Standing at the mouth of the tunnel, Cezar was wrapped in shadows, his gaze trained on the woman who was restlessly pacing the dirt floor.
It had been less than ten minutes since they had realized she was being hunted, but in that short time Styx had gathered his servants to search the grounds for the Adar, Darcy had brought Anna’s possessions to take with her, and Levet was busy conjuring some spell that would supposedly destroy any scent that Anna might leave behind.
Cezar wanted to be far away from the estate when that particular spell went off. Levet was well-known for creating large-scale disasters when he attempted magic.
Just beyond the tunnel was a narrow path that circled the back of the large estate. Styx had promised he would send a vampire to pick them up, but so far there was nothing to be heard but the sound of the distant frogs and Anna’s soft, nervous footsteps.
He had attempted to give her a sense of privacy as she struggled to collect her shaken courage. If he had learned nothing else in their short time together, it was that she hated for him to see her vulnerable.
At last, however, he was forced to give in to his screaming instincts. He could tangibly feel her bewildered fear. It cloaked around him, stirring a fierce need to do…something.
Something that involved his fangs and blood and death.
Unfortunately, there was nothing nearby that needed killing—well, unless he counted the annoying gargoyle.
With a low growl he moved to stand directly before Anna, bringing her to a halt by lightly placing his hands on her shoulders. A frown touched his brows as he felt her tremble.
“You’re shivering,” he said, his voice soft enough it wouldn’t carry. “Are you cold?”
She stood stiff beneath his touch, perhaps afraid that if she relented an inch she might shatter.
“I’m fine.”
“The air is damp. Do you have a sweater in your bag?”
She took a step backward, dislodging his hands. “Cezar, if I’m cold I’ll simply warm the air around me.” Her eyes abruptly widened. “Did you just hiss at me?”
Cezar folded his arms over his chest as a sharp anger surged through him.
Dios. The woman took stubbornness to a whole new level.
“I’m weary of you treating me like the enemy, querida,” he said coldly. “I have done nothing but try to protect you since we have met again.”
Her gaze briefly flickered, as if he managed to strike a nerve. Then, with a forced determination she lifted her chin. “Well I haven’t forgotten our first little rendezvous, Cezar.”
Heat arced through him as the memory of pressing this woman to the wall and entering her with a long, delicious stroke rose to mind with a vivid clarity. “You think I have?” he husked.
“You forgot me the moment you walked out the door,” she accused. “I was just another easy lay. Oh no, wait, it was more than that. I was dinner as well, wasn’t I?” She sucked in a shaky breath. “God, I felt so used.”
Cezar swallowed his angry words, suddenly struck by a startling realization.
It was nothing new to have a woman holding a grudge against him. Hell, during his earlier years he had been slapped, stabbed, and nearly staked by furious ex-lovers. But, it seemed a little excessive for any woman to still be nursing such a raw, passionate sense of betrayal for two centuries.
Unless…
Unless she still cared.
His anger eased and with care not to startle her, he once against stepped close. Close enough that the scent of honeyed figs filled his senses.
Christ, had there ever been a more erotic aroma?
“I didn’t leave you, Anna,” he said. “At least not willingly.”
“Don’t insult my intelligence with one of your practiced lines about doing it for my own good or intending to call on me later…”
“I am not giving you some practiced line,” he denied, his hands framing her face, his gaze holding hers with grim determination. His sins were no doubt legendary, but he had never intentionally attempted to harm this woman. Never her. “While you slept in my arms I was visited by the Commission.”
She frowned. “The Commission?”
“They are the…” He grimaced, struggling for the words that would easily translate the purpose of the Oracles. “I suppose you could say they’re the Supreme Court of the demon world. Those who dole out justice and punishments.”
Not surprisingly her frown only deepened. Demon politics brought a frown to a lot of people’s faces.
“What did they want with you?”
He smoothed his expression to an unreadable mask. He could get them both killed if he didn’t take care.
The Commission had little patience and no forgiveness for those who broke their rules.
“I’m not allowed to speak of the Oracles or what they desired of me. Not unless I have a sudden death wish.”
