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“Cara,” he said. “It’s important that you tell me everything. Your life could depend on it.”
I blew out a shaky breath. “You said… ‘I ‘vant you to suck my cock.’ Then you opened up your cape and you were butt naked underneath. And very erect,” I added.
Lucian stared at me for several long seconds, leaving me to wonder if he was about to reveal whatever my dreams meant was some sure sign of danger. Finally, his lips shook and then broke into a smile. Then he was bent over laughing.
“What?” I demanded. “What is so funny?”
“I’m sorry,” he said when he finally calmed down. “I didn’t think you were actually going to tell me so much.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s possible I over-stated the danger of what your dreams could mean. I was mostly just curious what the ‘kink’ you spoke of was.”
My nostrils flared. I was going to kill him. Slowly.
“Come on,” he said. “I vant you to come with me.”
I punched his arm a few times. “I hope that bruise doesn’t heal.”
“It will,” he promised, grinning with that obnoxious dimple on full display.
Asshole.
23
Cara
The place Lucian brought me to was some sort of smelly, loud, poorly lit fighting ring. There was a caged arena in the center and cushy leather seating surrounding the ring.
“Please tell me this isn’t what it looks like.”
Lucian showed me to a seat near the back. It was a long, pleated leather couch in a semi-circle facing the ring. There was a menu on the table, which made me shudder at the thought of what would be on a vampire menu, considering I hadn’t seen Lucian eat anything except the blood of the two women in the alley.
“This is probably what it looks like,” he said. Lucian was dressed in one of the suits I’d helped him select, and I had to say he wore it well. The whole suit was a deep shade of crimson with accents of charcoal gray. The effect was striking against his pale, sculpted features and dark eyes.
“Why are we here?”
“The Marsh children used to be members of The Order. I’m hoping I can convince them to come back to the side of The Pact. But they also have an unhealthy obsession with the fighting pits,” he said, gesturing to the ring in the center of the room. “So I thought I would diplomatically bring up the topic when they were somewhere they loved.”
“And you think this will stop Bennigan from coming after you?”
“It will be a step in that direction. Hopefully. The more alliances and strength we can show is on our side, the more reasons he’ll have to think twice.”
“Having a perverted old vampire living in your house who likes to reminisce about the good ol’ days when he tortured virgins also didn’t seem to stop Bennigan. Are you sure things even work the way they used to?”
“Bennigan was hoping to take you. It wasn’t a true attempt on my life or Alaric’s. Vampires don’t die easily or by accident. It’s quite common to send a message through violence, but a true killing. I don’t think it matters how much things have changed since my captivity. Killing without cause would start a war.”
“Wait. I thought you killed Bennigan’s wife? Alaric made it sound like it was an accident, but—”
“Some acts justify a true death,” He said curtly. “I don’t regret what I did.”
I raised my eyebrows, then looked down, feeling like I’d just touched a forbidden topic and needed to change the subject. “Not that you aren’t charming,” I said with a touch of sarcasm. “But why would killing you start a war?”
“Because a true death is already a serious crime. But the true death of an elder is considered a high crime. Whether a vampire believes in The Pact or not, nobody wants us to neuter ourselves by wiping out the most powerful among us.”
“So you’re saying you’re old, even for a vampire? You mean I’ve been having kinky sex fantasies about a bloodthirsty geezer?”
Lucian grinned wickedly. “This bloodthirsty geezer only has so much patience for being insulted.”
“Is that so?” I asked. “What happens when I test your patience? Are you going to bite me?” Tauntingly, I stretched my neck to the side, exposing the flesh there. I’d meant it as a joke, but Lucian’s eyes flickered as he stared down at my neck. He swallowed, then ran his teeth over his lower lip. I hadn’t ever noticed his canines look quite as large as they did then. Although I remembered how long they’d felt while we were kissing.
Just the flash of memory from the kiss made my skin flush even hotter. I assumed it was the bond’s fault, but I had hardly been able to stop thinking about that brief kiss. I’d kissed guys before, but nothing I’d ever done made my body react the way it had from a few stolen moments of contact with Lucian.
