She wrinkled her nose. “I’m not seeing it. I suppose there’s sort of a flow of water.”
He chuckled. “No, the design was named after the creator, Edgar Brook.”
“Oh, I see. Well, I believe Mr. Brook must be a genius.”
“He was. He died about three hundred years ago.”
She shifted her gaze to him once more. “Are you saying that this cave, in this state, has been around that long?”
He liked that the color was returning to her face. “Yes, that long.”
The housekeeper arrived with a tray bearing a small tureen of soup.
Lily moaned. “That smells like heaven.”
“We’re indebted to the age of electricity,” she explained. “And to hydroponics. We have acres of the best vegetables in the world growing deep in this system.”
Lily pushed herself to a sitting position, and the housekeeper carefully placed the tray over her lap. She said she hoped Lily enjoyed the soup then left the room. Adrien listened to the sound of her soft-soled shoes disappearing down the hall.
Lily wore a white cotton nightgown with small pleats across the bodice, which made her look youthful, even fragile. Her hair was clean and she swept it back with one hand to rest over her shoulder. As she lifted her spoon and dipped, Adrien didn’t know what to make of this woman or her sudden appearance in his life.
She didn’t look at him as she ate. The trip of her spoon from lips, to bowl, to broth and back, became a slow, steady progression.
He waited until she had finished the last bite, then rang the bell. The housekeeper returned to take the tray.
Adrien knew the time had come to tell Lily what needed to happen next, but she was already sliding out of bed. “We need to get to that club. What time is it? Wait, I didn’t sleep through the night, did I?”
He glanced at the clock. “No. We have several hours till dawn, but Lily, we’re not going there, at least not yet.”
She sat on the edge of the bed, and her brows rose. “Why not? I mean, I’ve recovered. I feel fine. I really do.” The whiteness of her complexion belied her true condition. Hell if he didn’t admire her all over again.
“Gabriel will be here shortly with a new set of chains, a double set. He said it wouldn’t take long to get this thing done.”
“I don’t understand.”
Absently, Adrien touched the chain at his neck.
Her eyes widened. She reached out and grabbed his wrist, hard. “No,” she cried. “No. We decided we’re not doing that.”
“You’re not doing anything. And all I’m doing is becoming something I should have become when I first flew you to Paris.”
She glared at him in response.
“Don’t look at me that way. Lily, you drowned. Don’t you understand? You were almost gone when I pulled you out of the lake. Once we were airborne I might have tried to fly you slowly, but another, larger group of assassins was on us. I can’t risk your life again. I can’t because if you die, then I’ll die and Daniel will kill my brothers. I have to keep you alive, just to stay alive myself.”
“But I know how much you don’t want to do this thing. I can feel that it’s almost unbearable to you.”
“My mind’s made up.”
She grabbed him harder and leaned forward. “No. I won’t allow it.”
“At this point, you don’t get a say. Or do you want to be dead? And frankly, you are too much of a liability for me not to add a new power level to my arsenal.”
Adrien felt like a strong wind blew over his face. He didn’t recognize the sensation right away, but he was stunned. He’d only known Lily a little over two nights, and she sat here gripping his arm, standing in his corner, battling for him. What made it more intense was knowing that his kind had taken the lives of her family, changing and ruining her life forever. Yet she cared about him enough, after so short a time, to want him to hold his course.
Maybe that’s what settled everything in his mind: As much as he detested what he was about to do, saving Lily’s life was worth it. She hadn’t deserved to have her family ripped apart, or to be somehow forced onto this mission of hers. And she sure as hell didn’t deserve to die because of fanatics that apparently wanted them both dead no matter what.
He covered her hand with his once more then leaned in and kissed her.
She drew back, surprised. “What was that for?”
“Thank you,” he said, with emphasis. “You’re a true friend and I’ll never forget that. In all my long centuries, I can count on just these two hands the people in my life who would have stood up for me as you just have. It means a lot.” He drew in a deep breath, then said, “Now, here’s how this is going down.”
* * *
An hour later Lily was dressed in appropriate sex-club attire: a shimmery, low-cut blue halter, a short black leather skirt, and long sexy boots.
She teased up her hair and added more eye makeup than she usually wore, hoping to create a different appearance so that she wouldn’t be easily recognized.
Gabriel had arrived with the more powerful bonding chains. Apparently, no more was involved than for Adrien to put on his chain and let the process work through him. She’d reap the benefits, too, in terms of taking on more vampire abilities.
Even though Adrien stood just on the other side of the wall, she felt his unease about taking this step. From all that she understood, his father had been evil and powerful. Whether he still lived, she didn’t know, but the last thing Adrien wanted was to be like him. “Lily, we’re ready when you are.”
The room had a full-length mirror so that she could get a good hard look at her reflection. Her heeled boots finished off the look better than anything else could have, and a zing of pleasure went through her knowing that Adrien would probably like this look on her.
He’d told her to wear anything she wanted. She’d considered another pair of jeans, but this was the better choice.
“Lily? What’s going on?”
She rolled her eyes. He’d probably sensed her sudden excitement. Those chains again.
