Cezar closed his eyes and sensed the air. It was very faint, but unmistakable. “Smoke.” The word was a curse on his tongue. Vampires and fire didn’t mix. “We must get out of here,” he commanded, holding out his arms that were still shackled. He could free himself but he preferred to keep that little tidbit of knowledge to himself. “Anna, release me or we both will die.”
She muttered a handful of curses as she reached out and slipped the key into the handcuff. They fell to the floor with a thump.
“There.”
Cezar absently rubbed his blistered wrists as he allowed his powers to flow outward. His fangs lengthened as he realized that the fire was not only near, but magical in nature.
This was a deliberate attack on Anna.
“The fire is just outside the door,” he warned, moving instinctively to scoop her slender body in his arms. The Oracles had charged him with protecting this woman, but even if they hadn’t he would have walked through the pits of hell to keep her safe.
They had unfinished business.
Business that even now was making him hard and desperate to be inside her.
“Stop.” She beat her tiny fist against his chest. As if that could possibly hurt him. “What are you doing?”
He willed the window open as he dashed across the room. “Getting us out of here. Unless you prefer to remain and sacrifice that beautiful skin to the flames?”
“The water sprinklers will put it out.”
“Not this fire. It’s magical, which explains why I didn’t sense it the moment it was started.”
“A magical fire? For God’s sake…” Her words became a shrill scream as Cezar launched them through the window and they fell toward Michigan Avenue. With a skill only an ancient vampire could manage, he landed easily on his feet, still cradling her closely in his arms. He was rewarded with another blow to his chest. “Damn you,” Anna hissed. “You scared the hell out me.”
He lowered his head to speak directly in her ear. “Would you have preferred to remain to face the flames?”
She tugged at the hem of her gown, which had inched up to reveal a tiny pink thong. Cezar’s erection twitched in silent tribute.
Soon, soon, soon…
“I would prefer that you warn me before you leap from a twelve-story building,” she muttered.
He laughed, his body tingling with pleasure. Mi dios. It had been so long since he had felt emotions. So long since he hadn’t been trapped in his cold existence.
“Next time, I promise,” he husked, trailing his lips down her warm cheek.
She arched away from his touch. Her mute protest, however, couldn’t disguise the passion that perfumed her skin. Ah, hormones. They were a wonderful thing.
“There won’t be a next time.” She reinforced her claim with yet another punch to his chest. “I don’t need you or anyone else to save me.”
He touched his tongue to the frantic pulse that beat at the base of her throat. “You’ve changed, my little shrew.”
“I didn’t have much choice.”
His arms instinctively tightened. Damn the Oracles. They had called him away just when this vulnerable woman had needed him the most.
“No, I suppose you didn’t.” His touch became soothing as he stroked his lips along her collarbone, silently absorbing her intoxicating scent. It was at last the distant sound of sirens that forced Cezar to lift his head. “We need to leave here before it is discovered that you are no longer in your room.”
“Wait…”
He ignored her protest as he bolted down the nearly empty street. It wouldn’t be empty for long. Humans had a weird obsession with disasters. And a fire burning in a historic hotel filled with the elite of Chicago society would certainly qualify as a disaster.
Well, at least to some.
“Sorry, querida, but I don’t have time to argue.”
She struggled in his grasp. “Put me down.”