Bound By Darkness Read Free Page A

island, then why didn’t you?” she demanded.
    â€œBecause I couldn’t rescue my brothers without alerting the guards.”
    â€œSo you stayed?”
    He frowned, puzzled by her curiosity. “I wasn’t leaving them behind. Does that surprise you?”
    An unreadable emotion rippled over her beautiful face before it was swiftly wiped away.
    â€œSylvermysts aren’t renowned for their generous hearts or noble natures. As Tearloch proved.”
    Ariyal couldn’t argue.
    Sylvermyst had a long, well-earned reputation for their cruel natures and hunger for violence, but he’d be damned if he allowed a cold-hearted leech to judge him.
    Not after everything he’d sacrificed to save his people.
    â€œTearloch’s frightened and ... confused,” he admitted. “Once I track him down I’ll convince him of the error of his ways.”
    â€œYou mean, he’ll do as you want or you’ll kill him?”
    â€œAh, you understand me so well, poppet.”
    â€œI understand that you’re a bastard who is out to save your own worthless skin,” she charged.
    â€œGood. Then I don’t have to convince you that I will happily leave you here to rot unless you agree to do exactly as I say.”
    A frigid smile curved her lips. “Don’t be a moron. If I disappear the Anasso will send out a dozen warriors to search for me.”
    â€œHe can send out a hundred if he wants. They’ll never be able to sense you behind the mists.” His gaze lingered on her lush, full lips, easily imagining the pleasure they could bring a man. With a growl, he took an instinctive step closer, ignoring the danger. “Face it, poppet, they already assume you’re dead.”
    â€œThen they’ll hunt you down and execute you. There’s nowhere you can go they won’t find you.”
    He grasped her chin, staring down at the eyes that had lost their ice to flash with indigo fire. His gut twisted with need.
    â€œI spent centuries in the harem of Morgana le Fey. Leeches don’t scare me.”
    â€œWhat does scare you?”
    â€œThis ...”
    Ignoring the fangs that could rip out his throat with one swipe, not to mention the claws that could dig through solid concrete, Ariyal leaned forward and claimed her mouth in a kiss of pure possession.
    Mine ...

Chapter 2
    Jaelyn was never taken by surprise.
    Never.
    She was a Hunter. A vigilant, razor-sharp warrior with such superior skills that she’d been taken by the Addonexus (the vampire equivalent of black ops) mere weeks after she’d been turned.
    And even with her natural skills, she’d still been trained for years before being allowed to leave the secret compound.
    Tracking, weapons, martial arts, psychological warfare, and the latest tech (including being able to hack into a military-grade computer system) had been drilled into her with brutal efficiency over the past fifty years.
    But this damned Sylvermyst had kept her flat-footed and constantly one step behind him.
    She wanted to believe it was some mystic fey crap.
    After all, a vampire’s one vulnerability was magic, and since it was believed that the Sylvermyst had been banished along with their master, the Dark Lord, she’d never been taught what sort of nefarious tricks Ariyal might be hiding behind his too-pretty face.
    It would explain how he’d managed to escape from an iron-lined cell after she’d captured him. And how he could catch her off guard to yank her through a portal and bring her to this godforsaken island.
    And how he could claim her lips in a kiss that shut down her brain, as well as most of her higher motor skills.
    His mouth was deliciously warm, demanding a response, and for a crazed moment she allowed the blinding pleasure to sear through her, the tips of her toes curling in her boots. It was only when she was actually swaying toward the hard temptation of his body that she was wrenched out of the