Misty Read online

  * * * *

  She had heard the soft knock, as it slowly brought her out of her sleep. She looked at the clock. It was only twelve-thirty—she had not been asleep too long. She switched on the light, wondering about the knocking. It must be Mike—he must have a problem. She ran a hand through her hair pushing it out of her eyes, as she made her way to the door, pulled the two slide locks, turned the handle and opened the door.

  She had no time to move back, no time to react except in her mind, no time to even say anything. He had both hands around her and she was lifted off her feet. They were moving down the narrow hall before her sleepy mind began to react.

  “No, Rad, leave me alone.” She pushed against him. It was like pushing against a wall. He did not say anything, he just kept moving and taking her with him.

  Suddenly Mike was at his door behind them. “Hey, what the hell is going on.” He lunged towards them.

  Rad stopped and since he had a grip on her she was pulled to a halt also. He looked at Mike, and Mike just turned around and went back into his bedroom. That was when she realized it was useless to resist. She didn’t want anyone hurt, so she just let him hustle her down the back stairs. They went around the building and there was a black car with tinted windows sitting at the curb.

  “You drive.” This was the first he had said as he opened the driver’s door and pushed her in behind the wheel.

  “Wait.” She shoved against the door before he closed it.

  “Misty, don’t give me one second of problems right now. You are in very dangerous territory with me at this fuckin’ moment.” His voice was only a rasp of metal.

  She swallowed and looked down but still spoke. “I don’t have shoes.”

  He slammed his hand on the top of the car. He waited a moment and asked. “Where are your things?”

  “In my room. My backpack is ready, and next to it is my clothes and the shoes I was going to put on.” She barely whispered.

  He leaned over speaking with that same harsh voice. “Do…not…move.” Each word came out with a space between. He slammed the door shut and there was just a blur as he moved away. It was a moment before he was back, sliding into the passenger side with her backpack and her flats. He threw the backpack over the seat and handed her the shoes.

  She slipped the shoes on, looked and saw that this car had a push button starter, so she put her finger on it and the powerful engine purred to life. She put it in drive and the lights came on. She pulled out, heading in the direction the car was pointing.

  She could not look at him but she finally cleared her throat to ask. “Where are we going?”

  “You will find Interstate Ten before too long. Go east and stay on it. We are going to my home.” His voice was low, in that velvet tone that set her hair on end, different than the earlier rasp.

  “Sure, on top of the building with the furniture.” She was still in shock. She was sure she would have had some warning when he came close, but she hadn’t. Why?

  He did not say anything for a few moments. He seemed to have thought through what she had said. “No, that belongs to one of the corporations so it can be used when needed. We are going to my home.”

  There was silence again. She had already belted, to shut up the warning bells, but she watched the street signs and saw one that indicated they were headed towards I-10. They were going to his home. “Rad, where is your home located?”

  He finally looked over at her. “New Orleans.”

  She gulped and gave a silly giggle. Nerves and shock had brought out the giggle. New Orleans—where else, home of Voodoo and Vampires. Shit. She admitted to herself she was scared. She felt anger pouring off the man—no, the Vampire—sitting in the passenger seat. She just drove, letting the silence of the car envelope them as she headed for I-10.

  She followed the road rules, stopping at red lights, using the turn signals when she needed, and keeping to the speed limit. Finally she saw the big overhead green signs for the route which not only told the turn for I-10 but also listed the next couple of towns on the route. She made the turn and saw that the speed limit was 65, so she moved the powerful car up to that then set the cruise controls. She still kept her attention on the road with both hands gripping the wheel.

  After an hour she thought her nerves were just about to shatter. “Rad, I don’t have any clothes on. I need to stop and get dressed.” There was silence. She kept her eyes on the road, but out of the corner of her eye she saw him turn and look her over. She felt heat rising from her toes to her face. To her disgust, she felt her breasts tighten. Okay, maybe it was a mistake to draw his attention to her.

  When he did not say anything, she decided to just wait and not speak again. After another hour, and when the quiet felt like spiders crawling in the car, she shifted under the seat belt. She needed to go to the bathroom but didn’t want to draw his attention.

  Finally she heard his low velvety voice, not the harsh one. “Pull into the next service area.” He pointed at the green road signs along the side that indicated food and gas in two miles. She stayed in the outside lane, tapping the gas pedal to disengage the cruise control. When she got close to the turn off, she dropped the signal and glanced down at the fuel indicator. Half full. She pulled up to the first open gas tank and waited as he got. He used a card filled the vehicle, got back in and pointed to the restaurant.

  She moved the car to a parking space in front of the twenty-four/seven restaurant and turned the car off. He looked at her for a long moment and reached in back for her case. He opened it and pushed his hand around to come out with a pair of jeans. He put the case in back and handed them to her. She realized this was all she was going to get and it was better than nothing, so she didn’t protest.

  She opened her door and sat sideways with her feet out so that she could pull on the jeans, one leg at a time. She stood and he was there in front of her. He took her arm, that cold hard grip, and pulled her to him. She put a hand on his chest to push away and those pale eyes looked down at the hand then back up into her eyes. She slowly removed her hand.

