Page 68 of Blood Owed (Blood Mafia 1)
I can’t pull my gaze away, not even to stare at my blood coating the edge of his mouth, or to glance at Grayson for help. He has me enraptured, and I’m not entirely sure why I was mad to begin with.
“What’s wrong, Demetria?” His question is taunting and there’s a glint of malice in his eyes. His lips curve, and he licks my palm again before closing his lips over my wound and drawing more blood from it.
I whimper as my knees knock and my nipples harden.
His chuckle brushes over my skin, and he places my bloody palm on his neck. Then he uses his other hand on my hip to guide me toward him, stopping when I’m pressed against him.
My breathing hitches.
“You’re not going to try and fight me?”
Why does he sound put out?
I find my voice. “Disappointed?”
“Maybe.” He shrugs and moves his gaze to Grayson. “What happened?”
I inhale and it feels like the first breath I’ve taken in years. My heart is hammering against my ribcage. Everything comes back to me now that he’s released his hold on me and I find my backbone.
Slamming my head forward, I aim for his jaw. He’s too tall for me to hit his nose but it doesn’t matter anyway. I should have known he’d anticipate my move. Mateo dodges my head, spins me around and pins my back against his front with one strong, tattooed arm.
I buck against him.
He rests one hand firmly against my lower stomach, effectively stopping my struggle. Grayson is watching us with a small line of worry between his eyebrows.
“Mateo, she’s—”
“I know exactly what she is.” Mateo’s voice is low and smooth, feathering over my ear in a soft caress that has me arching my back. “I’d love to fight you another day, Demetria, but right now I need to know what happened.”
“What do you think happened, Mateo?” I spit his name out like a foul taste. “Vampires attacked me. I’m nothing but a snack to your kind.”
“You’re a snack all right,” Grayson murmurs.
“Let her go, Mateo.” Colt’s words surprise me. He walks out from behind Mateo and sits on the edge of a leather couch in the living room.
Mateo stiffens and his arms contract, those biceps clenching me tighter to his body.
Right, it’s probably best not to tell the boss man what to do. Especially when he’s much more powerful than Colt and Grayson.
“Careful, Colt, you know what happened the last time you disobeyed me.”
I scrunch my nose but squash the urge to ask what happened.
Now is not the time to be nosy, Demi.
“Jackson and Bobby gave Demi a hard time,” Grayson says, pulling Mateo’s attention from Colt.
“They attacked her?”
I grimace at Mateo’s question. “Not exactly.”
His fingers flex against my stomach. The Blood Mafia emblem covers the back of his hand.
He’s much too close.
“You attacked them?”
Grayson smiles and shakes his head at me before going to sit in a lounge chair and kicking his feet up on the stool. “Haven’t you heard? Demi has some anger management issues.”
