Rebecca Zanetti: Tamed

Guiles tugged up perfectly creased black pants and sat, overwhelming the feminine fabric. Through the years, he’d always dressed well, and today was no exception. His red and gray tie contrasted with the steel color of his silk shirt perfectly. “I’ve been having visions.”

“I know. Bad ones?” Lily smoothed down her lilac skirt, her mind whirling.

“Yes. Visions about the peace talks and the importance of obeying Fate.” Guiles ran a hand through his dark hair, leaving it oddly ruffled. “As if we’ve ever disobeyed Fate.”

Fate had her own agenda, one Lily was beginning to question. Lily straightened her posture. “Can I get you some tea?”

“No, thank you. Have you had visions?”

“Yes.” Tears pricked the back of her eyes, and she battled them back. “I actually met Fate. Or a figure claiming to resemble Fate. She was beautiful.”

Guiles leaned forward, his gaze intense. “You actually met Fate? That’s incredible. What does she want us to do? Did she say?”

Guilt heated a path down Lily’s throat, but she couldn’t bring herself to tell the full truth. “No. Has she given you direct orders?”

Guiles shook his head. “No. A voice in the darkness just tells me to obey Fate, and more importantly, to make sure you fulfill your destiny. If either of us fails, then the Realm falls. We can’t let the Realm fall. The Kayrs family must be protected, as you know.”

“I agree about the Kayrs family. What do you mean by my destiny?” Lily picked at a thread on a throw pillow. “What destiny?”

A sharp line drew between Guiles’s eyebrows. “I was hoping you’d have a clue as to your destiny and what needs to happen before the peace talks.”

“I don’t.” She trusted Guiles, and she needed to protect him from the full truth. “My visions are blurry, without any clear direction.” If her disobedience of Fate’s dictates resulted in punishment, she’d take it alone.

The door swept open, and a furious vampire filled the doorway.

“Caleb?” Lily asked, sliding to her feet. One thing about a vampire, one never needed to ask if they were in a temper. Fury blazed in his eyes, while his jaw appeared made of rock.

“Did you contact Franco on your own to make some sort of deal?” Caleb ground out.

Guiles stood and maneuvered around Caleb. “Um, I can see I’m not needed for this. I’ll speak with the two of you later.”

Gee, thanks for the rescue, Guiles . “Of course,” Lily said, clasping her hands together. “Please let me know if you get any more details from your nightmares, and I’ll do the same.”

With a wary glance at Caleb, Guiles sidled out the door.

Caleb closed the heavy oak with his foot, his concentration remaining on Lily.

“I did not speak with Franco,” she said, wondering at the tension vibrating through the room. Just how angry was the Realm Rebel?

“Did you attempt to contact him?”

“Yes.” She liked this side of Caleb if the thrill rushing through her veins provided any indication. Sexy and dangerous, the vampire would intrigue any woman. But to one who’d tasted him, who knew he’d held back during their one full night together? Yes. As a woman, Lily wanted more. “I was doing my job.”

“Your job?” The low words were all the more lethal for their softness.

She slid the polite smile she knew he hated across her lips. “Yes. One-on-one, with Franco, I thought we could talk like normal people. You and Dage added too much testosterone to the conversation.” While her words were meant to needle a little bit, they were also the absolute truth.

“I see. What if Franco does have a cure for the virus?”

Lily shook her head. “He doesn’t. The vampires and witches have enough spies in the Kurjan organization to know that the extent of the virus’s spread shocked the Kurjans. They had no idea what they were creating, and they don’t have a cure.”

“What if they did?” Caleb’s relaxed stance failed to mask the predator ready to pounce at any second.

“If they really had a cure?” Lily lifted a shoulder. “Then I’d assume we’d agree to just about anything to acquire it.”

“Would you trade yourself?” His gaze pinned her as effectively as any laser beam.

She frowned. “Hypothetically? If I had the opportunity to save all vampire mates and witches, would I trade myself to a Kurjan?” She pursed her lips, her thoughts swirling, her stomach clenching. “Of course.” Then she narrowed her gaze. “Wouldn’t you?”

“I don’t think I’m Franco’s type.” Caleb pushed off from the door.

Lily chuckled. “Good point.”

“There’s no way I would allow you to trade yourself.” Long strides propelled him into her space. “Are we clear?”

She lifted her chin to better meet his gaze. “We live in modern times, and I hold more power than you realize. The days of anybody dictating my actions are long gone, whether or not I’ve taken a lover.” Okay. That last part might have sounded a little old-fashioned.

His eyelids dropped to half-mast. “I’m just a lover?”

What else could he be? She couldn’t mate anybody, and he was, at heart, a soldier always on the move. “Yes.”

“I see.” He brushed long hair away from her shoulder and skimmed her neck with a calloused thumb. “You still carry my bite.”

Electricity zipped from his light touch to shoot straight for her sex. Butterflies winged through her abdomen. “The bite will fade.”

“Maybe I should bite harder.”

A shudder wound down her spine. Her breath heated in her lungs. “You held back the other night.”

His shoulders straightened. “Of course. You hadn’t had sex in three centuries, if what you did then even counted as sex. You’re delicate and a lady.”

Hurt and frustration coated her throat. The rest of the Realm could consider her fragile and ladylike. Not Caleb. “I’m not interested in being treated as if I were made of glass. Finally, now that the damn mating mark is gone, I’m free to do as I please. If I want to create an alliance with the Kurjan leader, I will. If I want to find a new profession, I’ll head to school. And if I want to take a lover who doesn’t treat me like some lady from the Dark Ages, then I damn well will. Maybe I’ll take several.”

“Several?” His upper lip curled.

Fury roared down her spine, and she stepped toward him. “Yes, several. Do you think I’m not attractive enough to entice more than one man?”

“I think you’re damn gorgeous.” The words held bite and a sharp warning.

One she chose to ignore. “Good. Then I’ll go find a couple of men who are unaware of my past and willing to school me in the more modern aspects of lovemaking.” Good Lord, what was she saying? Her mouth wouldn’t stop.

Anger and amusement comingled in a rather daunting combination in his deadly eyes. “You want a lesson, baby? Be careful, because you’re about to get one.”

That threat should not dampen her panties and soften her sex. What was wrong with her? “Thanks for the one night, Caleb, but I think we’re done. Please leave my office.” She needed to head to her quarters for a cold shower. Ice cold.

Instead, with a smooth, deliberate move, he slid his hand around the back of her neck—and clamped. Hard. Lust glittered in his eyes, and for once, he didn’t shield it. “It’s not called lovemaking, Lil.”

She blinked and tried to swallow, heat spiraling through her chest. She couldn’t breathe. For more than three hundred years, he’d hidden that look from her. “Wh-what?”

His hand clenched, his wrist twisted, and he angled her head to the side. Tethering her. His head lowered until his lips hovered an inch above hers. “It’s called fucking. Want to be fucked, Prophet?”