Bloodseeker - Colin's Conquest Part 6

Ben could take it no longer.

"COLIN!".

"Oh all right then. I shall retrieve her now. Calm yourself young one!"Colin raised his eyebrows and grinned.

"I did want to give her a hope of escape. It will make her capture even more t.i.tillating and my punishment for that escape justified."

Ah. Ben understood Colin's demeanor and his knowing smirk as he left the cabin. Unusual for him to enjoy the sport, the playing with humans that Ben loved so much, but there it was. Colin enjoyed every minute of Joanna's little melodrama.

Joanna settled herself in the crater, just a little repulsed by the spiders and insects sharing the ground with her. Sunrise couldn't be far away. It seemed that she walked for hours though she had no way of knowing. She felt very well hidden amidst the trees and the undergrowth and smiled to herself. Those sharp-toothed kidnappers wouldn't find her here!

"Joannaaaaaa."

Her smile disappeared and the breath caught in her throat as that deep voice drifted to her from somewhere in the nearby woods.

She didn't know whether to stay put or to break out of her hiding place and run, run, run!

"Oh Joannaaaaa."

The voice sounded closer now. Too late to run, he'd hear her clumsy attempts to get through the underbrush. So she cowered in her hiding place, hoping he would pa.s.s her by.

"Peek-a-boooo, I see youuuu." The soft words spoken right beside where she lay hidden surprised her more than if he'd shouted them out. Though frightened, she remained crouched, unwilling and unable to move.

"Game is over Joanna," His soft voice dripped honey. Then louder and harsher, "YOU ARE IT!" She gasped and trembled but still wouldn't leave her hiding place, nor did she make a sound.

Colin perched on top of the fallen tree's root ball right above where she lay hidden. He broke pieces of the brittle roots off, dropping them one by one on top of her, laughing to himself when she startled. From his vantage point, she lay exposed in her refuge, with brush surrounding but not covering the crater. No matter how many times his root missiles. .h.i.t her, she did not look up at him. She remained on her knees with her body bent over, her face touching the ground. From where he sat it did not appear to be a very comfortable posture.

Propelling himself from the top of the root ball he landed in the crater right beside her head. When he reached down to grab her by the back of the neck he got a response out of her, though not quite what he wanted.

She threw his hand off her neck and jumped to her feet. Still bent over, she rammed her head as hard as she could straight into his groin. She caught him by surprise and he fell over from the intense though brief pain that traveled from his injured groin to the pit of his stomach and dissipated there. He righted himself at once, but she had already bolted. As he picked the thorns out of his sleeves he grew more and more irritated. d.a.m.nation! That woman not only bested him but also made him tear his best jacket.

Sniffing the air he caught her scent, and in moments caught up to her. This time he held her tight, with both his arms wrapped around her and her back pressed against his chest. Applying more and more pressure, he held her until she stopped struggling and grew still in his arms. Listening to her raspy breathing, he heard the frustration in her very breath. Not fear, no, but irritation that he had once again caught her! Oh but she needed a good lesson to bring that fear back.

Bending his head down to hers, he kissed her cheek and let his sharp fang teeth just touch her skin.

"You have been a very naughty girl, Joanna." He caught her ear lobe between his teeth before he moved his lips to her thundering pulse. The sharp points just broke the skin, tiny dots of blood oozing only to be swept away by his tongue.

Just behind where they stood another fallen tree made a perfect spot for what he planned next. Lifting her off her feet, but not relaxing his hold on her he stepped over to the tree and sat down, flipping her sideways and dragging her across his knees, rump up."Let me go!" She renewed her struggles to get away. Kicking her feet and beating her fists against his legs did nothing but tire her out. Colin remained unaffected. His brawny arm held her shoulders down with the weight of a cement truck and he hooked one leg behind her ankles, trapping her in a very undignified position.

Watching her wiggling derriere, Colin found he enjoyed himself again. Her muscles clenched and unclenched as she tried to get away, but she would not get away again, he would see to that.

"Yes, you have been a very naughty girl." The first smack hit her bottom. Another stinging slap and another and another followed the first.

Joanna was stunned from the first swat and the others followed too quickly for her to recover. One slap after another, he kept on and on spanking her until her rear end was on fire and then it still continued. She screamed one obscenity after another, calling him every loathsome name she could think of. The slaps never slowed, never ceased. She couldn't scream or fight any longer, but she wouldn't whimper for him to stop. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction.

On and on the swats came, again and again and again and again.

At long last, the punishment stopped!

Relieved, but still so furious that the words flew out of her mouth before she could think about it or stop herself.

