“I cannot suffer any other vampire to know your taste, Reagan,” he said in a thick voice, the authority of an elder riding his words. “I certainly cannot suffer another vampire teetering on the edge of blood lust because of you. Any time that creature is near you, he will pose a danger to you and a challenge to me. This is not for a human to understand. This is how it is done with my kind.”
“Callie and Dizzy said he was too young when…” I let that comment trail off, stayed by the surge of menace in his eyes. He wasn’t prone to jealousy, normally, but clearly there were limits.
“He is lesser middle level, not too young to deny his desire for blood such as yours. He has a weak mind, and your blood, magic, and power are a temptation he is unable to resist, it seems. Ja must’ve realized this. She is devious.”
“So she basically sent him here to die?” I asked.
He skimmed his lips against my chin, and I shivered. “She is certainly trying for that outcome. It means nothing to her, of course. She is poking me. Meddling in my life. I could have found that creature before now, and I thought about doing so a few times, but I was respecting your privacy. You didn’t want me to track him down, and so I didn’t. Well…”
“You did.”
He nipped the sensitive skin on my throat. “Yes. He was far enough away that it wasn’t an issue. I left it at that.”
“And now?”
His kiss was slow and deep. “And now I cannot leave it at that. His challenge was direct, and it was public. You are my bond mate—he is in the wrong on a few levels, particularly in his disrespect of you, and so I will kill him.”
The flatness with which he said it, in between gentle kisses and little nips, sent cold shivers up my spine before pooling heat in my core. Good God it was hot when he went all dominant male like this, fighting for my honor and taking me back to his bed like some caveman. I could play the Jane to his Tarzan for the morning. It was just what I needed to take my mind off the Red Prophet’s (likely terrible) secrets. Being a wilting flower now would give me a break before I had to strap on my leathers again and be the big boss bitch.
He was still inside me, quickly growing hard again, and I swirled my hips against him. He growled, stretching against me and rubbing his chest along my hard nipples. Their sensitivity sent shock waves of pleasure to wind me up higher.
“You reacted quite a bit differently to Ja’s surprise this time than you did after she told us about Ernesta,” I said, tilting my chin away so he would kiss down my neck.
“I don’t care about my past lovers, just as you don’t care about yours. But I will hazard a guess that you would care somewhat more if you walked in and one of my past lovers had my cock in her mouth.”
Rage and fire blasted through me, and I tensed up before laughing at my reaction. “It wouldn’t be her fault. I’d probably kill you, not her.”
“And what if she knew I was bonded to you and didn’t want her anymore, and she used a moment of weakness—”
“No, no. No need to elaborate. I was trying to use the PC answer that says it isn’t the mistress’s fault if the man is cheating. Which it isn’t. But no, it certainly wouldn’t take much for me to kill a threat.”
“A threat to your man…”
“I am currently fantasizing about you being a Tarzan, not me. I’d like to continue to pretend that I am a sensible creature that never flies off the handle.”
“Ah. I see. Okay then.” He tightened his grip on my wrists and slammed into me, stealing my breath. “Then I will own my mantle and make sure you walk bowlegged the next time we leave this room, how is that?”
“Yes, please,” I said, attempting meek. Polite was about as close as I could get. It would do.
I arched my back and said goodbye to the present. For a while, I just wanted to get lost in Darius. On the other side of that pleasure, I knew there would be nothing but pain and blood.
Sixteen
“Ready?” I asked Penny, channeling nothing but cold determination and a can-do attitude. Battle day. Our futures and fates would be decided.
“Nope.” She frowned and tapped her extravagant fanny pack with the various compartments. “Not at all.” She took out a red stone and held it in her palm. “I do not want to do this, I’m afraid we’re all going to die, and I want to go back to my sheltered life and forget I ever even met you.”