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"Hey," she begged, catching his closest hand to pull it down and wrap her fingers around his. "You lost a lot of vitality yesterday. That's not a little thing, never mind dealing with the rest of what happened."
"I got jumped," he explained. "Dahlia, it's happened before. I'm pretty sure it will happen again."
"And one of us shouldn't be why you aren't safe here!" she hissed.
Which meant she didn't think he could handle himself either. Pulling his arm out from under her neck, he rolled towards the edge of the bed, knowing when he wasn't wanted. The moment his feet hit the floor, Dahlia sat up, realizing he was leaving.
"I am not blaming you," she insisted. "Thane, I'm just worried about you."
"I'm fine," he insisted, wondering where the hell he'd left his pants.
"You slept for eighteen hours," she countered. "That bitch took yourlife, Thane. It's not like you can just fuck for some more." She crawled across the mattress after him. "Look, there's no reason we can't just stay in today and cuddle, right? I think there's even a pizza place that delivers."
He found his pants, snagged them, and started working them the right side out. "What, so you don't have to constantly worry about keeping my ass safe? Fuck. The only reason that bitch got the jump on me was because I was trying to be nice!" He held up his bare arm, showing the cross tattooed on it. "I had my ward covered. I left my clavum at home. Well, guess what? I've learned my lesson."
"Thane..." Dahlia tried.
But his pants weren't cooperating, and he really didn't want to have her babying him. He was sick of being babied, tired of being reminded just how fragile he was, and done with being kept around like a fucking pet. He was here to protecther. Instead, all he'd done, over and over, was make sure that this woman saw each and every one of his flaws.
So he threw his jeans at the corner and headed for the living room butt-ass naked. It wasn't like anyone would see anything. Dahlia always kept the curtains drawn, just because she didn't want someone walking past to see the wrong thing: her fucking, her feeding, or anything worse. It was also the fastest way to get to the coffee maker, and he wasn't quite awake enough to keep up with that woman without a little mental assistance.
"Goddammit!" Dahlia snapped, following after him, just as underdressed. "Don't you get it? You almost died!"
He stopped in the living room and spun to face her. "I was there. Yeah, I figured that out, but thanks for rubbing it in. But here's the thing. I'm not dead. I'm not going to stay weak and scared because there might be an eidolon outside. In case you missed it, I was actually hoping to stick my dick in one, but that didn't work out so well."
"Because it will take days for you to rebuild that vitality," Dahlia insisted. "Thane, the last thing I'm going to do is hurt you."
"And you don't think this hurts?" he shot back. "Has it crossed your mind that maybe, just maybe, I've been busting my ass to impress you, and I keep fucking failing? Talk about some damned salt in the wound, Dahl'. Jesus."
He turned for the kitchen again, but this woman wasn't like the ones he'd dated before. No, she didn't flinch when he raised his voice, reminding him to hold his temper. She raised hers to match instead. She pushed him, she challenged him, and she'd made him think that had been a sign of respect.
But now he realized what a fool he'd been. She was the protector. She'd picked him because she thought he was the one who needed to be pampered and coddled. Well, he had no intention of letting that happen. Laird was getting information about the Church, then Brice would get him out, and together they'd make it clear to this coven of undead that being alive wasn't a weakness!
Reaching the coffee maker, he grabbed a cup from the cabinet with one hand, a pod from the box with the other, and put everything where it belonged. The moment he shut the lid, the lights started blinking, demanding he make his selections. Thane was pressing those, hoping he got the right order, when Dahlia flopped against the counter beside him.
"So I'm supposed to beat up on you now too?" she asked, a hint of frustration tinting her words.
"Look," he growled, smacking the last button before turning to face her. "I'm fine! I've been taking care of myself for a long damn time now, and maybe I'm not as old or as powerful as you, but I know what I feel! I'm not dragging ass. I'm not 'barely clinging to life.' I'm not completelyuseless,but damned if you aren't making me feel that way! So yeah, I count that as beating up on me."
"Not what I meant," she huffed. "Thane, do you know what we do to people we only see as meals?"
"Fuck the shit out of them and ghost," he shot back, because he was pretty sure that was what she'd intended to do after their little fuck-fest in the club.
"Yeah, if we like them," she said. "Or did you forget about the man at the strip club? What about the ones who think we should be monogamous? They last a year, maybe two, tops. I feed on life. Sometimes, that's yours, and all I'm trying to do is make sure that you have enough time in between so that I don't leave you as a corpse!"
He leaned right into her face. "And. I. Am. Fine."
She just lifted her chin, refusing to be intimidated. "And while that succubus was prevented from raping you, Cain, Nikki, and I killed a man, drank his blood, and devoured his flesh. Not everyone lives through an encounter with us, Thane. I'm just trying to make sure that this is the worst thing that happens to you."
But his heart had stopped and his guts were clenching. No, he didn't let it show on his face, and he certainly wouldn't let her know how hard her words hit, but they had. Rape. Except that bitch hadn't raped him. She hadn't touched his dick at all. Sure, she'd kissed him, but that wasn't a big deal.
And yet he'd thought the same thing just as he was about to pass out. He'd admitted the helpless feeling - to himself, since he'd never say that to anyone else. He'd felt the fear that he'd finally found the fight he couldn't win. No, he still didn't think it was rape, but that feeling? That experience?
It was not something he'd ever forget.
ChapterTwenty-Six
DAHLIA