"Thanks, you p.r.i.c.k."

She wanted to just crawl in a hole and die. Colin's loud sigh burned her ears, the sound of retribution, the echo of punishment to come. He released her in one fluid motion. Flipping her over, he unzipped her blue jean shorts, jerked them down along with her panties and flipped her back over before she could even protest.

Her blazing bare bottom now shone, totally exposed.

With the first searing smack on her bare skin Colin spoke. "You will not call me rude names." SMACK. "You will not shout obscenities in my presence." SMACK. "You will not strike me again." SMACK. "You will not run again." SMACK. "You will do as you are told." SMACK. SMACK. After every sentence that he spoke, she got spanked again on one cheek or the other or both. Her b.u.t.t felt like raw hamburger searing on the hot grill.

As suddenly as the spanking had started, it stopped.

"Have you had enough?" He slid his hands over her very warm and very red cheeks. She moved, just a bit, but the movement suddenly seemed very sensual to him and his arousal grew. he squeezed her burning b.u.t.tocks. "Have you had enough?"

Much to his surprise, she still had some s.p.u.n.k left.

"Have you?"

SMACK! He rewarded her for that smart remark with the hardest swat she'd received so far.

"Yes! Yes! Please stop!" She now begged.

Colin rose and stood her on her own two feet. He watched as she struggled to pull her short pants back up without them touching her burning b.u.t.tocks. An impossible task of course, but it still amused him to watch her try.

"Would you like to sit down and rest a while before we head back to the cabin, my naughty one?"

"Uh, no I think not. Can we just please go?" She laced her request with as much humility as she could muster. Every step increased the pain in her backside, but she hid it from him. She would not have him know that her b.u.t.t flamed because of his horrendous and endless spanking. This time, Colin allowed her to travel at a normal pace with only one hand on her biceps to restrain her and it still didn't take long before they arrived back at his st.u.r.dy cabin.

When they walked up to the cabin Ben threw the door open wide and stood just inside, grinning like a fool. She wanted to die or better yet, kill him. Colin guided Joanna in with his hand in the small of her back. Once inside, she broke away from him, ran through the kitchen and living room then into her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.

She expected Colin to follow and punish her again, but he didn't and some of her anxiety faded away. Now she felt helplessness and despair. He found her so easy and his punishment had been so severe! She would feel the effects of it for days. Oh well, a spanking she could handle. Painful, yes, but not life threatening.

If that was all she had to fear then she would be fine. Would she ever be able to escape or would she be forced to remain here until they suck her dry?

Somehow, with that in mind, the spanking seemed paltry in comparison. She fell on the bed and lay unmoving, staring at the wall.

Tears came unbidden and slid down her cheeks. She heard footsteps in the hall, shook off her self-pity and dried her face with the bedspread. The last thing she wanted to do was let one of them see her crying like a baby. She was stronger than that dammit! The footsteps paused outside her door then continued on down the hall. What a relief!

Sitting up on the bed despite the lingering burn of her b.u.t.tocks, she squared her shoulders and straightened her spine. She wouldn't give up! After she regained control of her emotions, she decided to keep a cool head and figure a way out of this predicament. No man would defeat her! Nor would these two.

Ben said they were vampires, so she compared everything she'd read with what she'd witnessed. Vampires, hmm, supposed to sleep in coffins, have no reflections, can't stand garlic, crosses or sunlight, smell like death, turn into mist, wolves or bats and all their victims become vampires too. Most of it had to be c.r.a.p. Colin smelled wonderful, even as he spanked her backside.

She saw no coffins in the house though she wanted to search further for them. Neither one of the guys had left their human form.

Even though she had no true belief in it, she wore a small cross necklace, in plain sight, and it hadn't frightened Ben or Colin away.

She didn't know if that was because she had no belief in the cross or if the cross just had no effect on them. She had been bitten and yet she remained human. Mirrors hung on the walls. She saw that as she darted out of the house earlier. That left only the garlic and sunlight. The garlic thing seemed silly, but neither of them had appeared during the day. That was it! She would bide her time and wait for daylight to escape, then they couldn't chase her. Maybe, if she acted scared and defenseless they would think her will was broken. She didn't stand a chance against her two 'princes of darkness' at night, but wait till morning.

Footsteps echoed down the hall outside her door again. Her heart hammered in her chest and she held her breath, waiting to see if one of them would enter the room. She didn't release that breath until the footsteps retreated down the hall toward the main part of the house. When she heard no further sounds, she slipped off the bed and went to the door.

Easing the door open, she pressed her ear to the gap and listened, trying to locate the others in the house. Faint noises could be heard from a distant part of the house.

