She exchanged a fifty-dollar bill for fifty-dollar tokens, then found a vacant seat in front of one of the slot machines.
It was fun at first, but after half an hour or so, she found herself constantly checking the time. Even winning a small jackpot didn’t really take her mind off Gideon. She wished he was there beside her. It would be much more fun to win if Gideon was there to share the moment with her.
After scooping her change into a handy cup, she tried her hand at blackjack but quickly grew bored with that, as well.
Leaving the casino floor, she strolled through the gift shops. Lots of salt-and-pepper shakers, shot glasses, and T-shirts with Vegas logos.
She ate a quick dinner, then returned to the room, thinking that spending the day with a sleeping husband was better than anything Vegas had to offer.
Gideon woke to the feel of a warm, deliciously naked, feminine form pressed close to his side. Eyes still closed, he slid his arm around her waist, felt his body come alive as Kay leaned up on one elbow and kissed him, lightly at first, and then with growing intensity.
With a low growl, he flipped her onto her back and straddled her hips, his body holding hers in place, one of his hands trapping both of hers above her head.
She fluttered her eyelashes at him, a seductive smile curving her lips.
“Didn’t your father ever tell you that it isn’t safe to wake a sleeping vampire?”
“Actually, the subject never came up,” she replied with a saucy grin. “Although I see something else has sprung to life.”
Gideon grinned back at her. “Nice of you to notice.” He lifted a lock of her hair and let it slide through his fingers. And then he frowned. “What did you do today?”
“Nothing much. I went down to the casino for a little while, but it wasn’t any fun without you.”
“Do you think that was wise?”
She shrugged. “No one knows we’re here. And I can’t just sit around and watch TV all day, you know. I had to do something to pass the time waiting for you to wake up.”
“Impatient are you, Wolfie?”
“Of course not!” she replied, as if that were the most ridiculous thing she had ever heard. “I was just bored.”
“Oh, well, if that’s all it is, I’m sure I can think of something to arouse your interest for the next ten or twelve hours.”
“Really?” She slipped one hand from his and trailed her fingertips over his chest. “What did you have in mind?”
“Oh, a little of this …” Leaning down, he kissed her, his tongue teasing hers. “A little of that.” He nuzzled the valley between her breasts, then moved to the soft sweet spot beneath her ear.
Writhing beneath him, she murmured, “I’d like a little more of that.”
Chuckling, he ran his tongue along the side of her neck, then grazed her skin with his fangs.
“More.” She cupped the back of his head in her hands, holding him in place as she turned her head to the side. “Do it,” she urged. “Bite me.”
There was no way to resist, not when he could hear the way her heartbeat accelerated, the whisper of her life’s blood flowing hot and sweet through her veins.
She moaned softly as his bite coincided with the joining of his body to hers. Her hands moved restlessly up and down his back as pleasure upon pleasure swept through her.
There was a dull roaring in her ears that gradually morphed into the sound of someone pounding on the door. Confused, she looked at Gideon.
His expression brought her quickly back to reality. Springing from the bed, he hissed, “Your father is here. And he’s not alone. Victor and his father are with him.”
Jackknifing into a sitting position, Kay grabbed the bedspread and wrapped it around her, toga-style. “How did they find us?”
“Verah.” He swore under his breath.
“Why would she tell them … ? Oh.”
Gideon nodded. Verah wanted his blood. Victor wanted Kay.
There was another knock on the door, louder this time. “What’ll we do?” Kay asked, her gaze darting around the room.
“Get the hell out here.”
He reached for her hand as the door burst open. Russell, and Victor and Diego Rinaldi, rushed into the room.
With a savage howl, Russell grabbed hold of Kay’s arm and wrenched her away from Gideon.
Victor brandished a stake, his lips pulled back in a feral grin. His father, looking wary, held a bottle of what Gideon assumed was holy water.
Gideon glared at the three men. He had never run from a fight. He could have killed them all, but how could he destroy Kay’s father with her standing there, watching?
“Gideon, get out of here!” Kay hollered, tugging against her father’s hold. “Go! Now.”
