Alexander-Fyn-Sanguinarian

remove his jacket and then his stock. “What are you doing?”
    “I warned you,” he said simply, continuing to strip, laying his beautiful evening suit over the back of a chair with great care. “I tried seducing you with pleasure, but it did not work.”
    Evangeline scrambled back toward the head of the bed. The door was thirty feet away across the chamber and Raven could easily reach it before she could. Blindly she reached out, grabbing the first thing that came to hand, a large book on the table beside the bed. She launched it at him, missing him by several feet. Raven turned from her, naked to the waist, to go after the book.
    “Stupid child!” He picked up the book carefully. “You must only handle The Vampire Codex with the utmost reverence! I should thrash you for this.”
    Evangeline used the moment to flee for the door. With both hands on the iron handle, she fought to turn it, finding it stiff and far beyond her strength. Raven returned the book to its place and came after her.

    Sanguinarian 137
    She saw him coming and in an instant remembered the one trick Mrs.
    Brackett had taught her to ward off gentlemen with roving hands .
    When he was close enough to touch her, she whirled round and drew her knee swiftly upwards, catching him between his thighs.
    Then with a sharp downward jab, her slippered foot thrust into his knee, bringing him down with a frightening howl of anger.
    Leaping across his body, she ran for the dressing room, knowing there would be another door to the corridor for the valet to enter through. The handle this time was much easier to turn and she found herself outside in the dark corridor yet again. She ran on and on, her little slippers echoing eerily on the stone floors. She found stairs and began to run up, knowing it was insane to go up since that would only trap her further, yet not knowing what else to do.
    Minutes passed. Stopping for breath she pressed her back flat against the wall to get her bearings. Even in the darkness the corridor felt familiar. The wall behind her felt crumbly and damp to the touch.
    She was back in the east tower corridor she had left no more than an hour ago. “The fight is not over yet, Evangeline,” she whispered.
    “Don’t give up now.”
    “But the fight is over, Evangeline.” Raven’s voice filled the air around her. It even seemed to fill her, her head and her whole being.
    She could not escape this man. Everywhere she turned, there he was, waiting for her.
    “Oh, God,” she moaned. “Why can you not just accept that I despise you and want to leave here forever? Why would you want to marry a woman whose flesh creeps at the very sight of you?”
    A long moment of silence followed. Had her words made an impression on him? Had she finally made him understand her utter loathing for him? “You have made me angry,” he said at last, his voice low, his tone neutral. “You have brought out the worst in me with your unkind words, my dear Evangeline. I am not an evil man, but I am quite determined now that you will pay for your rebelliousness. I am going to tame you if I do it with my last breath.”

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    Fyn Alexander
    “Then I hope you draw your last breath very soon,” she said with all the courage she had left.
    “Your tower awaits you!” From the darkness he emerged and snatched her up.
    An involuntary scream escaped her at the suddenness of flesh merging with voice. She felt the coolness of his naked chest against her hands. Even when she was expecting him to handle her he managed to take her by surprise.
    Raven opened the door and thrust her back into her chamber. The fire had dwindled in the hearth, yet still made the tower noticeably warmer than the corridor outside. Raven put her on her feet and slammed the door shut. Having no key he took the one heavy chair in the room and dragged it to the door with one hand where he jammed it under the solid ring handle. “That will slow you down. Though after I am finished with you, you will not try run away again since no one would have you anyway.”
    “What are you going to do?” The words were barely articulated as her fear escalated.
    He walked over to the bed and threw back the covers. “Oh, very clever, my dear.” He picked up the wedding gown. “You’d have been better served putting this on over your clothes for warmth if you had truly planned to run away over the moors. How far do you think you would have got in the cold?” As he spoke he walked slowly toward her.