Page 24 of Darkest Heart

He turned on his heel, his brows raised. “Oh, you remember her name?”

“I like a challenge.”

“I don’t.” He shrugged. “I like them high on venom…and quiet.”

I slammed one hand on his back, laughing. “What a dull way to live.”

“After a century of fucking and feeding from them, it’s easier. Each to their own, I guess.”

“Indeed. It is our motto, after all.”

“Speaking of.” He ran his fingers through his blond, sleek hair. “The Blood Brothers are doing better than ever. We’ve opened another club in the city. Even Malum Dominor has taken notice.”

“That club.” My jaw clenched when I thought back to my run-ins with their organization. They were ruthless, but the head of it was an asshole I’d got on the wrong side of one too many times. Else I’d have joined them in a heartbeat. “Salvor will be pissed,” I added brightly, knowing he’d know I was behind that success. Arch enemy was such a dramatic term, but I could think of no other term fitting enough.

“He’s still the most dangerous man in Sanmorte,” Adrian warned. “Anyway, go sort out your blood bag before I dispose of her.”

“We’re good friends,” I told him, my patience thinning, “but Elizabeth is mine to do with what I want. We have a code.”

“Right.” He whistled out a breath. “Just get her in line or sedate her, if you must. If she keeps acting that way, she’ll start encouraging the others to speak back, and I can’t be having a little mortal rebellion on my hands.”

“I’ll sort it.”

***

After finding Velda, and her filling me on the plans to start the tournament a day earlier so they could sort and number half the mortals who arrived, I reached the room I’d allotted for Elizabeth in the east wing and opened the door. She’d refused to speak to me since her arrival, especially after I fed on her the first night. She screamed, and even high on venom, continued to resist me. But Adrian was right. She couldn’t be influencing the others by running off. “I told you to stay in this room.”

She turned her head, throwing the book she’d been reading on the unmade bed. “No one would tell me where Carla is, so I had to.”

Ah yes, that was her sister’s name. “I spoke with her not long ago. She’s fine.”

Her cheeks reddened. “I want to see her.”

“That’s not possible,” I said, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. “How did you get out? The door was locked from the outside.”

She placed a hand on her hip. “Why would I tell you my way out of here?”

I tilted my head, my hair falling around my shoulder. She really did have a snarky mouth. My lips pursed together as her fiery gaze lit with challenge. I recognized the fire in her, because I had it myself. She reminded me a lot of myself when I was a mortal. I, too, hadn’t known when to shut my mouth. “I’m hungry, and horny,” I grumbled, her racing heart causing my fangs to elongate. I sped to her, but she didn’t even flinch as I came nose to nose with her. “Perhaps this will make you remember your place here.” I grabbed her ass, my dick hardening as I pressed her against my body.

Her expression softened out of nowhere and she moved closer. My brows furrowed as the anger dissipated, my stomach knotting. She smelled like honeysuckle, perhaps her lotion or shampoo, but the smell imprinted on my mind. I relaxed my shoulders, our breaths syncing.

She brought her lips to mine, parting them as we met. I breathed in the smell of her blood, closing my eyes to take a moment to appreciate the beating of her mortal heart. I didn’t question why she suddenly submitted. It didn’t matter. She was now. I grazed my thumb over the under curve of her ass, wanting nothing more than to spank it. I licked my lips, awaiting the kiss, the passion, and the thought of fucking her numbed my mind to everything else.

Her fingers splayed over my chest, and for just a moment, I caught myself wondering what it would be like to fuck a mortal who wasn’t under the influence of venom.

My eyes flung open as a loud whoosh slammed into my ears, and her fist hit my mouth. “What the fuck?” I spat between swollen lips. “You punched me.”

“You’re lucky that’s all I did,” she retorted, staring at the slit of blood on my chin, which was already healing. “You were going to use me, just like all the other girls.”

I blinked three times, processing what had just happened. Her big, brown eyes widened as she tried to appear braver than she felt. I could see her fear, from the tremble on her lip to the slow gulp rippling down her throat. Before I could say another word, she brought her fist toward me, connecting it with my arm. I could have blocked it, but shock, mixed with adrenaline, rooted me to the spot. The punch didn’t hurt. The pain had become a familiar acquaintance over the decades. It was the act that fueled the rage building in the pit of my stomach.

I spat blood on the ground between us, then climbed my gaze to meet hers. “You’re fucking lucky you taste good, else I’d rip your throat out here and now and call it a day.”

Tears brimmed in her eyes, and she blinked them away, catching drops on her long eyelashes. “I am not your toy. I have a life.” She gestured around us. “We are all people and deserve respect.”

“You really are delusional, you know that, right?” My jaw tightened as I closed the gap between us. Slowly, I tucked a finger under her chin, lifting her eyes to meet mine. “You are a mortal, and I am a vampire, stronger than you in every way. I can tear you into pieces without breaking a sweat. The only reason I allow you to exist is for the blood running through your veins.”

She crossed her arms. “Am I supposed to be scared?”

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