Rose's body tensed at the slightly accented voice. It sounded just like...Duncan's. She jerked her gaze to the man's face and stumbled back in surprise.

Duncan caught her and spoke to the man who looked exactly like him. "Ian, meet Rose Sinclair. Rose, meet my brother."

Regaining her balance, Rose glanced from one brother to the other while she collected her composure at the shock of discovering Duncan had a twin. She held out her hand to shake Ian's. "It's amazing. Except for your hair length, you two look truly identical."

Ian shook her hand and winked at her. "I'm the better half of the egg."

At Rose's laughter, Duncan said to Ian, "Weapon-wielding Anima, bro, remember?"

The brothers stared at each other for a second. When Duncan's expression turned resolute, she realized they were communicating mentally. Damn, she wished she had the ability to read minds.

"Hey, down here, fang boys." She crossed her arms when the brothers looked at her. "It's rude to speak...er...or in your case, not speak, about someone in her presence."

Ian raised his eyebrow. "Perceptive little one, isn't she?"

"That she is," Duncan agreed in a wry tone.

"I give up," Rose said, irritated that she seemed to be the brunt of some silent joke. She started to walk around Ian, but Duncan clasped her elbow at the same time Ian placed a hand on her shoulder, stopping her exit.

Ian's warm golden gaze met hers and he gave her a genuine smile. "It was nice to meet you..." he paused and glanced at Duncan in surprise, "Roisin."

Taken aback that he knew the name Duncan called her, Rose looked up to see an equally surprised look pass Duncan's face before he masked it behind an impassive one.

"Keep in touch with me about that other matter," Duncan spoke to his brother.

Ian let go of her shoulder and gave him a curt nod.

Once they'd walked outside, Rose started to ask, "How'd your brother know..."

But she didn't get to finish her sentence. Duncan's warm hand clasped her neck. He pulled her around to face him as his mouth claimed hers in a dominant kiss.

Surprised by the possessive nature of his kiss, Rose hooked her fingers in his jeans belt loops and opened her lips, accepting the sensual thrust of his tongue against hers.

His hard body felt so good aligned with hers. The rough brush of his whiskers chafed her lips, but she didn't care. She wanted everything he offered, wanted the passion she saw him give to his music and his fans. She wanted to see that side to Duncan...the side that was open and not so tightly controlled.

I refuse to let you hold back from me tonight, he spoke in her mind, his tone adamant, almost angry.

Fear swelled within her. He pushed too far, prodded too much. She felt his presence lurking in her mind, fierce and persistent.

Rose shoved at his chest and panted out in anger, "Take what you can get, Duncan, that's all I'll offer."

Duncan grasped her chin and tilted her head so her gaze met his in the dim light outside the bar. "Make no mistake, Roisin, you will open to me tonight..." He paused and raked his gaze down her body. His angry tone dropped to a seductive rumble. "In every way."

Despite herself, Rose's pulse spiked at his provocative words. She brushed past him, scared by the depth of emotions this man evoked in her. "Don't count on it, vamp."

She walked up to her bike and lifted her leg over the leather seat. Meeting Duncan's penetrating gaze, she placed her helmet on her head. Amusement shot through her at the heated look on his face when she kicked the bike to life.

A sexy smile tilted the corners of his lips as he approached.

The man planned to hitch a ride. Nonononono! He'd run his hands all over her body the entire trip home. Determination to remain aloof filled her. She revved the engine.

"Find your own ride, Mordoor," she said before she flipped her visor shut and backed the bike out of its parking spot.

Rose hadn't driven more than a block when the sound of another motorcycle came rumbling up behind her.

Her heart raced to see Duncan pull his bike up beside hers. She saw his arrogant expression through his visor. He saluted her, then popped his bike's front wheel before he took off ahead of her.

Not to be outdone, Rose gunned her engine. The wind felt cool on her skin, but Duncan caused a heat to spread through her that kept her entire body warm.

Seeing an incline on the side of the road ahead of her, Rose turned her wheel and grinned. Her bike easily took the ramp and remained airborne until she landed next to Duncan.

She couldn't explain it, but she literally felt his anger at her. Her entire body tensed at the sensation that rippled down her spine. Probably jealous, she thought as she revved her engine and did a wheelie of her own. When her front wheel landed back on the ground, she took off like a shot ahead of him.

Rose and Duncan arrived at her house at the same time. Her adrenaline pumped at the exhilarating ride as she took off her helmet and hopped off her bike. She flicked her gaze back at Duncan parking his bike, then started to walk up the pathway to her house. His heavy footfalls stalked behind her, making her subconsciously pick up her pace until she reached her door.

As she started to insert the key in the lock, Duncan's hands landed on her shoulders and he jerked her around to face him, slamming her against her door. A dark scowl creased his brow and his golden gaze seemed to glow, it was so intense.

"Have a care for yourself, Rose. I heal very quickly. You don't."

Her heart raced at the anger he displayed. Why did he care if she risked her life?

She lifted her chin a notch. "That's what makes it a risk." Tilting her head, she gave him a devilish smile. "Imagine how crazy I'd be on a bike if I were a vampire?" As soon as she said it, excitement filled her. What would it be like to be a vampire? To face Duncan as an equal?

