No. It was nothing so mundane.

Cloaked in his rich scent and surrounded by the cloud of his silver hair she could barely think, let alone breathe. He surrounded her. His body pressing against her a shockingly familiar weight.

Even worse his face was so close their noses were nearly touching. So close that she had only to tilt her chin to press her lips to his.

The very fact that the mere thought brushed through her mind sent a thrill of panic racing through her heart.

"Get off me," she gritted.

His low chuckle brushed against her cheek. "Make me."

She reacted more out of the fear of her response than to his soft challenge.

Smacking her fists into his wide chest she pretended to fight as most women would be expected to fight. He instinctively leaned heavier into her arms, which gave her just enough room to move her leg. Before he could suspect her intention she hooked her leg around his waist and with a fierce motion she had rolled him onto his back.

Just for a moment she was perched on top of him, her legs straddling his waist and a smug smile curving her lips.

His beautiful features were briefly startled, and then a smile curved his own lips.

She braced her legs, expecting him to attempt to roll her back beneath him. Men always preferred to use their greater size to overcome an opponent, not realizing their own strength could be used against them. Once he began to roll she would use his own momentum to end up on top again.

Unfortunately, Viper was a vampire not a man.

His smile widened as he simply lifted her upward, his arms wrapping about her as he flowed to his feet. Shay gritted her teeth as she abruptly bowed backward, throwing her arms over her head and wrapping her legs about his waist.

As she hoped her movement threw him off balance. He stepped forward and she grabbed him around his knees, her flexible back easily able to bend in an impossible curve. Her head turned to sink her teeth into his thigh.

"Oh no, my beauty."

With a soft hiss, Viper once again did the unexpected. Following her movement forward he placed his hands on the ground and with a smooth motion rolled until he was again on his back. This time her legs were trapped beneath him and he was able to reach down and grasp her with enough strength to jerk her up to his chest. His arms lashed about her, pressing her arms to her side so that she was well and truly caught.

Shit.

Chapter Six

Viper couldn't deny a thrill of excitement as he wrestled with the beautiful Shalott.

No doubt he should be furious at her attempted escape. He had, after all, done everything possible to make her comfortable in his presence. From ordering the necessary food, to having her room decorated, to filling her closets with clothing. He had devoted weeks, not to mention a small fortune, to pleasing the ungrateful brat.

To top it off he had behaved as a perfect gentleman when his dark hungers had howled in frustration.

What other demon would have treated her with more consideration?

Oddly, however, he found it was more of a predatory anticipation man fury he felt as he had started in pursuit of his renegade slave.

There were few things that stirred his blood more than a cunning, dangerous woman.

Especially when she happened to be beautiful in the bargain.

Not a bad bonus.

Holding her captive in his arms he slowly smiled into the golden flash of her eyes.

"Do you want to continue, pet, or are we done with our fun and games?"

She held herself so stiff it was a wonder she didn't get a cramp. "What I want is for you to release me."

"Not until we've had a little chat."

She angrily squirmed against him. Viper gave a soft moan. His last few lovers had been vampires and he had nearly forgotten the pleasure of feeling himself drenched in such heat.

"Dammit, Viper, let me up."

"No. You've already tried to run away once tonight." His arms tightened about her. "Once is all you get."

Something that might have been outrage rippled over her delicate features. "I didn't run away."

"You waited until I could not halt you and you slipped from my home. What would you call it?"

Her lips thinned with annoyance. Clearly she disliked being accused of slipping away like a thief in the night.

A demon with a sense of honor.

"I had a few errands to run. Surely I'm allowed some freedom?"

"That depends. What are you doing here?"

"I left something behind."

"Something?"

If her arms had been free, Viper didn't doubt she would have given him a solid punch to the nose. Which was precisely why her arms weren't free.

"A friend," she at last gritted.

Friend? Viper turned his head to regard the small, fluttering gargoyle who was attempting to hide in the branches of a nearby tree. He had spotted the demon when he had come from the tiny opening, but he had dismissed him once he had caught sight of Shay.

She managed to drive most things from his mind when she was near.

A rather dangerous realization.

"You mean the gargoyle?" he demanded with a hint of surprise.

"Yes."

"He belongs to Evor?"

"Yes."

He gave a slow lift of his brows. "If you had requested, I would have bought him last night. There was no need to endanger yourself."

She blinked in astonishment at his soft words. Even her muscles relaxed as if she temporarily forgot he was the enemy.

Viper silently savored the feel of her body pressed close against him.

"Evor has never attempted to auction Levet." Remembered pain flashed through her eyes. "He prefers to leave him as a treat for his goons to torture."

His arms loosened their hold enough to allow his fingers to trace a light pattern up her spine. He didn't like seeing that hurt darken her eyes. It made him want to drain someone.

Beginning with the pasty-faced troll.

"For the right price, Evor would sell his own mother" he growled.

It took a moment before she grudgingly met his steady gaze. "I could hardly be expected to know you would be willing to grant your slave such a favor."

His hand shifted to cup the back of her head. "Why are you so determined to consider yourself a slave when I have yet to do so?"

She blinked at his blunt demand. "What else could I be? You bought me from a slave trader. You possess the amulet that keeps me chained to you regardless of my own desires."

"Would you prefer that I return you to Evor? You would rather possess a different master?"

"Does it matter what I want?"

"Answer the question."

Despite the darkness Viper could easily read the emotions rippling over her face.

Confusion. Embarrassment. And at last a reluctant acceptance.

"No," she whispered so softly that if he hadn't been a vampire he would never have heard her. But he was. And he did. And it was enough to make his hand tighten on the back of her head to press her head downward.

Her breath came in a rush as he captured her lips, captured the heat of her, and pulled it deep within him. She tasted of warm honey and life. A taste sweet enough for a vampire to drown in.

Thrusting his fingers into her hair Viper allowed his free hand to sweep down to cup her hip. He wanted her here, now. He wanted her with a raw ache that was nearly frightening in its intensity.

Gently parting her lips with his tongue he searched the moist cavern of her mouth. He groaned deep in his throat as her hands clutched at his arms and for a startling moment she 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.

"Viper."

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.

"You 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.

"How did you find me?" she demanded.

"I told you that I had the grounds guarded."

Her brows lifted. "I was followed?"

"Yes." Viper deliberately turned to regard me 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."

"This 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."