A Taste of Twilight (7 page)

He glared up at her as he clenched and unclenched his hands. Emotions burst within Jessie—anger, frustration and desire. Rafe was tempted by Antonelli’s offer, which only made him loathe his own weakness. She had him bound and helpless. He should feel nothing but disdain.

“Do you sense the strength of his spirit, my love?” She looked at Faelon. “You should think about transforming him.”

“If he excels as you believe he will, I shall consider it.” Faelon stood back, ever watchful, his arms folded across his chest.

Pushing to her feet beside the bed, Antonelli untied the belt on her dressing gown and shrugged out of the simple garment. Rafe’s eyes widened and his gaze darted to Faelon. Why was he just standing there? Was this woman his wife?

“Carnality.” Antonelli paused, waiting for Rafe to look at her. “It is a tool, a weapon, but few comprehend its power or have the skills to use it effectively. I will teach you, Rafael. Are you willing to learn?”

Rafe forced his dry throat to swallow. Even as he shook his head, refusing her offer, his gaze descended. Her breasts were high and round, her nipples tightly puckered. Her woman’s mound was smooth, like the rest of her skin. Why had she removed the hair? He didn’t want to respond to her nakedness, but already his cock hardened. His gaze shot again to the man. The woman obviously meant to couple with him, but what role would the man serve?

“Your very nature is carnal. I hear it in your voice and see it in your eyes. You could be my greatest student, if you let yourself learn.” Antonelli licked her lips and ran her index finger along his thigh. “You are wonderfully made. Long and lean, with the promise of a greater strength to come. I will teach you how to use your fingers, your lips, your teeth, your tongue. You will learn how to heighten pleasure with anticipation, how to control and focus, dominate and surrender.” She closed her fingers around his cock, rubbing the tip with her thumb. “Look at me, Rafael. Have you ever tasted passion?”

His cock lengthened and thickened within her grasp. How could he resist such temptation? She crawled onto the bed at his side, parting her thighs, displaying her folds and dusky passage. He wanted to touch her, thrust inside, and learn all the wicked skills she’d promised to teach him.

“Would you like to touch me?” Desire pulled his balls up tight against his body. He closed his eyes and bit down hard on the gag. “There is no shame in your desire. Shall I pleasure you with my mouth? Would you like that?” His eyes flew open and his arms flexed, his hands tightly fisted. She chuckled. “What is he thinking, Faelon? I don’t want to overwhelm him.”

“Desire has already overcome his fear, but he resents being bound. His actual experience is minimal, though he has entertained extremely adventurous fantasies.”

“I see.”

Faelon moved closer to the bed, drawing Rafe’s wary gaze. “The plain truth is you have no choice. You can submit to Antonelli’s ministrations and benefit from her teachings or I will enslave your mind.” Golden fire ignited in Faelon’s eyes and he opened his mouth, revealing long, pointed fangs.

Rafe screamed behind the gag, jerking violently against his bonds.
Demon! Fiend!
He had heard stories of such creatures. Prayers from his childhood echoed through his mind. What had he done? Why was he being punished?

“
Be calm.
” Faelon’s voice rang with authority. “
Stop struggling.
”

Peace flowed through Rafe, sweeping aside his fear and anger. He sagged against the bed, panting, exhausted.

“No more compulsions,” Antonelli said firmly. “I want him to submit of his own free will.” She turned back to Rafe and trailed her fingers down the center of his chest. “If you relax and allow yourself to enjoy my kiss, I will release you from the chains. I much prefer a willing student, but you must earn my trust.” Her mouth closed around the head of his cock. His body arched, tight as a bowstring, and the vision faded to black.

Jessie trembled in Rafe’s arms, her mind muddled, her body burning. His mouth moved against her throat, his tongue gently stroking. Desire sizzled within her. She felt dizzy and weak. Tangling her fingers in his hair, she pulled his face away from her neck.

