“You may get lucky and kill one, but they live in covens and will swarm you like ants. Vampires are killing machines, lethal predators. If they come for you, you should run.”
“I understand what you’re saying, but—”
“I’m glad you understand.” A fierce determination narrowed her eyes. “Now, I hope you’ll let me do what I need to do.” She rose and moved to the window, her ruby ring glowing like a star. He could feel the air spark. The entire place was instantly charged with static electricity. Rowan raised her ring and drew anXthrough the air in front of his window.
Nick got to his feet. “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Rowan swallowed against a rising ache in her chest. What Nick had said was true. Her story was sad, and sometimes she missed her brothers so much she couldn’t sleep at night. But it had been a long time since she’d let that sadness in, and part of her resented that Nick had raised those feelings inside her. She channeled that confusing emotional energy into her ring and began muttering her protection spell.
“What the hell are you doing?” Nick asked again.
Rosco had risen from his bed and was hugging Nick’s side, panting nervously as the smell of magic filled the room.
“I’m warding your apartment against vampires and others who would seek to do you harm. If Rosco is sensitive, take him outside. I’ll be done in thirty minutes.” Her ring pulsed with red light.
“Wasn’t the point of me learning about vampires so that I could protect myself?” he asked defensively.
She didn’t turn her head. “Were you listening to what I said? Your chances of surviving an attack by a vampire are next to nothing. More than one vampire and you’re doomed!”
“In your opinion,” he said sharply. “Were you listening tome? I can take care of myself, Rowan.”
“Like I said before, you got lucky. Ineedto do this, Nick. Dragons protect what is theirs. It’s in our blood.” She drew the symbols in the air and whispered the incantation. Rosco growled.
“Ineedyou to stop.”
She sensed anger in his voice. She ignored it. “No.”
“No?”
“You can try to stop me.” She flashed him her most dangerous smile. “We’ll see what happens.”
He didn’t try to stop her, which was good because she would have hated to have to use brute force against him. The spell she was laying down was the same one that protected her treasure room under the gallery. It protected against all supernatural threats. Humans could walk right through it, which was why she would remind him to continue to lock his doors and why her treasure room was inside a vault.
Nick washers, and she would keep him safe. Only he wasn’t, was he? He’d never claimed her, not officially. It ate at her, that lack of ownership. She’d felt the bond, but he seemed indifferent to it.
Her mind wandered to Nick’s story about his past. Thinking about the abuse he suffered turned her stomach. The thought of anyone treating a child like he’d been treated struck rage into her heart, and she desperately wanted revenge on the evil prick who’d done that to him. But Stan was dead. That demon had already been slain.
She muttered her spell over and over as she walked the boundary of his apartment. She should have followed him back then, kept him safe. Now she’d make up for it. She vowed to protect Nick, whether he wanted her to or not.
The ache started in her chest again. She wanted him to be hers. As they’d made love, a bond had formed between them, one she hadn’t entirely expected. Her dragon had chosen Nick as her mate. Only, she’d been foolish. Nick clearly did not share her feelings of attachment. If he’d felt the bond, he’d denied it. The physical draw she felt for him was belied by the emotional push he was giving her now. Everything was too confusing. All she had to hold on to was her ability to keep him safe.
“It’s done.” She turned to him.
Nick’s expression was impassive, and he didn’t thank her. “I enjoyed myself tonight, Rowan. You didn’t have to do this out of guilt or whatever. You don’t owe me anything. What happened between us, it doesn’t have to mean anything. Maybe it’s better if it doesn’t.”
His words were like a dagger straight to her heart. She physically recoiled from them.
“I mean, you must think I’m damned weak and helpless to feel you have to use magic to protect me.”
“I don’t think you’re weak at all. For a human, you are a remarkable warrior.”
“For a human?” He stood up, his face red.
“Youarehuman. Supernaturals are faster and stronger. It’s not like you can make yourself invisible! You’re not a ghost.”
Nick grabbed his head as if it hurt and moaned. His eyes squeezed shut and he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