Grateful for well-oiled hinges, she opened the door further and peeked out. No beings in sight so Joanna crept into the hall. Her athletic shoes squeaked on the polished floor! She froze. Eyes wide, she stared straight ahead and tried to slow her breathing.

n.o.body came.

The shoes had to go. Balancing on one foot she fumbled with the laces and removed her shoe. Grimacing at the filth on the bottom of her sock, she removed it too and shoved it into the shoe then tossed them both back through the door. Like a crane, she stood on the now bare foot and removed the other shoe, lost her balance and hit her elbow on the doorjamb. The grunt of pain m.u.f.fled easy enough, but the bang her elbow made must have echoed through the house!

Again, no one came. Maybe they were too busy to take notice of her or they ignored her on purpose. Either way, she was relieved. Now with both shoes off she padded barefoot to the end of the hall toward the two closed doors. Turning the k.n.o.b with shaking hands, she opened the door closest to her own. Too dark inside to see anything. An alluring aroma permeated the air, a spicy male scent reminiscent of the piney woods and her dark-haired captor and she knew without a doubt that this room belonged to Colin.

Try as she might, she couldn't work up the nerve to enter his room so she eased the door closed and tip-toed across the hall. This door stood ajar and she pushed on it with the tips of her fingers to open it wider. A small earthenware lamp glowed atop a cluttered desk at one end of the room, a picture of serenity. Beside the desk sat her bird cage on a small table, her parrot ignoring her as he munched on a peanut. A rush of irritation flashed through her mind as it did nine times out of ten with that bird.

The most significant thing that she noted was the definite lack of a coffin. Almost disappointing to see a normal bed in a normal room. She couldn't resist snooping in what she a.s.sumed must be the infuriating young Ben's room. Junk mail covered his desk yet he'd opened all of it and even filled out some forms. Looking closer she read, 'Earn wealth beyond your wildest dreams with our secret formula' on one brochure. She almost laughed out loud.

"AHEM." Ben cleared his throat right behind her.

She jumped and spun around to face him. The horror of being caught reading his mail, in his room! He stared down at her, his arms crossed and a most stern expression cemented on his face.

She couldn't even formulate an excuse so she just darted around him, ran from the room back into her own "cell" and slammed the door. Fumbling with the doork.n.o.b, it only took a moment to realize that she had no lock.

So she stood trembling on her side of the door, holding it closed with her body weight. Her nerves were frazzled and the sweat on her back soaked her s.h.i.+rt and dampened the wood.

"Snoop." A low voice spoke just on the other side of the door by her head, then laughter when she squealed with dismay. Joanna pushed away from the door with such force that it made her dizzy and she sank down on the bed once more. d.a.m.n him. d.a.m.n that, that ... creature. He was just insufferable! His annoying laughter trailed him all the way down the hall, but at least he moved away.

Clenching her fists and gritting her teeth, she flung herself against the pillows and glared at the ceiling. She forgot about her injured b.u.t.tocks that now roared with pain from her fit and she blamed that on the young blonde too. Grrrr.

Bunching up the sky blue comforter in her hands she pretended it was Ben's neck. Gritting her teeth with pleasure, she squeezed and squeezed until when she did let go, the bedcover remained in the twisted cone shape. Oh the satisfaction it gave her just to imagine Ben's neck not only in her hands but this shade of blue as well!

If nothing else about this situation drove her insane, HE would! She reached to give the comforter one more delightful squeeze.

Seven

Bacon? In this house? Joanna's empty stomach growled in response. She rolled out of bed and saw that again night had fallen. She might as well get up and join them in the kitchen, or she could sit in this room and starve. Hmm. Decisions, decisions. For a fleeting moment, she considered starving herself, but the frying bacon smelled divine!

Joanna stopped short in the kitchen doorway, thinking that she had somehow dropped into the twilight zone. Colin stood straight and tall at the stove, holding his nose with one elegant hand as he turned the bacon with the other. Over his black suit, he wore a bright yellow ap.r.o.n with 'Kiss the Cook' printed in bold red letters across the front. Ben sat at the bar, a look of intense concentration on his face as he tried over and over to pick the pieces of eggsh.e.l.l out of a bowl of raw eggs. She had no idea how her cat got there, but Patches stood on the bar, her tail swis.h.i.+ng back and forth as she prepared to lunge at Ben's bowl of eggs.

She thrust her paw right in the raw eggs then pulled it out with a quick jerk, splattering egg yolk across Ben's face.

