Page 5 of Taste of Danger

“I’m not going to let anything happen to either of you,” Jax murmured. “We’re not far from the house. This time keep your feet on the ground. I don’t want either of you to leave my side.”

“Just...give us a moment.” Elvine closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She ran her hands soothingly over Arion’s back, remembering how he had accused her of being cruel to vampires.

But Elvine wasn’t a cruel person. She was very loving and compassionate, but she’d been consumed with rage when she’d struck those vampires down.

Just like she’d been consumed by rage when she tried to kill that ghoul in the most painful way possible. He’d hurt her honey bunny, had impersonated Arion… She took a shuddering breath.

When it came to protecting those she cared about, Elvine had no mercy. Mercy was a weakness that allowed those you thought you could trust to take advantage of you. And that same compassion had led to the death of her little sister seven hundred years ago at the hands of their own brother.

Elvine sought solace in Jax’s warmth and strength, knowing she was not okay. She still had so much anger and fear inside of her.

Jax scooped her up into his strong arms and cradled her against his chest.

“Are you going to stay by my side, or do I need to worry about you running off?” he asked Arion. “I could use your help with buttercup, sweetheart.”

Elvine started to protest that she could walk on her own and she didn’t need any help. One, it would be a total lie. Two, she knew it was a ploy to ensure Arion stayed with them.

She glanced down at the vampire, wondering why he simply stood there staring at her and Jax.

Eventually, he spoke up. “You think I don’t know when someone is playing me for a fool? My shirt is torn to shreds, and my body is covered in scars.” His jaw tightened, but Elvine could sense the pain behind his words. “Stop acting as if my scars don’t exist.”

She squirmed and thankfully Jax knew what she wanted without her having to say anything. He gently set her on her feet, and Elvine was acutely aware Jax stood naked behind her.

“You listen to me, bub.” She wiggled a finger at him. “You’re a gorgeous man who’s been badly mistreated. That doesn’t make you ugly. That makes you a courageous survivor, honey bunny. Talk like that again and I’ll bathe your mouth out with soap.”

“Close enough.” Jax chuckled.

Arion frowned. “How can she insult and compliment someone at the same time?”

“Welcome to my world, sweetheart,” Jax replied. “Now let’s get home so I can call my dad and let him know where we are.”

Some first impression Elvine had made with Arion. He probably thought she was some evil sorceress who liked peeling wings off flies and making little babies cry. Toadstools.

She walked ahead of them, feeling horrible for losing her temper. That was not how Elvine Sparklenest behaved. Her parents would be super upset with her if they knew she’d used dark magic to kill those vampires.

How many times had her papa told her to be very careful about using her magic? A gazillion. But dang it. Magic made everything so much easier. It also makes your temper more dangerous. That was what her mama had told her a gazillion and one times.

Elvine blamed her temper on those vampires and that ghoul. If they hadn’t tried to kill her mate, they wouldn’t have felt the bull’s thorns.

When Arion caught up with her, Elvine frowned. He’d called her cruel, so why did he want to walk beside her?

“Does he always walk around with no clothes on?” Arion whispered. For someone who looked like they needed a million feedings, her mate had enough blood to blush like crazy.

“I’ve only known the Frost family roughly three weeks,” she whispered back. “But this is the first time I’ve seen Jax naked. Not that I was looking.”

Please, she’d definitely peeked, and… Oh boy. She was in real trouble.

“Are you serious?” Arion asked. His blush deepened.

“Well.” Elvine cleared her throat but kept her voice down. “He is hung like a rhino.”

“So, you did look.” Arion flashed an impish grin that made his amber eyes sparkle. Honey bunny needed to smile all the time. He was downright handsome.

“At least he’s not an argonaut octopus,” Arion continued. “Their penises detach and swim away to look for females while the octopus goes about finding food, uncaring he just lost his genital.”

She stopped walking and stared at him in disbelief. “How do you even know something like that? And that is just...disturbing.” She really wished he hadn’t put that image in her head.

Arion shrugged. “I have a lot of time on my hands.” He looked over his shoulder then gave Elvine his attention once again. “I think we should slow down so he doesn’t feel like we’re excluding him.”

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