Read Online Prince of Twilight by MAGGIE SHAYNE - Free Book Online Page A

relaxed a little, and he rewarded her by sliding his fingers into her again. In, and then out. Over and over. “Give yourself to the pleasure, my beautiful Tempest. Give yourself to me.”
    â€œYou’ll hurt me…destroy me.”
    â€œIf that’s my will, there is no point in fighting it.Surrender to me, Tempest. Let go.” He worked her body and her mind, bending to take her breast in his mouth again, in his teeth, using his thumb to torment her clitoris while his fingers drove deeper into her, until he felt her give way. She writhed and moaned as the orgasm gripped her, and he spoke to her mind, commanding her to remain asleep, to remember it all as no more than a pleasant dream. Her body jerked and shuddered with her release, and she whispered his name over and over as she came.
    He caressed her until the last shivers finished, until the spasms eased and she calmed slowly back down. He stroked her body and, leaning close her ear, whispered that she was his, that her will belonged to him, and that she would trust him, believe what he told her and do what he bade her, always. He tugged the blankets over her body and tucked her in tightly.
    â€œYou’ve hurt me,” she whispered. “You never came back to me, Vlad. You only came now for the ring. And now you have it!”
    She was getting agitated. He soothed her, stroking her hair, her cheeks. “I don’t have it Tempest. I didn’t take it.”
    â€œYou don’t? You didn’t? But you want it. And you have to know…have to know… Even Melina knows.”
    â€œKnows what?”
    Her head twisted from side to side on the pillows, her eyelids beginning to flutter rapidly without quite opening. “You don’t care, do you? You want to clear the way for her to come back, even if it means my soul. You want me dead. Nothing can hurt more than that.”
    â€œYou will trust me, Tempest. Your will is mine. I own your soul. Know that, and stop fighting it. You’ll do my bidding, whatever that might entail. But for now, sleep, Tempest. Just sleep.”
    She relaxed slightly, and as he continued petting her, rubbing her shoulders and neck, she calmed down, bit by bit.
    â€œI love you, Vlad,” she whispered. “I never wanted to. But I do.”
    He didn’t know how to respond to such a declaration. It shocked him. He’d hoped, secretly, that she still harbored feelings for him, because it would make doing what he had to do easier if he could do it with her cooperation. But he’d never imagined those feelings could be so intense, especially since he’d erased her memory of the time they had spent together.
    She rolled onto her side and relaxed as he gently urged her mind into an even deeper sleep, a dreamless, restful sleep.
    He rose then, went into the bathroom, washed his hands of her scent, her essence, with no little rush of regret, and then splashed cold water onto his face.
    He hadn’t intended what had just happened between them. And yet, he’d learned far more than he’d ever hoped to learn. He knew now that she wasn’t working for the Sisterhood of Athena—not really. She didn’t know anything about them, didn’t trust them any more than he did. He knew that she hadn’t stolen the ring. But she intended to find the ring and destroy it, and he knew why. She feared that ring—feared wearing it would be the death of her soul, and would result in her body being surrendered to an intruder.
    And so it would.
    And he’d learned that she loved him. Tempest loved him, and it hurt her to believe that he didn’t love her in return. That he would choose Elisabeta over her. Even if it meant her life.
    Above all else, he’d learned something more vital than anything else. Tempest believed herself immune to invasion from Elisabeta in her dreams. But she was wrong. Elisabeta had been there. She’d heard, felt, experienced, all of it.