Catch

Angler - 2

by

Annie Nicholas

Chapter One

Vampire slayers mourned those of their ilk who got caught. While most died a true death, some of the very things they hunted lured them to cross over and they became creatures of the night. Or in my case, blood bound with one. Colby and Red, my former comrades-at-arms, treated me as if I was dead, but I never felt more alive.

Jardim Botanico was a botanical paradise famous for its peaceful landscapes.

Minutes away from my hotel, it sat in the heart of the south side of Rio de Janeiro. I’d spent the night sneaking along its gardens, ponds and well-manicured lanes, desperate to escape the predator who stalked my trail. Every time I got close enough to make a run for the streets, he’d pop out from hiding, almost as if daring me to try.

Bloodsucker.

An envelope of silence surrounded me as I hid under the dark green leaves of a tropical plant. The scents of nutmeg and cinnamon lay thick in the air, I hoped they covered mine. My heart raced and sweat made my curls stick to the nape of my neck, not only from the heat, but from anticipation of the chase. I’d been smart this time, wearing a black sleeveless t-shirt, sport-shorts and water bottle clipped to my hip so the Brazilian weather wouldn’t sap my strength. My hair color, though, gave me away most of the time. So pale and yellow, sometimes it seemed like a neon sign saying ‘here I am’.

I’d gotten pretty good at running away from vampires. Connie Bence, live bait extraordinaire, was my last job, but I quit and tonight wasn’t a trap.

It was a game.

The night blanketed everything. I thought a city like Rio would be up at all hours, people partying in the streets, especially on New Year’s Eve. I was right. They were. Just not around here. The Copacabana Beach probably swarmed with people. One nervous human and one lusty vampire were the only creatures roaming the botanical gardens tonight.

A humongous, lighted Christmas tree floated on the central lagoon as a landmark.

From the hotel window, I could see it to the northwest. This meant I needed to go southeast. Or did I? Ah shit, I suck at this stuff. Don’t throw me in the woods, no matter how manicured.

Laughter drew my attention and I peeked through the leaves. The street was ten yards in front of me through a small stone archway. The noise drifted closer.

I’d been waiting for a witness. It sounded like a group celebrating, probably heading to the beach where the fireworks would be going off in a few hours. If I could make it to them, my vampire wouldn’t be able to finish the hunt.

He had to keep his people’s existence a secret. If he broke that law, the big nasties would come and punish him.

Even vampires had nightmares—the Nosferatu.

I crouched under the foliage and did my best imitation of an Olympic sprinter waiting for the start pistol. My adversary strolled out from the shadows next to the archway.

Clenching my teeth, I swore under my breath. Dirty, freaking bastard knew what I was going to try.

With his hands clasped behind his back, he whistled a little Hungarian ditty. He wouldn’t kill me, this wasn’t about life and death. It was about winning.

The small group of people, my would-be rescuers, appeared.

My vampire blocked the exit with his body, waved at them and called out something in Portuguese. They laughed. It appeared they found him hilarious.

I didn’t find it funny.

The muscles in my legs trembled with the strain. They wanted to take off and run with all their might. It took some effort to make myself relax and slow my breathing.

Rurik, the vampire, knew I was close, however not my exact position or he would have taken me by now. How did he follow me? Maybe the blood bond we shared gave my location. If that were true, shouldn’t I sense something about him, too?

For once, I’d like to win this game, just once. Make it to our hotel before he captured me. It would mean he’d finally submit to my whims, instead of the other way around.

The irony that I couldn’t dominate him without his consent wasn’t lost on me, but I’d make do.

He now stood in the center of the exit, his arms extended to touch the stone walls of the archway. The dim light from the streetlamp outlined his lean muscled frame. “Run, Rabbit, run.” The softly spoken words sent shivers down my spine. “Try to get away.”

He’d named me Rabbit when we’d first met in Budapest a little over a year ago. Only he could call me by that nickname, he had earned the privilege. No one else had my permission.

My options for escape narrowed. The garden contained more gates, but I didn’t know where. We’d been playing since sunset and he already prevented my leaving three other times. If I gave up he would be disappointed. I understood his need to hunt, yet I grew tired of losing, too.

I eyed a wide Banyan tree by the fence. Long vines hung from the branches, waiting to root themselves one day. Before Rurik bound me to him, I wouldn’t have considered the crazy plan formulating in my head. The blood we shared made me faster and stronger.

I healed quicker and didn’t get sick. Best of all, I stayed young. Worst of all, if he died, so did I.

Marriage vows seemed weak compared to that. So if he needed a little hide-and-seek in the dark, I played with him.

He suddenly jumped and twisted to look over his shoulder.

I almost stood, thinking he was in danger, until I saw the small figure of an old woman poking him with a cane.

She rattled a string of Portuguese as he retreated, dodging her slow swings.

Grinning at my unknown heroine, I ran for the fence, grabbed a vine from the Banyan tree and hauled my ass over the old stone wall, only to tumble over the other side like a drunken spider.

Luckily the road broke my fall. The scrapes on my hands burned while I untangled and re-oriented my limbs. Rurik wouldn’t chase me in front of a witness. Someone might actually call the cops. This gave me a head start, but the race had just begun. Good thing I wore my best sneakers.

Down the street, around the corner and through a parking lot I pumped my short legs as if the devil ran after me. In some religions, technically, he was.

A cab drove toward me and I waved my arms over my head. Knights in shining armor came in all shapes and sizes these days. I even had money to pay for it. After a little mishap in London, I always carried currency now. The cab stopped and I dove in.

“Fasano Hotel.” My breathing made it hard to talk, which concerned me, I shouldn’t be out of breath. For the last few months my improved strengths had started to diminish, yet my hunger for Rurik’s blood grew. It should be the other way around. He joked about my blood thirst being stronger than his. It didn’t make me laugh.

The cab pulled in front of the hotel and the doorman helped me out after I paid for the ride.

“Senhora, are you well?”

I turned my head from searching the streets for my pursing vampire. Still no signs of Rurik. Could it be possible? Did I win?

“Senhor Rurik, I didn’t see you in the cab.” The doorman’s comment made my hopes drop like a rock.

My lover’s hands rested on my shoulders before he whispered, “Gotcha.”

“Motherfucker.” I shrugged off his hands then stomped through the entrance to the elevators, leaving a wide-eyed doorman and a grinning vampire.

When I hit the up button, the doors slid open. Rurik stopped them from closing with his hand and stepped inside. He cornered me and leaned in for a kiss.

“Hold on.” I pushed against his chest, but may as well have tried to stop a bus. His lips brushed along mine with a feathery skill that curled my toes as his hands caressed my waist then my ass.

“You did good.” He spoke against my mouth.

“I made it to the door. We should consider it a win.” With a quirk of my eyebrow, I gave him a shove and tried to squeeze past his solid mass. The elevator stopped on our suite’s floor at the top of the building. I didn’t get far.

Rurik flung me over his shoulder one-handed. “No, it’s a loss but I’ll reward you for good effort.” He entered our room and crossed to the bedroom.

I twisted around as we passed the bed. “What are you doing?” My heart skipped a beat, the pace quickening.

He opened the closet door, pushed the clothes aside and set me in the small space.

“Don’t you dare lock me in!” The walls felt close and even though the ceiling towered over me, the space lacked air. I reached out the doorway to grasp at anything to help pull me out.

Rurik clasped my hands to his chest. “Connie, when have I done something you didn’t like?” The calm in his voice soothed me enough to listen and the use of my real name drew my attention. He didn’t use it often. Not giving me anytime to respond, he slipped my shirt over my head.

“Sex? Here?” I glanced over my shoulder to the sparse clothing on the closet rod and a cute pair of black heels on the floor. I planned to wear them later to the fireworks at the beach.

He skimmed my shorts and panties off my hips then knelt to remove my running shoes.

“I’m sweaty and I smell.”

As he stood, he pressed his clothed body to mine and reached around me. “It makes you spicy.” The bra clasp sprung behind my back. It tumbled to my feet, allowing my nipples to harden as the cold air conditioning hit them. He stepped back, his hungry stare never leaving my cleavage.

I didn’t know this game. Closet sex? If he kept the door opened, maybe I could manage. He sort of won the hunt and got to be the boss for the night. Next time we needed to change some rules to the game, I’ve never managed to escape. Either he tracked prey very well or I sucked at running away.

Rurik told me once I subconsciously wanted to get caught.

He yanked off his t-shirt and exposed a fine set of six-pack abs.

Maybe I did want him to catch me.

A discarded black silk tie lay on top of the dresser. He picked it up and snapped it against his hand.

The sharp crack made me jump and retreat farther into the closet so I stood under the rod. Getting whipped didn’t turn me on, but I needed to remember this was the vampire who’d given up being the Overlord of Budapest to be with me. Not once in the last seventeen months had he hurt me, no matter how extreme his tastes, or how vigorous our bed play. His smile reassured me and I placed my trust in him.

“Raise your arms and grasp the bar.”

I obeyed his order, swallowing around a dry throat.

With quick sure motions, he tied my wrists to the wooden clothes rod. The soft silk tie bit into my skin while a hunger sparked to life. Not just for the flesh that rippled with lean muscles in front of me, I wanted the blood pulsing in his veins.

It got worse every night. Different things set it off, I never figured them out, but the impulses have been getting stronger. It gnawed at my soul, this craving for Rurik’s blood.

With a tug, I tested my bonds.

“There’s no point in struggling. I’m very good with knots.” He undid his pants and stepped closer, a stern thin frown made him sexier. “You put some effort in escaping this time.” His whisper brushed the skin on my neck. “I appreciate it.”

“So where’s my reward?”

His icy blue eyes sparkled with amusement though his face remained grim. Dark smooth hair framed his fine, high cheek bones, the hair longer than when we met. He’d gone from a slick controlling aristocrat to a sultry fun lover. We left his city after he killed his insane Nosferatu master and traveled the world, which brought us to Rio for New Year’s Eve.

Rurik’s gaze traveled down the length of my body. The intensity of it, the desire held within, made it seem solid enough to touch me. “We should have played this game a long time ago, Bunny.”

I kicked out my foot. “Don’t call me that.”

He jumped back and grabbed my ankle. The pulse in his neck quickened and the urge to partake in his blood began to burn inside me. I needed it, craved it, couldn’t wait to sink my teeth into him. Wiggling naked almost in mid-air, I struggled to free my foot.

His feral grin intensified as he snatched my other foot and his hands slid up my legs, supporting my weight until he knelt before me with them over his shoulders.

Oh my, I now understood what my reward would be. Maybe I should have let him capture me sooner. A shiver ran up my spine at the touch of his hands. I relaxed into his grip.

“Rabbit.” He rolled the ‘r’ and made it purr from his throat, aiming the vibrations of his voice at my bud. The arrogant bastard knew how to push my buttons and how much power he held over me. Thank goodness he didn’t abuse it—much.

His voice grew huskier as he repeated my pet name. It made me tingle, I couldn’t stop my eyes from fluttering shut. Sharp fangs nipped at my thighs. “You will get thoroughly rewarded.”

A groan escaped me. Trussed up like a Sunday ham, my discomfort disappeared as a wave of anticipation crashed over my body.

He kissed my nether lips with as much enthusiasm as embracing my mouth, all the while supporting my weight with his shoulders and hands.

This vampire brought so much love and passion to my life. He saved me from myself. It’s pitiful that I needed to learn how to live from someone who’d been dead for centuries.

The pleasure intensified and I ground against his face, needing and finding my release. “Yes…oh yes,” I cried out. Ecstasy coursed through me and left me panting.

My legs became rubber when he set them back on the floor. I didn’t need to support myself long, though. He pulled his tight jeans down enough to expose his hard cock before lifting me to his hips. With a rough shove, he thrust his full length inside and took me with ravenous force. One of his hands under my ass, the other braced the back wall of the closet. Ecstasy and passion escalated, the force of his consistent pounding had my back against the wall, my arms stretched out in front of me still tied. He leaned in to kiss me, but knocked his forehead against the clothes rod.

“Merde.” He swore with venom then ducked under the obstacle and came up between my arms to kiss me. I could taste myself on his lips. Each stroke got fiercer, the muscles in my shoulders ached from the pull on the bindings.

Then the rod snapped, the sharp edge scratched my forearm as we fell and landed in a tangle on the closet floor. My dresses and his suits became our mattress while he continued his demanding rhythm. I floundered with disorientation only for a second before he found my sweet spot, the one that rendered me into a screaming wild animal.

Whenever he discovered this trigger, he could never outlast it. His cries joined mine not moments after.

He rested his head on my chest with one hand caressing a breast. “The rod is lodged in my back. Can you pull it out for me?” He asked in a calm manner, as if asking me to pass the salt.

It stuck out at a forty-five degree angle. I wrapped my fingers around it and yanked.

It wasn’t embedded deep. “You almost got staked.” I tossed it away from him, as if it was poisonous. Such a small thing could have destroyed what we had. I always thought of Rurik as indestructible.

“What a way to go.” He kissed me again while wiggling out of his jeans.

As I tried pressing him closer my hand slid on something slick. I glanced over his shoulder. Blood. It glistened red and thick. The hunger made its presence known again.

“I fed you only two days ago.” My hunger must have shown on my face. I could have lied, but my secrets almost killed him once.

“I know.” My voice shook. This urge made me ashamed when it first appeared a year ago. I was beyond shame now. Even alcohol didn’t grip me like this when I used to drink.

A void expanded inside my soul and Rurik’s blood never filled it. The hunger slept for a little while, but came back roaring. In the last month, it never slept.

“Maybe you should reconsider crossing over and become vampire. I never thought the blood lust would be so strong with a bond.”

“No, I’m not ready to give up the sun.”

He caressed my cheek. “Stuck between two worlds, you have all our vises and none of our strengths.” With his fingernail, he opened a wound on his neck.

I didn’t require any further invitation to drink. The metallic flavor flowed down my throat, what was left of my humanity cringed, the other part savored every drop. It satiated my hunger beast but never touched the void it created.

Maybe Rurik was right and I should take his offer. Bound to each other, only he could make me vampire. Other vamps could kill me, but never cross me over.

He rose before I felt satisfied. “I bought you a gift.”

I licked my lips and watched my lover pull a garment in a dry cleaning bag from under us.

“It’s a dress for tonight.”

It should be against the law for men to shop for women without supervision. Don’t get me wrong, Rurik had wonderful taste—what he liked me to wear bordered on pornographic though.

My smile wavered. “Let me see it.”

“No.” He strode across the room and laid it on the bed. “It’s Rio, Rabbit. On New Year’s Eve, live a little. You’ll look beautiful in it.” Then he left me alone, lying in the closet on a pile of wrinkled clothes, a broken closet rod at my side. “I’ll run us a bath,” he called out from the bathroom.

I wandered to the bed and opened my present. With a little glue in the right places, the red dress might actually cover the important parts. A note pinned inside the bodice caught my attention. Romantic gestures kept relationships alive and this one made me happy. I opened the paper.

It wasn’t the kind of love note I expected. This one came from my ex-boss, Colby.

Chapter Two

The Copacabana Beach spanned the shores of southern Rio. Rurik spun me around as we danced on a raised platform by the white sand, surrounded by hundreds of people gathered to ring in the New Year. Fast-paced Samba music played and couples boogied with abandon under the clear night sky.

Rurik took dancing lessons with me for my birthday present six months ago. Not that he needed them. They were so I could keep up with him. The crowd-shuffle most of us practiced in the nightclubs irked him. He preferred a partner, like the old days, and ballroom genres were more to his taste. I wish we had the whole night to practice our moves.

Most women around me wore less than I did, but the red, thin silk of my dress clung to my curves and reached above mid-thigh with slits running to my hips. All held together by two spaghetti straps that crisscrossed my bare back. I couldn’t wear a freaking bra under it, not even one that attached around my waist. The back was too low, almost exposing the top of my ass. I kept pulling at the hem, checking the straps.

Prior to our departure, I bitched about Rurik’s idea of sexy. “I don’t mind,” he had said.

No shit.

“If I have to go braless then you go shirtless.” I crossed my arms, thinking like a fool that I had won.

The white silk shirt he wore fluttered to the ground and he offered me his arm. “Then let’s party.” How could I argue with a gorgeous man who treated me like I was the center of his universe?

Guilt stung as I recalled the note in my dress. Colby, the man who’d taught me about vampires and dragged me out of the bottom of a Jack Daniel’s bottle, wanted to meet tonight. Alone. I’d made a promise to Rurik I’d never keep secrets from him again. Yet here I danced with my lover, the very man I made the promise to, and I broke it by not saying a word.

He would never have let me meet Colby without him. Torn between the love for my vampire and the respect for my vampire slayer, I tried to live in the moment. I knew later there would be hell to pay.

As we parted in our dance, Rurik twisted me around then trailed his hand over the back of my shoulders while I did the same to his. Sweat trickled down the center of his chest and his black hair clung to his pale skin in sharp contrast. The desire burning in his eyes as I shuffled toward him made me love the stupid red dress.

Before I reached him, a young Latino man stepped between us. His broad chest blocked my way and he offered me his hand, as if asking for the chance to switch partners.

“No, thanks.” I shook my head and tried to go around him. He feigned not understanding me and stepped into my path.

I saw Rurik’s thunderous expression around the man’s shoulder. It took restraint for a vampire not to harm a mortal and Rurik barely contained it as he grabbed the fool and yanked him away. They got into each other’s face and spouted a round of Portuguese, which sounded like insults. I played the role of the dumb blonde who tried to pull her supernaturally strong boyfriend out of a fight. Not because I thought he’d get hurt, but to save the young idiot’s life.

“Come on, it’s Rio. Let it go.” I tugged at his hand. “I want to dance and make love, not fight.”

He glanced over his shoulder, his eyes trailing from my legs to my face. “Maybe I shouldn’t have bought you that dress.”

I leaned against him and whispered, “Only you get to unwrap me.”

Now ignored, the young man left without incident.

“After the fireworks the beach will empty.” Rurik waggled his eyebrows as he circled his hands around my waist, drawing me closer until I pressed against him.

“Only if I get the top.” The last time we had sex on the beach it took me over a day to pick all the sand out of my ass.

“Oh baby, you know what I like.” He leaned in close and embraced me. Lips pressed together and tongues tangled while the fireworks began to explode over our heads. The crowds cheered, but we had our own private fireworks going on. I loved being enveloped in his indestructible strength, or touching the tip of my tongue to his fangs. What a way to ring in the New Year. I sighed as his hand wandered up the back of my thighs until it reached under the hem of my dress.

I jumped and slapped at his hand. “No public exposure, thank you very much.”

He grinned back, showing a little fang. “I want you to keep that dress on while you ride me. Wait here a moment, I can find a secluded place on the beach faster by myself.”

He took a step away then hesitated and turned to me. “Stay in the crowd, you’ll be safer.”

I watched him disappear in the mix of tourists and locals. This was the chance I’d been waiting for, the opportunity to sneak away for a moment and meet Colby. He waited for me on the rooftop of the Copacabana hotel, right across the street. How he knew we’d be here was beyond me. I’d stopped questioning Colby’s abilities ages ago.

Guilt wrung my heart. I didn’t deserve Rurik. With a sigh, I twisted to look at the hotel. Colby probably watched me right now, waiting for me to betray Rurik’s trust.

Squaring my shoulders, I stomped as best as I could in high heeled sandals across the street, through the front lobby and took the elevator to the rooftop. I scoped out the area.

The scene here reflected the one on the beach except the clothes people wore looked more expensive. I stuck to the edge of the crowd and recognized a tall redhead dancing like only a white man could.

He waved.

What a covert specialist. I shook my head at the sight. Like it or not, I missed Red.

All beefy muscles and built like a linebacker, he was Colby’s second in command. Some people associated dumb with big. Red hadn’t survived this long as a slayer by being stupid. I waved back and watched him bulldoze his way through the crowd.

“Holy hot mamas, Connie. What do ya charge for a night?”

“More than you could ever afford.” The big lug wore an orange Hawaiian shirt and pink shorts. “You look like a color blind tourist. That’s usually not your style.”

“Maybe, Sen-w hore-a we should take these negotiations to my room.” He slipped a folded Brazilian dollar between my breasts.

I braced myself as I prepared to punch him in the face, but caught the wink he aimed at me. Blood threatened to pink my cheeks as I relaxed my stance. It had been a long time since I’d operated with this mercenary group. Nothing ever seemed like it should be, which made me as nervous as a virgin on her first hot date.

Red led me to the elevator. “Ladies-of-the-night first.” He held the door.

Uncomfortable under his scrutiny, I crossed to the far corner of the lift and watched the doors slide closed behind him. “So, what have you been up to—”

He splashed a vial of cold liquid in my face.

I gasped. “What’s your problem?” Then wiped the drops from my eyes, hoping it wasn’t a knockout drug. It didn’t smell and I didn’t feel woozy. Fists clenched with my blood boiling, I stepped up to him. Red’s laughter didn’t help my state of mind. “This isn’t a joke.” The words sounded like a growl.

“No, it ain’t.” He snorted one more time before he stopped laughing and gathered me in a bone-crunching bear hug. “Needed to make sure you didn’t cross over and go vamp.”

“If I did cross over… that could have killed me.” I wheezed out those last words with the remaining air in my lungs.

Red squeezed me a little harder until stars flashed in front of my eyes then set me down. “It’s holy water. A little dry cleanin’ will fix the stains on that lovely dress.”

“You’re an ass.” I stumbled away and flung the money still stuck in my cleavage at his feet. “I only came here to tell Colby to stick it in his ear. This proves you guys are nuts.”

“Are we? Have you looked at yourself in the mirror lately? Pale and lean, you even come up on my internal radar as a predator. We’ve observed Rurik teachin’ you how to hunt.” He tried to block my attempt to hit the lobby button with his bulk, and didn’t move fast enough. “Then there’s the speed.”

“These are things linked to my blood bond with Rurik. And he’s not teaching me how to hunt.” My flush grew hotter as Red raised his eyebrow in doubt. “It’s a game, okay? Leave it at that.”

“Kinky.” The door opened on his floor. He didn’t budge, just stuck his foot out to keep the elevator door from closing and continuing down to the lobby.

I crossed my arms. “What do mean observed? Are you watching me?”

He blinked. “If we happen to be in the same area we check in on you. You gotta understand how much it eats at us to lose one of our own.”

“I was never a slayer. I was your bait.”

“Maybe to Colby, but to me you were a friend. Are a friend.” He offered me a hand.

I could count the number of people who cared for me on one hand. Red used to be one of them. It hurt him when I left the group to be with Rurik.

“The vial only contained a couple tablespoons of the stuff, Connie. It would have stung but you would have healed.” He sighed. “I couldn’t kill ya.”

Against my better judgment, I placed my hand in his. “Dumb oaf.”

“Cheap date.” He grinned from ear to ear and I mirrored him.

“Ya know Colby, he’d never ask for help unless he really needed it.” His smile faded. “Young girls are dying in the area and we haven’t been able to catch the bastard doin’ it.” He tugged my hand. “Let’s go talk.”

I glanced over my shoulder as the lift door closed on my way back to Rurik. My life was a trail of stupid decisions and this one topped them all. If I brought him, Colby would never disclose what he needed from me. I wanted to help, especially with lives hanging in the balance. Rurik would understand, after much persuasion on my part.

Red unlocked a door and held it for me. Decorated in pale beige, the hotel room appeared elegant with its modern dark wood furniture. A king-sized bed sat to my left, a sitting area with a sleek couch and matching chairs to my right. The man in the high backed chair by the window drew most of my attention.

Dressed in a worn green t-shirt and blue jeans, Colby watched me cross the room and sit in the chair facing him. His flat expression didn’t match the tension in his body.

Unlike Red, we’d never shared a friendship, just a professional relationship. I don’t think Colby had any friends. He was a man on a mission. I just never got the memo explaining what it was.

“So, you’re still human.”

“Last I checked.” I leaned back into the stiff cushion, crossed my legs and flashed plenty of thigh. This man could make an ice sculpture look warm. The last time I’d seen him show emotion was when I’d rescued him from Tane’s yacht. A fury of hatred poured from him then as he tried to kill the Nosferatu vampire with his bare hands. Laughable now, but terrifying then.

“Still a smart ass too. What did you do with your master?” He glanced at Red guarding the door who shook his head in denial. “Rurik didn’t come with you?”

“He’s not my master. Rurik’s on the beach waiting for me, so hurry this up. I won’t play this game.”

“Very well.” He drew a manila envelope from under his chair and tossed it at me.

Inside I found pictures. Déjà vu settled over me. Budapest all over again. They’d better not be here to convince me Rurik was a murderer. We’d walked this road one too many times.

I slid them out and found pictures of young girls. Each one about my age, not a bite mark on them except the last two, the others were cut at an important pulse point—carotid, femoral, or radial. The wounds could hide evidence of possible vampire attack, but it could be a psycho as well. “Red told me about them. Why were you hired for this?”

I flipped through them again. Age was the only similarity I saw.

“Whoever is doing this got sloppy and didn’t even bother to hide the bite marks on the last two girls.” Colby leaned forward and rested his elbows on his knees.

“What makes you think they’re all vamp victims? I can’t see the link.”

“The hair.”

“What?” I looked at them again and understood somewhat. Complicated, intricate braids adorned their heads. Very in-style over a hundred years ago. “He does their hair?

That’s just weird.”

He grunted and nodded.

“Still doesn’t explain who hired you for this?” I placed the pictures back in the envelope. Not the way I wanted to start my New Year.

“The detective working this case is familiar with our kind of work. He recognized the signs and hired us as contractors.”

“Really? I didn’t think vampires existing was common knowledge.” My brows furrowed at the thought. From what I understood, most people didn’t know, and that’s how the vampires wanted it. Outright killing drew too much attention so they banned it centuries ago and punished those caught severely.

Therein lay the problem. Most were too smart to leave a trail if they went too far and actually killed their prey. The Nosferatu took care of matters if they did it too often.

Where the hell were they then if we had a vampire on a murdering spree?

Colby stared at me with his piercing green eyes. They narrowed as the corners of his mouth turned down. “Some places are more aware of the true nature of the world than others.” He ran his fingers through his short dirty blond hair. “Why are you in Rio, Connie?”

“For the Easter egg hunt. What do you think? Rurik wanted to show me the city during the holidays.”

Neither of them spoke.

“Ah hell, what am I missing?” I really, really didn’t want to know. Sometimes being oblivious was bliss, but not with girls getting killed around me.

“Do you know who the Overlord of Rio is?”

“No,” I whispered and swallowed with a dry throat.

“Tane.”

“Oh.” That sucked big sour lemons. Tane hated me.

“Now that he rules the vampire nations, Rio’s become a popular place among them.

People here cling to the older ways of thinking and are more superstitious. I’d say some people are more aware of reality than most modern nations.”

“I haven’t seen any other vampires since we arrived here.” I scratched my chin. We encountered some in every city. “We’ve been here a few days and Rurik’s kept us busy all over town.” As if flaunting our presence. Maybe I wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

“I thought he and Tane were friends.”

“Yeah, so did I. What does this have to do with the girls?”

“Nothing, so far.”

“What do you want from me?”

“The usual, you fit the killer’s vice.”

“Be bait.” I sighed. “Where and when?”

“We’ll contact you. Until then, if you find out anything you can reach me on my cell.

You still remember the number?”

“Better than my own.” I unfolded from the chair and sauntered to the door.

He followed and opened it for me. As I crossed the threshold, he pinched my ass.

“Nice dress, by the way.”

I swung around, but faced the closed wooden door. His touch left me uneasy, and the murders even worse.

It didn’t take long to leave the hotel and spot my hunk searching the crowd for me. I decided on the elevator trip down that I’d confess everything to him. He could access more contacts in this city and he’d want to help. Rurik took the no-kill law very seriously.

My heels clicked on the pavement as I crossed the street. Our eyes met through the hoard of people leaving the area. I smiled at him and hoped he’d found a secluded spot for us to celebrate.

His eyes grew wider as panic spread across his face. He shoved people out of his way while trying to race in my direction.

Fear gripped my heart and I twisted around to see what monster could strike such terror in Rurik. Iron strong hands clasped my shoulders as I came face to face with a bald man. Not a man. The pointed ears and fangs gave him away. A Nosferatu.

Chapter Three

I’d met enough Nosferatu to last me eternity.

He lifted me by the shoulders as if I weighed nothing and held me in front of him.

Power oozed from him. They were the strongest vampire clan. Unlike the other Nosferatu I’d encountered, this one bore no apparent tattoos. He wore a dirty, beige short-sleeved shirt with blue jeans and a pair of worn sneakers. From a distance, he could pass for a street thug.

My heart raced so fast it skipped beats. I tried to scream, but my lungs froze from fright. All I could do was stare into the black pits of his eyes and wait for him to break me with a twist of his hands.

Time stopped, as if whatever controlled the universe gave me one last moment to feel alive. We stood in a crowd of people leaving the Copacabana beach. The Nosferatu held me high enough that I could see the two regular vampires behind him. Laughter floated in the air, someone gave a high whistle to my left and a young woman glanced at me over her shoulder only to ignore the terror on my face.

No one cared.

Except Rurik and he’d want to fight them. The image of these monsters tearing apart my lover before my eyes popped me out of this freeze. I twisted to yell at him to run.

Our gazes met for a second just before Rurik passed under the arms that held me, slid between us, then tackled the Nosferatu to the ground. I got tossed over their heads.

Dancing lessons taught me more than how to twirl without getting dizzy. I also learned how to fall without cracking my skull. With a tuck of my chin, I did a forward somersault and the momentum carried me to my high-heeled feet.

No cheers greeted my graceful escape, only the hungry stares of the other two vampires.

“Why are you attacking us, Luckard?” Rurik asked.

I swung around, shocked he knew the Nosferatu’s name. His arms were pinned behind his back by my original attacker. The other two came up next to me, one on each side.

A vamp with short blond hair placed his arm around my waist and held me close. “I like this one. Can I keep her once you’re done, boss?”

My stomach dropped. I tried to step away, but he wouldn’t let me. Caught in his iron grip, I lost all hope of escape until I met Rurik’s stare. Determination solidified in his eyes and sweat beaded on his forehead. Something brushed my mental shields. As soon as it touched my mind, I reflexively re-enforced them. Ever since Dragos mind-raped me, I wouldn’t—couldn’t let anyone inside my head. Not even the ones I loved most.

A sharp pierce in the shield’s structure like a long sharp needle shocked me enough to cry out.

The one holding me jumped as well, his arms pulling me closer.

Run, Rabbit.

I quirked an eyebrow in Rurik’s direction. How did he expect me to do that? Throw this guy holding me over my shoulder and give him a piggyback ride?

He winked, as if he knew my thoughts, and stopped supporting his weight with his legs. Both he and Luckard fell forward. Rurik used the surprise to roll away and twist his arms free but his assailant crawled on top of him with the lightning speed of a Nosferatu.

Blondie got distracted enough to loosen his grip around my waist so I could at least turn and face him.

As he glanced my way, I stuck my fingers up his nose and twisted. I passed Street Fighting 101 in New York City. No such thing as second place—you fight to win or you get owned. Vampire or not, getting your nose twisted off your face hurts like hell.

His eyes grew wide and he shoved me away. It was all I needed to escape. I ran like Rurik told me to and abandoned him. A dark pit opened in my gut and little pieces of my heart dropped into it.

I heard the Nosferatu on the ground shout, “Forget about him, get the girl!”

His order spurred me from a sprint into a flat out run, fleeing the area like a nut case escaped from a loony bin. If there was an Olympic event for sprinting in heels I’d be a gold medalist.

Get the girl? Why would they want me? Did my personal demon, Tane, send them?

The crowds thinned around the beach, but the farther I raced toward the nightclubs the thicker they got. I went to the densest throng of partiers and mingled among them.

Short of breath, I turned a slow circle and checked for signs of vampire pursuit. Months of playing hide-and-seek with Rurik were finally paying off. I hoped the vampire hunting me would keep to the rules and not attack me in front of witnesses.

A handsome, young man glanced in my direction. His eyebrows shot up in recognition.

At first I groaned with trepidation, then realized my dumb luck. He was the one who tried to lure me from Rurik earlier. This could work out if I played my cards right. I needed humans to surround myself with and he seemed part of this large group.

I smiled and stared at him long enough for him to understand my invitation.

He searched the area as he weaved through the crowd. I had to assume he looked for Rurik. His shy grin turned into a wide smile when he didn’t see any evidence of my lover and he sped his last steps to me.

In a soft, husky voice he whispered something in my ear. I didn’t need to understand Portuguese to get the message. The way he held his body close to mine and his fingers lingered on my skin, told me everything.

I took his hand in mine. It felt wrong. Not only did I abandon Rurik, I flirted with another. My lover would never hold it against me if it saved my life, but my gut rolled as I stepped into another man’s arms. I pointed to myself. “Meu nome é Connie.” Then I pointed to him. “Você?”

“Joao.” He pressed his lips to my hand, his gaze never leaving mine. Oh my.

The group swept us farther down the sidewalk away from the beach until we reached the corner of the street. The blue lights blazed above the club and spelled its name— Melt.

I kept checking over my shoulders, trying to find signs of being followed. No vampires in the area as far as I could see. Not even the one I hoped for.

Maybe I escaped. Hope fluttered in my heart like a baby bird on its maiden flight. I wanted so desperately to run back to my hotel room and find Rurik sitting in our bed only to ask, “What took you so long?”

Deep down inside, I knew they were watching my every move, waiting for me to make a mistake and lose my company. They required only a second to reclaim me.

My escort slipped his arm around my waist as we waited in line to enter the club. He drew little circles on the silk of my red dress with his index finger on my lower abdomen.

The tingles of this action kept distracting me from my search. Shame tore apart my soul.

His touch should burn like acid, not soothe. He led me through the door and followed his friends into the crowded club.

Wide shoulders, tall backs and large chests blocked my view while we walked down a narrow hall. Claustrophobia seized me and I crushed myself against Joao. At times like this, I hated being short.

He took the opportunity to allow his hand to slip lower and rest on my ass. I used to play games like this when I worked for Colby as bait, but I wasn’t in love then. It took all my survival instincts to leave the hand alone. If I rejected him now, he might leave, then it would open season for Rabbit.

The dance floor, to my left, overflowed with people and looked like a good place to hide. Joao didn’t want to go that way. He steered me to the bar instead, in a nice secluded corner. I spotted a familiar blond man leaning to speak with the bartender and dug my heels into the floor. Blondie, the vampire who wanted his turn with me once the Nosferatu was finished.

Joao glanced at me over his shoulder and cocked his head. It was a sin for a man to have such thick lashes. They framed his bright green eyes.

Stalling for time, I threw myself into his arms. What should I do? I had six more hours until dawn, a missing boyfriend and vamps had followed me into the bar. People surrounded me but if no one paid attention, like on the beach, I may as well be alone. I needed Joao and his friends.

He leaned his face close to mine as he entwined our bodies and spoke soft words into my ear. I didn’t understand them and didn’t care.

The hunter stared at me from across the room and waggled his fingers in greeting.

Yeah, yeah, I see you, buddy.

My date swayed us to the music. The slow, gentle beat plucked my heartstrings.

Feeling scared and small, I ran my hands up his back and rested my head on his shoulder.

He made a poor substitute for Rurik.

Developing plans were not my forte. I was a wing-it kind of girl. When my wandering hands brushed over Joao’s cell phone in his back pocket I grinned. An idea popped into my head. It was better than sitting here waiting to get caught.

Without asking permission, I slipped it out of his pocket and dialed.

Joao gestured to his phone and flung a string of Portuguese in my direction.

I placed a quick kiss on his lips to shut him up as the call connected and rang on the other end. The loud music made it difficult to hear so I stuck my finger in the other ear.

Blondie disappeared from the bar when I glanced to check on him but a blond male stood by a table with his back to me not fifteen feet away. I squinted in the dim light. He seemed too stocky to be the hunter. I held my breath as another one walked toward us holding drinks. He drew closer and I finally released it when I didn’t recognize him. Then something tickled between my shoulder blades. I swung around and pressed my back to Joao. No one stood behind me. Sweat beaded my skin and trickled between my breasts.

“Hello?”

The man’s voice on the other end startled me. In my search for Blondie I forgot who I called for a split second. “Colby, they jumped me coming out of the hotel. I’m in deep shit.” I shouted the words so he could hear me and didn’t care who listened, most didn’t understand English anyway.

“Who jumped you?”

“Vampires. I’m at the club Melt down the street. They’re in here with me and they’re circling.” A touch on my shoulder made me yelp and spin. Joao raised his hands and quirked an eyebrow at me.

“Whatever happens, Connie, keep the phone near you. I’ll track—” A high-pitched ringing cut out all sound, the lights went on and the music shut off.

Someone tripped the fire alarm. It caused the crowd to surge to the exit as if one entity. I turned in a slow circle as I got trapped in the tide of bodies. My breath came in short gasps.

Joao was gone.

Did they get him? Maybe he dumped me. Then why would he leave his expensive looking cell phone in my hands? “Joao?” I cried out his name again over the heads of those around me. No one answered. The front door came into view. People streamed out of the building, their momentum dragged me out as well.

Exposed under the open night sky, I stood with my back to the building. The insistent ringing alarm made it hard to hear. I clutched the phone to my chest and scanned the area, hoping against all odds to see a familiar face. The crowd thinned as people found other paths to follow.

Odds were the vampires would get me.

Tears burned behind my eyelids and I stomped my foot. The heel on my shoe snapped and I stumbled to the right. “Fucking great!” I bent and picked up the broken piece of cheap crap. When I rose, my heart skidded to a halt.

Rurik stood across the street. I had a good view of his profile as he gazed down the road away from where I stood. As I opened my mouth to call him, a hand clamped over my lips.

“Shh,” a deep voice whispered in my ear. The steel clad strength that held me hinted at what snagged me.

Someone finally shut off the fire alarm and silence fell over the area for a split second.

Fear tore out any reasoning I had left and I twisted my shoulders to elbow him in the gut. A sharp electric pain of bone hitting a rock solid mass elicited my cry.

“If he sees you and tries to intervene again, I’ll be forced to kill him,” my captor warned as he directed me to retreat with him into a narrow, dark alley. He came around to face me with preternatural grace and his gaze traced from my head to my toes. “I don’t understand all the fuss.”

It wasn’t Blondie, it was worse. “Luckard.” His name fell from my lips. The Nosferatu.

If he wanted me to be frightened, he got it. I couldn’t help that, but I refused to cower, I’d dealt with his kind before. The more I showed my fear, the happier he’d be, and I wasn’t placed on this earth for his pleasure.

I forced my legs to stop trembling, crossed my arms over my chest and then ran my glare from his dirty, worn running shoes to his bald head.

He grinned, exposing his sharp canines. The dude didn’t need to work the scary angle so much, it came naturally to him.

I opened my mouth to explain the skill of understatement when something slammed into my mental shield. It beat my mind like a battering ram. My vision tunneled with the onslaught.

