Blood Rising Read online

  BLOOD RISING

  by

  AMBER ANTHONY

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  Published by

  TORRID BOOKS

  www.torridbooks.com

  An Imprint of Whiskey Creek Press LLC

  Copyright © 2017 by AMBER ANTHONY

  Warning: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 (five) years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  Names, characters and incidents depicted in this book are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental and beyond the intent of the author or the publisher.

  No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

  ISBN: 978-1-68299-236-4

  Credits

  Cover Artist: Kelly Martin

  Editor: Dennis Hays

  Printed in the United States of America

  Brenner’s Edicts for the Undead

  1. Vampires are the ultimate Doms.

  2. Stay out of mortal’s relationships; no good comes from intervening.

  3. Never get involved with mortal females; they break too easily.

  4. Emotional relationships with mortals are difficult; they can't detach.

  5. Immortality is an illusion; vampires can be killed.

  6. The number one mannerism for appearing human; inhale/exhale, repeat.

  7. To be irresistible to donors, hang out with your fangs out.

  8. The first bite is the sweetest.

  9. Pale is the new tan.

  10. Vampire's Golden Rule: It's not the bite you get, it's the bite you give.

  Chapter 1

  “I’m so sorry,” Cat rushed into the university art studio, banging the door into the wall in her haste.

  “You’re late,” Brad’s hands curled into fists at his side. “Tardiness will be punished.” He suddenly looked as if he could follow through on that threat.

  “Ornstein’s class went long, and…” Cat was still in the middle of her breathless apology when his offensive words sank in and she stopped abruptly. “Excuse me? Punished? Who the hell do you think you’re talking to?”

  Brad snarled down at her arrogantly from the classroom stage. “Watch your tone, Cat. When I want you to speak, I’ll give you permission.”

  “Watch my…now hold on!” When did this guy, who’d seemed so charming and insightful on their first date, become such an ass? He may have been every girl’s definition of a fair-haired dream, but Cat guessed it was true—looks weren’t everything.

  “Strip.” Brad jumped from the stage to stand intimidatingly in her personal space.

  “What?” Shock left her gaping.

  “I’m not in the habit of repeating myself. You’re the class model tonight. Strip.”

  “You didn’t say anything about modeling in the nude…”

  “When and how I want you to model is none of your concern. Your job is to please me.”

  His audacity stunned her. She needed to set this guy straight right now. “Look, Brad,” Cat’s teeth clenched, “we’re just getting acquainted, so I’m letting you know I’m the one who decides what I will or won’t do with my own body.”

  Stress, fired by her resistance, intensified his demand. “That attitude will not be tolerated.”

  She didn’t back down. “Oh, really, by whom? You?” Cat walked away. “I think you’d better find another model.”

  Brad’s hand flashed out and grabbed her arm in an iron grip. “Don’t you ever turn your back on me!”

  Cat stared at him, amazed. He didn’t strike her, but it looked as if he wanted to, which made the intruder at the door most welcome.

  The man cleared his throat loudly enough to be a distraction. “She doesn’t understand what you want. She doesn’t understand submission, and it should be obvious by now, she’ll never accept your domination.” His voice was a low, resonant baritone with twice the authority of Brad’s.

  Cat flashed her gaze up to his with fascination as he leaned casually against the doorframe. He was probably mid-twenties, well over six feet, gorgeously built, with dark hair curling around an impossibly handsome face. He more than fit the image of champion to a damsel in distress, and she sighed with relief at his intervention.

  “What I do with my sub is none of your business…”

  “Your sub?” The man snorted derisively. “Does she know she’s supposed to be a sub?” He strolled forward to confront Brad.

  Brad appeared flustered and wilted in the face of the stranger’s cool confidence. “We haven’t discussed labels…”

  The man held out his hand to her, and Cat accepted it without a second thought. His fingers were cool, his eyes mesmerizing, large, deep azure, thickly lashed and slightly melancholy. “Stay behind me,” he told her quietly, and then turned his attention back to Brad. “I have no problem with a Dom/sub relationship. Whatever gets you off, that’s your business, but this girl has no understanding of what you’re after. If you were an experienced Dom, and not a wanna-be poser, you’d have recognized that immediately.”

