Page 25 of Blood Moon Heat

I inclined my head. “Be ready at nine,” I said and left, because the urge to throw her on her bed, toss her long dress up, and fuck her into the mattress, then hold her like I had in my room, in my bed, was a creature all of its own. Being kept from her had fully awakened it, and that unguarded look of delight on her face, only teased it further.

Mina wasn’t safe with me right then.

I needed to leave. I’d had my fix, measly as it was. I’d stood in the same room as her, breathed in her scent, heard her voice, and basked in her smile. That had to be enough. Any more right now was far too dangerous. So I turned and left before my control slipped completely.

Hopefully, after tonight, she’d stop fighting me, and let me back into her room. Only a small amount of time every day in her presence would help me regain and maintain that control.

If she didn’t?

Gods help us both.

She was my drug and only a steady supply of my bride would stop me from snapping and glutting on her like the starved monster I was becoming.

Mina

My nerves skyrocketed when the knock at the door came, but it only took a split second to realize it wasn’t Nero this time.

I strode over and opened the door.

Pretender stood there and his head jerked back the moment he laid eyes on me, then he laughed, the sound low and rough.

I looked down at myself, then back up. “Why are you laughing? Do I look stupid?” Pretender was a male of few words, but he’d never been unkind to me.

“Definitely don’t look stupid, Mina. You look…really fucking good. Not sure Nero will be happy, though.”

“Why?” Though I thought I knew the answer.

“You’re showing a lot more skin than usual. If I’d known you’d use those scissors for this and not arts and crafts, I might not have brought them to you.”

I chose the least offensive pink dress I had, then cut off the sleeves and taken up the length so it sat just above the knee. Pretender had shown me pictures on his phone earlier of the club when it was full of people. I’d been curious, and I’d been surprised when he had complied. What had stood out to me, though, was the way the females dressed. They weren’t covered up like I’d always been made to. I didn’t want to look silly in front of the other females, so I’d worked with what I had. “Might?”

He shrugged and chuckled again. “I kind of want to see Nero’s reaction.”

The male had a really nice laugh. “Where is he?”

“He’s welcoming his guests and asked me to take you upstairs.”

Pretender motioned to the door and took a step back, as always careful not to touch me in any way.

“This way,” he said, leading me along the hall.

“What’s through there?” I asked as we passed another door, one Nero hadn’t opened the other night.

“Best you ask Nero that.”

“Is that his other club?” It had to be. I could hear music, like the music I heard the nights Nero had come to my room.

Pretender glanced my way, well, I assumed he had. He always wore his hood pulled low, concealing most of his face and casting it in shadow. “He told you about The Vault?”

I nodded, kind of lying. He’d said there was another club, just nothing else. “Yes.”

We went through a door at the end of the hall and up a steep staircase. At the top, we entered an office. It was Nero’s. I knew because it smelled like him. There was a large desk and a huge window on one wall. It was mostly dark beyond it, but I could also see colored lights.

As soon as Pretender opened the door on the opposite side, the sound of music reached me, but it was different than the music I’d heard coming from the other door, the club Pretender called The Vault. Excitement filled me as we took another set of stairs, this time heading down.

I grabbed Pretender’s sleeve, excited, and he jerked away like I’d struck him.

I quickly pulled my hand back. “Sorry.”

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