The guards near Alejandro hadn’t touched him yet, so he stalked toward the assholes harassing Daria, but didn’t get far. The men surrounding him grabbed him by his upper arms and wrists. He jerked free of one, only to have the hands of another clamp down on him.

Enraged, he pulled away from all of them. They scuffled. Alejandro brought his fist up fast and hard and punched one of the guards in the mouth, bloodying him.

“Zap him,” said Carlos.

Pain assaulted his head as one of the guards hit him with a low pulse stream. He went straight down on his knees, stunned. The world went dim for a moment. The guards pushed him down, and he hit the floor, hard, on his stomach. One of the guards wrenched his hands behind him and cuffed them at the small of his back. As an extra torment, the guards held him down so he couldn’t thrash.

Apparently, they wanted him conscious, or they would’ve used a higher setting. They’d effectively prevented him from aiding Daria, that was for sure.

Alejandro glanced at Daria for a moment, but just for a moment because in this position it was hard to hold his head up. The guards held her firmly by her upper arms, but the assholes weren’t fondling her now. “Are you okay, Valerie?”

“I’m fine.” Cold rage, tightly restrained, seemed woven through those two syllables.

“Bastard,” Alejandro swore at Carlos. He pushed up, trying to dislodge the strong grips of the guards. “You let them hurt a hair on her head, and I’ll have your throat for dinner.”

Carlos clucked his tongue. “Don’t make threats when they’re un-called for. She’s fine, Emanuel. That’s your true name, isn’t it? Emanuel Alejandro Martinez?”

“I’ll judge whether or not she’s fine.”

“Emanuel, I don’t want her hurt, either. If I don’t want her hurt, she won’t be.”

“Call me Alejandro.”

“I prefer your first name. You were born on Earth in the country of Spain, isn’t that correct? Madrid is your city of naissance and where you spent your childhood. Your parents were both unmarked and live there still.”

“Yes.”

“Your father is a commview repairman. Humble beginnings, Emanuel.”

Alejandro stilled for a moment under the restraining grasps of the guards, fear flickering through him. How deeply had they researched them? If the GBC’s protections for their peacekeepers hadn’t held up, he was dead. If the ABI hadn’t provided a convincing background for Valerie, so was Daria.

Alejandro grunted as one of the guards decided to press his knee into the base of his spine. “There’s nothing wrong with humble beginnings.”

“No, not at all. I come from humble beginnings, myself. Many of us do.” Carlos walked toward Alejandro and paced slowly in front of him. His boots clicked with every step. “You are young,” Carlos continued. “So very young, yet exceptionally strong for a vampire who is only seven years of age. Your blood mother is Lucinda Valentini, yes? She holds a GBC seat and a territory in the Barand sector. An Italian by birth, I believe. She offered you a coveted place in her inner circle, but you declined.”

“That’s right.”

He clucked again. That was really starting to get on Alejandro’s nerves. “That’s not very loyal, is it? Or smart. Lucinda is a very powerful Chosen. So, I wonder, is it a problem with loyalty that you have?” He leaned down near Alejandro’s face. “Or brains?”

Alejandro felt his jaw lock. “Neither,” he ground out.

He straightened. “Really? Then tell us the reason. We want to comprehend.”

Rage seared his veins. He gritted his teeth, then snapped, “Rampant and resilient heterosexuality.”

“Ah. That I understand.” Carlos laughed. “You may have to explain it to your lady friend, however. She looks confused.”

“Let us go and I will.”

Carlos ignored him. The clicking of his boots on the marble began again. “So you left Lucinda to return to Danpong City where you work in personal security. Or, at least, you did until you decided to bring your new love here to live.” The clicking of Carlos’s heels stopped in front of Daria. “Your girlfriend’s name is Valerie.”

“Not so nice to meet you,” Daria replied.

“Who is even younger than Alejandro, a newborn infant, in fact, and has a mouth on her that, in my day, would have been very unbecoming on a lady.”