She made a sound deep in her throat. “That’s convenient.”
“It’s anything but convenient.” His hands tightened on her face. “Unfortunately, it’s the truth.”
Perhaps sensing he wouldn’t budge on this subject, she turned to her next grievance.
“Why didn’t you wake me before you left?”
“The Oracles had rendered you unconscious; it was not my place to interfere.”
“Unconscious?” He could feel the sudden heat bloom beneath her skin. “Ha. I knew it. God, I couldn’t believe I fell asleep in that room.” The hazel eyes sparked with anger. “Dammit, what right did they have?”
“You will discover they feel they have every right,” he said dryly, his thumbs stroking her warm skin. His body instantly reacted to the sensation, keenly recalling that satin skin pressed against his own as he moved deep inside her. “And look at it this way, if they hadn’t interfered you would have been in your own bed the night your house burned to the ground. They saved your life.” A tiny smile tugged at his lips. “Actually, if you think about it, I was ultimately responsible for keeping you alive and well.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”
His smile faded. He bent until his forehead rested against hers, the soft brush of her breath warming his lips.
“Anna, I didn’t abandon you that night. In fact, there’s a very good chance that if we hadn’t been interrupted we would still be in that bed.” Her mouth parted to argue, but Cezar had a sweeter means of keeping those lips occupied. Closing the space between them, he captured them in a soft, yearning kiss. It was a bare touching of their lips, but it was enough to send an explosion of hunger ravaging through his body. Too long, too long, too long. The desperate words echoed through his head as he used his thumbs to open her lips so that his tongue could slip into her moist heat. This was not the place or time for such intimacy, but his need for this woman was straining his self-control to the breaking point. “Dios, I will never tire of the taste of you. So sweet.”
Her hands fluttered before at last landing on his chest, the heat of her palms searing easily through Cezar’s shirt.
“Wait,” she breathed, her husky voice revealing that she was far from indifferent to his touch. He shifted to nuzzle the tender spot just below her ear. She gave a shaky sigh before she was determinedly arching from his touch. “Cezar, wait.”
He growled, his body twitching at her abrupt retreat. He could taste the desire that ran through her body. Why was she so damned determined to deny it?
“I’ve told you that I was forced to leave, that I would never have gone willingly.”
“But you haven’t explained why you came back.”
He eased away, his aching lust replaced by a sudden wariness. As much as he desired this woman, he wouldn’t risk allowing her to discover more than the Oracles had allowed him to reveal.
They were more dangerous than Morgana le Fay on her most evil day.
“What do you mean?” He kept his voice light.
Her eyes narrowed. “You deliberately lured me to Chicago. I want to know why.”
With a timing that was straight from the gods, Cezar heard the distant sound of an engine. Turning away from her far too intelligent gaze, he moved back to the mouth of the tunnel.
“Our ride has arrived,” he murmured.
He heard her low, impatient sound, but with grudging steps she moved to join him, peering through the branches that hid the tunnel from prying eyes.
“How do you know it’s our ride?” she demanded, her gaze searching the darkness that shrouded the wooded area.
“This road is part of Styx’s estate. Any traffic must be admitted through the front gates.” He smiled wryly as he recognized the soft, yet powerful purr of the approaching car. “Besides, only Viper would choose a Rolls-Royce Phantom for a rescue mission.”
“Who’s Viper?”
“A brother.”
“You mean a vampire?”
“Yes.” He lifted his brows. “Is that a problem?”
“Not so long as he understands I’m not dinner.”
The vision of another vampire wrapping his arms around this woman while his fangs sank deep into her flesh seared briefly through Cezar’s mind before he grimly forced it away. His control was precarious at best right now and thoughts like that were custom designed to make him feral.
“You don’t have to worry. Viper won’t so much as lay a finger on you.”
Something in his voice had her regarding him with a searching gaze. “How can you be so certain?”
“For one thing he is already mated, and for another, I would kill him.”
He didn’t miss her soft gasp. “Even though he’s your brother?”
There was no hesitation. “Yes.”
