Thank God Laila hadnt realized the truth. And wasnt the other princess a shocker? Short, squat and foaming-at-the-mouth-rabies mean. Seriously. If the Wicked Witch of the West had slept with Hannibal Lecter, and the two of them had a baby, that childs name would be Laila.
Pay attention to whats happening around you, Parker!
Right. Jane focused. She watched, flabbergasted, as one of the guards cleaned Nicolai from head to toe and the other oiled him.
She placed the book on the nightstand, considered protesting what was being done to him, but wasnt sure Odette would do such a thing. Therefore, she held her tongue. Through it all, Nicolai remained silent, his expression blank, but his gaze, oh, his gaze was glued to her. His pupils were huge, his irises still sparkling withdesire.
For her, or for her blood? His fangs were sharp and long, revealing the depths of his hunger.
Just then, he was the poster child for bondage, blood and a badass fetish. He was chained, yes, but he would be in control. He was strong, in body and in mind, and he exuded something, pheromones, perhaps, that drew slavelike desires from her. Every cell in her body ached, frantic to know his touch. He was the most physically perfect being shed ever encountered.
Seeing such a proud, strong man bound like that, lying atop a bed of pink lace and ruffles, being readied for her use, should have caused her stomach to churn with sickness. But she only wanted him more.
Her mind had pictured him before shed ever met him, yes, but her mind had not done him justice. He was tall, at least six foot four, with wide muscled shoulders, a stomach roped and corded, and skin as smooth as cream mixed with coffee. He had shoulder-length hair as dark as midnight, and eyes the color of moonlight glinting off snow, silvery yet threaded with gold.
She didnt see her death in those eyes, as the book had promised. She saw her seduction. How many times had she had to stop herself from reaching out, letting him mark her, whatever that meant, just to feel his skin against hers? Too many. Thats why shed jumped away from him when hed reached for her. Shed feared her reaction, afraid of an increase in the desire she felt. Already being near him was becoming a need as necessary as breathing.
The same force that had brought her here had to be responsible for what she was feeling.
Though he was cut and bruised, with dried blood caked along his arms and legs, he had not a single scar. In fact, he did not have a flaw, period. The closest thing to an imperfection he had was the thin trail of dark hair traveling from his navel to the waist of his loinclothand that wasnt an imperfection so much as a roadway to heaven.
Speaking of the final destination of that naughty roadwaydown in the cell, hed been aroused by her, and he hadnt tried to hide it. Hed boasted about it, drawing attention to his groin. With very good reason. Besides her dreams and single fantasy about him, she had been with only one man. And that man could not compare. She doubted any man could. Big was an understatement in Nicolais case.
When hed touched himself, running his fingers up and down his length, her body had ached. Shed forgotten her circumstances and imagined dropping to her knees. Tonguing him, drinking him in.
Mind, stop dipping your toes in the gutter pool!
Finally the guards finished and strode toward the door. Her shouted command, Leave the key, stopped both men.
The shorter of the two faced her and bowed. You have the key to these restraints, princess.
Oh. Odette would have known that. Well, she said, swallowing, the fallfrom the cliffsyou heard about the cliffs, right?must have caused me to forget. You can, uh, leave us. She waved toward the door, as princessy as possible. God, acting like someone other than who she waslike someone shed never metwas not fun.
The door shut with a soft clink.
She rounded on her prisoner, closing the distance between them, stopping only when the edge of the bed forced her. Again, she wanted to touch him, but she couldnt allow herself the luxury. Those teeth He could take her jugular as a souvenir.
The key is in the drawer of the nightstand, Nicolai said, breaking the silence first. Use it.
Even his voice was a delight. A sensual feast of tones and nuances. Raspy, husky, a wisp of smoke. She shivered, licked her lips. You might have summoned me or whatever, but you are not in charge. So listen up. Ill get the keyafter you tell me more about whats going on.
You and your afters. He glared at her, the long length of his lashes fused together and shielding the uniqueness of his dual-colored irises. This is blackmail. As irritated as he appeared, he also seemedproud.
