"Want to talk about it?"

She shook her head.

"Sure?" He kissed the curve of her shoulder.

She nodded, her tears dampening his arm.

"Anything you want me to do?"

She shook her head.

"Are you sure about that?" He nibbled her shoulder.

"Yes." Her voice caught as she leaned into him to allow better access.

He smiled against her neck. "You don't sound sure to me."

"Love me," she whispered.

"I'm pretty sure I can manage that." He kissed the nape of her neck, enjoying the sensation of her flesh against his mouth.

She slid her arm back and reached for him, her fingers encircling his swelling c.o.c.k. Stroking his eager member, she zeroed in on caressing the sensitive underside, just below the head.

If she kept that up very long, he'd be a goner.

"You have some very talented hands." He hissed, his breathing growing shallow. He cupped her breast.

Her skin was silken against his palm as he plumped his prize. His thumb teased her nipple from slumber into rigid awareness.

"Mmm, thank you, kind sir." She purred.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the sensations she aroused in him. Her hands, deft on his body, stroked and seduced, each movement slow and measured. He gritted his teeth as she increased her pace, drawing out each stroke until his toes curled. Lovely as this might be, it was time to call an end to it before he disgraced himself.

He caught her restless hands and pulled them away from him. She made a sound of disappointment, thenstilled as he slid his hand down her thigh, nudging her. Maeve parted her legs for him. He slipped his knee between hers, and she rested her leg on his, her body relaxed against him.

A watery sigh escaped her as he entered, still slick from their earlier play. He moved easily within her damp flesh. Entwined as intimately as a man and woman could be, Quinn rocked against her, drawing out each motion and keeping it languid, sensual. Each breath that escaped her became a sigh as her fingers entwined with his. He continued his slow pace toward fulfillment.

He was in no hurry and he sensed she wasn't either. Buried deep inside her, flesh against flesh, seemed like the perfect way to spend eternity.

One minute she was warm and relaxed in Quinn's arms, the next a crash sounded in the hallway, jarring Maeve into awareness. In one smooth movement, she rolled from his arms and grabbed the handle of a short sword that lay on the nightstand. Facing the bedroom door, she took a defensive position.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him climb off the bed as the door burst inward and Sunni stumbled over her long skirts, almost landing in a heap on the floor. She clung to the doork.n.o.b to regain her balance.

"Oops, the door wasn't shut properly." She grinned and her smile vanished as she caught sight of Quinn, naked. "Oh my."

Irritation flashed hot along Maeve's skin as she moved into the vampire's line of vision, cutting off what she knew to be a delectable display. "Did you need something, Sunni?"

"Val sent me upstairs to get-" She nodded in Quinn's direction, then averted her eyes.

"Quinn?" she prodded.

"Him." Sunni finished lamely, a faint blush appearing under her pale skin. She seemed unsure where to look.

"We'll be down shortly."

"Umm, okay." Lacking the usual grace of a vampire, Sunni lurched from the room, shutting the door behind her.

Maeve shook her head. If the sight of Quinn naked had that much of an effect on Sunni, she was glad the vampire hadn't come in a few minutes earlier. She would have been mute for life.

She stiffened when she heard Quinn's chuckle from behind her. Turning, she scowled at her naked lover.

"What's so funny?"

"I've never rendered a woman quite so speechless before." He reached for his jeans and pulled them on.

"I could get used to this."

She rolled her eyes as she laid the sword on the bed within easy reach. "Yeah, well, Sunni's been sheltered all of her life. Don't get your hopes up." Her glance grazed the front of his unb.u.t.toned jeans.

"Or anything else." She s.n.a.t.c.hed her clothes from the foot of the bed and, nude, marched from the room, leaving Quinn wearing a thunderstruck look. Stifling a grin as she heard him laugh, her heart felt lighter than it had been in years.

The ballroom was oddly light as she entered, hand in hand, with Quinn. The candles still flickered around Sinjin as he lay in his dark sleep, but that wasn't the source of the light. Her gaze moved outside, her heart stopping in her throat. The minions had formed a ring just outside the salt circle. Every other one held a large torch, the flames dancing in the darkness.

"What are they doing?" she asked.

"We have no idea. We were hoping Quinn could answer that." Val stood near the shattered center window, his arms crossed over his chest.

Mortianna moved into the circle of light to stand behind the minions, her expression serene. Her gaze locked with Maeve's and the witch nodded. A knot formed in her stomach.

No, not now!

Mortianna had come for her in answer to her spell. Agony lanced through her as she closed her eyes.

What had she done?

"I don't know why she's here," Quinn's voice was low. "But I'm going to find out."

"I called her." Maeve forced herself to drop his hand, and she shivered as she moved away from him, suddenly bereft. She turned her back on the witch to face her friends. Their expressions were patient, Quinn's confused.

