Free Fresh Blood by Jennifer Colgan

everyone else in the room kept their distance,
she’d be fine ... for a few seconds at least.
    Max moved off with Carlisle and Erica wrapped
her arms around her herself. She folded herself up on the soft
couch and forced herself to scan the room for a sign of Elena. With
so many people writhing in the darkness, she couldn’t focus on any
specific features. Her gaze fell inadvertently on the sparkling
chains, the spiked collars and the undulating flesh all around her.
She shivered as the image of the naked vampiress tethered to Benton
Carlisle played through her mind.
    “Good! You’re alone!” Vera’s voice broke
through Erica’s reverie and she looked over to find the other woman
kneeling before her. In Vera’s hands rested a wine glass full of
what appeared to be the same dark liquid Max had sipped during
dinner. “I brought you a drink.”
    Erica eyed the glass. The sumptuously sweet
smell reached her and her mouth watered for a taste, but Max hadn’t
given her leave to accept a drink.
    “I’d better not.”
    Vera pouted and swirled the liquid enticingly
in the glass. “It tastes like candy. It will help you relax. I know
this place can be overwhelming the first time.” Vera smiled at her
and swayed to the insistent beat. “Once you get used to it, you’ll
love it here. You can be completely free.” She held the glass up
for Erica to sniff the sensuously sweet aroma again. The bouquet
was so strong Erica could almost taste it. She wanted to so
badly.
    Erica looked up from the depths of the wine
and gestured toward another vampiress who wore a dress that looked
like chain mail. The female’s narrow hips were girded with a heavy
leather belt to which her arms were tethered with cuffs. Two men
who appeared human led her across the room to a collection of
pillows. When they pushed her to her knees, Erica looked away.
    “She doesn’t look very free to me.”
    Vera laughed. “She’s a vampire, darling.
She’s in complete control of that scenario. In time you’ll learn.
You have all the power.” The woman made a sound like a purr and
settled herself on the floor at Erica’s feet. “Max needs you much
more than you need him.”
    Erica took another look around the room. In
the distance she thought she saw Max and Carlisle but she wasn’t
certain. She leaned closer to Vera and tried to whisper over the
pounding music. “Have there been a lot of new feeders around
lately?”
    Vera nodded. “Take a sip and I’ll tell you
more.” She tapped the rim of the glass and held it up to Erica. As
Vera looked up, the heavy curtain of her dark hair fell back to
expose fresh bite marks just under her left ear. “It’ll give you
strength.”
    “Strength for what?”
    Vera grinned. “Whatever Max has planned for
you.” Mischief sparkled in her eyes. “It’s fortified with herbs
like those energy drinks they serve at the human bars now.”
    Erica looked at the wine again. She wondered
why Max hadn’t offered her any during dinner. “Maybe when Max comes
back.”
    Vera sighed and took a deep sip of the wine
herself. With a shrug, she set the glass down on the floor and
rose. She held out her hands to Erica. “Do you want to dance with
me?”
    “Dance? With you?” Was beautiful Vera coming
on to her?
    “Just for fun, come on!” Vera pulled Erica to
her feet and tugged her to an open section of the floor where
several couples swayed to the music. A moment later, as a
comfortable haze descended over Erica’s vision, she found herself
swirling around in time to the beat. Vera’s hands on her hips,
guided her in an undulating rhythm that made her forget Max and
Elena ... and everything else.
     

Chapter Ten
     
     
    Max kept his eyes on Erica from across the
room while Benton Carlisle asked him mundane questions about
security. He didn’t need to wonder if this forced separation from
Erica was planned.
    When he saw Vera try to give her a glass of
wine, he bared his fangs. “I’ll report your concerns to