Midnight Secrets Read online

  She couldn’t wrap her mind around living an eternity as a monster, especially not one created by Svetlana.

  Simon had, she mentally whispered, a tear dripping from her eye. He’d somehow lived over two thousand years under Svetlana’s control.

  A new respect for Simon blossomed to life. Madison had spent so long antagonizing him, she’d never bothered to understand him. He’d been forced into vampirism against his will. He’d lost everything at the hands of Svetlana, including his freedom.

  “I’m sorry, Simon,” Madison whispered as her eyes drifted shut. The last thought she had before sleep claimed her once again was of Simon chained to Svetlana’s bed.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Madison’s softly spoken apology reached Simon’s ears seconds before Svetlana appeared in the room.

  Simon wanted to go to her, to assure her that she had nothing to be sorry for. She was in this predicament because of him.

  The smell of Madison’s blood suddenly permeated the room, sending heat to swirl behind Simon’s eyes. “You foul piece of shit!”

  Svetlana paused in removing her stilettoes. “Careful, dear one, lest I go back and finish her off.”

  Simon gritted his teeth to keep from snarling another insult.

  “I do see the attraction you have with her. I have tasted millions through the centuries. And I must admit, there haven’t many whose blood were as sweet as hers. No, she’s a rare treat, that one.”

  Simon’s stomach tightened with hunger at the mention of Madison’s blood. He knew exactly what Svetlana attempted to describe. He’d scented Madison’s blood on more than one occasion. But the thought of Svetlana, putting her filthy fangs anywhere near Madison enraged him. “You leave her alone.”

  “Or you’ll what? Shoot daggers at me while I take you into my body?”

  The mere thought of Svetlana touching him, triggered his gag reflex. “You don’t need her.”

  Svetlana reached up and unzipped her long, flowing, red dress. “You’re right, I don’t need her. But I want her. As do you, which is why I’m keeping her.”

  Simon fought against the silver binding his wrists and ankles to the bed. “Please.”

  She hesitated, standing at the foot of the bed wearing nothing but a ruby necklace.

  To the eye that didn’t know any better, Svetlana would appear perfect. From her high, perky breasts, to her tiny waist and gently flared hips. Yet beneath it all lay a rotted corpse of sadism and greed. She had no empathy, no compassion, no…heart.

  “You want to save your little pet?” Svetlana raised an eyebrow. “Then do something for me.”

  Simon swallowed hard. “Tell me what you want and it’s yours.”

  “Mate with me.”

  Everything inside Simon screamed in denial. She was asking the unthinkable. If he mated with her, he’d never be with another. He’d be bound to her, and only her, for all eternity. “You ask too much!”

  She shrugged a dainty shoulder. “Be that as it may, it’s what I want. You can either mate with me or watch her slowly weaken to the point where I can either let her die…or give her the Dark Gift. The choice is yours. You have until the sun sets to decide.”

  Which meant he had an hour.

  She crawled up onto the bed and took his shaft in her hand. “You think I cannot give you an erection?”

  Simon’s mind hardened against the invasion he knew was to come. “It will be forced. It damn sure won’t be me.”

  Anger flashed in her blue eyes. “You will submit!”

  “It must irk you to have to mentally assert control to get what you want.”

  She squeezed his shaft in a painful hold. “I do what I must, just as you will. I see beyond your devil-may-care attitude. You’re weak and pathetic.”

  Simon’s eyes narrowed. “Release me and I’ll show you exactly how weak and pathetic I am.”

  She loosened her hold, her palm slowly sliding up and down his still soft sex. “I think not.”

  “Gene,” Svetlana snapped, her gaze lifting.

  The door opened, and a rather large vampire poked his head inside. “My lady?”

  “Bring me the woman.”

  “No!” Simon snarled, yanking on his bonds to the sounds of burning flesh sizzling from his wrists. He glared up at Svetlana. “I’ll do it.”

  She made a shooing motion toward the door sending Gene back to his post in the hallway. “That’s better.”

  Simon swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and let his eyes drift shut. Left with no choice but to give Svetlana what she wanted, he relaxed his body and let his mind slip to a place where no one could touch him. Especially not Svetlana.

