinct I had.
It had made me push for control, push to surface from the dream. Little by little, I’d then become aware of things around me. Saw I was face-to-face with a woman who I vaguely remembered – Gina, I now realised – and that same woman was saying Ava’s name, saying Ava didn’t belong to me. I’d wanted to argue, shout, and demand to know where Ava was. But my body hadn’t responded to me. Like I wasn’t behind the wheel right then, and still yet not completely out of the ‘dream’.
I’d then found my hand wrapped around that annoying woman’s throat. I’d wanted to growl my satisfaction, insist that Ava belonged to me. The only word, however, that had come out of my mouth was ‘Mine’ just before I’d snapped who I now knew was Gina’s neck. Then, suddenly, there was Ava…but she was backing away from me, denying me what belonged to me. Worse, she’d had fear in her eyes – like I’d ever fucking hurt her. All I could think about doing was grabbing her, biting her, and fucking her. But she was backing away. So I’d been pissed-the-fuck-off.
And then her blood was on my tongue, her skin was under my hands, and I could feel her wrapped around my cock. The more I’d fucked her, the more I’d rose from that ‘dream’, until I’d exploded inside her and then – just like that – I was awake.
It didn’t take a fucking genius to work out I’d been under Gina’s thrall. Considering I’d just fucked Ava like a damn animal, it was clear that Gina hadn’t forced me to cheat on Ava. So what had she made me do? An insidious suspicion crept into my mind as I recalled the fear that had earlier stained Ava’s eyes. I cupped her face. “Tell me I didn’t hurt you.”
“You didn’t hurt me.”
Something in her expression clued me in. “But I tried to, didn’t I?”
Ava rested her forehead against mine. “That wasn’t you. At that moment, you were a puppet – an extension of her. You didn’t recognise me or my voice.”
“Tell me exactly what happened.” Being in the dark was giving me room to imagine all kinds of fucked up shit. I’d rather have the truth, no matter how horrible a truth it was. Taking a deep breath, Ava then filled in the gaps. Guilt, anger, and horror trickled through me; my stomach knotted at the thought of what could have happened if she hadn’t been so damn smart. I fisted my hands in her hair. “Baby, I’m so fucking sorry.”
She smacked my chest – and it actually hurt. “No, you don’t get to feel guilty about this! Dammit, that wasn’t your fault! And you fought it, Salem. You were stripped to nothing but basic instincts. But even then, once you realised who I was, your instinct was to protect me.” She shot me a little smile as she added, “And fuck me silly.”
I smoothed my hands along her thighs, wincing inwardly. “I’m sorry I was rough.” I’d been beyond rough. More like violent. That in mind, I lifted her off the counter, carried her through the apartment and into the bathroom – pointedly ignoring the pile of ashes on the bedroom floor. When I started filling the tub, she sighed.
“This isn’t necessary, I’m fine.”
“Ava, don’t lie to me. I vaguely remember shoving myself balls-deep in one thrust without much foreplay involved.”
“All I cared about was that it was me you were fucking, not her. That we’re both alive.” She kissed me gently. “So stop torturing yourself. I want my cuddly bear back.”
I narrowed my eyes. “You’re calling me cuddly? I tried to kill you ten minutes ago.”
“Stop dwelling on old shit.”
With a grunt, I gently set her on her feet and carefully undressed her. Trying to apologise with every soft touch. Intellectually, I understood that she was right; the guilt was needless. But I still felt like complete shit. The thing I’d wanted to do from minute one was protect her. I’d almost fucking killed her.
By the time I was done undressing her, the tub was ready. I gently settled her into the Jacuzzi before turning on the jets.
She released a s
igh of pleasure. “Why aren’t you joining me?”
I crouched beside the tub. “This is for you.” I skimmed my hand up her leg, unable to not touch her.
“Stop brooding.”
I frowned. “I don’t brood.”
She snorted, sinking deeper into the water. “My conversation with Cristiano didn’t go so good, at first. But when I told him I was happy and that I loved you, he calmed down. He’ll come to the Binding.”
