Ash(51)

I put both hands on his chest and shoved him, hard. He stumbled backward a little, but my push only served to enrage him more. He smelled of vamp alcohol and had clearly lost control.

He slammed into me before I could even track his movement. The back of my head cracked into the wall and I yelped. He had me pinned against the brickwork; we were alone in this dark hallway. His eyes pulsed from solid silver to some weird gray color.

“Help!” I screamed again, hoping like hell someone would hear me this time. I felt the graze of razor sharp points on my neck, and I knew he was just about to pierce my skin. Pleasure chased along my spine, my body remembering how it felt to be fed on, but it was quickly doused with how awful this situation was. Vamp asshole then decided to take his time with me, slowly pushing his chompers into me. His wet mouth sucked at my neck with greed. Gross. Vampire hickey. Just what I needed. I kneed him firmly in the groin, but he just bit down on me harder.

“Got off, asshole!” I screamed, but it was no use. He was like a two-hundred-pound mosquito.

Suddenly Ryder’s and Kyle’s faces zoomed into focus, and before the relief even had time to hit, the enforcers had grabbed the vamp by the neck, ripping him off of me. The vamp went airborne and was slammed onto the ground. Kyle reached over and yanked me up, holding me against his hard frame as one of his hands lifted to rest against the side of my neck. Both of us froze as we watched Ryder go completely into warrior mode, throwing a series of powerful blows to the vamp’s head, his arms moving so fast I couldn’t track them. Holy shit, he was a monster. The force at which the punches connected with the vamp’s face made sounds that I was pretty sure would haunt my dreams. It was in this moment I truly realized how easy Ryder had been going on me in training. I had not even the slightest clue of his true abilities.

Kyle held me close until my shaking stopped. “You okay, Charlie?” His dark eyes lifted from Ryder to lock on me. “Shit, sorry girl, we got here as soon as we heard you scream.”

I tried to swallow, some of the pain in my neck easing. Kyle lifted his hand away and his eyes swirled as he stared. “The wound has closed over. You’re going to need some blood.”

He pulled himself away from me and I realized that my blood was tempting him. I propped myself against the wall as Kyle strode across to help Ryder. Markus, Jared, and Sam ran down the hall then, and together the enforcers helped Kyle pull Ryder off the unconscious vamp. I remained against the wall, too shaken to move yet, my focus locked in on the one man who always had my back. Ryder’s eyes were wild, his knuckles already bruised, cuts littering them. He left the vampire to his men, crossing the space to crowd into me.

“Are you hurt?” His words were barely audible, so much feral in his gaze.

Hurt? Oh right, I was attacked.

My hand went up to my neck, even though Kyle had told me it was healed. “He bit me.”

Ryder breathed deeply, his serious eyes never leaving me. He didn’t seem drunk anymore, the fight having washed away whatever buzz he’d had.

Finally, he turned back to his guys, even though he did not shift out of my personal space. He spoke in a low voice to the enforcers, and I used the time to move off the wall. My limbs were shaking a little, the adrenalin starting to wear off. Why were these bastards always trying to bite me? It didn’t seem normal.

Ryder turned back around, and finding me moved, stepped back into my personal space. “If he were an ash, I would kill him right here.” His hazy silver and black eyes flickered to the lump on the floor.

Kyle nodded. He’d moved close to Ryder’s back. “I think we should kill him anyways. Who cares what the Quorum says.”

Ryder seemed to consider this, then he grinned, catching me totally off guard. “No, I have a better idea. Throw him in the pit for a month.”

Jared let out a low whistle. “A month in the pit. Dude is going to be fried.” Damn that accent was good. I needed to visit Australia one day. Also, note to self: Don’t get on Ryder’s bad side and find out what the hell the pit was.

Ryder placed a hand on my lower back. “Fun’s over. Let’s go.”

I got the distinct feeling he would not be letting me out again soon. “I wouldn’t consider being attacked by a vampire fun,” I retorted.

He frowned. “Yeah, bad joke. Sorry.” He stopped and faced me. “Seriously, are you okay?” His hair was tousled from the fight, and the protective way his hand rested against my spine had my stomach all aflutter.

No.

“I’m fine,” I said.

This was not Ryder’s problem. I was the delicious, chocolate-covered unicorn donut, and while I’d love it if Ryder were my own delicious chocolate-covered donut, the feeling clearly wasn’t mutual.