Page 86 of Roman

“Tell me something,” said Danny. “Why do you kill the people you kill?”

Luc laughed without humor. “Because I’m a monster, obviously.”

Danny shook his head, frustrated. “Why do you kill thespecificpeople that you choose to kill?”

They had a bit of a standoff then, Luc staring at Danny, searching for something in his face. After a few more moments of this, the vampire gave a defeated sigh. “After what happened…with Victoria…something in me snapped. I could feel it happen. My monster was taking over, demanding more. More blood, more violence. But I didn’t want to—I wasn’t ready to lose myself completely to damnation. I found a way to temper the cravings. Finding despicable people, those who hurt others, those who don’t deserve the lives they have. I thought maybe if I fed my monster’s wants, without giving in completely to chaos, I could put off the inevitable. Keep from turning completely feral.”

Luc was such a strange conundrum. Violent and cruel, vengeful and sadistic. But he hadn’t killed Danny when he’d had the opportunity. Even if it had been for his own selfish reasons, he’d instead given Danny a chance at forever. A chance at eternity with the one he loved.

“You know,” Danny said slowly. “If you hadn’t been chasing Roman these past few decades, he never would have ended up here, in this town, at this time, with me.”

“And?”

Danny shrugged. “I never gave much thought to fate. Life just seems too cruel sometimes to think there’s any higher purpose. But maybe some things do happen for a reason. And maybe your mate is still out there and everything up until now will bring you closer to finding them.”

The hope that appeared on Luc’s face was painful to witness in its intensity. Danny took a few steps closer to the bound vampire, bending slightly so they were eye to eye. “If we let you go, are you going to rampage around, murdering innocents? Will we find out you’ve gone feral a few weeks from now, that you’ve let go of your humanity completely…or will you hold on?”

Luc’s black eyes met Danny’s. “I can hold on.” The sincerity in his voice was unmistakable.

Danny straightened. “Let me see what I can do.”

Danny left the broken vampire behind him, heading back into the house. Roman was waiting on the other side of the garage door, clearly on the verge of heading there himself.

One look at Danny’s face, and Roman was shaking his head. “No. Absolutely not.”

Danny blew out a breath. “We can’t just murder him in cold blood, Roman.”

“What do you even mean, cold blood?” Roman’s voice was harsh. “He is akiller. He hurt your brother. He almostkilledyou.”

Fair, fair, and fair. But still. “He didn’t though.”

“And what if he comes right back?” Roman drew a hand roughly through his hair, his aggravation clear. “I will not lose you. I refuse to let him loose, knowing you will be at risk the moment he decides vengeance is worth more than a truce.”

“He won’t come back.” Danny didn’t know why, but he was certain of it. “He just proved to himself that mates are real. He hashopeagain, Roman. He’s not going to jeopardize that just to mess with us for funsies.”

“You think that monster has amateout there?” Roman was staring at Danny in disbelief.

“People marry serial killers in prison all the time. A lid for every pot, right?”

Roman’s expression hadn’t changed, but Danny could feel his mate’s resolve wavering.

He pushed. “Why didn’t you kill him right away? Just to torture him?” Roman said nothing, and Danny pressed on mercilessly. “I don’t think you really want him dead. Trust me. Please. If he comes back, if he threatens us in any way, I’ll let you put him down. I’llhelpyou put him down.”

Danny stepped closer to his mate, winding his arms around Roman’s neck, pressing his whole body flush against Roman’s, head to toe. “Please. Let’s get him out of here. The sooner he’s gone, the sooner we can be alone and the sooner you can be inside me.”

It was amazing, feeling the bolt of lust from Roman through their connection. Lust that reflected Danny’s own. He knew he was employing a bit of a cheap trick, but he was also being honest. It felt like it had been years since he’d had his mate inside him, and Danny needed it now.

He needed to be claimed and to claim in turn. He could feel the baby demon inside him yearning, and it only magnified his own want.

Jesus, Danny felt like a teenage boy again. A restless ball of horny hormones. He was already hard, and he couldn’t help thrusting himself against Roman slightly, trying to get some friction. And then, to his astonishment, he could feel his fangs popping out.

Did he just pop the vampire version of a boner?

There was a strange internal shift as, for the first time, Danny could feel his demon coming to the forefront of his consciousness. Danny was still there, still had some control over his body and his thoughts, but it was like letting a different part of his subconscious take the wheel.

“Please, Roman,” he heard himself purr. He actuallypurred.

Roman’s eyes had gone black, likely mirroring Danny’s own, and his voice took on that huskier growl it did when his demon was starting to take charge. “So you are a new vampire in some ways after all, little king. Are you getting restless in there? Do you need my hands on you? My cock inside you?”

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