The pulsing heat of the water had made her body tingle and relaxed her muscles. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and sleep. “Bathroom light, off,” she mumbled as she yawned.

Alejandro had turned off the bedside table lamp, but artificial moon glow lit the room. She found she had excellent night vision now anyway.

He’d slipped into bed and pulled the covers back on the side closest to her. He looked luscious lying there against all those crimson sheets and pillows. In fact, the sight stopped her dead in her tracks. “Can’t we do this somewhere other than the bed?” It was far too suggestive.

“The only chairs are the heavy wrought iron ones out in the garden. Do you want to go out there, or sit on the floor? It won’t be as comfortable.” He patted the mattress. “Come on, Daria, you need to feed and sleep. Anyway, remember we need to be exchanging our scents as much as possible. We need our skin touching.”

Work, work, work.

She climbed into the bed. His body heat had already warmed the mattress and the spicy male scent of him enveloped her. He pulled her toward him and wound his arms around her.

All he wore was a pair of cotton boxers she could feel rubbing against her skin. His luscious, fantasy-inducing chest now lay flush up against her. Her nipples tightened and her cunt grew wet and warm. She wondered if Alejandro understood the power of his chest. Hell, he could succeed in world domination if the planet in question was comprised mostly of women.

Despite herself, she let out a shuddering sigh at the sensation of his body against hers. She would never admit it aloud, but being with Alejandro made her feel safe and protected.

She snuggled herself against him, finding a place for her head under his chin where she lay her ear to his chest. Daria closed her eyes and listened to his heartbeat. Every muscle in her body seemed to go limp as though she’d just had a massage. Exhaustion stole into her mind and made her thoughts come sluggishly.

Alejandro brushed his hand through her hair. “Hey, Daria,” he murmured. “Don’t go to sleep. You still have to feed.”

It took her a moment to answer. Her eyes fluttered open. “Uhn. I know.”

The hunger and her fatigue warred within her body, but it was a struggle that barely registered in her mind. Her arm lay across Alejandro’s strong, warm body, her own body cushioned by the soft mattress.

Fatigue was winning.

If she hadn’t been so physically shattered from the changes the Choosing had wrought in her, she would have regarded Alejandro as far more of a stimulant than a relaxant. The hard planes of his body invited further exploration. If she’d been anything but completely whipped, that would have excited her sexually and upset her psychologically because of the conflicting desires between her body and mind.

As it was, all she could do was lie in the protective circle of his arms and let his heartbeat lull her into the exhausted sleep her body demanded. She felt so heavy . . .

“Daria?”

“Mmmm?” She let the undertow of her weariness pull her under.

Her smooth skin rubbed very close to his cock and every single muscle of his body had sprung to awareness because of it. One of her hands rested on his side, and his nose was buried in the scent of the damp hair at the crown of her head. Her luscious breasts pressed against his chest. Almost every part of their bodies touched.

“Shit,” he muttered under his breath. How the hell was he supposed to sleep while this aroused? This woman would drive him insane before they could see the mission through.

Temptation lay in his arms, but he would do his best to resist it. The Choosing had exhausted Daria and she needed sleep. She needed to feed, too, but sleep seemed to be her body’s priority at the moment. Because of that, Alejandro couldn’t indulge his desires.

You could make her beg for it, the darkest part of him whispered. He had the right veil for that. Alejandro suspected Daria really did want him. All he had to do was exert the right kind of veil . . . and she’d be his. Willingly. Wantonly. Hell, she’d beg him to fuck her until she couldn’t see straight.

Even without his veil, he could do it. He could roll her over and cover her body with his, kiss her awake. Kiss her until her body woke up and her sweet cunt primed itself for his cock. He could pull off her clothes and trail his tongue down her body until he hit her creamy pussy. Lick her until she moaned for him, until she shuddered and came for him. She’d beg for him to take her then. Beg for him to part those endless legs of hers and sink his cock deep inside her. With or without his veil.

He’d get everything he wanted.

He curled his fingers into the sheets and gritted his teeth at the thought of her hot, wet flesh gripping him. Temptation murmured into his mind, You could make her body want it even if her mind doesn’t. You could leave her pleasured so well she’d ignore the part of her mind that fights your seduction. You could make every one of her fantasies come true. If you did that, she wouldn’t hate you in the morning.

He squeezed his eyes shut as he fought to listen to the part of himself that reminded him that she was fatigued, weakened, and any effort on his part now would be taking advantage of that.