She moved toward the doorway and, after taking a deep breath, crossed the threshold.
Adrien turned toward her, his mouth agape as his gaze drifted slowly down her body, rested for an eye-popping moment on the stilettos of her boots, then retraced the journey to her face. “Holy shit,” he murmured.
She shrugged. “I thought I’d blend in at Rumy’s.”
He nodded. “Yes, you will.”
He moved toward her, dazed, and took her arm. She felt his desire for her like a hot, sizzling wave that washed over her and left her tingling head to toe. “You look really nice, Lily, but then you always do.”
She shifted to look up at him. He wore black leather again, more weapons no doubt, ready for anything. “Thank you. So do you.” The chain at her neck vibrated heavily, and if Adrien’s friend Gabriel hadn’t been standing a few feet away she would have thrown her arms around Adrien’s neck and kissed him.
She wondered suddenly what would happen between them once Adrien wore the new double-chain.
He nodded once more, searching her eyes. “You okay?”
“Overwhelmed.”
“I know what you mean.”
She turned her attention to Gabriel. Adrien made the introduction.
Gabriel had short spiked black hair and warm gray eyes. He was nearly as tall as Adrien and wore a tailored shirt and slacks as well as a fine silk tie.
“Nice to meet you.” Her gaze fell to the cloth-covered board Gabriel held in his hands and to the double-chain clamped in place on top of the cloth. Then she felt the vibration of the chain even at a distance. “So this is it.”
“Yes, it is.” Gabriel turned slightly in Adrien’s direction. “You just put them on. The chains do the work.”
Lily sensed a sudden rush of anger from Adrien, and she caught his arm. “It’s not too late to stop this. I’m willing to take the risk.”
At that, he met her gaze once more, but
the flecked teal of his eyes darkened. “I’ve put this off far too long. And maybe if I hadn’t, I could have stopped Daniel before he got this far.”
With that, Adrien closed the distance between himself and the chains, pulled the double-looped silver set out of the clamps, and without skipping a beat slid it over his head.
At the same time, he jerked the single-loop blood-chain off his neck and threw it on the floor.
Lily blinked.
A second passed, then two.
A new vibration entered her chain and a wave of dizziness hit hard. She weaved on her feet and even held her arms away from her sides to balance herself.
Then her head began to hurt all over again.
* * *
Adrien saw that the new chain had put Lily off-balance and he wanted to go to her, to steady her, but he couldn’t move. The natural power, Ancestral power, that he’d felt from as early as he could remember flowed through him in a succession of almost painful waves.
Power.
The most corrupting influence in the vampire world.
The thing that had made his father a monster.
And now it filled every cell of Adrien’s body.
Would he become corrupt like his father?
His muscles contracted painfully, released, contracted again, his arms, his legs, chest, and back. Sweet Buddha Christ he hurt. He sank to his knees and held his head.
The waves struck hard again, causing the double-chain to vibrate.
He didn’t want this. He’d never wanted this level of power because there was nothing he feared more than becoming like the one who’d sired him.
The more he resisted, the greater the pain, yet he couldn’t let go, couldn’t embrace what he’d always hated so much.
He groaned and rocked on his knees, his head still in his hands, his eyes squeezed shut.
He felt a pressure on his arms, a cool touch that began to ease a new kind of soothing wave through him. His muscles stopped seizing and the throbbing in his head calmed. The new waves of power began to flow.
He let his hands fall away from his face and opened his eyes.
Lily stared back at him. I didn’t know what else to do, she said. But I remembered that in the cavern, when I first met you, my touch calmed you down. Remember?
He nodded. Lily was so beautiful and so pure—pure of heart, of soul, of conscience. He saw an aura around her, a silver shining glow. He blinked several times but the glow remained.
“Are you all right?” she asked.
He touched her cheek. She had soft skin and a creamy complexion, much prettier than a vampire’s usual porcelain look, healthier, more alive.
“Adrien?”
He nodded. “I’m okay now. You were right to touch me. For whatever reason, contact with you helps.”
“It’s the bond of the chains.”
“Maybe. Probably. Who the hell knows.” He rose to his feet, lifting her with him, but he was surprised how much lighter she felt. Apparently even his physical strength had been enhanced.
He turned to Gabriel. “Thanks for helping out.”
“Anytime. You know that.”
“Yeah, I do.” He turned and clapped Gabe on the shoulder.
“You’re going to feel strange for a while.”
“I can tell.”
“And your speed will increase during altered flight, so watch those takeoffs and landings.” He smiled crookedly. “I mean it. Be careful.”
“I will. And thank you for doing this.”
Gabriel nodded.
Adrien shifted toward Lily. “You’re anxious to get going.” He touched the chain, the double loops feeling strange beneath his fingers. “I can sense you even more clearly than before, the level of concern, almost desperation that you feel.” He narrowed his gaze at her. “Almost as though you believe your life depends on getting that weapon. That’s how you feel, isn’t it?”
But the sensation that returned to him in a ripple of emotions felt more like deception than concern. He grabbed her arm. “When are you going to tell me the truth?”
But that stubborn chin of hers rose. “Never.”
