Moving Objects

Chapter 20

My shoes clicked against the concrete as I hurried away from the club, hoping to put some distance between us for me to formulate a plan. I had my stake hidden under my dress, but I couldn't risk anyone seeing me stake him.

The hair on my neck was standing up when Ivan appeared in front of me, but he wasn't able to give me much time before I was pulled off the street, into the shadows of a narrow ally. I knew who it was immediately, the smell of his aftershave and cologne along with the nausea was obvious. The brink was cold against my back, but so was his body pressed up against mine. My body was traitorous though, reacting to the closeness of him, my brain tricking itself into a fall sense of security.

"I expected better from you," he whispered in my ear, catching my hands and pulling them above my head when I tried to push him off. The position didn't do much for me, hiking my dress up while pushing my breast together. He seemed to enjoy this more than me, his eye racking over my skin before coming to a stop on my now bare thighs.

"Ah," he said quietly, "We can't have you using this, can we?" he continued, using the sleeve of his shirt to pull my stake from the holder, tossing it so far down the ally before it made a clanking sound, falling into the storm drain. For a moment, I was relieved that I didn't bring the stakes that he had gifted me and used the one given to me at Court. I pushed against him, trying to pull my arms free but he just laughed, pushing more of his weight against me.

"You still wear my token," he mused, his fingers brushed against my breasts, coming up to caress the cross around my neck. I squirmed but he just laughed again.

"I wear the token of the man I loved. Not the token of a monster," I bit out, spitting in his face. His eyes danced in amusement as he wiped his face before yanking me away from the wall, only to drag me further down the row. I tried to get out of the steel grasp, but his aggressive yank made me stumble, only for him to push me against the wall again. He manipulated my body like I was merely a rag doll, and it did nothing to calm my thumping heart.

"I have a proposition for you," he said huskily, wedging a leg between mine. If we were in any other situation, such as him being Dhampir and we were in private, not in the middle of an alley, the gesture would have had me melting into the palm of his hand. The position always meant pleasurable things were to come, but now, it was just to keep me pinned in place while my body again reacted against my will.

I kept my lips pursed as I glared at him in defiance. I was a little shocked that he hadn't tried to kill me yet, considering he knew exactly why I was here, why I was searching for him. "And what is that?" I snarked, narrowing my eyes at him before looking around for something to clobber him with. But he chose this place well. There was absolutely nothing here that I could pull to me to get away.

He squandered my only other advantage.

The red in his eyes was alarming, so bright that it was almost glowing. Being this close to him let me see just how different he was now. His skin was no longer tan in colour, but pale and chalky. The brown in his eyes was still as deep and vibrant, only to be over shone by the red. He was beautiful and deadly at the same time. My heart galloped in my chest he dipped his head down, his lips brushing against the juncture of my neck.

His breath tickled and I whimpered, both in want and fear. The sick part of me knew that if he bit me right here and now, I would give in to the high. That sick part of me wanted him too. But the rational part of me knew that if he did, he could kill me.

Or worse.

His lips pressed against the pulse point and he moaned, making my whole body tense up, my thigh clenching around his that was wedged between them.

"I could make things so much easier for us. We wouldn't have to live our lives walking one step behind a Moroi. We could be free to live our lives as one. If you let me awaken you, I can give you everything you ever dreamed off," he said, running his mouth against the column of my neck, his fangs grazing against it. I whimpered again and tried to pull away but curled into him too.

The two parts of me battling against each other.

"No, I don't want that" I whimpered, letting the rational side take over. I didn't want that. I was here to keep a promise. Dimitri chuckled and used his free hand to rub his thumb against my lips.

"That's where you're wrong, Rose. I know you too well. I know how much you want the high, how much you want to let go. How unhappy you are living as second class to the Moroi. I can give you everything you want," he retorted, holding my chin between his fingers, yanking my head up to look at him. I shook my head and went to pull away when his mouth came down on mine, startling me.

I tried to pull away from the kiss, but he held me firm until my body gave over, melting against his touch and mouth. I opened my mouth eagerly as his tongue slipped between my lips, the echo of the Dhampir Dimitri doing the same many times before racing through my mind. If it weren't for the cold lips, it would have been easy to forget that he was a Strigoi. I rocked into him, trying to get closer while my mind screamed at me to stop, but I didn't listen. He slowly loosened his grip on my wrists, and I brought my arms down, wrapping them around his neck while tangling my fingers into his hair.

He seemed confident that I wasn't going to fight back and cupped the back of my legs, hoisting me up to wrap them around his waist while holding me against the brick. The whole thing was wrong, but it felt good at the same time. That was until his fangs grazed across my lower lip and it was like a bucket of ice had been dumped on me. I froze and pulled my mouth away, ripping my head to the side.

That was my biggest mistake.

He took the opening and sank his fang into the flesh there. I yelped at the instant moment of pain before moaning as the high took over. I fought for a moment before my body took to the haze, becoming limp in his hold. The hand he had at my hip was gripping my skin tightly as I whimpered, my eyes fluttering closed.

Oh God. He's going to try and turn me, was the only clear thought that came through my head. I mustered up all the strength I had, fighting against the high and him. "NO!" I screamed, but he clamped his hand over my mouth. But it was enough to grab the attention of passers on the street. I could hear multiple sets of feet coming down the alley as Dimitri let go of me, letting me fall to a crumpled heap at his feet.

"Don't think I'm finished with you," his voice whispered through the air as a gunshot went off. I looked up as the bullet landed in his shoulder. He seemed unfazed and looked down at it before looking up at the person who tried to come to my rescue, but Dimitri was gone in a blink before the person could get any closer.

I shook my head to try and clear it, but the haze was still there. It would be there for a while with the amount of blood he took. A few figures appeared in front of me, one being the guy who fired the gun.

"God, that sicko bit her. Are you ok?" he exclaimed before cupping my face and neck, checking my eyes while trying to stop the bleeding. I nodded and tried on shaky legs, only to crumple forward into his arms as my head spun.

"Fuck. We got to get her to a hospital," the guy said, swinging me up into his arms. I protested weakly as tried to get down, but I was fading quickly as the high seeped further into my bones. The blood loss wasn't helping either. The sound of my phone ringing jolted me and I tried pulling it out, but my fingers wouldn't work properly. One of the other people that came to my aid, a girl, slipped the phone out from the inside of my dress and answered it.

I could hear a muffled voice on the other side demanding to speak to me, but I faded too quickly for them to even ask me my name.

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Dun dun dun! Who is it? Did you see that coming???