Over the past year, I may have fought Rurik on the things he deemed necessary for me to learn, such as swordsmanship, which was for medieval knights. I had better things to do with his body than poke holes in it, and unless stripping was involved in chess, I didn’t want to play. Strengthening my skill to protect my mind made sense, especially after what Dragos did to me.

Rurik taught me not to build my mental walls with only stone like Colby taught me, they shattered with enough brute strength, but to use all the elements and switch them around for my need. With this strong attack, I changed it to hurricane force winds that absorbed the strikes and sent them asunder. Even with my new skills, though, I wouldn’t be a match for Luckard. He came from a line of the strongest vampires.

“Rurik!” I hated that I cried out for him. He’d hear, I had no doubt, and try to rescue me. Our only chance would be to work together or die together. Sometimes my selfishness astounded me.

The assault stopped and I gasped at its sudden retreat. I snapped my eyes open, surprised to find them closed, and got flung over the Nosferatu’s shoulder. Fumbling the cell phone, I caught it between my fingers and crushed it to my chest, remembering Colby’s order to keep it with me, right before Luckard lifted me over his shoulder like a wet towel and took off running.

I lifted my head and caught a glimpse of Rurik at the mouth of alley. We turned a corner and I heard his tentative voice.

“Connie?”

Chapter Four

So far, I’d spent my time with Rurik in the wealthy, touristy areas of Rio. Luckard showed me a different side, one I didn’t care for, haunting in its familiarity. I grew up in similar conditions and spent my adolescence in worse, except all on American soil.

The slum’s roads were narrow with apartment buildings crowding from both sides.

Laundry hung from clothes lines, alleys filled with leaning, makeshift shanties and not a soul visible. I could sense their eyes, though, watching us in the dark.

Luckard dropped me onto my feet and I wobbled on the broken heel of my shoe. He grabbed my arm. “Stay close.”

“Wait, don’t pull just yet.” I kicked off the shoes so I could keep up with his pace then wrapped Joao’s cell phone in my hand. The asphalt poked at my soles. “What do you want with m-me?” I tried to sound strong and failed miserably.

He glanced at me, keeping silent.

“Did that bastard, Tane, put you up to this?”

“Bastard?” He whispered. At the next intersection, he made a left, guiding me with his grip. “I want the truth.”

“Ask me, I’ll tell you what you want. I don’t have secrets.”

“Then why block me from your mind?”

I swallowed. Discussing mind rape with Luckard, when I didn’t even talk about it with Rurik, made me want to crawl into a deep hole. “Someone forced his way in my head and hurt me. I don’t let anyone inside.” I blinked away angry tears. “Not anymore.”

At the thought of Rurik, my blood lust roused. Damn it, I just drank a few hours ago.

Exhaustion burned my eyes, my soul cringed at Luckard’s touch, and now, my fucking hunger took a peek from its hiding place, making it hard to think. Like I didn’t have enough to deal with.

Luckard marched us down the street in silence. He took a right on what I could only call a paved path. It wound between buildings and we passed two allies before he stopped to face me. “Are you blood bound to Tane?”

“Never.” I stepped back as if slapped. “I’m bound to Rurik.”

His dark eyes narrowed as he stared into mine. A muscle ticked in his jaw. “I’ve been told otherwise. I could sense Rurik’s affection for you, but no link to a blood bond.”

“I don’t let anyone in my head.”

“That has nothing to do with it.” He sighed and pulled me farther down the path until we reached a faded, green-chipped door. “If you’re lying, I will find out.” His gaze stayed on the door as he spoke and his grip on my arm tightened enough to make me squirm. “If you’re telling me the truth, then I apologize in advance.”

“What—” The cell hidden in my hand rang.

He snatched at the phone and it tumbled from my fingers to the ground. “What have you been doing?”

“Nothing. I hadn’t a chance.”

He stomped on it with crushing force and I heard it snap. The ringing stopped and my salvation died. He yanked the door open. Its dark maw threatened to consume me.

I retreated.

His firm hold on my arm kept me in place and he dragged me through the doorway.

Once inside he closed and locked it.

My eyes adjusted to the thick darkness, but even with my enhanced vision, I could only see his outline. I stumbled when he guided me to ascend some stairs. They creaked with each step and groaned under our combined weight.

At the top, the rough wooden floors scraped my soles. My stomach turned as we neared another door. I swallowed around a hard lump in my throat.

Luckard knocked and it opened, this one guarded from the inside. They closed and locked the door after we passed. What were they hiding here that needed vampire guards?

Maybe something that craved little blondes?

My racing heart bounced in my chest like a trapped hummingbird trying to escape, which made it hard to breathe. The sweat trickling along my hairline clung the curls to my skin, as I drowned in my retained tears swelling in my eyes.

How the hell was I going to get myself out of this?

Inside the studio apartment, a bare light bulb hung from the ceiling. The grimy walls seemed to absorb all the light, leaving the room dim and each bricked up window closed out the world. The guards went to stand at the far side of the room.

In the center stood a naked, bald man. Four thick steel bars pierced his body at different angles. Two going in from his shoulders and out his flanks, the other two went in his back and out his hips. Anchored to the ceiling and the floor, it made a perfect Nosferatu prison.

He lifted his head and my gaze met his black soulless one.

“Tane.” Just when I thought things couldn’t get worse.

“Oh for crying-out-loud, getting Rabbit to yabber at me all night is the most diabolical torture yet, Luckard.” He slurred his words. I’d witnessed this vampire slug back martini after martini and never reflect it. His eyelids drooped closed for a moment as his shoulders sagged. He shifted his feet to support more of his weight and stood taller.

“Nice to see you again, Rabbit. What brings you to Rio?”

“You anal-sucking-zombie-breeder, what do you want with me?” Luckard held me as I tried to step forward. My anger clouded any logical reasoning. I hated this dark creature made into a pincushion.

Tane grinned. “I’m not exactly running the show here, sweet cheeks.” His head rolled on his shoulder before he straightened again. With dilated pupils, he tried to stare at me. What was he on? It had to be strong to keep him from breaking out.

Someone banged on the door with a thunderous knock. I jerked in Luckard’s grip as I jumped.

He pulled me to the side; the other two vampires who helped him jump me and Rurik at the beach sauntered in.

Blondie’s eyes brightened when he saw me. “Good, you caught her.” His darker, more somber companion ignored us and approached a table by the wall.

Quicker than my eyes could track, Luckard struck my admirer. “No thanks to your help.” Luckard towered over him with power oozing from his body.

The blond shuffled away to the corner and held his jaw.

“Al, hand me the dagger.” Luckard outstretched his hand to the darker one by the table and dragged me next to him. Only then did I recognize what sat on the tabletop.

Knives, hooks, whips…

My insides shrank and a shiver shook me as I watched the dagger pass hands. The leaf shaped blade protruded from a plain brown leather hilt and tapered to a sharp gleaming edge.

Luckard rolled it in his hands as he brought it closer to me. “Rabbit is such a pretty name.” The blade flipped over his thumb and the hilt followed, then reappeared to land in his palm again.

He wanted me to watch the knife.

I drew in a deep breath. I’d been holding it without knowing. My throat constricted so I could only whisper. “What do you want? I don’t have secrets.” The blade had my full attention, I didn’t want it coming any closer.

Luckard twisted my wrist already in his grasp and swung his body around to brace my shoulder under his armpit. My hand extended in front of him and trapped behind his back, I couldn’t move my arm in his hold.

The point of the dagger stabbed into the fleshy under-part of my forearm.

My scream vibrated in the room and I beat on his back with my fist as he cut into my skin and parted the flesh toward my elbow.

I struggled and tugged and kicked and punched. His broad back blocked my view and I didn’t know if not seeing made it worse. Blood warmed my hand as it flowed from the wound. He cut deep and it stung to the bone. Screeched words such as help and stop changed to animal noises as he cut closer to the tendons.

He released me and I retreated to the door. I cradled my injured arm to my chest and pressed against the wound to slow the bleeding. It throbbed in time to my racing heartbeat. My gaze slid to the equipment on the table beside Al. They planned to hurt me more. I sobbed once and swallowed the others that threatened to follow.

Luckard never moved. He watched Tane, who grinned at all of us.

“Eric lied to you. I felt none of her pain.” Tane retorted.

How was Tane’s lover involved in this? I’d met him twice. Reserved and cold, with death in his eyes, Eric was far from cute and cuddly, but they were meant for each other.

He told Luckard about a possible blood bond between me and Tane? Why? Then I remembered the murderous jealousy Eric showed toward Colby when Tane showed some interest.

“No, I think you’re the one lying. I doubt this sweet little piece of flesh can tolerate much pain.” My assailant glanced at me over his shoulder. “She’s the link I need to break you.”

“Look, she’s not even healing. Any of my blood-bound slaves would be able to repair such a scratch. Why would I let her travel with Rurik if she belonged to me?”

“I don’t know these answers and don’t care.” He stepped closer to my demon. “Let’s see if she can mask the pain as well as you do if we turn the tables around.”

It was all the warning I got.

Luckard shoved the blade hilt deep into Tane’s flank and twisted the blade.

Sharp piercing pain exploded in my side. The world blacked out as I squeezed my eyes shut and fell to the floor. I wanted to make it better, but had no dagger to pull out of my flesh. Only agony existed.

Deep laughter rumbled from Luckard. “They are bound. Chain her up.”

Hands slid under my arms and lifted me. Face first, I was pressed to the wall spread eagle, manacles applied to my ankles and wrists.

“This didn’t work when you tortured Eric,” Tane chewed out. “Why do you think it will work with her?”

“Because she didn’t betray you. I don’t think she even realizes she was bound to you.” Fingers ran over my curls. “Poor thing is going to suffer and without healing abilities she won’t last long, not like Eric.”

I shook my head and threw his hand off my hair. “I’m not bound to him, asshole.”

“Then tell me, Rabbit, how come you feel his pain?”

“He’s projecting it on me. Using his powers to fake it.” I tugged on the manacle. The hand with blood slid a little out but not enough to escape.

“For what reason.”

“He hates me. Probably snickering right now while he watches.”

I heard Luckard turn. “How did you bind her without her knowledge?”

“We are not bound!” I pronounced each word loud and clear.

“Al, stab him again.”

The pain jabbed into my left thigh. A cry welled up in my chest. I bit my lip to keep it inside. The salty, warm taste of my blood triggered my hunger beast to awaken more.

Searing pain coursed up my leg to my spine. Was it true? Were we bound?

“How interesting,” Luckard whispered in my ear. “You’re trying to hide it. Whatever he did to place you in such denial will pale in comparison to what I’m about to do.”

“Can I have her before you start, master?” Blondie asked.

“No.”

“She’ll be nothing but pulp once you’re done. Just like the other one.”

“No, not yet.” A hand trailed along the skin of my bare back. “It is a shame to mar such soft skin.”

I closed my eyes. Things were bad. I’d survived terrible things before, nothing of this caliber, though. Think, think, think. Trapped in chains with a room full of vampires. My only hope left behind in some alley.

Rurik.

If we were linked, he should hear my mental call. With effort, I tried to let down my mental shields. The walls were slow to crumble, each stone stubborn to disappear, but with a push and a shove it cleared away. I cried out to him and listened for a response, but heard nothing, so I tried again.

A stinging bite broke my concentration. It started between my shoulder blades and the burn fanned out. Shock made me shout in surprise.

With another clack, someone struck me again.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Luckard welded a short length whip. “Who is the source of your drug, Tane?” He clacked it to snap at the untouched part of my lower back.

Things tumbled together in my brain. The damn drug. We’d used it on Dragos to kill him in Budapest over a year ago. It was the only thing I knew of that affected vampire abilities, made them slower, weaker, unable to use their mental skills.

I groaned—from both pain and the dazed expression on Tane’s face. They’d given him his own drug. That’s how they imprisoned him.

Tane remained silent.

I tensed, my muscles quivered and the lash fell again, picking another untouched part. Tears spilled from eyes unchecked. I leaned my forehead on the cool wall. Dear God, help me.

“This is boring. Pass me the cat-o-nine-tales.”

Nine? Oh shit. “Why-why are you hurting me? He doesn’t care about me.” My voice broke and cracked from the abuse of my screams.

“Each lash you get he feels too. I sense something there as well, I think he does care.

You might try to hide it, Tane, but eventually your mind will crumble and I will know all.”

The first touch of the cat-o-nine-tales bit deep. Blinding, white-hot torment flashed through me as little metal barbs snagged my skin. My flesh ruptured more than cut. I arched my back and couldn’t breathe.

“Where do you get the drug?”

My knees gave out and I hung from the chains. “Tell him, Tane, please tell him.”

“She’s right, I don’t care. If I didn’t speak when you tortured Eric then I won’t now.”

“But you kept this one a secret. Suit yourself.”

They tortured Eric, Tane’s lover, to get this information. I didn’t stand a chance. The next lashes made me cry out and I didn’t have any strength left. I could only hope they ended it soon. Blood dripped from my back and made a sticky puddle at my feet. My only consolation was that the dead felt no pain.

I closed my eyes as the next lash whistled through the air to strike. The lack of contact snapped them open. A jungle towered in front of me and I kneeled on a beach. I blinked, unable to comprehend what just happened. The night sky spread full of stars and gentle waves crashed behind me. I twisted around to gaze at the dark ocean.

My wrists and ankles freed, the pain gone and no vampires. Where the hell was I?

Maybe I died—

Tane stepped out of the foliage and approached me.

—and gone straight to hell.

He sat in the sand and faced me. “I’m shielding you.”

“What?”

“Are you deaf? Did he damage your ears?” He raised a brow.

“What the hell is going on?” I jumped him and pinned his shoulders to the sand.

“You let them torture me.” I pounded my fists on his chest. All my hatred poured out.

He’d used me in Budapest and now he did the same here. In his eyes, I was worth nothing.

He lay in the sand and watched. Never once did he try to stop me.

I straddled him and panted. Tears poured from my eyes in hot streams. With my hands, I swiped them from my cheeks and glared at him. The straps from my dress had slid from my shoulders during my tantrum to bare more cleavage than I cared for. I tugged them up.

His gaze followed my actions. “Are you done?”

I nodded.

“Get off then.” He twisted his hips and dumped me on the sand before sitting cross-legged. “I sensed you give up. Rurik would never forgive me if I let you die.”

“I’m not dead?” The sand felt so soft and silky. Emptiness claimed the spot where I’d housed my rage. I didn’t want to move. He was right, with nothing left inside to use in a fight, I gave up.

“Don’t be so dramatic. Of course not, I brought you into my head. The pain can’t reach you. You can hide here until it’s finished.”

“Then he’s still lashing me.”

“Yes, until he realizes you’re unconscious. They’ll wait for you to heal and start again.”

“I’m not healing. I need to feed from Rurik.”

He pursed his lips then gave me a small smile. “You really still believe you’re bound to him? After everything Luckard proved with sensing each other’s pain, and the fact I could draw you into my head?”

I blinked. Where Rurik was sexy, kind hearted, and thoughtful, Tane was virile, ruthless, and brilliant. My mind understood what I’d witnessed and felt with my body, but my heart wouldn’t listen. Not yet.

I broke contact with his stare. “They did this with Eric too?”

He sighed. “Yes.”

“He’s dead.”

“Yes.” He stared out at the ocean.

“I’m sorry.” Eric seemed like the only person Tane cared about when I met him in Budapest.

“I’m not. He betrayed me.”

I sighed. “I’m still sorry.”

Silence hung over us as he watched the waves and I watched him. The moonlight glinted off his bald head. A set of full lips softened the strong jaw line that made him look hard. His ears tapered to delicate points and curled along his scalp and he wore a golden loop in one.

“Thank you.” He broke the silence with his whisper.

“I don’t want to die.”

“You won’t, Rabbit.”

“Don’t call me that.” It came out automatically. “Even if you tell them what they want, they’ll kill both of us.”

He rolled his eyes and grinned. “I wouldn’t place such a dangerous weapon as my drug in the hands of incompetence. I’ve sent a mental message to my warriors. They’re coming for us.”

I sat bolt upright. “You can do that? Why let them hurt me and place those bars through your body?”

“It’s a rouse. Luckard is too bloodthirsty and stupid to have conceived this plan on his own. Someone else is helping. I need to find out who.” He brushed my hair from my forehead with his hand. “You’re too full of questions I can’t answer. Go to sleep now, Rabbit.”

Chapter Five

The throb of raw flesh awoke me with a start. I lay on my stomach, no longer shackled to a wall and left free on the ground. A glimpse of the dimly lit room gave me the impression I was alone.

My eyes fluttered closed again as I rested my forehead on the cool tiled floor and groaned with the burning ache. Did they put me through a meat grinder? Deep breathing made it worse. The dried scabs on by back split and blood trickled with each breath. I needed to keep each precious drop in my body. Who knew how much I’d lost?

Tane assured we’d get rescued, but how long had I slept on this hard floor? Maybe they were empty promises. Tane and ‘hero’ were like oil and water.

Panting through the pain, I removed my arms from under me and dragged them next to my head. Alone, the tears I’d fought to hold back returned. The sobs came one after another in great uncontrolled racks that shook my shoulders. They caused more bleeding, yet I couldn’t stop them.

I’d been beaten, hunted and heartbroken, but never tortured. They didn’t even want anything from me, only to use my agony against Tane since whatever they inflicted on me he felt. Or at least that was what they thought. Could it be true? Were we bound? God forbid. The knife they stabbed in his side may as well have gone through mine. He didn’t even cry out when they did it. What kind of monster didn’t react to pain?

When Dragos almost drank me dry in Budapest, Tane sought to save me by giving me his blood. He could have let Rurik do it, however he chose to force a drop of his own blood in my mouth. In frenzy, Rurik slew Dragos and yanked Tane from me. He fed me to bind our souls together. Could that one little drop Tane pressed between my lips overcome all the blood I drank from Rurik? When Luckard struck Rurik on the beach I never felt his pain.

My sobs grew more intense. I wanted to live an eternity with Rurik, my love. Now I’d be enslaved to my personal demon. A chill seeped into my soul. I couldn’t even have the satisfaction of jamming a stake into his heart. Our lives were one, if he died so did I.

The lashes on my back grew into one big throbbing ache. I gritted my teeth and pushed on the floor with my uninjured hand until I sat cross-legged. With the corner of what was left of my little silk dress, I wiped my face. One of the spaghetti straps hung loose, probably snapped when the whip hit it. My stomach rolled at the image. The dress held together by one strap now.

Rurik brought me to Rio. He insisted we come here for New Year’s Eve. I agreed since he’d never asked for a specific destination in the time we’d been together. Prior to this trip, he happily followed where I wanted to go. For the past few nights, he brought me to dance clubs, one after another, as if trying to catch someone’s attention. Well, he sure as hell succeeded.

Vampire politics consumed all around them, I experienced this firsthand. We left Budapest because of it and now I was drowning once more. These creatures lived for centuries, some millenniums. They made lying an art form. I never knew the truth.

Plain, dirt smudged walls surrounded me with no windows, a dull naked bulb swung from a wire overhead and a pile of smelly laundry sat in the far corner. I couldn’t tell the time of day.

Dirty laundry? I peered closer at the pile. A foot stuck out. It lay very—inert. The chill in my bones turned into ice. My body tensed as a shiver ran down my spine.

“Hello?” I didn’t know what would frighten me more—if it answered or stayed silent.

Vampires slept in the day. Rurik became almost lifeless in our bed when the sun rose, yet I could still sense an existence from his body, an occasional stirring or a breath.

I got nothing from the corner. “Do you need help?” Chances were he needed medical attention. “Wiggle your toes if you hear me.” I sniffed and wiped my nose on the dress.

Crap, they probably spoke Portuguese. “Senhor?” Rurik taught me to say some key phrases, somehow where is the bathroom? didn’t seem appropriate.

With a deep groan, I tried to move. Sharp, exploding pain blinded me. A cry escaped my lips and I squeezed my eyes shut. That wasn’t happening.

Fuck.

“Senhor?” My voice came out strained and weak. The room spun in a slow arc.

Nausea roared in my stomach and a wave of warmth rushed over my body. I blinked and once again. Had the laundry pile fallen on its side? No, I had. I tried to swallow, but a desert parked itself in my mouth and throat.

I recognized these symptoms from after Dragos fed on me a long time ago, too much blood loss. The pain faded as if it belonged to someone else. “Well, buddy, maybe you can help me out.” I giggled then it turned into a sob.

A distant bang startled me and reality slammed me out of my self-pity. I listened.

What did it mean? Another bang, as if a door kicked in and shouting filled the silence.

Something akin to hope soared in my heart. I lifted my head and stared at the door. “I’m in here!” The shout, born of desperation, echoed in the room.

Not a minute later, the door splintered open and Rurik stepped inside. Blood trickled from the corner of his mouth and a splatter of it marred the pale skin of his chest. He still wore the same outfit he danced in on New Year’s—a pair of tight, black pants with no shirt. Maybe less time had passed than I thought.

He knelt next to me. “Rabbit.” Relief visible in his face, he pushed the curls from my cheeks. “All will be well.” His lips pressed against my forehead for a short kiss. “Tane and Colby’s forces have taken over this complex.” A dark storm of anger thundered within his eyes as his gaze slid to my back. He licked his lips as he stared at what must be a mess. “I’m going to kill him.”

Which him did he referred to? Ah heck, he could go kill them all. I wrapped my hand around his. “Check on that guy in the corner before you go on a murdering rampage.”

My flip comment brought a small sardonic smile to his mouth. “I want you to feed from me first so you can heal.” He raised his wrist to his mouth to open a vein.

“Wait.” After all the noise and action, nothing stirred from the corner. Dread settled in my gut. “I don’t think my nerves will let me until you see if he’s okay.”

“Fine, except I smell death.” He sighed and crossed the room in three steps then removed the clothing that covered the person. “We’re too late.” His soft voice carried more than regret, it carried recognition.

“Who?” I grimaced as I tried to lift and turn my head. Eric sat slumped against the wall, his throat torn out. I wasn’t any kind of forensic expert, but I could tell he’d been there a while. They must have thrown the clothes on top of him. The smell released from under the fabric roiled over me and I retched. Nothing came out. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. I heaved again, and this time Rurik cradled my head. “I can’t feed here. Get me out.”

“It’s going to hurt.”

“I don’t care.” After last night, I understood pain.

He frowned and his eyebrows drew together. With a gentle touch, he slid one hand under my shoulder. The brush of his fingers on my open wounds sent an electric fire through my nerve endings.

I cried out. “You’re right, it’s too much.” My mind raced. The smell of rotting flesh grew stronger. God, I was such a wimp.

“I can block some of your pain, but I’d have to link with your mind.”

“Yes, yes, do it. Just get me out of here, Rurik. Please.”

Tears welled in his eyes. Any doubts about him fostered in my dark hour left my belfry like a colony of bats. “I’m going to kill Luckard.”

Like his hands, his mind touched mine with an expert’s ease. The trauma of this ordeal destroyed what mental shielding I usually sustained. I didn’t have any special abilities, any human could do it with practice and concentration. My thoughts were so scattered I couldn’t spell my own name.

His presence surrounded me and soothed all the aches with love. I breathed easier.

He couldn’t take it all away but made it tolerable.

He lifted me in his arms and sped me from the room. Outside the door we ran into a tall, dark haired woman.

She appraised us with cool amber eyes. “My Master asked me to check on your status, Ms. Bence.”

“You can tell your Master to shove—“

Rurik managed to cover my mouth with his fingers. “She’s been hurt and I’m very displeased. I need a place to tend to her wounds.”

“I’ll relay the message.” She reached for a radio hooked to her belt.

“No, you’ll accompany us to a room and guard our backs while she feeds, Gwen.”

Who? How did he know her name? She’d pulled her long brown hair into a tight braid that hung to her behind. Almond shaped, hard eyes stared at him then she nodded and led us downstairs to a worn couch. “This should do.” She stood with her back to the wall and rested a hand on the gun holstered on her hip next to the radio.

Rurik sat with me on his lap. He bit into his wrist and offered me a fix.

I glanced at Gwen.

Tall and strong, her attention was to the entrance.

With the tip of my tongue, I tasted the temptation, hating the satisfaction it provided.

“Bashful?” Rurik’s incredulous question made me jump. “Do you want me to ask her to leave the room before you bleed to death?” He whispered, an undertone of frustration apparent.

Gwen ignored us.

Good, I couldn’t bear an audience. I wanted to nod but the sweet scent of his blood drew my attention. My hunger roared to life, cutting off all thoughts. On the edge of starvation, I jerked his wrist to my mouth. If I was bound to Tane why did I crave another’s blood?

I pressed my mouth to his wrist and drank. The heat of his blood couldn’t compete with the burning heat on my cheeks. Each salty swallow eased some of the hunger, not all of it though. These last few weeks something seemed missing like an essential vitamin. I knew what now.

Tane.

My gut clenched and I pulled away from Rurik. “Enough.”

“You haven’t even begun to heal.”

Gwen faced us. “Time to go, she says she done.” With a stiff jerk of her head, she gestured for us to follow and marched deeper into the building. Wooden stakes attached to the back of her belt caught my attention.

“Bitch.”

I raised an eyebrow at Rurik, he rarely swore.

He took my face between his hands. “I can’t shield you indefinitely. My strength wanes, I haven’t fed and my daylight rest took place in the trunk of Gwen’s car. Feed some more, at least until you’re healed enough to tolerate the pain.”

“How long have I been here?”

“You’ve been missing a full day.”

I’d been unconscious most of it. “Luckard?”

“Escaped, but the others have been caught or killed.” His eyes narrowed. “I’ll hunt him down.”

“Did you say a combination force of Tane and Colby’s men did this?”

He grinned. “I have a growing appreciation for your ex-boss. He used a cell phone to somehow find you.” Rurik, like most old vampires, understood technology as well as my late grandmother. I’d caught him trying to turn on the television with the portable phone once. “Tane attempted to contact his people with his mind, but the drug still flowed heavy in his blood. He couldn’t tell them the exact location and Colby lacked the forces to storm the place. He and Archios, Tane’s second-in-command, worked out a deal.”

“Who’s Gwen?”

“She manages Tane’s security.”

“I bet after this she’ll be unemployed.”

“Tane never thinks he needs security. He’ll be lucky if she doesn’t quit.” He chuckled and offered his wrist.

How did I explain I had enough of his blood in my system and I needed Tane’s? It felt like treachery. I sighed. “Take me home. Please, baby.”

Something in my expression made him frown. He stood and carried me in the direction Gwen went. We found her standing in a doorway, her back to us, watching what went on inside. Her muscular, thin arms crossed over her chest.

A beast growled and screeched from the room. My heart skipped a beat. Its cry awoke my primal instinct to run. Instead, Rurik pushed past Gwen and carried me inside.

Crouched on the floor a vampire twisted the rod loose in Tane’s flesh. “Brace yourself, Master.” Long brown hair hid his face as he knelt.

Tane stood above him doing his impression of a pincushion with the four rods sticking out of him. He widened his stance and grabbed onto an unfamiliar Nosferatu warrior.

I scanned the room and saw another securing Luckard’s accomplices. Fear gripped my gut. How many of these ubervamps were there? I barely survived two in Budapest and in the last twenty-four hours I’d seen four. An empty foreboding made me hug Rurik closer. My grandmother used to call it a shadow passing over your grave. I believed her.

An inhuman scream came from Tane. His fanged mouth opened unnaturally wide as the long haired vamp slid the bar from his master’s body.

The paint on the walls should have curled from such a sound, I knew my ears wanted to, and I covered them with my hands.

Then the pain hit.

Rurik almost dropped me as the shock flung me into a spine-cracking arch. It burned.

It tore. It hurt. Agony was my only focus. From my shoulder across to my side, almost as if they tried to pull the steel bar from my body instead of Tane’s. My arms flung out as I joined my howls to his screech.

Like a floodgate crashing closed, the pain stopped.

My throat ached from my cries, all I could manage was a whimper.

Rurik gathered me into his arms and hugged me tight. “What’s wrong?” I’d never heard my lover so close tears.

A metal bar clanked to the floor and Tane gasped. “What is she doing here? Gwen, I sent you to get her out.” His voice cracked with strain. “I’m trying to shield you, Rabbit.”

I twisted around to face my personal demon. The vampire at his feet stood to face me. Handsome features and intelligent eyes made me think of Rurik. They could be of the same clan.

“Rurik took over the search and brought her here.” Gwen spoke from behind me, her statement a matter-of-fact.

Thick, dark blood oozed from the closing wound in Tane’s side. I could smell it.

Like buttered toast, it made my mouth water. Our eyes met and without speaking, I knew he understood how I hungered.

The loving arms around me tensed.

I turned to see betrayal and rage surge over Rurik’s face as he glared at Tane.

“You—” A growl built in Rurik’s throat. “She’s bound to you?” The despair carried in his question echoed my own feelings.

“Take them to the house, Gwen. Archios will help set me free.” Tane signaled to the vampire next to him, who appeared lost in his thoughts.

He stared at me then blinked before bending to work on the next bar.

Gwen placed her hand on Rurik’s shoulder. “Follow me.”

He shrugged her hand off. Anger radiated from him in waves. I half expected him to toss me to the floor.

“My flesh has melded to the metal,” Tane snapped. “I can’t block the pain forever.

Not in my state. Stay if you want to make her suffer more.”

In a nebulous silence, Rurik spun and led Gwen from the room, pressing me to his dead heart.

Chapter Six

Naked, I knelt in a deep marble tub filled with a few inches of bloody water. Rurik had cut the last strap from my dress and we’d left the scraps on the bathroom floor. His skin had taken a waxy hue.

He refilled a large plastic cup from the tap and poured it over the lash wounds on my back again.

I hissed at the sting. “You need to feed.”

“That’s usually my line.” He refilled the cup. Since the injuries weren’t healing he wanted them clean. The effort to block some of my pain painted his face. “Maybe if you take some of my heart’s blood you’d mend.”

“No!” Twisting at the hip, I glared at him. I didn’t have a clue what he was offering but I wouldn’t take anything more until he fed. “Gwen?” I called her name. She’d parked her ass in a chair in the bedroom connected to this bathroom.

“You hollered?” She poked her head around the door and grimaced. “That’s nasty.

We should get her a doctor.”

Worry filled Rurik’s eyes as he glanced from me to Gwen. “Is one available?”

“Master Tane keeps one on retainer for the mortals.”

I’d recognized Gwen wasn’t vampire—her word choice, saying mortals instead of humans, set off a little alarm in my head. Over the past few years I’d learned to not ignore it.

“Send for one.”

Gwen nodded and began to leave the room.

“Wait. Take Rurik with you and get him…” What? Someone to eat? “Uh, nourishment.”

“I’m fine.”

“You won’t do her any good if your powers wane.” Gwen signaled for him to lift me out of the tub. “Come on, now. Place her on the bed. We have plenty of volunteers to drink from. Unless you want me to send one in here?”

We both answered. “No.” Watching Rurik take sustenance from someone else would be as pleasant as a root canal.

Gwen chuckled. “Let’s go.” She left.

Using the edge of the tub, I stood. My legs wobbled, but he steadied me. One slow motion at a time, I stepped out of the black, shiny tub. A small family could have bathed in it.

“I wish I could block more of the pain.” He assisted me to the bed and lifted me onto it. Even uninjured, I’d need a stepladder to get on it.

I bit my lip and grimaced as a sharp ache shot across my abused flesh from the sudden movement.

“Sorry.” He looked ready to chew nails. “I hate this.”

“Call the doctor then feed. Come back to me refreshed.” I lay prone on the thick, chocolate brown bedding. What happened to yesterday? We played in the gardens and enjoyed life, carefree…happy. Today a new chapter in our life opened, a terrible one, which starred Tane. “I’m going to need you.” Those words would have killed me to say a year ago, yet I’d grown. He’d helped me understand the difference between standing alone and standing together. With him at my side, I could weather anything. Even this.

I watched the door close and sighed. Nobody wanted me to look at my back. It hurt too much to twist and examine it in the mirror, however with a handheld one I’d at least get a glimpse. One sat on the vanity. I edged off the bed and waddled over. The small, silver mirror felt heavy in my hand. I turned and faced away from the larger mirror. With a little aim, I finally witnessed the carnage.

They did put me through a meat grinder. Did I have any skin left? The doctor would need to work a miracle to sew me back together. There’d be one huge scar once he was done. No more of those backless dresses Rurik loved, and no more bathing suits. A lump swelled in my throat as I fought back the tears.

Was I vain? Sure. My looks helped me through some rough parts in my life. I didn’t rely solely on them, still they helped. Would Rurik have been attracted to me in Budapest if I had looked different?

The door opened and a Nosferatu vampire stepped into the bedroom.

I dropped the handheld mirror. It tumbled to floor and shattered, just like my life. I tried to cover my nakedness with my hands. To say the least, my efforts didn’t accomplish much.

Tane entered with two others of his clan and glanced at the broken shards on the floor. “Don’t move. You’ll cut your feet.” He turned to his entourage. “Leave us.”

They left without comment except the one who entered first did smirk in my direction before following his commrades.

In silence, Tane and I stared at each other. I tried to cross my arms over my breasts, but my sliced arm wouldn’t cooperate. It was hard to look confident without clothes.

“Where’s Rurik?” He sauntered toward me.

“Gwen is showing him where to feed.” I retreated, but the step jammed a small spike of mirror into my foot. A yelp escaped me.

Tane held me close in his arms before I could blink. “I told you not to move.” He stood in the center of the broken pieces. “You’re so infuriating.” With a swift scoop of his arms, he picked me up and carried me to the bed. “Let’s get you healed.”

I rolled onto my side and glared at him. His dark eyes reflected no emotion, yet anger radiated from his body like heat. He wore a pair of black sweatpants and nothing else, not a mark on his skin where the steel bars had pierced him. Broad, muscled shoulders bulged with tension as they met a well-defined chest. His waist didn’t taper to his hips like Rurik’s though. He had a bulkier build. Where Rurik reminded me of a panther, Tane made me think tiger—big, strong, and dangerous.

I pulled a corner of the blanket and covered my front, but it left my backside exposed.

He snatched my foot and yanked out the shard of mirror from the sole. “Like you don’t have enough holes in your hide.” The bed sank as he crawled onto it. “Give me your arm.”

“Why?”

His eyes narrowed and a muscle in his jaw ticked as he clenched his jaw. Rage must be storming inside of him. Betrayed and imprisoned by one of his kind. The anger wasn’t at me, nevertheless I was the focus. Tane ruled all the vampires in the world, which made him the strongest. Not the best idea to piss him off.

I gave him my injured arm, the one Luckard cut with a blade to test our blood ties.

“Squeeze my hand.”

I tried to wrap my fingers around his, but even with Rurik dampening my pain they wouldn’t move much.

“Luckard cut the tendons.” His eyes met mine. “It hurt when he did it.”

“No shit.” I withdrew my hand. He’d felt the slice of the blade too. “Can we just get this over with?”

One corner of his thin mouth lifted. “I wish it could be that easy. If I let you feed, the injuries will close up and heal quickly. With this amount of damage, there will be a lot of scarring if done incorrectly. You might lose the use of your hand.”

I wanted to be whole again and realized at what lengths I’d go to be healed properly.

“Do you know how to do it right?”

He rolled his eyes.

“Of course you do, the mighty Tane’s been a vampire since the time of dinosaurs.” I exaggerated, but knew I was close. What’s a few thousand years?

His chuckle caught me by surprise. I couldn’t remember if I ever heard him laugh before tonight. It made him more human. He licked his lips. “T-Rex, my favorite.” The small amount of humor in his eyes changed his face. It went from intimidating to warm in seconds. He lay next to me and took my arm again. “I’ll have to lick the wound.

Something in the Nosferatu saliva helps with the healing. The stronger the vampire, the better the results.”

My heart took off at a gallop as I watched him bring my injury to his mouth. His tongue slid inside, however he never broke eye contact with me. Drawn into his gaze, my vision tunneled and only the dark pits of his eyes existed. I shuddered as he took a long slow stroke.

Tell me if it hurts. His voice sounded in my thoughts. It broke whatever trance I’d allowed myself to fall into.

“Don’t do that.”

He stopped and quirked an eyebrow. “The tendons may not reconnect.”

“No, continue with the healing, but stay out of my head.”

“Your shields are down. I took it as invitation.” He licked again.

“Rurik is shielding me from the pain.”

And he’s able to eat with all that discomfort?

Bastard. “What do you mean?”

By shielding you, he accepts pain onto himself. He glanced at me while he took another deep swipe. He didn’t tell you?

“No and get out of my mind.” I growled out those last words. Rurik took my pain.

This explained the waxy appearance of his skin and his grumpy behavior. “Can any vampire do that or are we bound as well?”

He sat and released my arm. “You’re not bound?”

“I don’t feel his pain like I felt yours.”

He rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. He loves you, I’ve no doubt, and that binds people in other inexplicable ways. We both entered your blood stream at the same time.

Mine came first, but you refused to take much and then drank deep from Rurik. The power in my blood must have overcome his, yet you didn’t feel the call to be close to me.

Our bonded humans generally want to be near.” With a shrug he turned to me. “We’ll have to explore it more. Lie flat on your stomach.”

“Are you going to lick my back?” A lead ball dropped into my gut.

“Do you want scars?” he snapped. “You’re not the only one who’s had to suffer. I’ve had a few harrowing days as well, and now having to deal with your insolence just tops it.”

I swallowed and lay prone. He had a point, but it went against my nature to be kind to him. Luckard spent one night hurting me, yet he had tortured Tane for longer.

“This will hurt, even with Rurik’s help, so I’m going to take over the shielding.”

I didn’t sense anything different except what aches I had disappeared.

He straddled my body without touching me. I could see his hand by my shoulder and sense his cool breath on my back. Goose flesh formed on my arms. The first initial contact of his tongue made me shiver.

He trailed the tip of it in slow, circular motions and moved up from my lower back.

Rurik is right. You do taste fruity.

“He told you that? When?” I lifted my head to glance over my shoulder.

Relax. He pressed my head to the pillow. We’ve always written letters to each other.

Did you think after Budapest things would change? We’ve always been friends.

“He never mentioned any letters to me.”

Do you tell him everything you do?

I thought of my meeting with Colby. Lies begot lies. Maybe we only fooled ourselves for the last eighteen months. Yet we were happy. “Why did you force a bind on me? You could have rescued Rurik and let him do it.”

No, I couldn’t, and I don’t need to explain myself to you.

I snorted. “Do you think I’m going to transform into a human slave?”

Not overnight. He moved to a deeper wound under my shoulder blade and pressed his knee to the side of my hip.

“Not ever.”

You’ve stopped complaining about my telepathy. The laps of his tongue grew bolder.

I got the impression of what a lollipop felt like. He moaned as he got closer to my neck. It wasn’t a sexual thing, Tane liked men.

