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“Partially,” he admits, adjusting his head on the pillow so he can better look at me. “I also don’t approve of rapists still drawing breath.”
A shocked laugh escapes me.
Spirits, it feels good to laugh.
“Rapist? He was my ex-date. He was angry because I stole something from him.”
Jasper doesn’t seem fazed by the information. “He was going to try to rape you. He was as hard as a rock. His pupils were dilated, and he wouldn’t have been the first bear shifter activated by rage.”
“Just because he was a bear shifter doesn’t mean he was a rapist,” I counter.
“No, it doesn’t,” he agrees. “They’re not all bad, but as with every race, some are susceptible to certain traits. You stole something from him and he likely wanted his due in return.”
I blink at him, stunned.
“But he was a bookkeeper,” I protest.
“And a bear shifter,” he counters, then he tilts his head and gives me one of his panty-melting grins. “So, did you steal a book, then?”
“Maybe.”
“Hmm.”
We fall into silence, but it’s an easy silence. One where Jasper is looking into my eyes, seeming to read my soul, while his thumb continues to stroke my fingers.
He toys with the lines of my palm, then makes little circles on the inner side of my wrist.
It’s driving me crazy.
“So, who sent you to kill me?” I ask. I have my suspicions, even if I don’t want to be right.
Because it means the patriarchs haven’t been fully dealt with yet.
“It was another vampire,” he says.
I frown because that doesn’t sound correct. The Outcast Coven doesn’t typically work with vampires.
He continues those little circles on the inside of my wrist. “I didn’t know it at the time, but the vampire who gave me the task was my brother.”
My eyes widen. “What do you mean, you didn’t know?”
His gaze drops to my lips as he talks. “You know that little memory spell you hit me with? Paired with the shock of a mate connection, it overrode something that had been done to my mind a long time ago. All these years, I thought that I had killed my brothers. Myfamily.” He shakes his head as if bewildered. “They’ve been alive all this time.”
“But why would your brother, orbrothers, want to kill me?” That question comes to the forefront, although I also want to ask how the hell he hasbrothers, plural.
It’s unusual for a vampire to have a sibling, given that vampires are one of the older species in existence. Nature has a way of evening things out, so procreation has proved incredibly difficult for vampires; otherwise, the world would be terribly overpopulated with them. It’s rare for them to have multiple children, much less one, but not impossible.
“I don’t know,” he admits. His touch skates up my arm as he talks, raking up and down on the naked skin until he leaves goose bumps behind. “But what I do know is that the name you said meant something to me.Daithi O’Neely.” The name is a sneer on his lips.
I stiffen against it, but I remain silent. I want to hear what Daithi is to him without my bias.
To me, Daithi O’Neely is a disgusting, worthless piece of trash. If he lives, I’ll be grateful, only because I will revel in killing him all over again.
Slowly this time.
“I suspect they are working for these patriarchs of yours you mentioned. If they are, there’s powerful magic at play to control vampires like my brothers because they’d never go along with this willingly.” His fingers traipse across my jawline until he traces my lips. “What can you tell me about these patriarchs?”
My mouth parts as his touch coaxes my tongue out to taste him.
