His gaze roamed over her, from top to bottom, in the most brazen of ways, like a tongue licking an ice-cream cone—like a paven who had removed many a veana’s purity cloth.
Beside her, Nicholas cleared his throat. “Evans will take you to your room, Miss Kettler.”
“Thank you.” Bronwyn ripped her gaze from Lucian’s, nodded once at Nicholas, then followed Evans. She was nearly to the door when she suddenly stopped, turned back, and addressed Lucian one last time. “And by the way, Mr. Roman, I don’t nurse from my business associate Edel, but I do let her wipe my ass from time to time.”
Edel snorted from the hallway and a loud chuckle erupted from Nicholas, but Lucian remained impassive as he watched her—although his thick, blond eyebrows rose a good half inch from where they normally dwelled.
With a quick nod in his direction, Bronwyn turned and walked out of the library.
Alexander touched down near the back entrance to his home. Night had succumbed to the stillness and bitter chill of predawn, and every muscle in his body tensed, warned him to get inside and find shelter before the sun showed her merciless face.
The back door opened and without a word to Evans, Alexander carried Sara into the house. She was asleep, a delicious weight in his arms, her dark hair swinging from side to side as he moved. He wanted nothing more than to keep her against him, all day and deep into the night. But that was not possible, today or ever.
He took the back stairs two at a time until he reached the third floor, then stalked down the dark and quiet hallway until he reached his room. LIGHT. DIM. The mind command was as swift as the result, and he crossed the large suite and placed Sara on his bed, then covered her gently.
He stepped back. Yes, the woman looked right in his bed, beautiful, enticing.
She sighed in her sleep, turned her head, exposing the white flesh of her neck to his gaze. Saliva pooled in his mouth and his fangs vibrated with a sexual hunger he hadn’t felt in quite some time. He could do it. Right now, he could mark her, score her with his fangs—a permanent tattoo that would keep any male fearful for his life away from her. He growled low, pained, the desire to act nearly debilitating. But it wasn’t fair to her. She was human. She could never be his female, his true mate, the one who bore his mark.
There was a knock on the door and a firm whisper. “Sir.”
With one final glance at Sara, Alexander left the room and went into the hallway. “What is it, Evans?”
“I have Dr. Donohue’s room ready if you’d like—”
“No. She’s staying here.” For now.
“Yes, sir.”
Evans’s almost sheepish gaze dropped and Alexander released a breath. “Is there a problem, Evans?”
“While you were gone, there was a . . . development.”
“What kind of development?”
Evans’s gaze flickered upward. “You’ve been hand-fasted.”
Alexander frowned. “What?”
“And she’s in the room next to yours.”
“What?” Alexander roared, his chest suddenly filling with air, his veins rushing with hot, irritated blood.
“Yes, Brother dear,” Lucian called, coming around the corner, his almond eyes locking with Alexander’s fierce gaze. “We’ve been invaded. First the Order and now the credenti.”
“A Bronwyn Kettler, sir,” Evans said quickly. “She comes from the Boston credenti with her assistant, and claims you are her true mate.”
The madness he’d encountered this day was off the charts. He gestured toward her door. “Send her home.”
“Can’t do,” Lucian said with a wry grin.
Alexander growled. “I don’t have time for this bullshit, Luca.”
Lucian shrugged. “Nicholas has given her the three weeks.”
“Then Nicholas can have her! I’ve been to see the Order.”
Lucian froze, his lip curling. “So you did it, then. Alone. You found the Hollow?”
Alexander turned to Evans and motioned for him to leave.
“I can’t believe you went without us, without backup,” Lucian accused when the servant was gone.
“I didn’t go to them—they took me.”
“I don’t care!” Lucian roared, then shook his head and released a pissed-off breath. “What did the old fuckers want?”
“There’s a threat to the credentis and to the Eternal Breed. They’ve been infiltrated by a rogue band of Impures and many veana have been taken.”
“And? What?” Lucian chuckled bitterly. “They want our help.”
“My help,” Alexander corrected.
“You told them to go fuck themselves, right?”
“Not that simple, Brother.”
It took only a moment for Lucian to get the clear picture. “Nicky and I go morpho if you don’t do as you’re told.”
Alexander didn’t need to confirm or deny, just lifted his chin. “I will take care of this.”
Lucian was shaking his head. “No.”
“Don’t be stupid, Luca.”
“I swear I will lock you up in that cage of yours and bury the key. You’re not doing this again. We’re brothers, partners. Just because you’re the eldest doesn’t mean you can make decisions about our future.” Lucian arched one pale, severe eyebrow. “We made a pact to remain together, fight together. If we don’t have that, we’re based on nothing. We walked out of that life together, and we walk back in together.”
Alexander hesitated, his jaw tight as a fist. He wanted to be harsh with Lucian, pull rank and refuse to see the reason in the young paven’s words. The love for his brothers warred with the pain of seeing them lose their futures.
“Together, Duro,” Lucian said resolutely, then flashed Alexander a wicked grin. “Besides, I’ve been itching for a little recon.”
Alexander thought of the blood oath the Order had given him. They would leave Nicholas and Lucian alone if Ethan Dare was brought in, and he would have a better chance of finding the Impure with his brothers’ help. A low growl settled in the back of his throat. The Order had better come through with their end of the bargain. Because if they didn’t, he’d have another battle on his hands, one he was only too willing to start. “Where’s Nicholas?”
Lucian grinned, knowing he had convinced the alpha, his pack leader. “On that skinny human’s trail.”
“In-house or out?”
“Online. Downstairs.”
“Good. Let’s go.”
Lucian flicked his chin in the direction of Alexander’s room. “What about the female?”
“She’s sleeping in my bed, and I don’t want anyone disturbing her.”
“I meant the other one,” Lucian drawled. “The vampire female? The veana who thinks you are her true mate.”
“Not my problem.” Alexander started toward the stairs. “Let’s go. We’ve got a rogue Impure to find and kill.”
18
Sara awoke to the sound of muffled traffic and the scent of Alexander’s skin. Disoriented, she lifted her head and glanced around the dimly lit room, a relatively bare space with pale gray walls and a white fireplace. Alexander’s room, she was willing to guess. Alexander’s bed. Obviously, he’d put her here after she’d fallen asleep last night somewhere over Jersey.
She dropped back onto the bed indulgently and pressed her face into his pillow, mindful of the bruise that still stung slightly. Oh God, she thought, breathing him in. He smelled so good, so indescribably good—like coffee, an earthy scent that was hard to describe but that made her feel warm and thirsty, and desperate to stay in bed. It was utterly impossible to deny her attraction to him, her desire for him now, and she wasn’t even going to try. The irony of being caught up in a state of delicious insanity involving vampires, mind travel, and potential danger wasn’t lost on her professional acumen. And yet she was willing to overlook it all if she could just feel that thing she’d felt in Montauk one more time. Tucked inside that ancient lighthouse surrounded by an angry sea, she’d felt completely and totally connected to someone.