There's No Place Like Home

By J Amandra

There’s a famous line from The Wizard of Oz that tells you that There’s no place like home. Whilst I believe that implicitly I rarely, if ever, willingly visit the place of both my human and Vampire birth. The memories are too painful.
Whoops, already gave myself away didn’t I.
Yes, I’m a Vampire. I’m immortal. My name is Onyx and I am over 3,000 years old.
This is the 3rd instalment in the sweeping saga that crosses decades as well as continents. The reader is given an intimate glimpse into the life and loves of a very complex, capable woman; one who is intelligent, attractive, high sensual and well-travelled. From lust to love and from discovery to loss and every destination in between, Onyx shares her life unreservedly.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J Amandra
• Release date: Oct 6, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311447463

J Amandra

Fantasy romance author J.Amandra lives in Victoria, Australia with her husband, two sons and assorted pets. An avid reader from a young age J.Amandra has always loved a good story, especially one with a supernatural or erotic fantasy theme. Writing similar fiction has always been the other side of the coin but it has only been in the past few years that this has taken off seriously, with a four-book full novel length series seeming to erupt out of nowhere and now available for your enjoyment.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

There’s a famous line from The Wizard of Oz that tells you that There’s no place like home. Whilst I believe that implicitly I rarely, if ever, willingly visit the place of both my human and Vampire birth. The memories are too painful.

Whoops, already gave myself away didn’t I.

Yes I’m a Vampire. I’m immortal. I’m over 3,000 years old. That’s Vampire years. I remain looking the age of 27 that I was when I was turned. My name is Onyx. That’s all; I don’t bother with more than one moniker. It’s pronounced On-Icks in case you were wondering.

If you’ve recently read one of my stories you can probably keep reading but if you haven’t, or you need a refresher, I’d suggest you skip to the very back section of this book where I’ve listed a few answers to basic vampire questions and some other explanations. It covers things like our sensitivity to sunlight, our method of feeding including our fangs, the turning of a mortal into a Vampire, Vampire Powers and restrictions.

It’s probably pretty dry reading but as I may not have time in my story today to explain things more, it’s undoubtedly a good idea to have at least some background before you start.

I will give a quick description of a few of the people I’m going to be talking about in my story. You’ll have to use your imagination and perhaps a quick visit to the video store to get a visual picture in your mind of these people. I do have a habit of comparing anyone who is important to me to a movie star of the current or slightly older generation.

Firstly there’s Alexandre. He’s the Vampire who turned me. Due to the way the Vampire world works, that also makes me his employee. Alexandre looks exactly like Arnold Vosloo, who played the part of Imhotep in The Mummy movies that also starred Brendan Fraser. Imhotep was the bad guy in the first two of those movies although Alexandre is always in one piece, not disintegrating all the time as Imhotep had a tendency to do. He’s also my best friend.

Secondly there’s Charlie. He’s gay and proud of it. Yes, even Vampires have different sexual leanings. Think Michael Crawford from his Some Mother’s Do ‘Ave ‘Em period, only a lot sexier and much less goofy. He’s also a highly trained assassin and has tattoos that cover over 80% of his torso. Charlie’s a friend I can really depend on.

Then there’s Nate. He’s a vampire too; in fact he’s a Vampire Private Investigator. He’s also my current lover. Nate, or Nathaniel if you use his full name which he hates, is a dead ringer for Johnny Depp, especially how he looks in the Pirates of the Caribbean movies but without the dreadlocks.

Playing more minor roles in this story are several other Vampires - Stefan another Vampire Assassin, Jonathon, a Vampire Scientist and Crystal, a Vampire Administrator at the Sanitarium Vampaare; a Vampire run medical research facility where Jonathon also works.

Oh, and me. Think Cleopatra and you’re pretty close. Dark hair, green eyes, and a body designed for driving men mad. I’m 6’ exactly, not a millimeter more and not a millimeter less. Also a lot less vain and self-centered than that description probably makes you think.

So now you’ve a visual picture to go on, I’ll tell you my story.

