Soon, only scant bits of air separated the most intimate parts of our bodies. Another centimeter would have those parts touching. I found myself taking in a breath just to inhale his scent. He glanced down as if wanting me to know that he was thinking about closing that space between us, but he didn’t. Instead, his eyes glowed a brighter shade of green as his mouth slid down until it touched my ear.
“What if I told you I had every intention of changing your mind about taking me for a lover?”
Chapter 15
The breath from his words felt like feathers brushing my skin. His hands were on my arms, lightly kneading the pressure points in the softer areas of my flesh. I wouldn’t have considered arms to be an erogenous zone, yet each touch elicited shivers of pleasure that traveled far beyond my limbs.
I should tell him to get away from me. Right now. But what came out was a breathy, “Aren’t you supposed to be fighting with me instead of trying to seduce me?”
His low laugh tickled my ear in all the right places. “Who says I can’t do both?”
I didn’t trust my body’s reaction to that. It didn’t help that his light touches and the brushes of his mouth were heightening an ever-growing need. Soon, it was all I could do to keep my hands at my sides instead of sliding them up his back to pull him closer.
“Quit playing.”
I’d intended my tone to be sharp, but once again, it failed. What came out was almost a purr instead. Gods, had it been so long since I’d indulged in a little pleasure that I was about to surrender to the most dangerous supplier of it?
“If you want me to stop, then stop me,” he murmured before I felt the brush of his fangs on my throat. If my heart had still been capable of beating, it would have started to race. I could not be in a more treacherous situation. So why did a reckless part of me want to tilt my head back to give him better access?
“Say no,” he went on. “Or shove me away, and I’ll stop.” Then his tone turned darkly promising. “But if you do neither, I absolutely won’t stop.”
His lips brushed against my skin with each word. I shivered and his breath hit me in a sharp exhale as he felt it. His scent changed, deepening into a more luxuriant mix of caramel and cognac. I found myself breathing it in until my chest swelled against his. A lower, rougher sound escaped him and he closed the last space between us. All my nerve endings jumped when his hips pressed against mine. When he gave a slow twist that rubbed me right in my most sensitive spot, I moaned.
He gripped me tighter and his mouth sealed over my neck. I gasped when I felt the silkiness of his tongue, then pushed him back with a surge of panic when I felt the pressure of fangs.
“No!”
He stopped and I felt crushing relief when his head lifted. Every warning bell I had began to ring as the sensual haze I’d been in dissipated. Had I lost my mind? The obvious answer was yes.
Ian stared at me, not moving closer, but not moving farther away. I gathered my shattered control to give him as firm a look as I could manage. “I think we’ve acted out enough of the ‘couples’ part of our roles tonight.”
His lips curled. “Acting? How strange. I feel as though the last few minutes are the first I’ve seen of the real you.”
I refused to look away, but oh, I wanted to. His knowing stare felt as intimate as that slow, deep rub against my loins. He was right—I’d let far too much of my guard down. A little more of the skillful touch of his hands and mouth, and I might have revealed my secret without even intending to.
I wasn’t too arrogant to admit when I’d been beaten, and Ian had blasted through my self-control with laughable ease. For reasons that had nothing to do with sanity or self-preservation, I was ridiculously attracted to him. He now knew that beyond all doubt. I had to make sure he lost interest in seducing me. If I couldn’t trust my self-control, I had to trust his. Ian had few weaknesses, but there was one way I could wound him where he’d never touch me again.
“The real me is the same person who stood by as your best friend’s child was murdered, remember?”
Each word sounded as cold as the council’s order had been when they’d handed it down. The only reason I hadn’t killed the ones who’d voted for her death right then was because I needed their trust so I could help her and others like her later. But Ian didn’t know that. His face hardened with all the rage I’d felt when my protests to the council had fallen on deaf ears. Then his grip tightened until it was painful.
I tried to wrest free for real this time. Incredibly, he matched me for strength. Then he blocked the knee I aimed at his groin by using his legs as a vise around mine.
