“Alright.” He folded his arms across his chest and leaned back against the shelving behind him, his muscular forearms flexing. “First time calling on your mag—”
“Don’t say the M-word, either.” I ditched my ice pack and grabbed the glass, chugging it down in a few swift gulps. “You said it yourself—it wasn’t witchcraft.”
“No, I said I’d never encountered anything like it among your people. That leaves room for a host of other possibilities.” His eyes never wavered from mine as he waited for my response.
It felt like being dissected.
And I couldn’t hold up under the scrutiny.
Tears pricked my eyes, my throat tightening.
“Her name was Bean,” I said softly. “She hit her head, and she just…” I squeezed my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose, forcing the tears to stay put. What was done was done. I could no more bring her back than I could my mother, and I’d already cried an ocean of tears for her. “Something took over inside me. Honestly, I doubt I could do it again, even if I had to.”
Darius watched me a long time, his expression neutral, his body eerily still. I could almost hear the wheels turning in his head, but I had no idea what he was thinking.
All I knew was that necromancy was highly illegal, punishable by death. Darius was required to report me, or he risked imprisonment as an accessory.
And fae prisons? No joke.
“We need to figure out what happened.” Darius glanced around the bar, quickly surveying his customers before returning his gaze to me. In a soft but reassuring voice, he said, “But I assure you, Gray. What transpired last night shall remain between us until and unless you deem otherwise. You have my word.”
“Your word.” Trying to bite back my sarcasm, I said, “And in exchange for the eternal silence of a vampire?”
“Hmm. To be determined.” That slow, unnerving smile spread across his face again. “Unless you’d like to come home with me tonight, settle our affairs the old-fashioned way.”
“A duel?”
Darius laughed, the sound as deep and warm as his golden-honey eyes. “Of a sort, Miss Desario.”
He stretched my last name into a sensuous whisper that slipped across my skin, leaving goosebumps in its wake.
I couldn't deny being curious about sex with a vampire—especially a powerful, commanding vampire like Darius. After all, they were strong, never ran out of breath, prided themselves on perfection, and most had had hundreds—even thousands—of years to hone their techniques.
But it was a rare vamp who invited you into his bed without strings attached.
Maybe even whips and handcuffs, too…
Simmer down, Gray. Simmer down.
As much as the fantasy heated up my insides, as I looked around at the other humans in the club, my veins filled with ice. Letting him take me like that… Leaving myself vulnerable and helpless, enslaved by the intoxicating pleasure of his every touch…
“Interesting,” he said playfully, and my gaze snapped to attention, my cheeks burning.
“What’s interesting?”
Darius leaned forward, his fingers brushing along my face, down to the pulse point on my throat. “Your heart rate has gone a bit erratic.”
“Because you’re making me nervous,” I whispered, but I didn’t flinch or pull away as he continued to stroke my skin. Truth was, I liked his touch. His smile. His soothing, seductive voice.
“I don’t think it’s nerves, love.” He traced a finger across my collarbone, and a full-bodied shiver rolled through me.
I closed my eyes and slipped into that fantasy again, Darius leading me into his wine-dark bedroom, blindfolding me with a silk tie…
Oh my God, what the hell iswrongwith me?
I finally pulled back and opened my eyes, severing the connection before my thoughts got any crazier. Sophie was right—it’d been way too long since I’d had sex, and now my libido was getting all amped up at the first sign of a cute guy.
Areallycute guy.
