“Don’t be silly.” He waved me away.
I didn’t argue. I’d just do it when he wasn’t paying attention. It was easier that way.
“Now.” He swirled the brown liquid in his glass, his eyes downcast. “I wanted to discuss a sensitive matter with you.” He took a slow sip of his drink. “Reagan, for the second time in my life, and the first time as a vampire, I am falling in love. I didn’t think it could happen after I changed into…what I am. I have never heard that it could. But here I am. I was seeking a solution to undo this change in me, but after Seattle…I have gone too far. I no longer want the antidote. I want to lay claim on you. I want you to let me. And for the first time in my history, I want to feel what happens when love fully matures.”
I stared for a moment, my mouth hanging open in what couldn’t possibly be an attractive expression. The warmth in my chest swelled until it overtook my body. I felt light, and full, and cherished.
Oh shit.I was in big trouble.
“Okay, but,” I said, needing to keep my wits, “I live by human rules, and in this place and time, that’s monogamy. I’m not going to consent to falling for a guy—not to mention a vampire—who sexes up women all over the world every time you need blood. I’d have to crack a skull, and the first one would be yours.”
A smile graced his lips. “If you remain available to me,mon ange, I will agree to being solely with you. Exclusivity is much easier for a vampire than a human, or a more-than-human, as you are.”
I licked my suddenly dried lips as warmth pulsed in time to my heart. Was I seriously entertaining the idea of starting a relationship—arelationship—with a vampire? An elder vampire, no less, the most dangerous kind?
“Oh man, I don’t know,” I muttered.
He stretched out his hand and took mine, grazing my knuckles with his warm lips. “I didn’t expect to end up in this situation either, Reagan. But here we are. Let’s embrace it. What have we to lose?”
“A lot. Each of us has a lot to lose.”
He smiled, a lovely sight, before pulling me closer until I was resting against the heat of his body. “That makes it more special.”
His lips dipped, connecting with mine. Unable to help myself, maybe not wanting to, I wrapped my arms around his neck, deepening the kiss. My toes curled and my stomach flipped. Oh Lord, this man had a hold on me. Even if he wasn’t completely a man.
“Let’s just…be friends with benefits, maybe?” I murmured against his lips. Compromise. That was the ticket. “Or maybe a relationship, but a secret one. Those are a ton of fun. How does that sound?”
“Don’t tell Callie and Dizzy, you mean?”
“Them, or anyone who will try to talk me out of this—”very bad idea.
His chuckle was low and dangerous. “Whatever you want. But remember, vampires can be possessive creatures. Our primal sides uphold the verbal or, in this case, emotional contract. I will not see humor in anyone hurting you, or anyone trying to have you.”
“In contrast, I probablywillsee humor in someone kicking your ass. But I promise to avenge you right after I stop laughing.” He stood, and I held on tightly as he swung me up into his arms and carried me toward the bed. A thought occurred to me. “This situation has nothing to do with a blood bond, though. I’m not agreeing to that. So you can stop that paperwork, or whatever is happening in the lair. The only reason I’m not making a bigger fuss is because it’s keeping Vlad away. But it’s not going to happen.”
“We’ll talk about that in the future.”
Maybe I was jumping into the deep end with dating, but I would not shackle myself to a vampire. I didn’t say that, though. Not right then. I would save the bad news for when he returned to being a butthead. It was only a matter of time.
I kissed along his jaw. “Make love to me, Darius, and don’t make me regret this.”
“My pleasure, and you have my word.”
Epilogue
Vlad stalked along the lower hall in the lair, thinking over the things he’d seen. It had been truly unbelievable. From the moment Reagan had made her way down into the lair, he had known she was special—an impression heightened after he’d watched her take on two middle-level vampires in Seattle—but never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined how special.
In Seattle, he’d interrogated a man who had seen her battle a demon while hovering in midair. Later Vlad had seen her eat away a spell with fire, manipulating the flame in a way no mage on earth could. He would’ve thought them fools, especially Darius, for not having sensed his presence in the rail yard, but now that the pieces had clicked together, he completely understood.
The entire crew had been terrified of what it would mean for the demon to make it back to the underworld. That could mean one of a few things, but after looking into the types of demonic power, and hearing the details of power only Lucifer himself could wield, the unbelievablehad become a reality.
Darius had possibly found the most valuable being in the world. He had found her, gained her trust, and tied himself to her.
Vlad had known Darius would yield greatness. That was why he’d arranged for the young man to be fooled into a precarious position—and then beaten within an inch of his life so he would be grateful to Vlad for turning him. It had already paid off ten-fold, but this…
This was everything. This was the key to tearing down the elves.
“Vlad.”
