I lifted my hand, and his laugh turned into a snarl. “Use your witchy powers on me, and I’ll make you regret it.”
“You’re threatening me now?”
“You think I’d hurt you? I’d never hurt you. But I’ll strip you naked and keep you on the edge for hours. You’llbeg.You’llplead. And I won’t allow you your pleasure until you admit just how much you need me.”
I gaped at him, and my mind helpfully provided me with a vision of myself, splayed out on the bed beneath him while he teased me…
My cheeks burned, and Vas gave me a shit-eating grin. I ground my teeth. “That will never happen.”
“Even you don’t believe that.”
That was beside the fucking point.
“I don’t need you over-involving yourself in my life. If I wanted to feel like an incompetent idiot, I’d call my grandmother.”
And that wouldn’t be happening. We hadn’t spoken since my mother died.
Surprise flashed over his face. “You’re not incompetent.” His expression softened. “That’s not what I meant. I know you, Mere. I know how all this happened. It’s not your fault, you’ve just been keeping your pretty head above water. But it’s time for me to be your life vest. And that means drowning all the other fuckers who think they can mess with you and live.”
I stared at him. My eyes filled with tears.
“Hey, what’s this? Mere? Don’t cry.”
Real panic. That was real panic in his voice. All I had to do to disarm the cocky, tough son of a bitch was cry. Typical.
“I’m sorry, I’m just… It’s been so long…”
“Since you’ve had someone to lean on.” I opened my mouth to mention Orin, and he shot me a look. “Someone who hasn’t already buried a body for you.”
I scowled. Vas pulled me closer to him.
“Nero will never stop messing with you, Mere. And if he’s doing this to you, imagine what he’s doing to other people.”
I sighed. I was under no illusions as to what Vas was. He’d always played at being human, but he wasn’t. In his mind, Nero was a threat, and threats were contained before they could do damage. He was doing the world a favor.
“I’m doing this with or without your permission,” Vas said.
I scowled at him. “What, you’re a mind reader?”
“No, but I know you. And I know you’re making this mean something about yourself. I’m letting you off the hook.”
Tricky demon. I heaved a sigh, my fury draining away. He smiled at me, and his smile was so sweet my heart flipped in my chest.
“Just…give him a choice. The option to give up his business, forgive the debts, and start over.”
“Okay.” His smile turned into a full-fledged grin, and my toes curled as his voice lowered. “Did we just compromise?”
I couldn’t help but grin back. “I guess we did.”
12
VASSAGO
The next morning, I landed in front of the house where Nero ran his little business. He likely thought he was big and bad because he operated on the edge of redcap territory. I smirked.
The man on the door went still, his eyes darting.
“Nero,” I said.
