CHAPTER ELEVEN

As I sat up in my bed, panting, I was trying hard not to relive the images of what had just happened, and a wave of thirst washed over me.

I didn’t know what to make of the dream, nor what had passed between Valerian and me, but one thing I did know? I really needed a glass of water. So, I climbed out of bed and then tiptoed to the door, where I carefully stepped over Magnus. He was snoring loudly, and his foot was twitching as he grumbled something about the ‘elder Murray woman.’ Whatever was going on in his mind, I was pretty sure he wasn’t going to wake up any time soon, so I hurried down the hallway, tiptoeing down the stairs as I made my way to the kitchen to get that glass of water.

But as soon as I filled the glass with my Brita-filtered water and downed it, I just stood there, unable to turn around and start back up the stairs again. Instead, I found myself thinking about Valerian. And those thoughts quickly turned to thoughts of what had just passed between us in my dream—things that were decidedly X-rated. Not only that, but my body was still burning with desire. Truth be told, I was fairly sure I hadn’t come down here just to quench my thirst, even though I didn’t want to admit as much to myself...

“No doubt, you are wondering if what you just dreamed was real?” Valerian’s voice rang out in the quiet of the dark night. I paused for maybe two seconds as I tried to decide whether or not I wanted to talk to him. It would have been better for me just to go back upstairs and pretend the dream had never happened. And yet, he’d just mentioned it, and that meant it was something we’d both experienced—a dream we’d both shared.

Swallowing hard, I placed the glass on the counter and started for the dining room. When I turned the corner, I found him exactly where we’d left him—standing against the wall, wearing my pink robe, the glowing runes holding him there now extremely bright in the otherwise dark room.

I felt slightly concerned about the fact that I was standing here by myself—since Luke had returned to his apartment over his bookstore hours ago. And Magnus was sound asleep in the hallway. That meant I only had myself to rely on in case I needed help.

But Valerian is restrained against the wall, so why in the world would you need help?

Right.

“Mmm, I always do appreciate a midnight visitor,” the jerkoff said, the whites of his eyes and his teeth shining brightly in the reflection of the runes.

“Stop talking so loud or you’ll wake everyone up.”

He looked at me in that way of his—I was pretty sure he was imagining what I looked like naked. Then he smiled. And it was the same preternatural, devilish grin he’d brandished in my dream. “Why should I care if I wake everyone up?”

“I guess you wouldn’t care,” I answered, feeling stupid that I’d even brought it up. By now, it had become pretty evident that Valerian wasn’t the man I’d hoped he was. And yet, there was still some stupid part of me that was wishing we were all wrong—that Gray would rise up like a superhero to slay Valerian… and then what? We’d go riding into the future, to our happily ever after?

God, sometimes I was so dumb!

“Couldn’t sleep?” the man who was decidedly NOT Gray asked, lifting the corner of his mouth into another knowing smile.

“No. I… just… needed to drink some water,” I replied, trying to ignore the memory of our dream encounter and the feel of him deep inside me. Yet, standing here right now, with him looking down at me with that freaking expression on his face—all I could think about was the thrilling sensation of him sliding into me.

Son of a bitch!

“Ah, yes. That dream must have left you quite parched, I should imagine,” he said, his eyes twinkling mischievously. So clearly, he was very aware of what had transpired between us. In fact, I was pretty convinced he was the reason I’d had the dream in the first place.

“Did you send that to me?” I demanded, feeling a surge of anger as I threw my hands on my hips and gave him a glare I didn’t really feel.

“That?” he replied with infuriating nonchalance, his face lighting up with another grin that somehow managed to be innocent and lascivious at the same time.

“Never mind,” I started, reluctant to admit anything to him. I was pretty sure I was already the color of a tomato as it was.

“Oh, you mean the dream in which you boldly pronounced that you wanted me inside you?” he asked, his smug expression fully present and accounted for. “Is that the dream you speak of, my little starling?”

At the term of endearment or irritation or whatever you wanted to call it, I felt my breath catch as my heart started pounding overtime and I suddenly felt lightheaded and dizzy.

“I… don’t want to talk… about it,” I said, suddenly needing to brace myself against the dining room table. My heart was still poun ding, and my breath was coming so fast, stars were now dancing before my eyes.

“Careful or you’re liable to pass out, love,” Valerian continued, his deep voice creating its own turmoil in my stomach.

“What do you mean?” I demanded, looking up at him and immediately regretting it.

He shrugged, which wasn’t an easy thing to do while being restrained so securely against the wall. “Do you recall what I am?”

“An asshole?” I replied immediately.

He chuckled and shook his head. “I meant, what sort of creature I am.”

“A vampire.”

He nodded. “Thus, it is in my nature to home in on the rush of blood when I sense it within my prey.”