His arrogance rubbed me the wrong way. It always did. I knew he helped me, but couldn’t stop the flash memory of Tane as a human from jumping out. Dragos shared it with me while he tried to tear my soul apart with grief. Tane kneeled before Dragos as if he were a god.

My demon jerked behind me. “How do you have that memory?”

“Dragos shared it as he tried to convert me to worship him. Are you done yet?”

“Yes.” He rolled off to lie next to me.

I turned my head on the pillow to see him better. His mouth was painted ruby with my blood. He licked at it as if savoring the flavor. “You never answered my question.”

He glanced at me.

“Why bind us? You hate me.”

“Hate is too strong a word. I find you annoying. But for me to rescue Rurik I had to kill Dragos. I couldn’t do it. I loved him too much. It’s why I asked for Rurik’s help.” He gazed up at the ceiling. “He had already given up Budapest to follow you before we captured him at the house. Once he found out how I used you to weaken Dragos, I doubted he’d ever speak with me again.”

“So you wanted to make sure you had a link to him after things settled. Me.”

He smiled. “Have you been having any odd cravings?”

My breath caught in my throat. “Yes.”

“Blood?”

“Not any blood. Just Rurik’s…” I fiddled with the sheet. “And maybe yours.” I remembered how it smelled.

“You’ve been needing more and more of Rurik’s blood?”

“It’s like a hunger I can’t stop.” My words were barely audible.

“He must have had suspicions that something was wrong. Why else bring you here?

Most bonded humans don’t need to consume more than once a year, but if left unattended they can go strange.”

“You mean crazy. If I feed from you will I get better?”

“We’ll find out.” He reached up to his neck. The nail on his index finger was purposely pointed and he used it to cut his skin. A thin trail of blood trickled down. The hunger I spoke of soared.

My mouth watered and I crawled over to him.

He tucked his hands behind his head and allowed me to drink.

I couldn’t angle my mouth to make a good seal to his skin from where I lay so I climbed on top of his chest. My body finally got what it had been craving, the blood of my vampire master. How did I let things get so wrong?

My back tingled and itched. I clasped his shoulder with the injured hand that wouldn’t function earlier and pulled myself against his broad body.

The door creaked open and I twisted to see Rurik step through.

“What the hell is going on?”

Tane shoved me off and slipped off the bed to stand next to it. “I’m healing her.”

Chapter Seven

The momentum of Tane shoving me off his chest as Rurik came into the room sent me bouncing on the covers. I flinched, expecting pain to tear through me, yet nothing happened.

“I was healing her.” Tane sounded as if he’d been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. I had to admit it looked bad. He only wore track pants and I wore nothing except my birthday suit, but come on, it was Tane. We could barely stand each other and on top of it, he was gay.

Rurik slammed the tray of food he carried onto a nearby coffee table. The plate rattled and the drink slopped over the edge of the glass. “You had to wait until I left and sneak in here like a rat?” He crossed the room and shoved the Nosferatu against the wall.

Tane didn’t fight back. He allowed Rurik to push him. The Master of all vampires could turn my lover inside out if he wanted to, however he did not deflect Rurik’s fury.

He diverted his gaze to the floor as if he couldn’t meet his friend’s glare. His head bounced off the wall as Rurik shoved him again with more homicidal force.

“How could you betray me like this?” Rurik shouted in Tane’s face. “It’s not enough you steal her bond, you need to seduce her as well?”

I sat up and pulled the covers to my chest. A flush of color rose in Tane’s cheeks. He glanced at me over Rurik’s shoulder. No desire lived in his stare. He didn’t want me. My lover saw things that didn’t exist.

Watching these two predators face off, I recalled their friendship, their letters.

They’d known each other longer than I’d been alive. An uncomfortable feeling settled in the pit of my stomach.

“Don’t touch her. Understand me?” Rurik tried to shove Tane out of the room, but the Nosferatu grabbed his wrist.

“She’s my blood slave. Don’t make me quote our laws.” The mask of guilt he wore crumbled and the anger that seethed when Tane first entered the room resurfaced. A vein pulsed in his temple as he held my lover back.

“You can choke on those laws. You’re supposed to be my friend.”

“Which is why I’ll let you keep her!” Tane released Rurik then stomped across the room and threw himself onto the sofa. Crossing his arms over his chest, he glowered at us. “She’s healed, you’re welcome.”

Rurik turned toward me and quirked an eyebrow in my direction.

I twisted at the hips and showed him my back.

He ran his hand over my skin. “Beautiful. Not a scar.” It gave me a pleasant shiver.

Most relationships lose that magic touch, the one which makes us quiver inside from just a brush of fingertips. He still did it to me. “It’s the least you could do after placing her in harm’s way.”

“What?” The disbelief in Tane’s voice rung true.

Wheeling back around, I saw him lean forward and brace the edge of the sofa seat with his hands.

“I didn’t swing the whip.” His knuckles turned white.

Rurik stood between us, his back to me. “You didn’t answer their demands. I saw what you let them do to Eric. You would have let them do it to Connie.”

If the tension got any thicker in the room, I’d drown in it. I reached out and touched Rurik’s hand. “He did his best to make them stop hurting me.”

He glanced at me over his shoulder.

“Tane really did try. They were going to kill us no matter what he told them.” I glanced past my lover to my demon. A glimpse of gratitude flickered in his eyes, but it passed too quickly for me to be sure. “There’s nothing for you to worry about, Tane doesn’t like women, remember?”

My statement didn’t have the reaction I’d hope for. Rurik’s brow furrowed and he frowned at me while shaking his head. “Don’t be so naïve. He likes both.”

A slap to the face would have surprised me less.

Rurik sat on the edge of the bed next to me and faced his so-called friend.

He had touched me, hell, he had licked me. God, I could be so stupid. I glared at my blood master across the room who sat with an innocent angel’s expression on his face. I mouthed the word asshole in his direction.

For a brief moment, he struggled to hide a smile.

Had he been trying to seduce me? Like that would have happened, give me some credit. I wanted to laugh out loud, except my night had already been filled with violence and I didn’t think insulting Tane would be such a smart move. I defended the fiend instead just to make peace between them. “He wasn’t trying to seduce me, only heal me.”

“But you drank from him.” Rurik glared at me.

I nodded. No need to bring up the licking part.

“Your bond to him is real then.” It sounded like he didn’t want it to be true. The defeat in his words hurt me.

“Your love binds you both together. It’s something just as strong.” Tane’s soft words barely reached my ears. “You must have suspected she was changing, otherwise you never would have brought her to my city.”

Sorrow aged Rurik’s immortal face as he lifted my chin so our gazes could meet.

“Change?” I felt my eyes go wide. Even with the blankets wrapped tight around me, I seemed very exposed. I looked from him to my lover as if they’d grown horns from their heads.

“The bloodlust,” Rurik answered.

Oh that, I didn’t understand the concern. “Aren’t I supposed to want your blood?

You told me I would need to feed from you—or I guess Tane—to stay alive.” Not once had Rurik hinted that my hunger concerned him. Why did we keep secrets from each other?

“Yes, but not crave it like…like one of us.” Rurik gestured to himself and Tane. His brow furrowed.

“You never mentioned it was out of the ordinary.” I growled out the statement. The heat of a blush seeped over my cheeks. “You should have said something. What does it mean?”

“I’m not sure. It’s why I contacted him.” He glanced at Tane. “Did you ever find any information?”

“When did Tane get involved with our affairs?” I cried out, finally reaching the end of my rope. Rurik wanted to help me, yet it felt like betrayal. That he’d speak about my hunger issues with Tane, a person who didn’t have a problem using it against me, injured my vulnerable heart. Hurt too many times in the last day, the tormented fragile center of our love shut down, leaving me numb.

“I had no other resources to turn to. Like it or not, he’s older with more experience.”

This was the first time Rurik had ever snapped at me.

I flinched.

“Archios, my second-in-command, bonded with Belatia as a human before being forced to bring her over.” We both turned as one to look at Tane. “He’d been captured by the church and held captive. Unable to rescue him, Belatia almost went mad with blood lust after a year. Dragos kept her as a curiosity until Archios escaped. The only solution we could figure out was to make her vampire.” He shrugged. “We assume that not being able to get her source blood drove her to madness.”

“But I’m not crazy.”

“Not yet. If Rurik had not brought you to Rio…”

Where I got tortured, found out I was bound to Tane and drank from him. Yada, yada, yada. I sighed. “It would have driven me crazy. Is it gone now that I’ve fed from you?”

It was Rurik’s turn to flinch.

Tane glanced from me to him and back. “It should be, though I don’t understand why you craved Rurik’s blood. I’m wondering if we created something new in Budapest. I’d never heard of two vampires trying to bond the same human before. Best you stay close until we figure this out.”

I stared at the rich tones of brown swirls intermingling on my blanket. The tangle of color looked like my life.

“What happened to Belatia?” My head popped up at Rurik’s question.

“She lives here on my estate with Archios. Her hunger became natural when she turned vampire.” He glanced at me. “See? There’s a solution if the hunger drives you mad.”

“No thanks.” By being bound to a vampire, I stopped aging. Bonus. Why would I want to give up daylight and food?

Tane leaned back against the sofa. For a moment he looked tired. “As odd as it sounds, both of you are the only two I can trust at the moment. I have a traitor in my home.” He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose with his fingers before continuing. “Eric drugged me with the same thing we used against Dragos. I don’t think he ever forgave me for what transpired between us and Colby on the Danube River.”

Tane had kidnapped my ex-boss when we hunted Rurik in Budapest and I assumed did some nasty things to him on his yacht. I doubted Colby forgave him, either.

“They imprisoned me in that hole but I hadn’t ingested enough of the drug for them to break my mind.” He sighed. “Eric had been my companion for so long. I wish it hadn’t ended this way. They killed him for amusement. I had no power to stop it.” I could almost believe the regret I heard in Tane’s voice. It was hard to imagine him caring for someone. He peeked at Rurik. “If I could have stopped either of their torture, I would have.”

Rurik nodded. “I know. I spoke in anger before, unaware Eric had betrayed you.”

Tane closed his eyes again. “Luckard wants to know how the drug is made. He’s never had enough support to oppose me before. Someone else has to be behind all this.”

“One of Dragos’ supporters.” It seemed obvious to me. A no brainer.

His eyes sprang open. “Really? Do you think so?”

Rurik moved to sit closer to me. “Easy, Tane. Connie’s not familiar with our ways.”

“Then start teaching her. She has a new role. It won’t be long before word spreads that she’s bound to me.” Tane stood and met my angry scowl. “All of Dragos’ people are dead. I don’t keep loose ends.” He stalked across the room and back. “There are so many ways to abuse that drug. I wish I knew to what purpose they want it so I could figure out the traitor.”

“Did you capture any of your captors alive?” Rurik touched my hand without looking at me.

“Yes, I’m on my way to—interrogate them.” Tane’s hands fisted. I would hate to be the target of his wrath. His prisoners better hope for a quick death, even though I doubted they’d get one. Not after skewering him with thick metal bars like a brochette. “I know things are tense between us, but you’re the only two I can trust. I need your help.”

“I get to keep Connie?” Rurik confirmed, before I could even open my mouth and tell Tane where he could shove my assistance.

A small smile crept across his face. “Of course.”

Rurik squeezed my hand almost to the point of pain, telling me to keep quiet. “I’ll do my best to find the traitor, Master.” He stood and bowed to Tane, whose eyes narrowed at Rurik’s action.

Tane left the room as silently as he entered. I could see his guards posted at the door before it closed and left us alone. I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “Keep me how?”

Rurik glanced at me over his shoulder, a salacious smile on his face. “Naked, preferably.”

Chapter Eight

“I’m already naked. Heck, I feel as if everyone in this freaking house has seen my bare ass.” The blanket I clutched to my chest gave me a false sense of security.

Rurik spun around. “How?”

“After you left, Tane and his guards stormed in while I stood…Oh never mind.

What’s on the tray?” The last thing I needed to do was fan Rurik’s temper by reminding him about Tane. I fluttered my eyelashes at him and flashed him my sweetest smile.

It worked. He grinned and retrieved the tray from the coffee table where he’d slammed it down upon entering the room. “I brought you some food.” We all had our idiosyncrasies; Rurik liked to watch me eat. If I allowed him inside my mental shield, would he be able to taste what I ate? We never tried it since I was so neurotic about letting anyone in my head. I wasn’t ready to make the offer. Too many people already poked around in there for one day, but maybe once I had my shit together I should ask him if he wanted to try.

After I settled the pillows against the headboard and leaned back, he set the tray on my lap. With a flourish of his wrist, he removed the lid.

I stared at the huge bowl. “What is it?”

“I don’t know.” He lifted my fork and poked around the mound of fresh herbs covering the meal. “It’s fish.” Tomatoes and onions adorned the stew. He skewered a piece and offered it.

The pink, tender flesh of the fish tasted mild. I never had the privilege to become a picky eater as child, I ate what was provided. Old habits were hard to break.

“Do you like it?” He sat next to me. “I can have them send something else. They told me it’s a local dish, and I know you always want to try those.”

His concern tugged at my heartstrings. I touched his cheek with my fingertips and nodded, too choked up to speak. Love was just a word until someone expressed it with a gesture. Rurik never gave me any doubts and I repaid him by finding me naked with Tane. I was a terrible, stupid person. “I want you to know that I’d never—I mean, I thought he only liked men and—and—”

He pressed his thumb to my lips. “I know.”

I ate my meal in silence with my lover next me. The events of the past twenty-four hours began to sink in. Tane, the asshole, and our blood bond, which some parts of me still didn’t want to believe. Who the hell did I piss off in heaven to deserve such a fate?

There was probably a line of souls waiting for their turn to stick it to me. I swallowed my mouthful.

Luckard, I wasn’t capable of dwelling on at the moment. The part of my brain that kept me acting normal couldn’t touch those memories yet, not unless I wanted to begin blubbering and finding corners to hide in.

Colby and his killer. I glanced at Rurik and swallowed my last bite.

He sat next to me on the bed staring at nothing, his knees drawn to his chest.

My meeting with Colby suddenly weighed heavy. I never got the chance to tell my lover anything. “Rurik?”

Whatever reverie held him vanished with my query. He raised his head and fixed me with his icy blue stare. Sorrow filled them. In the last year, they never looked at me this way. My courage disappeared like a golden coin at a second rate magician’s show. I couldn’t endure hurting him again. One heartache per day, thank you very much.

“I just wanted to say thanks.”

“It was nothing. Not as if I cooked it.” A small smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

“Not the food. For taking care of me.” I tried to touch his arm, but he’d sat bolt upright and wheeled around as if I’d slapped him instead.

His eyes narrowed as his brow furrowed. “Take care of you? I failed you. They took you from my hands like I was a child.” He held them out in front of him and stared at his palms. “I’ve grown incompetent. The only person who means the world to me and they took you without effort.” The skin around his knuckles blanched as he squeezed his fingers into fists. “Helpless, I had to make an alliance with a slayer of all things to get you back. And then—then what they did to you. How can you thank me?” With unnatural speed, he grabbed my upper arms and trapped them against my body as he pulled me closer, knocking the tray to the floor.

I struggled. Not the way I would if we played a game, more as if my life depended on it. I freed my right arm and gave him a full on slap across the face.

The shock of his expression mirrored what I felt. He let me go and staggered off the bed.

“Don’t grab me like that, Rurik.” My voice trembled. Fear gripped my gut and nausea rolled the fish in my stomach. Where the hell did that come from? When his hands pinned my arms, I flashed back to Luckard. The way he held me as we walked through the slums of Rio also secured my arms in a similar manner. “I’m going to need some time to figure things out.” And a boatload of therapy. Holy crap. A cold sweat covered my skin and I wiped at a bead that threatened to drip into my eye.

Rurik growled as he swiveled to punch the wall. Again and again.

It startled a cry from me and I started to shake. “Stop it!” The blankets fell to my waist as I let them go to wrap my arms around myself.

A puff of plaster dust settled around my vampire lover. He’d left a hole in the wall.

“I will tear Luckard’s hide off one strip at a time for what he did to you, Rabbit.” He snarled out this promise before pacing the room. “Every lash he gave you, I’ll inflict ten.”

I hoped he did and once he was done, I wanted my turn with the whip. Tane may have healed my skin but my soul still bled.

“I’ll have to hunt the bastard down.” Rurik still paced from the bed to the wall and back. His words sunk in and I finally understood what he wanted to do.

With a jerk of my hand, I pulled the blankets off my legs and stood in his path. “You can’t go after him.” The crazy fool would get himself killed hunting Luckard. Not all vampires were created equal. Rurik had once explained that the Nosferatu clan sacrificed most of their humanity in exchange for greater strength and power. Rurik’s people hailed closer to their origins so they could easily pass for human, and it made them weaker.

“Why not?”

Thousands of excuses came to mind but not one that wouldn’t insult. “Let Tane find Luckard. It’s his responsibility, not yours.”

“As your master?” He loomed as his anger projected onto me. “He doesn’t care about you, Rabbit. I should be the one to protect you. Or do you think I’m incapable of it?”

I grabbed my head as Rurik spun our conversation around. “Oh my God, when did I get on this crazy train?”

“You always doubt me. I’m more than just a play thing.” His voice quieted on the last statement. “I used to rule the most powerful city in Europe.”

“And gave it up because of me.”

His glare softened and it seemed as if he saw me for the first time since Tane left the room. “No, I didn’t.”

I blinked.

“Politically, it was sound for me to leave. My people had all left. What’s the point of ruling an empty city? I left Tane with a powerless shell, and in return, I gained the sympathy of the councils.” He sighed and gave me a small crooked smile. “My people have scattered to all the winds yet still report back. I have more influence now than ever before.” He tapped his head with a finger. “Not just pretty.”

“No, sometimes too clever for your own good.” I took a deep breath and swallowed what pride I still possessed. “Don’t leave me alone.” The thought of being left to my own ideations seemed daunting, as if I stood on the edge of a cliff with the soil crumbling beneath my feet. Clutching at any distraction kept me from going over and falling into the pit of despair I’d recently climbed out of. I didn’t think my sanity could survive.

“Connie.” Pain laced my name. He reached out to hold me, but hesitated.

I met him the rest of the way and rushed into his waiting arms. “They never even asked me any questions. I would have done anything to make them stop hurting me…”

My words turned into sobs. I hated Luckard even more for turning me into a blubbering idiot.

Rurik carried me to the bed and crawled in next to me. His arms felt safe. Strong and solid, his presence became my anchor in the storm of insecurity that raged inside.

The raw memories of the whip as it bit into my flesh hurt. I’d tried to deny them, except they were too vivid and fresh. How could I deal with it? I’d never been tortured before. The shame of what extent I would have gone to just to make them stop.

With my head on his shoulder, Rurik ran his fingers through my hair.

I flinched. I couldn’t help it.

He pulled his hand away and went to rest it on my hip, but stopped mid-air then placed in on the bed. “Mon Dieu, Connie. I don’t know what to do.”

The skin of his neck, where it pressed against my face, felt warm. He’d fed before returning to our room. “Don’t stop touching me. They win if we let them do that to us.” I kissed him behind the ear, a gentle press of my lips, and whispered in his ear. “I might be jumpy, you’ll have to help me get over it.”

“Did th—” He cleared his throat. “Did any of them take—rape—”

“No!” Like I didn’t have enough issues.

He grimaced since I’d shouted by his ear.

“Sorry.” I drew his face toward mine and kissed the tip of his nose.

His eyes fluttered shut.

I kissed each lid with their thick, dark lashes. It tickled as they brushed along my lips. His hair matched them in color as I ran my fingers through the long strands.

He sat so very still, as if afraid to move and spook me. We had our share of road bumps in this relationship, but yesterday we hit a freaking land mine.

Things had gotten so complex in such a short amount of time. It didn’t sound like Rurik would leave me. The knot in my stomach tightened. Would I have to stay here in Tane’s city now that we’d confirmed our blood bond? I didn’t want to.

Our ideal life of traveling the world on a whim made me happy, however all good things came to an end. Now our uncertain future made me shudder.

“We don’t need to go any further. I’m in no hurry.” Rurik misunderstood my reaction. It wasn’t him who upset me. Actually, without him I would have been a lunatic by now. His presence gave me the rock my sanity required. He might be willing to wait but I couldn’t.

Insecurity drove me, fear shriveled my soul, and doubt bloomed in my mind, still his love could ease these things. I pressed my mouth to his and with a practiced ease of my tongue I expressed my intentions.

Kissing me back, he shrugged his shoulders and slid out of his shirt then tugged it over his head. For someone who said he could wait, he acted very impatient. Yet, he hadn’t touched my body.

He made an encouraging noise and lay down as I kissed along his neck toward his chest. The lean muscles of his abdomen and sides twitched under my hands as I caressed them and slid farther down.

Rubbing against my stomach, the bulge in his pants spoke of his body’s response. I unfastened the buttons on his black slacks and exposed his hard cock. His breaths got heavier as I drew closer to it, yet he remained still. My lover was usually a much more active participant. Demanding and aggressive, he normally would have taken charge by now.

I finally reached my destination and kissed along its length. Lifting his hips, he pushed his pants lower to give me better access. I gazed up his body to meet his heated stare before slipping him into my mouth. By leaning my head back a little, it gave him the view I knew he liked as I swallowed and sucked.

His hand reached out to my hair, but settled back onto the bed to grasp the sheets in a tight fist instead. I didn’t want him to be afraid to touch me. Would I ever startle or flinch again? Probably, nevertheless I needed to adapt or it would tear us apart.

Releasing his cock, I straddled him. “Give me your hands.”

Rurik eyed me warily for a moment, placing his hands in mine.

I placed one on my thigh and the other on my breast. With some coaxing, I got him to caress my skin.

Sure, strong passes of his hands over my back, my stomach, and down my legs made me crave his embrace. It soothed some of the raw ache buried inside. I’d felt lost and only realized it now. He offered me safety, even if he thought his protection poor.

The palms of his hands brushed over my nipples and they pebbled. I sucked in a breath as electric pleasure shot from his touch through my nerve endings. Golden light of bliss chased the dark shivers away. I needed to be. No thoughts and no worries to cloud my overwrought mind. Rurik could do this. He knew how to drown me in hedonistic desires.

Moist warmth of his mouth followed his hands as he sat and wrapped his arms around my body. Pulling me closer, he suckled with an uncharacteristic gentleness, lapping his tongue in a circle around the sensitive bud. The strength of his arms gave the sense of security I longed for and I melted into them.

“Rurik.” As the name left my lips, I sensed him tense just before he swung me down to the mattress and crawled on top.

The movements came too fast and too sudden. My limbs stiffened and I startled.

“Sorry.” He withdrew. Hurt and frustration marred his voice. I would not let Luckard ruin my love life. The injuries he inflicted should have been only skin-deep, except I could still feel the manacles around my wrists and the sense of vulnerability.

“Don’t.” I grabbed Rurik’s shoulders and tugged him back. “Help me get through this.” Desperation cried in my words. I cupped his face in my hands and gave him a tender kiss. “I want you.”

“I can’t stand the fear in your face.”

“Kiss me.” I ran my hands along his smooth back then wrapped my legs around his hips to pull him even closer.

“I’m going to kill him for you.” Then he covered his mouth over mine with a fiery hunger so I couldn’t respond.

Pressed into the mattress with his weight on me, a moment of panic began to rise again. I moaned and made myself hug him closer. My heart fluttered an erratic beat.

He wove his fingers in my curls as the kiss grew deeper and slower. Each stroke of his tongue soothed my anxiety like a balm.

I sighed and the knots in my neck relaxed. My heart still hammered, except with anticipation now.

With a shift of his knees, Rurik brought his cock to my entry and slid inside with a light thrust. This loving tempo excited me as much as his more aggressive practice.

Our gazes met as the kiss ended. I could have drowned in the depth of his stare.

“Rabbit.” That one word expressed all he felt. I belonged to him, just as much as he belonged to me. It was something we both wanted and needed when we’d met.

Lifting my hips, I encouraged every gentle plunge, allowing him deep inside. My breaths came faster as the ecstasy built in my core. “Yes. Oh, yes.” I tried to increase the rhythm, but he ignored my efforts.

He randomly placed small kisses over my face until he reached my right earlobe.

With the edges of his teeth he nibbled it.

That area contained a link to my g-spot, allowing a direct button to induce an organism. He’d been very pleased when he discovered it a few months ago.

Sometimes so was I.

As soon as he stimulated my weak spot, I’d gone from a frightened girl to a wanton woman in seconds. I bucked and grabbed and scratched while he slid in and out at a maddening slow pace.

His low, sexy chuckle sounded in my ear.

“Bastard.” I cried out and arched my back. “Yes.”

Hot, heavy breathing answered me. Rurik clasped my hair in his fists before he ground against me and shuddered.

After he’d caught his breath and rolled off, I crawled into the comfort of his arms.

He pulled me close. “Let’s not leave the bed tonight.”

Chapter Nine

The clack of the whip still echoed in my head as I sat bolt upright in bed. Sweat rolled off my skin and soaked the sheets. I blinked a few times and took in my surroundings.

Big wooden furniture, four-poster bed, the couch Tane had sat on. He’d been upset.

My shoulders unknotted; I was in his nest, safe, not with Luckard. With a deep, shuddering breath, I flopped back onto the pillows. Rurik lay next to me, oblivious. He couldn’t comfort me. Not that he wouldn’t want to but because the sun had risen. Even if the house burned like an inferno, he’d lay here and burn with it. So would all the vampires in this nest.

It was one of the reasons they needed us. Food, security, and I think some preferred our love. I rolled on my side and stared at Rurik’s profile.

Perfect nose and cheek structure, he could model for GQ or have any woman he wanted. He chose me. Penniless, no direction, mortal Connie.

I sighed. The nightmares would stalk me if I fell asleep again and I’d seen enough of Luckard for one lifetime. I jumped out of bed and hit the shower. Dried and dressed in a towel, I stood in the middle of the bedroom. What the hell was I going to wear? My tattered dress still lay on the bathroom floor covered in old blood.

Lifting Rurik’s pants off the ground, I glance his way. Not like he’d need them at the moment. I slipped them on and used a curtain tie as a makeshift belt then rolled the hem a few times. And rolled them again. Damn, moments like this made me realize how short I was. With a quiet growl, I snatched a shirt he borrowed from a guard off the coffee table and pulled it over my head. It came to my knees. Double damn.

Fresh air sounded like a great idea. Sunshine could chase away the willies my nightmare left behind except where did I find it? I stomped to the door and was thrilled when it opened. I half expected it to be locked.

By the doorframe I noticed an intercom. I stuck my head out the door and checked both ways. The place looked deserted. Should I buzz for help? I really didn’t feel like talking to anyone and they might deny me access outside. Screw it, I closed the door and took a right.

When I got to the next right, Gwen waited for me. She ran Tane’s security and helped rescue us from Luckard.

I stopped in my tracks.

Leaning her shoulder against the wall, she examined her fingernails. “Where are you going?”

“Outside.” I suddenly flashed back to my grandmother doing a similar thing when she’d caught me sneaking out one night. Gwen reduced me to feeling ten again.

“Anywhere particular?”

“No, I want some fresh air.”

She nodded. “Follow me.” Turning down the hallway she’d come from, Gwen led me farther from my room. She pointed to a staircase to the right. “If you follow those it will take you to the main kitchen. A cook is always present. We follow a flexible meal schedule since some of the humans prefer to stay on their vampire’s sleeping patterns.

What are your habits, so I can relay them to the staff?”

I knew Tane’s home needed to be big, but this exceeded my expectations and imagination. “Ahh, I don’t have a schedule. I eat when I’m hungry and what’s available.”

It was true. Working with Colby broke any of my meal habits, living with Rurik made sure I didn’t develop any.

“Are you hungry now?” She quirked an eyebrow my way. Her long brown hair still remained pulled back tight in a braid to her ass and a holstered gun hung from her belt.

“Sure, I could use some coffee.”

She didn’t go to the kitchen staircase though, she continued down the hall which opened onto a huge landing. Another wide set of stairs led to a lobby made of shiny black marble. Windows lined the walls and sunlight poured in. I glimpsed green leaves and some red flowers through them.

With a slight skip to my step, I passed Gwen and descended to the door.

She touched my elbow and stopped my progress. “That’s only the front drive.” With a lift of her chin, she gestured to the left corridor. “I want to take you to the gardens. It’s shaded and has chairs.”

I nodded. Sounded like a great idea.

Lifting a radio from her belt, she turned it on. “Dinner for two in the gardens.” Then returned it to the belt and glanced at me. “Coffee is not food.”

The garden grew next to the house. I twisted around and examined the ancient stone building we just exited. Not a house, a freaking mansion. “Wow.” It stood at least three stories high in this section, but I could see it rose higher as it got closer to the small mountain behind it.

“Master Tane houses a large family.”

“Master?” The title irked my American nature.

Gwen ignored me and led us down a flagstone path to a large natural swimming hole. The elegant landscaped garden kept its original jungle vegetation yet it appeared tame. More than one sitting area surrounded the stone-lined pool.

I stood at the edge and stared into the water. The bottom held what looked like sand and I didn’t see any fish or plants. A low waterfall filled the pool and it emptied via a stream at the other end. Large leaves of tropical bushes drooped to touch the water in some places so I could see the slow current as it eddied around them. I stuck my fingers in the cool, clear water. “I think I died and went to heaven.” My whisper went unheard since Gwen already sat at the far end of the pool area at a table.

She poured coffee from a carafe she’d taken from a tray waiting for us.

The strong smell of Brazilian coffee drifted in my direction. I stood and wiped my wet fingers on Rurik’s slacks. They’d dry before he’d need them back.

“Cream?” Gwen asked as I approached the table.

I saw pastries, cheese, salad and a plate of thin slices of roast beef. My stomach somersaulted in delight. “Yes.” I took the offered cup then filled my plate.

Gwen joined me.

“Tane sure knows how to live.” I cut into the meat.

“Master Tane is very generous.” She eyed me from across the table. “You need to get use to addressing him by that title.”

I snorted then bit into my supper.

She set her half-eaten pastry on the plate. “I don’t understand. You are aware of the bond you share with him?”

“Vividly.” I sipped the coffee and closed my eyes to savor the flavor. “I don’t see a collar and tag around my neck, so I’m nobody’s bitch.”

“You don’t like him.”

“No shit.” I hated him. He wrecked everything. I opened my eyes and finished off my defenseless meal.

“Why did you agree to the bond?”

I choked on a mouthful of salad. My cheeks burned with embarrassment as little bits flew from my mouth and landed between us on the table. “I-I…” Grabbing the cup of coffee, I washed down the rest of my bite. “I never agreed to anything. He forced it on me.” The cup rattled as I slammed it down.

She sipped her drink and watched me. “I find that hard to believe. Some of Dragos’

cronies maybe, but not my Master. He allowed Rurik to keep you since he is so fond of him. It’s a mark of favor.”

My meal sunk like a lead anchor. Tane had that effect on me. He twisted the truth and made himself look a martyr. “I don’t see much of a difference between Dragos and Tane. One crazy Nosferatu took the place of another.”

She shook her head. “Then you never knew Dragos.”

“I got closer to him than I ever wanted to.” The skin on my neck tingled where he’d bitten me eighteen months ago. I rubbed it with my fingers. Dragos almost drained every last drop of my blood. I would have died if not for the bond.

“Dragos’ rein became lax over the last century. He ignored those who broke the laws and also broke a few himself.” She set her coffee cup on the table. “I should know. It was my job to clean up evidence.” The amber of her eyes darkened as she stared at nothing, lost in the past.

I cleared my throat to get her attention. “Do you mind if I take a walk around the garden?”

“No, I’ll accompany you.”

Not that I minded her presence, but I needed sometime alone to think. “It’s all right, Gwen. I’m sure you have more important things to do.”

“Actually, no. I’ve been assigned as your bodyguard. You’re the most important thing I have to do.” The corner of her mouth lifted in a half-hearted smile.

The urge to reach across the table and smack it off her face burned in my shoulders.

“If I said ‘no’ would it make a difference?”

“I have my orders and you don’t sign my paycheck.”

“Why the hell does Tane want to protect me?” The question bypassed my brain-mouth filter.

She rose from her chair. “I know. What a cad, trying to keep you safe.”

The sarcasm wasn’t lost on me. I stood and saw a stone-pebbled path that led deeper into the jungle-like garden. “That’s not my point. We don’t exactly like each other. I think he’d be relieved if I disappeared.”

Gwen’s eyebrows shot up. “Really? That’s quite a dynamic you two have going on.”

She rubbed her chin and followed me as I walked to the path. “Since Tane has taken over he’s tightened the reins and leads with an iron fist. He has returned to older ways of secrecy, and introduced some newer concepts to his people. Living with and caring for humans who have decided to commit their lives to them has been… encouraged.” She walked beside me now.

I laughed. “So he needs to set an example and take very good care of me.” That must gnaw at his balls. As we walked through the jungle paradise, I kept giggling to myself every once in a while. The irony tickled me and being bone weary, also made me a little silly.

“Stop that.” Gwen rounded on me.

I stumbled back a step into a large leaf fern.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “Maybe he cares. Did you ever consider the possibility?”

Ick. “I’ve seen how he takes care of those close to him. He may have a fancy home and people may flock to him, but it doesn’t mean he cares.” I always hated the way Tane had addressed Eric, as if he’d been a servant. Loved ones didn’t give commands.

With a shake of my curls, I brushed past Gwen and continued walking higher up the mountain. My little stroll became a hike. “Crap, I’m tired, and my feet are killing me.”

I’d been barefoot, not being able to wear Rurik’s shoes and losing my high heels the other night. “Let’s go back.”

“Wait.” Gwen grabbed my arm and stopped my turn. “I smell something wrong.”

A chill shot from the base of my spine to my shoulders. Stiff backed, I twisted from side to side and tried to find a scent. Nothing unusual troubled my nose. Flowers, plants and dirt all registered. “I don’t smell it.”

“You wouldn’t.” She let my arm go then brought her face close to the ground as if sniffing a trail.

I blinked, opened my mouth to ask what the hell she was doing, but snapped it shut.

As a blood slave of a Nosferatu vampire ruler, standing on the side of a small mountain in Brazil, Gwen smelling the dirt really shouldn’t surprise me.

A handgun appeared in her hand and she motioned for me to get down.

I didn’t need to be asked twice, I dropped to my stomach and waited. Lightheaded from the sudden move, I stared at one of the pebbles on the path. An ant crawled on top of it as if on a hill. I could relate.

Gwen crept soundlessly through the underbrush. I didn’t know if I should follow.

Allowing Rurik to hunt me for fun this past year taught me to be quiet. I could move like her if I concentrated and didn’t let fear rule me.

One step at a time, I inched forward. Move a leaf, check for things that might creak, step, then repeat. So focused on the jungle floor, I almost got up-close-and-personal with Gwen’s ass.

Still as stone, she studied something on the ground in front of her.

I twisted to look at the path. We’d gone about thirty feet from it.

“You can stand.” Gwen rose with fluid ease and returned the firearm to its holster.

“She’s been dead a while. The killer is long gone.”

What? I shoved past her and regretted it. A young woman lay in a shallow grave.

Bits and pieces of her missing, some of the wildlife must have been snacking. Her long brown hair braided in hundreds of thin strands and twisted into a complicated knot on her head. It appeared as if she’d been dressed to go out somewhere fancy. Her dress and heels seemed intact, but her eyes were gone.

My stomach heaved without warning.

Gwen yanked me away from the body so I wouldn’t desecrate it. “Come on, I need to get you someplace safe then take care of this mess.”

I wiped my chin with the back of my hand. Breakfast didn’t taste as good the second time around. “Will Tane let the police in here?”

“For this? No.” Gwen shook her head and still held my arm as she guided me back to the path. “Whoever did it will get punished though, if not killed. He has no tolerance for murder, there’s no need for it.”

The radio on her belt squealed.

I jumped as if Satan had pinched my ass and I might have wet Rurik’s pants just a bit.

She lifted it to her mouth and spoke in Portuguese. I understood enough to make out the words blood and truck. Her frown deepened and she raised her voice while gesturing with her free hand.

I glanced back at the jungle where the body lay. The rays of the setting sun were fading behind the mountain. Zombie movie flashbacks wreaked havoc on my nerves.

“This would be a perfect setting for horror movie. All we need is a full moon.”

“That’s the last thing I need, Connie. Let’s go.” She took my hand and led me downhill at a quick pace.

“Is a blood delivery here?” My words came out between pants.

“I thought you didn’t speak Portuguese?”

“My vocabulary is good, but I can’t string them into sentences. I’m blonde, not stupid.” The mansion peeked between the leaves of the trees.

“There are too many vampires here for our humans to feed them safely. Most won’t be happy to drink cold blood, yet it will have to do.”

“Why are there so many?” It didn’t make sense to gather in numbers. Like Gwen said, supply and demand wouldn’t work.

“When Master Tane disappeared, many came to help with the search. They’ll be leaving tonight after the party.”

“A party?”

She stopped and stared at me. “Rurik didn’t tell you. I explained it to him last night after he’d fed.”

“He got distracted.” What an understatement.

“You need to attend.”

“No, I don’t.”

“Word is spreading about your bond to Master Tane. He’ll require your presence, a show of solidarity.” She stepped very close and glared down her nose at me. “This isn’t up for negotiations.”

I swallowed around a dry lump in my throat. “Okay.”

She nodded and stepped back. “Let’s get you settled so you can get ready for tonight.”

“What about the body?’

“What body?”

Chapter Ten

“You sound like a broken record.” Gwen stopped by the door to my room.

“I hate leaving that body alone in the jungle for anything to nibble on her.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I met Gwen’s dark glare. The empty pit that used to be my stomach still rolled.

“She’s dead. It doesn’t matter to her anymore. Look, Connie. I’m short-handed as is and this nest is about to wake. Do me a favor and stay in your room until I get this sorted out, or Rurik awakens.”

I nodded before opening the door.

Touching my shoulder, she made me hesitate. “I’d hate to find you in that jungle next.” She spun around and left me staring at her back.

Me too.

The door swung open about two inches then stopped. I tried it again and it met resistance. “Rurik?” No one answered but the sun was close to setting. What else blocked my way? With my shoulder pressed to the solid wood, I pushed until it gave enough space for me to squeeze through.

“What now?” I set my hands on my hips and regarded the luggage strewn across the floor. Someone had gone to our freaking hotel, packed our stuff and then brought them here. Strangers touched my delicates, who would like that?

I appreciated the gesture, I guessed. Eventually Rurik would want his clothes back and that would leave me with nothing but blankets. Something fresh to wear would be great…and shoes, except they didn’t need to bring everything.

Like a gong, the notion hit me. They expected us to stay. I glanced at my sleeping lover. Did he want to remain here among his own kind?

The door opened and a man stood with another suitcase in his hand.

I rounded on him. “Who told you to bring my things here?”

He set it by the door and raised his hands. “Não falam Inglês.”

Great, no English. I let out an angry sigh. “Empregador.” It should mean boss.

