“Sorry. Too tempting.” He licked the twin punctures he’d left behind.
Reality and fatigue mixed in with the warm sensation of his venom.Of course a vampire would bite at the height of pleasure.
“Just the hazards of having a vampire betrothed.” My limbs felt like they weighed a dozen extra pounds as my every muscle seemed to relax at the same time.
He rolled to the side and helped me curl up against his solid frame. “Mate. Outside of this room, you’ve got to use the proper term.”
I hummed in agreement, tucking my head under his chin. “Mate.” I was content to leave it at that and drift off. He stroked my hair and the darkness closed in, blissful unconsciousness beckoning?—
There was a knock at the door.
“For fuck’s sake,” Zane muttered.
“Huh?” I slowly stirred from my daze. “Maybe they’ll go away.”
That hope was dashed when a more insistent knock sounded a few moments later, along with Finn’s muffled voice. “Lady, um, Ilyana?”
I reluctantly left rest behind as I got up and waved away some of the thick clouds of Zane’s darkness. Instead of chasing my discarded garments, I donned a set of nightclothes and my disguise as Ilyana before opening the door.
Finn startled when he got a look at me on the other side of the threshold, Nibs sitting alert on his shoulder.Is everything okay?I signed.
The seneschal wouldn’t let me return to my old bed.He flashed a sheepish smile.Are you guys done in there? Or should I…He hooked a thumb over his shoulder.
Behind me, I heard Zane’s voice muttering from a curl of shadow. Something that sounded like “for fuck’s sake” again.
Chapter 18
Sidney
I opened my eyes to total darkness. With curtains heavy enough to devour light and walls thick enough to deny the dawn, it was the same suffocating blackness I’d known as a child.
I slipped from the bed and crossed the room, settling into a nearby chair. From there, I listened to the steady breathing of the two vampires who’d moved into my quarters. Zane’s chest rose and fell in an even cadence, an arm thrown possessively over the space where I had just been. Shadows pooled around him even in rest.
Behind me, Finn’s soft snoring provided a rhythmic counterpoint. The red-headed vampire had claimed the chaise near the wall, one arm flung over his eyes, the other dangling toward the floor, where Nibs nested in a shoe. Butters had joined them too, curled against Finn’s hip like a loyal sentry keeping watch over his sleeping vampire.
The healed bite marks Zane left throbbed with a dull warmth, twin reminders of last night’s claiming, which I yearned to repeat.
My internal clock told me the sun had risen. Urgency jolted in my heart.“I’d best see you while the sun is still in the sky,”Adelaide had said.
The leather armor hugged my natural curves as I fastened it. I slipped on the bracelet of fangs. Adelaide’s magic uncoiled from the woven grass and ivory, and the guise took hold. I grabbed my weapons and finally drew a cloak around me, hiding everything beneath its folds.
I went over to press a kiss to Zane’s forehead, breathing in the cedarwood of his cologne.
Finn’s eyes opened as I crept toward the door. At first, he blinked slowly, his brow furrowing as he looked at me without recognition. Then, his gaze dropped to my leathers. The sleep vanished from his face, and his champagne-colored gaze sharpened.
Going somewhere?he signed, sitting up.
To the temple. Then the witch. I need to refresh the glamor.
Want company?
I shook my head.
Ash is waiting.Finn stood and moved closer.Marcus helped me free him and Boris while you and Zane were…occupied.A blush crept up his neck, blooming across his cheeks until even the tips of his ears burned.I guessed that you might need a discreet mount when you sneak out of the mansion.
I stepped into his space until our chests nearly brushed. When his gaze focused on my face, I said, “Finn. Zane and I have talked. He knows how I feel about you.”
Finn stepped back, his hand dragged his hand through his hair as his brows pinched, like he was trying to smooth out a thought he didn’t like.