“Are you saying I’m your prey?” I asked, glaring at him, because I didn’t like the sound of that one bit. Once I felt like I could stand on my own again, I stepped away from the table and stood up as straight as I could. I didn’t understand what happened to me whenever I was around this man, but it didn’t feel safe. He didn’t feel safe.

“I have feasted upon your blood, have I not?” Valerian’s arrogant smile felt like a slap in my face, but I refused to let him see me falter. Then he yawned like this conversation was suddenly boring him. “Regardless, you couldn’t keep away, it seems.”

“As I told you already, I came downstairs because I wanted some water,” I snapped back, unwilling to give him the satisfaction of knowing how deeply the dream had affected me. How deeply it was still affecting me…

He chuckled. “I believe the truth is more along the lines that, upon waking, you felt the need to come down and see me.” I was about to argue his point, but he shook his head as much as the rune around his throat allowed him. “Before you attempt to belittle me or insist such is not the case, I will admit that I, too, sincerely wished to see you.”

“Why?”

He appeared far too casual standing there, and too relaxed for my liking. He was the one who was our prisoner, the one who was restrained against the wall and yet he seemed as if he were as comfortable as he could possibly be.

“Do I really need to spell it out for you, starling?”

“Yes,” I seethed. “You do.”

Then he shrugged. “Very well. I wished to see you in order to observe the ways in which the dream… affected you. ”

I swallowed hard. “It didn’t affect me, and I didn’t and still don’t feel the need to see you.”

That broad, Cheshire Cat grin again. “And yet, here you are.”

“Because you said something that… well, stuck with me.”

“And what was that?”

“That Strength is embodied by the vampire.” Two could play at this stupid game.

“And?” Valerian’s smile grew even wider, and I fought the urge to wipe it off his face with the palm of my hand or my lips...

No, I was definitely not going there!

“And I’m pretty sure you have a key I need.”

“Very perceptive, little starling,” he purred, clearly enjoying the effect he had on me. “Now, the real question is… where do you suppose you will find said key?”

“That was my next question… for you.”

“Was it?”

“It was.”

Another broad grin that indicated this game wasn’t over—not by a mile. “I suppose you’ll just have to find out,” he challenged me.

Tacitly accepting the gauntlet he’d just thrown down, I approached him and then paused when I was close enough to reach into one of the pockets of the pink robe he was still wearing. (I really needed to get him a new outfit), but I was surprised to find the pocket empty. Well, there was one remaining pocket, which meant the key had to be inside it. As I pulled my hand out of his pocket, the belt on the robe fell loose, and the robe dropped open, revealing his very large maleness that almost seemed to leap out at me like a dog eagerly excited to go on a walk.

“Jesus,” I said, without thinking.

He chuckled. “Apparently, I am not the only one excited to see you.”

I blushed furiously, all shades of red coloring my face, and craned my neck at an uncomfortable angle so I wouldn’t ‘accidentally’ look down again. He, meanwhile, chuckled at my reaction. Quickly fumbling with the tie to his robe, I yanked both ends as tightly as I could around his middle and happily breathed a sigh of relief to find him covered once more. Then I quickly checked his other pocket, only to find it also empty. Frustration bubbled inside me as I stepped back and glared at him.

“Stop playing games, Valerian,” I snapped. “This is important. ”

“And why is it important?” he asked, his stormy eyes locking onto mine.

“The reason… well, it’s none of your business,” I retorted, crossing my arms over my breasts as I realized that both of my nipples were beyond hard. God, could my body have been more obvious?

“I should assume this business of yours is important since you seem rather determined to find this key,” he countered.

“It is important.”

He cocked his head to the side. “Perhaps you didn’t check me thoroughly enough.”

“The key wasn’t in the pockets of your robe, so where else could it be?” I shot back, exasperated.

“There are more places upon my person that you can explore, starling.”

I glared at him and shook my head. “There is no way in hell I’m going to give you a cavity search.”

At that, he threw his head back as far as he could and laughed heartily. I just stood there, trying to keep my temper under wraps but I was damned frustrated to know that all this time, the pain in my ass had just been messing with me. Because it was now pretty clear that he didn’t have the key, and he also had no clue where it was .

“Are you done?” I asked, shaking my head.

He nodded as the laughter subsided. “You know, I’ve missed our conversations in the garden. Just the two of us without that tiresome wizard and your dolt of a guardian to interfere.”

I couldn’t help but smile at his description of Magnus and I figured there was no point in continuing to correct him regarding Luke being a magician and not a wizard. So, I didn’t say anything, but once I noticed Valerian’s clenched fists, I reached out, carefully unwinding the fingers of his left hand. And there it was! A metal skeleton key.

As I took the key from him, however, two strange things happened simultaneously. First, he stepped away from the wall, yanking both of his hands and his ankles from the runes, as if they weren’t even there. Then, he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into an embrace, his mouth immediately descending on mine.

