CHAPTER FOUR
Jade had been gone for several days now. Raye missed her terribly, but knew that Jade would return for her. She remained quiet and submissive around Vincent. It was the only way she knew of to deal with his horrible mood. He had not harmed her though. He seemed much too distracted to even give her a second thought. They fed together at night, and she kept things running smoothly at the manor for him, but he had not so much as touched her since the night Jade left. She was grateful for that, but felt this was only the calm before the next storm.
She was relaxing on the sofa after she and Vincent had gone out to feed. He had brought her back home quickly and gone back out alone, without so much as a word. Her thoughts had turned to Jade as she lay back on the cushion, when a strong cold wind swept through the room, announcing Vincent's return. He stormed into the room, his face distorted with rage, his right hand clenched tightly.
Raye could see a broken chain dangling from the closed fist. When he opened his fist, she recognized the ankh that Jade always wore�the one He had given her long ago�the one that matched her's. She gasped softly as she saw it was dirty and slightly bent.
"Jade�.where is she?" Raye asked fearfully, afraid of the answer she may hear. Vincent looked at her, his eyes still red with anger. "I don't know where she is, but YOU are going to help me bring her back, my dear."
And with that, he grabbed her roughly by the arm, catching some of her long blonde hair in his grasp and dragged her downstairs to the dungeon. She struggled and cried out in protest and pain, but it was a waste of her energy. She soon found herself facing the cold hard wall, her arms chained high overhead, her clothing torn from her petite body. Vincent had his way with her over and over again that night�using her roughly, leaving her bruised and tender all over.
He finally left her alone, knowing that in her distress, she would connect with Jade's thoughts and Jade would soon come for her. Since the dungeon was always dark, he could leave her there as long as it took to get Jade back in the manor. He eased into his casket, knowing that Jade would more than likely be home the next evening. He smiled and slipped into the dark cloak of a deadly sleep.
Jade awoke the next evening precisely at sundown, in Drake's arms, where she had been sleeping since that first night with him. But her waking thoughts troubled her. She quickly climbed out of the coffin�Drake following her.
"What's wrong, my beauty? You are troubled."
"It's Raye. I can sense that she is in trouble, Drake. I have to go back to the manor for her."
"NO! You know I have no power in his home, Jade. It's much too risky."
She was silent for a few moments, gathering her thoughts�and her courage.
"Drake?" She took his hands in hers and stared up into his dark eyes, almost losing herself in them again. "If I am ever to be free of him�I must confront him. You KNOW that. I have to find the strength deep within myself. Only then will I be able to return to you�when I am completely free of His powers. And Raye MUST be with me. I cannot bear the thought of leaving her behind."
Drake knew that everything she said was true. He searched for any words that may change her mind, but in the end, he was only able to draw her tight against him and offer as much of his strength as he possibly could.
"Just remember my pet. Vincent is most vulnerable when he is away from his home and hungry. Use that knowledge to your advantage. Understand?"
Jade nodded, pressed her luscious lips to his and then she turned to go. He watched her disappear, the concern showing in his dark eyes.
The manor was silent as Jade slipped inside. She had a strange feeling of d�j� vu the moment she closed the heavy door. She knew exactly where she would find Raye. She just wasn't sure what shape she would find her in.
She raced down the stairs to the dungeon, cringing at the site before her. There was Raye, chained to that wall again, her nude body slumped towards the wall as she whimpered softly at the sounds of Jade's footsteps.
"It's ok, sweety. It's me, Jade." And her arms moved around the trembling girl protectively.
"Oh Jade� no. You have to get out of here before He returns from his hunt. This is what he wanted. He is SO angry. Please get out of here while you still can!" Raye's voice was very faint and Jade could see just how weak she was.
She cursed Vincent over and over again as she helped Raye slip into a soft robe and into her coffin. Raye needed to feed very badly, but was too weak to go out into the night. Jade offered her own wrist to the hungry girl, but Raye shook her head, not wanting to take Jade's precious blood.
"Do it, Raye. Please. You are too weak to leave the manor right now. I need you healthy and strong so we can escape this monster. Another vampire's blood offers much more strength than a mortal's." And she forced her wrist to the girl's mouth. Finally, she felt the sharp teeth enter her flesh and watched as Raye drank from her, the color returning to her cheeks almost instantly.
Raye stopped sucking when Jade began to feel weak, then gently kissed the two tiny wounds. They began to heal quickly as Raye lay back into the soft velvet bed of death. Jade kissed her softly on the lips, tasting her own blood there, and closed the casket. "Sleep my sweet. Sleep all night and then all day. You will be strong again."
Jade needed to seek solace in her own bedroom now. She entered the dark room, turning to close the heavy door behind her. She leaned against the cool wood for a moment, knowing she must rest and regain some of the strength she had lost while feeding Raye. She started to turn towards the bed when she felt strong forceful arms grab her from behind and throw her violently down on the nearby bed. She was thrown with such force she was dizzy for a moment and could not get up quickly.
Her delay in reacting was all the time Vincent needed to secure her arms and legs to the bedposts. Her struggles were futile as he glared down at her with blood red eyes.
