“You need blood. You will shield your mind at all times. If you feel a compulsion to send out a call, merge your mind with mine. I will carry you away from this place to one more inaccessible and far easier to defend. Do not make the mistake of attempting to defy me in this, Savannah. With your life at risk, I will not tolerate rebellion.”
If he expected her to answer him, he could wait for all eternity. This was an order, the dictator commanding her with his hard authority. It didn’t require an answer, and she refused to dignify it with one.
His fingers shackled her wrist and pulled her to him. His body was hard, like the trunk of a tree, completely immovable. She could find no softness or gentleness anywhere, not in his body, not in his mind. Had his earlier tenderness all been an illusion, like his trick with the diamonds? She wanted to cry with shame, but she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her weakness.
Gregori launched himself into the air, taking her with him, her weight seeming to him no more than that of a feather. They rose from the bedchamber and proceeded up through the house to the higher levels. An order released the wolves onto the grounds, into the immense preserve. They could hunt for themselves, leave if it became necessary. His only obligation, his only concern, was saving Savannah’s life. He would send word to Aidan Savage to take proper care of the animals the moment she was safe. The enemy was far stronger, far more organized than Gregori had expected, and Savannah was their target. They had a plan, a scheme they had obviously worked out well in advance of her coming to the city. Gregori would do anything to protect her. Anything.
She lay quietly in his arms, deliberately closing her mind to his. It didn’t matter, of course; he had been able to slip in and out of her mind at will since she was an infant. He had always known she could never really love him, would never accept his dominion over her. How could she when she could never really know who he was? He had not expected the terrible wrenching, the knife twisting in his heart, deeper even, right into his soul.
The night was drawing to a close. Two hours, perhaps, before the sun came up. The vampires would need sanctuary, and if they were arrogant enough to think his home would provide it to them, they would be in for a nasty surprise. Gregori snarled silently as he burst into the open sky with Savannah.
Gregori tried to block out the hurt of Savannah’s rejection. She needed time to understand him. And they had an eternity. She thought herself sentenced to a lifetime with a demon. He believed she was right. She was weak from refusing to take blood because she had mistakenly believed such deprivation would allow her access to the sun. Her health was of paramount importance.
He sent forth a call. Instantly, two men and a woman from a cabin beside the river moved at his bidding to meet him in the shelter of a grove of pine and oak trees. His feet touched earth, but he carried Savannah to the trio.
“You will feed,” he told her silkily, expecting her defiance.
“Am I your puppet, too, Gregori?” she asked softly. “Is this going to be the pattern of our life together? Why do you need me as your lifemate when you can have any human woman do as you wish without a fight?”
The contempt in her voice fanned the pain burning his insides. The emotion was totally unfamiliar to him. “I have neither the time nor the inclination to spar with you, Savannah. Feed.” He set her on her feet.
“Do you think I will do so only under compulsion?” She tilted her chin at him, a clear challenge. “I do not need your help.” Without looking at him again, she turned toward the taller of the two males.
Gregori stepped back, wary of her reaction. His silver eyes glittered. She was baiting a tiger.