"You should be. I provide you perfectly good meals, and you go wasting them." He cupped her face, pressing an unexpected kiss to her forehead. "Don't be stupid. Mistress."

She curled her hand over his thick wrist, tangling the chains, using the support to steady herself. "What did you mean about Daegan?"

"He has no family, no close friends. It's obvious even the vampires don't fully claim him. Just you. You're his family, Anwyn."

"Not just me," she said. "You've got one of those blind sides yourself, Gideon."

"Yeah, he and I are best girlfriends." He snorted. "If it wasn't for you, we'd probably have killed each other by now."

She arched a brow, even as he firmly guided her into a chair, probably because he could tell her knees were shaking. "He knew you before I did," she said. "Maybe he made a connection to you long before you were ever introduced formally. He told us us to stop dwelling on dying. Not just me. Since you die if I die, it would seem redundant and unnecessary to tell us both, right? Unless he values both of us." to stop dwelling on dying. Not just me. Since you die if I die, it would seem redundant and unnecessary to tell us both, right? Unless he values both of us."

"Or he could be shaken up and wasn't thinking straight. He can get insecure too, you know." At her dubious look, he snorted. "Regardless, loving and doting big brother just left me with you and this blood to clean up, and wants us ready in twenty minutes. If he values me any more highly, I may stick this broken chair leg up his uppity backside."

Anwyn began to rise to help him, but her servant made it clear she was going to sit on a chair while he did everything else. Bringing a cloth, he cleaned her up first. Fortunately, projectile vomiting like Linda Blair meant she hadn't gotten enough on her to warrant changing. Gideon then cleaned the floor as only an impatient man could, with a haphazard use of the good bath towels that made her wonder what curses the cleaning staff would be heaping on him. But it was better than dwelling on what else the night would bring.

Particularly when it was off to such a promising start.

The chandelier was a waterfall of gla.s.s shards brought to shimmering life by the low-toned bulbs hidden somewhere among their curtain. Gideon expected it was probably worth as much as the college education he'd refused, despite the football scholarship he'd been offered.

Somehow, the idea of hanging out in dorms, drinking beer and indulging in the starry-eyed academic idealism that the world could be changed if you wished hard enough, like Dorothy in Kansas, didn't sound as appealing once your girlfriend had been ripped open like a downed deer. The people who said you didn't dream in color were full of s.h.i.t. He hated the recurring nightmare where Laura's pastel yellow dress glowed like neon mustard, the arterial blood like graffiti paint.

He guessed he should have expected his immediate surroundings would plunge him into those kinds of memories, but with effort, he tried to bring his mind back into the present.

The dining table was probably twenty-five feet long, with the Council members, Daegan and Anwyn placed at generously s.p.a.ced intervals. He deliberately kept his attention away from the centerpiece as the waitstaff brought out appetizers and small portions of gourmet meals in several courses. The vampires would savor those morsels through smell, sight, and discerning bites before sending the bulk of it back to the kitchen. It would probably be enjoyed by the serving cla.s.s of the castle, like him. Maybe Daegan or Anwyn could ask for a doggie bag. Particularly if his stomach started growling.

Vampires.

The one bright spot so far, with some reservations, was that the Council had invited Lord Brian to join them. In their flurry of preparations, Gideon had forgotten Brian had returned to his main laboratory and research facility in the Berlin compound by now. What made him uneasy was that Brian wasn't high enough on the totem pole to be invited to a Council private dinner, unless there was a specific reason for him to be there. It was likely that Vincent had reported on the incident with Anwyn earlier and they wanted their resident pet scientist to observe her.

While predicting a vampire's loyalties was never foolproof, it wasn't likely that Brian had told the Council about his time with them earlier, since that had been a favor to Lady Lyssa, one Brian had agreed to keep discreet. His behavior confirmed it, because he greeted Daegan and Anwyn as if it were their first meeting. It made Gideon like the scientist even more, but he wasn't going to bank on it too heavily. If the Council requested an evaluation of Anwyn, he knew the man would be honest with them on what he found, no way around it. In truth, the fanged geek was probably itching to have her come to the lab so he could track how his serum was doing on her.

Of course, despite the vampire propensity for hiding emotions, Brian couldn't completely disguise the brief flash of utter shock that went through his green eyes when he saw Gideon attending Anwyn as her servant within the Council walls.

