The Circle

The Circle By Stella Berkley

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. The Circle Copyright© 2011 Stella Berkley ISBN: 978-1-60088-718-5 Cover Artist: PJ Edwards Editor: Devin Govaere All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced electronically or in print without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in reviews. Cobblestone Press, LLC www.cobblestone-press.com

Dedication For my girls at the Sisterhood. We’re one step closer to Fiji.

Chapter One Every set of eyes in the ballroom focused on the podium at the front—except for one. A man angled his chair toward my table, ran fingers through his chestnut hair, and stared at me with dark eyes. Goosebumps broke out along my arms. No man had ever attracted me enough to warrant more than a brief glance-over, but something about him intrigued me. Despite the prickle of fear along my spine for reasons I couldn’t pinpoint, his presence drew my focus time and again. When I caught myself looking for the tenth time, I rolled my eyes. He was probably another stuffy business type planted at the charity dinner by my mother, hoping to pitch a lame story idea to me after the song and dance ended. Good luck with that, pal. ‚We have a special guest for you this evening,‛ Rolf Black said in his usual flamboyant style. The emcee gestured and flitted around the stage so much a wave of nausea hit me—or maybe it was the three martinis I’d downed on an empty stomach. ‚Due, in great part, to her generosity with the For the Children Foundation this year, the St. Germaine’s Children’s Hospital has been able to afford their MRI equipment.‛ Rolf grinned and rubbed his hands together, scanning the crowd of tux-clad men and women wearing every color of frilly evening gown. ‚So, without further ado, I give you acclaimed novelist, Katharine Merrick.‛ He clapped like I imagined the Queen of England would clap if she was really a drag queen. His white silk suit shimmered under the spotlight, and his myriad of rings twinkled

and sparkled, inducing images of a giant seagull swooping down to snatch up his shiny ass. Cheers, hollers, and claps rose up in a deafening clatter. I didn’t, for a moment, believe even a quarter of the guests had read my books. Even if they had, they wouldn’t admit it; erotic vampire fiction wasn’t exactly a topic appropriate for a nonprofit for children. I grinned at the thought of reading a few passages while up at the podium, but decided, even though I liked to see Mother flustered, I didn’t want to see her have a full-out stroke. From where she stood at the edge of the stage, her glare locked onto me as if she’d figured out what I’d been thinking. With a sigh, I stood and walked forward while straightening the cuffs of my white dress shirt, buttoned all the way up to my throat. Mother had gasped when I’d walked in earlier wearing it instead of the black gown she’d had made for me by some designer I’d never heard of. I had enough people fawning over me without unleashing my more-than-a-handful of boobs on them, too. Comfort with style—my motto. I should have prepared some sappy speech about how wonderful children were and blah, blah, blah, but I didn’t really care about Mother’s many causes. Smile, Katharine. Do it so the stuffed shirts will empty their pockets for the kiddies. After climbing the steps to the stage, I adjusted the microphone and plastered on a fake smile. ‚Good evening, everyone. I’m pleased to see so many of you here this evening to support my mother’s very worthy cause.‛ Swallowing so I wouldn’t gag, I made a token nod to Mother, who stood beside Rolf at the corner of the platform clenching her teeth. I often embarrassed her, not always unintentionally. ‚And at a thousand dollars per plate, more needed money will make it into the hands of St. Germaine’s.‛ More fake clapping and cheering followed. Almost over. Time for some more drinks. Mr. Mysterious in the dark suit leaned forward, elbows resting on the edge of his circular table and continued to stare at me with a crooked

grin. Why did he have to do that? Every downy hair on the back of my neck stood on end, and I stifled a shudder. If I’d had something in my hand, I would have whipped it at his head. I tried to kill him with my eyes, but he wasn’t cooperating. I steered my gaze away from him with some effort. ‚I’ve partially finished book ten in the Circle series, and I’m pleased to announce that, this time, ten percent of the profits will go to the For the Children Foundation instead of five percent.‛ Mother’s idea, not mine. She flitted across the platform to me, a small glass sculpture in the shape of an open book in her spindly fingers. Her eyes flashed a warning as she handed the monstrosity to me and clapped, the motion causing the skirt of her ridiculous red dress to sway back and forth around her legs. Before she could glower at me, forcing me to say something else, I nodded to her, rushed off the stage, and headed back to my table. Mother took over speaking in my absence, stumbling over her words. Clearly she’d expected me to gush over the stupid award. I smiled. Music. Sweet music. Without waiting for her to stop blathering, I dropped the sculpture on the table and strode through the back door into the bar. It had an upscale dance club theme with a hardwood counter and every kind of wine glass hanging neatly overhead from brass railings. The scent of pipe smoke wafted out from the smoking room, and a slow ballad came through the speakers while the band finished setting up in the corner. I chose a raised black leather chair at the bar and ordered a glass of red wine. The burly bartender handed me a wide-mouthed crystal glass with a wink. Rolling my eyes, I crossed my legs and spun my stool toward the door to wait for the rest of the blue-hairs and snobs to filter in. My knees ran into something mid-turn. The red wine would have sloshed all over my white shirt if the man’s hand hadn’t shot up around the rim between the glass and my chest. Dark liquid coated his fingers instead of me. I gaped at him, a little woozy, both from the martinis and from his closeness. Mr. Mysterious licked the wine from his palm and fingers with long, slow strokes. ‚Mmm.‛

Oh my. My temperature entered the danger zone, and for the first time I could remember, my cheeks burned as I followed the laps of his tongue across his fingers. He had flawless ivory skin, a masculine cut to his jaw, and full, curved lips. A tailored black Armani suit hugged his glorious body. Dark rims encircled the chocolate brown corona of his eyes. Beautiful. ‚I’m sorry if I startled you,‛ the man said with a honey-laced voice as he set my wine on the countertop. He held a hand out to me, and I took it before thinking about whether or not I should. Focused on me, he drew my hand to his mouth and pressed his lips against my knuckles. I shivered at the touch of his cool skin. ‚What shall I call one with such beautiful eyes?‛ I yanked my hand back and scowled, rubbing away the swirling tingles from his touch. I’d long grown sick of men and their corny lines, especially the ones that drew attention to the fact I had my mother’s sky blue eyes. ‚Weren’t you in the ballroom when the little circus clown in his white suit was talking about me for the last ten minutes?‛ The man leaned forward until almost nose to nose with me. I reached up to push him away, but he cupped his hand over mine and held it tight against the swell of his chest. ‚I wasn’t listening to what he was saying.‛ The intensity of his presence made me squirm, as if a shadow spread out from him and engulfed me. ‚Now please, tell me your name, mistress.‛ Mistress? As I glared at him, my stomach filled with fluttering wings that spread lower. I averted my eyes after a few moments, unable to take his gaze for fear it would pierce my flesh and soul. I regretted not wearing Mother’s dress before I gave myself a mental slap. ‚My name is Katharine, with a K. Katharine Merrick, though you can call me Ms. Merrick.‛ I pulled on my hand. ‚Let go of me.‛ He laughed and, instead of releasing me, stepped closer and pressed his lips against my ear. ‚I’m pleased to meet you, Katharine with a K. I’m Devin of Cornet.‛ His breath fanned across my skin and sent a shiver rumbling to my toes. My thighs tingled, racing into my private places and instilling a deep

throbbing ache within. I stopped resisting and ignored the warning bells in my head. ‚You don’t belong here, mistress.‛ His words broke whatever little moment we had going. I wrenched my hand away from him and leapt off the stool. ‚It’s Ms. Merrick to you. And what’s that supposed to mean?‛ Devin grinned and leaned his elbow against the bar, circling his finger in a seductive manner along the edge as he stared at me. Great, he’s going to ignore me. ‚What kind of name is Devin of Cornet? Is that a title like the Duke of York or something equally ridiculous?‛ ‚Cornet is the name of my Circle, and I know nothing of dukes or this place you call York.‛ There was a Spartan quality to him that startled me. His eyes said he was fearless, undaunted by anything. I imagined him in the garb from the movie 300. I positioned the stool between us—waves of awe, fear and lust taking turns in my head. ‚What do you mean ‘your Circle’?‛ ‚You’re not yet ready to hear these things, mistress. You only need know I’m here to help you.‛ Shaking my head, I looked up at the ceiling before meeting his stare again. ‚Okay, I’ll bite. You’re here to help me with what?‛ ‚Your writing and your happiness.‛ A small laugh burst out. I raised an eyebrow. ‚Seriously?‛ My amusement evaporated with a thought. ‚If you’ve read my work, then you must know my name, and my happiness is none of your concern.‛ Devin stepped around the stool, but I moved to keep it between us, pressing my back against the smooth wood of the bar. My heart patted a quick tune against my ribs. ‚I confess I knew your name, however, I’ve always dreamed of hearing it spoken from your lips.‛ He leaned forward and propped his hand against the bar, bringing his face closer to mine. ‚Although some of what you write has great potential, the sole reason you sell books is because your mother’s company shoves them down the throats of her unlimited connections and not because you have touched their hearts or minds.‛

‚What?‛ I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes. ‚You’re insulting me now?‛ I uttered a bitter laugh in his face. Who did this guy think he was? ‚You don’t really strike me as the type to read vampire erotica.‛ In a flash, Devin whipped aside the stool and pressed me against the bar with his body. His fingers brushed the sides of my throat as he pushed my hair back from my shoulders. I willed my arms out to shove him away, but they didn’t obey me. My knees wavered at the current passing between us. I’d never been affected that way by a man before. Was he really that attractive? As if compelled to look up, I met his eyes and saw they had darkened. Flecks of gold flickered in their depths like newborn stars in a frosted night sky. My breaths came out in ragged puffs, while heat invaded every corner of my body. I had sudden visions of Devin tearing my clothes away and nailing me against the bar. What was the matter with me? ‚Your books lack feeling because you have none.‛ He brought a hand up behind my head, tangled his fingers into my long hair, and positioned me so he could lean into my ear again. My body melted against his. ‚Your stories are supposed to be about love, passion, and sex, yet you’ve never experienced any of it for yourself. If you want to find out what you’re missing, I will send for you Friday evening and you will have your eyes, body, and mind
***** While emptying my pockets the following morning, my fingers curled around a cool, smooth item, the one Devin had slipped in there. My heart did a little skip-to-my-lou as I withdrew my hand and inspected the glossy black business card. No name or phone number, only a symbol and an address in silver script: #1 Cornet Drive. The symbol looked somewhat like an inverted capital ‘A’, but the line across the middle curved toward the bottom of the card. I traced the emblem, caught by the memory of his fingers brushing me from inside my pocket. A shiver climbed the rungs of my spine. After a good mental shake and a shrug, I went into the living room and slid it into my wallet, hoping to put it out of my mind so I could get some work done. Showered and coffee in hand, I sat at my mahogany roll-top desk in front of my iMac to do some writing. My fingers poised to type, but my mind flitted back to Devin of Cornet. I’d never met such an aggressive man, and I couldn’t stop the image of him forcing me to the floor and ravaging me from consuming my mind. The thought of his strength when he’d pushed me against the bar, of his bold confidence, of the amusement in his eyes at my obvious attraction caused a contraction in my lower abdomen. I’d never liked mystery novels; I always ended up flipping to the final chapter because I couldn’t read fast enough to suit my curiosity. Not knowing his last name, who he was, or how he knew anything about me would eat me alive until I unraveled him. I had to stop it! I had one month left to finish the manuscript. Concentrate! After staring at my screen for half an hour without typing a single word, I gave up and dressed in dark jeans and a silk blouse. Mother had me scheduled into a planning meeting for her publishing company at nine a.m. Normally I dreaded the snore fest, but with such a juicy morsel to ponder while the idiots griped about the schedule, I’d entertain myself just fine.

Chapter Two I inspected my French-tipped nails while Mother droned on in her best high and mighty voice. Across the oak table from me, Charles tapped his pencil against his notepad sporting elaborate doodles of enlarged heads and tiny bodies engaged in different sports. His light brown hair shot out in every direction, and his tiny, rectangular glasses slipped down his narrow nose each time he shoved them back up. His time would have been better spent finishing the cover for my new book. Ash sat to my right in his typical blue-eyed surfer attire of a Hawaiian shirt and khakis, ogling me as usual. I rolled my eyes and angled myself away from him. A sudden flash of memory gripped me, causing me to draw in a quick breath and slouch in my chair. I rubbed the side of my throat where Devin had touched me, his stroke light, yet insistent, as if he knew the location of every erogenous zone on my body and could roll them like tumblers on a lock to open me up wide. I pictured him spreading me out on the table like a kingly feast and holding me down as his lips explored my southern hemisphere. ‚Katharine!‛ Mother’s sharp tone snapped me out of my fantasy. My face heated as I whirled my leather chair to face her and sat up straight. ‚What?‛ ‚Are you listening?‛ The mirror of my blue eyes glared a warning at me. Her bright red lipstick contrasted with her pale skin, making her look like a vampire prostitute. ‚Ash asked when you’ll have the first draft of novel ten to him for editing.‛ A nerve twitched under my eye. ‚You told me a month, and that’s

when I’ll have it.‛ ‚Make it three weeks. We’ve got June French’s coming in next month. If we get yours off sooner, the scheduling will work better.‛ I gripped the table and leaned forward, cursing under my breath. ‚You trimming a week from my time to work your precious schedule won’t get the novel written any faster in reality, Mother. If you let me work instead of forcing me to attend these pointless meetings three times a week, I might get it done faster.‛ Her fake lashes fluttered as they always did when I’d really pissed her off. She would have been frowning, too, had she not deadened half of her facial muscles with Botox. ‚How dare you take that tone with me? I made you, and I can break you just the same.‛ I shoved my chair back and stood. A frustrated laugh boiled up my throat. ‚You made me? The last time I looked, they were my words on the pages, my name on the books.‛ She dismissed me with a disgusted curl of her upper lip and a flip of her hand. ‚Had I not bribed half the industry, you’d still be papering your walls with rejection letters from every publisher in the country. Now. Sit. Down.‛ Devin’s words crashed in on me. Was it true? Did my career take off only because of Mother? I couldn’t believe it. I wouldn’t. ‚Do your fucking schedule without me. You don’t listen to anything I say anyway. I’d have more luck talking to the cardboard cut-out you have of yourself in your bedroom.‛ I stomped out of the enormous glass room, sped down the hall, and ducked into the washroom. Why did I even allow her to publish my books? A word to the press about my eagerness to leave and I’d have publishers clamoring over themselves to offer me a deal. Wouldn’t I? In front of the gilded mirror, I gripped the black granite countertop and stared at myself. My reflection revealed a deep flush to my skin, though anger had little to do with it. Devin fantasies had plagued my every thought since the night before. I couldn’t look at a hard surface without imagining him pinning me to it. As if my thoughts conjured him out of the air, his scent swirled around me, a sweet, yet masculine essence. In the mirror, my dilated

pupils almost completely obscured the cornflower blue, and wetness spread beneath my silk panties. “Katharine” Devin’s voice whispered through my mind, inducing a deep, lustful sigh from me. Was it memory? A twinge of recognition tightened my belly. “Who are you?” I thought at him. “Have we met before?” No answer. I propped my hands against the counter and hung my head forward, laughed at myself. ‚You’re losing it Katharine. Get a fucking grip.‛ Still, need pulsed through my flesh, burning wherever he’d touched, contracting my pussy over and over again until desire consumed all thought. My shaking hands unbuckled my belt and shoved the fabric down to the floor. I set one foot on the closed lid of the toilet and dipped my fingers into my dripping folds. My other hand gripped the counter to steady me as I explored, circled, pinched my stiffened clit, and plunged two fingers in deep, but my hunger only grew. I moved my hips against my hand. Moans filled the room, and my chest heaved above my throbbing heart. Every muscle in my body tightened down like springs compressed too hard. Time stood still for a moment before hot prickles danced out from my core, and my body bucked as the orgasm rocked me. I cried out my pleasure as the contractions slowed, ripples of pleasure dancing out from my fiery center. Panting and giggling, I sank to the floor, thankful for private washrooms in the building. An echo of Devin’s laughter joined my own. I blinked at the white tile wall and remembered where I was. ‚Shit.‛ How loud had I been? It had been months since I’d touched myself and never in a public place. I cleaned myself up, redressed, and washed my hands. The distinctive scent of sex lingered in the air. I lingered for a while, inhaling the mixture of lust and Devin’s own perfume, a concoction that could addict me if I allowed it. After straightening my shirt and splashing cold water on my face, I opened the door and went out into the hallway with rubbery legs and a smile on my face.

Ash came out of the men’s washroom door to my right, a smirk quirking his lips. His powder blue eyes shined with laughter. He walked up to me, but stared past, his chin quivering. ‚I’d offer to give you a hand, but I think you did just fine on your own.‛ I scowled, and my cheeks blazed. ‚I don’t know what you’re talking about.‛ He nodded and snickered. ‚Didn’t know you had it in you. Careful, you’re going to spoil your reputation as the ice queen.‛ With that, he strutted off down the hall with hands in his pockets. Eyes locked wide, I dashed into the empty boardroom, grabbed my bag, and went outside to hail a cab. ***** At home, I crashed on the sofa with a glass of red wine. Had I really heard Devin? I groaned and slapped my free palm against my eye. No. I wasn’t crazy. The more I thought of him, the more I thought I’d seen him somewhere before. As I stared at the row of books on the wooden shelf along the wall, it hit me. I jumped up from the sofa, set my glass on the table, and pulled book two off the shelf. I flipped right to chapter three where I’d introduced my handsome Raymond. A tremble rippled along my arms as I remembered writing it. “My name is Raymond of the Eastern Circle,” the man said to Carly as he kissed her hand and looked over her with chocolate eyes. She melted under his touch but pulled away, trembling in his shadow. “What’s the Eastern Circle?” She gazed at his light brown hair and dark, expensive suit with awe, a magnificent power lifting from him and entering her. Raymond smiled, showing a mouth full of perfectly straight, white teeth. “You aren’t yet ready to know such things, mistress, but the time will come, I assure you.” I snapped the book shut and tossed it away as if spiders crawled on it. ‚What the fuck!‛ I pressed fingers to my temples and paced. Devin is

not a vampire. He’s not Raymond from my book. I stopped and threw my hands up. ‚Idiot. He’s read the book. That’s why he said Cornet was the name of his Circle and called me mistress.‛ I sighed and laughed. Very funny, asshole. How had I let him crawl so far into my head? A twinge of regret lingered in my chest. Did I want him to be a vampire? I shook my head. Pure lunacy. After downing my wine, I sat down to write and actually managed to pump out two chapters before bed. I crawled under the white fluff of my duvet with Mother’s and Devin’s words rattling through my mind. I’d prove them wrong and throw it in their faces. ***** I spent the next two days writing a few chapters to go along with a new story idea. Satisfied with the steamy scenes between a werewolf and her human lover, I called up a contact I knew at Randoll Publishing, Mother’s main rival in the business. ‚This is Greg.‛ ‚Hey, Greg, this is Katharine Merrick.‛ ‚Katharine, long time no hear. How are things on the Circle front?‛ Like I’d tell you, you fake son of a bitch. ‚Fine, fine, but that’s not what I called to talk about. I came across a new writer I think you might like. Can I send you a sample and you can let me know what you think?‛ ‚Uh—yeah, sure.‛ Silence. ‚I have to ask why you’re not taking this up with your mother.‛ I huffed out a sigh. ‚You know what she’s like, Greg. I deal with her when I have to, and that’s it. Do you want this, or not?‛ ‚Absolutely. Shoot it in an email and I’ll take a look.‛ ‚Perfect, thanks, Greg.‛ I hung up, excitement putting a squeeze on my chest. After sending my new piece to Greg, I paced with a glass of wine in my hand. By the time my laptop chimed a response, I’d downed most of the bottle of Shiraz. I ran to my chair, sat down, and opened my email. The muscles across my shoulders tensed as I clicked his email.

