Page 7 of Master Oradea

He flat out ignores me and looks to Michael. “I don’t make it a habit repeating myself. Do something with your sister, or I will.”

My eyes flash with anger. You don’t scare me. What are you going to do, vampire?

He smirks. I can hear you, enchantress. I’ll turn you over my knee and paddle your little ass if you don’t get moving.

An image of him tossing me over his knee while caressing my ass one minute before it heats my seat languishes in my mind. Holy hotness! I push the image quickly from my mind. After a night of tossing and turning, thinking of nothing but him, I refuse to waste another minute on this nonsense because there is no way I can be attracted to a brute like him. It just can’t be.

Michael clears his throat to step in, but Oradea puts up a hand. “I think your sister and I have an agreement now.” Oradea turns to me with a smug glint in his eye. “All set?” I huff at the infuriating beast, spin on a heel, and leave him to follow me out the door, hoping that I at least have time to send them a text and tell them what to pack before they go get my things.

We’ve barely made it out the door before remorse for my bad behavior settles in. It’s not the vampire’s fault that I’ve managed to land myself in the middle of a vampire war, or that my brothers are the most overbearing men I know, and he is trying to do the right thing for a lot of people, mainly me. I suck in a breath, letting myself calm, as we head out the door.

I wait until we’re outside, away from my brothers, before I turn around. “I didn’t ask for any of this, but I do appreciate you taking me under your wing, so to speak, and protecting me. I didn’t mean to sound ungrateful back there. Everything just caught me by surprise. The fact that my brothers think coming with you is a good idea means they are taking this very seriously. It must be killing them that they can’t protect me themselves. I’m sorry for the way I acted.”

His dark eyes survey me, and he doesn’t make me grovel or feel bad about my behavior although he probably should. “Apology accepted. I’m parked over here.” Oradea walks me to a sleek black Maserati that comes to life with a touch of his remote. Once I’m settled into the bucket seat, he closes the door and walks around to the other side, sniffing the night air before getting in.

“What were you doing? That sniffing thing?” He buckles his seat belt, then looks at me strangely for half a second. I’m not sure if he intends to answer or ignore my nosiness, but then he turns toward me. “I was trying to catch the scent of the shifters. They let off a mangy scent that you can smell for miles away. They were the ones protecting Lucas last night. There are many of them who have turned to the rogue’s camp, and they’re dangerous.”

I’m quiet on the ride back to his estate, taking it all in, but as we approach tall iron gates covered in moss, my heart begins to race. He stops at the gate and flips a lever on the dash that opens the wall in front of us and turns to me. “There’s nothing to be scared of. No one beyond these walls will hurt you. They will do everything in their power to protect you. People like you are the reason we began fighting the rogues and the witches. We didn’t want to see innocents hurt during a time when it happened frequently.”

Thoughts of my younger days, with my mother and grandmother settle in my mind. “I probably soaked up every unimportant piece of drivel and lore that exists about them. My grandmother was obsessed with witches.”

The sexy brute exhales. “You don’t say.”

“Yeah, ask me anything. She spent her whole life teaching me that stuff. It was her passion. So, tell me, why are you fighting the war with the rogues, really? How did it start? The only thing I know about vampires is that you believe land that belongs to the witches belongs to you.”

His jaw sets tight as he pulls through the gate, and we make our way down the winding drive, under the large three-story house, and into the garage that holds at least a dozen cars. He comes around to open my door before he says a word. “There was a time when all the pureblooded vampires would kill any human around and drink their blood. Now we process it and get it a million different legitimate ways without killing a living soul. The rogues want to go back to the way it used to be. So, like I said, you’re more than safe at my estate. I’m not going to let anything happen to you, as long as you follow my rules.”

I give him a shy smile, and my chest constricts. It’s one thing to be willing to fight to the death for a noble cause such as theirs, but it’s an entirely different feel altogether when you know the vampire is fighting to save your own. It’s humbling in a way that I have a hard time even understanding myself and am dying to talk to Chara about. And not just to talk about how incredibly handsome this very tall, muscular male specimen is and what it’s doing to my already overactive libido.

Mother nature is saying it’s time, and the dark-eyed devil just happens to appear in my world at the very same time, and I just happen to get stuck with him as a protector, out of the sight of my brothers. A slow smile spreads across my lips. I blame you, destiny.

Chapter 7

Oradea

Elda greets us at the door, hovering like a mother hen. “This is Natalia. She’ll be staying with us for the foreseeable future.”

The motherly woman gives her a smile. “If you need anything at all, just ask. I’m more than happy to help,” she says, although she looks slightly harried. “Overmaster Descallia and Lucianna just came down from a nap while you were out. I’m going to pop into the kitchen and make sure they have everything they need. The ladies have been helping me with preparations while you men have been out, but there’s still so much to do.”

My eyes narrow, suspecting she’s working alone. “You should stop sending all the staff home and dealing with everything yourself. That’s why we have them, Elda.”

She smiles. “I know, but Elise’s little one has the cough.”

I gesture to the kitchen. “Go, I’ll take care of showing Natalia to her room.”

I find myself alone with the bright-eyed innocent who filled my dreams last night. The very forbidden baby sister of the syndicate we need on our side and who have warned me to stay away from the desirable young woman. I inhale a breath, as she stands looking up at me with those blue eyes, perched on her four-inch Louboutins. “Let’s go find you a room to get settled into.” I head through the great room, leaving her to follow me up the marble stairs to the second story of the home to avoid staring at her ass wrapped in that tight pink skirt.

If I had any sense at all, I would place her at the very opposite wing of mine, but I don’t. Instead, I walk right toward my room and open the suite next to mine, telling myself it’s for her protection, that having her closer will allow me to keep her safe, when nothing could be farther from the truth. At least not in my dreams, because all I want to do is devour her with my need.

The fact that I’m irresistibly drawn to the forbidden young virgin now in my care only makes her that much more desirable. Which is a problem I’m going to need to fix. Off limits is off limits, end of story. Especially with so much on the line.

When we reach her room, I stand aside so she can go in, watching as she takes in the vast suite that overlooks the east side lawn. She touches the magenta-colored bedspread that covers the queen-sized four poster bed and lays her purse on the floral reading chair with a matching ottoman in the corner.

I gesture to the drapes. “The material is heavy. They keep out the sunlight for obvious reasons. The remote on the nightstand by your bed will open and close them. I’d prefer that you not go out onto the balcony without me. We have security around the perimeter, but best not to tempt anyone with an easy target. Remember, the menaces of the underworld do not play by the same rules as you and your brothers. They can fly and leap, okay?”

Her eyes go wide, and she hugs her slim waist. I glance down at the high heels, short skirt, and blouse she wears. Not that I mind seeing her in that, but if she’s going to be hanging out with me, she’s going to need some sensible clothes. “Can you have your brothers bring you something else to wear, maybe some hiking boots or at least tennis shoes?”

Natalia’s eyebrows arch. “Why?”

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