Nodding his head, he retreated from the room as I followed. We didn’t go far, left down the hall, then made a right to a guarded double door entrance. My guide spoke with one while the other eyed my oversized clothing and dirty bare feet.

Yep, that’s me, blood slave to your vampire king. All I was missing was a frayed straw hat and some chewing tobacco.

He spoke into his radio, however I didn’t hear a response.

Above their heads, I noted a small camera embedded in the wall. I twisted to look at the intersecting hallways and noted a similar set up. That’s how Gwen knew I’d left my room the first time; she was going to be pissed about this too. Right now, I didn’t care.

The three conferred in quiet voices until the first one gestured to me. “Follow me, Ms. Bence.”

They opened a door and let me in. We passed a small entry into a sitting area with a library from where I could see what appeared to be an office and heard the running shower.

Paintings of the sea covered every wall. Stormy, calm, some with boats, one with whales, and another with a familiar yacht I’d had the misfortune of sitting on.

We stood in Tane’s quarters.

“Please, sit down while I inform the Master of your arrival.” The guard spoke fluent English with a slight British accent.

“No, thanks.” I ground my teeth as I brushed past him across the library toward the sound of the shower. “I’ll tell the Master myself.” The audacity to assume we’d leave our lives behind and stay here without even him asking, tipped my sanity scale into suicidal-nut-job level. With hurricane force wind, I stormed into a huge, black marbled bathroom decorated with a minimalist in mind. The shower stall stood in the far corner with a frosted glass door.

I hurried over and yanked it open.

Tane flinched from the movement and gazed at me. “Rabbit?”

The guard grabbed my upper arm. “I’m so sorry, sir. I didn’t think she’d act this way.”

“You’re not used to her. It all right, Marco, I’ll take care of things.” He leaned against the shower wall and returned his attention to me.

The guard released my arm and I heard him close the door.

Last night, I’d been so exhausted and in pain I never noted Tane’s tattoo. I’d seen it poking out of his shirt collar on occasion. It crept around his shoulders from his back and descended to mid bicep, a black tribal design that popped on his translucent skin. Water poured over him in streams, meandered down his well-muscled body to pool at his feet.

A shiny golden ring pierced his belly button.

He rolled it in his fingers. “I got this before it became fashionable. A small token of my pirating days.” His hand trailed lower and drew my eyes until I realized where it headed.

I jerked my gaze away and licked my lips. Pirate? Why didn’t that surprise me?

His chuckle made me blush. “Is there anything else you need? If you’re going to stand there, you may as well get in and join me.”

“When hell freezes over.” I stepped away.

“Careful what you wish for.” He shut the shower door. “I’m almost done. Wait for me in the living room. I’m sure whatever crisis you have can wait another minute.”

I stared through the frosted glass at Tane’s silhouette. He scrubbed at his scalp. “I’m not staying.”

“Fine, have a seat and order something to eat.”

“That’s not what I mean. I want to go back to my hotel.”

“No.”

I waited, but he continued to wash. Asshole. Rurik should be waking as well. I spun and stomped back to the library. He would know how to get a taxi and get us back where we belonged.

Something brushed past me and I stiffened from the touch.

Tane appeared before me by one of the sofas. A towel wrapped around his waist. He lifted the phone to his ear. “What would you like to eat?”

“Gwen fed me.”

He set the phone down and leaned against the sofa with his arms crossed over his chest. “I heard about your little hike.”

“Then you know about the body?” Gwen didn’t waste time.

“Of course.” He raised an eyebrow and frowned. “I have a traitor in my house and a murderer. Do you think it’s a coincidence?”

For the last hour my brain had stopped working, reacting instead of planning. Maybe a bit of overreacting tossed in the mix when I saw the luggage. “No.”

“Do you think I should call the Rio law enforcement and have them investigate?”

“Would they care?” My words came out strained. He wanted to lead me somewhere.

“Not unless she belonged to someone important.” He rubbed his thumb under his chin and stared at the floor. “If I paid, some of them would care more, but if I’m going to hire a person, I want the best.” With the last word, he fixed his gaze to mine.

“My sources tell me Colby’s in town. I doubt he vacations.”

I should have stayed in my room. This was why I hated Tane. He twisted my guts and made me feel inadequate. One day I might learn to understand his subtle thought processes. Not this evening. “He’s here on business.”

“I bet he couldn’t resist meeting with you.”

“Yeah, I saw him.” My bottom lip began to ache and realized I’d been chewing on it.

A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth as if wanting to laugh. “A bittersweet meeting I suspect. Did he treat you different now that you’re with us?”

“Yes.” I snapped. “Get to the point.”

“Contact him. He’s more qualified to deal with this than the police. I’ll use whatever resources at my disposal to help resolve this problem. Maybe he can find a clue to my traitor.” He straightened and loomed over me. “And you’re staying.”

“I don’t think so.”

The darkness that gathered in his expression as he glowered almost drowned me in doubt. “Gwen told me about your conversation on our bond. You’ve cast uncertainty into her. I forced my blood into you because you would have died without it.”

Poof! Just like that, my anger shredded the doubt. I loved my rage at times. “Don’t go all humanitarian on me.” I stepped into the center stage of his furious glare and poked him in the bare chest. “You could have let Rurik do it instead, but no, you’ve got an agenda.”

“Even if I could have freed him from the sword in time to try to save you, Rurik’s blood was not strong enough to bring you back from the brink of death.” Fangs glinted with the light as he let loose an inhuman growl.

Instinct made me duck and roll for the door but he caught me in his arms before I’d made it across the room.

He pressed me to his abdomen as he whispered. “Don’t struggle. It makes it harder to control.” Hot breath panted in my left ear. “You’re such a pest. My night has barely begun and already you’ve pissed me off.”

The drumming beat of my heart slowed as we stood in this position for a moment.

Tane loosened his grip, but still held me. “You need to learn how to behave. A less skilled vampire would have devoured you by now.” He brushed my hair away from my neck. “Stop influencing my staff. Challenge me in private if you have to or I’ll be forced to punish you in public.” The cool touch of his tongue as he licked a trickle of sweat on my skin made me jerk in his hold. “And I promise I won’t be a gentleman.”

Fangs closed around my pulse point. It stung as he bit into my flesh, yet the pain lessened as he drew in my blood. I listened to his warning and didn’t struggle. Tears welled in my eyes. I’d be damned to let them spill where he could see them.

He pulled away and licked my wound closed. “Very good, Rabbit.” His fingers trailed in my curls before he opened his arms.

If a black hole opened at my feet, I would have been happy to fall in it. Not wanting to look him in the eye, afraid the tears would return, I stared at my hands. “I don’t want to stay here.”

A knock at the door interrupted us. It opened and Rurik entered. Dressed in light slacks and collared t-shirt, he was the image of perfection with his wet black hair slicked back. “I wondered where you went. No surprise you’ve found your way here.” He set his hands on his hips. I’d known him long enough to see the hidden hurt in his eyes.

“Rabbit wants to leave. She came here to coerce me into letting her go.” Tane, still dressed in a towel, sat on the sofa facing Rurik. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s a bad idea.” Rurik spoke those words so softly I almost didn’t believe what I’d heard.

“Why?” Last night he would have tried to tear Tane’s heart from his chest. It didn’t make sense. I couldn’t imagine how he would react once he found out Tane drank from me, except as I got closer I noticed his skin color. He already fed.

A sharp pain pierced my heart. Silly of me to expect him to only use my blood as nourishment, the mansion probably held dozens of willing humans who’d throw themselves at his feet. Did he caress their lower back the way he did with me?

“You belong to Tane—”

“No, I don’t. Do you see ‘Property of Tane’ stamped somewhere on my body? No one owns me.”

“Let me finish. By tonight all those in this nest, and I’m sure others, will know of your bond. It will only be a matter of time before someone tries to use you against Tane.

To hurt or kidnap you so they can gain power.” He rested his hands around my upper arms and drew me closer. “Nothing would make me happier than to go back to our old life, but I can’t protect you. Not by myself.”

“Finally, a voice of reason.” Tane came to stand by Rurik and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I can always count on you to figure things out on your own.” Without another word, he walked toward the bathroom and I assumed a bedroom, as if we’d been dismissed, but before reaching the door he turned. “There’s a party tonight celebrating my return.” He grinned at me. “Some people are happy I survived. Rabbit, I expect you to stay at my side and if you could mingle, Rurik, I’d appreciate it.”

Rurik glanced at me. “Are you sure? I can’t guarantee—”

“Rabbit and I have discussed our situation and have come to an agreement. Wear something different.” That last order he directed at me. Quiet as a nightmare, he left the room.

I leaned against my lover and tried to absorb his strength.

“Careful when making deals with a devil.” He wrapped his arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head. “Come on.” Leading me to the door, we left Tane’s apartment and returned to our bedroom. Already the place looked like a clothing department store disaster area, pants and shirts thrown over every possible surface.

“Ever hear of a closet?” I shoved a pile off the sofa and plunked onto the seat cushion.

He looked around the room as if seeing the mess for the first time. Rurik needed a maid. He couldn’t keep house if his life depended on it. “I was in a hurry. Someone will get it.”

He knelt in front of me. “What is your agreement with Tane?”

Sighing, I leaned my head back. “If I badmouth him in public then he’ll punish me in public.” I decided to leave out the gentleman part.

His fingers dug into my thighs as he massaged them. “Can you try not to piss off the Nosferatu for one night? Maybe give me a chance to figure out what is really going on?”

I nodded without lifting my head. “Shut up, look pretty and say please and thank you.”

“You’re the best.” He kissed one of my knees than made a nasty face before wiping his mouth on the back of his hand. “Where have you been crawling?”

“Oh honey, that must have tasted terrible.” I chuckled at his sour expression. “I crawled around the jungle with Gwen. We found a dead girl.” It was my turn to give a sour face.

“What?”

“Yeah, she’s going to take care of it. Apparently, there’s a vampire going around killing young women in Rio.”

“Really? How do you know all this and I don’t?” The change in his voice should have warned me, yet I was thinking about the body.

Dressed in a black and silver gown with her hair carefully braided and lipstick the shade of red wine, perhaps she’d been snatched from a party? She appeared so immaculate, like Snow White after she’d bitten the poisoned apple. Didn’t she struggle or fight? Did she even have a chance? Not many people could block a vampire’s mind without training. The image fit the other vampire murders in Rio.

“Rabbit?” The dark tone of his voice deepened.

I startled from my thoughts and met his piercing pale blue glare. The truth needed to come out. “I-I met Colby New Years Eve night.”

His eyes narrowed, but he stayed silent.

Swallowing, I tried to moisten the dryness in my throat. “He wanted to know if I could give him some information concerning these murders. Someone in Rio hired them to investigate and take out the problem.”

“Why the secret? You should have told me.”

“I know and I planned to, however Luckard attacked and the rest is history.” A small weight lifted from my shoulders. I’d been so distracted that I didn’t notice its existence until now. “I think the body we found today is connected with the others in the city.”

“How?”

“Her hair, it was braided in an intricate design. All the victims had this.”

He smirked.

“I know it’s weird.” Even though I had slept, a sense of weariness crept over me.

“Tane wants me to contact Colby.”

Silence grew heavy in the room as Rurik sat and stared at nothing for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Nothing good will come if Tane and Colby meet in person again. Call Colby and tell him about the body. Act as the middleman between him and Tane. Help them by being the informant they need, but nothing else. And most importantly, keep me posted.”

This sneaky part of Rurik stayed hidden most of the time we’d been together. It triggered a memory of the night we met and what a slick bastard he’d been. How he drugged and snuck me out of the club under Colby’s nose. He rose to power and obtained being Overlord of Europe’s strongest vampire city in only four hundred years. According to Tane that was young.

“Okay, what if he wants to do more than investigate?”

“I’ll deal with that when the time comes.” He opened a small front pocket on one of the suitcases and slid out a cell phone, then handed it to me. “Call while I pick something out for you to wear to the party.”

Chapter Eleven

My heels clicked on the white marble floors of the opulent hall as Rurik and I meandered deeper into the party. The walls reflected soft yellow lights set in small crystal chandeliers. Sheer sheets of fabric hung from the ceiling like temporary separations and gave the impression of intimacy.

Rurik moved to the side and allowed one to fall between us. He grinned at me and placed a hand against it to invite my touch.

I stepped closer and pressed against him with only the material between us. The shear fabric fell over my bare shoulders and blended with my white silk dress.

He leaned forward and kissed me.

The sensation of his soft lips came through the material, yet not his taste.

“If you’re trying to draw everyone’s attention, you’ve done an excellent job.” Tane’s voice crashed over my libido like a bucket of ice-cold water. He stood next to Rurik. I never noticed my lover stood a couple inches taller than Tane until that moment. “Rabbit, you look lovely, if a little pale.” He winked. “Rurik, elegant as always.” And he was. I could count on one hand the amount of times I’d seen him disheveled.

Dressed in tight black slacks with a white short-sleeved shirt, which made his dark hair and blue eyes more vivid, he drew the most glances.

Tane, dressed in a white button down linen shirt and matching pants, sauntered around the curtain to stand next to me. “I half expected you to wear your earlier outfit.”

He referred to Rurik’s oversized pants and t-shirt covered in jungle muck.

My temper flared, but Rurik flashed me a warning look. He was trying to tell me to keep my trap shut and play nice. “I would have if I’d known you wanted me to.” Giving Tane my sweetest smile, I batted my eyelashes at him.

He offered his hand. “You’ll be at my side tonight so Rurik can mingle and gather information, my pet.”

The second barb hit harder than the first. I ground my teeth and hoped I didn’t chip any, then placed my hand in his. “You’re going to make this the longest night of my life, aren’t you?”

With a sharp glint of amusement in his eyes, he pressed his firm lips to my hand. “Of course.” Nodding to Rurik, Tane led me farther into the party.

I glanced over my shoulder.

Rurik stood behind the transparent fabric. Grim concern masked his face. He wouldn’t be able to concentrate on smoozing with the different political vampire factions attending the party if he worried about me. We both knew Tane prodded my temper on purpose. Why would he want me to slip and lose it? I took a deep shaky breath. Maybe he wanted to follow through on his threat to punish me publicly and set an example. A cold shiver ran down my spine. It was going to be a very long and trying night.

I blew a kiss to Rurik. Not much of a comfort, except it offered my love.

He lowered and shook his head then left in the other direction.

A tug on my arm spun me to face a group of strangers approaching Tane. They bowed. The only times I’d ever seen a person bow to another were in movies. It took me off guard. Did I curtsy back? I squeezed Tane’s hand, hoping for some kind of cue, but would he give me one or let me make a social gaff?

Slipping his arm around my waist, he pulled me close as if we were the best of friends. They stated their names. I couldn’t keep track of them. It went in one ear and out the other, because Tane stroked his thumb along my rib cage as he observed the shallow pleasantries and responded in kind.

His touch sent all the wrong signals to my brain, which misfired and misinterpreted the sensations. Instead of getting squeamish or nauseous at the tender strokes, warmth spread low in my abdomen; I wanted to lean into the strength pressed against me.

The group moved on, replaced by another. Parties annoyed me. These vampires were just a bunch of bottom feeders who didn’t really want to be together but needed to show their loyalty. Surrounded by such friendship, no wonder Tane wanted Rurik to stay. True allegiance was a rare fish in the vast sea of politics.

One of the guests lifted the wrist of a pretty young man next to him and offered it to Tane.

He released me and took the gift. Angling himself so our gazes met, he bit into the snack.

The young man hissed in pain with initial puncture, then relaxed into the arms of his vampire as if mesmerized.

Tane didn’t drink long, only a taste.

With a murmur of their joy at his safe return, the group moved on.

Next to me, Tane sighed.

I jerked and glanced at him. For a moment, I could have sworn he sounded sad, but it didn’t show on his face. In his position, he probably couldn’t ever show what he truly felt. Watching the vampire and his young love as they made their way to an isolated corner, I had to wonder if Tane missed Eric.

“Come, Rabbit, let’s find something to drink.” He presented his arm.

“You just had a drink.” I placed my hand on his forearm and followed at the leisurely pace he took, like a good little pet.

“I need to wash out the flavor. He tasted tainted with some kind of drug and its turning my stomach.”

Halting, I spun him around and whispered urgently. “Not the drug.” The one used to capture him.

He smirked. “No, I can’t taste that drug. I mean recreational stuff.” He smacked his tongue as if testing the flavor. “Heroin, I think.”

“You can detect that?”

“I’ve had time to develop a sensitive palate.”

Yeah—a millennia. For some reason I couldn’t see past a vampire’s youthful appearance. I treated them as if they were my age. Tane walked the Earth before recorded time. It made me feel insignificant.

A servant came with a tray of martinis. Tane took two and gave me a glass.

“I can’t drink alcohol.”

“Does it make you sick?” He gulped his.

“If I start I won’t stop. I’m a recovering alcoholic.”

He lifted the glass from my hand. “Not even one?”

“There’s no such thing as just one when I start. I haven’t had a drop since Budapest and even that, Rurik tricked me into taking.”

The second martini paused on the way to his lips. “Really? I haven’t heard this story.” He stepped closer and I could smell the gin on his breath.

“Why should you have?” The scent triggered a dormant craving. My demon wanted to piss me off and he pushed every button he could to make me lose control.

“Rurik told me most of what happened.” He sipped. “Some in detail.” He winked.

Stabbing my thumbs into his eyes would have given me great satisfaction. Could I believe him? “Well, I guess you can ask him about it.”

“I plan to.”

Eat me.

“Only if you say please.”

I gasped. “Stay out of my head. How did you get past my mental shields without my detection?”

“The bond—and I’m talented.” He finished his drink and a servant materialized to retrieve the empty glass. “And you almost shouted your thought. It was kind of difficult to not hear it. Shouldn’t be long before you explode.”

“Why are you doing this? You asked me to behave in public and I’m doing my best, but you keep poking at me.” All this spoken in a quiet voice and in one breath.

“Because it’s fun. These events are so tedious. The least you can do is provide some entertainment.”

“What?” It echoed throughout the room and the hum of voices lessened. I produced my best fake laugh, hugged Tane, and used my ditzy blonde drawl. “You’re so funny.”

Most lost interest right away.

“Nice save.”

“Thanks. Stay out of my head. It’s rude.”

Pressed against Tane’s chest, I realized with my stilettos we fit well together.

Warmth built between us and butterflies took wing in my stomach.

Tane cleared his throat and retreated a step.

It was about time I scored a point in this game.

“I need another drink.” Giving me a wide birth, he left me.

Being alone at a vampire party when you’re human could be dangerous. I scanned the area however with the dang curtains hanging everywhere I couldn’t spot Rurik.

A young woman watched me from behind a piece of fabric. Her long honey blonde hair was pinned from her face and spilled behind her shoulders. She wore an old fashion high-waisted gown with thick embroidery. When our gazes met, she smiled and flashed fang.

The cool jungle breeze blew in through the open garden doors and fluttered the material. I glimpsed Rurik sitting on a pile of cushions conversing with a group of women. One of them slid over, resting her head on his shoulder.

I’d had enough. Tane could do his own mingling.

Chapter Twelve

Before I could move forward the blonde girl, who’d watched me from behind the curtain, blocked my path.

“Are you Tane’s new companion?” Her blue eyes shone like sapphires and a dimple appeared in her right cheek as she smiled shyly at me like a pretty little vampire doll.

“Yes, but he refers to me as a blood slave.” I raised an eyebrow at her and scowled.

She giggled. “That’s a very old title. He made people stop using it centuries ago. I wonder why he’s returned to using it now?”

Her laughter caught me off guard. Most of the vampires I’d met since traveling with Rurik fell in two classes: overconfident-smug-asses or take-everything-out-of-context-serious. She didn’t fit in either. How interesting.

A tall slim man with long brown hair came behind her. I remembered him from my rescue from Luckard. He helped remove the bars from Tane’s body, yet his name slipped my mind. “Our Master is hurt by Eric’s betrayal, my love.” He placed his arm around her.

“I doubt he’ll be very kind to you, Ms. Bence. My apologies for your circumstances.”

“Thank you…I think.” This one fit in my latter category.

“I am Archios, and this angel is my wife, Belatia.”

I recognized their names from the story Tane told of a blood slave gone crazy with the hunger when her master disappeared. “Rurik told me you helped to lead our rescue.

Thank you for helping him.” My jerk of a master must have known I’d meet Belatia at this party when he described her similar fate. I hated him.

“Yes, Archios is a great warrior.” She stared into his face, love apparent in her eyes.

He soaked it in.

“It was nice meeting you both, but I have an ear to go tweak.” I pointed to Rurik as another woman moved in on his other side.

“Oh, Rurik always has women around him. This is nothing new.” Belatia gestured with her hand as if it didn’t matter.

“Really?” I raised my brow not sure if anyone could see the steam pouring from my ears.

Archios chuckled. “Not recently, Bel. He’s been traveling with Ms. Bence.”

She made a small ‘o’ with her rosebud lips as her eyes got wide. It didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to figure out Belatia came from a simpler stock of vampire.

Twisting around, I faced my lover across the room and our gazes met.

He winked. It’s all I needed. Some kind of hint he saw my pain. Deep down inside, I understood why he flirted. Those women would answer any of his questions, and we needed information to try and find the traitor. Didn’t mean I had to like it. My jealousy and anger evaporated though.

I glanced at Bel’s husband. “How do you know my real name?”

“Tane provided it. I set up all the spending accounts for our nest. Yours should be available by tomorrow.”

“Mine?”

“The credit card attached to it will be here within the week.”

“For me?”

“Yes, you’ll need to stop by my office and sign some papers. Do you have a passport?”

“Yes, I’ve been traveling.” The conversation became surreal, as if I’d switched from party to job interview.

“Good, bring that as well. I need a photocopy.” Archios smiled and stood straighter, as if relieved of a burden.

“You’re conducting business. We’re supposed to be having fun.” Belatia took his arm and grabbed my hand. She led us to a sitting area where I couldn’t watch Rurik.

“Would you like me to read your fortune?” We sat at a low rectangular table on cushions that surrounded us in piles. She set a deck of tarot cards on the surface.

Behind Bel, a half-dressed human woman reached for a nearby curtain and pulled it closed. What she and her vampire company did in private occupied my imagination. The room’s temperature increased and sweat trickled down my back. Like a distracted dumbass, my brain to mouth filter turned off and I answered sweet Belatia. “I set fire to the last vampire who read my cards.”

Silence descended until it pulled my attention from the closed curtains. Belatia had covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes wide. “You did?” She asked in a hushed tone. “Why?”

“That’s enough.” Archios set his hand on the table. His glare burned in my direction.

“You are just as bloodthirsty as our Master then, but no one threatens my wife.”

“I didn’t mean—how could I—I meant…” Why was it that I needed to concentrate to be polite? As soon as something distracted me, I ended up insulting someone without trying.

“Archios.” Belatia placed both her hands on his and squeezed. “I don’t think she meant it like that. She just stated a fact.” The innocence of her smile as she turned it from him to me shone true. She believed every word she said.

It warmed my heart to have someone understand. “Thanks. You’re right. Still, I should have said it another way.”

“See.” She gestured to her husband. “All is well.” With deft fingers, she returned the cards to their case. “You may call me Bel. Has anyone served you a drink yet, Ms.

Bence?”

“Connie, please. No, I haven’t had anything.” I sure could use one, a stiff shot of whiskey came to mind. I almost missed Tane. I didn’t care if my comments hurt him. Bel, on the other hand, seemed…nice. For a vampire.

“Go get her something.” She patted Archios’ thigh.

He glanced my way.

“Nothing with alcohol.” I did my best to appear sincere. “I promise to not set anyone on fire while you’re gone.”

He rolled his eyes and left while Bel giggled.

She leaned forward. “Why does Tane call you Rabbit?”

I groaned. “To annoy me. It’s a pet name Rurik uses.”

Her laughter made me smile. “Is it because your hair is so soft and fluffy?”

My laugh followed hers. “No, I think it’s more in the line of being a main course.”

She shrugged. “I guess we should expect that from hunters.” Glancing around our area, she lowered her voice. “Tane must care a great deal for you to bond you so soon after Eric’s death.”

“No.” I barked my response. “It’s nothing like that. Tane bound me almost two years ago. We can barely stand each other.”

Her smile disappeared. “That’s so sad. He’s kept you hidden all this time?”

“I’ve been with Rurik.”

“Why?”

“We’re in love.” Something about Bel made me comfortable. Talking with her felt normal and I never made friends easily. Trusting people didn’t come naturally.

Abandoned by my parents as a baby, with only a poor grandmother to care for me until she passed away when I turned fifteen, I was left alone, and it didn’t take long for the predators to find me.

I liked Bel.

She clapped. “Then he let you go, he released you. I didn’t think Tane could be so mean.”

“Really?” I couldn’t hide the surprise in my voice. “I think he’s a controlling, overbearing, sneaky—”

“Yes.” She nodded. “He’s our leader and needs to be those things, but he also has a kind heart.”

“I’ve seen no evidence to that.” Did we know the same Tane? I rubbed my chin.

Bel came around the table and took my hand. “I want to show you something.”

“What about Archios?” With her vampire strength, the slight girl tugged me off my tush so I landed on my feet.

“He’ll find us.” She flounced ahead, the old fashion dress swaying with her light steps.

I needed to put a hop in my gait to keep pace. As I passed each cluster of Tane’s people, their conversations would quiet to hushed tones or someone would point. A smartass, of my own nature, called out my pet name and some of them snickered. God help me, I was in high school again.

Bel went through the open doors into the extensive gardens. An enclosed grotto stood close to the building and she entered it.

When I followed, she had already turned on the lights. A mural covered most of the walls and the ceiling. Bel traced a finger on the painted walls. “Tane built this for me so I could paint this picture. It represents everyone I know.”

The screen door opened and we both jumped. Gwen entered, dressed in a black suit, looking very secret service. She nodded and stood by the entrance.

“Can we help you, Gwen?” Bel asked.

“I’ve been assigned to guard Connie. The grotto is too enclosed for me to remain discrete.”

“You’ve been watching me all this time?”

“Of course, it’s my duty.”

A horrifying thought startled me. “In my room?”

“No need. Those are secure, as is most of the house, but the gardens aren’t. Not after this afternoon.”

The body. Colby appreciated the information I provided. He wouldn’t answer any of my questions about his plans. Not surprised.

“Bel wanted to show me her beautiful mural. She’s quite talented.” The room looked like part of the jungle. Plants and leaves I didn’t know the names of filled the space.

Animals of all kind added to the depth of the picture. “You said it represented all those you know?”

“Yes, such as…” She took a few steps and pointed to a silver wolf howling. “This is Gwen, the Bengal tiger is Tane.”

“That suits him.” I observed a fox close to the tiger and gestured to it. “Is that Rurik?”

She laughed. “Yes!”

I spun a slow circle and took in all the animals. “Where is Archios?”

“There, the black husky.”

“A dog?” I did my best to swallow my giggle.

“He’s loyal and fierce, not wild like Gwen.”

I glanced at my guard and remembered how she moved through the jungle after she smelled something bad. “The wolf suits you too.”

She gave a slight bow. “It should.”

“Who’s the panther?” It stalked next to me; its yellow eyes almost glittered. I didn’t exaggerate Bel’s talent.

“Luckard.”

I hopped away as if it came alive. My heart sped and I felt silly, but those eyes looked as cold as the real ones. I swallowed and examined some of the other animals.

“Which one is you, Bel?”

“Me? None, I never thought to place myself here.” She stared at her creation.

“What would you be?” Curiosity got the better of me. Bel was an interesting person.

“A mouse, I think. Small and insignificant, I’d paint it right there by the door next to you.”

I chuckled and came next to her. “Let me guess what animal you’ve chosen for me.

A rabbit?”

She giggled and slipped her arm through mine. “Not the white fluffy kind though, a Jack rabbit, quick of wit and always watching for change. There are no predators by the door to hunt us, either.”

“I like that.” Except at the moment, my fox sat in a room surrounded by women who viewed him as prey. “I’d better get back to the party.”

We left the peaceful grotto and strolled from the garden back to the mansion. Ahead, I glimpsed Tane and Rurik cross our path. An alarm rang in my head.

The way Gwen’s shoulders stiffened made me think she heard the same bells.

Without any verbal agreements, we both followed and took Bel along.

I pressed my finger to my lips to signal her to be silent.

Her eyes widened and she bounced on the spot for a moment.

Among the tall vegetation, the path wound a leisurely pattern. Private areas sprouted to the sides. Each empty until we arrived by the stream.

Tane and Rurik stood close, facing each other, and spoke in hushed tones. Tane stepped forward and touched my lover’s face.

“Excuse me!” I covered the distance between us in five huge steps, almost twisting my ankle in the fine gravel with my heels.

Steadying my stance, Rurik grasped my elbow. The moonlight gave enough illumination for me to see amusement shone in his eyes, not guilt.

I glanced at my personal demon. His dark soulless eyes reflected the light, but remained void of emotion. “Rabbit, I see you’ve gathered an entourage. Are you staying out of trouble?

“So far, are you?” Why would Rurik flirt with Tane, and why did it bother me more than the women? What would have happened if they’d been left alone? “I think I’m done for the night, though.”

“Not yet,” Rurik whispered from behind.

Chapter Thirteen

Rurik kissed my forehead then stepped away. “Tane needs to address everyone at the party and I want you at his side, the image of solidarity between both of us.” He turned as if to leave.

“Where are you going?” Panic fluttered in my chest.

“To watch.” He winked and strolled to the party.

Gwen cleared her throat. “Come, Belatia. Archios must be worried about you.”

“Oh Connie, he never got you a drink. We’ll send one when we find a servant.” She spun around and flounced to the mansion, Gwen in tow.

I glanced at the Master of all vampires. The smooth skin on his bald head gleamed with the moonlight, and a gold earring in his right pointed ear sparkled. I flicked it, trying to control the urge to rip it from his ear. “This from your pirating days as well?” Thief who tried to sneak out to the secluded gardens and seduce my boyfriend.

He rubbed his earlobe. “No.” The color of his white button down shirt made him appear paler.

Then something occurred to me as I checked out my own outfit. We matched. Rurik must have arranged it since he chose my dress while I showered the jungle off. Lovely.

We stared at each other. What did I say to someone I caught flirting with my boyfriend? I never had to compete with a man and found it very threatening.

“The party should be ready for us.” He strolled through the vegetation. Even though dressed as a modern man, he seemed at home and more relaxed outside. The extensive grounds and elaborate gardens made more sense as I watched him walk ahead of me.

He ran his open palm over the broad leaves of the plants lining the path. As we approached the party, he plucked a large red flower and set it in my hair. “It brings more color to your cheeks.” He brushed some of my curls from my bare shoulders. “I’m summoning Luckard’s accomplices to sentence them for their betrayal. Can you stand next to me without incident?”

“Rurik asked me to.”

“I’m aware what Rurik wants,” he whispered. “But I need to believe you can do this without a ruckus. Can you bear their presence?” His intense dark gaze bore into mine and my heart took wing.

“What are you going to do?” My voice cracked and I cleared my throat. Funny how his kind gestures made me more nervous than his anger.

“Remind my people who I am and what I represent.” He offered his forearm like an old-fashioned British gentleman.

For all our sakes, I took a deep shaky breath, untied the knot in my gut and placed my hand on his wrist. “I’ll keep my mouth shut.”

He gave me a rare smile. “That’s my girl.”

Inside, with all the curtains tied back and the seats with cushions pushed to the walls, the room grew. Everyone gathered around a dais set in the center. No throne sat upon the bare stage, it remained empty until we climbed the steps and faced the crowd.

The hum of conversation quieted.

I stayed a step behind Tane. Sweat trickled down my back and I could sense the beads form on my forehead. All those eyes watching me made the knot in my stomach tighten again. I should have asked Rurik to do his Jedi-mind-trick so I’d remain calm.

He’d done it before, when Dragos forced me to dance with him at a party. However, that experience didn’t end in gunfire. My throat became as arid as a desert. I hoped the past wouldn’t repeat itself.

Tane scanned the room and the silence lay heavy. “I have ruled with a kinder hand than my predecessor, but treachery and deceit have taken root in my home.” His voice carried in the tall room with quiet strength. “Disobedience and betrayal will not be tolerated.” He gestured with two fingers at the guards by the main entrance as if calling them forward.

They opened the doors. Eight guards dragged the two vampires, who’d helped Luckard torture both me and Tane, by chains wrapped around their arms and torso—Blondie the ass, who wanted to add rape to my torment, and Al, his dark somber companion.

Anger boiled in my gut. They chased me through the streets of Rio, hurt me and tore my life apart. These insignificant toads discarded me, wounded and bleeding to death, in a room with Eric’s decaying body as if I didn’t matter.

Tears burned behind my eyes and my chest constricted, however I’d scoop out my own eyeballs before shedding a drop in front of these soulless bastards. I plastered an expression of discontent on my face and held onto it for dear life.

Dropped at Tane’s feet, they knelt with their heads bowed as if too weak to hold them high. No apparent injuries showed, but vampires healed fast. Hurt them enough times without allowing them to feed and they lost strength.

Without thought, running on instinct and fury, I approached Blondie and kicked him in the face with my open-toed heel.

A collective gasp from the crowd shocked me out of my angry trance. I spun to face Tane, expecting his wrath for breaking my promise. Instead he grinned.

The betrayer hissed and snapped his jaws at my ankles. The guards didn’t tolerate his actions and fell upon him.

Tane ignored everyone except me for a moment longer. He stretched out his right hand to the side without looking and a Nosferatu placed the handle of a great broad sword in his palm. Without effort, he drew the weapon from its scabbard so the tip pointed at the ceiling and raised the hilt even to his chest.

The sword looked familiar. I stepped closer and peered at the intricate design next to Tane’s fingers. Blood red rubies formed the shape of a pyramid. I recalled Rurik kneeling on the wood floor slick with his blood, this sword pierced through his chest. The sword my lover killed Dragos with.

“I’d let you have the honor, my bloodthirsty companion, although I doubt you can lift it.”

A few chuckles came from his people.

My cheeks burned. Not from the laughs, but that Tane knew my desires.

He nodded to the side, telling me to get out of his way, then confronted his traitors.

Placing the point of the sword between them, he glared. “I’ll offer a merciful death if you tell me where I can find Luckard.”

Blondie spat a bloody glob at my feet.

To my horror I jumped.

He licked at his split lip as he glanced at his partner. “We don’t trust you to keep your word.”

Tane lowered his sword and pointed it a Blondie’s throat. “Take this piece of rotten flesh to the mountaintop. Crucify him in the same manner they did me then let him watch the sunrise. Gwen, post some of your brethren as guards.”

“No.” Blondie struggled against the chains, but a guard placed his foot in the middle of his back.

Kneeling, Tane came eye to eye with him. “You’re old enough to not flash fry. The sunlight will have to work its way through your flesh.”

He swallowed, panic evident in his eyes. “I don’t know where he is.”

The guards grabbed his shoulders and dragged him outside. His wails could still be heard as Tane turned his attention to Al, the darker traitor. The tip of the sword pressed against his jugular. A trickle of black blood oozed along his tan skin.

“What about you my friend? You’re much older than your companion. When was the last time you saw the sun? Two, three centuries ago?”

“Well over four, Master.” Al hung his head; his shoulders slumped. “I don’t know Luckard’s whereabouts either, but I do know someone else is helping him. You have more traitors than us.” He heaved a sob. “I should never have listened to him.”

Tane touched his hair. “No, you shouldn’t have.” He lifted the huge sword with one hand then swung it in an arc to behead Al.

The sword’s sharp edge slid through his flesh. Only the sound of his head thumping to the floor broke the silence in the room. A small spray of blood splattered the guards, yet they didn’t react to the mess. Al’s head rolled toward me and stopped against my shoe.

Tane wiped the sword on the body and returned it to his Nosferatu brother.

Determined not to vomit, I pressed my hands to my mouth. Oh, please God, don’t let me puke in front of all these people. Not an ounce of remorse for this jerk touched my heart. I doubted he ever regretted any of the pain he’d caused.

I stared at the dead face and it blinked. All the air left my lungs as the room spun. He wasn’t dead yet. I retreated and stumbled on the steps in my hurry to escape the horror show. Somehow I descended them without breaking my neck then tripped over a bystander’s foot. A strong set of hands grabbed my elbows. I glanced over my shoulder to thank my rescuer.

Rurik’s concerned gaze met mine.

“H-he—it blinked.” I pointed at the head still on the dais.

Tane descended the steps as the crowd dispersed. His staff cleaned the mess he’d left behind and the curtains fell from their secured positions.

“I think she’s had enough for tonight.” Rurik placed my hand in Tane’s.

“Very well. Follow me, Rabbit.” Wrapping a solid arm around my waist, he pulled me close and guided us through the crowd.

Once in the corridor I whispered. “He’s not dead, is he? His eyes moved.” With my fingers fanned out, I gestured to my own blinking eyes.

“It won’t be long before he dies. He’s young enough that his head can’t exist without the body for long. Maybe I should have sent you away.”

“I’m not upset about watching you kill him.” I tried to yank out of his grasp, yet I might as well have been bound in steel chains. “Knowing he was still aware as he looked up my legs freaks me out.”

Tane chuckled. “At least he had a nice view.”

My mouth slammed shut. He liked my legs? My ears must have misunderstood and I had to remind myself that he was bisexual. Yet, one moment he flirted with my boyfriend, the next with me. What wicked game did my personal demon play? I twisted to see Rurik’s expression, except he was nowhere to be seen. “Where did he go?”

“Rurik? He’ll stay until the party ends then report afterwards. Gathering information is his specialty.”

Hugging myself tight, I tried to ignore the warm touch of Tane’s hand on my hip.

“Being an informant? Looked more like flirting to me.”

“He’s good at that too.” We made a left. Guards marched ahead and behind us. They didn’t wear uniforms, but all moved with a deadly grace. Stopping at my room, one of them opened the door and checked inside.

The mansion struck me as immense all of a sudden. Too many corridors, staircases and rooms—it made me feel trivial like a pet rabbit. I looked at our guards. Maybe I could ask one of them to stay?

Gwen wasn’t among them. She escorted Blondie. A shiver ran down my spine. After an evening of betrayal and death, I didn’t want to be alone with my thoughts.

The image of Tane touching Rurik still bothered me as well. Maybe he wiped something off my sweetheart’s face. Like what? Food? Possibly blood, but Rurik had already fed, unless he partook from every floozy throwing themselves at him tonight. I ground my teeth. I was going to drive myself nuts.

“Are you going to stand here all night?”

“How long do you think Rurik will be?”

Tane allowed his gaze to wander down my body then back up. “The rest of the night.

There’s only a few hours until dawn and he’ll need to speak with me before then. What did you have in mind?”

“Can I hang in your apartment?” This request cost me a piece of my soul.

Tane’s brow shot up. “From what?” The utter shock on his face confused me for a moment.

