Oh for love of God, hurry up! Ria punched the button for the basement a dozen times. It was taking too long.

When the lift finally reached the bottom floor and the doors opened, she nearly fell over her own feet in her haste to get out. Adrenaline pumping, she raced down the corridor, desperately trying to ignore the disgusting thoughts that echoed down the hall.

Just hold on, Ryver.

The smell of blood hung in the air. The delicious aroma of chocolate and raspberries still called to her, but there were heavy notes of copper and iron too. The blood was fresh.

She rounded the corner and skidded to stop.

It was like a horror film.

Three of them stood over his battered body, each holding a bloodied weapon, laughing, readying themselves for another assault.

"STOP!" Her voice barely sounded like her own there was so much power in it.

Her father's henchmen froze, a mixture of confusion and surprise painted on their faces. After the shock wore off, they turned to face her. The smallest of the three smiled as he recognised her. "My Lady! Come to join the fun?"

A sly smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. "Absolutely."

"Well, it will be our pleasure," he replied.

She sent her mind out, pushing tendrils of power into their evil little brains. "Oh, you won't be staying," she told them.

The guy's mouth flapped around for a second, like he was going to say something, before her power coiled around his mind and squeezed ever so slightly. His vile black eyes widened before he nodded. The two others did the same, and Ria smiled as she could hear them asking themselves why they would agree to such a thing. But agree they did.

"You can go now," she said.

"Right. We'll be off then," the middle one said.

"You will go straight back to your rooms. You won't report my presence here to anyone."

They nodded.

"Will you?"

"No, my Lady," the tall one replied.

Ria nodded back at them. "Very well. You may go."

They dropped their weapons and left in a daze.

As they left, she started to lose her nerve, her body trembling in fear and anticipation. She forced herself to wait until they were really gone before rushing to Ryver's side.

He wasn't dead. That much she did know.

Ria fell to the floor beside him, her knees making a sickening noise as they landed in a pool of congealing blood. He lay curled in a ball, his back to her. She reached for him, but stopped mid-motion. Another deep gouge had been carved into his back courtesy of her father's men, and she daren't touch him for fear of causing more damage.

"Ryver?" Her voice cracked.

* * *

The pain still burned, but the absence of fresh blows made it more manageable.

Waiting for the next strike had been distracting, made it harder to compartmentalize his mind. Harder to shield Ria. Soraya had been right. He and Ria were connected on a level that went far beyond the physical and that meant he had to use whatever mental strength he could muster to stop her feeling even an ounce of the agony he felt.

That one lash to his back had taken the wind right out of him and his carefully constructed shields had come toppling down like a house of cards. He'd rebuilt them as soon as he could catch his breath, but he knew he wasn't quick enough. He felt her shock and resulting agony.

Guilt still wound its way through him when he heard her voice—full of sorrow. It made his heart constrict.

It took him longer than it should have to realise what he heard wasn't just in his head. Instinctively, he rolled towards her.

Holy Mother of Fae.

White-hot agony ripped through him as the wound on his back opened up.

"Don't move. Do you hear me?"

He didn't think he could even if he wanted to.

"Are you hurt anywhere else?" Ria asked.

In truth, he didn't really know. Everything hurt. "No," he replied through gritted teeth.

"I'll be right back," she told him.

He wanted to tell her stay—just having her near him brought him comfort—but she was already gone.

His mind went with her, following her down the corridor, past empty cells, to the lift. She stepped in, hit the button and travelled up six floors. When the doors opened, he felt her send her mind out wide, listening intently for her father or his men. Ryver did the same thing, but like Ria, he found that part of the stronghold empty. Satisfied, Ria dashed down the hall to the double, swing doors at the end. Ryver realised where she was and couldn't have been more surprised.

"Ria, why are you in the galley?"

"It was the only thing I could think of," she replied.

And then he understood.

"No. No way."

Ria ignored him. She wrenched open the fridge door and grabbed a box, then turned heel and rushed back to the lift. A swipe of her security card and a press of the button, and she was on her way back down.

"I won't do it, Ria."

She didn't answer.

Even as she walked back into his cell, he could feel her determination. It made him question everything. Had she deceived him after all?

Still barely able to move, he had to wait for her to come to him. This time, she walked around and knelt in front of him. Ryver closed his eyes and held his breath. He knew what was in that box and despite himself, it called to him. His aching bones and ruined flesh cried out for the relief it promised. His heart and his honour would not—could not—allow it.

"Ryver. Please look at me."

Unable to deny her, his eyes fluttered open, and he breathed a sigh. She looked down at him with such raw emotion it brought tears to his eyes.

"I need you to heal, Ryver."

His gaze moved to the box she'd set down next to her. "There's a reason I told you not to drink the wine," he whispered.

"This isn't wine" she said as she ripped open the box and took out a vacuum-sealed pouch.

