“And where is this exactly?”
“In Siberia at the River of Lights Resort, on the gondola ride. You have to take the tour, then use altered flight at a certain point. First, though, you have to recognize the disguise or see beyond it or something, and neither of us could. We were just putting out feelers to see if there was an Ancestral around with disguise-penetrating abilities when Eve sent us her invitation.”
He then coughed up two specific details: a ninety-degree bend in the underground river, and a pillar of stone shaped like a serpent.
“How did you come by this information?”
Arsen shrugged, then spoke oh-so-casually. “We tortured a bunch of different vampires. Each knew something. And we had it confirmed when we went on that ride.”
Lucian glanced at Rumy. “I’ll want to get over there, the sooner the better.”
“I’ll arrange for tickets, boss.”
“Aren’t they booked months in advance?”
Rumy just lifted a brow and made the call. Two minutes later he said, “Thanks.” He ended the call, then tapped his phone again. He told one of his team to look for an email from Siberia. “Okay, good. Just print them out and bring them here. Now.” He returned his phone to the pocket of his tailored slacks. “Stay tight. I’ll have something for you in a few secs.”
He rocked on his heels, his brows pinched, an unusual expression for Rumy.
A moment later one of his security team arrived, passing straight through the wall, and handed him a sheet of paper.
Rumy offered it to Lucian. “You have two entrance passes for the River of Lights at midnight, and you’re welcome.”
Lucian stared at the piece of paper. “How the hell did you do this?”
Rumy just smiled. “You still have no idea how well connected I am.”
“You mean how much dirt you have on everyone.”
“Well, that, too.”
Without warning, a tremor hit Lucian hard. This time his stomach cramped. “Shit.” He looked around, wishing Claire was close.
You need me?
The chains had done their talking so there was no point pretending.
I do.
Is it okay to come in there now?
It’s fine. We’ve got what we need and the boys are in good shape.
Claire opened the door. At the sight of her, Lucian’s heart warmed up something fierce. How had she become so important to him in such a ridiculously short time?
Salazar whistled softly. “Just look at that red hair.”
Lucian glared. Salazar lifted his chain-bound hands. “Sorry. Apologies.”
Lucian turned to Rumy. “You’ll take it from here?”
“I’ve got a call in to Gabriel. I’ve decided to let him handle these two. He’ll know what needs to be done.”
“I couldn’t agree more. I’ll be in touch after Siberia.”
Rumy nodded.
Lucian crossed the room to Claire, unwilling to let her get too close to the captives.
He immediately drew her into his arms, then held her tight for a long moment.
Thank you for all you did.
You’re welcome.
She rubbed his back.
So what happened with Tweety Bird and his companion?
Lucian relayed what they’d discovered, adding that he now had tickets for the midnight ride.
It all sounds so strange. Your world actually has something called a light show in Siberia?
He stroked her cheek.
Yeah, I’ve never been there. A little too vanilla for my tastes.
Sounds like it. But it also sounds like the best lead we’ve had.
Couldn’t agree more.
He glanced around.
But it looks like we’ve got a couple of hours to kill. What would you like to do? Want to head back to the suite?
I could really use a shower, but I left my clothes at the photo shoot. Okay if we head back there first?
Absolutely.
When he drew back, Lucian held out his arm and Claire stepped up on his foot, holding her robe together with one hand. She wrapped her free arm around his neck. Just as he slid his arm around her waist then slipped into altered flight, she kissed him.
CHAPTER 10
Claire let the kiss linger. She’d been wanting to try this for a long time, to see if it was even possible to kiss Lucian while in the middle of altered flight. Apparently, it was.
Claire, what you can do to me. But I’ll have to find someplace to land if you keep this up.
She drew back and smiled, hugging him, thankful that the ordeal was over. She held Lucian tight, feeling ridiculously safe in his arms while they passed through all kinds of solid matter. She marveled that she’d only been engaged in altered flight for a few days, but the movement in front of her eyes had come to look like soft swirling mist, nothing that could hurt her at all.
When he slowed and shifted to fly at a steep upward angle, she knew they were drawing near Eve’s specialty room, where the photo shoot had taken place. She recalled the short arched hallway leading to the room she had forbidden Lucian to enter.
The timing seemed perfect.
On an instinctive level, she knew Eve had wanted her to see the separate room. The setup spoke of dominance play, and of Lucian, in a way that Claire understood because of the shared chains.
The darkness she sensed in Lucian had resulted from his childhood torture, from the pain he carried around in him because he’d once been bound in chains. He needed to let go of something deep within, and letting him have control of her might just help. She wasn’t even sure she understood why this might be true, but she felt a profound need to allow the experience, as much for herself as for Lucian.
She had always lived a kind of safe life, choosing her path carefully, pursuing a profession that made sense to her in terms of building a stable future for herself. On the other hand, her social life had always been a mystery, since she’d never been satisfied with the men she’d dated. And she’d known a number of good men, with strong careers, determined to get ahead, qualities she valued. Yet she’d never felt completely drawn to them, as though something was missing.
Now she flew with a vampire and felt more like herself than she ever had before. So what did that say about her, about what she needed from a man and from life? Another mystery.