“Yes, and I come from New Chicago. Humble beginnings. Yadda, yadda. Can we cut the drama and get on with whatever it is we’re doing here? I’m getting bored.”

Silence.

Daria really needed to learn to control her mouth.

Alejandro wrenched his neck to see what was happening. Carlos stood in front of a very angry Daria. She was probably scared. When Daria was frightened, she became infuriated.

Carlos tipped his head back and laughed. “Fine,” he said finally. He stepped away. “You’re lucky I find your insolence amusing, Valerie.”

The guards slammed her back up against the wall, which had Alejandro struggling again. These assholes wanted to play patty-cake with him while Daria was being felt up against her will. He hated being over here and unable to do anything about it. If they’d been human men, she might have been able to throw them off on her own, but they were Chosen and she was weak right now.

Hands tapped down his arms and legs, then up his torso. Alejandro fought them for every inch, kicking and using his elbows. Then, they simply uncuffed him and backed away. He lay sprawled on the smooth marble floor for a heartbeat, stunned that he didn’t have to fight anymore.

“Get off me!” he heard Daria yell and then a thump of flesh meeting flesh and an oof.

Alejandro shot to his feet. Daria stood unrestrained near one of the guards who’d searched her. Her newly brown eyes shimmered and burned with anger. The offending guard leaned up against the wall behind them, holding a hand to his solar plexus.

He slid his gaze down Daria’s body. She was clearly pissed, but seemed fine physically. She looked a little unsteady, but maybe that was because she’d just expended far more energy than any new vamp should.

Alejandro swung around to stare at Carlos. “I don’t know what game you’re playing here, but I want it understood now that this woman is mine. No else is to touch her. We don’t stay at the Shining Way unless that is comprehended right here and now.”

Carlos blinked slowly. “Living here in paradise is an honor for any Chosen, Emanuel. If you don’t like the way we do things, you can leave.”

“Doesn’t seem much like paradise to me,” said Daria. She’d wound her arms over her chest in a protective gesture.

“It was a test for you, Valerie,” said Carlos. “You are maybe a week or so old, correct? According to our records you were an unmarked human, yet you got past the succubare stage. That’s a very rare thing. We needed to check your strength.”

“Why can’t you just feel my strength from a distance?” she asked.

Carlos smiled. “That can be misleading. Don’t you agree that strength is often something more mental than physical? It’s in the mind, in the will. I suspected you had an exceptionally strong will, and you do. Sometimes, even weak people, when put in a situation they find untenable, become strong. You’re newly Chosen, yet you threw off Austin.” He motioned to the injured guard. “He’s not easy to deter when he’s allowed to frisk an attractive woman. I sent him to you for that very reason. I wanted to see how you’d react.”

Alejandro’s gaze sought Austin. Right now, he was the source of all of his frustration and anger. No one tried to stop Alejandro’s stalk toward him. Austin watched his progress across the chamber with growing horror in his blue eyes.

Alejandro grabbed him by the front of the shirt, pulling him away from the wall. Satisfaction coursed through Alejandro as he sent him to the floor with a punch so hard it made pain flare through his hand and up his arm. Austin groaned and fell silent.

He turned and crossed the space separating himself from Carlos and got right up in the other man’s face. He heard noise at his back and knew the guards had moved in to flank him, in order to protect the older vamp. Carlos held up a hand, telling them to stay back.

Alejandro’s fangs lengthened as they did when he was exceptionally pissed off and he let a growl trickle through his lips. “I never, ever want Valerie to be tested like that again.” He turned and stabbed everyone in the room with a cold stare. “Understand? Back off and leave us alone.”

Carlos smiled. “That’s the reaction we were looking for from you, Emanuel. You were also tested.”

Alejandro spoke in a deceptively quiet voice. “Pull that shit again and I’ll give you a reaction you’ll never forget.”

Carlos held his gaze for a long moment, still smiling, though it didn’t reach his eyes. The look on Carlos’s face was more threat than anything else. “Gordon, show them to their quarters,” he said finally. “I think they’ve had enough for one day.”

