All Souls' Night - Renee Rose Page 0,230

heat that warms my insides. As much as I’m not loving the pain, I’m loving the feelings it’s causing. Everything starts drifting away… my living situation, the attack I faced last night. Nothing else matters besides Damiano and, if I’m feeling charitable, Adrian.

“Time to take these off,” Damiano murmurs as he releases one nipple, then the other. Pain lances through both of them at once, leaving me gasping in its wake. “Breathe, cara. Just breathe with me.” His steady cadence soothes me, and the pain becomes manageable.

He leans down and, his lips move over mine, gently at first, then suddenly ferocious. Like he can’t get enough. Groaning against the seam of his mouth, I slide my tongue out and lick him, delighting in the subtle taste of him mingled with the leftover Shirley Temple he downed. Mmmh. Spicy and sweet, what a delightful combination. Damiano wrests his lips away and takes a few steps back. On the outside, he looks calm and placid, however, his eyes are a storm of emotions. They flicker across his expression so fast that I can’t even pin anything down.

He stands there, staring at me for a brief moment before angling his head to the side and nodding. My mouth opens to speak, but all too soon, I realize what that gesture means. Twin lines of fire sear across the backs of my thighs. If I wasn’t chained to this wooden contraption, I might have fallen from the shock.

“Tell me,” he whispers, his voice deep and hoarse. It skitters over my spine. “Do you want this? Truly? Can you handle being at the mercy of a vampire?”

I lift my chin in defiance. There’s nothing he could do to scare me away. I’ve waited my whole life to be at his mercy, and nothing short of death would make me stop. “Bring it on, bitch.”

His lips lift slowly. Millimeter by millimeter, his fangs come into view. Gulping, I try moving backwards as he prowls his way closer. Not only am I stopped by the restraints around my wrists, but my back comes into contact with a hard body behind me. Adrian.

“If I were a religious person, I’d be praying to my deity of choice right about now.” Adrian’s growl in my ear makes me quiver.

For the first time in my life, I actually take a moment and think about the situations my words put me in. It’s not an entirely pleasant realization, but Damiano doesn’t seem to harbor any anger towards me. Instead, his eyes twinkle like he’s amused, though his lips are set into a hard, firm line.

“My my, such language my cara has. Perhaps I should find a way to discourage her tongue from running away with her.” He stops in front of me and pulls out a slender vial. The odd liquid looks thick and slightly yellow, but that could be an effect from the lights. He unscrews the cap, and inhales deeply. “Yes. I think this should do nicely.”

He dips his finger inside and pulls out a glistening digit. Before I can ask, he smears it along my lips before sliding his finger back inside. After he pulls it out, he reaches for my nipple and pinches hard, his fingers slippery from whatever he dipped them in. He does the same to the other nipple then steps back and crosses his arms, watching me intently.

I stand there, staring back at him. What’s he waiting for? A few more moments pass and then I feel it. A warm, tingly feeling spreads over my lips and nipples, subtle at first, but quickly growing into a dull fire. Squirming, I try to rub my chest against the wood, but Adrian pulls back on my rope harness, keeping me from getting any sort of relief.

Damiano, the jerk, just stands there, smirking at my discomfort. “Hmm. I don’t think she’s learned her lesson yet, Adrian. Keep her occupied. I’ll be back in a moment.”

“Hey now, you don’t actually have to do anything you know, you could just—”

The air whooshes out of my lungs as Adrian strikes first the underside of my right cheek, then my left in quick succession. If I’m not mistaken, these are even harder strokes than all the other ones he’s done.

“You may not be mine, but a naughty mouth still needs to be punished. I’m just honored to be the one to do it. Open your mouth,” he says.

I glance over at him as he moves within my line of sight. “I don’t