Captivated (Deep in Your Veins 6)

He tutted. Tutted. “Always in such a hurry.”

To get away from him, yeah. “I’m working, so I can’t take the time to chat.”

“The manager isn’t going to give you trouble for taking a small break.”

If Maeve thought part of my break would involve feeding a vamp, no, she wouldn’t give me trouble at all. She was something of a vampire groupie—addicted, on some level, to being fed from.

Castor licked his gleaming white teeth. “Why don’t we go somewhere more private?”

I gave him a polite but distant smile. “I’d prefer not to, thanks.”

He stepped into my space like it was totally his right. Or, more to the point, like I had no rights to the space. He inhaled deeply. “You smell good. I’ll bet you taste better than you smell.”

I couldn’t help rolling my eyes. “I cannot count the number of vamps who’ve said that to me. It’s like the ultimate donor-pick-up line. Now if you’ll excuse me …” I tried to skirt around him, but he easily glided into my path.

He glared down at me. “I see how it is. You think you’re too good for my kind. You’re too high and mighty to lower yourself to be fed from.”

Right then, he made me think of guys who branded any woman who rejected them ‘frigid’ or ‘stuck up.’ I lifted my chin, refusing to be intimidated. “You really need to get out of my way.”

“And you need to understand that you have no power here. Like it or not, you are the inferior race. It is a privilege to feed a vampire. You should be grateful for the honour I’m offering you.”

Honour my ass. It was impossible to see someone as ‘superior’ when they were clearly a bully down to their core. Oh, he’d physically overpower me in an instant. He might even have an ability that could reduce me to ashes here and now—I wasn’t sure. But he was still too pathetic to be at all frightening.

I met his glare with my own. “You’re still blocking my path. I’m not sure why that is, but I do know I don’t like it. Now move.”

Another familiar male materialised at Castor’s side, sneering at me. “I wouldn’t waste my time on this one, Castor,” said Dion, who was part of his nest. “She refuses to feed anyone.”

I sniffed. “No, I just have high standards. Neither of you meet them.”

The red glint to Castor’s irises flared. He snapped a hand around my arm and yanked me close. “Condescending little—” He let out an animal cry of pain as I grabbed his balls and roughly twisted them.

“Let go of me,” I clipped. He did, so I released him fast, having no freaking wish to touch that asshole’s junk for longer than it took to—

“What the fuck is going on here?”

We all froze. The question wasn’t loud. Wasn’t spoken like a whip. It was low. Calm. But edged with a dark, deadly menace that made my skin prickle. And I didn’t need to glance behind me to know that the deep, rumbly voice belonged to none other than Damien.

Dion flashed him a jovial grin that was somewhat shaky. “Oh nothing, nothing. Everything is fine. Isn’t it, Lexi?”

I snorted. “No.” If he’d thought I’d cover for Castor, he was out of his mind.

Damien sidled up to me, blanketing me with that damn scent that drove my hormones crazy. “What happened here?” he asked me, his dark eyes focused on me like lasers.

Distantly noting that a few of Damien’s squad members had gathered behind him, I replied, “Castor grabbed me. I didn’t like it. He also won’t just accept that I won’t let him taste me. I didn’t like that either. I asked him to get out of my way. He didn’t. In fact, he grabbed my arm instead. So I went for his balls.”

His eyes rock hard, Damien cut his gaze to Castor. “You’ve been warned about pushing humans to provide you with blood, haven’t you? Twice, as it happens.”

His face flushed and his brow pinched with pain, Castor let out an unrepentant huff. “She should not be a resident here. She is prejudiced against our kind. Considers it beneath her to feed us.”

I went still. That was a super serious accusation, and I just hoped to hell that no one bought it.

“Just because she doesn’t want you feeding from her doesn’t mean she has anything against vampires in general,” Damien said to him, and my insides relaxed. “She has the right to say no. She said no. Deal with it.”

Castor’s face reddened even further, and he shot me a withering look. He went to leave with Dion.

“Not so fast,” said Damien, his voice soft. “You got off with warnings in the past, Castor. Sam and Jared made it clear that you would be punished if you attempted to bully another human or laid a finger on them in anger. We don’t tolerate that shit here.” And then, well, Damien fisted the asshole’s shirt and hauled him out of the club, his squad members in tow.