Hunted By Firelight by Krista Street

Chapter 24

~ AVERY ~

The minutes turned into hours. Nothing, absolutely nothing was happening in this tiny, heavily warded room. I had no sense of day or night. I would have had no sense of time either if it wasn’t for the watch Nicholas wore.

When we reached hour four, I abruptly bolted upright on the bed.

“What if they’re all dead?” The horrific thought made my skin pimple. I lay back down and turned on my side, peering over the edge at Nicholas. He lay on the floor beside me, as he had been for hours. My breathing grew rapid. “What if they lost to the elf lord and the warlocks, and that’s why nobody’s come down here?”

Nicholas swished his hand. “Not possible. Meestry assured me that if the estate falls, the door automatically opens. It’s a safeguard measure so we’re not trapped in here forever.” He shuddered. “Can you imagine? A vampire locked forever underground with the only food source being you?”

I made a face. “I’d rather not imagine that, thanks.” Vampires couldn’t die even if they didn’t have food. They’d simply turn into withered fleshy skeletons if enough time passed without drinking blood.

So while I would eventually die, Nicholas wouldn’t. And I felt very certain that would only be after he’d drained me dry, his bloodlust getting the better of him.

“But have no fear,” Nicholas said, probably scenting my terror. “That won’t happen.”

“Thank the Gods.” My stomach stopped twisting with nerves. If the door hadn’t opened, then the estate hadn’t fallen, which meant Wyatt probably wasn’t dead.

“Hungry?” Nicholas asked when my stomach gave another growl.

I slapped a hand over it. It was the second time in ten minutes it’d growled, but it felt wrong to be wishing for food when people I cared about were fighting at this very moment. “I’m fine.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Clearly you’re not. You’re ravenous from the sounds of it, and truth be told, I’d rather not hear your stomach growling at me every two seconds.”

I sighed. “Okay, okay, so I’m hungry, but what can I do about it? There’s no food here.”

“On the contrary, you may be delighted to hear that I have food and drink.”

I cocked my head. “You do? Where?”

“Why, right here.” He pulled a bag out from under the bed.

“How long has that been under there?”

“The entire time. One of the squad members gave it to me when they were frantically packing things. Something tells me they’re used to seeing to all matters on short notice.”

“Well, that was thoughtful.” My stomach growled again when Nicholas pulled out a plate of haphazardly packed food and drink.

He handed it to me. “It’s all yours.”

“You don’t want any?”

“Oh no, I fed yesterday. I’m most fine.”

I took it tentatively. It still felt wrong to be eating at a time like this. Squad Three could be fighting for their lives right now, and I was about to enjoy a picnic.

“Avery, just eat,” Nicholas said. “You can’t stop what’s happening out there, and it’ll make you stronger if you do need to run or fight.”

I sighed. He was right.

I peeled the cloth away from the top of the food and stared in amazement at the selection of meats, cheeses, fresh fruit, and breads. Beside the platter was a thermos of some kind of drink.

Still feeling guilty, I pinched some meat, cheese, and bread together, making myself a mini-sandwich before I popped it in my mouth.

Flavors from the fairy food burst across my tongue, but I managed to control my moan. It was one thing to eat simply for hunger and another to actually enjoy it.

I ate quickly, only having enough to fill myself comfortably. When finished, I unscrewed the drink, sniffing first since I had no idea what it was. When the potent scent of ale or wine didn’t greet me, I took a long swallow.

A sparkling feeling coated my tongue, like bubbles dancing across my skin, before a light aroma graced my senses.

“Interesting.” I took another drink. “I’ve never had this fairy drink before.”

“May I?” Nicholas held his hand out. “I’ve had most fairy drinks and foods. I can probably identify it for you.”

I handed it over, and he took a long swallow. When he finished, he handed it back, his eyebrows slanting together. “Hmm, that is a strange one. I can’t say I’ve had that drink before either.”

I took another long swallow, something about the beverage making me want to drain it dry. “At least it tastes good.” I gulped down another mouthful, and that strange feeling drifted through my senses.

“Right you are,” Nicholas agreed, holding out his hand.

I handed the thermos back to him, and the minutes ticked by as we savored the fairy beverage. Since the ravenous hunger I’d been feeling had abated, I packed the rest of the food away.

“Feeling better?” Nicholas asked when I gave the platter back to him to store under the bed.