Yeah, you and me both, buddy. It's a weird world.

Debra was with him, of course. Compared to the fetish wear and more seductive fashion statements worn by the other servants, positioned along the wall behind their Masters' or Mistresses' chairs, Debra was cla.s.sic sensuality. She wore a formfitting deep crimson sheath and heels, simple jewelry and a ribbon choker that dangled a bloodred stone. Her blond hair was piled up. Though she looked pretty, Gideon had the sense she'd thrown the outfit together after a long day in the lab. He wanted to smile at her, but knew they had to pretend not to know each other. She gave him a cool, polite nod, which was actually far better than the vibes he was getting elsewhere in the room.

Just as she'd warned him, the scrutiny of the other servants was decidedly unfriendly, a "you have no business here" message, loud and clear. While vampires didn't hold a grudge about his acts of sabotage against their kind, apparently servants did. Servants bonded closely with other servants, an exclusive little trade union, and a lot of servants had died during the attack on Mason's estate.

He'd never understood servants. Even now, he'd chosen the path he had because Anwyn, a victimized human, needed him, not because a vampire had asked for his loyalty. Turn ownership of your soul over to a creature who already saw your species as inferior, who would consider you their property once those marks were in place? Crazy. And yet most servants who entered a vampire's service willingly seemed to embrace it.

He understood that Jacob and Lyssa loved each other, even though it was an oddly intense, brutal sort of devotion. But most vampires weren't Lyssa, who'd been willing to die for her servant. So he still didn't get it.

Think of knights and their liege lord or lady. Or both.

Cute. His attention returned to Anwyn at her murmur in his mind. Her profile was enticing, the sweet rise of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s over the corset as she responded to something Lord Uthe said, a smile playing on her lips. It distracted him from the irritating soreness of his back, kept him from twitching over it. He wouldn't give the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that satisfaction. Plus, if she could handle this without flinching, so could he. When she turned her face toward him on occasion, he could tell her smile didn't reach her eyes. A large part of what she did at her club had to be performance, but there he'd sensed her full heart was in it. She wanted to be anywhere but here, but she was doing a good job at portraying herself otherwise. He didn't think anyone other than he or Daegan could tell, except maybe Brian. For all that the scientist tended to immerse himself in his research to the point that Debra had to be his communications liaison, he didn't miss much that was important. He probably knew Anwyn's emotional fluctuations as well as they did. His attention returned to Anwyn at her murmur in his mind. Her profile was enticing, the sweet rise of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s over the corset as she responded to something Lord Uthe said, a smile playing on her lips. It distracted him from the irritating soreness of his back, kept him from twitching over it. He wouldn't give the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds that satisfaction. Plus, if she could handle this without flinching, so could he. When she turned her face toward him on occasion, he could tell her smile didn't reach her eyes. A large part of what she did at her club had to be performance, but there he'd sensed her full heart was in it. She wanted to be anywhere but here, but she was doing a good job at portraying herself otherwise. He didn't think anyone other than he or Daegan could tell, except maybe Brian. For all that the scientist tended to immerse himself in his research to the point that Debra had to be his communications liaison, he didn't miss much that was important. He probably knew Anwyn's emotional fluctuations as well as they did.

Anwyn had also taken Gideon's warning to heart, not expending any energy on keeping the curtain of her mind drawn between them tonight. Fortunately, he was getting better at sifting through multiple sources of information in his head.

She was pouring all her effort into holding it together in this environment, as well as giving him the maximum ability to recognize another seizure coming upon her. They'd devised several different ways to handle that, but none of them had antic.i.p.ated the Council trapping them into a formal dinner where she was the center of attention. What they could do in this situation, he wasn't sure, but he hastened to add in his mind that he would be resourceful enough to come up with something. He was sure Daegan was staying just as close to her gray matter.

Her lips curved, a faintly rueful gesture as she tossed him a surrept.i.tious glance. It sucks, knowing I can hear "I haven't a f.u.c.king clue what I'll do," right? It sucks, knowing I can hear "I haven't a f.u.c.king clue what I'll do," right?

Yeah, but that's the way I handle most crises in my life. I'm still here to talk about them.

Her gaze sparkled with a trace of humor. Noted, and rea.s.sured. Thank you. I notice you haven't been appreciating the table centerpiece. Noted, and rea.s.sured. Thank you. I notice you haven't been appreciating the table centerpiece.

s.e.x slaves surrounded by spring foliage is so last year. Martha Stewart's mag says so.