“What did you… How did you… You bit me!” With the same intensity as the vision assailed her mind, reality returned. She scrambled off the sofa, her fingers pressed over the side of her neck. “What will this do to me?”

“Nothing.” He sighed and stood as well. “I only used my fangs so you could see how it began for me.”

She licked her lips, ignoring the strange tingle erupting in the wake of her tongue. “How long were you her—student?”

He chuckled. “The word doesn’t insult me. I learned more from Antonelli than even I anticipated. I shared their home for six years when Faelon agreed to transform me.”

“
Agreed
to transform you?” She hadn’t meant for her voice to sound so disapproving. “You
wanted
to become a vampire?”

“Vampires are stronger, faster and healthier than humans.” He shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I want to be a vampire?” A lazy smile parted his lips. His fangs had retracted. “Surely you don’t believe I’m a soulless demon? I was a superstitious lad when I encountered Faelon. You’re a streetwise ex-cop.”

“Which makes it harder for me to accept this sort of thing.” She took a step toward him, studying his relaxed posture, his calm expression and his assessing stare. He’d had over five hundred years to accept the existence of vampires. She’d had less than an hour. “I’ve been trained to believe what I can see, smell, hear and touch.”

“And taste?” He grinned.

The vision left her achy and restless. She’d been susceptible to his charm when her world wasn’t reeling. She didn’t trust herself near him now. Returning to the sofa, she sat and asked, “If being a vampire is so wonderful, why didn’t Faelon transform Antonelli?”

“Many long for transformation, but few can survive the change. Antonelli is a perfect example. She has spent centuries at Faelon’s side, wishing she could be what he is.”

“Antonelli is still alive?” He merely nodded. “How is that possible?”

“Soul bonding is the most intimate form of connection. Most often a soul bond is formed between two vampires, but it is possible for a vampire to establish a soul bond with a blood ally.”

“How do Etoro and Natalie fit into all this?” Jessie tried to concentrate on the present, but she couldn’t rid her mind of the vision. Rafe’s bittersweet longing thrummed though her still. He’d wanted Antonelli with every fiber of his being and hated himself for that desire. She understood the contradiction all too well.

He joined her on the sofa, his movements smooth and restrained. “After my transformation, we traveled for many years. We came across Etoro in Venice. It was a magnificent city in the height of its splendor. Etoro was a musician at one of the balls we attended. Time had not been kind to him while I had thrived and flourished. He wanted to know how I’d remained so young, so healthy. I did my best to evade his questions, but Etoro was determined to learn the source of my vitality.”

“How did he find out what you’d become?”

“He followed me for weeks until he caught me feeding. I didn’t recognize his obsession until it was too late. I’d only been a vampire for eleven years, so my powers were still developing.”

After eleven years his powers were still developing? Time obviously passed differently for vampires. “What did he do?”

“He threatened to reveal what I was if I didn’t transform him.” His tone was even, conversational. Did the events no longer affect him, or was he remaining calm for her benefit?

“Reveal it to whom? It wasn’t like they had cameras back then. Wouldn’t it have been his word against yours?”

“People were different then. Superstition and political unrest made for a volatile combination. Italy escaped the worst of it, but the Inquisitors in Spain executed thousands for refusing to convert to the ‘true faith’. What do you think such people would have done with a man who didn’t age?”

Jessie enjoyed reading about history, studying the customs and developments of different eras. Rafe had experienced the evolution of humanity. He’d survived wars and witnessed the rise and fall of societies. It gave her chills just thinking about all he’d experienced.

She drew her thoughts back to Etoro. “Did you transform him?”

“I couldn’t have if I’d wanted to. My own transformation wasn’t complete.” He paused, his lips pressed into a tight line. “Faelon refused to be manipulated by threats, but more importantly, he sensed an imbalance in Etoro that made him unwilling to even consider triggering the change.”

“Well, I know Etoro is a vampire now, so who transformed him?”

“A female named Cecilia. She was once Faelon’s mate.” He raked his hands through his hair and rushed on before she could distract him with more questions. “When Faelon forced Etoro to look elsewhere for transformation, we became the enemy.”