“Yes.” A strange sensation washed through me. My nerves tingled, my stomach tightened. I shivered as a rush of awareness swam through my veins.

“You’re looking quite flushed,” Nicholas said as he placed the food and drink under the bed.

“I feel kind of—” I brought my hands to my cheeks. They felt warm. “Funny.”

I lay back on the bed as a rush of dizziness swept over me.

“My, oh my.” Nicholas also leaned back. “Is the room spinning?”

“Are you feeling weird, too?” I raised a hand to my head. A strange sensation crept over my mind, like a fog blanketing the ground.

“I am feeling quite . . . unusual,” he admitted.

“What was in that drink?” My words were slurring. I placed my palm on my head again. The dizziness lessened, not fully disappearing, but in its place, something was uncoiling deep in my belly. A tightening. A thrumming. A need.

Nicholas inhaled sharply, then said in a breathy voice. “I don’t know, but I have to say, you smell . . . delightful.”

“Delightful?” I slurred.

Another flush swept over my system, and the tightening in my belly moved farther south. I moaned when a sharp sense of longing clenched my core. My breasts tingled. My nipples peaked, and my body . . . Gods, I felt on fire.

“Avery,” Nicholas breathed. He sat up. His pupils were completely dilated. Stark need filled them. “Your scent . . . your scent is calling me.”

My eyes rolled back in my head as I arched upward. Aching desire clenched my womanly area just as another feeling of dizziness swept through me.

“Oh Gods, I’m so horny,” I whispered. Carnal hunger tightened my insides, my core swelling with desire. I felt so achy, so tight, and I needed to be touched. “What’s happening?” I managed to ask, my voice breathy sounding.

Nicholas crawled up onto the bed beside me, his black eyes hungry. So hungry. “I fear we’ve been drugged,” he said, also slurring.

“Drugged?” I replied sluggishly as my gaze fixated on his mouth. His perfect mouth. “Who gave you the food and drink?”

“The dark-haired one. The siren.” He reached for me, groaning. “I shouldn’t. I shouldn’t do this, but the need . . .”

The world turned into a blur around me. My body was so hot that it rivaled the underworld, and a perfect and beautiful man was lying beside me. Exactly what I needed.

Wyatt.

An image of Wyatt slammed into the front of my mind. I scrambled away from Nicholas.

“Gods, what’s happening?” I clung to that thought of Wyatt, that one coherent thought which reminded me that even though I didn’t remember the history we shared, I still wanted him, not the vampire.

“Avery,” Nicholas purred. “You have no idea how much I’ve desired this.” His hand slid over my stomach, caressing my hip and fuck me if my entire body didn’t buck from that simple touch.

“I can smell your arousal.” Nicholas crept closer to me, his long hard body pressing into my side. “You smell divine, like hot sex.”

In a blur, he was on top of me, and my thighs parted automatically as I struggled to maintain control of my mind. The fog was creeping in, pressing down on me, weighing on the sliver of consciousness that was still mine.

No, no, no.

I struggled to maintain control of myself, but then an incessant need to have a cock—any cock—fill me, grew and grew.

What’s happening?

The fire licked my insides. It consumed me. Burned me. Begged me for release as a deep-rooted throbbing took hold of my soul.

I would have begged any man to fuck me.

And then the fog descended, my mind swallowed whole.

The man on top of me nuzzled my neck. A sharp graze of teeth scraped my skin.

A moan left my lips. I needed a man inside me. I knew it was the only thing that would quench this painful desire that was trying to kill me.

“Yes,” the man breathed. In a heartbeat, his shirt was off, his chest a portrait of smooth muscle, chiseled flesh, and pale skin.

“Wyatt,” I breathed, the name tugging at the back of my mind, but for the life of me I didn’t know who Wyatt was.

The man on top of me descended, his clothed hips grinding against me as his rigid length prodded my core.

But I still had pants on.

“Damn,” he whispered. He tried again to spear me, but our pants stopped him, so he descended on my neck and a sharp pain cut my skin.

The man moaned and began taking long pulls. Something warm and liquid trickled down my skin, but the sensation that came with it—Gods—the feel of this man pulling from my neck was heavenly.

I moaned and arched, my back coming off the bed as the fire raged inside me. Good Gods, what was he doing to my neck? It felt so good.

I threaded my fingers through his hair, gripping him to me in ecstasy.

“Don’t stop!” I cried.

And then the door opened.