Sorry, Katharine, but this is rubbish. I couldn’t even get past the first page, it was so bad. Your friend has a lot to learn about writing erotica before she’ll be able to play with the big girls. Let’s get together for a drink sometime. Greg. I stared at the screen for a long time, my mind buzzing with a white static nothing. Maybe Devin was right about me. If I couldn’t write, how could I make a living? I didn’t know how to do anything else. When I found the strength to move, I crawled under the covers in my bed and, for the first time in years, cried myself to sleep. ***** My eyes open, and I gaze around the bar where Devin and I first met. Mist hangs in the air, heavy with the scent of Devin’s cologne and the freshness of winter. Hard rock music plays through the speakers. He stares at me with predatory eyes as if he’ll eat me alive and lick his fingers afterwards. My chest rises and falls harder as he draws near. I’m wearing a white dress, strapless, the skirt just above the knee. Two slits reach up almost to my waist on either side. I slide my hands up over my breasts, press the soft fabric closer to my skin, and sigh. Devin, wearing nothing more than a pair of black dress pants, reaches for me and licks his full lips. I step closer and run my fingers through his soft hair, marveling at the thickness of it. The hills of his chest call to me, drawing my eyes and palms to explore him. Growling, he lifts me onto a stool and shoves the hem of the dress up a little. With strong fingers, he forces my knees open and steps in between them. His desire spreads from him through his touch and penetrates me with delicious, sticky fingers of warmth. We are of one mind. Even though a part of me is sickened by my lack of will, the rest of me trembles with excitement. The brush of fabric against my lower lips tells me I’m not wearing panties. Wetness seeps out faster, and little ripples of pleasure pulsate through my pussy. I grind against his growing mound, gasping at how hard he is. Devin wraps his arms around me and jerks my hips forward, spreading me open so the fabric

covering his zipper slides deep into my crevice and contacts my swollen nub. I cry out when he grips my ass, his cool breath washing over my throat. I’ve never wanted anything as badly so I reach down and open up his zipper, slide my hand in, and claim what I find inside. As my fingers follow my thoughts, he grabs my wrists and twists my arms around to my back faster than I can see. Directly into my ear, he whispers, “Are you afraid?” “Yes,” I say between labored breaths. “Does it excite you?” I hesitate, uncertain for only a moment before I know the truth. “Yes.” “Good. Are you ready to open yourself to me? To be mine?” “Oh, yes.” His laughter comes from low in his chest, a deep rumbling sound. “Then my invitation is given and accepted. I shall claim you tomorrow night.” He presses his lips against my cheek. “Be ready.” “How do I find you?” “For now, I will find you. Soon you will be mine and you will need only to think of me.” ***** I woke to the pink light of dawn Friday morning, my thighs soaked with my own wetness. A tiny tremor of fear lingered in the pit of my stomach. What did he mean, ‚You’ll be mine‛? Despite my unease, I considered going out with him. Maybe he could teach me something about passion that I could use to improve my writing before I dumped his controlling ass to the curb. After showering, I headed into my bedroom to get dressed. In the middle of my white duvet sat a large black box with a white silk scarf tied into a bow at the top. My leg muscles cramped, and a scream brewed in my throat. My eyes darted around the room. Nothing else had been disturbed. The white area rug had no footprints other than the ones made earlier from my bare feet. My mahogany dresser still had a stack of books neatly arranged on the left edge, and the duvet on my king-sized bed had only one dent—beneath the black box. I remembered locking the door, and I lived on the sixteenth floor,

so the windows and terrace weren’t accessible. Without looking at the card on top, I already knew who it would be from. I inched toward the bed and craned my neck forward so I could see the card, but the puffy white bow obscured the writing. Knee propped on the edge of the mattress, I slid my fingers over the cardboard’s smooth surface expecting to feel vibrations or heat or something unsavory to leap out and scare the wits out of me. When nothing happened, I snatched the black envelope, jumped back, and scanned the room again. Should I call the police? Probably. Did I want that bother on my peaceful Friday? Not really. The same silver emblem from the business card appeared in the upper left corner of the glossy envelope. In white script, it said: For my Katharine with a K. My Katharine? My thighs tingled before I growled and shook myself. I had enough people trying to own me in my life. I didn’t need another. I concentrated on the pounding in my chest as adrenaline filled me from head to toe in a dizzying rush. I sat down on the edge of my bed and stared at the envelope. After a deep breath, I broke the red wax seal, slid out the antique-looking heavy paper, and unfolded it. To my dearest Katharine. It pleases me to see you opening your mind to the truth. I will be there to retrieve you this evening at eight o’clock, when I will find you wearing the dress with which I have gifted you. You will wear your hair up, all of it, and you will be free of jewelry and perfume. Anger welled up in me. I crumpled the note and threw it on the floor. He was as bad as my mother, trying to force me to wear what he wanted, not giving me an option to stay or to go. Maybe I was wrong. To hell with him. I stared down at the ball of paper, my curiosity urging my hand to reach for it. After a moment’s hesitation, I gave in and picked it up.

If you think you have found true pleasure through your own hands, then I shall change your thinking. Be ready when I arrive to claim you, and speak of me to no one. My vision wavered. The red walls paled to gray as I considered how he could have known what I’d done in the bathroom that day. Had he been in the room with me? I swallowed at the path my thoughts took. Was he really in my head? Was he really a vampire? Glance darting around, I imagined him looking at me at that moment, wrapped in a towel and completely vulnerable, and bolted from the room.

Chapter Three After pulling on some panties from the dryer, I paced in my living room, clutching my towel to my chest and wringing my hands together. ‚I’m just tired.‛ I forced breaths through my nose so I wouldn’t hyperventilate. ‚Devin is not a fucking vampire. He’s just screwing with me.‛ Besides, vampires needed to be invited in. Didn’t they? It didn’t matter who or what he was. He’d still let himself into my apartment while I showered. “Do not fear me, my Katharine. Embrace me.” His voice flitted through my head in velvet tones, stroking me from the inside and siphoning away my unease. I closed my eyes. His fierce presence overwhelmed me and left me panting on the middle of the hardwood with my arms wrapped around myself. My thong dampened. I let down my resistance and relaxed my thoughts so he could penetrate me deeper. With each step, the mere brush of my silk panties against my lower lips caused me to inhale. ‚Who are you?” “I am a door you must open if you want to be free. Be ready when I come for you.” When my heart calmed, I returned to my bedroom and to his gift. The ribbon fell away with a tug on the bow. I lifted the lid and folded back the red tissue. Though it should have, it didn’t surprise me when I withdrew the white dress from my dream. The one with the slits up the sides. I brought it to my nose, inhaled his scent, and shuddered under the sudden rush of endorphins.

He’d find me anywhere I tried to hide, through locked doors, around the world if I went. Somehow I knew it. I liked it, the uncertainty of it all. My life had been handed to me with a schedule attached, and I’d followed it like a blind sheep in Mother’s shadow. For the first time, I wanted to run wild, to do something exciting. “I’ll be ready.” Dark laughter. ‚Yes, you will.” As the morning wore on, my nerves failed. In need of a distraction, I donned my running gear and went down to the street. The sultry July sun warmed me as I ran. The scent of cut grass and wildflowers perfumed the air as my feet pounded the pavement along the trail through Central Park. From there, I continued on to the high school track and ran laps until I collapsed on the grass with quivering calf muscles and aching feet. After a few minutes to catch my breath, I headed home with a clenched stomach and whirling thoughts. I spent an hour in a bubble-filled tub, shaving everything below the neck that could be shaved, while my mind spun fantasies of what my date might do to me. Would it be too slutty of me to sleep with Devin on our first date? Did I care? My negative answer startled me. If the opportunity presented itself, I’d probably jump on it. My heart thumped as I wound hot rollers into my hair and searched online for anything I could find about Devin of Cornet. A half hour of research revealed nothing, not even confirmation that the address on the business card existed—if that was even where he intended to take me. By seven o’clock, my dark mahogany hair sat atop my head in a mass of curls. A few spirals dangled along my temples and down my neck. Unable to eat or sit still, I busied myself tidying my already immaculate kitchen, arranging the flowers in the window and the pictures along the mantel, and digging through my shoes to find ones that would match the revealing dress. At seven-thirty, I rolled on my stockings and fastened them to my white lace garters, chose my favorite white thong from my top drawer, and slipped it over top. I didn’t need a bra with the corset style of the dress, not that I had a white strapless one anyway.

Fully dressed, I stood in front of the mirror, cringing at the amount of boob pillowing over the top of the bodice. A search through my closet led me to a black wrap I applied around my shoulders. My black strappy heels tapped against the hardwood as I strutted into the living room to wait for Devin, my hips sashaying with the motion. Each step revealed the lacy top of my stockings through the slits. I’d never worn anything that dipped so far into the realm of slut, but, by the warmth building between my legs, I thought maybe I liked that, too. I checked my purse fifteen times to make sure I’d put my lip gloss, toothbrush and wallet inside, along with a spare pair of panties—just in case the night went better than I expected. ‚I knew I chose well with that dress.‛ I screamed. My black beaded handbag flew out of my hand and clacked to the floor by the wall. Devin leaned his shoulder against the main entrance door, his legs crossed at the ankle, hands shoved into his pockets as if he’d been standing there for a while. The black suit he wore hugged him to perfection, and the deep red shirt and matching silk tie brought out a crimson hue in his eyes. ‚You scared the hell out of me.‛ I fanned myself with my hand and backed away. ‚I thought—shouldn’t I have to invite you in?‛ I hoped with all my might he’d laugh at my idiocy. A grin worked his lips. My heart sank. He pushed away from the door and took slow deliberate steps toward me as his fingers straightened the cuffs of his jacket. ‚But, you did invite me, Katharine.‛ I shook my head and continued to back up, maneuvering around the furniture as I reached each obstacle. ‚I think I would have remembered that.‛ ‚What we do in dreams is binding. Last night, when I asked if you were ready to open yourself to me, you said yes. You welcomed me into your life, your home and—‛ His hungry gaze scanned me from toes to face. ‚—your body.‛ In a blink, he stood before me, one hand pressed into the small of

my back, the other at the nape of my neck. He sniffed at my throat, moaning as he pushed the wrap from my shoulders and dropped it to the floor. I pressed my hands against his hard chest as a shiver raced through me. It took a moment for me to gather enough air to speak. ‚Oh, God, it’s true. You’re a vampire.‛ His eyes turned hard and cold, piercing me through to my core. ‚Do not insult me. Vampires are vile creatures, bloodthirsty, unrefined.‛ He stroked my shoulder, his gaze following the path of his touch. ‚I am a true immortal—kill me and I shall be reborn. True, we crave blood like our more primitive cousins, but we’ve evolved to crave other<delicacies.‛ The last of his words sank into my body and traveled down to the hot spring between my thighs. I sighed, molded my body to his, and pressed my cheek against his smoothly shaven one. ‚Can you take sunlight? Is that how you got the package into my apartment during the day?‛ He jerked me against him, drawing a yelp from me and erasing the question from my thoughts. ‚Remove your necklace.‛ ‚Why?‛ The word came out as a breathy whisper. ‚Because I said so. What is it made from?‛ ‚Wh-white gold. Why does it matter?‛ Was he worried about silver? Gaze locked on mine, his fingers slipped along the sides of my throat in a delicate caress, leaving trails of heat in their wake. My necklace fell slack, and he caught it before it dropped into my cleavage, his knuckles brushing my breast. My nipples hardened and pushed against the fabric. ‚Where are you taking me tonight?‛ He placed a finger over my glossed lips, parting them a little as it slid along the slippery surface. ‚Hush. You’ll find out in due time.‛ His hands dropped and played along the slits in my dress while I trembled with need. ‚You must leave the panties behind.‛ I swallowed. ‚I’m not going out without under—‛ ‚Take them off.‛ A growl purred in his throat. ‚Or I’ll take them off for you. You must trust that I know what I’m doing. Now question me no

further.‛ His lips glided across my shoulder and returned to my ear. ‚Do you wish to taste the sweetness of forbidden fruit, or do you not?‛ My brow furrowed. ‚I don’t know what that means.‛ ‚Yet you want to, don’t you, Katharine with a K?‛ I hated it, but I did. Through a sigh, I said, ‚Turn around.‛ Devin stepped back and leaned against the arm of the sofa, but his gaze never left me. ‚If you delay much longer, the gates will be locked, and I’ll be forced to return you to your life as you are, ignorant of your own body.‛ I glared and turned my back to him, talking myself out of throwing something at his smug face. Cursing under my breath, I reached under the front of my skirt and slipped the panties down my legs, stepped out of them, and balled them into my hand. His arms came from behind, and his hand wrapped around mine. He pulled the cloth from my fingers. ‚Already wet.‛ His lips brushed the downy hairs at the back of my neck. I shuddered, and my knees weakened under my weight. His arms slipped around my waist and held me upright, a bewildering power passing through his body into mine. ‚That’s my girl. Now, come, I have much to teach you.‛ Devin wove my arm through his and led me out the door. I stumbled along beside him, drunk on the overwhelming energy radiating from him. What was I doing? I was letting an immortal take me to God knows where. Was I insane? I slowed, but his hand clamped over mine and tugged me along. ‚Please, tell me where we’re going.‛ The elevator stood open as if it waited for us to arrive. We stepped inside the mirrored car, and it descended without either of us pushing a button. Devin swung me and, with his fingers intertwined with mine, shoved me against the back wall so hard little white fairies danced in my vision. ‚I’ll take you wherever I please, and you’ll come. Won’t you, Katharine?‛ My name rolling from his tongue made my breath catch. His lips hovered teasingly close to mine, and his eyes flickered as if they’d burst into flame at any moment. I blinked. ‚Wh-what did you say?‛

A heart-stopping smile spread across his face, and he released his hold on me. ‚You want me, yes?‛ ‚Yes.‛ ‚Then does it truly matter where I take you?‛ ‚No. Not really.‛ The words whispered from my lips. I fisted my hands in his collar and tugged to bring him closer, but he resisted and moved away. The farther he went, the greater the ache in my abdomen grew, as if he’d formed a link directly to my pussy and teased me from afar. I rubbed my stomach and begged him with my eyes. ‚Why won’t you kiss me?‛ He leaned against the wall and devoured me with his stare. ‚Because you want me to.‛ The doors opened. Devin held his hand out, and I took it without hesitation. We walked into the damp summer night and climbed into a shining black limousine. A small voice shouted at me from the recesses of my mind, but I didn’t want to hear the warning. My desire had grown to explosive levels, and I couldn’t bear to let anything stand in my way of getting what I needed. I wondered if that was how addiction felt before the thought slipped my mind again. Instead of sitting beside me, Devin sat in the opposite seat, facing me. I held my knees together and pondered his rejection. Did the dress not look as he’d expected? I considered sniffing my underarms to see if my deodorant had failed, but he didn’t look away for a moment to give me the chance. ‚Don’t look so forlorn, my Katharine. I sit here because there are things you must know and I don’t want to distract you right now.‛ Relief removed the claws from my chest so I could breathe. He shifted forward in his seat with a grin. ‚We don’t have long before we’ll arrive at The Circle.‛ ‚The Circle?‛ My eyes flew wide, and my fingers dug into the leather upholstery beside me. ‚Are you saying you’re taking me to meet more
I rewet my dry lips and tried to swallow past the Sahara Desert my throat had become. ‚Are you Raymond from my book?‛ His head tipped back, and a laugh rumbled out. ‚I think, rather, he is me.‛ I stared out the window in a daze, watched the lights of the city blur past. ‚But that would mean I met you before I wrote the books.‛ I shook my head and looked at him again. ‚I would have remembered.‛ ‚Unless I didn’t want you to.‛ He took a deep breath and clasped his fingers behind his head then settled down in the seat. ‚We met ten years ago in Grimm’s Bookstore on a Sunday afternoon. We both reached for a copy of The Long Walk at the same time. When our fingers touched, I knew you were the one I’d been searching for, but you weren’t yet ready for me.‛ I rubbed my temples, my brain on the verge of implosion. ‚So< you stole my memory? And what do you mean about searching for me?‛ ‚I blocked your memory, yes.‛ He sat forward, adjusting his tie at his throat. ‚For each immortal, only a few mortal souls are compatible mates, from which both mortal and immortal can achieve a higher state of being. When we’re eventually bonded, we’ll share unimaginable experiences and pleasure, mind, body and soul.‛ ‚Bonded? What do you mean?‛ Although a tinge of terror lit up in my head, the thought of being tied to such a powerful man intrigued me. ‚Would you like a small taste of what we can be together?‛ I swallowed and nodded, finding no air to speak. The world tilted and spun. I landed on my back on the seat with Devin on top of me. His lips crushed down on mine. Nothing else existed. His cool mouth. His lips, soft and insistent. His tongue wet as it darted out to find mine. He turned my body into a live wire, and he was the energy source. ‚You feel the pull as I do, my Katharine. I see it in your eyes.‛ His fierce gaze locked onto mine, a tiny smile on his lips. The certainty in his voice startled me. ‚Do not fear me. After tonight, I hope you will understand better what I offer you.‛ With his hands on my waist to steady me, I sat up with a smile stretching my lips wide, lost in a white fog of ecstasy.

‚Listen closely to me now.‛ Devin gripped my chin in his fingers and angled my face toward his. ‚It will be obvious which of the guests are immortals and which are not. You are my submissive and must act as such. Do not raise your eyes to anyone.‛ My eyebrows bunched together as I fought the mental cobwebs. ‚Obvious how?‛ ‚No questions. We’re here, and we must go in now. Do not speak. While in the presence of others, you will do what I say without question, or I may be forced to punish you whether or not I want to.‛ His fingers tightened their grip on my jaw. ‚Do you understand?‛ I swallowed and nodded. ‚Yes.‛

Chapter Four A heavy silence crowded around me as I climbed out of the limo. No city sounds of honking horns, not even a cricket sent a creak into the night. I clung to Devin’s arm as we approached the largest estate house I’d ever seen. Wide and rectangular, the hotel-style roof overhung the front of the sandstone structure, supported by four giant white pillars. Floodlights splashed bright beams across the pale, vine-coated walls and highlighted two turrets that stabbed into the star-lit sky on either end. My steps slowed as I gaped up at the tall structure. Every window was dark save for the glass doors beyond the white pillars where yellow light flickered within. Not a single car other than our limousine graced the circular paved driveway, though a crowd of people stood beyond the entrance bathed in what appeared to be candlelight. ‚Where is this place?‛ I held my teeth steady so they wouldn’t chatter. ‚I know we turned east from my apartment, but—‛ ‚Nobody will find this place unless we wish them to,‛ Devin said. ‚That is all you need to know.‛ He slid his arm around my waist and guided me, not to the front door, but to one around the side of the building. I glanced at his perfect profile, at the tiny smile forming on his lips. ‚Why are—‛ ‚Hush.‛ I put on the brakes, digging my heels into the asphalt. ‚I’m really

getting tired of you cutting me off.‛ Devin yanked me toward him and stared at me. ‚If you wish to have your eyes opened, then come with me without another word. Have you changed your mind?‛ The look in his eyes made me think he wanted me to back out. I erased the scowl from my face. ‚Let’s go.‛ ‚Are you sure?‛ No, I thought, but I said, ‚Yes.‛ He snickered and brushed his mouth against my ear, triggering a sigh from my depths. ‚Come, then. We’re late.‛ Devin pulled open a heavy glass door and ushered me inside. We stood in a dim corridor scented with jasmine. Glass chandeliers the size of small cars dangled from the ceiling two stories up. The murmur of echoed voices met my ears from farther along to my right. Devin leaned forward and peered down the hallway, his eyes narrowed and jaw flexing. If I hadn’t known what he was, I’d have said something in that place scared him. No, that couldn’t be right. With a hand on my lower back, Devin directed me to a narrow staircase to my left, and we made a quick ascent. Giant paintings lined the walls. The gilded frames and muted colors made them appear centuries old. At the top, he tugged me along the corridor and through a heavy oak door. After another scan of the hallway, he eased the door closed. I wanted to ask if something was wrong, but he’d asked me not to speak, so I kept my trap shut. The room, though walled on three sides, opened to a large ballroom below. I edged closer to the low railing separating me from the drop-off. Spotlights shone over a platform at the opposite side of the room from where I stood, highlighting what appeared to be ropes hanging from the ceiling. On closer inspection of the space, given the plush sofas arranged in the shadow-veiled edges of the circular space, the leather covered tables, and the washable tile, I thought maybe it was an arena for entertainment of the carnal sort. I licked moisture onto my lips. ‚What is this place?‛ I whirled on my heels. My eyes flew wide, and words flew out in a shriek. ‚Why did

you bring me here?‛ Devin pressed his palm against my mouth and urged me against him with his other arm around my waist. His intense stare pierced me. ‚Silence. While here, you will call me Dom, as that is what I am, your Dominant, and you are my submissive. You will ask permission to speak and to touch me, or there will be consequences. Blink if you understand.‛ Arrogant much? I glared at him and blinked my response. If I hadn’t wanted to ride him like a horny nympho, I’d have left him where he stood. To become a better writer, a better lover, I’d play his little game. He released me and glanced around before sitting on a white chaise positioned parallel with the railing. Why was he doing that? Had he snuck in and was afraid of being caught? Perhaps it was me who wasn’t supposed to be there. ‚Come.‛ He leaned against the back of the white leather and patted the seat between his legs. I smoothed hands down my skirt, hyper aware how short it was and how little I wore underneath. ‚Don’t keep your Dom waiting, Katharine.‛ Doors in the room below opened, and cloaked, hooded figures entered. None spoke. I climbed onto the chaise and allowed Devin to pull me back against his chest to settle between his legs. My thighs pressed together as my hands arranged the skirt to cover as much as possible. A clang sounded the opening of another door at the other end of the cavernous arena. A cool breeze swirled into the space, sent ribbons of my hair against my cheek, and brought a plethora of scents to my nose: perfume, flowers, and something I couldn’t identify, something that begged to be inhaled deeply. Devin brushed his face against my throat. ‚That’s the scent of desire. Consume it. Remember it. Use every sense while you watch.‛ I filled my lungs again and again and melted back into his body. Vibrations traveled through me, but I didn’t know where they came from. Below, through the second entrance, women and men filtered in. The women wore mostly red dresses, some short, some long, had no jewelry and had their hair pinned up. The men were attired in black leather pants, suit pants, or nothing but clingy boxers.

