Toxic

Chapter Four

I awoke frustrated in more ways than one. Tied to the house and the human doctor that I needed to remain available for, I couldn’t go out in the field and see firsthand what my reports from my staff were telling me. In a nutshell, what I gleaned was that things were going from bad to worse. The daemons that had already crossed over were becoming more brazen and brutal-to the humans at least. They’d stopped more or less hiding in the shadows, a drastic change to their game plan which seemed designed to bring attention to themselves. I wondered if their switch in tactic had to do with our trying to sway humans to our side.

Of course that kind of thinking meant I thought the daemons were more than beasts. Ha, I refused to give those hulking monsters that kind of status.

Disturbing reports aside, I had other tasks awaiting me. I needed to prepare myself for the doctor by ensuring my hungers were sated.

I feasted in the privacy of my room from a pair of blonds-eye candy that liked to do naughty things to each other while I watched and ate from them. Well fed, and self-pleasured, I figured I could handle the good doctor today without the same lapse of control I’d experienced the day before.

I hated it when fate, with a nasty sense of humor, came back to bitch slap me.

Rafe walked into the dining room where I was serenely drinking coffee and reading the newspaper. One whiff and all my preparation went out the window. Seeing him looking scrumptious with his serious expression I longed to corrupt was like getting sucker punched all over again-in the pussy. Forget dry panties, I soaked myself with his first casual smile and hello.

He seated himself across from me along with a plate of food. I mumbled a good morning and hid behind my paper. My flimsy barrier didn’t stop smell and sound though. I could hear the sounds of him chewing and swallowing. Catch the tantalizing scent of the soap he’d washed with intermixed with a musky aroma which was all his own. I fought the urge, but lost the battle with myself. I lowered the newspaper and gazed upon him hungrily. The jerk stared at his plate of food, oblivious to me. How does he do that? This whole ignoring me thing really grated on my nerves.

“What’s the plan for today?” I asked in a curt tone, determined to make him notice me.

He didn’t look up as he answered. “Well, there are more tests I’d like to run with the equipment upstairs, but I’d also like to see some of your abilities in person if you don’t mind.”

I knitted my brow. “You saw me eat. What else do you need to watch? I warn you right now, I’m not into people watching me have sex.”

I got the blush I’d angled for and I grinned at his discomfort. So sue me. I enjoyed getting a rise out of him, especially given how hard it was to get him react.

“No, I don’t need to see that,” he hastened to correct me. “I meant watching you do some things involving your speed and strength.”

He wanted me to show off. “No problem. How about you grab your notebook and tag along as I train with some of my troops?”

“Perfect,” he exclaimed as he jumped up. “I’ll be right back.”

I sighed as I found myself watching his ass as it walked away from me out into the hall. Damned loose pants. I still couldn’t tell if he had a bod worth fantasizing over or not. Which made my reaction to him even stranger.

At least I could go out to the training yard and work out some of my frustrations-my poor soldiers. Given my present mood, they’d never know what hit them. I drummed my fingers impatiently as I waited for Rafe to return. He did so quickly, his dratted notebook in hand.

I stood and motioned for him to follow as I led the way downstairs to the gym I’d had created. Massive in size, I hadn’t dished out for padded mats and the like. The whole point was to win against your opponent, and I wasn’t about to molly coddle those who failed. A few hard crashes onto the concrete floor provided the incentive to stay on their feet. The walls I’d covered in shatter proof mirrors, the reflections bouncing around, confusing the fighters. I found them an effective tool for training. It forced my troops to learn to trust their instincts instead of their eyes. I’d also stocked the gym with every weapon imaginable. A vamp never knew what he or she would face from daemons or other foes determined to end our existence. I forced them to learn how to both defend and use the items from a simple kitchen knife to a sharpened stave. I expected nothing but the best from those who served under me, and in return, they got to live.

I could hear Rafe furiously scribbling as we entered. I inhaled deep the scent of violence and enjoyed the musical sounds of combat-in other words, grunts and thumps. Those two things meant my soldiers were working hard, determined to beat anything that dared step in their path.

