Dark Studies (Arcaneology) Read Free Page A

could just take that!”
    His low laugh vibrated over her flesh. “Of course I could. You’ll have to offer me something I can’t take, if you want to earn the chance to live. What will it be?”
    “I—I don’t know. Anything you want.”
    “Anything?” In the next instant he sat several feet away with his back against a concrete pillar. The vampire stretched his legs, crossed his ankles, and spread his arms in invitation. “Show me.”
    The draw of the hunt was in causing fear, pain, and degradation. A vampire might survive on blood alone, but these emotional responses were what it truly hungered for. The younger ones were more straightforward, using simple violence to get what they wanted. Scott was older, though, and his tastes were more subtle. He wouldn’t let her just lie there while he forced himself on her. He expected his victim to perform. By demanding her complicity, he multiplied the humiliation a thousandfold.
    Tina stood. She took half a step toward him before stopping and shifting her feet. “What, um…do you want me to…?”
    “Start by taking those off.” He gestured at her clothes.
    Her face flushed, but she did as he’d instructed. She unzipped her skirt so it fell to the floor and shrugged out of the torn sweater.
    “Now?” she asked in a small voice.
    “Don’t stop there.”
    She kept her eyes on the floor as she took off her bra and panties and stood naked before him. He snapped his fingers to get her attention. With a glance at his crotch, the vampire undid the button of his jeans. Then he looked at her and waited.
    Some shred of pride stiffened her spine. Tina clenched her jaw, closed the distance between them, and knelt to jerk his zipper down before bending over him. He must have guessed what she was about to do, because he grabbed a fistful of her hair to stop her just above his erection.
    “If you use your teeth,” he warned, “I will yank them out.”
    Then he pushed her head down.
    He filled her mouth too fast, too deep. She had to fight the gag reflex. He held her there, and only let up when she smacked his thigh. The vampire chuckled.
    She turned her head and glared at him. “If you don’t mind, I know what I’m doing.”
    His eyebrows rose, and he held up his hands as if in surrender.
    Angie fought the urge to laugh. The character she had created remained firmly in place, though, as she curled her fingers around his shaft. He smoothed her hair aside and watched her mouth moving over him. He was gentle, at first, caressing her arm and shoulder, trailing his knuckles along her back. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so bad. She’d given blowjobs before. But then he grew rough and dug his nails into her skin until she couldn’t help but cry out. His cock twitched in her mouth and grew harder. The vampire caught hold of her thigh, dragged her around, and forced his hand between her legs. His other hand clutched her hair once again and guided her into the rhythm he wanted.
    Damn it, Angie thought, as he discovered how wet she was. No matter how well she played her role, she couldn’t entirely control the way her body reacted. He hesitated. Then his laughter echoed through the warehouse. Fingers thrust into her.
    “Do you want to come?” he asked.
    She shuddered.
    “I’ll give you a choice—your life or your orgasm. You can have one, but not the other.”
    That son of a bitch. She almost did use her teeth then, knowing he wouldn’t really yank them out. But if she were to play the part convincingly, she had to act as though she believed his threat. Angie forced herself to let go of her own feelings and simply be this girl, afraid and desperate to survive. She made a muffled sound around his cock and tried to squirm away from his invading hand.
    Shoving her head down, he choked her again and gave her ass a hard slap. “Be still.”
    The slap stung so badly it brought fresh tears to her eyes and made her tremble in earnest. Whimpering, she held her hips still, and he slid