Guiles shook his head. “No. A voice in the darkness just tells me to obey Fate, and more importantly, to make sure you fulfill your destiny. If either of us fails, then the Realm falls. We can’t let the Realm fall. The Kayrs family must be protected, as you know.”
“I agree about the Kayrs family. What do you mean by my destiny?” Lily picked at a thread on a throw pillow. “What destiny?”
A sharp line drew between Guiles’s eyebrows. “I was hoping you’d have a clue as to your destiny and what needs to happen before the peace talks.”
“I don’t.” She trusted Guiles, and she needed to protect him from the full truth. “My visions are blurry, without any clear direction.” If her disobedience of Fate’s dictates resulted in punishment, she’d take it alone.
The door swept open, and a furious vampire filled the doorway.
“Caleb?” Lily asked, sliding to her feet. One thing about a vampire, one never needed to ask if they were in a temper. Fury blazed in his eyes, while his jaw appeared made of rock.
“Did you contact Franco on your own to make some sort of deal?” Caleb ground out.
Guiles stood and maneuvered around Caleb. “Um, I can see I’m not needed for this. I’ll speak with the two of you later.”
Gee, thanks for the rescue, Guiles. “Of course,” Lily said, clasping her hands together. “Please let me know if you get any more details from your nightmares, and I’ll do the same.”
With a wary glance at Caleb, Guiles sidled out the door.
Caleb closed the heavy oak with his foot, his concentration remaining on Lily.
“I did not speak with Franco,” she said, wondering at the tension vibrating through the room. Just how angry was the Realm Rebel?
“Did you attempt to contact him?”
“Yes.” She liked this side of Caleb if the thrill rushing through her veins provided any indication. Sexy and dangerous, the vampire would intrigue any woman. But to one who’d tasted him, who knew he’d held back during their one full night together? Yes. As a woman, Lily wanted more. “I was doing my job.”
“Your job?” The low words were all the more lethal for their softness.
She slid the polite smile she knew he hated across her lips. “Yes. One-on-one, with Franco, I thought we could talk like normal people. You and Dage added too much testosterone to the conversation.” While her words were meant to needle a little bit, they were also the absolute truth.
“I see. What if Franco does have a cure for the virus?”
Lily shook her head. “He doesn’t. The vampires and witches have enough spies in the Kurjan organization to know that the extent of the virus’s spread shocked the Kurjans. They had no idea what they were creating, and they don’t have a cure.”
“What if they did?” Caleb’s relaxed stance failed to mask the predator ready to pounce at any second.
“If they really had a cure?” Lily lifted a shoulder. “Then I’d assume we’d agree to just about anything to acquire it.”
“Would you trade yourself?” His gaze pinned her as effectively as any laser beam.
She frowned. “Hypothetically? If I had the opportunity to save all vampire mates and witches, would I trade myself to a Kurjan?” She pursed her lips, her thoughts swirling, her stomach clenching. “Of course.” Then she narrowed her gaze. “Wouldn’t you?”
“I don’t think I’m Franco’s type.” Caleb pushed off from the door.
Lily chuckled. “Good point.”
“There’s no way I would allow you to trade yourself.” Long strides propelled him into her space. “Are we clear?”
She lifted her chin to better meet his gaze. “We live in modern times, and I hold more power than you realize. The days of anybody dictating my actions are long gone, whether or not I’ve taken a lover.” Okay. That last part might have sounded a little old-fashioned.
His eyelids dropped to half-mast. “I’m just a lover?”
What else could he be? She couldn’t mate anybody, and he was, at heart, a soldier always on the move. “Yes.”
“I see.” He brushed long hair away from her shoulder and skimmed her neck with a calloused thumb. “You still carry my bite.”
Electricity zipped from his light touch to shoot straight for her sex. Butterflies winged through her abdomen. “The bite will fade.”
“Maybe I should bite harder.”
A shudder wound down her spine. Her breath heated in her lungs. “You held back the other night.”
