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She took the fine car Not that she couldn&039;ttie of L&039;O sharp curves at excessive rates of speed, and laughing as she did so until gradually, the pavements broadened and traffic increased

When she finally ca halt at the airport at Paris, she reershis head in two hands as he sat up His narrow, angry eyes raked her but he didn&039;t attee in your breast pocket,"she said softly

"Take it out"

He straightened, one hand slipping beneath his jacket toward the pocket She watched hi it at the wrist before he&039;d had the chance to move it He probably hadn&039;t even seen her movement

"Now, I&039;ll stand for none of that Roland tellsof yours actually works"She pulled his hand from beneath the jacket, his resistance so puny in cohable When the syringe was in the open, she took it with her free hand"Perfectly awful, this little needle Still, I suppose it&039;s better than St Claire&039;s for our blood until we beco him free to perform his sadistic little experi the wrist she&039;d just released

"You&039;re the one, aren&039;t you?"

"Which one would that be, darling? Certainly not one of the two fledglings he held The ones from whom he drained a bit too much blood? The ones he murdered? No, I&039;m not one of those Not at all, as you can see"

"You&039;reRhiannon You escaped You killed one of the finest scientists DPI has ever"-- She waved a hand

"Scientist? I say he was a twisted little pervert

He enjoyed the pain he inflicted"She tilted her head to one side and fought not to let her face reveal what the memory of that pain did to her insides She&039;d been tortured to the point of near nified incredibly It was felt thousands of times more keenly than by a huer vaht I must say I understood I did enjoy what I did to him"She kept her voice cold, her tone without inflection

"Tellbeen tested on human subjects?

What, I wonder, would be the effect should I inject it into you, for example?"His face lost all color and she felt his rush of fear

"The drug has absolutely no noticeable effect on huhed, the sound bubbling up from deep in her throat

"Oh, how you ahts You&039;re far too frightened right now towould kill you, would it not? "He shook his head in denial

Rhiannon held the needle skyward and depressed the plunger, sending a sed, landing on his feet on the concrete of the parking lot and immediately ready to flee Rhiannon closed her hand over his nape and squeezed

"It&039;s no use, you know I&039;rown men, and you with all your research of my kind, are aware of it I&039;m older and more powerful than any of us you&039;ve encountered I could kill you noithout breaking a sweat, Rogers, rip, she dragged one nail lightly over the short hairs there

"How do you want it, I wonder?

Would you like me to simply snap this neck of yours? It would be the quickest, the most merciful way Or I could, indeed, inject you with your own creation Any drug powerful enough to tranquilize a vampire would probably kill an elephant in its tracks, to say nothing of a puny mortal such as yourself"

She turned him to face her and she saw his fear She could feel it, and she could smell it She shook her head slowly

"No, I think those h to suitthe contents of the syringe down the front of his shirt, splattering his jacket She tossed the empty needle to the floor

"I think, perhaps, for you"-- she gripped his necktie and jerked him nearer "--the old-fashioned methods are the best"

"No,"he whispered

"For God&039;s sake, no!"

She went so far as to actually rake her teeth across the tight skin of his throat, even drawing a bit of blood, which tasted so delightfully wonderful she nearly forgot to behave herself But then she took a firrip on her thirst, and she lifted her head from his throat

"Oh, mon cher, you are delicious But Roland has warned ht"-- She bit her lips, as if she&039;d let soh them

"No matter They are far froered backward One hand lifted, pal to his throat

When he saw the blood it came aith, he nearly fainted, such was his distress She could have seen it even with mortal eyes, but in her vaht

"Bother the boy again,you

And I assure you, despite your protests to the contrary, you shall delight in it, too Right unto the ht and left as he sought assistance

None was to he had

"You&039;ll pay for this,"he shouted when he felt safer, farther fro vehicle I&039;ll make sure you pay All of you"

"Yes, I know you will try One final word, o The taste of you on my lips has left me with a powerful appetite"

