6. Chara

Chapter 6

Chara

I must have misheard him, yet here I am, somehow transported through the air and into an elite, upper-level dungeon that looks far more luxurious than the playrooms in the lower level.

The big brute watches me with dark, soulful eyes that redden around the edges like hot, smoldering embers. His fangs hang seductively over his lip. I try not to stare, but the flames of desire tinge my soul and heat my center as we stand in the middle of his playroom.

I take in all the implements: different types of paddles, long, oblong ones, short, round ones that remind me of the ones for ping pong, while my eyes dart to the short, oval one . I'm not safe outside of this room?

His brow lifts in challenge.

It's not possible he knows what I'm thinking.

He cocks an eyebrow. "Yet, I do."

My mind reels trying to make sense of it all, knowing that many vampires can read minds, but still it's unexpected. "You should have listened to me. I tried to warn you, to protect Natalia, and you literally tried to throw me out the door. I knew something was going to happen, I just couldn't get it into your thick, egotistical head!"

He doesn't say a word, but steps forward with purpose, closing the gap between us until there's barely an inch to spare. "I would be mindful of who you speak to in that tone. I've paddled far too many young women in my day not to make an example of you."

"You wouldn't dare!"

The dark beast smiles and looks down at me as though determining his next move.

My mind won't quiet, no matter how I try. My heart pounds in my chest, causing the blood in my veins to race far too fast to control. Too much has happened that I can't unsee, so many bodies and blood on the floor, and one of them could have been me.

Master Bistrita's eyes narrow, observing me. He takes my hand. "Come, love, you get spanked when you deserve it, or for pleasure, but this is something else. Your body needs to transition into a safe space. You'll feel better in a moment."

His strong hand grasps mine, leading me to a St. Andrew's Cross in the corner of the red-walled room with the signature marble black floors. The red gem of the Descallia logo carved into the center of the ornate pieces of steel capture my attention. I should run, scream, anything to get away. But then, all too quickly, the howling and snarling of the wolves who threatened to kill me before he arrived plays in my head.

Bistrita's hand guides me, while I step onto the flat black platform beneath the cross, still shaking from the visions in my mind. I don't know what to expect from this man who's been nothing but a beast thus far. "Enough, Chara. Clear your mind, and trust me. No one is going to hurt you now."

My eyes widen as he turns me to face him, placing my trembling hands by my side. My chest heaves with angst. There are restraints on this machine. Dangling ones for my hands and feet.

He smirks. "Not today, love. Relax, breathe in deeply and then out."

His deep, authoritarian voice sooths me, and a little of the fight or flight response begins to fade. I take a minute just to breathe and find my bearing, letting the emotion of the battle upstairs weaken, trying to focus on the vampire in front of me, instead of all the kinky equipment in the room that is unnerving but intriguing at the very same time.

He is attuned to my angst, tracking my gaze. " Close your eyes."

I follow his instruction, more out of a need to feel anything but angst and despair after the bloodbath upstairs. He seems to sense my need for a moment of reflection and doesn't intrude on my thoughts, but my heightened senses can smell the fading scent of soap on his skin, the muskiness of his fight, and an underlying scent almost reassuringly unique to him.

When the images have cleared, I open my eyes. His dark ones do not waver from mine. "I'm going to turn you to face the padding," he says, taking one of my hands while using his other to help me turn into the position he has in mind. He then adjusts the pad and lowers it along the steel of the cross, while pressing my forehead into the softness of the leather.

He lifts the length of my hair and places it over a shoulder, then runs a finger from my nape down along the sensitive area of my spine. A tingle courses down the length of me, until he clasps both hands around my neck. "Shhh … trust me. You're way too tense. We're going to release a little pressure. You'll just feel my thumb," he says, pushing on the soft tissue and cartilage on the back of my neck with a deft and delicate touch.

He massages the sensitive skin, moving in a circular motion and kneading muscles like I've never felt. I swallow through the emotion, the pure, sensual nature of his touch on my skin. I shouldn't like the feel of a stranger's touch on my skin, yet I do, so much that my cheeks heat with embarrassment.

The vampires are keeping us safe. In their own way, regardless of the bloodshed. He sent me away to keep me safe, and then rescued me when I wasn't. The wolves could have torn me apart, yet this devilish brute foiled their plan. I come to the same conclusion, time and time again. I'm safest with him, the beast who scares me yet calms me with the dominance in his voice and gentleness of his touch.

When he turns me to face him, his reddened eyes regard me with a searing gaze. "Better?"

I swallow hard through the lump that has formed in the back of my throat. "I'm not too proud to say I'm sorry. I let the heat of the moment take over my emotions. Thank you for everything that you did for Natalia, upstairs for me, and for this."

He tilts his head, as though not quite sure what to say before offering a hand. "Down from there before I give you the impression that I'm anything but the beast you believe me to be, and instead give you the spanking you more than deserve for earlier."

My cheeks continue to heat, this time with thoughts of being tipped over the master vampire's lap with nothing on but a thong as he caresses my tender skin in between each hard slap to the ass.

The magnetism of the dark-souled beast's intensity draws my eyes upward to his devilish smirk. "That particular scenario is best reserved for pleasure, not as a punishment, Chara. A punishment spanking would have you bent over one of my benches with your hands bound above your head, no panties or thong to speak of, and absolutely no rubbing of your cheeks between each lash of the implement of my choosing."

Embarrassment floods my core, realizing somehow, he knows everything I was thinking about, and probably assumes I'm attracted to him too. The arrogant beast. Those flashing eyes don't scare me now. He didn't save me only to kill me or harm me himself. I'm sure of that.

I inhale a deep, cleansing breath. "I was just thinking of a play scenario for later in the club. It wasn't with you, so don't flatter yourself, vampire. I was offered a job at Club Descallia, which I probably plan to take."

One of his eyebrows arches upward, and the full darkness of his eyes return. "You just broke one of my rules, Chara. No lying."