Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(92)

Freaking perfect.

If it was Gaius who had attacked Caine and Cassandra in Salvatore’s cellar and later kidnapped them from Caine’s home, then he had plenty of time to prepare a hidden lair where they would never find him.

Their only hope now was figuring out what the hell had prompted the vampire, who had been legendary for his brilliant intelligence and complete lack of political ambitions, to commit treason.

“Where’s his lair?”

Nefri’s eyes narrowed with suspicion. “Why?”

He made a sound of impatience. He wasn’t used to explaining himself. And he most certainly wasn’t used to asking for permission.

Even his clan chief, Viper, understood his need to be in charge.

Which no doubt explained why he sent him out of Chicago to run one of his numerous nightclubs.

“Because there might be some clue that can reveal his connection to the Dark Lord.”

Of course that couldn’t be the end of the matter.

He was beginning to suspect that the female would argue with him if he said the sun rose in the east.

“We have no proof there is any connection.”

“Hence the search.”

“Do you have no respect for personal boundaries?”

With a wicked smile he stepped forward, his head lowering until his lips were brushing softly against hers as he spoke.

“None.”

Electric currents of pleasure jolted through him, his body clenching with a primitive need to haul her against the nearest wall and sate the hunger that was becoming an insistent, all-consuming ache.

She froze beneath his light touch, as if she was battling her own demons of need. Then with a deliberate motion, she pressed her hands against his chest and shoved him away.

“If you will follow me I will take you to Gaius’s lair.”

With precise movements she had stepped around him and was leading him past the marble columns to a wide marble staircase at the end of the hallway.

Santiago scowled as he followed behind. Her spine might be stiff beneath that long, silky curtain of dark hair and her muscles clenched beneath the flowing robes, but he hadn’t missed the pure feminine desire that had flared through her eyes before she had pushed him away.

Dios.

Nefri, the freaking Queen of the Immortal Ones, was a complication he didn’t need.

Especially not now.

But when had lust ever struck when it was convenient?

And that’s what this was, he assured himself as they moved swiftly down the staircase. Lust with a capital L.

Anything else would be ... nuts.

Reaching the bottom of the staircase, Nefri led him through the vaulted chamber with Greek gods painted on the ceiling and a fountain with a black marble statue of Poseidon in the center. He caught the musty scent of ancient books from a nearby library and the tantalizing perfume of orchids from the bathhouse, but Nefri moved toward a corridor that led away from the public rooms to what he assumed must be the living quarters.

And still she continued forward, turning into hallways that grew progressively more barren and dangerously narrow.

At last she came to a halt in front of a door, pausing with obvious reluctance before shoving it open and allowing him to step over the threshold.

Not burdened with pesky scruples, Santiago moved to the center of the room, inspecting the narrow cot and plain wooden trunk shoved in one corner with a growing sense of puzzlement.

Mierda.

It was like a monk’s cell with its unadorned stone walls and stark lack of personal possessions. There wasn’t even a rug to warm the marble floor.

“Bleak,” he muttered.

“Gaius has never revealed a desire for material possessions,” Nefri pointed out, although he sensed she was as startled as he was by their stark surroundings.

“No, he always preferred function over fashion,” Santiago agreed. The older vampire had often teased Santiago on his love for luxury, claiming that Santiago’s lair was more suitable for a pampered human than a dangerous predator. Grimly he shoved away the memory, reminding himself that the vampire he had once loved and respected had been nothing more than a figment of his imagination. “But he used to enjoy the basic comforts,” he continued through gritted teeth.

“We all change over the years.”

He snorted at soft words. “Evolve to higher beings, you mean?”

Her lips tightened, but predictably she refused to rise to the bait.

“For a rare few. Most of us merely do the best we can to survive.”

“Very deep, dulcita,” he muttered, moving to pull open the closet door.

“Some truths are simple.”

“If you say ...” Flicking through the dozen robes hung in a neat row, Santiago’s words were forgotten as he caught sight of a small box set on the narrow shelf at the back.

With a hand that wasn’t quite steady, he grabbed the ornately carved object, an emotion he refused to acknowledge clenching his heart.

There was a wash of cool power and the scent of exotic woman as Nefri moved to stand at his side, her serene presence offering a surprising balm to the tumultuous feelings that threatened to consume him.

“What is it?”

He held up the wooden box that was well worn from fingers that had lovingly traced the intricate patterns over the years.

“I carved this for Gaius just days before he left,” he said, his voice thick.