Page 151 of Filthy Rich Vampires: For Eternity

Zina stilled, not looking at the Queen at her side but directly at me. I braced myself for her anger, her disbelief, but she shook her head and looked at Julian. “You stupid fool.”

He smirked, but inside me, darkness rustled, his magic rumbling awake. “If I had a nickel for every time I heard that.”

“This is why you’re rushing to marry,” she seethed.

“That was his mother’s idea.”

Zina drew back like I’d smacked her. “Sabine Rousseaux would never sanction your marriage to...”

“Careful,” Mariana hissed. “She is your sister.”

But I was past caring. At least the gloves were finally coming off. Plus, I had a better parting shot. “Who do you think published the banns?” I asked her.

She glanced to Julian for confirmation.

“She’s planning our wedding as we speak.” He tugged me a few steps back. “Which means we have to cut this meeting short. We need to meet with her and prepare for The Third Rite.”

Mariana looked like she was holding back laughter as Aurelia stomped toward the door, following us. Her shoulders squared as she reached the door and opened it for us.

We stepped through it as Zina called, “You’ll both regret this.”

CHAPTER FIFTY

LYSANDER

“What are you doing here?” Lia’s sharp voice shattered the library’s quiet.

I slammed my book shut and slid it onto the shelf. Her scent filled the air around me, tart and ripe and baiting. A memory of her lips, her body moving with mine, flashed to my mind. She would never let me get that close to her again. Not after I’d left her here.

I turned to face her, bracing myself. But there was no adequate preparation for seeing her. She was dressed for this evening, for whatever devilry the Vampire Council had concocted for The Third Rite. Black lace draped her shoulders like spilled ink on a perfect canvas. The gown found every soft, generous curve before pooling at her feet. But Lia didn’t pale in that darkness. Not with her strength and fire, with all of her talk of duty. She commanded it. Her hair was freed from its usual braid, falling over her shoulders in a soft curtain. The lift of her brows, the tilt of her nose, the scar bisecting her brow, and the bow of her lips were the same as the memory of that kiss. Her velvet eyes smoldered under her dark lashes, not with the barely restrained hunger I felt, but rage.

I swallowed. “Research.”

Lia’s eyes flicked over my shoulder to the bookshelf behind me. “Researching or hiding?”

“Who would I be hiding from?” I taunted as I lounged against the shelves, daring her to admit that she hadn’t stumbled on me by accident. That I wasn’t hiding. She was seeking.

She snorted and crossed her arms over her chest. “Would you like a list? The Queens? There are even rumors that the Rousseaux family is on the wrong side of the Vampire Council.”

I gritted my teeth. I knew why she was angry, and that understanding made me pause. But something about the way she held herself, the set of her jaw, stopped me. “I came to attend The Third Rite.”

“To protect Thea, you mean?” she shot back. “Because she’s carrying your brother’s child.”

“Believe me,” I drawled, “Thea does not need me to protect her. I’m here because my mother has made it clear that all her sons have to attend.”

Lia blinked, and her breath hitched, her breasts rising as she held it. It took a considerable amount of effort not to stare, but I hauled my gaze up, flicking up my brows.

Her throat slid, and my eyes tracked the movement, studying the faint veins pulsing in her slender neck. “Why?”

“She’s been dismissed from the Vampire Council.” I straightened and started across the room. “I think it’s a last-ditch effort to find us all suitable matches. She’d love to marry us off before our family stock falls further.”

“Marry?”

Did I imagine her eyes dimming at that revelation? Or was that wishful thinking? Leaning in close enough to see the amber flecks in her irises, I studied her full mouth before returning my attention to those crushing eyes. “Jealous?”

She shrugged even as I caught her shiver slightly. “Why would I be jealous?”

“Because you’ll miss stalking me in the library,” I said with equal casualness.

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