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He'd never heard the name before, but then again, she was American, and who knew what they named their children after. Although it did sound somewhat Spanish-like. "Fine, Yesenia. But don't think the informality makes us friends. I'm Mr. Yates or Yates to you."
Something flickered in her eyes but vanished before he could blink. She asked, "Is it really true that I'm your bride?"
He'd told Nora not to tell the female the truth just yet. He'd be having a word with his sister later. "Unfortunately, yes."
She arched an eyebrow. "Then I know you can't hurt me and that you need me more than I need you."
Bloody hell.This female was turning out to be clever as well as beautiful and brave. Not many stood up to him on first acquaintance, even if they didn't know he was a Dark Lord of London.
For a split second, Leo was tempted to kiss that smugness off her face and startle her. But instead, he merely shrugged. "I only need to bite and fuck you once. And you'll stay here until you give in and grant that to me. Try to escape if you dare, but you won't succeed."
Nora let out a curse, but Leo ignored it.
Yesenia finally stood and walked up to him before poking him in the chest. Hard. "You can't dictate orders to me. No matter if this is really London, you can't keep me prisoner against my will. Even the human authorities will say it's wrong."
He snorted and added naïve to her list of attributes. "Tell yourself that. You've obviously never dealt with the bobbies or politicians in London." She opened her mouth, but Leo was done with her questions. The sooner she understood her place and precarious situation, the better. "News has already spread about a fae witch being my bride. If I give the word, no one will help you inside my patch of London. And with a few quickly placed words to my allies, none of the shifters or even fae witches in a twenty-mile radius will help you either." He leaned closer, loving how her pupils dilated a fraction and her heart sped up at his nearness. Oh, yes, it'd be easy enough to seduce this female when the time came. "Of course if you want to come back to my rooms tonight and get this all over with, I'll let you go afterward and never bother you again."
She frowned. Good. He'd caught her off guard.
"So what do you say, Yesenia? Let me bite and fuck you, and then you can go free. I'll even ensure no other vampire in London will harm you, as well as give you a carriage and train fare to wherever you need to go in the United Kingdom."
He could see the indecision on her face. His instinct said to wait for her answer. But he couldn't help leaning in another inch to inhale her warm female scent and make her heart race a bit faster.
* * *
Yesenia had fully intendedto interrogate the vampire male to get some much-needed answers.
But then he'd gone and threatened her, promising to make her life hell in a strange land with no money and no friends. And since vampires couldn't lie, it was the truth.
In other words, he could make her life extremely difficult if he wanted. And while he might be an arrogant asshole, she couldn't deny she'd sensed his aura of power from the moment he'd entered the room. She might resist him, given her motivations to save her brother and sister, but his self-assurance and confidence probably attracted other females like bees to honey.
She'd done a good job of resisting, too, until he'd moved closer to her, to the point she could see the golden flecks in his brown eyes. He was far too sexy, with a chiseled jaw and firm, full lips. Not even his slightly too long nose or the scar on one cheek could make him unattractive. No, he made her breasts heavy and her pussy throb without even trying.
And Yesenia fucking hated her traitorous body.
Once he gave her a proposal—let him do his weird vampire claiming stuff and he'd pay for her to go anywhere she wanted—Yesenia did her best to ignore his heat and the scent of male and something almost citrus-like. She needed to think, and quickly.
Needing distance to concentrate, she stepped back and cleared her throat. "Before I agree or not, I have some questions."
His mouth ticked up at one side as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Do you now? Well, I could simply refuse to answer them. I hold all the cards here, witch, and you know it."
Arrogance had to be this vampire's middle name. "Maybe, but according to your sister, you're pretty protective of females. So even if you can't physically hurt me because of being your bride, I doubt you'll ask others to hurt me either. And the longer you resist claiming me, the more it'll drive you crazy and take over your every thought, if I remember right from my vampire studies in school."
Annoyance danced in his eyes and his lips thinned. He obviously didn't think she knew about that vampire factoid.
Score one point for Yesenia. She needed more than a few, for sure, but it was a start.
He growled, "Since when are there vampire studies in school? Who taught you these things?"
Everyone learned about other paranormal creatures in school, no matter the country. It was yet another nail in the coffin of her hope this was all some weird historical society trying to live like they were in the nineteenth century instead of it actually being 1890.
Until she could go outside, explore, and see it for herself, Yesenia wouldn't fully believe she was in the past. Although her gut was starting to scream she was.
And if that turned out to be true, she needed to determine whether another time-wielder had sent her here—they were notorious in the legends for matchmaking—or if Yesenia had somehow come here by her own power.
What she needed, more than anything, was information.
Brushing aside Leo's confusion, she stated, "Here's what I want before I let you claim me—some money to get around, access to every fae witch library in London, a meeting with a fae witch assessor, and a guarantee you'll keep me safe until I can go home. Do that, and I'll let you do your vampire thing without complaint and then be on my way."
