Taken: The Vampire's Concubine: Part Five Read online

  Taken: The Vampire's Concubine

  Part Five

  By Desiree Broussard

  Copyright Notice:

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, organizations, and events listed in this book are products of the author's imagination, or used fictitiously.

  Taken: The Vampire's Concubine - Part Five

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  © 2014 Desiree Broussard

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  Chapter 1

  Kosmas stared at the beauty in front of him thoughtfully before gently releasing her small, delicate hand. A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but he was careful to keep them concealed. There hadn't been much to happen in his long life that actually surprised him, but her reappearance had. He stepped away from Nora while Eve watched him with a victorious light in her black eyes, certain she'd won. She wasn't above doing anything to drive Keely out of his life, but he hadn't been expecting anything like this. For all appearances, Nora was alive and well, a fact his mother was clearly aware of. What the fuck kind of game was she playing?

  Kosmas felt... confused. Nora had been the first female to engage his emotions, but the sheer number of years that had passed since that time had dimmed the memories of their time together. Once, he'd believed himself to be in love with her but no more. Not since Keely. Still, he couldn't deny that seeing the cool perfection of Nora's beauty brought back many of the reasons why he'd wanted her. Love, he thought disgustedly. What a confusing, convoluted mess.

  He pitied Nora, pitied what she must have went through at the hands of Seiyadians. Simply for that reason alone, she deserved his courtesy. After all, she'd been sacrificed for him. But with her appearance, she'd brought a lot of questions. She'd also brought a lot of problems. Kosmas wasn't unaware of Keely's departure, but he wouldn't chase after her. He had his pride. He glared at the door she'd so quickly departed through. First, he had to have answers. Then, he'd seek out the woman he was to mate, and when he did, it wouldn't be pretty.

  Kosmas was furious that she'd walked out. It was a cowardly action from the strong, independent female he knew her to be. Didn't she care that another woman was offering herself to him? A female vampire would have stood her ground, she would have never abandoned him in the manner Keely had. Her departure was a slap in the face, an embarrassment to him in front of his people. She'd all but handed him over to Nora, as if she could have cared less.

  Nora stared at him, her eyes wide as she awaited his response. Her time in captivity hadn't hurt her physical appeal, but he couldn't help but wonder at how it had scarred her mentally. “Kosmas,” his mother admonished, casting a meaningful look at Keely's empty throne. “I'm sure that the two of you have a lot of catching up to do. Why not invite Nora to sit down?”

  He motioned toward one of the silent vampires that stood behind his throne, ever watchful over his protection. The guard immediately stepped forward, quietly awaiting his orders. “It's time for my mother to return to the tower,” he informed him, his eyes narrowed at Eve. “I trust that she won't make a scene, isn't that right, Mother?”

  At first she didn't respond, as her lips compressed into a thin line. The last thing Eve wanted to do was leave, but she had little choice. After all, his word was law. When she finally nodded her agreement, her expression cool, he continued, “Make sure she doesn't make any detours.”

  He waited until they passed through the double doors to look back at Nora. Poised and elegant, she waited patiently for him to speak. Kosmas sighed in resignation. “There's a lot that we need to discuss, but there are too many ears here for us to speak openly. Unfortunately, I can't leave yet. Have you already been assigned a room?”

  “Of course,” she replied, her full lips easing into a smile. Nora walked closer to him, her voluptuous body brushing against his arm. Lowering her voice, she added, “I've actually got the room next to yours. Eve thought it important that I be close to you. She felt quite confidant that you and I would be able to pick up where we left off.”

  Nora paused for a moment, a frown marring the smooth perfection of her creamy pale face. “Who was that woman that was up here with you, Kosmas? Eve assured me you weren't mated.”

  Dammit, his mother went too far. Kosmas was enraged at her manipulations, but he reminded himself that it wasn't Nora's fault. She must have come in after his announcement. He certainly hadn't seen her in the ballroom before. Eve had left no stone unturned, carefully planning Nora's return down to the moment. His lips tightened into a grimace. She couldn't have pulled it off without assistance.

  “There will be time for all of that later,” Kosmas finally replied, wrapping an arm across her back to escort her down the steps. He was still in awe that she was alive and ever mindful of what she'd given up in exchange for his life. “There are so many questions I have for you, but I have to warn you, Nora. Many of them will be painful. I want to know everything, beginning with the night you were taken to how you ended up here.”

  “Anything for you, my love,” she assured him. “When will you join me in my room?”

  “Soon,” Kosmas promised, staring at the festivities around them. He could have left at anytime, but he needed time with his thoughts. Seeing Nora again was unsettling. Believing her to be dead, he'd eventually moved on with his life, but discovering that she was really alive would take some getting used to.

  And with her reappearance came guilt, the same crushing guilt he'd felt when he learned of her abduction and captivity. Her life had been destroyed because of him, and now he felt haunted. Only he wasn't haunted by a ghost, but a living female. Restitution would have to be made. Clearly, Nora expected it to be by mating him.