  * * * *

  Simon awoke slowly, his body weak and lethargic. The burning sensation on his wrists and ankles told him he was still chained to Svetlana’s bed.

  He raised his head and glanced down his still nude form; bits and pieces of the night before flashing behind his eyes. He’d never gotten hard.

  Fear sliced through him. Svetlana was probably torturing Madison at that very moment. “Svetlana!”

  Seconds ticked by with no response. “Svetlanaaaaa!”

  The door swung open and the object of his ire waltzed inside. “Really, Simon. Must you be so rude?”

  “Let me up from this fucking bed!”

  She fluffed her blonde curls. “I’m afraid I can’t do that. We had a deal, you see. And you didn’t hold up your end of the bargain.”

  “What did you do?” he snarled, his fangs so elongated they impaired his speech.

  Svetlana lowered her arms, her hands moving to rest on her hips. “I haven’t done anything yet. I thought I’d wait for you to join us in the land of the living first.”

  Gene suddenly stepped into the room holding Madison in front of him. He wrapped a hand in her hair and forced her forward.

  Simon went completely still, willing Madison to look at him.

  She finally met his gaze. “Simon…”

  “Shut up,” Svetlana snapped, stepping between them and cutting off Simon’s view of Madison.

  Svetlana smiled. “She is here at my request, not yours, dear. You can either hold your tongue, or I will hold it for you.” She moved aside.

  The first thing Simon noticed were the dark circles around Madison’s eyes. Her skin was pale and her cheekbones were more pronounced. Svetlana was slowly draining her. “I’m so sorry, Madison.”

  “She brought me here to screw with your head,” Madison rasped, flinching as Gene yanked on her hair. “Don’t let her win, Simon. She feeds on control.”

  Simon knew all too well what Svetlana was about and, under any other circumstances, he would agree. But not tonight. Not when Madison’s life hung in the balance. He couldn’t let Svetlana kill her because of him. He wouldn’t.

  “Strip her,” Svetlana demanded of Gene.

  Simon went wild. “If you fucking touch her, you piece of shit, I will remove your intestines, and choke you to death with them!”

  The sound of material ripping wrenched a roar from Simon’s throat. Gene had ripped Madison’s shirt from her body, exposing dozens of bruises along her flesh.

  If it was the last thing Simon ever did, he would kill Svetlana with his bare hands. He wasn’t sure exactly how he would make that happen, he only knew that he would.

  Chapter Twenty

  Madison stood completely nude at the foot of Svetlana’s bed, her mind rebelling against the scene before her.

  Simon’s naked form lay sprawled in the center of the mattress, his wrists and ankles bound to the bed posts by silver chains. Madison knew them to be silver by the obvious burn marks on his skin.

  “Get up there with him.” Svetlana jerked her chin in Simon’s direction.

  “Don’t do this,” Simon growled, his fangs overly pronounced.

  Gene shoved Madison forward, sending her flying against the footboard.

  Madison bit back a cry as her chin slammed into the unforgiving wood of the large bed.


  She steadied herself, unable to meet Simon’s gaze.

  “Madison?”

  Something in Simon’s voice brought her head up. A warm feeling cascaded through her skull and everything around her faded to the background.

  “It’s going to be alright, Madison.” His penetrating eyes drew her in. “Come to me.”

  Madison skirted the foot of the bed, seemingly drawn to Simon by an unseen force.

  She lifted her knee and climbed up next to him.

  “Touch him,” Svetlana demanded, her voice sounding as if it came from a great distance.

  Madison’s gaze traveled down Simon’s body, taking in his incredible physique. She brought her hand up to his chest, flattened her palm, and coasted it down to his rock-hard stomach. His muscles tightened beneath her fingers.

  She inched closer, rested her knees next to his side, trailed her fingertips across his abdomen and down to his now hard shaft.

  Simon made a pained sound in the back of his throat as Madison fisted his erection.

  “Yes,” Svetlana whispered somewhere near the back of Madison’s head. “Just like that.”

