Embrace The Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #2)(14)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

"What I desire you can’t offer."

Easily sensing her withdrawal Viper pulled back to regard her with a fierce expression.

"Never doubt me, Shay. I am a vampire of amazing skills." He kissed her with a swift, but shocking intimacy before he was pressing himself fluidly to his feet. A smile touched his lips as he regarded her sprawled on the soft quilt, as if the sight of her lying there somehow pleased him. "Rest well."

Unbelievably, he turned and walked out of the room.

He hadn’t chained her to the bed.

He hadn’t locked her in the closet.

He hadn’t even closed the door.

Cautiously pressing herself upright Shay gave a shake of her head.

What the hell was going on?

Viper made his way through the dark house to his private study. It was close to dawn but he still had a few details to tidy up before seeking his bed.

A pity one of those details wasn’t the beautiful Shalott alone in her room, he acknowledged with a rueful sigh. His body still ached with the effort it had taken to leave her alone on that bed.

His mind might assure him that she would soon enough be offering herself without hesitation, but his frustrated desire insisted that it couldn’t possibly be soon enough.

Five minutes from now couldn’t be soon enough.

Entering the book-lined room he moved straight to the door hidden behind the walnut paneling. Pressing the lever that would let him into the security room beyond, Viper stepped inside and regarded the bank of monitors with a faint sense of pride.

Unlike many of his kind he had never shied from embracing the latest technology. It went beyond arrogant to downright stupid to ignore the ever-changing world.

Besides, if he were perfectly honest, he would admit that he was like any man. He had to have the coolest, the shiniest, most expensive toys with which to play.

At his entrance a small, redheaded vampire watching the monitors was on his feet with his fangs fully extended.

Viper raised a calming hand. "Be at ease."

Realizing who had snuck up on him, the vampire offered a deep bow. "Master."

"Have there been any disturbances?"

"No. It has been very quiet." The green eyes narrowed. "Are you expecting trouble?"

"There is the possibility that I was followed tonight," Viper said. "I want the guards doubled and everyone on full alert."

"Of course, master."

Viper smiled at the swift obedience. No questions. No arguments. No lethal glares.

His employees were far better trained than his new slave.

"Who is on duty after you?"

The vampire glanced toward the list that was set by one of the monitors. "Santiago."

"Good." Viper gave a nod. Santiago was still a young vampire, but he was well-trained and capable of thinking on his feet. Nothing would be allowed to slip past him. "I want you to warn him to keep a close watch on the grounds."

The redheaded vampire regarded him with a curious expression. "Should he keep a close watch for anything in particular?"

"I have a guest staying with me," Viper confessed with a smile that refused to go away. "A very special guest. I fear she might decide to wander off while I sleep."

"Ah. You want to have her captured and returned?"

Viper gave a slow shake of his head. "No. If she is seen trying to leave, I am to be awakened immediately."

The vampire gave a surprised lift of his brows. "You don’t want her halted?"

"Not unless Santiago suspects there might be something dangerous lurking nearby." Viper glanced toward the monitors.

"I think it might be interesting to discover just where my guest decides to go."

It shouldn’t have been surprising that Shay overslept.

She had paced the floor of her bedroom for over an hour before she had at last accepted Viper was not coming back. That there wasn’t going to be any torture, or tormenting, or rape.

At least not yet.

She wasn’t nearly ready to believe that it wasn’t in her future.

Still it was a shock when she at last awakened and realized that it was already past five in the afternoon.

Good God. She had not only slept, but her sleep had been deep and utterly free of nightmares.

It was unheard of.

It had to be the soft, feather mattress. Or the silence that drenched the estate, she reassured herself as she muttered a few choice curses and scrambled to the bathroom to toss water on her face. It certainly couldn’t be that she felt at peace in the home of a vampire.

That would be beyond ridiculous.

She managed to find a new toothbrush and toothpaste in the attached bathroom, as well as a hairbrush that she used to smooth her long hair before she braided it and hurried down to the kitchen.

With no change of clothing, she was forced to remain in the harem pants and glittering top, but as she moved toward the back door she noticed the heavy velvet cloak that Viper had tossed aside the evening before.

She was hot as sensitive to the brisk fall air as a normal human, but she didn’t possess the ability of a true Shalott to ignore the elements.

Neither one nor the other.

A mongrel.

The story of her life.

Gathering the soft material around her Shay ignored the tantalizing scent that was so uniquely Viper. She had a promise to keep, and no time to allow herself to be distracted. Especially not by her annoying reaction to a damn vampire.

Leaving the house with a silence that few could match she managed to elude the guards that Viper had mentioned patrolled the grounds. Once at the high gates that protected the estate she paused to toss the cloak over before easily climbing the smooth bricks and landing on the other side.

It was her last barrier and gathering the cloak about her she took off at a steady run that would lead her back to the city and the auction house.

Settling into a swift trot she could maintain for hours if necessary, she headed south. In the distance she could see the looming skyline of Chicago and she kept her gaze fixed on the Sears Tower as she crossed the rural fields that lay well outside the sprawling city.

She did take one detour to collect the bag she had hidden when she had first felt the compulsion to return to Evor. She hadn’t known then what she might need, she had only wanted to have a few surprises tucked away in case she would have the opportunity to use them.

Now was the perfect opportunity.

Dusk had painted a canvas of pinks and pale violet across the sky when she neared the auction house. Had she been free of the curse, she would have crawled atop one of the towering buildings to watch the wash of color spread over Lake Michigan. There was nothing quite so soothing as being near the water and allowing its power to spread through her.