Page 95 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

“Are you done?” Mateo asks, voice gruff.

He’s not a fan of the V, I see. Well, not Blaze’s V anyway. We all know the V he likes.

As if sensing my less than coherent dirty train of thought, his dark eyes snap to mine and he flashes to me.

“If you keep staring at me like that, I’m going to do something you’ll hate.”

Don’t say it, Demi. You’re smarter than this.

Tipping my head back, I can’t help but stare at his lips. They’re so tempting, especially when he’s so close. “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

His lips barely, and I mean a ghost of a touch, caress mine. “You’re not ready, baby girl.”

When he flashes away, the cold seeps into my bones and I long for the warmth of his body.

“Once we get X back, we need to talk.”

His eyes widen and he presses his lips together, nodding in understanding. This has gone on long enough. We need to have thecome to Jesusconversation.

“He’s here.” Blaze’s words break up the tense moment and our group turns to face the direction Blaze is pointing.

A blazing portal spins on the wall of a warehouse. Orange, yellow, and soft blue spin together so quickly that if I didn’t have supe senses, I wouldn’t be able to differentiate them.

In the middle of the fiery colors looms the dark shadow of a beast with glowing eyes that match the portal.

“I’m going to Hell,” Evelyn mutters with a grin.

Blaze wrinkles his eyebrows at her and shakes his head, obviously not sure what to think of her.

Welcome to the club, kiddo.

Time to go save X.

* * *

A few months ago,I may have been horrified at the sight of such a creature. Now I’m hardly fazed when the glowing eyes move closer, walking through the fiery portal. When a giant black paw touches the ground, I absorb every inch of the creature’s leathery skin.

He has no fur, aside from the ridge of hair running down his spine from head to rear. The hellhound is shorter than Blaze’s wolf, but something about him is more intimidating. It might be the steam wafting off of his body, or how his eyes look like they might shoot hell fire.

Whatever it is, it is immediately clear to me who the predator is.

I’ll give you a hint, it’s not me, the vampires, or the wolf.

A puff of smoke leaves his nostrils. He tips his head up, sniffing the air before lowering his head and letting lose a growl which makes Blaze sound like a Pomeranian.

“Easy, Kerberos. They are friends.”

The hound snarls again. When his maw opens, I see a glowing orange flaring in his throat. He can breathe fire.

Every story I’ve ever heard about Hell and demons flashes through my head.

Evil.

I take a step back at the thought and straight into Mateo’s chest. His hand rests on my stomach and steadies me. A soothing, water like sensation flows through our connection. He’s trying to settle my nerves.

The bond between Colt and me hardens, like he’s lending me strength through the connection.

Kerberos’ black leather skin ripples and shudders. Unlike Blaze’s transformation, there is no bone cracking. One second there is a dog, and the next there is a man standing before us, fully clothed in a T-shirt, jeans, and black boots.

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