“Isn’t he gorgeous?” Donna whispered.

Vela couldn’t respond. She wanted to, she wanted to expound on Donna’s theme, but her vocal chords wouldn’t work.

The strangest part of all, however, was that she swore she could smell him, that a stream of something warm, male, and wonderfully bitter like dark chocolate, emanated from him.

The scent filtered through her nostrils and began to drift into other parts of her body. Her thoughts funneled down farther to the warrior as though nothing else in this room existed and when his searching gaze found her, something really strange happened: she heard his thoughts like a soft whisper through her mind, She’s the one. She’s mine.

She felt naked beneath his gaze, and the stream of his scent thickened as he took several steps toward the risers. Her lips parted and she shifted in her seat like she couldn’t get comfortable. Her breasts felt heavy and achy. Her nipples beaded and pleasure descended very low until her breath hitched and the deepest part of her began long hard pulls on something that wasn’t there, but needed to be there, the sooner the better.

She felt bathed in pleasure and all she’d done was catch Samuel Daman’s scent and meet his gaze.

You’re mine. Samuel sent the thought again, straight at the woman in the risers, the one with a mass of wild, long blond hair, and large blue eyes.

A wave of her delicate floral scent hit him, and his breath caught. Her perfume affected the nerves in his body.

Streaks of lightning shot down his arms and legs, firing up his muscles. His neck grew almost rigid. His back started to arch and harsh sounds formed in his throat. He felt his dark power rise, and his mist started to swirl around him.

He took another deep breath through his nostrils. The perfume wafted in, and a new fire lit up his brain. He had to get to this woman.

She stood up and reached a hand toward him.

His vision tunneled down to the tips of those fingers. What happened next became a blur. He ran or levitated or partially folded to her position, he wasn’t sure, then grabbed her and pulled her out of the crowd, holding her against him and hauling her off the risers.

The alarms started shrieking as did several of the ascenders in the risers, though he didn’t know why.

A thundering followed.

Maybe he heard Luken’s voice.

HQ must be under attack, though he didn’t see the enemy, just the room moving in a strange way.

Still holding the woman in his arms, the one he had to get to safety, had to protect with every ounce of his being, he folded her to the corner of the room behind a weightlifting machine. He released her then ordered her to hunker down. He turned around to face the room, folding his identified sword into his right hand, his dagger to his left, ready to take the enemy on, to battle ten, a hundred, a thousand death vampires if necessary to keep his woman safe.

His dark mist rose in swirls around him, that part of his power he could control. He shifted on his feet, turning in an arc. Let the enemy come.

The alarms stopped suddenly.

The workout center had emptied of spectators, which would make it easier to battle what came at him. But Endelle had returned and the other warriors seemed strangely relaxed. None of them bore a sword in hand, which made no sense.

His vision was still off, even a little blurred.

“So this is what Santiago was telling us about,” Endelle called from across the room. “Look how much more defined his muscles are, bigger, too. And that mist is some bad-ass shit! Holy motherfucker.” Samuel stayed in his battle pose, sword aloft, dagger ready.

“Stand down, warrior,” Luken commanded. “You’re among friends. No enemy here.”

“I heard the alarms,” he shouted, unwilling to relax his guard. His woman was behind him and needed to be protected at all costs, even if he died doing it.

More strange things happened: Thorne started to smile, then laugh. Jean- Pierre followed, which made Samuel completely uncertain about what was happening. These were Warriors of the Blood, all three men, and now Luken grinned and Santiago shook his head.

“Fold those damn weapons away,” Endelle shouted, “before you hurt the woman behind you. Aw fuck.” She turned to Thorne. “You deal with this goddamn breh-hedden shit.” She lifted her arm and though all four warriors tried to stop her, she folded and the alarms started shrieking again. Luken once more got on his phone and seconds later, the alarms stopped, but he stayed on the phone. After about a minute, he called out, “Samuel, get rid of your weapons.

This is a false alarm. Apache Two is locked down and I just got clearance for you to fold your sword and dagger out of here. Now do it.” Samuel’s head finally began to clear so that he could see Luken was right. He released his weapons, folding them back to his weapons locker. He still didn’t understand what had happened. His brain had slipped into some kind of overdrive that made no sense.

“Are you Samuel?” The voice, his woman’s voice , played a soft melody over his ears. As he turned, she rose from the floor where he’d pushed her down to make sure she was safe.

“Yes, I’m Samuel.” He stared into large, dark blue eyes, her light floral scent still swirling in his head and fracturing his thoughts.

