Free Darkness Taunts by Susan Illene

slammed her kneecap with the heel of my boot.
    She stumbled back and flashed her teeth—fangs included. “I’ll be damned. Maybe thinking of him does help your fighting skills.”
    My shoulders sagged. “Are we done yet?”
    “Hmmm, when was the last time you hit the gym?” she asked.
    “A couple days ago, but I don’t have time for it now.” My body felt like hammered shit. Working out in the gym would have to wait.
    “You’re about to go up against demons and they won’t be as nice as I am.” The innocent look she attempted did not work at all.
    I sheathed my sword and gathered my things. “They aren’t demons. They’re humans possessed by demons, which makes them not quite as strong and a lot easier to take down.”
    “Not that easy.” She grabbed my arm. “If you aren’t going to work out, then you’re at least going to get your injuries healed.”
    “Oh, no.” I dragged my feet as she pulled me along. “You can’t make me do it.”
    My struggles didn’t slow her down. “Wanna bet?”
    I should have kept my mouth shut. She tossed me over her shoulder and moved at warp speed through the house. As his second in command, Kariann was one of the few keyed to the magic protection barrier surrounding Nik’s bedroom—wouldn’t want just anybody to interrupt the unholy acts that happened in there. She could pass through it without his permission.
    As soon as we entered, she dumped me on the floor. I glared at her and got up as gracefully as I could manage. Too bad she insisted I keep my gun put away when we trained. It’d be interesting to see how her brains looked with a big hole in them.
    The master vampire stood a few feet away with his hands on his hips. At least he had clothes on this time and no women wrapped around his appendages. That’d make this visit slightly easier to handle.
    “I see she came without too much fuss,” he said, grinning at Kariann.
    “ She is not drinking your blood,” I said, backing away. “You can forget about it.” I swiveled on my heels and moved for the door. Kariann stepped in front of me.
    “Melena.” She gripped my shoulders. “You have cuts and bruises all over your body. You could hardly keep your sword up when we fought for reasons you refuse to explain. We aren’t going to let you go to Juneau without at least getting you healthy again. Stop being such a baby and just suck his blood.”
    That didn’t come off sounding dirty or anything. Vamps always had their minds in the gutter. I crossed my arms. “No.”
    Nik motioned Kariann aside. “Remember what we talked about last night? If you want to deal with the demon problem, you’re going to have to do it the smart way. Keeping yourself strong and healthy is part of that. Is your stubbornness and pride really worth risking people’s lives over?”
    I exhaled a deep breath. He had a point—even if I didn’t have to like it. “Fine, but it has to be from the wrist.”
    He bit into his arm and held it out to me. No look of triumph. At least he had the decency not to gloat this time.
    I had to take it fast or the puncture wounds would heal. The act disgusted me, but not as much as it once did. I’d had to drink from Nik a few times when circumstances turned desperate. He tasted something like honeyed mead. Euphoria filled me with each swallow. If I drank for too long, I wouldn’t want to stop. It was the real reason I fought against drinking from him every time. Older vampire blood had an addictive quality to it.
    Less than a minute passed before I forced myself to pull away. It didn’t take much to heal my wounds, though he’d probably have let me take more out of sheer amusement. My tongue traced over my lips—God he tasted good. Too good.
    I grabbed my stuff from the floor where Kariann had dumped it. My shoulder didn’t scream from the weight of the bag this time, and other than my cheek still tingling from the freshly closed cut, everything else had already healed. “I’ll catch you all