Chills walked the length of my spine. What would happen down there? Was it some sort of immortal key party? A little voice screamed at me to avert my eyes, to flee, that I shouldn’t be watching something so dirty and wrong. Instincts deeper than rational thought kept my stare glued to the scene as the cloaked ones herded the others into the center of the black tiled floor. Were the hooded ones like Devin? ‚May I ask a question?‛ His arms encircled me, and he squeezed. ‚That’s my good girl. You may.‛ ‚Please tell me there isn’t going to be any biting by
couldn’t tell if she trembled from fear or anticipation. Possibly both. My heart thumped for her. I squirmed in the seat as much as Devin would allow. Down below, a hand shot out from within the robes and grasped the woman by the throat. A deep male voice boomed into the room and brushed along my thighs like a velvet caress. ‚You are mine tonight, Caroline. Bow to your Dom if you accept my offer.‛ He released her and stepped back. The other circling figure stopped beside her and dropped his hood back. Light blond hair tumbled down to his shoulders, and amber eyes glared warnings at her. Even I shifted under the danger in his stare, something told me she didn’t have a choice but to accept. I turned and dropped my voice to a whisper. ‚What happens if she doesn’t?‛ Devin’s hand gripped my chin and forced it forward. ‚This is your last warning. Speak again, and you will not enjoy what comes next.‛ His fractious tone iced my veins. What could I do? I returned my attention to the woman and worked my tongue around my dry mouth. She dipped her head in a tiny bow before dropping to her knees before the blond Adonis, tucking her red skirt beneath her. Her shaking worsened, radiating down her whole body in ripples. Her small breasts jittered in their confinement. My fingers wove together and clenched tight to prevent my own telltale signs of unease. ‚You honor me.‛ Adonis slid a finger beneath her chin and lifted until she gazed up at him. ‚Rise and greet he who offers you enlightenment this night.‛ Caroline did as commanded. Once on her feet, she dropped her eyes and turned to the other one whose back faced me. His large hands pushed the hood from his head, tugged the tie at his throat, and dropped the fabric to the floor. Black hair reached halfway down his back, glimmering dark blue each time he shifted into the light. Thin braids hung down the sides, adorned with small, sparkling objects, like sapphires. The muscled ridges of his back led down to a trim waist and a firm ass. Heat rushed up my face at his nudity, but I still couldn’t tear my

eyes from him. Something about the way he moved, the grace, the intent, sparked fear and need in my abdomen. With eyes still lowered, Caroline extended the underside of her wrist to him. He slid fingers along her forearm and brought the offering to his lips. Devin released me. Driven by curiosity to get a glimpse of the man’s face, I leaned forward, but he angled away from me. The man scooped the woman onto his shoulder, startling a squeal from her. My own scream brewed in my throat, but Devin slapped a hand over my mouth and took me back into his arms. His lips pressed against my ear. ‚Her Dom wants to heighten the intensity of their games, and she desires passage to a higher state of being that only the Circle can grant. Yes, she’s afraid, but she wants this.‛ Higher state of being? Would they drug her? What did he mean by ‚heighten the intensity‛? The snakes squirming in my stomach suggested I didn’t want to know the answer. Yet, the throbbing between my legs and the animal instincts in me found titillation and some morbid curiosity in the event. Tension eased out of my shoulders. I leaned back against Devin’s chest without averting my eyes from what was about to unfold. His hand released my mouth and slid along the top of my leg, and his other mirrored the action on my other one. Fingers dipped between my thighs and urged them apart until cool air breathed against my damp lower lips. Tingles invaded my flesh, crawled up my thighs, and tightened my pussy. My clit twitched. Breaths fell from my lips in ragged bursts. ‚Yes,‛ he hissed. ‚Eventually, I will help you associate your other senses with your desire. You’ll find release in ways you can’t comprehend.‛ Despite the need burning hot through my body, I strained to make sense of his words. Was he saying I could come by visual stimulation alone when all I wanted was for him to throw me down and fuck me? It didn’t make any sense. ‚Please, Dom.‛ His dark snicker tickled down my throat. ‚You learn quickly, Katharine. You’ve pleased me, but you have much more to take in before I will grant you release.‛

What? I spread my legs wider and pressed my hands over top of his. He whipped my arms behind my back and pinned them there. ‚So eager. I like that, but you still seem to be under the impression that you are in control here. Submit to me. Relinquish your will, or you will never transcend the constraints society has placed on you and your kind.‛ His face nuzzled the side of my neck, his cool exhales washing down to my breasts. ‚Do you want this? Say no and you’ll wake up in your bed with no memory of this evening. With no memory of me.‛ Sadness dragged against his voice. Could I go back to ignorance, knowing something amazing could be possible? Could I knowingly erase thoughts of the most intense event to ever happen to me? The thought alone stung my eyes and wrapped tentacles of panic around my chest. I went limp and allowed him to gather me into his chest. ‚I’m yours.‛ His lips curved where they pressed against my skin. ‚Then give me your trust, and I will broaden your mind.‛ Smooth fingers brushed along my pussy lips, inducing a sharp inhale in me. ‚And make your body sing for me.‛ Devin’s moan travelled down my spine as his fingertip made a slow, gentle circle of my clit. ‚Smooth as silk, and juicy as a ripe peach.‛ He suckled my ear lobe. ‚I’d wager just as sweet.‛ I ached to whirl around and ride him, but my desire to please him kept me in place. His fingers ceased their exploration of me, and he drew them into his mouth, sucking my juices from them with a wet smacking sound. ‚Focus on the way they move around her. On the sounds she makes for them. See the change in her body, on her face. Their every movement has a purpose, for her pleasure and theirs.‛ My eyes, half shut from the sudden peace and languid state of my body, refocused on the scene below. Caroline’s wrists were stretched above her head by leather straps hanging from chains that went all the way up to the ceiling. The blond stood behind her. Most of the others in the circle on the floor had disrobed into various states of undress and had

broken off into groups of two, three or four. Although their hands explored one another, all eyes remained on Caroline. The raven-haired one sliced away her clothes with a long, curved blade. He reached up to cut the short sleeves, brushing her exposed nipple with his forearm on the way. A gasp rushed up her throat and drowned out the hushed murmur of the audience. When the last thread gave way, leaving her nude, the Adonis pulled the fabric away and kicked her legs apart until her restraints tightened. The blond tied a shiny red scarf around the woman’s eyes. Shuddered breaths passed her lips as she quivered in the shadows of the two men. Black Beauty knelt before her, his face close enough I imagined she’d be able to feel his exhale on her skin—confirmed by the tightening of her stomach muscles. His fingers trailed up her thighs, his hair reaching farther along his back as he stared up at her. My moan mingled with Caroline’s as the man’s mouth met with her mound. Devin’s hands found my thighs again. I jumped, but allowed him to manipulate them. He pulled one leg up and over his. Kisses touched my cheek, along my throat, over my bare shoulder, all while his fingertips caressed my knees and everywhere but the one place I wanted him. Caroline went slack with need, panting, rocking her hips against the man’s mouth. Her cry and the echoing slap hit my ears before I registered where it came from. The blond had hit her across the ass with what appeared to be a horse crop, only studded with silver. A red blush washed up her stomach and over her breasts as she arched away from her Dom. Before she’d calmed, Black Beauty latched onto her clit again. Whimpers tumbled from my lips under the overwhelming stimulation of the growing ecstasy on Caroline’s face and Devin’s exploration of my body. Hot jolts of pleasure started in my fingertips and toes, the explosion imminent. A low hum rose up from the others below. My attention shifted to them. Some were on their knees, sucking cocks. Some had their partners bent over in front of them, pounding them from behind. Others had spread out to the sofas, or the floor, in various stages of fucking. The

humming grew louder and vibrated up my bones and into more sensitive tissues. I writhed in Devin’s arms, met by his snickers and relentless groping. The men took turns smacking and licking Caroline. When I thought she’d beg for them to stop, she asked for more. Upon the next strike that came, her body went rigid and her face slack. Black Beauty wrapped arms around her thighs and held her firm as his oral assault continued. Caroline’s head fell back, and a scream erupted in the room. Desperate to join her release, my fingers dove for my pussy, but Devin snatched me by the wrist, stopping the action. ‚Please!‛ In a dizzying blur, Devin flipped me onto the chaise on my back, him on top of me. One hand gripped my throat, and the other pressed my mouth closed. Face hovering above mine, his lip rippled in a snarl, and before my widening eyes, his fangs extended into view. Struggling in his grasp, I choked and pried my fingers against his, but they didn’t budge. He leaned away and peered over the railing. Whatever he saw caused him to shiver. ‚Fuck.‛ The door clicked open behind him. The same silky voice I’d heard from Black Beauty down below drifted into our small space. ‚Did you really think you could sneak such a succulent morsel into my realm without my notice, Devin?‛

Chapter Five Devin leaned down to my ear, and his chest pressed against my breasts. ‚Keep your eyes on the floor, and by the gods and for all that is good and pure, obey me.‛ The red walls blurred as I somehow landed on my feet. My arms shot out to steady my stance, and little white butterflies danced behind my eyes. Devin stood in front of me, arms straight down at his sides, head bowed forward. ‚Good evening, Sovereign.‛ I couldn’t help the urge to glance over Devin’s shoulder. When my gaze met with the black pits of the beautiful man who sauntered, naked, into the room, I sucked in a breath and dropped my focus to the floor. He had a tiny triangle of beard beneath his full lower lip, and a face chiseled by the gods. If I hadn’t met Devin, I would have said he was the most striking man I’d ever seen, only far more frightening. There was something malignant about him. ‚No need for formalities, Lieutenant.‛ A cool breeze licked up my legs as the man shifted into view out of the corner of my eye. ‚For centuries you’ve remained outside the Circle without a human companion. For you to break your own rules, this one must be<extraordinary.‛ Devin’s shoulder twitched. ‚Yes, Malachi. She is<well suited to me.‛ ‚And a stunning beauty.‛ Malachi’s voice tickled up my slick thighs. I shivered despite the

rush of hot blood to my face. Devin shifted to stand between us again. What was he afraid his sovereign would do to me? I thought to myself, I don’t want to know. I don’t want to know. No amount of mental mantras stopped my chest from heaving under my sudden frantic intake of breath. ‚Why have you not yet introduced us?‛ Malachi blinked out and appeared beside me. A tiny scream escaped my lips as I leapt away and gripped Devin’s arm. He angled himself toward Malachi, his jaw flexing. ‚Offer the sovereign your wrist, Katharine.‛ I raised my face to Devin’s and pleaded with my eyes for him to do something. My heart pounded against his bicep. ‚Please take me home.‛ I didn’t want to play anymore. I’d rather have been a nobody hack writer than dead. Laughter rose behind me, a bright, infectious sound. ‚The strong, defiant ones are always the most fun to break. Don’t you agree, Devin?‛ A disturbance pushed the air past me. Devin gripped my wrist and glared at me. ‚I don’t want to hurt you. Please. Offer the sovereign your wrist.‛ His intoxicating energy encompassed my body, and his voice had somehow invaded my flesh, tickling, teasing, and terrifying at the same time. His wobbly tone relayed his desperation that I obey. I stumbled as Devin thrust me forward and turned my wrist up to Malachi before stepping away. My stare sought out the wall. Malachi’s fingers slid along my forearm, and cool lips pressed on my upturned wrist. His hair tumbled along my arm like a satin caress. Thoughts I shouldn’t have been having about a strange immortal—his face buried in my crotch as he’d done to Carolina—invaded my head. ‚The pleasure is all mine
inhale reduced my shaking. As I regained my senses, my cheeks warmed. How could I have thought that? ‚Tell me, Lieutenant.‛ Malachi’s voice grew nearer as he spoke. ‚Why are your fangs extended? You know the rules.‛ Devin’s muscles stiffened against me. ‚I wasn’t going to— She angered me.‛ Even as he said it, I knew it was a lie. When he flipped me onto the chaise earlier, it wasn’t anger I found in his stare, but fear of the darkest kind. ‚Initiate her,‛ Malachi said. A gasp caught in my throat. What does that mean? ‚I wish to give her a choice, Sovereign. That’s why I kept her from you.‛ ‚No mortal witnesses a gathering of the Circle without being initiated. You know our ways.‛ Devin held me tighter. ‚At the next gathering, I—‛ ‚Initiate her now, or I will.‛ Unmistakable authority lowered Malachi’s tone. A shuddered breath escaped Devin and ruffled my hair. His nod rubbed against my head. ‚We’ll present to the Circle in five minutes.‛ Malachi moaned then uttered a lazy chuckle. ‚Wonderful. I shall announce you.‛ The door clicked shut. I launched away from Devin. ‚What the hell is going on? What does he mean?‛ Devin blinked out. He reappeared in front of me, pushed me against the wall, and held my face in his hands. I steeled myself against his fury, but it never came. He huffed out a breath. ‚I’m so sorry. I should never have brought you here. Please believe me. I wanted to offer you a choice.‛ My voice squeaked out. ‚Why are you staring at me like that? You’re scaring the hell out of me. Please! Just take me home.‛ He shook his head. ‚It’s too late. If I don’t bond you to me tonight, Malachi will take you for himself.‛ I blinked at him. ‚I don’t understand what that means. You were

supposed to teach me about passion. What’s going to happen to me?‛ ‚It’s best if I don’t explain. I don’t want to frighten you any more than you are.‛ A tear slipped past my lashes and descended my cheek. ‚What’s that supposed to mean?‛ He averted his gaze. ‚I’ll give you the only choice left for me to offer. I know the effect he had on you. If you want to be with him, I’ll walk away. Is that what you want, Katharine?‛ His deep brown eyes made a slow, almost reluctant journey back to me. My stomach lurched. A cold shiver passed through my center. Even though he scared me, the thought of going back to the way I felt before Devin frightened me more than anything he could do to me. ‚How can you ask that? I-I feel connected to you somehow, like I’ve always known you. Please don’t leave me.‛ My fingers slid along his bulging biceps. ‚He scares me, Devin, like standing before Lucifer himself.‛ Devin’s lips quirked into a smile that heated my blood. ‚We are connected in only a fraction of how we can be. How we will be.‛ He swallowed and rested his forehead against mine. ‚And he should scare you. I’ve known him for many decades, and he only gets worse.‛ I gripped Devin’s collar and held tight. ‚What’s going to happen now?‛ The backs of his fingers brushed along my cheek. ‚We will share blood.‛ I nodded, forgetting how to breathe for a moment. ‚Will it hurt?‛ ‚Pleasure will counteract any discomfort.‛ His lips pressed a soft kiss to my forehead. ‚I can relax you, Katharine. If you want me to.‛ I considered that for a moment. If we were going to be bonded, I wanted to enjoy it, not spoil it with nerves and fear. ‚Yes. Please.‛ Devin angled my face in line with his. His lips sought mine with urgency. His power jolted through me like a lightning bolt and tore open my soul, allowing his spirit to fill me. Basking in his warm essence, I slipped down past the fear, past the doubt, and gave myself over to him. Memories of the years he’d been watching me from afar scrolled across my mind’s eye like a movie. I saw myself across the street through the window of the coffee shop. Waiting for a cab in front of Mother’s

publishing company. Brushing snow out of my hair. Each memory held Devin’s deep-rooted affection for me. Joyful tears wet my lashes, a mirth that filled me until I thought I’d combust. His will became mine. His thoughts invaded me. ‚Find joy in this, my love. Give me your fears, rise above all that you know of passion. Relish in this journey with me.” A smile curled my lips. I floated in a golden mist, in his grace and strength without a care. Why had I been so afraid? Why had he waited so long to tell me what we could be together? His answer came like sugar for the mind. ‚You weren’t ready until now. Tell me you want this, too.” ‚Oh, yes.‛ A sigh tangled with the words. My arms encircled his shoulders. ‚Make me yours.‛ I no longer cared if I died. As long as he surrounded me with his strength, his promise of eternal love, I would have no regrets. ***** ‚Katharine.‛ Devin’s voice reached down through my euphoria and brought my sight back to the outer realm. I blinked the dryness from my eyes. Our naked bodies pressed together, faces only inches apart. His mammoth cock lay pinned between us, standing at half-mast. How had we gotten undressed? As my awareness filtered my new surroundings to my brain—the platform in the middle of the ballroom with a spotlight shining down from above—my body jerked. All of the immortals and others had stopped fucking and grinned up at me. ‚Where are my clothes?‛ ‚I’m sorry I startled you. I took you too deep before and you slept.‛ Devin’s soft mouth played along my jaw, along my throat, across my bare shoulder. His words stroked me from the inside. ‚I won’t let any harm come to you. Forget they’re here. It’s just you and me.‛ Heat spiraled down my chest and ignited the need between my legs. My hands explored the firm topography of his back, everything else forgotten.

‚Are you ready to be mine, Katharine?‛ Devin lifted my wrist to his mouth, my desire reflected in his flickering eyes. His fangs extended farther as his tongue darted out between them, licking a wet line from my inner elbow to my palm. Words didn’t come to me. I’d never wanted anything so much in my life as I wanted him inside me. His barbs pierced my left wrist with a sting and hot burn. A scream born of pain and ecstasy rushed up my throat. Tingles raced along my arm and swirled in my abdomen before spreading to the rest of me. My every cell answered his call, sparked to life, and opened to him. He did the same on my right wrist, opening a metaphysical door in my mind that waited for him to enter, one for which he alone held the key. Malachi appeared beside us wielding a narrow, curved knife. It glinted gold in the brightness. His eyes held a shadow of deep longing. The musky scent of his desire met my nostrils. Devin, pinning me under his heated stare, extended his arm toward his sovereign. Somehow I knew what would happen, as if our minds had become entangled. Devin winced as Malachi passed the blade across his wrist, then came around and cut the other one. Ruby ribbons streamed from the wounds. Instead of it disgusting me as it should have, my excitement grew. Someone behind me grabbed my forearms and extended them up over my head. My life flowed in a warm, sticky path down my skin. Weakness overtook me. My eyelids drooped. Devin, his chest heaving under his deep breathing, raised his arms and intertwined his fingers with mine. The one behind me wrapped leather bands, binding our wrists together. A glance up revealed the ropes we’d been hung from, attached to metal loops on our bindings. The humming from the crowd rose up again, mixed with chanted words I didn’t understand. The sound danced through my mind, valium for the soul. Our hearts beat in unison. His tongue swept my lips before plunging inside. Years’ worth of his loneliness filled me. His longing and his desire to pleasure and protect me tore down every wall I hid behind and allowed him to rush in. Our drunken laughter swirled together into a

perfect harmony inside my head. Tingles began in my toes and fingers, rushing toward my center like the warning trembles of an earthquake. Compressed between my legs, pleasure exploded outward along with my cries. Devin bucked against me, grunts and moans rising and falling from his throat. ‚Katharine! My Katharine!‛ His hot seed spilled onto my stomach. Flashes of light lit up my eyes. The chanting rose in volume and beat against my chest as if I stood inside a base drum while someone pounded against it in a steady rhythm. My soul became weightless, detached from the dark cellar it had always dwelled in. I lifted into nothingness. A white void empty of sound. A shadow passed over my vision, stealing my breath away. Devin’s spirit enveloped me in a dark blink, and I disappeared into his unyielding embrace.

