“You forgot me the moment you walked out the door,” she accused. “I was just another easy lay. Oh no, wait, it was more than that. I was dinner as well, wasn’t I?” She sucked in a shaky breath. “God, I felt so used.”

Cezar swallowed his angry words, suddenly struck by a startling realization.

It was nothing new to have a woman holding a grudge against him. Hell, during his earlier years he had been slapped, stabbed, and nearly staked by furious ex-lovers. But, it seemed a little excessive for any woman to still be nursing such a raw, passionate sense of betrayal for two centuries.

Unless…

Unless she still cared.

His anger eased and with care not to startle her, he once against stepped close. Close enough that the scent of honeyed figs filled his senses.

Christ, had there ever been a more erotic aroma?

“I didn’t leave you, Anna,” he said. “At least not willingly.”

“Don’t insult my intelligence with one of your practiced lines about doing it for my own good or intending to call on me later…”

“I am not giving you some practiced line,” he denied, his hands framing her face, his gaze holding hers with grim determination. His sins were no doubt legendary, but he had never intentionally attempted to harm this woman. Never her. “While you slept in my arms I was visited by the Commission.”

She frowned. “The Commission?”

“They are the…” He grimaced, struggling for the words that would easily translate the purpose of the Oracles. “I suppose you could say they’re the Supreme Court of the demon world. Those who dole out justice and punishments.”

Not surprisingly her frown only deepened. Demon politics brought a frown to a lot of people’s faces.

“What did they want with you?”

He smoothed his expression to an unreadable mask. He could get them both killed if he didn’t take care.

The Commission had little patience and no forgiveness for those who broke their rules.

“I’m not allowed to speak of the Oracles or what they desired of me. Not unless I have a sudden death wish.”

She made a sound deep in her throat. “That’s convenient.”

“It’s anything but convenient.” His hands tightened on her face. “Unfortunately, it’s the truth.”

Perhaps sensing he wouldn’t budge on this subject, she turned to her next grievance.

“Why didn’t you wake me before you left?”

“The Oracles had rendered you unconscious; it was not my place to interfere.”

“Unconscious?” He could feel the sudden heat bloom beneath her skin. “Ha. I knew it. God, I couldn’t believe I fell asleep in that room.” The hazel eyes sparked with anger. “Dammit, what right did they have?”

“You will discover they feel they have every right,” he said dryly, his thumbs stroking her warm skin. His body instantly reacted to the sensation, keenly recalling that satin skin pressed against his own as he moved deep inside her. “And look at it this way, if they hadn’t interfered you would have been in your own bed the night your house burned to the ground. They saved your life.” A tiny smile tugged at his lips. “Actually, if you think about it, I was ultimately responsible for keeping you alive and well.”

She rolled her eyes. “Oh, please.”

His smile faded. He bent until his forehead rested against hers, the soft brush of her breath warming his lips.

“Anna, I didn’t abandon you that night. In fact, there’s a very good chance that if we hadn’t been interrupted we would still be in that bed.” Her mouth parted to argue, but Cezar had a sweeter means of keeping those lips occupied. Closing the space between them, he captured them in a soft, yearning kiss. It was a bare touching of their lips, but it was enough to send an explosion of hunger ravaging through his body. Too long, too long, too long. The desperate words echoed through his head as he used his thumbs to open her lips so that his tongue could slip into her moist heat. This was not the place or time for such intimacy, but his need for this woman was straining his self-control to the breaking point. “Dios, I will never tire of the taste of you. So sweet.”

Her hands fluttered before at last landing on his chest, the heat of her palms searing easily through Cezar’s shirt.

“Wait,” she breathed, her husky voice revealing that she was far from indifferent to his touch. He shifted to nuzzle the tender spot just below her ear. She gave a shaky sigh before she was determinedly arching from his touch. “Cezar, wait.”