I shed my zip up sweater to reveal a skin tight tank top. I left my black yoga pants on. On occasion, I made my subordinates fight naked, because, as I liked to remind them, menace could arrive at any time and in any form. What I didn’t mention was how entertaining I found their swinging cocks. The females in my ranks used snickering as a means to throw the males off. I wondered if that tactic would work with the daemons who thus far appeared as only males.

I stretched my limbs as I sauntered towards the action. I didn’t make it to the mat when a change in the air currents made me whirl and knock a vampire aside. I grinned at Jerome after he lifted himself from the floor.

“You almost managed it,” I said with encouragement. “Keep trying and maybe one day you’ll catch me and win the prize.”

I’d challenged my soldiers a while back to sneak up on me. If they managed to take me down, I’d promised the winner a night with me. To my inner preening satisfaction, they’d been trying their damnedest to get me. And while none of them had yet succeeded, I could admit they’d gotten a lot better since we started.

My presence noted, my ranks of men and women stopped their sparring and cleared a circle for me amidst them.

“Looking good,” I encouraged them. “But, you need to practice more on working as teams. Your enemy might be bigger and stronger than you. Heck, they could be as nasty as me.”

Chuckles met my announcement. They knew I didn’t boast, but hard ass as I might be, I took care of my own, and they loved me for it.

A shift in their attention wasn’t needed for me to know Rafe approached. I’d never lost my awareness of him, a tickling radar that made me want to bang my head on the wall in incomprehension.

“This is Dr. Angelus,” I said gesturing in his direction without looking. “As most of you have heard, he’s been sent by the humans to examine us. I expect you to treat him with the utmost courtesy, in other words, please be reminded he is not to be hurt or used as a snack. And Jasmine,” I said turning to the petite vampiress who eyed Rafe with interest. “No playing with him.”

Jasmine’s full lips pouted, but given her taste for human men-she had a harem at home-I figured the extra warning was warranted. Besides, if anyone got to touch the doctor, it would be me. And only me. I never did acquire a knack for sharing.

“All right then,” I said clapping my hands. “Team up in groups of four. Let’s see how you do against me. And remember, do your best because-” I paused to smile coldly, “I’ll be doing my best to take you out.”

I saw Rafe stiffen from the corner of my eye, his mouth opening as if to protest. But I ignored him as the first squad came at me.

I spent the next few hours tossing, smacking, and in general hurting my soldiers, all the while offering a commentary on where they’d gone wrong. It worried me that even with all our training, they still couldn’t take me down in groups of four. Although, at least they now managed to land blows whereas six months ago I would have danced around them, unharmed. Of course, I did have the unfair advantage of being much more gifted than them in terms of speed and strength. But I didn’t have the centuries needed for them to grow older and more powerful. Thank goodness, these recruits, the greenest of all my soldiers, weren’t yet needed in the field.

But I dreaded their fate if called upon too soon.

Workout over, I grinned as I mopped my sweaty face and watched my soldiers limp off to the showers.

I’d almost managed to forget my silent observer. Okay, that was a total lie, but at least, I’d managed to distract myself.

“That was quite impressive,” he said as he tucked his notebook under his arm.

“Glad you enjoyed the show.”

“Can I ask why you’re training them so hard? It’s almost like you’re preparing them for something.”

Having not yet decided whether or not to let the doctor in on the secret of the world apocalypse arriving soon, I lied. “When you have an eternity to look forward to, you need something, a regime, to keep you from going mad. Since our kind tends to be attacked and persecuted by those who see our diet as monstrous instead of necessity, knowing how to defend ourselves is a skill all of my kind need to learn and it gives them something to do.”

His blue eyes narrowed behind his lenses. “Why do I get the impression, you’re not being a hundred percent truthful?”

I chuckled. “You’re being paranoid. Haven’t I cooperated fully with everything you’ve asked so far?”

I didn’t wait for his reply. I sauntered off to find my room and a shower. I looked once over my shoulder to see if he followed and stumbled as I caught Rafe staring at me with smoky eyes. A look he quickly shuttered. The man was like a robot who could turn it on or off at will. I unfortunately couldn’t. I raced away from him, suddenly hungry, a craving ache that wouldn’t dissipate no matter how many pints of blood I imbibed.