Alejandro turned away, seeking Daria. One of the taller guards Alejandro presumed was Gordon motioned for them to follow. Neither Daria nor Alejandro looked back as they left the building.

Once outside, he looked up into the “sky” and saw that the sun was going down. At least, whatever it was that passed for a sun. It seemed a little late for that, if they were trying to keep pace with Darpong. Obviously they could make their own rules in a domed environment.

“I think that went well,” Daria muttered under her breath as they followed Gordon down one of the narrow pathways that led to a round building that looked like an apartment complex with only one floor.

Alejandro wondered if Brandon had been “tested” upon his arrival, too. “Are you okay?”

“I feel like I need a long, hot shower and a strong bar of soap, but other than that, I’m okay, I guess. The asshole just groped me. I’ve been groped before. I feel really tired, though.”

She should be feeling tired. New vampires didn’t have energy to burn. “They were putting us in our place,” he answered. “Making sure we know where we stand.”

“Waaaaay down at the bottom.”

“Right now we’re their toys, but we don’t stand at the bottom. Not anymore. Mierda, I know the drill. It’s like a dog pack. You have to show your strength to get any respect. We just showed strength.”

Still simmering with rage over Austin, he barely noticed that they’d entered the building and had come to a stop in front of a door.

Gordon unlocked the door and handed the key to Daria. “Here’s where you’ll be staying for now. The walls are soundproofed for your privacy. There should be enough towels for you. There’s toothpaste and soap, everything you should need. Return to Sante Hall tomorrow morning for your initiation ceremony.”

“Sante Hall?” asked Daria. “Was that where we just were?”

“Yes. Return there in the morning, undergo the initiation ceremony and you’ll finally truly be a part of our community.”

“We’ll be there,” Alejandro answered.

Gordon nodded his head and even smiled. “Welcome. We’re glad to have you here.”

After Gordon left, Alejandro pushed the heavy door open and they entered the chamber. A large, four-poster bed stood in the middle of the room. The opposite side of the apartment was a wall with windows and French doors that opened into a lush, Earthlike garden. Leaf-bedecked vines snaked their way through the open window and curled all the way around the walls of the room. A small beverage panel that would dispense water, coffee, and other refreshments was built into one wall. The place was small, but beautiful.

“Oh, God,” breathed Daria. She whirled toward him and thought, Doesn’t this seem a little suspicious to you? Where’s he getting the money to do this?

Without a word, Alejandro and Daria instantly started exploring the room, checking for listening devices. It was unlikely there were any, since vampires and succubare could communicate on private telepathic wavelengths. It made bugging a room a waste of energy.

Still, they might have the room under surveillance since Alejandro was a former patroller. There was reason for Sante to be suspicious of him.

Alejandro stood from checking the base of the bedside table. “There’s nothing. It’s safe to speak in here.” He pushed his hand through his hair and winced. His hand would be black and blue soon, but would heal quickly enough. It was a small price to pay for the satisfaction he felt.

She walked to him and took his hand in hers. “Was that guy’s face made of steel?”

“No, I just hit him really hard.”

She traced a finger over the top of his hand. “This is going to hurt.”

“Vamps heal fast. It’ll be fine by morning.”

She stroked her fingers along his palm and the tingling sensation of her touch went straight through his body. He fought the urge to push her back onto the bed. Hell, they’d needed to get their scent over each other anyway. He could think of a number of different ways he’d love to do that.

She raised an eyebrow. “By the way . . . I’m your woman? Could you get any more macho than that, Alejandro? The force of all that testosterone you released in there nearly knocked me over.”

“I had to assert myself, Daria. Paint some boundaries for them.”

A huge boundary was Daria. No one was going to be able to cross that one without making him dangerously crazy. He hoped he’d made that clear to Carlos.

“You had to piss on your fire hydrant?”

“Kind of. It’s like I said on the way in. Unless you want to be everyone’s little froufrou boy, you’ve got to let them know up front that you’re not going to take any shit.”