He heard her laughter in his head, was warmed by it and the ever-so-slight easing of her tense shoulders, before she turned her attention back to the conversation. He'd need to give her a ma.s.sage tonight, take out some of those kinks. He could do that pa.s.sably well. He hadn't ever had any training, just somehow knew where the knots were, and how to untie them. And touching her was no hardship, ever.

Brian had been placed across the table from Anwyn. Daegan was seated at one end, Belizar at the other, Anwyn to Daegan's right. Gideon of course was against the wall behind his Mistress's chair. He'd covered every inch of the terrain, but now, against his will, his eyes were tugged back to that centerpiece she'd teased him about.

Just beneath the impressive chandelier, two males were on display. He a.s.sumed they were servants who belonged specifically to Council members, because Barbra and Carola had no one standing at attention behind them. The men had been oiled down so every muscle gleamed. They were manacled flush to each other, one's chest against the shoulder blades of the other, hips nested together so intimately it was clear that the blond guy in back had impaled the redhead's a.s.s. The bands of steel holding the arms to one another allowed the slight difference necessary to compensate for the width of their bodies, but if one of them moved his arm, they'd both be moving it.

Of course, they weren't moving much of anything, because they were locked on a rotating dais. A steel pole rose from it with a short, horizontal, wood platform for the man in back to lean against. Of course he was strapped to it, because that platform had been fitted with a d.i.l.d.o so his a.s.s was impaled as well. Their arms had been drawn together forward and low, so their two sets of hands encircled the erect genitalia of the man in front. The blond in back clasped the c.o.c.k at the base while the redhead cupped his own b.a.l.l.s.

The guy in back had been instructed to pump into his companion's a.s.s and ride the phallus up his own backside in slow, methodical rhythm with the cla.s.sical music filtering into the room. He'd been commanded to follow the beat, no matter how agitated either one became, so the Council was treated to what Gideon a.s.sumed they'd feel was an artistic display of smoothly flexing b.u.t.tock and thigh muscles. As well as the rise and fall of broad chests as their arousals waxed and waned.

They both wore condoms, which was good since they'd already come once or twice during the second and third courses. While the vampires noted it with flashes of l.u.s.t or approval, they continued on with their conversations as if it was no more exceptional than seeing the waitstaff move in and out of the room.

Fortunately, there was female eye candy. As he'd noted from entering the room-acute observer that he was-all of the female servants in the room, other than Debra, were dressed in ways that would have made a p.o.r.n movie look tame. Lord Stephen had explained his servant was being punished for an unmentioned transgression, so she was as naked as the men, except she wore a chast.i.ty belt fitted with a c.l.i.t and a.n.a.l stimulator. Breast and nipple clamps had her already ample b.r.e.a.s.t.s distended with the constriction. She also wore a full neck collar that allowed her head no mobility, and a ball gag almost too large to get past her teeth had been shoved in to stretch her jaw muscles hard.

She was rasping around that gag because Stephen had control of the pace and power of the stimulator. She never came, but at different times she was excruciatingly close. Then he would dial her back again. Gideon noted the males in the room couldn't help responding to her agony. He was one of them, though he was uneasy with the distress in her eyes. Jacob had told him what this could be like, but Jesus, seeing it firsthand . . . he felt like he was in the middle of a macabre circus. Despite his offhand banter with Anwyn, his pulse was up, his c.o.c.k was hard and his hands were sweating. Which was what he was sure these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds wanted to see.

"Lord Stephen," Anwyn said unexpectedly. "Would you mind if I had my servant wipe your servant's chin? I think she's becoming a bit of an eyesore for those of us eating our dinner."

"Drooling on the carpet is is considered bad manners," Helga mentioned wryly. Her tone suggested Stephen's decision to punish his servant so severely at the table, when it wasn't a planned part of the central entertainment, was improper etiquette. She sent an approving look toward Anwyn, as if she appreciated her subtle objection. considered bad manners," Helga mentioned wryly. Her tone suggested Stephen's decision to punish his servant so severely at the table, when it wasn't a planned part of the central entertainment, was improper etiquette. She sent an approving look toward Anwyn, as if she appreciated her subtle objection.

