Undying Embrace (8 page)

Inhaling deeply, he spun and marched upstairs. The servant followed close on his heels. He didn’t need to inform him where she would be waiting. Markus knew Marguerite would be in her sitting room at this point in the evening, feeding from her various consorts.

The door to her private den loomed at the end of the long, dimly lit paneled hallway. Marguerite preferred this end of the house due to the round design of the room and the wall of windows that showcased the night sky’s reflection on the lake below. At the door, he gripped the handle, then barged inside. He didn’t knock. She could kiss his ass. He’d come. And that was as
good boy
as she was going to get.

On the settee, Marguerite sat with her head held back while one of her female minions brushed the length of her long dark hair. She held her hand up, signaling for the girl to stop.

“Do come in, Markus.” She tilted her head. “Oh, but I see you already have.” Dark green eyes met his gaze. A flash of swirling fire blazed within her stare. A hot dagger of pain stabbed through his brain. Markus hissed and grabbed his temples with both hands. His knees wobbled, then collapsed, dropping him to the floor. But his gaze remained fixated on her. He didn’t have a choice.
Damn her!
She wouldn’t back down until she’d made her point.

“Forgive me, Mistress,” he groaned through his teeth, the pain a continuous knife through his brain.

“Forgive you for what, warrior?”

He growled, his fangs a pulsating force within his mouth. God, he hated when she acted fucking coy. “For entering your den”—he chewed the rest of his words from his lips—”without permission, Mistress.”

“That’s much better.” She blinked and released him.

As quickly as it had sliced through his brain, the pain was gone. He gasped, falling forward, his hands smacking the floor as he slumped. In rapid succession, he filled his lungs with several deep breaths.

“You forget your place, Commander.” The sound of rustling silk told him she’d risen from her seat. “Your command comes through
me
, and only because it pleases me—for now.” The sweet scent of lavender mixed with a thick layer of arousal inundated his senses. He lifted his gaze. “That was a little reminder, love.” She stood at his head, her eyes glazed with lust. Of course, she was aroused. Pain and power always got her off.

A loud crash on the other side of the door joining Marguerite’s den to her evening chamber jolted them, breaking the tension. She swiveled her head in the direction of the commotion, then back to him. “Ah, here is the reason I called you.” She motioned with her hand for him to stand.

Markus got to his feet. A sense of ominous dread settled in his gut as he stretched to his full height. He staggered, but quickly placed his feet wide apart for balance. It seemed his head hadn’t got off the Tilt-A-Whirl of her
reminder
. Shoving his hand through his loose hair, he pushed some of the annoying strands back over his forehead. God only knew what she had for him behind door number one.

Glancing again behind her, she ordered, “Bring her out.”

Her?

The door opened, and an irritated female’s voice rang in his ears. “Let go of me!”

Alexandria.

It appeared he didn’t have to go hunting after all. A large male came through the door first, looking like he’d gone three rounds in the ring—and lost. Alexandria appeared next, struggling at the hold the minion had on her upper arm. Her stare met his in defiance. “Stop dragging me, you bastard!” She fought him every step forward, but the male was stronger and pulled her the rest of the way into the room.

“Did you lose something, Markus?” Marguerite returned her gaze back to his.

Clearing his throat, he made sure to keep his face free of expression while he leveled his stare on Alexandria. “Where was she found?”

“She hadn’t gone far,” Marguerite said. “One of the guards noticed her before she left the grounds. He brought her to me.” His mistress glided in and closed the distance between them. She reached up and cupped his chin, turning his face to hers. “What would you have me do with her, warrior?” She leaned in, flicked her tongue out, and swiped his lower lip. “She apparently isn’t happy here,” she breathed against his mouth before pulling back to meet his eyes. “And an unhappy vampire creates problems.” She shook her head. “And I don’t like problems. You fix this one, Markus. If not, kill her. Or I will.” Without waiting for a reply, she whirled about and resumed her place on her red velvet settee.

Fuck.
Keeping Alexandria alive just became more complicated. If he didn’t find a better way to keep her quiet and in line, she was going to get them both put out of their misery. And he wasn’t quite ready to leave this hellhole yet.

