Through the wall, Matthias heard her take a shower. He lay on his bed, his eyes closed, reaching out to her.
Taz ignored Matthias hovering outside her mind. Keeping the barrier up that long exhausted her, but she wasn’t about to drop it. She fought the urge to reach out and hurt him even though she knew he couldn’t stop her. She was powerful—she realized that now. She hadn’t understood how powerful until her talks with Rafe. He must have sensed her looking through his mind at dinner, trying to find more information about Matthias, yet he hadn’t tried to stop her.
And Rafael was attracted to her, too. Why did he feel so damn familiar, when she’d only met him that morning? It was more than just the trace of his blood in Matthias’ veins.
Why do I love him?
Well, how about that? Not one, but two gorgeous guys who wanted her. Loved her.
Hallelujah, it’s raining vampires. Amen.
She lay in bed and ignored Matthias tapping at her mental barrier. Vindictive? Hell yes. Matthias could have stopped her. And he spied on her. She didn’t know which made her angrier. To think she’d felt mortified that she kissed Rafael while Matthias knew the whole time and let it happen.
Big fink! Ugh.
Or voyeur. Ick!
She closed her eyes and let her mind drift across the compound. She found Rafael lying in his bed and not quite asleep yet.
Naughty boy. She sensed what was in his mind, saw that she was the star in a pretty hot fantasy. He was a bit of a perv, but harmless.
She withdrew then hesitated. Let Matthias have a taste of his own medicine. He wanted to watch? Fine. She’d give him an eyeful. She couldn’t deny her steamy afternoon kiss with Rafael left her wanting more.
A lot more.
Rafael was easy to take control of, especially so close to sleep. She infiltrated his fantasies and teased, taunted, deliciously tortured him. This is where succubi must have come from. Pissed-off vampires like herself getting even with their boyfriends and husbands.
Rafael squirmed in his bed, naked, powerless against her, begging her for release.
How much would he remember in the morning? Or would he think it was just a really hot wet dream? She toyed with him for nearly an hour, enjoying the power and control surging through her. Even more, she enjoyed knowing exactly what he wanted, as if she knew his body. Even though it was only in his mind, she saw his body, ran her hands all over him.
She enjoyed feeling his attention in return. In real life, she knew he was one hell of a lover. Probably even better than Matthias. It felt like she’d made love with Rafe countless times before, yet still felt passionate.
She smiled as he rolled over, his erection springing free from the sheets.
“Oh, naughty Rafe,” she whispered to him, bending her mouth to him, knowing even though it wasn’t real he felt her lips grip him, her tongue caress him.
He moaned as her own desire grew, knowing she was giving him pleasure.
She felt Matthias’ presence hovering near. Watching?
She hoped so. It would serve him right. She’d teach him not to use her as some damn guinea pig.
Rafael’s words at dinner suddenly came back to her. Matthias hadn’t marked her, wanted her to have free will to choose her path. And then Rafael moaned.
“Cassandra!”
Her stomach rolled as her own mind suddenly slammed back into alignment. This wasn’t how she wanted to be. If this was what power did to people, it wasn’t worth it. She did not want to control someone like this. Hurt someone with her powers just to get revenge.
That was enough to quench her desire faster than a bucket of ice water and pictures of dead puppies.
Unfortunately, she’d already done a damn good job of driving Rafael into a frenzied state of sexual limbo. She’d worked him to the point he clung to her mind, pleading with her for release, and she didn’t know how to extricate herself without finishing what she started. Feeling more than a little nauseous and self-loathful now, she gently pushed him away and allowed him to climax, not sure how else to break the connection without hurting him.
Taz felt his orgasm as if it was her own, heard him moan her name in his mind, and then she was able to withdraw without him clinging to her mind.
Oh, I’m going to be apologizing in the morning. From her to Rafe. No matter how mad she was, she had no right to do that to him. Especially after he’d opened up to her at dinner.
She felt Matthias was still there, clinging. Out of guilt more than anything, she lifted the barrier a little, enough to see him, afraid to let him in too much.
Matthias was also nearly asleep. She belatedly realized this time that he had not seen what she did with Rafe. She felt some relief there. He was so in love with her, so upset at hurting her that his mind clung to her, even in sleep.
Oh, she really owed Rafael a huge apology. And Matthias, too. This was way more than a kiss.
She caressed Matthias’ mind, guilt overwhelming her with what she’d just done to his cousin, when he responded—
“My love, Anastazia, my only, sweet love…”
She cried, hating herself. Now she had more to make up for. With him vulnerable like this, she could see exactly what Rafael meant about her blood running through Matthias’ veins. His love for her permeated every cell in his body, not just his heart and soul and mind.
Why couldn’t I see that before? This kind of behavior was so unlike her, and she didn’t understand it. Worse, she hated herself for it. She was not a petty, overreactive woman. It felt like some alien had suddenly taken possession of her brain. She didn’t want to be like this.
She loved Matthias and wanted to be with him. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt him.
She caressed Matthias, allowing him in, letting his mind wrap around hers, lovingly, hiding what she did from him and knowing, like Rafe, that he hovered on the edge between sleep and passion.
“Matthias,” she whispered in his mind, “I love you.”
“My love, please, love me…”
She didn’t do what she did to Rafael, even though Matthias begged for it. Only if he was in bed with her, asking her himself, wide awake.
She allowed Matthias to drift in and around and through her, comforting him, coaxing him into fitful sleep. When she was sure he was asleep, she withdrew and gently closed the barrier. Now content and happy, he no longer clung to her.
Anastazia, on the other hand, couldn’t sleep. She lay there hating herself, wishing she could take back what she did to Rafael. The bed felt huge and cold without Matthias next to her. She’d never felt more alone in her life. She couldn’t even talk to Robertson about this, too ashamed to admit what she’d done.
She drifted into tortured sleep, and her mind roiled with dreams about Rafael. At one point, he screamed her name, and she felt his essence slam into her like a meteor hitting the earth. She woke up trembling, drained, head aching, the echoes of Rafe’s presence and voice still in her mind.
Serves me right.
Rafe shuddered, caught in a dreamlike state somewhere between awake and sleep. Taz came to his mind, and even though he felt guilty and knew it was wrong, he let her have him with only token resistance, let her manipulate him. She was his cousin’s love now, in this life, but she was also a very pissed-off woman. Fighting her wouldn’t do any good, even if he could. In fact, it could make her mad, and she might accidentally hurt him. She still wasn’t totally in control of her powers, wouldn’t understand when to stop.