"You&039;re an aniht A predator, to be precise And if you go near Roland again, you will becoe, your experience will not be a pleasant one I will hurt you, Curtis Rogers I will le burst of speed, she left hi to his human eyes, it must have seeo to the castle

Not right away, at least She thought she&039;d convinced him that Roland and the boy had boarded a jet bound for parts unknown He&039;d fallen so easily

He would search elsewhere first

They&039;d be safe during the approaching dawn Yet, there were still precautions to be taken Rhiannon sped toward the small rental house outside L&039;Ombre, to accomplish these, and of course, to fetch her cat

Roland had no idea where she&039;d gone, or when she&039;d return That was the thing about her Flighty Volatile Unstoppable Daroaned under his breath He couldn&039;t forget his desire even in his anger

When she&039;d looked at Jamey earlier, Roland could have sworn he&039;d seen the stirrings of genuine affection Of course, she would have &039;to feel so for the boy He was one of The Chosen A human with the sale combination that allowed the, but surpassing, Prince Vlad the Impaler--yes, despite all of Eric Marquand&039;s theories, it went back farther than that And the blood antigen known as belladonna A huh he may never be aware of it, becomes the ward of the un dead Vampires watch over such ones, especially the children They cannot do otherwise And all preternatural beings can sense the presence of such ones, or the hint of a threat to them Yet rarely are these Chosen ones transforh their lives never knowing of their psychic link to a society they would believe a myth

The situation with Jamey was unique In order to protect hie things as they now stood DPI knew of Jamey&039;s traits They knew of his connection, not to one, but to three--now four--vareat value on the boy, his worth to theold They would stop at nothing to possess him, to hold him in one of their diabolical laboratories, to run countless, torturous experi body while they awaited the inevitable arrival of his protectors

And with all of this on the line, Rhiannon had played another of her vanishing acts

But he knew better than that, didn&039;t he? Unpredictable, she was, but not disloyal Her carelessness only applied to matters of her own safety Not to that of others He wanted to be angry with her, but instead, found hiers? With her? She&039;d been captured by a h to end up in their hands again?

As soon as Jamey was safely installed in hiswith Frederick at his side, Roland made the decision to search for her

She&039;d resent it, no doubt She liked to do as she pleased without interference But he felt she nore that possibility

Before he made it to the door, he sensed her presence He realized asense of relief along with it But that was ridiculous He hadn&039;t been that worried about her

She entered the great hall through the tall, arching door of ancient hardwood, which was banded with black iron straps At her side luown she still wore The beast&039;s green eyes glittered like eazed steadily at Roland, it stilled utterly, and erowl"What in God&039;s name is that?"

"My cat Her name is Pandora, and I would appreciate it if you would treat her with the respect she deserves"

"Rhiannon, for God&039;s sake"-- Roland took a single step forward, and froze when the cat crouched, snarling, teeth bared, about to spring

"Pandora, hush!"At her stern co rather lazily, still watching Roland&039;s everythe cat&039;s big head with her long, dagger-tipped fingers

"Come, Roland, stroke her head, so she&039;ll know you mean no harm"

Roland swore under his breath, but knew Rhiannon adored the beast, sie her, this once It wasn&039;t as if the cat could harm him He moved nearer the ani-fast move, Pandora batted his hand aith claws extended, and a short angry snarl

"Pandora!"Rhiannon s Roland&039;s hand and frowning at the single scratch the cat had ed to inflict A tiny, narrow path of beaded red droplets

"I&039;m sorry, Roland She is so protective of me, you see, and you did raise your voice"Then she lifted his hand, brought it to her lips, and, very catlike, herself, ran her daue over the mark, from knuckles to wrist

She closed her eyes at the erotic impact of the act Roland knew, because it rocked hiroin, and Roland winced at the force of it

"Co,"she whispered

"Show Pandora how close we are That ork to calm her I knoill

Come, take me in your arms

Just this once Just to calm the cat"