"Of course," Stephen said, though agreeable was the last thing Gideon read in his voice. "Whatever will give you ladies more comfort and pleasure. In fact, he can remove the gag. Tell him to push her to her knees and use his c.o.c.k to remind her what her tongue is for. Or do you have to ask ask the vampire hunter to do such things for you? A 'pretty please,' perhaps, to coax him to do your bidding? Beg him to eat your sweet c.u.n.t?" the vampire hunter to do such things for you? A 'pretty please,' perhaps, to coax him to do your bidding? Beg him to eat your sweet c.u.n.t?"

Gideon's blood went to boil, but Anwyn's laughter checked his desire to use a dinner fork to teach Stephen manners. He did note that several Council members were less than pleased with his vulgarity. Apparently, as Daegan had said, such bald s.e.xual behavior toward another vampire wasn't encouraged in a private Council gathering.

"Do you think I'm so easily baited, Lord Stephen? A new vampire I may be, but I've been dealing with pushy males for a very long time. I've spent time with Lord Daegan, after all." She tossed Daegan a provocative smile and leaned back in her chair, crossing her shapely legs so the dress inched up. Daegan acknowledged her barb with an indulgent nod, but Gideon noticed his eyes didn't leave Lord Stephen, unwisely oblivious to his regard.

The women responded with appreciative chuckles, though Barbra was not one of these. She smiled because the others did, but it was tight, unfriendly. "Are you refusing to entertain us with your servant, Anwyn?" she asked. "For all his exploits, your vampire hunter is expected to have far larger b.a.l.l.s than most. I for one am curious to see."

Gideon, Daegan said to tell you Stephen's servant is pleased to be punished by her lord this way. She's very aroused and not being tortured against her will.

I know how servants work. He managed, barely, to keep the contemptuous sneer off his mouth. At the flicker of hurt from Anwyn, he cursed his stupidity. He managed, barely, to keep the contemptuous sneer off his mouth. At the flicker of hurt from Anwyn, he cursed his stupidity.

Yes. Her response came slowly. Her response came slowly. But can you work the same way? But can you work the same way?

I told you I can. Issue your order, Mistress. Let's get done whatever bulls.h.i.t they want to prove.

I like it when you call me Mistress.

He remarkably liked using it, but he decided he wouldn't admit that to her. At least not directly. He'd rather let her fish for that one than throw it right in the boat. Her lips curved, a softer smile that told him he was forgiven.

Then she met Lady Barbra's gaze. "I am not refusing you at all, my lady. I'm simply new to your ways. You must forgive me if I am not as quick to respond to your games . . . or rather, entertainments."

When Barbra's eyes narrowed, Anwyn's brow lifted, as if in innocent question. "And of course," she added, "I'm never averse to showing off his gifts. Gideon?"

He moved forward. She'd lifted her hand toward her shoulder, toward him, though she didn't turn her head, clearly expecting he would be there. Following impulse, when he reached her, he bent so his lips touched the cup of her open palm. He left his hands out of it, not touching her or grasping the wrist, just offering that teasing homage, tickling her lifeline with the tip of his tongue so her fingers curled slightly. He inhaled her perfume, the scent of her hair, and it steadied him. "Yes, Mistress."

"Please go relieve Lord Stephen's servant of her gag in the manner he described."

He would shut his mind down and do this. He could do it. He'd had to do a lot of things as a vampire hunter, and keeping a poker face was one of them. Inclining his head, despite the turmoil of his feelings, Gideon turned toward Stephen's servant. She was a beautiful woman, exotic and long limbed, with red hair that swept around her face and shoulders like tongues of flame. Her eyes were a rich dark brown, an animal's liquid deep color that gave her Fey-like face a fragility that p.r.i.c.ked his dispa.s.sion.

He reminded himself she served Stephen, probably helped with his kills. Her Master was the guy who'd likely sold out Daegan, who wanted to see him dead. She was part of that.

It both helped and hindered that this servant's eyes were consumed with particular venom when they shifted to him.

"You might be interested to know that Alanna's twin brother was a servant as well. To Lady Theresa, who died in the bomb blast at the Gathering." Lord Stephen offered the information with satisfaction. "Their bodies were found together, of course. Maybe you'd like an oral bit to protect your servant's overblown a.s.sets, Anwyn. Alanna has very sharp teeth."

s.h.i.t.

