Survivor - By Kaye Draper Page 0,40

him and he held up the camera. “Say cheese,” he said with an evil smile. The flash nearly blinded me. I was still blinking to clear my vision when he punched me in the face. Blinding pain exploded in my head as he connected with my eye. He was probably holding back, otherwise, I’m sure the blow would have killed me. It sure didn’t feel like holding back. It felt like someone had just hit me upside the head with a sledgehammer.

“Son of a bitch!” I gasped, and moaned. No one had ever hit me before, and now I had been struck twice in one day.

He grasped my chin, holding tight when I attempted to struggle away. Turning my head to the side, he examined the eye. “Oh yes, that will be a pretty shade of purple in a few hours.”

I swatted at him and he flung me back on the couch. He stated to leave, but hesitated as he reached the door. “Oh, I almost forgot.” He spun and returned to me. I tried to get away, but he twisted his fist in the front of my t-shirt and pulled me up so my feet were barely touching the floor. Without a bit of preamble, he sank his teeth into my throat. It didn’t hurt, thank God. Vampires could control the sensations humans felt when they were bitten. They could make the pain feel like pleasure. This vampire didn’t let the pain slice through, but his bite didn’t carry the warm pleasure of Peter’s bite. He made it not hurt. That was all.

I struggled weakly, but it did no good. I began to feel lightheaded, and gave up the fight. He lifted his head with a sigh and tossed me back on the couch, not bothering to close my bites. I lifted a hand to wipe the small trickle of blood away, but he stopped me, grabbing my wrist in a flash. “Hold on just one minute, dove,” he said with that nasty smile. He snapped a picture of my wound before releasing my wrist, then turned and left without another word. I flung a water bottle at his departing back, but it bounced harmlessly off the door. Too slow, as usual.

I slumped back on the couch and dabbed at my neck with the hem of my shirt. Fucking vampires. I closed my eyes and refused to let the tears start again. Peter would come for me. I was sure of it.

Chapter 11

Things continued like this for three days. A vampire would bring me something to eat, take a picture, and inflict a new bruise or bite somewhere visible. Repeat several times daily. Apparently, they were willing to prod Leah for a while before they called her bluff and just killed me.

I wondered what my family must be thinking right now. Who was I kidding? They probably wouldn’t notice I was missing for a month, let alone a few measly days. On the third day, Cashern paid me another visit. He breezed in with his two guards in tow, looking fresh and confident- and royally pissed off.

“What are you to Leah?” He stood in front of me, arms crossed and face calm. I wasn’t fooled. He was mad that he hadn’t figured out the answer to that question by now.

I shrugged. “I have no idea,” I said truthfully. He leaned forward and braced his hands on the back of the couch on either side of me, trapping me. His teeth elongated. I was careful to only look at his mouth, never his eyes. Not when he was in vampire mode.

His voice was barely a whisper, just a suggestion floating through the air, but I heard every word- full of compulsion and threat. I risked a glance at his eyes, intending just a quick flick to see the color to see if he was still there or completely vamped out. What I saw made me unable to wrench my gaze away. One eye was silver, but the other was a cloudy blood color. Something evil moved behind his eyes- something that hadn’t been there a moment before. “What are you to Leah?”

I swallowed hard, fear making my heart clench. “I don’t know.”

He leaned closer. “Will she bargain for you?”

“I don’t….” he cut me off, whipping my head to the side and sinking his teeth into my throat faster than thought. Pleasure raced through my body. I fought it, not wanting to let my captor make me feel good. It was