Raised in Fire

“So? Ask one of your friends to loan you a human for the night.”

“That would not be following the letter of the law, something the local wolf pack will make it their business to know. Their leader, Devon, has the ear of Roger directly. He’ll make sure my transgressions are made known and a witch hunt is organized.”

“Well…not really a witch hunt, right? Since you’re a vampire.” I squinted at him, feeling the pressure of a ball about to drop.

“We are not supposed to feed on humans in the Brink at all. That violates the rule of not revealing what we are. We have to limit our needs to magical people. Something you seem to have blocked out of your memory of late. It does not change your promise, however.”

A wash of tingles spread across my skin. Heat dripped down my core and puddled in a hot, sticky mess. I suddenly knew exactly where he was going with this.

“You promised Roger that if I needed blood, I could take it from you.”

A rush of breath escaped my mouth. I tried to shrug, but the sudden rigidity of my body turned the motion into something Frankenstein’s monster might do. My smile, intended to look blasé, probably resembled a grimace of pain, and the flush of heat in my face certainly gave away the pounding in my lady parts. All the sensual moments I’d ever experienced with Darius—his leans, his soft whispers, the flashes of hunger in his eyes, the few blissful kisses we’d shared—crowded in and invaded the conversation. My legs started to shake and a sheen of sweat coated my forehead.

“You filthy bastard,” I said, balling my fists. “No wonder you were in such a hurry to fire up the jet and tag along on this trip. Worried about me, my ass. You knew the scent of my blood, teamed with the danger I will surely find, would make you desperate to feed—not to mention the fact that there’s a pack of shifters prowling around. You were counting on it. Bing, bang, boom, you finally get to see if the curtains match the drapes.”

A teasing smile wrestled his lips. “I already know they do, since I have seen you bathe.”

“I meant, do I taste as good as I smell, you donkey.”

“I am greatly looking forward to finding out, ma chere.”

“Don’t call me that. I’m going to make you wait until you’re begging for it. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“A type of teasing I can easily reciprocate once you finally give in.”

“Oh no.” I waggled my finger at him. “No, sir. I didn’t say I would sleep with you; I said that I will keep you from killing a small village out of hunger by letting you feed from me. The two are mutually exclusive.”

He gave me a knowing smile. “It is nearly impossible to resist. I don’t think you’ll want the strength to be one of the few.”

“I know how hard it is not to give in, but for you, I’ll make the effort—”

I cut myself off because his whole demeanor had changed. He’d gone from loose and easy, with a teasing smile and sparkling eyes, to balanced and squared off, his muscles taut and his eyes flashing with a predator’s gleam.

“What just happened?” I asked. I glanced over my shoulder, wondering if an intruder had broken in on the sly. I had been known to miss the obvious every once in a while.

“You have been with another vampire?” he asked in a rough voice. Menace crowded the room. “Was this recent?”

I let a smile drift up my face. “Aw, you’re jealous. How cute.” I patted him on the arm, ignoring the bulging muscles, and then proceeded to stoke the fires. He deserved it for knowingly backing me into this corner. For all I knew, he’d planned the whole thing. I wouldn’t put it past him. “Yes, I have been. You remember, I briefly mentioned it when we were in the Dungeon. I had a wild couple of years right after my mother died. I gave in to curiosity, let him bite me, and spent a solid month throwing my hands in the air as the O-Express took me for a ride. It was a good time.” My smile grew as the gleam in his eyes turned into something inhuman. Something monstrous.

I grinned. I knew what he was capable of, but he no longer knew my limitations. I’d grown in power, strength, and speed. Bring it on, swamp man.

“So yeah.” I shrugged. “I know how good it feels when your special serum spreads through the blood. So good. And the things that vampire did—”

He put his hand up to stop me. Fangs elongated. “Please stop,” he said softly. “Please.”

“How about this. Don’t jerk me around, and I won’t mention the long nights I spent with his mouth trailing up the inside of my—” I stopped again as he flinched and then bristled. I laughed. “Look, I’ll be an adult about this if you will. I made a promise, and I’ll stick to that promise if you rein in the teasing sex crap. I swore to myself I’d never repeat the vampire situation, and I would like to keep that promise.”

He took a deep breath, and I could see him fight for control over his primal, predatory side. The man had power in spades, and the more time I spent with him, the more I could see it.

He stuck out his hand. “I really have no choice, but it would be a shame to hold back on one of the most enjoyable parts of feeding.”

“Ew.” I didn’t have to pretend to grimace this time, but I shook his hand anyway. “Don’t say feeding. The idea of me being food is not pleasant.”

“Would you like to sleep in my bed?”

I paused in my shake and yanked my hand back, my mouth open and my eyes wide. “Really? You couldn’t even wait until after we finished shaking hands to start that up?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” He held up his hands in surrender. “For warmth and companionship. I am offering closeness.”

“That wasn’t even a good save.” I pushed him back into his room. “Hopefully, we’ll make it back before you need blood.”

“If that’s what you wish.”

“I wish that, yes. You know, I’m not sure I get this new Darius. A soft spot on you is about as comforting as a brown spot on white carpet. I don’t know how it got there, I don’t know exactly what it is, but I’m expecting the worst.”

He took a few steps back, giving me that danged teasing smile as he stepped from my room into his. This was a cat-and-mouse game, and I was way too stupid to play. It was a humbling situation.

“Good night. Or…good day, I guess. G’day. Mate.” My Australian accent was the pits. “Anyway. See ya.” I waved and moved to shut the door.

“Please engage the enhanced protections against the sun in your room,” he said before I had the door completely closed. “As a special favor to me. If you are in danger for any reason, I don’t want to fight the sun when joining the battle.”

“Fair enough, but don’t be creepy. Don’t sneak in here, stand at the foot of my bed, and stare at me. I will firebomb you so fast you won’t have time to dodge.”

“Noted. And Reagan?”

I sighed, keeping the door open a crack. “Yup?”

“I apologize in advance.”

“For what?” I asked, knowing there were eight hundred things he should probably apologize in advance for, and they all centered around that blood draw.

“I will find out who that vampire was, and kill him. I will not be able to live with the knowledge that another of my kind has consumed your blood.”

I blinked a few times. “I’m not sure what to say. Please don’t? That’s insane? You have lost it, my friend, and need professional help?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I will blame it on the shifters so it does not come back to you or me.”

“That does not make me feel better, no. Don’t do either of those things. That’s lunacy, Darius. Seriously, you’ve gone off the deep end, and it isn’t good news.” He winked at me and moved to close the door from his side. “Don’t you dare! We need to talk about this—”

I surged forward, and got a door shut in my face. The deadbolt clicked over.

“Are you serious?” I wiggled the handle on basic principle. I thought about forcing the issue, but I was tired, and it wouldn’t do much good anyway. Still, he should probably know what he was up against. “In the event that you don’t have a personality change, another personality change, I should say, I will most likely kick down this door before this case is resolved,” I yelled. “Know that.”