Her eyes shone. “You learned that in Valentini’s territory?”

“I learned a lot from her.”

Was that jealousy that flared across her face? Interesting . . .

“Thank you for defending my honor, kind sir,” she purred and bat-ted her eyelashes. “You’re my hero.”

He curled his hand around hers and pulled her flush up against him. Twining his arms around her, he dropped his mouth to her throat and laid a kiss there. He groaned as he inhaled the scent of her skin.

“How ever will you repay me?” he growled and lightly nipped the place where her shoulder met her neck.

She shuddered against him, and the faint scent of her arousal teased his nose. With a little sigh, she rubbed her cheek against his upper chest. “Maybe I can figure something out,” she said in a breathless voice.

Well. This was a nice change.

Someone knocked on the door and Daria backed away from him.

Maldita sea! Damn it.

“Come in,” Alejandro shouted, trying really hard to keep the snarl out of his voice.

Gordon stuck his head in. “Your bags.” He dropped their packs and jackets on the floor near the door and disappeared.

When Alejandro turned back around, Daria was out in the small garden. She stood in the center of the greenery, hugging herself and looking like she was deep in thought.

A small bird landed on the top of the wall and chirped at her. “Wow,” she breathed in amazement. It took off with a soft flutter of wings.

Above her head, the twilight deepened to early evening darkness much quicker than was natural. The falseness helped destroy the magic of this place a little for her.

Life under this dome was very seductive, even for her. It had to be even more so for a Chosen who hadn’t had the sunlight on his skin for years.

She watched as faint little stars began to twinkle. Somewhere under the dome, Sante could be looking up into that same artificial sky this very moment. It brought home how close she was to him now.

She walked to the wall and reached out to brush her fingers across the ivy. Amazing. Perplexing. This dome probably could be called paradise, but it wasn’t. It couldn’t be. Financed and run by Sante, it had to be more like hell than heaven. They just had to uncover the reason for this place. It had to benefit Sante in some way. He was not an altruistic person. That was clear enough. He was a cold-blooded murderer who would do anything to get what he wanted.

Daria closed her eyes as she remembered Julia’s pleasant round face smiling at her, her eyes sparkling with mirth. The image faded to Julia with her throat black-and-blue, her eyes vacant, cold and dead, brown hair plastered to her forehead and limbs at unnatural positions where she’d fallen to the foyer floor.

Daria opened her eyes, feeling that familiar burst of rage running through her veins. Anger had become a close friend since Julia had been murdered.

She rested her head against the wall, letting the cool stone ground her and calm her. “I’ll get him for you, Julia,” she whispered. “I promise.”

Vengeance for Julia’s death was so close she could taste it, like something bittersweet on the back of her tongue.

Noise came from the room behind her. She turned in time to see Alejandro pull his shirt over his head. As it did every time she was treated to that tanned expanse of smoothly muscled chest, her mouth went dry. Even though her mind and emotions screamed, No, look away, every last of inch of her body cried out, Yes, please fuck me now when they saw that man’s chest bared.

It humbled her to realize how much a slave she was to her hormones. Alejandro Martinez had always had a fine body and he still did. A prime male specimen that would make any woman drool.

“Overhead, off,” he said. The bright light in the ceiling flipped off. The softer bedside table lamp remained on.

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled off his boots, leaving him in only his jeans. After he got the second boot off, he flopped back on the bed. His dark skin looked sinfully good against the red comforter.

Daria had an urge to go in there, climb on the bed, and lick every available inch of him. She was pretty sure he wouldn’t push her away. No, she knew he wouldn’t. Alejandro wanted her and she wanted him, but she had damn good reasons to resist.

He turned his head to the side and caught her gaze. All-consuming heat glowed in his eyes. He was being careful with her, giving her room to breathe. It was clear all he really wanted to do was strip her clothes off and act out every one of his carnal thoughts.

She should let him.

