Page 24 of Another One Bites the Lust
I wouldn’t step back. Not this time. Not when he’d insulted my mate. Casting a quick glance in her direction, I said, “You’re worth it.”
The vamp seized that moment to launch himself at me with a hiss. We tumbled onto the sand, kicking up grains around us.
With his speed and surprise, he quickly gained the advantage and landed on top of me. His eyes were red and feral as he stared down at me, opening his mouth to reveal deadly fangs.
Just as he was about to tear out my throat, I shoved him off me and launched to my feet.
“What are you going to do—scratch me?” he taunted.
“I have a better idea. Slicing you up and roasting you in the sun like hamburger patties.”
We parried and tangled as we headed down the beach, landed fierce gouges from our claws. I launched at him with so much force that he fell into a crate of beach toys, breaking the wooden slats and sending inflatables flying. A pink rubber duck floatie bounced off his head and landed beside him. It would have been comical if I wasn’t already seeing red.
I pinned him down with my paws, then opened my mouth for the fatal blow.
“No!” Celeste cried out. When I paused, she said, “I can’t let you risk everything for me.” Her voice was as soft as an angel’s breath. “Please.” She offered her hand and helped me up.
She faced Lucien, still seething with red eyes. As he stood, she stepped between us and spread her arms wide. “Enough.” She straightened, tall, regal, and expression fierce, as if declaringI’m sick of this shit.
“Lucien, it’s over.I don’t want to be with you.Leave me alone.”She turned to me and her expression softened. “Van, perhaps it was pretend that first night, but my feelings have grown for you ever since. I feel the same way about you.” Her lips parted before she continued. “Destiny brought us together. You’re my one, my true—mate.”
I gaped at her, this magnificent gothic goddess.She chose me?
My jaguar purred softly inside, basking in her declaration.
As I walked over to her, it felt like walking through clouds. That heavy, dragging sensation that had weighed me down since she’d pushed me away lifted, replaced by something so light and buoyant, I could have been walking through clouds.
I took her in my arms and breathed in her scent. The universe turned right again. I’d hold her there forever and tell her how I feel, but we still had this walking corpse to deal with.
I turned to the undead beast. “In case you haven’t heard, shifters are territorial about their mates. We’ll doanythingto protect them. If you get too close…” I edged my chin up and my nostrils curled. “We turn feral. Since you haven’t been able to comprehend basic words up to this point, I’ll make it very clear. If you come near us again, I’ll stake you to the ship’s mast and watch your undead corpse burn as the sun rises.
Lucien’s almost permanent aristocratic scowl turned scowlier. He opened his mouth as if ready to retort, but Celeste stopped him with one word.
“Don’t.”
His nostrils flared. He turned and walked away and we both stared after him. Once he was no longer visible beyond an expanse of palm trees, I pulled Celeste more tightly into my arms.
I whispered into her hair. “I love you.”
CHAPTER 17
CELESTE
Love. Van loved me.
What he’d done for me last night, risking everything to protect me from Lucien, warmed my veins.
Now I sat in the front row in the Nocturnal Lounge as Van announced their first song, the Doors’ “Moonlight Drive.” Although I’d claimed not to be a fan of rock music, it was most definitely growing on me—especially when a sexy shifter crooned in a way that ignited heat in my veins.
I examined the rest of the band, all talented musicians and supernaturals. Van had told me a bit about each one and said he’d introduce me after the show. I spotted the dark-haired guitarist, a vampire named Damien. To Van’s other side was a burly, bearded wolf shifter playing bass. And at the drum set loomed a massive gray gargoyle shifter with horns and leathery gray skin. He pounded on the drums with his sticks so hard, itseemed he might break right through them. That was Caleb, who Van told me often liked to perform in gargoyle form. I didn’t blame him—it was a great visual, one that would be unforgettable to anyone attending the show.
But not as enticing as the singer.
It still seemed somewhat like a dream that despite all our differences, we’d fallen for each other. Fear had pushed me away from him, but I was grateful I smartened up to take this chance. Never in my two-hundred years prowling this earth had I ever been so hopeful and optimistic about the future.
When we’d returned to the Moonlight Siren last night, I’d reported how Lucien had been harassing me by following me and later physically attacking my mate. Perhaps I should have done that upon first spotting him on the ship, but then I wouldn’t have had that foolish idea of enlisting a shifter’s help as a fake boyfriend—and I had zero regrets there.
Lucien, however, hadn’t come back on board. Van’s warning must have worked far better than my words. While his fierceness had intimidated Lucien, it had a starkly different effect on me. I found it devilishly enticing.
