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“In Luna’s room. Because she tried to escape.”
His expression changes. His forehead creases and there’s a flicker of irritation, maybe even anger, in his eyes. “What did you do to her? You said you brought her here to protect her while we try to figure out—”
“I didn’t do anything to her.” My lips twitch as the image of her shaking and orgasming onto my hand dances through my mind. “Not before the escape, at least. She made that decision completely unprompted by anything I’d done.”
Kim’s jaw twitches. “I don’t like this, Lucien. If the girl wants to leave—”
Rage blooms in my gut. I stand up and slam my fists on the desk. I feel my eyes flash red, and I feel her blood – the tiny amount I licked from her hand – flutter in my throat. “If she leaves, she could die!” I shout so loudly the lights rattle and the walls seem to creak.
“We have no proof of that, Lucien. The vampires who attacked her were there because of the box.” Kim is speaking calmly and firmly, unrattled by my display of anger.
I leave the desk and start pacing the room. I want to break something. I flex my fingers, clench my fists, then pick up the decanter of whiskey on the sideboard and throw it at the wall. It shatters, stains the wallpaper, and the scent of the alcohol fills the air.
“They were there because of her!”
Raising his hands as if he’s surrendering, Kim says, “All right, okay, I’ll fix the window. But you need to promise you won’t hurt her.”
I swallow hard, throat twitching at the thought of the deep, scarlet liquid that dripped down her arm when she cut herself. “She is already hurt. She cut herself when she broke the window. See to that, too.” I hesitate then meet his eyes. “While you’re with her...”
Kim nods and rolls his eyes slightly. “I’ll see if I can get a read on her. If I sense the same energy.”
“Good.” I roll my tongue over my teeth then reach into my pocket and take out the key to Luna’s room. “Give this back when you’re done.”
He looks at the key, then at me, and sighs a little. “Fine. Where are your tools?”
I frown at him. “Tools?”
“Hammer? Nails?”
I wave a dismissive hand. “Basement somewhere.”
“And a first aid kit?”
“You think I own a first aid kit? I’m a vampire, Kim. I heal on my own.”
Kim slurps the last of his coffee. The noise grates at my temples. “You really need to employ some more people. Big scary mafia guy like you, shouldn’t you have a house full of staff to do this shit?”
I step toward him, foot crunching on the broken decanter. “I tried that. It didn’t work out,” I mutter through gritted teeth. “I keep my inner circle close these days.”
“If you say so.” Kim shakes his head, disappearing through the door and closing it behind him.
He’s part way down the corridor when I hear him say, “Fucking vamps. Crazy mother fuckers.”
I return to my desk and re-open the bookshop feed, then take the flask of blood from the drawer. Taking a long swig, holding it in my mouth for a second to savor the taste, I flick to the previous recordings from the shop and find the one that shows Luna receiving the box.
I press play and sit back.
“Yeah,” I mutter as I watch her opening the box and peering inside, shadows flickering. “We are crazy mother fuckers.”
Chapter 12
Luna
Despite Lucien slamming the painting back over the window, it is freezing in here. Fingers of icy cold air sneak in through the gaps between the back of the picture frame and the open window, and they trail over my exposed skin making me shiver.
I rub my arms and reach for the blanket at the foot of the bed. I wrap it around myself, but it still doesn’t feel like enough.
And I’m still breathless and shaky from the orgasm he wrung from my trembling body.
