Sevilla knocked on the door. Unlike Medeia, she would never be so rude as to barge in on a person, especially a male of the species. Who knew what state of undress she might find him in otherwise?

She noticed that a locking bar had been installed on his new quarters, just like the old one. When she was satisfied that she had given him enough time to prepare, she moved the bar aside and opened the door.

Gabriel lay on his back on the bed, his upper body propped up slightly on two pillows, hands behind his head in a relaxed pose.

He had recovered well from Medeia’s last feeding, and wasn’t as waxen as he had appeared during her earlier visit that day. He was the spitting image of his youth, in the days when he had strolled tall and proud through his estate grounds, the beautiful yet untouchable brother of the king. They had similar features. Gabriel was a little shorter than his brother at six foot three, with the sultry looks of a movie star. His hair was a bluish black, as if infused by starlight, with long bouncy curls framing his gorgeous face. Those eyes shone a bright green, like emeralds cut from the mountain by dwarfs, and glittered with intensity. Her stomach fluttered just looking at them.

His broad nose was aristocratic, but it jutted more gently from his face than that of his brother, although he had the same sensuous mouth and strong jaw line. Gabriel hadn’t shaved since his capture, and had the beginnings of a small beard. It looked sexy as hell against that tanned skin, suiting him perfectly.

He wore a short-sleeved, white and blue button down. As mentioned, he held his hands behind his head, and his enormous biceps threatened to tear through the sleeves. On his thick forearms, the unique pattern of his blue and white tribal dragons covered the skin from wrists to elbows. The well-fitted shirt easily showcased his broad shoulders, and underneath them, she spotted the areas above his ribs where the muscles of his strong back bulged pleasantly. The top five buttons of his white and blue dress shirt were open, revealing the gap between his chiseled pecs, and the uppermost indentations of his abs. The bronze skin was silky. So fucking silky.

He wore a designer belt at his lean waist, which helped accentuate the V shape between his hips and wide shoulders; below the belt a tight-fitting pair of blue jeans completed his look.

Yes, he was definitely just as beautiful and just as fashionable as all those years ago. Unfortunately.

She didn’t want this. Didn’t want to do Medeia’s bidding. But seeing him laid bare before her in all his hot glory, she didn’t think she’d be able to resist.

I must try.

“You knew it was me?” Sevilla said.

“Yes,” Gabriel said. “I realize by now that you knock before opening the locking bar. Medeia simply opens the bar and kicks the door in.”

Sevilla nodded. “Is that why you opened your shirt?” This was going badly already. It was obvious he wanted to be seduced, or do the seducing. If she wasn’t careful, she’d find herself on his bed, completely lost in him.

I refuse to betray him…

“You got me,” Gabriel said. He patted the bed beside him. “Why don’t you sit here.” He smiled. “I knew you’d come. We were meant to be together.”

“You’re such a liar,” Sevilla said.

“Not at all,” Gabriel said. “I’ve always wanted you. That’s the truth at least.”

“But your First Rule wouldn’t allow you to take me,” Sevilla said.

“The First Rule won’t help me now,” Gabriel said. “If I’m going to spend the rest of my days here as a prisoner of vampires, I might as well partake of the forbidden fruit at least one time. I’ve got nothing to lose. Not anymore.”

“I’m not going to set you free, you realize that don’t you?” Sevilla asked.

“I never asked you to,” Gabriel replied. “I just want some loving.” He reached for his pants. “Want to see my cock?”

Yes, please!

Sevilla forced herself to scowl. “Get your hands away from there. You dragons and your cocks. You think I’m going to be impressed by the size?” Yes!

“Well, yeah,” Gabriel said. “They don’t call us dragons for nothing.”

“Hands back, now!” Sevilla said. “You’re one of those guys who send dick pics by phone, aren’t you? Don’t you realize how much of a turn off that is?”

Gabriel shrugged. But at least he obeyed her, sliding his hand back behind his luscious hair. He was actually terrible at seduction, she reflected. He was probably used to women falling all over him. She realized he likely had very little seduction skills of his own. Sure, he was probably great at the sex part, but the actual pick-up, no.

That was a relief. But it still wouldn’t be easy for her to resist him. Not a gorgeous stud of a man like that. A king.