His shoulders straightened. “Of course. You hadn’t had sex in three centuries, if what you did then even counted as sex. You’re delicate and a lady.”
Hurt and frustration coated her throat. The rest of the Realm could consider her fragile and ladylike. Not Caleb. “I’m not interested in being treated as if I were made of glass. Finally, now that the damn mating mark is gone, I’m free to do as I please. If I want to create an alliance with the Kurjan leader, I will. If I want to find a new profession, I’ll head to school. And if I want to take a lover who doesn’t treat me like some lady from the Dark Ages, then I damn well will. Maybe I’ll take several.”
“Several?” His upper lip curled.
Fury roared down her spine, and she stepped toward him. “Yes, several. Do you think I’m not attractive enough to entice more than one man?”
“I think you’re damn gorgeous.” The words held bite and a sharp warning.
One she chose to ignore. “Good. Then I’ll go find a couple of men who are unaware of my past and willing to school me in the more modern aspects of lovemaking.” Good Lord, what was she saying? Her mouth wouldn’t stop.
Anger and amusement comingled in a rather daunting combination in his deadly eyes. “You want a lesson, baby? Be careful, because you’re about to get one.”
That threat should not dampen her panties and soften her sex. What was wrong with her? “Thanks for the one night, Caleb, but I think we’re done. Please leave my office.” She needed to head to her quarters for a cold shower. Ice cold.
Instead, with a smooth, deliberate move, he slid his hand around the back of her neck—and clamped. Hard. Lust glittered in his eyes, and for once, he didn’t shield it. “It’s not called lovemaking, Lil.”
She blinked and tried to swallow, heat spiraling through her chest. She couldn’t breathe. For more than three hundred years, he’d hidden that look from her. “Wh-what?”
His hand clenched, his wrist twisted, and he angled her head to the side. Tethering her. His head lowered until his lips hovered an inch above hers. “It’s called fucking. Want to be fucked, Prophet?”
“Um—” Her mind blanked. Sure, she’d wanted to push him a little bit. To gain control as he lost some of his. But she hadn’t considered the consequences of truly unleashing Caleb Donovan.
His other hand manacled her hip, dragging her against him. His erection pressed along her belly, pulsing in demand. Her skin ignited inch by inch, coming alive, her temperature soaring. No other man on earth could make her feel such fire, and she’d known it from the first time he’d kissed her, so long ago.
She sighed, leaning in to his heat. “Let’s go to your quarters.”
He leaned back just enough to allow her gaze to focus on his. “How civilized. The answer is no. We fuck here, Lily.”
Chapter Eleven
Several precarious seconds ticked down as his words finally made sense in her brain. “Here?” In her office, where anybody could come by? As a counselor, she had an open-door policy, and so long as she wasn’t in session, anybody could knock.
“Yes, here.” He tugged on her skirt, sending the flowing silk down her legs to the floor. His talented fingers slipped inside her panties, brushing her clit.
Her mind whirled even as need roared through her blood. “We need to put the ‘in session’ sign on the door,” she gasped, tilting into his hand.
“No.” Holding her in place, he slid a finger inside her, smiling at her sharp moan. “Your desk is very pretty. Feminine and even dain
ty.” His voice remained calm, his features cut and hard. “We’d break it if I bent you over it.”
Fire washed through her, and he flashed his fangs. “Same with these pretty chairs.”
She tried to concentrate on his words. Was he talking about furniture? Her vision blurred as she tried to refrain from riding his fingers.
“Holding back, sweetheart?” he asked, flicking her earlobe with a fang.
“Not at all,” she breathed out, her heart galloping. Drawing on dare and courage, she flattened her palm against his erection.
He groaned in a dark plea. “Careful.”
Bravery filled her, along with triumph. She wasn’t the only one affected, and she could steal some of the control. “Why?” Squeezing him through his jeans with one hand, she released his zipper with the other.
He untangled his hands and stepped back to draw his shirt over his head. Muscled biceps and triceps rippled with raw power as he flung the shirt across the room.
She gulped, so much need roaring through her that her knees trembled.
