Cezar shrugged. It was true enough. The woman possessed enough power to destroy just about anything that stood in her path. The knowledge, however, didn’t frighten him.
In fact, it was a relief.
Whatever happened to him, Anna would soon be able to protect herself.
“I’m not so easily put in my grave, as many have learned to their regret,” he said with a wry smile. “Besides, you can learn to keep shields in place so she is incapable of intruding.”
She made a choked noise deep in her throat. “Can I learn to shield in the next five minutes?”
“There will be no attacks for awhile.”
“How can you be so certain?”
His finger absently traced the outline of her lips. “I’m not precisely certain, but I do know that when I broke through to your mind it shattered Morgana’s hold on you, and not in a pleasant way. I could hear her screams before the connection was severed.”
The hazel eyes darkened. “Good. I hope she has a freaking headache from hell.”
Cezar chuckled, his head abruptly lifting as he sensed the rapid approach of vampires.
“No, Viper, it’s over,” he growled, his arms tightening around Anna until she gave a squeak of protest.
Sliding from the shadows, Viper regarded them with open concern. “Is she harmed?”
Anna pushed herself to a sitting position, as if she disliked appearing vulnerable before his brothers.
“Apart from a raging headache and a weird taste of pomegranates in my mouth, I suppose I’m fine,” she said, not giving Cezar time to reply.
Viper’s lips twitched as he turned his dark gaze to Cezar. “And you?”
“I’m fine.”
Surging to his feet, Cezar helped Anna stand, keeping an arm around her waist as he sensed her give a sudden shudder.
“Holy crap,” she breathed, her gaze surveying the tumble of cars, more than one of them destroyed beyond repair. “Did I do that?”
“Si.”
Her already pale skin turned a sickly shade of ash. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to.”
Viper dismissed her apology with a wave of his hand, a hint of respect in his expression as he studied Anna’s delicate body. A vampire was always swift to appreciate power. And even more swift to consider the best means to use that power for their own benefit. “It doesn’t matter. The owners will be compensated. I will speak with them now.”
Viper disappeared as he wrapped himself in shadows, leaving Cezar alone with the trembling Anna.
Unlike the vampires, she didn’t seem to see the glorious wonder of her abilities. In fact, she seemed more terrified by what she had accomplished than she had by Morgana’s hold on her.
For long, silent minutes she simply studied the impressive destruction, her breath coming in shallow gasps.
“This is horrible,” she at last muttered. “I could have killed someone. I could have killed everyone.”
“Anna…”
“I don’t want these powers,” she interrupted, her eyes flashing. “They’re dangerous.”
“Powers are always dangerous.” Ignoring the stiffness of her body, Cezar pulled her close and touched his lips to her temple. “That’s why we must discover some means to control them.”
She shook her head. “Can’t you just make them go away?”
Cezar absorbed her heat, allowing himself to drown in the feel and scent of her. He had come way too close to losing her.
“They’re a part of you. They flow through your blood,” he said softly. “Besides, I wouldn’t take them away even if I could. Those powers might very well save your life.”
“Or take away yours.”
“I’ve told you, I’m very difficult to kill.” Without giving her time to argue, Cezar swept Anna off her feet and cradled her against his chest. “Dawn is coming, I must return to our rooms.”
She frowned, but by some miracle she didn’t struggle against his hold. Actually, she buried herself closer to his chest, as if unwittingly seeking the comfort he was so eager to offer.
“Are you sure Viper will let me stay?” she muttered.
Cezar chuckled as he headed for the nearby stairs. He was still aching from his last elevator ride. “Viper has had his clubs destroyed by rampaging hellhounds, hexed by angry imps, and on one memorable occasion set on fire by one of Levet’s misdirected spells,” he assured her. “You don’t even rate in the top hundred of spectacular mishaps.”
A faint smile touched her lips. “Thank you.”
“There’s one thing though.”
“What’s that?”
He easily moved up the stairwell, Anna so feather-light in his arms she seemed almost ethereal. A strange sensation considering she had just finished trashing a dozen cars.