The smell of iron and copper hit Ryver so hard, he felt like he'd been punched.

"It's blood, and you need it."

She didn't know. The relief was palpable.

He tried to breathe through his mouth and ignore the smell. "Where do you think the blood came from?" he snarled. "Can't you hear it?"

"Don't be ridiculous," was her immediate thought, but Ryver saw the widening in her eyes as she finally realised what he meant.

"You hear them now, don't you?"

The pouch fell from her hand as she nodded her head. "How did I not notice?"

"Because you can hear the voices of the damned echoing around every nook and cranny in this godforsaken place."

It was true. Ever since he'd been in this stinking hole he kept catching the screams of trapped souls. Their anger and fury at being taken against their will gave the Fallen power, but it didn't last forever. Souls were fragile. They were not meant to be imprisoned. They were meant to soar.

He'd rather take a thousand more beatings than have to listen to another soul dying. And he'd rather die than touch a drop of Asher's tainted blood supply.

"Don't say that, Ryver. Never say that!"

Ryver moved his aching limbs and pulled himself off his side and sat up. A new shot of pain blazed on his back, but he did his best to ignore it. He'd rebuilt his shields to protect Ria, but he failed to keep the grimace from his face.

She reached for him, her small hand landing on his shoulder. "You need to heal. Asher gave me two days, but he was obviously lying. Those three were down here on his orders and there'll be more. I'm sure of it. We can't stay."

Ryver hung his head. “You can't stay.”

"Don't even think about it."

"I'm not going anywhere like this, and if there's a chance for you to leave, you need to take it."

The wound on his back had thankfully stopped bleeding, but at least four ribs were still broken and his legs felt pretty useless. He wasn't going anywhere in a hurry.

"I'm not leaving without you. If it wasn't for you, I'd still be wallowing in darkness and I wouldn't know anything about it." She took hold of his hand. "You saved me."

"Ria..."

She let go of his hand to tuck her hair behind her ear. He followed the movement, delighted in the way her hair moved, all luscious curls that caught the light like a babbling brook. Without the tainted wine, the greyness had already started to leave her skin, and her cheekbones no longer looked quite as sharp. The lines of her neck led...

He had no idea where those lines led. All he could see was the pulse of her carotid. Transfixed, he found he couldn't look away. The longer he stared, the louder her heartbeat seemed to become.

* * *

Ria caught the look in his eyes, and a fearful tremor of excitement rippled through her. He'd looked at her like that once before. It had been blocked from her mind by that poison her father had put in the wine, but in that moment, she saw it clearly.

He stood at the bar, watching her through the crowds and wondering who and what she was. He'd known even then that she was different. And he knew he wanted her.

The look in his eyes now was the same—glowing emerald and full of hunger and need. He'd blocked her from his mind, but she didn't need to know his thoughts to know what he wanted. What he needed.

She leaned into him. "I'm not leaving without you," she whispered.

Ryver hissed as he finally managed to tear his attention away from her neck. He seemed at a loss for words.

She cupped his blood-streaked face. "I know what you need."

Ryver closed his eyes and turned into her hand with a heavy sigh. "It's not supposed to be like this," he said with a voice like gravel.

She stroked his cheek with her thumb. "Yes it is. This is exactly how it's supposed be."

She meant it. She knew he needed her. Leaning closer, she dropped her hand and rubbed her cheek against his. His delicious scent enveloped her as she breathed deep. The tremor she felt in him as she turned her face so that his mouth was just inches from her neck sent a shot of excitement through her. More daring than she'd ever been in her life, she cupped the back of his head, pulling him closer, and was rewarded with a needy moan.

It was her turn to moan when he laid a kiss on her neck, sending new shivers of warm trepidation through her. Another kiss and her heart staccatoed in her chest. When lips were replaced by the light pressure of razor-sharp fangs, she held her breath in anticipation.

"Are you sure about this?" he asked, breath hot against her skin, voice slightly encumbered by his elongated fangs.

She'd never been sure of anything. Nor had she ever wanted anything more. "Please," she whispered.

A growl sounded deep in Ryver's chest, and those fangs punctured the delicate skin of her neck in a lightning strike. Ria cried out as a jolt of pure euphoria blasted through her and she dug her hands into his neck and shoulders in a desperate effort to hold on.

The deeper he drank, the more fragile his mental shields became. With every pull, Ria felt moved by emotions that weren't her own: relief, hunger, and an almost overwhelming sense of need. Not just for this precious gift. It ran much deeper than that.

Fire reignited at her core and she clenched her thighs together as she struggled to separate her need from his.

* * *

The power contained within Ria's life force raced around Ryver's broken body, repairing, rejuvenating, reinvigorating. He shouldn’t have been surprised—he'd always seen her strength—but this was something else. It wasn't a completely painless process as bone and sinew reknitted almost too rapidly for his body to handle, but he couldn't stop.