They needed to make this convincing, after all. They were supposed to be a couple. Not only that, they were supposed to be mated—the Chosen’s equivalent of marriage. Mated pairs slept together, exchanged the oils of their skin, the scents of their bodies. She and Alejandro already had the scents of each other on them from the Choosing, but they had to make sure it stayed that way.

Through this, she could rationalize fucking Alejandro. It was for the mission. For the job. It was a sacrifice that had to be made for the ABI.

Yeah, right. She rolled her eyes. What an inconvenience.

She walked into the room and closed the garden doors behind her. As she passed the foot of the bed, she tried her best not to allow her gaze to eat up every square inch of him.

God, she was pathetic.

She picked her bag up off the floor. It looked like there was running water in the bathroom and a shower. All she wanted was a shower and to get into her pajamas. It was early, but she was so damn tired.

Alejandro sat up on the bed and turned toward her. “Are you changing your clothes?”

Oh, yeah, those already-warm brown eyes were smoldering.

“Yes.” She took a step toward the bathroom.

“You didn’t change in the bathroom this morning. This morning, you did it right in front of me.”

“And your point is?” Casting an annoyed glance at him, she halted in the middle of the room. “Brandon was in the bathroom,” she replied with patience. “I didn’t think you’d mind. It’s not like it’s anything you haven’t seen before.”

He gave a short laugh. “You have no idea how bad you tempted me this morning, do you?”

“What does that mean?” She canted her hip and let her bag hang at her side. “Do you think I owe you something now?”

“No, that’s not what I think. I’m pointing out that you don’t know you’re catnip to me.”

She drew a careful breath. “Look, I won’t do it again, okay? Both of us are in a bad situation right now. I said I wanted to try this with as little intimate contact as possible, but—”

“We have chemistry, and we’re both attracted to each other.”

She nodded. “Yeah, but that doesn’t mean I want to fall into bed with you.”

“Again.”

She shrugged and sighed. “Again.” The weight of the bag grew too much and she let it fall to the floor.

He frowned. “You look tired. Do you need to feed?”

“The hunger is gnawing a little,” she admitted. She was doing her best not to think about it.

“Go take a shower. You need to feed and then sleep. When I was first Chosen, I had to feed at least twice a day.”

“Alejandro, what was that whole thing about your blood mother that Carlos was talking about? ‘Rampant and resilient heterosexuality’?”

A dark expression crossed over his face and he looked away. “There’s not much to tell.”

That meant there was a lot to tell. She just stood there waiting for him to spit it out.

He glanced at her and sighed. “She was into some really kinky stuff, that’s all. Lucinda likes men to be . . . together. She likes to watch. If you’re a man in her inner circle, you’re expected to play her little sexual games.”

“What? You mean, like perform for her pleasure?”

He nodded. “Yeah, she’s got a whole playroom set up. Whips and chains, you know. Everyone watches.” His fangs flashed. “I’m not the submissive type. But sometimes she’d lock a man or a woman in place in that room and let everyone play. They were like a thing to her, a thing to tease. She got off on watching them get fucked.”

“Were you ever one of her . . . things?”

He shook his head. “Like I said, being submissive isn’t my deal. Demanding it from others . . . yeah, that’s more my speed. So I played once in a while.”

She shivered, imagining letting Alejandro play with her. Letting him do whatever he wanted. Oh, yeah, that was a worthy sexual fantasy. “So, uh, did you ever play with a man?”

He gave her a look so violent that she took a step backward. “I wasn’t lying to Carlos when I told him that’s why I didn’t take her up on her offer. I have nothing against homosexuals. Whatever makes you happy. I do have something against being made into a sexual submissive and being treated like a trained dog.”

“I believe you.” She raised her hands. “Hey, even if you’d done it, I’m not the type to judge.”

“Go take a shower so you can feed and go to sleep,” he said carefully.

Grumbling more at the fact that a feeding sounded really good to her than at the fact she had to do it at all, Daria picked her bag up and headed into the bathroom.