Fresh Blood Read Online Free Page B

cause
discomfort.
    “Remember what we discussed. In here, you do
everything I say, when I say it. If you have a problem with the way
I treat you, we’ll discuss it when the evening is over.”
    He saw her swallow another sharp remark. To
her credit, she broke eye contact first, dropping her gaze in
nearly perfect subservience.
    “Let’s get to our table. I’m thirsty.” He
pulled her gently this time, and she kept up with his pace as he
made his way through the club to the very back where the B-list
patrons got to sit. Once there, he guided her to a chair and then
pulled his own as close to hers as possible. Under the table, he
put one hand on her exposed knee and squeezed then slid his thumb
up beneath the taut strap of her garter.
    “Those shoes are too high for you. The next
time we go out, wear something more comfortable. I don’t want you
stumbling all over the place.”
    She nodded, and he squeezed her thigh in
approval.
    With his index finger he traced a line down
her jaw and into the collar of her blouse. He gently pushed the
material aside, exposing one thin strap of her bra, which he nudged
off the curve of her shoulder. “That’s better. Now, I’m going to
tell you, in detail everything I’m going to do to you tonight, do
you understand?”
    Again she nodded, and again he squeezed.
    “First I’m going to order you a drink. Then
I’m going to teach you everything you need to know about being a
feeder ... one delicious drop at a time.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Erica fought to steady her breathing as Max
caressed her thigh beneath the table. The thud of her own wild
pulse drowned out much of what he was saying, which was a good
thing, because her cognitive skills had bottomed out the moment
they walked inside.
    The humid atmosphere had surprised her at
first. She hadn’t expected a tropical feel to the place, and if
that had been the only shock, she would have been fine.
    When her eyes adjusted to the black light she
saw the neon splotches of color that dripped from the walls,
puddled on the floor and ran in rivulets across the tables and
chairs. The décor didn’t shock her as much as the patrons,
though.
    The first couple that had come into view as
they entered the club seemed perfectly normal. Seated at a small
table, their half-finished meal before them, the man pulled the
woman to him in a romantic embrace. Her eyes widened when he bit
into her neck, and Erica imagined she heard the rush of blood as he
suckled. The woman moaned in carnal pleasure, and her eyes lit on
Erica’s for a brief moment. Her short dark hair and thin white
shoulders looked achingly familiar, causing Erica’s heart to pump
an overdose of adrenaline into her system. By the time her brain
registered that the woman was not Elena, her head was pounding in
time to her heartbeat, and her legs had begun to tremble.
    At the next table they passed, a woman sat on
her knees at the feet of a sedate looking man in an Armani suit.
Another woman sat on his lap, leaning back against his chest as he
drank from her and caressed her breasts through the nearly
transparent fabric of her blouse. Erica stared at the thin,
glittering chain that connected the woman on the floor to the woman
on the man’s lap by leather cuffs on their wrists.
    She might have left then, but she realized
she needed to sit down more than she needed to flee.
    With her hands on the cool surface of the
table, she concentrated on maintaining control. She’d never felt
like this before and she wondered if the sensations were akin to a
drug-induced high. Twinges of electrical current raced up and down
her spine with detours to the sensitive flesh beneath Max’s thumb.
With her pulse racing and the humid air dampening her skin, she
felt close to having a heart attack.
    When a waitress finally brought the drink Max
had ordered for her, she reached for the glass and gulped. Only
after she’d drained it halfway did she realize there was little, if
any, alcohol in it. She set