“Gwen, you have to know that I didn’t plan that. Aaron ordered me to bite you.”

“And you just had to? Lamest excuse ever.”

“He has to do whatever Aaron tells him to do,” Lauren added.

“Of course you’d take his side; he’s paying you,” Dorian accused.

“Children cannot disobey their sires,” Aiden said. “I didn’t think they would order me to bite you. God…if I had known what they were up to…”

“What the hell is going on?” Dorian growled, sliding his arm around my shoulders and holding me to the side of his body. I admit I didn’t mind one little bit.

With a deep breath, I said, “Aiden just bonded himself to me.”

“What?” Lauren shrieked.

“Son of a bitch,” Dorian growled.

“I didn’t know,” Aiden murmured.

“Wait,” Lauren said. “You would have had to drink from him too.”

I eyed Aiden, remembering how he offered his blood to me in the hospital to heal me. I swore in that moment that if I lived through this I would never accept a drop of blood from a vampire again. I would rather lay broken and bloody than be linked to another vampire, even Aiden.

“Aiden made sure to offer it when I most needed it,” I told Lauren, never taking my eyes off my ex. “Did you also hire the rogue to attack me so I wouldn’t be able to refuse the help of your blood?”

A look of disbelief fell over Aiden’s face. “As much as you hate me right now, I’m not Ian Despereaux. I don’t have some evil master plan. If you’re looking to point fingers, direct them to the VC.”

Aiden began choking, his hands clawing at his chest as he worked to fight off the invisible threat.

“What’s happening?” Lauren yelled, her hands searching Aiden for a wound.

White mist began seeping out of Aiden’s skin, slow and sluggishly. I turned towards Dorian and knew he was the cause of Aiden’s pain.

“Dorian, stop!” Shrugging out from under his arm, I stood between him and Aiden. “Stop it,” I yelled, looking over my shoulder at Aiden. “You’re killing him!”

“I’m breaking the bond,” Dorian said in the calmest tone. It sent shivers quaking through my body.

“Not like this, please.”

Aiden fell to his knees, coughing. His blue eyes were wide and staring right at me. Though I was beyond furious with him, I couldn’t watch him die. More importantly, I didn’t want him to die.

Dorian wasn’t going to stop no matter how much begging and pleading I did. My arm was in the air before I realized what I was doing. I sent my fist flying towards him where it connected with the side of his face. That was enough to break his concentration. Aiden stopped coughing but didn’t get up.

“What the hell was that for?” Dorian growled.

“You were going to kill him,” I snapped, turning to see if Aiden was okay. The white mist rising from his body fell back, soaking into his skin again.

“Are you okay?”

Aiden scrubbed a hand over his face, getting to his feet with wobbly legs. “Yeah.”

“Good.”

Smack

Aiden and Lauren’s eyes shot wide when I smacked him across the face.

“Just because I didn’t let Dorian kill you doesn’t mean I’m not pissed off.” I stuck my pointer finger out and said, “You better find a way to break the bond, Aiden.” Turning, I hopped in my Jeep and drove away from all of them, my tires squealing against the asphalt.

* * *

Dorian stepped through the front door of the apartment fifteen minutes later. I was sitting on the couch with a glass of wine and looked up when he entered the room. He sat down in the chair adjacent to the sofa and rested his elbows on his knees. I couldn’t appreciate how excited I was to see him again when my insides felt ready to combust in anger. Had Aiden been fooling me since day one? As I eyed Dorian, I wondered if he had a plan too. Was everyone out to get me in one way or another? The idea of packing up and moving far, far away tempted my mind. Or maybe I was just paranoid.

“You want to tell me what happened back there?”

Bringing the glass to my lips, I took a drink, staring at Dorian. “Which part?”

“You in a private room with the VC and him.”

I laughed a quiet snort. “You’re acting like a jealous boyfriend.” When he didn’t respond I leaned forward and sat my wine glass on the coffee table, folding my arms across my knees and hanging my head.

“They said they wanted to discuss the blood gift. Pernis was the only one who was supposed to drink from me, payment for killing his child. The others I was going to give vials of my blood.” I paused, sitting up straighter. “I don’t know why they’d want Aiden to drink from me. And now I’m bonded again.” I snatched my wine glass up and emptied it, reaching for the bottle for a refill.