“Alexandria,” he called for her attention. She jerked her head at the sound of his voice and scowled. “You will come with me.”

“Fu—”

“Alexandria!” He cut off the remaining words lined up to spill from her mouth. Words that with any other vampire would have sealed her death. As it was, his failure to kill Alexandria for her current blatant disrespect had gained him some unneeded attention from Marguerite. He could feel the heat of her glare as she waited for his next move.

In less than a second, Markus was in Alexandria’s face. He seized her head with both hands and forced her to look at him. Anger and frustration met his stare.
Welcome to my world, vixen
. Reaching deep inside her mind, he sought out the neurons that would give him complete control of her every thought and action. His gut ached; bile sat at the back of his throat. She would never forgive him for this ultimate act of violation. In the short time she’d been with him, he already knew how much this woman loved her freedom.

Now he would be the one responsible for taking them both away.

He didn’t have a choice. It was either control her, or they both died. And he’d much rather have her alive and hating him than lose her forever. The one good thing of it was, she wouldn’t hate him until he released her, and that could be a very long time.

“Alexandria, can you hear me?” He kept his voice low, laced with compulsion.

“Yes,” she whispered followed by a groan.

“I want you to blink twice for me.”

“Why? What are you doing to me?” Sheer terror held her eyes wide. God, he didn’t think it was possible, but there was a deeper level beyond the selfish son of a bitch he’d become. And he’d just sunk ass deep into its pit.

He pushed harder inside her brain. She cried out, her knees going soft beneath her weight. But he held on, to her mind and her body. She was too close.

“Blink twice for me, Alexandria,” he commanded.

She blinked. Once, then twice.

“Good girl,” he crooned as tears fell unchecked down her cheeks. They dripped onto his hands like silent little bombs of pain. Damn it all to hell. He’d thought Marguerite and the evil cloud surrounding her had suffocated every piece of his heart that felt anything for anyone. How had this woman found the one section that still cared . . . and kicked it in the ass?

Releasing his grip on her head, he reached up and smoothed her hair. “Now, Alexandria, twirl for me, like the ballerina I’m sure you wanted to be as a little girl.” Immediately, she did as instructed, spinning in a circle where she stood. Her hair lifted and whirled like a beautiful obsidian cape at her back. He ached to bury his hands in it. Ached to have her breath heating the head of his cock, her silky black mane a veil around his shaft. He stifled a hard groan. Fuck. He had to get those fantasies out of his head and figure out what the hell to do with her. He couldn’t keep her. But damn if he wanted to let her go.

“Stop.” The one word order had its intended effect. Alexandria came to an abrupt halt, turned, and faced him. Perfect. The expression on her face said she awaited his next instruction. Exactly what he’d aimed for, and exactly what she’d hate him for. One day.

They left Marguerite’s den with Alexandria following behind him like a good little marionette. Marguerite had looked quite pleased with the show he’d let her witness. At least for a few minutes before she’d grabbed one of her eagerly waiting minions to satiate her arousal.

Markus placed Alexandria back inside her small room in the basement. At least she had a private room, bath, and cot. Things could be worse.

He pointed to the bed. “Sit down, and wait for me to return.” She walked past him and took her place on the mattress. “You’re not to leave this room. Even if the door is open.” He crouched in front of her. “Do you understand, Alexandria?” She nodded. He cupped her face with his palm. Unable to resist the soft skin he found there, he stroked her cheek and traced the curve of her jaw with his thumb. “Vixen,” he whispered. “I’m so…” The sound of solitary applause behind him jammed the rest of his words in his throat.

“That, I must say, was quite interesting and very entertaining.”

With slow and controlled movements, he straightened from his crouch and pivoted in the direction of the familiar voice. Enrique stood propped against the doorjamb, grinning, as if he were on some damn photo shoot. Not like the bloodsucker who was about to lose his head.

Before the dark-skinned vampire could wipe the smile off his face, Markus had yanked him the rest of the way into the room. Shoving Enrique’s back into the wall, he wrapped a hand around his throat. “What the fuck are you up to, you son of a bitch?” Markus snarled in his face. “What kind of game were you playing by allowing Alexandria to escape? Hell, you didn’t even try to hide the fact that it was you.”

