Saeed wasn’t about to waste an opportunity for time alone with Cerys. Under Rin’s ever watchful eye, it had been impossible for him to implement his plan to gain her trust. The faster he could get this matter with the werewolf taken care of the better. He and Cerys had much to discuss and Saeed was through with beating around the bush.
He climbed the stairs behind her to the second story. Her hips swayed with every step and Saeed swallowed down a tortured groan. She had no idea of the effect she had on him. He wondered what it would feel like to have her hips moving on top of him. Pressing down, as she took his cock deep inside of her and rode out her pleasure. Ever since that first taste of her blood, Saeed had craved her. Her open defiance, her fire, her strength and courage had all enticed him. But it was the sadness and despair she buried beneath all of that—the deeper emotions she thought she’d lost with her soul—that drew him to her. It was her darkness that made him want to hold her close to him and never let her go.
Five steps from the second story landing, Cerys paused. She turned to face Saeed who stood two steps lower and they met eye to eye. She leaned in close and the warmth of her mouth brushed the outer shell of Saeed’s ear. A finger of raw lust stroked down Saeed’s spine. His fangs throbbed in his gums and the rekindled flames of his thirst licked at his throat. Later. Business first, he’d sate his hungers later.
“He’s fast. Strong. And a wicked good shot. If we knock, he’ll turn the wall into Swiss cheese. The locks are reinforced with steel and the door is constructed with iron and silver rods throughout. It took me twenty minutes to fight my way through last time.”
Saeed could no longer resist the temptation as he reached out and threaded his fingers through the thick locks of Cerys’s hair. The strands slipped through his grasp like silk as he cradled the back of her head in his much larger palm. Her body stiffened, but she didn’t pull away as he gently kept her body against his. His own mouth brushed her temple and Saeed allowed an indulgent moment to inhale her delicious scent. “Five minutes,” he assured her once again. “Stay behind me.”
Though it pained him to do it, Saeed released his hold. Her body went slack as he brushed past her and mounted the last several stairs to the landing. He turned toward Cerys and raised a brow in question. She pointed a finger to the unit marked 2B. Saeed put a finger to his lips and then flashed a confident smile as he moved almost silently to the werewolf’s apartment.
Cerys had been cautious, but she had to have known the werewolf would’ve scented them the moment they walked into the building. No doubt he was already poised and waiting on the other side of the door, gun drawn and ready to put a bullet into the first body that crossed the threshold. Saeed would gladly take a bullet for Cerys, but he’d be of no use to her if the werewolf managed to plug his body full of silver. And so, he did the only thing he could and got the ball rolling with a healthy dose of honesty.
“I know you can smell me, werewolf,” Saeed called toward the door. “I’m here for a moment of conversation and nothing more.”
From inside the werewolf’s apartment Saeed heard the metallic slide of a gun being cocked. “Tell that fucking bitch if she gets within ten feet of me she’s going to feel an iron blade slide between her ribs!”
The insult to Cerys made Saeed’s lip curl back in a sneer. He’d vowed to find a peaceful solution to tonight’s problem and end what could potentially be a very messy and long standoff before it had a chance to begin. “She’s none of your concern,” Saeed said. “And mind your tongue when you speak of her.”
“None of my concern?” The incredulity in the werewolf’s tone was laced with fear. “She’s here for my fucking soul!”
“She doesn’t have to come through that door to take it.” Saeed had no idea how Cerys’s power worked, which made his assumption neither a lie nor truth. He took a gamble and hoped that his bluff would confuse the werewolf’s senses. “I’m here to talk, nothing more.”
“Then why is she here?”
Cerys let out an exasperated sigh. Saeed glanced at her over his shoulder and shot her a stern look. Her fingers caressed the pommel of her dagger as though she were anxious for violence. She painted such a sensual picture that Saeed nearly lost focus of his task. Later, he reminded himself. Right now he needed to prove his worth not only to Cerys, but to Rin.