CHAPTER ONE – November 2018

I woke to find myself in unfamiliar surroundings, my brain sluggishly informing me that I was lying on my back on something smooth, my arms extended over my head and my legs splayed out. I could vaguely feel something wrapped tight around my wrists and ankles. As I tried to rouse myself further I became aware that I was naked, albeit covered from breast to knee by a fur throw. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance. Nate’s games, aimed at keeping our relationship going, were getting a little out of hand.

Nate was a Vampire Investigator that I’d met a few years previously. I’d been recovering from a broken heart after having to give up a relationship with a mortal, Vern. Nate had come into my life to assist with an investigation into a human who was poking around the Sanitarium Vampaare, making the higher ups very concerned about our species being exposed. We had dealt with the situation and had uncovered other Vampire crimes being committed at the Sanitarium but in the course of those adventures had discovered an intense sexual attraction between us.

Our relationship had gone from strength to strength but unfortunately the reality is that Vampire with Vampire relationships rarely last long term. When you meet someone, even if you fall madly in love with them and perhaps agree to marry; the promises you make to each other are until death do us part. In a Vampire’s case there’s really no such thing. We’re immortal so death rarely comes into the equation. We can be killed of course but we don’t die of natural causes.

When you make promises like that to someone; in the back of your mind you realize that you’re talking about 50, 60 or possibly 70 or more years and many rarely make it that far given the divorce statistics. Vampires realize that they’re talking eternity and that’s an awfully long time to spend with just one person. Vampires are also highly sexual beings. After all when you’re going to live forever you have to have something to look forward to and for most Vampires, this is usually the next sexual adventure. Hence Vampire with Vampire relationships usually start out with an agreement that it’s not an eternity being promised, but just a normal relationship lifespan, if that. There are exceptions to that of course. Some people are lucky enough to find a true soul mate that they can envisage spending eternity with. I haven't been that lucky as yet.

Nate and I had enjoyed each other’s company in every possible meaning of the word for over a year before we separated for the first time. Nate had gone on an extended investigation for the Vampire Council and we had agreed that we would both see other people during that time. We had both discovered new lovers during our time apart and had agreed to remain friends as we both felt that our friendship was far more important. However something about our sexual compatibility drew us back together less than a year after that and we had currently been pretty much monogamous since then. Round two of our relationship was currently in its third year and although things were great, we were realistic enough that neither of us really expected it to last more than another 4-5 years. Vampires are like that. We have lovers that come and go from our lives. Sometimes it can even be decades or centuries between the times our lives touch.

We were both willing to be experimental in our lovemaking and a friend, Charlie, a gay Vampire Assassin that I’d known a little longer than I’d known Nate; threw some of the best parties which usually involved an orgy or three thrown in as well. However, Nate knew that the bondage scene wasn’t really my cup of tea and I found myself scowling at the fact that obviously while I’d slept, he’d taken the liberty of trussing me up.

The room was in darkness but with my Vampire vision, I could make out that it was reasonably small with no natural light source and a single timber door off to my right. My movements and thought processes were lethargic as though I’d slept too deeply and couldn’t quite wake up properly or as though I’d been drugged; which wasn’t something that Nate would do to me. We both abhorred any kind of drug use unless it was the kind that was being used to restrain a Rogue Vampire from hurting a human or another Vampire or even themselves.

On the few occasions that Nate and I had experimented with bondage in our sex life, the bonds were always loose enough that even without Vampire strength, we could easily slip out of them if they weren’t contributing in a positive way to the sexual experience. I tugged experimentally at my right wrist and a distinct tremor of uneasiness flickered through my mind when I found I could not remove my wrist from whatever bound it. Mentally assessing my blood energy levels I found that I was almost at 100% capacity and should have been more than a match for any fabric, even solid metal, which might have been wrapped around my limbs. I pulled harder on the restraint, increasing the pressure until I was using every ounce of my vampire strength but with no result.

Tilting my head at an awkward angle gave me two causes for concern. The first that it was so difficult to make my body respond to the movements I wanted it to make; my brain still seemingly mushy. The second was that after I had managed to get a better look at the cuff around my wrist, I discovered the reason that I couldn’t break the restriction.