A silence descended as she absorbed his stark words. Then, sucking in a deep breath, she deftly turned the conversation to safer waters.
“Where is he taking us?”
Cezar watched as the Rolls slid to a smooth halt directly before the tunnel. Reaching out, he knocked aside the branches, searching with his senses to make sure that nothing lurked in the darkness.
“Viper has a number of establishments spread throughout Chicago, most of them possessing more security than the Pentagon.”
“Enough security to keep out Morgana le Fay?” she demanded with a shiver.
Taking her hand, Cezar led Anna toward the waiting car, debating whether to offer comfort or truth.
At last he settled on truth.
She possessed a pesky aversion to lies, even when they were for her own good.
“I’m not certain.” He shrugged. “It will at least give us time to consider our options.”
“What options…” Her words came to a halt at the same time as her feet. For a moment, Cezar thought that they must be under attack. Then, with a grimace, he realized her wide gaze was trained on the silver-haired vampire that was uncurling from the car. Damn. He should have prepared the poor woman. There had never been a female who hadn’t gone a bit breathless at the sight of the magnificent demon. “Holy cow. He’s…he’s…”
“Taken,” Cezar growled, unable to control the need to lean down to steal a kiss that was pure possession. Only when he felt her melt against him did he at last lift his head and regard the vampire he had called friend for centuries. “Viper, thank you for coming.”
Viper gave a small bow, his long silver hair glowing in the moonlight and his perfect features softened by the shadows.
“You have only to ask,” he said, his dark gaze shifting toward the silent woman at Cezar’s side. “And this is Anna?”
Cezar nodded. “Anna Randal.”
Viper allowed his gaze to stroke over the speechless woman at Cezar’s side.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Yes, she is.” Cezar’s voice was cold as he slipped a jealous arm around her shoulders. Even knowing his friend was well and truly mated couldn’t halt his instinctive need to mark Anna as his own. “I think we should go, before the Adar catches our scent.”
A small, knowing smile twitched at Viper’s lips. “Of course.”
Cezar waited for the vampire to slide behind the wheel before he bundled Anna into the backseat and settled himself next to her, his arms tugging her close. Within moments they were speeding out of the estate and heading toward the south of the city.
Leaving the elegant neighborhood behind at a speed that would curl Jeff Gordon’s hair, Viper glanced briefly over his shoulder.
“I don’t mean to pry, Cezar, but if I’m to find the best place to stash your companion then I need to know what I’m hiding her from.”
“Morgana le Fay.”
Viper’s attention returned to the road as he squealed around a corner, choosing the narrow side streets that were empty of traffic.
“Anna’s a fairy?” he demanded, a faint hint of surprise in his voice.
Like any vampire he was accustomed to his senses giving him precise details of the living creatures that surrounded him. Most vampires could even read the souls of others, always presuming the creature possessed a soul.
“We’re still searching for her heritage, although we suspect there’s a connection between the two,” he said carefully, shielding his mind so that the vampire wouldn’t suspect there was more to his interest in Anna than the obvious desire that was impossible to hide. He couldn’t risk Viper suspecting any connection to the Commission.
A beat passed before Viper flashed another curious glance over his shoulder.
“You suspect that she possesses the blood of the ancients?”
“She does command the powers of an elemental.”
“Truly?” A hint of respect entered Viper’s voice. “A rare talent and one that suggests she’s more a warrior than a mere fairy.”
“Hey.” Finding her voice despite her obvious fright at traveling at light-speed through the dark streets, Anna elbowed Cezar in the side. “I’m right here, you know.”
Viper gave a low, husky chuckle. “Forgive us, Anna Randal. We have been friends for many centuries and have often enjoyed long debates over the mysteries that life offers.”
Cezar made a rude noise. “Some might call them arguments.”
Viper narrowly dodged an oncoming car. “Philosophy does tend to be a heated subject.”
Cezar glanced toward Anna, who was staring at him with an odd expression. “He once threw a priceless Fabergé egg at my head.”
“I knew it couldn’t damage that thick skull,” Viper retorted.
Anna gave a shake of her head, as if clearing it of cobwebs. “You’re interested in philosophy?”
