Page 69 of The Vampire's Vow

“You did it, Evi,” he says before bending to press his lips to mine.

I’m startled by this, but can’t help myself as my lips soften against his. This isn’t the monster lurking below the surface that I’d grown to fear.

This is Luci.

TherealLuci.

He pulls back, his eyes sparkling in the dim glow of the room.

“Now, let’s go save Dante and Seven.”

24

Seven

“Seven, get up!”

My head snaps back as I’m dragged up off the floor and shaken roughly, and I shove Dante away from me as I reach up to rub my neck and shoulder.

“What the fuck happened?”

“Valentine. We need to get out of here, now.”

“Where’s the little one? Where’s Evi?”

It’s only after I ask this that Irememberwhat happened.

“Seven—"

“You!” I bellow, rising to my feet as I stare Dante down, my lip curling up over my teeth. “Yougaveher to him. I saw you. You gave Evi to Valentine after getting sucked off by another woman. You swore you … You traitor, just like Luci—”

“Enough,” Dante roars, closing the distance between us as he grabs a handful of my shirt and throws me back against the wall. “I am no traitor. Evi is my mate, and I only did what I thought necessary to protect her.”

“Protect her?” I laugh bitterly, stalking toward him and shoving him back again as I straighten to my full height.

“Yes,” Dante snaps back, “and if you hadn’t stormed in and destroyed the place, we might actually have left here with her.”

“You can’t seriously think Valentine would have allowed that, can you?” My eyes narrow on Dante when he doesn’t answer me. “Wait, what are you talking about?”

“Valentine offered to give her to me, if I played and won his stupid little game.”

“You’re actually asking me to believe that’s why I found you with your dick in some other woman’s mouth while Evi was crumpled over in pain on the floor?”

“Yes, I never intended for things to go that far, but for Evi—”

“You’d do anything for her,” I finish for him, hating how much it resonates with me before my empathy turns to disgust. “Including letting another woman give you pleasure right in front of her face.”

Two knives slip into my fingers as Dante takes another step back, raising one hand out in front of him.

“Seven, don’t do anything stupid,” he warns. “You know that I find no pleasure in using women like that.”

“No? Then why is it that the first time we met was in a brothel?”

“You know my father.”

“Yes, far more intimately than I ever wished to. I’m surprised he didn’t make me fuck you too before he turned me,” I growl, bile rising in my throat at the thought.

“You were never supposed to survive that night,” Dante says.

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