Page 70 of The Vampire's Redemption

Release me!she screamed as he carried her frozen form to bed. She had never demanded anything from him before, had never lost her temper. She only wanted his happiness. His approval.

His stony countenance remained no matter how much she begged, cried, or railed at him. Tears streamed down her face, but even that failed to sway him. Who was he? Where was her adoring mate?

“This is for the best,” he said before leaving the room.

Metal bars clicked into place from the other side.

No. Felix, come back!she screamed until pain dug into her skull from the effort. His power still locked her in place, but he couldn’t, no, he wouldn’t leave her like this, unable to even move, would he?

When Felix’s footsteps faded from her hearing, the force trapping her vanished. Gabby sprinted to the door and pounded her fists on it. It didn’t budge; the wood didn’t even dent under her vampire strength.

She was weak. Too weak.

But she didn’t stop, driven by the whirlwind of fury and fear and despair inside her.

“Please, please, let me go.” The words came out in wrenching gasps. “Please… please…”

Present Day

“Tesoro mio.”

Felix’s voice. The bastard. How dare he lock her away?

Tesoro mio, it’s a dream. Just a dream.The warmth of his calloused hand along her chin.

A dream. Yes, just a dream,she thought.

Love and tenderness flooded her, washing away the dream’s desolate anguish. Felix’s mouth was on hers, gentle and coaxing. Desire unfurled, like a sleeping dragon, and invaded her senses.

She sighed and turned into him, her body flush against his. Her hands trailed along the ridges of his pecs down to his stomach, savoring how his muscles tensed beneath her touch.

His finger played against her folds, teasing her. Her hips moved against him, begging him for more.

Yes,she moaned, when she felt his hard length at her entrance.

He entered her in one quick stroke. Gabby’s eyes snapped open in shocked bliss. Her gasp was lost to his sensual kiss. He moved at a steady pace, dragging out the pleasure. She thought he’d wrung every bit of need from her earlier, but as her body welcomed his fullness, she knew it hadn’t been enough.

Her breathing was heavy, her pulse frantic, when his lips broke from hers only to trail down her jaw to her throat. She groaned and turned her head, exposing her neck for his bite. One of his hands squeezed her breasts while the other pressed against her nub. Her hips bucked against him, desperate for more.

“Felix…” His name slipped out as a prayer.

“So impatient,” he hissed, though she sensed his need for urgency through their mating bond as well.

She ground against him, spurring him to go faster. As it always was with him, she was a being of pure feeling. His tantalizing scent. Being stretched so full. Flames of desire consuming her.

“Felix!”

His teeth sank into her, and her body simply exploded. Felix’s pace quickened, drawing out her orgasm even as he climaxed, roaring her name. The pleasure seemed to go on forever, their combined bliss flooding down the mating bond, inundating their senses.

Gabby’s head hung forward as Felix stopped drinking. She shuddered while he licked away the last drops. Felix lifted her above him; her lips were flush against the pounding pulse in his throat.

Mouthwatering.Gabby’s fangs extended. She licked his skin. A hint of salt and the sea. Hunger cramped her stomach into an aching knot. All she heard was the thundering of his blood.

It was the last thing needed to renew their mating bond. To return it to its full strength after centuries apart.

An image flashed before her. Her, in a familiarly decorated room. Rich wooden furniture. Thick tapestries, which failed to hide the four stone walls of the prison. Screams and sobs as Felix left her behind. The image of him, in his armor, his helmet in one hand, as he locked her up. The pressing weight of his power locking her in place.

The click of the metal bars.