“I don’t mean literally.” I needed to watch my language. Rurik understood my slang, obviously Tane didn’t. “Can I stay with you until Rurik returns?” I hadn’t been alone since my night with Luckard. Like it or not, I was a chicken. A coward.

“Oh.” He shook his head and gave a soft chuckle. “That’s a terrible expression to use after being part of an execution. Come along then, but I don’t have anything to occupy you.”

“Neither do I.” Boredom trumped fear.

Chapter Fourteen

Tane deserted me in the sitting area of the apartment and went to a back room, leaving me to explore. I wandered along the lengths of the walls. Carved wooden masks in different styles decorated the area, some looked ancient and cracked. The silence was of museum quality and I wished for little placards to describe each item.

Something bothered me about them, though. I stopped in my tracks and examined them closer. They all had fangs. With the tip of my finger, I touched one of the points.

“They’re all symbols of the vampire myth.” Tane’s breath brushed my ear as he spoke. A cattle prod set on maximum would have stunned me less. He chuckled as I jumped. “You’re so nervous.” He tried to place a hand on my shoulder.

I shrugged it off. “I’ve had a rough week. I think I’m entitled.” The intensity of his presence sent tingles over my skin. “Where did you get them?”

“All over the world and over the course of my existence, some of the best have disintegrated during that time. Vampires haven’t always hid in the dark. Pre-history humans worshipped us as gods once.” Still as stone, he stood next to me, staring at part of his past on the wall. What had he experienced?

I lamented my lost love, Laurent, my husband stolen away by cancer. How many loved ones had Tane lost? Each loss must have left a mark on him. Yet he could still laugh, if rare, and have mercy, if rarer still.

Someone tried to kill him, though. We all assumed power the reason behind the madness, maybe it was more personal. “Tane?” I tasted his name as if for the first time.

He turned his handsome, strong face in my direction. Firm lips drawn in a straight line and dark eyes a mirror, I always found him difficult to read.

“Why did Eric drug you? Weren’t you in love?” Yes, tact was my middle name.

The corners of his mouth dipped while he stared over my left shoulder at the masks.

“Yes we were. But time changes all things.” His gaze flicked to mine. “One day you’ll understand this. Eric had trouble adapting to the modern world with all its laws and democracies.” The constant veil he wore over his eyes lifted for a second. Grief lived in there, and loneliness.

I wasn’t the only one who didn’t want to be left alone.

“He became jealous. Things only got worse after Budapest.”

“Can you blame him?” I cringed as soon as the question popped out like a little devil from my big fat mouth.

His sad eyes transformed into a blaze of dark indignation. “What do you mean?” He stepped closer.

I retreated against a small oak bureau. Something sharp stabbed my back and I squeaked.

The door to the apartment opened and Rurik stepped inside his smile fading as he observed us.

I twisted to escape Tane’s scrutiny and knocked the offending knickknack poking my skin off the surface. My heart stopped while I watched the antique topple.

Tane gasped, but caught the little statue before I blinked.

“I wanted to make sure you weren’t trying to kill each other.” Rurik crossed his arms over his chest. It made the buttons on his shirt strain. “Looks as if I came in time.”

“Clumsy!” Tane glared at me. “It’s the one remaining thing I have from—from a past friend.” He held a slim Egyptian statue in his palm. “You almost smashed it.” With a gentle touch, he traced a fingertip over the delicate face. “What did you mean about Budapest and Eric?” He set the antiquity back on the bureau then guided me away.

“You treated him like shit. Ordering him around like a slave, especially after that blood trial with Colby.”

“It was Eric’s idea. He always wanted to push the limit, to test himself.” He grabbed my arm. “I only did what he asked.”

“After you almost drained him of blood you sent him to drive the damn yacht.” I tried to yank my arm out of his grasp.

“Who else could I send?” Tane glared at Rurik. “You should control her better than this.”

He laughed. “If I wanted to control my companion, I would have chosen a different person.”

Tane’s fingers tightened. “You definitely didn’t choose her for her mouth.”

My temper flared and I saw red. “You’re hurting me.” I took aim, pulled my arm back and poked Tane square in the eye.

“Son of bitch!” He covered his injury with his hand and a storm cloud of hurt brewed in his face.

I glanced at Rurik, who only raised an eyebrow my way as if to say you started this.

Somehow I did, and I’d end it, but Tane had different plans.

With an arm wrapped around my waist, he carried me to the sofa.

I slapped at his bald head. “Put me down.”

He ignored me and plunked onto the cushion then set me across his lap.

The realization of what he planned stunned me and I gasped as his hand landed with a loud slap on my ass. Wriggling didn’t help. It made my strapless dress threaten to fall off. A strong arm over my back held me in place and he repeated the spanks.

“Lift the skirt, you’ll make better contact.” Rurik’s instructions had me twisting to glare at him.

“Help me!” I demanded.

“No.” Rurik shook his head as he leaned against the wall of the entryway. “The both of you need to work things out on your own. I won’t be used as a referee for every single squabble.”

He watched as Tane slid my dress higher, exposing my white lace panties. Fingering the edges, he touched the hot, sore skin. “Nice.”

I howled and kicked. “Let me go. You don’t have the right.”

Tane punctuated each word with a spank. “I. Have. Every. Right.”

“You scum-sucking-zombie-breeder.” My bottom throbbed with my racing heart.

His deep laughter filled the room and the grip on my back lessened.

I slid off Tane’s lap and straightened my dress.

Tane wiped a tear from his eye. “Zombie breeder?”

The heat in my cheeks matched the fiery pain of my tush. I spun and fled the room, too mortified to retort, except to pause and give Rurik a hurt stare before slamming the door in his face.

I passed Tane’s guards doing my best not to run. Could they hear through the thick wooden door? As soon as I turned the corner, I sprinted to my room, not caring about cameras. Hot tears were ready to spill.

Gwen stood by my door, guarding an empty room.

“Some security you are,” I snapped, then stomped into the bedroom, leaving Gwen opened mouthed in the corridor. I kicked off my shoes and shoved a suitcase out of my way. My freaking dress slipped lower again. Growling, I unzipped and let it fall to the floor.

In the dresser mirror I examined my reddened behind. Bastard, spanked me like I was a kid. If I ground my teeth any harder I’d break a molar.

Rurik had stood and watched the whole thing. Yesterday, he’d been willing to scoop out Tane’s heart. What happened in the last twenty-four hours?

The garden moment, that’s what happened. I wished I’d heard what had been said between them.

“Is it safe to come in?” Rurik held the door between us like a shield as he peeked inside.

I threw my hairbrush at him. “Jerk.”

He ducked and the projectile hit the wall.

Gwen’s voice carried from the hall. “Stop aggravating her. Be a man and apologize.”

Rurik stumbled into our room as if shoved and the door closed from the outside.

“Are you really angry?”

I crossed my arms over my bra-clad chest and stomped my bare foot. If I had an aneurysm it would have burst.

Rurik couldn’t meet my glare. Instead, he scratched his chin and examined his shoes.

“You’ve never been upset with me before.” He toed a suitcase then finally met my gaze.

“You always seemed to enjoy my games.”

I pointed at my ass. “This is not a game.” Or was it? I gasped. “You liked watching.”

“Oh, yes.” Desire blazed in his eyes and warmed his voice. It cooled off my anger like an extinguisher and my resolve went up in steam. Crossing the room, he stopped in front of me. “I’m sorry.” He trailed his fingertips along my bare arms as he shifted closer to speak in a hushed tone. “I liked that you fought back. Submission is something you earn, a precious trust. Tane doesn’t deserve it yet.”

Mesmerized, I watched his full lips move—soft, lush, and so very skilled—close enough to taste. A shiver coursed through my body and my skin pebbled as his hands slid around my lower back. What were we talking about again?

The hard bulge in the front of his pants pressed against my abdomen as he slipped his cool hands under my panties. “So hot,” he whispered along my lips before sipping at them.

A groan escaped me. Any wrong he’d done, I forgave in an instant.

Rurik slid my underwear off my sore tush and turned me around in his arms.

My head spun with the sudden change of direction and I gasped at the cool touch of lips on my rear.

He covered each cheek with slow, soft kisses. “Am I forgiven?”

I sighed, defeated once more. “Yes.” How could I stay angry when he literally kissed my ass? I could sense his mouth spread in a smile.

“You’re too good to me.” He stood and lifted my panties back in place. “I have to return to the party.”

“Why?”

“Tane wants a better idea of what’s being said. Most of these people think I’m nothing more than a fop and will waggle their tongues freely.” He kissed my forehead.

“Get some rest. You’ll need your strength when I return.” He rubbed my tush with longing then exited the room before I could respond.

My lover fell back into this lifestyle as if he missed it. He appeared happy. I exhaled noisily. Face it, Connie. You’re stuck. I was in a beautiful mansion, in an exotic location with my own spending account, but I would have a master.

That sucked.

Silence made the air heavy. I tried to take a deep breath, however my lungs constricted with tension.

I wanted to go home and have someone tell me everything would be all right.

Laurent came to mind, I never forgot him, not for a moment of my life. He remained inside of me if further from my consciousness than before. Being with Rurik healed most of my grief but tonight scraped me raw.

I grabbed a t-shirt and shorts from my baggage then dressed.

Outside the room, Gwen stood guard. “Did you want something?”

“I need fresh air again. Is there someplace away from the party and the garden?” I needed to get out of this gilded cage.

Chapter Fifteen

Gwen considered my request to go outside away from the party then nodded her head. “Master Tane has a private deck. It looks out over the jungle. No one should be using it.”

“Great. Take me there. I’m feeling trapped, being outside helps.” We walked through the corridors side by side. What was it like to live here as Tane’s security? Gwen always seemed to be on the move, never resting, forever on the alert. Sounded like a lonely existence. She had a pretty profile, except that stern expression and predatory gaze would shrink most men’s balls. “Have you ever been in love, Gwen?”

She glanced at me before leading us through a narrow corridor past Tane’s apartment to a locked door. “My kind doesn’t fall in love like humans.” Unlocking it with a keypad, she stepped outside first and scanned the area, then held the entrance open.

I stood still. “Your kind?”

She gave me a lopsided grin and quirked an eyebrow. “Didn’t Rurik tell you anything?”

“Apparently not.” I pressed my hand against the doorframe to support my weight, preparing to hear Gwen’s response.

“I’m a werewolf.”

“Like the movies?” If I could have deleted one thing that popped out of my mouth tonight, it would have been this. My cheeks burned as they flushed. “Sorry. I didn’t know werewolves existed. Makes sense that if vampires walk around so do other…” Egads, could I shove my foot farther in my mouth?

“Monsters?”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“It’s okay, Connie. When I change into my beast form I’d probably make you wet your pants.”

The cold dead look in her eyes chilled me to the bone. “I bet you would.” My voice squeaked on the last word. I cleared my throat.

“Come on.” She gestured with her head to follow. The deck stuck out the back of the mansion from the second floor. Made of grey natural stone it still retained the heat of the sun and warmed the chill Gwen had given me.

Moonlight poured through the jungle canopy and added to the soft yellow exterior lights.

Gwen held out a chair from a table for me to sit, but a tinkle of water from the side caught my attention.

I pushed aside some wide, dark green leaves to find a Jacuzzi. Note to self, find my swimsuit.

“Will this do?”

“It’s perfect.” A set of French doors set in the dark masonry of the building drew my attention. “Where do those go?”

“Master Tane’s apartment. No one is usually allowed out here, but since you’re his companion, I’ve made the exception.” She winked. “Sit.”

The chair she held contained a thick cushion so I eased my sore ass onto the seat. My pain flared for a few seconds and I bit my inner cheek.

“My pack has strong ties to the Nosferatu clan. We have always guarded the ruler, the Main Prime.”

The wheels began to creak inside my head. “So all the guards are werewolves.”

Gwen leaned her elbows on the table; her chocolate brown eyes stared into mine.

“Yes.”

“Then you must have guarded Dragos?”

She nodded.

“I don’t remember werewolves in Budapest.” You’d think a bunch of beasts would have stuck out in my memory.

“We didn’t accompany him.” Staring at the stone floor, Gwen avoided my stunned expression.

The wheels in my brain kicked into second gear. Rust flecked off my synapses as they sparked and connections came together. “You knew Tane was trying to kill him.”

Holy conspiracies, Batman! I twisted in my seat and flinched from the sharp ache in my tush, and whispered in desperation. “Your pack knew what Tane planned.”

She glanced at me without moving her head. “A great ruler’s power comes not just from him but those who support him. It’s something Dragos forgot.”

“And Tane hasn’t.” I fell back against the chair as more pieces fit into place. The amount of effort and planning needed to take down Dragos. “Wow, your pack helped kill Dragos by not being there to protect him.”

“I heard you had a pinnacle role as well.” She gave me a wolfish grin.

“People know?” Fear strangled my words. The last thing I needed was a Dragos supporter looking for revenge.

“Not many. Tane told me about your bravery in allowing Dragos to drink from your body to save Rurik. How it almost killed you.”

“Bet he left out the part where he was the one who brought Rurik to Dragos.”

“No.” She shook her head. “How else could Tane get his assassin in the house?”

I opened my mouth to respond, except nothing came out. The wheels ground to stop as too many thoughts gummed up the works. “Why are you telling me all this?”

Gwen shrugged. “You seem frustrated about your new situation.”

I sighed. “More like I feel trapped and helpless.”

“Some people would kill to be in your place.”

“I’m willing to trade.”

“Really?” She tilted her head as if seeing me for the first time. “You’re bound to some of the most powerful beings on the planet.”

“I don’t care about power.” We stared at each other.

“In my book, that makes you the most dangerous of the three.”

“How?” I felt my expression screw up in confusion.

“Because a person who doesn’t want to wield power, usually does it the best.” She stood and gave me a little bow. “I did a poor job of guarding you tonight. I won’t let you down again.” Then Gwen stalked the deck’s perimeter.

Handed a huge platter of thoughts to chew on, I listened to the sounds of the dark jungle. So often when I think of the wilderness, I think of tranquility, a peaceful, quiet place, but really the jungle was just the opposite. It was so busy, everything moving and growing, battling for survival.

It was an intimidating place to be and suited Tane’s kingdom.

Gwen hinted to my so-called power, yet what’s the point if I didn’t know how to use it. I couldn’t smooze or seduce like Rurik, hiding behind a mask of false interest. Neither could I scheme like Tane, who made the CIA appear simple.

What power did I hold? I depended on Tane for life and Rurik for love. They didn’t need anything from me.

The sound of the door opening distracted my circular thoughts.

Tane stepped onto the deck after the guards conferred with Gwen. He swaggered to the table, dressed in red silk pajama pants and robe, then sat across from me.

I pulled knees to my chest and leaned my chin on them. “What now?”

With a gesture of his hand, Tane caught the guards’ attention. “Leave us.”

They looked at one another, then at Gwen, who nodded and went into the building.

“You can use this area whenever you wish.” He stared out at the jungle and sat so still I could have mistaken him for a statue. No emotions, nothing. What was he thinking about? “I want…” He cleared his throat then chuckled as he rubbed his nose. “I’m sorry for losing my temper. I shouldn’t have laid a hand on you.”

My mouth dropped open.

He fixed me with a stare then winked. “You have to admit it was a little fun.”

I felt my eyes widen. “No, I won’t. My ass,” I pointed at it, “still hurts.”

Considering me for a moment, he rolled up one of his sleeves.

“What are you doing?” I set my feet to the ground and leaned forward.

“I’m offering to open a vein for you, Rabbit. My blood should heal your aches.” He set his arm on the table.

The hunger didn’t rear its ugly head as I expected. Since last night, I hadn’t felt it stir. “Shouldn’t I be healing on my own?”

“Yes, faster than a regular human, but not as fast as a vampire. Eric used to take half a day at most. If you drink you’ll heal instantly.” He posed a sharp nail over his skin.

“Then I’ll wait.”

“Are you sure? I don’t offer this lightly.” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m not hungry and want to savor the feeling. A little pain isn’t a high price to pay.”

“No, it’s not. I admit to being curious as to how it feels to have the hunger gone. It’s been so long.” No evidence of envy could be heard in his voice, only curiosity.

I swallowed. What did my hunger disappearing mean? Did Tane’s blood cure me? I remembered Belatia’s curse and my heart drummed. My curse observed me from across the table. “I feel normal for once.” I wanted something though, some kind of assurance from my—my master. “If it returns, will you promise to never withhold your blood from me?” I clenched my hands, hating that I asked.

“I’d never do that.”

“No matter how angry I make you?”

“I’m not the monster you think I am.”

“Even if I set all your knickknacks on fire and mow over your garden?”

He narrowed his midnight eyes. “I’d be more worried about my strangling you.”

“I don’t want to become like Bel.” A weight lifted off my chest once I admitted my deepest, darkest fear.

“I wouldn’t allow that to happen. You’re my companion and your care reflects upon my rule.” He tried to give me a reassuring smile, but a dragon could have done a better job.

“How?”

“What kind of leader mistreats his family? Not a very good one. Vampires are far from stupid, they watch—”

“And wait for any excuse to overthrow you.” I sat back and rested my hands on the armrests. The jungle appeared less threatening with Tane present, a tiger in his kingdom.

Sharp, solid fangs glinted in the moonlight as he grinned. “I do appreciate your candor, Connie. You treat me as if—as if I were a man.” His smile faded and he went back to observing the trees. An emotionless mask veiled his face once more.

The use of my real name caught me off guard. I’d forgotten he’d known it.

Something haunted him and I suspected it bore icy, blue eyes with jet-black hair. I sighed as I chewed on my inner cheek. “But it’s not me you want acting this way.”

He twisted his neck to face me with a bland stare.

“It’s Rurik you want.” Dread clutched my soul. I’d never had to compete against a man before. Was I nuts? Rurik never gave me the impression he swung both ways.

Tane’s mask crumbled and he allowed me to see his anguish. It pulled at my compassion to see the loneliness in his expression. I understood being alone. “He can’t see past my crown. If I asked him to leave you, would he do it because he wanted to or out of duty?” He ran his hand over his bald head. “How I wish for the old days when neither of us had responsibilities.”

The fist of dread clutched tighter. Old days? Sometimes I forgot Rurik had a past. He never liked talking about himself and always used his charm to distract me when I asked.

Yet here sat Tane, complaining like a girl scorned. “Excuse me. I’m sitting across the table.” I waved my hands in the air in case he couldn’t spot me.

He rolled his eyes. “Not to worry. You’re my companion, I’d share. We really need to educate you on your role.”

“My—” I blinked. “You—” My tongue wanted to go one direction and brain the other. The son-of-a-demon-whore wanted to steal my vampire. “I. Don’t. Share.” I spat out each word, getting a hold on my thoughts.

“That’s not fair.” The expression of shock on his face looked genuine, but how could I ever tell with a millennia old Nosferatu. He probably schooled himself in controlling all his emotions.

“Too bad, who says I play by the rules?” I leaned forward and pointed my finger at him. “Keep your sharp claws off Rurik.” The gall Tane had to casually try to take over my relationship. “You know, I came out here for some peace and quiet. I don’t remember inviting you to sit with me.”

“It’s my deck.”

“Our deck, baby. I’m your companion now. You better watch out or I’ll start demanding to move in with you next. Think I’m a bitch now, wait until I PMS.” I began to understand what Gwen hinted at about power. As Tane’s companion, he needed to treat me well, especially since he started this campaign for zero kill tolerance and keeping humans as Rurik did in Budapest. A strong vampire lord should be able to dote on his pet. I smiled at him. “Rurik’s mine. Everyone here knows it.”

“So you’ll keep me from him forever. Trapped in this bond, yet unable to fulfill my desires?” He echoed my earlier worries and it stunned me.

Could I be so cruel? I shrugged. Sure.

Standing in a smooth motion, he spun and left in a furl of red silk. At the door, he stopped and faced me. His robe loosened, exposing his well-muscled bare chest. “If he comes to me of his own free will, I won’t refuse him.”

I ground my teeth. “If he does then you can keep him.”

A twang rang through the air from behind me. Something whistled through the air and made the curls by my right cheek flutter.

Red bloomed from Tane’s left shoulder, like a great amaryllis flower with a stick as a stem. Time slowed.

I squinted at the image and frowned, Tane had an arrow sticking out of him. A wooden shaft worked just as well as a stake He wobbled on his feet, staring wide eyed at the injury.

I steadied him before I even realized I’d run over to help. Growing up on the streets taught me the ability to scream like a banshee when needed. It sometimes scared trouble away or better, attracted help. I screeched with everything I had and it echoed against the mansion.

The French doors flung open and guards poured out as another twang sounded.

Tane shouted. “No.” He grabbed my elbows and twisted me around so we exchanged positions. A shudder ran through him as another red spot bloomed from an arrow point protruding through his chest next to the first wound as he took an arrow meant for me.

A splatter of blood landed on my face, its salty flavor in my mouth.

Tane dropped to his knees and dragged me with him.

Gwen knelt next to us, gun drawn, as more guards flooded the deck and surged into the jungle. I could have sworn I saw a flash of fur as some ran by, but most of my concentration lay with Tane.

He saved me.

Gwen reached for the arrow point that faced me and stabilized the shaft sticking out his back. “I need to pull these out before you heal around them, Master.”

“Do it.” Tane’s grip on my arms tightened.

I tried to give Gwen better access, but he held me firm.

She didn’t hesitate like I would have. With a snap of her wrist, she broke the point off and pulled the shaft out. “We should bring you inside before the shooter tries again.”

“No.” Tane shook his head. “Did you send for my brothers?”

“Of course.” Gwen grabbed, snapped, and removed the other shaft from his shoulder.

“Only two remain. The others have left for their own territories.”

“I know.” Tane’s wounds didn’t knit together.

“You’re not healing, what does that mean?” I touched the edges of the wound on his chest. It didn’t bleed anymore. I glanced from him to Gwen.

He released me and stood, dropping the robe from his shoulders. “It means I’m a vampire that just got stabbed with wood.” He turned his attention to the door as two Nosferatu stepped onto the deck. “Take her inside, Gwen.” Without a word, the three of them leaped into the jungle.

“What are they doing?” I grasped Gwen’s hand as she led me to the narrow corridor entrance.

“Joining the pack in the hunt for the assassin, as it has been for centuries.”

Chapter Sixteen

In stunned silence, I followed Gwen to my room. Tane saved me. This thought kept going round and round in my head.

Why would he do that? If the arrow killed me then I’d be out of the picture. Rurik would be unattached, and Tane would be free of the blood bond. My death wouldn’t affect him, things would be better for him.

I stood at the entrance to a tidy room and stared perplexed. The luggage had disappeared. “Where’s our stuff?”

Gwen peaked over my shoulder. “Housekeeping must have put your things away.”

Scurrying across the room, I pulled open the closest drawer. My clothes lay neatly folded inside. “Nice. Thank them for me.”

“For what? Doing their job?” She snorted and placed her hands on her hips. “Do you need anything before I leave?”

“Where are you going?” The fear in my voice made me cringe. I cleared my throat and gathered what courage I still owned.

“Don’t worry, you won’t be alone. Rurik is on his way.” She tapped the radio at her hip. “I have to help coordinate the hunt. I’d hate for one of the Nosferatu to mistake a guest for an assassin.”

“Colby!” I gasped his name, forgetting he’d come to the estate to examine the body we’d found in the jungle.

“He left two hours ago.” She gave me a wiry smile. “Otherwise, he’d be on top of my suspect list.” With that comment, she exited.

“Yeah,” I whispered to an empty room. The party made it impossible to meet with Colby and Red. Inviting a couple of slayers to a vampire celebration would have been tasteless to say the least. Should I inform them of what happened?

Torn between old loyalties and new ones, I stuck my thumbnail in my mouth and chewed. I hated having a foot in both human and vampire worlds. Life seemed so much simpler two years ago when I thought all vampires evil. A shiver ran through my limbs.

The door banged open and Rurik stormed in.

I startled at the sudden noise.

He surveyed me head to toe and spun me around to run his hand down my back, all the while speaking. “I heard the news. Are you injured?”

“Not yet, but if you keep manhandling me like a prize turkey you might break something.” Another shiver hit me. “Did someone turn down the freaking AC?” I rubbed my arms.

He brushed his palms over my goose-pocked skin. “You’re freezing.”

My teeth began to chatter.

“I think you’re in shock.” Rurik tore the blanket off the bed and wrapped me in it then carried me to the sofa. “I’ll go fill the tub.”

Too tired to argue, I allowed Rurik to care for me. Shock? After the past two days, my abused body decided to call the shots. The sound of running water came from the bathroom. A hot bath would feel great. All the muscles in my back ached from the tension I carried and my ass still throbbed.

Rurik returned and gathered me in his arms as we waited for the tub to fill. Lines of worry marred his handsome face. He pressed his cheek into my hair and squeezed me tight. The comfort and care he offered brought tears to my eyes. How could I ever doubt his love? “You were supposed to be sleeping. What were you doing outside?” He stroked my curls.

“I needed some air.”

“Open a window next time. How the hell did you and Tane meet again?”

My shivers continued. “H—he wanted to apologize.” I kept our argument to myself.

Rurik went still. “Really?”

“I know. It surprised me too. Maybe that’s why I’m in shock.”

Hugging me tighter, he chuckled and kissed the top of my head. “I love you.”

“Do you think it was Luckard who shot those arrows?” I leaned into Rurik’s chest.

“Probably. He must have balls the size of watermelons to step onto Tane’s estate with other Nosferatu still present.”

“Tane calls them brothers. Are they related?”

“No, the clan is a brotherhood, no women. For some reason females can’t complete the transformation. They’re a very close knit group, but not all of them came to support Tane.”

“Not a surprise. Tane always seems to be on the fence, waiting to see who wins.

Why wouldn’t they all be like that?”

Rurik tilted my chin so he could gaze into my eyes. “That’s very perceptive and you’re right. They’re like jackals waiting to see who will come out on top.”

“So this fight will remain between Luckard and Tane until one of them is dead.” I sighed. “Two of his clan went with him to hunt down the assassin. Will they really help?”

“I don’t know. I doubt even Tane knows.”

“He’s all alone.” Surrounded by people, yet unable to trust, confide, or truly depend on any of them. I could relate, being homeless was similar. I snuggled closer to my lover, trying to steal what little warmth he produced. “What happens when a women tries to become Nosferatu?”

“They die.”

I licked my lips. “Why can I be bound then?”

“Becoming a vampire has nothing to do with blood like the bond. At the point of death, the creator binds the soul to the dead body, with women being turned by a Nosferatu, I was told the souls flee.” Rurik caressed my cheek. “I’ll tell you a secret since you’ll be in contact with Tane’s clan at times.”

I nodded and held my breath.

“To transform into a Nosferatu one has to already be a vampire.”

I sat up straight. “You’re shitting me. Not only do you have to be a man, but a vampire as well. No wonder the vampire nation is so screwed up.”

Rurik barked out a laugh. It dispelled the heavy mood sitting on my heart. “The tub should be getting full. Let’s get you undressed.”

I grinned as he set me on my feet and let him lead me into the bathroom where the huge black tub shone with steaming hot water.

Rurik shut off the water and undid his shirt.

I sat on the edge and watched.

“Every political faction sent a representative when Tane disappeared as a gesture of support, which translates into someone being inside to keep tabs on everything. The majority appears happy to find him alive and well. There are some who don’t approve of the changes Tane implemented, though.”

Dragging my gaze from Rurik’s well-defined chest, I watched as his shirt fluttered to the floor. “Changes?”

With a flick of his wrist, he opened his fly and slid his pants off. “Zero tolerance for murder.”

“You had those laws already.”

“But Dragos only enforced them when it served his purpose, like in Budapest. Tane rules with an iron fist in comparison. It makes certain factions nervous.”

“Enough to kill him.”

“Maybe.” He tugged at my blanket. “You’re still covered. Come in the water. I promise to warm you.”

I undressed with Rurik’s help and slipped into the hot water. The heat stung, however after a moment it seeped into my muscles and I melted into the tub. Finally, the chattering of my teeth slowed.

Rurik settled behind my back and massaged the knots in my shoulders. “You’re so tense.”

“That tends to happen when someone tries to kill me,” I snapped, and instantly regretted it. “Sorry. I feel terrible.” Drawing my knees to my chest, I leaned my forehead on them. “As I watched Tane get shot all I worried about was myself. I’m a selfish person.”

“When did self-preservation become selfish? Tane’s survived worse.” He placed a light kiss on my shoulder. “I’m pleased with the results.”

I sighed. “He saved me, you know.”

“You sound surprised.” My lover poured hot water over my hair with his cupped hands. “He’s not a cruel person, Connie.”

“I’m starting to understand that.” The water coursed through my curls and I closed my eyes. Tane hinted he and Rurik had been more than friends once. Rurik never gave me the impression he found men attractive. Then again, he always made me feel like the most beautiful person in the room so I wouldn’t have noticed if he liked anyone else.

He stopped pouring the water. Quiet gathered around us like a comfortable blanket.

My thoughts circled around to Tane sitting on the deck pining for my boyfriend. I couldn’t let it go. They’d been friends for a long time, exchanging letters while I traveled with Rurik, and now this. I shifted between Rurik’s legs.

“You’re thinking hard again, I can almost sense your worry through your mental shields. Tane will be fine. If your life was in danger I’d be out there with them.”

Not even close to what I thought. I glanced at him over my shoulder. Water dripped from his hair onto his broad shoulders. “How did you meet Tane?”

My question struck a nerve. Rurik was skilled in hiding his emotions, except we’d been together long enough for me to see through some of the veil. He blinked, an unnecessary action for a vampire. “Why?”

“You claim he’s a good person and you want me to be nicer, but I need something to help change my mind.”

He chuckled. No mirth carried in the sound. “I never said he was good. He is a loyal friend, though, with better intentions than most. Is that better?”

I twisted around to face him. “No.” This time he wouldn’t divert my question. The past made us who we were and I knew so little about Rurik. “When did you first meet Tane?”

Chapter Seventeen

Glancing away, Rurik wouldn’t meet my stare. The sculpted line of his jaw twitched.

“I met Tane at the hot springs of Mageurite Island in Budapest.”

Restraining my need to bop him on the head, I took a deep breath. “I didn’t ask where.”

His gaze flicked back to mine. “I was still human.”

The pit of my stomach dropped as I recalled Rurik’s story of how the Romans took the most attractive young men and women in the area to work at the springs. They did more than help bathe the clients and they weren’t given a choice. I didn’t know what to say, so for once I kept my mouth shut.

“Tane discovered me there. I think, at first, he didn’t see me as more than entertainment, but after a few nights things changed. He purchased me then introduced me to my creator, who brought me across as a vampire.”

“Tane didn’t do it?”

Rurik shook his head. “No, Nosferatu can only bring other vampires across into their clan. They can’t make humans vampires.”

“Wow.” How interesting. “So he can never bring me over if I decide to cross?”

“No, that honor would be all mine.” He smiled. “After my change, he assisted with the revenge I brought down on those who tore me from my home.” Even after centuries, a touch of anger still simmered in his voice.

Taken from his home and his family at a young age, I never considered the future he might have had—a wife and children, his own fishing boat like his father, maybe a little cottage. I touched his cheek with the back of my hand.

“Tane brought me to his home in Dragos’s court and I learned new skills.” He slid his hands around my waist, then continued around to caress my behind, as if to show me what skills he’d learned.

“Then you were lovers.” I held my breath.

He nodded.

If his face showed worry or sadness I couldn’t tell. My own worries blinded me.

There’d been small hints so why the shock? Because I’d been hoping it wasn’t true.

Ignorance was bliss and the truth bitch-slapped me upside the head. The sound of Rurik’s voice pulled me from my dread of losing him to Tane.

“Dragos hated me at first sight. He saw me as a representation of a new type of vampire being bred.”

“Handsome and intelligent instead of brutal and predatory,” I whispered His smile warmed at my comment as if pleased by my insight. “Exactly, but he saw me as soft and weak. After the second attempt on my life in Dragos’s court Tane sent me away. The rest is history and should be kept for another night.”

“Why?” My cry echoed in the steam-filled bathroom. What other secrets did he keep? Tane lived down the hall and wanted him back. The king of vampires now, not some courtier, and Rurik did love power. He never needed to tell me that. No one struggled and fought with politics like he did, unless they craved the power it gave.

“You want me to tell you four centuries of my life in one night?”

“Lovers shouldn’t have secrets, we promised each other to stop keeping them.” I punched his shoulder and made a small splash.

“I didn’t think it was a secret.” He quirked an eyebrow at me. “You didn’t think I was a virgin?”

The idea struck me as preposterous and made me laugh. “No. Come on! You,Tane?

It’s bad enough I’m bound to him, but your past makes it ten times worse.”

He pulled me closer, pressing my breasts to his chest. His erect cock sandwiched between us. “How?”

“Because he’s a powerful person.” There. I said it. My concern lay out before him.

“Will you be okay with only me?”

His lips parted as he stared at me wide-eyed.

I traced his mouth with my fingertips. “You should have told me you liked men, too.

I’m not sure how to deal with it.” Even to my own ears, I sounded vulnerable. I hated it.

“If you went back to him, how could I stay? I mean, I’m stuck with this damn bond and—”

He covered my lips with his. This kiss, so passionate and gentle as he consumed my mouth, turned me inside out. Soft and slow, he drew out each motion until it ended as suddenly as it started. “No worries,” he whispered, pressing his forehead to mine. “Over time, the line between genders blur for most vampires. I don’t love someone because of what they are, Connie, but for who they are, and I do love you so very much.”

Like a great vise had just released from around my chest, I sucked a deep shuddering breath. “You love him, too.”

He sighed. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

“Do I ever?”

“No.” He grinned with his answer. “Let me ask you a hard question. If your deceased husband were to return tomorrow, would you love me less?” The question hung over my head like an ax as we stared in each other’s eyes. “Your hesitation is making me nervous.”

I giggled. “I doubt that. Of course, I wouldn’t love you less, but equally. Crap, if that was supposed to make me feel better it didn’t.” I tried to push away, however his iron grip held me.

“You can trust me. I won’t hurt you. Tane understands I’m with you, just like I had to understand when he bound Eric.”

That answer made me feel even worse. It meant he still cared for Tane. Things might be fine now but in ten years? We were going to have to cross this bridge one day, and I knew I’d be the loser. I could pressure him to admit it, except the coward inside me cringed. I’d dealt with enough turmoil for one day. The tender touch in the garden between him and Tane would be laid aside until I had the strength to deal.

“You’re thinking too hard again.”

“Damn, I can’t help it. You just shredded my concepts of our relationship and I’m at a loss.”

He rubbed my temples with his fingertips. “Shh, it’s not that big of a deal. You’re tired and stressed. Let it go. Be here with me, right now, enjoy the moment.”

I closed my eyes and melted back against him. “I want to. Help me.”

“Thought you’d never ask.” He smirked as he lifted me to sit on the edge of the tub then spread my legs so they rested over his shoulders.

A gasp escaped me as his cool mouth met my warmed pussy with a gentle touch. His strength supported me as it did in life.

He glanced at me, asking if I was all right.

“Don’t stop.” The words came from my gut and sounded deep. He never would have hesitated before. But I never had freaked at his touch, either. I hated Luckard.

Like his earlier kiss, Rurik used his mouth in a gentle, passionate way. Licking between my folds with sure stokes until he found my clit. He circled the sensitive bud with his tongue with an expert’s skill.

I grasped the edges of the tub and threw my head back. Pleasure blinded my thoughts.

Growling, he latched onto it and sucked with sweet abandon. Without the support of his hands, I would have fallen to the floor in a senseless heap.

“Yes,” seemed like the only word left in my vocabulary since I cried it over and over until the culminations of our efforts released themselves and left only a wild, crazed woman in my place.

The room spun when I opened my eyes. I blinked and drew in a lungful of air. My racing heart slowed and blood returned to my brain.

Rurik, his lips glossed with moisture, rested his chin on my thigh and watched me catch my breath.

“Hot.” I cleared my throat. “Hot damn.” I allowed my rubbery legs to slip off their perch into the water. If I knelt in the tub, I couldn’t trust my legs to keep me from drowning. I gestured to Rurik. “Stand for me.”

Water streamed from his chest as he rose, it followed the natural grooves of his muscles and I couldn’t resist following its descent. A thin line of dark hair ran from his belly button to his groin. He called it his happy trail. My goal stood erect and ready at trail’s end.

Tracing a finger over those fine hairs, I sensed him shiver.

He stepped closer and loomed over me, his half-lidded gaze burning with need.

Without breaking eye contact, I leaned forward and licked his hot, swollen tip.

He shuddered and clenched his hands. I wanted to return his favor, make him mindless with passion and bring him to his knees.

I wrapped my hand around his base and guided his cock while I made slow, circular motions with my tongue.

Breathing heavy, he stepped closer again and banged his knee against the tub. “Fuck, Connie.”

I grinned before slipping him deep in my mouth, and angled my head so he could watch as his cock slid an inch at a time, until it hit the back of my throat.

He stared as if mesmerized by the sight, his lips slightly parted.

Running my hands over his firm flesh, I grabbed his ass and pulled him closer.

Clenched muscles met my palms. They quivered under his skin like a racehorse waiting for the starting-gun. Was he holding back? Usually an aggressive lover, Rurik appeared more restrained tonight. I wanted to tell him not to worry, that I’d gotten over being abused, except I’d be lying. Instead, he offered me control and in return, I set the demanding hard pace I knew he craved.

After a few strokes, each pump elicited a louder groan from him. He thrust his hips a little, but still didn’t touch me. I wanted him to. Our heavy breathing filled the room.

I sensed a brush of fingers on my hair, as if wanting to tangle themselves in my curls, yet they fell back at his sides. The muscles in his thighs trembled where they touched me.

Yearning screamed from his body.

He slipped into his native tongue of Hungarian. It sounded like he spoke words of encouragement, however he could have been cursing me for all I knew. The only thing I understood was my name. With a strangled cry, he pushed his cock to the back of my throat. His knees buckled to catch against the tub as he spilled his seed.

The sudden movement almost yanked him from my mouth, but with a quick reflex, I slid lower and didn’t release his cock. I felt his clenched muscles under my hands relax.

He slid himself out of my mouth before sitting hard into the tub. The water splashed over the edge onto the floor.

I couldn’t help but grin in triumph.

Rurik leaned his head back.

I stepped out of the tub and wrapped a towel around my body. “I’m tired.”

“Let me regroup and I’ll join you in a second. I have to wait for feeling to return below the waist.” He closed his eyes and sunk lower into the water.

As I stepped across the carpet of our bedroom, a new worry surfaced. I detoured from the bed and peeked out the door.

Gwen stared back. “I’m not taking you anywhere. It’s almost dawn, and you have a black cloud following wherever you go. The dayshift guard needs to—”

“Has Tane returned?”

She stood straighter and widened her eyes. “No.”

“Shouldn’t someone go find him before the sun does?” I clenched my towel even tighter. The vision of him twisting around me to take the second arrow haunted my thoughts. Not even sex drove it away.

