Just a teensy heads up - this chapter gets a little steamy.

Chapter 10 – Run Away With Me

The room was lovely, exactly what I expected, given the elegance of the lobby and atrium areas. It had a large king sized bed with fine linens, a sitting area and large picturesque window.

"Claire," Shane began.

I looked up at him in surprise. His voice was off, higher than usual, like he was nervous about something. "What is it?" I whispered, worried at his unusual tone.

"This is our chance!" he knelt down in front of me and grasped both of my hands.

Oh, no! My mind was screaming. He cannot possibly propose to me right here and now. I blinked and waited for him to explain.

Excitedly, he rushed, "I know it isn't what we planned on, but if we do it right, I think we can make it. Really, it's the best shot we've ever had of getting away from Morganville forever."

"What are you suggesting?" I asked in confusion.

"Run away with me! We can sneak out in the morning. They probably won't notice we are gone for a few hours and even if they do, they can't track us during the day. We can get enough distance away that they won't be able to find us. And, then we can actually start living our lives...for real." Shane waited for my response expectantly.

I was stunned. There were so many things wrong with his plan. "I can't..." I stuttered. "I can't leave Myrnin to fight this alone."

"But he won't be alone. He will have Gwion, so he won't need you anymore," Shane replied as though I should be able to see the brilliance of his plan.

But all I heard was that Myrnin wouldn't 'need' me anymore and felt the pain of those words wash over me. We argued back and forth with me explaining how it wouldn't be fair to Eve, or right to Myrnin or my parents, who would never see me again – and that was the best-case-scenario versus them being killed out of revenge. And then there was the little matter of Oliver. I wasn't fond of him, but I could still see the anguish in his face when I closed my eyes. It didn't feel right to turn my back on it.

Shane wasn't listening to any of it, so stuck on his romantic notion that we could walk away from here without any strings or repercussions and somehow magically start an entire new life in a different country!

Finally, I gave up. "Okay. Stop. I will think about it," I hedged, tired of fighting.

He glowed and kissed me. I shook my head, knowing he still thought he could convince me. Suddenly, I desperately needed air before I suffocated. I pulled back and said, "I am going to take a walk. I need to think this through."

His eyes turned to concern. He replied, "It's not safe alone. I'll come with you."

"No!" I told him a bit too firmly. "It is a luxury hotel. It's safe. If you want me to agree with you, you need to give me some space to think."

"Okay," he acknowledged. I could tell he was reluctant but he let me walk out the door.

I almost sprinted down the hall to the elevator. I couldn't breathe and my heart was pounding in my ears. I didn't know why I felt I had to run. I just needed to get away from there as soon as possible because the pressure was killing me. I finally made it down to the lobby and started to feel a lessoning of the weight on my chest. I had no idea where I planned to go. I just let my feet guide me. The slow and steady beat of music captivated my attention, drawing me toward it. I slipped through the doorway quietly, finally finding the source of the alluring sound, and inhaled sharply when I noticed Myrnin sitting at the bar.

He turned to face me. His posture was casually reclined, but his eyes were another matter altogether. They raked over my body, a little wildly. I stopped and took a quick inventory to make sure I was dressed. Yes, I appeared to have all appropriate areas covered.

He was still wearing the suit from earlier, except without the jacket. His shirt was now untucked, and completely unbuttoned. My eyes flickered to his chest that was visible through the opened white dress shirt, and then quickly back to his face, before he could catch me staring at him again.

He hesitated, looking at me, and then his eyes changed – as though he had made some sort of decision. "Come here," he commanded, his voice low.

A shiver ran through me. But it wasn't fear. I walked over and sat on the stool next to him. "You're on the edge," I told him hesitantly. "You need blood."

A small smirk tugged at his lips. "No."

Shit. He was already over the edge, but somehow his behavior didn't feel the same as all of the previous times. "Yes," I insisted, getting firmer.

"Tell me why that matters to you," he probed intently.

What? I was confused. Wasn't the answer obvious? I gave up trying to find a deeper meaning to his question and simply replied, "Because we're friends."

"Friends," he murmured as though testing out the word on his tongue.

Trying to break the palpable tension that seemed to be increasing between us by the second, I looked around and observed, "I'm surprised the bar is open at this hour."

"It's not," he replied.

I puzzled over his answer. He raised an eyebrow, waiting for clarity to come to my expression. Right – compulsion.

"Oh," I breathed, finally understanding and quizzed him, "But how did you find the bartender?"

"He's not the bartender. He just had the key."

"And yet, he appears to be serving you drinks," I teased, still trying to lighten the atmosphere.

"I appreciate the small comforts of being served," he replied unapologetically. His eyes were calculating, studying me. I blushed under the intensity of his stare. "Would you like to watch me compel him?" he asked.

