question.
Another male spoke from behind Kelsey, and she about came out of her skin because she hadn’t heard him or scented him.
“Damn, I thought I’d have her all to myself. I suppose I can share, but I’m assuming I’m still on the menu for tonight?”
Kelsey tried to calm her insides, and she turned in Marco’s arms. The man in front of her was shirtless, in jeans that hid nothing, and her mouth watered at the sight of him. He’d been model-beautiful on video, but he was so much more than that in real life. Raw virility. He was so pretty, she’d wondered how Alpha he was. In person, there was nothing to wonder about. This beautiful leopard shifter would never bow to anyone. Well, perhaps the Amakhosi, but she wasn’t even certain about that.
And then she met his gaze and practically fell into his eyes. They were slightly paler than James’s eyes, but still a striking blue.
“Fabio. It’s nice to finally meet you.” She was amazed she got the sentence out without sounding like a dork.
His hair was slightly longer than his shoulders and it was perfect. She couldn’t wait to run her hands over it. Through it. Brush it out of the way to get to his neck. Hair held the scents in beautifully.
Marco let go of her, and she walked to this new man. He smelled of big cat and alpha male, and she wanted to lick him and then get a good taste of him, but she pushed the need down. It wouldn’t do for her to lose control within the first five minutes. “I look forward to my time with you tonight, upon rising. I’m sorry I can’t give you a definite time. I’m assuming I’ll rise about an hour before the sun sets.”
“If you gentlemen can take care of our lady’s bags,” Marco told them, “I’d like to take her inside and handle our little ceremony in private.”
Without waiting for an answer, Marco took her by the hand and walked her inside.
Before meeting James, Kelsey had expected to live in a mancave, with leather sofas, bare-bones curtains bought at the local big-box store, and large screen televisions on the walls but no art. She’d seen satellite images of the outside of the house, but it was hidden from the street view, and there were no real estate pictures showing the inside.
Now that she’d met him, the fancy foyer and well decorated living room didn’t surprise her. The furniture was sturdy and well built. Italian renaissance, with lots of tans and creams. A huge pale marble fireplace dominated the classically decorated room. Elaborate lighting fixtures hung over her head, similar but unique, which likely meant they were created by a skilled metals craftsman.
And not a television in sight.
Marco walked to an upholstered chair with elaborate carved wooden arms and legs, and he sat.
Kelsey knew what was expected, and she walked to him and kneeled before him. She’d long ago memorized the words, and the first sentence spilled from her mouth as if it were instinct.
“I come to you a lone vampire, Masterless, pleading to be taken in from the cold, to the cold.”
All sounds around her stopped, meaning he’d put a dome around them to be certain the ceremony stayed private. Marco responded to her entreaties and supplications as the customs demanded. He put drops of his blood on her forehead, eyes, nostrils, tongue, and ears, and he spliced her left nipple and drank a few drops to seal her words when she promised her fealty to him even when she was strong enough to break their bond without help, and that these vows she’d made on this night would hold until he or his successor released her from them.
Usually, a Master vampire engages in sex after the ceremony, but instead, he lifted her from the floor, sat her in his lap, and wrapped his arms around her as a father would, rather than a lover.
“I’m on a tight schedule on this night. I regret I can’t spend more time with you, but I look forward to doing so in the near future. Aaron Drake has a phone for you, and my contact information will be in it.”
His voice sounded in her head. I prefer a text to make certain I can speak telepathically, but in an emergency, you may knock, as we did before cellphones.
Thank you, Master.
She walked him out onto the front porch and watched him walk into the woods. Thirty seconds later, his