"Gideon knows how to handle himself around angry females exceedingly well. I am not concerned." When Stephen curled his lip, the tips of his fangs showing, Anwyn gave him an indifferent look.

Great. With a slight bow for permission, just as Daegan had showed him, only the vampire's movement had been much smoother, Gideon took a piece of chocolate off the silver tray next to Anwyn's plate. He also borrowed her cloth napkin. When he reached Alanna, trying to walk normally despite the d.i.l.d.o, he thought if she could have spat at him, she would have. He was conscious of every eye in the room, some murmurs over the stripes he revealed on his back. The dried blood itched but had been left uncleaned at Daegan's suggestion, for more dramatic impact. As he unbuckled Alanna's ball gag, he slid the slick orb from her mouth. Using the napkin, he caught the saliva that came with it and dried the rest from around her lips and chin. He hesitated over the cleft of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, where more saliva had dripped, but at a glance at Anwyn, receiving her nod, he rubbed it off, trying not to linger. Despite what he'd been sent there to do, he didn't want to take excessive advantage of the situation. Servants might be willing and ready to do whatever their masters ordered, but he didn't like the idea of touching any woman without clear consent. And this one clearly hated him. With a slight bow for permission, just as Daegan had showed him, only the vampire's movement had been much smoother, Gideon took a piece of chocolate off the silver tray next to Anwyn's plate. He also borrowed her cloth napkin. When he reached Alanna, trying to walk normally despite the d.i.l.d.o, he thought if she could have spat at him, she would have. He was conscious of every eye in the room, some murmurs over the stripes he revealed on his back. The dried blood itched but had been left uncleaned at Daegan's suggestion, for more dramatic impact. As he unbuckled Alanna's ball gag, he slid the slick orb from her mouth. Using the napkin, he caught the saliva that came with it and dried the rest from around her lips and chin. He hesitated over the cleft of her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, where more saliva had dripped, but at a glance at Anwyn, receiving her nod, he rubbed it off, trying not to linger. Despite what he'd been sent there to do, he didn't want to take excessive advantage of the situation. Servants might be willing and ready to do whatever their masters ordered, but he didn't like the idea of touching any woman without clear consent. And this one clearly hated him.

Still, after he did that, he brought the piece of chocolate to her lips, knowing from his earlier gag that the rubber left a nasty aftertaste. While there was a flicker of surprise in Alanna's eyes at his courtesy, the flash in her gaze warned him. When he put the chocolate on her tongue, she snapped down, just as he expected.

One of the vampire hunters he'd known had a dog named Evel, who would bite anything that aggravated him-which was pretty much everyone. When he tried to bite Gideon's hand one day, Gideon had deterred him from doing it again by doing what he did now. Though he did it in a bit gentler fashion, since a fragile woman's jaw was a little different from the machine grip of a Rottweiler's, he jammed his closed hand toward the back of her throat.

Expecting him to pull back, she hadn't been prepared to lock her jaw against a forward thrust. It wrenched her mouth wide-open, hitting her gag reflex.

"You won't bite me," he growled. "You'll behave and do as you're told, or you'll learn worse tricks I have than this. Settle down to business and we'll be done in no time. I'm not any happier about it than you are. Okay?"

It took some coughing, gagging, some outraged strangled snarls from the back of her straining throat, but eventually her jaw relaxed and he removed his fingers. She gasped for breath, staring at him with hatred and uncertainty both. He was cognizant of some audience appreciation of his tactics, but he wasn't interested in their approval. He focused instead on his connection to Anwyn, held that silken cord of awareness, already wanting to climb out of this moment and be back beside her.

Gripping Alanna's shoulder, he pushed her, not ungently, to her knees. He focused on the wall when he opened the tight latex pants and freed his c.o.c.k. At least his a.s.s was still covered, concealing the d.i.l.d.o shoved into it. He couldn't say he'd accepted Anwyn doing it to him with good grace, but it had been reluctantly pleasurable. Now it grated, suddenly a symbol of what this group wanted to do to him, how they would humiliate him.

Gideon, no. Nothing has changed. It's only you, me and Daegan here. Just focus on that.

Then who's this pathetic creature being forced to suck off the d.i.c.k of her brother's murderer?

Gritting his teeth, not waiting for an answer, he fed the head of his c.o.c.k into Alanna's mouth. He did it slowly but inexorably, keeping one hand on her face. He was ready to jam his thumb in the hinge of her jaw if needed, but she eventually opened, took him deep.

