In the Beginning... (18 page)

Her eyes opened and her gaze met his. She
shivered beneath the thick fur-lined comforter.

How do you feel, little rabbit?

Sore. And I want to go home.
You can’t keep me here indefinitely. Where’s my cousin?
She would not let him scare her anymore. He would
not know how much he intimidated her. She pushed the blanket aside
and tried to rise.

What’s your rush?
His hand stopped her movement. The blanket fell
down to reveal his chest and the strange collection of
tattoos.
We have all the time in the world
now, girl. I am in no hurry to leave this bed.

Her shivers
increased.
Forget it. All I want is to get
away from you!

He rolled her beneath him,
used that muscled chest to push her into the soft mattress. She
pushed at the muscles.
Get off
me!

He laughed. Brushed his lips against hers.
Josey froze. Would he take it past a kiss? What would she do if he
did? He kissed her again. Then pulled the blanket back and
stood.

He was unquestionably aroused, the evidence
stark against the dark cotton of his pants. He made no attempt to
hide his body from her eyes. Her fear of what he would do
increased.

He must have guessed at the expression in her
eyes.

Relax, rabbit. I will not touch you until
you ask it of me.

Josey stared at him, sure
her horror was written on her face.
I will
never ask you to touch me! You’re a monster!

It probably seems that way
to you now. But your body will overcome that fault shortly. You
will not be able to resist me. It is the Rajni way.
His arrogance was clear in the smile he shot at
her.
Until then, we must meet the others
for a small bit of business. Then we will return here, and I will
decide what to do with you.

He yanked the blankets
back.
Come, your cousins await. As does the
king of our people.

My cousins? Not just Emily?

No. Two more. Come, I know you want to see
them. Plot against me, and all. Now, up.

His hands gave her no
choice, pulling her to the side of his bed. He was relentless and
Josey found herself sitting on the edge of the mattress while he
stared down at her.
What are you staring
at?

You. I’ve waited a long time for you.

What do you mean?

You are my mate. And not what I expected.
Come.

He should have told her
more. Should have explained how Rajnis thrived when together and
hurt when apart. Explained how he had waited six hundred plus years
for her. Made it clear how they would be together for the remainder
of their days. He kept his hand wrapped around her forearm as he
led her to the main conference room. He would meet with Rydere then
take his
Rajni
back
to the suite and tend to her.

Then he would figure out what to tell his
sister and his niece about this girl.

Where are you taking me
now?
The bite of her words was evident in
the question. His
Rajni
was spirited; he wasn’t sure he approved of that
fact.

To meet the others. I need to speak with
Dahr Rydere about a few things—and I don’t trust you in the room by
yourself. I could tie you again…

She rubbed her wrists, and
Cormac suppressed the guilt that flooded him. Her skin was rough
and abraded; rope burns clear for everyone to see. He had done that
to her, his
Rajni
.
The one woman he was to protect above all others and he had
deliberately hurt her.

The black mark would be on his soul for many
centuries to come.

The meeting with
Dahr
Rydere, Theo the
Precognitive, and Aodhan the Warrior, lasted less than fifteen
minutes. And it brought disturbing news. Theo predicted danger to
his
Rajni
. Cormac
made a silent vow that he would do whatever was necessary to
protect her. He could do no less.

His
Rajni
spent most of the time receiving
comfort from her two older cousins. Cormac kept part of his
attention in her mind and the rest on the conversation with
Rydere.

She was comforted by her cousins’ presence,
yet worried for their safety as well as her own. Frightened, as
were the three women who resembled her. So young.

It had been wrong of them to target these
young women for their vengeance. They should have focused on Leo
Taniss’s children instead of grandchildren. Or Leo Taniss
himself.

She fought when he pulled
her from the couch. He tightened his hold on her wrists, surprised
when she still fought. Stubborn woman.
Come!

Her cousins held on to her,
protesting when he tried to pull her closer. He growled at them,
low and mild. She was his, they had no right to interfere. Their
Rajnis growled in return; the response not unexpected. No male
liked when another threatened their females.
Jocelyn! Do not resist! It will not go well for you if you
do!

Just let us go!
She protested within her mind, his, but her body
was unresisting as he lifted her over his shoulder. He carried her
from the room, past the
Dahr
and his small
Rajni
. The woman fed from his king,
obviously hungered.

That will not happen; I
shall never let you go.
He would have that
from his female. Her body would demand more blood soon, and he
fully intended to be the only one ever to supply her.

What was Emily doing? What has he done to
her?

You know we are not human, girl. What do you
think we are? You and your cousins are now?

Vampires do not exist.

He laughed at how quickly
her mind processed what she had seen, what he had implied.
Yet you see the evidence with your own eyes. So
what do you think she is doing? Giving him the mother of all
hickies?

That’s disgusting!

Why? They are Rajnis,
rabbit. Their bodies
crave
each other. Like ours do.
He ran a suggestive hand up the jean covered legs, stopping
just beneath her ass cheeks.
You are just
being stubbornly resistant. Apparently your small cousin has less
will-power than you.

Or he’s forcing her!

There is no force involved in a Rajni bond.
A male can do no other than protect and coddle his female.

Like
you
have coddled me? I’d rather be
dead!

