Free Stunner by Trina M Lee Page A

shirt. The sound of my
heartbeat in my ears was deafening.
    Octavia responded first with a closed
fist that knocked my attacker back several feet. “Can’t you control
yourself? You’re no better than a goddamned animal.” Her shouts
were muffled by the pounding in my head.
    As the scent of my blood permeated the
room, all three vampires set their sights on me.
    “ What the hell is that?”
Yellowteeth shoved the others aside to get to me. “Smells like
heaven.”
    I braced myself. It wouldn’t take long
to finish me off. What a way to go. At the hand of my own
stupidity.
    Octavia reached me first. Having the
power advantage over the others, she tossed them aside with little
more than a gesture. But her power paled in comparison to what I
felt coming. A cool breeze filled the room, it’s cold, dark source
unseen. The undead energy held the promise of violence and
death.
    The door burst open with the sound of
splintering wood. The vampire moved fast, a blur of motion. With
barely a look at Octavia the power went out from him and slammed
her against the wall. In the same moment, he punched a fist into
Yellowteeth’s chest, tearing his heart free with little effort. The
remaining vampire beat a hasty retreat, fleeing through the open
door before the newcomer could grab him.
    “ Arys, please!” Octavia
begged, her back to the wall as the dark haired vampire advanced on
her. “I tried to stop them.”
    I struggled to focus on escape. The
atmosphere was energized with a tangy, intoxicating power. It
called to me, luring me into a deep, dark abyss. The promise of
pleasure taunted me.
    Octavia whimpered, a pitiful sound that
stripped away any semblance of danger she may have possessed. There
was terror in her eyes as Arys grabbed her by the throat and
bounced her head off the wall.
    Arys Knight was not unknown to me. I’d
heard his name. He had a hell of a reputation as one of the biggest
of the bad around here. This was really not my night.
    His power felt bottomless. It held an
allure that would draw any foe or victim into a web of irresistible
danger. Tall with the body of a god and a head of short, disheveled
jet black hair, Arys was as intriguing as he was intimidating. Deep
blue eyes sparked with fury as he stared into Octavia.
    “ I told you not to touch
this one,” he snarled. “I warned you what would happen if you so
much as looked in her general direction.”
    “ I didn’t. I mean I wasn’t
going to hurt her. I swear.” Desperation tainted Octavia’s words.
She fought to break free of his hold but she wasn’t going anywhere.
“She came here looking for trouble and she found it. We didn’t
pursue her. I promise.”
    The zip ties cut into my flesh as I
tried to reposition myself so I could attempt to break them. I
didn’t want to be here when Arys finished with Octavia. I’d rather
take my chances fleeing into the night with the vampire who got
away.
    “ She’s bound and bleeding,
Octavia. There’s no talking your way out of that.” Arys placed a
hand on both sides of her head. The power went out from him and her
mouth opened in a silent scream. Seconds later, her entire body
exploded.
    Pieces of her rained down around me,
bits of flesh and gore that quickly dissolved into dust and ash.
Panic gripped me and I fought hard to seize those last precious
moments before he came for me.
    I took a deep breath and clenched my
teeth. Stretching my hands as far apart as I could to make the zip
tie taut, I banged the tie against a wooden slat on the back of my
chair. A sharp pain shot through my sore wrists but the tie
snapped.
    I was on my feet, gazing up into
midnight blue eyes. He was just there all of a sudden, blocking my
path before I could take a step. Too late. It was all
over.
    He stared into me as if he could see
into my soul. My mouth was as dry as cotton. I swallowed hard. The
weight of his enchanting gaze held me immobile. I opened my mouth
to speak but no sound came out. Intrigued. Mesmerized.