Chapter Six Warm water cascaded over my head. Convinced of my imminent drowning, my arms flailed out. A squeal escaped me between sputtered breaths. A hand gripped my wrist. As if a button had been pushed, calm lowered me back down to the place where only bliss existed. Devin. He is mine, and I am his. Darkness consumed me once more. ***** ‚Katharine, can you hear me?‛ Devin’s honey-toned voice drew my consciousness back to the surface. A caress met my forehead, along my temple, coaxing my lips to curve in a smile. I opened eyes to the white ceiling of my bedroom. Devin’s presence sent a shiver along my spine and heat into my nether regions. A glance left revealed him sitting on the edge of the bed. He leaned with one arm propped on the other side of my body. ‚Don’t try to speak.‛ His fingers pressed against my lips as they parted to unload the deluge of questions. ‚You’ve lost a lot of blood, and you’re weak. You’re safe at home, and soon we’ll talk.‛ The bed shifted as he sat up. A pop, and a fruity scent invaded my nostrils. He pulled me up and cradled me to his chest and held out a bottle containing dark blue liquid and a straw poking out the top. ‚Drink this. It will replenish some of the energy we expended during the ceremony.‛ With the side of my head resting against the swell of his shoulder, I

could have slept forever in peace and comfort. My eyes drifted shut, but he shook me until they popped open again. ‚You must drink.‛ His left hand moved the beverage so the straw brushed my lips. Desperate to sleep, I took the straw and sucked. Sweet liquid exploded in my mouth, cold, like glacial waters, and fruity, but nothing I could identify in my half coherent state. ‚Good.‛ The drink disappeared, and he lowered me back to my pillow. ‚Sleep now, my love. No matter what you feel when you wake, I forbid you to pleasure yourself. The first step in your enlightenment is self-control. I will find you soon. Blink if you understand me.‛ I didn’t understand any of it, but the abyss called to me. To ensure he’d let me fall into it, I blinked one last time before slumber took me into its bosom. ***** Music blasted through my skull. I bolted out of bed. Tangled in my duvet, I crashed to the floor, my forearm taking the brunt of the blow. ‚Ow.‛ A groan eased up my sore throat to my parched mouth, and a lick of my tongue discovered cracked lips. Brightness flared across my eyes. Pain twinkled through my brain and sped down my spine. I threw an arm across my face to mute the sunlight and rolled onto my side. Dizziness launched me for a ride on a spinning top. The pressure on my bladder threatened to burst it. How much had I drank last night? Pushed up to my knees, I squinted at the clock under the shade of my fingers. Seven o’clock. Why had my alarm gone off on Saturday? When my palm patted the snarled disaster of hair on my head, I rose to stand on wobbling legs. Whatever party I’d come from the night before must have been a good one. Too bad I couldn’t remember any of it. I jammed a hand down on the alarm to end its shouting. With some effort and a few choice curses, I used the walls as a support on my way to the bathroom. After relieving my bladder, I climbed into the shower and stood under the hot spray with closed eyes.

When the world stopped twirling, I rubbed the sleepiness from my eyes and reached for the shampoo. My focus cleared for the first time since I’d woken up, and I noticed a black smudge along my forearm. A few blinks removed the remaining haze from my sight. No, not smudges. From two black dots on the underside of both wrists, what appeared to be braided vines spiraled out and lay in a wavy pattern up my arms, over my shoulders, across my breasts and converged at my crotch. My breath caught. ‚What the fuck?‛ Did I get a tattoo? I brushed fingertips across the two points on my right wrist. Sensations travelled the length of the marks, growing stronger as they reached my lower belly. A gasp burst from my lips, my sudden arousal throbbing between my legs. My clit twitched for attention. ‚Devin.‛ The name from my lips conjured clips of memory. His smoldering kiss. Strong arms clamping me against his hard body. The fresh-as-night scent that lingered in my nostrils. He’d
After turning on my laptop, I shuffled, still weak, to the fridge. Upon opening the silver door, I found a black envelope taped to a bottle containing blue liquid. It said: To my Katharine with a K. My eyes darted left and right. ‚He was here last night. That wasn’t a dream.‛ A hysterical laugh burst from my lips. I covered it with my hand. ‚And now I’m talking to myself. You’re losing it, Katharine.‛ With a shake of my head, I snatched the envelope and the bottle from the fridge, before sitting down at my desk. Trembling fingers tore the shiny paper open: Drink this and your energy will return. I’ve left you food. Be sure to eat all of it. Trust me, my love. Yours for eternity, Devin. I rubbed my palms against my forehead, wondering if I was dreaming. Despite the queasy ball of fear in my stomach, warmth wrapped around my heart. Nobody had ever cared about me that way before. Mother had never bothered to bring me so much as soup when I was sick as a child. I brought the letter to my face and inhaled his scent from it. My lips twitched into a smile. Even if I’d been dreaming, I no longer wanted to wake up. With the scenes for a new story raging in my head, I pushed my doubts and questions aside, popped the cap on the drink, and gulped down a quarter of the bottle. The same sweet, explosive flavors I remembered from the night before quenched my thirst and flooded me with energy. Floating on an erotic buzz, I emptied my thoughts until I reached a state of readiness where my instincts took over. My fingers hammered out Chapter 1 on the keyboard. ***** Beeping invaded my Zen state. A few blinks and a roll of my shoulders completed the transition from my story back to reality. My cell chirped at me again from where it sat on the kitchen counter. I jumped out of the chair, still full of energy zinging around my

muscles from the drink, and snatched up the phone. Three missed calls and two texts. All from Mother. I groaned and lowered myself onto one of the bar stools at the breakfast counter as I speed dialed her. ‚Katharine?‛ Mother’s high-pitched tone portrayed her fury. ‚Where are you?‛ I sighed. ‚At home, Mother. Where else would I be?‛ ‚Here, where you were scheduled to be. We’re waiting for you.‛ My brows pushed together, and I made a slow ascent back to my feet. ‚You never schedule meetings on a Saturday.‛ Even as I said it, the puzzle pieces fit together and showed me a picture I didn’t want to see. My alarm clock had gone off, and it was only set for weekdays. I swallowed the cotton from my throat. Silence for a few moments. ‚Are you on something, Katharine?‛ ‚No!‛ I paced, palm to forehead. ‚I-I just lost track of the time, that’s all. I’m getting dressed now.‛ ‚You do that. Don’t be late again, or you’ll be removed from our author lineup. I made you, Katharine. Don’t forget it.‛ By the time my brain caught up with what she’d said, she’d hung up. Gritting my teeth, I whipped my phone at the wall. It smacked against the drywall and clattered to the tile. ‚You might have made me, Mother, but you don’t own me, not anymore.‛ As my anger subsided, my chest tightened again. I snatched up the remote, flicked the TV on, and tuned to the Morning Show to confirm my suspicion. When I caught sight of the date, I slumped down in a chair. ‚How did I lose two days?‛ “Don’t be frightened, my Katharine”. Devin’s whispers inside my ear drew a moan from me and renewed my ache for him. ‚Recovery from the first stage of bonding takes its toll on the human body. You slept and healed.” My shoulders relaxed, and I closed my eyes to savor his presence. Warm fuzzy sensations raced over my skin. ‚What do the marks on my arms mean?‛ “They identify you as my human companion. I have matching ones on my body that mark me as yours.” For whatever reason, that he was mine sent a zing of joy through me. ‚What am I supposed to tell everyone about them?‛

“Only you and immortals will be able to see them.” I rubbed hands along my thighs, slipping my robe aside to expose my pulsing need to the cool air. ‚Why am I so horny? Is it because of the bond?‛ His snicker vibrated along my bones, heightening my pleasure. ‚Yes, and because of your exposure to the Circle.” ‚How else will the bond affect me?‛ “Patience, my love.” I sighed at the warmth that surrounded his thoughts. ‚Please, Devin.‛ I touched fingertips to my lips, remembering his upon them. ‚I need you.‛ ‚Soon.‛ More snickers came before he left me. ***** The cab dropped me off at Mother’s building a half hour later. When I’d opened my drawers and closet to find all my clothes had been replaced, fury had been my response, but as I gathered ogles from the businessmen walking past, a new sort of power filled me. I stood on the sidewalk in a way-too-short denim skirt and a tight-fitting low-cut v-neck T-shirt with a black leather jacket over top. The stilettos made me stand straighter than I normally did, and the silk g-string slid between my lower lips—not something I was used to with the cotton panties I normally wore. Before ascending the steps, I met the bright blue eyes of a blond man. His step faltered. The briefcase slipped out of his hand and popped open upon impact with the cement. A cell phone bounced out, and papers escaped in a flutter. I’d never realized the control my body and stare could have over a man. My body hummed. With a grin plastered across my face and a new swing in my hips, I ascended the steps into the brick building and strode past the receptionist until I made it to the boardroom. After straightening my skirt, smoothing my shirt over my breasts, I opened the door. Charles and Ash both looked up, their eyes growing large as I

sauntered to my regular chair and flopped down in it. Mother looked over my snug T-shirt, at my girls popping the front of it out. ‚What are you wearing?‛ I shrugged, the grin never leaving my face. ‚Something new. Do you like it?‛ Ash nodded, his mouth agape. Charles, red-faced, averted his eyes, but not before I caught the desire in them. When I started to take off my jacket, Ash jumped from his chair and helped peel it from my arms. He draped it over the back of my chair. I turned my face up to him. ‚Thank you, Ash.‛ As if his speech processor had failed, he offered another nod before sitting down again. Mother leaned forward and squinted her eyes at me. ‚What’s gotten into you? You are taking drugs, aren’t you?‛ Laughter pealed out of me. ‚Oh, please, Mother. Can we get on with this? I have more writing to do today.‛ With her face set in a firm scowl, she prattled on about schedules, advertising, release dates, and cover art. Although I kept looking at her, my thoughts went back to Devin and the woman in chains. Would he ever string me up that way and take total control of me? It had never crossed my mind that being tied up and at someone’s mercy would appeal to me, but the steady pulse emanating from my liquid center made me believe I wanted it. Before I wrote more of my new story, I needed to experience it for myself. The hunger for release chewed at me. I shifted in my seat, dampness making it past my g-string to my thighs. One hand tugged at the neckline of my shirt, and the other gripped the leather armrest so they wouldn’t dive under my skirt. Something warm touched my arm. A small yip escaped me as I whirled my chair to find Ash withdrawing his hand from me. ‚Are you feeling okay, Katharine?‛ Ash tilted his head and looked me up and down. ‚You’re all flushed.‛ I bolted up, my pulse thrumming. ‚I-I just need a minute.‛ My heels whispered across the carpet as I walked from the room. I dashed

along the hall toward the bathroom. A shadow crossed my vision a moment before something yanked me into the dark photocopy room. I opened my mouth to scream. A hand clamped over my mouth and cut it off.

Chapter Seven I attempted to twist my body out of the vice of strong arms before Devin’s scent and his snicker reached me. The ice in my veins turned molten as I stopped fighting. ‚I’m going to remove my hand now, Katharine. Not a sound.‛ His palm fell away. Enough light seeped in under the door for me to make out his amused face. My mouth opened so I could launch jagged words at him, but he covered it again. ‚Relinquish control to me, my love. If you wish to learn, then you must trust me.‛ His lips replaced his hand on my mouth, soft, but insistent. His kiss grew urgent and rough, crushing against my lips. Our tongues danced with one another, swirling, plunging, reaching forward before drawing back. My anger evaporated as his aura engulfed me, drowning me in his sweet liquor. With him, I owned no doubt, no insecurities, no yearning outside what he could provide. He was everything I needed—and wanted. Devin brought my wrist to his mouth and gave it the same treatment as he had my lips. Lost in the sudden jolt of pleasure crossing my breasts and moving farther south, my body convinced me his tongue lapped at my clit instead of the place where he’d bitten me. A tense, hot nerve connected the two spots on my body, humming under his touch. I shuddered, savoring the sensations as they drifted up and down my core in waves. A sigh snuck past my efforts to hold in the sounds trying to escape.

When my knees buckled, he stopped his oral assault and gripped me by the waist, pressing me against the growing bulge in the front of his dress pants. ‚I’ve never seen markings run so deep, or affect anyone as profoundly.‛ He nuzzled my throat, his moan vibrating along my shoulder. ‚I knew you were meant for me, Katharine. I’ve always known.‛ I nodded, unable to find my voice to express my frustration. Every instinct wanted to scream at him to fuck me, but he was my Dom, and if I wanted him to please me, I had to play along. ‚Please,‛ I whispered. ‚I’ll beg if that’s what you want.‛ ‚Begging will win you nothing in this game, but listen closely and I’ll tell you the rules. I know you’ve been thinking about what happened to Caroline.‛ He paused at my gasp. ‚I’m going to bind you now. This lesson is still about self-control. If you make the faintest sound, I’ll stop pleasuring you.‛ In a lightning-quick move, he’d wound what felt like leather straps around my wrists and jerked me upwards. When his hands returned to his sides, mine remained over my head. A quick tug confirmed what the twist in my stomach suspected. He’d hung me from something in the ceiling. ‚What?‛ I yanked against my confinement, grunting with the effort. ‚We can’t do this here! Someone could walk in any second.‛ ‚Mmm, that they can.‛ His breath cooled my chin a moment before he nibbled on it. ‚Exciting, isn’t it?‛ Before I could retort, his hands slipped beneath my skirt and cupped my ass. My breath stalled somewhere in the depths of my throat. His knee wedged between mine and wiggled until I had no choice but to open to him. The sudden exposure to the air and thoughts of him quenching the raging inferno in my abdomen stripped me down to my primal instincts. By a tiny thread, I held on to the order to remain silent, to avoid being left in torment again. ‚You like this, don’t you, Katharine?‛ His lips brushed mine as he spoke. I stared back at his face half in shadow and half in dim light. His

words filtered through my horny Neanderthal brain but had no meaning. My brows shifted together. Hips tilted forward, I wrapped my leg around his, suspended by my bound wrists. ‚I can smell your desire. Are you wet for me, lover?‛ He pulled the hem of my skirt up as he wiggled out of my weak hold and descended to his knees before me. The hunger in his gaze induced a delicious rush through my center. ‚Open for me.‛ Part of me rebelled against his control over me, but that voice of protest lessened to a whisper as my animal lust pulsed in the forefront. I reveled in my confinement, in the pleasure promised by his dark stare. While my tongue slicked over my lips, I obeyed his command and lifted my knee high before setting my heeled foot down farther away. He rubbed the back of his neck, and his lips curved in a naughty smile. Clearly he’d caught a glimpse of my wet, silk-covered slit as I’d intended. Devin’s lips played along the front of my thighs, and his fingers tickled behind my knees. It took every ounce of concentration and focus to stop my sighs and moans escaping from the depths where they were born. His kisses fell everywhere but the place I most wanted him, along my sensitive belly—avoiding my markings—on the underside of my breasts, up and down my inner thighs. If I hadn’t been more jazzed up than a teen raver on Ecstasy before he arrived, his touch still would have driven me to the edge of sanity. My fingers clenched and relaxed, and my toes curled and cracked as he pulled my panties aside. I thrust my hips forward, hoping to contact his tongue. Devin lapped at the crease where my thigh met my crotch. My mouth clamped shut as I stared down at him. After one teasing lick of my swollen lower lips, he sat back and tilted his face up to me. One painful button at a time, he revealed his glorious body. Chest, curved and smooth, abs carved by the gods, the muscular swell of his shoulders—all highlighted perfectly by the small light source from under the door. Words pooled in my throat, but instead of speaking them, I thought hard at him. ‚Please. No more teasing. I need you, Devin. Why haven’t you fucked me yet?” I hadn’t meant to think the last part. My already warm face

burned. His full lips stretched into a smirk as if I’d done something to please him. ‚Soon, my love. In the second stage of bonding, I’ll take you all the way to the other side with me.” Before I had a chance to consider what that meant, his tongue slid between my nether lips and swirled around my nub. When his fingers opened me wide to his waiting mouth, my head dropped back, and I cried out. His oral assault ceased. ‚No, no, no! Please.‛ I panted and stared down at where he smirked up at me. ‚I’m sorry. I couldn’t—‛ Heeled footsteps stopped on the other side of the door. Oh, fuck! Every muscle in my body strained at once as I flailed in my restraints. The room spun in circles and upside down as the door opened. Light spilled over me. When my vision focused, I found myself standing alone in the center of the room, and the leather strap no longer bound my wrists. Blinking through the confusion and blinding rectangle of brightness in the doorway, I met Mother’s glare. ‚What are you doing here in the dark?‛ Her French-tipped nail flicked the switch on the wall. ‚I
her proud. All the years I’d thought she had my best interests in mind, but she’d been using me all along to promote her causes. I smoothed fingers through my hair and breathed deeply as if some weight I hadn’t known existed had been removed. ‚You know what, Mother?‛ A smile grew on my lips despite the liquid state Devin had left me in. ‚I don’t give a fuck what you think. I’m done with you and your pathetic little publishing house.‛ As I strode past her gaping mouth and blazing eyes, I spoke over my shoulder. ‚I have a new muse, one who won’t tell me pretty lies. Good luck finding another sucker to promote your little dog and pony shows.‛ ***** For the remainder of the week, my focus centered on the new world I’d created inside my laptop. As I wrote, my condo, along with everything else, ceased to exist. I became my heroine as she explored her own sexual awakening. My momentum stalled out that Friday when my hero and heroine were about to graduate from sensual play to full-out sex. I stopped there, unwilling to write any more before I’d experienced Devin inside me for the first time. The ache for him—the one centered between my legs and around my heart—had worsened each day. I hadn’t seen him since he’d left me in the copy room the previous Monday, but I sensed him near whenever my fingers wandered too close to my slippery playground. Mother had threatened to sue me for breach of contract—even though she’d never thought to have me sign one—and to force me out of my condo because her name happened to be on the rental agreement, but I hadn’t received any legal papers, so I’d put her out of my mind. A glance at my watch reminded me I had two hours to get ready for my return to the Circle. Although I wanted to be wholly Devin’s more than I’d ever wanted anything before, the unknown of what might happen sent tingles of fear up my neck and lifted the downy hairs there to dance. Would our first fuck take place before an audience of immortals and their human companions? Was I okay with that?

I bolted up from my desk, teeth worrying my lower lip. The need that gripped me demanded my compliance. Whatever happened, I’d accept it to be with Devin, even if a distant corner of my mind rattled off questions in whispers. My mental foot came down hard as I headed to the shower. Fretting over something I had no control over wouldn’t solve anything, anyway.

