Page 24 of Blood Moon Heat

I ignored the voice in my head, refusing to believe it.

The reason I hadn’t fucked her, hadn’t mated her in that room when I finally got her to drink from me again, or when I held her in my bed the previous night, had finally become clear. It’d taken longer than it should to recognize, but now I could name the new feeling rapidly growing inside me and the weakness it had already caused.

Mina made me vulnerable in a way that was unacceptable. Dangerous.

Still, I couldn’t stay away from her, and when I lifted my fist and knocked, I had to shake out my hand when I noticed how my fingers actually fucking trembled.

I heard her moving on the other side of the door, then she stopped and there was nothing but silence.

“Who is it?” she finally called.

She knew exactly who it was. She’d feel me this close the same way I did her, only she wouldn’t feel the mind-numbing pain that came with it and the need to fuck like a rutting animal. “Nero.”

More silence.

I waited for her to open the door, giving her what she asked for in the hopes that she would believe she had some power in this situation, and give in to my demands.

“You may enter,” she finally said, this time closer to the door.

Unlocking it, I walked in. Mina was in another of her pink dresses. All were long, covering her body, but the way they hugged her breasts and waist was more than tempting enough.

“What do you want?” she asked, her spine straight, even as each exhale shook from the nervous energy I felt pouring off her.

There were things I needed from Mina, and I was beginning to realize that the only way to get them was to give her a sense of control. “I’ve thought about what you said, and I’d like to meet you halfway.”

She looked surprised, then lifted her chin. “I’m listening.”

“I am very old, Mina, and the nature of what I am means I stopped considering the feelings of others long ago. Why would I when I hadn’t possessed them myself?”

I could tell her what I am, what I’d done, why I’d become the male I was, but I was trying to make this female trust me. Knowing that I was The Five’s assassin, that the number of beings I’d killed in cold blood were in the thousands, that torture was a specialty of mine that I enjoyed very much, or the torture I’d suffered myself, would not help my cause.

She licked her lips, her eyes widening in anticipation.

“I have arranged a gathering tonight.” An embellishment. It was all Constantine’s idea, but taking credit could only help my cause. “My brothers are bringing their females to my club so you can…make friends.”

“Friends.” She drew in a sharp breath. “I can leave this room?”

“Yes.”

Her entire face lit up, and somehow my beguiling bride looked even more stunning than she had before. “What kind of club? My mother attends a book club every Tuesday with her friends. Is it a book club?”

Her question took me aback. Her naivety made my chest ache for some reason. “No, in this instance it’s a place where people come to dance and drink.”

“And you have one?”

“I have two.”

“And you’ll show them to me?”

She was almost bouncing on the spot with excitement.

“One of them, yes.”

“And will it be full of people?”

“I’m closing it, so it’ll just be us—my brothers and their females.”

Her smile didn’t falter. “Thank you, Nero.”

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