“Gwen, Spirit Walkers are rare. People are going to do try and take advantage of that…of you. Being able to control the spirit world is a power some covet. You have to start suspecting everyone of some kind of motive—”

“What’s your motive?” I interrupted with a glare.

Dorian leaned back in the chair, resting his arms on the armrest as a sly smile spread across his lips. He motioned with his head and said, “Come over here and I’ll show you my motive.”

My eyes fell to his broad shoulders, down to his strong chest, to his belt buckle and further still. His legs were spaced apart, enough room for me to crawl between and… Taking another drink, I stared at the rack of DVDs across the room. I’d already been tempted by one man tonight; I didn’t need another one playing with my mind.

“If all you want is sex, you can get that fantasy out of your head right now. Not going to happen, buddy.”

“I want all of you and everything that entails. I thought I’ve made that clear?”

I ignored him and took another drink of my merlot. My body hummed with unfilled desire. Aiden had awakened it during our little make-out session, and then the VC had made sure to stimulate every last one of my nerve endings earlier. If I wasn’t careful, I would end up turning to Dorian to end the torture. After bonding with Aiden, every man was on my shit list. Horrible timing too because I was horny as hell.

“What did you find out on your vacation?” I asked, taking another drink.

“You wouldn’t believe me,” Dorian said.

I swiveled my head to look at him. He was still sitting in that relaxed position, perfectly inviting. I could see myself standing up and walking over to him, climbing onto his lap and… Damn those stupid vampires. Playing with one’s libido like a game of keep away should be punishable by death.

“Try me.” I took another drink to ease the dryness of my mouth and frowned when I had emptied the glass. On refill number three, I sat back against the soft cushion of the sofa and watched Dorian. For crying out loud, could the man at least have the decency to have one physical flaw, one that I could focus on and smack my lust away with?

“You’re too perfect,” I heard myself saying out loud. My cheeks warmed either from the wine consumption or embarrassment. The merlot was doing its job and turning my tense body into a cozy marshmallow. I felt my anger melting away.

Dorian laughed. “That’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”

“It was meant to be a criticism.”

“I’ll take what I can get.”

“Well, you’re not getting any of this.” I signaled to my body with a wave of my hand.

“Yes, you’ve made that abundantly clear,” Dorian deadpanned. “But that doesn’t stop you from eye-fucking the shit out of me. Why don’t you come over here so I can give you the real thing?”

Was it hot in here, or was that the wine? “Stop distracting me. What did you find out when you left to wherever?”

Dorian shook his head in exasperation. “It’s going to sound like a pick-up line.”

“The reason you can’t see when I’ll die will sound like a pick-up line? Consider me intrigued.”

“Remember when I told you everything has rules?”

I nodded.

“It turns out I’m not the exception—”

“Imagine that.”

Dorian ignored my sarcasm. “The Fates have obstructed my view of your life because…”

“Because…?” I drawled.

“Because of how I feel.” His voice was a whisper, but I had heard it loud and clear. We watched each other for a few moments before he spoke again.

“They’re afraid I’ll favor you and not collect your soul when the time comes.”

I smiled to myself, hiding it with another drink. “So Death is sweet on me. There are worst things I suppose.”

“Get over yourself,” Dorian teased. “You’re a hot piece of ass and that’s it.”

I couldn’t hide my smile this time. “Really? So that spiel about wanting all of me and everything it entails was just a line? And the Fates’ declaration was wrong?” I laughed, standing up and heading into the kitchen for another bottle of wine. “Tell me,” I said loud enough that Dorian would hear me in the living room. “Are the Fates often wrong?”

“About this they are,” he said right behind me, scaring me. I jumped, but once I got over the initial shock, I became aware of his body just behind mine. My fingers gripped the side of the counter and I remained still, afraid if I turned around Dorian would make his move. Hell, part of me was hoping he would.

His hands slid up my shoulders, gripping the hem of my jacket. I hadn’t taken it off when I got home. Finding the wine seemed more important at the time. Sliding it off, Dorian placed my coat on the counter beside us. He swept my hair to the side, revealing my neck. As he pressed a kiss in the crook, flashbacks of tonight visited my mind. Anger and lust overwhelmed me. I was pissed at what had happened but still fighting the effects of the vampires’ sensual power.