Cezar reached up to tug on a honey curl that had strayed from her ponytail.
“Despite your belief that I’m a shallow, womanizing lech, I do have interests outside the bedroom.”
Viper laughed. “Oh yes, Cezar once had interests that spanned every room in the house.”
“Oh, really?” Anna drawled, flashing Cezar a dangerous glare.
“Of course now he’s been all but neut…”
“Shut up, Viper,” Cezar growled.
Viper gave a soft curse. “She doesn’t know?”
“Know what?” Anna demanded.
Cezar allowed his power to fill the car, making the nearby streetlamps shatter from the pulse of energy.
“Was there a part of shut up that wasn’t clear?”
Anna stiffened at his side, her tiny features hard with suspicion. In that moment Viper was lucky that Cezar possessed an aversion to killing his brothers.
Not that he was averse to a good ass-kicking.
“I knew there was something you were hiding from me,” she hissed.
His arms tightened around her taut body, catching and holding her wary gaze.
“This has nothing to do with you, Anna, I swear,” he said softly, grudgingly turning his head toward the window as Viper made another sharp turn. They were driving down a ramp to an underground parking lot. Although he couldn’t sense the spells that were wrapped around the building to repulse humans, he knew they would be in place. What he did sense, however, was the nearly overwhelming scent of vampires, blood, and fairies. A combination that could only mean one place in Chicago. “Dios,” he breathed in shock. “What the hell are you doing, Viper? This place is filled with fairies.”
Skidding to a halt directly in front of the bank of elevators, Viper switched off the car’s engine.
“Precisely.”
“The point is to keep Anna away from Morgana and her subjects.”
Viper flashed a smile that would have sent a chill down the stoutest spine.
“Trust me.”
“Great,” Cezar muttered, reluctantly sliding from the car and taking Anna’s hand as she joined him.
She glanced around the lot, her brows lifting as she noted the dozens of gleaming cars that only the Fortune 500 could afford.
“What is this place?”
“The Viper Nest,” Viper said with a smug smile.
Her gaze turned to Cezar. “A blood bar,” he grudgingly revealed.
“Again I ask, what is this place?” she muttered.
Viper shrugged. “Fairies, like humans, can become addicted to a vampire’s bite. My little establishment provides the service they desire.”
Her face paled. “Addicted?”
Cezar cursed beneath his breath. Why couldn’t Viper be one of those silent, brooding sort of vampires? The kind who preferred to keep his lips shut.
He gave Anna’s fingers a small squeeze. “You are far too stub…strong-willed to ever become addicted.”
Viper gave a sharp burst of laughter. “You at least learn fast, Cezar.”
Anna sucked in a deep breath, ignoring the smell of exhaust and oil as she watched the tall, silver-haired vampire pull a small keycard from his pocket and insert it into the card reader next to the elevator.
Demon or not, he truly was a stunning creature. Like a Raphael angel. Of course, no angel had such dark, wicked eyes or a smile that could make a woman think of black satin sheets and flickering candles.
Strangely, however, he didn’t stir her senses. Not like another dark-eyed vampire whose lightest touch could make her heart quiver and skip and sometimes come to a complete halt.
Her gaze shifted back to Cezar, her mind a tangled mass of confusion.
On the one hand was her annoyance at the sheer number of things he continued to keep hidden from her (not the least of which was the fact she might have become addicted to his bite) and on the other hand was the grudging acceptance that, for the moment, she depended upon him.
And of course, there was that whole he didn’t abandon her like a piece of trash newsflash that she still had to wade through.
Belatedly realizing that both vampires were regarding her as she stared at Cezar like a mindless idiot, Anna wrenched her gaze toward the open elevator and allowed Cezar to lead her into the dark-paneled lift.
With a whisper of sound the doors closed and they were whisked to the top floor. Anna shivered. The elevator was as large as some apartments, but being enclosed with two powerful vampires made her skin prickle and the hair on the nape of her neck stand upright.
Even more disturbing was that in the sheen of the silver doors she could see nothing but her own reflection. As if she was eerily alone.