He didn't want to.

With every pull, he felt more of her soul coursing through his veins. He felt her hunger and desire, and it fired his own. Deep in the pit of his stomach a flame he'd been ignoring flickered to life. The more his strength returned the more difficult it became to ignore. His shields disintegrated to tatters as their minds as well as their blood became one. The dopamine he released through his bite had lowered her inhibitions, and a totally different type of need awoke in both of them. When she shuddered and clenched her thighs together, all thoughts of healing left his mind completely.

His hands found their way around her, pulling her closer. Voluptuous curves crushed against him as he managed to tear himself away from her neck. She turned her face up and the look in her eyes took his breath away. Her usually chocolate-brown irises swirled with gold and amber, glowing like the midday sun.

Her gaze dropped and she licked her lips. Her thoughts were his own. He didn't hesitate, claiming her mouth in a hard kiss. She opened for him immediately, welcoming him with a passion of her own. Tongues danced and tasted, exploring each other. Hands roved over curves and hard muscle, both of them hanging on for dear life.

* * *

Ria could drown in him. She was sure of it. She felt him everywhere and sensed the growing fire in him. It made her far braver than she could ever be on her own. Her need to heal him changed into something different, something baser. Something carnal.

She needed him. All of him.

"You can have it all, Ria. Everything. It's yours."

She moaned into him as he shifted position and pulled her down to the floor. He broke the kiss and buried his head in the crook of her neck, the hot caress of his breath making her shiver. When his hand found her breast, she arched into his touch. Her shirt and bra prevented her from feeling as much as she wanted. She needed to feel his hands on her flesh.

And just like that she could feel him. His warm palm on her naked flesh. His strong hand rolling her taut nipple between his finger and thumb.

Confused, she glanced down. She was still fully clothed. His hand still rested on the outside of her shirt. "How?"

Ryver raised his head and looked down at her. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth and mischief danced in his eyes.

"Ryver? Oh!"

She felt another hand caress her inner thigh, delicate butterfly touches tracing their way up to her core. Fingers circled her delicate opening and she began to shake. When a thumb pressed down on her clit she thought she would fall apart completely.

Breathing hard, she looked down. She was still fully clothed and he hadn't moved. Holy fuck. He'd done that with his mind!

Instantly, she wondered how much better it would be in reality.

"I'm dying to find out," he said in a growl at her ear.

* * *

He'd never done this before. He'd never been able to because nobody reacted to him like she did. Nobody allowed him to be himself.

He kissed her neck, and relished the little sigh she gave in response. His lips trailed over the two puncture marks on her neck. The wound had already started healing, but the area would still be sensitive. He felt her heartbeat jump under his lips, and it took a gargantuan effort to continue his journey southward. But he did continue because there was something else he wanted more than the delicious taste of her blood.

Planting kisses along her collarbone, he pulled open her shirt, not bothering to undo the buttons. He pulled back as the fabric fell apart, exposing her ample breasts. He'd imagined this, seen this in his mind a hundred times, but he wasn't prepared at all. She was absolutely breathtaking.

He tore his gaze away from her breasts to her face and saw the shy, embarrassed smile pulling at her lips. She didn't believe him.

He stared down at her as his fingers traced the lace of her bra and opened his mind as wide as he possibly could. He needed her to feel the truth, not just hear it.

She was the most beautiful creature he'd ever had the privilege to look at, and he would have her know it. She would believe him.

A tear slid down her cheek and she nodded.

He dipped his head and kissed her lips, then he returned his attention to the soft skin of her breast. He could feel how hard her nipple was through the satin, the taut nub just crying out to be touched. She couldn't wait. And neither could he. The flimsy fabric was no match for him. One firm pull later and he found his reward. And what a prize it was. Porcelain skin laid bare, her breasts rising and falling with her hitched breath, rosy-pink nipples small and perfectly formed. A guttural moan formed in his throat as he closed his mouth around one pert nub. She arched into him as he teased her with his tongue and his teeth.

He released her nipple with a pop and smiled against her skin. She wanted more. As he moved to her neglected breast, his hand danced down her soft stomach to the waistband of her jeans.

* * *

His tongue swept over her nipple, sending ripples of pleasure through her. She shuddered as his fangs applied pressure that was just the right side of pain and arched into him, desperate for more.

He heard her, and his hand felt like a firebrand on her skin, burning a trail from her breasts to her hips. Frustration seared her mind when his hand halted at the waistband of her jeans, but it soon turned into something else. His deft fingers dealt with the button and zip without skipping a beat. His hand slid down and cupped her, heat blazing through her as wetness pooled between her thighs.

I need to feel you.