“Wha–” I stammered, shocked to realize he’d just stepped out of his restraints like they were invisible. I had to fight to resist the feeling of his tongue invading my mouth as I pushed against his chest to break the union of our mouths. When he released me, I nearly lost my balance but managed to right myself at the last second.

“How?” I asked, my voice trembling as I stared at the glowing runes that were now hovering in midair, as if they were restraining the Invisible Man. “How are you… why were you able… I don’t understand what just happened!”

“Ah, my dearest little Daughter of the Moon,” Valerian said with a wicked grin. When he took another step closer to me, I backed into the dining table. “Those silly things did nothing to restrain me.”

“I… I don’t understand.”

He chuckled. “I figured out how to release myself last evening, little starling.”

“But how?” I shook my head, feeling scared, shocked, and panicked all at once.

He cocked his head to the side. “All it took was a little magic of my own.”

My confusion mounted as he approached me once more, and this time, I allowed him to wrap his hands around me. I was just so caught off guard, and so flummoxed, that I couldn’t even think to stop him. And I failed to stop him when his mouth came down over mine once more and his tongue began to entwine with my own. All the while, I tried to understand what was happening, how it could possibly be that he’d managed to just step out of the runes like they were nothing? And what the fuck did it mean that he just said he had magic? How could that even be possible? Vampires weren’t supposed to have magic, right?

I was so busy trying to understand what was going on that I didn’t even realize he’d maneuvered me back against the wall until my ass was up close and personal with it. His lips, meanwhile, continued to press against mine and if I’d had my full wits about me, I might have comprehended how intensely passionate his kiss was. When he finally broke away from my lips, I was literally gasping for air.

“I don’t understand,” I started to say again, but suddenly his lips were on my neck, and I could feel the little points of his fangs. I instantly feared that he was going to bite me. And yet… well, ‘feared’ wasn’t exactly the right word for what I felt. It was more honest to say that I was exhilarated—thrilled by the idea of him puncturing my skin, and drinking my blood. But that awareness was… well, it wasn’t good. Jesus, maybe I was just as sick and twisted as my mother. Maybe this bad apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree .

When I felt his mouth moving lower, descending past my neck as he planted kisses in a trail down to the collar of my pajamas, I almost worried I was going to pass out right there. The sensation of his lips against my skin was so overwhelming, and a big part of me wanted to succumb to his touch, to beg him to do to me what he’d done to me in the dream, but luckily, my rational brain still had too many questions he needed to answer.

“Wait,” I gasped, trying to catch my breath as I felt his hands come up to my waist, gripping each side of me beneath my pajama top. I stopped him with my hands on top of his and once I could speak again, I asked, “how did you escape from the runes? I mean—I know they were holding you against the wall… And what the hell did you mean when you said you have magic?”

“Think, starling,” he murmured before dropping down on his knees as he started kissing my stomach.

“I’m having a really tough time thinking about anything at the moment,” I admitted. “Just… just tell me.”

He looked up at me and grinned. Seeing the expression on his face, I thought I seriously would lose consciousness right here and right now .

“I was locked up in that dungeon for decades, little starling, being kept alive with a mix of blood and…” Then his expression indicated that he wanted me to complete his sentence.

“Artemis’s magic,” I finished as the realization dawned on me like a truckload of bricks falling on my head.

He nodded. “With magic pumped into me, day after day, what do you suppose happened?”

I swallowed hard as everything clicked into place. The drops of pearlescent liquid I’d seen going into Valerian’s IV along with the blood—the pearls had been Artemis’s magic! Liquid magic. My eyes went wide as I suddenly understood what had been going on all along—that Artemis had been feeding Valerian magic while keeping him alive or maybe in order to keep him alive? I wasn’t sure. I wasn’t even sure if she’d realized what she was actually doing—that she was creating an entity that would be more than just a vampire—a magic one—a vampire essentially on steroids!

Jesus, she’d created a monstrous super-vampire. And now that super-vampire was not only on the loose, but he was also magic and presently making out with me! And, I was probably going to pay the ultimate price, but I couldn’t seem to care that he was some kind of roided, freakish vampire. He was just so damned hot and his lips all over my body felt… well, in a word—they felt incredible.

Are you really going to just let this jerkoff bang you and then what? Drain you of your blood to your inevitable death? I asked myself.

I was contemplating it, I thought back.

Seriously, Kate, the other part of me shook its proverbial head. Think of your epitaph: Here lies the dumbest woman to ever have lived—one who willingly handed some freakish vampire her life just so she could get laid.

Okay, point taken.

“Why?” I asked hollowly, shaking my head as I forced all the feelings of desire to the back of my already overwhelmed mind.

“Why what, love?”

“Why would Artemis give a vampire, give you , so much power?”

“Perhaps you should ask her that question,” Valerian replied with a chuckle. He remained at my waist level, and I couldn’t seem to find the wherewithal inside myself to tell him to get the hell away from me.