He looked down at her. Her dark lashes were swept down over her creamy skin, her full lips parted in slumber. God, he wanted her, but at the same time he felt this ridiculous urge to protect her.

If there was one thing Daria Moran could do, it was protect herself. She didn’t need him to do that.

Yet, there it was, that image of her after Sante had betrayed everyone. Her big eyes luminous and vulnerable. Her heart grieving the loss of her friend.

She’d come to him that night to lose herself. To forget, just for a few hours, the horror of what had happened. He’d done that for her, had obliterated the pain with his body. Turned grief to passion. Though it had only been temporary, since in the morning the anguish had returned.

She moved in her sleep, turning over onto her back. He regretted the loss of skin-to-skin contact, even though it was driving him mad. The moonlight silvered her silky-smooth shoulder and kissed her face where a curling lock of her damp hair had fallen across her forehead.

Alejandro rolled off the bed and headed for the shower. He kicked on the water and stripped off his boxers. Then he climbed into the shower and let the hot water sluice down his body. He pressed one palm against the wall and stuck his head under the flow, letting a groan escape him.

He needed sexual release. Alejandro knew he could find it in ample supply here under the dome. Chosen women typically were up for a good fuck, no strings attached. The problem was that he didn’t want just any woman. He wanted Daria.

Alejandro reached down and curled his fingers around the root of his cock with his opposite hand and stroked himself from base to tip. Pleasure shuddered through him as he imagined it was Daria’s sweet little cunt he thrust into instead of his own palm.

He couldn’t wait to feel all that slick, hot flesh closing around his shaft tighter than a fist. Couldn’t wait to feel her soft skin against his, her moans and sexy little cries in his ears. He wanted nothing more than to feel the way her sex would pulse and ripple around his thrusting cock. Hear the hard slap of flesh on flesh as he drove her harder and faster.

Just the thought was enough to make his climax explode through him. He shuddered and groaned as he came with only the thought of Daria in his mind. Breathing heavily, he rested his head against the wall and let the water course over him.

He wanted Daria Moran with a carnal intensity that he couldn’t control. The woman would be his, one way or another.

Two days, three at the most. That’s how much time he’d give her to adjust to the Choosing. That’s all she should need.

After that, all bets were off. After that, she became his conquest.

She turned toward the garden side of the room and spotted him out there, face raised to the sky. Nothing but that pair of tight-fitting jeans clothed him, strong muscles of his back rippling as he reached up to rub his face. He seemed tired.

As if sensing her gaze on him, he looked at her and walked back into the room wearing a stormy expression. “Hungry?” he asked.

She placed a palm flat to her stomach. Her need for sustenance cramped her belly. “It’s time for me to feed. I can’t deny it anymore.”

He turned away and mumbled something.

“What did you say? I don’t think I could’ve even used my new superhearing to catch that.”

“Gordon stopped by this morning. Told us not to feed. He said the initiation ceremony involves food.”

Well, that sounded ominous. Something other than hunger tightened in her abdomen. “Gee, do you think there will be a buffet?”

“Doubt it.” He shot her an unfriendly look. Hmm, someone had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.

She pushed up into a sitting position and yanked a hand through her unruly tresses. Ah, nothing like pillow-styled hair. She’d be the envy of all the other women today. “Did he clarify that comment at all?”

He shook his head. “Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? There are succubare here. Lots of them. Maybe they’re a part of the ceremony.”

“Possible. Maybe there really will be a buffet.” She rubbed her eyes and stretched. “So I slept through his visit, huh?”

“Seems like you could have slept through an earthquake.”

“How about you? Did you sleep okay? I didn’t steal the covers or anything, did I?”

He took a step toward her. Heat flashed through his eyes, and then was gone. “I didn’t sleep well, but it wasn’t because you stole the covers.”

She climbed out of bed. “I wonder if Sante will be at the ceremony,” she said almost to herself as she reached for her bag and pulled out a pair of jeans and a black T-shirt. “Give me five minutes and I’ll be ready,” she said as she headed into the bathroom.

She emerged minutes later with her hair looking a little better than it had when she’d awoken. At least it was combed.

Alejandro had pulled on his boots and a dark brown shirt that set off his eyes. As if his eyes needed something more to make them look deep, seductive, and heart stopping.

They left the apartment and headed over for the initiation ceremony.

The walkways leading to Sante Hall—she choked on that name when she merely thought it—were dotted here and there with other members of the Shining Way.