She released a shuddering breath. Logic, routine and instinct were as important to her as her gun, yet she was completely out of her element right now.
Vampires are real.
She repeated the words until her brain stopped rejecting them. “What does Etoro want with me? You didn’t even know me until tonight. How does he intend to use me in this ongoing battle?”

“I have lots of suspicions, just nothing I can prove. Faelon will be able to tell us more.”

“You’re going to take me to Faelon?” The vampire’s unrelenting features and piercing eyes flashed through her memory.

“He knows more about Etoro than anyone else alive. Etoro enjoys antagonizing me, but he despises Faelon.”

She inclined her head and carefully guarded her thoughts. There was no way in hell she was going to let this happen. Faelon had enslaved Rafe, offered him up to his wife bound in chains. A heated tingle skittered down her spine. It was so easy to picture herself in Rafe’s place, restrained and helpless as Rafe lowered his mouth to her pussy.

“When do we leave?” She cleared her throat, ridding her tone of its hushed purr. “Does he still live in Italy?”

Rafe didn’t reply, so she looked at him. Shit! His eyes glowed with golden fire and he slowly licked his lips. “If you step beyond the shields without me, you will learn what it means to be helpless. This is not a game.”

Calm, quiet, lethal, his tone belied the intensity in his gaze. “How do I know that?” She pushed to her feet and crept around the glass-topped coffee table. “Faelon and Antonelli are obviously fond of games, and you learned from them. How do I know Etoro even exists? Have you been commanded to bring me to your master? Is that what this is really about?” She made it to the door as she rattled off her string of questions. Escape was her only option. She spun and collided with Rafe. She screamed.

“I can’t let you leave. I don’t yet understand his motivation, but Etoro is real.” Rafe scooped her up in his arms and carried her across the room. Jessie wiggled and twisted, clawing at his hands and kicking her feet. “We’ll leave tomorrow for Italy. I must regain my strength before I attempt another flight.”

They reached the bedroom and she went still in his arms, her eyes wide and luminous. “How do you regain your strength?”

He grinned, moonlight accenting his fangs. “Despite your attempts to deny your excitement, I’ve seen the image in your mind. We will reenact my first night with Antonelli and see if
you
are willing to learn.” He set her down beside his bed and she lunged for the door. With a patient chuckle, he flung her onto the bed. “You can resist the pleasure and scream until your voice fails, but I will not fuck you or take your blood until you freely offer me the bond.”

“You’re insane!” She rolled toward the opposite side of the bed. He caught her ankles and flipped her onto her back. She screamed and flailed as he shredded her clothes and wrestled her into position, binding her wrists and ankles in fur-lined cuffs. Tugging against the restraints with all her strength, she confirmed that she was helpless, as he had been in the vision.

He paused, staring down at her with luminous golden eyes. “I know it’s your nature to be stubborn, but surrender will serve you better tonight.”

Chapter Four

With a negligent wave of his hand, Rafe dissolved his clothing and joined her on the bed. “To remain true to the reenactment, I should gag you, but that would prevent me from kissing you.”

Jessie licked her lips, her gaze focused on his sensual mouth. “Did Antonelli kiss you?”

“Not that first night.” He stretched out on his side and slipped one arm beneath her neck.

“Did you and Faelon ever…”

“Antonelli is a sexual connoisseur. She enjoys men and women in every imaginable combination.”

“You and Faelon took Antonelli together?” It didn’t take much imagination to picture Antonelli’s slender body sandwiched between the two powerful men. Had Rafe been on the bottom or had he filled Antonelli’s ass? A violent shiver shook her and she looked away from his otherworldly gaze. Why was she encouraging him? She should resist this depravity, or at least stay silent.

“She rode my cock while Faelon stuffed her ass.” He slipped his hand between her thighs and bent down to whisper in her ear. “You’re wet. Does the idea of being taken by two men appeal to you, or is it simply the subject matter?”