Why proud? In and out she breathed, luxuriating in the scent of sandalwood. Far stronger now than when shed dreamed or read the book. Yes, its blackmail, and I wont back down.
Cruel of her, but she suspected the moment she released him, hed feed first, then race out the door, leaving her behind without giving her a single answer. He had the look of a cornered panther, ready to bite and bolt. Plus, he hadnt wanted to talk to her in the dungeon and wouldnt have, if she hadnt pressed him. Therefore, she would continue to press him.
Apparently, Im risking a whipping by being here with you, she added. You kind of owe me.
You wouldnt understand, he gritted.
Shed graduated high school at the age of fifteen. Acquired her masters at eighteen. Then, while working toward her doctorate, shed joined a highly classified branch of the government to research unexplainable abilities and phenomenon, as well as find ways to accomplish the unexplainable. The only reason shed quit and changed the focus of her studies to health sciences was to move back home and help her mother, who had just been diagnosed with breast cancer.
I think I can keep up, she said dryly. She anchored her hands on her hips, the material pulling tight over her chest.
His gaze lowered to her breasts, and his lips stretched taut over his teeth. Very well. Well talk. After you straddle me.
She blinked at the sensual request, even as her body responded to him, readying for penetration. Whatwhy?
You get what you want, I get what I want.
Blackmail? she parroted, not nearly as controlled as she sounded. Blood rushed through her veins at an alarming rate.
Yes.
Tempting. So tempting. And probably meant to cow her. Well, Im not caving. One of them had to keep things on a business level.
Are you wet?
Breath caught in her throat. Clearly that someone was not Nicolai. Really, what kind of question was that? II dont even know you, of course Im not I cant bewhat you asked.
Jane. I saw the way you looked at my cock. You can be. So. Are you wet?
Yes, she whispered, blushing. Shed done that a lot today. And just as clearly, she wasnt that someone, either.
Im hard for you.
I know. I sooo know. That doesnt matter. Oh, God, that mattered. She wanted to introduce herself to that hardness properly. Meaning, a nice, firm handshake. I mean, uh, are you planning to hurt me like you hurt the real Odette?
A beat of silence. Odette, I hated. Jane, I crave.
Such sweet, intoxicating words, all the more potent because she couldnt accuse him of only lusting for what was available. Laila, too, had wanted him in a bad, bad way, but he hadnt wanted the princess at all. So, logically, Jane had to believe he was as attracted to her as she was to him. Yeah, logically. And not just because she was trembling and desperately wanted it to be true.
He could simply be trying to soften her up.
Oh, great. The upsetting thought poked its way from an ugly place inside her. A place that never wanted her to be happy. A place that felt she didnt deserve to be happy. Theyd been butting heads for months; more and more, she won the battles. Today, she might not.
If I hurt you, you would not help me, he said in a silky tone. I want you to help me, and I am not a foolish man.
No, he was a sexy one. Youre a violent man. I know you are.
Yes.
His honesty deflated her upcoming argument before she could start.
Do you fear me, little Jane?
Maybe. What if you bite me? Or do that marking thing?
Youll like it, the bite and the marking, but I wont do either until you beg. You have my word. Now. Straddle me, he repeated. Im also capable of giving pleasure. Giving and taking. Thats what well do here and now. Give and take pleasure while we talk.
Beg Sweet heaven, she just might. Because deep inside, at the core of her femininity, she wanted to be with him. As if shed been born for him, and him alone. Or bespelled. But even the thought of magic couldnt dull her desire for this man. The desire was somehow as familiar as his scent.
Im not taking off my robe. Or my panties. We just met. That would be, uh, tacky. Idiot. Im trusting you to keep your word. And Im only doing this for answers, she lied.
Dont care why. Just want to feel you.
Slowly, unsure, she climbed on top of him, placing a knee on each side of his waist. Her robe hiked up, revealing the length of her thighs. Just as slowly, she lowered her body until her female core brushed his erection. She gasped at the contact. He moaned.
This was better than her fantasy. He was hot, so hot. Hard, so hard.
