Daegan nodded. “While I appreciate both of the lords" great wisdom, I am familiar with some things. This is not about testing the command of a made vampire or the mettle of her unusual servant. Whether or not you decide to execute him, death isn"t good enough. You

wanted to torture him tonight, humiliate and damage him for the gall of what he has accomplished, what he is. A true warrior, down to the bone.”

Gideon didn"t dare look up, holding on to his control with both mental hands, but he was hypercognizant of Daegan"s eyes upon him, not just the mixed regard of Alanna and Torrence, in front of and behind him.

“You accord honor to one who has killed so many of us?” Stephen"s voice was pitched with outrage, but Daegan moved his attention to Belizar and Uthe.

“Everyone in this room recognizes our dominance over humans, except perhaps Anwyn, who is new to our kind. However, we also recognize their finer attributes. This human won my respect, because he is a soldier, dedicated to his belief. It is hard for those who have not known the sacrifices and trials that occur in our line of work, in the Territory Wars and other conflicts, to truly understand the cost of taking lives beyond what is necessary for our immediate survival, or defense of those in imminent danger.”

Gideon had to admit there was something else he liked about the arrogant male, aside from the fact he didn"t let diplomacy turn him into a doormat. Daegan had just reminded the older Council members of their superiority in experience, an ego stroke that couldn"t hurt the situation.

“I do not acknowledge him as an equal, but he is a warrior, and I respect him for that. We are too few to be guided by our petty vengeances. We live by survival of the fittest. A hunter like Gideon Green keeps us away from dangerous complacency. Do not force this issue. If you have no use of him motivated by pleasure and entertainment, then let us move on to others.”

“You know this is our way.” Lord Welles spoke, though his countenance was thoughtful.

“I disagree, for the reasons I just explained. But I can tell you for certain, it"s not my way.” Daegan met his gaze, his dark eyes becoming even more opaque.

“No, it wouldn"t be, would it?” Lord Stephen broke in with a sneer. “Not a half-breed with an unknown father. Vampire blood is not what governs your actions.” Anwyn drew in a breath. Gideon"s head snapped up despite himself, a flood of unexpected outrage filling him on Daegan"s behalf. Even the Council appeared somewhat taken aback by Stephen"s ire. But before Lord Uthe could speak, Daegan did.

“No,” he said in a neutral tone. “The Council reigns my actions. By my choice, because I believe in checks and balances to ensure proper behavior.”

A full moment"s silence held the assembled as Stephen"s face flushed with anger. Check and mate again, Gideon thought, trying not to tense as Torrence"s breath brushed his nape. The behemoth was a step closer than he was a moment ago and it took everything Gideon had not to visibly tighten up his ass, like a walnut refusing to be cracked.

“Well said.” Lord Uthe raised his cup. “Gods, is it too much to have one dinner among ourselves that doesn"t involve political carping? Lord Stephen, save your strategic manipulations for the Council chamber, and let us enjoy our meal. I for one am content with the current arrangement.” He glanced toward the table centerpiece. “Though I admit to enjoying our past female creations more, we were catering to the ladies tonight.” Unexpectedly, he gave Anwyn a cordial nod, a feral glint that might have been grim humor in the depths of his eyes. Then he gestured with his cup toward Carola, Helga and Barbra, generally including them in his comment.

Belizar cocked his head, considering his right-hand Council member, then shrugged, glancing back at Daegan. “Have you fucked him?”

“Pardon me?”

“I said, have you fucked the vampire hunter?”

Gideon thought it was like watching a tennis match, seeing the Council members" chins bounce back and forth to follow the conversations. Yet the question raised a disturbing memory in his mind that distracted him from that. Daegan"s hot breath on his neck. The strong grip of his hands, the startlingly erotic invasion of the vampire"s cock. The way his own had jumped at the penetration, the possession, even as Gideon sunk deep into Anwyn"s wet heat.

“Yes.” Daegan glanced at Gideon, then back at Belizar.

There was a murmur around the table; then Belizar cocked his head, his expressive silver eyes locked with Daegan"s. “Pushed him to his knees, made him take you down his throat?”

“No.”

“Hmm. One is easier, you know.” The Russian toyed with his wineglass, waved away a servant when she came forward to refill it. “Seems you have managed to shame us just a bit, Lord Daegan. Not an easy task. Lord Uthe tells me we should avoid hasty decisions, but perhaps there is a middle ground to resolve this matter.”

“I am listening, my lord.”