That was new – Myrnin never purposefully displayed his mental abilities. I blinked, caught in his dark liquid eyes. Without waiting for my answer, he motioned the random-employee-now-bartender over to us. Myrnin leveled his gaze and spoke hypnotically, "You need to leave now...and lock the door behind you."

With a quick nod, the man walked out the door. I heard the click of the lock engage.

"What are you doing?" I stood to my feet and stared at Myrnin with wide eyes, my heart racing.

"What you want me to do," he replied huskily.

Every part of my good sense told me not to back away from him. It showed fear, which ignited his hunting instincts. But as he stood and took a step toward me, his eyes burning into mine, I stepped back.

His eyes flashed with hunger. But it wasn't the hunger I was used to seeing. "I should go," I stammered.

He shook his head slowly; the corners of his mouth turned up into a wicked smile, entertained by the thoughts in his mind, and said silkily, "I have no intention of letting you go now."

"What?" I asked hoarsely, my throat suddenly dry. Heat coursed through my body.

He advanced on me another step. Again, it seemed, I was no longer thinking logically. And my self-control was apparently non-existent because I backed away from him again.

"I want you...I've wanted you for months," he said with a low growl. "And now that I know I can have you...it's been killing me, trying to keep myself from taking you."

"No...you can't have me," I stuttered in confusion, my brain trying to catch up with the radical shift in our relationship.

"Oh Cariad, yes, I can and you know it. You feel it hard and strong right now, coursing through your veins." His words caused the unbearable heat in me to flare hotter. My chest heaved. I tried to calm myself down.

He was just inches away from me now, but made no move to touch me. I trembled. He leaned his head down to my ear and whispered, "I can smell your arousal. The scent gets sweeter and sweeter the closer I get to you. I know what your body is doing to get ready for me."

Images of him, moving inside of me, flooded my brain, at his words. The muscles in my abdomen contracted violently.

"Hmmm...just like that," he said knowingly. He lifted his head away from my right ear and brought it back down close to my left ear. His breath tickled my neck as he murmured, "Your scent is mouthwatering...I want to taste it on my tongue." He licked his lips.

A small whine escaped my throat as desired rocked through my system, stronger than I had ever felt before. He continued, unrelentingly, "I can do things to you, you haven't even imagined."

My breathing came in short pants, trying to keep up with the blood hurtling to my core.

"Would you like that, Cariad? Would you like me to touch you in ways that will make you scream my name?" His eyes glittered wickedly.

I inhaled sharply, reeling from the onslaught of the mental images he was evoking. Shit, if he kept this up, I was going to climax before he even had a chance to lay a hand on me. All I knew was that I wanted him...all of him. My voice was thick with anticipation, "Yes."

Without realizing how we got there, I suddenly felt the wall at my back. His eyes acknowledged my trapped position and he murmured seductively, "Do you know what you do to me?"

"No," I said, my breathing hitched.

He caged me in, his hands against the wall. "This," he whispered roughly and pressed his body against mine. I felt it then, his arousal, hard against my stomach. I gasped as fire seemed to rip through my veins.

"I'm going to kiss you now," he promised me softly as he brought his head down to mine, excruciatingly slowly. I trembled in anticipation.

Maybe he meant our first kiss to be sweet and slow – or maybe not – but when his lips brushed mine, the slow burn that he had ignited inside of me erupted into a frenzied and furious need for him. A high-pitched whimper released from my chest; I attacked his mouth greedily, tangling my fingers into his hair harshly, pulling him closer.

He growled against my lips, his movement instantly aggressive and demanding. His large hands grabbed my hips in an unbreakable hold as he lifted me and wrapped my legs around his waist, before pressing me back into the wall, making it impossible for me to think about anything other than him between my legs.

I writhed against his arousal, creating more friction. He hissed in response and not quite knowing how we got there, I found myself lying on top of the bar, with Myrnin's body hovering dangerously over me.

There was a mirror behind the bar with hundreds of bottles of every kind of liquor, stacked at different levels around it. I was struck by their beauty as the lights reflected and danced with the liquids inside. It felt like we were surrounded by a living sea of glass in every color imaginable.

His lips crashed into mine, his tongue demanding dominance. I met his attack with equal aggressiveness, whining in the back of my throat, to let him know I wanted much more. Myrnin pushed his hips into me, a promise. I cried out and clutched at his back and arms, craving to be, oh so very much closer to him. Pleasure and fire pulsed through me.

Abruptly, there was a hard knock against the locked door. I didn't actually hear it as focused as I was on Myrnin. But he lifted his head away from me and looked at the door. Then I heard Michael calling my name. Shit.

Myrnin turned back to me and brought his lips back down to mine purposefully, having decided to ignore Michael. In the back of my mind, I found it unusual that Michael would be looking for me at this hour, but Shane had probably asked him to help find me. In the front of my mind, Myrnin's rhythmic pressure against my lips made me forget who Michael even was.

"Claire! Are you in there? The hotel attendant thought he saw you go in." Michael called more urgently, "It's about Eve!"

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