Duncan's jaw ticced and his grip on her shoulders tightened. The tortured look in his eyes made her stomach clench.

"What is it-" she started to ask, but he jerked her toward him, pressing his mouth against hers.

Rose gasped at the savage ferocity in his kiss. She was surprised she wasn't afraid of this barely controlled beast Duncan seemed to be hiding inside him. Instead, the dominant slant of his lips gliding over hers and the possessive way he grabbed her rear and jerked her hips to his only turned her on more.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she clutched him close and moaned against his mouth. Their tongues dueled, thrust and parried until her breathing increased.

Duncan pulled his mouth away, his own breathing harsher than she'd ever heard it before. "Inside now, or I swear I'll take you up against the damned door for any passerby to see," he grated out, gripping her waist tight.

Rose didn't need someone driving by to experience her love life firsthand, even if Duncan's threat sounded awfully tempting to see if he'd really follow though on his promise. Seeing the volatile look in his eyes, she turned in his arms and unlocked the door. Duncan grabbed the knob and opened the door at the same time he placed a hand at her waist and ushered her inside.

Sexual power surged within her when he shut the door. She turned and walked backward into her living room, kicking off her boots in the process. Her heart hammered as she switched on a lamp and waited for his next move.

Duncan pulled off his black shirt and tossed it to the floor. His gaze shifted to molten amber when it traveled up her skin-tight leather-clad legs, past her exposed belly to linger at the swell of her breasts above the leather corset she wore.

Rose let her own gaze roam his sculpted abs and chest. Her breasts tingled while her gaze followed the line of fine hair that narrowed into a vee past his jeans. When he started to walk toward her, her entire body tensed in sensual awareness.

But Duncan didn't touch her other than to untie the leather string at the bottom of each pants leg. After that, he walked in a slow circle around her, reminding her of a lion circling its quarry, sizing up her worthiness to be his prey.

The anticipation was killing her. Rose took a deep breath, but she refused to let her gaze follow him as he circled behind her.

She let out an involuntary gasp of surprise when he pressed his hard bare chest to her back at the same time his hands landed on her thighs. Duncan planted a kiss on her shoulder and the heat from his hands radiated to the bare flesh peeking through the leather lacing.

"This is a 'fuck me' outfit if I've ever seen one," he stated, then kissed her neck. "I swear, baby, this better have been worn just for me or I'd have killed any man who dared to touch you tonight."

Even though he was right, Rose started to laugh at his arrogance. But her laugh came out as a choking gasp when he gripped the leather strings on either pants leg near her hips and yanked upward.

"Owwww," she yelped as the leather zipped through the grommets on the tight pants, rubbing and burning the skin on her thighs along the way. That hurt like hell, she thought. Not to mention the fact she stood there in only a sexy black thong and her top, since her pants were now a heap of leather on the floor.

Before she could examine the damage he'd done to her legs, Duncan dropped to his knees beside her. "Stand still," he commanded. His warm hand clasped the inside of one naked leg at the same time his other hand caressed her bare buttock. With a heated look in his golden gaze, he ran his tongue up the outside of her thigh, tracing the red welts that had begun to form.

Rose closed her eyes at the erotic sensations that rocked through her. Nothing could've prepared her for the attentive, protective act of Duncan healing her skin with his tongue from her lower thigh to her hip. She'd prepared for a battle of the sexes. Not this almost reverent loving of her body. Unconsciously, her fingers wove though his hair, tangling in the sexy mass.

Desire swirled in her belly when he planted a kiss on her hip before moving to the other thigh and giving it the same sexy ministrations. But this time, his grip on her inner thigh felt more intimate. While he set about healing her skin, his hand moved higher and the tips of his fingers brushed the juncture where her thigh met her body.

After he laved her wounds, he kissed his way back up her thigh, his fingers gripping her leg in a firmer hold.

Rose opened her eyes when she felt his heated breath through her silky underwear. Michelle had insisted she shave almost all her hair down there if she were going to wear a thong, which left her shaven skin around her sex ultra-responsive.

I'll bet all this newly exposed skin is very sensitive, he spoke in her mind right before his tongue traced down the front of her thong. Rose groaned and intuitively rocked closer as he moved lower. Staring down at his broad, muscular shoulders, she tightened her fingers in his hair, holding her breath in anticipation.

When he clasped her buttocks and slid his tongue along her lower lips, tracing an erotic path, the heightened sensations he created along her newly exposed skin were almost her undoing. She had to work hard to keep her legs from collapsing at the tingling heat running from her sex up to her breasts.

Duncan slid a hand across her buttocks and grabbed the back of her underwear. Fisting his hand in the soft material, he pulled it taut between her legs. Groaning, he sucked harder on her sex now that he had better access to her. You taste so damn good. I can't decide which I like more, your blood or your sweet flavor.

"You'll be the one begging for it," she reminded him with conviction, despite the fact she had to pant out the challenge.

Don't bet on it, a thaisce. He ran his tongue along the thong's path between her lower lips before he flicked it inside her.

