“That’s… areallylong story.”
“You know what’s good for long stories?” Cole blew a plume of smoke into the night sky, then grinned. “My special home brew.”
Charley laughed. “That actually sounds—”
“Charlotte and I are heading back to Ravenswood tonight,” Dorian said sharply. It was the first he’d spoken since she’d picked them up, and though his voice was still hoarse, his tone left no room for argument.
Charley swallowed hard. Why did she get the distinct feeling she was in deep shit?
“You sure?” Cole asked. “I got the green stuff too. Might help get the taste of hellfire out of your lungs, Red.”
Dorian coughed again, shaking his head. “Another time, perhaps.”
“Suit yourself.” Cole leaned in through the driver’s side window and gave Charley a fist bump. “Catch you later, Fast and Furious. And hey—go easy on our boy here. I realize Red’s a grumpy ol’fuck, but it’s been a while since that antique heart of his saw so much goddamn excitement.”
Charley laughed. “I’ll do my best.”
When the guys were back inside, she finally turned to Dorian, meeting his gaze across the front seat. It was only a couple of feet, but suddenly, it felt like a mile.
“You okay?” she asked softly, reaching for his face. “I don’t like that you’re coughing.”
“And while we’re on the subject of things we don’t like…” He grabbed her wrist and glared at her, his golden-brown eyes igniting with anger. “You’ve got thirty seconds to explain what thefuckyou were thinking back there.”
Chapter Ten
“I don’t need thirty seconds, vampire,” Charlotte said. “I can do it in five.”
Dorian seethed. The anger burned through him as readily as the hellfire. “Well?”
Charlotte narrowed her eyes, her pulse thudding beneath his touch, a wild energy buzzing through her veins like electricity. Dorian sensedallof it—every beat, every rush, every richly-layered scent.
It made him dizzy and hungry and desperate to kiss her, but it wasn’t enough to spare her Dorian’s wrath.
She’d bloody near gotten herself killed tonight—more than once. And for what?
“You, Dorian Redthorne,” she snapped, jerking free of his grasp. “You’rewhy. And I’d do it again in a hot second, no matter how much it pisses you off. So if you’re going to lecture me about—”
“Aidenspecificallytold you to drive back to Ravenswood and—”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I don’t do well with orders. Not outside the bedroom, anyway.”
His own blood flared at the thought, but he was still too mad to do anything about it.
Scratch that. He wasfurious.
“You never listen, Charlotte. You put yourself in danger at every turn. You risked your life coming back for us tonight, and—”
“And it’s a damn good thing too. If I hadn’t, you, Cole, and Aiden might be dead. ”
“Highlyunlikely. Maimed, perhaps. But—”
“That demon bitch tried to incinerate you! She dropped your ass like a hot stone! I saw you fall and all I could think was—”
“You shouldn’t have seen that.” Dorian clenched his jaw, doing his best to hold back the torrent of curses he wanted to unleash. “You shouldn’t have evenbeenthere, Charlotte. If anything had happened—”
“Somethingdidhappen! You almost died!” She curled her hands into fists and closed her eyes. “God, Dorian! You’re the most obstinate, demanding, pig-headed vampire I’ve ever met! Does it ever get old, acting like you’re untouchable?”
“You tell me. You’re the one who seems to have a death wish. Either that, or you’ve spent so much time at Ravenswood, you suddenly believe you’re immortal.”
