Nothing at all.
She squirmed in her seat, still pressing into her stomach with both hands. Blood mushroomed out from under her palms, soaking her shirt. “If you are so mad about Milky-eye, why didn’t you just keep ol’ Chad for questioning?” Vivien asked with a pout. Her face had paled, and she seemed wilted, her strength waning before my eyes. We needed to get her blood, now. I fought back the unexpected wave of panic.
“Because,” I said, “a freshly turned vampire is unlikely to have as much information as the sekhor who was sent to retrieve you.”
She slouched. “Fair point. Well, Milky-eye did a terrible job escorting me to the master. He went all psycho and wanted to cut me open. But right before you popped his top off, I saw something switch in his head, forcing him to stop.”
“Can you stop bleeding everywhere?”
“You’re not even listening to me.”
“You are not here to think. You are not here to speak. I only need you to draw out the master. And you managed to find a way to screw even that up.”
A flush returned to her cheeks and the knot in my chest loosened. If I could still rile her, she would make it the short distance left to Sinopolis.
“Again,” she said, “you are the one who ripped the dude’s head off. While you definitely qualify as a grim dude, you should have everyone call you cranky pants. Do you even hear how macho and overbearing you sound?”
“Oh for heaven’s sake,” I said, unable to sit back one second longer. I pulled my jacket off, and slid over to the seat next to her. Nudging her hands away, I pressed my jacket against her wound.
Vivien stared up into my eyes, mouth slightly parted. Caught in her gaze, I wanted to lean down and capture her lips in a kiss, carry her into my bedroom, and keep her in there until danger forgot about her existence. A deep protectiveness had been stirred inside me. I desired to keep her safe and all to myself. When she infuriated me, I could chain her up, gag her, and do creative, pleasurable things to her body until she was worn out.
What was it about her that drew me in so? Was it because she was a sekhor, and it had been centuries since I’d encountered such a being? Perhaps. But more likely, she made me feel as though I weren’t alone. She’d been dropped in a world of supernatural danger and took it all in stride. Her tenacity to do things her way, while foolish, and bullheaded, was refreshing. The saucy retorts this spitfire threw my way sometimes made me want to break out laughing. Everything about her stimulated me for better or worse.
“Your jacket is ruined.” Vivien’s voice was low and husky.
I was tempted to say my life was ruined when I met her, but I wasn’t one for dramatics. Instead, I studied the gold flecks near her irises. “You can buy me a new one with that three hundred dollars you stole.”
She frowned as her eyes sparked. “I did not steal. You cost me that cash when you chased Chad off, so you owed me. I simply took what was mine when youconvenientlyforgot to repay me.”
“Well, now you owe me,” I said, silencing her. “Bleeding all over my car, my jacket, and…” I slid a finger under the cupcake charm that dipped between the swell of her breasts. “What is this?” She hadn’t been wearing it earlier.
“It’s a clue, Scooby Doo.” Despite her sarcasm, her words came out breathy as I continued to finger the necklace with interest. “It was on Chad’s body. I think it used to be mine because when I saw it, disjointed memories and impressions came back to me. I think I might have been a baker.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Cupcakes, cookies, sweets?” My tongue curled around the words, while my eyes drifted down past the charm to what I suspected was far sweeter than any baked good. She audibly gulped and squirmed as my gaze touched her, traveling down her breasts and then to her thighs.
After seeing her nearly gutted, I wanted to reassure myself of her liveliness. While I would never seduce a woman in an injured or compromised state, it didn’t mean I couldn’t imagine what it would be like tasting her. Or wonder what sounds she made in the throes of passion while I filled her again and again until she lost her mind. Would she ball her hands in the sheets or rake her nails down my back?
I gently removed my jacket and then pushed away her hands to get a better view of the wound. With an audible rip, I tore off the bottom half of her shirt, careful not to brush up against her laceration, revealing her torso.
“Looks like it’s already healing,” I said, unable to keep my eyes from drifting to her navel. Indeed the skin was knitting itself together over the exposed muscle more rapidly than I expected. Still, she would need blood to recover.
Heat filled what little space remained separating us as my thoughts continued to fuel my arousal. Dragging my tongue across my teeth, I fought the deep hunger I felt for her. Though she didn’t need oxygen, her chest rose and fell as if her breathing was labored. Her verdant orbs glazed over, reminding me of sea glass.
There was something here more than lust. Something far more dangerous and sinister. I couldn’t afford to fall into whatever was yawning between us.
Licking my lips, I slid back and a mewl of disappointment escaped her. I clenched my jaw and turned away.
Get a hold of yourself, man. She is far more dangerous than even she knows.
As soon as we returned to the penthouse, I wasted no time retrieving a bag of blood from the refrigerator, which Timothy made sure to stock, and poured the contents into a mug. I did my best to ignore Vivien, as her lips formed a dumbfounded gape, while I heated up the cold liquid in the microwave. She blinked when I handed the cup to her.
“The words you are searching for arethank you,” I said.
She blinked a second time before peering into the mug. “You made me dinner.”
“What? No, I—”
In a sing-song voice, she said, “Grim likes me. He made me dinner.” Then with an evil grin, she said in a normal tone, “What’s next? Flowers, chocolates?”