He forgot about where he was as he stepped toward her, dragged her against his chest, and kissed her. Her arms flowed easily around his neck. Nothing had ever felt more natural or more right.

He had to taste her, to see if the floral scent also had a flavor, and it did.

She moaned as he drove his tongue into her mouth, pushing and seeking, savoring.

He wanted his tongue between her legs doing the same thing. Then his cock. He wanted his mouth on her winglocks, sucking, his fangs striking her neck and her blood down his throat.

He arched his hips into her so that she could feel his arousal and all that he had to offer, all that he intended to give her right now.

Vela drove her fingers into Samuel’s thick black hair as he pummeled her mouth. She lived in a dream, one that swirled this way then that, like she was caught in a dizzying carnival ride, and she couldn’t get enough.

She wanted more, to feel him inside her, low and deep. She ached between her legs, needing him.

Even her vein throbbed. She grabbed one of his hands and put it to her throat.

He groaned as he stroked her neck and her vein rose for him.

She arched her neck, she felt him shift, she even felt saliva as he bathed her throat with his tongue. He would strike soon. His fangs would pierce her throat.

She was so close.

Then suddenly everything shifted. At least three warriors were on Samuel, pulling him away from her.

Vela shouted at them. “What are you doing? Stop this. He’s mine. He belongs to me.” Samuel started roaring at the ceiling, and more of his beautiful dark mist poured off his skin swirling in the air. She drank it in as Luken and Santiago hauled him backward. He fought like a madman but the men were vampire strong and held him.

She struggled to get to him only then realizing that someone held her back.

“Mon dieu, cherie, please stop fighting me. We have to separate you just for this moment. I beg you.” Jean-Pierre, the beautiful Frenchman had her trapped. But why?

She shoved elbows into him and finally whirled and scratched at him.

Every time Samuel let out another roar, she fought harder.

“Thorne,” Jean-Pierre called out.

“We need Alison here. This is not right.

Vela cannot calm down and I fear hurting her.” She saw her opportunity and kneed Jean-Pierre hard. He grunted, doubled over, and suddenly she was free.

She raced, folded, then landed on Samuel, throwing her arms around him.

Her weight, combined with his, took him to the floor. The other warriors reached for him again as the alarms once more shrieked. She didn’t understand all that was happening, but she had her man in her arms and held onto him.

When Thorne reached down for her, she hissed, long and loud and formed a spider-like pose over Samuel. Luken’s face looked like a hurricane had hit him.

Thorne said, “Well this is new.” Vela understood exactly what had to be done and with a thought, she took Samuel into that dreamy place where she’d lived the recent nightmare, dark around the edges, but still in the workout center. At least now, Samuel was safe.

She still spidered over him, but she scanned the area beyond the boundaries of the dark space. Behind her, Jean-Pierre stood bent over, his hands on his knees, his face red. In front of her, Luken, Thorne, and Santiago stood in an arc, looking confused. It seemed clear to her that though she had a perfect view of all of them, they couldn’t see her.

The dreamy place allowed her to see out yet remain unseen. Exactly what she needed.

Luken shook his head. “Shit, she folded Samuel out of here.” But Thorne, who had power-on- power, stood back and surveyed where they’d just been. “No. She didn’t. Neither did he. I can sense both of them. They’re still here. Well, what do you know; they’re in the darkening. ”

“Que?” Santiago said.

“The darkening? That is serious shit. You think Samuel has that kind of power, jefe?”

“No,” Thorne said, peering in her direction but not making eye contact because apparently he still couldn’t see her; he just knew or sensed she was there.

“I think Vela does. All right, forget Alison, we need Havily over here right now.” Luken whipped his phone to his ear and issued a string of soft, calm orders.

Vela didn’t care what any of the men did, so long as they backed off and left her man alone.

She watched Luken shift his gaze to Jean-Pierre, who had remained behind her. Vela spidered, maneuvering sideways so that she could see his approach from the rear, her arms and legs still in a protective arc over Samuel.

Jean-Pierre hobbled in her direction.

Oh, that’s right; she’d kneed him hard.

Exactly what he deserved for keeping her away from Samuel.

Luken hissed softly. “She got you in the jewels, brother? Ouch.” She felt something on her cheek and glanced down. Samuel looked at her with a light in his extraordinary gray eyes as he stroked her face with the backs of his fingers. “You’re so beautiful. What’s your name?” Her need to protect her man, traded places with her desire for him. She’d brought him to safety, still within the workout center, yet not. No one could touch them here. She could keep this warrior with her forever in this place if she had to.