Читать книгу Darkness Revealed - Alexandra Ivy - Страница 7

London, 1814

Anna gave a small scream as she was jerked into the dark bedchamber and the door slammed behind her.

“Do you seek something, querida?” A soft voice drifted on the night air. An accented voice that sent a strange shiver over her skin. “Or is it someone?”

“Conde Cezar?”

“Yes, it is I.”

Anna stumbled back into the wall, cursing her damnable luck. How the devil had she managed to muck up something so simple as keeping track of her cousin?

Not only did she not know where Morgana had gone, but she had managed to get caught by the one man who disturbed her in a manner she could not entirely comprehend.

“You…you frightened me. I did not realize anyone was here.”

“No?” A candle blazed to life, revealing the dark, impossibly handsome gentleman as he moved to stand directly before her. “Then you did not deliberately follow me here from the ballroom?”

A flush stained her cheeks, as much from his proximity as from embarrassment. Despite nearing her six-and-twentieth birthday she had yet to have a gentleman pay her attention. And certainly none at such proximity.

It was…

Terrifyingly wonderful.

She sternly jerked her thoughts from such dangerous matters. “Of course not. I…I was searching for a maid to help mend a tear in my hem.”

“So you are a liar as well as a sneak.” Without warning he planted his hands on the wall, one on each side of her head, effectively trapping her. “Hardly attractive qualities in a young maiden. Tis no wonder you find yourself alone in dark corners while the other ladies have their pleasure in the arms of handsome suitors.”

She sucked in a sharp breath, wishing she had not when her senses became clouded by his sandalwood scent.

“How dare you?”

He chuckled softly and then brazenly lowered his head to brush his cheek over hers. “Quite easily.”

Dear heaven above. Anna shuddered as her entire body reacted to his touch. What was happening to her? Why did her lower stomach feel as if it were filled with butterflies? And why was her heart lurching against her ribs as if it wanted to leave her chest entirely?

“I am no liar.”

His lips touched a place just below her ear. “Then admit that you followed me.”

Something that might have been a whimper escaped her lips before she gathered what remained of her shattered composure.

“Fine. I followed you.”

He continued to nuzzle at her throat, almost as if he was tasting of her.

“Why?”

Anna struggled to think. “Because my aunt charged me to keep an eye upon my cousin, and when I noticed you slipping from the ballroom just moments after she claimed to be in need of the withdrawing room, I feared that the two of you had arranged a meeting.” Her lids slid downward as he discovered a particularly sensitive spot. Then, realizing his hands had left the wall to tug at the ribbons on the back of her gown, she forced herself to stiffen in protest. “And for your information, I remain in the dark corners because that is what is expected of poor relations.”

“Ah, so the mouse has teeth,” he mocked, giving her a light nip.

Anna gripped her skirts. It was that or grip the man who was tormenting her with those tiny, relentless kisses.

“I am no mouse.”

“No, you are quite right.” He pulled back to study her flushed countenance, his fingers tugging at the bodice of her gown to reveal the tight corset beneath. “You, querida, are far more a shrew.”

Anna was oblivious to the insult. Hardly surprising. She was alone in a bedchamber with a strange man, half naked, and while her mind was telling her to be terrified, her body was shivering as if she were wracked with fever.

For the first time in her life she was being seduced by a master. And she was helpless against the rising tide of passion.

“It is obvious that Morgana is not here,” she husked. “I must return to the ballroom.”

“You fear that your absence might be noted? That you might have rescued your cousin’s reputation only to sacrifice your own?”

“There is no one to notice if I am missing or not.”

Something dark and powerful stirred in the dark eyes. “Dangerous words,” he whispered.

Anna gave a strangled cry as her gown drifted to the floor and he reached to pluck the lace cap from her head.

“My lord. Stop that.”

He groaned as her hair tumbled down her back, his fingers running a restless path through the thick strands.

“Such beautiful hair when it is not being hidden under that ugly cap. The color of freshly spun honey.” He pulled on her curls, drawing her head backwards so he could bury his face in the curve of her neck. “You smell of sweet figs. What do you taste of?”

“My God,” she whispered as he once again wrapped his arms around her and she felt her corset being jerked off her body, followed swiftly by her thin shift. In the blink of an eye she was wearing nothing more than her stockings and heels.

“You should not have followed me, Anna. I had another who was to be my willing sacrifice, so eager to feed my needs. But you have intruded upon the game and now you must pay the penalty.”