I knew she was trying to distract me from what just happened, and I was willing to let her if it made her relax. “Good.” If that asshole had refused, it would have upset her. Then I’d have had to kick his useless ass, which wouldn’t have gone down well with Ava. “It must have been hard for you on the assignment, knowing he was close and in danger. But you didn’t lose your shit. I’m proud of how well you handled it.”
She glanced at me sideways, smiling shyly. “Thank you.”
“I can’t say I’d have been thinking straight if it had been you in that detonation ring.”
“You think I’d have handled it just as well if it had been you and not Cristiano?” She got to her knees and faced me. “Salem, part of why I didn’t lose my shit was that I had you with me. It helped me stay calm.”
That got to me. I was used to making people feel nervous, never calm. My squad members might trust me with their lives, but I would bet none of them would claim I had a way of keeping them calm…particularly if I’d tried to kill them. “I’d never deliberately hurt you. You know that, don’t you?”
“Of course I know that. Stop feeling guilty.”
“I can’t help hating what I did.” Harming her went against everything in me.
“If the situation had been reversed, would you have blamed me?”
I didn’t say ‘obviously not’, but it must have been evident in my expression because her smile was very self-satisfied. Sliding my hands into her hair, I drank in every detail of her face. I never would have thought that anything could be this important to me, and I didn’t know how to handle it. I just knew I had no intention of losing it. “As long as you know I’d never purposely hurt you.”
“I know you wouldn’t.”
“And that I love you.” The words were gruff, but her smile was so bright that it might have knocked me on my ass if I’d been standing.
“I know you do.” She didn’t return the words, and I could tell by the teasing glint in her eyes that she was playing with me.
“Ava.”
“Yep?”
“You have something to say.”
She cocked her head. “Really? Like what?”
I bit her bottom lip hard enough to sting but without drawing blood. “Ava.”
She giggled. “Okay, I love you.”
I grunted, which for some reason made her giggle again. I was just about to bite that lip once more, maybe break the skin this time, when a loud thud came from the living area – a thud that sounded suspiciously like the front door crashing open.
I zoomed through the apartment, and released a menacing growl at the sight of Will staggering inside looking pale and weak with an anxious Blythe in tow. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I moved to charge at the bastard, but Blythe slipped in front of him.
She started to quickly explain, “Don’t harm him, Salem, he’s upset and he wants to know how –”
“Get out,” I snarled.
“He’s upset!”
“You’re mistaking me for someone who gives a shit.”
“I felt my blood-link with Gina break!” Will burst out. “I know she’s dead!” Which explained why he was in a bad state. The breaking of a blood-link was painful and draining. No doubt he would have come sooner if he hadn’t been folded over in agony.
“What’s going on?” demanded Ava as she sidled up to me, having thrown on a vest and pair of shorts.
Will locked on her like a pit bull might lock on something that moved too fast. His rage was evident through our link. “It was you, wasn’t it? You did it.”
“You’ll have to be more specific,” she said acerbically.
“It was you! You killed Gina!”
Ava snorted. “I wish.”
“It was me.”
Will gaped at me. “You?” Distress rippled along our link, and I understood why. It was natural for Sires to be distressed when their vampires fought amongst themselves – it was a little like a parent might be distraught if their children turned on each other. People took shit from their siblings that they wouldn’t take from others, and the same often applied to vampires and those within their lines. But Gina had pushed too many buttons, and we all knew it.
“Me,” I confirmed, sighing when I saw that the neighbours – all of whom were members of the legion – were gathering around the wide open front door.
Blythe put a hand to her chest. “You killed Gina?”
“I killed the vampire who put me under her thrall and tried forcing me to kill Ava.” When Blythe shook her head in denial, I arched an impatient brow. “Are you really going to pretend she didn’t have the nerve to do that?”
“I’ll admit that it wouldn’t have surprised me to hear that Gina tried to put you under her thrall in the hope of making you betray Ava. But to make you kill Ava?” Blythe shook her head again. “And if she had, surely Ava wouldn’t be standing here now!”
