“I don’t believe you two have formally been introduced. Constantine, this is Cade.”
“No. Last time we spoke, you offered your girlfriend to me for the night to…what was it again? Oh, yes, make me forget myself,” Cade says with a twist to his lips.
I literally have to hold CK back as he takes a step forward, hands already outstretched to throttle him. “Don’t defend him from me, Aefre,” he says quietly. “He tried to hurt you.”
“I apologized for that,” Cade says. “And I was mostly sure it wouldn’t work.”
“I am not reassured by your remark.” He flicks his steely gaze to me, “Explain what you are doing here with him.”
Cade raises his brows at the tone. “I thought yours was the only one that counted,” he mutters.
“One what?” CK snaps at me.
“Vote. My vote is the only one that counts.”
“Your vote on what?”
“Cade coming to work for me,” I say and wait for the yelling to start.
Silence.
An unnerving silence.
A terrifying silence.
CHAPTER ONE HUNDRED FORTY-SEVEN
T he doors ding for our floor. He steps off and stalks into the room. I quickly follow, the rest taking their time, not wanting to be anywhere near this mess.
“Have you lost your fucking senses?” he rounds on me.
“No,” I say calmly.
“Do you have a death wish? Or is it the rest of us you care to knock off?”
I narrow my eyes at him and if I hadn’t already hit him once today, I would have punched him.
“He won’t hurt any of you. He can’t even if he wanted to, which he doesn’t. Do you really think I am that stupid to bring him into this without taking precautions?”
He is looking at me like, yes, he does think I am that stupid. Geez, charming. Thanks a bunch.
“Elaborate.”
I tell him about the blood oath, and he isn’t pleased. “You are losing control, Aefre,” he says.
“No, I am taking control. Finally. My mother was right; I am a Dragon and I need to start acting like one.”
My words hurt him, and I feel guilty about that, but he must understand that this isn’t a democracy. I rule and I rule alone, as Ahmed once told me.
“You are a Vampire,” he says quietly.
“Not just. Not anymore. I don’t know why you are desperately clinging onto that?” I say just as quietly. He looks at me with his beautiful, soulful, dark eyes, and I just melt.
“If you call yourself a Dragon, you are no longer mine. No longer the woman I turned so that I could always love her. Don’t you understand that?”
“Constantine, we have had this conversation. I am yours. Always yours. Remember what we talked about before? That wouldn’t be possible if I was just a Vampire. And I certainly would never consider it with anyone but you.” I am standing close to him now, talking so quietly, but I’m sure Devon and Sebastian can still hear me. He looks at me adoringly as he remembers what we talked about.
“But know this, my love. Cade stays. He came to me with a proposal, which I accepted. He is my… Nico,” I say to him in normal tones, stepping back a bit.