Even Daniel generally left The Erotic Passage alone.

When a tremor ran through Lucian and he grimaced, Rumy left his place by the desk, passed by Lucian, then held his hand gesturing into the hallway beyond. “I’ve got a room set up for you both. You can be private, talk a little, get to know each other. I already had your clothes brought in from Uruguay.” Lucian had a home there, one Rumy had access to for exactly this reason. Rumy was one of the few vampires on the planet he trusted with his life.

“Much appreciated.”

Lucian had been through blood-madness recovery more than once, so he knew what to expect. But it always surprised him how long it took to get rid of the initial debilitating and dangerous symptoms—which could hit at all the wrong moments.

As Rumy headed down one of the restricted hallways in his club complex, Lucian followed him. “So how did Claire come to be here?”

“Daniel held her prisoner in Florida, using her to watch after a boy he’d been holding captive there. That’s what she’s been doing for the past two years, taking care of him.”

“He wanted her as a nanny?” This didn’t make sense.

“Daniel never does anything for just one reason. You know about Adrien, right?”

“Not exactly. I saw him a couple of times with the woman who took him out of the Himalayan prison.”

“That’s Lily. They’re together now. She bound him, the way Claire bound you. Josh was her son, the boy Claire took care of. You starting see how this wheel turns?”

“Not yet.”

“Daniel chose Lily—plucked her from the human world, just as he did Claire. Both women have strong vampire markers, real potential in our world. Wouldn’t you say that’s true about Claire? I mean, think about the disguise she made.”

“You’re right. Even Daniel couldn’t see through it.”

“Lily had other abilities, but mostly she could track things.”

It all began making sense. “So Daniel’s original intention had been to use these women to bind us and create tracking pairs.”

“Yes. But he’s lost control of the process, thanks to Lily and now Claire.”

“And he’s after the weapon.”

“More than the sharp points of his fangs, Daniel wants that extinction weapon. He knows that if he can get hold of it, he can rule forever.”

“Over my dead body.”

“I’ve sent out rumors that Claire escaped from her captors by herself but the truth is I helped get her out along with the chains you’re now wearing.”

“Then Daniel had the chains ready to go, which means he had this planned all along.”

“He’s a patient bastard. But now you and Claire are here. I’m sure he didn’t count on Claire having the ability to create that kind of disguise—and he sure as hell didn’t plan on me rescuing her.”

Rumy kept them both moving, making turns left and right in what was a real maze of a cavern system. “You’ve been a good friend, Rumy. I didn’t expect to make it out alive.”

Rumy inclined his head to the woman in his arms. “You owe your life to her. I only helped get her to Daniel’s Dark Cave system, but she did the heavy lifting.”

Lucian nodded. “So what do we know about this extinction weapon?”

“Apparently there’s more than one. Adrien destroyed the first one, and it looks like Daniel’s hot after whatever he can find that remains.”

“Is there a finite number? Two? Ten?”

“We’re not sure.”

Rumy led him through several winding back tunnels near his office, a section of the club complex that only a select few on his security staff had access to. Finally he stopped before a door, then pushed it open. “Here you are.”

The room had a basic setup, nothing special, in part because of its medical use. There were even wrist and ankle restraints on one half of the queen-sized bed. The bathroom was close, as was a nearby dresser.

A table and chairs completed the spare decor.

He moved inside and carefully settled Claire on the bed, on the side without the restraints, then removed her shoes. She was still out cold, which was for the best. She’d be hurting when she woke up.

His clothes, as well as Claire’s, hung on a nearby rack.

Rumy gestured to the dresser. “You’ll find the usual inside. Socks, underwear. The bathroom is fitted up with toiletries. You should be all set.”

Rumy took care of the details, but then as the owner of the huge sex-club complex, he had to. “I thought you could use some time alone with Claire, maybe bring her up to speed about our world. I kept the info to a minimum. She didn’t know much when I brought her here, and I didn’t want to overwhelm her. I guess Daniel had his Florida house staffed with humans, though Claire said there were vampire rumors anyway.” He glanced around. “So, can I bring you anything?”

“Claire will need food. So will I, for that matter.”

Rumy nodded. “You got it. Anything special?”

Lucian chuckled softly. “A burger would be great. Maybe some fries.”

“I’ll be back in half an hour.”

Rumy took off, closing the door behind him.

Claire stirred on the bed, moaning softly. Lucian reached for his clothes. He didn’t want her to wake up and have to face the full expanse of his naked male body again.

He dressed quickly in a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. He didn’t bother with shoes, but it felt good to have clothes on after such a long time. For the past year, though at different locations, he and his brothers had been kept in a filthy cave in the Himalayas, naked the entire time.

Tremors ran through him now as he drew a chair close to Claire’s side of the bed. He needed blood desperately, but he didn’t want to scare her.

Taking her hand in his, he rubbed the backs of her fingers gently. “Claire, I need you to wake up.”

Maybe he should have asked Rumy to send another woman to him to get this initial feeding out of the way, but he couldn’t. The blood-chains already worked on him, forcing his attention toward Claire. Besides, he’d tasted her blood; selfish bastard that he was, he wanted more of what he’d sampled.

As Claire opened her eyes, she blinked several times. Her head felt like it was trying hard to split wide open.

“Good, you’re waking up. How are you feeling?”

She turned and saw Lucian sitting beside her. She lay on a bed of some kind in a small room with very bland beige furniture and white walls.

He held her hand, a comforting gesture given the situation. “I’m okay except for the hammers pounding on the inside of my skull.”

At that, Lucian’s lips curved. “That’s funny. And unexpected.”

“I’m not much of a weeper, just thought you should know.” She closed her eyes again. “I believe I hate altered flight.”

“It can be a real bitch for humans.”

The chain at her neck vibrated softly. As she opened her eyes and once more turned to look at him, the depth of his physical need struck her. According to Rumy, he’d been deprived for a long time, at least a year. “Oh, God, Lucian, I’m sorry. Let’s get you taken care of. So how do we do this?”

She tried to sit up, but he shook his head. “Just lie still. I thought, if it’s all right with you, I’d take from your wrist. It’s much less invasive, and you can keep resting.”

“Okay. Do whatever it is you need to do. Yes, lying prone for a little while longer will be better.”

Rumy had made it clear what being chain-bound to Lucian would mean, so Claire had known this moment would come. But as he angled his shoulders, then leaned over her arm, her heart started pounding. She couldn’t believe this was happening. A vampire would soon bite her and take her blood.

She watched his fangs descend as he hovered above the collection of veins at her wrist.

He glanced up at her, his gray eyes darkening with need. “I’ll do this as gently and as quickly as I can.”

“That sounds good.” What else could she say?

She turned her head, wincing in anticipation, but she felt only the slightest prick, then his lips surrounded the wound.