“Never’s a long time,” he murmured.
“Yes, it is.”
“Fine.” He released her arm, then addressed another issue. “You’re a locator, we know that. And so far, you’ve had little success getting a fix on the weapon. But with this change of mine, I’m hoping that you’ll be able to do better. Can you give it a try?”
Lily’s hazel eyes widened. “Absolutely.” She closed her eyes and touched the chain at her neck.
He felt her effort, even that his increased power was assisting her, but after a moment she opened her eyes and shook her head. “The tendrils were more active, but seemed to be reaching out in every possible direction.”
“That would make sense,” Gabriel said. “I know that when the Council shut down the scientific experiments all those years ago, many of the documents and more than one of the actual weapons were hidden in a bunch of cavern systems.”
“Then we need more information.”
Lily nodded. “So, it’s on to The Erotic Passage.”
Adrien slid an arm around her waist and pulled her tight against him. As she had been doing, she put her left foot on the top of his right boot.
She slung an arm around his neck and for a long few seconds desire for her rose, as it always did when he got this close to her. Only this time, given that his power level had been bumped up, a wave of need poured over him like a brushfire.
He trembled—not just because of what he felt, but because his desire ignited hers. This terrible attraction between them, which shouldn’t have existed, roared to life.
With every ounce of strength he possessed, however, he turned away from his need, dipped his chin at Gabriel, and took off in a streak of altered flight that stunned him, straight up through the cavern, up and up.
Lily’s arm around his neck tightened.
Are you in pain? Shit, I’m sorry. I’m going too fast.
He started to slow down, a process he found incredibly difficult since he’d launched them well through the cavern system and into the night sky.
I’m fine. Her arm relaxed. Adrien, there’s no pain at all. Don’t slow down. You don’t need to. You were right about this; more power has changed the experience for me. I have no pain.
He rocketed through the air, heading north back to Italy. But as he passed over the Mediterranean, then the Italian landscape, before he knew it he found himself well over the Alps, having overshot his destination.
That’s never happened before.
What?
I’m having a little difficulty gauging distance.
Well, just remember what Gabriel said about landings.
Right.
He spun around, headed south once more, then promptly overshot Lake Como by about fifty miles. And he kept overshooting. Again and again.
Eventually, he made enough adjustments to finally reach the lake, but it still took three landing attempts before he finally brought Lily to Rumy’s private side entrance.
The bouncer knew him well and didn’t even glance at Lily as he opened the door for them. Adrien had brought lots of women to the club over the years, and Lily, in her halter, short skirt, and damn sexy boots, fit right in.
Of course he’d donned a new set of battle leathers and was armed to the teeth. He also wore a black tee made of soft cotton, which seemed to make Lily happy since she kept touching him, or maybe it was the chains, or the sex. Hell, he didn’t know. Didn’t care, only that she stuck close, because that’s where he wanted her, which begged a new question: How had he come to care so much in just a few hours?
He heard Lily gasp.
He stopped and turned toward her. “What? What’s wrong?”
But she was staring at the carvings on the wall. “These are couples doing it, in about every position imaginable. Oh, that one is really inventive.” She tilted her head sideways.
Instead of following the direction of her gaze, he looked away from the wall. He didn’t need a reminder of what he really wanted to be doing right now. “I guess I should have warned you.”
“I should have known. I mean, come on, The Erotic Passage?” She laughed.
He took her arm and gently put her back in motion.
“Are all the walls carved like this?”
“No. Some have bigger etchings.”
“Well that’s not going to help anything, is it?”
“Tell me about it.” Her sweet feminine scent rolled around him now, and if that wasn’t bad enough the new double-chain told him the rest of the story. He could sense the level of her desire and it matched his. He took deep breaths and started doing sums in his head.
A few yards more and the tunnel branched.
He made a right and after another ten yards, he came to Rumy’s office. He glanced up at the security camera, red light winking. He rapped on the arched, wooden door. Black wrought-iron hinges and a ring-pull above the latch fit the club’s overall feel, very dominance-based.
A masculine voice, muffled by the heavy wood of the door, called out, “Adrien, get your fucking ass in here.”
He smiled and leaned down to Lily. “Rumy’s home.”
“Oh, goody.”
At that, he chuckled once more, depressed the latch, and pushed.
Unfortunately, he met three automatic weapons pointed straight at him, all held by men in black robes; more fucking fanatics.
Rumy stood to the side of his guests offering a shrug and a roll of his eyes. He wore the usual extra-snug black T-shirt that emphasized that he worked out. He was short, maybe five-five, his black curly hair oiled and glistening in the dim light. He wore a silver belt and tailored Italian slacks, leather tasseled shoes, his typical style.
With a wry smile, he shrugged again. “Sorry, Adrien. There’s a bounty on your head and the prize is a portion in the Rio Crystal Casino. I couldn’t turn it down.” His gaze shifted to Lily. “Of course the bounty includes your woman here. You must be Lily Haven. Heard a lot about you.”
Adrien’s hand naturally dropped to Lily’s waist, especially since her body had stiffened. Holding her close, he said, “I guess somebody wants us bad.”