Page 66 of Claim of Blood
“Money,” Leo whispered, his eyes wide. “Probably.”
Adam’s gaze sharpened. “Do informants survive?”
Don’t answer. Don’t—
“They only live if they join,” Leo choked out, horror creeping over him. “Why am I—”
“You can’t lie to him,” Lander explained gently. “Not while the claim is new.”
The words hit Leo like a blow. He couldn’t lie. Couldn’t even choose to withhold.
“Are there any benefits to me in this ‘relationship’?” he asked bitterly.
“I don’t know,” Lander admitted. “This is the first vampire-human perfect compatibility I’ve heard of. The others were with supernaturals. My best guess? You’ll share Adam’s lifespan.”
“Not worth it,” Leo muttered. “Great sex or not.”
Adam chuckled. “At least the sex is ‘great.’”
Leo latched onto the only distraction he could find. “Where does Lander fit into this?”
Lander’s frown deepened, and Adam’s eyes went dark. “I don’t know,” Adam admitted quietly. “I feel a pull to him. My instincts...” His jaw tightened. “I want to tear his throat out when he touches you, but I also can’t stand the thought of him leaving.”
“So I’m the catalyst,” Leo whispered. Whatever was happening between them, it was because of him. Because of this bond.
“And yet you keep ordering me to touch him,” Lander said, his hand still moving over Leo’s thigh in a gentle caress.
“Because it feels right when I command it. When it’s mine to give,” Adam said, his voice raw.
The revelation settled over them like a heavy shroud. Whatever was happening, it was older than any of them knew how to name.
“Nothing about this is simple,” Lander murmured.
Leo exhaled shakily. “No. It really isn’t.”
Silence stretched, full of questions none of them could answer. Finally, Leo grasped for something solid. “Where in the garden was the camera taken?”
Adam’s hand stilled. “Why do you ask?”
Leo hesitated, understanding he was about to cross a line he could never uncross. “Because the location matters.”
He took a slow breath. They’d abandoned him. He owed them nothing.
“I can tell you what they’re doing,” he said finally, voice steady. “But you need to understand—once I do this, there’s no going back.”
Adam helped Leo sit up from where he sprawled across their laps, then guided him to his feet with a fluid grace that made Leo’s head spin. A set of neatly folded clothes waited on a nearby chair—new clothes, Leo realized. His old shirt was a lost cause after Lander had torn it off earlier. Someone had not only cleaned up the evidence of their... activities but also laid out a complete outfit, down to socks and shoes.
When he moved to pick them up, Adam’s warning growl stopped him in his tracks. Possessive power rippled through the air. He understood, then—Adam intended to parade him through the gardens exactly as he was.
Lander’s hand settled on Adam’s shoulder, the touch somehow both deferential and grounding. “Your Claim still carries your scent,” he murmured, voice pitched low and soothing. “They can smell your possession of him, even clothed. Let them see him put together, knowing what lies beneath.”
Leo flushed hot at the blunt statement, but watched the tension slowly bleed from Adam’s shoulders. His eyes were still dark, but the snarl faded to something more controlled.
Adam inclined his head, releasing Leo’s arm. As Leo reached for the clothes, his fingers caught on buttery-soft fabric. He turned over the tag—and froze.
“These are... designer.”
“In my rooms,” Adam said, smiling faintly, “you’ll find an entire wardrobe of them.”