“No.” Her hands lifted to push against his chest. Or at least she intended to push. It was not her fault if they instead slipped beneath his coat to stroke over the fine linen of his shirt. “Let me go, or…”

He nuzzled down her collarbone and over the swell of her breasts. “Or what, my beautiful prey?”

Good Lord, she could not think past the potent pleasure that was swirling and shimmering through her body. In truth, she didn’t want to think past the pleasure. She wanted to drown in his touch, in the sensation of his lips suckling gently on her hard nipple, in the sandalwood scent that made her knees weak and her palms sweat.

“I…I swear I will scream,” she muttered.

He chuckled at her absurd threat. As well he should. After all, she was ripping at his shirt to feel the perfectly smooth skin beneath.

“I do not think you will scream, querida.” With a smooth motion he lifted her off her feet and wrapped her legs around his waist. His dark eyes smoldered with a wicked amusement. “Not unless it happens to be in pleasure.”

“Oh…” she breathed.

He stilled, one hand lifting to cup her face. “You are mine, Anna Randal. From this night forward you will belong to me.”

Anna sucked in a terrified breath as she watched his teeth lengthen into fangs. Dear Lord he was going to…

Her thoughts scattered as his head lowered and she felt his fangs slide easily through her skin. There was no pain. Nothing but a heady, near overwhelming need that made her writhe against him.

“Please…” she moaned, her fingers stroking through his dark hair as she begged him to put her out of her misery. “Please.”

“Si,” he whispered, pressing her back against the wall as he positioned her and then slowly, blissfully pressed his cock deep into her aching body. With a strangled gasp he rocked his hips upward, his fingers gripping her hips so tightly she knew he would leave bruises on her fragile skin.

But that was a worry for tomorrow.

Tonight nothing mattered but the delicious invasion that was Conde Cezar.

Cezar didn’t need to be a vampire to sense the tension that hummed about Anna’s delicate body or to suspect that she was deliberately luring him to her hotel room for a purpose other than a bit of up-close-and-personal time.

Not that he wouldn’t mind the up-close part.

It had been one hundred and ninety-five years since his body had reacted to a woman. Not since he had taken this woman’s innocence and the Oracles had arrived to sweep him away from London.

Now he groaned with the effort not to reach out and touch that soft satin skin. To taste the delectable, fresh blood that flowed through her veins. To drown in that…

As if suddenly sensing the hunger that raged through his body, Anna unlocked the door and swiftly stepped over the threshold. Turning to face him, she made a valiant effort to appear casual.

An effort that was ruined by the pulse fluttering like a butterfly on amphetamines at the base of her throat. Not to mention that she was clutching her silver handbag as if it held the crown jewels.

Or maybe a wooden stake.

“Are you coming in?” she demanded, then she bit her bottom lip. “Oh, do you need an invitation?”

He leaned his shoulder against the doorjamb and folded his arms over his chest.

“Not for a hotel room. I’m just the naturally cautious type.”

“Aren’t you immortal?”

“Immortal in the sense that I can’t die of disease or old age, but a vampire can be killed.”

“How?”

He laughed softly. “You can’t expect me to answer that question.”

“Why not?”

“That would fall under the category of being naturally cautious.”

“Fine.” The hazel eyes flashed with annoyance before she turned and walked toward the center of the hotel room. Then with the skill of a trained courtesan, Anna bent over to offer a stunning, gut-wrenching view of her perfect butt. “If you want to stand in the hallway all night, knock yourself out. I want to get out of these demon-spawned heels. They’ve been pinching my toes all night.”

“Damn…” It was the most obvious bait that had ever been thrown in Cezar’s path. She might as well have a flashing neon sign. Cezar, however, was a vampire who had been denied the pleasure of desire for nearly two centuries. He’d dare any trap, take any risk for a taste of this woman. “Now that’s a temptation I can’t resist,” he murmured, stepping into the room and closing the door.

At the sound of the lock settling into place, Anna whirled with astonishing speed. Cezar saw the glint of silver as she lunged toward him with a pair of silver handcuffs. He could have avoided the cuffs as they snapped around his wrists. One swing of his arm could have launched her and her damnable torture devices across the room.

Instead he allowed her to believe she had managed to confine him in her devilish coils. The cuffs burned like a bitch, but they hadn’t been crafted specifically to hold a vampire and there were enough other metals mixed in with the silver to mute its effect. Besides, his tolerance for silver was higher than most vampires. He could free himself if necessary. And if it made Anna feel more comfortable…well, he would play along.

For now.

Planting her hands on her hips, Anna regarded him with a smug smile. “Ha.”

