Page 328 of Dragon Slayer

His smile held no warmth, and she realized, in a moment of alarming clarity, that it reminded her of her own smile, on the rare, bitter occasions she flashed herself one in the mirror. “For reasons I don’t yet understand, I think you’re afraid no one will think that you are the fearsome warrior you’ve styled yourself. You are a harsh woman.”

Stand down, a logical voice in the back of her head warned. There was never anything gained by goading a superior – much less a legendary one with a reputation for viciousness.

But. He wasn’t wrong about her.

And she wasn’t technically in the Army anymore. It wasn’t like he could demote her.

(Kill her, sure. But. She wasn’t going to think about that.)

“I thought you just impaled people. What’s with all the riddles?”

He chuckled again. “Not riddles. Simple observations.”

“Is that your trick?” She folded her arms. “You talked yourself in circles until your enemies got so frustrated they just impaled themselves?”

“You don’t know anything about me, do you?” Hint of a purr in his voice, and Adela knew she was being baited. This was a game for him, and she sure as hell wasn’t going to play it.

In what was maybe the riskiest, dumbest move she’d ever made, she turned her back to him and started for the door. “I know you’re bullshitting me,” she said over her shoulder. “Call me back when you actually want to talk strategy.”

The thing about her new strength and speed? It had come from somewhere; it had come fromhim.

She heard him move, but she didn’t react quickly enough. One moment her way was clear, and the next he was heeling the door shut and leaning back against it, blocking the way with his broad shoulders and implacable stare.

She pulled up short. Still…in for a penny, in for a pound.

She propped her hands on her hips. “Am I not allowed to leave?” She knew he could smell her fear and anxiety, probably sense the way it crawled across her skin, leaving goosebumps behind.

He didn’t smile at her. She knew him well enough to know those were rare things; just because he’d flashed a semblance of one a moment ago didn’t mean he’d show her one now. But his gazeburned. He didn’t come into her mind; she knew herself well enough to know that she wasn’t being manipulated. The way he looked at her, though – it tugged at her. Something visceral and blood-deep she didn’t understand.

She gritted her teeth. “Stop.”

He didn’t.

“Please.”

He edged forward, into her space. Leaned down, so their faces were level. When he opened his mouth, his teeth were very white, his fangs very long; they seemed to extend as she watched, too big and prominent.

He said, “Why?”

A fine tremor stole through her; no doubt he could see it, feel it. “I don’t like it.”

A grin, slow andawful. His breath warm against her face. “Yes, you do.”

Oh, God. What would his mouth taste like? What would it feel like to slide her tongue between his fangs?

He inhaled, scenting her, and she swayed forward–

Vlad straightened and stepped back. Stepped around her and headed back for his desk.

The bottom dropped out of her stomach. She turned, following him with her eyes, hungry, and aching, and hating herself. She watched him settle in his chair again, calm as ever, and it took her a moment to realize he’d spoken.

“What?”

“It’s instinct,” he said, bored, looking down at his maps. “I’m your sire, and you feel an instinctual urge to be close to me. Even if I repulse you, the instinct is there.”

She braced a hand against the high back of a chair and just breathed for a moment, open-mouthed, feeling her fangs press into her lip. “You’re joking.”

He didn’t look up. “I most definitely am not.”

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