  He turned and moved with her into the restaurant. There were only a couple of truckers at the counter and a young couple in one booth. He took her to a booth in the corner, sitting where he could see the entire restaurant.

  “Go to the bathroom, I will order for you.” The words were terse. He did not look at her, but continued to scan the area. She shrugged and got up. Misty went over to the short hallway that had the two doors for the bathrooms. There was an exit door, but she was smart enough not to do more than give it a quick glance. She went into the bathroom, used the single stall, washed her face, and looked in the mirror. Her hair was wild from the bed but she didn’t have a comb. She tried to run her fingers through it and pushed it back but finally just gave up.

  She returned to the table just as the waitress was leaving.

  Misty watched Rad as he was dialing on his phone and listening but he did not get an answer. She saw that he did not leave a message. He dialed another number and waited.

  * * * *

  Rad frowned as he heard Marco answer. “Can I help you?”

  Rad simply said “Yes.” He looked over at the woman across the table as she fiddled with the water glass.

  There was a long pause and he realized Marco was not alone. “I am sorry, sir, but Radames is not available right now and I do not know when he will be available. Please call back later.” The connection was cut off. Rad shut off his phone. He looked at it for a long moment. He opened the back, took out the memory card and the battery.

  “Do you have a cell phone?” This was again his command voice.

  She looked at him in surprise. “No, I was afraid you could trace it. I never got one.”

  “Good.” He was in scan mode again.

  Rad looked over at her. He had hoped that once he had her back under his protection that his own emotions would start to go from boil to simmer. But he had watched her walk across the room and he was very much a
ware that he had carried her out of that upstairs room from her bed. That she had nothing on under that loose shirt. That her hair was mussed from sleep and encircled her face like a halo. Her eyes were alert but her lips were full and pale. That warm pink tongue kept peeking out to moisten that full bottom one.

  Now he had additional worries. For reasons that made no sense, someone from the Council was moving in to take her. Surprise, he was not going to let her go. He wondered when he had actually reached that decision. It didn’t matter. He was keeping her. He was going to convince her to come to terms with him, no matter how long that took.

  * * * *

  She was afraid to say anything so she just took small bites of the food. She washed each bite down with a sip of tea, hoping it would stay down. She finally knew she couldn’t finish any more and hoped she had taken enough to please him.

  By this time the waitress was back for the third time, looking only at Rad. He asked for the bill without glancing up, laying two twenties on the table. He stood up, waiting for her. Okay, he had accepted the small amount she ate, so she slid out from the booth. His grip was on her upper arm. She was having to accept that she was going to have his fingers permanently imprinted on her arm. If anyone ever needed his fingerprints, she could provide them.

  When they got to the car he took her to the passenger side and opened the door and waited for her to get in, making sure she fastened her seat belt. He closed the door and swiftly was in the driver’s position. On the road he drove very fast, keeping the powerful engine pushing eastward at around ninety, as dawn began to break on the horizon.

  She was surprised that she actually dozed off. It was full daylight when her head slipped sideways and woke her. She looked at the clock on the dashboard saw that she had actually slept for five hours.

  He looked over when she stretched and he slowed down with the rest of the traffic. He stayed in the outside lane, then pulled into a rest area. He got out and came around to her side. “I’ll walk you to the restroom.”

  “You know I’m not running away this time,” she said in a low voice as she got out of the car. She walked towards the rustic outdoor restrooms, feeling him right behind her. She didn’t slow down when she got to the side marked women. She glanced behind but he had not followed her. She went into a booth that smelled of antiseptic and bleach. Without sitting down, she used the toilet then came out to wash her hands. She tried running her fingers through her hair, but again just gave up and walked out.

  He was leaning against the building but she walked fast so he would not grab her arm. As she got close to the car he did reach out and stop her.

  “I need you to drive.” He looked at her.

  “Okay, I can walk around the car without you dragging me. I have nice bruises on my arm as it is.” She stood still until he let go. She went around, got in, and belted up. They were back on the road but the silence was driving her crazy.

  But it surprised her that he was the one who spoke. “Do you feel anything, you know, your warning signals?”

  She glanced over to look at his face. She was surprised to see that he was facing her, watching her closely as he asked the question. “No, but I did not feel you until the door was open in my room. Maybe I’ve lost my alarm system.”

  He shook his head. “No, I have a few talents that not all Vampires have. I hid the fact that I was a Vampire when I approached you. Tell me what you feel from me now?”

  She thought for a second and she tried to get past the anger that she felt from him. She thought, and was aware that she did feel the Vampire—but also the danger, the pull of sex, and she did not want to feel that.

  “Okay, I will just give you the words, not a full explanation. I feel the Vampire. I feel anger and danger and—shit—sex. But yes, I do feel the Vampire now.” She saw his head turn back to look at the road ahead. She did not realize that she had held her breath, so she took a deep intake of air and settled down. She started to reach for the radio but when she could not find how to turn it on she pulled her hand back. He reached over and turned it on and ran through a couple of stations and found one with heavy metal. leaving it there.

