Submitting to the Bloodlust

Smitten

Mauri's POV

When the king asked me to dance, I didn't know what to say. I just stood there as if I were mute. If it weren't for Garrett trying to protest to the king, I don't think I would have snapped out of my trance.

When Garrett told him no, that he would prefer him not to dance with me, I saw the fire in the king's eyes. I took his hand, told him I would love to dance, and told Garrett I wouldn't be long. I was afraid for Garrett, even though he is a jerk to me, I didn't want him to be punished.

Now the king is holding my hand as he walks me down the steps to the dance floor. Everyone's eyes are watching us descend from the steps, which is nerve-wracking. I peek over at the king and notice his tie matches my dress. I can't help but smile. What a coincidence.

When we reach the bottom of the steps, he leans over and whispers into my ear, "Can you dance?" he asks.

A breathy giggle escapes my lips followed by a "no." God, I feel like a smitten schoolgirl who just met her first crush.

He nods slightly to the band, and they change their fast tempo into a slower one. He lets go of my hand and bows in front of me, holding his hand out for me to take once again. I do, and he pulls me to him, my body pressed into his. He places one hand at the small of my back and brings the hand that is holding mine over his shoulder, guiding me to rest it there. Then he takes my other hand in his.

"Follow my lead."

I glance down at our feet and take the same small steps that he takes.

After a little while, I get the hang of the movement and look up at him and smile. "I think I got it," I exclaim.

He pushes me outward and spins me, quickly bringing my body back to his in the same embrace. "Lesson one, never get comfortable when following someone else's lead," he whispers.

His voice mesmerizes me. It's deep, seductive, and smooth. I want him to continue to teach me. Usually, someone telling me what to do irritates me, but I like it when he does it. I don't even know this man and feel smitten with him.

I glance around the party and catch hateful looks from many of the women in attendance, and it makes me wonder why out of all people he wanted to dance with me.

"Why me?" I ask him.

"Why you what?" His voice is now gruff, like he is offended by my question.

"Out of all the women here, why did you want to dance with me?" I ask him.

He stops dancing and wiggles the fingers that he and I have intertwined. "Do you feel that?" he asks. My face must show how confused I am because he elaborates.

"The warmth. Do you feel the warmth?" he asks. I nod my head. I felt his warmth the moment he grabbed my hand at the top of the stairs. The vampires I have touched are icy cold. He sways his body again and spins me.

When he pulls me back close to him, his chest rumbles, "Lay your head on my chest."

And for some reason, I obey him. I turn my head and lay my cheek on his chest while we sway back and forth. "Do you hear that?" he asks. The vibration of his chest on my face makes my body tingle. I listen closely - I can hear a heartbeat inside his chest. I yank my head from his chest and look up at him.

He smirks and then lets go of me. He steps away from me. "You and I are the same, Maurianna, and I'm the only one that can help you."

I know I should be scared of what he has to say, of what he thinks I am, of what he is. But I don't fear him. I trust him with every fiber in my body, and I don't know why. I have never trusted a soul, not even my own mother. But yet here I am, trusting a complete stranger. I have to know what he means, though. How are he and I the same...? Is he a human?

"What do you mean the same?"

His eyes scan the room, and then he shakes his head. "I'd be happy to discuss with you what I mean over drinks. Come with me to my VIP section?" He holds his hand out yet again, his eyes urging me to take his hand and follow him.

I glance up where I left Garrett and see a fuming Demon standing next to my bodyguard. "I don't think that's a good idea," I tell him.

He peeks over his shoulder and chuckles. "Demon isn't going to do anything to you, or me… Permission is not needed…. Watch." He turns to Demon and points to me. He then makes a gesture with his hand as if he is taking a drink of something and then points up the stairs. Although Demon's eyes are red, and his breathing is heavy, he nods his head once, giving the king permission.

The king c***s his head to the side, motioning for Demon to come too. "He will join us. We all need to talk anyhow."

I'm reluctant to take his outstretched hand again, but I do. I let him lead me up the stairs and into a room off to the side that had guards standing at the entrance. He motions for me to sit on a black fluffy chair right before he closes the door behind us, locking me into the room with him alone.

Seth POV

Maurianna is more beautiful than I remembered. I knew red would be her color. My compulsion worked on her, which surprises me. Maybe she isn't half Siren like her mother claims she could be. I always thought Sirens were not compellable due to their compulsion-like powers. The siren gene could easily skip another generation. But then it wouldn't explain why her beauty had so many men in a trance and so many women jealous of her. She is the most beautiful woman in this castle. She has to be a Siren.

As we wait for Demon, she starts to fidget in her seat. Her fingers pick at the seams of the chair.

"Are you thirsty?" I ask her.

As if she had forgotten I was there, she looked up at me startled. She nods her head and her eyes flicker over to my wine glass filled with blood. A deep hunger hides behind her eyes that I know far too well… She's starving. She is hungry for the sustenance that is intended for her, but she doesn't even know that's what she craves.

I stroll over to my mini-bar and pull out a glass. "Blood or wine, Maurianna?" I ask her. I don't make eye contact with her because I don't want to scare her away from the idea. When she came to me the first night, and I compelled her to drink blood, she loved it. She grew aroused by the first taste of it. Of course, I would never tell her that I knew she liked it so much that it made her most sensitive places respond as well.

"Umm… Water, please," she pipes up, unsure of her request.

