Anna lost track of how long they stood there simply staring into one another’s eyes, but at last Viper cleared his throat, his dark eyes shimmering at their unwitting display of intimacy.
“These are my private rooms. You won’t be disturbed here,” he promised. “If you have need of me, you only need to press five on the phone. It’s a direct line to my office.”
Cezar’s gaze never wavered from her face. “Thank you, amigo.”
It was the sound of the door closing with a soft click that finally brought Anna out of her odd trance.
Of course it still took several moments before she could convince her brain to obey the command to turn away from that hypnotizing gaze.
Her body knew what it wanted. It wanted to stay close to Cezar.
Really, really close to Cezar.
Naked, sweaty close.
Her mind, however, was not nearly so clear on what it wanted.
It was enough to make any woman of unknown origin and species a bit crabby. Rubbing her suddenly chilled arms, she glanced around the palatial living room.
“Do all vampires live in such lavish style?” she demanded.
She heard his soft hiss of frustration stir the air, but when he answered his voice was as smooth and dark as chocolate.
“Most, although for centuries Styx preferred the damp caves south of the city. He would probably still be there if…”
She turned back as his words abruptly broke off. “If what?”
“If Viper hadn’t demanded the Anasso needed something a bit more grand,” he continued easily.
Her hands landed on her hips. Damn. Did he think she was stupid?
“Another lie, Cezar?” she rasped. “You’re just chock-full of them, aren’t you?”
With an impatient motion, Cezar reached up to tug the strap of leather from his hair. The dark curtain fell about his lean, beautiful face like a river of ebony. Oh…damn. She’d never seen a more beautiful sight.
Thankfully unaware that her heart had lodged somewhere in her throat and her stomach was a quivering mass of awareness, Cezar shoved his fingers through the silky strands.
“Anna, there are simply things that I can’t tell you,” he at last admitted, an edge in his voice.
“Why? Because then you’d have to kill me?”
“Because someone else would.”
She blinked at his blunt words. Was this a sort of bad joke?
“Right.”
Without warning he was standing directly before her, his hands cradling her face.
“You’re new to the demon world, or you wouldn’t for a moment question my word.”
She had to force herself to remember to breathe as his thumbs stroked her cheeks in a soft caress. Ah yes, this was what her body wanted. Needed. His touch. His scent filling her with sandalwood heat.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” she struggled to demand.
“It means that while many of us appear human, we’re not. We don’t live by the same set of morals and rules as humans and we don’t hesitate to kill when we feel it necessary.”
She searched his expression, finding no hint of apology in his dark, finely chiseled features.
“That’s a big comfort.”
“I’m sorry, querida. I don’t mean to frighten you, but you have to understand that there are dangers beyond Morgana le Fay.” His hands tightened on her face. “I will do everything in my power to protect you, even if that includes hiding the truth when necessary.”
She struggled to think of an argument. Some reason to insist that he put all his cards on the table so she didn’t feel as if she were walking blindfolded through a minefield.
But if he was right…
If the truth really could kill her, well then, maybe she should rethink the whole tell me what I want to know right now or I’ll break your nose thing.
Just maybe stumbling around in the dark wasn’t quite so bad.
Before she could come to any conclusion there was a sharp knock on the door and with that low growl that she was beginning to recognize as annoyance (oh, and sometimes God-that-feels-good), Cezar turned and crossed the tiled floor.
He opened the door just far enough to slip through, conducting a low-voiced conversation with a person on the other side before stepping back into the room and closing the door.
“Your bag,” he murmured, holding out the leather suitcase until she moved forward to take it. Almost as if he didn’t trust himself to come closer. “If you want there’s a hot tub in the bathroom. I’ll order you dinner while you soak. What do you prefer?”
Although food was the last thing Anna desired, she knew that she should try to eat something. Being weak from lack of sustenance seemed like a bad idea.
“Do they have food here?”
“Viper has a full kitchen staff to serve the fairies.”
Setting down the suitcase Anna was struck by a sudden thought. “And what about you? Are you going to…eat?”
The dark eyes flared with a raw, pulsing hunger that struck Anna with the force of a blow.
“Are you offering?” His voice deepened, his fangs glistening in the light of the chandelier.
Anna took an instinctive step backward. Not because she was horrified by his words, but because she wasn’t. She wasn’t even frightened. Instead, her entire body tingled with a sensation that could only be…excitement.
And desire.
Desire that raged like a sudden inferno.
Dear God, she remembered the feel of those fangs sliding through her flesh. The feel of him sucking her blood as her body convulsed with such bliss she had thought she had surely died and gone to paradise.
“Anna?” With that fluid speed he was standing so close she could feel the brush of his cool power. His dark eyes held a compelling heat as he stroked light fingers up the bare skin of her arm. “Will you allow me to drink from you?”