The one thing that a Vampire cannot break, no matter how thin and insubstantial it might be is silver. The wide leather cuffs encircling my wrist were wrapped in fine silver chain. The chain, disappearing from view from the cuff to underneath the padded table that I appeared to be lying on was also obviously silver. My mouth went dry. This was absolutely not something that Nate would do. He knew of my fear of ever being bound again with silver. A fear that dated back to my early Vampire life.

I scratched fingernails against the covering of the table discovering from the scent that arose from the slight damage I was able to inflict that I was laying on something padded and covered with leather; however the angle at which my hands were held meant I couldn’t do anything much more destructive than a simple scratch. I tested the restraints at my left wrist and both ankles but found that they all held firm against my efforts. I’m sure that if I’d actually had a heartbeat that it would have been racing with adrenalin spiked fear. The ankle cuffs allowed a little room to move which meant I could bend my knees slightly but that was all.

I heard footsteps some distance from the door and called out. Is there anyone there?

The footsteps quickened and the door opened, revealing a tall man clad only in a leather loin cloth. His physique was well developed but despite my usual appreciation of a handsome male body, my eyes were firmly fixed on his face or what I could see of it. He was wearing a black leather face mask; the kind that fully encloses the head, leaving only eye slits open.

Ah, she finally awakes. Still too long though; I will have to adjust the dosage again, he murmured more to himself than to me, moving over to a small table that I could now see just beside my right hand but out of reach of my fingers. The hallway was lit, albeit dimly, and more of the room swam into focus. I was still having trouble making my usually nimble brain process normal thoughts and my body perform natural movements.

Please help me, I begged, twisting my torso as much as I was able within the limits of my fetters, my voice guttural as though it had either been strained recently or deprived of any type of liquid for a while.

He ignored my plea, lifting my head and fitting a lightweight leather mast to it, covering everything but my eyes, and then concentrating on drawing some kind of murky brown liquid into a syringe. At the sight of the syringe my body involuntarily bucked with terror, straining as far as it was able. Whatever this was, somehow I knew that it wasn’t good.

He approached the padded table on which I lay, his hand descending to press against my now leather-clad forehead exerting only a portion of his Vampiric strength; I had at least been able to sense that about him. He was as much a Vampire as I was. With my head held motionless, I watched with desperate eyes as the syringe descended towards my face, angling at the final moment until I felt the sharp sting of the hypodermic needle pierce the front of my throat.

Liquid fire spilled from the injection site throughout each and every one of my veins. I moaned helplessly at the sensation, my eyes rolling back in my head. When I opened them again he was kneeling, now naked, between my spread thighs; the fur throw no longer covering my own nakedness. His fingers pinched at first one nipple and then the other, causing intense sensations to spread from their engorged tips down towards my belly. He trailed one finger between my thighs and nodded to himself as though in approval of my readiness. I watched in sheer horror as he guided himself inside me, and although my body now twisted with spasms of pleasure, I mentally screamed my anguish at the rape.

Wave after wave of intense sensations shot from my core to every inch of my body; my skin on fire at every caress of his hands. As he reached his climax I felt a heavy pull on my consciousness and welcomed the oblivion of the dark.

CHAPTER TWO

I woke the next time with much the same reactions as I had previously, only this time my thought processes didn’t seem quite as sluggish. It took far less time to determine that I was bound and naked, my limbs secured with silver. My memory of the previous period of awareness was vague but as footsteps approached the doorway, they sharpened and I stifled a moan of dismay.

He again went through the ritual of fitting the leather mask to my face. I realized that as it had been gone when I’d woken, he must have taken it off after I’d lost consciousness the last time.

I’ve been reducing the dosage steadily but she still seems to sleep for the same period of time, a male voice that I vaguely remembered complained as I heard the sound of a door opening. I tried to turn my head to look at the newcomer but my muscle responses were still sluggish and by the time I did manage to turn slightly, she had her back to me.

