“I don’t understand. What are you saying?”
He dove in. “I want you to stick this out with me, to share a blood-chain bond—which will help keep you safe. I think with you by my side, I’ll be able to finish my mission. In fact I’m sure of it. Angelica, I want you to stay, to continue to pose as my slave, to be with me.”
Angelica drew close to Reyes, trying to understand his meaning. She frowned so hard that the muscles of her face hurt as she stared once more into clear blue eyes. He was pleading with her, something she hadn’t expected from him.
And he wanted her to stay.
But how could she remain in this world? She’d already been through so much. That last episode, when he’d mentally checked out, had almost put her square into the hands of a madman.
“I can’t. You know I can’t. I have to go home. I have my mother to think of, and my future. If I stay, there’s a good chance I won’t make it out alive.”
He drew her into his arms and kissed her, then nuzzled his neck. “Angelica,” he murmured against her throat. “You made everything possible and I want you with me. I need you with me. Please stay.” He kissed her again.
She sensed how desperately he wanted her with him.
She pulled away from him, rubbing her forehead with the palm of her hand. “I’m sorry, I can’t do this.”
He turned back to the drawer he’d closed and pulled out a red case. Opening it, he let her look at a pair of chains.
“These are blood-chains, aren’t they?”
“Yes, they are. We would each wear a chain and once bound, you’d be able to siphon my power, sense where I am at all times, and to some degree what I’m feeling and thinking. And I would experience the same with you. It would make working together much easier on every level. And if I bound you, I’d gain credibility with Engles.”
Even without touching them, she sensed their power.
“I want you with me more than anything in the world, more than I’ve wanted anything in my life. And I know you’ve felt it, too—it’s what brought you back to the Ocean Club and why you didn’t leave my world when you had the chance. We belong together, Angelica. Please stay by my side. Help me bring Starlin down.”
Her heart lurched as she met his gaze once more. She was so drawn to him. She hated that he’d once been a slave himself, that throughout the first part of his life, he’d endured decades of torture. And now all he wanted was to make a difference, to end the horrors of sex slavery.
She thought back to the Russian slave, whimpering in pain as her new owner sank his fangs into her neck and drank from her with the intention of hurting her. Reyes had taken her blood, but it hadn’t hurt at all. Instead she’d never known such exquisite pleasure.
And there was the other, sensual side of the equation: She wouldn’t just be partners with him, she knew he’d become her lover, the thing she’d wanted more than anything else over the past several months.
But he’d spoken of her staying with him for weeks? She couldn’t be away from her mother for that long. And despite Reyes’s assurances, what if she died? Who would care for her parent then?
Did she really want to enter such a completely intimate relationship with a vampire? Even if she survived, would she like the person she’d become by the time it was all over?
She couldn’t do this. She felt in her bones that to choose a blood-chain bond with Reyes would alter her life forever, that she’d never be able to go back to her human world.
“I can’t, Reyes. I wish I could, but I can’t. I’m not strong enough for this. Trust me.”
“You have more strength than you know.”
She shook her head. She’d made up her mind.
Then as if from a great distance, she heard his spirit calling to her.
Stay.
She didn’t know how she knew, but this wasn’t telepathy, not like before. It was a plaintive cry straight from his heart. And for that reason alone, she wanted to say yes, but how could she?
Stay, Angelica. Please stay…
To be continued…