Page 36 of Blood Bound (Blood Mafia 3)

Colt stops and drops a kiss on my forehead before leaving with my other vampire.

The door snaps closed and my heart thuds, suddenly realizing it’s stuck in a room with the vampire who could break it.

Crap. This was a horrible idea. I should have taken Colt’s offer to throw him out on his ass.

* * *

Mateo

Demi’s pupils dilate and she curls her fingers into fists, placing her hands on her hips. She should know by now she can’t hide her feelings from me, especially not when they’re screaming down the bond.

Anger. Fear.

A slight twang of darkness which I’ve learned is her desire to stab me.

Can’t say I blame her.

“What do you need to say?” She presses her lips together to keep from snarling at me. Red tinges the whites of her eyes, but not enough for me to worry about.

At least not yet.

“I’m sorry for what happened to Tyra.”

Some of the angry lines on her face fade as her eyes soften and her lips twist into a sad frown. “Thank you.”

Clearing my throat, I take a step toward her. I stop walking when she takes a step back.

“Are you afraid of me?”

She shakes her head. “No.”

That tastes like a lie. “I won’t hurt you.”

Scoffing, she shifts her weight and cocks her hip. “You already did, Mateo.”

“I know you don’t understand why I did what I did—”

“Why you snapped my neck in front of our mutual enemy and made it loud and clear you don’t trust me?”

I sigh and rub the back of my neck. “You’re not going to make this easy, are you?”

She flashes to me and shoves my chest. “Easy? You want me to roll over and tell you everything is fine, that I’m not mad at you?”

“No.” I shake my head. “That’s not what I’m asking.”

This gives her pause, but she narrows her eyes. “Always a game with you, Mateo.”

“I’m not playing a game right now, baby girl.”

She raises her hand to smack me but I catch her hand and yank her body against mine, running my nose up the column of her throat. She shivers and I grin, inhaling her cinnamon and vanilla scent.

“Will it make you feel better? To hit me?”

Demi tries to pull her wrist away, but I don’t let her. “Here’s the thing, Demetria. You can be mad at me, but I’ll do everything in my power to earn your trust back. If that means denying my every urge, including wanting to fuck you right now, I will.”

Gently biting her neck, I revel in her soft whimper. She’d let me cross the line, and normally I would. This time I won’t. If it weren’t for the fact she’d hate me even more after because she’d think herself weak, she’d already be naked and writhing under me.

She’s anything but weak.

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