He cursed and ran a hand through his hair, frustration riding his body hard. "That was a mistake, Annie. One I won't be repeating. Ruminskey is a potential Praetorian and nothing more. The whole point of meeting with her was to knock any amorous notions out of her head."Rhianna's lips quirked. "I see you managed to do that successfully.""Fuck! Annie, will you just let it drop?" It was a testament to how rattled he was that he didn't moderate how he spoke to her. Usually he was unfailingly polite, respectful with a touch of old school gallantry."If she's affecting you this badly then maybe you shouldn't fight it so hard," she mused. "Sometimes forbidden fruit takes on a more tempting taste because you deny yourself."His eyes swung to meet hers and he blinked slowly. "You're encouraging me? I would have thought you'd be warning me away from the girl." The raw disbelief in his voice was almost comical."You need to make a decision one way or the other and stick to it, Mac. You can't
Lily almost rolled her eyes in resignation but managed to contain herself. She knew she couldn't avoid it much longer. It wasn't going to be easy facing her father's wrath but she had to do it. She sighed mentally. "Yes, Annie."Rhianna dropped her hand and smiled, giving her a quick wink before she turned back to Mac who was silently watching her test the candidates. There was tension in his stance and she knew why. She'd spent a little too much time with Lily and he was concerned she'd found some deception."As always you find the very best of our people to entrust our loved ones to," she smiled as she reached him.His tension melted away and he leaned down to brush her cheek with his lips. "Thank you for gracing us with your presence, Annie."He was once more in control, the same old Mac she was used to seeing. Did that mean he had made his decision and it wasn't Lily? She almost snorted in laughter. If he had, then good luck with that one. There was no way in hell Lily would ever
A loud "Fuck you," followed by a rude hand gesture was all the answer she got. The rest of the room burst out laughing.Vampires were a strange bunch. When they weren't beating the crap out of each other or someone else, they were either having sex or getting drunk and partying, which usually required an enormous amount of alcohol because their metabolism burned it off so quickly. For some reason Lily had thought the Praetorians would be different what with their 'holy' mission to protect the Vârcolac. It would appear they were just like everyone else.Mac stayed away as long as he could but eventually the noise drew him downstairs. About the only time his people had a social night off was when they welcomed new recruits. It had been a long time since they'd increased their numbers and it sounded as if his team was making up for lost time.He stood in the doorway, his eyes searching for Andrea. She was dancing with one of her team, the dark-haired one he'd watched her laughing with ou
"Then let me fix your face for you so I can make amends for past actions," he answered carefully, keeping his emotions well hidden.She smiled and then winced as her cheek stretched. "I'd like that very much, Mac, 'cos it hurts like a bitch trying to smile with half a wine glass imbedded in your cheek." She allowed him to escort her up a flight of stairs."Which room is yours?" he asked when they reached the second floor."Guess."Mac closed his eyes and counted to ten. The scent of her blood was slowly driving him out of his mind. He didn't have time to waste playing guessing games with her, but he could tell she was enjoying herself and wouldn't divulge the information voluntarily.He looked at the doors ahead of them, trying to work out if she would choose the room with direct access to the exit. Some vampires were superstitious that way, always wanting a way out. Something told him Andrea wasn't so inclined.She'd been looking for a way into the Praetorians. His brain whirled and
He cursed himself for having stopped doing guard duty all those years ago. It had been close onto twenty years since he'd escorted one of the Vârcolac when they'd left the pack compound.He'd left Karn in charge of Liliana's protection. If he hadn't then he would have been aware of...aware of what? He didn't know what the hell he was thinking at the moment. All he did know was he had to hide her scent before the other Praetorians came running upstairs."Lily, can you ask your wolf to mask your scent again?" he said through clenched teeth. "It's very powerful and we don't want the rest of the Praetorians tearing upstairs to find the Vârcolac among us, do we?"Her scent changed instantly, going back to the warm nutmeg it had been before. He gazed intently into her face as she raised her head to look at him. Her big brown eyes were swimming with moisture, her bottom lip starting to tremble."You're pissed at me, aren't you?" she whispered. "Because I kept a secret from you. Are you going
"Mac? Did you bring the blood?"He swallowed hard and crossed the room slowly, working to even out his breathing. Lily looked like a tempting goddess but there was also an air of innocence about her too. She may be dressed for sin but she was under the influence of alcohol and not in control of actions. He would never dream of taking advantage of her."Here," he answered his voice sounding gruff in the quiet room. "Why don't you slip under the covers while I open it for you?"Mac's body screamed at him as he clenched his fist hard to stop himself from reaching out to her. Maybe he should have pulled the covers back for her. Watching Lily crawl on her hands and knees, her lace-covered bottom wiggling at him was not such a good idea. That position brought up all kinds of kinky thoughts. It teased him to press his hands against her soft flesh and..."Fuck!" Mac's strangled groan filled the room as he turned his back to the bed and started counting to a million. He was sure that once he g
Mac rolled over onto his back with a groan and threw an arm across his eyes. His body felt heavy and sluggish, lack of sleep being the main cause of his tiredness. He had needed to complete an errand after leaving Lily the night before, and then he'd simply been unable to stop himself from going into her room and watching her sleep.The need to see her had almost been a compulsion and there was something quite unnerving about it. No one had managed to get under his skin the way she had, not for a very long time. The last time he'd opened himself up to someone, his entire world had changed. Sorrow and anguish had been carved into his soul before being replaced by a cold, brutal determination.It was the latter emotion that had kept him going for the last fifteen hundred years. But as he'd watched Lily sleep last night, he'd found himself wondering just what he'd been missing by closing himself off.He'd shaped himself into the perfect vampire, ruthless and cold. He'd assigned himself a
She blushed scarlet and he laughed. "Oh the hidden depths," he chuckled as he tossed the garments on the bed. "You've got ten minutes to get ready. Meet me outside." He turned for the door."Is he sending me home?" Lily managed to keep her voice calm and composed. Inside she was anxious, wondering if Mac had sent his number two to do the dirty work. It wasn't his style to delegate unpleasant tasks but it was something he might do if he was fighting the mating pull."Get dressed, Ruminskey." The door closed behind Karn, leaving her none the wiser.Cursing under her breath, she got up and took a quick shower. She was dressed and on her way downstairs within her time limit. It was never wise to keep Karn waiting. She'd learned that pretty quickly during her initial training. He hadn't told her to pack so that had to mean Mac hadn't issued that instruction -- yet.She found Karn outside, waiting beside a Jeep. Without a word, he got into the driver's side and waited until she'd walked aro