Talk, she said, flattening her palms on his chest. Before she did what shed said she wouldnt and stripped out of her panties.
He arched up, pressing more firmly against her. They moaned in unison, his heart drumming as erratically as hers. She liked that.
A moment passed. You said you enjoy puzzles, he mentioned huskily. His gaze settled on her neck.
Her pulse fluttered, as though happy to have gained his notice. Yes.
We fit together very nicely, dont you think?
Yes. God. How moronic she sounded. Yes this, and yes that. It was just, hed fried her circuits. She was on top of him, poised over his cock. And she ached. Ached like a drug addict in need of a fix. Why else would she have practically thrown herself at a vampire?
He waited. When she said no more, he arched his hips again. What did you want to know, Jane?
She rubbed against him. An accident, she told herself, and just once, but enough to leave her sweating. I wantto knowabout you. About why you summoned me to free you? There. Shed found her voice, without panting like she was climbing a mountain. Or a well-endowed man.
You never said, she continued. Do I look like Princess Odette or something? If so, Odette and Laila must have been an odd sight. The blond giant and the brunette toddler. Jealous? I mean, you told me that, in everyone elses mind, Im their princess. She rubbed again, harder, but slow, so slow, and impossible to label as accidental. Need drove her. But when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw, well, myself.
Little beads of perspiration formed on his brow as he met her, moving with her. You look nothing like her. Yes, keep doing that.
Then how does your magic work? The tip of his erection brushed her most sensitive spot, and she moaned. Why does everyone assume Im her?
When I summoned you, I also shifted my ability to cast illusions to you, projecting Odettes image. His chains rattled as he attempted to lower his arms. When he realized he couldnt, he scowled. To everyone around you, with the exception of me, you look and sound like her. But gods, you smell divine.
So do you. Hed spoken of intrinsic power. So very, very gooduh, interesting. Getting answers had never been this wonderfully agonizing in class. Can you remove the illusion?
The leather of his loincloth was soft between her legs, a startling contrast to his erection, creating a dizzying friction. Her heart hammered against her ribs with so much force, she feared the bones would crack.
She needed to slow down, or she would explode before the conversation ended.
No, I cannot. Not while were together. My powerthey did something to me. Bound my abilities in some way, as surely as they bound my body. He licked his lips, revealing and hiding his fangs. So sharp, so deadly. Do you like this, Jane? Do I please you?
So much it scared her. Yes.
Lean down. Kiss me.
Another urge to obey She stilled instead. Yes. She wanted to kiss him. Yet she knew that if she leaned down, if she kissed the breath out of his lungs as she wanted him to do to her, they would have sex. They wouldnt be able to help themselves. Look how close she was to begging for it already!
She couldnt have sex with him. They were strangers. Worse, he was a vampire, a drinker of blood, and shed studied his kind for research. Oh, God. Talk about a mood killer. If he ever found out, the mood wasnt the only thing that would be killed.
He wouldnt find out, she assured herself before she could panic. Wasnt like shed tell him, and who else knew? No one. Although he might wonder why she knew more about his physiology than she should. Like the fact that he was alive, and not dead, with the same basic organ alignment as a human.
Besides, she would return home at some point. She hoped. More than that, they were in danger and under a time crunch. She needed answers from him, not pleasure. Not kisses.
Reluctantly she crawled off him and stood beside the bed. Her knees almost buckled. Amazing that she was able to maintain her balance, since her muscles had the consistency of Jell-O.
Jane?
She couldnt look at him. She would cave. He was just so damn beautiful, those eyes so hungry. For her. Plain Jane, as the kids at school had once called her. Already she was tempted to fling herself back on top of him, rubbing her way to ecstasy. The scent of him clung to her. Sandalwood. Delicious. Every time she inhaled, she smelled him, weakening her resolve.
Can someone else remove the illusion? she asked, keeping her profile to him. While were together?
Why did you leave me?
I wasnt concentrating. I was only
Thinking of me. And sex.
Her cheeks heated as she nodded.
