“Move it,” the security grumbled, shoving her hard enough she stumbled. “Through there.”
There was an open door at the end of the hall, and as soon as she stepped through, it slammed closed behind her. Augustine watched her from behind a desk, his posture relaxed as he stretched back in his seat, the top buttons of his shirt open. His eyes dipped to her breasts, and Eva stopped herself from brushing her hair forward to hide as she took the seat opposite, sitting tall.
“I want you to dance for me,” he said, his face cold.
“Go fuck yourself.” She froze as soon as the words left her tongue, waiting for the reprimand.Shut up, Eva!
Augustine’s heavy brow lifted, but he said nothing as he leaned forward. The tension grew between them, panic fluttering in her stomach as she tried to swallow past her suddenly dry throat. They were alone in the room, unarmed from what she could see and yet she was more afraid of him than the meatheads with big fists and even bigger guns.
“You're a dancer, right?” he asked after a pause, his gaze hard as he started to undo the cuffs on his shirt. “So dance.” He pulled up his sleeves, the hair on his arms dark as the silver cufflinks clinked on the desk.
She didn’t think anything nice would come out, so she remained silent.
“You’ll learn quickly to follow orders.” Augustine smiled, and Eva ignored the shudder that rattled down her spine. “Tell me,” he continued. “How much do you understand about your transformation?”
Nothing,she wanted to say, but as her voice was the last thing she seemed to control she kept quiet.
“If you do not reply when spoken to I will cut out your tongue, taking away the option,” Augustine said as casual as discussing the weather. “Now, how much do you understand about being a vampire?”
“That I’m dead.” Her voice came out a croak. “I no longer have a soul.”
“Who says you even had a soul to begin with?” Augustine’s laugh was menacing. “You’re not dead, just a different Breed. Although, many Vamps enjoy playing on the stereotype. Think of yourself as a human with a couple of upgrades. The only consequence is you have to consume blood to keep those upgrades, otherwise your body metabolises itself which is unpleasant, as you already know.”
Eva crossed her arms, holding herself together. “What do you want from me?”
“A brave question,” Augustine said with a chuckle. “The amazing thing about vampires is that they can take a great deal of damage, and after a little blood and time they will look as beautiful as the day they were turned. It makes them great toys.” His appraisal was slow across her face, even slower down the slope of her throat before moving lower. “There are many ways in which I like to break my toys.”
An angry tear burned out of the corner of her eye. “That didn’t answer my question.”
“Didn’t it?” Augustine tilted his head, an animalistic gesture before he unfolded to his full height. “Your blood is an addictive aphrodisiac, so strong it will make most men and women do whatever you ask. It’s a rare gift indeed.”
“How does that work?”
He moved around the desk, stopping at the edge as she froze in her chair. “A random mutation known as Darkling. No one truly understands what happens to human cells when they’re attacked with what we call the vampira virus. The majority of humans die, and those that don’t become like us. An even smaller percentage find themselves with an added ability, usually related to their masters. Some may gain the ability to shadow walk, some may be able to produce an aphrodisiac in their venom, and others may even be able to hypnotise the weak of mind. I’ve even known some of our kind to regrow limbs.”
“Hypnotise?” she repeated, remembering the rumours as a child. “I thought that was a myth.”
Augustine opened his lips, his twin fangs descending. “All myths have a grain of truth. You’ll find many people unwilling to look into your eyes just in case. It’s something taught to many law enforcement regardless of how rare the ability is.”
He reached forward, and faster than she could react he had gripped both her wrists.
“Strength is relative to when you were a human,” he said, his thumb brushing the scales on her arms as she fought to be free. “You’ve doubled your strength, your muscles stronger and harder because of the added protein in your new diet, but you still won’t be as strong as me. Pathetic, really.”
“Let me go!” Eva hissed. Up close she could see Augustine’s skin, noticing every bump and scar that marked his face. Vampires were supposed to be beautiful, their skin perfect. Yet Augustine’s imperfections were noticeable, at least up close.
His fingers dug into her arm, the bone beneath groaning. “All my people are branded with a viper, it shows the others who you belong to.”
“I belong to no one!” She jerked free, almost toppling her chair back as he laughed. Eva scrambled to her feet, putting distance between them as she pressed herself along the back wall. “And I definitely don’t belong to you.”
“You keep telling yourself that. When you died, you were reborn as someone else. As a fledgling you belong to your master until you are deemed strong enough to be your own master. Lucas transformed you without going through the system, which makes you unregistered. As per vampire laws I can claim you as my own, which does, in fact, make you mine.”
Augustine took a dramatic step forward, his head cocked to the side.
“Mine to punish.”
He stepped closer, his breath mingling with hers.
“Mine to fuck.”
