“I always wanted a sweet little red-head for myself.”
Fighting with all of her might, Marianna was no match for the men’s strength. There were three men and only one of her.
She kept trying to get them to release her as they dragged her into the darkened alleyway.
“Let me go!” Marianna let out a scream hoping something would startle the men to leave her alone. Nothing happened. The three men laughed and threw her against the wall. Her head hit the brick wall stunning her.
They pawed at her body tearing the clothing she wore from her flesh. There was nothing she could do. When her senses came back to her she tried to grab her clothing to cover her body.
“She’s got nice, ripe tits.”
“I can’t wait to feel how tight her little cunt is going to be. Look she’s a natural red-head.”
Their words washed over her making her disgusted.
One of the men fumbled with their pants. She cried out and screamed as his hardened cock appeared.
“I believe the lady said no,” a man said.
Marianna recognised the voice immediately. The man lurking in the shadows lit a cigarette. He looked relaxed as if the sight before him he’d witnessed a million times before.
“Please, help me,” she said.
He didn’t turn to her. The man who’d gotten his cock out tucked himself away and faced her customer. When the men turned away she tried her best to arrange her clothes back into place. Her hands were shaking, and she couldn’t function around the fear.
“Who the fuck are you? This is our woman for the night and possibly the weekend.”
Marianna couldn’t stop the vomit coming up. Curling over, she spewed everything she’d eaten onto the uneven floor.
“The lady doesn’t want to be with you. I think you should leave her be,” her customer said. His voice didn’t change. The boredom was clear in his tone.
“Why don’t you fuck off and leave us to it?”
She couldn’t listen to this anymore. Going with her gut she got to her feet and tried to make a dash for the exit. One of them grabbed her hair and slammed her against the wall. Her head hit the brick wall once more.
Touching the spot on the head that hit the wall she came away with blood on her fingers.
“You shouldn’t have done that,” her customer said.
Everything else happened so fast. She gasped as the sound of squealing men and torn flesh echoed down the dark alleyway. Marianna covered her ears to try to hide from the sound.
The three bodies fell in a heap around her, and her customer, with blood covering his lips and bottom half of his face, stared down at her. The sight was too much for her to handle. Before she could stop herself, everything went black.
Chapter Two
Augustus wiped his face on the dead man’s shirt. He hated making mess with his supper, and the bastards had it coming for attacking Marianna. The look on their faces and the fear in her eyes was too much for him to deal with. Everyone who hurt her would die.
Throwing the last body to the ground, he moved toward his woman.
Marianna was passed out on the floor next to the place where she threw up. Once his face was no longer covered in blood, Augustus lifted the woman into his arms. He curled her against his side.
“What am I going to do with you?” He moved out of the alley. The police would be by soon to investigate the killing. He doubted the three men would be missed, and there was no way he or his kind would be implicated.
Sticking to the back streets, Augustus made the journey as quickly as possible with Marianna in his arms. She didn’t wake up, but he didn’t want to risk it if she did waken.
His front door opened the instant he got to the bottom of the steps.
“Where have you been?” Gregory, his human friend, asked. Gregory folded his arms waiting for an explanation.
He kept a human in order to keep other uninvited vampires out. Once he purchased a house, he put the deeds in Gregory’s name and made sure the man invited him in. The bonus with Gregory was that he was a good friend rather than being a mere necessity.
“This is the woman I’ve been telling you about.”
Gregory was his friend, not his lover. The human needed him in order to survive. After that first night together, Gregory wanted to know everything. They needed each other. Gregory needed him for his blood while Augustus needed him for companionship. Their relationship had deepened over time to the point where Augustus occasional drank from Gregory but not much.
“I thought you were only thinking of taking on another friend? Not actually doing it.”
“Gregory, she wouldn’t be my friend. She’d be my woman to do with as I pleased. Now, go and prepare the woman’s room.”