“No,” she said, more to end her erotic thoughts than in response to his question.
His jaw tightened before he shuttered his expression and stepped backward.
“Then I’ll have to find my blood elsewhere.”
Anna reacted without thought. One moment she was listening to the words leaving his mouth and the next her powers were stirring and Cezar was thrust back against the door.
Hard.
“You ass,” she hissed.
With a frown, Cezar pushed his hair from his face and glared at her flushed face. “What the hell was that for?”
She pointed a finger in his direction. “You’re going to those fairies, aren’t you? You’re going to suck their blood and…”
Astonishingly, his expression eased and a tiny smile touched his lips. “And?”
She turned away. She didn’t know what was written in her expression, but she was certain she didn’t want Cezar reading it.
“I saw what was going on in those rooms,” she muttered, her unstable powers once again threatening to burst out of her at the mere thought of Cezar climbing into one of those glass rooms with a beautiful fairy. A fairy who would no doubt be happy to offer up a hell of a lot more than just blood.
“What would it matter, querida? You’ve made it clear that you no longer want me as your lover.” When she didn’t respond, he unpeeled himself from the door and crossed to grasp her shoulders. With a relentless tug he forced her to turn and meet his narrowed gaze. “Anna? Why are you so angry?”
“I’m not angry.”
“You just cycloned me into the door,” he said dryly. “If you’re capable of calling on your powers then your emotions must be…aroused.” Aroused? God, she was burning as if a fever was running through her body. “Could it be that you’re jealous, my little shrew?” he demanded.
Well, duh. Of course she was jealous. Card-carrying, board-certified, over the top jealous.
Despite all the anger she had harbored and nurtured over the years for Conde Cezar, there had been a part of her that had thought of him as her own.
He was her first lover. Hell, he was her one and only lover. He was also her first known exposure to the world beyond her mundane human existence. At least her first exposure that she actually knew about. (She had never suspected her cousin Morgana was anything more than a bitch.) And heaven knew that he had managed to haunt her over the past two centuries.
It was no wonder that she was feeling a little possessive.
All right, so she was feeling massively possessive.
“I thought we were supposed to be avoiding fairies?”
“Their powers are limited in this building.” He slowly smiled, his fingers running a path up her throat. “You didn’t answer my question, querida. Are you jealous?”
“I…” She was forced to halt and clear her throat. “I’m going to find that hot tub.”
The dark eyes smoldered. “The hot tub can wait. I can’t.”
His head swooped down and before she could guess his intent he was kissing her with the sort of impatient, forceful hunger that had tormented her for the past two centuries.
This was no soft seduction, no pleading, no tentative foreplay.
Just a stark demand that made her knees quiver and her head swim.
Oh…yes. God, yes.
Delicious sensations flooded through her, so intense that they nearly sent her to her knees.
Wrapping his arms around her, Cezar jerked her against his body, his tongue plunging into her mouth and his fangs pressed against her lips. Anna gave a small sound between a gasp and a moan, her hands lifting to clutch at his arms.
Some small voice in the back of her mind tried to warn her that she should remember why this was a bad idea. Why she was supposed to be saying no.
The small voice, however, was no competition for the blaze of heat that spread through her body and pooled in the pit of her stomach.
Her lashes slid downward as his lips eased and strayed over her flushed face, his tongue tracing a moist trail down the line of her jaw.
“You taste of figs dipped in honey,” he whispered.
“Figs?”
“Plump.” He gave her ear a small nip. “Ripe.” He scraped his fangs down the curve of her neck. “Sweet figs.”
She moaned as his tongue touched the pulse pounding at the base of her throat. “Cezar, we shouldn’t…”
“We should,” he interrupted in a harsh voice, easily hauling her backward until she was pressed to the wall. “We really, really should.”
Flashbacks to the last time she had been pinned to the wall by this man flared through her mind. It should have cooled the fever that burned like a white-hot blaze. It should have warned her that she was about to walk down the same path that had led to disaster.
Instead all she could remember was the feel of his hands skimming over her skin and the dark pleasure of his bite.
Her head hit the wall as her neck lost the ability to hold it upright, her hands ripping open the silk shirt so she could find the smooth, hairless skin beneath. There might be a bazillion reasons why this was a terrible idea, but at the moment all that mattered was the one reason it was a great idea.
Her body ached for this.
Ached with a force that overwhelmed everything.
His hands skimmed down her waist, dipping beneath her shirt so that they could trace a devastating path back up to cup her breasts. Her skin quivered beneath his light touch, her breath coming out as a small explosion as his thumbs stroked over her tight nipples.
“Tell me you like this, Anna,” he rasped, his hands impatiently tugging the shirt over her head before ripping aside the lacy bra. “Tell me that it feels good.”