He kept his gaze on her as he kicked out of his boots and shed his jeans. His muscled chest led down to cut abs and a formidable erection. The rebel was all male, without question. “Take off your blouse.”
The idea of defying him tempted her, but that wasn’t the way to make Caleb lose control. So, with a flirty smile, she slowly unbuttoned her blouse. The tension in the room rose noticeably each time she released one of the small discs. His shoulders bunched like a wolf’s about to pounce on its prey. Finally, she shrugged out of the silk and let it fall to the sofa.
“Bra,” he said, his voice beyond guttural.
She stretched her neck, taking her time, pretending to think about it.
Low and dangerous, a warning growl rumbled from his chest. Liquid need spilled from her in reaction. She flicked the bra free and then took her time shimmying out of the panties.
He stood, muscles vibrating, nostrils flaring. Hunger morphed his eyes into a blend of all the colors.
Lily panted out breath. A laugh down the hallway caught her up short. They’d forgotten the sign. She rushed toward the door, only to be caught by a steel-hard arm around her abdomen. Seconds later, her butt hit the wall, heated lips nearly burning her neck.
“No sign,” he whispered.
She struggled, trying not to groan at the incredible feeling of her skin against his. “Anybody could come in.”
“I know.” He bit her collarbone, leaving a mark. His mark. He slipped an arm beneath her thigh and lifted, paused, and thrust inside her with one hard push.
She cried out, body arching, unable to tell the difference between pleasure and pain. “Oh God.” Her eyes shut, so many sensations bombarding her she couldn’t think. Her other leg lifted to clasp his hip, just to keep her balance.
His heartbeat thrummed in her ears. They were that connected. Her eyes opened to see him waiting patiently. Calmly. Oh, there was need and hunger glimmering in those incredible depths. But he waited.
“You sure you want to get fucked, Lily?” he asked softly.
It was a dare and maybe a slight punishment for threatening him with other men. It was also an opportunity for her to refuse; she knew he’d release her. Maybe even escort her politely to his quarters to gently make love in the bed.
She blinked, her body softening in surrender. Satisfaction and an odd regret flashed across his primal face. Oh, no way. Instinct ruled her as she skimmed her hands up his chest to wrap around his neck and pull. Hard.
Her teeth sank into his pectoral muscle directly above his heart. Not a nip, not a nuzzle, but a full sinking of teeth into flesh. She might not have fangs, but her canines were sharp enough to dig deep and draw blood.
Sparks burned her tongue and tingled down her throat. In all of her years, although she’d heard of the magical blood in vampires, she’d never tasted it.
Power flowed through her, making her own blood sing.
His breath caught, his chest tightening. Rough and strong, the hand at her thigh tightened enough to bruise.
She released him, licking him clean with a sigh of contentment. Then she leaned back, her head against the wall, her body pinned by his. One look at him and she forgot to breathe.
The glint in his eyes went beyond hunger, beyond lust to something deeper. Darker. More absolute. Possession and promise formed the hard lines of his face, and his nostrils flared like an animal on the hunt, all control gone.
She opened her mouth, but no sound emerged.
Slowly, deliberately, he ducked his free shoulder and claimed her other thigh, spreading her wide. Vulnerability hitched her heart, while a woman’s demand peaked her nipples into hard points.
He drew out and then thrust back in, his expression dangerous.
His shoulders rolled, yanking her groin harder into his until only her shoulders and head touched the wall. Her arms flailed to find purchase, finally grabbing his bulging biceps. Then strong fingers dug into her buttocks, holding tight as he began to pound.
She kept her grip on his arms, the muscles taut to keep her from being injured against the wall. Faster, harder, out of control he thrust. Her hair swished as she tried to keep her head in place.
With a low growl, he dropped to his knees and pivoted, setting her back along the carpet, pounding the entire time, his hold firm on her butt. She felt taken, overwhelmed, and on fire. Flesh slapped against flesh, Caleb treating her as a woman, a real woman, his growl deep and strong.
