Riley needed an equal, but she didn’t want to leave her pack. And the only equals she had in the Crimson Claw were her uncle, cousin, and Ivan, the berserker currently working away from home. Two of those males were family, and Ivan might as well have been. They had absolutely no chemistry together, and she thought of him as a big goofball, not someone to lust after.
Not like Kraft.
Ugh. What a thought to have. Desiring a vampire over lycans. For sex, yes, but not necessarily a mate.
If she thought about it, she didn’t technically have to mate to produce offspring. She could conceive with any strong lycan to make a baby. But she didn’t want that commitment without a steady partner at her side. And damn it all, she didn’t want babies yet. Maybe in another fifty years. Not now.
And especially not with the threat of some big evil coming their way.
She went back to Kraft’s room and found her duffel bag on the table by the loveseat. She fished her phone out of the side pocket, aware someone had placed it there. But scrolling through her password protected phone didn’t show any odd texts or calls made from her phone, just a bunch of messages from her nagging cousin.
Riley paused by the side of the bed and watched Kraft, who slept as if dead. She flicked on a sidelight that was dim enough not to wake him. If vampires even could wake up during sunlight. She had no idea. Heck. Did he use the bathroom? Did he brush his teeth? She’d seen a toothbrush in there earlier. Then again, she’d also seen a hairbrush, and he didn’t look as if he used that much.
She gave in to temptation and stroked his cheek, feeling no stubble, just smooth flesh. He grumbled in his sleep, making her jump, but before she could move back, he grabbed her wrist, his eyes still closed.
His grip was tight but not hurtful.
“Kraft, it’s me. Riley. Let go.”
He murmured her name and let out a wolf growl she found endearing.
No, not endearing. What is wrong with me? This guy sucks blood. He ripped a zombie vamp’s head off.Her brain stopped, and she couldn’t help adding,But that was really cool, how easily he defeated his enemy. Kind of hot, even.
Not right in the head. Nope. Not at all.
She darted out of room before she did something really idiotic.
Like crawl back in bed and wait for him and all his body parts to wake up.
CHAPTERELEVEN
“I’ve been leaving messages forever!”Max barked. “Where the hell have you been?”
Sleeping with a vampire.Riley’s thoughts were still in the gutter as she headed into the living room and plunked herself onto a comfortable sectional. “You heard about the vampire fight at the bazaar?”
“Duh. I talked to Talon.”
“Glad one of us did. I barely got a few words out of him before all hell broke loose. Then that chickenshit lit out after leaving me nothing but a two-word clue—Seb DM. Who or what is Seb DM?”
“No clue. Talon only told me you were hanging close to a nachzehrer. And unless more of them are suddenly in the city, I’m thinking he meant Kraft.”
“Yeah. Kraft destroyed the other vampire, but we were also dealing with some weirdo in the shadows. That tattoo on my shoulder to protect me from death magic? I don’t think it worked.” And in retrospect, that had been a kind of death magic holding her to the ground. She felt it in her bones.
“It should have.”
“It didn’t.”
“Did you say the incantation, feel the burn? You say the spell and feel the tattoo settle into your skin.”
“What incantation?”
Max swore. “I’ll text it to you. Idiot. Didn’t you listen to Boyce?”
She refused to admit she hadn’t been aware of much except getting that stupid tattoo over with so she could find that blasted artifact. “Yeah, well, I’ll read it as soon as you send it. But what I felt was terrible.” She described the awful miasma she’d dealt with at the bazaar. “Once I was free of the ground, I was okay. But when my feet were glued I couldn’t move. I think if I’d been stuck any longer, I might have been in real trouble.”
“Great, now we owe Talon for saving your ass.”
“No, we donot.He was supposed to give me real information I could use in exchange for some protection work in the future.”