  Did he owe her that much? After all, the only reason he was alive was due to her. What would his life be worth, though, should he mate someone he no longer desired? Secretly, Kosmas found the thought distasteful, but he was a man of honor.

  How had Eve arranged her return? How had she even known Nora was still alive? The depths of his mother's treacheries seemed to know no bounds. Kosmas had to wonder just how many times she'd altered his destiny through her secret machinations.

  When faced with his imminent mating to Keely, a human female Eve detested, she'd suddenly brought back the only person that could have possibly stopped it. In the past, Eve hadn't considered Nora good enough for him, but desperation had clearly changed her mind. Or had it? His mother had proven she'd do anything to control him. He was tired of her interferences, tired of trying to figure out her next move. It was a ceaseless game, one that seemed to have no end in sight.

  Kosmas motioned for another guard to join them. “Await me in your room,” he ordered Nora, his arm falling away from her quickly. Her eyes flashed with something that looked like disappointment before she quickly covered it up by lowering her lids. “I'll join you shortly.”

  Waiting until she turned away, he lowered his voice as he told the guard, “After you've delivered her, I want you to go to Keely's room. Make sure she remains inside. She's not to leave... under any circumstances. I'll be there as soon as I can.”

  “Yes, Kosmas,” his guard agreed with a nod, quickly escorting Nora from the room..Kosmas walked back to sit at his throne, his thoughts heavy as he watched t
he revelry around him.

  * * * * *

  Keely followed Zander into her room, locking the door behind them with a definite click. Zander pulled her into his muscular arms, his eyes heated as he stared down into her face. “I can't believe I'm really holding you,” he whispered, pulling her even tighter into his embrace. “I was so stupid to let you go. I should have mated you that very first night, but instead I let pride and honor hold me back. It was a mistake I've regretted ever since. Can you forgive me, Keely?”

  He didn't wait for a response. His firm, well-sculpted lips descended on hers as he kissed her passionately, as if he had hungered for the moment. He was too experienced to leave her body cold, and Keely responded, her own fingers threading through his hair as she pulled him closer. How many nights had she yearned to hear him say the very words he had?

  But deep inside, he left her unmoved. Filled to capacity with hurt over Kosmas' actions, she didn't have the heart to continue the embrace. Gently Keely pulled away from him, averting her eyes at the pain on Zander's face. She waited until he fully released her before asking, “Where have you been?”

  Zander shook his head vehemently, reaching out to grasp her hands to prevent her from turning away. “I'll tell you,” he told her, his voice filled with urgency, “I promise. I can't now, though, there isn't enough time. I need to mate you now, don't you understand? It doesn't matter if Kosmas keeps Nora or not, I won't have the opportunity again. We have to act now.”

  He stopped to grimace as he leaned forward to stare at the tattoos on her back. His eyes flashed with rage when he growled out, “Kosmas even went so far as to mark you, just so he could show the world that he owns you. He won't let you go, not if he thinks he can still keep you. But if he mates Nora, you'll never mean anything to him. Eventually you would join the ranks of the other concubines, just another convenient outlet for his sexual urges. Is that really how you want to spend your life, Keely?”

  No, it wasn't. His words were driving the knife deeper into her heart, but he didn't seem to be aware of it. “So you were there?” she asked him, her voice trembling despite her determination to keep it steady. “How much did you see?”

  “I wasn't there long,” he replied carefully, his eyes intent upon her face. “Just enough to realize that the woman with Eve was Nora. I chose to return tonight because of the masked ball because I knew I wouldn't be recognized, but I never dreamed it would end how it did. And when I saw Kosmas kiss her hand, I knew you'd need me.”

  “So who is this Nora?” Keely asked, her voice dull. “And what does she mean to Kosmas?”

  Zander sighed before grimacing. “At one time, Nora was to become Kosmas' mate. In mortal terms, they were engaged. That ended when Eve traded her to the Seiyadians for Kosmas. It's a long story, but clearly it all worked out because Kosmas is still alive. Before tonight, I'd never seen her, but my father, Kyle, told me about her. As far as any of us knew, Nora was dead.”

  Keely pulled her hands free from Zander's, her thoughts chaotic. “God,” she muttered hoarsely, turning away from him with her arms wrapped around her middle. “That explains it.” With his words, Zander had killed any last, lingering hopes she had that Kosmas might return to her. Why would he? The woman he really loved had just returned from the grave.

  Zander slid up to her back, placing his large hands on top of her shoulders as he gripped them gently. “None of this matters to us, Keely,” he said softly, leaning over to place a gentle kiss on her exposed neck. “If I mate you right now, there's nothing more that Kosmas could do to you. You could leave the palace tonight, never to return. Just say yes. I promise you, you'll never want for anything again.”