To her surprise, Ben grinned and wiped his face on his s.h.i.+rtsleeve then patted the cat on the head before he scooped her off the counter and placed her on the floor. Joanna's fear of the blonde vampire dropped to a new low when she saw his tenderness with her mischievous cat.

Meanwhile, Colin released his nose and without turning to look at her, he said, "Come on in, Joanna." She was so busy trying not to laugh at Ben that she didn't listen to Colin's quiet invitation. Before she knew it, he stood at her side, his hand on her elbow.

"Come on in, Joanna," He guided her into the kitchen, his fingers stroking her skin as he directed her to the bar and pointed to the vacant stool beside Ben.

"Have a seat, if you can. As you can see we have gone to great lengths to prepare you a proper meal."

She ignored his snide remark referring to her possible problem with sitting. Leaving her standing at the bar, he returned to his now crispy bacon and removed it from the pan, placing each slice parallel to one another on a folded bit of cloth that appeared to be an old t-s.h.i.+rt.

These two were sorely lacking when it came to the kitchen. They didn't even have a table.

Colin crossed the room again and lifted the eggs out of Ben's clumsy hands. He stopped beside her on his way back to the stove and whispered in her ear, "I trust you are none the worse after your bout of exercise last evening."

He stepped back to the stove and poured the eggs in the pan on top of the bacon grease. She glared at the back of his head until he c.o.c.ked his head to meet her gaze. He mocked her! An illusion? But she saw it in those dark eyes. His handsome face remained unchanged, but those sparkling eyes danced with mirth. That a.s.s wipe! She bit her tongue to prevent the appropriate, but uncivilized retort that sprang to her lips.

Instead, she replied, mocking Colin's formal speech. "I am so glad I could provide you with some amus.e.m.e.nt last night." Marching like a stiff-legged wind-up toy, she went around the bar to the empty stool beside Ben, who was trying not to burst into laughter.

Joanna hesitated, rubbing her sore behind, then climbed gingerly on the stool.

She leaned close to Ben, careful not to touch him. "What the h.e.l.l are you laughing at ... a.s.shole?"

Colin dropped his spoon in the gla.s.s bowl and the resulting clatter made Joanna almost jump out of her skin. Ben snickered again until she gave him a swift kick in the s.h.i.+n, then he just stared at the bar, his face devoid of expression. Did she really just kick him?

Even more unbelievable that he sat there and took it! The feeling of being detached from reality flared and she felt stuck in a nightmare that she couldn't wake up from. But, looking at the two of them now, they appeared so human in their awkward domesticity, that Joanna relaxed and almost enjoyed their company.

Almost.

Colin stirred the greasy eggs around in the frying pan with a tablespoon, his brow wrinkled as he concentrated on his task.

Something about the entree didn't look right, but the disgusting looking slop was cooking and that's all that mattered to a hungry human anyway, or so he thought.

"I'm not ungrateful for your efforts, really uh ... Colin." Joanna paused, unsure of how to continue. "But uh ... what are you fixin?"

Slowly he turned his head and looked at her like she should be wearing a dunce hat. With exaggerated syllables, he answered her as if he spoke to a six-month-old baby.

"Scram ... beled ... eggs ... dear."

"Well, shouldn't you scramble them first?"

Ben burst out laughing but stopped when Colin glared at him, and then he and Joanna both stared down at their hands to avoid Colin's glare. Everyone jerked their heads up when they heard the tinny laughter coming from another part of the house. Joanna recognized her parrot Pete's silly laugh then she blushed with embarra.s.sment since she had last seen him in Ben's room right before he caught her snooping.

"As I am sure you are already aware, your bird is in my room." Ben laid on the sweetness so thick that she thought she would barf.

"You may visit your pets after you eat your meal." The voice of authority dictated as he dumped the runny egg ma.s.s onto her plate and brought it over to the bar. Joanna stuck her tongue out at the back of his head when he reached back for the bacon and almost bit it off when he whipped around to catch her in the act.

Oh please floor, open up and swallow me.

Colin c.o.c.ked his head and stared down his nose at her, but lucky for her he said nothing. He placed the bacon and the so-called eggs on the bar in front of her and handed her a spoon. Right away she pounced on a piece of the crispy bacon and chewed with gusto, the crunching filling her ears. Glancing up, she caught both vampires staring at her. She looked from one absorbed face to the other and back down at her plate. Surely the food wasn't poisoned, what would that reasoning be?

After swallowing her mouthful, Joanna peered at them with guarded suspicion.

"Aren't you gonna have any?" Ben shrugged his shoulders at her question and looked away and Colin just stared. Then he spun around, went to the sink, and began scrubbing the greasy pan with so much enthusiasm that he removed part of the Teflon too.