The Blood Ruby (The Arcane Artifacts #2)

Chapter 2 - Laurent Sarkas

No amount of screaming, struggling, or pounding fists would save me. I fought my Taegan look-alike the way I'd fought the ocean current just that morning, with every muscle, every breath, every fiber. It didn't matter. For the first time in my life, my efforts were useless.

He stopped walking just outside the gates of the Yoshiki mansion. Not a single person had helped me. Not a single one.

Bile clawed up my throat, gagging me.

He set me on my feet, hand gripping the back of my neck. I stumbled, but his arms kept me upright. He buried his face in my neck, inhaling, groaning. "Fuck," he hissed, dragging his nose along my skin, stopping over my erratic pulse. I froze. My body betrayed me, shuddering. The gesture was erotic. It sent heat zinging straight between my legs.

A car door opened. He tossed me into the back of a black sedan, sliding in beside me, slamming the door. Gasping for air, I scrambled across the seat, reaching for the other door, trying to claw free. A hand clamped around my wrist, holding it in place.

"I don't think so," he growled. "Stop making this difficult."

"Let me go," I said, voice barely audible. Tears blurred my eyes, from shock, more than anything. I blinked to clear them. "You can't do this."

"I can do whatever I wish. Now, sit still. This will all go smoother if you do."

"Kidnapping is illegal," I managed. When I pictured the possibility of my own kidnapping, it went along the lines of getting thrown into the back of a van with men in masks and guns. Not some elf-guy in a luxury car, wearing—my eyes darted over him—designer jeans and a charcoal-colored T-shirt.

A huff left his nostrils. He reached over and grabbed the seat belt, buckling me in. The grip on my wrist remained firmly in place. "Vittorio, drive!" he barked. The car lurched into motion, locks clicking. My opportunity to escape narrowed, then turned nonexistent as the Yoshiki mansion disappeared behind us.

I started hyperventilating,. reaching for coherent thoughts. . "What do you want with me?"

He didn't answer.

For years, I'd been at the mercy of others, helpless. I never thought I'd find myself here again. But...he'd saved me from Daniel, hadn't he?

Daniel. My stomach turned rock hard. A lump formed in my throat, and I swallowed it down. It felt a lot like shame.

"My friend will call the cops when she sees that I'm missing. There will be people looking for me. You can't do this—"

"Stop your incessant chatter," he hissed. "You're making my ears bleed."

I sucked in a sharp breath before my lungs constricted. I...I had every right to demand an explanation. Did he expect me to simply sit here and comply?

"Fucking humans," he muttered under his breath.

I closed my eyes and forced myself to calm down, to take stock of the situation.

I'd been afraid before. So, so many times. But I'd also learned that fear could make a person careless. It was better to be angry–even if I had to fake it.

I turned to glare at him. And...my glare melted right off. He was...he was....

I'd been too busy freaking out to really look at him. But he was like nothing I'd ever seen. I couldn't stop staring. It wasn't real—he couldn't be real.

I licked my lips. Licked them again.

His features were striking, timeless. He was older than me by a decade, perhaps? Yet, his skin was absolutely flawless. His eyes, which I'd sworn were black earlier, were silver and empty. Like there was nothing there, no emotion, no warmth, no feeling.