She moved to brush past the vampire only to come to a jolting halt as his arm reached out to block her path.
"You cannot go in."
She pushed against the arm. Stupid, of course. She'd have better luck trying to move a brick wall.
Stepping back, she planted her hands on her hips, not nearly as frightened by the looming fangs as she should be.
"Then get used to my face because I'm not leaving until I have seen him," she warned.
The guard didn't bother to react to her ridiculous threat. And why should he? He could kill her on the spot if he wearied of looking at her face.
To both their surprise, however, a low voice spoke from inside the room.
"Allow her to pass."
The guard stiffened but grudgingly dropped his arm. Darcy didn't hesitate as she darted past his large form. He didn't look a bit happy and she didn't want any unfortunate accidents on the way past.
Once in the unexpectedly large room she was met by a tall, silver-haired vampire who was beautiful enough to steal her breath.
Yikes. Was stunning beauty a prerequisite to becoming a vampire?
"You must be Darcy." The pale face was unreadable as the dark eyes studied her with a near tangible force. "I am Viper."
"Oh, this is your house," she muttered, her attention already on the wide bed where Styx was lying with his eyes closed. She bit her lip as that pain once again twisted her heart. "What happened to him?"
Turning. Viper moved toward the bed with Darcy on his heels. "The Weres set a trap. We didn't realize the danger until too late."
Her breath caught. "Too late? Is he going to . . ."
"Die?" He gave a shake of his head. "No, he has been grievously wounded, but he will heal."
Her gaze refused to waver from the fierce, bronzed features. Even unconscious Styx managed to look lethal. A deadly warrior who would kill without mercy. But Darcy felt no fear. At least not for herself.
"What can I do?" she whispered.
There was a small pause. "You wish to help?"
"Of course."
"Forgive my suspicion, but considering you are currently being held prisoner by Styx I am more inclined to believe you are here to finish him off rather than offer him succor," the vampire accused in smooth tones.
Oddly offended Darcy turned her head to meet his steady gaze. "If you thought I would harm him, then why did you allow me in?"
"Because I would rather have you where I can keep my eyes on you."
She flinched at the stark words. Dang it. She had endured enough suspicion and downright dislike over the years from her fellow humans. Or maybe not so fellow humans. Did she have to take it from demons as well?
"Brutal, but honest I suppose," she muttered.
Viper shrugged. "It prevents any confusion."
Her chin tilted. "I would never hurt anyone unless I was protecting myself. And I certainly wouldn't hurt someone who is already injured."
"Then why are you here?" he demanded.
"I told you, I want to help."
Viper looked far from convinced, but before he could speak there was a rustle from the bed. Even without vampire speed Darcy managed to leap past Viper and seat herself on the bed beside Styx.
"Styx?"
The thick lashes opened with painful slowness. "Angel?"
"I'm here."
His hand reached out to grasp her fingers in a near painful grip. "Viper. Was he harmed?"
Viper shifted to be within easy sight of Styx. "I am here, old friend."
Relief rippled over the bronzed features before they abruptly hardened. "Was it Salvatore?"
"I believe so. He was certainly a pureblood with a talent for masking his scent. I very nearly missed his presence."
"Damn."
"My thoughts precisely," Viper said in a tight voice. "When you are healed we definitely need to have a long conversation with that mutt."
"A short conversation."
"Even better." Viper regarded him steadily. "Do you wish to go into the earth to heal?"
Styx considered for a moment before giving a shake of his head. "No."
"It will make the process less painful, not to mention much quicker," Viper pointed out.
"We cannot be certain the curs do not plan to attack."
"They would never get past your Ravens. Or me."
Styx gave a painful shake of his head. "You must return to Shay. She will be concerned."
Viper frowned. "No."
"That was not a request."Intrigued by the obvious warmth the two men shared, Darcy was unprepared for the cold glare that Viper flashed in her direction.
"She should not remain."
Darcy bristled even as Styx's fingers tightened around her own. "You have used your senses to touch her soul, have you not?" he demanded.
Darcy frowned. Touched her soul? Well, that didn't sound good.
"Yes," Viper admitted in a grudging tone.
"Then go," Styx commanded.
Viper gave an annoyed shake of his head. "If you get yourself staked I'm going to be pissed."
A small smile touched Styx's mouth. "I'll keep that in mind."
Muttering beneath his breath, Viper turned to cross the room, pausing at the door to glare over his shoulder at Darcy.
"If he is harmed there is no place where you can hide. Not even death will keep you from my wrath," he warned before stepping over the threshold and slamming the door behind him.
Darcy shivered. It was a threat she took seriously. Hard not to when he had so deliberately flashed his fangs.
She cleared the lump from her throat. "He is very protective."
"We go back a few years."
"How many years?"
"Almost two thousand, give or take a few decades."
Her attention whipped back to Styx's harshly beautiful features.
"Gripes."
"You did ask," he said wryly, giving a small hiss of pain as he attempted to scoot higher on the mound of pillows.
She pressed a hand to his shoulder, her brow furrowed with concern. "Don't move."
"Then come closer." He gave a firm, relentless tug on her hand. "I need to feel your heat."
Darcy wavered. It couldn't be a good idea to snuggle with a vampire. Any vampire. And most especially one that made her entire body tremble with awareness.
On the other hand, she had always been a sucker for any creature that was weak and injured.
And for all his attempts to appear his usual arrogant self, there was no mistaking the pain that tightened his features and the weakness that plagued his splendid body.
With a sigh at her own stupidity, she carefully scooted farther onto the soft mattress and stretched out next to his much larger form.
She swallowed another sigh. This time at the startling pleasure as his arms curved gently around her and pressed her tightly to his chest.
"Is that better?" she demanded, unable to stop herself from breathing deeply of his exotic male scent.
She couldn't even remember why she shouldn't.
Minimum.
"Much better," he whispered, his lips brushing over her temple.
Oh. Her heart nearly halted.
He needed to stop that.
"Viper said you were attacked by Weres?" she managed to croak.
His arms tightened. "They simply took advantage of my presence near their lair."
"Why were you near their lair?"
Styx stilled at her question. As if he was forced to consider his answer.
"I intended to punish him for trespassing on my territory," he at last confessed in a cold tone.
Darcy tilted back her head to regard him in shock. "You knew he was here?"
"I could smell him on you."
She grimaced, resisting the urge to sniff at her skin. She had never been a stinky sort of person, but being surrounded by uber-noses was making her downright paranoid.
"Oh."
The dark eyes flashed with something dangerous. "Why did you not tell me he had approached you?"
"Because I knew you would seek him out and try to punish him." She met his glare with steady determination. "I won't be responsible for bloodshed, even if it's not my own."
His annoyance wavered at her simple explanation. "I suppose it's bad for your karma?"
"Very bad."
His lips thinned as if he was battling the urge to smile. "What did he say to you?"
"That he intends to rescue me from your evil clutches," she retorted without thinking. Not until his arms tightened about her to the point of pain. She didn't know if it was the thought of Salvatore plotting to rescue her or the bit about his evil clutches that had caused him to tighten his grip, but whichever it was that grip was enough to make her gasp. "Um, Styx, I'm human enough to need to breathe."
"Sorry." The arms instantly loosened their grip, but only slightly. "Did he tell you how he intends to rescue you?"
"No. Just that I should expect a message from him."
"And what of his reason for desiring you?"