  Cat stared at them in confusion. “Dom/sub?”

  They ignored her. Brad puffed out his chest in defiance. “I don’t need instruction from you…”

  “Clearly you do, or we wouldn’t be having this conversation. Let me help you out.” He turned to Cat. “Miss…uh…”

  “Temple,” she supplied quietly. “Catherine Temple. Cat to my friends.”

  “Miss Temple, do you have any intention of surrendering your body and safety to this man?” He glanced dismissively at Brad.

  Cat’s jaw dropped with alarm. “I…I…no! What are you talking about?”

  He stared pointedly at Brad and shrugged. “She’s not submissive, Brad. Wish her well and be done with it.”

  “Who the hell are you?” Brad challenged irritably.

  “A new student in this class.”

  “Oh, yeah? Because I’m the Teacher’s Assistant here, buddy, and you’re getting off to a bad start.”

  “I see.” The stranger considered that for a moment. “So, if the Dean were informed you were bullying a co-ed, and then tried to intimidate a classmate who intervened, that wouldn’t be a problem for you?”

  “Fuck you!” Brad squared off against the newcomer.

  Cat figured she’d better do something to distract them, or the two men were headed for an ugly fight. “Excuse me, you two do know I’m in the room, right? You can see me here? I mean, I haven’t become invisible?”

  “Yes, ma’am.” The stranger gave her a nod, amusement in his eyes. “I see you very clearly.”

  He pointedly gazed from her face, over her breasts, waist and hips, all the way down her legs to her toes. He drew in a long breath, bit down on his full lower lip and nodded appreciatively. “I’m Matt,” he held his hand out in introduction.

  * * * *

  Matt smiled as she took his hand again, trust and enchantment evident all over her face. Her touch was warm and electric, and he was smitten. She was stunning. A mass of long, blonde hair framed a heart-shaped face with deep-set, almond eyes and a flawless complexion. He couldn’t remember ever having such an immediate attraction to a woman.

  Cat flushed under his frank appraisal and ducked her head. She started to speak, and then lost the words and smiled shyly. Matt shifted uncomfortably. Was this what romantics desc
ribed as love at first sight? He stared at her. Blue, he realized, drawn irresistibly into the depths of those dazzling eyes. They were a clear, cornflower-blue.

  Brad scowled and clenched his jaw. “I need to get some supplies,” he muttered, looking back and forth between the two of them.

  “Good idea. While you’re gone, maybe Miss Temple and I can discuss her modeling tonight.”

  “Oh, yeah, thanks a lot.” Getting no rise with his jibe, Brad stalked away.

  “What was all that about?” Cat demanded when he’d gone.

  “Another discussion for another time,” Matt deflected mildly before he seductively lowered his voice. “I’d love to sketch you, if you’d agree to pose?”

  Her color rose higher at his compliment, and he wondered idly if her nipples were the same hue as her candy pink lips? Was their taste as sweet? His jeans grew uncomfortably tight at the thought.

  “Not nude!” Her chin jutted out stubbornly from under a soft, full mouth.

  Matt wanted to fall into her lips, could barely pull his gaze from them to answer. “No.” He scanned the cluttered art room and his gaze landed on a crumpled length of red satin. “Not nude, but maybe…a little bit of a tease?” He held up the fabric, unraveled several yards and offered it to her.

  She accepted it with a quizzical look and disappeared behind a make-shift changing screen.

  “You’re sure you’re not looking?”

  “Wouldn’t dream of it.” Matt felt damned for a liar when his strongest desire was to tear down that barrier and dispatch what remained of her clothes. He’d lay her bare and sumptuous on the scarred desk top and sample every inch…

  “I said, do you think it’ll be long enough?” she asked, raising her voice.

