“Where did you get this?” he asked, flipping through the file.
She shrugged. “It was already here. One of the other—”
“Sisters must have left it,” Piers finished for her. “Why do I find that hard to believe, Sister Roz?”
“I have no idea, Mr. Lamont.”
Christian came back at that moment. “Nothing in here.”
“Okay, we’ll take them back to the Order, question them there. I don’t think it will take much to get them to talk.”
Maria whimpered, and Roz glared at him. “We’re not going anywhere with you. Just leave and we’ll come in the morning and tell you everything.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said, repeating his earlier words, and Roz glowered.
Christian came to stand in front of her. “No harm will come to either of you at the Order, Sister. You have my word.”
Staring into his grey eyes, she found no guile, no secret agenda, and she was pretty certain she could trust him. Her glance flicked to Piers. He was scowling at Christian, but he didn’t counteract the promise. “Okay.” She turned to Maria. “Come on, we have to go with them, Maria. But we’ll be safe.”
Maria’s huge eyes blinked up at her, but she nodded, took a deep breath, and rose to her feet. “God will protect us.”
Piers snorted in obvious amusement.
“No,” Roz replied, “but Christian Roth will. He won’t go back on his word.” She glanced at Christian. “Can I take my things?”
He shrugged. “Why not?”
Roz grabbed her bag and shoved in her cell phone. She considered the laptop for a moment. There was a risk that they might take it from her and find the bugging program. In the end, she decided that the chance of hearing something useful outweighed the risk, and she slipped it into the bag. “Let’s get this over with, and maybe we can come back and get some sleep.”
Christian headed for the door, but when Roz made to follow, Piers stopped her with a hand on her arm. A shiver ran through her body from the point of contact. “Wait,” he said.
Christian was at the door, but he turned as Piers spoke.
“Take Sister Maria down,” Piers said. “We’ll catch you up.”
Christian frowned. “Piers?” She heard the warning in his tone.
Piers just grinned. “She’s not at the Order yet, and I’m still hungry. You know how I get ratty when I’m hungry.”
Christian looked for a moment longer then shrugged. “Don’t take too long and make sure she remembers nothing.”
“Of course.”
Roz watched them disappear. Sister Maria gave her one last look, and Roz tried to smile reassuringly before the door closed behind them. She stood, biting her lip, before she forced herself to turn back to the vampire.
God, he was hot. The leather pants molded to his long legs and lean hips. The black T-shirt to his broad shoulders beneath the leather trench coat. She forced her gaze upward to meet his wicked blue eyes and the muscles in her belly clenched.
“Come here, Sister.”
Oh shit, he was doing that mesmerizing thing. He was going to bite her again. Why did her traitorous body tighten at the thought? Oh God, she wanted this. Her feet edged towards him almost as if she was in thrall. When she stood close enough to touch, he reached out and stroked a finger down her throat, hooked in the neckline of her robe, and ripped downward. The robe gave way, showering tiny buttons across the floor, and she had to force herself not to react.
Think “mesmerized,” she told herself and blinked a few times.
He parted the material. “Nice,” he murmured as he slipped his hands inside and cupped her breasts in the black lace. He rubbed over her nipples, and pleasure shot to her groin, turning her instantly hot and wet.
“Is the vibrator yours?” he asked. “I’d like to see that sometime. But right now, we don’t have the time.”
Turning her in his arms, he pulled her back against the long length of his body and she felt the inhuman strength of him. With his hands still on her breasts, he lowered his head and nuzzled her throat.
She peered down as his long fingers tugged at her nipples. Her legs went weak. As she sagged, one arm wrapped around her waist to hold her upright, then his fangs grazed her throat just before he sank them deep into her flesh. His free hand glided down over her belly while he sucked her blood. It shouldn’t have felt so good. But it did.
As he got into a rhythm, the tug of his lips mirrored the throbbing pulse between her thighs. She heard a whimpering and knew it came from her throat but couldn’t prevent it. She was so close. His fingers slid beneath the lace of her panties, through the curls, and found the sweetest spot. As soon as he lightly touched the swollen bud she came in a rush so intense, she screamed. He held her easily, massaging her clit as he drank, and the pleasure washed over her in waves.
She realized through a fog of pleasure that he’d stopped drinking, and his hand was gone from between her legs. She hung limp in his arms as he licked the side of her neck, kissed her once, and turned her in his arms.
He sucked his finger, and she felt it as a spasm in her belly. Oh god, he was sexy.
“You taste delicious, Sister. But now, we’d better get out of here.”
She didn’t think she could move. In fact, she wasn’t sure she would ever walk again. He considered her for a moment and then chuckled, grabbed her around the upper arms and threw her over his shoulder.
But at least he picked up her bag on the way out.
Chapter Eight
Piers tossed her in the back seat and climbed in beside Christian.
“Everything okay?” Christian asked.
“Oh, yeah.” He could feel the buzz of her blood in his system. So sweet. So powerful. His little nun was addictive stuff; he might have to keep her around for a while. At least until he’d gotten to the bottom of whatever it was she was up to.
He peered over his shoulders as Christian pulled onto the road. In the light from the street lamps, he could see her clearly. Her hands gripped the front of her dress, and his cock twitched as he remembered the bounty hidden beneath the heavy, shapeless robes. She was all woman, with full breasts and a tiny waist above the curve of her generous hips. And she was so responsive. He could still scent the perfume of her arousal on the air.
What sort of nun wore black lace underwear?
He was looking forward to finding out.
As though she could sense his regard, her lashes flickered open, and she caught his gaze. She blinked a couple of times, then closed her eyes again and turned her face away.
He stifled a yawn. It was three in the morning. Dawn came early at this time of year, and while he no longer had to sleep through the daylight hours, he functioned better if he did. And he needed to function to the best of his abilities if he was going to get the better of Andarta for a second time. The first time he had tricked her, taken her by surprise. She’d known he loved her and hadn’t expected treachery from him. Despite what she’d done.
For a brief moment, he considered the possibility of going back to her. Ruling at her side. But there was no way. He was a different person. While he would never under any circumstances consider himself a good man, he’d come to accept that he wasn’t evil either. He’d taken a long time to realize that, but now he had a code of ethics he lived by and lines that he wouldn’t cross.
The truth was, he’d done worse things as a human than he had as a vampire. How many had he sacrificed to appease the gods he now knew to be nothing more than myth and legend?
There were only a couple of hours of nighttime remaining. He’d put the nuns in the cells for the day—they