“He knows how to survive in the wild, Connie.” She gave me a wiry smile. “He was a vampire before civilizations developed.”

Chapter Eighteen

The crack of the whip made me flinch, yet I didn’t feel its bite. I tried to run with all my might, yet my body wouldn’t move. Manacles weighed heavy on my wrists, dragging them to the floor. Blinded by darkness I could hear him approaching, one heavy footstep at a time.

Terror clutched my soul and squeezed me like a squeak toy until I screamed.

And sat bolt upright in bed. Blankets twisted around my legs as I tried to escape. I kicked and rolled, only to tumble head over heels off the damn bed. The thump to my head only fogged my mind more.

My sweat-soaked nightie clung to my body. Weary and exhausted, nothing made sense. I only wanted to sleep, except Luckard wouldn’t let me. I had to run, to hide, then maybe he’d leave me alone.

Without another thought, I headed out the door. A strange man stood in my way, his eyes wide, hands held up in front of him.

I didn’t allow him a chance to capture me and swung a left hook before I lost the element of surprise. It connected with his chin and the stranger fell, but my knuckles stung.

No destination, no plan or goal, I just needed to flee the sound of the cracking whip.

Rounding a corner, I rebounded off someone heading in the other direction. With unnatural speed, they pinned my arms to my sides and dragged me down the hall.

I bit, screamed and tried to head-butt my assailant. We came to a pair of familiar wooden doors where Tane stood waiting.

I knew him. He felt safe.

Released from the man’s grip, I raced to Tane’s open arms. He’d saved me twice, I could trust him to do it again.

With a slight grunt when I flung myself against his chest, he encircled me in a strong hug, and kicked the door shut. “What the hell is wrong with you?” He glared at me, bewildered.

“I-I. The whip…and Luckard.” Looking around, I realized I stood in Tane’s foyer. “I don’t know.”

He guided me to a couch in the sitting area. The creepy masks on the wall all stared at me as if laughing. “Sounds as if you had a nightmare.”

I flopped onto the cushion. “Yeah, a pretty vivid one.”

Tane sat next to me. “We should check your mental shield.”

“Let’s not and say we did. I’ve had enough of you in my head lately.”

“A human is more susceptible in their sleep, Rabbit. This might not be a nightmare.”

I swallowed with a dry throat and stared at him. “Then what the hell is it?”

“Luckard trying to get into your head. He probably thinks he can slip into my head from yours through our bond, but I’m too strong for that and he’s too stupid.”

“Okay.” The thought of Luckard trying to get inside my head turned my stomach. It quelled my anxiety enough to allow Tane access to my mind. This was all I needed, two Nosferatu taking a field trip in my brain.

Tane stared at me, I didn’t sense anything around my shield though. Not a good sign.

He nodded. “All done. Have you had similar dreams?”

I retold the one I’d had yesterday afternoon before asking Gwen to take me outside for some fresh air.

“Sleep the rest of the day here. My presence will shield you.” He stood and retrieved a blanket from a trunk then spread it over me as I lay across the soft couch, too tired to argue.

Something struck me as wrong at that moment. The fog cleared. “What are you doing awake? Is it later than I thought?” I sat up and scanned the room for a clock.

“I don’t need to rest during the day like the others.” With one finger on my shoulder, he pushed me back into the plush cushions. “This is usually my quiet time, though.”

“When dawn arrives you don’t shut down?” The incredulity in my voice was apparent, even to myself.

He sighed as if trying to grasp at some patience. “I’m old enough to resist it.

Sometimes I sleep because I’m bored.” He tucked the blanket under my chin. “Rest.”

“Can all Nosferatu stay awake?”

A low growl rumbled in his chest “You’re driving me nuts. Sleep.” His last word snapped like a command.

I pulled the blanket up to my nose. Tane’s reassurance that Luckard couldn’t reach me didn’t ease my fears. What if they were just nightmares from my sick and twisted mind?

He knelt next to the couch so we could be eye to eye. “Sometimes I forget how young you are. What are you, twenty-five?”

“Twenty-nine.”

The color of his eyes was such a dark brown they almost seemed black. They softened at my response. “I can’t remember being twenty-nine.” He chuckled. “I’ll tell you something a wise man passed on to me once. You’re going to live longer than you expected, and bad things are bound to happen. Let them bounce off you. Grieve, cry, fight whatever you need to survive, but don’t cling to it. Move on.”

“I tend to cling.” When my husband had died, I clung to a bottle of rum for a year.

“What’s bothering you?”

All I could do was sputter. His question struck me speechless. “Where do you want me to start?” I flung my hands out.

He frowned. “Patience has never been one of my virtues, Connie.”

“Luckard, the bond and having to stay here.” I took Tane’s hand. The expression of confusion on his face as he stared at our melded fingers made me want to smile except I couldn’t. “I feel trapped and helpless.”

“Is this the same woman who refused to choose sides in Budapest, and once told me she’d build her own damn boat to brave the political storms?”

“I’m not feeling very brave this morning. Luckard broke something inside me, and I don’t think you can lick and make it better.”

Tane gazed at me as if not sure what manner of creature sat on his sofa. “I wish I could. The best I can offer you is revenge.”

I nodded as he slipped his hand out of my grip. His red silk robe hung open and the wound on his chest peeked out. I reached to touch the edges. “It’s not healed?”

He flinched as if it stung. “Wounds caused by wooden weapons heal slower. It will be gone by tonight.”

Tracing my fingers across his chest, I examined the injury, the one he took for me.

“Did you catch the person who tried to kill us?”

“No.” A simple word, but the angry tone told me of his frustration. “I have it under control, though.”

“Really? You planned getting a cross bolt through your chest?” Sometimes I wish I could pull back the things I’ve said. I couldn't have alienated Tane more if I tried.

He stood and his robe closed. “If you need me, I’ll be in my bedroom reading.”

“Wait.” I sat up and offered a rare act on my part. “I’m sorry.” Apologies grated on my nerves, especially when the person deserved one.

“Control over your words will be essential if you wish to survive in this court. You need to practice restraint.”

“Rurik’s told me this already and it probably won’t happen anytime soon. I’d rather not be alone right now. Can you read here?”

Tane turned slightly, his gaze traveled along my body. He then retrieved a thin, brown leather bound book from a drawer in the side table. “Scoot forward.” He sat behind me and straddled his legs on each side of my hips. “Lean back.”

When I didn’t move he sighed. “The least you can do is keep me warm.”

I leaned into his chest and pressed my back to the soft silk of his robe.

He tucked the blanket around us, leaving his arms free with the book resting on his thigh. Without a heartbeat to compete with, his deep voice resonated in his body.

Reciting a poem about a frosty lake, Tane droned on and on, until I lost the meaning of the words and heard only the rhythm.

My eyelids grew heavy as my warmth encompassed us.

Chapter Nineteen

Someone wrapped a curl of my hair around their finger then unwound it with a gentle pull, only to start the process again. I pressed my cheek into the soft silk of my pillow, but it didn’t budge and it didn’t feel stuffed.

Rubbing my face on the surface, I sensed a nipple under the material. I must be sleeping on Rurik again. When did he start wearing silk? The man would go around naked twenty-four seven if I let him.

In a languid stretch, I raised my arms over my head and rubbed my body against him.

He stiffened.

Not the response I expected. I opened my eyes to meet his clear blue ones except they stared at me from across the room.

My heart stopped.

I twisted to find Tane still in his red robe with a little drool stain on his chest where I had slept.

He gave me a crooked smile. “Sleep well?”

I wiped the corner of my mouth with the back of my hand. Some women awoke looking beautiful. I’m not one of those. As I checked my surroundings, I found Archios sitting in a chair next to Rurik. “Good morn—evening.” I cleared my throat. My curls moved on my head as if they had a life of their own. I’d gone to sleep after the bath without drying them. No makeup, drool on my face and a ball of blonde fuzz on my head—a picture of elegance.

“Good evening.” Archios shifted in his seat and couldn’t meet my stare. He wore a white dress shirt buttoned to his neck and gray slacks perfectly creased. A stack of files and papers sat on the table in front of him. He flicked at some imaginary dirt on his lap.

Rurik, dressed in black shorts and t-shirt, quirked an eyebrow at me while he leaned his chin on his hand. No anger apparent on his face or outraged rants after finding me with Tane again. Not happy, though. He didn’t bother to hide the hurt in his expression.

“You’re thinking too hard.” I offered him his favorite accusation and got rewarded by a small twitch of his lips.

“No, not thinking. Maybe feeling too deep.”

Tane shifted his weight behind me. “Archios has brought paperwork for you to sign.”

At the mention of his name, the vampire sat straighter. He plucked a folder from the table, opened the file and offered it to me with a pen, then turned to my lover. “I’ll need a copy of your passport as well, Rurik.”

“I have it in my luggage.” He started to rise from his chair as if anxious to leave the room.

Tane lifted his hand. “Don’t go yet. I wanted to finish discussing Colby with both of you.”

I snapped the folder shut. “What about Colby?”

Rurik sat forward, clasping his hands in front of him. “Tane saw him running through the jungle while hunting the assassin.”

“You invited him here last night.” I glanced over my shoulder. “He came to examine the body and where we found it.”

“A body?” Archios’ exclamation surprised me. I guess Tane hadn’t informed him.

Oops.

I heard my master sigh. “Rabbit and Gwen found a body in the jungle. An investigation team was asked to come.”

“I wasn’t aware of any of this, Master. Why not use our own people to take care of this problem?” I understood his confusion. It would be easier to have Tane’s werewolf force make the problem disappear.

“Can I trust all of them?” Tane plucked the file containing all my new bank information out of my hand and flipped through the pages. “My own home has a traitor.

Someone is trying to undermine my power and make me look weak.” His voice deepened and took a threatening tone, which made me scoot away from him on the couch. “These jackals in court are circling me like a wounded animal, but I will stick to our laws. No tolerance. Whoever is killing these humans will be brought to a public trial and executed.” He closed the file and set it on the side table then stood, resettling his robe.

“As for Colby,” he turned to me, “I saw him last night two hours after his team left my property. He carried a crossbow. I think my enemies are gathering to destroy me.”

“Really?” I couldn’t deny the possibilities. Colby hated Tane. “He wanted to kill me too?” That stung deep. We were never friends, however we respected each other. Ever since I left the team to be with Rurik, my relationship with Colby became strained, but I never would have thought he’d try to murder me. Even if the second arrow was a misfire, trying to kill Tane would mean my death too.

“Colby doesn’t know about your blood bond to Tane. He still thinks it’s between us.” Rurik, my voice of reason, offered this slight reassurance.

“Crap.” I leaned back into the sofa cushions and stared at the ceiling. Talk about conflict of interests. “Are you sure it was Colby?”

“No other person could have evaded me like he did. I hunted him until the dawn saved his ass.” Admiration for my former boss was apparent in Tane’s voice. “I can’t allow a wild card like him running around. There is too much at stake.”

“You should send your brothers out to hunt him,” Archios offered.

“They would kill him.” Rurik responded before I could.

Tane’s silence answered us.

I untangled myself from the blanket and rose to my knees on the seat cushion so I could touch Tane’s hand. “Don’t.”

He frowned.

“Everyone deserves a trial. Let him explain.” Who was this rational, calm person speaking? Oh yeah, me.

A stubborn set in Tane’s shoulders told me I hadn’t changed his mind. This vampire came from the eye-for-an-eye age, kill-first-ask-questions-later era.

“For me, please. Master.” I forced that title from my mouth. If Colby got proven innocent, I’d make my former boss pay. Otherwise, he’d get what he deserved.

Rurik’s eyebrows rose high enough to disappear under his bangs. I didn’t need to be psychic to read his thoughts when I called Tane my ‘master’.

“What do you suggest we do then?” Tane crossed his arms over his chest.

“We use bait.”

He barked a laugh. “You want me, I take it, to lure Colby into a trap.”

“What a brilliant idea.” Archios gaze glinted with interest. “He would definitely show up, but it would have to be away from the mansion.”

“Absolutely not,” Rurik added. “We can’t risk Tane. What if Luckard shows?”

I shook my head. “Let me finish. Using Tane would be obvious. Colby’s not stupid, he makes a living running these kind of operations. If he hasn’t already left town, he’ll be looking for information.” I glanced from Archios’ blank stare, to Tane and Rurik’s introspective ones. “I’m his go-to girl."

Rurik stared at me. “Do you have his cell number?”

“No, he’ll know the call’s a trap.” Tane rubbed his chin in thought. “We’ll use Rabbit’s idea. I’ll have a rumor spread tonight that she’s left Rurik. By morning, Colby’s contacts should hear about it.”

“How will he find me?” My heart raced. The irony that I was bait for the man who taught me how to lure vampires to their death wasn’t lost on me.

“We’ll set a hotel room as the trap and take him down when he comes to you.” Tane nodded to no one in particular while he stared at the rug.

“We can devise a better plan without involving her.” Rurik, the only one who remained in his seat, crossed his arms over his chest.

“Perhaps, if we had more time. My informants have been watching the airports, train and bus stations. They tell me Colby hasn’t left the city yet, but that may change.”

Archios frowned. “Why didn’t he run?”

My exact thoughts. Colby was a smart guy. You didn’t try to kill a Nosferatu then stick around. He should have been halfway around the world, digging himself a hole to hide in.

As if perplexed, Tane rubbed his chin. “I don’t know. Maybe it is a good idea to capture him alive. I’ve a few questions that need answering.”

“How do you plan on protecting Connie?” My lover asked in dead seriousness, his dislike of the plan obvious.

Tane faced Rurik. “If you’re concerned about Rabbit’s safety then I will place some of my wolves, which I know I can rely on, hidden in the room.”

“I want to be in there too.”

“Impossible.” Tane shook his head. “This will probably take place during the day.

Colby won’t move at night. He knows we’re hunting him.”

I could almost hear Rurik grind his teeth across the room.

We’d been in Tane’s apartment for a while, yet still hadn’t touched. It was a rare occasion that Rurik didn’t physically come in contact with me in some manner—a touch of his fingers, a kiss on the head, or a brush of his body passing mine. I missed him.

“You don’t care if she gets hurt.” Rurik vaulted from his chair to confront his master.

“She’s just a toy to you.”

Tane tore open his robe and pointed at the almost healed wound. “Does this look like I don’t care? Colby won’t hurt her.”

“He shot at both of you.”

An uncomfortable silence stretched across the room as they glared at each other.

Archios found solace in his files and I stepped away. The last time they had a confrontation the walls took a beating. I didn’t want to get in the way.

“Very well. I’ll stay in a nearby room as back up. Satisfied?” Tane held out his hand to shake.

“Yes.” Rurik took it.

“I’ll need you to stay at the mansion, though.” Tane held onto Rurik’s hand as he tried to pull away. “You will only divide my efforts. Remain here under guard while you sleep then join us in the evening if we haven’t returned.”

Rurik nodded with a frown on his face.

“You’re dismissed.” The command behind his voice snapped both Rurik and Archios to attention. I hated to admit it, but this impressed me.

I, on the other hand, wasn’t conditioned to jump at orders.

“Master?” Archios asked. “I still have some things to go over with you.” He held more files in his hands.

Tane sighed. “Let’s get this over with.”

Rurik grasped my hand and yanked me out of the apartment.

The moment we turned the corner toward our room, I swung around to face him.

“Please, tell me you’re not angry.”

“For finding you in Tane’s arms again? I’m not furious but…” He shrugged and tried to get around me, yet didn’t put much effort into it since I stopped him with my hand.

“I had another nightmare of Luckard. Tane thought it best to shield my sleep in case that monster was trying to get into my head.”

“And I was unavailable to help you.” He stared over my head, not meeting my gaze.

A muscle ticked along his clenched jaw. “Useless again.”

Wrapping my arms around his slim waist, I pulled us together. “You make me feel loved.”

“And he makes you feel safe.”

My head cranked back to look him in the eye. “What makes you say that?”

“I don’t need to read your mind. Your face is an open book. You didn’t hurry to me after waking as you would have a few days ago.”

“I was—”

“Comfortable.” He finished my sentence then touched my curls. “I love it when your hair gets crazy like this.”

A wellspring of doubt bubbled from my heart and it made me sad. “How long did I sleep with you in the room?”

“About an hour. I was beginning to wonder if he drugged you.”

A heavy, nauseous ball grew in my stomach. “I must be getting used to Tane.”

“That’s not a bad thing. Your lives are connected. Don’t let me upset you. I’m just a little jealous. If things grow between you and Tane, I’ll step aside.”

His statement slapped me across the face like a wet glove. I retreated from his arms.

“Step aside?” I punched him in the shoulder. “Just like that?”

His eyes grew wide and he laughed. “He’s a fabulous lover. I wouldn’t deny you that.”

Too much amusement tinged his voice for me to take him seriously. I slapped his ass. “He hasn’t offered.” Not outright.

As our gazes met, his eyelids lowered to form dark crescent moons from his lashes.

“What if he offered me?”

The sense of play vanished from the conversation. “He offered you his bed?” It hurt to speak since my throat constricted. Had Tane already stolen Rurik from me?

Rurik chuckled and hugged me tight. “No, but if I keep finding you both together I’m going to start feeling left out.”

I rested my forehead on his chest. Nothing reassuring to say came to mind. Could the blood bond draw me to Tane? Or was it that he’d risked his life for me last night? Rurik would have done the same, except he loved me. I gasped and stiffened in his arms.

“What?” His piercing gaze met mine.

“Nothing.” I was a terrible liar, but what could I say. Maybe Tane loved me too?

When the hell did that happen? Had I stepped into an alternate reality?

“You look pale. Did Tane feed from you again?”

“No.” The word came out as a whisper.

“What about your iron pills?”

I shook my head. Rurik took very good care of me, unlike anyone I’d ever had in my life. He kept an eye on my diet, made certain I took extra iron and he exercised with me.

I’d never been in such great shape. “I only missed one dose. I’ll take it when we get to our room. It’s got to be in there somewhere.”

He rolled his eyes. “We’ll find the bottle and maybe you should relax this evening.

Maybe do something fun?”

Fun in a vampire nest equaled trouble for this human. I’d had enough fun the last few days to last me a life time. I glanced over my shoulder at the hall that led to Tane’s apartment. Was Rurik right? Did I find security in my personal demon’s arms?

Chapter Twenty

Outside our bedroom door sat Belatia, Archios’s wife, her knees drawn to her chest.

A towel lay in a heap next to her on the floor. I thought she wore an odd-looking sundress but when she stood as we approached, it turned out to be an old-fashion bathing suit.

Something my great-great grandmother would have worn.

“Bel?” What the hell was she doing here? With Archios busy with Tane, maybe she had nothing else to do.

“I wanted to know if you would like to take a swim?” She glanced at Rurik and hid her body behind the bulk of her towel. “You can come too if you’d like, Rurik.”

I smiled. For some reason she made me happy. “Sure, we’d love to.”

“Really?” They spoke in unison, one with excitement, the other with trepidation.

“Let me find my swimsuit and we’ll meet you by the pool.”

“Okay.” Bel spun around and flounced away as I entered our room.

“Thanks for volunteering me.” Rurik shut the door as he spoke.

“You love to swim.” I yanked a drawer open, trying to find my blue sport swimsuit.

Vampires didn’t need to breathe so could remain underwater indefinitely, I envied them that. Rurik could dive the reefs without any equipment. “I can’t find my bathing suit.”

Rurik opened the closet and stepped out holding two pieces of black cloth. “Here’s the bikini I bought you.”

“Which covers less than my underwear, I don’t think so.”

“If I have to swim with Belatia than the least you can do is offer me eye-candy.” He handed me his idea of swimwear.

“You don’t like Bel?”

“It’s not a matter of liking. She—how would you put it—creeps me out.” He shrugged. “She’s a little girl trapped in a woman’s body. I’ve never felt comfortable with Archios’s tastes.”

His comment made my stomach turn. I didn’t think of Archios and Belatia as lovers.

“When you put it that way it makes me sick, but it’s not Bel’s fault.” I went through the last drawer and then the closet, still no sport one-piece suit. Crap. I held the string bikini I’d refused to wear until tonight.

“Can’t blame me for wanting you to wear that.” He whispered in my ear from behind, causing me to startle. A moment before he’d been by the dresser.

“I hate it when you move that fast.”

He chuckled. “I’ll meet you at the pool. Archios wants to copy my passport.” He plucked the item from a shelf in the closet. With the same speed he’d used to scare me, Rurik left the room.

“Show off.” It took me what felt like forever to untangle all the strings of the bikini.

Then I needed to knot my arms to tie the damn thing on. I’d worn suits like this in the past when I was too young and stupid to care if things fell out. Merciful goodness, it wasn’t a thong. I wrapped my favorite Mexican sarong around my hips and went to find Bel.

Swimming at night didn’t bother me. Sometimes I went out and got a little sun while Rurik ‘slept’, but to my surprise, I didn’t miss it. The night air still held some of the day’s warmth. Bel sat on the edge of the pool dangling her feet in the water, facing away from me.

Removing the skirt, I dropped it on a chair and jumped into the cool, clear water next to her. Head first, I broke the surface and saw a shocked, half-soaked Bel gaping at me.

A huge grin spread her rosebud mouth then she jumped in with me. She brought out my inner child and made me want to have fun. Something I never really had the opportunity to have growing up.

Like a couple of fools, we splashed and swam. Soft sand lined the bottom of the natural pool and dark gray, smooth stones lined the walls. Jungle plants surrounded the area giving me the impression of being in the wild. A marvel.

I swam free of Bel’s antics toward the small falls. The water fell cool and clear.

What was its source? It smelled like it came from a spring. My skin tingled as I let it pour over my head. A thick vine grew close to the ledge. I grabbed it and pulled myself onto the top.

Bel doggy paddled in my direction, her limbs pumping and getting entangled in the floating skirts of her swim suit.

With a laugh, I cannon balled close to her. Tiny bubbles traveled past my face while I sank. Sand swirled through the water clouding my view as Bel stood. I kicked to break the surface, but hit resistance.

Something leaned on my head. I reached and found a small hand grasping my hair.

Bracing my feet in the slippery sand, I pushed away and sharp pain filled my head as my hair got yanked.

Pulled out of the water, I gasped a lungful of air. Bel’s laughter rang in my ears before the water swallowed me whole again. I struggled and kicked and scratched.

Even though Bel was slight and petite, she was still a vampire with the strength of the undead. Fortune on my side for once, I was blood bound to the strongest Nosferatu in the vampire nation. It didn’t make me Bel’s equal, but it made me stronger than the average human woman.

I dove toward her body, grabbed around her waist, and lifted her over my shoulder.

When I stood, she let go with a squeal and I allowed the fresh air to fill my starved lungs.

Now that I held onto Bel, I feared to let her go. She might attack again. Maybe she forgot I needed to breathe? And where the hell was Rurik?

She slapped my back and kicked, splashing enough water to drown me above the damn water line. All the while she laughed.

Coughing half the pool out between words, I managed to call out her name. “Bel!

Bel, stop.”

She finally heard and rested quiet in my arms until I set her down. In a spasm that shook me to the core, I coughed the last of the water I’d inhaled. When the stars cleared from my vision, a wide-eyed vampire girl stared at me.

“Are you well, Connie?” She whispered.

“Sure, peachy-keen.”

Bel grinned and flashed fang. My sarcasm slid past her.

“You could have killed me.” I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and retreated to the edge of the pool.

Her smile faded. “I thought we were playing.”

Without taking my eyes off her, I lifted myself out of the water. “You got too rough.

I’m still mortal.”

She placed her small, delicate hand over her mouth. Tears welled in her eyes. “I’m sorry.” Moving slowly, she came toward me. “Please don’t tell on me. Archios will be so angry. I’m not supposed to play with humans anymore. Tane isn’t as understanding as Dragos. I don’t want to be placed on the mountaintop to watch the dawn.” She hiccupped her last word before sobbing. “I just wanted to be your friend. The others are so mean to me when Archios isn’t around and you’re so nice.”

Lost in a torrent of fear, pity, and guilt, I watched Bel crawl out of the pool. A friend? How odd it felt to be wanted. Most of my life I’d been alone so I understood her need. It gave us a connection.

I closed the distance between us and hugged her like I wished someone had done for me so long ago. “I won’t tell.”

Chapter Twenty-One

After my near death experience with poor Bel, I sent her back to her apartment and returned to my room. Rurik waited there for me. If his looks could kill, I would have spontaneously combusted the moment I stepped in the room.

“Sometimes I wish you’d keep your mouth shut.” He pulled a pink business suit from the closet and tossed it on the bed.

His comment froze me to spot, he’d never complained before.

My off-white silk blouse joined the suit then he yanked out a suitcase. “Tane is sending you to the hotel tonight. Why did you have to volunteer?” He dropped the luggage and confronted me.

Water dripped from my hair and pooled on the carpet at my feet. “I—I, he…” I pointed out the door.

“Now you lose the ability to speak.”

I pursed my lips as my blood boiled. “It sounded like they wanted to kill Colby.”

“They do!” He waved his hands in the air. “Now you’re in the middle of it and I’ve been ordered to remain here.”

“Why are you angry now? You didn’t say anything when we left and—Wait a second, you went back to Tane, didn’t you? You went back to his room to talk him out of the plan, not to give Archios your passport.”

He crossed his arms over his chest. “Absolutely.”

“I have a hard time believing Colby would be so stupid to run around with a crossbow in his hands after shooting it. He has a whole arsenal of better weapons to use.

You don’t know him like I do.” I slammed the door. “Are those clothes for me?” I pointed to bed.

He nodded.

“Then I best get ready.” As I walked to the bathroom to finish drying, I paused next to him. “I can take care of myself. Don’t worry so much.” Then I kissed him on the cheek.

The night doorman who helped me out of the taxi held an umbrella to shield me from the pouring rain. A bellhop took care of the luggage as I walked into the Fasano Hotel—the same place Rurik and I stayed New Years Eve.

Tane thought my return here would be a reasonable conclusion for Colby to make.

Rumors of my leaving the vampires flooded the city before I left the mansion.

I obtained my keycard from the desk, crossed the foyer and hit the elevator button.

Colby would have to be deaf not hear the news. He needed information on vampire movements since the minor clans hunted the streets tonight and the werewolves would take over before morning. Worse, Tane sent his two Nosferatu brothers still visiting Rio to monitor human thoughts for signs of Colby. They wouldn’t fight for Tane, it would make him look weak, but this assistance apparently was acceptable. So they coordinated everything. Airports, train and bus stations were watched.

A shiver ran down my spine. The power Tane held scared me and this was only the tip of the iceberg. I hoped to never be the focus of such a hunt.

Like a pawn caught between two chess masters, I waited for Colby to respond and make his move. I could only hope he didn’t checkmate me.

The decadent empty lobby’s reflection in the mirrored wall paled in comparison to Tane’s home. My heel clicked on the cold marble floor as I tapped my foot. I crossed my arms while examining my image. The pink business suit Rurik chose enhanced the color in my cheeks. Lace peeked from under the trim jacket so I tucked it back under. I remembered the night he took me shopping and talked me into buying the suit. He wanted me to have something professional, yet feminine, in my wardrobe.

I glared at the lit floor numbers as it slowly crept to the lobby. Crap, I hated waiting.

After being vampire bait for two years, I should be used to it by now.

A ping announced the elevator’s arrival and the door slid open. I entered and hit the button to my floor.

Waiting made me nuts, but fear tamed my crazy urges, such as using my cell phone to call Red, or circumventing the lobby and taking the back door. The elevator stopped on my floor and I shook the temptations from my mind. Too much rode on this for me to flake out.

The deserted hall echoed with my footsteps. I had to admit Tane was smart to send me out in the middle of the night. Who the hell checked into a hotel at this time?

Someone pissed off who just allegedly stormed out of her lover’s life.

Slipping the keycard into the slot, it signaled the door unlocked, and I entered the room to exhale the breath I’d been holding. Had Colby been watching? Did I look upset enough or just terrified?

I leaned against the door and scanned the room. “Hello?” Did the guards arrive before like planned?

“Keep up the act, Connie.” Gwen’s disembodied voice startled a small squeak out of me. I didn’t expect a response.

The room wasn’t a suite like we’d booked before. It contained a sitting area with a couch and a chair by the entrance, then a bed by the far wall next to the bathroom.

A knock announced the arrival of my luggage and the tension in the air rocketed. I could almost hear the guards' muscles straining to pounce.

I straightened my skirt and pulled at the hem then wiped my sweaty palms on the material before opening the door.

The bellhop carried my empty suitcases and placed them by the closet then left after I gave him a tip.

Maybe I should have filled them? Would the vampire nation notice if I boarded a plane and left the country? Once I arrived at my destination and escaped the clutches of the vampire nation, I could send a note to Rurik and we could agree to meet somewhere.

Then in a few months my hunger would rear its ugly head and I’d be forced to find Tane.

No doubt he’d make me pay for running away. I shuddered, all fantasies dissipating into thin air replaced with dread.

A chill ran down my arms and goose flesh developed on them. Rurik didn’t appear ready to leave Rio anyway. He probably missed his own kind. Intrigue and politics seemed to be his bread and butter. Power his aphrodisiac. All these things orbited around Tane. How long before my lover gravitated to him? What if Rurik never wanted to leave?

My soul shriveled at the thought. I’d be alone again. Plopping onto the couch, I wanted to sob, a drowning-in-your-own-boogers kind of cry, but not in front of an audience. Instead, I stared at a blank television for a few minutes then turned it on.

Nothing caught my interest, my Portuguese sucked so I couldn’t understand most of the channels, except the ones running porn. Heat rose to my cheeks knowing others watched the room.

I kicked off my heels then stomped across the room and threw open the curtains.

Through the rain, a dark outline of Sugarloaf Mountain stood across the bay. Rising above the harbor, the name refers to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. It took two cable car rides to reach its peak. I pressed my forehead against the window. Rurik promised to take me there. Only three nights ago, he chased me through the Jardim Botanic for fun, it felt like an eon.

Nothing guaranteed Colby hearing the rumors tonight, he might not show. A small part of me hoped he didn’t come. He may have almost killed me and we needed to have words about that, yet I understood his desire to murder Tane. Without the bond, I would have staked him myself by now.

God only knew what Colby endured on Tane's yacht in Budapest. When I rescued him, he’d been chained to a wall wearing only his briefs. Tane confessed to studying Colby’s slayer activities for years. If anyone could catch Colby it was him.

Stupid of my ex-boss to attempt killing Tane on his own property. Maybe the urge overcame him when he came with his team to investigate a body Gwen and I found. The crossbow was ingenious though, but why didn’t he use a UV light grenade like he usually did with the powerful vampires?

A well-placed shot would have toasted Tane and any other vampire in the vicinity.

The burst of artificial sunlight wouldn’t have hurt any humans. I might have gotten a tan.

Outside the hotel window, traffic trickled on the streets. People had normal lives in the city. This was the first contact I’d experienced with my own kind in days. The night’s activities and adrenaline rush faded, leaving me exhausted. I undid the buttons of my jacket without looking.

For the first time since meeting Rurik, I missed living like a human. I touched the window, the cold barrier between our worlds. It wouldn’t take much to shatter it.

A traitorous tear slid along my nose until it dripped off my chin onto the window ledge.

Caught.

Hook, line and sinker, the anglers had their catch. Rurik had me by the heart and Tane with his blood.

If there was a heaven, my dead husband, Laurent, probably fumed at my predicament and stupidity.

I didn’t do helpless well, though. A release from these bonds would come one day, but I didn’t know if I had the balls to take it.

Stepping away from the window, I slipped my pink jacket off and laid it over the back of the chair. I sat on the sofa to watch the colors of the television and took comfort from the white noise of people talking.

Exhausted, my eyelids sank closed. Hell, the guards watched the room, no point in my staying awake. Too tired to move, I curled onto the sofa. My last thoughts were of soft, black hair and a set of amused pale, blue eyes.

Yellow warmth greeted me in the morning. When was the last time I awoke to sunlight pouring into the room? It streamed like golden honey through the window and a clear blue sky accompanied it.

I stretched then cringed at the knot in my neck. Sitting, I rubbed and kneaded the area.

Colby hadn’t shown. He beat the mighty Nosferatu and escaped the city. I smiled while straightening my wrinkled off-white blouse.

My back itched from sleeping in a bra, I tried to reach it and scratch. The clock read a little past noon so I scooted over the sofa and did something I loved to do.

Order room service.

Fortified with a good meal and some coffee, I’d be ready to face my life.

“Do you want something to eat, Gwen?”

“No.” Her tired voice came from under the bed.

My smile widened. She hid under there all night for nothing. “Anybody else?” I waited for a minute.

Then a muted ‘ no’ came from the closet.

It didn’t take long for the service to arrive. They knocked on the door twenty minutes after I ordered.

I opened the door.

A dark haired man with a moustache pushed the trolley into the room then closed the door behind him with his foot.

“I’ll eat by the window. It’s such a beautiful day.” I led him to a chair I’d placed there. The smell of bacon and coffee filled the room and my stomach rumbled. “Excuse me.” I grinned as I twisted around to assist with the cart. Sunlight glinted off the steel green eyes of the service attendant.

My heart hit my gut like a skydiver without a parachute. Hunger turned to nausea.

“Colby.” His name a bare whisper from my lips.

He smiled under the dark fake moustache and lifted the cover off my plate. “Ta—

da.”

I stared at his chiseled features under the black dyed hair and was speechless.

He quirked an eyebrow. “Have any idea why every damn vampire in the city is after my ass, Connie?”

“Yes. Don’t you—” Before I could finish my sentence a blur crawled out from under the bed and another flew from the closet.

They knocked me against the wall, where the back of my head hit the windowsill, and they converged on Colby.

Stars flashed in my vision, but when it cleared, I witnessed my ex-employer kick-ass.

He dodged their grasps and leaped over the couch. A male, who must have been in the closet, followed only to get karate chopped in the throat.

A high-pitched wheeze came from Gwen’s partner as he clasped his neck and tried to breathe. He stumbled to the bed and collapsed to the floor out of view.

Gwen stood between Colby and the door. I didn’t want her to get hurt. “Stop.” The shout made Colby glance over. Fury burned in his eyes.

Not wasting an opportunity Gwen pounced.

Mid-air Colby grabbed her around the waist and slammed her to the ground. They rolled across the floor toward me.

Gwen’s legs squeezed his torso as they stopped with him on top.

Pinning her hands to the floor, Colby stared at her as if he’d been slapped with a stun stick. Both panted as if out of breath. Something unspoken passed amid them, because she released her grip and he stood.

His glare stabbed me. “Traitor.”

“You tried to kill me!” I stepped closer to him while rubbing the bump on my head, but Gwen snatched my arm.

He blinked. “How?”

“You need to go.” Gwen pointed at him.

Without another word, Colby sprinted across the hotel room and opened it.

Tane stood in the doorway. The crack of his fist meeting Colby’s chin made me flinch. He crumpled to the ground.

It should have been a triumphant moment, however sunlight poured over Tane, and fire flashed on his exposed skin. He let out a blood-curdling screech before disappearing.

Smoke and a sweet stench corrupted the air.

Gwen and I stood in stunned silence.

“You never told us Colby was a werewolf.” She stayed very still next to me.

I blinked as what she said sunk through the chaos of my mind. “He is?” What I saw hadn’t sunk in yet. The smoke filtered into the room and made me sneeze. “I guess Tane’s not dead since I’m still breathing.” I glanced at her.

“It takes more sunlight than that to kill a Nosferatu. He got singed.” Gwen crossed the room, checked Colby’s pulse and sighed as if relieved. “He’s still alive.”

“What makes you think he’s not human?”

“You think a human can take on two werewolves in hand to hand combat and win?

And he smells…different.” She stared up at me.

I shrugged. “Never really gave it a thought.”

Gwen brushed the dark hair from his face with a tender touch then sighed. Pulling out plastic ties from her pocket, she secured his wrists and ankles.

“You were going to let him escape a moment ago.”

She shook her head. “A hormonal mistake. I’m sure you’ve made bad choices too.”

Boy, did I, and I was about to make another one. “I’d better check on Tane.” I stepped over Colby’s prone body and hesitated. “Did you get the impression Colby was surprised by my accusation?”

She rolled him onto his side and lifted his eyelids while ignoring my question. “He should recover from this blow.”

“What will you do with him?”

“Question him. Get the truth.”

That’s not what I meant. “How?”

She glared at me with a drawn brow. “How do you think?”

I’d been on the receiving end of such questioning recently. It made me sick that I helped capture him, but he’d tried to kill me. Right?

“Go check on our master, Connie.”

I nodded and turned my back on her. The smell of burnt flesh seemed stronger to my left so I followed the odor down the windowless hall.

Bet it surprised the hell out of Colby to find Tane awake during the day. Where would he go? Probably in one of the other rooms. Did I start knocking on every door and draw attention?

I glanced over my shoulder as Gwen closed my room door and left me alone in the corridor. No help from her.

Standing in my bare feet and wrinkled suit, I scratched my fuzzed out curly head. If I called out would he answer? I groaned inside, maybe if I used something other than my voice.

It took me months to learn how to build a shield around my mind to keep out vampires. Learning to let it go proved difficult. With focused concentration, the walls melting away like Rurik had instructed, they faded enough for me to shout his name mentally.

Not a second later, I discerned his presence. “Rabbit?”

“Where are you?”

“Room five-seventeen. You might not want to enter. The burns are gruesome.”

Through his light mental touch, I could sense he shielded me from the amount of pain he experienced. I cringed as our minds brushed against each other, I didn’t need to take any trips down the Nosferatu memory lane. He could keep those nightmares; I had my own.

His presence disappeared like a popped bubble.

I walked two doors farther and turned the unlocked handle. Inside, Tane sat on the bed with his back against the wall. His right forearm and the right side of his face were red with blisters. A strip of untouched skin ran across his eyes where he’d block the sunlight with his arm.

He grinned. “Don’t look so shocked. You make me feel worse.”

Screwing my expression into something more pleasant, I went into the bathroom and soaked a face cloth with cold water.

“It’s been a long time since the sun has caught me. I forgot how much it fucking hurts.”

“Shouldn’t you be healing?” I approached him and pressed the cool moisture with a gentle hand to his face.

With a quiet hiss, he grimaced and closed his eyes. “I am. Most vampires would have expired with such an exposure.” He peeked at me with one eye. “It would go faster if I fed. Fresh blood heals best.”

The blisters oozed clear fluid and looked painful. Did I admit to him I was the one who left curtains open? Guilt chased away any appetite I’d had for breakfast. I lifted my wrist to his mouth without complaint.

His hand dwarfed mine as he brought it to his mouth. As he rested his sharp fangs to the pulse point, I allowed him inside my mental shield to cloud the pain.

I almost wish I could do the same for him. He slipped through my defenses like silk, like Rurik. Offering my wrist gave me the advantage to watch.