A spiraling started deep inside her, uncoiling outward to attack every nerve. Fire washed through her, clashing against the spirals, and she cried out his name, her nails digging into his skin.
Waves of intense pleasure rode through her, and she closed her eyes as the orgasm sheeted the room white.
He pressed hard, and sharp fangs sank into her neck.
She arched, another orgasm overtaking her, his image filling her mind.
With a low growl, he came, his hold tightening as he was overtaken. His fangs retracted, his chest damp against hers. “Lily,” he said softly, pressing a reverent kiss over her mouth.
Lily finished running on the treadmill, her mind on the night before. After the incredible sex in her office, she and Caleb had returned to his quarters to finish out the night. While a bit sore, her body hadn’t felt this wonderful in years.
After slowing down, she stepped off the treadmill and wiped a towel across her neck. The king had placed the treadmill in a private exercise room in her suite.
Apparently he figured she’d want her privacy when not in her customary prophet attire.
Rapid knocks fired on the door, and her heart leaped. Caleb had said he needed to attend the strategy meetings with the king, but maybe he’d changed his mind and wanted to return to bed.
That was a meeting she’d love to attend.
Her steps hurried as she maneuvered through the living room to the front door.
Prophet Guiles stood on the other side, dark circles under his eyes. “My dreams are getting worse.”
She sighed. “I’m sorry. Would you like to come in?”
He glanced at her yoga outfit. “Not really. It’s rather warm outside. Would you mind a walk in the fresh air?”
That sounded lovely. Lily reached for a jacket.
“I, ah, can wait until you change,” Guiles said, his gaze on the ceiling.
For goodness’ sake. Lily glanced down at the perfectly appropriate yoga suit. It was time for her to truly join modern life and stop being so worried about what others thought. “These are decent walking clothes.” She ignored his uncomfortable shrug and followed him outside the door. “I have to tell you about my dreams, as well.”
Guiles nodded and led her through the lodge and out into the sunshine. “This is much better, don’t you agree?”
“I do.” She stretched her calves on each step. The vampires’ subdivision appeared similar to every other high-end gated subdivision in Oregon, if one didn’t look too closely. The s
tunning houses had bulletproof glass, steel-enforced doors, and underground escape tunnels into the mountains around them.
The front gate held normal-appearing attendants . . . with a cache of weapons within reach. Plus, missiles were implanted in the ground to take out any aircraft deemed a threat.
But, as a subdivision, the homes were lovely and the sidewalks swept.
Guiles cleared his throat, clasping his hands behind his back. “Are you going to obey Fate?”
Lily’s stride hitched and she nearly stumbled. “Don’t I always?”
“Then why haven’t you killed Janie Kayrs?” Guiles asked softly, his gaze on his polished loafers.
Heat washed down Lily’s torso. “You met Fate in a dream.”
“Her dictates were clear,” Guiles said slowly, regret filling his voice. “I don’t know why, but Janie has to die. Half of the world has believed that fact from her birth, and it was lucky happenstance the vampires discovered her location before other species.”
Otherwise Janie would already be dead. Lily shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense that Janie should die—she’s supposed to somehow change the world.”
“Change isn’t always good.”
“I know.” Lily lifted her face to the sun, her thoughts swirling. “How do we know for sure Fate is the one giving orders here?”
Guiles tripped and quickly regained his balance. “Who else could it be?”
“I don’t know, but so many of us are psychic, empathic, telepathic . . . maybe somebody has discovered our wavelengths and is manipulating our dreams.” Lily opened her heart fully and went on instinct. “I can’t believe Fate would want me to kill. Why not you? Or Caleb?”
“You’re the only one of us who can get close enough.” Guiles picked up the pace. “Bodyguards are always around Janie to protect her, even from Caleb and me. But not you.” He stopped walking near a Japanese maple, the brilliant red leaves just now falling. With a sigh, he leaned against a Realm-issued SUV. “It has to be you who protects destiny and does the unthinkable. You have the king’s complete trust, and you have access to Janie.”