Emily had looked so strange, clinging to that
man. What must she look like thrown over this one’s shoulder?

He said her body would begin to crave his.
Would it?

Her
scientific—
physician’s—
mind refused to accept what he had said. Vampires were not
real, and she was not being held by one. It could be a
psychological disorder, mass hysteria.

Josey knew the truth.
He
was
real. And
the sooner she accepted what she had seen, the faster she could
come up with a solution to get herself and her family away from
him, them, all of it.

But she would never drink his blood.

She stayed quiet as he carried her away from
her cousins and back down the hall they’d taken just half an hour
before. Why did he keep carrying her around, only to give her bare
minutes with her family? Was he doing it to assert his control over
her?

Some sort of dominance?

She wasn’t a stupid woman, by any means.
She’d graduated top of her class in medical school. She could deal
with the facts and data she had been given. Then she could find a
solution.

Go ahead and try.
His hand patted her on the butt after he
spoke.
I will enjoy the game.
He carried her into his suite and dumped her on
her feet. Josey stared up at him.

So what am I supposed to do now?

Take a bath. You need one. I will find you
other clothes to wear.

Just like that? I’m just
supposed to take a freaking
bath
? You’ve kidnapped me, hurt me, my
family,
and I am just supposed to take
a
bath
? What about
the fact that I’d be at work right now if you hadn’t screwed me
over? My partner is probably worried sick, wondering why I missed
picking her up for our commute! I have a
life,
or have you not considered that?
My cousins, too! But don’t worry, I’ll be happy to take a
bath!

She wanted to hit him; if he
hadn’t been so big she probably would have. Instead she jerked
around him and headed toward the door to the bathroom. She’d take
the damned bath, then the instant his back was turned she was
finding her dog and her cousins.
And stay
out of my head!

Cormac watched his female
stomp off, her blonde hair swaying against her back. It was
filthy—she was filthy. Uncared for. He made a silent vow that she
would never be in such a condition again. It was a matter of
pride—
his
female
would be prized and cherished. No one would look at her and doubt
that again—not like the
Dahr
of his people had just that morning.

He needed
things
for her. She was
female, and females wanted things. He needed clothes, jewelry,
shoes, purses, sashes and scarves.

She’d had a life and he’d taken that from
her. How long would it take her to forgive him that? Probably a
very long time.

He waited until the sound of
running water was heard through the bathroom door, then hit a
button on the intercom. Seamstresses among his people still
existed, and as
Equa—
the highest female, mated to the highest ranking male of a
family—of the Jareth family, she deserved only the best.

Fifteen minutes later and the head seamstress
of his people knocked on the suite door. Five minutes later and
he’d requested a full wardrobe for his female.

She still hadn’t returned from the bath. He
reminded himself to be patient, that she had been through a trauma
and was bound to be wary of him. But dammit, he was never a patient
man. He rapped his fist against the door before remembering she
wouldn’t hear the sound.

Woman! Hurry it up!

Bite me!

Josey didn’t know why she kept responding to
him as she did. He could kill her, of that she had no doubt. But
had she ever been so angry with anyone before?

She sank deeper into the large bath, letting
the warm water sink into her skin. He was out there, waiting for
her. Like he had been in her home.

What would he do if she
didn’t obey him?
Would
he eventually kill her?

Did he honestly believe she was some type of
destined mate? Was he insane? He certainly didn’t seem to be and
there were apparently others with similar mindsets in this place.
Mickey, Mal, and Emily had all been brought here. What was the
reason? It had to be something someone in their family had done.
Rand? Her father? Both had made enemies over the years; her father
said that happened occasionally in business. Her grandfather? The
man was over eighty—what could he have done to anger these people
so badly they would kill to get revenge?

Who had been the true target?

Female!

He was in her head
again.
Leave me alone! And I have a
name!

She heard his sigh in her
head; it was full of male impatience.
Jocelyn. It is time for dinner. You want to see your cousins
and do more plotting against me, don’t you?

She hesitated before
answering, then told herself not to be so foolish. She needed time
to plan and needed the information her cousins could give her to
make that plan.
I’m getting out
now!

I would be happy to assist you.

I think I’ll pass—I remember the last time
you helped me out of the bathtub. You could have killed me, you
bastard!

I am…sorry. Had I known you
were my
Rajni
I
would have treated you with the care you deserve.

So now that you think I’m that whatever, I’m
deserving of basic respect? Wow. Bet you were fun to date in high
school!

I never went to high school, such a thing
did not exist when I was a boy. I did not learn to read until I was
over two hundred, little rabbit.

Josey’s eyes flashed toward
the door. Had he said…?
How old are
you?

Six hundred and twelve or thirteen. I am not
entire sure.

How can you not be sure?

We didn’t exactly keep clear records back in
the early 1400s.

You’re crazy. There is no way you're that
old. Your body would have broken down long before you’re ninetieth
birthday!

You forget, I am not human. It is not
uncommon for us to live to be two or three thousand years old. I am
considered a young man by my Kind’s standards. You…you are a mere
babe.

I’m not one of you. I never
will be. You’re an animal.
That thought had
her pausing. Guilt flooded her that she had forgotten such an
integral part of her life.
What did you do
with my dog? Where’s Freedom?