The Sacrifice Read online

  The thought sends a shiver down my spine—it would be like working with a wolf or a mountain lion and having no idea until it was too late. Still, Aiden James seems much too civilized to prey on his coworkers, whoever they might be. Maybe he’s the CEO and doesn’t have to deal with them very much—that would fit his cool, remote personality to a T.

  “What are you thinking about?” he asks, looking at me closely.

  “You, Master,” I blurt before I think. I clear my throat, my cheeks getting hot. “I, uh, was just wondering where your office is. Where you work from.”

  “I own a company with offices in downtown Tampa, if you really want to know,” he says. “Most of my employees are in a separate building from the one that houses my office.” He gives me a rare smile, baring those sharp white fangs it’s so easy to forget about until they’re staring you right in the face.

  I bite my lip and look down. He must know I was thinking about him snacking on his workers. Was it a lucky guess or can he see into my thoughts somehow?

  “Your face is very easy to read,” he remarks.

  “That’s what Lexy says too,” I say. “Uh, my cousin.”

  “The one you were talking to today on the phone?” He raises an eyebrow at me and I blush.

  “Well, yes. Are you monitoring my phone calls?” I demand.

  “I could if I wished, but no. I do, however, take note of when my telephone or computer has been used.”

  “You can’t cut me off from the outside world forever,” I protest. “I have a life, you know. Maybe not a very exciting one but—”

  “What do you most want?” he says. “Ask, Emma. I can’t promise to give it to you but I won’t be angry with you for asking.”

  “To talk to my cousin,” I say at once. “Maybe go out with her for lunch sometime. Or have her over here?” I make this a question because I’m not sure about asking to have people over to his house.

  Aiden frowns. “Yes to the first request—you may talk to her as much as you like on the phone. As to having her here, I am a very private man.”

  “I understand,” I say quickly but he raises a hand to stop me.

  “But, I understand the female need for companionship.” He sighs. “You may have her over as long as you’re willing to see her while you’re dressed in the way I see fit.”

  “You mean I can’t take off the harness when she comes over,” I say flatly and Aiden nods.

  “Exactly. I need you to wear it for a certain number of hours during the day. It serves to open you and also to remind you of me.” He looks at me intently. “I never want to be far from your thoughts, Emma. You are never far from mine.”

  I look down, unable to stand the intensity of his gaze. “Don’t worry,” I mumble. “I…I think of you a lot too. I can’t help it.”

  He smiles and strokes my bare thigh until I shiver. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “What about my class?” I ask in a rush, my heart pounding. “Can I contact my professor? When can I go back? My final exam is coming up soon and—”

  “No classes, not yet.” He frowns. “It’s not safe.”

  “Not safe?” I frown back at him. “I’ve been going all semester with no problem. I mean, I know it’s a night class but—”

  “You didn’t belong to me before,” he interrupts me, frowning sternly. “I’m sorry to tell you this, Emma, but as the new Sovereign I have many enemies who would be happy to do to you what they couldn’t do to me.” He sighs. “Besides, you’re not nearly through with your training yet. And…”

  “And what?” I prompt him impatiently.

  He looks at me thoughtfully. “And I’m not ready to share you yet,” he murmurs at last. “The bond between us is still too fresh—too new. I need you here, where I can nurture it. And protect you.”

  “Protect me and keep me all to yourself, you mean,” I say snappishly.

  “Exactly.” He’s perfectly calm about it, as though it’s not a big deal for him to keep me confined in his home. “Now then.” He claps his hands. “Let’s have no more unpleasantness. You can contact your professors and ask to do the assignments from here. If they give you problems about it, let me know. I can be very…persuasive when I have to.” For a moment his gray eyes flash silver and I shiver.

  “All right,” I whisper, though inside I’m still upset. Am I going to be kept a prisoner here in his house this entire year? It’s very confusing to be so attracted to a man who is also a vampire and my captor. I must have the worst case of Stockholm Syndrome ever because I can’t help wanting to please him, can’t help craving his touch…

  Before I can dwell on the problem too much, Aiden rings a tiny silver bell and calls for Barnes to bring out dessert.