"Why?" he asked.

"I needed her help."

"What kind of help could Mortianna afford you?" Shai spluttered.

"I need a spell, one that only she can give me."

Silence.

She met Quinn's gaze, pierced by the anger and hurt she saw.

"You'd betray your friends for this spell?" His tone was flat.

She shook her head. "You don't understand."

"Then explain it to me." He crossed his arms over his chest.

He was already condemning her. Images of her family flashed before her eyes. Panicky, she glanced at each of her friends, but they offered no a.s.sistance. She swallowed. "Eleven years ago, a vampire killed my sister. Rebecca was my twin and I watched her die. Do you know what it's like to hear someone you love die screaming your name?" Tears burned the backs of her eyes, but she'd cut out her tongue before she'd let one fall. "My twin, my other half, died and I couldn't save her. I failed her." She wrapped her arms around her waist as her stomach lurched. "He took my family, he tookeverything of value to me. For that, he must die."

"You're a fool." His tone was sharp. "You would sacrifice your friendships for this? You can't engineer redemption through revenge. It's gained through growth. You learn from the events of your life and you move on. You don't set out to have your revenge, it's meaningless."

His words cut her to the quick. She resisted the urge to look and see if they'd left marks on her skin.

"I know what it is to lose a loved one," he continued. "I lost my best friend many years ago because I lost my temper and sought revenge on someone. He died because he trusted me to do the right thing, and I failed him. Trust me when I say the price of revenge is too dear, Maeve. If you go through with this, you'll lose everything you hold dear. That includes your integrity and honor."

"What good are integrity and honor when my sister lies in her grave?" she shouted. "What good were integrity and honor when my family turned their backs on me?"

"What would your sister want you to do?"

Live life and be joyful...

"Avenge her death," Maeve whispered.

"Then your sister also was a fool."

One look at his closed expression and all feeling died within her. She went numb from head to toe. He couldn't, or wouldn't, understand her plight. Which, she didn't know. What she did know was that he wasn't hearing her, he'd shut her out.

Now, she had only two choices: either he gave her the spell, or she went to Mortianna and paid whatever price asked. She refused to beg him for it.

"I'm asking you to please give me theA' bhais Cadail spell." Her voice was dead, exhausted.

"No."

So be it.

She turned her back on him and walked to the door.

"Where are you going?" Sunni quavered.

She didn't answer. She was afraid that, if she opened her mouth to speak, she'd start screaming and never stop. She'd do anything to avoid breaking down in front of him ever again.

Footsteps followed as she exited the ballroom. The front door loomed and she half-expected Quinn to interfere and prevent the doork.n.o.b from turning, but he didn't. The cool wind whipped into the house a.s.she opened it.

"Don't do this." Shai's words ended in a sob.

Leaving the door open, she stepped into the darkness. Where the sword pointed outward, Mortianna stood, a soft smile playing about her lips, her cape just shy of the salt circle. She walked down the steps toward the witch.

"Maeve-"

She ignored Val's voice as she approached, stopping short of the sword hilt. "Will you give me the binding spell?"

Mortianna's smile grew wider. "Of course I will, my child. That's why you called me. Knowledge is strength and we all must help our sisters follow their destinies."

She turned to look at her friends one more time. Val stood on the bottom step, his arm around a crying Shai, his expression somber. Sunni stood near him, her cheeks streaked with tears.

Quinn.

He stood alone on the top step, framed in the doorway, arms crossed on his chest. Those same arms that had held her so tenderly less than an hour ago were closed to her now. His expression was cold, his gaze locked on her face.

His visage blurred with her tears as she turned away. Stepping over the sword, she moved to Mortianna.

Darkness surrounded her as the witch swept her into her cape.

"Welcome home, my daughter."

Chapter 10.

She'd left him.

One minute she'd been in his arms, warm and vital, the next she'd been swept into Mortianna's cape and they'd vanished. Quinn dropped into a chair and ran his fingers through his hair. Had he handled the situation right? He'd thought so. He was obligated by his lineage to protect the secrets of witchcraft he'd been given and it wasn't a task to be taken lightly. Her thirst for revenge would be the end of her.

Knowing that, what should he do? Let her walk her own path? Step in and save her from herself?

Weary, he rubbed a hand over his eyes.

"Quinn."

Shai stood in the archway of the library. Her expression was uncertain, her emerald eyes unfathomable.

He looked away. He wasn't up to dealing with normal conversation right now. "Shouldn't you be gettingready for bed? Morning approaches."

"Soon." She advanced into the room.

She hadn't taken the hint. Resigned, he tipped his head to rest against the back of the chair. "What can I do for you, Shai?"

"Nothing for me. Though I must warn you that was a dangerous thing to say to a vampire."

He heard the amus.e.m.e.nt in her tone and couldn't help but smile in return. "You're right."