“Let’s say you somehow managed to convince me to fall in love with you,” Sevilla said. “And I tried to set you free. The outcome for me would be bad no matter what happened. If I failed, Medeia would execute me. If I succeeded, Medeia would execute me.”

“Not if you came with me,” Gabriel said.

“Oh, much better,” Sevilla said. “Then you’d execute me for my part in helping Medeia take the city.”

“No I wouldn’t,” Gabriel said. “I wouldn’t betray someone who helped me.”

“You really want to fuck a vampire?” Sevilla said.

“If that vampire is you, then yes,” Gabriel said. “We don’t need to be crude about it.”

Sevilla shook her head. She wondered how she could warn him without alerting Medeia. The audio was being recorded in the room as well, not just video, no doubt. She wanted Gabriel to live tomorrow. At least one more day. And for that to happen, she had to resist giving in.

I must not sleep with him. Must not.

She would spend the night somehow avoiding his touch, and then she’d tell Medeia she was sorry the next morning, and that she had failed. Medeia would have to find another vampire to sleep with Gabriel. Buying him one more day.

Yet the thought of him sleeping with any one other than Sevilla made jealousy seize her heart.

No one else can have him!

Gabriel stared at her with obvious want, oblivious to the conflict raging inside her.

She swallowed nervously.

This was going to be hard.

Her breathing was already increasing. To distract herself, she sat on the guest chair, and began flexing her bone gauntlets. She wanted those bones front and center, because she felt they were a huge turn off to guys. Come on, if having your hands covered in bone gloves wasn’t a turn off, then what was?

“Let’s take these off,” Gabriel said, sitting up.

“I—” Sevilla tried to pull her hands away, but Gabriel had already grabbed her bone-covered wrist. Though he wasn’t yet touching her skin, she could tell he was strong. Very strong. That turned her on even more.

She simply nodded, aware that Medeia was watching, and she helped him strip off the gauntlets. Then he removed her glasses, setting them on the floor beside the gauntlets. She could still see him quite well.

“There, that’s better,” Gabriel said, lying back once more.

“You’re trying to strip me of my magic?” Sevilla said.

Gabriel shrugged. “No. Why would I bother? I could overpower you whenever I want.”

“You wish,” Sevilla said. Still, she rubbed instinctively at the bone necklace she wore, the last dragon bone accessory on her person.

“Gabriel, I don’t know how to tell you this,” Sevilla said. “But I’m not attracted to you.”

“Your lips say no, but your body says yes,” Gabriel said. His gaze was more intense than ever. Definitely eye-fucking her.

Sevilla dropped her gaze. She wanted him so bad.

If she got up and left the room now, what would be the worst that Medeia would do to her? Give her a dressing down?

No, Medeia would do far more than that. Sevilla’s witch status among the vampires wouldn’t protect her from Medeia’s rage. The head vampire had already destroyed some of the other lesser vampires Aldam had given her, simply for looking at her the wrong way. Aldam couldn’t protect Sevilla. The vampire king was two oceans away. Here, Medeia was her master.

Maybe Sevilla could distract Gabriel somehow. Perhaps a story…

“I remember pining for you in the early days, when you first purchased me,” Sevilla said. “I would see you from afar, and imagine you, the brother of the dragon king, taking notice of me, and coming down to sweep me off my feet, freeing me from slavery by marrying me. But slowly, as time passed, and I realized I was little more than a possession to you, the love I felt for you turned to hate.” That wasn’t true, but it sounded good. “I realized that you loved your treasure hoards and possessions more than any other person. When you didn’t marry, I understood that your hoards were more important even than any dragon woman. In the later years of my internment, when you finally put me to work in the kitchens of your estate, working under Mistress Gawena, I fell in love with another vampire. His name was Trevor. Each night I would sleep with him in secret. We agreed to marry. But then one day Gawena found out, and she informed the taskmaster, who had Trevor taken from me and chained to a tree in the Hooded Dale before dawn. When the sun rose, I heard his screams only for an hour. A merciful hour. When they removed him from the Dale at the end of the day, what was left of him was only charred and disintegrating bones.”

All of that latter part of the story was a lie, of course. There was no Trevor. But so many vampires had been executed in that fashion during her time in Midnight that she doubted Gabriel would remember one or the other.

Gabriel stared at her, seeming stunned.