“Let me go,” I demanded.
“No.”
Now he leaned forward with brute force instead of sensual insistence. He even pressed my head against the wall with his so I couldn’t rear back and head-butt him into unconsciousness. All I could do was bite him, but that would be disastrous since he would absolutely bite me back.
“Not freezing time to stop me?” he asked in a low, furious whisper. “You can’t, can you? This place has too many trueborn witches and warlocks who are immune to that trick. If they saw what you can do, they’d reveal your powers to everyone else. Can’t get to your weapons with your arms pinned down, either, so now you have no choice except to answer what I ask you.”
I’d pushed him too far. He’d said he wouldn’t use the spell to force my secret out of me, but that person was no longer reflected in his gaze. The one I’d taunted with the supposed death of his friend’s child was, and he had no mercy.
“Ian, don’t—” I began.
“I command you by the spell that binds us to tell me if you’re a demon possessing the body you’re in,” he interrupted.
At once, the spell activated. Agony scalded me, growing every second that I didn’t answer. Lava pumping into me wouldn’t hurt this much. My legs gave out and I slumped as, true to my warning, my bones also rotted faster than I could heal. Only Ian’s tight grip kept me from spilling onto the floor.
“No.” Anguish made my voice ragged as the answer was torn from me. “This body is mine and no one else’s.”
The truth of that instantly doused the pain. Even still, it took a few moments to find my strength despite my bones beginning to heal. Thank all the gods above and below the earth that Ian hadn’t guessed the right question to ask.
“How?” he answered in a hard tone. “Your power is far beyond what a normal vampire should have. Only time I saw anything like it is when an ancient demon simultaneously possessed several of my mates.”
A demon strong enough to manage multiple possessions at the same time was impressive, but that wasn’t my secret.
“You have only one command left,” I said, still trying to steady my legs. “And we have a long road ahead. Do you truly want to waste it on this?”
From the way he stared at me, I might have once again pushed him too far. I tensed, ready to do something drastic if the words “I command” started to leave his lips. But instead, he moved away so abruptly that I was glad I was still leaning against the wall. Otherwise, I would have fallen.
“I don’t,” he said, his light tone at odds with the unsettling darkness in his gaze. “Now, let’s make a scene so word of our visit gets back to Dagon.”
Chapter 16
I soon realized why Ian wanted us in black-tie attire. Most of the castle’s rooms catered to either whimsical or erotic forms of entertainment, but there was one room where the fun was all business.
The high-stakes gaming room.
Vampires, witches, mages, and warlocks played magical versions of craps, roulette, blackjack, poker, and more. A few heads lifted when Ian and I entered, but most of the players didn’t look up. I agreed with their unbroken concentration. From the fortune in magic-infused vouchers floating above the tables, it would be foolish to take attention from the game just to check out new people walking in.
Several glamorous-looking men and women passed around trays of drinks and hors
d’oeuvres, while others handled the castle’s version of magical gambling chips. We had barely entered the room when a tuxedoed attendant approached us and bowed.
“May I assist you in exchanging your currency for vouchers, Madame and Monsieur? As a reminder, the minimum buy-in for vouchers is two hundred thousand dollars.”
My eyes bulged. I came from a time when entire countries didn’t contain such wealth, but Ian was unfazed.
“We’ll start with this,” Ian said, withdrawing a hefty pouch from his pocket. Then he dumped its contents into the attendant’s white-gloved hand. My eyes widened at the diamonds, rubies, and emeralds that spilled out. Soon, the attendant had to use both his hands to hold all the bounty.
That got more attention directed at us. Ian flashed a wolfish grin at the people giving his pile of jewels hungry looks. “Plenty more where that came from, if any of you have the stones to beat me and win it.”
Men. Everything circled back to their genitals.
“Ian!” The smoky feminine voice jerked my attention to the right. A beautiful bejeweled woman with inky black hair and sienna skin made her way toward Ian. Three men followed after her, their expressions the opposite of her happy one.