  She looked over at him out of the corner of her eye. Of all the music that she thought he might like, she was surprised that it was this type of music. She also registered what he was wearing. Tight black leather pants with Italian boots, a waist length leather jacket that zippered only half way up, and nothing underneath except for the gold amulet hanging against the tan chest. The jacket had a small collar that stood up under his long dark hair. She had always seen him before, even when in jeans, in dress shirts, looking like a businessman. Dressed in this dark way he just looked very dangerous. If she had seen him like this the first night, she would instantly have believed he was a Vampire.

  There was some heavy guitar along with drums that was coming through the amazing sound system that actually could be felt. But with the turmoil within her, sitting this close to him, the music was causing mixed emotions. She moved to turn the music down but his hand was over hers, pulling hers away before she could change or mute the music.

  “I find it hard to think that you like this music.” She raised her voice over the music

  He looked at her and she saw that crooked smile. “I like all types of music, but this is good.”

  “Really, good for what?” She asked only to cover up the music.

  “Good to fuck by.” The velvet voice.

  She felt a jerk in the very depth of her female fold between her legs. “Jesus, Rad, can you be any more crude?”

  He looked at her then back at the road. “Well, look at it this way, whenever you hear that particular song, you are going to think about what I just said, about the heat it brought to that little bud of yours.”

  She felt herself jerk again as she pulled the muscles around her thighs and pelvis. She decided that she wasn’t going to win, no matter what she said. So she knew the best idea was to stay quiet.

  They drove through until evening and they needed to gas up again. He also felt she needed nutrition and so did he, but he did not want to go there. They gassed up first.

  She felt she needed a shower and a change of clothes, but that did not seem to be on the menu. With the usual too much attention from the waitress, he ordered while she went to the bathroom. She used wet paper towels to wash under her arms and between her legs. A young girl was washing her hands and watching her.

  “Left in a hurry.” She smiled as she made an explanation.

  “They have some stuff at the end of the counter.” The girl offered and left.

  She went out and approached him. “I need some money so I can buy a comb and some deodorant.” She held out her hand. He leaned back and looked at her for a moment. He stretched, reached into a pocket of those tight pants, and came out with money. He pealed out a couple of hundred dollar bills, sliding them across to her. “Thanks.”

  * * * *

  He wanted her to ask for more. He wanted to give her anything. He watched her move over to the other area where the sundries were for sale. His eyes couldn’t get enough of her. Like a serious, overprotective, dangerous male, he looked around to see who was also watching her.

  Fortunately, for life and limb, no one was staring with desire at his female. He watched her as he thought about the phone call. Now he had a bigger problem. He was going to have to protect her from someone stronger than a couple of rogue Vamps on the prowl. He wondered who was behind the approach from the Council group. He felt he still had some allies in Rome but he needed to get somewhere that would be safe, where he had some chance of calling on extra muscle to protect her.

  * * * *

  She walked over to the end counter, looking at the meager display. The young girl helped her get a comb, brush, and deodorant. She looked at t-shirts. She needed one that would fit loose since she didn’t have a bra, and that was heavy enough so that the color of her nipples wouldn’t show. She found a dark blue in a man’s size and bought it. She fou
nd a toothbrush, toothpaste, and baby powder.

  She went back to the restroom and freshened up—brushed her teeth and hair, applied the deodorant and shook baby powder into her panties. She put on the large dark shirt and decided that was all she could do. When she came out the food was on the table, a small steak, green beans, Jell-O for dessert. She choked down some of the food, but with him watching her she couldn’t eat much. As he paid he picked up a drink to go that he had evidently ordered earlier.

  “I’ll drive,” he said as they approached the car. He handed her the drink container and walked around the car. She got in, put the drink in a cup holder and belted up.

  “You need to keep your strength up, drink the smoothie.” This was all said as the car moved out into the night traffic. Soon he again had the vehicle over the speed limit.

  She looked at the cup, went ahead and picked it up. She took a couple of sips and set the cup back down.

  “Finish it.” Uh-oh, command voice was back.

  She looked over at him. “Why, am I going to be running a marathon?”

  The crooked smile spread on his face and was a little wicked.

  “What?” This time she let her anger shield her fear.

  The really sexy velvet voice was there, low and quiet and reaching inside her body. “You will need your strength when we get to my home, because I will take your blood and I intend to fuck you in ways you cannot imagine, until you scream in pleasure.”

  She felt a tightness in her chest as the soft words sank into her brain. She fought to breathe and she felt pain as she became aware she had dug her fingernails into her hands. She thought of only one thing to say. “You can’t. You said no one can unless I agree.”

  His smile was larger now but he did not look at her. “You already agreed. That was when you made one big mistake. You put your blood in another. I drank from that woman. I drank your blood and that gives me access to you. You still can say no to any other Vampire in the world except me. You are mine, and I intend to enjoy every inch of you and your blood. Especially your very special blood, because it seems that it might increase my powers. Oh yes, you are going to need your strength. Besides you owe me for forcing me to chase all over the country, chasing you like a bounty hunter. And that woman you put your blood in, it was like drinking from a sewer. I will have to think of something very special that you can do for me to help erase that memory.”