  Madison became aware of two things at once. She had been brought to that room to ready Simon for Svetlana’s sex play, and Simon had glamoured her to keep her from fighting.

  Glancing up, Madison briefly met Simon’s apologetic gaze. The regret she saw staring back at her didn’t match the condition of his body.

  More warmth poured into her, relaxing her muscles and taking her mind off the occupants of the room.

  She lowered her head, gripped him tighter, and touched her tongue to the tip of his sex.

  His hips bucked, telling her without words how she affected him.

  And then nothing seemed to matter but Simon; his scent, his taste, and the feel of him sliding past her lips.

  With every pass she made up and down his pulsing length, a deep rumbling moan echoed around her.

  Madison forgot about Gene and Svetlana. She couldn’t remember how she’d come to be in that bed with Simon; she only knew that she wanted him with every fiber of her being.

  She released him from her mouth, kissed her way up his abdomen, over his chest and settled her lips over his. Her insides melted.

  Something gripped her hair, jerking her head back with such fierceness Madison was sure her neck had snapped. She found herself sprawled on the floor with Gene looming over her.

  “Drain her,” Svetlana sneered, throwing her leg over Simon’s hips.

  Madison sprang into action. She rolled to her knees, hell bent on preventing Slutlana from forcing Simon.

  The unthinkable happened. Gene yanked Madison off her knees, jerked her against his body and sank his fangs into her neck.

  Simon roared, his voice loud enough to rattle the windows. Though Madison could hear the struggle that went on behind her, she could no more move than she could prevent Gene from sucking the life from her body.

  The room began to dim in Madison’s vision. Her limbs grew cold and any fight she had left was drained from her along with her blood.

  Simon, Madison’s mind whispered in regret. She would never have the chance to tell him how sorry she was for the loss of his family; never be able to apologize for nearly killing him two years before.

  Her world turned black.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Simon fought with everything he had to dislodge Svetlana from his body. He no longer felt the silver burning into his wrists and ankles. He was consumed by rage, fueled by desperation.

  Madison was dying. Simon could hear her heartbeat weakening until it stopped altogether.

  “Nooooo!” he roared, bucking Svetlana off him.

  The sound of a door crashing in could be heard over the thundering of Simon’s heart.

  Svetlana froze, her eyes appearing as wild as Simon felt.

  “The Impaler,” she rasped, before vanishing from view. The only evidence Simon had of her departure was the shattering of glass from a nearby window.

  Gene dropped Madison’s limp body to the floor and disappeared behind Svetlana.

  The door to Simon’s room abruptly opened, admitting a tall, dark-haired vampire wearing jeans and a leather jacket. “Damn, man. You’re tied up every which way to Sunday.”

  “Free me,” Simon hissed, his insides howling in denial of what he knew to be true. Madison was dead; drained by Gene until her heart had stopped beating.

  The dark-haired vampire glanced down at Madison’s nude form before stepping over her to reach Simon. “She yours?”

  Roman came barreling into the room. “Son of a bitch!” He bent, and scooped Madison up into his arms. “Madison…”

  “Wait!” Simon snarled, his gaze glued to Madison as the vampire in the leather jacket slipped on a pair of gloves and freed him from his bonds.

  Simon was on his feet instantly. “Give her to me.”

  Roman’s gaze softened. “She’s gone, Simon.”

  “Not yet, she isn’t,” Simon held out his arms, unable to look away from Madison’s pale face.

  Vlad the Impaler calmly stepped into the room, one of his powerful hands wrapped around Gene’s throat. “Svetlana escaped.”

  Simon’s lips peeled back over his fangs. “Save him for me.”

  Returning his attention to Madison, Simon carefully took her into his arms. “Everyone out.”

  Vlad lifted a raven-black eyebrow.

  “Please,” Simon amended, staring into the eyes of the most powerful vampire in the world.

  Vlad simply nodded, taking Gene with him from the room.

  Roman wasn’t so quick to obey. “You can’t turn her, Simon. Madison wouldn’t want that.”

  “I can’t let her die, Roman. I won’t.”

