Rose called his name but her voice sounded far away. Mac was falling. The room was spinning. The world was going black.
He’d wanted to kiss her goodbye. Now he wouldn’t get the chance.
Chapter Six
Rose should have seen this coming. Should have convinced him to run—used her genetic wiles to get him to agree. But no, she’d impulsively wanted an adventure in Las Vegas. She wanted to sing with him and watch him play hero to two sweet humans. She’d wanted him all to herself.
She had been a fool.
“Daisy, don’t let her do this,” she pleaded softly. “All these people...”
Her sister looked up at her through bright blue curls with sad eyes. “You should have called her, Rose. There’s no reasoning with her now, you know that. We have to let her have her way and then it will be over.”
Magnolia had to have her way. How many times had she heard that through the years? Her mother had started it, a demon too busy to bother with the brood of children her demonic needs had produced. Magnolia was the oldest, so she was in charge of them all.
The only problem was, her oldest sister was the battiest of the bunch. Mean as a snake, vindictive and unhinged, she could ensnare a man with a skill that was astounding, but what she did to him when she caught him had never sat well with anyone but Ivy—the other crazy one with, unfortunately, the strongest power of them all.
And now Magnolia had Mac. Onstage. Chained up and wearing nothing but a sheet around his waist as the audience murmured in horror.
Magnolia bowed and waved at the crowd. “Don’t bother clapping or trying to stand up ladies and gentlemen—my sisters have guaranteed we have a captive audience for this part of the competition. Human and otherwise.” She snickered. “Get it? I suppose you do. Luckily stand-up comedy is not why we’re here. This is a piece of art I like to call The Duet. Rose? Daisy bring out our little Rose.”
Daisy walked forward obediently, and Rose had no choice but to follow the holder of the chain Ivy had wrapped her wrists in. “We don’t have to do this. He said he was giving himself up.”
Magnolia gripped Rose hard by the chin and shook it hard. “A bounty doesn’t give itself up, Rose. After all these years do you really not know that? We take it by force. Especially when so much is on the line.”
Her sister raised her voice. “We only have a few traditions in our family, since our mother wasn’t big on those sorts of things. One of them is something called sampling the merchandise. If we collect a bounty we find attractive, we get to claim him before we pass him on to our clients. It’s a perk of the job that no one ever talks about.”
She gestured to Daisy, who tugged Rose to the center of the stage to stand beside Mac. His eyes were closed. Was he conscious?
Magnolia chuckled. “Here’s our problem. We’re demons. Nothing like the computer geek from that show, though. We don’t deny who we are. And what we are is not really a trusting species, though you have to admit in this case we have good reason. Anyway, our little sister seems to have caught up with this handsome devil without telling us, and if what they were doing backstage is any indication, there was a lot of claiming going on before we found them.” She paused dramatically. “Or was there? Unless I see it in person, I don’t think I’m going to believe it. Rose has never bagged a bounty alone in her life, and this one? He’s a sneaky bastard. I had a hard time tracking him down, and I’m the best. I need to see this duet for myself.”
Rose shook her head. “What are you doing? There are too many people. Too many things that can go wrong. Why can’t we just take him and go?”
Magnolia glared over her shoulder. “Because you disrespected me. Took what was mine. Because I don’t appreciate the way you look at me and because I can. You wanted to be on stage with him. Now either you claim him in front of all these nice people who’ve forgotten what you are or I’ll make sure we all do. You won’t like what’s left of your vampire when we’re done.”
When Rose hesitated, Magnolia raised her hand. Mac shouted and Rose whipped her head around in time to see Ivy’s long, spiked whip split a line down his chest. That whip was designed to hurt his kind. He was in pain.
“Fine,” she shouted to her sisters. “I’ll do it. Ivy, stop!”
Ivy had whipped him twice more, deepening the gash already created as if disappointed Rose had agreed so easily. A gesture from Magnolia had her stepping back, a scowl on her perfect features as she pushed back her bright red hair.
Rose moved to stand in front of Mac, lifting her bound wrists over his head so her arms were around his neck. Ivy’s narcotic-like power was still affecting him. Confusing him and slowing his movements. “Mac?”
She was a demon—blood didn’t bother her, exhibitionism was fun and she wasn’t a fan of vampires.
So why did she feel like crying?
Because the last two days have been the best of your life.
Demons didn’t mate like shifters. Though, yes, their feelings were more intense than most, they usually didn’t stick around long enough after coming to cuddle or find out their lover’s last name. Granted, Rose was only half demon. The other half of her was human. But she’d lived out of balance for so long, she rarely noticed the softer side of her soul. Wasn’t that why she’d wanted to leave the family business? She wanted a chance to discover who she was without her sisters. Wanted to be Rose, and not just another flower in the garden.
All she was—demon and human—wanted Mac. She recognized him—his passions, his touch, his smile—in a way that almost frightened her, and from the moment she’d heard his voice her attraction to him had only grown. He wasn’t like other vampires. He wasn’t cold. He had a soul. She’d touched it.
She studied his face. The strong features, furrowed brow and auburn beard that had felt just as delicious against her skin as she’d known it would. “Mac?” she repeated. “Can you hear me? Can you open your eyes?”
He groaned and blinked, smiling tenderly when he saw her. “You’re here.”
Rose focused all her energy on projecting. This time was theirs alone. She wouldn’t let anyone take it from her. “I’m here. You told me it was beautiful, but I had no idea. Thank you for bringing me.”