"What?" I answered, trying to get him talking and not focused on my skin. On my blood. Why weren't the guys coming? Couldn't they hear us out here? Fuck me for choosing the coward's way out. Now, Valentine would suck me dry right outside their bedroom door and there was nothing I could do about it.
Valentine huffed and tossed his strawberry blond hair a bit like a horse would. "You think that his mark will protect you? He's nothing." Valentine's hands drifted down to grab the sides of my head, his eyes locking with mine. "Antoine's power is nothing compared to mine. I could take you right now, make you mine, even with his mark on your neck. In your blood."
The longer I stared into Valentine's hazelnut colored eyes, the more I believed what he said. Antoine was weak. Valentine was strong. He should be my master. Not someone as unworthy as Antoine Durand.
Valentine released my head with a satisfied smile. "Yes, that's it pet. Tell me, who's your master?"
I opened my mouth to answer him, it was clearly him, but then Antoine's voice rose above the others behind me in the room separated from me by a wooden door. No. It wasn't Valentine. Antoine. Antoine was my master. Wait. Fuck that. Anger billowed up inside me, making me grind my teeth. Faking a sweet dopey smile, I reached up and placed my hands on Valentine's shoulders. Pretending to press up on my toes to kiss him, I pulled one leg back and shoved it up with all my might. My knee found its soft target and Valentine's eyes went wide. Clutching his damaged goods, Valentine stumbled back from me with a groan.
"You-you bitch," he croaked out, and tried to grab me while holding himself.
Jumping away from him, I laughed. "Good to know that even vampires can be taken down with the right motivation."
However, my laughter died off as I realized that vampires recovered far faster than men did. Valentine's eyes glowed with an ethereal evil light, and he bared his fangs seconds before he came at me. I let out a high-pitched scream and curled back into the door. If I was smart, I'd have run, but apparently I was stupid in the face of danger. Not surprising with my track record. When Antoine had caught me trying to leave the manor after I found out what they were, I hadn't been smart then either. If I survived this, I'd have to make a conscious effort to change that.
Valentine's hands latched on to my shoulders and jerked me to him. His fangs sank into my neck. The agonizing pain of my flesh ripping caused me to let out another bloodcurdling scream, but this time Valentine was ready for me. His hand clamped down over my mouth, pushing against my face until I could barely breathe, let alone make a sound.
I thought for sure that I was going to die right here in the hallway tonight. Tears burned my eyes as they trailed down my face and I realized that no one was coming for me. No one was going to save me. If they were, they would have done been here if they had heard me. Why, oh, why hadn't I just faced the embarrassment and gone into Antoine's room? Why did I have to taunt the evil vampire instead?
Valentine's grip on me tightened as he gulped down my blood, and I was beginning to get lightheaded. I was becoming unsteady on my feet when all of a sudden, there was a loud curse and Valentine was ripped away from me, taking a good chunk of my neck with him. My legs went out from under me, but I didn't hit the ground. Strong arms wrapped around me and the scent of jasmine and thunder filled my nose before everything went black.