He uttered a low growl. If you will not take pleasure from me, at least sit beside me. I would rather have part of you than none of you.
Said the spider to the fly. A born seducer, this one. Nicolai knew just how to lure, how to tempt. Against her better judgment, she sat. Her fingers brushed his ribs, and the heat of him had her shivering all over again.
The answer to your question is yes, he said, gruffer still. If someones power is greater than mine, my illusion can be broken. But do not go around asking for such a thing. You do not want the witches here knowing what was done to you.
She waited, tense and silent, for him to go on. He didnt. Finally she gasped out, You cant leave it at that. What happens if they discover the truth?
Another round of silence.
Her heartbeat increased in speed. What if your magic fails while Im here? Again, she waited. He didnt rush to assure her all would be well. Still no need to panic. Not yet.
Feed me, he said, his fangs extending over his bottom lip, and Ill strengthen. No one will be stronger than me. There, at the end, his words were slurred.
One half of her trembled in pleasure, the other half shuddered in fear. The vampires in the lab had fed from bags of plasma. Shed never been bitten. Had never wanted to be bitten. Until now. If anyone could make her enjoy something like that, it was this man.
Ill think about it. Now lets backtrack a little. If you can make anyone look like the princess, why did you summon me specifically? Why place her in such danger? Not that hed truly wanted her, and her alone. She recalled his disdain when hed learned she was merely a human, recalled his surprise. I asked before, but you never answered.
He leaned toward her, forcing her fingers to press into his skin. A silent commandand an unrelinquishing demandfor contact. I did not summon you specifically.
Shed realized that as shed spoken, but hearing him confirm it depressed her. She had to remain on equal footing with him, and even though he was chained, he kept leaping to the next level without her.
Who did you mean to summon, then? she asked, tracing an X next to his navel. She blinked. His navel? Damn it! Her willpower sucked. Shed told herself not to touch him so, of course, the first thing she did was claim his belly button as her personal property.
Jane?
His deep voice startled her, and she jerked her spine ramrod straight. An instant later, her gaze met Nicolais. A mistake. Liquid silver eyes, smoldering with passion. Languid expression masking a sea of desires. Yes? Danger, Jane Parker, danger.
I lost you, even though Im having this conversation only because you wished it. We could be doing
Sorry, she said before he could finish. No reason to discover if what he thought they could be doing meshed with her own desires, and every reason not to. She stuffed her hands under her butt, her weight pinning them in place. Hopefully. Ill pay attention from now on.
He flicked his tongue over one of his fangs, and she couldnt help but imagine that tongue flicking between her legs. I summoned whoever would save me.
Oh, dear God. Her bones melted. Climbing on top of him a second time might actually be a good idea, she mused. Shed be able to hear him better. Yeah, yeah, because she was having trouble hearing him and Damn it, she thought again. You knew better than to look at him!
She cleared her throat. So I release you, and then what happens? Good. Back on track.
I amnot sure.
The truth or a lie? That hesitation Will I go home?
I told you. I do not know. Do you have a man waiting for you? he asked, the words grated, as if pushed through a grinder.
No. Otherwise, I wouldnt have straddled you. Fidelity is important. She had nothing and no one except the routine shed developed. Wake up at six-thirty in the morning and jog five miles. Take a shower, dress, fix breakfast. Read for a few hours, usually something on macroparticles, sometimes a romance, fix lunch. Read for a few hours more, shop online for anything she needed, walk the treadmill to release the knots in her muscles. Bathe, fix dinner. Watch TV, sleep. Exciting.
She didnt need to work because one, shed made so much money through her research, she could never spend it all; and two, shed made so much money in the car accident settlement, she could never spend it all. Only problem was, she wanted something money couldnt buy. Her family. A second chance.
But Im not in danger there, she added softly. So tell me. What will you do when youre free?
Absolute determination cloaked her features. Kill my tormentors. Flat, cold. A vow. After that, I will journey to Elden.
