no one enters my bedroom.” Or my bed . It was sacred space. As was the room that lay beyond. The one he’d constructed for a very special, long-term guest he hoped would be arriving soon.
“Turn around and put your hands on the piano,” he commanded.
Her eyes flashed and her nostrils flared as she drew nearer. “So you don’t have to look at me? Is that it?”
With every look, every word she uttered, this female was growing more tiresome. In fact, Syn was wondering why he’d chosen her in the first place. With all the willing and wet hopefuls, why had he gone for curt and derisive? Both were heavy with emotional undertones—and he didn’t do emotions. Only physical, animallike need. Hot, hard, release-filled fucking.
He regarded her with a lift of one dark brow. “Your choice, female. And it’s a very simple one. The piano or the door.”
Her mouth twitched. “You’re really something—you know that?”
He glared at her. Was that humor in her expression? He didn’t think so. In fact, he was starting to believe this encounter was a grand mistake. He cocked his head. “I’ll walk you out. My driver’s downstairs. He’ll make sure you get home without a problem.”
“I don’t need a driver, asshole.” She grinned wide. “I’ve got wings.”
Before Synjon could draw his next breath, two males rushed him from opposite sides of the room. Growling and snarling, they bodychecked him so bloody hard he lost his vision for a few seconds. What the hell . . . ?
Widening his stance, he shook his head, trying to clear his vision. He was a natural fighter and a seasoned killer, but over the past week, ever since Cruen had bled his emotions, his instincts had been slightly off. He was slower to react. And it showed now.
“I want to kill him,” he heard the female say.
“We can’t,” said one of the males.
“No,” said the other. “But we could hurt him a little.”
Even without full use of his sight, Synjon felt the steady heat come up behind him. He whirled around and shoved his elbow into the neck of one of the males, followed by a fierce head butt to the face. He heard a whoosh of air, and the male’s bloodscent rushed into his nostrils. Familiar . Not vampire .
But whether enemy or estranged ally he wasn’t sure.
Someone grabbed his arms, pinned them behind his back. Syn growled and slammed his head back, meeting flesh and bone.
“Fuck!” cried one of the males.
“Don’t let go!” yelled another.
Cuffs were snapped around Syn’s wrists and he was hit from behind by something hard, maybe metal. Not once, but twice. Then something smacked into his skull, and his vision went gray. He went down, knees, belly, head. Again he shook his head, willed his eyes to open and focus. His vision returned just as he was flipped over onto his back. He was about to shoot to his feet when one dirty, black boot clamped down on his windpipe while the other slammed him mercilessly in the groin.
Stars glittered on his retinas as one of the males loomed over him and uttered tersely, “Do you remember us, vampire?”
“Cats,” Syn hissed through gritted teeth. “Fucking pussycats.”
“That’s right. Val and I are taking you back to where it all began.” He pressed harder on Syn’s throat. “You’re going to feed our sister.”
No air was getting through. He fought to keep his eyes open, his brain functioning.
“And your cub.”
The glass door opened and Synjon felt a blast of cold air move over him. Weight lifted off his airway, and he was shoved to his feet.
“Ready to go for a ride, asshole?” the female said, moving out onto the terrace.
“Not interested anymore, love,’ Synjon rasped. “Not sure if I ever was.”
Suddenly Synjon dropped down, and in a series of quick, powerful moves, he sent his foot into the gut of one male and his knee into the other.
The pussy brothers were bloody well kidding themselves. Even with the fucked-up vision and the slow reaction time, he