Briefly startled by his departure, Sally rose to her feet. Her strength was returning, but what good would it do her if she couldn’t use it to escape?
She needed someone she could manipulate.
Someone who wasn’t a powerful vampire who made her think of sweet, forbidden things.
“Does it have to be you?”
Halting, he glanced over his shoulder at her abrupt question. “Me?”
“Can I have a different guard?”
“Why?”
“I should think that was obvious.”
“Indulge me.”
Her chin tilted. “I don’t like you.”
His body went rigid, his eyes darkening with something that might have been outrage. “In case you didn’t notice, you’re in the dungeons,” he snarled, his power nearly suffocating. “You’re lucky the keys haven’t been thrown away and your luscious little body left for the wolves. Literally.”
What the hell was wrong with him? He acted as if she’d insulted him . . . Wait—did he just call her body luscious?
Dammit, Sally, concentrate.
Sucking in a deep breath, she refused to back down. “Even a condemned criminal gets a last request, Roke. And mine is that I don’t have to see you again.”
Chapter 6
Louisiana wetlands
Nefri allowed Santiago to lead her from the house, resolutely maintaining her air of detachment while deep inside she was an emotional mess.
That room . . .
It wasn’t just the blood and guts.
She was an ancient vampire who’d witnessed just about every depravity that demons and humans could imagine. It was the lingering evil that seemed to cling to the air. Like an oil slick that polluted everything it touched. Dear lord. She wanted to stand beneath a shower and scrub herself from head to toe.
And just as confusing were the violent emotions the vampire walking at her side inspired. He was infuriating, illogical, stubborn, and so typically male that she wanted to scream. He was also wickedly charming, unexpectedly intelligent, and intensely loyal to his clan.
One minute she wanted to have him muzzled, and the next she wanted to wrap herself in his raw power and kiss him senseless.
Which terrified her.
Granted, it’d been a long time since she’d last taken a lover, but she knew that this extreme awareness of Santiago had nothing to do with sexual frustration. Or even a brief bout of lust.
She wished it was.
Lust she could easily satisfy. Either with Santiago or with one of her own clansmen.
But this restless craving that was spreading through her body wasn’t going to be ended by a swift, discreet tumble. Not that Santiago would ever be swift or discreet in bed, a renegade voice whispered in the back of her mind. He would be fierce and dominant and outrageously demanding. No doubt he would leave a female feeling thoroughly ravaged . . . in the most gratifying way.
Her hands clenched as she banished the image of Santiago poised naked above her, his hips nestled between her parted thighs.
Had she gone mad?
There was something out there that terrified even the Oracles. Now was not the time to be reacting as if she were a silly foundling still at the mercy of her passions. With an effort she hid behind the cool composure that allowed her to pretend a control she was far from feeling.
“Where are we going?” she asked as Santiago headed up the narrow path. With the thick canopy of trees and creeping moss it looked more like a tunnel to some weird Land of the Lost than a main road to the nearest town.
Somewhere overhead Levet was hunting for his evening meal, but the thick foliage made it impossible to sense anything beyond a few feet.
At her side, Santiago pulled his sword from its scabbard, his eyes scanning the shadows. “I left my truck hidden outside town.”
She rolled her eyes. Of course he would have a truck. A heavy bully of a vehicle with a too-powerful engine that wouldn’t be stopped by a mere roadblock. Her lips thinned with annoyance at her unruly thoughts.
“After that.”
He shrugged, his gaze continuing to search the thick line of trees that bordered the road.
“North.”
“North? That’s it?”
“That’s all I got.”
“Are you being deliberately vague?”
“No, I only have a faint sense of Gaius,” he explained. “I told you, once I’m closer I’ll be able to pinpoint his location.”
She believed him, even if she didn’t want to. The bond she’d formed with her own sire had been destroyed several centuries ago, but she did remember that she rarely had more than a vague impression of his direction.
But the thought of spending several nights with Santiago as they searched for Gaius was more disturbing than she wanted to admit.
“We could travel much faster if we use my medallion.”
He hissed, shooting her a startled glance. “No fuc—” He bit off his crude response, but his expression remained resolute. “No way.”
“Why not?” She lifted her fingers to touch the warm medallion that rested just above her unbeating heart. “It would be much quicker.”
“I just regained my bond with Gaius. I’m not going to do anything to risk it.”