With eyes closed, Tane gulped my blood as if quenching a dying thirst. The burns healed before my eyes. Blisters melted into his skin as the inflammation faded and became pale and smooth once more.

“Amazing.” I spoke my thought out loud.

Tane gazed at me under heavy lids, a lazy smile curled his lips before he kissed the wound on my wrist. “Thank you.”

Chapter Twenty-Two

Sunset was only a few hours away and I had nothing else to do except lie in bed and wait for Rurik to wake. I’d had a quiet, uncomfortable lunch with Gwen on Tane’s deck, both of us doing our best to avoid talking about the morning’s activities.

My betrayal of Colby to the vampires sat heavy on my chest as I stared at the bedroom ceiling. It’s not as if we were friends who went out to lunch or exchanged Christmas gifts, but in theory he saved me. Colby introduced me to a whole new world where I could make a small difference and offered me a second chance, which led me away from drowning my sorrows.

Didn’t he deserve a second chance too?

When the hell did I develop a conscience? I glanced at my unmoving lover and blamed him.

Groaning as I rolled off the soft bed, I gave up on waiting and dressed in a yellow t-shirt and jean shorts, then went to find where they imprisoned my ex-boss. I needed to hear his side of the story before Tane and his brothers got their hands on him.

Colby had actually appeared shocked when I asked him why he tried to kill me.

Instead of running, he hesitated to ask me how?

Opening my bedroom door, I came face to shoulder with Gwen. She blocked my exit.

“Where are you going?” She placed her hands on her hips. All five-foot-eleven of her werewolf frame loomed over my six-inch shorter, frail human body. My brain got stuck in neutral as I gazed into her angry chocolate brown eyes.

“I—I—” I cleared my throat. “Don’t you ever sleep?”

“There’s no one to replace me. House security is busy watching the remaining guests, Tane’s personal guards are stuck at the hotel until sunset, and every time I leave you alone you cause trouble.” Dark circles marred her beautiful features and I was almost tempted to retreat in my room for her sake, but the image of her letting Colby go, of the split second intimate moment I’d witnessed between them, wouldn’t let me. She was my only hope and maybe Colby’s only salvation.

“Can you take me to see Colby?”

“Why?” Her eyebrows rose and she jerked her head back as if I’d slapped her.

I glanced in both directions down the hallway and gestured for her to come inside my room.

The door closed behind her as she came in.

“I’m not sure he’s guilty.”

“It doesn’t matter what you think. Tane will be judge, jury and executioner on this m—matter.” She closed her eyes and her shoulders slumped a bit. A tear slipped out.

“Gwen, what the hell is going on? Do you know Colby?”

She shook her head and stayed silent.

“You think he’s innocent too.”

Her facial expression went blank as if she applied a mask. “Doesn’t matter what I think or feel. My loyalty remains with the pack.” It sounded as if she tried to convince herself more than me. “I had a moment of personal weakness at the hotel and almost betrayed all my beliefs. It won’t happen again.” She turned to leave the room, but I grabbed her elbow.

“Doing something right is not weak, ignoring your instincts is.” I came around to watch her face. “What do they tell you?”

“They tell me confusing things and I can’t make heads or tails of them.” She hung her head.

“Sounds as if you have some questions of your own for Colby.”

She nodded. “My brother is guarding him.” She heaved a heavy sigh. “He’ll let us in.

Follow me.” Leading me out of the mansion, through the gardens and back into the wild jungle to the side of the mountain not far from where we’d found the body, Gwen brought me to a cave.

“You have got to be kidding me.” I peered into the dark entrance, imagining large spiders and slithering creepy crawlers.

“This place is very old. My father told me this was Tane’s original home.”

“Why am I not shocked?” My skin itched at the thought of going in there. “How deep do we have to go?”

Gwen lifted a flashlight from her belt and turned it on. “A ways.” Without waiting, she went inside, ducking to avoid the low ceiling.

For once, being short paid off. I fit better in these tight quarters than my werewolf guard.

She slowed her pace to allow me to catch up. “Stay close. The path is clear, but not marked. I don’t want you to make a wrong turn.”

Pressed to Gwen’s back, I whispered. “How many other secrets do you know?”

Glancing over her shoulder, she gave me a small smile. “Many. Now, be quiet.” Her cryptic statement only confirmed how little I knew about my new life with Rurik…and Tane.

One day would I be leading some naïve girl through these caves answering similar questions? My future held endless possibilities and loomed ahead like a map drawn by a blind man. It made no sense.

Gwen brought us to a metal door set into the stone and used a skeleton key to unlock it.

A furred monstrous head popped out.

A shrill, high-pitched scream split the still air in the cave until I ran out of breath. It echoed as I sucked in a lung of air.

Both the beast and Gwen stared at me as if I’d lost my mind.

It stepped through the doorway to crowd the cave as it stooped against the stone roof.

Long, sharp claws extended from its fingers and toes, which clicked on the floor. Brown thick fur covered its bipedal body. Leaning forward its blue eyes regarded me with intelligence.

Every muscle seized in terror and I couldn’t move.

“For something so small you sure can make a big noise.” The beast spoke clear English.

Gwen chuckled behind him and it was definitely a him. He didn’t wear any clothes to hide the fact. “You’re her first werewolf in beast form.”

“A virgin, my favorite kind of snack.” His tongue lolled to the side of his mouth as he gave a wolfish grin. “Is this Tane’s Rabbit?”

“Yes.” She smacked him on the haunch. “This scruffy dog is my brother, Kam. He’s guarding the prisoner.” Her smile faded as she regarded me. “You can stick your eyes back in their sockets now.”

Blood returned to my head and rushed to my cheeks. I couldn’t help my initial reaction. No one had prepared me.

Gwen faced her brother. “Who’s with you?”

“We’re spread pretty thin, sis. I’m by myself. Why do you think I’m in this form?

Heard he kicked your ass and almost killed Jacob.”

I found my voice, but it sounded a couple octaves too high. “Who’s Jacob?”

“The other guard set in your hotel room last night.” She petted Kam’s fur. “Why don’t you go stretch your legs, I’ll keep an eye on him.”

He glanced from her to me and back again. “I want him in the same condition when I get back. No missing appendages or anything.”

“Just a few questions.” She smiled sweetly.

“Did you notice he smells funny?” The werewolf stepped around me. My body still hadn’t recovered from the shock. It couldn’t move yet.

“Yes.” Gwen twisted to enter the room.

The beast stepped closer and smelled my hair. “You smell like prey, Rabbit.” Then snapped his jaws.

I bound through the doorway in a massive adrenaline induced leap, running Gwen over.

She spun around. “Kam, behave.”

His echoing laughter answered her.

“He won’t hurt you. He’s just an ass.” She stepped next to me, her words barely registering.

I stood in the middle of a small cavern. The walls decorated with empty manacles and stained with old blood. Torches burnt in scions, their smoke clouding the ceiling.

Chained to the far wall hung Colby. His wrists and ankles bound by thick metal. The firelight flickered in his glare.

It took a moment or two before my thoughts cohered into something intelligent.

What should I start with? How ya doing? Didn’t sound right. A purple bruise covered his left cheek where Tane had punched him. The swelling reached his eye and lips.

I took a few steps closer before Gwen stopped me with a hand to my shoulder.

Conflicting emotions warred inside. I wanted to hit and hug him at the same time.

“Dumbass.” The insult blurted out. I didn’t know if I meant him or me.

Colby’s green eyes flared and he strained at his restraints. “Bitch!”

The cold, calculating person I associated with my ex-boss wasn’t present. I’d never seen Colby lose his cool before.

That’s not true…on Tane’s yacht he had flipped out. He’d been chained to a wall then too, also under Tane’s care. A shiver coursed down my spine as I remembered how ruthless the Nosferatu could be.

Would I be any less crazed if Luckard caught and chained me again?

I had reasons for hating Tane. They’d faded over the past few days, but this resurfaced some of them.

“I never asked you to come to my hotel room.” Crossing my arms over my chest, I strengthened my resolve to confront him without caving into tears.

Colby growled from deep inside his chest.

I sensed Gwen tense next to me.

“How can you be helping them, Connie?” The frustration in his voice ebbed.

“You’re human and working for the wrong team.”

“You tried to kill me.” I stomped my foot like a five year old, his accusation hit close to my own thoughts, and all my resolved vanished. Tears welled in my eyes.

My statement stopped him. His stunned expression told me all I needed to know. “It wasn’t him, Gwen.”

“How?” He repeated the same question from the hotel room.

“An assassin shot wooden cross bolts from a tree while Tane and I were outside two nights ago. The same night you came to the mansion with the team. One of the cross bolts almost shot me. If Tane hadn’t taken it for me, I’d be dead as a doornail.” I watched his eyes for any signs of guilt and only saw confusion. “Tane saw you running in the jungle with the weapon in your hands.”

“A crossbow? I tripped over it and picked it up.” His brow furrowed.

“Then why run?”

“We weren’t supposed to stay on the property after examining the body, I remained behind. We needed more intel. The killer is on the estate. I can smell it. When Tane came chasing after me, instinct kicked in and I ran.” He stared at me. “You have got to believe me. I’d never kill one of my own.”

“You’ve made it very clear I’m not part of the team anymore.” I wanted to believe him but—but what stopped me? Colby didn’t even kill vampires without proof they were murdering people. Yet, he did have a good reason to hate Tane on a personal level.

“I never betrayed the contract I have with the vampire nation. Each one I slayed was proven guilty prior to execution. Why would I kill the one vampire Lord who is upholding the laws?”

“Budapest.”

He flinched when I said the city’s name. “I’ve survived worse. Tane and I will never be friends, but I can tolerate him.” His admission drew a soft whine from Gwen.

I glanced at her and gave her a ‘ what the hell is wrong with you?’ look.

She couldn’t meet my gaze. Too many secrets, she needed to tell me what was going on between the two of them.

When I turned to Colby, he too stared at Gwen. “Do I know you?”

She snorted. “Nice to know I’m that remarkable.”

“Before last night. You seem…familiar.”

“No, we never met.” She spun and waited by the door.

“Colby, have you ever heard of a blood bond?”

“It’s what you and Rurik have. It’s how he saved you from Dragos and enslaved you.”

Touche. “Yeah, well, apparently it’s not with Rurik but with Tane. If you kill him I’ll die too.” I placed my hands on my hips and listened to my gut, not my brain.

Colby hung his head.

The whole time I’d been alone with Rurik I never felt like a traitor to my race.

Imprisoning Colby changed that. Guilt grew. What would Laurent think of my new life?

Far from the picket-fenced house with the two point five kids he wanted to give me.

It was the only future I couldn’t have. Fate had different plans for me.

I couldn’t chance setting Colby free until sunset and I knew Tane was safe. Like it or not, this bond meant more than a marriage since death do us part was taken literally.

Tane might be an asshole, but he was my asshole. It killed me to admit this, yet he was growing on me. Where Rurik was suave and sexy, Tane was cunning and deadly. I admired all these traits.

“Let me clear the waters for you, Colby. When the sun sets, the sharks will begin to circle. If I let you go and they catch you again, they’ll bite first and ask questions later.

Maybe too much later.”

A clicking of claws announced Kam’s return. “There are no sharks around here.”

Gwen rolled her eyes and left the room. “My brother, the genius.”

I followed her at a quick trot to not lose her in the dark.

“I didn’t try to kill him.” Colby’s shout followed us before Kam slammed the heavy metal door shut.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Outside the cave, Gwen stopped to answer her buzzing cell phone. “What?”

I leaned against a tree and stared at the fading light in the jungle. How the hell was I going to convince Tane to let Colby go? If he was innocent then the assassin was still at large. Maybe Luckard did have balls the size of watermelons and snuck onto the mansion’s grounds to make the attempt. Rurik thought someone else was behind the crazed Nosferatu’s plots. I couldn’t wait until sunset to consult with him. He’d know what to say and what to do.

“How’s that possible?” Gwen’s shout cut through my worries. She paced as she listened to the answer.

I straightened, drawn by her distress.

“Was anyone killed?”

Dread tightened my gut. I paced along side of her, waiting for more information crumbs.

“Shit, scour the hotel, question the staff and inform the brothers. I’m on my way.”

She closed the connection and looked at me. “Tane’s gone.”

“What?” I was stunned. “Are you sure?”

Her eyes narrowed. “I take my job seriously.”

“I mean, can he be, say, with someone in another hotel room?” The thought of Tane getting it on with another person turned my stomach. In the past few days, I’d begun thinking of him as mine…and possibly Rurik’s.

“Some of his guards are dead.”

“Oh.” Not anyone could take on a Nosferatu vampire, even in the day they were powerful. Whoever wanted Tane dead was very determined. What was I thinking?

Luckard must have managed this.

From Gwen’s stormy expression, I knew she came to the same conclusion. “The human Tane fed from was poisoned with the drug. It’s very rare and I don’t know how they keep getting their hands on it. They used it the last time they captured him.”

“I’m very familiar with it. Don’t you watch the humans?”

“We’re spread thin. Our humans are loyal, we don't guard against them. I can’t think of one who would betray him.” She scratched her head. “They’re happy here.”

“What do you know about the person Tane fed from? It may give us a lead.” As soon as I said the word us, it dawned on me how much I worried about Tane. Not because of our entwined lives, but as someone I cared about.

“Personally, not much.” She lifted her phone and dialed then spoke in a soft voice.

I wrapped my arms around myself. What were they doing to Tane? The image of those thick metal bars piercing his body turned my stomach. I wanted to rush to his aide, yet didn’t know where. Could I use our bond to find him like at the hotel? Opening my mental shields, I reached out. “Tane?”

His presence appeared in my head, except he didn’t respond. I groped in the fog, but the connection ran through my fingers like sand. A sigh passed through my lips. The drug dampened a vampire’s psychic powers and strength. They must have given him the whole damn bottle. We wouldn’t find him using the bond. My worry deepened and I glanced at the setting sun. It would be at least two hours before Rurik and the other vampires woke.

Gwen touched my shoulder. “Anything?”

I shook my head. “What about the other Nosferatu?”

“They’re scattered across the city and trapped in their hiding places until nightfall.”

She snorted. “I couldn’t have planned a better scenario to get at Tane if I tried.”

“They used Colby as a scapegoat to scatter our resources.”

“How could they have made Colby pick up the crossbow?” She crossed her arms and grimaced.

“They didn’t have to, but when the opportunity presented itself, they took it.”

Luckard didn’t strike me as a schemer. Who could have known all these details?

I tried to recall the events over the past two days. Rurik had been in Tane’s apartment when I woke, I’d been so concerned about hurting his feelings. I signed some paperwork and gave it to Archios. “Damn.”

The cell phone rang again and she answered it. Her frown deepened as she listened then glanced at me. “The human is dead. He belonged to—”

“Archios.”

She raised an eyebrow and shut off the call. “Spill it.”

“He suggested the hunt for Colby and assisted in planning the trap.”

“Some of the surviving guards have a scent to follow, but Luckard is very good at setting false trails.”

“How the hell is he moving in the daylight?”

She blinked. “Sewers.” Once more she got on the phone to relay the information then closed the connection. With a quick twist, Gwen disappeared into the cave and shouted over her shoulder. “Colby has to be innocent.” She sounded relieved.

I stumbled over the uneven ground, trying to keep pace and not get lost in the tunnels. The light from the prison door opening bloomed ahead.

“Hurry, Connie,” she shouted, and disappeared inside the room.

“Not everyone has supernatural eyesight,” I mumbled to no one in particular and stubbed my toe. “Freaking sandals in a cave.” My oath carried with an echo.

Gwen and Kam were arguing in front of Colby when I finally entered. Her finger poked her brother’s large chest to punctuate her point. “Go outside and use my cell if you don’t believe me.”

“It’s not about belief, sis.” Kam’s voice rumbled as he spoke. “I don’t understand how you could decide to release him without permission.”

Colby observed the two with keen interest. The dullness in his eyes had disappeared, replaced with a sharp eagle’s gaze.

“He’s great at tracking. It’s how we found Tane the first time.”

“Sure, I can help, but why the hell would I?” Colby drawled out his question. I recognized this man chained to the wall—my calculating, meticulous ex-boss, vampire slayer extraordinaire, and another new non-human in my life. “From my point of view, Luckard is doing me a favor.”

Kam swung around. “See, he did try to kill our master.”

“No, I didn’t, but it doesn’t mean I’d mourn him.” The muscles in his shoulders visibly relaxed as he leaned against the wall and stopped straining. Confidence oozed from him all of a sudden as if he weren’t the prisoner.

“Why did you help the first time he was captured?” Gwen stepped closer to confront him.

He cocked his head to the side and stared at me. “To find her.”

“You know, if Tane dies, so does she.” She crossed her arms over her chest.

"Not until today." He gestured with his chin at me. “I’ll help, but it’s to save her, not your double dealing master.”

Gwen glanced at me over her shoulder, a slash of jealousy in her glare. It caught me off guard, then she returned her attention to Colby.

He ignored her and met my gaze. I’m not sure what he saw. Anxiety, worry, guilt and confusion—all mixed together. “Why a bond with Tane of all vampires, Connie?”

“It’s not something I chose or can change. You were there, Colby.” Weariness settled onto my shoulders, tired of having to explain my decisions to anyone. Good or bad, I had to deal with them. “Let him go. Help or no help, he’s innocent and should be released.”

Kam crossed his arms over his chest, the keys to the manacles clutched in one hand.

“Am I not your master’s bonded?” I met the tall werewolf’s dominating gaze and didn’t flinch, even though inside I quaked in my boots.

“Yes.” He growled the response.

“Then by the power vested in me, I order you to release him.” I didn’t know what the hell I was saying, but it sure sounded impressive.

Kam must have thought so too. His ears lay back against his head, yet he reached for the chains. He glared at Colby. “Hurt my pack and I’ll gut you and eat your spleen.”

Colby rubbed his raw wrists after being released.

Gwen inched closer to him from the side, her head down, shoulders curled in.

Watching her act timid was like watching an elephant try to be graceful. What the hell was wrong with her?

She sniffed him.

Colby skipped a step away with a what-the-heck expression on his face.

“He smells odd, doesn’t he?” Kam’s ears came forward.

“Yes, but oddly familiar. He smells like—like mine.” She approached him with more confidence and inhaled deeper. Even from across the room I could see Gwen’s pupils dilate and lighten to bright amber.

My heart raced. I didn’t care to watch her change form.

“I got a whiff of it at the hotel, but things were moving fast and it caught me off guard.” She leaned into him and touched his hair. “Definitely mine.”

“If he’s werewolf, I don’t recognize his pack smell.” Kam bent to smell Colby and got a swat on the nose.

“I don’t belong to anyone.” He placed some distance between himself and Gwen.

“And it’s nobody’s business who I am.” He shoved Kam out of his way and headed straight in my direction.

I could see murder in Gwen’s eyes. Most brilliant men were stupid at something.

Apparently, Colby didn’t know anything about women, especially jealous werewolf kind.

I threw my hands out in front of me and retreated from him. “He’s all yours, Gwen. I’ve problems aplenty with my own men.”

He stopped mid-step and twisted to stare at her. “I haven’t any interest in flighty blondes, either.”

A dark blush crept across Gwen’s cheeks and she stepped closer to her brother, who wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

I heard him whisper to her, “We’ll figure it out. Don’t worry.”

“Colby, I know you don’t give a rat’s ass about what happens to Tane.” I smoothed the wrinkles on my shirt and did my best to meet his intense green eyes. “Or me, but the killer is probably among the kidnappers.” I nodded to the werewolves. “Can’t they tag along as back-up while you hunt them down?”

I may not have a college degree, though I had lived a lifetime of compromises.

Dealing was a means of surviving when you had nothing.

The frown on Colby’s face deepened and aged him ten years. “The longer we wait, the colder the trail.”

The siblings glanced at each other as if excited by his invitation.

Colby grabbed my hand as he stalked out the door. “How does this bond work?”

“My-my life is connected to Tane’s. It’s how I survive. Sometimes we can hear each other’s thoughts.”

“That must be disturbing.”

I nodded as I stared at the ground and whispered, “Yes.”

“Can you try to reach out and see if you can get an idea of where he is?” He led us through the dark cave without a flashlight.

I tripped and stumbled, but his steadying hand caught me each time. The werewolves hadn’t followed. “I tried already. They drugged him.”

His steps hesitated as we exited the cave. “So he’s vulnerable.”

“You still want to kill him.” I yanked my arm out of his grip. “Do you really hate me that much?”

His brow furrowed. “No but you’re a lost kid who made a bad choice. I’m just as responsible for your situation as you are. I could have sent you home or ordered one of my men to pursue you or—”

“Ordered? Like an assignment?” My blood boiled.

“Most of them would have considered it a bonus.” He grinned and it took the edge off his face.

I shook my head in disbelief. “You are one clueless bastard when it comes to women. Look at Gwen.” I pointed in the quiet cave. “She wants you.”

“She’s a lonely, confused werewolf. Once I’m gone she’ll forget what she smelled.”

I doubted it. I’d witnessed the look on her face when she claimed him. Colby didn’t know her like I did. Surrender wasn’t in her vocabulary. His life was about to get very interesting.

A man with long, brown wavy hair and a five o’clock shadow accompanied Gwen out of the cave. Kam shrugged. “Can’t go into the city in my beast form.”

“We’ll need to rendezvous with my team.” Colby addressed them.

“What about Connie?” Gwen came to stand next to me. She seemed collected and calm again.

“She stays here.”

“I do?” Cocking my head to the side, I quirked an eyebrow. “Don’t you need my link to Tane?”

“Like you said, he’s too drugged. You’ll just slow us down. Stay here, if he wakes and you get a sense of where he is, then call me on my cell.”

Gwen took my hand. “Then let’s accompany her to the house so we can be on our way.”

“I think I can manage to get there in one piece on my own. Just point out the right trail.”

Handing me the flashlight, she nodded. “There’s about an hour of daylight left.

Don’t tell anyone of Tane’s disappearance except Rurik. I don’t know who we can trust.”

Chapter Twenty-Four

Gwen’s last warning about trusting no one left a cold emptiness in my gut. Colby, Gwen and her brother, Kam, ran off into the jungle at an unnatural speed.

I stood staring at the swaying leaves in the wake of their departure. Alone in the jungles of Brazil, I realized I was too much of a city girl to appreciate its beauty.

Where others saw lush green vegetation and exotic life, I saw bugs. The jungles suddenly appeared more vast and darker than a minute ago. I did my best impression of the werewolves and ran down the trail. Getting caught out here in the dark would equate one of my worst nightmares.

Did I put on a brave face for Gwen’s sake? Yes, of course. I needed her to focus on finding Tane, not babysitting me. Could I make it back to the mansion safely? I sure as hell hoped so.

Out of breath, sweat trickling down my back, and legs burning, I arrived at the natural pool in the gardens. On weak knees, I collapsed in the closest chair. I had made it without some snake trying to eat me.

The sun still sat on top of the jungle canopy. I’d kill for a glass of water right now, the clear liquid from the stream taunted me and I licked my lips.

Quiet set upon the mansion grounds. Even though the vamps slept, they had servants and guards. Where was everyone? Maybe they were getting ready for sunset and the vampires awakening?

My own vamp would be wondering of my whereabouts and adventures. Tane forbade him from being at the hotel last night. If Colby had spotted him, he would have sensed the trap.

Rurik’s concern for my safety touched me. Most people take affection for granted until the day they lose it and are alone. Been there, done that. I got so used to nobody caring that when someone finally did, I clung to him. That’s why the loss of Laurent almost destroyed me and why I deserted everything to be with Rurik.

Everyone needs to be loved, even the unlovable. I’d thought of Tane as a demon once, but I’d just organized his rescue. Maybe Tane and I were not so different? Stubborn and damaged, sometimes being so alike made it difficult to accept the other’s faults. It would also explain why Rurik loved us both.

I closed my eyes at the thought, still uncomfortable with the possibility of sharing my boyfriend. Jealousy was a poor companion. The idea of Tane touching him set my teeth on edge. We had some hard decisions to make if we survived this crisis.

What if he decided to share Tane’s bed? I’ve never been good at sharing and knew myself well enough to foresee a quick departure.

My eyelids popped open. Then again, Tane could die and drag me to hell with him.

The sun had drifted behind the tree foliage.

Why hadn’t they killed him—us yet? I remembered so little from being tortured besides the pain. Luckard asked about the drug we used on Dragos, the same one they used on Tane. They obviously had acquired some.

I scratched my head as the gears spun in my mind and tried to make a connection.

What if they only had what Eric stole from Tane? That little vial didn’t contain much after Budapest. Maybe they were out?

They would need the source, but what would they use it for? A chill froze my heart as the facts came together.

I sat forward and leaned my face onto my hands. Shit.

They must realize Tane won’t tell them anything. After two nights of torture he never broke. What leverage did they have?

As soon as the question appeared in my thoughts I knew the answer.

Rurik!

My feet were running for the mansion before my brain registered what was going on.

The door slammed open as I hurled myself against it then ran toward the stairs. Taking the steps two at a time, I raced to our bedroom. Tears burned behind my eyelids and a hard lump constricted my throat, which made it hard to breathe.

Please, please, please…

I turned the doorknob and entered. The empty, unmade bed greeted my arrival.

No…please. No. A sob heaved my chest and the tears streamed down my cheeks. They took him too. My lover, my friend, my heart—and Tane’s biggest weakness. I crossed the room and moved the blankets as if he hid under them.

Just when I thought I hit rock bottom, someone handed me a shovel.

Archios or Luckard had more accomplices than we thought. One of them must have taken Rurik when he was helpless and waited for there to be only a handful of guards in the mansion. Crap. It never occurred to any of us he might be in danger.

My numb legs finally gave out and I sank to the floor. Leaning against the bed I reached into my short’s pocket to retrieve my cell phone and dialed a number I knew by heart.

“What?”

“Colby, they took Rurik as well.”

Silence answered my statement. “Why?”

I’d hoped he wouldn’t ask. Shame of how complicated my love life had become flamed my cheeks. “Tane…cares for Rurik.” I still couldn’t say loved.

He sighed into the phone. “Doesn’t change our plans. We find Tane, we’ll find Rurik.”

I nodded even though he couldn’t see because I choked on a sob.

“Connie.” He said my name with concern. Something I’d never heard before. “When you get tired of this lifestyle, you can come back to work for me anytime. No questions asked.”

“Okay.” I sniffed like a five year old, but not comforted by his offer and closed the line. How the heck did Luckard and Archios get involved together?

Archios seemed to be Tane’s right hand man. What more could he want? He could never rule the vampire nation. Only a Nosferatu had the power to unite the different factions.

Even if they had an unlimited source of the drug, Archios couldn’t use it to control everyone. Damn, I wish I knew what he wanted it for.

Why did Luckard need Archios? If he killed Tane could he try to succeed him? I never took vampire politics 101 in school so I wasn’t sure if that’s how it worked. It seemed too easy. Nothing involving vampires was simple. Maybe he needed Archios’

connections and supporters to make it work.

Pulling my knees close to my chest, I leaned my forehead against them and closed my eyes. Exhausted from the past few days of craziness, I wished for my knight in shining armor to come to my rescue. The question remained, what did I need rescuing from?

Seconds turned into minutes and minutes turned into hours. My mind drifted from thought to recollections to regrets. Each moment that went by meant less of a chance of finding my vampires.

A flash of memory yanked me away. The manacles on my wrists, pressed to a dirty wall, the bite of the whip as it tore my flesh—I groaned and pulled my knees tighter to my chest. What would they be doing to Rurik?

He’d heal every time they’d cut him. Nausea formed in the pit of my stomach. The things they’d do to him a human wouldn’t survive. Could Tane watch?

I struck the hardwood floor with my fists. Helpless, I needed to wait on Colby or Gwen to find a trail. They did it last time, except they followed my cell phone signal. No phone this time, just a fading scent and a foggy mind connection.

The window, hidden by heavy drapes and wooden shutters, cracked open. The sound snapped me out of my misery. I rolled into a crouch and stayed behind the bed. All our games of fox and rabbit taught me how to hide and how to run, but sometimes a rabbit needed to stand its ground.

A thump followed as if the sneak tumbled through the window.

My heart rate skyrocketed as adrenaline pumped into my veins. The muscles in my arms and legs tensed with anticipation. I heard a delicate sniff. A clumsy, crying burglar?

Sounded as if we were related.

As the thief stepped past the foot of the bed, I sprang. My shoulder connected to the back of their knees and we rolled head over heels. A high-pitched screech accompanied my attack and I wasn’t the one making it.

I twisted and sat on top of a petite body, fists ready. A warning bell clanged in my head and I hesitated enough to see the tear smudged face of Belatia.

She held her hands in front to ward off any blows.

“Bel?”

Peeking through her pale eyelashes, she glanced at me. A shudder shook her body as a sob racked her chest.

I got off her and she sat up.

Dirt stained tears streaked her cheeks. Her clear blue eyes shone like sapphires as she stared at me in earnest. “Connie, I’ve been trying to find you.” She wore a black t-shirt with a Guns and Roses emblem on the front. Not Bel’s usual, old fashion style. The left shoulder had a rip, the knees of her jeans bore mud stains, and her hands looked as if she’d been digging.

“What has Archios done to you?” I was going to kill him if it was the last thing I ever did.

His sweet, innocent wife broke into more tears and hugged me.

Patting her back, I tried to have patience. I tried to be sympathetic and comforting, but ended shaking her shoulders. “Bel, pull yourself together and talk to me.”

She retreated from my arms and spoke between sobs. “He’s done something terrible, Connie.”

No shit.

“R—Rurik and Tane, he’s got them. I woke in a strange place and heard a scream.”

I flinched.

“I went to go see where it came from and climbed the stairs. Luckard was there with my husband. At first, I thought we were prisoners, but then I saw Archios hurting Rurik.

My husband has lost his mind and is conspiring with the enemy.” She fell back into her tears.

“Where?”

She shook her head. “I was so scared. Luckard yelled at me and Archios yelled at him, so I ran and came to find you.” She took my hand. “I know I’m not smart and I get right and wrong confused sometimes. What they’re doing is wrong, isn’t it?”

“Yes, it is. Can you take me to where they are?”

She nodded. “It’s all Luckard’s fault, Connie. You have to explain to Tane so he doesn’t hurt Archios.” Her eyes pleaded for me to understand.

“I will.” The lie cost me a piece of my soul. Like Tane said, Luckard didn’t have the support or the brains to pull this off. Archios was the mastermind behind all of this. Bel would never understand; love was blind.

“I can lead you there, but we need to jump from the window.” She stood and crossed the room.

“Why can’t we use the door?” As soon as the question left my mouth, I knew the answer.

Bel rolled her eyes. “If someone recognizes me in my disguise I could get in trouble.

I’m sure someone is upset about Tane and Rurik missing.”

Yeah, silly me. “I can’t jump from this height and survive. I’ll meet you outside.” I got to my feet. “What direction are we going?”

“Over the mountain, through the jungle and into the city.”

My heart stopped. “Can’t we take a car instead?”

She stared at her shoes. “I don’t know how to get to the city by the roads. I always went this way.”

“Archios made you go through the jungle?”

“No.” She shook her head and glanced at me. “I’m not supposed to go to the city but…but sometimes I get lonely.”

I sighed with exasperation, not wanting to hear why Bel was confined to the mansion at the moment. “Fine, through the freaking jungle it is.” I spun around and exited the room. Walking at a brisk pace through the mansion, I called Colby. “I’ve got a lead.”

“How?”

“Archios’s wife.” I trotted down the stairs.

“Where are they being kept?”

“I don’t know yet. She’s a little simple and can’t give me directions. She’s going to lead me to them.”

“No, it sounds like a trap. Wait right there. Gwen will send some of her pack over.”

“She’s too frightened, Colby. They might make her bolt. I can’t take the chance.”

“How do you plan to rescue them all by yourself?” His voice rumbled with anger.

“I’m not. Once I get there, I’ll call again. It can’t be too far, Bel came by foot.”

Heavy breathing sounded through our connection then he whispered to someone on his end before returning to our conversation. “We’re scattered around the city at the moment, but when you call we’ll be ready.”

I hung up before he changed his mind. Not knowing if either of my vampires could hear me, I sent them a mental message. I’m coming.

Chapter Twenty-Five

My cell phone signal disappeared as we reached the summit of the small mountain behind Tane’s mansion. The vastness of my stupidity engulfed me. I stood in the middle of the jungle at night with a vampire. My only weapon, a flashlight Gwen handed me before she went with Colby.

If I screamed bloody murder in the middle on the jungle with no one to hear, did I really make a sound?

Bel stared at the blanket of stars overhead. “Do you think vampires can go to heaven?”

I swung my flashlight around to face her. “I don’t know.” Something flapped overhead and I ducked. “I can hardly see where we’re going. Don’t wander too far.”

She came to stand next to me as I stared down the path winding down the other side of the mountain. “I won’t, Connie. I’ll protect you from the Tree People if I have to.”

My heart stopped. “Tree People?” I faced her. “No one ever mentioned Tree People, Bel.” My grip on the flash light tightened.

“Archios told me about them. They live in these jungles and prey upon vampires. It’s why we’re not supposed to cross through here.”

I blinked, not sure how to respond. “You do it anyway?”

She shrugged and walked ahead of me. “They’ve never caught me. I can run real fast.”

“What do they look like?” I aimed my flashlight into the trees.

“I haven’t seen one. When I hear them coming, I run.”

A shiver ran down my spine. “You do realize I can’t run as fast as you?” I hoped Archios concocted this story of Tree People to keep Bel at home.

“I know, but they don’t eat humans.” After twenty minutes of hiking down the mountain, Bel dropped the pace. “Hold on,” she said, voice low, eyes wide. “I hear them talking." Standing still, she cocked her head as if listening. "Good Lord, it’s the Tree People.” She spun around to face me. “I just know it’s them. They’re coming to get me.”

I heard it too, except it sounded like the wind whistling through the branches.

Without another word, Bel took off into the jungle, running flat out away from me.

I ran after her, crashing through the underbrush, following her zigzag path around trees. She was fast and I barely kept her within the scope of my flashlight. “Bel! Wait for me.” There were no Tree People, there were no Tree People, I kept chanting this in my head, but my heart shouted, the Tree People are going to get me.

Something snagged my t-shirt’s collar from behind, yet I pulled loose. I never bothered to look over my shoulder. “Feet don’t fail me now.” I kicked it into a gear I didn’t know existed and flew through the brush at a ground eating pace.

“They’ve got me.” Bel shrieked. “Help. They’re going to eat me.”

I found Bel not far ahead, floundering against a tree trunk. What looked like thin vines wrapped around her torso. I squinted in the dark and reached out to her. “Grab my hand.”

“I got it.”

With all my might, I played tug of war with the vines. They grew up into the branches above us and held Bel suspended off the ground.

“This is the end. I’m going to die. The Tree People got me,” she cried out.

I wrapped myself around Bel and applied my weight. With a sharp snap, the vines gave away and the soft jungle ground broke my fall. Too bad Bel fell on top of me. I tried to stand so I could fight, but she knocked the wind out of my lungs. Black spots danced in my vision and like a Weebles-Wobble I stood before what I assumed was a Tree Person.

Gazing up at a great Banyan tree, the wind blew its vine like tendrils. “It’s just a fucking tree, Bel.” I wheezed in a great gulp of air. “You’re not going to die. Not unless I choke you for having a total freak-out.”

Bel rose to her feet. “A tree?”

I grinned. I couldn’t help it. “Yep. No Tree People.” Draping my arm over her narrow shoulders, I used her for support. If I didn’t have the lives of my vampires depending on us, I would have sat down and laughed my ass off. “Lead the way, Bel. No more craziness. Got it?”

“I’m sorry, Connie. No more freak-outs.”

The jungle growth thinned as we crossed a small portion of Parque Ecologico.

According to Bel, Tane’s mansion existed on the park grounds before the land was sanctioned so they couldn’t make him move. I’m suspected Tane’s power influenced some of those decisions as well.

Ahead, bright lights of cars passed us at high speeds. Bel remained hidden in the foliage as I walked across the grass. I spun around. “How much farther?”

“Across the canal there is a neighborhood. The house is on one of those streets.” Bel joined me and flinched as someone honked. “I can’t get used to all the noise and lights of the city.”

What would I be like in a few centuries? I vowed to keep up with technology so I wouldn’t struggle like Bel. “Do you know the name of the street?’

“I can’t read.”

Her simple statement slapped me in the face. “How long have you been a vampire?”

“A long, long time, but I don’t count years anymore. I remember living on a farm, and I drove a cart pulled by an ox. A city then could be considered a village now.” She grabbed my hand and her eyes sparkled with excitement. “I remember when Tane brought Rurik home as a fledgling.”

“That was a few centuries ago. No one has taught you to read since then?”

“Archios tried, but I didn’t like it. So he reads to me instead every day before sunrise. He has the most marvelous voice.”

“How sweet.” Not. The more she spoke about their relationship, the more deranged it appeared. Archios seemed more father than husband; obviously they met each other’s needs. They’d been together for centuries. Who was I to judge? My stomach turned queasy. “The traffic is lessening. Let’s cross.”

We jogged across the four-lane highway and reached a canal.

I stared at the dark murky water and my determination solidified. “I’m not swimming.”

“Eww, no. There’s a bridge.” Bel looked in each direction as if trying to decide which way to go then looked at the stars. “It’s south of here.” She pointed to the right.

Retrieving my cell phone from my pocket, I checked the signal. Still nothing. I hoped as we got closer to the city it would return.

About a half mile walk from where we started by the canal I saw a row of lights that crossed the bridge. “How far to the building from here?” My knees wobbled like rubber.

I’d run from the cave to the mansion, the pool to my bedroom, then from the mansion to here.

“Do you want me to carry you?” She held out her arms.

A flashback from our swim and near drowning experience returned. She wouldn’t hurt me on purpose, though if she got excited or thought the Tree People were coming, she might squeeze me in half. “No thanks.”

I followed Bel across the bridge on numb legs. “Why do you think Archios is involved with Luckard? Why does he want the drug?” None of it made sense, but Bel might shed some light.

“What drug?” She skipped ahead of me.

I sighed. “Never mind.” A neighborhood lay to the left of our position. “Is the house in there?” I pointed.

She nodded and picked up the pace.

Something clicked in my head as if a dam broke and a flood of mind-blowing pain poured into my body. I never had a chance to even scream. Under a street lamp, I fell to my knees on the sidewalk, mouth open and eyes wide open, trying to pop from their sockets.

My chest…oh, my chest burned with pain. Something stabbed through me, ripping my flesh.

I reached out to Bel who skipped away, oblivious to my incapacitation. Tears dribbled from the corners of my eyes. I needed to breath, except the pain wouldn’t let me move.

“Rabbit?” With the mental question, the pain disappeared like a switch turned off.

I gasped and my lungs filled with sweet air as I lay on the ground, face pressed to the hard concrete of the sidewalk. Tremors twanged the muscles of my tense limbs from the remembered agony.

