Page 7 (1/2)

Aurelio--probably not his real name, but one chosen to appeal to her--moaned softly as she pulled hi a hand in his dark hair and tugging lazily He twisted his head away obediently, baring his neck in a fine, taut line of golden skin There wasn’t time for a true seduction, but she had played with hi the anticipation She ht not keep any blood slaves of her own, but she understood them, understood their need to earn their reward An odd sort of reward in her oûts Although she was fairly certain that not even theinhi line down his neck and breathing against it softly, ss punctured the soft velvet of his vein without warning He groaned, a guttural sound of pure pleasure as his already stiff cock hardened even further against her thigh Sophia drank deeply, relishing that first hot rush of blood down her throat, feeling it spread throughout her body, replenishing tissues dehydrated by the long flight and the stress of everything that had happened since She was suddenly glad Lucien kept his stable of blood slaves She’d needed this; no bagged blood could have nourished her so coan to slow, careful to take only what she needed, only what the hu the bouquet of his blood, untainted as it was by alcohol or drugs, and she withdrew her fangs slowly, pausing to nip playfully as his flesh before licking his skin clean and closing the small wounds

Sophia closed her eyes, sated and ready to rest, the long journey catching up with her at last But there was Aurelio to tend to He lay perfectly still beneath her, so careful to make no demand for his own co, could hear the heated thrule direction Toward that ever hardening shaft between his legs

Sophia let her gaze travel along his sweat-sheened body, alilling to admire a beautiful male form She trailed her hand slowly over the curve of his collarbones, down past the flat, hairless planes of his solid chest until she encountered the silky line of hair arrowing straight to his groin She purred quietly in approval as her fingers closed around his straining erection, feeling hiled to re his discipline, ad even more the fine piece of flesh she held in her hand As hard asand thick with a well-formed head, the narrow scar of his circumcision so exquisitely sensitive that he shivered every ti in hisher wordlessly to release hiainst his ear "Are you ready to co in her hand "Yes, please, htened her hold on hiers over the warato Come now"

Aurelio’s eyes flew open, rolling back in his skull until only the whites were visible, grunting low in his throat as he thrust uncontrollably against her hand, his long-delayed orgashs and belly until he was spent

Sophia re his heart and breathing slow to so as she could, but the sun was very close now and she wanted to be underground before it arrived

"Aurelio," she said softly

His eyes opened, cheeks flaive me, my lady," he said immediately "I didn’t mean--"

"Be calm You served rabbed the loose, linen pants he’d worn to the door and wiped hiar closure

Sophia eyed his tight ass appreciatively as he did so, wishing she’d had longer to play tonight

But it was not to be

She stood, barefoot, but still fully dressed, except for her shirt, which gaped open, her breasts displayed, the nipples flushed and hard after Aurelio’s dedicated attention The blood slave cast surreptitious glances at her, but Sophia made no e of her body’s appeal to males, whether hu the door to the garden "I am very pleased"

"Thank you, mistress It was ht, shivering in sympathy of the few clothes he wore Perhaps one becah Closing the door quickly, she locked and bolted it, then turned and stared at Lucien’s envelope where it sat on a char i and crossed i it with her as she hurried to the closet and its secret entrance Taking the few steep stairs doard, she closed and locked the door behind her, then sank onto the thick s crossed beneath her, she slid a scarlet fingernail beneath the seal and sliced it open, withdrawing a single, folded sheet of paper A photograph tu at the three people pictured there Two raph aside, she unfolded the piece of heavy linen writing paper and found it covered in Lucien’s handwriting Sophia’s heart sank as she began to read

Chapter Seven

Raphael sighed as the vault door closed behind him and he listened as Cyn locked theround, accessed by a private elevator and reserved for his exclusive use when visiting the Seattle coround, secure in a state-of-the-art vault like this one, which, once closed, could be opened only from the inside, except by Raphael or the nest’s leader or security chief Within the larger vault, each va cha, more spacious and better appointed, but it was no more or less secure than those of the other vampires in the compound

Cyn threw her leather jacket over a chair, slipped off the shoulder holster and popped the h to lean into him and wrap her arms around his waist "I’m sorry about Marco and Preston," she said "They ith you a long tiainst his chest, taking colad you’re here," he adently "Besides, after that last New Mexico trip of yours, I swore I’d never let you leave one"