Free Eternal Captive: Mark of the Vampire by Laura Wright Page A

to stare at the smooth crests and valleys of his wide, muscular chest.
    He inclined his head. “My apologies. I am a self-confessed heathen. But my point is, your body will only want to give to him. And his mark, his scent, will turn me off—so there’s nothing to worry about here—between us.”
    Inside of that moment, Bronwyn felt the breath leave her body and shoot off into the perfect sunset. He had no idea why they were here—or why she had been placed here, nude and scared. Just as he had no idea that the mark on her hand was made, not out of true love, but out of ink and deception.
    He was staring at that mark now, his jaw tight. “Nice brand.”
    She swallowed tightly. “I think so.”
    “I met the
paven
, by the way,” Lucian said, water lapping at his neck, his hard jaw. “Seems like a huge dick.”
    She lifted a brow and quickly jumped to Syn’s defense. “Haven’t seen it yet, but I’ll let you know.”
    Lucian’s lip curled.
    She shook her head. “This is foolish. This back and forth. We have a serious problem here.”
    “I’d say it’s more of a predicament.”
    “Come on, Lucian. This is far more than a predicament.”
    His shoulders seemed to grow broader, more powerful under his self-assured gaze. “I’ll take care of it.”
    “Really? How?” She’d been desperately trying to find a way out for hours. And her only solution so far was to hide in the water.
    “At some point, someone will show up—maybe even my half brother,” he added with a sneer, “and tell us what they want.”
    “Wait. What?” She stared hard at him. “You knew,”she accused him fiercely, her stomach clenching as her mind processed. “You knew that that monster was the one who abducted me?” She released a shaky breath. “Please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with—”
    “Hey!” he interrupted her sternly. “Don’t even go there,
Veana
. This kind of thing ain’t my style.” His gaze flickered with heat. “No matter how into you I may be—or have been,” he corrected himself. “I don’t take what doesn’t belong to me.”
    She wondered if he really believed that. She sure as hell didn’t. Lucian Roman had absolutely no moral compass or code. He was a heathen of the first order, and a
paven
who took whatever he wanted without a thought to consequences. It was unfortunately one of the many things she found attractive about him.
    “But you knew about Nicholas’s twin,” she said, pushing that last thought aside.
    “Only after your male friend said you were abducted by Nicky.” He cocked his head to the side, the ends of his white hair licking the water’s surface. “Didn’t take long after that for me to realize the
gemino
was at work.”
    Hours of fear and wondering when Lucian was going to show up, and how he was going to act when he did, erupted inside her. “He took my clothes.”
    All humor and easy manner evaporated from him. “What?”
    “The
gemino
,” she said. “That’s why I’m out here…like this. Stripped them right off my body with his magic,” she continued with passion.
    Lucian growled. “I’ll kill him.”
    Her gaze faltered. “I stood there naked before him while he told me to prepare myself. Told me you werecoming for me. That you were coming to…” She stopped. She couldn’t go on, couldn’t say it. Not to his face. No matter how familiar he felt in that moment, in that unfamiliar situation and landscape, the words would not leave her mouth.
    Momentarily stunned, Lucian just stared at her. She’d seen him angry, disgusted, arrogant, but she’d never seen him horrified. She’d never seen him with even a trace of fear in his eyes. Until now.
    “Lucian?” she began.
    “I’ll get us out of here,” he said quickly, his eyes darkening as the skin around his muscles tightened with strain.
    Bronwyn bit her lip. “And then…”
    “And then I’ll slit the throats of everyone responsible for putting you in my path.” He lowered his chin and