  It turns out to be banana coins—slices of banana wrapped in some sweet pastry and fried until they’re crispy on the outside and meltingly soft and sweet on the inside—with a scoop of coconut ice cream on top. The entire concoction comes in a little porcelain bowl with a matching pitcher filled with golden honey sauce on the side. Aiden drizzles a little bit of it over the dessert before spooning up one of the coins and a generous amount of ice cream. He holds it out to me.

  “Be careful, darling. The inside is going to be extremely hot but the ice cream should keep it from burning your tongue.”

  I wonder if he’s always this solicitous and careful of all his submissives, then I remember him saying this isn’t a game he plays often. He certainly seems to be enjoying it now, though. He feeds me two more coins with the creamy smooth ice cream and gives me a sip of cool water to cleanse my palate. Then he puts down the spoon, sits back and looks at me.

  “It’s time for the second part of dessert now, Emma,” he says softly, his eyes half-lidded and his voice deep and soft. “Can you guess what that might be?”

  “No,” I whisper, my heart suddenly thumping. “No, I…I have no idea. What is it?”

  Instead of answering, he asks me another question. “Tell me, my darling, have you ever sucked cock?”

  Those dirty words in that deep voice of his sends a spark of heat straight to my bare pussy. “No,” I whisper, pressing my thighs together, feeling suddenly even more naked. “No, I…I never.”

  “Well, you’re going to learn. Come here and kneel before me on the ground.” He scoots his chair away from the table and opens his long legs. Then he unzips his expensive gray slacks and pulls out his cock.

  I try not to gasp but I can’t help it. He has the longest, thickest shaft I’ve ever seen in my life—and that’s saying something because Lexy has a thing for gay porn and she’s always making me watch it with her.

  Aiden seems unaffected by my shock. “It is both a blessing and a curse,” he remarks as he strokes himself slowly with one well-shaped hand. “It is the reason I was turned in the first place—but it also ensures that I can never take a female without extensive preparation.” He gives me a slow smile. “Which is one reason I am so content to take my time with you, my lovely little witch.”

  I stare at him until I remember I’m supposed to do more than just look. Awkwardly, my hands still cuffed in front of me, I slip off the chair and knee-walk over to settle between his thighs.

  “Very good.” Aiden strokes my hair away from my eyes and gives me a look of approval. “Now the main thing is to never use your teeth but I don’t really expect you to be able to fit much of me in that lush little mouth at first.”

  I’m relieved to hear that. His shaft looks thick enough to choke me. “But then…what do you want me to do?” I ask hesitantly.

  “To begin with, just lick.” He raises an eyebrow at me. “You did like the honey sauce, didn’t you?”

  “Yes.” It was delicious—sweet and a little tart as though a tiny bit of lemon juice had been mixed into it.

  “Good,” Aiden rumbles. Lifting the porcelain pitcher, he drizzles a thin line of honey sauce over the broad, throbbing shaft of his cock. “Come here, darling,” he murmurs, beckoning to me. “Lick me clean.”


  I lean forward, more eager for this than I want to admit. Though it’s never been my number one fantasy, I’ve always wondered what it would be like to give a blow job. To take a man in my mouth and taste him, master him in a way, with the power of pleasure. And the fact that it’s Aiden sitting there, watching as I hesitantly put out my tongue to take the first taste, only makes me hotter.

  I lap gently at the thick club of flesh rising from between his thighs. It’s long and straight and ends in a broad head with a small slit at the end. Though the rest of his shaft glistens with the golden honey sauce, there is a small drop of clear liquid beading at that tiny slit that I know is all Aiden.

  He groans softly, deep in his throat, and strokes my hair gently as I clean him, feeling like a naughty cat cleaning away cream with my tongue. My hands are still bound in front of me, my head bowed over him in a submissive posture as I nuzzle close to get every last drop. Every drop but the clear one, that is. I’m saving that for last.