He landed her near the bench he’d sat on earlier, during the photo shoot. The hallway was opposite. “So what’s in there you didn’t want me to see?”
She could feel he was getting worked up, and not just from his desire for her. His blood-madness moved at the edges of his mind once more.
She stood in front of him and put her hands on his face. “We need to get cleaned up. Lucian, look at me.”
He dragged his gaze away from the hall. “What?” He scowled, his temper suddenly short. He drew in a quick breath, flared his nostrils, and squinted.
“You’re in pain, aren’t you?”
“Yes. A little. What’s in the room, Claire?”
She slid her right hand down his arm, all the way to touch his palm. She interlaced her fingers with his, then drew him toward the bathroom. “I want you showered up. How about we do that together?”
His eyes fell to half-mast, and a soft growl formed at the back of his throat. It was something only a vampire could do—that soft growl—and she loved it.
She led him to the shower, which turned out to be a deep open space, big enough for both of them.
But right now she had something else in mind. She turned the water on for him, then gestured for him to precede her.
He never took his eyes off her as he stripped, stepped in, and started lathering. She ignored the blood that washed down the drain. He’d been dirty from battle. He’d needed a good scrubbing. “Are you joining me?”
She shook her head. “I just want to watch.” Claire had never been so hungry for a man.
When he soaped himself low so that his fist worked his thickening column up and down, she slowly opened the upper portion of her robe.
His gaze dropped to her cleavage and then to her bare breasts, held upright and pushed together by the costume. Her nipples were now like hard beads.
“Get rid of the robe.”
That was what she wanted, right now, right here, with Lucian. She wanted him telling her what to do, commanding her. She dropped the robe.
He rinsed, shut the water off, and ran a towel over his body. Drawing close, he stroked the sides of her bare, supported breasts with his palms, then licked down the deep line of her cleavage, thumbing her nipples.
You don’t know how much I wanted do this.
I had an idea.
He sucked on her breasts, hard tugs, nursing her, which caused her more agony. She surrounded his shoulders with her arms and flexed her breasts against his mouth and face. He grabbed her waist with his hands, pulling her close.
“Lucian, I swear I could come like this.”
But at that, he rose up and looked down at her, his gray eyes glinting. Something very Ancestral, and very vampire, stared back at her as his gaze bored into hers.
What’s in that room, the one you wouldn’t let me see?
You sure you want to know?
You know I do.
Very well. One of Eve’s specialty tables.
His gaze narrowed.
And is that what you want?
She felt his desire like a strong sudden wind.
She nodded slowly, but before she could say anything more he shifted into altered flight, throwing her over his shoulder at the same time. A second later she stood in that room, now lit with a dozen fat candles. Eve had been there, knowing what Claire intended and how Lucian would respond.
And Claire loved it, all of it.
* * *
The darkness in Lucian came alive at the sight of the narrow platform draped from above with a dozen different kinds of heavy black chains, some of them infused with preternatural power. He could trap Claire here forever, if he wanted. She’d never be able to break out, and no other Ancestral would have the power to release her.
He liked the idea.
His cock grew rigid as he slid her down his body and set her on her feet.
She’d seen this room earlier and planned to bring him here. She wanted to be here.
The bed was narrow, meant only for one, and had movable parts that, being a man he understood extremely well. He could place parts of his body next to her. He could reach other parts of her easily. And she couldn’t touch him.
Chains hung from a suspended box. More chains hung from wrought-iron loops cemented into the rock wall at the head of the platform. Over the last year, he’d been suspended on similar loops and beaten until his skin hung in strips and he bled in pools around his feet. He’d almost died twice under the whip of the women who tortured him and his brothers.
Now Marius was dead and he was here with a human female, a woman he intended to use. A woman who wanted to be chained down, wanted to be under his control.
She’d already seen the raw state of his dark soul and she wanted more, so that’s exactly what he would give her.
First, however, he needed to get the costume off her. He’d hated that other men had looked at her body, especially the two worthless vampires who traded in human flesh.
He needed her cleansed of at least that.
He caught the straps at her shoulders and slowly drew them down over her arms, away from her breasts, peeling them off her hips. He knelt in front of her, and as he removed the patch covering her narrow auburn landing strip, he leaned in and placed a kiss on her cleft.
Are you ready for this, Claire, ready for me?
Yes, God yes.
He rose up and lifted her quickly in his arms. She gave a cry and he smelled her sex. He turned her in his arms so that he held her parallel to the floor, balancing her.
He leaned over her and nipped at her stomach.
Again she cried out.
He met her gaze. “I’ll give you a choice right now, Claire. You can leave this room or you can stay, but if you stay, I will bite you, repeatedly.”
The sharp scent of her aroused sex flowed over him so that he had his answer before she spoke the words within his mind.
I’m staying, Lucian. I want this more than I can say.
He looked into her eyes and saw her desire. She was into this as much as he was.
“Last chance. Leave now or stay and take whatever comes at you.”
“I’m staying.” The double-chains vibrated with her desire.
He threw his head back and roared, still holding her stretched out, barely balanced on the muscles of his biceps and forearms.