It was like they were back on Earth, and everyone was going to church on Sunday. The Church of Sante. Daria winced.

If she concentrated on each individual in turn, she could sense whether they were a vampire or a succubare.

The succubare seemed to vibrate—which was the only way she could describe it—at a lower rate than the vamps. Like the very molecules that made up the vampires moved at a faster velocity.

Each vamp she sensed remotely seemed old or young, strong or not so strong. Yet, as the oh-so-helpful Carlos had pointed out colorfully the day before, judging people that way could be deceiving.

All the Chosen around them were entering the hall on the opposite end of the doors they’d gone through yesterday. When she veered down a path to go in that direction, Alejandro caught her arm. “Gordon told me the front doors.”

When they pushed open the heavy doors, Daria saw why. Carlos stood at the opposite end of the room, by the entrance to the rest of the building. Beside the fountain stood Brandon, along with three other vamps, two female, one male. One male succubare also stood there. All new initiates, she’d make a guess. She locked gazes briefly with Brandon.

Carlos walked toward them. “Good. You’re all here.” He wore a long white linen shirt, tight-fitting gray pants, and a pair of black boots. His long dark hair was clasped at the nape of his neck. He opened his hands to them. “Welcome.”

Several of the initiates greeted him.

“You seven have been selected for various reasons to join us here at the Shining Way where we live in the benevolence of Christopher Sante. Some of you were allowed in based on your reputations, or the reputation and request of someone who knows and sponsors you.”

Carlos turned and smiled first at Alejandro, then Brandon. “Some of you are old friends.” He looked at Daria and his eyes seemed to glitter. “Or are friends of old friends. This morning’s ceremony is designed to welcome each of you into our embrace. May we all live in peace and harmony here under the blue skies of the Shining Way.”

“Thank you,” said a couple of the initiates. Others smiled openly. Daria tried for a contented, yet neutral expression. She feared that if she attempted a pleased look, her eyes might give her away. Anyway, it would only be natural she’d still be pissed off about what had happened the previous day.

Excitement and apprehension rolled and tumbled inside her as Carlos instructed them to walk to the doors at the far end of the chamber. Her thoughts and feelings were not aided by her blood hunger. It roiled in the pit of her stomach. Would there be more “tests” for the initiated to undergo?

Would Sante be on the other side of that door?

Carlos pushed the double doors open. Alejandro grabbed her hand as they walked into the other room. They were the last two to pass through the doorway and into the darkened room on the other side. The light of myriad candles flickered around them, guttering from sconces on the walls and from containers set around the room that cast long shadows.

A high ceiling arched above their heads. The walls appeared to be inlaid with an interlocking pattern of white crystal. The tall blue black windows she’d seen from outside let in very little light.

The huge chamber was packed wall-to-wall with silent, motionless vamps, succubare and . . . What was the other energy she felt in this room? She scanned again. There were a small number of people who weren’t vamp or succubare. They felt vulnerable to her, weak, young, and a bit slower in vibration than the others.

They felt like sheep in the middle of a pack of wolves.

Her mind clouded as her hunger surged. Not even sheep, more like veal. Tender, succulent, and perfectly prepared.

Her fangs extended into sharp little points in her mouth and the hunger hitched up a notch in her stomach. She tightened her grasp on Alejandro’s hand in response.

He also trembled, a jarring reaction in a man as powerful as him. It was as if the scent of prey in the throng undid him, or perhaps tempted him so badly he fought to restrain himself. A glance at his face revealed nothing—he’d set his jaw and adopted a stoic expression.

Carlos started to speak to the crowd, introducing the initiates one by one, asking everyone to treat them well and help them become acclimated to their new surroundings. Daria caught a word here and there, but not all of it. The hunger pounded in her stomach, drowning out most thought.

Carlos repeated the short speech in Spanish, Mandarin, and then in Darpongese, a pidgin language that had developed in the sector. Daria spoke Darpongese, but couldn’t concentrate on his words. She swayed, and Alejandro pressed her to his side, winding an arm around her to keep her upright.

She scanned the room, seeing faces all around her. Mostly, the vamps and succubare were off to the sides. All of them just stood there, watching them. Since they were all in one big mass, it was hard to get a fix on the group of the ones she couldn’t identify.

Finally, Carlos turned toward them. “Our first gift to you” were the only words he uttered that really registered. The vamps in front of them parted.

There, before them, chained and kneeling on the floor, were the ones her mind had been searching for, the ones she’d been hungering for.

Seven human blood slaves.