  Long enough? Matt jerked himself out of his erotic fantasy and refocused on the here and now.

  “Sorry. Will what be long enough?”

  “The fabric. You’re sure it’ll be long enough to, like, cover everything?”

  Matt grinned. “I’m sure we’ll manage.” He waited another few beats, sensing she was undressed, but reluctant to leave the shelter of the screen. “Why don’t you come out here and we’ll see.”

  “I…”

  “Come on. I won’t let you be embarrassed. I swear.”

  His promise reassured her, and Cat emerged from behind the screen with a large swath of red satin wrapped around her like a sarong. The sensuous fabric hugged every curve of her luscious body. Matt swallowed and tried to keep his voice even.

  “Good start,” he praised. “Let’s put you here.”

  He patted the high stool in the center of the stage. Cat darted an uncertain glance at him and worried her bottom lip. What would it be like to own those succulent lips? To have them fastened around his cock, her clear cornflower eyes gazing up at him? He gave his head a brief shake to clear it. Impossible.

  “Now, you might want to cover your…” He gestured toward her breasts, grasping for diplomatic words to describe her lovely tits.

  Ordinarily, he had no problem being explicit with his sexual vocabulary. In his business, it was expected. Still, he sensed the young woman before him would be shocked and put off if he told her that. He slowly tugged the fabric away from her, giving her ample time for modesty. He’d love to make sure she had none left, and no need for it.

  “What are you…” she began uncertainly, crossing her legs and using her hands to cover round, full breasts. “Oh, I get it.” She breathed a sigh of relief as he worked. “You’re going to drape it like an antique ‘art’ shot.”

  “Antique?” Matt gulped, remembering photos staged in just this way for Marilyn Monroe. “Uh…sure, antique. Anyway, I want mostly your back to the class with a hint of a profile over your right shoulder.”

  Cat posed as he instructed. “Like this?”

  “Exactly. Now, I’m going to wind this fabric…”

  Matt entwined the crimson fluid fabric across her lap and between her legs. A flush crept up her torso to light her face. She wasn’t as immune to his touch as she’d like him to believe, and he certainly wasn’t to her soft curves over firm muscle. He sighed out a breath as he fought the impulse to caress her. Draping the fabric back across her lap, he wound it once around her body and then across her breasts, barely covering their tantalizing peaks.

  “Hold on to the stool.” He drew one long leg down in an artful line, and then draped the other over it to create a sensuous “S” with her curves. “Balanced?” She nodded and he pried her fingers from around the edge of the stool and then laid one arm at her side, the other held the fabric sweeping across her breasts and over her left shoulder. “You look incredible.” She took his breath away! “Is this a pose you can hold for a while?”

  “I suppose so.” Her gaze searched his through her lashes.

  Unspoken questions flew between them, but they would have to wait. The class was filling quickly with students.

  “Maybe, I could thank you with a drink after class?” he suggested in a husky whisper. It was madness to even consider a relationship with this young woman, but one drink couldn’t hurt.

  “I don’t know. With Brad and all…”

  “Let me worry about Brad. You’ll probably need a drink to unwind after posing in this position for an hour.”

  She slowly acquiesced. “Sure. A drink would be nice.”

  The sketch drew itself as Matt studied the angles and dimensions of her body. Her skin glowed peach with the simmering warmth of her blood flowing under it. It was soft as fine velvet, and smelled of honeysuckle soap and lavender shampoo. He scented her even now, though he was several feet away. It was all he could do to keep his troublesome erection inside his jeans. As it was, he figured he was going to have a permanent zipper imprint on his dick.

  Since actually fucking this girl was out of the question, he was going to have to take her out for a drink, have a nice fatherly talk about the dangers of men who thought they were Dominants, and give her a polite kiss on the cheek at her door. He and his right hand were going to get real friendly tonight.

