Fear skittered through Syndelle as the Viper pulled away from the hotel. She could feel Brann’s immense power moving against her own power like a hungry tiger rubbing its face and body against the bars of a cage—only it was the prey trapped inside the cage and not the deadly predator.
Her blood sang with Sabin’s ancient knowledge of who Brann was, what he was.
Sorcerer. Executioner. Vampire. A being who would recognize what she was, a being who could unleash the ancient magic inside her and use it for his own purposes.
The mate of her nightmares. The bogeyman she’d feared her entire life.
But even so, the melody of a thousand chimes sang in her mind, insisting that she finish what she started, that the bond be closed. The feel of Rafael’s hard cock against her bottom as he held her on his lap in the tight confines of the sports car, added to the need.
She pressed her forehead against the window and closed her eyes, trying to block out the sound of the chiming, the urgent, primordial call to merge with these two men.
That she would ultimately yield her body was a foregone conclusion. She knew it, accepted it. Only death would free her from the demands of the Angelini magic that had created her, and she had no death wish.
The call to mate with Rafael had overwhelmed her, surprised her, pleased her. He was human and she did not fear humans. He was what she’d once hoped for, a human mate.
Like a turtle, she pulled deeper into her shell, retreating to a place where neither the chiming, nor the heady scent of Rafael, nor Brann’s power could reach her, retreating to a place where she could pull her strength and courage around her.
Syndelle. Already the name resonated within Brann, calling to his body, his soul, his heart.
She was a prize beyond measure, beyond compare, one he’d thought might be more vampire myth than reality.
The Coronado family had guarded her and kept her secret well. So well that there wasn’t even a whisper among members of the council of her existence, of what she was, what she would be to the vampire who could possess her. He doubted that even the Angelini knew what she was. There would be those among them who would want to see her dead if they knew, who would fear the return of the old magic, the old days, should she fulfill the destiny carried within her blood.
Brann pressed against her shields again, harder this time, using his link with Rafael to try and move into her mind. The way was blocked. Impenetrable.
Only the most ancient, the most powerful vampires had shields so strong. But he would have expected nothing less from Sabin’s daughter. He would have expected nothing less of the Coronado line. Or from The Masada.
He pushed again, trying to gauge whether his attempts to breach her barriers were weakening her, but felt only the flare of her power countering his own. They were well-matched, a perfect complement to one another.
Brann smiled in the dark interior of the car. The battle would be delicate, though hard-fought, but in the end his will would reign. In the end, she would be the answer to his centuries’ old prayer, one that had started the first night he awakened as a vampire. In the end, she would be his companion—bound to him by blood, his in every way, his to command even as it was his duty to protect and provide for her.
Rafael shifted in his seat, his cock so hard and full that he felt more animal than man. A multitude of feelings and conflicting desires warred inside him. Brann’s powerful will pressed through his veins, adding to the tangle of emotion and sensation swirling inside Rafael until he couldn’t stand it anymore. “Enough already. Get out of my fucking head!”
His harsh snarl made Syndelle tense on his lap, the involuntary clench of her buttocks sending a shockwave through his cock. Rafe’s arms tightened around her, forcing her ass down hard on his erection. Fuck, after years of not being allowed to come, he was about a breath away from shooting his load into his own pants. “Don’t move,” he growled against her neck, his teeth automatically gripping the place where he’d bitten her earlier.
She whimpered in response, going soft and submissive, and Rafael knew he’d be lucky to make it out of the car before taking her again. He groaned against her spring-scented skin, his heart racing as the Viper moved through the opened wrought iron gates of Brann’s most heavily protected home.
A thin layer of sweat coated his skin as he fought off the need to rut like a crazed wolf. Brann’s anticipation stroked along their link and he knew the vampire wanted this. Wanted to see him fucking her. Wanted much, much more than just that.
Rafael didn’t know which was worse—what the vampire’s bond had done to him or what the Angelini mating had done to him.
He was panting by the time the car came to a stop.
Rafael’s harsh challenge to the vampire had jolted Syndelle out of her protective shell and into a maelstrom of emotion and desire. There was no fighting the need to mate. Rafael’s cock burned through their clothing, his heavy breathing and the feel of his teeth awakened the wolf and the Angelini magic rose with it.
Brann got out of the car and moved to the passenger side, opening the door and easily lifting her from Rafael’s lap. It was the first time he’d touched her and a moan escaped as the dark melody of his power poured through her and the wolf lifted its head, howling, its song blending with the music of a thousand chimes. She shivered, resting her head against the waterfall of Brann’s hair, its deep red color a reminder of what was to come. She wouldn’t escape this night without exchanging blood with him. He would never allow it.