Ravenous

smell the leather of his coat, a rich smell edged with the faint bitterness of tobacco and blood.

The whispers of the spectators knitted into words. He's doing it. He's going to take the witch.

She fumbled for her magic, wanting some last line of protection, but it crumbled, spent and dry.

'I've dreamed of this,' he said. He ran his fingers over the curve of her ear with gentle possessiveness. The touch, barely felt, made her belly tighten. He was radiating need like a fire gave off warmth, his ache setting hers ablaze.

Ah! How silly she is. The vampires crowded close, shutting off what fresh air there was in the dank basement. Look, she's still fighting back. Like that will help anything.

'This is way too public.' She put her hands against his chest, but she had no strength. I'm helpless. A new panic, one that she had never felt before, began to rise like cold, foul water. I'm afraid of him. Really afraid.

'Hush, don't talk,' he replied.

'No!'

Lips met lips in a hungry crush. His sharp teeth scraped her tongue in wicked foreplay. He's not being careful now. He had been holding back before, always putting her safety before his pleasure. That was over, his conscience salved. Now he is out for blood.

Holly could feel the hungry eyes of the other vampires roving over them, every sigh rippling the air over her flesh. Tremors ran through his fingers as he stroked her shoulders, each pass trailing lightly down the backs of her arms. Holly squirmed, terrified.

'Hush,' he said, catching her gaze with his eldritch golden eyes. 'You said you trusted me. Believe me, Holly; I'm only doing this to save you.'

Of course he is, like a spider helps its catch. … But her misgivings fell away like melting cobwebs. A pleasant calm stole over Holly, making her forget her last thought. She slid her hands beneath the cool leather of his coat. Silk greeted her fingers as she ran her hands over the sleek tailoring of his shirt. Now the surveilling eyes seemed to heighten the moment, as if she were experiencing arousal and watching it all at once.

He has hypnotized me. He had done it so lightly.

But the fear was gone. He already had possession of her mind.

One of the spectators reached out, touching her cheek. The hand was cold as the grave, the touch of an Undead who had not taken blood for too long.

Alessandro batted the questing hand away. He cradled her where she sat, kissing her brow, running his lips down the edge of her jaw. Holly shuddered.

And then she felt teeth breaking through flesh—bright, tearing pain.

No! Panic shot through her, sharp as an electric shock. Her brain sent flight messages to her limbs, but they were numb, heavy and immobile.

Venom. It gave pleasure, but it also bestowed a mild paralysis.

A collective sigh crept around the room, the vampires slinking closer, standing on tiptoe to see. Holly's pulse hammered, trapped in the universal fear of animals about to become food. Breath, the shreds of a scream, came out in a horrified rasp. No, no, no!

Her scalp crawled, the ancient defense of furry creatures trying to make themselves bigger. Alessandro's tongue tenderly touched the wound at her throat, the reverent intimacy contradicting the predatory act. His lips closed around the hot, welling blood, a kiss fiercer and deeper than any yet.

And then she fell into the moment.

With a will of its own her body surged into the caress. Despite all, she burned with a sweet, smoky pain. Her skin stung from everything that touched it: air, light, the breath-soft silk of his shirt. Like something overfull, her flesh strained against its bounds. The very heat in her veins was an itch only the vampire's kiss could relieve.

He was drinking Holly's life, and her libido was begging him to take more. Some of it was the effects of the poison from those delicate fangs; some of it was pure Alessandro.

Her hands moved of their own volition, sliding over the leather of his coat, the roughness of his jeans. His muscles were coiled hard and urgent, lifting her into the painful embrace. Cradled against him, she could feel his rod-hard arousal. Her own mouth watered with sexual hunger, her hips yearning to thrust into his.

And then the mark took Holly. Waves of pleasure surged from her core outward, following the branches of her nerves in rippling arousal. She began to pant, her temperature spiking upward. Sweat slicked her skin, making her clothes slippery against her.

She felt her body arch against him as he bit down one more degree. The waves became a crashing flood of need. A hoarse cry of surrender tore from her throat. Her climax was brutal and thorough, sharp as steel.

He swallowed once, twice more and then pulled his mouth away.

Holly felt the fangs leave her flesh empty. Dismay staggered her.

I want more.

Chapter 25

No need for invitation barred Alessandro from Holly's home. He had been there before, and now he was her master. Not even the magic of the house was a barrier. Magic was shaped and given power with will, and he had drunk down Holly's will with her blood.

Like all those bitten for the first time, Holly had collapsed moments after he had finished. She would sleep it off and wake up begging for more. It would be easy to convince her to give her aid to the queen.

He carried Holly into the house, using the key he found in her backpack to unlock the door.

Monster. Murderer. His bite possessed his victim. There was nothing Holly could do but serve his every wish. He hadn't asked for this kind of mastery. He didn't want it. It was vile.

But it was his.

The bedroom was dark. The last time he had been there she had lit a candle with a spell. The memory would have made him sad, but his soul was already gray with grief.

He laid her on the bed, her small form curling onto her side. Then he reached over, clicking on the bedside lamp to comfort her should she wake. The tip of a tail flashed in his vision as Holly's cat crept from the room, its body hunkered close to the floor.

The cat knew something was amiss.

Holly trusted me to keep her safe. I failed. In the end I betrayed her trust.

The price of failure was staggering for him as well as her. If there was such a thing as the Chosen, there was no way she could Choose him now. Only those with free will could save a vampire with their love. He had sacrificed that chance for liberty from the blood hunger.

But I had to save her. I couldn't let her fall to Geneva's evil.

Holly stirred in her sleep. Strands of her hair were scattered over the counterpane, framing her profile like a dark sun. Alessandro sat on the bed, smoothing stray locks into place. His hands wound into the softness, feeling the precious warmth of her skin.

He would make it up to her as best he could. Holly's days would be an idyll of pleasure. Everything he had was hers to enjoy, and he had much. Wealth. Property. Knowledge gleaned from centuries of experience and experimentation. But sooner or later the venom addiction would take her over. Now that he had tasted her, he would not have the strength to deny her. No vampire could resist their human lover's blood forever.

I will have to leave her. Once the demon is gone, I must go, too. The thought washed over him, a fresh agony. Omara knew just how to punish me for having someone else in my heart. She makes me destroy the woman I love, or else abandon her forever. But wasn't his bite the antidote for the Dark Larceny? What else could he have done?

Did I accept this as the only solution because it indulged my own gluttony?

No. I spared her when we made love. I have the strength. I did it to save