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“No.” Stella reached up, touching her face, which was coated in a layer of sweat. “It’s very warm in here, isn’t it?”
Peri felt a light touch on her shoulder and she glanced up to meet Valen’s steady gaze. He tilted his head to the side, indicating he wanted her to move away from the chair. Peri instantly straightened and stepped to the side. A vampire could crush a human mind with a mere thought. But manipulating it took more effort. And the longer they held the connection, the more difficult it was to keep the fragile mind from being destroyed. Stella was obviously reaching the edge of a mental collapse.
Valen took her place, crouching in front of the woman, who started to shake with convulsive shudders.
“Stella, look at me,” he commanded.
Unable to resist the power in his voice, Stella met the silver gaze. Slowly the shivers halted and a dreamy expression softened her features.
“You are so beautiful,” she breathed, her hand lifting. “Can I touch you?”
Valen neatly avoided her seeking hand. “Later.”
“Do you promise?”
“Yes.” Valen waited until Stella dropped her hand. “Are you listening to me?”
Stella heaved a deep sigh of pleasure as she drank in Valen’s stunning beauty. It wasn’t just his compulsion that caused her infatuated smile. Any woman would be captivated to be so close to this male.
“Every word,” she promised.
“Good.” Valen placed the tips of his fingers against her forehead. “Tonight when the sun goes down, you’re going to experience an overwhelming urge to visit your brother at his hideout.”
Stella made a strangled sound. “No, I swore never to go there. Not again. He was so angry when he found out that I’d followed him. I told him I was only worried because he’d been acting so strangely, but he didn’t speak to me for days after that.” Tears formed in her eyes. “How was I supposed to know it was a secret?”
Peri felt a stab of hope. The Pascal siblings were obviously close; the fact that Richard had something he wanted to hide from his sister meant it had to be important to him.
“He’s in trouble.” Valen trailed his fingers to her cheek. “You need to go to him.”
Stella gasped, starting to rise. “In trouble?”
Valen placed his hand on her shoulder to hold her in place. “You can’t go to him until nightfall.”
“I don’t want to wait.”
“You won’t remember you need to find him until the sun sets.” Valen waited for her to stop struggling. “Do you understand?”
She jerked her head in a nod. “Yes.”
“Good.” Valen patted her shoulder. “You’re going to forget you were here—”
“No, please,” Stella interrupted in a pleading voice. “I want to remember you. Please.”
“Relax,” Valen urged. “Clear your mind.”
“So pretty.”
“Sleep.”
Stella gave one last valiant effort to resist Valen’s soft command, then with a wide yawn she slumped back in the chair, her eyes closing as her head flopped toward her chest.
Valen straightened and motioned toward the waiting demons. “Take her home and keep a watch on her house.”
The larger demon nodded, and with minimum fuss had the snoring woman slung over his shoulder and headed for the door. The second demon followed behind him. The fact that they hadn’t hesitated indicated that the local vampire, Micha, had told them to obey Valen without question.
Interesting.
Waiting until they’d left the room and closed the door behind them, Peri turned to study Valen’s hard expression.
