Embrace the Darkness by Alexandra Ivy

returned his kiss with the same frantic need that pulsed within him.
    Heat flared between them, and then with a startled gasp Shay was abruptly wrenching her lips from his own, and regarding him with something perilously close to horror.
    â€œViper.”
    He swallowed a curse as his body clenched in protest before he was sternly chastising his unruly passions. What the devil was the matter with him?
    He was a centuries-old vampire with endless power and sophistication. He did not indulge in public orgies. No matter what the temptation.
    â€œYou are right, this is hardly the setting for a romantic tryst,” he muttered. “Nor is it the time to be distracted.”
    She sucked in a deep breath, the motion pressing her small, firm breasts tightly against his chest.
    Hell’s bells.
    â€œHow did you find me?” she demanded.
    â€œI told you that I had the grounds guarded.”
    Her brows lifted. “I was followed?”
    â€œYes.” Viper deliberately turned to regard the tall, silent vampire that stood in the distant shadows. Not surprisingly Shay stiffened with wary unease.
    Santiago was an impressive sight with his leather pants and black T-shirt designed to reveal his thick muscles. His face was narrow with high cheekbones and his eyes the deep brown of his Spanish ancestors.
    It took only a glance to know precisely what he was.
    A trained warrior who would kill to protect those of his clan.
    Shay swallowed heavily. “He’s a vampire, he couldn’t possibly have been patrolling when I left.”
    â€œThis isn’t the Stone Age, pet,” Viper drawled. “The grounds are guarded by a very high-tech system that includes motion sensors, silent alarms, and a series of cameras that are constantly monitored. Santiago was deep underground when he spotted you leaving.”
    â€œWhy didn’t he send someone to try and stop me?”
    â€œI told him not to.”
    Her gaze snapped back to regard him with open suspicion. “Why?”
    â€œI knew I could easily track you.”
    â€œYou wanted to spy on me.”
    â€œI will admit to some curiosity, but more than that I wanted to prove to you that you are a fool to try and escape.”
    Her expression abruptly hardened. “I know I can’t escape. You don’t need a guard. You have only to use the amulet and I will be forced to return.”
    â€œThat’s not the point.”
    â€œThen what is?”
    His hands shifted to cup her face, his eyes narrowed. “There is a powerful force that has tried to capture you more than once. Until we discover what it is you will not be allowed to travel on your own.”
    He was prepared for her anger. Slave or not she was not the sort of demon to mildly accept any sort of restrictions. Even those meant to keep her safe.
    Astonishingly, however, he could read nothing but a flare of concern in her beautiful eyes.
    â€œYou believe I’m still in danger?”
    â€œDon’t you?”
    She chewed on her bottom lip before at last heaving a sigh. “Okay, point made. I was an idiot to take off on my own. You can let me up now.”
    Pleased that she seemed capable of allowing logic to overrule her fiercely independent nature, Viper slowly smiled.
    â€œIt seems a pity.” His hands brushed down to the tempting curve of her throat. “I’ve thought about having you in this position for a long time. Of course, my fantasies didn’t include either of us in clothes, or a hovering gargoyle.”
    â€œI told you to—”
    Her heated words were brought to an abrupt halt as a soft breeze rippled through the air and Viper was swiftly on his feet pushing Shay behind him.
    â€œMaster,” Santiago called from the shadows.
    â€œYes, Santiago, I smell it.”
    He felt Shay grasp the back of his silk shirt. “Smell what?”
    â€œBlood. Fresh blood.”
    â€œCrap.”
    Â 
    A shiver raced down Shay’s spine as Viper