When he arrived at the penthouse, he didn’t bother knocking—he never had bothered in the past, and he sure as hell wasn’t going to bother now, and when he entered, Mason was lounging on a couch with a whore’s face buried in his naked groin. Her head was bobbing, and her lips were slurping, and Mason’s head was dropped back. He was disturbed by this image as he was everything in this place, and when Mason heard him enter, he pulled his head up and smiled a lascivious, evil smile. He did not, however, stop the woman from her job, and as she continued pleasuring him, Mason spoke. “Good of you to come, dear Tru. I’d offer you her mouth, but she’s busy at the moment, and I don’t feel like sharing.”
“I’m not interested in your women. Why have you called me here?”
“You know why.” And his dark eyes darkened in fury. “Your human will not be standing in the way of your family any longer. It won’t be tolerated.”
“Her name is Ember, and she is not my human; she is her own. I simply have the good fortune of being a part of her life.” Truman’s own fury was building at Mason’s disrespect for her.
“Not anymore you won’t.” Mason’s anger hit a peak, and he shoved the whore from his body, standing, fixing his clothes, and walking to Truman. But when he reached Truman, his face softened in mock kindness. “We could bring her into the fold. Scramble her brains a bit and let you keep her as a whore. We’d all want to share of course. We are family after all.”
Truman’s fury hit its own peak at his words. “You stay the fuck away from her!” His voice was bellowing fury.
“That’s what I thought you’d say. Have it your way. I see two options for you then. You can kill her, or we can, of course. Or, you wipe her memory of you, and she goes on to live a long and fulfilling life.”
“I have no intention of leaving her, and if you threaten her again, I will destroy you.” His words were true. He would have no problem destroying this monster, but he also knew it would be the end of his existence as well; killing another vampire was no more tolerated than any other rule violation, and unless you had a good reason, you could expect there to be fallout. Ember was the best reason in the world to him, but a human would not be considered worth the life of an immortal. He was panicking, and whatever control he may have been exuding was just an act.
“I’d like to show you something, Truman. Please come.” Mason walked away to a media area with a massive flat screen television mounted to the wall. He took a seat, turned on a teleconference console on the table in front of him, and powered on the television, and as the image came in focus, Truman’s mouth dropped, and he gasped.
Ember was sleeping in her bedroom with the nightstand light on. She was still wearing the clothes she’d had on that night and looked exactly as he’d left her. But she wasn’t alone. Sitting beside her on the bed was Thomas, and he was watching the still camera that was without doubt set up on a tripod in front of him. He had a Bluetooth in his ear, and as his lips moved on camera, his voice came through on the teleconference console. “I assume Truman’s there?” His words were spoken quietly.
“Oh, he’s here, and from the looks of it, we’ve finally gotten his attention, brother.” A sly smirk was all the response Thomas’ face showed on camera. And as Truman watched with his panic building by the second, Thomas touched her body. First he stroked her cheek, and she flinched in her sleep. He trailed his hand down to her breast, and he ran over her small mounds with his palm. Truman was dying inside. He wanted to destroy Thomas; he wanted to destroy Mason; but at the moment they held her life in their hands, and there was nothing he could do.
“Wake her.” It was Mason who spoke, and as Truman watched, Thomas slapped Ember’s cheek hard, her eyes flashed open in shock, and she screamed. Truman just watched, sinking to his knees on the floor in front of the television screen. Thomas clapped his palm over her mouth, stifling her scream, and as Ember’s eyes opened wide in terror, he pulled her body up to sit and took his place behind her. His fangs were protracted, and his mouth was at her neck. He was threatening, and this threat was being powerfully executed.
“Make one sound, and I will kill you. Do you understand?” Ember nodded her head, and as he continued to speak, he moved his hand tauntingly down her body, and she was once again subjected to the torments of a man. It broke Truman’s heart and left him feeling as though he might vomit in pain. “I can see why he enjoys you so much. Tight young body…” At the touch of his hand on her breasts, she cried and sobbed through gritted teeth. He kneaded her skin as her tears fell, and Truman watched in horror and absolute desperation.
Thomas moved his hand down between her legs, pulling her thighs apart, and Ember shut her eyes. Her face went slack, and she shut down. He could see it in her expression. She gave up and hid in her mind rather than allowing this fear to destroy her. She’d been through this fear before, and she knew, even if only subconsciously, she wanted nothing to do with it. Her skirt was short and already riding up from being pulled around. Thomas reached for the fabric of her underwear, pulling it roughly aside to expose her sex. He plunged a finger within her body as Ember cried out and sobbed again. Truman started begging. “Please, please, make him stop. I can’t… Please, I’m begging you.” Truman wasn’t human, but he hadn’t lost the ability to sob, and he did. His tears ran down his cheeks, and he sobbed just as she did. He couldn’t bear to watch any more, but he couldn’t look away either, and as he watched Ember being tortured, her body being disrespected, his body shook and quivered in his pain, and he continued to beg.
“That’s enough, Thomas. I think Tru has finally gotten the point. Wipe her mind, please.” And as Thomas spoke in her ear, her eyes fluttered and closed, and Thomas let her body drop to the bed. He stood and tossed a blanket haphazardly over her. He left the camera rolling, and as Truman continued to watch as his tears tapered off and she slept, Mason asked one final question. “So, are you going to do what you have to do, or are we going to take care of this little problem for you?”
Chapter 12
Ember woke as her bed shifted, and for the briefest of moments, she was terrified as though she was awoken from some obscure nightmare she couldn’t remember to a real nightmare in her bedroom, but as his voice purred out to her, she eased at once. “It’s just me. You’re safe.” His words were odd, as though there really was a reassurance needed, and his voice sounded choked and restrained. She turned to him, catching the time on the clock. It was five in the morning, and dawn would soon be on them. They had never fought before, and though she wouldn’t necessarily call their parting the night before a fight, she hated feeling like they’d ended things badly. Ember’s lips found his, and she kissed him. He hesitated for a moment before returning her passion with his own, and when he pulled his mouth from hers, he spoke. “I love you, Ember. So much more than you can imagine.”
Her body trembled at his words and the profound meaning behind them. She loved him too, and she knew in that moment she would have everything she could want with this man and more. Her happiness was held by him, and he loved her. “I love you too.”
He kissed her once more, and as he did, she felt a tear drop from his eyes onto her cheek. Her hand moved to his cheek, brushing the tears away, and for a moment she worried. But then he spoke again, “Sleep,” and she forgot her worry, her love for him, her absolute happiness at his words, every last piece of him … gone.