God, she had come to Chicago to find answers and instead…
She swallowed the hysterical urge to laugh.
Instead she had well and truly fallen down Alice’s rabbit hole.
The doors slid open and her wacky thoughts were shattered by the sight of the long hallway lined with glass walls. Behind the glass were elegantly appointed rooms, all of them different. One looked like something out of Versailles, all gilt and delicate furnishings, the next was a jungle theme with towering plants and zebra-striped couches, the next a tawdry Los Vegas hotel room.
All incredibly beautiful, but what caught and held her eye was what was within those beautiful rooms.
Vampires. Male or female, tall or short, slender or muscular, they all shimmered with that sexual potency and unearthly beauty that marked them as clearly as if they wore nametags.
“So what happens?” she demanded as they headed down the hall, her eyes flitting from one glass room to another. Inside the vampires lounged on sofas, flaunting their perfect bodies or else…
A sudden heat touched her cheeks as she realized that some of the rooms held couples. Naked, entwined, groaning couples.
And drinking blood was not all that the vampires were doing.
She cleared her throat, her eyes trained firmly on Viper’s velvet-clad back as they moved deeper into the building.
“Fairies come here to get bitten?” she asked, hoping to distract herself from those writhing bodies. God, she was hot and bothered enough just being next to Cezar. The last thing she needed was up close and personal displays of what she was denying herself.
Viper gave a low, husky laugh, as if he knew exactly what was going through her fevered brain.
“There are a variety of entertainments offered.”
Cezar didn’t laugh. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her shoulders and tugged her close. His sandalwood scent made her heart pound, but his touch offered a comfort she couldn’t yet explain.
“You haven’t told me how you intend to hide Anna among her enemies,” Cezar demanded of his friend.
Viper waved a hand toward the glass rooms. “I discovered after opening this little business that while fairies are wealthy customers, they are far too volatile to have dozens of them under one roof without causing some sort of chaos.” He gave a shake of his head. “I was spending more money repairing the damage from their drunken brawls than I was making. I was finally forced to have the walls lined with lead.”
“Lead?” Anna demanded in confusion.
“It dampens the power of fairies.”
Strange. She cautiously concentrated on her own elusive powers. They swirled through her like bubbles of champagne that were just waiting for the cork to be popped. They certainly didn’t seem lessened by the lead.
Easily reading her mind, Cezar gave her shoulder a squeeze. “The lead won’t affect you,” he murmured, his gaze switching to Viper. “And it won’t stop Morgana.”
They arrived at two double doors that blocked the hallway. Viper once again used his keycard to open the lock.
“Not if she arrives on my doorstep, but I thought the purpose was to try to keep Anna hidden,” the silver-haired vampire said, opening one of the doors and allowing them to pass into a vast apartment. “What better place than an establishment that is already filled with fairies?”
Cezar frowned before giving a reluctant shrug. “I suppose it’s the last place she’d look.”
Anna struggled not to gape at the splendor that surrounded her. Styx’s house was grand, but this place was Trump territory. The floors were white marble, the walls built with alcoves to hold the numerous Greek statues, and the ceilings molded and highlighted with gilt. The furniture was covered in a dark red satin that perfectly matched the drapes at the far end of the room.
Wow. Obviously blood and sex were worth a pretty penny.
She forced her attention back to Cezar. Not a particularly difficult task. There was a part of her that would be happy to sit and gawk at that lean bronzed face for an eternity.
“What about that…Adar thing?” she demanded. “Can he find me here?”
Cezar’s beautiful features hardened. “We must trust that Styx managed to rid us of the demon before he caught your scent.”
Anna grimaced. It wasn’t that she doubted Styx’s skill. Even as a non-vampire she had sensed the thunderous power he possessed. Still, it would have been a bit more comforting if she knew that the hunter was out of action.
Easily sensing her unease, Cezar reached out to run a cool finger down her cheek, his dark eyes mesmerizing. A portion of her tension eased, swept away by the sheer force of his presence.
Nothing would harm me so long as he was near, a small voice whispered in the back of her mind.