He growled, his body twitching at her abrupt retreat. He could taste the desire that ran through her body. Why was she so damned determined to deny it?

“I’ve told you that I was forced to leave, that I would never have gone willingly.”

“But you haven’t explained why you came back.”

He eased away, his aching lust replaced by a sudden wariness. As much as he desired this woman, he wouldn’t risk allowing her to discover more than the Oracles had allowed him to reveal.

They were more dangerous than Morgana le Fay on her most evil day.

“What do you mean?” He kept his voice light.

Her eyes narrowed. “You deliberately lured me to Chicago. I want to know why.”

With a timing that was straight from the gods, Cezar heard the distant sound of an engine. Turning away from her far too intelligent gaze, he moved back to the mouth of the tunnel.

“Our ride has arrived,” he murmured.

He heard her low, impatient sound, but with grudging steps she moved to join him, peering through the branches that hid the tunnel from prying eyes.

“How do you know it’s our ride?” she demanded, her gaze searching the darkness that shrouded the wooded area.

“This road is part of Styx’s estate. Any traffic must be admitted through the front gates.” He smiled wryly as he recognized the soft, yet powerful purr of the approaching car. “Besides, only Viper would choose a Rolls-Royce Phantom for a rescue mission.”

“Who’s Viper?”

“A brother.”

“You mean a vampire?”

“Yes.” He lifted his brows. “Is that a problem?”

“Not so long as he understands I’m not dinner.”

The vision of another vampire wrapping his arms around this woman while his fangs sank deep into her flesh seared briefly through Cezar’s mind before he grimly forced it away. His control was precarious at best right now and thoughts like that were custom designed to make him feral.

“You don’t have to worry. Viper won’t so much as lay a finger on you.”

Something in his voice had her regarding him with a searching gaze. “How can you be so certain?”

“For one thing he is already mated, and for another, I would kill him.”

He didn’t miss her soft gasp. “Even though he’s your brother?”

There was no hesitation. “Yes.”

A silence descended as she absorbed his stark words. Then, sucking in a deep breath, she deftly turned the conversation to safer waters.

“Where is he taking us?”

Cezar watched as the Rolls slid to a smooth halt directly before the tunnel. Reaching out, he knocked aside the branches, searching with his senses to make sure that nothing lurked in the darkness.

“Viper has a number of establishments spread throughout Chicago, most of them possessing more security than the Pentagon.”

“Enough security to keep out Morgana le Fay?” she demanded with a shiver.

Taking her hand, Cezar led Anna toward the waiting car, debating whether to offer comfort or truth.

At last he settled on truth.

She possessed a pesky aversion to lies, even when they were for her own good.

“I’m not certain.” He shrugged. “It will at least give us time to consider our options.”

“What options…” Her words came to a halt at the same time as her feet. For a moment, Cezar thought that they must be under attack. Then, with a grimace, he realized her wide gaze was trained on the silver-haired vampire that was uncurling from the car. Damn. He should have prepared the poor woman. There had never been a female who hadn’t gone a bit breathless at the sight of the magnificent demon. “Holy cow. He’s…he’s…”

“Taken,” Cezar growled, unable to control the need to lean down to steal a kiss that was pure possession. Only when he felt her melt against him did he at last lift his head and regard the vampire he had called friend for centuries. “Viper, thank you for coming.”

Viper gave a small bow, his long silver hair glowing in the moonlight and his perfect features softened by the shadows.

“You have only to ask,” he said, his dark gaze shifting toward the silent woman at Cezar’s side. “And this is Anna?”

Cezar nodded. “Anna Randal.”

Viper allowed his gaze to stroke over the speechless woman at Cezar’s side.

“She’s beautiful.”

“Yes, she is.” Cezar’s voice was cold as he slipped a jealous arm around her shoulders. Even knowing his friend was well and truly mated couldn’t halt his instinctive need to mark Anna as his own. “I think we should go, before the Adar catches our scent.”