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“I still want backup,” Karoly said. “But you would be wise to have a third person—someone neutral—to keep the evidence safe. Just in case.”
“Agreed,” said Rafe.
“Very well,” Karoly said. “We will try this plan. But meanwhile,” he added, “take a night for yourself—just the two of you. You’re safe for now.”
Rafe brought my hand to his lips. “We could use a night to rest up.” Behind the cover of my hand, his tongue touched my palm in a sexy lick that made my inner thighs constrict.
His father’s black eyes sparked with amusement. “Of course. You must be…exhausted from your ordeal.”
His son smirked. “Something like that.”
“Zoe.” Karoly reached out his hands to me. “My mate would have my head if I didn’t wish you welcome to our family.”
I swallowed. I was conscious of both men looking at me. I withdrew my fingers from Rafe’s grip and took his father’s outstretched hands. They were strong and cool.
“Thank you. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” That was stretching the truth a little, but a part of me actually meant it.
The Kral Primus squeezed my fingers. “And you,” he said with a smile that, for a vampire, held real warmth.
Two guards, a male and a female, greeted us in the high-rise’s marble-and-wood foyer.
Rafe gave them an easy nod. “This is my mate, Princess Zoe,” he said. “She’s to be treated like a member of the family. Inform the rest of the staff.”
Their eyes widened. “Of course, sir,” they murmured.
“We’ll be staying in for the rest of the night.” He set a hand on my lower back and ushered me into the elevator.
* * *
Rafe’s penthouse took up the top two floors of the high-rise. I had the impression of hardwood floors and warm colors. The kitchen/dining room was a warm brick-red with touches of vibrant turquoise. Rafe urged me through the foyer and into the living room past a lime couch flanked by lipstick-red chairs. The east side was a wall of specially treated dark windows with a view of a river.
I loved it. Delighted, I pulled him to a halt and looked around me.
“The colors are so bright. And it feels so homey.”
“I’ll give you the tour later.” He practically dragged me to the stainless steel staircase at the penthouse’s center.
I was giggling now. “What’s your hurry?”
“What d’you think?” He pulled me, still laughing, up the stairs. Then we were in his bedroom, a lush but cozy space with brick walls and a massive bed covered in jade burnout velvet.
His mouth came down on mine. I eagerly kissed him back. He walked me backward until my thighs hit the velvet-covered bed. I sat down, and he kneed my legs apart so he could stand between them. He framed my face with his hands and gave me another kiss.
Somehow I ended up on my back, my booted feet still on the floor, Rafe over me. He put his forearms on either side of my head, his body pressing mine into the mattress.
My nipples prickled. He rocked his hips against mine.
He gave me a slow, toe-curling kiss, then raised up long enough to remove my T-shirt and bra. His fangs scraped my throat.
I tensed, and then my head dropped back. It was submission, but also a kind of power. Because he couldn’t walk away from this thing between us anymore than I could.
An approving growl. “Mine,” he said against my skin. “I’ll never let you go.”
My vampire liked that, because I wasn’t letting him go, either.
He dragged his lips down my throat. Kissed each of my nipples through the bra.
“I meant it, you know—what I said when we mated. I always wanted you as a mate.”
