CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

KAELEN

I stood off the bed, gazing down at her. My beautiful, cherub-faced angel. Lucian stood beside me, and even he seemed to acknowledge the husk Ellie had become. Spent. Drained. But we weren't finished with her yet.

A feral hunger clawed at me. I needed, craved, to reach heaven, and I knew I would find it within Ellie. Lucian grabbed her, lifting her so her legs wrapped around his waist. She gave me a look, a flicker of something I couldn't quite read, and I smiled back. My dick and fangs twitched with the need for more release. I wouldn't be able to drink from her like I truly needed, not to replenish myself fully, but I would still take sips. I knew I had to be careful with her.

Lucian climbed onto the bed, Ellie's legs still wrapped around his long, lean body. He laid her down carefully, her hair fanning across my pillows. Lucian, still positioned between her legs, looked at me and, with a single finger, beckoned me to join. I crawled onto the bed and knelt beside him.

"Lay down," Lucian demanded.

I obeyed, stretching out beside Ellie. Lucian's hand closed around my girth, stroking me with a practiced touch. His other hand slipped between Ellie's legs. She squirmed beside me, letting out low, involuntary moans.

"Mmm," rumbled from Lucian's throat. He was where he liked it: on top, in control.

Carefully, I rolled over, took Ellie's head in my hands, and pulled it close to mine. I began to kiss her deeply, lost in the grip Lucian had on my cock. He alone knew what would bring me pleasure.

Then, in a swift, unexpected movement, Lucian's hand disappeared. My cock twitched, aching for its return. Instead, Lucian flipped Ellie so she was now sitting on top of me. She gasped in surprise. My hands went straight to her curvy hips, anchoring her. Her breasts dangled in front of my face, ripe and tempting. Without thinking, my fangs grazed the soft, succulent skin of her left breast. She let out a small cry, but didn't try to pull away.

"Good girl!" Lucian growled at her.

He then pulled her ass down, forcing her legs wider, and positioned her pussy over my throbbing cock. He slammed her down onto me. Oh, the pleasure that brought! I moaned, the friction sending shivers through me, even as I took a drink from her breast. She let out a loud gasp. He used his hands, rocking her back and forth on me. I could feel myself close to losing my sanity.

Then Lucian positioned himself and eased the tip of his cock inside of her, alongside mine. She screamed.

"That's right, little angel!" His voice was a vicious purr now.

I removed my mouth from her breast, having had enough to drink for the moment, and replaced her nipple between my teeth, playing and tugging, careful not to pierce her skin with my fangs.

"So fucking tight, how does that feel, Kaelen?" Lucian asked between clenched teeth. He was shoving, stretching her more and more as he pushed deeper inside her. The feel of her clenched around us, Lucian's dick rubbing against mine, was heaven sent.

We ravaged her body that way, taking turns nipping and drinking, as she screamed out in a chaotic blend of pleasure and pain. After what felt like forever, but also not nearly long enough, both Lucian and my cocks, soaked by her juices, came undone inside her.

Ellie collapsed on top of me, her eyes barely open. Her breaths came in fast, shallow gulps, like a fish out of water. There was no energy left in her. Lucian and I had exhausted everything she had to offer.

Lucian exited her and then pulled her off of me, laying her down. She was unable to move.

"Now that was fun, wasn't it, little angel?" He then looked at me with a satisfied smile on his face. "You always choose well, Kaelen."

And with that, he got up, grabbed his clothes, and started for the door. "You coming down for dinner?" he asked.

I nodded. Lucian walked out of the room. I looked at Ellie, who was fast asleep. I kissed her on the shoulder, then got up to shower.

As I left the bathroom I stop to look at Ellie. My angel sleeps. I watch her, sprawled across the silk sheets, an innocent contrast to the darkness that clings to me. We are opposites, Ellie and I. Yin and Yang. Heaven and Hell, forever intertwined. I'm certain she'll sleep through the night, a fragile thing needing rest.

I leave her then, the scent of her still clinging to my skin, and head downstairs to Crimson. The bass thumps through the floor, a familiar heartbeat in this den of sin. Lucian is where he usually is, draped elegantly on the velvet couch. No surprise there. Lucian is meticulous, always. He'd be taking his time, ensuring every hair is in place, every shadow perfectly cast.

Seraphine sits at the bar, a dark liquid swirling in her glass. "Night, Sera," I chime, my voice a low rumble that barely reaches her ears above the music.

She looks up, her eyes, ancient and knowing, assessing me. She can sense it. My elation. My hunger. A slow smile curls on her lips. "You look... famished... Kaelen."

And I am. Even with the stolen sips, the little tastes of Ellie's life force that I've allowed myself, I'm hungrier than I've been in decades. And I know, instinctively, that Lucian will be feeling the same gnawing emptiness.

Leaving the VIP lounge, I wade into the crowd. The throng of bodies, the pulse of the music, the cacophony of desires – usually I find it grating. Tonight, though, I crave it. I want to be engulfed by their scents, their sins. I follow a particularly putrid smell, a dark vein of malice cutting through the hedonistic perfume.

It leads me to a man lurking in the back corner of the club, shrouded in shadow. He sits alone, his hand down his pants, eyes glued to a group of women dancing. Lust, thick and cloying, rolls off him in waves. Below that, though, is something darker: a rot of exploitation, the stench of abuse. This man uses and discards his "women" like toys.

He stands, emboldened by his depravity, and stumbles towards the dance floor, his movements clumsy and predatory. I stay back, watching, letting him play out his pathetic charade. The women, clearly uncomfortable, try to politely disentangle themselves. He doesn't get the hint. They retreat, disappearing into the sanctuary of the bathroom. He follows. And I, a silent predator, follow him.

Normally, I would already have taken him, ripped him from this world and quenched my burning thirst. But tonight, I decide to stalk him. Play with my prey. Let the anticipation build.

He opens the bathroom door, glances around, then slips inside. Without a sound, I follow.

I see him then, pinning one of the women against the wall, his hand already attempting to force its way down her pants. A surge of rage, cold and potent, floods through me. This is not hunting. This is desecration.

I grab him by the back of his neck, the flimsy cotton of his shirt tearing in my grip, and yank him away from the woman. "You and your friend need to leave," I growl, my voice a low, dangerous rumble. "Now!"

They scramble out of the bathroom, fear propelling them forward. They stumble past the few surprised onlookers.

I yank the man back, throwing him to the floor. He lands with a thud, his drunken bravado instantly evaporating. He curses, a pathetic whimper, and looks up at me. The look he sees, the raw, inhuman hunger in my eyes, makes him shrink back against the cold tile floor. He's prey now. And he knows it.