Page 19 of Forbidden Daddy Mate

Glancing down, I could see what he meant. Deep, jagged marks wrapped around my arm from when I’d yanked free. Blood dripped down, sliding down my arm to drop on the hardwood.

“Can you tell me what’s going on?” I asked.

“They were vampires,” he said. “Tyr apparently took a liking to you when he was here last. That smell? The caramel scent? It happens when they start trying to create a compulsion.”

Vampires. The word sent a shiver down my spine. I’d heard about them, of course. All shifters had. But I’d never encountered one before. I thought about the easy way Tyr had been able to convince me to open the door. How I’d been willing to go with them—happy, even. My stomach churned. I’d been so close to walking off with vampires.

“But why could I snap out of it?” I asked.

“You can train yourself to ignore compulsions,” Malcolm explained, continuing to wrap the bandage tight around my arm. “Most people can resist to some degree if they really try. More if you’re trained. Seems like you have a natural knack for it.” His lip quirked upward. “Got a stubborn streak in you?”

I didn’t answer. My skin still crawled from how close I’d come to being dragged off. I wanted to pull my knees into my chest and wrap my arms around them. But Malcolm’s gentle touch on my bicep as he examined my arm made that impossible.

“But why did they come here?” I asked. “How did they know we were here? And why did they care?”

He froze, fingers lingering on my arm. “I don’t know,” he said. “Bad luck on our part, I guess.”

I frowned, studying him as he resumed fixing the bandage. Part of me wondered if he was lying. Or, at the very least, not telling me the whole truth. But why would that be the case?

I didn’t push it. I might have, but then he said, “I’m sorry.”

That drew my attention away from everything else. “What are you talking about?”

“I should have realized what was going on before this,” he said. “I should have known based on how you were acting earlier. I nearly let them take you.” The last words were a growl as he started wrapping my arm.

“It’s not your fault,” I said. “You saved me. I can’t exactly be mad at you for that.”

“We’ll get you far away from here,” he promised, continuing to bandage the arm. Every time his fingers brushed against my bare skin, I shivered.

“Do you think I’m still in danger?” I asked.

“I think there’s a pack of vampires out there who don’t like me, and there’s one who likes you a little too much,” he snarled. “The sooner we get away from here, the better.”

“Then why don’t we leave tonight?”

“They might still be around, and night is when they’re the most dangerous. You’re injured, and as long as we’re careful, we can last the night here. It’s not ideal, but it’s the best plan we’ve got at the moment.”

He finished bandaging my arm and looked at it with a critical eye. “That’s good enough. Why don’t you put on some clothes and come back downstairs after?”

I’d completely forgotten I was naked. I glanced over at my pajamas, which had shredded when I’d been forced to shift. Heat rushed up my face, and I covered myself. Without my asking, Malcolm draped a blanket around me.

“I’ll be down here when you finish,” he said. “Don’t take too long, all right?”

I was back downstairs in a handful of minutes, still on edge but feeling better than I had earlier now the initial shock had worn off.

Malcolm was laying out blankets and a pillow on the couch. He glanced up when he heard me. “We’ll sleep down here,” he said. “I don’t want you out of my sight. Get some rest. We’ll head out in the morning.”

“I don’t know if I’m going to be able to sleep,” I admitted.

“You should at least try,” he said.

I shuddered, barely registering the words as I wrapped my arms around myself. “You know, I thought I’d put behind all the psychos when I moved to Brixton,” I said, trying to make my voice sound lighter than I felt.

“There are bad people and creatures everywhere, unfortunately,” Malcolm said. “But you can’t worry about that right now. For now, all that matters is that you get some sleep. We’ll have to head out first thing.”

When I still didn’t move, he gave a long exhale and walked over to me. Strong arms wrapped around me, his hand going to the back of my head as I leaned against his chest.

“It’s all right,” he promised. “I’m here. You don’t have to worry about anything. It’s over with, and we’ll make sure it’s taken care of so it doesn’t happen again.”

---