The kill my tormentors part shouldnt have cranked her engine, but it did. A lot. All that ferocity He would protect what was his, and fight for what he wanted. Always. Anyone who tormented him or those he loved would suffer. And with him, a woman would never have to worry about anything. Well, except her panties. Those might be ripped a few times.
If I summon the healer and she does her thing, and then I let you go, but I dont instantly go home, will you take me with you?
She was not staying here; she knew that much. Nicolai might plan to kill everyone, but he was only one man. Or vampire, whatever. There would be survivors. Survivors looking to punish the person who had unleashed the big bad vamp.
And the longer she resided in this palace, the more danger she would be in, hed said. Yet, she couldnt strike out on her own. She knew nothing about this land. This magical land, where spells could be cast, memories erased and powerful vampires enslaved.
He opened his mouth, closed it. Then he relaxed, his body sagging against the mattress. His expression softened, heated. What would you do to stay with me? he asked, his voice once more like smoke, curling around her, trying to lure her back in.
Her hand itched to reach out, the urge to touch him springing to new life. She wanted to learn the texture of his skinshe hadnt paid enough attention before. She wanted to rediscover the warmth of his body. Was already reaching toward him
She jumped back to her feet and backed away from him. Sitting next to him had been a mistake. She couldnt concentrate, and she couldnt keep her dumb hands to herself.
Jane, he said, exasperated.
What?
His eyes narrowed, the gold flecks brightening, bursting through the silver. Forget it. Have I answered your questions?
Yes. Wait, no, I
Too late. You said yes. Theres no changing your mind. Now summon the healer. He lifted the arm closest to her as best he could, the cuff rubbing against the iron poster. And remove the chains.
Damn him. Hed never promised to take her with him. All right. Chains first. Healer second. But youll owe me. Big time. And dont feed from me. I didnt beg you.
Noted.
Im trusting you. If you go back on your word, I never will again. Once out of my trust circle, always out of my trust circle. She turned and bent over the nightstand, pulling out the top drawer. Sure enough, a long, thin key rested atop a bed of crimson velvet. Lookie there. So simple.
Odette! Hinges squeaked a second before her bedroom door slammed against the wall.
Gasping, Jane spun. A short, obese woman with ruddy cheeks huffed and puffed in the now open entryway. She wore a navy-blue-and-gold robe, the material far too tight for her rotund frame. She had jet-black hair peppered with silver, the strands slicked back and greased.
The city without time had managed to take its toll.
You dare defy me, girl?
The queen, she thought with dread and just a little panic. Her mother. The gal with the whip. Dont forget youre supposed to be Odette.
Fear pumped through Janes veins at an alarming rate, joining the dread and panic. Danger, danger, danger, her mind shouted, and it was not the succulent kind Nicolai offered. If this world was anything like her own had once been, this woman, this queen, had absolute power over every one and thing in her kingdom. Including Jane.
IIm sorry. Janes gaze fell to Nicolai. His expression was now blank, his features smoothed out. Yet, he couldnt hide the coiled tension in his biceps and stomach. He practically vibrated. As stealthily as possible, she tossed the key at him. I didnt mean to disrespect you, M-Mother. Queen.
And yet you did. You, my successor, the one my people look to as an example, have made me appear the fool. At least she hadnt noticed the key. Rather than seek out your doting mother, you sought out a slave. As the queen spoke, two guards filed in beside her.
Jane didnt recognize them; they were taller and meaner-looking than the others.
Now, youll be punished.
The men continued to advance.
ButI You cant do this! Stop. Dont you dare touch me. Let go!
A snarl left Nicolai. One that promised pain. Lots and lots of pain. No one but Jane seemed to notice. The guards snagged her by the arms and began dragging her out of the bedroom.
Mine, Nicolai snapped. No touching.
Again, he was ignored.
Stop! Let go! She struggled, kicking and screaming, but they never loosened their hold.
Behind her, she heard Nicolai jerking against his chains. Mine!
I can do anything I wish, the queen said, so superior Jane wanted to slap her. Perhaps your little bump on the head made you forget. But no worries, my pet. I will remind youand ensure you never forget again.