He stared at her for stretched seconds; then, muttering a sharp oath, he dissolved into mist and vanished from sight.
Victor took a step toward her, his face mottled with rage. “You little whore… .”
“Shut up, Victor! That’s my daughter you’re talking to.”
Victor closed his mouth with an audible snap, but he continued to glare at Kay, his eyes filled with contempt.
Russell glanced around the room, noting Gideon’s clothes folded over the chair, his daughter’s clothing scattered on the floor, the bed rumpled, the sheets smelling of sex. “What have you done?”
Kay lifted one shoulder and let it fall. “I’d think the answer should be obvious.”
Without warning, her father slapped her, a single, stinging blow.
She reeled backward, her hand flying to her cheek, her eyes watering from the pain. But it was the disdain in her father’s eyes, the fact that he had actually struck her, that hurt the most.
“Victor, Diego, wait in the other room. Kiya, get dressed.”
She held her ground, waiting for her father to leave.
Russell shook his head, then moved to stand in front of the window, his back toward her. “You’ve defied me for the last time, daughter,” he said, his voice cold and without affection. “Get dressed.”
Kay’s hands were shaking as she pulled on a pair of jeans and a sweater. Never in all her life had she been so humiliated, or seen her father so angry. Sitting on the bed to put on her shoes, she wondered how far Gideon had gone. And when, if ever, she would see him again.
Gideon hovered outside the Shadow Pack’s compound, invisible to human—and werewolf—eyes. He had dissolved into mist on leaving Kay, had followed her and the werewolves when they left the hotel. A taxi had awaited the four of them at the curb. It had been easy to stow away in the trunk.
The cab had stopped a short time later at a local airport, where Kay’s father had ushered her and the others into a private plane. Victor and his father, both silent on the ride to the airport, remained subdued as Kay’s father took the controls and taxied down the runway.
It had been an odd experience, taking to the air in a plane when he wasn’t in corporeal form. The flight from Vegas to a small landing strip outside the Pack’s compound had taken little more than an hour. He had stowed away in the trunk of the waiting car, only to be jerked out of it when the car passed through the gate in the fence. Someone—Kay’s father, no doubt—had rescinded Gideon’s invitation, rendering it impossible for him to cross the fence line.
A minor setback. He had more pressing needs at the moment; namely, to obtain something to wear. And something to eat. Not necessarily in that order.
When he returned, he would open the mind link between himself and Kay and let her know he was nearby.
And God help Russell Alissano if the man laid so much as a finger on Kay again.
Kay felt like a condemned felon as her father escorted her to one of the tiny rooms in the basement. They were little more than cells, really, a place where he confined new wolves who were having difficulty making the transition, or wolves who wantonly disobeyed pack rules. She supposed she fit the latter category.
Sitting on the narrow cot, with her knees drawn up to her chin, she stared at the wall. She had been locked up three times in a remarkably short period—first by Verah, then by Victor, and now by her father—and she was getting mighty damn sick of it. She was on her honeymoon, for crying out loud. She should be with Gideon, not locked up like a common criminal.
She growled low in her throat when she recalled the way Victor had looked at her, as if she was some kind of whore. Where did he get off judging her when he had kidnapped her? She frowned, certain he wouldn’t have dared such a thing without her father’s approval. And just as certain that her father had given it.
As if conjured by the thought, the door opened and her father stepped into the room.
One look at his face, and she went cold all over. She had only seen that expression once before, when he had sentenced a rogue werewolf to death.
He closed the door behind him. “We need to talk.”
Those four words always meant bad news. Unable to help herself, she began to tremble.
“You have defied me at every turn. You have humiliated me in front of our people, and what’s worse, in front of the Green Mountain Pack.”
She stared at him, her mouth dry, her palms damp. She would have been less frightened if he had slapped her or yelled at her. Anything would be better than his soft words, the quiet menace in his eyes.
“You ran away with that bloodsucker, and then you shamed yourself, and me, by sleeping with him.”
“We … we’re …” She took a deep breath; then, hoping the truth would make him think better of her, she said, “We’re married.”
“I guess you’ve forgotten that marriages performed outside the pack aren’t valid. In nine days, the moon will be full. You will wed Victor at that time.”