“Ava snapped me out of the thrall, in a roundabout way.”
“That isn’t possible,” claimed Will.
“Obviously it is. And now I’m done talking.” I stalked over to him, grabbed him by his collar, and dragged him to the door. He struggled against my grip, hurling profanities. The vampires at the door parted for me, and I threw Will against the hallway wall. “Get the fuck out of here. And don’t even think of barging inside my home again – unless of course you want to be as dead as that stupid bitch.”
He righted himself, ignoring Blythe’s fussing. “How dare you speak of her that way! Gina was my vampire! My firstborn! She was –”
“A spiteful bitch with a sense of entitlement that always got her in shit. This wasn’t the first time she did something stupid because her ego got thrashed. You know that, just like you knew Gina would eventually do something. And you knew through your link that she was seething, plotting. Maybe you didn’t know exactly what she was plotting, but you’d have sensed her frame of mind. Yet, you did nothing.”
“One could go as far as to say it’s partly your fault that she’s dead,” mused Ava, leaning against the doorjamb.
Confused and sad, Blythe spoke. “Gina tried putting you under her thrall countless times, Salem, but it never worked. I don’t see how it could have worked now.”
“My guess is that she” – Will snarled at Ava, who smiled brightly – “killed Gina in a jealous rage, and you’re covering for her. Or maybe it really was you, Salem; maybe you set a trap for Gina because you wanted vengeance after she baited Ava.”
I looked at him curiously. “You don’t see it at all, do you? Gina saw it, and that was part of why she couldn’t let it go.”
“See what?” asked Blythe.
“I’m fucking happy,” I said simply, not caring that I had an audience. “I have Ava. I have my position in the legion. I have the loyalty of good people.” None of which I would ever take for granted. “The last thing on my mind was vengeance.” My mind hadn’t been preoccupied with thoughts of hurting someone, but of keeping someone safe. “The only way Gina could have been more than an irritating blip on my radar was if she did something huge. She realised that, and she acted on it.”
Blythe went to speak, but then made a startled ‘gah’ sound as Sam and Jared suddenly appeared next to her. Neither of the pair looked surprised by the tension or the presence of Will and Blythe, so I had to conclude that someone from the small audience had called them.
“If someone could tell me what the bloody hell is going on, that’d be great,” said Sam impatiently.
It was Ava who explained, fingers flying
over the keypad of her cell phone. “Short version: Gina put Salem under her thrall, tried to make him kill me, but it didn’t work and now she’s sobbing in hell.” I went to ask Ava who she was texting, but then Sam and Jared were speaking to me at once.
Jared growled, “She did what?”
Sam’s eyebrows flew up. “She tried to make you kill Ava?” The mercury glint to her irises flared.
“I refuse to accept it,” snarled Will. “They set Gina up. They wanted her dead, and they made it happen.” He jabbed a finger at Ava. “She hated Gina –”
Ava gasped, returning her cell to her pocket. “How long have you been sitting on this information?”
“– so she got rid of her. And now they’re trying to justify her actions by falsely accusing Gina of this.”
Rolling her eyes, Ava pushed away from the doorjamb. “Why do you keep trying to pit us all against one another? This isn’t one of your fight clubs. You’re not going to turn Sam and Jared against me or Salem, which means you won’t manage to turn us against them. Just the same, you won’t make Salem lose his position.”
“Lose his position?” repeated Jared.
“Will doesn’t like that one of his vampires has succeeded in achieving more than he ever has. When he couldn’t match Salem’s success –”
“He tried to take Salem’s success away from him,” deduced Sam, clenching her fists.
Will sneered. “He wouldn’t have his position if it wasn’t for me! I’m the one who Turned him and trained him.”
“No, we trained him,” objected Sam, gesturing to both her and Jared. “You laid the foundations, but it was us who helped him earn the strengths he has now. I say ‘helped’, because he could never have the control and skills he can now boast of without his own determination and focus.”