However, before he finally gave them what they both wanted, they needed to get one thing straight.
His eyes locked with hers.
“I’ll not release you,” he growled. “Don’t mention it again.”
She moved her h*ps against his, seeking deeper contact but didn’t answer.
“Do you understand me?” he pushed.
She glared at him even as her h*ps pressed down.
His hands at her waist tightened. “Leah –” he grated warningly.
“I understand,” she whispered.
He prepared to thrust, a thrill of desire tearing through his body but before he could follow through, her frame went solid at the same instant he heard the distant, dangerous noises.
Her wide eyes locked with his.
“Something’s wrong,” she breathed.
Her understanding of this when there was no way she could hear the approaching car or the conversation of the people in it, shocked him.
He couldn’t think of that now.
Yes, sweetling, he spoke to her mind.
Her limbs tensed around him in a way he thought, after what just occurred, was strangely protective.
You don’t want them to hear us talking? she asked.
With great regret and a tight control on his anger at The Council’s very bad timing, he withdrew but stayed on top of her, pressing her to the bed.
No. You’ll need to put on your pajamas. With what happens next, I want you to take your cues from me. They come in, don’t speak unless they speak to you. Be very careful of your answers if they ask you questions and tell them as little as you can. He studied her a moment and then finished, If you sense something’s wrong, go with your instinct.
Her body trembled beneath him. Her heart was still racing but now for a different reason.
Who are they?
You’ll be safe.
Who are they?
No time for questions, sweetheart, you must trust me.
Lucien…
His hands went from her h*ps to frame her face and he looked into her eyes.
Trust me, Leah.
She stared. She swallowed. He watched as her face worked then her eyes flashed.
He knew, with grave disappointment, what her answer would be before she spoke it to his brain.
However, he was wrong.
Achingly sweetly, she whispered hesitantly, Okay.
Chapter Fifteen
The Menace
Before I could blink, Lucien and I were in the dressing room
He’d tagged my underwear during his dash and when he set me on my feet he handed them to me.
The doorbell rang.
Without a word I began dressing swiftly.
There were a number of things to think about.
One being the fact that I punched him.
I’d never hit anyone in my life and I wasn’t proud of it, not even a little bit. I had a bad temper but I’d never been moved to violence. Even if he was a big, bad, strong vampire who surely could take it and arguably deserved it, there was no excuse.
Of course, he had declared he’d never let me go which was a total, complete, utter and very, very, very vicious lie.
But still.
Another was the fact that he’d spanked me.
Spanked me.
Like I was a naughty child.
Well, not exactly like that but still!
And he did this while doing his mind control business.
It was so mortifying it was a wonder I could move at all and wasn’t literally petrified. Especially coupled with the fact that he’d gone straight from the spanking right to playing my body against me yet a-freaking-gain.
And I couldn’t fight it. I wanted to. My brain screamed at me to especially after the spanking which, during it, even though his strikes caused little pain to anything but my pride, I’d felt something break in me. Something integral to all that was me, Leah Buchanan, one in the centuries-old line of strong, independent concubines (if Lucien’s word was anything to go by). And there was something in the way that it broke I knew that it could never be mended.
The weird thing was, I didn’t mind. Not in the slightest. It was as if it was meant to be.
It was as if it had been built solely for the purpose of it existing for when Lucien would break it.
Now how blinkety blank freaky was that?
But I couldn’t think of any of that now.
Not now when danger was at the door.
Bad danger. The worst.
So much the worst it wasn’t danger, it was menace.
I felt it crawling, disquieting, threatening, evil, through the very air. To say it made me uneasy was a humongous understatement.
I didn’t know how I understood this. I didn’t even know what I understood. I just knew I understood it.
And what I understood was, if this didn’t go well, my life would be over.
And I also understood that the only thing standing between me and that menace was Lucien.
He’d keep me safe. Regardless of and contradictory to the scene I’d just endured at his hands, I knew to the depth of my soul that he’d do everything in his substantial power to stand between me and whatever was at the door.
Or he would die trying.
This shook me worst of all.
But I didn’t hesitate. I put on pajamas and for good measure my robe, yanking the belt tightly. Then I turned to him, seeing he was waiting for me with his pajama bottoms on.
The doorbell rang again.
My heart raced.
Settle, sweetling. His voice sounded in my head as he lifted his hand toward me.
Without hesitation, I walked to him, sliding my hand in his, his eyes keeping mine captive while I did this.
The moment his long fingers closed around my hand dwarfing it, I felt my heart settle and I saw his face gentle.
That’s it. His voice, edged with pride, sounded encouragingly in my mind.
We walked together slowly, hand-in-hand to the front door. The bell sounded again as we walked.
He positioned me, his eyes caught mine in the dark and he placed his hand on my cheek not letting go of my other one.
Your cues come from me, yes? he asked, I nodded and he gave me a reassuring smile coupled with a squeeze of my hand.
Then he let me go and moved away to switch on the light. Then he opened the door and stood strong in its frame, barring the way to whoever was out there.
I was behind the door. I couldn’t see who was there and they couldn’t see me. Lucien spoke and he did it in a way that provided me with the information I needed without letting on to our visitors he was doing so.
“Rudolf, Cristiano, Marcello,” he drawled, his voice sounding amused. “They sent three of you?”
“My profound apologies, Lucien,” a heavily accented, definitely uncomfortable voice replied. “I know it’s very late but unfortunately we’re here to ask you to come with us.”