Gathering her courage, she said, “Father, I’m begging you, please don’t make me do this.”
He squared his shoulders, his hands clenching at his sides, his expression implacable. He wasn’t her father now, but her Alpha. “If you openly defy me again, Kiya Marie, I will have no choice but to sentence you to death. Do you understand?”
She nodded, unable to speak past the thick lump in her throat.
“I have rescinded the vampire’s invitation. He will no longer be able to enter the compound or any of the houses inside the fence. Nor will anyone else be able to invite him in. If I see him again, I will destroy him.” He fixed her with a hard stare. “I am aware of his ability to communicate with you telepathically. If he contacts you, you will tell me immediately. Is that clear?”
Kay bit down on her lower lip.
“Is that clear?” the Alpha repeated, his warning as sharp and clear as glass.
She nodded. It was hard to lie while meeting her Alpha’s gaze, but Kay knew she would die before she betrayed Gideon into her father’s hands.
Chapter 27
Verah glared at the Alpha’s son. “I gave you the information you desired. Alissano has the girl. Now, let me go.”
Victor shook his head. “Not yet.”
“What more do you want from me?” she asked impatiently.
“I find I rather like having a witch at my disposal. I have plans for the future and it occurs to me that, with your help, I’ll be able to achieve them much faster.”
“And if I refuse, will you threaten my familiar again?” She shook her head. “You can only play that card so many times.”
He scowled. She was smarter than he gave her credit for. “Perhaps we can strike a deal.”
“What do you have to offer?”
“What do you want?”
She held out her bound hands. “My freedom.”
Victor made a dismissive gesture with his hand. “What else?”
“I need the vampire that accompanies the girl.” She was addicted to his blood, not only the vile taste of it, but its effect on her health and outward appearance. Vanity might be a sin, but she didn’t care. She had always been proud of her fine, clear skin, her thick pale blond hair, the slender figure that growing old had stolen from her.
Victor frowned. “What possible use can you have for a bloodsucker?”
“My reasons are my own.” And they grew more urgent with every passing day. “I need the girl for bait.”
“That’s why you broke into the house?” Victor exclaimed. “You were looking for Kiya?”
Verah nodded. “If I have the girl, I’ll have the vampire, as well.” And she needed him desperately. She didn’t have to see her reflection in a mirror to know that she was growing older, more feeble, more hideous, with every passing day. Her ugliness was evident in the revulsion in the boy’s eyes every time he looked at her.
Victor frowned thoughtfully, then nodded. “Agreed, but with one condition.”
“I’m listening.”
“Once you have the vampire, I want you to kill the girl.”
“My pleasure.”
Victor grinned. “There’s just one other condition. The girl must live long enough to give me an heir. Until then, you’ll remain here.”
“No!” she shrieked. “I need the bloodsucker now!”
“That’s my deal, witch. Take it or leave it.”
She hissed at him, but in the end, she knew she had no other choice. Forcing a smile, she said, “I’ll take it.”
“Make that two conditions,” Victor decided.
“What else do you want?” She hissed the words at him.
“Tell me why you need the vampire.”
“I need his blood.”
“Very funny,” he muttered, then frowned thoughtfully. “You’re serious, aren’t you?”
She didn’t answer, just glared at him.
With a shake of his head, the Alpha’s son left the basement.
“You’ll rue the day you were born,” Verah murmured. “When I am free, you will curse the man who spawned you and the woman who gave you life.”
Chapter 28
Kay sat on the edge of her bed, staring at nothing. She was, for all intents and purposes, a prisoner in her own home. She wasn’t allowed to leave the house. There was a guard outside her bedroom window, and another at her door. She was never alone, except in her room. She supposed she should be grateful her father hadn’t left her in the dungeon, but at a time like this, it was hard to summon any feelings of gratitude.
At her father’s request, Victor had moved into the house. If her father hoped that spending more time in Victor’s company would make her care for him, he had been badly mistaken. The more she saw him, the more she despised him. He was a vain and selfish man. And he was hiding something; she was sure of it. Why couldn’t her father see that?