“So you see, I can never sleep with the killers of my betrothed,” Sevilla finished.

“I wasn’t personally involved,” Gabriel said quietly.

“Yes, but the killing occurred on your estate,” Sevilla said.

Gabriel studied her. Then he said: “You’re lying. The first part was true. You used the truth to ground the story. But when you got to the part about your love turning to hate, everything else was false.”

“How do you know?” Sevilla said.

“Your eyes darted to the upper left as you spoke,” Gabriel said. “A sign that your mind was accessing its imagination center. And your words came out slower than usual, as if you were trying to think of what to say next.” He smiled knowingly. “You don’t live for hundreds of years in a royal court and not learn how to detect a lie.”

“Perhaps you should try your compulsion on me,” Sevilla said. “And force the truth out of me?”

“Why bother?” Gabriel said. “It won’t work on the likes of you. And I could care less about the truth. I’d use my compulsion for more... pleasurable ends.”

“You won’t even try?” Sevilla said.

“I want you to strip off your clothes and lie on my bed,” Gabriel said, his voice thick with compulsion. “Then spread your legs wide.”

Sevilla smiled. “You were right, it doesn’t work. Have you tried on anyone else?”

Gabriel shrugged. “Medeia has been very careful to choose guards who are unaffected by compulsion.”

Sevilla sat in the chair, staring at him.

“What do you want?” Gabriel said. “Why do you stay?”

Sevilla said nothing. Her eyes drifted to his lips of their own accord. So juicy. So kissable. She had always wanted to touch them with her own. Always. And now that he was within her reach, she couldn’t do that to him.

When she returned her eyes to his face, she was struck by the absolute want that had taken over his beautiful emerald eyes. They sparkled with fervency. Her eyes darted to his jeans, and she saw a visible bulge at his crotch, one that hadn’t been there before.

She swallowed, looking away.

Gabriel sat up and scooted across to the edge of the bed. Before she could stop him, he leaned forward and wrapped his hands around her bare wrists. They felt extremely hot—his blood inflamed with a passion only dragons possessed. A passion, and a power.

Sevilla suddenly had the urge to feed. It was nearly overpowering.

“You shouldn’t have touched me,” she whispered.

“You know, I was expecting your body to be cold,” Gabriel said.

“You’ve never been with a vampire, have you?” Her voice was still unsteady. She glanced at his neck, licked her lips. “We’re not undead.”

“But nearly so,” Gabriel said. “Look at how you’re staring at my neck even now. Trying to control your urge to feed.”

Sevilla met his gaze. “You’re repulsed by me, aren’t you? By what I am.”

“By what you are, maybe,” Gabriel said. “But looking at you here, seated before me, I forget all that. I see only the most beautiful woman in the world.”

Sevilla stared at him, wanting him so bad.

He bent his neck toward her. “You want to take a bite. Go ahead. If you want. I’ve softened my skin for you. I’m all yours.”

She refused to look at his neck. She knew that one glance would be her undoing. She wouldn’t be able to control herself once she started.

She concentrated on his gorgeous face, and her eyes inevitably fell to his lips. He still held her by the wrists. Their faces were only inches apart.

“Have you ever been with a non-dragon?” she asked.

Gabriel shook his head.

“Why?” she said. “You were born before the First Rule.” She had arrived at Midnight not long after the rule was first instituted, unfortunately.

“I was born before the Rule, yes, but I never felt the need to lie with non-dragons. Dragon women are some of the most beautiful and intoxicating you’ll ever meet. Especially compared to the humans and other shifters back then, who were just plain filthy. I remember walking through a British village in the seventeenth century. Everyone had rotten teeth. They were all dirty. Their hair was matted. And they stunk. Women and men alike.”

“Humans have come a long way since then,” Sevilla said. “They actually, gasp, shower regularly now. And they have a thing called dentists…”

“Oh I know,” Gabriel told her. “But that filthy image is still seared into the back of my mind. It’s not for no reason that they’re called the great unwashed masses of humanity.”

“You say dragon woman are the most beautiful and intoxicating, and yet you never married,” Sevilla said.

“I did, actually,” Gabriel said. “Twice. Before and after you left Midnight. I never loved my wives, though. The marriages were solely political, for convenience alone. No offspring resulted in either of them.”