  The timbre of his voice had dropped, his words alluring and seductive. She trembled from the feel of his breath against her sensitive skin, and the solidness of his muscular form pressed so closely to hers. Zander had been her first lover, and he hadn't disappointed her. Her body still remembered the pleasures of his embrace, even if her heart didn't want to.

  “Where were you, Zander?” she asked him again, her voice hoarse from holding back tears. “Do you realize how much your captivity affected me, too? Kosmas promised he would do everything he could to find you, but only if I agreed to allow him to seduce me. And God help us both I did. I couldn't bear the thought of you being hurt.”

  She didn't tell him how much she ended up enjoying it, or how much it hurt her now that it was over. There were some things in life that were too private to share, especially when it came to another lover. And Keely couldn't forget how easily Zander had refused her, too. She'd given everything she had to offer the night she gifted him her virginity, but it hadn't been enough. And though he talked of regretting his decision not to mate her, he seemed to find it easy enough to do, at the time.

  “I've taken his blood,” she admitted, staring blankly at the wall across the room from her. Keely felt detached from it all, and it was an odd feeling. It was as if her mind, or maybe her heart, had erected a wall to protect herself from the pain. She didn't even feel like herself, instead she felt like a spectator watching it all unfold.

  “I'll kill him,” Zander roared from behind her, his hands slipping from her shoulders. “Wasn't it enough that he had your body, that he marked it as his own for all to see?” He turned her around, his face hard. “But clearly he didn't mate you.” It was a statement, not a question. “I would smell it if he had.”

  Zander paced in front of her, his large hands clenched into fists. “Did he leave his seed in you, Keely?” he suddenly asked, stopping to stare at her face coldly. “I have to know this. If he did, it changes everything.”

  “No,” she denied, shaking her head as her eyes narrowed at him. She'd expected him to react, but not quite as strongly as he had. Apparently all of the vampires were territorial, even the milder ones like Zander. “Kosmas didn't. But I warn you now, Zander. Even if he had, I would have carried my child proudly.”

  Zander nodded stiffly, his expression softening as the tension left his body. “I'm not angry at you, Keely, but I'm furious with him. Thankfully Kosmas had the foresight to withhold his seed. Otherwise it would have been a disaster. Had you carried his child, there wouldn't have been anything that I could have done to take you away from him. The laws of our people wouldn't have allowed it, mate or not. He's already claimed you as his concubine, and it's not unheard of for leaders to have children with them, even though it is rare with the fertility issues.”

  He grabbed her again, pulling her close. “I can't deny that the thought of you being fertile makes me crazy. It's like an aphrodisiac to a male vampire, and I'm powerless to resist its call.”

  Zander was everything arousal, from his tousled hair to the raw lust in his eyes. His hands skimmed across her body, starting at her shoulders and slowly working their way down. “I've fantasized about being inside of you again, Keely. It's the only thing that got me through my captivity. You asked me where I've been, and I'll tell you. Kosmas arranged for me to be abducted by the Seiyadians, which seems to be his favorite way of getting rid of anyone that complicates his life. They planned on keeping me as a slave, but I escaped. But then I fell into Arania's evil hands.” He paused, his upper lip curling in revulsion. “And while I was with her, I discovered what true depravity was.”

  Keely pulled away from him again, staring up at Zander in shock. “You were taken captive by the woman you planned to mate?”

  He didn't immediately respond. Instead, Zander looked surprised, as if he'd revealed more than he originally wanted to. After a moment, he nodded his head, his eyes sliding guiltily away from hers. Something about the way he looked and acted didn't sit right with Keely. Crossing her arms, she continued to stare at him as the seconds passed by in silence. Suddenly it clicked into place. “You had sex with her, didn't you, Zander?”

  He grimaced as if her words pained him. Sliding his fingers through his tousled blond hair, he shook his head in denial. “Sex?” he repeated coldly, with a sharp bark of l
aughter. “No, I wouldn't call it that. But if you're asking if we had intercourse, the answer is yes. We did, briefly.”

  Despite her feelings for Kosmas, Keely couldn't deny the twinge of hurt she felt at his words. Yet how could she fault him? Kosmas might have manipulated her into his bed, but she'd enjoyed every moment of it. Too much. And now her heart was broken. Keely sighed, turning away to walk to the fireplace.

  At her continued silence, he released another short, bitter laugh. “You're holding that against me?” he asked in disbelief. “I find that rather surprising, considering your own position.”

  His words angered her. “My position was never one I would have chosen.” Keely spun back to glare at him. “It was one I was forced into. In fact, everything that has happened since I was abducted has been forced on me, whether I liked it or not. The only decision I made was going to bed with you, but look at how that turned out. Don't try to compare your captivity with mine. They are nothing alike. After all, you would have had to willingly go to bed with her. The last I heard, it's impossible to have intercourse without an erection.”

  Her words appeared to frustrate him even more. “You don't get it!” he hissed, advancing on her. “I had to distract Arania, I had to make her think she'd won. It was the only way I could escape, the only way I could get back here to you.”