“I was testing a theory. And…” Enrique lifted his chin, indicating Alexandria sitting on the bed staring blankly at Markus. “No harm done. You have your pet back.”

“No harm done!” He couldn’t contain the ferocity in his voice. The hold he had on Enrique’s neck tightened. He was about one second from ripping his throat out. “Does she look fine to you?” he growled. “I had to take her fucking mind!”

“Poor baby.” He puckered his lips and added a kissing sound for effect. “But I would back off my throat, if I were you,” Enrique croaked. “I would think you’d want to keep the feelings you have for your puppet away from Marguerite’s ears.”

“What are you talking about?” He dropped his hand from Enrique’s neck and pushed away from the wall, turning his back to the other vampire.

Enrique laughed. “Damn, Markus, don’t play ignorant with me. You’re not that good at hiding your emotions. I’m surprised Marguerite hasn’t already questioned you about the time you spend down here. Hell,
I
can smell how bad you want to fuck her.”

Markus spun, the same growl resonating from his chest, only this time, even more feral. “What do you want?” How had this happened? Enrique was the last person he needed holding information over his head. The vampire had too much to gain if Markus went down.

Tilting one corner of his mouth into a smile, Enrique slipped his tongue out for a lick of his lips. ”You know what I want. The game is quite simple, really. And either you decide to start playing, with me, or I go to Marguerite and tell her
all
about how your priorities have changed. Make the right choice here, and we both win.”

Markus swallowed the groan trying to force its way out of his throat. The damn thing felt like a fist blocking his airway.
Shit.
He was going to have to fuck the bastard. His gut churned like a cauldron of bile threatening to burn its way through the lining of his stomach.

At least if he gave Enrique what he wanted and
played
the part well, he would have the bastard under some semblance of control. For years, Enrique had commanded Marguerite’s minions. Now that position fell to Markus. Not only had the vampire lost his place as Marguerite’s preferred lover, but his power as well. The bloodsucker would love nothing more than to shove a dagger into Markus’s back and resume his position.

The one good thing about this was Alexandria would never know what he was about to do. To protect her life and his.

With a slight nod and lift of his eyebrows, he gave Enrique the answer he wanted. Markus looked over his shoulder at Alexandria. She hadn’t moved from the original spot she’d assumed on the bed. “Stay in your room, Alexandria, until I return. Understand me?”

“Yes,” she answered in a soft voice.

Glancing back to Enrique, he couldn’t miss the erection tenting the male’s white trousers. His mouth went dry and barren like midday in the Sahara. It wasn’t as if he was a virgin when it came to men. But his experience had been limited to a handful of orgies when he was half out of his mind with bloodlust. Never like this. One-on-one. He might have danced on the other side, but it was a beautiful woman that made his cock stand up and take notice—not a man.

“Come with me.” Markus headed out the door. He didn’t need to look back to see if Enrique followed. He would. The soft
click
of the door closing behind him confirmed the fact.

After selecting the empty room two doors down, he stepped in and stood to the side of the door, waiting the few seconds it took for Enrique to enter. He walked in and stood before the bed in the center of the room, his back to Markus.

“Undress and get on the mattress,” Markus commanded in his best Dom voice. “Facedown.” This was the only way he was ever going to get through this. He had to be in charge. And if his suspicions were correct, the other male would respond, wanting it precisely how Markus had to give it.

Enrique turned on his heels. “Fuck you!”

“That
is
what this is all about, isn’t it?” He tossed a sexy, kiss-my-ass grin at Enrique and moved in close enough to grab him by his belted waistband. He jerked Enrique into his face and bared his fangs. “You want this? Get undressed.” Leaning in, he scraped his fangs along Enrique’s neck. The male shivered against his lips. “And next time, address me properly. Or I
will
punish you.” Markus peeled his hands off Enrique’s pants and gave him a shove.

Reaching for his zipper like a good sub, Enrique’s pupils expanded. His fingers shook as he fumbled to release the button and push his pants to the floor. “Yes, sir.”