Whatever was left of my mental shield lay in tatters. I could sense Tane waiting, not trying to intrude. “What the hell was that?”

“Luckard inserting the last restraining bar through me. I’m sorry, the pain was too much and I’ve little control over my powers.”

Holy crap, and a truckload of it. The strain of shielding me from his torture vibrated through our connection. Why wasn’t he screaming and freaking-out? My respect for him grew three-fold. “I’m coming for you—for both of you.”

His weakened state from the drug allowed me a glimpse in his head. I sensed surprise and joy that I included him.

A touch on my shoulder drew me away. Bel squatted next to me. “Connie?”

“I’m okay. I tripped.” Rolling onto my side I sat, then heaved to my feet. “Lead the way.” Tane’s presence faded and I concentrated on building my mental shields stronger.

Around and around my thoughts went as I created a walled fortress with imaginary bricks.

Almost nothing had ever broken down those walls. Almost. The drug Archios wanted weakened them and the Nosferatu could shatter them with brute force. Just like Tane did a moment ago.

Funny how comfortable I’d become with him in my head. I rarely allowed Rurik in, only when he fed, which hadn’t been for nights.

“It’s that one.”

I stopped next to Bel, who pointed at a large white stucco house. The neighborhood appeared upper middle class. Well-kept properties spaced at regular intervals, a few new cars, nothing luxurious. The streets were quiet and dark, all the good humans tucked in their beds while the vampires tortured each other in the house next door.

I checked my cell for signal strength then called Colby. “We’re on Sonia Angel Jones off of Mario Alves, number three-twenty-one.”

Chapter Twenty-Six

“Stay out of the house, we’re twenty minutes away.” Colby disconnected the line and left me staring at the house of torture.

“Who were you speaking to?” Bel crossed her arms over her petite chest. Her thin eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

I couldn’t trust Bel, no matter how much I wanted to. The pistons in her head didn’t fire like they should, and our priorities didn’t match.

She wanted me to convince her husband of his mistakes, yet if Archios laid one finger on my vampires then he could go straight back to hell.

“It was Gwen.” Technically, did that count as a lie? She did accompany Colby. My conscience wasn’t bothered by it much. “She’s coming to help with Luckard. Neither of us can fight him without a lot of help.”

Bel chewed at her bottom lip then nodded. “She might not hurt Archios if you ask her not to. I think we should just tell him to leave before she gets here.” Twisting she marched across the street.

I scampered after her and grabbed her elbow. “Are there guards?” Someone helped transport Tane and Rurik here.

She stopped mid-step and looked at the ground, refusing to meet my stare. “Not anymore.”

“Bel?”

“They’re dead.” She glanced at me, tears brimming in her eyes. “Don’t tell Archios.

He’ll be so angry if he finds out. He’s always telling me I have to stop feeding before the human dies, but my hunger is so strong.”

“You fed on all of them?”

“Yes.”

“How many?”

She counted her fingers and held up six.

My eyebrows shot up before I could school my expression.

“They were only human, Connie. I am capable of hunting on my own.” She sighed.

“But we’re not supposed to hunt like this anymore. Not since Dragos died.”

Cold intuition froze my gut. I recalled the story Tane told me of Bel’s creation. How she’d started as a bound human like me, except separation from her master and the hunger drove her mad, until Archios made her a vampire. Did changing her really cure her hunger or mutate it?

Was this my future?

The hunger had stayed quiet since I’d fed from Tane, but what if he abandoned me?

I wanted to make her feel better. I understood the hunger, and I prayed to never become like her. So I took her hand and smiled. “It’s okay. We’ll explain it to him together. He’ll believe us.”

She grinned at my reassurance. When I died I’d be joining Dragos in hell for those lies.

Hand in hand, Bel and I approached the house. Every light appeared to be on. It streamed out of the windows and bled onto to the street. Like a bug zapper it drew us in.

A driveway ran along the rectangular building and red flowers grew at its base.

White lace curtains hung in the windows. A picturesque little home in the suburbs of Rio, except for the splatter of blood drops across one of the windows.

My stomach clenched at the sight. Two stairs led to a red door. I stood at the foot of the first step and stared at the pattern of blood drops that formed a rainbow of gore.

Bell brushed past me, climbed the steps and opened the door, not disturbed by what she’d find inside.

Then I recalled she probably caused the mess. Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Innocent Bel was still a predator, maybe the most dangerous kind, where she lured her prey with sweetness.

Sometimes I could be so stupid. I was about to follow her inside a house that contained Luckard and Archios. Short of carrying a flamethrower, I didn’t have a chance of rescuing my vampires without Colby and Gwen. “Bel, I don’t think we should go in,” I whispered. “Let’s wait for Gwen.”

“I need you to speak with Archios and convince him to leave before she gets here.”

Tears welled in her eyes. “They might hurt him—”

A toe-curling scream interrupted our debate. My spine snapped to attention and I bit down on my lip. I recognized the cry. I’d made similar ones under Luckard’s care.

Bel ran into the house.

I took the first step and halted as every horror movie memory returned. Don’t go in the house, my instincts shouted.

The red door stood open where Bel had left it and I caught a glimpse of a hand.

Fingers curled, it lay on the white tiled floor in a small pool of blood. As I rose on tiptoe to glance around the corner, I could see the arm of the victim. I steeled my courage and prayed rescue would be here soon, because I couldn’t ignore the noises of pain and I was the queen of stupidity.

Long live the queen.

Either all three of us got out alive or none of us did. I couldn’t bear anymore grief.

Taking the last stair, I crossed the threshold. Three bodies lay across the kitchen floor. I expected more blood, but then again, Bel probably drained them dry.

I stepped over the legs of a Latino man I didn’t recognize. Tane’s home brimmed with people so they all could have lived there. The muscles in my arms and legs trembled with tension, tight as bowstrings ready to spring into a sprint. My breaths sounded loud to my ears and competed with the drumming of my heart.

A slow footfall at a time, I crossed the kitchen to the archway leading to the dining room.

Creaking wood, as if someone climbed the outdoor steps to the doorway, caused me to spin around.

Luckard entered the kitchen.

My heart slammed into my throat and I back-pedaled into the dining room in a futile attempt to escape.

Luckard stood a full foot taller than me. The bright lights shone off his bald head as the Nosferatu stalked across the room. Dark soulless eyes glared at me, sending a wave of fresh terror through my body.

I always imagined when I met my worst nightmare that I’d have enough presence of mind to say, kick him in the balls or gouge his eyes, before he killed me. But no, my brain disconnected and I devolved into a scrambling, prey animal.

Adrenaline finally kicked in and basics instincts took over. I ran. No destination in mind except to get far away.

The wild screech of a starved animal split the air and fueled my short legs to leap over the sofa blocking my path to the front door. Hope of salvation still flourished in my delusional mind. I sprinted the short distance. Touched the cool metal of the knob.

Twisted my wrist and heard the click of the mechanism opening.

Then a tug of my hair halted my forward motion. My neck snapped back as Luckard yanked me away from the door. He kicked it closed.

I landed on my ass, my weight supported by the roots of my hair. Grabbing his wrist, I attempted to yank free, but he kept pulling until I stood on tiptoe. Tears welled in my eyes as I faced the vampire who shredded my soul and haunted my dreams.

“Bel told the truth. You’re really are foolish enough to have followed her here alone.” His deep voice rumbled with amusement as he spoke.

“Who says I’m alone?” I prayed for Colby to break down the door.

“I checked the perimeter before returning inside. I sense no thoughts of attack.”

My terror escalated while my hope died. I stared into his merciless face. All my worst nightmares were about to come true, again.

By the hair, he dragged me as he climbed the stairs. “I do appreciate your arrival.”

Sharp pain radiated across the top of my scalp

Crawling and scrambling, I tried to keep pace.

“Tane’s proving to be most stubborn. Short of killing Rurik, I’m at a loss of how to make him speak.”

“I—I wasn’t any use last time.” The terror in my voice made me sick. I couldn’t stop it, I knew firsthand what awaited me down the hall.

Whips, chains and knives. I whimpered. Pain and blood and screams. With the frenzy of a cornered rabbit, I struggled against his hold, scratching, tearing at his grip.

“Let me go!”

My plea ignored, Luckard towed me into what used to be a large master bedroom.

Once again, Tane stood pinned with steel bars through his torso. They’d only used two this time instead of four. His flesh healed to the bars and kept him from moving, an ingenious way to trap a powerful vampire.

Rurik, young by Nosferatu standards, hung from the wall in front of Tane by thick chains around his wrists. From the dried pool of blood at his feet, I assumed they bled him. Without blood, a vampire weakened. No wounds showed on his skin, they’d already healed.

Both of my vampires hung limp from their bindings and stripped to their underwear.

Luckard released his hold once we reached the center of the room. “Look who I found.”

Rurik lifted his chin and our gazes met. Fear dawned in his blue eyes. “No,” he whispered.

A tray of bloody instruments stood next to him, which Luckard picked through as if shopping for a ripe piece of fruit. He glanced at my lover. “I understand Tane gave you the drug in Budapest to use on Dragos.” He held a thin, sharp dagger close to his face and twirled it in his fingers.

I could see Rurik’s Adam apple work as he swallowed. “Yes.” He stared at me. “I never asked for its source. I didn’t care.”

Luckard ran the edge of the blade along his thumb. A trickle of blood oozed from the cut. “I believe you.” Twisting to face Tane, he pointed with the blade. “Beg him to tell you.”

“No.” He shook his head. The muscle of his abdomen tensed as if bracing for a blow, however Luckard turned from him.

With slow deliberate steps, he approached me, spinning the blade in his hand.

“Rurik.” I knew he couldn’t help, except his name came to my lips like a reflex.

He’d saved my skin so many other times. Scrabbling on my hands and knees, I scurried away from my nightmare, but the door was on the other side of the room.

“What’s he going to do?” I heard Bel’s soft voice. Searching the room, I saw her next to Archios in the far corner. He held her in his arms.

Rurik shifted in his bindings to face them. “Archios, don’t let him do this. Please, brother.”

I leaned against the wall, nowhere to go, my knees drawn to my chest. The galloping beat of my heart sounded in my ears.

“Brother? Our clan, including you, abandoned me to those inquisition monsters. It’s your fault my Bel suffered and changed.” Archios stroked her disheveled golden hair. “I will never forgive any of you for leaving her in Dragos’s care. Now you can watch your woman suffer.”

“We had no choice. How could we have disobeyed him?”

“We always have choices.” He turned his back to Rurik and blocked my view of Bel.

The Nosferatu snatched my left wrist and yanked to stretch out my arm. He set the knife’s blade on the tender underside. “Let’s see how easy it is to skin you, Rabbit.”

“Tane!” Rurik shouted, his voice straining with desperation.

My blood bound vampire raised his head for the first time since Luckard dragged me into the room. Dark shadows circled his eyes and his gaze wandered from Rurik to me.

The situation didn’t seem to register in his face. “What would you have me do? Offer the world to a madman on a silver platter?” He rested his chin on his chest. “I wish I’d never discovered it.”

In my head, I sensed his touch. “Let me at least take your pain, Connie.”

“Don’t give up. Please, don’t give up.” Anger boiled away my fear. “Colby’s on his way with Gwen and your people.”

Nothing showed on his exterior at my comment, but I felt his tremor of hope. He slipped past my shield and strengthened them with his presence in my head. “You’re strong and stubborn. Outlast him.”

Even with Tane shielding me in his drugged state, a sharp pain shot up my arm as the blade bit into my flesh with a surgeon’s slow precision. A scream tore from my throat.

“No, no stop!” Bel’s shout competed with my cries. She came into my view and grabbed Luckard’s hands. Tugging and pulling, she didn’t move him any. He glanced over his shoulder at her, giving me a clear shot.

Cranking my leg to my chest, I let loose a heel kick to his chin, which knocked his head back. The momentum took him over so he landed on his ass. I rose, but he still gripped my wrist. “Pry his fingers loose,” I ordered Bel.

She worked at them while I rained kicks at every available part of Luckard’s body.

A set of strong arms surround Bel’s small waist and lifted her away. Archios carried her from the room kicking and screaming. She cried out, “She’s my only friend. She came here to help you.”

Quick to respond, Luckard twisted my arm at a sharp angle.

I fell to my knees with a howl, trying to prevent him from breaking it. The muscles in my shoulder wrenched at the rough treatment.

Luckard’s face filled my field of vision. “Have you ever seen a butcher take apart a chicken? People are just as tender.”

Chapter Twenty-Seven

I could see in Luckard’s face, the sincere promise to follow through with his threat to dismember me.

Rurik strained at the manacles that held him tight to the wall. He bucked and yanked, every muscle bulging in effort until the right chain pulled loose from the wall. Plaster dust peppered the air and wood splinters rained down on us.

Luckard twisted around with a grin on his face before he flipped me onto my stomach, rested his knee between my shoulders, and pinned me to the ground. “I think we’re getting somewhere, Archios,” he called out, then picked up the blade again.

Terror threaded its way through my veins like ice water. Where the hell were Colby and Gwen? What had only been a few minutes felt like hours. My heart beat so hard it should have jumped out of my chest by now. I stared at my lover, pleading with my eyes.

Rurik wrapped the last chain around his arm. With his legs braced to the wall, he fought to break its hold.

The knife cut into my arm, deeper this time, and I shrieked at the agony. Trapped under Luckard’s knee, I couldn’t get away. I squeezed my eyes shut, unable to stand it anymore.

“Rabb—Connie.”

I peeked at Tane. He’d been so quiet and still, I thought he’d surrendered to our fates, but now determination was set in his jaw. With a sharp jerk, he tore his left shoulder from the bar, leaving a huge gaping wound with snapped bones poking out.

Blood oozed as they began to knit back together before my eyes.

His intense pain rolled from him and struck me like a tsunami through our bond.

Blind and deaf to anything else, I couldn’t breathe as I drowned in torment.

Then a wall slammed down, cutting it off.

I stared at Tane and our gazes met. With his eyes, he pleaded for forgiveness as he did his best to shield me, despite the drugs that weakened him.

The sound of a chain snapping caught both of our attention. Rurik moved so fast, I never even saw him until he stood over me. He grabbed Luckard by the back of his t-shirt and hauled him away.

Archios returned to the room without Bel as Luckard spun in my lover’s grip then shoved him across the room toward his accomplice. “Take care of him. I’ll finish her.”

He licked his lips as his gaze fell to my bleeding arm.

I rose to a sitting position and pressed my wound to my chest, trying to stand, but the floor was slick with my blood.

Catching Rurik, Archios spun him around and punched him across the jaw.

Tane roared as he tore his other shoulder free.

“Luckard, secure Tane first. The girl can wait,” Archios ordered.

The Nosferatu hesitated. He grimaced in disappointment and went to his escaping prisoner. “Why can’t you cooperate?” he shouted.

“Leave these mad ideas behind.” Tane pushed Luckard, who laughed at my bald vampire’s statement. “Archios has poisoned your mind. You never used to lust for power.”

“I went to him, Tane. He only wishes to protect his little bloodthirsty wife from your no tolerance idealism.”

Something finally clicked in my head like a missing puzzle piece. Bel’s hunger, the six dead girls made to look pretty like dolls, her admission of being lonely and my being her only friend. The facts added together equaled Bel as the killer Colby hunted. We kept assuming whoever was trying to assassinate Tane was the murderer too.

The tray of torture tools tumbled to the floor, knocked over by both Archios and Rurik, wrestling like titans in the far corner. A wooden stake skittered close to my feet.

I rolled onto my stomach and scrambled for it. Grasping the weapon, I got to my feet.

Rurik extended his hand. “Toss it.”

Throwing the stake with my uninjured left hand, it flipped through the air, but never reached its destination. Luckard was too fast and caught it mid-air.

“Not so soon.” He shook his finger at me. “This—” he lifted his prize, “will hurt and most probably kill you.” One step at a time, he followed my retreat until I was cornered.

Tane wrapped his hands around one of the metal bars poking him through the hip and began to extricate it. I didn’t think he’d make it in time to stop Luckard. I was on my own against a Nosferatu vampire, an ubervamp.

Luckard raised the stake over his head and aimed at my chest.

Raising my hands in a futile attempt to block the strike, I closed my eyes and said a little prayer.

The room echoed with sounds of fighting and struggle, Rurik’s cries, and Tane’s growls. Yet, I still heard the stake pierce flesh over all that chaos.

Someone in heaven must have heard my prayer because it didn’t hurt. My eyes sprung open, expecting to see a huge toothpick sticking out of my chest, but instead golden hair blocked my view. I shifted over for a better look.

Archios’s wide eyed expression surprised me as he cried out. “No!” He shoved Rurik away and ran across the room.

I stepped around Bel who somehow stood between me and Luckard. The stake protruded from her chest.

She stared at it then at me. “It hurts.” She slowly crumbled to ashes before me.

Everything went empty inside my soul. I covered my mouth to hold back my screams. If I started I’d never stop. This tipped my sanity scale into the crazy zone.

Bel saved me.

Archios fell to his knees at her feet and tried to hold her disintegrating body together.

The anguish in his horror-filled cries left no doubt of how much she meant to him.

Unable to prevent the inevitable, he jumped to his feet and turned on Luckard. “You killed her.” The heartache made Archios’ voice hoarse. He grabbed his accomplice by the shirt collar and smashed him into the wall, leaving a dent.

Something slick sounding popped behind me. I spun to watch Rurik pull the last of the steel bar from Tane.

Wrath embodied him as he stumbled free. Dark pits of revenge filled his eyes. He stormed past Rurik and plucked Archios from Luckard’s grasp, tossing him to my lover as if he were a doll. Tane then turned his attention to Luckard. “I won’t let you escape this time. One of us will be joining Belatia in her fate.” Then he grabbed him by the shoulders and head butted him.

I swung around, half expecting to find Rurik and Archios at each other’s throats.

Instead, I found Archios in a heap at Rurik’s feet, crying uncontrollably.

My lover gestured for me to come to him. “Connie!”

When I took a step my toe kicked a hard object. The wooden stake rolled away. I glanced at Tane, who appeared to be trying to tear Luckard’s head from his shoulders without success.

This dick-head tortured me and my vampires, haunted my dreams, and killed…my friend. Tucking my fear in a dark corner of my mind, I chased the wooden stake across the floor toward the Nosferatu and snatched it. I tightened my sweaty grip to make sure it wouldn’t slip when I got my chance to pierce Luckard’s black shriveled heart.

Tane’s gaze met mine and traced down to the stake in my hand. An understanding passed between us without the need of a blood bond or a mental link. The malicious grin that spread across his face sent a pleasant shiver down my spine.

He spun around and shifted his hold on Luckard to pin his arms behind his back.

I’d seen Colby slay enough vampires to have a clue how to stake one. Needing momentum to pierce their hard flesh, I ran as I raised the stake over my head.

Luckard’s glare ensnared me, my mental shield gonged as if he’d swung a baseball bat and hit it. Disoriented and dizzy, the world tilted, yet I managed to keep my sight on his chest. I plunged the stake into his heart and applied my weight so it would sink deep.

Tane dropped him. “We need to severe the head and burn the heart.”

I stared at the limp body on the floor. My chest heaved as if I’d just run a marathon instead of a few feet. No more Luckard. No more nightmares. I kicked his foot and half expected him to jump, but nothing happened. We were safe. We’d won. Then out of the corner of my eye, I glimpsed Archios gathering Bel’s ashes.

Well, sort of won. A lump formed in my throat.

Rurik gathered me into his strong arms and squeezed me tight as if to make sure I was real then rubbed his face into my hair. “My hero,” he whispered.

I shifted my position to face him and pressed my lips to his for a fast kiss. “We need to break this bad habit of having to rescue each other.” The adrenaline faded and my arm throbbed, weariness stole over my body.

Watching a distraught Archios get to his feet, I was surprised to find I felt nothing except pity for him. He faced Rurik. “I won’t cause any more trouble. All this was for naught without Belatia. I did it for her. I only wish to join her now.”

Anger erupted through the pity. “You pompous ass, what do you mean you did this for her? She ran to me through the Tree People-infested jungle by herself to help them.” I pointed at my vampires. “She didn’t want to be part of this fiasco.”

Rurik held me back.

“Let her stake me. I deserve it. She’s right. Bel wasn’t capable of understanding why we needed to be rid of Tane. She knew nothing until tonight.” He held out his hand to the side and offered his chest.

“I can’t figure why you needed me dead. Enlighten me.” Tane crossed his arms over his half-healed chest.

Archios glared at him. “It’s all your fault.” There was no anger in his voice, only surrender.

“You’re asking for mercy, yet I’m not feeling very merciful tonight, Archios.” My bald master spoke as if he had trouble controlling his rage.

I pulled from Rurik’s comforting embrace to step between them. “She was the one killing the girls.”

Archios’s gasp confirmed my suspicions. “Did she tell you?”

“No, but she told me about her loneliness, and how she’d use the jungle trail to get to the city, even though you told her that ridiculous story about the Tree People. Why else would she go there? The young women were all found dressed in lovely clothes and their hair done in elaborate styles.”

“Her hunger drove her mad. No one understands how much it changed her.” Blood-tinged tears spilled from Archios’s eyes and he hung his head.

Tane came to stand next to me and I wrapped my arms around his narrow waist. “I thought when she became vampire it cured her.”

Archios shook his head. “No, it only masked it. She could never control her thirst.

Once she started to feed—”

“—she couldn’t stop.” I finished his sentence. “Not until they were dead.” I thought of the bodies in the kitchen.

“Dragos didn’t care, but you do.” He glared at Tane. “You would have executed her.”

“Yes, I would have, except you managed to do it for me.”

I gasped at Tane’s callous words yet understood his meaning. The ruler of a predatory race couldn’t afford pity. He needed to be strong and feared to get vampires to comply with the laws, especially since Dragos allowed some of those laws to be bent.

The execution of the traitors at the party set a standard. No tolerance.

Tane’s words struck Archios like a physical blow.

His tears streamed unchecked now as he stared at his ash-coated hands. “I loved her.”

Rurik grabbed the stake off the floor. Time slowed as I realized his intent. With a single one-handed smooth jab, he ended Archios’s existence. He got his wish and joined his beloved Belatia. Making him continue on would have been the true punishment.

I sensed Tane tense in my arms. He stared at Rurik, confusion apparent on his face.

My lover twisted to look at my blood bound vampire. “Traitors can’t be shown any mercy and deserve an execution.” I couldn’t have been prouder. Rurik did the one thing Tane couldn’t do, show mercy.

Tane relaxed and placed his arm around my shoulder to pull me close. After he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead, he whispered, “Thank you.” Technically, he should have been able to move fast enough to stop Rurik, but he didn’t and I loved him for it.

I felt my eyes widen with the thought.

The sounds of running footsteps echoed through the house before Colby and Gwen stormed the room, both armed like commandos, stakes in hand. They stopped a couple steps into the room.

Colby glared at me. “I thought I told you to stay out of the house.” He aimed his gun at Luckard’s body as he approached it slowly.

“He caught me and dragged me in.” A little white lie didn’t hurt anybody. “I staked him.”

My ex-boss glanced at me. “Nosferatu aren’t dead until decapitated and their hearts burned to ash. They’re tough bastards to kill.” With this comment, he glanced at Tane.

“Connie, you’re bleeding.” Gwen holstered her weapon and crossed the room to kneel in front of me. Blood dripped from my fingers.

Rurik lifted my hand and twisted my arm to examine the wound with Gwen.

“Just bandage it. I will heal it when we return.” Tane stroked my hair. “I need to attend to Luckard first.”

I nodded as he passed me to Rurik’s loving arms. “Let’s go home.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

The last rays of golden sunlight disappeared behind the horizon. Bright orange faded to coral, then to pink, until the night swallowed them all. It reminded me of Tane, my personal demon turned…into what, a friend? I wasn’t sure anymore, yet he engulfed my life just like the night.

Kam, Gwen’s brother, walked ahead of me, searching the manicured garden for any would-be attackers. The ass refused to tell me where she went, but I was sure she was hot on Colby’s trail. He disappeared shortly after destroying Luckard’s remains with Tane.

From the look on Gwen’s face the last time I saw her, I think he may have broken her heart. God help him.

I wandered, unable to sleep, searching for a cure to my torn heart. Bel’s grotto came into view and I approached. White, translucent curtains hung in the doorways as if someone had closed the small building in mourning. Stepping inside, I found it empty so I flicked on the dim light and settled onto a plush beige pillow. They filled the depression in the center of the room so I stuffed a few under my knees and back.

Kam peeked in. “I’ll stay out here. Shout if you need something.”

I nodded as he left. The cool night air played with the curtains, something by the doorway drew my attention. I crawled onto my stomach to get a better look in the poor lighting.

Sitting in the corner of the mural away from all the predators, I found a treasure. A grey rabbit painted by the exit, balanced on its hind legs, ears forward, nose sniffing the air. It watched whoever came into the grotto. Next to the rabbit, huddled at its side, was a small field mouse.

Belatia must have painted it after the party. Everyone judged her as simple yet she saw through the bullshit. Her mural showed insight.

She was a killer and I should hate her. Instead I sympathized with her. The hunger took control and she became its puppet. I exhaled a trembling breath. Like it or not, Bel and I were similar. I hoped not to experience the same fate, and would fight with my dying breath before allowing the hunger to get the better of me. That meant I needed to stay close to Tane.

What if Luckard had never abducted me? I wouldn't have found out my true blood bond was with Tane. The hunger would have driven me insane. What if Tane went missing again? It’s what happened to Bel with Archios.

A cold claw of dread clutched at my stomach. The Master of all vampires had a target painted on his back.

I reached and touched the mouse at the rabbit’s side. Tane entrapped my soul, and Rurik my heart. Caught between two vampires, I sure could use a friend right about now, even a crazy one.

A brush to my mental shield, like a soft caress, told me Tane was awake. He usually didn’t sleep, but after his injuries, the fight and having to heal my wound, he decided to take a nap.

I touched the underside of my arm where Luckard sliced me open. Not even a scar.

My bald vampire took care of it.

The curtain moved, this time not from the wind. Tane stepped inside. He called over his shoulder, “Kam, your off duty. I’ll be with Rabbit.” It appeared he didn’t bother to dress before finding me since he only wore his pajama bottoms. He padded across the tile floor barefoot and stepped into the pile of cushions. “What are you up to?” He eyed me, suspicion clear in his expression.

“Nothing. Why?”

“You’re concentrating very hard and that bodes for bad times.” He crawled onto his stomach next to me. For the first time, I had a clear view of the dark tattoo on his back.

A large circular design covered his pale, translucent skin. It was made of sharp angular lines that reminded me of Inca or Aztec drawings. A black sun sat in the middle of it. “It seems odd you would choose a sun on your tattoo.”

He glanced over his shoulder at it. “I didn’t decide what was placed on my back.

None of us do.”

Skeletal wings were drawn to sprout from his shoulder blades, and extended to curl over his arms. “Who does?” I traced a finger along a curving line down his flank.

A shiver coursed through his muscles.

I withdrew my hand as if burned and glanced at him. His dark eyes dilated with hunger, but I didn’t think my blood was on the menu.

With a slow gesture, he brushed some hair from my face as if afraid to startle me.

“Connie.” He whispered my name and drew closer until his lips met mine.

I should have pulled away. I should have slapped him across the face, or better yet, kneed him in the balls. I should have hated the way his lips felt on mine nevertheless I didn’t. Oh, I didn’t.

With ease, he melted me into the cushions. His firm lips caressed and teased mine until I finally opened my mouth to invite him in. I drowned in the wake of his desire as the weight of his body pinned me. He felt so right. I explored his back with my hands and finally slipped them under the waistband of his pajama pants. His hard ass clenched as I cupped it and pulled him closer to me.

He groaned then dragged himself away. With a struggle, he lifted the hem of my summer dress over my head and tossed the light material aside.

I lay under him, naked except for a pair of lace panties, as he straddled my waist. If I let this go any further, there would be no turning back.

His cock tented his pants as he slid the waistband to his hips.

“Wait. This is wrong. I can’t.” I rose to my elbows as shame tore its way through my heart and soul.

“You belong to me. I lend you to Rurik.”

“It doesn’t stop the fact I still love him. I can’t.” No matter how Tane worded it, if I fucked him it would tear my relationship with Rurik apart.

Tane pulled his pants back up and threw himself onto the cushions next to me.

I reached for my sundress, except a cool hand around my waist prevented me from getting it.

“This isn’t over.” He twisted me around to face him. “You want Rurik and you want me.” A brush of his fingertips over my nipple made me gasp. “I want both of you.” He rolled it between his fingers and gently pulled.

An arrow of pure pleasure shot straight to my groin. I grasped his shoulders and dug my nails into them. If he kept touching me, I’d lose all sentience and tear his clothes off like a wild animal in heat.

He hissed and shrugged off my hands. “No nails.” With a soft shove, he pushed me away and ran both his hands over my breasts. “I’ve been dying to do this since the day I walked in on your bare ass to heal you.” He squished them together and bent down to suck on the left bud.

Arching my back, I tried to fight my awakening arousal. He pissed me off, but damn, I liked it. I ran my hands over his smooth head until I reached his chin and lifted it to meet my gaze. “Not without Rurik.”

A malicious grin spread across his face as he released his hold on me. “I thought you’d never ask.” He knelt beside me and slipped my panties off. “He’s already on his way.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the entrance and placed a cushion over my lap. My heart raced. I didn’t know how Rurik would react. He’d been lovers with Tane, however that was hundreds of years ago. There had to be a reason for them not getting back together before now.

Not a moment longer, my lover strode into the grotto. He stared from me to Tane and back again. His brow furrowed as he frowned. “What’s the explanation this time? Your dress flew off and you forgot to wear underwear?”

I smacked Tane on the shoulder. “I told you this was a bad idea.” Me and my stupid libido, why didn’t I make Tane buzz off when he kissed me? I stared daggers at his tattooed back as he approached Rurik.

My blood bound vampire grasped Rurik by his messy dark hair and embraced him in a heated opened mouth kiss.

All the air left my lungs.

Rurik didn’t struggle like I expected. Instead, he wrapped his arms around my master, like he’d done to me a thousand times, and returned the passionate kiss as if tasting something he longed for.

I wish I could say jealousy didn’t raise its ugly green head, yet it peeked out. Not for the obvious reasons, though. Rurik and I loved each other. In the past, he and Tane had shared a relationship, which left me wondering what could I and the Nosferatu have?

My breathing became heavier as I watched Tane reach inside Rurik’s shorts and stroke his cock until it strained against the material. I couldn’t believe how tormented I felt watching them touch. How it made me ache with desire.

At that moment, my gaze met Rurik’s. His ice blue eyes had gone from furious to enflamed. He retreated from Tane and flung his dark hair out of his face and glared.

“Maybe we should set some ground rules. I don’t want any regrets.” He glanced at me and his gaze traveled down my body. His chest heaved as if he were trying to catch his breath. He pointed at Tane. “You command outside of the bedroom, but when the three of us are together, I give the orders. I won’t participate otherwise.”

I patted the cushion next to me, eager to touch Rurik, someone I knew and was familiar with.

He smiled as he settled next to me. “Are you okay with this?” With a gentle hand, he tilted my chin to look me in the eye. “I don’t want you to feel pressured.”

Glancing at Tane, I was surprised to see him still standing apart from us. His arms crossed over his chest as he stared at his feet. It dawned on me then the gravity of this decision. One or all of us could get hurt and destroy the delicate balance we already had.

“Tane?”

At the sound of his name, he glanced up with a scowl, except it was a mask he wore like the ones on his wall. Something he could hide behind.

I reached out my hand.

The scowl melted, replaced by a more vulnerable expression. “I don’t—” He cleared his throat. “I don’t want to be a third wheel or an extra body part. I want the whole package.” With a small sigh, he took my hand. “Friendship, love, all of it.”

My heart fluttered at his words. Could I love two men? God, could I deal with their egos?

He sat next to me and clung to my hand.

I squeezed and remembered how worried I’d been about him last night. How he’d done his best to protect me against the pain. I did love him. It was different from the way I felt for Rurik, but it was love nonetheless. “Okay.” Twisting around, I faced Rurik and waited for his answer.

“We always loved each other. It was just bad timing and wrong partners.” He laid his hand on ours. “The sex should always be together. Otherwise, someone will eventually feel left out. I don’t want to walk in on both of you in compromising positions anymore.

Ever.”

Tane nodded as he slid closer to me. “What about you, Rabbit?”

Sandwiched between them, it didn’t take me long to decide what I wanted. “Don’t ever make me chose between you. Whatever happens, don’t make me the one to decide.”

“It won’t come to that.” Rurik removed his shirt and shorts. “Take your pants off,”

he ordered Tane.

I blinked and watched in amazement as Tane removed his clothes without an argument. He had more bulk to his muscles than Rurik, yet they slid under his skin with just as much sensuality. “If I knew you could follow orders, I would have asked for me to be the boss when we’re alone too.”

He grinned, his sharp fangs reflected the dim lighting then he snatched my ankles and pulled so I fell backwards onto Rurik’s lap with a squeak. “Never. Can I have my way with her now?” He glanced at Rurik.

Chuckling, my dark lover repositioned himself behind me and cupped my breasts in his hands. “Be my guest, but let’s start slow. I want us to share her at the end.”

“Share?” My voice raised an octave. The muscles in my thighs tensed as Tane spread my legs open and crept forward.

“Don’t worry,” Rurik whispered in my ear. “It will feel good. I promise.” He traced his tongue along my earlobe before nibbling.

It sent shivers down my spine. I relaxed against him and closed my eyes as fingers wandered over my nipples—pinching, twisting, pulling. Strong hands spread my legs farther apart.

“A natural blonde.” I heard Tane comment before sensing his tongue lick between my folds. The duel stimulation set me on fire. In a few slow strokes, he found my clit and latched onto it. Sucking hard, he reduced me to a wanton, moaning beast.

I would have offered him anything to not stop. “More.”

With Rurik’s assistance, he lifted my legs over his shoulders and slipped a finger in my back hole.

Gasping, I clenched at the unexpected sensation, yet with each slow stroke I relaxed enough for him to use two fingers and stretch me. I rocked my hips in time to his rhythm, the delight growing with each touch of hands, fingers, and tongues. The ecstasy sent me over the edge. I arched my back and leaned hard against Rurik.

“I haven’t fed from you in days.” His voice deepened with hunger that sent tingles of pleasurable anticipation through me. He entwined his fingers into my hair and exposed my neck.

Sharp pain pierced my skin and heightened my passion. I cried out, unable to contain it anymore, not caring who heard me out in the gardens.

My new lover left a trail of kisses as he made his way to my navel, never withdrawing his fingers from my ass, as Rurik stopped feeding.

Blood trickled along my skin from the bite. It rolled over my collarbone and slipped in between my breasts. I tried to sit, but Tane’s intense stare snared my attention.

He withdrew his fingers as he lapped at the red, life-bearing stream. “Mmm, Rabbit.”

The comment slid through my mental shield and purred in my head. Following the path to my neck, he licked on the small wounds until Rurik grasped and lifted his chin so they could kiss.

Sandwiched between them, I caught my breath as I watched their caresses with fascination. So engrossed in the show I was startled by a slight movement behind me as Rurik used the wetness from between my legs to cover my back hole. With a gentle pressure, he slipped his fingers inside and continued to relax those muscles.

Now I understood what he meant by sharing me. Discomfort turned to pleasure and grew into longing. I did everything I could to keep from coming too soon. Thought about my laundry pile, my credit card bills, even tried to picture Red naked, but my vampires were both more experienced and would outlast me.

With desperation, I ran my hands over Tane’s bald head, down his strong back, then around to his groin. His hard, thick cock pulsed in my hand as I stroked it and he broke off the kiss to moan my name. Why was I only pleasuring one of them when I had two hands? Twisting my hips slightly, I reached behind and fondled Rurik’s cock too.

“So eager.” Rurik purred in my ear.

A moan was the only response I could manage. Wrapping my legs around my bald lover’s narrow hips, I invited him in by guiding his excited cock to my entrance.

Rurik pulled my hands away from caressing them. “Easy.” He lifted both my arms above my head and shifted me onto Tane’s lap. “Let me go first so I can ease in.”

On my knees, I straddled my new partner on the cushions. Once I thought his eyes dark and soulless, but tonight they filled with passion.

He pulled me into an embrace while he leaned back into the cushions. The motion brought me forward and allowed Rurik access from behind.

I returned Tane’s tender kiss, so different from Rurik’s demanding ones. He took his time to explore with my mouth, to savor my taste, and draw me in deeper.

It slowed my breathing and helped me unwind as Rurik pushed his hard cock into my anus. Slow and steady, he eased inside. His grasp on my hips tightened. “Tane.” His voice sounded strained.

Lost in our kiss, he didn’t respond right away.

“Tane, we’re going to finish without you.” Frustration apparent in his rebuke, he slid in and out of me.

I broke off the kiss, unable to catch my breath.

Our master positioned his cock to the entrance of my wet pussy and thrust inside.

Frozen in a sea of sensation, I couldn’t move, couldn’t speak or think. Just be. My vampires moved as if choreographed. They stroked in opposite tempo. In and in and in, until the world exploded.

Rurik’s grunts mingled with my cries. White light blinded my mind as waves of salacious euphoria cascaded over my body. Strong hands supported me as they pumped and took their pleasures until they filled me with their seed.

When it faded, flesh dug under my nails. My eyes fluttered open. Sweat beaded on Tane’s smooth head. Blood oozed from the scratches I’d left on his shoulders. “Sorry.”

He ran a fingertip over my cheek to my lips. “No problem.”

“Did you come?” He never made a sound.

“Oh yeah,” he whispered. “I’m just quiet about it.” He grinned before giving me a soft kiss and flopping back onto the cushions. “Hot damn, I’m a little dizzy.”

Rurik helped me withdraw from them and hugged me close to chuckle in my ear. “I think he’s satisfied.”

I glanced at him. “And you?”

“Never.”

My thighs quivered from the exertion and I crawled next to Tane. “Why am I not surprised?” I sank into the cushions and never wanted to move again.

Rurik joined us, sandwiching me once more. I ran my fingers through his hair. A few stuck to my hand and I shook them free. Odd, I didn’t think vampires could shed.

His ice blue eyes met mine as he kissed the tips of my fingers.

Tane rolled over and pressed his face into the nape of my neck.

We didn’t need to say we loved each other because we already knew. The sacrifices we’d made for one another spoke more than words. My heart wasn’t torn in two anymore. Their love for me was real.

I closed my eyes and reached out my hands to touch them and never let them go.

This adventure I called my life had just begun.

The End

Content

Catch
Angler - 2
by
Annie Nicholas

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Twenty

Chapter Twenty-One

Chapter Twenty-Two

Chapter Twenty-Three

Chapter Twenty-Four

Chapter Twenty-Five

Chapter Twenty-Six

Chapter Twenty-Seven

Chapter Twenty-Eight