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  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 th
e 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 knick-knack 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.