I put the glass away and grab a bottle of water from the fridge instead. I take it over to her, and she grabs it from my hand. She opens it and chugs the entire bottle before I make it back to my seat and sit down. There is a rushed knock on my door before Demon steps in.

"Demon, take a seat," I gesture to the seat next to his daughter. He sits next to her and squeezes her knee in reassurance, a move only a father would make.

"I know that Maurianna is your biological daughter and that she is half-vampire – half-human," I tell them.

Mauri's eyes get big, and Demon stands and steps in front of her, ready to die for her, because that's what would happen if he tried to go up against me. He would die.

"Sit DOWN, Demon!" My threat is clear in my raised tone, and he knows it... "Clearly, you know how important it is to keep her safe since you are willing to go up against me. I do not wish to harm her. However, you cannot keep her safe on your own."

Demon raises an eyebrow and laughs. "I have kept her safe for eighteen years, Seth. I will continue to keep her safe. There i-"

"Last night, I compelled someone on your guard to not only tell me about her but to also bring her to me. She was in my office within the hour."

"What? I don't remember that," Mauri spits out. She wraps her arms around herself again.

Demon hisses at me, his fangs drop from his gums. "What did you do to her?" His question is laced with accusations.

"I did nothing. I wanted to see for myself if she was a true living vampire. I compelled her to forget about meeting me and to wear red tonight," I confess.

Demon's eyebrows scrunch up when he looks at the dress she is wearing. He and I both know that she requested to be shown only red dresses at my boutique.

"My point is, dear friend, I'd like to help you keep her safe. I also want to be the one to help her through her transition."

"Why?" she asks, but I don't know what she is referring to. Why did I compel her, or why do I want to be with her through her transition? She will need to learn to elaborate when asking me questions. I do not appreciate the back-and-forth.

"Why what, Maurianna?"

"Why red?" She asks. Her question was not what I expected to hear, and it's not one that I wanted to answer in front of Demon either. Her eyes stare at me, waiting for an answer.

"Because, Maurianna, you lack confidence. You do not know how beautiful you are. Although modesty is a wonderful trait to have as a human, it is not a vampire trait. The more confident a vampire is, the more powerful they are. Red brings out confidence and demands respect. When we danced tonight, all eyes were on you, not me. I want to teach you how to use your beauty as an advantage in this world."

Demon huffs and stands up once again. "She is under my protection, Seth – as my family. The law states that she is off-limits, even to you."

"I do not want to have s****l relations with her, Demon. I want to teach her how to be a vampire inside a live human body. You and I both know that I am the only one that can teach her that. She is not safe at this stage of transition, and neither is anybody around her. As a friend, I am offering to keep her safe and to be her mentor. If I wanted to kill her or bed her, I would have last night. And if I was going to kill you for keeping this secret from me, I would have as soon as you walked through that door. I want to offer you a deal."

Demon glances at Mauri and sighs. "What's the deal?"

Mauri's eyes lock onto mine, waiting for me to speak. Her teeth chew at her bottom lip, and her fingers fidget again. I get up and walk over to the mini-bar, grabbing her another water. I hand it to her, and she thanks me. She opens the lid and begins to chug it once more.

I look back to Demon, who is patiently waiting. "I would like to offer her my personal protection as well as my mentorship. I do not trust Garrett, and I would like her to stay here. You and Olivia can come and go as you please so that you know she is safe."

"And what's in it for you?" she asks.

Demon taps his fingers on his knee, awaiting my answer. I obviously cannot tell them my true intentions. My plan is to teach her how to use her siren powers so that I can gain an advantage over my enemies. There are things I want to accomplish to help my city grow, but I am having trouble with a few stubborn associates. I am hoping her charms can persuade them into giving me what I want most. There is so much a siren's seduction can achieve for me. Also, how was Mauri even conceived if vampires cannot procreate? She is a mystery to me. I will use this as my reason, instead of what I truly want from her.

"I would like to study your DNA and your blood. Vampires cannot procreate. I am the king of ALL vampires, and if there was a way for me to offer procreation to my people, I would like to figure out how. I will only take one blood sample a week. A trusted doctor will extract it, only one vial."

"Will you do experiments on me like I'm some f*****g lab rat too?"

"Mauri, you do not cuss at our king. It is against the Ambrose rules of conduct," Demon scolds.

"Oh please, like vampires play by the rules. To be fair, he f*****g compelled me; I think I have a right to be upset and to use words that express how pissed off I am." She turns her attitude toward me, and it makes me chuckle because nobody has ever talked to me this way and lived. She has guts. "You think it's funny?" She says. Her face is scrunched up, and although I should be angry, I'm amused. She is fearless. My compulsion obviously worked; she does not fear me one bit.

"You're hungry, aren't you?" I ask her in a taunting tone. I know she is hungry by the way she fidgets and chews.

She thinks for a moment and then she nods. "Yeah, actually I am. What kind of party does not have refreshments that aren't from the human body?"

Demon and I both smile at the same time when we peer at each other. "So do we have a deal?" I ask. Demon nods his head and holds his hand out for me to shake.

"Great, then we will make arrangements once she eats. Please take her back to your section, and I will have food waiting."

Before Mauri leaves the room, she peeks over her shoulder at me, and that same devilish look of curiosity overtakes her features.

Mentoring her is going to be fun because it seems like the little half-breed is smitten.