Her nails bit into his shoulders. “Yes,” she moaned. “It feels so good.”
He muttered something low, his head moving downward so he could capture a nipple between his teeth, teasing it mercilessly with his tongue. Anna gasped at the explosion of sensations.
Dear God. No matter how vivid her memories and dreams, nothing could compare to the actual feel of him.
Continuing his assault on her breasts, Cezar allowed his hands to skim lower, swiftly undoing the zipper of her jeans and lowering them so she could kick them off her legs (along with her flip flops) and out of the way. Her panties followed the same path.
His cold fingers left a trail of fire as they explored the skin of her inner thighs. He gave her nipple a last nuzzle, then lifted his head and buried his face in her neck.
“If you’re going to say no, querida, it must be soon,” he husked, his body trembling as his fangs rubbed over the thick vein in her neck. “My hunger for you is too great to toy with.”
No?
Not a chance in hell.
She could already feel the tension building deep within. Could almost taste the blessed relief that lurked just out of reach.
“Don’t stop,” she panted, her hands fumbling with the stiff zipper of his jeans. “Don’t you dare stop.”
He growled, stepping back so he could shed his clothing. His movements were so swift that Anna could barely follow the striptease. A pity since she could have spent hours enjoying the sight of all that smooth, bronzed skin stretched over rippling muscles. A body that was meant to be savored with hours of seductive worship.
Hell, she barely caught a glimpse of the large, perfect erection before he was once again pressed against her.
Of course it wasn’t all bad, she discovered. Gazing was all well and good, but there were other senses. Senses that were rejoicing in the feel of his hard shaft brushing against her lower stomach, in the spicy scent of him seeping into her skin, and the taste of his lips as they captured hers in a rough, demanding kiss.
Her arms encircled his waist, stroking up the smooth perfect skin of his back.
Cezar shuddered, his growl rumbling through the air.
“You have tortured me for so long,” he whispered, his fingers once again stroking her inner thigh until he at last reached the wet slit between her legs. “Night after night I’ve hungered for you, aching to have you in my arms…to taste of your blood.”
Anna tilted her head back, silently urging him to take what he desired.
His finger dipped into her body, his thumb finding the source of her deepest pleasure. Slowly the finger stroked deeper and deeper, making Anna arch toward him as the gathering storm threatened to burst.
She sucked in short gasps of air, needing more. Needing him inside her when the explosion hit.
“Cezar, please,” she moaned softly, her hands grasping his hips.
“What, querida? What do you need from me?”
She was way past coherent thought, let alone actual articulation, so instead she grasped his hair and shoved his face against her neck.
“Please.”
He quivered, his hunger so intense she could feel the waves of it searing over her skin.
“Dios, I want to taste you,” he said, his voice oddly strained.
“Then do it,” she commanded, her leg shifting to wrap around his, opening herself to his penetration in a blatant motion.
Cezar hissed.
There was a part of him that knew there would be hell to pay for this delicious encounter. Anna might be overcome with lust at the moment, but the minute sanity returned she would remember all the reasons she had kept him at a distance and then she would find a hundred ways to punish him.
Probably a hundred and one.
And of course, there was always the possibility the Oracles would decide to torture him for this taste of paradise. It’d happened before.
Thankfully, that small, rational part of him was no match for the hunger that was roaring through him.
He had been a warrior his entire life. A hunter that took what was offered and damn the consequences (at least until the Oracles had nailed his ass to the wall). And what he wanted was Anna Randal.
Now.
Forcing away what little conscience he possessed, Cezar opened his mouth and with one smooth strike he buried his fangs deep into her neck.
Anna jerked and then moaned, her nails digging deep into his flesh. The tiny pain only increased his pleasure as the sweet, potent taste of her blood slid down his throat.
Drowning in the pleasure, Cezar continued to suck, his hands smoothing down the back of her legs to part them and then, with one powerful motion, lifted her off her feet. Quick to understand, Anna readily wrapped her legs around his waist.
Cezar pulled back to meet her eyes as he slowly, steadily slid her onto his erection.
A shout was wrenched from both their throats when he was at last buried as far as he could go, her moist flesh pulsing around him in the most intimate caress imaginable.
For a moment Cezar held perfectly still, simply absorbing the sensation of being one with this woman. He was man enough to have missed sex over the years. To have rued the impotency that the Oracles had inflicted.
But right now he knew that any sex he might have indulged in with other women, even the most skilled lover, would have been nothing more than a shallow imitation of this. A worthless release that would have left him empty.
This was what he had longed for. The only thing that could truly touch his cold heart.
Anna wrapped her arms around his shoulders and Cezar’s illusion of control shattered. The smell, the heat, the taste, the very essence of her was flooding through his body and he wasn’t going to be able to make this last near long enough.