God, you are so dumb .

As he pressed even closer to me, his hands continued to explore the skin of my stomach, moving further upwards. I could feel the brush of his lips on my skin and closed my eyes as I moaned involuntarily. All the while, I kept wondering what in the hell was wrong with me. But it was almost like I was incapable of resisting or stopping him. I wasn’t sure if he were somehow using his own magical powers to control me or if I just really needed to get laid that bad.

Right. The jury was still out on that question.

Before I could blink, and remind myself that I was getting felt up by a monster that was probably going to kill me in a minute, I suddenly felt something snap around my left wrist. It felt like icy metal and my eyes widened in shock as I turned my head to see what the hell it was. To my horror, I realized it was the freaking rune that was meant to keep Valerian imprisoned! At the sound of another click, I turned in the other direction to see the other rune slapping around my wrist. Then the same thing happened at my throat, and both of my ankles.

“What?” I started to exclaim as real panic began to brew inside me .

Valerian pulled away with a self-satisfied grin, reaching out to pluck the key from my hand.

“I’ll just take that back,” he purred.

“No, wait!” I cried out, feeling utterly betrayed, confused and furious with him, of course, but mostly, with myself. I mean—he’d totally just played me, and the worst part was that I’d played right into his trap! I’d totally been no more than a pawn in his game and what a stupid pawn I was! Never once did I doubt him. No, instead I’d allowed my traitorous libido to guide me!

Well, at least he didn’t drain you of all your blood.

Actually, that was probably just a matter of time…

“What, love?”

I shook my head, unsure of where to begin—I mean, there were so many questions swarming inside my brain, it was hard to just choose one. “Why even bother playing this game if you could have so easily escaped?” I demanded. “Why did you wait all this time?”

He leaned in closer, his breath feeling hot against my ear. “I was curious to see what was happening here,” he answered with a shrug, like that much should have been obvious to me. Maybe it should have been— as obvious as the fact that he was a devious bastard and he’d played me like an expert. God, I would never forgive myself for being so stupid. And once Luke found out…? Oh, God, once Luke found out…

Valerian examined the key with a mixture of curiosity and amusement, glancing up at me with a mischievous grin once more. “This key unlocks the room with The Star painted on it?”

I huffed indignantly, even though it was pretty ridiculous that I should feel indignant about anything now. I mean, Valerian had basically just shown up in a car with the words ‘get inside and you’ll regret it!’ painted on the side and I’d gladly thrown open the car door and seated myself beside him! God, I was so stupid!

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

He laughed, and the sound echoed in the otherwise silent room. “My dear starling, I’ve been standing here for over a day, listening to everything going on around me. It’s amazing what one can learn when they just, you know, choose to listen carefully.”

Anger surged through me, but my anger was accompanied by an extreme sense of betrayal. “I trusted you,” I started to protest, shaking my head, because I realized what a huge waste of time this conversation was. Valerian wouldn’t give a hoot that I trusted him. He didn’t care about anything because he was as cold and calculating as Luke had made him out to be.

“Ah, well,” he said with another shrug as he leaned even closer to me, “that was your mistake, not mine.” And then I felt his hand, the one that wasn’t currently holding onto the key, sliding between my thighs, over the fabric of my pajama bottoms.

“What,” I started but the words caught in my throat.

Meanwhile, his fingers began to search out that sensitive nub and with one finger, he began to rub it. I swallowed hard and tried to ignore the feelings of euphoria that began to well up within me and decided, instead, to focus on the most important topic. “What are you… going to do with the key?”

He shrugged and brought his face to my neck, whispering, “I rather thought I should like to go on a little adventure. Find out what awaits me inside the room of The Star.”

“Magnus!” I shouted, now realizing the only hope I had was by waking up the sleeping barbarian on the second floor. “Help me! Magnus! ”

But Valerian shook his head, smiling cruelly as he continued to finger me on top of my pajamas and I continued to feel myself growing wetter with each stroke. “No one can hear you now, love. I made sure of that as soon as you appeared in the dining room this morning.”

“You made sure of it?” I repeated, my voice dropping as I realized how completely useless I was.

He nodded. “A simple silence spell was all it took.”

“Then what—are you some sort of magician now?” I asked, gritting my teeth as I glared at him.

He chuckled, his eyes gleaming dangerously as he continued to roll his finger on top of my clit. “Just call me a wizard,” he answered with a chuckle. “A vampire wizard. It has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?”

“No, I don’t—I think it sounds stupid! Just like you!”

And, yes, I was fully aware that the only one who sounded stupid now was me.

Without another word, Valerian backed away and tossed the key into the air, catching it effortlessly, his grin widening. “Now, if you’ll excuse me,” he said smoothly, “ I’ve got doors to unlock and hidden rooms to enter.”