Dominik growls under his breath. “I’ll deal with my brother later. In the meantime, it would appear we have a collection of vampire hunters to deal with.”
“I do hope you’re not including me in that description.”
Dominik captures me with another devastating kiss. “You are my favorite vampire hunter.”
“Then what are we waiting for?”
He grins at me, all fangs. “It’s about time your uncle found out what it’s like to challenge a real vampire.”
I shake my head at his arrogance.
“He’s been killing vampires a lot longer than you’ve been dealing with vampire hunters.” I fold my arms. “I hope you have something more than a few assault rifles up your sleeve.”
“I do.” Dominik’s grin widens. “I have you.”
“I’m bait, remember?” His enthusiasm, his desire to live, despite the fact he isn’t living, fills me with a confidence I can’t recall ever having in the face of my family.
But then I didn’t have a feral vampire king on my side.
“The best bait a vampire could ever be offered,” Dominik growls.
“I’m waiting,” my uncle’s nasally voice rasps from outside the stairwell.
“He’s waiting.” I raise my eyebrows at Dominik.
“Perpetually,” Dominik rasps and steps out into the wide, vaulted corridor beyond. “Do vampire hunters ever bother with bullets?” he queries.
Now I’m the one grinning. “No.”
“Commander Raynes,” he calls out. “Or should I say Baron Van Helsing?”
“You survived,” my uncle’s voice rasps back.
“I did. As you intended.”
“I didn’t know for sure,” my uncle says with some satisfaction. “But vampires are like cockroaches. You can stampon them, and they will still crawl out of the darkness to foul somewhere pure.”
I peer out from behind the door. Potentially, I should be safe, if indeed my uncle is telling the truth and not only am I bait, but he, at the very least, wants my child, which means I need to be basically alive.
“And what does it say about vampire hunters that you follow us into the darkness?” Dominik says, but I can tell he’s not interested in bantering with my uncle.
As always, with Dominik, he has a job to do, and he will execute it.
“It says we want to bring the light.”
Dominik groans under his breath. “One ofthose,” he grumbles as he looks over his shoulder at me.
I shrug. “Yep.”
“Do you want your bait?” he calls out. “Or do I get to keep the tasty morsel in recompense for the damage to my suit?” He gives me the dirtiest wink I think I’ve ever seen, his tongue licking over a fang.
“You will surrender my niece, and you will prepare yourself to be stripped.”
“Is all your family kinky?” Dominik says to me.
“Trophy pants,” I respond.
“Trophy pants?” Dominik rubs his chin. “Probably doesn’t qualify as kinky, I suppose.” He checks over the weapon in his hand. “Stay here. I’m bored with this conversation now. It’s time to hunt the vampire hunters.”