“To bear witness,” Saeed said. “And report back to Rin.”
“Well she can report back to him right fucking now,” the werewolf shouted. “Because I ain’t doing shit for Rin!”
“Then perhaps you’ll do something for me.” Saeed had once been a quick-tempered warrior. A stealthy assassin. Feared and respected alike. With the passage of time, he’d also learned diplomacy. Cerys had become so hardened over the centuries, she knew nothing but violence. Saeed wanted her to know that there was another way. Life wasn’t simply black and white.
“Like what?”
The werewolf’s tone had lost a bit of its fire. Saeed took it as a good sign. “Open the door for starters. I give you my word no harm will come to you.”
“Yeah right,” the werewolf scoffed. “And I’m supposed to believe the word of a…” He paused. “What in hell are you anyway?”
The werewolf couldn’t be very old if he didn’t recognize the scent of a vampire. Which made dealing with him both harder and easier without a few centuries’ worth of wisdom under his belt. “I’m a vampire.” Saeed didn’t see any point in mincing words.
“Bullshit.”
Cerys let out another long suffering sigh. Saeed turned and gave her a rueful shake of his head. For a creature so old, she had very little patience.
“Open the door and see for yourself.” Saeed practically dared him.
“How do I know this isn’t a trick?”
Gods. The male was nothing more than a pup. Completely ignorant and too damn foolish to trust his own senses. No wonder his pack had taken him to task. Already, Saeed wanted to throttle him. “I’m a patient male, werewolf, but you’re getting on my last nerve. Open the door and you won’t be hurt. Continue to behave like a stubborn fool and I’ll let my friend swallow your miserable soul.”
“You promise you won’t let her near me?”
Saeed couldn’t help but feel a certain perverse sense of pride that his mate so easily intimidated those around her. He knew she didn’t feel the same. That she considered what she was a curse and what she could do, a horrible burden. But there was power in her strength. She’d simply been under Rin’s thumb for too long to realize it.
“I told you, you’re safe from her. Stop with this foolishness, and open the door.” The werewolf was wasting precious minutes. Saeed had asserted himself and his ability to get the job done. The werewolf was making him look bad, and if he didn’t get his ass in gear and open the door, Saeed might be tempted to violence.
From inside the apartment, Saeed heard shuffling footsteps move toward the door. It was too soon for optimism. After all, the werewolf was just as likely to pull open the door and put a bullet in Saeed’s head. Still, he hadn’t run and that was a good sign. Saeed cast a sidelong glance at Cerys. She stood on the fourth to last step, her left shoulder bracing her body up against the dingy wall. Her arms were folded across her chest and pressed the swell of her breasts upward in a tantalizing display. Saeed’s tongue flicked out at his bottom lip as a wave of lust crashed over him once again. Gods, his want of her only intensified with every second spent in her company.
The snick of locks disengaging preceded the squeak of hinges and Saeed lent his full attention to the door. A golden brown eye peeked out from the crack in the door and zeroed in on Saeed. He gave a wide smile, making sure to reveal the points of his fangs. The werewolf let out a gust of breath.
“Damn. You weren’t kidding, were you?”
Saeed rolled his eyes. Someone needed to teach this young fool how to be a proper werewolf. “You would’ve known I wasn’t lying if you’d learn to properly use your senses.”
The werewolf’s single-eyed gaze raked Saeed from head to toe. “What do you mean?”
Saeed stepped toward the door. Time to wrap this up so he could spend the rest of the night alone with his mate. He drew on his power as he held the werewolf’s gaze. “Open the door,” Saeed said. “Now.”
The werewolf took a stumbling step away from the door. It closed for a brief moment as he released the chain and then swung it open wide. Saeed got a good look at the male who couldn’t have been more than nineteen years old when he’d been turned. He was a child in every sense of the word, and it angered Saeed that Rin had taken advantage of his innocence in the first place. Because of the werewolf’s dual nature, Saeed had expected it to be more difficult to compel him. The fact that he’d slipped so easily into Saeed’s control was nothing more than another indicator that the male’s place was with those who could help him understand what he’d become and how to utilize his own power.
