A Night in the Vampire's Embrace (Paranormal BDSM) by Jennifer East Page B

time, years actually. If it succeeded, then this city would become toxic to vampires. The air itself would become poisonous. It made sense that some of their clans had found out about it, but even then, I was surprised they came after me.
    I wasn’t particularly strong. It only made sense if the vampires had dispatched hunters to take out several members of my circle. If enough of us disappeared, then the ritual would fail.
    Exhaling through my teeth, I sat up and caught the sound of rattling chains. One glance at my wrists confirmed it. Raymond had knocked me out and chained me up. The metal chains were relatively thin, but when I let my vision slide back into the mystical, I picked up on traces of magic. These chains had been enchanted.
    I chewed on the side of my cheek for a second, thinking. Under most circumstances, I could have snapped the links with a word or two. After all, metal this thin shouldn’t have been difficult to break.
    Discarding caution, I whispered the incantation. As the words made it past my lips, I felt the warmth and joy inherent in all magic. My soul seemed to flare with the joy of life until it snapped back at me. I felt the magic convert into something akin to electricity. It shot back through the chains to the manacles around my wrists and into my flesh.
    A hiss of pained frustration burst from my mouth.
    “You should be more careful,” came Raymond’s silk-soft tones. “I’d hate to see you hurt yourself.”
    I lifted my gaze and glared at him. Now he definitely knew I was awake. In spite of myself, fear prickled goose bumps all along my skin. I tried to stay calm and rational, yet there was a very good chance this man intended to end my life. Yes, he could have killed me in the street and left my body there for the police to find, plus his use of a sedative implied he wanted me for something else, but I couldn’t be certain.
    “What do you want?” I asked, working hard to keep my voice level.
    “You.” Raymond took several steps closer. His movements were fluid yet efficient. Again, I couldn’t help but think of how he moved with a hunter’s primal instincts. Power. He gave it off like an intoxicating scent, the kind that could easily prove addictive.
    I swallowed back my anxiety. Did he intend to feed on me? It seemed unlikely considering my abilities. Plus, the rest of her circle would come after me. He had to assume I had connections. Very few magical practitioners worked alone. He had to understand the risk he was taking.
    “What do you want with me?” Again, I kept her gaze level. I met his dark eyes. The hues of crystalline blue threatened to swallow me. He might have been one of the hypnotic vampires, but I trusted in my ability to resist his powers. I had trained for this. Maybe I couldn’t defeat him in hand-to-hand combat or blast him with magic, but the interior of my mind belonged to me. If he wanted to fight there, he was going to lose.
    “Tonight, you and your friends were going to try to murder me. You’re going to help me make sure that doesn’t happen.”
    “How did you find out about that?”
    Raymond smiled and bowed his head, like the idea of turning this into a serious discussion made it impossible for him to concentrate. “Really?” he asked, glancing back at me. “You want to know how I discovered your little plot?”
    “If you know about our plans, then you know this city will become toxic for you very quickly. Wouldn’t it be smarter for you to just get out of town?” I shaped my mouth into a calculating smile. If he had been any other human, I might have frightened him.
    As things stood, my attempt at bravado only made his grin widen further. This time, he allowed his lips to part, revealing the pair of fangs. I swallowed back my fear but somehow managed to keep from looking away.
    “No. I want to stop your ritual.”
    “You can’t,” I said, my voice quaking as he came closer. He moved in silence, a graceful creature of the dark. He