“Did you ever love any of the women you were with?” Sevilla said.

“No,” Gabriel said. “Nor have I ever felt such incredible lust as I do for you.” Staring into her eyes, he continued: “I don’t care about making you fall in love with me. I don’t care about escaping. I want you, and that’s all there is to it. Let me have you just this once, before Medeia comes back. Let me feel alive one last time. Let me make right the great wrong I did to you all those years passed. Lay with a dragon king.”

He seemed so earnest. His glistening green eyes, so entrancing. His voice, so alluring. He hadn’t used compulsion, but he might as well have, because a moment later she found her lips pressed hard against his own as she mashed against his beautiful mouth. It was all she could do to prevent herself from deploying her fangs and taking a bite.

Can’t... do this... to him.

She forced herself to rip away.

Gabriel was breathing hard now. His eyes were wide, and he was obviously controlling himself with some effort.

Sevilla tore her wrists from his grip and shoved him backward, so that he landed on his back on the bed. He had let her push him like that, she knew. He had enough strength now that he could have stayed rooted to the spot if he wanted to.

He merely looked at her from where he lay, his eyes wild with passion. “I wish you were mine.”

“You could own me,” Sevilla said, despite herself. Don’t give in!

Gabriel nodded. “A dragon and a vampire. Such matches were common before the First Rule.” His breath was coming in soft pants. The bulge in his pants seemed bigger than ever. “We’d have to run, of course.” He seemed to be reasoning out in his head how to be with her. “We’d have to join Jett’s pride. Well, assuming Midnight even survives after we flee.”

“There’s another way,” Sevilla said. “And it’s completely within the boundaries of your Rules. If Midnight survives...”

“I’m listening,” Gabriel said.

“When this is over, if you manage to expel the vampires, you could capture me,” Sevilla said. “Take me as your slave once again. Then you could literally own me. Do with me what you wished.”

“You want that?” Gabriel said.

She wanted to lie. Wanted to deny him. But she found herself unable to. “More than anything.”

Gabriel rose from the bed in a blur and hovered over her. He planted his lips on hers.

Sevilla’s center throbbed with need. She wanted him so very badly. A voice whispered at the back of her mind, trying to tell her to stop, but it was unheeded by the passions stirred inside of her. She wanted to suck his blood, suck his cock. She wanted him inside her.

“Fuck me,” Sevilla said.

She reached underneath his shirt and slid her hands along his muscular back. So powerful.

Gabriel sat in her lap. He was heavy, but he supported his weight by leaning back on his legs slightly. He began to open the final buttons of his shirt. Her hands continued to rest on his back.

“I suppose I shouldn’t take my shirt off entirely,” Gabriel said. “In case we’re interrupted.” His eyes darted to the door.

He couldn’t know that there would be no interruption. Then again, she wouldn’t put it past Medeia to come barging in at one point in their lovemaking. That would be embarrassing.

“Yes,” Sevilla panted. Her eyes were on his neck once more.

Gabriel slid off her, scooped her up and lifted her onto the bed. Then he swung around so that he was lying down and she was on top of him. She was in control.

Or so she thought.

Because he grabbed one of her hands and moved it down toward his pants. Unknown to her, he had opened his zipper and slipped out his manhood. And now her fingers were grasping the molten hot, throbbing mass.

She lost all control.

She unbutton the hem of her own leggings, slid aside her panties with on finger, and dropped her soaking wet center onto his shaft.

She cried out in sudden pain. He had thrust up at the same time and stretched her to her limits.

“So big…” Sevilla said.

“So tight…” Gabriel moaned.

He grabbed her by the hips and lifted her off of him slightly with his dragon strength. And then he began to thrust.

Not in control after all. Not that it mattered.

Jolts of pure ecstasy shot through her with each of his powerful bucks. She felt like she was fulfilling a lifelong fantasy. And she was. Gabriel, beautiful Gabriel, was finally hers, if only for one night. She wasn’t going to waste it.

Her eyes dropped to his corded neck. She grinned eagerly. It was time to show him what it was really like to be with a vampire.

She leaned forward, and he crunched his upper body to align his face with her own in anticipation. He thought she was going to kiss him.

Well, he was in for a surprise.

Before his lips touched hers, she bent her neck downward and bit his throat.