"Don't move your mouth, Alanna," Stephen said abruptly. He tossed his next comment Anwyn's way. "I like the look of this. More torment for them both. It gives us something else pleasurable to look at. Push those pants down to your knees, servant. They're hampering the view."

"Absolutely," Helga murmured, to amused chuckles around the table.

He knew what Daegan had said, but it would be a cold day in h.e.l.l when he did anything that a.s.shole ordered. If he'd set up Daegan, he was also responsible for Anwyn's attack.

Gideon, do as he says. Anwyn's voice in his head, urgent.

d.a.m.n it. This was his choice, for her. With a rough jerk, he shoved the pants down his thighs, wishing he could go deaf rather than hear their salacious reactions to the additional stripes there, as well as the d.i.l.d.o's wide base spreading his a.s.s cheeks. He knew his b.a.l.l.s had to be visible from his spread leg position. Alanna's breath was hot on him, her tongue moist on the underside, and of course he couldn't help getting harder. Maybe that was good, because it kept at bay the horrified incredulity he was actually doing what he was doing, and exposing himself this way in front of a group he'd give away his soul to stake.

He'd pushed his c.o.c.k only halfway into Alanna's mouth, since he was a lot for a woman to take. Lady Carola made a satisfied comment about his diameter. Darkly, he wondered if she was going to send someone over with a tape measure. He'd happily strangle them with it.

Lord Uthe brought up something about the quality of the cheese they were eating and suddenly they were discussing which country had the best reputation for cheese production. Gideon might have been astounded, but his shock meter had overloaded and blown a gasket three courses ago. Just your typical vampire dinner.

He could steel himself to handle all that, blank his mind enough to get through it, but what he couldn't ignore were Alanna's hot, hitching breaths on his c.o.c.k, silent sobs. Or the tears running down her cheeks. It didn't matter that she was another brainwashed human servant to the d.a.m.ned vampires; he didn't treat women like this, force himself on them when they wanted nothing to do with him. He wasn't supposed to have an enormous erection, or be fighting his desire to thrust, rough and fast, into that wet mouth. d.a.m.n third-mark made it impossible not to be aroused, but what was making him hotter and harder had nothing to do with that, not really. It was something far more disturbing.

Her fists had clenched in frustration at her sides and he wanted to do the same with his own. Looking down, he saw her feet were bare. Since the other women servants wore shoes, he a.s.sumed it was a further punishment, no emotional or physical armor. That was what vampires were all about, weren't they? Stripping their servants down to a shivering soul. The vulnerable pink soles, the round heels, made him wish he could be anywhere else. Jacob, how did you do this? How do you do this? Jacob, how did you do this? How do you do this?

Hang in there, Gideon. Anwyn again Anwyn again. Focus on my mind. You're doing fine.

Don't worry about me. I'm all right.

I know you are. You are a brave, good man. When we get through with this, I will personally hold your head while you throw up.

He closed his eyes, his throat tightening. Yeah, he hated this. But the trigger factor here wasn't the physical stimulation. It was that Anwyn had commanded it. That was what had him thick as a steel beam, stretching Alanna's jaw. The aphrodisiac was doing this at a Mistress's demand. No. His His Mistress's demand. Mistress's demand.

A pause, where he felt his acknowledgment of it hit Anwyn. Her internal reaction made him want to groan in need. But she kept her mind voice steady, cool. You understand why that is. It's in your unconscious, but every day it comes closer to your subconscious. It's why you can do this now. It's why you sought me to begin with. You understand why that is. It's in your unconscious, but every day it comes closer to your subconscious. It's why you can do this now. It's why you sought me to begin with.

He wanted to keep his eyes closed, but that made the sensation that much more acute. Taking advantage of the fact that the vampires were still involved in their inane small talk, he laid his hand on Alanna's hair. Curling his fingers around the sh.e.l.l of her ear, he grazed the side of her throat where he could feel her swallowing back the sobs.

"I'm sorry," he murmured.

