Domitian woke on the bathroom floor with Sarita draped across his chest. He didn’t remember passing out and falling back, taking her with him, but he must have. He reached up to feel his head. There was no cut or bump, but there was dried blood. He’d obviously taken a good head banging as he hit the floor. It made him glad he hadn’t been awake for it.
Domitian peered down at the top of Sarita’s head, glad she had landed on top of him. He never would have forgiven himself if she’d got hurt. Life mate sex could be damned dangerous for a mortal, at least when it ended, and was therefore best performed only on soft surfaces. He knew that, but had got carried away in the moment.
Next time he’d take more care, Domitian vowed silently, and ran a hand gently over Sarita’s hair. She’d been even more passionate and responsive than he’d expected when he’d sent those images out to her of what he wanted to do to her. Domitian had merely hoped they would excite her and soften her attitude toward him, so he’d been more than surprised by her reaction. Pleasantly surprised, but surprised. The woman was a powder keg of passion.
And she was his, Domitian thought with satisfaction. Finally, his patience had been rewarded and he was here with his life mate in his arms and all was right with the world.
Well, not all, he thought suddenly as he looked around the room.
Domitian hadn’t been thinking very clearly since waking up chained to the table in the basement. He’d like to blame it on whatever drug had been used to keep him asleep, but he knew that wasn’t the case. He’d been suffering a bad case of life mate–head; the inability to think past his desire to possess the woman presently lying unconscious on his chest. It had passed for now, but he knew it would be back, and probably at the most inopportune time. Which meant he had to think while he could, and now that he was doing that, several questions were coming to mind.
Where the hell were they?
And why were they there?
His gaze dropped to Sarita and Domitian had a vague recollection of her saying something about Dressler drugging and dropping her here too. Why? What was the man up to? Why had he kidnapped them and then put them together in this house? For that matter, why had he kidnapped all those other immortals? Were they each in other houses, wondering the same thing?
Domitian didn’t know, but he was pretty sure that as pleasant as things were at that moment, whatever plans Dressler had for him and Sarita didn’t include an ending he would like. They needed to get out of there.
And he needed blood, Domitian thought, becoming aware of the gnawing in his stomach.
Glancing down to Sarita, he gave her a gentle shake to wake her. When that had no effect, he eased her gently off him and to the side to lie on the cold tile, then got quickly to his feet and bent to scoop her up off the floor. She didn’t even stir as he carried her into the bedroom and set her in the bed.
Domitian stared down at her for a minute, taking in her sweet face in repose. You’d never guess how prickly and stubborn she could be from how she looked now, he thought wryly. And then his gaze slid down to her body and his thoughts turned to her passion. Her breasts were still exposed above the neckline he’d tugged under them, showing that her nipples were no longer hard. And her legs had fallen open a bit when he’d set her down, leaving a perfect view of what he’d been so eager to taste.
Domitian licked his lips, suddenly hungry to taste her again. He almost did just that, almost crawled onto the bed with her to lick away the dried blood as he’d wanted to do earlier and then taste her essence. It was the licking away the dried blood that kept him from climbing into bed for round two. Domitian would have had no compunction about licking fresh blood from her body should she have freshly cut herself, but dried blood was something else. It was just nasty. Even thinking about doing that told him how much he needed to feed.
Sighing with regret, Domitian turned away and left the room to make his way to the office and downstairs. It wasn’t until he reached the bottom of the stairs that he recalled the glass everywhere.
Domitian paused, briefly considering just walking through it again, but that and his head wound were the reason he needed blood again so soon. The nanos had forced the glass from his foot as he’d knelt to remove her splinters. They had also repaired the small cuts from the china as well as his head injury and now needed more blood. There was no sense adding to their need.
Turning on his heel, he returned upstairs to fetch a broom and dustpan from the kitchen.
Sarita stretched happily and rolled onto her back in bed. She felt great. Awesome. Incredible. She hadn’t felt this good in a long time, if ever, and she owed it all to—
Her eyes blinked open and she stared blankly up at her own reflection. It told her that she was alone in the bed, but—Dear God, the ceiling is mirrored above the open bed frame! How tacky was that? And how had she not noticed that when she’d woken up here earlier?
Obviously, she hadn’t looked up. Tilting her head, Sarita wondered what it would have been like to have watched her and Domitian having sex. Probably not that great, she decided. Watching herself writhe and moan while Domitian had done the things he’d done . . . well, frankly, it would have taken her right out of the moment.
Which would have been a shame, because she hadn’t had her pipes cleaned like that in a heck of a long time, Sarita thought with a grin and then quickly groaned and closed her eyes.
“Snap out of it,” she ordered herself grimly, but it wasn’t easy. He was sooo hot, and man, she’d never experienced sex like that, hadn’t even imagined it was possible. Unfortunately, her Catholic upbringing was warring with the woman she’d grown into, an independent female cop who had no qualms about going after what she wanted. It was all leaving Sarita an extremely confused woman. One part of her brain was telling her she had been very naughty and should head to the nearest priest for confession. The other part was suggesting if she was going to have to do penance anyway, she really should find Domitian and jump him again.
Dear God, she’d really done that! Sarita shook her head at her reflection with dismay. After her grand lecture to him that there would be no kissy, kissy, gropey, gropey and no sexo, she’d gone ahead and started it herself! She’d kissed him.
Oh, the shame! Oh, the humiliation! Oh . . . she wanted to do it again.
Opening her eyes, Sarita met her gaze in the reflection above and said solemnly, “You are obviously a very confused woman.”
And God, what a mess she was, Sarita thought as she noted the dried blood everywhere. It was on her face, her chest, her hands, legs, and feet. And her nightgown? That was a tangle around her waist leaving everything else bare.
She looked like a two-bit whore whose last John had been a slasher.
“Ugh,” Sarita said with disgust and forced herself from the bed. She needed a shower and a good stiff drink. Alternately, she needed a shower and a good stiff Domitian, she thought. And then she shook her head.
“You are incorrigible, Sarita Reyes,” she muttered to herself as she headed into the bathroom. “Your father is up there somewhere in heaven, his head hung low with disappointment and shame, and all you can think about is . . .”
Sarita stopped talking to herself as she reached the shower and quickly turned on the taps. But her thoughts didn’t stop there, because all she was thinking about as she fetched a towel, shampoo, and soap was just how mind-blowing and hot sex with Domitian had been.
Dressler had said life mate sex was like no other and she couldn’t agree more. He’d also said it was overwhelming and stuff, and he hadn’t been kidding. If what she had experienced was all due to those nanos he’d mentioned, then damn! They were one fine invention and she was all for them, Sarita thought as she stripped off the ruined nightgown and robe and stepped into the shower to begin shampooing her hair.
Unfortunately, or perhaps fortunately, thoughts of Dressler were enough to dampen her wayward desires and Sarita’s mind turned instead to what El Doctor wanted as she rinsed the shampoo from her hair. Why had he put her there with Domitian? Sarita wondered as she began quickly scrubbing the soap over her body, removing the dried blood.
In the letter he’d said he hoped to learn a lot from her stay here. What exactly was it he hoped to learn? He’d already known about life mate sex, so that wasn’t it. Unless he had cameras here and hoped to see it for himself.