Saeed had already expended three minutes of his five. He wasn’t about to waste another second.
* * *
“Your name is Nick?”
Cerys watched, transfixed, as the werewolf gave a slow nod of his head. Saeed’s voice resonated with power that sparked the air with an electric charge. She’d forgotten how handy it could be to have a vampire around. And not just because he scared the bejezus out of everyone. His large frame took up the entire doorway and his wide shoulders nearly blocked her view. Cerys found herself no longer watching Nick and his dreamy responses as she allowed her gaze to roam freely down the length of Saeed’s muscular back. Hot damn. The male was fucking magnificent. She imagined what he might have looked like in another age. Dressed in ancient robes and armed with a finely-honed scimitar. His enemies must have cowered at the sight of him. He’d been diplomatic with Nick but Cerys knew that had it come down to it, Saeed wouldn’t have hesitated to show his teeth.
A pleasant shiver raced down Cerys’s spine as she thought once again about the rush of heat that accompanied his bite. Rin kept her on a very short leash. Her opportunities for romantic entanglements had been nearly non-existent. She’d found pleasure when she’d wanted it though, as empty as the experiences had been. Sex just didn’t have the same appeal when you didn’t have a soul. Sure, it felt good. But it was far from satisfying.
Saeed’s bite, however, had been more than satisfying.
Gods, Cerys. Snap out of it!
She pushed away from the wall and stood up straight. Her wandering thoughts were dangerous and would only manage to get her into more trouble than she could handle. She focused on Saeed’s words rather than his body. That’s what they were here for after all. Rin would expect her to report back. He’d want every last detail. And if Cerys failed to remember a single thing, he’d be less than thrilled.
“You owe Rin a favor. Is that correct, Nick?”
Cerys had known many vampires. Many powerful vampires. Somehow, Saeed made them all seem mundane by comparison. Perhaps it was because there were so few of them now. Vampires were interconnected, she knew that much. All that power had to go somewhere when Mikhail had ascended.
“Yes, that’s correct,” Nick said sleepily. “But everyone knows if you do one favor for Rin he’ll get you on the hook for more. I just want to be left alone.”
“You should’ve thought of that before you left your pack and struck your bargain,” Saeed said. “You owe him one favor, and you’ll do it. No more hiding, no more going back on your word. Do this thing for him and then you will leave the city and return to your pack. You will repent, you will accept your punishment, and you will let those who are older and wiser than you teach you what it is to be a proper werewolf. Do you understand me, Nick?”
Cerys’s brow furrowed. She never would’ve expected this. For centuries, all she’d known was heartlessness and violence. Saeed had shown neither. He’d found a peaceable solution and even went out of his way to perhaps help the young werewolf. Nick was right: Rin would have kept him on the hook for as long as possible. That’s how he operated. Saeed might be compelling Nick to do one favor for Rin but whatever small evil it was, at least he’d be free from an eternity of servitude.
Freedom. That’s what Saeed had given Nick. Cerys could only hope to know what that felt like. She would feel the weight of her own invisible collar for eternity.
“I understand.” The words came slow and quiet from Nick’s lips. A more powerful werewolf wouldn’t have been so easy to compel, but Nick was young in his supernatural existence. He didn’t know how to draw on his own inherent power. His pack might mete out some harsh judgment when he returned, but at least he wouldn’t be set adrift in the world with no idea of what he was and what he was capable of.
“Good.” The smug pleasure in Saeed’s tone sent a fresh round of chills over Cerys’s skin. “Tomorrow night, you’ll go to Rin. Do whatever is asked of you. And when it’s done, put it to the back of your mind. Leave the city and return to your pack immediately.”