Rose's eyelids fluttered closed at the sensual sensations rocking through her. The thong now pressed down hard on her throbbing clitoris. She felt a sudden tug and her underwear tore, falling into Duncan's hand. He had to move his mouth to remove the cloth and before he could return his mouth to her body, Rose tapped him on the shoulder. She had to regain the upper hand with him or she'd be a pile of weak muscles and bones lying on the floor, begging him to take her before he was done.

Duncan glanced up at her, his look full of dark hunger.

"You plan on going at it right here in the living room?" she asked with a raised eyebrow, trying to lighten his intensity and her own churning emotions.

He grinned as he placed his hands on the back of her thighs, then slid his fingers down to the back of her knees. "For starters," he answered right before he jerked her knees toward him.

Rose yelped and tried to catch herself as she fell backward toward the floor. Duncan caught her hands, then lowered her to the soft carpet. Before she could move, he'd pinned her body with his and pulled her arms over her head.

Her body instantly reacted, flooding in renewed wet heat at the rough sensation of his jeans-covered erection pressing against her damp, aroused core.

Duncan rocked his hips against hers and smiled. "You're so hot and wet, I feel you through my jeans."

"Too bad you'll have to let me go to remove them," she quipped with a knowing smile.

Duncan glanced down at the laces on her corset, then looked back at her, a wicked grin on his face. As the laces on her corset began to come untied on their own, causing her heart to race out of control, she challenged him even more.

"You and your vampire powers. You might be able to mentally unbutton and unzip your own pants, you'll still have to release me to take them off."

"Who says I'll take them all the way off?" he shot back. When he finished speaking, he mentally undid the last of the lacing and the material fell open on either side of her body. Rose's heart rate soared.

Her bare breasts jutted upward toward him as if they had a mind of their own. Traitors, she wanted to yell at her puckered nipples. Instead, she taunted, "You're a bit overdressed, don't you think? You'll have to let me go now."

Duncan lowered his head and nipped at her nipple. Glancing up at her, he teased, "These are just too hard and aroused not to give them a moment of attention."

Unable to help herself, Rose arched her back, pressing her breast closer to his warm mouth, but he backed away with a devilish smile.

"About those pants," she reminded him, tugging to release his hold on her arms.

He pressed her wrists to the floor and commanded, "Stay."

Wondering what he was planning, Rose left her arms where he placed them as he moved to crouch between her legs. He encircled her ankles with his warm fingers.

Bend your knees just a bit, he said mentally. Intrigued, she complied, bending her knees slightly and placing her feet flat on the carpet.

Duncan nodded in satisfaction and stood up, staring down at her. Desire flickered through his gaze as it swept down her body. "You're very beautiful. I've thought of nothing else but seeing you just like this."

Rose wasn't prepared for the emotions his words evoked within her. She wanted, needed his touch, his heat. Yet she didn't know if she could handle even one night with this man, he made her so desperate for his touch. She started to get up, but her arms wouldn't budge. Surprised, she tried to move her feet. Nothing. She truly felt as if she were bound to the floor. Somehow he'd figured out a way to compel her. That had to be the only explanation. Her angry gaze flew to his as he slowly unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans.

"Release me," she hissed out.

Duncan didn't say a word. He just stared at her with that ravenous look in his eyes.

Tugging harder on her invisible bonds, she tried to remain calm. "Very funny. You've proven that you can take your jeans off while still holding me. Now let me go."

A knowing smile tilted his lips as he stepped out of his jeans, retrieved a condom from his jeans pocket and began to roll it on. Heaven help her, but Rose's sex began to throb in aching awareness of his size as she watched his fingers push the condom all the way down his shaft.

She knew from firsthand experience-literally-just how thick he was. She'd barely been able to get her hand around him the other night. Duncan was easily eight inches in length and nature hadn't skimped in the width category either.

He lowered himself to the floor and crawled over her body until he was above her. His golden gaze locked with hers, his own serious and resolute. "I won't let you hide from me tonight. You'll allow yourself to experience every emotion you've ever held back from a lover. Do you understand, Roisin?"

Panic seized her at his statement. "How dare you!" she gritted out, trying to get up once more.

Duncan swiftly lowered his mouth to her throat and locked his teeth on her jugular, making her freeze in her movements.

He spoke in her mind, his tone intense. I dare, because I can. I know your mind. I know you trust I'd never hurt you. Ever. Tonight is about trust and... he paused and released her neck to plant a kiss on her throat before he finished in a husky whisper in her ear, "it's about letting go."

Chapter Eight

Rose didn't know what to say. She lay there, aroused and panicked, unable to form a coherent response as Duncan slid the corset out from underneath her.

Kneeling between her thighs, he leaned on his elbows and planted a gentle kiss on the curve of her breast.

Rose sighed at his tender touch. This she could handle.

But when he moved his mouth to her nipple and laved at the hard tip, then sucked it inside his warm mouth at the same time she felt his presence in her head, demanding to be let in, Rose couldn't give in. If she let him in her mind, he'd know just how much he'd been on her mind and in her dreams the past couple of days. He'd know how much it bothered her to wake up in her own bed when she'd hoped to wake up in his the other day. He'd have too much power over her.