Chapter Eight After drying my hair and securing it in a neat twist at the back of my head, I emerged from the bathroom. I’d taken no more than a step into my bedroom when a flash of something caught my eye. A white dress with a plunging neckline hung from my closet door. My heart leapt as I skipped over to it and traced a hand over the fabric. An identifiable material met my touch, soft and thin, but not shiny like silk. I dropped the towel from around my waist and slipped the dress over my head. It molded to my body as if made for me. I ran my palms up and down from thighs to breasts, marveling at the way the garment slid over my skin. The furnace in my nether regions heated as I imagined Devin’s hands replacing mine. As if summoned, his sudden appearance injected me with a dizzying euphoria a moment before his strong hands slipped around my waist from behind. A sigh escaped me as he tugged me back against his hard body. His swollen cock, barely contained in his pants, pressed against my ass. ‚I’ve missed you, my Katharine.‛ His mouth nuzzled my throat. ‛Mmm, you smell so good.‛ I opened my mouth, but closed it again. I’d vowed to keep my wits about me and not break the rules. ‚M-may I speak?‛ A snicker vibrated up his throat. ‚The game has not yet begun, but it pleases me that you asked all the same.‛ He spun me to face him fast enough my vision blurred. ‚Once we arrive at the Circle, you must observe the formalities. For now, we are free to be as we are.‛

My shaking fingers slid into the silk of his chestnut hair. I drew him closer and brushed my lips against his, our quickening breaths mingling and cooling my skin. His tongue darted out, and I captured it between my lips, plunged my own into his mouth. He growled as my hand slid down the front of his black suit pants. I gasped at his rock-like state—clearly I wasn’t the only one in need. Air rushed past me as the room whirled in a wash of white. My back contacted the bed hard as Devin threw me down and landed on top of me. I raised my knees to cradle him, moaning as the fabric of his pants pressed against my bare lower lips. His mouth crushed against mine, and I responded with urgency that bordered on panic. I yanked at the back of his shirt as I thrust my hips against him. Shining white daggers descended from beneath his upper lip. His face lowered until their tips grazed my throat. ‚Yes.‛ I hissed the word, eager to have him inside me, to drink from me. My eyes widened at the contradicting thoughts crashing through my mind. Did I want him to? How far down had I gone that I wished an immortal would sink his fangs into me? A sensory memory from his bite on my wrist captured every sense and erased my doubt. His growl echoed in my head. The otherworldly perfume of his skin invaded my nostrils. Pleasure traveled the length of my spine and dipped into my sex with hot, sticky needles of warmth. ‚So eager, but we must not indulge here.‛ He kissed my neck before climbing off the bed and offering me his hand. I whimpered at the absence of his weight but took his offered help and stood beside him. ‚Why are you torturing me?‛ His snicker added to my frustration. ‚There are customs that must be observed to ensure the validity and strength of our bond.‛ Devin’s fingertips brushed my collarbone, and I moaned, wanting his hands everywhere. ‚Now we must go. My sovereign does not take kindly to tardiness.‛ ‚What will happen tonight?‛ He pressed his lips against my forehead. ‚Your mind and body will be opened to the Circle and the possibilities within. Together, we will ascend to a higher state of being.‛

When he nudged me toward the door, I moved away from him. My eyes narrowed to slits. ‚Will you bite me again? Will you<.‛ A shudder stole my air. ‚Do you trust me?‛ He gave me a dark, serious stare, as if my answer meant more than he could tell me. ‚I<‛ Did I trust him? I hardly knew the man, but somehow I knew, with every part of my being, that he wouldn’t intentionally hurt me. Even if I hadn’t trusted him, I still wanted everything he offered and more. ‚Yes.‛ A smile broke across his face, one I could stare at for hours and not tire of. ‚Good, then submit to me, and I’ll take care of you.‛ My heart swelled at the tenderness in his gaze, in the elegance of his cadence. Still wearing a broad smile, Devin took my hand and led me from the room. ***** My fingers worried over the hem of my dress. From the leather seat in the limousine, I stared at the source of my torment—so close, yet out of my reach, as Devin sat across from me, his grin never wavering. “Devin,‛ I thought at him. ‚Will we be alone…you know…when it happens? Whatever it is.” His finger traced the edge of the window next to him, his eyes following their path. If he’d heard me, it didn’t show. “Will I have to greet Malachi?” My hands clamped onto the upholstery on either side of my knees. I hated that Devin’s master could affect me the way he did and cause a dark titillation capable of making me lose control if I allowed it. Would his touch affect my marks the way Devin’s did? Stifling a shudder, I leaned forward and begged Devin with my eyes for an answer. My mouth opened, but I closed it again. I wanted to reach for him. My hand even made it a few inches toward his knee before I pulled back. He’d asked me if I trusted him, and I did. I only needed to relax and allow him to take care of me as he promised, to lead me toward

a sexual awakening I needed like air. A new calm eased the tightness across my shoulders and my grip on the seat. I could be patient. I would be patient if he could teach me more, take me deeper into whatever reality he spoke of that waited beyond the climax we would soon share. Eyes closed, I concentrated on my heart to slow its rapid pace. My thighs, slick with my arousal, slid against one another as I squirmed under the throbbing heat within. The vibrations from the car only made matters worse, tickling my backside and teasing my aching clit. Something touched my cheek. A tiny scream burst from my lips as my eyes flew open to Devin on the seat beside me. ‚Forgive me, I didn’t mean to startle you. You looked so peaceful it pains me to disturb you.‛ After swallowing the giant lump in my throat, I nodded and patted my chest. ‚Have we arrived?‛ ‚We have.‛ He slid two fingers over the top of my hand, flipped it over in a gentle motion, and brought my wrist near his lips. His cool breath fanned across my mark, sending a zing over my stiff nipples and across my belly. ‚You have impressed me tonight, Katharine, and I don’t impress easily.‛ My brows knitted together. ‚Why?‛ ‚I’ve been hard on you, and in the grips of such need and uncertainty, I’m surprised you’re showing such restraint.‛ Intense joy bloomed in my center at his approval. Tingles rose to the surface of my skin. He opened the door, took my hand, and we exited the car. His fingers brushed a stray lock of hair from my cheek and tucked it behind my ear. ‚Tonight you will understand everything, my love. We will be as one. One mind. One soul. One pleasure beyond anything either of us has ever known. I’ve been waiting so long for you.‛ I gasped under his intense stare while it invaded me like a siren’s song. Every part of me screamed out its approval, that I was his and my wait would soon end. Somehow I’d been waiting for him, too, even though I’d never been consciously aware of it. His mouth sought mine, lips and tongue locked in a moist embrace.

I found a tender promise in that kiss. If we would be together, then I would endure any discomfort. I would wait lifetimes if that’s what it took. In that moment, I finally understood addiction in its rawest, most viral form. Beneath the fear my revelation sparked in my gut. Excitement sent tremors through me in rolling waves. ‚Come, we mustn’t be late.‛ When Devin released me, he held out his arm. ‚Our game has now begun. I am your Dom, and you are mine. Do not speak without permission, and obey me no matter what I ask of you.‛ Uncertain if my legs would carry me anywhere, I slipped my shaking hand over the crook of his elbow and concentrated on putting one foot in front of the other. Would I wake up and regret meeting him one day? Wind up in rehab because I couldn’t function without Devin’s touch? A frantic giggle slipped out before I could catch it as I imagined how the therapy sessions would go: ‚Yeah, I’m addicted to sex and blood play with an immortal.” I’d be committed for sure. ‚What’s so amusing?‛ Devin shot me a glance, his eyes sparkling with it. I shrugged, my face growing hotter by the second, and I found something interesting on the cement walkway to look at. He leaned closer as he tugged me toward the front doors. ‚Not all addictions are bad.‛ ‚Dammit!‛ My hand slapped over my mouth. He’d been listening to my thoughts. He whipped me around in front of him and gripped my chin with his fingers. Although the set of his mouth held a warning, his eyes shone with lingering humor. ‚This is your one warning. Don’t make me flog you before the Circle.‛ His lips played along my cheek up to my ear until I shivered and squirmed. ‚But perhaps you might enjoy that.‛ Judging by the endorphins flooding me, I thought I just might. Without meeting my wide eyes, he took us the rest of the way to the building and pulled open the glass door. Devin ushered me in first and followed after. Giant glass chandeliers dangling from the ornate ceiling shone a dim amber hue into the cavernous three-story lobby. Circular staircases ascended on both sides, leading to balconies that

extended the length of the white room on the second and third floors. When I tore my gaze away from the spectacle before me, it dawned on me that we were alone. I glanced at Devin. By the twitching of his jaw, I thought maybe it surprised him, too. A set of double doors swung open on the far side of the room. A black cloaked figure emerged and glided toward us, his robe billowing out behind. I squeezed Devin’s hand, and he tugged me close to his body, wrapping a protective arm around my shoulders. His bicep flexed and hardened to stone where it pressed against my back. My breath quickened as the immortal drew closer. ‚Sovereign.‛ Devin offered a subtle nod of his head before focusing on me. ‚Offer him your wrist, Katharine.‛ Shit. I hesitated a moment before turning my left wrist up to Malachi and clenching my teeth. I told myself to think of drowning kittens and wrinkled old men. I chanted the mantra several times, but my anticipation of getting caught up in an orgasmic dance grew anyway. Malachi moved to stand in front of me. His flaming gaze locked onto mine. At my squirming, Malachi chuckled and brushed his fingers over my mark. I whimpered and shifted when his mouth replaced his hand, kissing and licking along the black imprint of my bond with Devin. Sparkling fire traveled deep into my body. Pressure grew between my thighs, one I wanted and didn’t at the same time—not from him. As a cry launched from my throat, Devin yanked me backwards and away from Malachi’s touch. ‚You didn’t tell me the marks ran so deep, Brother.‛ A primal hunger shadowed Malachi’s stare as he took me in from top to bottom. Devin shot words from his mouth like bullets. ‚Where are our brethren?‛ Pale hands emerged from the sleeves of Malachi’s cloak and pushed the hood from his head. Shining black hair slid forward on his face, along with the jewel-laden braids. ‚They have prepared the chamber and await you and your mate, of course.‛ Devin’s arm clamped tighter around me, and a growl rumbled past

his lips. ‚But we agreed I would have Katharine al—‛ ‚Would you truly deny your people an ascent such as this? Do not keep us waiting.‛ Malachi’s lip turned up in a snarl, emphasizing his descended fangs. He pointed to a door on my right. ‚Prepare yourselves for your final bonding.‛ He turned and strode back the way he came.

Chapter Nine Strangled for air, I turned to Devin. ‚What just happened?‛ ‚Silence!‛ He grabbed my wrist and led me to the door so fast I had to jog to keep up. My heels clicked like gunshots off the tile, echoing back from the high ceiling. Once inside the room, Devin slammed the door shut behind us and flicked on a light. The large white space held a bed with a red silk duvet. On top, lay one shiny black robe and one white. He paced along the end of the bed to the far wall before returning to the place where we’d entered. I shook my hands out, in need of some way to relieve the tension knotting my muscles. Devin roared and kicked the wooden door. I screamed as it splintered into a thousand shards and exploded outward. He heaved out a breath and came to me, eyes filled with shadow. ‚Forgive me.‛ His arms gathered me to his chest. My body remained stiff against his. Would he hurt me? His hands slid along my cheeks and centered my face with his. ‚I would never, never hurt you in anger, Katharine. I just—I wanted us to have this night together, alone, and now<‛ Eyes clamped shut, his forehead settled against mine. I swallowed around the sudden dryness in my throat. ‚And now, what?‛ Devin stepped back, a nerve twitching in his left temple. All expression evaporated and left him unreadable. ‚We will complete the

bond within the Circle. Once we have begun our ascent—‛ He scrubbed a hand across his mouth and averted his gaze. ‚—Malachi believes the two of us can take you higher than I can alone.‛ My feet carried me backwards until I bumped into the bed. Wobbling on knees about to fold, I lowered myself down to the mattress. ‚What are you saying?‛ ‚Don’t be naïve, Katharine.‛ His palm thrust up. ‚You know very well what I’m saying.‛ ‚But—I don’t want to be with him.‛ My tone held more insolence than I’d intended, but I couldn’t help it. The primal, curious part of me wanted the experience, to be with two men at once, but the moral code I’d grown up with caused a knot in my stomach. I hated that I wanted someone other than my boyfriend. Devin appeared before me, his lips pressed into a thin line as if in the grips of some excruciating pain. ‚You have no choice—we have no choice.‛ I shook my head and folded my arms together. ‚This is going too far, too fast.‛ ‚I know.‛ He reached for me, but his hand dropped before making contact with my cheek. ‚For years I’ve watched you from a distance, thinking it would be enough for me. I told myself you were better off ignorant of my world, of what we could become as a bonded pair.‛ The block of ice forming in my chest melted a little. I glanced at him, at the sorrow darkening his eyes. ‚What changed? Why did you bring me here?‛ He stepped back and leaned against the wall, and his shoulders wilted like a flower too long without rain. ‚I’d like to say it was because I found no meaning in your life. You rarely dated or pleasured yourself. Your writing lacked the passion I knew you had in you. You existed without truly living.‛ Devin shook his head and uttered a disgusted grunt. ‚If I’m truthful, it’s because I was lonely and wanted to be close to you, and a bond is the only way our laws would permit us to be together.‛ He pounded the stone wall with his fist. A tear dripped from my chin before I realized I’d shed it. The truth in his words crashed in on me. I had few friends, none that I cared to go

out with. My whole life I felt as if I waited for something—or someone. How long had I been waiting for Devin to unlock the dull prison my life had become? My heart and spirit had recognized him like a long lost lover, so how could it be wrong? I stood, closed the distance to him, and traced his brow with my fingertips. He sighed, leaned into my touch, and placed his hand over mine. ‚You’re right about my life—it had no meaning. I didn’t understand that until I met you.‛ A sigh whispered from my lips. ‚Yes, you scare me, and the idea of being with two men at once in front of a crowd petrifies me, but< it also excites me.‛ My face blazed. Devin met my gaze and came away from the wall. ‚There’s nothing to be ashamed of, Katharine. Within the Circle, watching you enjoy the touch of another would please me.‛ A frantic giggle bubbled in my throat. ‚I think I know that, but this is all new to me. I feel
five minutes earlier. He’d disappeared around the corner after telling me one of his brethren would come for me. The cool breeze spiraling down the hall puckered my nipples until they showed through the light material. I wrung my hands together, shifted my feet, and willed the terrible rolling in my stomach to cease, though it didn’t listen. A clank sent my heart into my throat a moment before the doors whispered inward to reveal a dark room pulsing with golden light. From the strange aura, a shadow emerged, hidden beneath a dark red cloak. ‚Your Dom calls for you, Katharine.‛ The male voice held no emotion, yet it crawled along my skin. He offered a pale hand. ‚Come.‛ The wooden poles my legs had become refused to move me forward. What would I find beyond the doors? Would everyone have begun their festivities? Something gripped my wrist. I yelped and looked down to find my escort’s hand around it. ‚Come, or I shall take you over my shoulder.‛ Within the shadow of his hood, only the white of his teeth revealed his grin. ‚Perhaps you would prefer that.‛ ‚No!‛ I held up my free hand palm out. ‚I’ll come, just let go of me.‛ He offered a subtle bow and stood aside, sweeping his arm to usher me into the room. I swallowed the cotton from my mouth, took a deep breath, and started forward. The instant I crossed the threshold, the downy hairs along my arms and on the back of my neck stood on end. A force similar to static swept over and through me, crackling and popping through my veins. Blood rushed to the surface of my skin as if trying to escape a stalking beast within. A golden halo pulsed out from the center of the room, warming my front each time it washed over me. My lungs heaved under my efforts to breathe as the broad rays pressed on my chest the way water pressurized my body when I submersed up to my neck. All of the immortals and their humans formed a large circle around a raised platform positioned in the center of the space. Some bent over,

swallowing down a cock and taking another from behind. Moans and sighs mingled with wet slapping sounds. Mouths dropped open, slack with ecstasy, and some of their eyes glowed like embers in a fire. The chain continued on, hands, mouths, pussies or asses giving and receiving in vigorous fashion. Devin stood on the platform next to a table topped with what appeared to be white velvet upholstery. Black leather belts dangled down in several places along its length. To his left waited a naked Malachi. His thick cock stood at full attention as he stared at me. I froze in place, both from the intense, yet enticing, scene before me, and the energy that continued to assault my every cell with alternating waves of heat and cold. What was I doing? Was I insane? I wanted Devin to push me beyond my limits, but what I witnessed delved into otherworldly places I wasn’t sure I wanted to experience, at least not so soon. Devin had been hinting around something—our ascent he’d called it. Why hadn’t I asked what that meant? Did I not want to know? A chuckle sounded behind me before my escort scooped me onto his shoulder. Panic wrapped a tight fist around my throat as he started toward the ring of people fucking. I pounded against his solid back. ‚Put me down!‛ I tried to kick him, but his arm looped around my thighs, pinning me in place. ‚Devin!‛ My captor crouched and, in one powerful bound, leapt us up onto the platform. He pulled me down from his shoulder and steadied me on my feet before bowing to Malachi and disappearing. Devin extended his hand to me. ‚Come to me, my Katharine.‛ Despite his beautiful face, those full lips begging to be kissed, and the need once again zinging through my pussy, I couldn’t make myself move forward. Malachi remained in my peripheral vision, ever watching. His stare heated my body almost as powerfully as Devin’s. A tentative step backwards sent my heel over the edge of the platform. I yelped as I fell, but Malachi appeared and gripped my forearm before I hit the floor. Wearing an infernal grin, he tugged me back to my feet. His thumb stroked my marks, filling me with fire. ‚Your Dom has given you an

order. I suggest you obey him.‛ Malachi shot a malicious look to Devin. While unspoken communication passed between them, Devin’s lips pressed tight together and his shoulders hunched up. Pressure built in my abdomen as Malachi guided me to my boyfriend, still caressing the pulsing nerve that ended in my deepest crevice. “What just happened?” I thought at Devin. ‚Defy me again, and I’ll be forced to punish you.‛ Devin reached out, snatched my hand, and tugged me against him. His chocolate eyes held a warning that injected ice into my heart. As the silence stretched on, I got the impression he waited for a response. ‚Yes, Dom. F-forgive me.‛ Something slid beneath the edges of my robe and brushed my collarbone. Heart in a sprint, I grabbed the silk and gripped it as Malachi tried to slide it down my shoulders from behind. Devin held my chin. ‚It’s okay, Katharine.‛ Between the energy pulses from the others and the drunken pleasure of his touch, my fingers released their hold on the fabric, and it disappeared from my body. A nude woman with white hair appeared behind Devin, tugged him backward, and took his covering in the same manner. My eyes swept over every inch of his exposed playground. Thoughts of what he could do to me with the strength of his muscular chest and defined arms sent my juices flowing. The startling girth of his shaft made my mouth water, and my fingers itched to stroke it. Devin grasped my hand and led me to the table. ‚Now we finish this. Are you ready to belong to me mind, body and soul? Are you ready to become part of the Circle?‛ His smooth voice broke my trance. No, I wasn’t ready. Oh, God, what was I doing? A sigh rushed from my lips as his fingers brushed over my tattoos, beginning a renewed throb in my pussy. Need outweighed my fear and doubt. I wanted him like a cool glass of water to soothe my parched existence. A shuddering breath escaped me. ‚Yes.‛ A brilliant smile broke across his face. He held my waist and set me on top of the padded table as he nibbled at my throat. His fingertips

caressed the curve of my shoulders and down my back before laying me down on the soft fabric. A tremble born from deep within me rippled to the surface. Eyes closed, I savored his electric touch, along my stomach, over the tops of my thighs. Something tightened around my leg. I sat up, thoughts caught in a whirlwind of confusion. A glance down revealed a leather strap securing my thigh to the surface of the table. With wide eyes, my fingers dove to release it, but Devin whipped both my arms behind my back. ‚This bite will be intense. I must tie you so you don’t move and risk me tearing your flesh.‛ I opened my mouth, but closed it again. ‚Is that supposed to comfort me? Where are you going to bite me?” Devin busied himself securing my other leg while avoiding my stare. My throat ached under the storm of questions begging to be released. Cool fingers slipped around my throat and pressed me back down. Malachi’s upside-down face appeared above mine. His fingers locked around my wrists and pressed them to the velvet above my head. A click came from where Devin stood at my feet. He stared at me with need-darkened eyes as he gripped the end of the table and pulled it apart, forcing my legs open with the hinged arms they were attached to. Trailing fingertips along my exposed inner thigh, his breath caught, and he uttered a moan. The pounding and slapping sounds of sex joined with a hum that resonated in my chest. While playing his lips across my belly, Devin secured another leather strap around my waist and jerked it tight. His fingers never broke contact with my skin as he returned to stand between my splayed legs. Malachi breathed across my ear as he pressed my hands harder into the cushioned surface. ‚I can hear your heart racing, Katharine. Use your fear to propel us higher.‛ I shook my head with no understanding, my desire pulsing stronger along with the humming and the golden flashes of light encircling the three of us.

