Annie Nicholas - Bait

“Sorry, I’m a little dizzy.”

“Look at me, baby”

I gazed into his ice blue eyes and poured all my love and affection for him into it.

“Something’s wrong with you. Are you drunk?”

Rurik’s soft caress brushed my thoughts. It triggered a reflex to strengthen my mental shields but nothing happened. I stepped back and concentrated on my defenses. As much as I tried, they were gone.

“What have you done?” The panic in Rurik’s voice frightened me more than my stroll on the ledge. “Connie.” He snapped. “Check the guard for keys. You have to free me.” His arms jerked the chains with renewed vigor.

A set of keys, why did those words bring on a sense of déjà vu?

“Quick, Connie. Move.” Rurik strained from the stone pillar. “Dragos is trying to find you. I’m shielding you but I can’t keep it up for long. They’ve bled me and I’m too weak. How the fuck did you get my drug in your system?”

Drug? That would explain the dizzy spells. I lifted my left hand and showed Rurik the key on my new pretty bracelet. “Did you give this to me? I like it.”

His eyes widened. They shone with tears. “No, sweetheart. It must be from someone who’s trying to help us. Can you use it to unlock the manacles?”

“Sure.” The world became disjointed as if I watched myself from afar. I removed the bracelet and inserted the key into the lock.

Rabbit... A whisper trailed through the air or in my thoughts. I wasn’t sure anymore. Why are you doing that, Rabbit? It displeases me. Dragos ’ presence in my head shut everything out.

“No.” Rurik shook his head. “Listen to me, Connie. Unlock it, twist the key.”

Come to me. Leave Rurik there to greet the dawn.

I pivoted to see the curtainless windows that faced the east. The black stains on the pillar must have come from earlier victims of this type of punishment. Rurik would burn and join their ashes.

Come. One simple elegant command. Why did I ever doubt Dragos? His power, strength, and intelligence spanned millennia. Only the unwise would oppose him.

I left the room. Rurik screamed my name over and over but Connie no longer existed, only Rabbit.

Dragos ’ Rabbit.

As I arrived to the same dark, wooden paneled study where Tane had locked me in, Dragos reclined on a plain wood chair. With one sandaled foot resting on his knee and his arm thrown over the chair back, he stared at a large broad sword that rested over the fireplace mantle.

I stepped through the threshold as quiet as a mouse, not wanting to disturb him, and took this opportunity to admire his male beauty. Muscular and strong, his chest and arms strained against the gray t-shirt he wore. The electric lights were off and he must have lit some candles, while I’d been gone, so the flickering glow caste shadows on the walls. His black leather pants clung to his long legs and ended in a pair of brown, worn sandals.

Why did I ever fear him or think him monstrous? His tattooed baldhead and pointed ears made him more exotic, not repulsive.

“Why would you run from me?” He echoed my thoughts. Soft and compelling, his voice had the timber of someone who never yelled. I wanted to hear more. “It would have displeased me if you’d left and taken Rurik with you.”

All the trouble I went through to escape and release Rurik appeared silly now. I should have stayed here and waited. What sort of horrible person was I to make him unhappy? I knelt to cower on my hands and knees, ashamed of my selfishness. “I’m so sorry , Master.”

“Since you’re still young and foolish, Rabbit, I forgive you. I’ll teach you to be a proper pet. Look at me.”

Still bent low to the ground I gazed up at his magnificence. He’d uncrossed his legs and now leaned forward with his elbows on his knees.

“You and your merry band of slayers have entertained Tane to no end during our visit to Budapest. He’s offered you as a token for leaving me out.” He gestured to his lap. “Approach me.”

My legs shook so much I couldn’t stand. Not from fear but from anticipation of his touch. So I crawled.

His presence filled the room. Energy and malevolence pulsed from him in imperceptible waves.

When I reached his legs I couldn’t resist rubbing my face against them like a cat in heat.

“Much better.” He ran his fingers through my curls then pinched the material of my long-sleeved t-shirt between two fingers. “I hate these modern fashions on women. Take it off.”

I started to remove my shirt but his touch on my arm stopped me. “Stand, I want to watch.”

Something bothered me about his request. It made me uncomfortable but I couldn’t understand why. I stood and undid my jeans then slid them down my legs in a slow manner. My earlier hesitation lifted and my purpose to make Dragos happy returned. The shirt, socks and shoes joined my jeans in quick succession.

I stood in my matching white lace bra and thong, happy I’d thought to wear these today instead of my sports stuff.

The cold heat of his scrutiny burned as his stare traced up my legs, over the generous curves of my hips, and stopped at the mounds of my breasts. “Turn.”

I did a slow three-sixty. If Tane wouldn’t have hurried me so much I might have thought to wear some make-up or done my hair. Instead, I came here as a windblown, nut case.

“I think I’d like you better with heels but this will do for now.” He tapped his lap once more with his hand.

The gesture triggered a reflexive annoyance but it vanished almost as soon as it materialized. I scurried to him and perched on his trunk-like thighs. The skintight leather of his pants felt smooth and slick under my behind. I could feel every hard muscle in his legs. This god-like creature wanted me and it thrilled me that he did. I’d make him a very, very happy Master.

His fingers traced a line down my spine sending shivers straight to my scalp, raising the hairs on my body. “Like a god?” He whispered close to my ear. “You have it wrong, Rabbit. I am a god.”

I started with the confirmation of his words. He really could read my thoughts. My repressed self bubbled up from where Dragos hid her. I grasped at my non-existent mental shield and panicked as a wave of calm poured over me before I could fight back. It allowed me to breathe easier and relax into his arms.

“You like to fight.” His tone sounded approving. “And you don’t believe me. Let me show you our godhood.”

Visions of an ancient stone temple towering over a dense jungle intruded my thoughts like a video clip. Dragos stood on a dais at the top of the stairs, which climbed the side of the building, as people were dragged to him one at a time. Sacrifices. His soft voice echoed in my head. The moonlight glinted off his pale skin and baldhead, a giant surrounded by his worshippers.

Precious life and blood, taken for granted, spilled for a monster that cared nothing for them. Who probably terrorized this simple culture into extinction.

One after another the faces of victims played for me until I recognized a handsome and arrogant expression. The love in his eyes for his god shone bright. Tane, before Dragos made him a Nosferatu vampire.

As a human, he appeared so angelic.

My personal trip in history faded to present day, where Dragos attempted to convert me to his religion.

I’m not sure when I moved but now I straddled him, pressed up against his massive chest with my arms wrapped around his thick corded neck. The scent of the Danube River still clung to him.

His fingers played up and down my spine while he kissed a line from my shoulder to my ear. “Rurik’s changed you. I don’t like it.”

I pushed myself away to meet his gaze. “What do you mean?” Rurik should have minded his own business and left me alone. I needed to fix things for Dragos so he’d like me again.