  Matt studied her as she sat composed and graceful on the high stool, absorbing the admiration, not to mention the meticulous dissection of the entire class. What was she thinking about? What was her take on their odd meeting?

  A crash at the back of the room startled the students and signaled Brad’s return. He had made himself scarce during the actual class, and Matt thought it must rankle the guy not to be able to claim his prize as she sat posing prettily. Matt would bet the man was planning another confrontation of some kind. Was he aiming for Cat or him? Whatever, Matt was on his guard and standing sentry, waiting for her to change into her clothes.

  “That is the longest I’ve sat still since, well…” Cat began nervously as she dressed behind the screen.

  Matt listened to her charming chatter with half an ear, a knowing half-grin teasing his lips. His fuller attention was on Brad. Instinct told him the guy wasn’t going to surrender her without a fight. Matt would rather not have to demonstrate his superior strength tonight.

  “Of course, at school the nuns were always making us stay put, but I guess I was about five, and I insisted on staying in the bubble bath, and I played and played and played until all the bubbles were gone and the water was cold.”

  Rancor seemed to be mounting in Brad. It indicated a level of confidence higher than the average guy’s. Did he have a weapon? Maybe he knew martial arts? It wouldn’t matter in a match between them, but signaled to Matt a physical confrontation was going to be inevitable. Fuck, he didn’t want Cat to see that.

  “And then, I realized my entire body was covered with gooseflesh. I was bumpy all over!”

  Matt’s mind flew to the image of her covered with gooseflesh, her firm breasts standing stiff and begging for attention. He shook himself back to reality. “How ya doin’ back there?”

  She exited from behind the screen, buckling her belt at her trim waist. “Ready!” She pulled her backpack over her shoul
der. “Do you have a car? I walked.”

  “Oh, yeah. I’m in the lot right outside.” He gestured her toward the door, noting Brad’s sudden absence and certain they’d meet again in the dark parking lot.

  Matt could scent her anxiety as he fell in step behind her. The thought had no sooner crossed his mind, when she nervously fumbled her open backpack.

  She bent down to retrieve her fallen books. “You know, I have an early class tomorrow. Maybe it’d be a good idea to just grab a cup of coffee at the student union.”

  Matt crouched beside her to rescue a rolling apple and scoop the books from her hands. She straightened warily, and he followed.

  “Coffee keeps me awake at night, but whatever makes you more comfortable. I’d be happy to sit with you. I’m actually pretty harmless.”

  “Yeah?” She slanted a skeptical look his way. “What about that whole Dom/sub thing? For all I know you have a trunk full of ropes and gags.”

  Matt laughed easily. “Nice to know you have such a high opinion of me. Coffee it is, then.”

  Cat stared an overlong moment into his eyes, uncertainty written all over her face “Oh, okay.”

  The light behind her lit her golden hair into a halo around her arresting face, and in that moment, she struck Matt as so compellingly real, not a contrived bone in her body. He caught her slight tremor as he placed a guiding hand at her back and walked them across the street to the student union.

  Though it was not yet eight o’clock, most students and faculty had left the campus already, and the dimly lit streets were mostly empty. The usually chill January night was warmer because of a Santa Ana wind, which blew Brad’s scent straight to him and warned Matt of his approach before he launched himself at them.

  Matt had only a moment to push Cat to the safety of the curb before Brad was upon him. So far, Brad was textbook predictable. As pissed off as Matt was that they had to fight in front of Cat, he was grateful the jerk took his aggression out on someone who could protect himself rather than her.

  Now, Matt had to deal with the fact they were fighting in a fishbowl, right out in the middle of the goddamn street for anyone to see. He ground his teeth in frustration. Cat regained her footing after stumbling on her way to the curb, and turned to watch them. Taller than his opponent by several inches, Matt feinted to the left and dodged a blow. Brad danced back and delivered a roundhouse kick to Matt’s throat, drawing a horrified gasp from Cat. It was a blow meant to kill, but Matt absorbed it and shook it off to assume a defensive pose.