Devin leaned over me, the silky skin of his cock pressing against my leg. Lips and tongue explored my erect nipples, one, then the other, back and forth in a bewildering pattern of soft, wet licks and sucks. Malachi suckled my earlobe. He gripped my arms with one hand and tickled fingers along my forearms. Delicious fire travelled along my shoulders, joined with the sensations Devin bestowed upon me, and sent my clit aching harder. The chanting by the immortals synchronized with the light pulses and seemed matched to my frantic heartbeat. Devin descended along my stomach, leaving kisses that tingled even after he’d moved on. I tried to raise my hips to encourage him lower, but the binding around my waist kept me in place. Grunting my frustration, I tugged at my hands only to have Malachi lock his lips over the place where Devin had bitten me—the origin of the marks and most intense pleasure center other than the one I hoped a tongue would soon find. Malachi’s free hand gripped my breast, pinching my puckered nub between his thumb and finger. My whimpers came between gasps as Devin nuzzled the crease where my leg met my abdomen, so close to my twitching need, yet not touching. Malachi’s moans and oral manipulation of my skin injected fire along the hot nerves leading through my heated core. Intensity grew like a water balloon about to burst. Devin’s tongue lashed one long stroke over my slit and stopped. Groans fell in a continuous wave from my throat as I found no way past the euphoria to the part of my brain that processed speech. His hands clamped onto my right knee a moment before his fangs pierced my inner thigh. A scream tore unbidden from my lips. Intense pleasure took me over the razor’s edge of pain. Conflicting sensations dominated every thought and drew my muscles taught. Mouth clamped around my wound, Devin sucked a few times, came back to my pussy and lavished it with licks and kisses. Ripples of warmth cascaded from my center to my extremities, the edge of oblivion so close I managed to relax my body in preparation. As I neared the ultimate burst, Devin stood and eyed me like a starving man

before a feast. His lips appeared to have a ruby gloss from my blood. I shook my head. ‚Don’t stop. Please! I’ll do anything you want, just don’t stop!” Malachi released my hands and unfastened the bindings at my waist, while Devin freed my legs. What were they doing? It couldn’t be over already. “I—I need you, please!” ‚Patience, my love.‛ Devin licked his lips and scooped me off the table into his arms. After a moment of locking me in his gaze, he set me in a nest of soft bedding on the newly cleared floor. He knelt between my legs while I jittered under his flaming red eyes. Malachi appeared beside him, wielding the same curved blade as the last time I’d been in the Circle. Devin winced as his sovereign raked the edge of the dagger along Devin’s outer thigh. What would happen? Our blood would mingle as he fucked me, but how would that change us? I already wanted him in a way that frightened me. Would I cease to be myself? I glanced out at the crowd to find Devin hadn’t been the only one enjoying a human delicacy. Blood streaked every pale body. Before I could allow the fear to ascend from the background, Devin hovered over me, propped up on hands and knees. ‚Do not fight me, Katharine.‛ My voice squeaked out. ‚What does that mean?‛ ‚We will become one. It can be
With his hand, he directed his cock to my wet slit and stroked the silky head the full length of my valley. My hips rose to meet him, my pussy aching to swallow him down whole. “Mercy, you’re so wet.” I pleaded without words, seeing beyond the smoldering coals his eyes had become into the welcoming soul within. ‚Don’t make me beg, Dom. Not this time. Please!‛ Devin hesitated, his muscles trembling as if his steadfast control neared its breaking point. A growl rumbled in his chest as he pushed against my opening, barely piercing me. The pleasure radiating from his touch overrode the burning pain. Grunting, he thrust in farther, withdrew, and plunged in again. We cried out in unison as Devin shoved himself fully into me. Our gazes locked together as he began a sensual dance. My hands gripped his ass, the muscles beneath his skin tightening with every thrust. Every part of me relaxed under the power of his touch. Our moans joined the crescendo of humming from the others and resonated through me like a skilled finger stroking a crystal glass. My body sang for him. The weight on my mind increased again, filled with all that he was, every memory, every sight, every flavor and sound he’d ever savored in his long lifetime. The decade-long love that grew within him as he watched me from afar wrapped me in a tender embrace. My heart swelled as we grew closer, our spirits mingling in the confines of my soul. A rapid roll brought me on top of him. My fingers slid up his heaving chest, along his throat, and tangled into his soft hair. He gripped my hips, his strength urging me to ride him. I complied, slid up and down his glorious width, and savored the way he stretched me open. As I moved, my swollen nub rubbed against his satin skin. His arms moved up my back and pulled me down against him. Hot breath washed across my ear, down my throat, and over my shoulder. Locked in his arms, a shiver rattled along my spine. Devin spread his legs open as he continued to pump his cock into me. Another pair of hands stroked my lower back. I tensed when I realized who it would be. ‚Submit to your sovereign, Katharine,‛ Devin whispered against

my ear. ‚We’ll all go together.‛ His lips sought mine and took my thoughts away from the sudden cool wetness dripping onto my ass. Malachi’s thumb manipulated my tight knot, inducing a tremble in me. I’d never understood the attraction to anal play, but so far gone into ecstasy, his digit pressing harder and harder against my back door gave me a dark sort of pleasure. The plethora of sensations from the two men pressing me between them threatened to overwhelm my senses. My fingernails pressed into Devin’s shoulders as Malachi invaded me with a finger. Devin clamped one arm around my back and used the other to grip my hip, stilling my movements on his cock. Trembling with anticipation, I obeyed my Dom and relaxed my weight down on his body, concentrating on the second finger Malachi shoved into my ass. My channel tightened against my will, but the more he stroked the easier his fingers moved and the more pleasure he induced in me. ‚You like that, don’t you, Katharine?‛ Malachi said, his voice thick with desire. The head of his meaty cock rested where his fingers had been. ‚Tell me how much you want it.‛ I raised my face to look at Devin for approval. Although I wanted Malachi inside me, part of me still rebelled. I belonged to Devin, and it was wrong to want another no matter what he said. Wasn’t it? Would he hate me for it later? His eyes held only affection and need. He nodded. ‚Submit.‛ All the tension, all the doubt faded with his encouragement and joy. I pressed my lips against his throat and inhaled his scent, which only heightened the sensations. ‚Yes, I want it. Fuck me, Sovereign.‛ Malachi uttered a dark chuckle, leaned forward, and smacked my ass. ‚That’s a good girl.‛ The pressure against my tight hole descended to pain as he breached my surface. I cried out as he worked in farther. Devin and Malachi moaned under my sudden clenching. As Malachi began a slow, deep rhythm, his movements slid me along Devin’s length. The initial pain subsided and filled me with glorious golden ripples of pleasure. Malachi’s essence differed from Devin’s, darker, more intense and somehow frightening and titillating at the same time. Both of them wrapped themselves around my soul until I thought I

might drown. My mate tangled fingers into my hair as he fed at my lips, plunging his tongue into my mouth to dance with mine. Something like a purr vibrated his chest. Malachi gripped my hips and pounded hard and deep as if to keep my attention on him, his groans mixed with animalistic growls. The heat in my abdomen grew to the edge of combustion. Tingles spread out from my center, to the top of my head, and out to my fingertips and toes. They rolled back toward my pussy like a wave about to crash upon the shore. My breaths turned to shallow pants. ‚Come for me.‛ Devin stared up at me with a joy I didn’t understand. His smile swept warmth over my skin. Unaware that I’d been holding back for his permission, I let go of every resistance, letting myself drift while the men drove my body and mind to a new high, one I never imagined could exist. My stomach went into spasms a moment before impact. I screamed as I rolled over the hill. Devin bit my throat at the same time Malachi sank fangs into my shoulder. The pain turned up the dials on my pleasure meter. My orifices contracted around the solid cocks still buried deep and brought them to explosion with me. Their hot injections coated me as I milked them dry. Caught in a bright flash, the three of us broke free of our bodies, drifting together as we ascended. We became the air, everywhere and nowhere, lingering until the other spirits from the Circle joined us. As one, we rose higher into a white place I didn’t recognize, filled with the energy of the earth and the sun. I was the center of our new universe, the nucleus of our existence. Each soul touched me and wrapped me in mirth and ecstasy that continued the communal orgasm we all rode upon. Our crystal laughter broke into play as we swirled and bathed in one another. For hours or maybe days, we remained bound together in what I could only compare to sensual heaven. ***** I opened my eyes and blinked in confusion, trying to make sense out of the ornate ceiling and the silk duvet wrapped around me.

Where was I? ‚Devin?‛ My heart pounded as I sat up. Dizziness sent the room—and my stomach—into a sickening tailspin. Had it all been a dream? The rest of my grogginess evaporated as the murmur of voices reached my ears. I swung my legs over the side of the giant bed and slipped down until my bare feet met cold tile. A shiver took me as I gripped the edge of the mattress to steady my tremulous legs. Slow, deliberate steps brought me to a door edged by a tiny strip of light. My hands shot out for the wall as a wave of rage burned through me, but it wasn’t mine. It belonged to Devin. I could feel his emotions? My stomach ceased its knotting when the shock I expected never arrived. We were bonded, and I liked it, something so natural I didn’t know how I’d existed without our connection. Eyes closed, I searched my mind for him. Although I sensed the path I could take to speak to him and hear his thoughts, an invisible barrier that smelled of him stood in my way. Why was he keeping me out? The voices on the other side of the door grew to roars. I clamped a hand over my mouth to muffle my frantic breaths and turned the knob. Through the crack, I found Devin standing nose to nose with Malachi. Both displayed fangs. My heart stopped when their faces—contorted with fury—turned to me.

Chapter Ten Devin’s eyes softened as his fangs retracted. ‚Katharine, you’re awake.‛ Smiling, he strode toward me. The air and light around him pulsed and changed from indigo to white as he grew nearer. Malachi’s gaze swept over my body, an aura similar to Devin’s surrounding him, only much darker. I covered the tightening of my nipples under his look of approval. Uncertain what might happen when an immortal got angry, and what had caused my mate to be so furious, I retreated from the doorway. Devin’s smile faded. He cocked his head as he cracked the door open farther and stepped inside. ‚There’s no need to fear me, my love. My anger is not for you. You feel it now, don’t you?‛ I nodded and forced myself to remain still while he closed the distance. His energy popped and crackled as it made contact with my skin. I half expected lightning to shoot from his fingertips with the intensity. He pressed his cheek to mine, beginning a cascade of shivers through my body. ‚You’re so warm now.‛ I leaned away and stared at him with narrowed eyes. ‚Why are you warm? And where am I? How did I get here?‛ He placed a loving kiss on my forehead. ‚I know you’re confused. Allow me to send Malachi on his way. I’ll get you a drink to restore your energy and explain everything. I promise.‛ My gaze searched deep into his for answers as he scooped me into

his arms and settled me into the bed, but I found his eyes guarded and unreadable. ‚You’re hiding something from me. You’ve shut me out somehow.‛ I pressed palms over my eyes and groaned. ‚I don’t understand any of this. I felt your anger as if it were my own. I know I should be able to hear what you’re thinking, but you’re keeping me out. How is any of that even possible?‛ ‚Wait for me.‛ Devin brushed a tangle of hair away from my face. ‚I’ll return in a moment.‛ As he walked away and shut the door behind him, a new tightness clung to my chest. Something was wrong, but what? Muffled voices rose up from the silence again. I strained to hear but only made out the fractious tone, not the words. Was I in Devin’s house? If so, why was Malachi there? I clamped a hand over my mouth to keep in any sound that might escape. Had I broken the rules? Would Malachi order Devin to punish me? He wouldn’t really flog me<would he? Shit! I crawled out of bed and pulled open a door beside the headboard, hoping for a closet, but finding a bathroom instead. There were no dressers in the room, only a robe hanging on the inside of the door to the en-suite. The voices continued to battle, and a glance at the exit Devin had gone through confirmed it remained closed. I grabbed the black robe and wrapped it around my body. His scent surrounded me, but I shook off the desire threatening to render me into a cat in heat and looked for another way to escape. Flashes of memory from my time at the Circle drifted through my thoughts, the never ending orgasm that we all seemed to share in, the white nowhere we’d played in. Was that why Devin felt warm and why he glowed like an angel? My hands trembled like an addict too far from her fix. I shook them out and took a few breaths so I could think. Panic and dread waited in the background for me to embrace it. I needed to get away from there and go home so I could think over what I’d done. A tiny bit of light filtered around the heavy black curtains at the

window. Pulse jumping, I tiptoed to the wall and shoved the fabric aside. Street lamps illuminated a circular driveway, and floodlights cast a yellow glow against the white mansion. I was still at number one Cornet Drive. At least Devin hadn’t put me on the third floor. My fingers worked the latch on the window and slid it across with a whisper. Holding my robe closed with one hand, I lifted my leg and straddled the sill. ‚What are you doing, Katharine?‛ Devin’s voice—steeped with hurt—sent a jolt of electricity up my spine until it ignited at the crown of my head. His fingers wrapped around my upper arm, holding tight, but not hurting. I closed my eyes, my lungs straining as if all the air had gone from the room. ‚I thought <‛ ‚You thought I was going to beat you.‛ He uttered something low that might have been a curse. ‚I told you my anger wasn’t for you.‛ Devin looped his arms around my waist and lifted me out of the window. He pulled me into his arms and held me close, stroking his fingers over my hair. ‚Malachi and I just had
heart. ‚I’m not afraid of you, Devin. I’m afraid of—‛ I pointed at the door where Malachi had been. ‚—what we did together, the three of us.‛ I glanced at him through strands of my hair. ‚What did we do? And what will happen to us now? Why are you glowing like a god about to unleash a lightning storm?‛ He unbuttoned his shirt, kicked off his shoes, and crawled into bed with me. ‚Come here.‛ I hesitated for a moment before allowing him to pull me on top of him and push the robe down my shoulders. His fingers tickled up and down my back, his new furnace-like heat wrapping me in comfort. I shivered and settled down against him. ‚Why do I get the feeling you’re trying to distract me?‛ A half-hearted chuckle met my ears. ‚Is it working?‛ I raised my face. ‚What are you hiding from me? What did we do?‛ ‚Our souls are bound, tied together as one. What happens to one will happen to the other.‛ He grasped my face as if I might try to bolt. ‚You are mine for all time.‛ I scrambled out of his arms, gasping, and jumped off the bed. ‚Are you saying
have gained power, some extra senses and abilities we didn’t have before. You are the gateway to our evolution.‛ His tone held a mixture of awe and regret. ‚At least that’s what Malachi believes.‛ I shook my head and wrestled free of his grasp. ‚I need—I want to go home now.‛ My palms pressed over my eyes. ‚I need some time to think this through without you to distract me.‛ Sudden fire burned through my blood. I clenched my fists and glared at him. ‚How could you make me immortal? Why the fuck didn’t you tell me that’s what it all meant? I don’t want to live forever, Devin. How do we undo it?‛ Devin’s mouth opened and closed, a frown settling into his features. ‚I thought it would make you happy to remain young. I thought you wanted to be with me.‛ ‚Be with you? A lifetime is one thing, but eternity— God, I can’t even comprehend what that means!‛ I roared. I snatched the robe up from the bed and headed to the door, but he beat me there and stood in front of it. ‚You can’t go home.‛ He held his palms out in a stop gesture. My heart thudded. I swallowed and slipped the robe on. ‚Why not? You can’t keep me prisoner here!‛ ‚No, it’s not that.‛ His arms flopped to his sides. ‚Your mother <she had all of your things removed, and another is living there now. She has also frozen all of your financial accounts pending a law suit.‛ ‚She—what?‛ My tone flew into a shriek. ‚How long have I been here?‛ ‚It’s Tuesday evening. You’ve been sleeping since early Saturday morning. My energy sustained you, which is why you aren’t weaker or more parched. I woke up only this morning.‛ I maneuvered to the bed and flumped down on it. My mind spun in useless circles. ‚But<where’s all my stuff now? Are you saying I can’t get to any of my money? Shit, my laptop. Where’s my laptop?‛ How could she have done that? My teeth clicked together. How had I gone from a famous author to a destitute immortal whore? What would I do? Where would I live? How would I pay the bills? Devin knelt in front of me and cradled my hands in his. ‚I’ve had one of my brethren break into the storage facility and retrieve everything.

He has taken it to my house for safe keeping.‛ His gaze searched mine until I squirmed under its intensity. ‚Stay with me. I love you, and we belong together. Let me take care of you.‛ It was all too much. Wetness filled my eyes until it streamed down my face in an endless river. Devin picked me up and wrapped me in the duvet. ‚Let’s get out of here and we’ll figure this out, I promise.‛ We emerged into the night out of a door at the back of the building. Air, heavy with dew, added to the moisture on my face and carried the scent of pine. Devin scanned the darkness before he trotted down the steps with ease, as if I weighed no more than an empty shirt. Why had he done that? Were we not supposed to leave? He transferred me to rest over his shoulder as we neared a black sedan with dark tinted windows. After opening the passenger side door, he deposited me on the seat. ‚Where are you going, Brother?‛ Malachi appeared behind Devin. Both of us jumped. Devin shut the door, sealing me inside, before turning to his sovereign. My eternal husband spoke softly, but I strained to listen. ‚I told you I’d return her Friday evening after she’s had time to recover.‛ ‚She must remain here where we can guard her. Why are you resisting this? You know it’s for the good of our kind.‛ Malachi’s flaming eyes darted to me and back to Devin. ‚She is mine, and I will guard her. I will discuss this with you no further.‛ Devin disappeared and flashed into existence inside the car beside me. A tiny scream made it up my throat at his sudden movement and the blue light that shone beneath his skin again. The engine roared to life. We sped away from the building. I must have been holding my breath because my next inhale came as a gulping cough. Cold wrapped my spine. ‚Tell me what’s going on. Why did he want me to stay there?‛ Devin gripped the steering wheel until his fingers turned white. ‚Devin?‛ I leaned toward him and grabbed his arm. ‚Tell me what’s going on!‛ He pounded a fist against the wheel. ‚You are part of the Circle

now, so he is your sovereign, too, and must be obeyed. He doesn’t— He believes I’m not strong enough to push you beyond your limits. He wants you to take us higher.‛ I pulled the blanket away from my shoulders, a sense of suffocation settling over me. ‚It’s because I resisted your commands that night, isn’t it?‛ Devin nodded. ‚Partly. He demands to have you in his private chamber once you’re recovered. Without me.‛ A growl filled the car, and we sped faster down the wooded road. My hand latched onto the door handle for support. ‚But
Chapter Eleven The city lights faded behind us as we drove along route eighty-one. Dark forest lined both sides of the road, crowding around the car. The seclusion and silence made me tighten my hand around the door handle. I glanced at Devin, his knuckles pale where they wrapped around the steering wheel. Red lights from the dash painted his features with eerie shadows. A shiver ripped through me. A few minutes passed like an eternity before he pulled into an unmarked driveway. We snaked through evergreens that stabbed into the starry night. Tension snuck into my shoulders, and I fidgeted in the leather seat as we approached a ranch-style bungalow in a clearing. Once we stopped, Devin turned off the car, disappeared, and popped up outside my window. My heart gave a wild thump against my ribs as he opened the door and offered his hand. I climbed out without his help, even the hurt in his eyes unable to overpower my assembling thoughts. I’d rather have died than be left alone with Malachi. Somehow I needed to make Devin understand that. What if I enjoyed what Malachi did to me? What if I didn’t and he wouldn’t stop? I didn’t know which frightened me more. A dew-laden breeze teased strands of my hair into my face. Crickets joined the creaking trees, but the sound didn’t soothe my frustration, only amplified the void growing between us. As he started toward the front door, I stayed by the car. ‚Why don’t you tell him no?‛ My words blurted out. ‚Why do you

let him push you around? I’m supposed to be yours, and you’re just stepping aside when he snaps his fingers. Are you a coward?‛ Devin halted, his shoulders heaving up as his fingers tightened to fists at his sides. He turned his head slowly until his flaming eyes met mine. The distortion flickering around him intensified into a black mist. ‚Perhaps my sovereign was right. I’m beginning to see that I have been too lenient with you.‛ He blinked out. My pulse quickened as I scanned the darkness for him. Would he leave me there in the middle of nowhere? His arms wrapped around me from behind, startling a scream out of me. I tried to pry my fingers from beneath his, but they didn’t move. ‚I am not a coward.‛ His outraged tone stole the air from my lungs. ‚No human will dictate what I do. You are mine, and you will do as I say whether you like it or not.‛ Devin looped his free arm around my waist and carried me into the house. My legs flailed but had no effect. Devin hauled me into a bedroom and threw me down on the bed hard enough I bounced on the mattress. He flipped me, gripped my wrists, and pressed them into the soft bedding. His fangs extended past his upper lip. I closed my eyes and turned my head to the side in the grips of a full body tremor. My chest heaved. Oh, God, please, please, please. The tips of Devin’s teeth grazed my throat, but he paused, a growl trickling from his lips. Tears streamed from the corners of my eyes as I whimpered in his shadow. His weight disappeared from me. The door clicked shut. A slam of the outer entrance followed a moment later. I remained still for a while before opening my eyes to confirm he’d gone, even though his mental presence no longer caressed my mind as if he’d somehow severed our link. The loss crumpled me into a ball. I clutched my stomach as the sobs burst free, pain gripping my chest and putting a squeeze on my heart and lungs. How could he have changed from the one who’d radiated such

love and longing into a crazed animal I barely recognized? Realization settled around my shoulders like a ten ton weight. I’d known him for only two weeks, although it seemed like much more. He’d said he was an immortal, cousin to the vampire. No matter how much he wished otherwise, he was no less a monster beneath his polished exterior. I needed a way out. If I could find my way to a church, maybe I’d be okay. Devin was still one of the undead, still damned. I could only hope the old legends about his inability to walk on sacred ground were true. Until I knew otherwise, I’d stick to that plan. Wiping tears from my eyes, I climbed off the bed and pushed a toe against the hardwood to test it for squeaking. What would I do even if I managed to escape someone who could sense my whereabouts? I had no apartment to go back to, no access to money. After meeting Devin, those issues seemed trivial. The bigger needle in my heart was how could I go back to being alone? Thoughts of a life without him tore a wound in my soul. For a moment, I wondered if I should give in and endure whatever Malachi had in store for me to see Devin look at me the way he used to once more. The ice coating my veins disagreed. Had his affection been a lie? An illusion to gain my compliance? If Devin loved me, he’d find a way to keep me safe like he promised. Wouldn’t he? No. This human had to get away. I moved to the window and peered out through the blackout curtains. Still dark. Could immortals take direct sunlight? He’d come to Mother’s publishing house in the afternoon, but the room had been windowless, and the windows on his car were tinted darker than any limo I’d ever seen. Maybe he could take the rays if he covered his skin? Either way, I’d wait until the sun came up before making my move. I was Katharine Merrick, strong like the heroines in my book, not some prissy woman from the ‘burbs. Numbness swept the pain into the background behind the monumental task before me. There’d be time for tears later. I awoke to something tapping the outside of the window. Shit! I rubbed the back of my hand across my face. When had I fallen asleep?