CHAPTER FIVE
SHE NEVER CRIED, NEVER even gasped as the whip flayed her delicate skin.
Nicolai was chained to Odettes bed. He hadnt marked Jane as hed wanted, but he was somehow attuned to her in a way he doubted he had ever been attuned to another. He should not have been able to focus on her, especially since hed been fighting sizzling desire for herher body, her bloodand all other thoughts had become fogged and insignificant in comparison.
Now, he felt fury. So much fury, and every bit of it was leveled on the guards.
They had dragged Jane along the opulent corridor filled with portraits of the queen and her daughters, down the winding stairs with dark velvet carpeting, and to the extravagant banqueting hall. Though she was no longer in the bedroom, Nicolai saw her still. As if their minds were somehow connected. She struggled the entire way. Only when they bent her over the dining table, her face pressed into the polished wood, only when they stripped away the back of her gown, had she settled.
Panting, she twisted her head to gaze over at the queen. The Queen of Hearts, a woman known to dine on the still beating organ during the spells and incantations used in her never-ending quest for youth.
Dont do this, Jane pleaded. I meant no offense.
The queen raised one of her many chins, the ones beneath it jiggling. And yet it was offense that you gave.
Im sorry.
You will be more so.
Please, Jane said, her skin both pallid with fear and bright with exertion. Give me another chance.
Perhaps the queen replied. Nicolai would never know. He was too focused on Janes back. Already she bore scars. More than he could possibly count. They twined from her spine to her rib cage, red and angry, badges of pain. They stretched past the robes gaping material, perhaps even riding the length of her legs.
What the hell had been done to her?
His guilt sprang back to instant, shattering life, and he was unable to destroy it this time. He had placed her in this situation. This delicate, haunted woman with the tantalizing scent, who had offered him the only glimpse of sunlight in a darkened void. She had come to save him, had trusted him enough to straddle him while talking to him. To rub against him, ratcheting his desire to unequaled heights, even without climax. And her resistancegods, hed wanted to quash it. Still did. Wanted her to know his bite, his kiss.
His possession.
Perhaps she was merely a challenge he had to triumph above. He didnt care. Quite simply, she was his. That was not in question. Mine, his cells continued to scream. All mine.
He could not allow her to be whipped.
Nicolai looked at the key resting at his side. Jane had tossed it at him, and it had landed on the mattress. A brave gesture on her part, but useless. He could not bend enough to reach it with his mouth. He could not angle his hands to grab it. He could not do anything with it. Yet the fact that shed tried, that shed thought of him in the face of her own perilaffected him. He would escape. However necessary. He would save her.
Never before had he been left on his own outside of his cell, with no guards within sight or hearing distance. He jerked at his cuffs. The metal links scraped his already cut skin, digging deeper, deeper. Hed pulled at them while straining toward Jane, but at the time he hadnt cared, hadnt felt any sting but that of passion. Now, he felt the pain. That didnt stop him, however.
Just as before, the latches held, both to him and to the bed. He gritted his teeth. His hate for Laila, her mother and even Delfina grew exponentially. Destroy
He closed his eyes, concentrating on the power still swirling inside him. There it was, dark, so dark, churning, an untapped storm just waiting, desperate to be unleashed; and all he had to do was break through the glass cage that had been erected within him.
A glass cage with thin, riverlike cracks running through the center.
Exploit. He banged against the mental glass, over and over again. Nothing. He clawed at it. Still nothing. Damn it!
Now, he heard the queen say, pulling Nicolai back to the present. To Jane and their connection. Somehow, enough of his magic had escaped to allow him to continue watching her despite the distance between them.
Leather whistled through air. The first blow landed. Jane squeezed her eyes shut and pressed her lips together. She grimaced, but not a sound did she make.
They had done it. They had whipped her.
Just like that, something inside of Nicolai broke. Not the glass cage, but something far more dangerous, roaring like a wild animal pushed beyond its limits.
From the first moment Nicolai had spotted Jane, his body had reacted to her. He had experienced lust, guilt and possessiveness in varying degrees. Now, the possessiveness simply took over.