He swallowed, his body stiff, but slowly he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around us both, returning our embrace. A smile curled my lips as I felt him relax a little as we shared…something. I had no idea what, but the tight feeling in my chest settled. He wasn’t leaving us right away.
His satisfied rumble melted into my bones, and my stomach flipped. The words that had knocked the wind out of me while in the throes of passion resurfaced. I bit my tongue, holding onto them. Making myself physically vulnerable was one thing; letting him know he could crush my heart if he chose wasn’t something I was ready for.
20
Balthazar
My mind was a fucking mess.I’d been helpless to stop the runaway train of lust and absolute, base need to possess them. But it had only made things harder. I wanted them every second of the day. Fucking them both was bad enough, but after we’d showered, I’d taken them to the bedroom that was behind that hidden door, and slipped between the cool, silk sheets, pulling them into my body. I wiped a hand down my face.
I’d cuddled.
Me.
I scoffed, and Dav raised a brow in question.
Schooling my features, I shook my head.
After Connor had left, I’d wanted to mark my territory. Shane and Sor were mine, and another powerful supernatural had come into my club and tried to take one of them away. Even now, that thought made me burn with rage. Still, my lack of control had been reckless, and more than I’d needed to do to ensuretheir feelings for me. Now it was me who was too attached, too obsessed. I wanted to know where they were and what they were doing every moment of the day. Even though giving into my obsession was stupid, since very soon I would have to break them. It sickened me, but I had to continue on this path, for all our sakes.
Minerva studied me from the chaise longue she draped her elegant body across. She was a witch, a powerful one, and she owed me. We’d fucked one night, many, many years ago, and she’d stolen my blood as I slept. She’d used a needle no bigger than a hair, and it hadn’t registered. I’d been unaware of her duplicity until she’d cast an illusion and entered my castle as Johnson. My butler had access to all areas of the castle, except my private vault. That small fact had been her downfall.
Back in the early nineteenth century, the technical specs of my security system were not what they are now. But my blood had always been the key to my private vault. And she’d gotten that far before I caught her. I had respected her skills and tenacity, and because of that, spared her life, preferring to use my compulsion to keep her in line. But over the years, we had formed a bond of mutual respect and understanding, especially when I’d understood her motives. At least, that’s what it was on the surface. I wasn’t one to trust easily. Other than Dav, she was the only one who knew about the old witch's prophecy, and she didn’t know it all.
“You know, when I found that doomsday scroll you’d left in the ruins of your old castle, all I wanted was to uncover what it meant for my kind. But it isn’t just about vampires and witches, is it?”
I shook my head. “No, it really isn’t.”
“It’s about all races?”
“It is indeed.”
Minerva knew about the trifecta, but she’d alluded to the scroll being so damaged that she didn’t fully understand the prophecy, and I wasn’t about to enlighten her. Her belief that she was the witch in question had proved useful—until now. It had been a way to keep her happy and working for me, casting the spells that kept my more powerful prisoners in line, and forming a shield over the fight ring to keep my customers safe and the fighters bound, until I was ready to release them from the cage.
Her own hubris made her useful, and I would need it in the coming weeks, but then it would be time to cut ties before she found out Sor was the witch I was bound to, and that it would never be her.
I stood to leave. She unfolded herself from her position, the silk of her robe gleaming as it fell open, revealing her pert breasts and toned body. Her shrewd gaze met mine before she slowly perused my body, dipping one hand between her legs. At one time, I would have taken her up on her unspoken offer. Dav would have joined us, too. But that was before. Now Dav had his soul mate, and I had…
I took a step back, pulling down my cuffs, and glanced at Dav. Without a word, he headed to the door. The apartment was luxurious and had been furnished with every mod’ con’ she needed, but it was still a cage, even if it was a gilded one.
“Not this time, Minerva. I have other responsibilities to attend to.”
She dragged a hand up my chest and pouted. “Pity.” She lifted a hand that was slick with her intimate moisture. My cock didn’t even stir at the scent of her desire, and I caught her wrist before she could push it against my lips. I squeezed hard enough that it would leave a bruise, but she didn’t see it as the warning I’d meant. Instead, her pupils expanded, and she pushed harder against me.
“You should know by now, I like it when you get rough with me.”
I kept my face cold and shoved her away. “I said, not now. The plan stands. I’ll let you know when it’s time for him to break.”
Her pout irritated me, but there was a gleam in her eyes as she asked her next question. “What about the woman? She has warmed your bed for long enough. If he is going to be broken and become the weapon of prophecy, she must be out of the picture. Permanently. He cannot be distracted, and neither can you. She is in the way.” A vicious smirk curled her mouth, and she studied the long nails of her still-glistening fingers. “I can always deal with her myself.”
I showed nothing of my fury as she threatened Sorcha, but she had to believe Sor meant nothing to me.
“No need. I already have a plan for Sorcha. One Nicolai will adore.”
Her satisfied smile made me sick, but this was a game of illusion and deception, one I’d played for years; only now it had higher stakes than ever.
“Delightful.” She clapped her hands together and smiled.
I stepped back. “I must go, but I will notify you of the day I wish to implement my plans.”