I crept from the bed to the window, where a breeze sent the branches of a maple tree clicking against the glass. Bright sunlight stung my eyes. I stepped back, blinking past the bright spots lingering in my vision. I told myself to keep it together. It was now or never. A few deep breaths calmed the frantic pace of my heart as I tiptoed to the door. I gripped the knob, turned, and gave a gentle tug. The tiny squeak it made rattled in my head like a scream. I froze and waited, but no sound came from the next room. Devin’s mental presence hadn’t returned either. If he’d heard me, he’d have reacted. At least that’s what I wanted to believe. I pulled the door open enough to poke my head through the crack. An antique grandfather clock ticked in the corner. The beige sofas stood empty. Other than Devin’s lingering scent, I found nothing else in the sparse living room. Eyes darting left and right, I edged into the space. A glance out the window confirmed Devin’s car remained in the driveway. He was still here. Why couldn’t he hear what I was thinking? I berated myself to stop stalling and get going! I considered looking for some clothes to wear instead of the robe, but the risk outweighed the gain. Employing the same care as I had exiting the bedroom, I opened the front door and peered out. Dense forest surrounded the bungalow except for the laneway. I sprinted down the steps and crouched by the car, afraid the thudding of my heart would awaken even a sleeping immortal. When no sound came from the house or the woods, I stood enough to peek through the car window. No keys. Dammit! Left with one option, I rushed into the woods in my bare feet. In my haste, I tripped and stumbled over the uneven ground, fallen logs, and tangled brush as I paralleled the laneway. A stiff twig pierced my sole and radiated pain up my legs, but I pressed on until I reached the main road. I continued forward, certain Devin would emerge from the trees at any moment and beat the hell out of me. More than physical pain, I feared the disappointment and hurt in his eyes, even after all he’d done. A car approached behind me. I turned and waved my arms, but the

driver swerved wide and kept going. ‚Please!‛ I shook my hands out, the tension worsening with every second that passed. A semi-truck whooshed by, whipping Devin’s robe around my legs. A glance behind revealed spots of blood my feet had left on the pavement, though they registered no more than a dull burn. It gave me something to concentrate on other than the ache in my heart and the hard journey that lay before me. The urge to collapse and close my eyes almost overwhelmed me, but I plodded on, one footstep after another. Wetness dripped off my chin from the steady stream of tears. A car pulled up alongside me. The window rolled down, but I kept walking. ‚Katharine?‛ The familiar voice halted my forward motion. I leaned down. ‚Rolf?‛ I hadn’t seen him since the night of the fundraiser where I’d met Devin. Rolf had tipped his platinum hair with bright red. ‚For the love of God, what happened to you?‛ He leaned over and opened the passenger side door. ‚Get in, get in. I’ll take you home.‛ Home. I had no home. I had nothing. I glanced at the tree line again to confirm Devin wasn’t about to pounce before I climbed in. Rolf sped us down the road, to where, I had no idea. The distance growing between Devin and me should have eased my discomfort, but the tightness in my chest only worsened. My stomach knotted, and my soul hurt as if a tether linking me to my beautiful immortal stretched the farther I went from him. ‚Lordy, you’re shaking like a leaf.‛ A flick of Rolf’s fingers turned up the heat, and he did a double take at my feet. ‚You’re bleeding!‛ The engine roared louder. ‚I’m taking you to the hospital.‛ ‚No!‛ I turned to him and pleaded with my eyes. ‚Just take me back to the city and drop me off<‛ Where could I go that wouldn’t raise more questions? Rolf had been Mother’s event coordinator for years. I didn’t need her calling the police to look for me, if she even cared. There was a United church three blocks from my condo. It’d have to do. ‚Just drop me off at the condo. I’ll be fine.‛

His sculpted brows shot up. ‚Katharine!‛ ‚Please! I don’t want to talk about it, and they’re only scratches. I just— I had a bit too much to drink and got lost in the woods. Don’t make more of this.‛ I glanced at the silk robe and considered the prying eyes on my street. I didn’t need my state of undress to be plastered across the newspaper with some ridiculous headline attached. ‚Do you have any clothes you could lend me?‛ ***** A half hour later, I stood on the sidewalk outside my condo while Rolf drove away. It had taken some convincing to get him to leave me and not call Mother, but he’d given me his word. Despite the heat, I shivered and tugged up the hood of Rolf’s black sweater over my tangled hair. I took a last glance at the place I’d once considered home, though sadness didn’t grip me like I’d expected it to. It didn’t feel like home, not after Devin. I’d found more home in his presence than any building I’d ever lived in, including the one where I grew up. I plodded along the sidewalk, wincing as the sandals I’d borrowed grated against my wounds. Rolf’s gym shorts kept sliding down my hips, so I stopped and cinched the cord at the front tighter before continuing on. The burning in my feet grew into a flaming agony as I approached the giant stone building on Denver Street. The steeple poked into the blue expanse above, the bell in the tower reflecting light as it swayed in the gentle breeze. Would anyone be inside on a weekday? I hadn’t considered how I’d get in, but the urgency in my mind forced me to continue. If avoiding Malachi meant breaking into a church, then I’d do it. A low murmur met my ears before I rounded the building. I sidled up to the wall and peeked into the alley separating the house next door from the church. Two men carried chairs from a white cube van into an open door along the stone wall. I counted in my head when they disappeared into the building until they reemerged for another load. Forty-five seconds. If I timed it right, I could sneak in and find a place to

hide before they could see me. A tall gangly man belted out a laugh before he and the shorter man entered the building again with loaded arms. Heart thundering, I took a quick glance around to make sure nobody watched before sprinting along the alley and scanning the area beyond the door. It was all clear. The two men’s chatting voices came from a stair leading up to the left, so I ducked inside and descended another stairwell to the right. At the bottom, the narrow hall opened into a large, rectangular room with a kitchen at one end. Dampness and the scent of mothballs hung in the stagnant air. After opening several doors along the white wall and finding only shelves full of teacups and other serving items, I located a large, walk-in closet. I slipped inside and shut the door and waded through the musty winter coats and plastic-covered robes to the back. Listening for any hints that someone had heard me, I slid my back along the wall until my butt met with the cold tile floor. I tucked my knees up to my chest and hugged them. With nothing left to do but wait until the sun went down, I sank the rest of the way to the floor, my body wracking with sobs. Part of me wanted Devin to burst through the door and take my pain away, to make everything okay with us again. My weakness sickened me. The price was too high. I broke out of a dead sleep. My body ached, both from spending a restless night shivering under someone’s old, smelly coat, and from Devin’s absence. Every muscle, every cell cried out for his touch. If it got any worse, I wouldn’t be able to function. Pushing aside my growing fear, I stood and crept to the closet door. A glance through the crack confirmed the basement remained empty. After listening at the door for several seconds and hearing nothing more than a mouse skittering through the walls, I stepped out and stretched my kinked limbs. Devin hadn’t found me. He hadn’t even reached out to me through the connection we’d made.

My heart plummeted. Had I insulted and hurt him so badly he didn’t want me anymore? I gritted my teeth and pressed palms over my eyes. Why did I even care? I’d come to the church hoping he wouldn’t find me, hadn’t I? I needed to get over the urge to run back and grovel at his feet, knowing what he’d expect of me in return for his forgiveness. I was stronger than that. I located a first aid kit in the bathroom and cleaned the scrapes on my feet. Wrapped in gauze, I slipped them into Rolf’s sandals and ascended the stairs. A gray, depressing sky greeted me, beneath which I spent the day walking the streets in a daze. How long could I stay hidden at the church? Even if I managed to evade the immortals until after Friday’s deadline, they’d still try to get me back to the Circle. If I wanted to keep myself safe, I needed some supplies. From the drop-off bin behind the Salvation Army, I rummaged around in a bag someone had left and withdrew some clothes. I moved on to the row of restaurants on First Avenue, wondering what Mother would say if she knew I was about to go dumpster-diving for food. A hysterical laugh burst out of me, but it faded too soon. ***** Back at the church, I tucked the clothes and bag of sandwiches I’d stolen from the back of a delivery truck into the closet. My thoughts kept drifting back to Devin. Would he worry? Did he give a damn at all about me or just about pleasing his sovereign? Did Mother have the police out looking for my sorry ass? Would anyone even notice me missing? I shook off my worry and paced along the worn, cracked tile in the basement. With evening approaching, I needed something to divert my mind so I wouldn’t go mad. A pad of paper on the counter separating the kitchen from the main room caught my attention. I snatched it up and searched every drawer in the place until I found a pencil. Sprawled on the floor, I emptied my turbulent emotions onto the paper one word at a time, continuing the story I’d begun on my laptop.

Every twinge of guilt, every hurt in my body came out in my character as she struggled with her own broken heart. The process soothed me and allowed me to enter a calm place where only my imagined world existed. I scribbled out scenes one after the other until my eyes drooped and I could no longer grip the pencil. Empty of all but a roaring silence in my head, I clutched the pad full of my heart and soul and crawled back into the dank closet. ***** Friday evening, I sat in the front pew of the church and read over the pages I’d spent the day writing. I hoped it would prevent me from dwelling on the immortals who must certainly have been searching for me by then. The entire pad, both sides, sported my scrawls—some legible, other scratched out because I didn’t have an eraser. When I finished reading the final word of the novel, I smiled through a fresh stream of tears. My work had never moved me to cry before. Had I finally gotten it right? I stared up at the giant cross behind the altar. I’d never believed in God, but sitting there in the church gave me a sort of peace I didn’t understand. ‚Are you really up there? Have you had a plan for me all along?‛ I sniffled and stood, walked to the base of the stairs, and knelt. A humorless laugh sputtered out as I pressed my hands together in a prayer position. ‚I’ve really screwed things up, and I don’t know what to do now. I thought he loved me, and I wanted everything he promised, everything he made me feel. Was it all a lie? Have I damned my soul forever?‛ A door clicked shut behind me. ‚You’re not damned, Katharine.‛ I whirled to find Devin standing at the far end of the center aisle. My heart faltered.

Chapter Twelve I scanned left and right of the altar for an escape route. The fine hairs along my arms stood at attention. ‚How did you get in here?‛ Devin spread his arms wide and took slow, deliberate steps toward me without causing so much as a squeak on the floor. The same energy distortion I’d seen when I woke up after our bond pulsed around him, but it appeared lighter. ‚Please don’t be afraid, Katharine. I’m not going to hurt you.‛ Even across the dimly lit church his beauty struck me. His faded jeans hugged him perfectly, and his black v-neck T-shirt showed off the swell of his chest. The sadness in his eyes threatened my resolve, but I backed toward the stairs to my left, still clutching my papers. ‚I think you and I have different definitions of ‘hurt’.‛ He stopped and stared into the lofty ceiling as though looking for guidance. After a long silence, he lowered himself into the nearest pew. Fingers linked together, he leaned forward and rested his wrists over the bench in front of him. ‚I won’t come any closer. Just please, allow me to explain myself.‛ I clutched the pad tighter to my chest and studied him yet found no hints of deception. He could have taken me whenever he wanted to with his speed and power, but he hadn’t. I leaned against the doorframe leading to the stairwell. ‚I don’t trust you, but I’ll listen.‛ He nodded. ‚I’m sorry I lost my temper. Please know I wasn’t angry at you.‛ ‚Could have fooled me.‛ My tone came out sounding petulant.

One side of his lips quirked up, but his attempt at a smile only made him appear more distraught. ‚I was angry with myself.‛ ‚Why, for letting this human try to save herself from your lord and master?‛ ‚No!‛ He pressed a fist to his forehead and took a few raspy breaths. ‚Because I’ve been complacent, and it took your honesty to make me see that.‛ I narrowed my eyes and moved to stand in front of the first row of wooden seating. ‚What does that mean?‛ Devin leaned back in his seat, his head tilted forward in a shameful posture. ‚I’ve always remained outside the Circle because I don’t want to be like them. They view their human companions as a drink and a fuck and a means to get high.‛ His eyes crimped shut, and he shook his head. ‚I’m a Dominant, and I’ll always be a Dominant inside the Circle, but I want more with you, Katharine. I want our union to be more than bondage and sex, more than pain and ascent, more than simple master and slave.‛ His fingers gripped the back of the bench in front of him, and his stare fixed on me. ‚Do you understand?‛ My breath hitched as his words caught up with my thoughts. ‚Malachi will never allow it.‛ He gave a curt nod. ‚I know.‛ ‚And after everything that’s happened in the last few days, I’m not sure if I even want that.‛ I wiped a mutinous tear from my cheek and tossed up a hand. ‚How can you come in a church? I thought<‛ I shifted my feet. ‚I’m not one of the damned. I’m not a human turned into a vampire. I wasn’t, and then I was, popped into existence just as I am. No parents. No childhood. Just this. A natural mutation, an experiment gone wrong. Whatever I am, it’s not inherently evil, though my sovereign makes us appear so.‛ I watched him around a shroud of my hair, aching to go to him, to have him hold me again, but I forced myself still. My thoughts trickled along the metaphysical path to him only to find that it still remained closed. ‚You’re still shutting me out. This could be a lie for all I know.‛ ‚I love you, Katharine, so much it kills me to see you look at me

with fear and distrust.‛ His body straightened, and his hard stare induced a squirm in me. ‚I’ll do what I must to make you safe. I know I have no right to ask, but you’re going to have to trust that I’m shutting you out for the right reasons now. There are thoughts in my head I must keep from you until this is over.‛ In a blur of flesh and denim, Devin appeared beside me. A scream burst from my lips, but he swallowed it with a toe-curling kiss. His breath came in shallow pants as he took my face in his hands, his lips playing over my brow, along my cheek. Shivers raced over my skin. Just a touch, and everything seemed right with the world again. With him beside me, my soul begged to forget everything, to remain there forever no matter the consequences. I wanted to believe him with all my might, that he wanted to be with me, but a niggle of doubt kept me from submitting to him. The shadows dancing behind his dark eyes caused my stomach to clench tight, as if he was trying to say goodbye without uttering the words. ‚Wait<‛ Afraid he would disappear from my sight, I fisted my fingers into his T-shirt. I spoke in a whisper, finding my voice had abandoned me. ‚What are you going to do?‛ ‚What I should have done decades ago.‛ A sad smile emerged as he swept my stringy hair behind my ears. ‚Sleep now.‛ The church dimmed even more. ‚No. No, no, no! Don’t do this.‛ A tinny quality marred my voice and separated me from it. My consciousness wavered as blackness ate up the corners of my vision until only Devin’s face remained. After a moment, he, too, faded, leaving me alone in darkness. ***** I wandered in a surreal dream as someone washed and dressed me in a red corset that left my breasts and everything else uncovered. Whispered voices filtered through the cold, stone room, but the words held no meaning. My body moved of its own accord, like a puppet reacting to the unspoken whims of her master. A hooded figure took my hand and led me down a familiar white

corridor with marble floors. My bare feet made slapping sounds against the cold stone. How had I arrived back at the mansion? I thought perhaps I should have been afraid about something, but I couldn’t recall what. A large group of people milled around a tall arched door. The few men who weren’t nude wore red silk boxers or thongs. The women were clad in red or white, some in lingerie or leather, some in revealing dresses, some nude except for a collar with a leash dangling between their breasts. Their hair had been swept up and secured, leaving their necks bare. I patted my own and found it to be the same. My escort spoke to one of the men who kept his gaze lowered. ‚Keep her by your side until you’re summoned. Fail me and you will be denied pleasure this night.‛ The blond man flinched as if he’d been slapped. ‚Yes, Dom.‛ As I studied the rest of the people more carefully, my awareness sharpened. A red-headed woman who stood beside me wrung shaking hands. Others paced, muttering to themselves. The ones that struck the final blow and unleashed my consciousness from whatever had bound it were the ones who stood motionless and stared at the door, faces blank, sad eyes glazed like wild animals resigned to their caged fate. My heart broke into a trot as I edged away from the blond man. He rubbed his arms and shivered, his eyes closed. How many had been given a choice? How horrible had their lives been under the whips of their Doms? I focused on them to avoid the reality of what waited for me beyond the doors, whatever it would be. Would I soon look like they did, broken, begging for scraps of approval and affection from Devin? Or Malachi. I swallowed down the acid that crept up my throat. I’d only made it a few steps when the blond spied my attempted escape. He leapt at me like a drowning man and wrapped his fingers around my wrist. ‚Please don’t get me in trouble.‛ His denim-blue eyes opened wide. ‚Please.‛ Guilt crawled through my stomach, yet my feet still tried to carry me backwards. I pried at his fingers, but they dug deeper into my flesh until they hurt. ‚Let me go!‛ The door opened, and cold air rushed out.

Two hooded immortals appeared on either side of me, their faces completely obscured by shadow. One stood a whole head taller than the other and filled out his cloak to capacity. The big one gripped my arm and shoved me in front of him. The other fell in behind and said nothing as they pushed me along with the rest of the herd into the room. Some walked as if on auto pilot, eyes blank, slumped like slaves too long in captivity. Others bounded inside with an eagerness that bordered on pathetic. Although my legs put the brakes on, the giant’s solid arm wrapped around my shoulders forced me forward. Where was Devin? The darkness that had clouded his eyes in the church burned into my memory. What would he do? Would he be in danger? Snakes squirmed in my stomach. Malachi wouldn’t kill him, or I’d die, too. What punishment did that leave if Devin’s plan failed? ‚Move!‛ The shorter of my escorts threw his shoulder into my back. I hadn’t realized I’d stopped. As the human group approached the middle of the ballroom, the immortals enclosed a circle around us as they’d done the first time I watched from the balcony with Devin. Would I take Caroline’s place? The memory of Devin’s words in the car dashed my tiny hope: without me, he’d said. I could have endured a little lashing if Devin had been the one to do it, but somehow I knew Malachi had something much worse in store for me. The giant positioned me at the edge of the group and rejoined the noose of predators tightening around us. I searched the hoods for Devin but found only dark circles where the faces should have been. Imagining all their stares on me, I used one arm to cover my breasts and my other hand to cover my bare crotch. Just as the last time, two stepped forward and stalked around the huddle of humans. The longer they prowled, the tighter my muscles became. My pulse throbbed in my temples and throat. I shifted my feet, wanting to bolt, but it would only have made matters worse. Knowing Malachi, he’d have enjoyed the chase. “How could you have brought me back here?” I sent jagged thoughts to Devin, though he remained absent from my mind. Droplets crested my lashes and descended my cheek, leaving wet trails behind.