Belizar nodded, then threw his gaze out to the Council. “With apologies to Lord Uthe for suggesting business at supper”—he shot Uthe an arch look—“here is what I propose. As we agreed, it will help our deliberations about executing the hunter if we have proof that he is well under the command of Lord Daegan, as well as clearly submissive to Miss Naime. While she"s marked him with some lovely stripes, I propose thirty-six additional lashes with a bullwhip of our choosing. A blood strike for every vampire life he"s taken. That we"ve verified.” He shot Gideon a speculative look that Gideon caught in his peripheral vision, because he was staring a hole in Alanna"s forehead. Her eyes glittered with satisfaction. Apparently, she had no objections to him being whipped. “During that flogging,” Belizar continued, “he takes you down the throat, Lord Daegan, here in front of us. If, for some reason, you are averse to his mouth on your cock, we will settle for you marking him fully right now, at this dinner.” Before he returned his gaze to Daegan, Belizar waited until he"d received answering nods from around the table, though Stephen"s looked somewhat reluctant. “I know what kind of man this Gideon Green is. If he will go on his knees, suck you to completion and swallow every drop, we at least know he will capitulate to you, which will reassure us you have control over him. It will not guarantee our decision, but it may sway it considerably.” Or they may be just fucking with us, Gideon thought darkly.

“So another ultimatum. I take his blood, or he takes my cock?” Daegan"s tone was flat, unexpressive.

“We do not often give a petitioner more than one choice.” The warning was clear in Belizar"s face. Daegan"s expression did not change, as if such a threat meant little to him.

“Choose.” Belizar"s voice hardened, the Council head obviously picking up on it. “Or defy this Council. Lord Stephen, tell your servant to withdraw.”

She"d been on her knees awhile, so it was instinctive courtesy that had Gideon helping Alanna to her feet, a hand beneath her elbow. She gripped his forearm necessarily, but let go immediately and didn"t look at him. Backing up to the wall, she took her place behind her Master.

Anwyn"s voice slid through his mind. I don’t exactly know what this means, but Daegan said, “Head or gut?”

Despite all the feelings coiled like a noose around his throat and cock, chest and soul, that volley surprisingly loosened it. Somewhat. He felt like he was merely choking, instead of about to fall through a gallows door to have his neck snapped. He wasn"t afraid of being flogged, but he knew enough about being hit with a bullwhip to know what thirty-six lashes could do. He didn"t want to shame either one of them. When he felt the wrench in her heart at his thought, he lifted his head, met her gaze with a reassuring spark of fire in his own.

He’s been watching Bruce Willis. The Last Boy Scout .

He’s always been able to surprise me. A pause. Gideon?

I don’t want him biting me. And I won’t drink his blood. You know that.

He shifted, met Daegan"s eyes. The vampire gave him a slight nod.

“Get on your knees, vampire hunter.”

15

UP until that moment, Anwyn had been spiraling back into the alley, to places where all choices were yanked away, obliterated by blood and barbarity, where tenderness and love were cruel jokes, unbearable mockeries of the way the world really should be. Though the blood and brutality were not aimed at her, it was no different, when she felt charged with protecting Gideon. If anything, she knew it was worse, being forced to stand to the side and watch it be done to him, rather than experiencing it for herself.

She was a Mistress, yes. In fact, she"d considered herself quite a formidable Dominatrix, but in this world, she was coming straight from the kiddie pool to the deep end. For once the call of the shadow voices was desperately seductive, a way to escape this, but that in itself made her fight. She wouldn"t run. She"d never again run from someone who needed her.

Then Daegan spoke that soft, velvet command, and suddenly the world righted itself. He took control back for all of them.

Gideon had lifted his head, his hair brushing the broad bare shoulders, the midnight blue eyes riveting in their intensity. When he looked toward Daegan, the charge of energy between the two male bodies brought a hush to the room.

It was then she saw clearly what Daegan had seen from the beginning with Gideon, what even the more perceptive of the Council had to see. No matter what barriers separated them, Daegan Rei and Gideon Green held the same warrior code, the same inviolate integrity and inner strength, no matter how battered Gideon"s shields had become. It put every one of the vampires in this room to shame, to her way of thinking.

She had another revelation as well. One that was more private, but no less shocking.

Somewhere along the way, Daegan"s tracking of Gideon had turned into an active pursuit of the hunter. An emotional pursuit, beyond the call of lust. Whether it was admiration or kinship, or something else, Daegan desired him, wanted him as his servant as well. Not as a humiliation, like the Council might suspect, but because that was the closest bond a vampire could make with another. He wanted to be Gideon"s Master as much as she wanted to be his Mistress, because for both of them, it was the deepest offer of body, heart and soul they had.