  The skin of his shaft is like warm silk under my tongue and I can feel him throbbing as I lick him. I like his scent, it’s dark and spicy and utterly masculine. It makes me want to rub my cheek against him, to somehow mark him with my own scent like an animal might, marking its territory. I wonder briefly if this is how he feels about me. Is this need to mark, to claim, the reason he’s so possessive?

  “Very good, darling,” he murmurs, pulling me back to rest my chin on his thigh when I have licked away the last drop of honey. He caresses my cheek tenderly and looks into my eyes. “Did you enjoy your dessert?”

  “Yes, very much,” I say boldly. "In fact…” I arch my eyebrow at him. “I want seconds.”

  “There’s more where that came from,” he says softly, his eyes never leaving mine.

  “I want to suck you this time,” I say. I’m not sure where I get the courage to say the words—they just seem to come out. “I want to take you in my mouth—all the way.”

  His eyes are half lidded with pleasure but he shakes his head, a little regretfully, I think. “I don’t want to choke you, my little virgin.”

  I bristle at his words. “Just because I’m inexperienced doesn’t mean I can’t learn,” I point out. “Please, Aiden…Master. I…I’ve always wondered what this would be like and so far…well, so far I like it.”

  “I see.” His eyes gleam. “Very well, you may try but you must promise to be careful and stop if I tell you to. I don’t want to come tonight.”

  “You don’t?” I look at him uncertainly. “But…why not?”

  “There are several reasons, the first and foremost being that I tend to produce quite a lot of cum.” He strokes my cheek. “I don’t want to shock or frighten you by expecting you to swallow such an amount.”

  “Oh,” I say softly, biting my lip.

  “Oh indeed,” he mocks me gently.

  “I can take it,” I look up at him. “I…I want to make you come. The way you made me come last night.”

  “That’s a lovely offer but not tonight, my darling,” Aiden says firmly. “And as for seeing my cum, you’ll be feeling it soon enough, filling your sweet little cunt the first time I fuck you.”

  I feel my hands clench in concern as something new occurs to me. “Aiden,” I say hesitantly. “I mean, Master, I…I’m not on any kind of birth control right now. So if you come in me…” I can’t finish my thought out loud. It’s very rare for a vampire to make a human woman pregnant but it has been known to happen from time to time. Especially a woman with witch blood in her background.

  He frowns. “We can discuss that another time. It won’t be an issue tonight.”

  I’m surprised at the rush of disappointment I feel at this announcement. True, his cock is really large and I’m sure it wouldn’t be easy for him to get it inside me. But some naughty, perverse little part of me wishes he would try. The stern look on his face, however, tells me this is nonnegotiable. Well, at least I get seconds on dessert.

  I lean forward to take him in my mouth but he stops me. “Wait.” He rings the bell again and calls for Barnes. “Clear the table,” he tells the servant and though he talks to Barnes, he looks only at me, cupping my cheek in his hand and looking into my eyes. “But be quiet about it. My darling Emma is trying to concentrate on a task and I don’t want her distracted.”

  “Yes, sir. Very good, sir,” murmurs the servant. He begins to move in a deliberate fashion, clearing away the dishes and taking them back into the kitchen.

  “All right now,” Aiden says to me. “Suck me, darling. Suck my cock.”

  I feel like every nerve in my body is on fire with embarrassment. “I can’t now,” I hiss, my eyes flicking up to where Barnes is carefully removing a half full soup tureen. Even though I know he can’t see me, I’m certain he heard Aiden’s commands to suck him. I’m mortified—utterly mortified.

  “Emma.” Aiden’s voice is suddenly stern. “Pay no attention to Barnes, you know he can’t see us. You need to get used to giving and receiving pleasure in front of an audience.”

  “Why?” I demand. “Are we going to be putting on some kind of show?”

  “Emma,” he growls softly. “Either you suck my cock here and now or I will put you on your back on the table and lick out your sweet little pussy until you cream all over my face—all while Barnes clears the table and polishes every piece of silver in the house not two feet from your head.”