  Roman’s gaze flicked to Madison, uncertainty swimming in his eyes. “She will hate you for eternity if you do this.”

  “Then she will just have to hate me. It’s a risk I’m willing to take. Now…go find Svetlana.”

  Roman lingered.

  “For fuck’s sake, Roman. I cannot let her die! You can either go find the bitch responsible for this, or stand there and watch, but I’m doing it. With or without your consent.”

  Roman hesitated a moment longer and then left the room.

  Simon gently placed Madison’s nude body in the center of the bed. He sat on the side of the mattress, bit into his wrist to open a vein, and placed the bleeding wound over Madison’s lips.

  He crawled up next to her and propped her head up onto his chest; continuously massaging her throat to keep the blood from going down her windpipe.

  The first beat of her heart nearly bowed him over in relief. He hadn’t been too late.

  Simon continued to feed Madison his blood for what seemed an eternity when Roman stepped back into the room. He didn’t speak, he merely stared at Simon in sadness.

  “She’s alive,” Simon murmured, returning his attention to Madison’s pale features. He pulled a sheet over her body to protect her modesty.

  Roman remained near the doorway. “She is not alive, Simon, she exists. I hope you are prepared to deal with the repercussions of what you’ve done.”

  “I am.” It didn’t matter to Simon if Madison hated him, as long as she lived.

  Roman nodded. “You’ve given her enough. She’ll sleep for a few days. You need to feed. You look like a corpse.”

  Still Simon held his bleeding wrist over Madison’s mouth.

  “Come on,” Roman insisted, waving Simon forward. “Leave her be for a while.”

  Knowing Roman spoke the truth, Simon lifted his wrist to his mouth and licked the wound closed. He eased Madison’s head from his chest, left the bed, and gathered his clothes. He was dressed before Roman made it back to the hallway.

  Simon stopped at the door, and sent Madison one last sorrowful look. Yeah, she would hate him when she woke, but he would deal with that when the time came. He turned and followed Roman down the stairs.

  Vlad stood in the kitc
hen, his hip resting against a counter. “I can hear the heartbeat of the woman upstairs. It grows in strength with every passing second. She will be a strong one.”

  “She’s always been strong,” Simon confessed in a wooden tone. “She’s also strong-willed, and will likely carry a deep hatred for me to my grave.”

  The corner of Vlad’s mouth lifted. “At least she cannot kill you.”

  Simon wasn’t so sure if that was a blessing or a curse. His hatred for Svetlana had grown over the centuries, for that very reason. “Where is Sawyer?”

  “In the truck. I’m about to take him back to the compound.”

  “Is he alright?”

  Roman gave a brisk nod. “He will be. He’s been beaten pretty badly and appears to have shards of silver in his system. Madison needs to return with us as well.”

  Simon had no intension of arguing with that. “I agree.”

  “Go feed,” Roman insisted, moving toward the stairs.

  Glancing at Vlad, Simon asked, “Gene?”

  Vlad hooked his thumb toward a door off to his left. “In the same cage I presume the redhead was kept in.”

  Simon hurried to the door, jerked it open, and blurred his way down a short set of steps. A giant of a man sat in a chair next to the cage. Simon recognized him as a feeder. Svetlana always kept the big ones around to feed from after they’d pleasured her. “Open it.”

  The man got to his feet and unlocked the cage door.

  Gene stared straight ahead, his eyes vacant. It became obvious to Simon that Vlad had control of the vampire’s mind.

  “Release him,” Simon called out, knowing Vlad would hear and understand.

  Gene’s gaze cleared before focusing on Simon. “I was only doing what I—”

  Simon was on him before he finished speaking, his fangs buried in the other vampire’s throat.

  He slammed Gene against the silver bars of the cage, his eyes rolling back in pleasure as Gene fought to no avail. The other vampire might be strong, but Simon had age on his side; age and revenge. Gene had drained the life from the woman that Simon…what, cared for?

  Gene began to twitch in Simon’s hold, telling Simon without words that he’d taken enough. Still, he drank. He drank until Gene’s body went limp and he became dead weight in Simon’s arms.