Even as she thought it, Ryver was moving. The cold air was almost painful on her breasts when his mouth left them, but she ignored it, too excited about what she heard in his mind.

They were on the same page, moving in complete sync. He knelt between her legs and helped her out of her trousers and knickers. His shirt hung in tatters from his shoulders and fell to the ground when he tugged at the neckline. He rose to his feet, hands flying to the belt on his combats.

Ria lay back, propping herself up on her elbows, teeth tugging at her bottom lip as she watched. From that angle, he looked even taller than his six-foot-two frame would have her believe. Even covered in grime and blood, with the dim light bouncing off his hard muscles, he was magnificent.

He undid his fly and hooked his thumbs into his waistband. Ria's heart beat double time.

He stopped and looked down at her, wondering whether this really was the best idea. He'd thought about taking her a hundred different ways, but none of them had ever involved a blood-soaked cell. Getting down and dirty in the dank filth of Asher's dungeon hadn't ever figured in even his darkest fantasies.

A pulse of white-hot fire pulsed through her. It fell from her lips before she lost her nerve. "How dirty?"

Ryver growled and shucked his combats, boxers, and boots in what seemed like one movement.

He fell to his knees and prowled over her like a wild cat. Hovering above her, supported on those strong arms, he said, "You're about to find out."

She nearly fell apart there and then, such was the power of the suggestion.

* * *

Ria's hands dove into his hair as she pulled him down, her lips slamming into his. The kiss was hot, and fast, and full of need.

Ryver lowered himself down at her side. His hand rested briefly on her breast, fingertips butterflying over her nipple before continuing down her curves. Her soft stomach, her full hips, the top of her thigh—all shivered under his touch.

There was only one place she wanted to feel him.

Ryver smiled. He was only too happy to oblige. His fingers caressed her inner thigh, little circles that drew a shuddering breath from her lips. He reached the soft curls at her apex and gently ran his finger up her cleft.

Mewling, Ria arched her back. When he pushed a finger inside her, it was Ryver's turn to moan. His cock pulsed as he realised just how slick and tight she was.

Jesus fucking Christ.

* * *

Ria could feel Ryver's hard length pressing against her thigh. Seeing it and feeling it were two very different things. Just thinking about him inside her brought her closer to the edge. He added another finger and pressed into her again, increasing pressure, quickening his rhythm. The fire inside her began building, but when his thumb found her clit, it threatened to overwhelm her.

He knew her so completely, knew her thoughts before she even knew them herself. There was no need for her to wish he'd move a little to the right. He was already there. To hasten, to slow down, to add pressure, to lighten up. He did it all.

So close. She was so close to falling into the abyss. Everything tightened, and she began to shake as the heat washed through her. Her back arched and her head tilted back, body straining against the pressure building at her core.

It wasn't enough.

She reached up and dug her nails into Ryver's shoulder, pulling him closer. He hooked his thigh over her leg. Careful not to crush her, he moved so that he settled between her legs. She gasped as she felt him against her core. She slid her hand down between their bodies and found his erection. He growled as her fingers wrapped around him. He was bigger than she thought, her hand too small to close around him completely. She shivered as her hand moved up and down, relishing the smooth, hard feel of him.

She looked up at him, his face full of need and hunger.

"Ria." His voice was low and hoarse.

He'd said her name, pleading with her, but he didn't need to. She knew because she needed it too.

She widened her legs, allowing him better access and guided him to the opening of her sex.

His arms shook with the effort of holding back. Even as his body screamed at him to take her, to fill her to the hilt, he waited for her to give him permission.

She needed him inside her so desperately she couldn't give voice to it. She did the only thing she could.

She showed him.

* * *

The vision she showed him only lasted seconds, but it scorched his mind.

He couldn't hold on any longer. He thrust forward, and she gasped.

For a moment he froze, thinking he'd hurt her—she was so tight—but Ria moved her legs, wrapping them around him, and ran her hands down his back, gripping him and urging him on.

He pulled back and thrust again, moaning as she stretched around him, and he bent down to claim her mouth in a hard kiss.

Any thoughts of being gentle disintegrated as she moved with him. He left her mouth as he drove into her hard, burying himself in her over and over again. Ria clung to him, her nails digging into his back as she moved underneath him, meeting him thrust for thrust. As the fire between them built it became one insatiable inferno, he could no longer tell where he ended and she began.

She buried her head in the crook of his neck and everything changed. Her need changed.

He didn't hesitate. “Take it. Take all of it,” he told her.

Her fangs sliced through the flesh on his neck and straight into his carotid artery. As his blood flowed into her mouth and his soul washed through her body, he started to lose his rhythm. Her ecstasy coupled with his own was too much to bear.

Ria's head fell back and she screamed his name before the orgasm ripped both of them like a tidal wave. Blinding light exploded behind his eyes as their souls slammed into each other, taking them flying into the abyss.