Pressing her against the wall, he plunged his fangs back into her neck as he drank deep of her blood, his hips pumping in a steady rhythm.
“Cezar,” she cried softly, her head lowering and her teeth sinking into his shoulder.
The feel of her bite, even if her teeth didn’t pierce his skin, was enough to send a jolt of shock through Cezar’s body. Dios. Nothing had felt so good before.
Withdrawing his fangs before he drank too deeply, he tilted his head back and roared as he felt her climax clench around his arousal, clenching and stroking him over the edge.
Sweet ecstasy spread through his body, prolonging the violent orgasm. He muttered soft words beneath his breath as he slowed his thrusts. Words of soft pleasure, and pledges to protect her for all eternity.
When he was at last capable of clearing his thoughts he gently carried his beautiful lover into the bathroom and set her in the hot tub. His fingers trailed over her face, covered in a light sheen of perspiration.
He waited for her to speak, or at least lift her lashes to meet his gaze. When she kept them stubbornly lowered, he gave a low chuckle and climbed into the tub with her.
“Anna, you will have to look at me eventually,” he murmured, his arms wrapping about her to pull her close. “At least tell me that you’re okay.”
Her lashes lifted, but her gaze drifted over the bathroom rather than meeting his eyes. Not that he could entirely blame her. With Viper’s usual over-the-top style, the room was an explosion of ivory and gilt, with flying cupids painted across the ceiling.
At last her gaze halted on the marble statues that were set in alcoves and carved to represent entwined couples in various stages of intimacy.
They were exquisite works of art that were realistic enough to bring a slight blush to her cheeks.
“Why wouldn’t I be?” she at last muttered.
He ran his fingers through her tangled hair, sensing her muscles ease as the hot water bubbled around them.
“You might feel weak for a few hours. I did, after all, take your blood. When I call for your food I will ask that they send you orange juice as well.”
“I don’t feel weak.”
“Good.” Dipping his head, he brushed his lips over her temple. The taste of figs and warm delicious woman instantly stirred his senses, hardening him with a speed that was shocking even for him. Of course, he had just filled himself with one of the most powerful essences that a vampire could hope to taste. He would be buzzing for hours. “Although, it’s not really surprising. You have the blood of ancients coursing through your body.”
Her hazel gaze turned toward him, a hint of puzzlement in the golden green depths.
“What does that mean?”
He trailed the back of his fingers down her cheek. “Your blood is more potent than the average human. You’re capable of losing far more without being affected, and perhaps more importantly, I need only take a small amount to satisfy my needs.”
“So you’re…satisfied?”
Cezar choked as he tried to swallow his burst of laughter. Couldn’t she feel his sated pleasure? It filled the entire room.
Then he realized that she was thinking of her ridiculous assumption that he would join the other vampires in the building to relieve his hunger with the waiting fairies.
Hell, he would rather wait another two hundred years than soil himself with anyone but Anna Randal.
“Utterly, blissfully, completely satisfied,” he murmured, his fingers touching the tiny puncture marks on her neck. The sight of them made something deep inside him growl with possessive approval. This was how she was supposed to look. Tousled, well-loved, and carrying his mark for all to see. “Although I’m a vampire, so I’m always ready for another round of satisfaction whenever you want.” The hazel eyes briefly darkened with an answering heat before she abruptly ducked her head to allow her heavy honey hair to form a curtain between them. A sudden chill marred his sense of absolute peace. “Anna?”
“What?”
“Do you regret what happened between us?”
There was the sort of silence that could never be good. “I suppose not.”
“Hardly a ringing endorsement,” he said harshly, trying to squelch his flare of anger. Dios, what they had just shared had been earth-shattering. It was the sort of thing that could tremble through universes and alter destiny. And she supposed she didn’t regret it? “In fact, I’m not sure I’ve ever been so damned by such faint praise.”
She attempted to scoot away from him. “What do you want?”
His arms tightened, keeping her firmly anchored to his side. “A bit of honesty would be nice.”
“Fine.” Her head lifted and she stabbed him with a glittering gaze. “The truth is that a part of me thinks that I should regret what happened, but the rest is utterly, blissfully, completely satisfied. Happy now?”
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips. “I’m getting there.”
She blew out a disgruntled sigh. “You don’t have to look so smug.”
Cezar allowed his fingers to drift beneath the bubbling water, his mind already filled with images of Anna straddling him as she rode him into bliss.
“I would look a lot more smug if you would…”
Before Cezar could finish his delicious suggestion, his head was slammed into the edge of the hot tub. His eyes squeezed shut as darkness surrounded him and then the sound of a familiar, rasping voice echoed through his mind.