“Ananya.” Ian kissed both her cheeks and then her lips when she pressed them against his as he was about to pull away.
I ground my teeth. This woman was lucky I was only pretending to be with Ian tonight. If I hadn’t been pretending, I would have bloodied her mouth for plastering it against his. And he’d be walking with a permanent limp for returning her kiss.
Looked like I was capable of extreme vampire possessiveness after all. And they said you couldn’t teach an old dog new tricks . . .
“Ananya, you’re as lovely as ever,” Ian told her when he finally pulled his mouth away from hers.
Dark, doelike eyes glanced my way before Ananya returned her attention to Ian. “As are you, darling, and I see your taste is still faultless. Your latest acquisition is simply stunning.”
Acquisition? I crossed my arms behind my back so it wouldn’t be obvious that I’d just clenched my fists. Worse, Ian chuckled in a knowing way. “I collect only the best. And you? Who are these fine new lads you have in tow?”
She flicked her fingers and they came forward. “Meet Hans, Steven, and Amir. Boys, meet Ian. And your pet’s name is . . . ?”
That was it. I walked away without a backward glance. Let Ian continue to cozy up to his former lover without me. I’d busy myself with exploring the rest of the room.
Unlike the other rooms in the castle, these walls were dark, as were the floors and ceiling. Rich, luxuriant drapes hung over alcoves where muffled moans indicated that transactions of a more personal nature were taking place. The air was heavy with the scent of cigar smoke, different perfumes, greed, despair, exultation, and sex. Not a combination I wanted to savor, so after one exploratory breath, I stopped trying to see if I recognized scents from people I used to know when I was a regular visitor to places like this.
My wandering took me to the farthest corner of the room. A velvet curtain blocked what looked to be another room beyond it. Murmured voices indicated that this room was occupied, too. I was about to peek inside when a pale hand landed on my arm.
“That game’s not for you, sweeting.”
Ian’s latest nickname made me bristle more than his attempt to tell me what to do. “Why not?” I asked with all the annoyance I felt. Fighting couple, present and accounted for.
“Because I didn’t take you for someone who liked to chase the dragon,” he drawled. “Was I mistaken?”
I recognized the slang referring to drug use, but there were no heartbeats in the room beyond. Ian could only mean one thing. “Vampires are drinking drugged blood in there?”
Ian’s hand tightened as many heads turned. Guess my abhorrence to Red Dragon, which was what the drugged blood was commonly referred to, had caused my voice to carry.
“Remember my first command,” Ian said low. “You’re not here as anything except a partygoer.”
My anger grew. This time, it wasn’t caused by his highhandedness. Unlike humans, vampires couldn’t become inebriated by the right mix of synthetics, plants, or chemicals. There was only one substance strong enough to intoxicate us, and while most vampires had no idea what it was, I did. Ian was right—I couldn’t let my role as Law Guardian affect my response, and that had nothing to do with Ian’s magical command.
“On the contrary,” I said in a voice so loud, it carried to everyone in this room and the curtained-off one beyond. “Not only do I love Red Dragon, I can drink every vampire here under the table, and I bet every voucher you have to prove it.”
Ian wanted a scene that was bound to get back to Dagon? I was about to give him one.
Ian’s eyes glittered with angry sparks. “Assumes all my money is hers to spend,” he called out in a falsely jovial tone. “Spoken like every woman and man I’ve ever dated.”
Laughter and grunts of commiseration met his response, which covered his far lower hiss of “Are you mad?” at me.
“I know what I’m doing,” I snapped in an equally low tone. “For once in your life, trust someone other than yourself. Please,” I added, using that word for the first time with him.
The hardness in his gaze didn’t vanish when the attendant returned with a large tray full of different-colored vouchers. Then, with a harsh twist of his lips, Ian took the tray the attendant handed him and held it over his head.
“All right, mates, everything on this tray says the lovely lady can make good on her boast.”
