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"Your mate was under attack," Raphael reassured hi, and unable to come to her aid And then you woke to find a huhtly "This Colin Murphy is lucky to be alive I don’t know if I could have shown such restraint"

Jeremy flushed with pleasure at Raphael’s praise, then drew a breath and continued ly "Colin backed away as soon as he saw ht her here"

"I should talk to hi to Raphael It was estion, but Raphael hesitated "I need to knohat he found when he got there, Raphael," she added in a low, urgent voice "It’s possible he arrived soon after the attackers left HeJeremy didn’t notice because he was so focused on Mariane Besides, if he’s the law in town, it ation If nothing else, he knows the people and that gives our own hunt the imprimatur of the local authorities, such as they are"

Loren atching Raphael, waiting for his decision

"Arrange a ht," Raphael told him

"I’ll see to it," Loren said immediately

Raphael stood and everyone stood with him "Thank you, Jeremy I know this was painful Return to your mate, now She needs you"

Jeremy bowed briefly "Thank you, Sire" The vampire was visibly exhausted Even with Raphael’s assistance, the depletion of Jereth would be severe, his mate’s need a constant drain He paused for a few seconds, long enough to steady hi slowly out of the roo vae has been perpetrated on us, and it will not stand No oneno one touches what is entlemen Tomorroe hunt"

Chapter Six

Vancouver, British Colue was already wararden Given the size of Lucien’s uest rooms in its basees, and this one in particular Although spacious enough for couest houses and the farthest fro But it was also the most secure Like all the others, the ere for show only, completely blocked by sealed h for e also had a baseh a hidden door beneath the floor of the generous closet Decades ago, Lucien had shown it to her, the last time she’d visited hian hanging up the few clothes she’d brought with her, delaying the inevitable moment when she’d have to open Lucien’s envelope She held up a wrinkled silk blouse, wondered if it orth getting the thing cleaned and pressed, when there was a knock on the cottage door She listened carefully first, then reached out with her vampiric senses It was a human male, probably one of the servants with her blood

She dropped the blouse and crossed the roole huht cast a yellow square of illumination on the man who stood on the narrow porch step He was taller than she was--h this one was not by ed him to be in his late twenties, pretty, slender and boyish in the way she liked her ood looks and soft brown eyes re men so common to the cafes and clubs she frequented in Rio de Janeiro She eyed hi when she saw that his hands were empty Maybe this wasn’t her blood delivery, after all

"Mistress," he whispered, those big eyes lingering briefly on her face before dropping subriotten Lucien’s penchant for blood slaves, which ed blood on hand Not that his slaves weren’t willing donors--Lucien didn’t keep any other kind And it wasn’t that she objected to taking blood fro men in Rio were veryto spend a night, or longer, with her It was a rare thing that she resorted to bagged blood anymore

But none of her lovers were blood slaves, either, those men and women who existed solely to be used by their vaered for the sexual release that such use provided It was an addiction every bit as powerful as the drugs sold in dark alleys all over the world And like any addiction, it could be used as a weapon against the addict, forcing them to perform unspeakable acts, to endure horrific treatment that too frequently crossed the line into torture

Lucien’s slaves were all well cared for, however She gave him that much Abuse was never tolerated, not in this house Even so, his slaves were sopathetically eager With an ehed It was too late to arrange for so ht She suspected to she knew, there would be nothing good in that elegant envelope of Lucien’s

She stepped back "Coato"

The slave was certainly skilled Sophia wondered if Lucien had perhaps trained this one himself Her Sire was quite the hedonist when it ca men and women equally And always the pretty ones