"Well, well�look who decided to finally come home." He sounded smug and pleased with himself.
"You knew I would come for Raye." She spat back at him.
"Yes�I did. You are so predictable, Jade." He paused to look down at her. "I will reclaim that which is mine tonight. I will force all thoughts of the intruder from your mind, then you will help me destroy him. I will settle for no less than that." And he brought a bottle of wine over to the bed with a sinister smile on his face.
"You think I am going to drink one drop of your wine, Vincent? I know damn well that you add special ingredients to the wine around here. You want us to always be ready and willing to please you and to be pleased by you. I wont drink it!"
"You mean my special blend of aphrodisiacs?" He laughed at her. "You never minded them before, my love." And he uncorked the bottle with another evil laugh.
Before she could even blink, He was forcing her mouth open and thrusting the bottle neck inside. He tilted her head back, keeping her lips closed around the bottle with his other hand. The wine poured down her throat despite her attempts to keep from swallowing. Some ran out of her mouth and down onto her chest and the bed, but she was not able to keep a substantial amount from flowing down to her belly.
She coughed and sputtered as he finally pulled the bottle from her mouth. She was shocked to see the bottle half empty now. He then left her alone for a few moments.
She tugged with all her strength at the ropes that bound her to the bed, but it was useless. She was weak from the blood she had lost earlier. She began to feel the effects of the wine as she stared helplessly up at the ceiling. She feared it would only be a matter of time before the strong aphrodisiacs began to work on her body.
Vincent returned and slammed the bedroom door closed. He walked around the bed several times, just staring down at her. The look on his face frightened her, but she refused to beg him to let her go. She knew she would just be wasting her breath anyway.
He startled her by reaching down for the top of her bodice and ripping downward in one complete motion. The dress was no match for his strength, tearing right down the middle. He did the same with her filmy undergarments, leaving her completely exposed to him and vulnerable in her spread eagle position. He pointed to her pile of clothing in the corner, and it instantly went up in flames.
"That is how I will handle the one that touched you," His eyes were so cold she shuddered and looked away.
He was wearing dark leather gloves to match his dark clothing. He ran one gloved finger along her cheek and down her throat�tracing a line down to her breasts where he lingered at each rosy nipple�toying with each one until they finally stood up for him. He laughed and pinched each one hard until she whimpered.
He peeled one glove off, and repeatedly fondled her breasts with his bare hand now�kneading and pinching her flesh for his own enjoyment. Jade concentrated as hard as she could, trying to will her body not to respond to his touches. She had always been a lover of sex. Her body was highly responsive to sensual touches. It was something Vincent had known from the beginning and he had used that knowledge in the past to control her, just as he was doing now.
He then ran that gloved finger from her restrained wrist, down the soft skin of her inner arm�tracing lightly across her arm pit and down the side of her body�past the curve of one breast, the contour of her waist, then another curve at her hip. It was as if he were drawing her outline with that leather finger.
His finger then moved over her thigh and to her inner thigh. She whimpered and trembled as the feel of the leather caused tingling sensations between her legs. She cursed herself and him as he stared down at her lovely garden of love, drops of moisture now visible. He laughed and quickly touched her petals, alternating with the gloved finger and the bare one.
"Your body betrays you, darling. Or does it?" And he suddenly slipped both fingers inside her roughly. Her moans and whimpers enraged her, but she was quickly losing control and could not stop them.
He was on top of her then, freeing his tool from the confines of his dark clothing. "YOU ARE MINE!" his hot breath reached her ear as he slipped his swollen member inside her, claiming her as his again. He thrust into her over and over again, kissing her nipples, her neck and finally her moaning mouth. She was completely lost in the moment and felt the familiar wave of orgasm approaching. He was relentless and his endurance was remarkable. She didn't have a chance of stopping herself now.
She trembled and squealed as she came, almost passing out from the intensity of the moment. He groaned and moved deeper than ever before, and exploded deep inside her, releasing his demon seed into her womb. He lay on top of her for several minutes, enjoying those pleasant lingering pulses.
He finally stood with a smug look on his face, as he straightened his clothing and slipped the other glove back on. He bent to kiss her firmly on the mouth once, enjoying the hard bite she gave him. He quickly licked the blood from his lips and smiled down at her.
He showed her the broken ankh then. "Did you really think you could be free of me so easily?" He touched the metal with his fingertip and it was restored to its original condition. He placed it around her neck with a satisfied smirk.
She regained as much composure as possible in her situation. Her words came slow but sure, her eyes staring up at him with hatred and disgust. "Are you truly satisfied� knowing the only way you can have me� is to tie me up and drug me �to force my body to respond to you?"
He laughed at her, a loud laugh that echoed throughout the manor. "Jade�Jade�My sweet Jade. There were no drugs in the wine tonight!" And she realized he spoke the truth as he let her read into his thoughts for one brief moment. He turned to leave her with the shocking truth that her body and soul had responded to him tonight. It was almost more than she could bear. Would she ever be free of the hold he had on her?