Page 69 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
Mateo doesn’t laugh. “What happened?” he asks me, still holding me flush against his body. His chest is firm against my back, and his biceps are almost as large as my thighs. I haven’t had a chance to really look at him to size him up. I can already tell he’s bigger than Colt and Grayson. Older too.
More powerful.
I swallow, hating how dry my mouth is. “Jackson tried to compel me.”
Mateo doesn’t say anything, so I continue. “The other guy, Bobby, was hitting on me. I shut him down a few times because I wasn’t interested. Jackson got annoyed and tried to thrall me.”
“And then?” Colt prompts.
I look at him, holding his gaze as I explain how I stabbed Jackson and the fight which followed my rash actions. His eyes darken when I gloss over the part about the other vampires following after us.
Mateo’s silence is more stifling than if he were to speak.
Colt and Grayson trade looks.
“Boss?” Colt asks.
The vampire behind me releases a breath, the hot air tickles my ear, and I fight off a shiver. “They know something is different, not what.”
“How long do you think it will take until they figure it out?” Grayson asks, drumming his fingers on his thigh. “She can’t be left alone now, she’s had too much exposure. I’m not sure your threats will be enough to deter them, Mateo. Her blood is—”
“No one will taste her without my permission.”
I scoff. “Ever heard of the women’s rights movement, Mateo? You can’t control who I give my blood to.”
He grabs my hair and yanks my head to the side, dropping his mouth to my neck. His fangs press against my throat.
“Mateo,” Grayson says softly.
Mateo growls in response. He breathes deeply, inhaling my scent. He lets out a low groan, one so low I’m not sure the other two hear it. “You will not give your blood to any vampire without my permission.”
“Any vampire?” Colt asks. His heated eyes sweep between Mateo’s mouth on my neck and my parted lips as I take a shuddering breath.
I’m so confused by my emotions.
On the one hand, I’m incredibly pissed off by how he’s manhandling me, and on the other, I can’t help but lean into his arms. I’m practically begging him to bite me.
What the hell is wrong with me?
Grayson had the same effect on me the first time I met him. That stupid, overwhelming swell of lust is tickling at my spine.
“Any vampire,” Mateo says.
“I can’t agree to those terms,” Grayson says with a frown. “We discussed—”
“I know what we discussed, Grayson. I’ve changed my mind. No one will touch her.”
Colt scowls at Mateo, who is too busy running his nose along the column of my neck to notice the reaction of his captains.
“Mateo.” Grayson’s demeanor shifts from slightly amused to pissed. Lines form above his eyebrows, and his eyes shift to nearly full black. A wave of his power washes over me, reminding me of the first time we met.
My body reacts to the power, my core heating and walls clenching in anticipation. I hate how I’m aching for them. My vagina is psychotic, then again, so am I. It’s a match made in heaven. Or hell, given the circumstances.
The three of them inhale.
Stupid supernatural senses.
“Leave.”
