Page 34 of Queen Takes Blood
I only cared that he’d be gone. He wouldn’t be here to stay the occasional night with me when Rik was busy. Fucking sucked being his second choice. Taking his leftovers.
Starving for more.
Daire stepped closer, laying his hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, I didn’t even think of it. I should have come by last night.” He tipped his head to the side, leaning closer. “I’m glad to feed you now, Ezra. Take what you need to tide you over until we’re back.”
“You’re not fucking coming back here. Ever.” The words came out rougher than I intended, vibrating with intensity.
“Sure I am. We’re only approved to be gone for a few months.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I raked a hand through his long, silky hair, giving him a firm enough tug that his eyes smoldered. “Don’t fucking come back. Get out while you can.”
He cast a quick look around, searching for eavesdroppers who might take this conversation to the queen. “If all goes well, we won’t.”
I clenched my jaws and gave him a stiff nod. “Damned straight. He’ll take good care of you.”
Daire stepped closer, draping himself against me up and personal. “So you should feed.”
The little fucker started to purr, a deep rumble from his belly that made me yearn to crush him beneath me. My mouth watered but I shook my head. “A quick taste isn’t worth my fucking time.”
“You could join us later, you know. If we’re successful.”
“Humph. As if Rik would let me tag along.”
“He would, if you bent that stubborn neck a little and did what he said.”
I let out a wry chuckle and hooked my arm around his shoulders, pulling him in for a full bear hug. Closing my eyes, I breathed in his scent. Silky fur and wild cat. Purring and cuddling—with razor sharp fangs and claws to shred my heart into bits. “You know I can’t obey anybody, let alone him. If I hear anything, I’ll let you know.”
He bumped his head against me, rubbing his temples against my throat as if he could mark me. Or maybe he just wanted a bit of my scent on him. Surely wishful thinking on my part. “You be safe. Stay low and out of trouble for once.”
Releasing me, he headed down the hallway, his step picking up with eagerness. Ready to go on his adventure. Ready to ride with his alpha.
He didn’t look back at me once.
I know. Because I watched his back disappear out the door.
18
EZRA
For months, I kept my ear to the ground like I’d always done, though I wasn’t sure what good it would do. I didn’t have anyone I could pass along the tidbits of gossip that I picked up here and there. Even when I did call Daire to warn him that I’d overheard the queen telling her alpha, Vega, to start calling the smaller groups back to New York City, he didn’t call me back.
In fact, the little fucker turned his phone off completely.
I couldn’t fucking blame him. If I’d gotten away from Skye Tower, I sure as fuck wouldn’t pick up a phone call from someone still inside.
I had to assume that meant they’d been successful. He’d only fed from me one sweet time, no matter how many times I offered, so he didn’t carry much of my blood. The bond was weak enough that I couldn’t access his mind directly. Whether it was Alrik—or a new queen—shielding him, I couldn’t tell. If they’d found a queen, I hoped to goddess she was strong enough to stand up against Keisha Skye.
Because the queen of New York City was losing her fucking mind.
Sitting in the shadows cast by the hundred-plus-story skyscraper ran by House Skye, I didn’t even have to strain to hear her voice.
“I don’t know who the fuck she thinks she is.” The way her voice floated back and forth made me think she was pacing on her private balcony a few stories overhead. “How dare she kill one of my Blood!”
My heart skipped a beat. I immediately felt for Daire’s bond. Granted, he wasn’t Skye Blood, but I had to be sure. I could feel his thread curled up inside me like a sleeping kitten, stretched and thin but still there. My shoulders sagged with relief.He’s still alive.
“Shara Isador,” Keisha spat out the queen’s name.
Daire’s queen name resonated through me like a church bell on a clear, crisp winter morning. Sounded like fucking trouble to me.