Nick gave a slow, shallow nod of his head. “Yeah.”
“And stay away from magic wielders,” Saeed added. “They’ll give you nothing but trouble.”
Nick’s nod of agreement was considerably more robust this time. Thanks to Saeed, the werewolf would live to see another day with his soul intact. He’d never know how much he owed Saeed, but Cerys would remember. The vampire was indeed an extraordinary male.
The air seemed too thin and Cerys assumed it was a result of Saeed pulling back on his power. She took a deep, cleansing breath and held it in her lungs for a brief moment. Saeed turned toward her. His mouth formed a grim line and silver shone in his gaze.
“It’s time for us to go,” he said.
Like Nick, Cerys gave a slow nod of her head. “Yeah. Let’s get out of here.”
They left the dingy apartment building and hit the sidewalk. Long silent moments passed, the only sound that of their footsteps. Cerys counted them out. One, two, three, four … The brisk rhythm matched the beat of her heart and it managed to calm the nervous energy that pooled inside of her.
“What are you thinking about?”
Cerys turned toward Saeed. “Mercy.” She didn’t see any point in lying.
“Mercy?” Saeed’s brow furrowed.
Cerys gave a small shrug of her shoulders. “Yeah. I was thinking that Rin has no mercy. I don’t think he would’ve understood what you did here tonight.”
Saeed cocked a curious brow. “You think I was merciful?”
“Of course.” Had Nick refused to play ball, Cerys would’ve been forced to rip his soul from his body, thereby guaranteeing his servitude. “Don’t you?”
“I have no idea what Rin will ask of him,” Saeed said. “Steal. Murder. Coerce. Batter, abuse, or worse. Torture…” His voice trailed off into silence. Cerys kept her pace to match his as she walked beside him. “Did I show him mercy? Or did I condemn him.”
Guilt? Since he had no soul, she couldn’t imagine him feeling anything as complex as remorse. Untethered vampires were generally apathetic, something Cerys knew all too much about. Was this new breed of vampires Mikhail Aristov had sired somehow different? Had they retained some part of the ethereal connection to themselves that allowed them some sort of emotion? No. Cerys could see souls and she knew Saeed had none. Not even a scrap of one. He was indeed unique.
“You saved him,” Cerys assured him. “What Rin would have done would have been a million times worse.”
“Do you think so?” Saeed kept his gaze cast forward.
“I know so,” Cerys said. “Rin is the most heartless, cruel male I’ve ever known.”
“I’m going to free you.” The no-nonsense statement made Cerys’s heart flutter. “Rin will not be your jailer for much longer.”
Cerys wanted to laugh. Or more to the point, she wanted to throw her head back and scream her frustration at the sky. Saeed’s promise was certainly gallant, and it fit his personality to a tee. But he didn’t know Rin, didn’t know the lengths he’d gone to possess Cerys in the first place. And he didn’t know the lengths to which Rin would go to keep her.
“You should be more concerned with watching your own back.” Cerys was careful to keep any inflection from her tone. “If Rin finds out you’re going easy on anyone we’re supposed to be shaking down, he’s going to have your ass.”
Saeed gazed at her from the corner of his eye and an arrogant smile spread across his sensual mouth. “You think I’m afraid of Rin?”
No. And that was the problem. “You should be,” Cerys replied. “You should be very afraid.”
“There’s only one thing that scares me.” Saeed’s voice became so quiet that Cerys had to strain to hear him. “And that is failing to return your soul to you.”
Cerys’s step faltered. He wanted to do what? “Why?” It hadn’t been what she’d intended to ask, but the word slipped from her lips nonetheless.
“Because if I don’t,” Saeed said, “you will never tether me. And how will I ever prove to you that you are my mate?”
Whoa. In dozens of centuries no one had ever managed to throw her off her game. Saeed had done it with a simple sentence. His mate? The vampire was definitely crazier than she’d thought.