"Rhiannon, I don&039;t think"--- "Why must I work so hard to earn each little touch you bestow?"She shook her head, glancing at the cat, who again, began to snarl ly

"Surely you won&039;t die froh they ers out of the castle while we rest, by day She is well trained, I assure you Now, please, just take me in your arms Hold me to you Kiss my lips It will be all the evidence she requires, I pro to, Roland stepped closer He slipped his arms around Rhiannon&039;s slender waist, and she iainst hih his veins Her deceptively fragile-looking ar hu beneath her skin and the spiced juices of her arousal dah her hair and the ularly

A mortal e in the light refracted in her black eyes, and know it signaled the onset of the powerful lust only immortals can feel or understand

It borders on violence, this lust It les with the thirst for blood until the two entwine and becohtened around her, until her proud breasts pressed hard against his chest Their stiff little nipples--twenty tiht be--poked into his skin, even through the dress she wore, and the shirt covering hi for a moment on her parted lips He could still catch the faint trace of his own blood on her tongue

Slowly, he sunk into the madness only she could create within him He lowered his head until his face, his lips, h cheekbone, and then the shape of her finely arched brow His lips nibbled a path down the straight, narrow bridge of her nose, then danced over the bit of flesh between nose and upper lip

She made a tiny sound, like a purr, in her throat, and tipped her head back slightly, to lift her lips to his Driven x beyond restraint, Roland took herof slow starvation takes his first crumb of food His hands twisted theue swept inside her Her taste was intoxicating, an aphrodisiac, certainly, for he throbbed anting her

She felt his arousal, pressed her hips closer, and murmured his name into his mouth on a low, husky exhalation

Roland put her fro this castle above his head could have taken The lust in hiive in to it No He could too easily lose his sanity in Rhiannon He could be swept coet as iain to face a fight not even a grown man should have to endure The tiny cimeti&re in the forest beyond the castle&039;s outer walls The five graves, so old now they would be invisible had he not kept the the headstones every few years, and alith more ornate and expensive pieces His mother lay there, beneath the cold earth His father, and his three hearty brothers who had once scoffed at his desire to becoht Truly, he knew, they&039;d only been afraid to see their youngest sibling thrown into bloody battle They&039;d loved him And he&039;d returned their love with hatred, and betrayal, and finally, with abandonive hiet the beast that lived within him It had lurked in the depths of his black soul even when he&039;d been a mere mortal It must be contained, for were it loosed now, the destruction it ht wreak would be irreparable

Rhiannon ht out the impulsive, irresponsible lad he&039;d once been The one foolish enough to let that beast escape Sheto free the animal inside To allow it to take over

She filled hier that all else see? What is it?"Rhiannon stood alone now, a yard of space between him and her She appeared composed, but he felt the confusion, the thwarted passion frustrating her

"Don&039;t stop now,"

she whispered

"We must convince Pandora"

Roland shook hi but lust He wanted no companion at all, let alone one as uncontrollable and explosive as she

Her very presence was a danger to his sanity

He felt the huge cat&039;s heavy, silken body pressing to his leg, first the head, then a long, slow stroke of its neck and side over Roland&039;s calf

"I believe the cat is convinced, Rhiannon"Roland lowered his hand and scratched the feline&039;s head It arched to his touch and purred like a motorcar

"Pandora, you traitor! I told you to wait until later to be friendly?"

Roland&039;s brows shot up

"Youat all, only your cohtly farther than her upper one, looking as pluths, soet any cooperation froed

"I haven&039;t figured her out yet Only that she can read me, and I her We connect on a psychic level neither of us can understand I don&039;t need to speak to her, only to send her es And she obeys me without question"

"So she snarled atfor a look of innocence and failing"Just as I shall tell her to guard Jamey as we rest No mortal shall set foot inside these walls with Pandora about Not and live, at least"

"Suppose she ht snack?"

"She would no , but Roland ignored the barb"You&039;re certain?"

"Do you think I would risk the child you adore so blatantly?"

He pursed his lips, then shook his head