“I don’t think I have to worry about any of my brothers troubling you while we stay here.”
“Why not?”
He smiled down at her puzzled expression. “You just scared the hell out of them.”
Anna had been certain that she wouldn’t sleep a wink. Not after her stunning imitation of the Incredible Hulk.
It wasn’t every day that a woman had her mind seized by a homicidal fairy and forced to rip her way through a determined vampire and several high-end automobiles. That sort of thing was bound to keep a person walking the floors.
But despite her eventful night (or perhaps because of it) she was barely able to keep her eyes open as Cezar carried her to the elegant apartment, avoiding the shattered mess of the once solid doors, and tenderly tucked her into bed.
The fear and confusion that pounded through her poor, abused brain was no match for the beckoning darkness. Her troubles would be waiting for her when she woke up (damn the luck). It would be nothing short of a blessing to enjoy a few hours of oblivion.
Allowing herself to slip away, Anna fell into a deep, dreamless sleep. A sleep that remained undisturbed for nearly ten hours as her body and mind struggled to recover from the strain of using so much power.
It was at last the sensation of fingers at her neck that brought her out of her coma-like state.
Waking with a sense of confusion, Anna’s first thought was that she was completely naked beneath the heavy ivory comforter. A shocking discovery considering she wasn’t the sort of woman to sleep in the buff even when she was alone. The next thought was that those fingers that had woken her were still tickling the back of her neck.
Slender, cool fingers that she would recognize even if she were dead.
Wrenching open her eyes, she discovered Cezar leaning over her, his chest deliciously bare and his dark hair framing his lean face like a curtain of black satin.
Wow. Wow. Wow.
This was how a woman liked to wake up.
A mouth-watering, drop-dead gorgeous, gloriously naked vampire hovering over her with a heart-stopping smile and wickedness in his dark eyes.
His hands smoothed down her chest and she glanced down to realize that he had placed his signet ring on a gold chain and clasped it around her neck. The gesture was not lost on Anna despite her ignorance of the demon world.
This ring was obviously more than just a piece of jewelry. It held an importance to him, and more importantly, it revealed a level of trust she was not entirely certain she deserved.
“How do you feel?” he demanded, his voice deep and gravelly, as if he’d just awakened.
Her sluggish blood started zinging through her body as those clever fingers drifted over the curve of her breasts, his touch light, but skilled enough to make her entire body tingle with excitement.
“The way your hands are wandering I think you could answer that question better than I can,” she said, her voice already thickening with desire.
His fangs lengthened as he lowered his head and buried his face in her neck. “You feel spectacular. So delicate and yet curved in all the right places.” He pressed close enough to her body to reveal it wasn’t just his bloodlust that was aroused. The thick hardness of his erection brushed against her hip as he nibbled the sensitive skin at the base of her throat, his fingers finding the tips of her breasts. He chuckled at her soft gasp of pleasure. “And warm. So deliciously warm.”
Her lashes fluttered downward as her breath rasped loudly through the air. His tongue was teasing the racing pulse at the base of her neck, his leg shifting to part hers with an unmistakable intent. All too soon she would be beyond thought. At least any thought that was rational.
“Cezar?”
“Mmmm?” He nipped lightly at her skin, one hand skimming down her quivering stomach.
“Shouldn’t we be worried about Morgana?”
He planted a path of searing kisses down her collarbone. “There’s nothing we can do about Morgana right this moment except try to forget about her.”
Her hips arched off the bed as his fingers slid between her legs and found the moist readiness awaiting him.
“And I suppose you have a plan to accomplish that?” she panted.
“I have my ways,” he murmured before his mouth closed around a straining nipple. Anna’s hands lifted to grasp his shoulders, an explosion of pleasure rocking through her body. She had encountered hundreds, even thousands, of men over the years, and yet not one of them had managed to stir her interest. Certainly none of them had made her long for their touch. She groaned softly, sucking in a deep breath as his fingers slid deep inside her. Cezar lightly scraped his fangs over the sensitive skin of her breast. “Dios. I have never desired a woman as I desire you.”