“Ha?” Cezar gave a mocking lift of his brows. “You sound like a villain in a cheesy melodrama. Do you intend to throw me onto the nearest railroad tracks while I scream for help?”

“What I intend is to get some answers that are long overdue.”

“There’s no need to lock me up. Granted it might be fun under the right circumstances, but surely we can sit down and have a rational conversation like normal, non-crazy people?”

“But we’re not normal, are we, Cezar?”

“Speak for yourself, querida.” He gave a hiss as the cuffs shifted on his wrists.

She tried to remain in her Rambo mode, but Cezar didn’t miss her small wince. Even two centuries hadn’t managed to harden that far too tender heart.

“Does it hurt?” she demanded.

Cezar held up his wrists to reveal the blisters that were already marring his skin.

“It’s burning my flesh, what do you think?”

She bit her bottom lip. “Tell me what you’ve done to me and I’ll release you.”

“Anna, I’ve done nothing to you.”

“I know I’m not a vampire, but obviously your bite turned me into something…” Her words trailed away as she lifted her hand and pressed it to her neck.

The precise spot he’d taken her blood all those years ago, he realized with a flare of possessive pleasure. “Something?”

“Something weird.” She glared, holding him entirely responsible for her weirdness. “Tell me what’s wrong with me.”

“At the risk of pointing out the obvious, there’s nothing at all wrong with you, querida. In fact, you’re nothing less than perfection.” He lifted his cuffed hands. “Well, except for this handcuff fetish of yours. Next time we go with leather and whips.”

“Don’t lie to me, Cezar. Something happened that night.” A shudder wracked her tiny body. “Everything…changed.”

Cezar smiled at the doom in her voice. Anyone would think that discovering she was immortal was some hideous fate rather than an astonishing stroke of fortune.

“What changed?”

The gold flecks smoldered as she pointed a finger in his face. “Damn you, this isn’t funny.”

“Anna, I’m not teasing you,” he soothed. “Tell me what happened after I left you that night.”

She wrapped her arms around her waist, as if suddenly cold. “After we…”

“Made love?” he prompted as her words faltered.

“After we had sex,” she corrected. “I fell asleep and didn’t wake up until almost dawn. I had no choice but to sneak out through the window and return to my aunt’s house. When I got there it…”

Once again her words broke off, but this time it was an ancient pain, not embarrassment, that held her in its grip.

“What, Anna?” he said softly, not bothering to try to enthrall her. As a budding Oracle she would be impervious to such mind tricks. “Tell me.”

“The house had been burnt to the ground.” She at last forced the words past her stiff lips. “Along with my only family trapped inside it. I was left on my own with nowhere to go and no one to turn to.”

“Dios. How did it happen?”

“I have no idea.”

He scowled at the realization that the Oracles had deliberately kept her troubles secret from him. If they had not interfered he would have sensed her need. “What did you do?”

She gave a shake of her head, her honey hair brushing over her bare shoulders and filling the air with her exquisite scent. Cezar quivered, his fangs aching for a taste. The only reason he resisted temptation was the memory of what had happened the last time he had taken blood from this woman.

He might not be the smartest vampire ever made, but he occasionally learned from his mistakes.

“I took the coward’s way out.” Anna’s voice was bitter as she became lost in her memories. “I hid in the bushes and allowed everyone to believe that I had died along with my aunt and cousin.”

“Why?”

“Because I was afraid.”

“Afraid of what?” he prodded, genuinely curious. The Oracles were rarely forthcoming, and while they had revealed that this woman was born to join their ranks, they had yet to explain exactly what she was.

She couldn’t be human. Her immortality proved that. And he could detect no demon blood running through her veins. Added to the fact that she didn’t seem to have a clue about her powers, it left nothing but a gaping question.

A question he intended to find the answer to before she was taken by the Commission.

“I don’t know.” A pretty frown tugged at her brows. “It was as if a voice was whispering in the back of my mind to flee. It seems ridiculous now, but at the time I was convinced that if I stepped from the bushes I would be dead.”

Premonition? A natural ability to sense danger? Dumb, blind luck? Dios. The list was endless.

He met and held her gaze. “It’s not ridiculous at all, Anna.”

“Of course, at the time I didn’t realize you had made me into some freak of nature that couldn’t die.”

He chuckled at her sour expression. “I didn’t make you immortal, querida. My only means of doing so would be to turn you into a vampire, and since I can see every lovely inch of you in the mirror and you have what I can only describe as a delightful tan, it’s obvious that you are still very non-vampirish.”

