Raging Passions by Amanda Sidhe

breath.
    He broke from her mouth and murmured, “I watched you for years. Wanting you. Falling in love with you. Waiting for the right time.”
    “For a time when you thought I would be primed for a deep, passionate love,” she added. Rage rolled her head back as Ripper lowered to kiss and nibble her collarbone.
    “Exactly,” he murmured.
    “So I could replace the one who made you.” Rage said this with no hurt or animosity. That is what she’d seen. As Ripper had tried to make her his Offspring with a deep love for him firmly in her heart, so had he been made by his master. He’d been bound with that love firmly in his heart and soul and blood. And when his master had died, he was left with such emptiness. So bereft that he’d wanted to die. So desperate that he’d searched for someone who could fill that longing for love and companionship that he suffered like no other could have. And he’d tried to make Rage the same as he, bound to him as he felt bound to her. Only it had backfired and that only served to heighten his pain. Not only had she not returned his love, she’d despised and scorned him for no other reason than the emotional circumstances that had led to her rebirthing. What Ripper had thought was love was nothing more than magic scars imprinted upon his soul. She’d become his obsession. If she fled he would stalk her to the ends of the earth.
    As Ripper moved, the vial in her pocket jabbed into her thigh. With her wrists bound and slung around Ripper’s neck there was no way for her to reach it. “Release my hands, Ripper. Let me touch you all over,” she murmured into his ear. Rage nuzzled the curve of his throat before dragging the sharp points of her fangs along his flesh. Foreplay for a vampire.
    Ripper tucked his head. Firmly he guided her hands over his head. As he leaned back, he folded her hands together and rested them on her chest. Before she could object, Ripper slipped away, leaving her alone on the bed. “Not yet. You will stay here. Stay safe until I rip Caden’s heart out and drink the last drop of blood from it.”
    Rage sat up. “Wait!”
    Too late. Ripper was already gone.

Chapter Eight
     
    Rage struggled to free herself from her bonds as the sunlight hours passed. The bones of her wrists just wouldn’t shift enough to allow her hands to slip free. Nothing within reach offered much help. The clan house grew noisier as the other vampires moved about, and shortly after sunset it quieted down. Not long after Shade appeared outside the window. It slipped open with a minimum of finessing and he climbed inside, crowbar in hand. Neither of them spoke as he bent the links that joined her shackles to the chain. When she was free, the shackles remained about her wrists like bracelets.
    Shade glanced down at Rage with fear and concern reflecting in his dark chocolate eyes. When he claimed her hand, she gladly squeezed his fingers tightly. At least she wasn’t alone in this. His presence by her side gave her the slimmest glimmer of hope that things might actually work out despite all assurance that they were screwed.
    They climbed out onto the ledge outside the window. Together they jumped down and raced away from the clan house. The sleek motorcycle that Dean had left beside the shed gleamed in the moonlight like polished obsidian. The aerodynamic and sexy design made it appear as if it were already traveling fast even when it was standing still. Shade tossed his long, leather-clad leg over the bike and started it up as Rage climbed on behind him. As she wrapped her arms around his trim and toned waist, she glanced back at the clan house. The door was open and she could hear raised voices coming from inside.
    Shade revved the engine and Rage hugged him tightly. Her cheek rested against the back of his black biker jacket. Drawing comfort from his warm, solid body, Rage knew it was a false confidence that she gained from her vampire brother. When Shade gunned the engine and they