Blood Secrets - By Jeannie Holmes Page 0,76
An odd oily sheen coated the dark walls only a few feet from her. The only light source came from a large video monitor, its screen a fuzzy haze of black-and-white pixels.
Sensing movement behind her, she turned as far as the chains would allow. “Who’s there?”
No answer.
“What is this place? What’s going on?”
The screen before her snapped to a flat blackness, plunging her into darkness for a moment, before returning with what appeared to be a film. A man and woman snuggled close in the flickering dimness of candlelight.
Alex felt her heart skip a beat. “Varik.”
The woman tossed her long dark hair over her shoulder and smiled. Focusing on the woman, she now recognized her as Morgan Dreyer. Varik stroked Morgan’s hair, brushing his fingers along her cheek and throat. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.
Betrayal speared Alex.
“You must say that to all your women,” Morgan replied.
Varik smiled, showing the full extent of his fangs. “No, just you, ma puce.”
Morgan laughed and playfully slapped him.
He easily caught her wrists and pulled her closer. “Je t’aime, ma puce,” he murmured and kissed her.
Alex looked away, tears stinging her eyes. She knew Varik had a prior relationship with Morgan, but knowing and seeing were two very different things.
A hand slid across her shoulders, caressing her.
Startled, she searched for the source but saw no one. Soft moans and whispers emanated from the video screen, demanding her attention.
Varik and Morgan had progressed from kissing to foreplay. Morgan ran her fingers through Varik’s hair as he trailed kisses down her exposed stomach and settled between her thighs.
Alex closed her eyes and strained against the chains that bound her. She tried to stand and was forced back into the chair by the short length of the chains. “What the fuck do you want from me?”
The unseen hands stroked her shoulders as one lover would comfort another. “He doesn’t really care for you.”
She looked for the source of the voice but it seemed to originate from everywhere and echoed throughout the small room.
“You’re just one of a long line of women.”
The image on the screen changed, shifting from Morgan and Varik to Varik and a parade of unknown women making love. Dozens of women’s faces flashed on the screen, ending with hers.
“You’re nothing to him,” the voice whispered.
“You’re wrong.”
“Do you truly believe he no longer has feelings for this one?”
The screen showed Morgan holding an infant, speaking to it in soft tones. Varik entered the room and Morgan smiled. “Look,” she whispered to the infant. “Papa is home.”
He gently took the baby from her arms. A mixture of love, joy, and pride shone in his eyes. “Hello, Edward,” he cooed and the infant gurgled in response.
Morgan wrapped her arms around Varik’s waist, leaning on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head in the picture of domestic bliss. More images flickered across the screen. Scenes of Varik chasing a growing child with dark hair, of holding Morgan in his arms while she slept with a sleeping Edward in her arms, and family walks in the sunlight flashed before her.
“See?” the voice intoned. “How could you ever compete with the mother of his child?”
“Stop it,” Alex murmured, feeling the warm trickle of tears on her cheeks.
The images of Varik, Morgan, and Edward faded and were replaced with a view of Alex, dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, humming as she busily chopped carrots in a galley-style kitchen.
“No,” she said. “Not this.”
Varik entered the kitchen, his face pale and drawn, a bandage on his arm.
The Alex on the screen looked up, smiling, but her smile quickly turned to a frown. “Holy shit,” she said, stopping her prep work. “What happened?”
Varik shrugged. “A Midnighter clipped me.” He fingered the bandage covering his biceps. “Took a plug out of my arm.”
“Are you okay? Do you need a doctor? A donor?”
“No, I’m fine. It’s not that bad.”
Screen Alex eyed him uncertainly. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Varik grabbed a piece of chopped raw carrot and popped it in his mouth. “But I’m starving. How long until this is ready?”
Screen Alex returned to chopping vegetables. “Not that long if you’ll help. Would you—Ow!” She dropped her knife and grabbed a towel. “Damn it.”
“Stop this,” Alex whispered to her unseen tormentor. “Shut it off.”
No response met her plea.
Screen Alex was asking Varik to find her a bandage. He didn’t respond except to move closer, his dark eyes shifting rapidly to molten gold.
“Stop it!” Alex shouted as Varik attacked her twin on the screen.
The attack was swift.