  I can feel my skin shrinking from the very idea of such shame. And from the look in Aiden’s eyes, he’s serious. He really will do that to me. Reluctantly, I bend my head toward him again.

  “That’s good, darling,” Aiden murmurs as I lap tentatively at the broad head of his cock. That little clear droplet at its crown is salty and as delicious as I thought it would be. “You’re such a good girl to suck my cock, Emma.”

  Trying to forget that Barnes is there, I lean farther and take even more. The head alone is a mouthful but I like the feeling of it filling my mouth. And I especially like the way Aiden strokes my hair and whispers what a good girl I am and how well I suck him. I don’t know why his approval means so much to me—honestly, it really shouldn’t. But somehow it does—maybe because some deep, buried part of me wants to make my master proud.

  “Oh, Emma,” he groans softly, his long fingers carding through my hair as I lap and suck the broad head. He has more clear fluid—pre-cum, I suppose—flowing now, and I lick it up eagerly and suck him, looking for more. I wish I could get him all in my mouth, that I could feel him throbbing at the back of my throat, but I know that’s impossible. He’s simply too big for me to handle. I like trying, though.

  Soon I’ve forgotten all about Barnes and found a steady rhythm of licking and sucking and tasting. I wish I could touch him with my hands too but they’re still bound in front of me as I kneel naked between my master’s legs, pleasuring him with my mouth.

  I never want it to end but Aiden pulls me away long before I’m finished.

  “Enough.” He is panting, his large frame shaking with some emotion. Lust? Desire? “Dessert is over now,” he tells me, tucking himself away before I can protest and helping me to my feet. “It’s time for bed.”

  My legs are all pins and needles from kneeling so long and I wobble as I stand. Aiden scoops me up at once, cradling me in his arms like a small child.

  “I can walk,” I protest as he carries me effortlessly through the house as though I weighed no more than a feather.

  “I don’t want you to.” He smiles at me. “I want to carry you to the bedroom and tuck you in myself.”

  I don’t complain anymore after that. I simply lay my head on his broad shoulder and wonder if every dinner with my master is going to be like this.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Once in the bedroom, he bustles about, getting me ready for bed. After removing my collar, handcuffs, and nipple clamps—and pausing a moment to suck my sore, tingling nipples as he does—he puts me in the shower stall. There he washes me himself, with long, loving strokes u
sing a big, puffy sponge. He doesn’t seem to mind when the spray gets him slightly wet.

  I wish he would touch me more intimately, that he would discard the sponge and soap me with his bare hands. But he seems intent on teasing me, touching me just enough without actually giving me any satisfaction. It’s maddening but I sense it’s all a part of the game we’re playing.

  A game I’m beginning to like much too much.

  Aiden washes and conditions my hair, then gets me out of the shower and dries me thoroughly with a large, fluffy, white towel. He wraps my hair in another towel and then pronounces me ready for bed. He’s just about to tuck me in naked, between the crisp cotton sheets, when I protest.

  “But Aiden…Master, I’m not really tired yet. And it’s only…” I glance at the grandfather clock standing against the far wall. “Eight o’clock.”

  He frowns. “Don’t humans need at least ten to twelve hours of sleep at night to be at their best?”

  “Sure, if I was only three years old,” I say, feeling slightly exasperated. “I’m twice eleven—I normally don’t go to bed much before midnight. Six or seven hours of sleep is all I need.”

  He raises an eyebrow at me skeptically, as though I’m a naughty child trying to dodge bedtime. “Are you sure about that?”

  “Of course I’m sure.” This time I can’t keep the exasperation out of my voice. “You were human once—don’t you remember?”

  He shakes his head. “Emma, it’s been well over a century since I was human or had anything to do with humans. And when I was turned, a great many of my mortal memories faded—that is always the way with my kind.”

  “Well, take it from me,” I say. “I don’t need to be put to bed early like a child. I’m wide awake—I’d just be miserable lying here in the dark with nothing to do.” I look at him shyly. “Unless…unless you were, um, planning to come to bed with me?” My heart beats fast and I’m not sure how I want him to answer.