Perhaps you need to experiment with more radical reductions or include a little more of the stimulant, answered the female whose voice rang alarm bells in my memories although I couldn’t get a fix on exactly why.

Perhaps, he muttered, clearly not convinced.

I twisted my head to the side and saw the same man as before; dressed in the same style, again with the leather mask. A female Vampire stood beside him, dressed in the fashions of the current day, a deep wine red silk shirt topped a pair of tailored pants. Her blond hair was tightly controlled in a complicated chignon. She was turned away from me so that I couldn’t see her face but her naked neck was long and elegant.

I started to tremble with trepidation when I saw the syringes in his hand; my memories of the previous occasion returning slowly like a half forgotten nightmare. I yanked at the leather cuffs that bound me with desperation but I was still as securely bound as before. They ignored my struggles.

I’ll try this dose rather than reducing it too much more first, he announced showing the syringe to the woman. She shrugged her shoulders as though it didn’t matter to her either way and walked out of the room without a backward glance; her stiletto heels clacking on the stone floor. She kicked the door closed behind her and I listened to the retreating sound of her footsteps.

My forehead was gripped in his palm and his eyes in his leather clad face gleamed with eagerness. The syringe once again penetrated my throat and I felt the wave of heat race through my body. His movements seemed more aggressive this time as though he was angry at something and taking it out on me; pinching my nipples almost to the point of painfulness, his thrusts purely for his own satisfaction. To my abject dismay, my body still responded as it had the last time, my mouth opening to scream my pleasure; surely the reason why it had sounded so guttural when I’d spoken the last time. However this time as he achieved his release my consciousness didn’t release me from the ordeal. I’d closed my eyes against the sight of his body driving into mine and kept them closed. I felt my blood energy level drop alarmingly. He was blood sipping from me in far greater quantities than I’d ever experienced before when having skin on skin contact with a Vampire.

And again she sleeps, he exclaimed in annoyance and I kept my eyes tightly shut so that he wouldn’t realize that I was still awake. I felt him remove the mask, and then he slammed the door behind him as he exited.

I lay trembling in the aftermath of the orgasms that had ripped through my body and my mental outrage at the unauthorized use of it, trying to make sense of it all. Trying to remember how I’d ended up here. After what felt like an hour I could feel the darkness pressing down on me and accepted the oblivion of sleep with relief.

I lost track of the number of times the process was repeated. Each time the man would either talk to himself or to someone else in the room about the dosage of whatever it was that he was injecting into me. Each time as far as he was concerned there was little change. The fact that I was waking well before his arrival, staying conscious long after his departure and remembering each occasion with far more clarity each time was something I kept to myself. If I had any chance of escaping this relentless torture, I had to make him believe that nothing had changed. Every time I woke my blood energy was back at close to 100% although I had no memory of feeding, and every time he left he’d taken at least 40-50% of that reserve without actually feeding from me directly.

On the next visit he’d declared to the other male occupant of the room, this is getting us nowhere. I’m going to have to reduce the dosage radically.

The other man had agreed and left the room. It had been my only reprieve that it had always been just the one man and not two or more using my body. It had also been the same man each time.

The mask he was wearing on this occasion showed more of his face than the other had and this time he didn’t bother with fitting a mask to my own head.

I put into place a plan I’d been concocting during my periods of consciousness. Instead of fighting against the placement of his palm against my head as he began the process of injecting me, I smiled up at him and arched my throat towards the syringe. He drew back in astonishment.

You want this? he queried hoarsely in surprise. I nodded eagerly.

Please, I whispered, suppressing the desire to spit in his face.

His eyes gleamed with satisfaction and I could see a smirk curve his lips.

My pleasure, he whispered back, bending to capture my lips. It was the first time he’d kissed me and despite my revulsion I kissed him back, opening my mouth for his tongue to invade its interior. As he did so, the needle slid into my throat and I felt the now familiar fire course through my body although not as hot as it had been previously.

As he positioned himself between my thighs, I gave a small sigh.

What is it? he inquired pausing. His hand was still wrapped around his cock about to place its tip against my feminine entrance.

You can touch me but I cannot touch you, I