Page 11 of Reign of the Beast

Snarling, he tossed his glass at the wall, shattering it to pieces.

He spun around, his eyes flashing with anger.

The next thing I knew, my back was against the wall, his hands pinning my arms down by my sides as he loomed over me, barely holding his demon in check.

Seeing him lose it in such an uncharacteristic way told me just how much Vincenzo had gotten under his skin.

Was it more than a blast from the past, more than an overwhelming shock for him? Did he still… feel for him?

“You should not have interfered! You should have remained downstairs, summoned some semblance of patience foronce, and waited for me to come to you!”

“To give him more time to feel you up? If I’d come in a few minutes later, would I have found him on his knees between your spread thighs with your dick buried down his throat?”

“His touch disgusts me. I endured it to appease him. I am working him, Ryker. Your jealousy is unfounded. Not to mention, it’s more than a little hypocritical, given who you spentyourevening with.”

Damn him.

I blew out a breath and scrubbed my hand over my face. “Why did you shove him away from me when he tried to shake my hand?” I’d been curious since the second it had happened.

His anger deflated, his grip on my arms loosening. “He wears a ring on his middle finger, something that was created off-realm by a particularly powerful faery with whom he had a fling three centuries ago. It has the ability to siphon power from magic-wielders.”

Shit.

Off my stunned look, he said, “Exactly why I wished to keep you out of this, to keep him far away from you. He isquick to become obsessive when he sets his sights on something that is subsequently denied him.”

“That ring and anything like it is majorly illegal here. It needs to be destroyed andheneeds to be apprehended.”

“He will not go easily. We are at war. Making an enemy of someone as formidable, resourceful and as manipulative as him would be foolish. The solution for the time being is to control him via fooling him into believing we are allies.”

“Lucian,” I said, shaking my head. “The guy’s in your head. That’s why Anton had me interrupt your meeting, isn’t it?”

He let go of me and stepped back. “Anton believes that Vincenzo has influence over me. He worries that I will revert to the monster that I was centuries ago if I allow him into my life once more.”

I tensed. “Ravager.”

“Yes.”

“And?”

“Andhe is overreacting. I haven’t been thatthingfor a very long time, nor do I foresee any circumstance that will resurrect it.” He cupped the side of my face. “My life is with you, the Guardian Movement, continuing with our mission of safeguarding the supernatural world. Vincenzo is merely an unfortunate complication that must be dealt with using kid gloves.” He planted a chaste kiss on my forehead. “He means nothing to me.Youare the only being I care for, the one whom I love.”

His reassurances and his reasoning werealmostconvincing.

They probably would have been completely if I wasn’t familiar with the hold a person could have over another when love was in play.

But he’d said all he possibly could, promised me all thathe could, so if I refused to let it go now, we’d have a huge problem withus.

After everything that had happened with Mia, I had a really hard time trusting people.

I’d put that on Lucian enough times as it was in the early days of our relationship.

I couldn’t do it again or it would risk breaking us. He’d always been truthful with me, never done anything to violate my trust. I had to give him the benefit of the doubt now. He’d earned it several times over.

Besides, we had enough on our plates at the moment. We needed to be united.

“Okay,” I said, easing his hand from my face and holding it down between us. “I have your back with him if you need me, all right?”

“I appreciate that,” he said, smiling.

---