Lothaire (Immortals After Dark #12)(25)

“You can’t leave these premises in any way unless escorted by me.” He released her but didn’t move away.

“One jail to another.”

“Precisely,” he murmured, laying his palms over her hips.

She froze, not knowing what to do. They probably appeared to all the world like lovers taking in the skyline, instead of a vampire and his captive. Her skin prickled with awareness of him.

At length, he turned her to face him.

Would pay to know what he’s thinking. “How do you move so fast?”

“I don’t move fast. You, mortal, move slowly.” Had his gaze dipped to the revealing V of her dress?

“And how do you vanish and appear?”

“It’s called tracing—it’s how vampires travel.” He frowned at her, dropping his hands. “It’s been a while since I’ve spoken to someone who knows so little about our world. Unbelievably, it’s even less than you know about your own.”

He started back to the bedroom, snapping over his shoulder, “Come.”

She found her heels digging into the spot. The only thing that held a candle to her stubbornness was her inability to take orders. “You truly think you own me?”

He faced her with a bland look. “Yes.”

Hate him! “So earlier, when you were fixin’ to inform me how things were gonna be, you were basically gonna tell me that I’ll be a slave up to the day you end me!”

“In so many words.” He began circling her, an eerie prowling that spooked the hell out of her.

So she jutted her chin. “And where exactly will you be sendin’ my soul?”

“Sending it? Hmm. Even I don’t know where souls go after this existence.” Circling, circling. “My only concern is that yours is gone from your body.”

“If I don’t take myself out before then.”

“You won’t. I’ll use your weakness—your love for your family—to keep you from harming yourself.”

“Are you really the kind of man who would kill a defenseless woman and a young boy?” she demanded, though everything about this male screamed that he was.

Holding her gaze, he answered, “I’ll do it without hesitation to get what I want. I’ll do it with delight if you continue to defy me.”

He’s an animal . . . so best treat him like one, Ellie. Show no fear.

“Beg me for their lives now, Elizabeth. Plead for them.”

With more bravado than she’d ever feigned, she said, “You’d hate me worse than you already do. So I’ll do you one better. I’ll bargain with you.”

“Bargain?” he repeated, seeming intrigued. Then his expression grew shuttered. “Only those with power can bargain. You have none.”

“That’s where you’re wrong. I’ve prevented Saroya from rising a time or two in the past. I’ll steel myself against her even more. I won’t sleep or eat. I will think of nothing but how to bury her so deep inside, she won’t ever see the light of day.” Ellie thought he’d be furious at that.

Instead, he again looked interested. “I enjoy a good bargain. Yet I also enjoy making my enemies beg.”

“You need me alive, but you need more than that. You’ll be needing my cooperation. So what had you planned for me to do after I got through pleading?”

“I’d planned for you to dine.”

She narrowed her eyes up at him. “I sure am hungry, Lothaire. Could eat a horse right now. See how easy we can be together?”

He pinched her chin, hard. “Careful, little pet. If you play with me, you won’t like it when I join the game.” He tilted his head at her. “And for this easiness, what do you want in return?”

“Don’t let Saroya kill.”

After a considering moment, he said, “Until you’re gone? Agreed. And you’ll obey my commands without question, or your next infraction equals your family’s end. Try to prevent Saroya from rising or harm yourself in any way and you might as well peel their heads from their necks with your own hands. Do you understand me, Elizabeth?”

“I-I understand.” Then she added, “I understand that my entire family is safe from you and anyone who works with you, so long as I’m cooperating.”

He quirked a brow as if amazed by her temerity. She suspected she was a novelty to him.

So what would happen when the novelty wore off?

“I wondered if you were crazy. Have now decided you must be.” He turned and strode toward another room. “Follow me.”

Having had a victory of sorts, she trailed after him. At every turn, she was confronted with more examples of his wealth, luxuries like she’d never imagined—art, oriental rugs, newfangled electronics. But not a single phone or computer.

This place was a paradise compared to jail. The air was drier here, not laden with humidity. While her ward had been ripe with the odor of urine and mace, everything here smelled new.

The apartment had two wings with sprawling terraces between them. One terrace even had a pool.

A paradise compared to anywhere. “How many rooms are in this place?”

“More than a dozen throughout the three floors.”

“You live alone?”

“As of today, I live with Saroya and one temporary prisoner.”