Anna wasn’t satisfied. She clearly wanted someone to blame. And that someone was Cezar. “Then you put a spell on me.”

“Vampires can’t cast magic.”

“Then…”

Tired of being the scapegoat, Cezar took a step forward. They were alone in a hotel room and he didn’t want to waste time being the enemy.

Not when she could be easing the vast, roaring hunger that had returned after nearly two centuries.

“Anna, your immortality has nothing to do with my bite or with any spell.” His voice thickened with need. “You were born special.”

“Special?” She took an instinctive step back as if sensing his dark need. “Being able to bake a soufflé that actually rises is special. Being able to sing the “Star-Spangled Banner” in key is special. Being able to pass through airport security without setting off the metal detector is special. I’m a little more than freaking special.” Without warning she stiffened, her head turning toward the door. “Shit.”

Cezar was on instant alert. “What is it?”

“Do you smell that?”

Cezar closed his eyes and sensed the air. It was very faint, but unmistakable. “Smoke.” The word was a curse on his tongue. Vampires and fire didn’t mix. “We must get out of here,” he commanded, holding out his arms that were still shackled. He could free himself but he preferred to keep that little tidbit of knowledge to himself. “Anna, release me or we both will die.”

She muttered a handful of curses as she reached out and slipped the key into the handcuff. They fell to the floor with a thump.

“There.”

Cezar absently rubbed his blistered wrists as he allowed his powers to flow outward. His fangs lengthened as he realized that the fire was not only near, but magical in nature.

This was a deliberate attack on Anna.

“The fire is just outside the door,” he warned, moving instinctively to scoop her slender body in his arms. The Oracles had charged him with protecting this woman, but even if they hadn’t he would have walked through the pits of hell to keep her safe.

They had unfinished business.

Business that even now was making him hard and desperate to be inside her.

“Stop.” She beat her tiny fist against his chest. As if that could possibly hurt him. “What are you doing?”

He willed the window open as he dashed across the room. “Getting us out of here. Unless you prefer to remain and sacrifice that beautiful skin to the flames?”

“The water sprinklers will put it out.”

“Not this fire. It’s magical, which explains why I didn’t sense it the moment it was started.”

“A magical fire? For God’s sake…” Her words became a shrill scream as Cezar launched them through the window and they fell toward Michigan Avenue. With a skill only an ancient vampire could manage, he landed easily on his feet, still cradling her closely in his arms. He was rewarded with another blow to his chest. “Damn you,” Anna hissed. “You scared the hell out me.”

He lowered his head to speak directly in her ear. “Would you have preferred to remain to face the flames?”

She tugged at the hem of her gown, which had inched up to reveal a tiny pink thong. Cezar’s erection twitched in silent tribute.

Soon, soon, soon…

“I would prefer that you warn me before you leap from a twelve-story building,” she muttered.

He laughed, his body tingling with pleasure. Mi dios. It had been so long since he had felt emotions. So long since he hadn’t been trapped in his cold existence.

“Next time, I promise,” he husked, trailing his lips down her warm cheek.

She arched away from his touch. Her mute protest, however, couldn’t disguise the passion that perfumed her skin. Ah, hormones. They were a wonderful thing.

“There won’t be a next time.” She reinforced her claim with yet another punch to his chest. “I don’t need you or anyone else to save me.”

He touched his tongue to the frantic pulse that beat at the base of her throat. “You’ve changed, my little shrew.”

“I didn’t have much choice.”

His arms instinctively tightened. Damn the Oracles. They had called him away just when this vulnerable woman had needed him the most.

“No, I suppose you didn’t.” His touch became soothing as he stroked his lips along her collarbone, silently absorbing her intoxicating scent. It was at last the distant sound of sirens that forced Cezar to lift his head. “We need to leave here before it is discovered that you are no longer in your room.”

“Wait…”

He ignored her protest as he bolted down the nearly empty street. It wouldn’t be empty for long. Humans had a weird obsession with disasters. And a fire burning in a historic hotel filled with the elite of Chicago society would certainly qualify as a disaster.

Well, at least to some.

“Sorry, querida, but I don’t have time to argue.”

She struggled in his grasp. “Put me down.”

“Not until we’re away from here. Someone wants you dead and I don’t intend to give them the satisfaction.”

She stilled, as if startled by his blunt words. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why do you care if I’m alive or dead?”

He glanced down at her wary hazel eyes, a jolt of pure male possession racing through him. “I told you one hundred and ninety-five years ago that you belong to me, Anna Randal,” he growled. “No one is allowed to harm you.”