One of the predators stopped in front of me, and the rush of air along my backside let me know the other had taken position behind. ‚You’re mine tonight, Katharine.‛ Malachi’s seductive voice came from the one before me, and his power licked along my skin like it never had before, his dark glow reminding me of Devin. What had I done to Malachi and Devin that night? Ice shot up my spine. ‚Where’s Devin?‛ ‚Most likely off sulking somewhere, or perhaps looking for a tender morsel to take his mind off of you.‛ Malachi pushed his hood back and grinned. ‚I thought it better he not attend tonight. He doesn’t have the stomach for my<methods.‛ I clenched my teeth to contain the wail that wanted to escape. How could he have left me? ‚Forget about him.‛ Malachi moved closer, inducing a full body tremor in me. ‚The sooner you submit to me, the easier I’ll be on you.‛ ‚Liar.‛ The waver in my voice betrayed my terror, though he could probably have smelled it like candy anyway. A dark laugh tumbled out of his mouth. ‚Come, let the eve of our evolution begin.‛ Evolution? When his pale hand reached toward me, I moved to avoid it, but whoever stood behind shoved me forward and sandwiched me against Malachi’s hard body. ‚Normally I’d be quite put out at your resistance, Katharine—defying the sovereign before his subjects can have dire consequences—but the more frightened you are, the louder you scream, and the farther you will take me.‛ The others spread out around the three of us as if repelled like dust caught in ripples on the water. A click and a whine from the floor made my breath catch. Two panels dropped and slid away beneath the tile, leaving a hole at least thirty feet across. Stairs spiraled down the far edge into darkness. ‚What’s down there?‛ My voice squeaked out. Every muscle in my body knotted as I tore my gaze away from the unknown depths.

‚Are you so eager to see?‛ Malachi brushed a strand of hair from my forehead, continued down my throat and over my collar bone. A moan fell from my lips at the tingles and heat caused by his touch. I clenched my fists and stared at the other humans to divert my body from the arousal he’d begun in me. The cloaked ones picked the humans off in singles and pairs. Some were already naked and engaged in play, whipping, sucking, spanking. One couple fucked right beside me, the wet sounds echoing around the room. The sights and sounds did nothing to extinguish my fire. Low humming from the immortals rose into a symphony that resonated in my soul. Part of me wanted to give in to it. If Devin had been by my side, I would have. “Where are you? Please, please, please help me.” ‚Let’s go, shall we?‛ Malachi nodded to the one behind me. Cold fear crawled into my soul. I ducked to the right, my focus on the far doors, but Malachi’s lackey grabbed me by the back of the neck. My body went limp like a cat held by the scruff. ‚Not smart, Katharine,‛ he said. ‚More fun for me, though.‛ Snickering, he looped his free hand around my waist and carried me under his arm toward the black hole. Pathetic mewling sounds rose and fell in my throat. Oh, God, this couldn’t be happening to me. Malachi waited on the first step, a devilish smile perking up his lips. ‚Welcome to my private dungeon. Few are privileged enough to enjoy its
into the blood sucker holding me. He expelled a grunt, and I dropped to the tile on my stomach. All of the air left my lungs in a whoosh. A black streak flashed in front of Malachi. When it passed, the sovereign reached fingers to his cheek and came away with blood. Keeping my body prone, I glanced around the room for who—or what—had done it. “Stay down, Katharine.” Devin’s melodious tenor whispered through my mind. ‚Forgive me for being late. I’ll explain later.” My heart swelled as I continued to search for him. ‚You came. I thought…I thought you’d left me.” Devin, wearing nothing but form-fitting black leather pants, appeared on the far side of the opening in the floor. A golden sword extended from his right hand. Crimson ran in ribbons from the tip to the hilt. His eyes, flaming ruby pools, fixed on his master. Fangs extended, Devin’s upper lip rippled in a snarl as he spoke slow, pointed words. ‚Malachi, Sovereign of the Cornet Circle, I challenge your authority in this realm.‛ All sound and movement stopped. The other immortals gathered around us with furrowed brows and gaping mouths. Murmurs rose from the silence. ‚Has he lost his mind?‛ ‚How did he get the ritual sword?‛ ‚Our brother will fall.‛ He’d fall? What would that mean? A jolt sped along my spine and exploded at the top of my head. ‚No! Devin, don’t!‛ Malachi licked blood from his hand and snickered. He snapped his fingers at two immortals who stood nearby. I assumed they were the ones who had escorted me into the room, their covers shed to reveal a bald-headed mountain of a man and a lean redhead. Even their auras had brightened, though not as profoundly as Devin and Malachi’s had. ‚Bind the woman and begin without me, but draw no blood—that privilege is mine alone.‛ ‚You will do no such thing,‛ Devin growled. ‚I am still sovereign of this realm, Brother, and all will obey my command.‛ Malachi’s fangs slid out from beneath his upper lip as he

shrugged out of his cloak. His body, muscles bulging beneath his skin, radiated his potential to rip limbs from sockets. ‚Defeat me if you can.‛ A sinister laugh followed, one that crawled along my skin. One of the lackeys gripped the back of my neck and one arm, yanking me from the floor and dragging me a few feet away. The other went to the wall and pressed a button. Chains descended from the ceiling with a metal bar suspended between them. Cuffs dangled at either end of it. ‚Devin!‛ I screamed and thrashed as much as the meaty man’s hold would allow. My mate roared and circled Malachi, still gripping the sword. ‚Did you tell Katharine what will happen if you lose?‛ Malachi crouched low as he stalked in an arc matching Devin’s path. ‚She doesn’t need to know.‛ The giant gripped one of my wrists with both hands and held it up to the cuff, while the other wrapped the metal band around and slid in a pin to secure it. ‚Oh, but I want her to know, Brother.‛ The sovereign’s flaming orange eyes turned to me. ‚You want to know his fate, don’t you, Katharine?‛ No, I really didn’t. A click sounded as a shackle locked around my other wrist. I stared at Devin, at the purpose in each step, at his perfect profile, the determination in the set of his masculine jaw. What had he risked to save me? Had I been wrong to expect him to protect me against such a sociopath? Had I sentenced him to a fate worse than death? I gathered my courage, talked my heart out of its sprint, and glared at Malachi. ‚Yes, I want to know.‛ Devin launched at his master in a blur of skin and leather. Laughing, Malachi blinked out and reappeared on the far side of the hole in the floor. ‚He’ll be encased in a silver room, naked, with only a square of marble large enough to stand on. With no food, no companionship, no access to the energy of the Circle, unable to lie down or take a step without burning his flesh. He will wither to nothing in the grips of insanity.‛

A ripple of pain seized my body. I shook my head, yanking on the shackles that bit into my flesh. ‚I’m so sorry. I didn’t know what I was asking of you. Just stop this. Please. I’ll submit to him, and everything will be okay.‛ ‚No. I will save you from a lifetime of torment, and I will return peace to our lives, the way it once was.‛ Devin’s voice boomed into a battle cry. ‚All of our lives!‛ He turned those deep eyes to me. ‚You’ve given me the courage to end his era, Katharine. I fight for all of us, all who have suffered at his whims. I will accept my fate however this ends and be able to live with myself afterward. Trust me, now.‛ Wetness filled my eyes. ‚I love you.‛ The truth sang through my body. Despite the hell we stood in, a smile grew on my lips. The same sense of home I’d had in his arms surrounded me with comfort. He pressed fingertips to his mouth and extended them toward me. His smile gave me courage. A sharp pain accompanied a loud smack across my ass. My scream came unbidden. Along with the sting came a hot rush of endorphins through my flesh. Devin turned to face me instead of his foe, a fist clenched at his hip. Malachi moved faster than I could see, slamming into him from the side and knocking them both several yards across the polished floor before I could shout a warning. The sword clattered away from Devin’s grip. The giant sliced away my corset with a long knife, accompanied by a terrible ripping sound. ‚Wait.‛ I shook my head to calm myself. ‚I’m supposed to have a safe word. Aren’t I?‛ The one behind me laughed. ‚This is not your local neighborhood BDSM club, my dear.‛ Another strike came across my back. A rush of air escaped my concentrated effort to stall it, but no other sound. I needed to be silent so I wouldn’t distract Devin anymore. ‚Impressive.‛ The redhead came around to face me, a narrow stick in his hand. ‚I shall have to try harder.‛ I stared past him, face blank, though my rapid breathing gave away my reaction to the burn spiraling out from my back.

Snarling and snapping broke out as Malachi and Devin rolled and pummeled one another. The others spread out to the periphery, watching as their fates were decided by the dueling pair. By the tension cording their muscles, I imagined they would have intervened had the rules permitted it. Malachi kicked Devin in the abdomen, launching him into the far wall with a bone-crunching thud. With a groan, Devin rolled his neck until it cracked. When he stalked forward again, blood trickled out of his left ear. He struck like a whip at his sovereign. A grunt came as Malachi doubled over, clutching his stomach. Devin leapt halfway to the ceiling and came down hard on his back. Malachi blipped out and reappeared right in front of me. A wet cough shook him, sending a ruby trickle down his chin. ‚Take him down but do not kill him.‛ He swept the room with his glare. ‚Do as I say. All of you.‛ ‚You must defeat me alone, sovereign.‛ Devin strode forward, snatching up the sword on his way. Victory shone from his bright eyes. ‚You know the rules.‛ A devilish grin slipped along Malachi’s lips. He sighed and rolled his eyes as if Devin behaved like a silly child. ‚Since when do I follow the rules, Brother?‛ The human guests herded toward the door as the other immortals stared at one another with questioning eyes. ‚You have gone mad.‛ Devin’s steps slowed until he stopped several feet away. ‚I’m ashamed it took so long for me to see it.‛ ‚I know you felt, and probably still feel, the power we gained from our tryst with Katharine. Imagine my strength when she takes me to new heights alone.‛ His focus returned to me as he licked his lips. ‚I’ll be invincible. Unstoppable. Unless you all want to fall under my wrath, I suggest you follow my order.‛ Shit. How had I made them more powerful? Devin shot me a fleeting glance, but I caught his alarm well enough anyway. One look at the cowering immortals told me our situation had worsened. They hesitated only a moment before two barrel-chested ones

rushed forward. Another group with bared fangs pursued a moment later. With my eyes glued to the ensuing chaos, I hadn’t noticed Malachi pulling the pins from my shackles. I fell into his arms, too startled to react before he threw me over his shoulder and darted down the stairs. The giant and redhead followed behind us. ‚Devin!‛ I screamed and kicked my feet, but Malachi’s forearm clamped my thighs against his chest, limiting my mobility. A roar came from the room above. Metal clanked against metal. Had others retrieved weapons? ‚Strap her to the bench.‛ Malachi threw me onto the floor beside an unusual piece of furniture with padded sections. I knew little about the fetish world, but I thought it might be a spanking bench. The brutish one looped an arm around my waist and laid me face down on the apparatus, my knees resting on the lowest upholstered step. The redhead bound my hands in leather restraints at the front, while tightening around my thighs let me know other straps would soon hold me in place. Immobilized, exposed, and at Malachi’s mercy, terror broke free of my grip and rampaged through my flesh in hot flashes. Panted gasps rose and fell from my lips. ‚Devin! Devin!‛ Growls and ripping sounds continued upstairs. What happened to me didn’t matter. Devin needed my help. The revelation allowed me to catch my breath and slow my pulse. Think, Katharine, think! My whole life had been laid out and handed to me without a say from me, and still I waited for someone else to decide my future, to save me. I needed to do something, or I could never live with myself. I had to stand on my own despite my fear of failing. If I didn’t fix it, we’d both be condemned to separate hells for eternity. Thoughts of a life without him, without the love that wafted from him like the essence of heaven, renewed my courage. A blow landed across my ass. I contained the scream. After taking a moment to compose myself, I turned my eyes up to the giant who watched from where he leaned against the wall. ‚If you let your sovereign do this, your lives will get infinitely

worse.‛ Another smack from a wide paddle stole my breath for a moment. Malachi’s snicker followed. ‚You can help me stop this,‛ I continued. ‚Devin wants a better existence for all of you. You know I’m telling the truth.‛ ‚Save your breath, Katharine.‛ Malachi punctuated his demand with a smack across my shoulders. ‚They are mine, and they enjoy the pleasures I allow them. Devin is a sentimental fool.‛ The big one crossed his arms over his thick chest and averted his eyes. I turned my head to the redhead on my other side. I hoped I could make him listen. ‚Did you get to choose your own companion?‛ He shifted his feet, so I pushed further. ‚Does your human even enjoy your touch? Haven’t you ever wanted something more? True attraction? An eager partner? Love?‛ The war cries echoed louder, closer. Shouts rose above it from at least three different voices. Smack. Pain looped up my spine. Malachi grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled until I whimpered. His breath filled my ear. ‚We are immortal. Such trivialities are beneath our kind. You’re merely our pets and toys, worth no thought more than demand for your obedience. Now, shut up.‛ Another whack bit into my legs. Fangs sank into my hip. I uttered a squeal. White tinged my vision. I’d thought orgasm had taken us to whatever place we’d travelled to the last time, but apparently intense pain could bring it on, too. Both the giant and the redhead tensed and stepped forward. ‚Please!‛ I sniffled, desperation drawing my muscles tight. ‚It’s happening. Do something or it’ll be too late.‛ They shared a look and stared back at me. In unison, they gave me a subtle nod before vanishing. Air swirled around me from their ascent. ‚Traitors!‛ Malachi stomped to a gray cabinet and threw open the door. From inside, he withdrew a black ball gag and a whip with several leather strands extending from the handle. ‚We must hurry, my dear.‛ He shoved the ball into my mouth and fastened it behind my head as I gagged and pushed at it with my tongue to no avail. Drool spilled down

my lip. ‚This will silence your forked tongue.‛ The whip came down across the backs of my thighs. The copper scent let me know he’d breeched my skin. ‚Fear me.‛ My body bucked under the wicked sting. ‚Scream for me.‛ Another, then another. His low tenor soared to a bellow. ‚Submit, and we shall soar.‛ Lightheaded and weightless, I neared escape from my body, drifting at the edge of normal consciousness. I gritted my teeth, centered myself, and focused my thoughts on Devin. I needed to hold on. Just a little longer. Snap-snap went the whip across my shoulders, across my legs. Silence settled into my ears, so profound I thought I’d gone deaf. Malachi must have noticed in the same moment I did, because he stopped his assault. A cool breeze stole my breath away. A man screamed somewhere nearby. I tugged against my restraints so I could see what had happened but couldn’t turn enough to look over my shoulder. Growls and snapping teeth rattled my bones. Feet shuffled. Fists pounded flesh. Furious cries ripped at my mind. Then silence descended, more frightening than the sounds of the battle had been. Deep airy sounds remained. Heavy breathing, but from whom? I closed my eyes and remained still, wondering who would come for me. Had Devin been knocked out? My stomach twisted violently until I bit down on the gag. Footsteps whispered along the stone floor. A tremble overtook me, causing the chains attached to my wrists to rattle. Something touched my hair. I flinched, air rushing out of my nose in huffs. ‚Katharine.‛ The voice sounded like Devin’s, but I couldn’t believe it. The ball gag loosened before it disappeared from my mouth. He opened the link between us, flooding my mind with his warm spirit. ‚You’re safe now. Please, open your eyes.‛

I obeyed my Dom and raised my lids to find crystal tears sliding down his face. A sob rushed out as I took in his torn body, the pale skin decorated with open gashes. ‚Shh. Hush now, I’m here.‛ The tenderness in his tone calmed me a little. ‚I’m going to release your bindings but don’t move.‛ He pressed his thumb and first finger over his eyes. ‚I must heal your wounds before I can move you.‛ ‚I don’t care about that. I can’t believe you’re here.‛ That smile again. ‚I’m guessing I have you to thank for Gorbin and Cress coming to my aid?‛ My brow furrowed. ‚Do you mean the bald giant and the redhead?‛ He uttered a tiny laugh and nodded. ‚Thank you. No one will ever hurt you again unless you wish it.‛ Deep brown eyes bored into me. ‚Do you believe me?‛ I nodded and managed a smile. A sense of peace swept everything else away and left a warm buzz in my body. ‚I do.‛ The tightness around his eyes smoothed out as he stared at me. ‚What happened to Malachi?‛ ‚He’s unconscious. I must deal with him. Don’t be afraid. I’ll return in a few moments.‛ I nodded, tension easing out of my every cell. In Devin’s control, the bindings gave me an extra sense of safety. He was okay. We were okay. A female crouched in front of my face, her platinum waves enshrouding her shoulders. ‚Your bravery shames us all, mistress. We are forever in your debt.‛ I blinked at her, no energy left for speaking. ‚My blood has healing properties.‛ She slid a knife across her wrist in an oddly sensual movement. ‚You should feel no pain as I tend your wounds.‛ Liquid dripped along my back, but instead of stinging, it soothed. ‚Brothers and sisters.‛ Devin came to stand beside me. I followed his gaze up to the crowd gathered above, who stared down at us with faces frozen in shock, eyes spread wide and mouths

agape. ‚The Cornet Circle will return to the cohesive family we used to be. Never again will anyone, human or immortal, be forced to attend or to participate in anything against their will.‛ Sobs filtered down to me from beyond the first line of bodies, followed by someone uttering, ‚Bless you, Sovereign.‛ ‚All who wish to remain may stay. Those human companions who choose to return to their lives will be supported until they’ve regained their livelihoods. I can do nothing about your bonds or immortality, but your psychic connections will be severed and you will be left alone if you desire it.‛ More murmurs filled the silence, and the ones I could see shared looks as if they couldn’t believe such a miracle had happened. Devin edged closer to me and stroked his hand over my hair, drawing a sigh from me. ‚My bond with Katharine runs deep because I loved her before we were joined. Hear me, my brethren. If you choose a new mate, remember that he or she is not only your lover, but your soul-bonded, eternal partner. Choose well. If any immortal shall harm a human against their will for sport or delicacy, you will be banished like your former master. Malachi has been removed from the grounds and measures taken to see that he is unable to locate our Circle, or its members, again.‛ A series of cheers broke into a roar. Unable to hold onto consciousness, I slipped under with a smile on my face.

Chapter Thirteen I sat in the office chair at my desk, my knees drawn up to my chest. My fingers gripped the computer mouse, but I couldn’t make it go to the new email staring back at me. A disturbance of air let me know Devin had awakened for the evening. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders from behind. ‚Good evening, lover.‛ I nodded, strangled for air. ‚Why are you up so early? It’s only four p.m.‛ ‚I feel your unease, Katharine. What has your thoughts in such a whirlwind?‛ The email I’d been waiting six weeks for had come. My stomach did a loop-de-loop. ‚It’s from Greg at Randoll Publishing. I’m afraid to look.‛ My mate scooped me out of the chair and sat with me cradled in his lap. ‚I shall read it for you, then.‛ The amusement in his tone made me squirm. I shook my head. ‚No. I’m not ready.‛ The click let me know he’d ignored me as usual. ‚Dear Ms. Cornet.‛ His brow quirked up. ‚Ms. Cornet?‛ I shrugged. ‚Nobody would believe Katharine Merrick wrote that book. And besides, I’m not her anymore.‛ ‚No.‛ His lips caressed my forehead. ‚You are someone much deeper.‛ My cotton mouth made it hard to swallow. ‚What does it say?‛ I

buried my face in the hollow beneath his jaw and cuddled close to his body. Devin cleared his throat. ‚I read your story from cover to cover yesterday, and I have to say<‛ He shifted. I sat up, mouth gaped open. ‚He has to say what?‛ That earned me a laugh. ‚Read it.‛ He gave me a smack on the ass to go along with his Dom tone. I turned my focus to the screen and read aloud. ‚I have to say I’m stunned. Kept is the most engaging, titillating, and heartbreaking erotic love story I’ve ever read. I’m pleased to offer you a contract. Please reply as soon as possible and we can deal with the paperwork.‛ After reading it again three times, I still didn’t believe. ‚Congratulations.‛ Devin nudged me off his lap, spun me, and pulled me down to straddle him as a smile bloomed on my lips. He thrust his hips against me, his hardening cock pressing against my delicate places. ‚What shall we do to celebrate?‛ I shivered as my own desire broke free. ‚It is Friday night.‛ ‚Mmm, that it is. I’ve added a new crop to the cabinet in the dungeon. It’ll leave welts that spell ‘mine’ all over that fine, fine ass of yours.‛ I drew in a quick breath and ground my crotch against him. ‚I like the sound of that. Maybe you can choose one of your beefy brothers to join us.‛ I raised an eyebrow as my teeth sought my lower lip. Devin growled and grasped my face in his hands. ‚Your wish is my demand.‛ The End

About the Author Toes in the grass, head in the clouds, Stella Berkley has always been a dreamer and conjurer of fantastic stories. She grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario and now lives in Muskoka with her high school sweetheart and their beautiful daughter. Her alter ego is preparing for the release of her debut novel in the fall, and several of her short stories will appear this year in the Hall Brothers Entertainment’s Villainy anthology, Residential Aliens magazine, Wicked East Press’s Twisted Fairy Tales 2 anthology, Roar and Thunder magazine, Pill Hill Press’s Sinisterotica anthology and the Red Penny Papers.