Several vampires immediately cashed out of their current games. Soon, Ian was surrounded with people taking him up on his extravagant bet. It came as no surprise that almost all of those bets were against me. All I did was smile.
Let the games begin.
Chapter 17
When I started drinking, twenty-eight competitors sat at the table with me. An hour later, there were thirteen. An hour after that, there were six. Now there were only two, and one of those listed so heavily in his chair, his friends stood on either side of him to make sure he stayed upright.
I was leaning on my arms because I’d decided that sitting up straight was overrated after my last shot. Dozens and dozens of crystal glasses were stacked to form a mini castle in front of me. The attendants had been creative with how they’d arranged the empty glasses after I’d finished each shot.
“S’posta be on ur ass b’now,” Andrew, the heavily listing vampire, slurred. Then he wagged a finger at me. “’Ow oldru?”
I was fluent in drunk talk so I knew what he was asking. “Rude to ask a lady her age,” I said, making sure to slur my words enough to avoid suspicion. “’N’ quit stalling. Your turn.”
Andrew gave the full shot glass in front of him a baleful look. “’Ate you,” he told it, then brought it up. He missed his mouth and the tainted blood sloshed onto his cheek. He frowned as it spilled onto his formerly immaculate tuxedo, then accepted the new glass that an attendant quickly poured for him.
I watched with pity but no real concern. Vampires were incapable of drinking themselves to death. Granted, Andrew would have a terrible hangover tomorrow, but I hoped that would cause him to think twice about drinking Red Dragon again.
Ian wasn’t watching Andrew or my other remaining competitor. He was watching me, as he had been this entire time. Worse, I didn’t think his attention had to do with concern over losing the lavish bet he’d placed on me. I met his gaze before quickly glancing away. His stare was too knowing, as if he were somehow compiling my secrets one by one.
I didn’t see Ian leave his position on the other side of the table. I felt him as he came nearer. His aura cascaded over me, distinctive even in this crowd and growing stronger as he approached. He stopped when he was behind my chair. Then I felt the glide of his hands across my shoulders.
His power made my skin vibrate with pleasurable tingles. I fought a moan as I leaned back, unable to keep mys
elf from moving closer. Wasn’t my fault, I decided. It was all the Red Dragon I’d consumed. That’s why it felt as if every stroke of his hands was a spell I was falling deeper into.
His fingers slipped beneath the thin straps of my ice-blue dress as he kneaded my shoulders until the tension melted out of them. Then he stroked the back of my neck until it was all I could do to stop myself from rubbing against him like a cat. This might have looked like a simple back rub, but it felt far more intimate. In a different, more private setting, it could even be considered foreplay.
Shayla, the vampire who’d appointed herself the moderator of this contest, gave Andrew a dispassionate look. “Only one minute left for you to finish that shot or you forfeit.”
The crisp pronouncement splashed my nerves like a bucket of icy water. I shook Ian off, glad when his hands left me and he backed away. Now, I could think again. Andrew gave the moderator a hostile glance. Or tried to. I’d seen sleepy puppies appear more threatening. “’S coming,” he muttered, then sloshed the glass’s contents into his mouth.
The crowd around the table started to clap. That stopped when Andrew’s eyes rolled back and he fell facefirst into his castle of overturned shot glasses. His friends immediately pulled him up and tried to shake him awake, but it was no use. Andrew was, as they say, down for the count.
“Time,” Shayla announced moments later, nodding to the waiting attendants. “Take him away.”
Lyndsay, my sole remaining opponent, gave the vouchers swirling several inches above the table a hopeful look. Then she gave the shot glass in front of her a grimly determined one. She missed grabbing it on her first try but picked it up on her second. Then she downed the tainted blood in one gulp.
Cheers sounded, but I was more aghast than impressed. Gods, the amount of Red Dragon Lyndsay would’ve needed to drink over the years to build up her tolerance to this! I hoped she had no idea where it came from. I hoped none of them did. If they knew and still swilled it regularly . . . well, there was a reason the tainted blood was illegal.
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