"Torrence," Lord Stewart spoke then. "With Lady Helga's permission, I'd like to add to Lord Stephen's little sculpture. Let's see how the vampire hunter endures being staked himself. Go replace that d.i.l.d.o with your ample attributes."

f.u.c.k. Helga's servant, Torrence, was a mountain. When Helga nodded, the man wasted no time, unbuckling the kilt he wore and draping it over the back of her chair, his eyes alight with vicious antic.i.p.ation. Great. Gideon figured he'd probably blown up one of his family members, too. So much for h.e.l.l being an after-death experience. Helga's servant, Torrence, was a mountain. When Helga nodded, the man wasted no time, unbuckling the kilt he wore and draping it over the back of her chair, his eyes alight with vicious antic.i.p.ation. Great. Gideon figured he'd probably blown up one of his family members, too. So much for h.e.l.l being an after-death experience.

Torrence bent over Helga, much as Gideon had touched base with Anwyn first. She stroked a hand up his chest, cradling his jaw with affection. Her favorite pet grizzly. As he moved away, she leaned back against the kilt, watching him.

So did Gideon, because when Torrence emerged from the cover of the table, rounding the corner around Lord Belizar, he revealed an organ the size of a f.u.c.king tree branch. However, it wasn't that which put Gideon's mind into full refusal mode. He knew he should be able to do it, that it was just putting Tab A in Slot B, and a whole f.u.c.king heap of pain, but as Anwyn knew, it was a h.e.l.l of a lot more than that. It wasn't s.e.x Barnabus had been after. It had been humiliation, subjugation, torture . . . It was different, so different, from what he'd allowed Anwyn to do to him in the bathing chamber and every day since, no matter how compelled he felt at times.

The barbaric antic.i.p.ation in the room was suffocating. This was only the beginning. It was a test to see what he'd endure, for their obscene curiosity as well as punishment. They intended to see his blood tonight, one way or another. He'd known it, thought he'd been prepared for it, but the reality was different from the plan, right?

He shouldn't be thinking these thoughts, should be able to close it all down. Probably for the first time since he'd been marked by her, he wished with every cell of his body that he could keep Anwyn out of his mind. He didn't want her in there when this happened. He couldn't even look toward her, afraid of what he'd see, or not see. He was starting to get the shakes, deep in his abdomen and spreading out to his chest. In a few minutes he was going to shame himself by letting it get to his limbs. Then he'd go ballistic and tear Torrence's head off. He just couldn't do this.

Anwyn had tried so hard to keep him from coming to Berlin. Better than anyone, even himself, she knew this wall existed in him, a wall he couldn't push past. Yeah, Daegan had broken through further than expected, and so had she, but they'd made it past the castle walls, not into the inner bailey that guarded those really essential things, the ones that made him who he was. He was going to fail her because of what he couldn't give up there. He'd fail her, as he'd always failed the people he loved most.

Lord Welles had a quirt lying by his plate. He was toying with it, his eyes lingering on Gideon's shoulders and a.s.s with unmistakable intent. Maybe that was the follow-up, to f.u.c.k him until his internal organs bled and then open up his flesh on the outside. Bring it on. Bring it on. What was the big deal, after all? He couldn't be killed by such minor things. What was the big deal, after all? He couldn't be killed by such minor things.

"Lord Stewart, I don't believe you asked my permission to use my servant this way." Anwyn's voice was strained, making Gideon curse his weak mind anew.

"I don't have to do so, Anwyn." Stewart's voice was cool. "Until you achieve a certain rank, higher-ranking vampires may engage your servant in whatever games they desire. Because you don't know the etiquette, I am going to a.s.sume your question was ignorance, not disrespect. Seasoning a new servant is a very valuable exercise, so sit back and observe. If you do in fact get the right to keep him, it will help you prepare for interacting with other vampires. He is a valuable distraction for gaining power in the ranks of your territory. As Lord Daegan pointed out, it is not every day a vampire calls a vampire hunter to heel."

It's all right, Anwyn. Gideon viciously pushed everything else away, including his rising certainty that he was going to grab the nearest steak knife and fight his way out of the room. Gideon viciously pushed everything else away, including his rising certainty that he was going to grab the nearest steak knife and fight his way out of the room. Maybe it's t.i.t for tat. Those hookers I told you about, that I had before I met you...I used some of them pretty hard. And I killed this girl's brother, even if he did make the wrong choice of friends. Maybe it's t.i.t for tat. Those hookers I told you about, that I had before I met you...I used some of them pretty hard. And I killed this girl's brother, even if he did make the wrong choice of friends.

Shut up, Gideon.