Dominick followed my gaze to the other vampire. “Is that so?”
“That’s up to you to decide.”
He wasn’t the only one who could sow discord and plant seeds of doubt.
“Kat, I thought you were smarter than this,” I drawled. “How many times do I have to kick your ass before you learn?”
Dominick’s jaw ticked.
As I’d suspected, she’d neglected to mention that little factoid to him. She’d probably made me seem like a defenseless moron who got by on my connections with more powerful vampires.
Liam relaxed, losing the rigid tension in his body that had been there since Dominick’s entrance. The corners of his lips tugged upwards as he leaned against the bar next to me, his shoulder brushing mine.
Together, we watched the pair with bored gazes.
To Dominick’s credit, he recovered almost instantly. “I see I’ll have to be more careful in my choice of allies in the future.”
Kat blanched.
Her reaction would have seemed extreme if Liam hadn’t warned me what a sadistic bastard Dominick was. Kat was nothing if not self-serving. Her denial game was stronger than mine. She had a habit of seeing only what she wanted to. So, he must have shown her that side of himself for her response to be so pronounced.
Last night she’d acted like she had the upper hand. Now, she was more like a frightened rabbit forced to endure the presence of a big bad wolf.
“Does Sofia know of your presence here?” Liam asked.
“This has nothing to do with Davinish’s Matriarch.”
Nathan scoffed. “You really can’t be that stupid.”
I wouldn’t go that far. In my experience, Kat could be way more moronic than this.
Kat’s chin notched higher. “I’m assisting an enforcer of the council in an investigation. There can be no higher purpose. She will understand.”
I doubted that.
“That’s a nice villain speech. Did you practice it?” I asked, all too conscious of Jenna and Caroline’s presence in the corner. Nerves were dancing a tango in my stomach, bringing my inner snarkzilla to the forefront.
With Liam’s big body to provide coverage, I snuck my hand under his shirt to touch the bare skin of his lower back, using him to keep me from losing my mind to stress. His muscles tensed lightly before relaxing.
I flexed my fingers, letting him feel the threat of my nails.
He shifted under my touch, reaching around himself to grab my hand and press it against his obliques. “If you’re going to punish me,mo chuisle, do it properly.”
I flushed, not expecting him to take our flirtation to the next level in present company.
He smirked at me, reaching up to tuck a piece of hair behind my ear as his gaze warned me to play along.
Ah—I finally understood.
He was helping me distract the others from my sister by giving them something more interesting to focus on.
I softened, gratefulness radiating from my gaze.
Liam’s gaze held mine. The affection and tenderness within stealing my breath for a second.
When he finally looked away, a cold brutality replaced what I’d seen.
“Fuck off, Aileen,” Kat snarled. “If it weren’t for you, I would still be my Matriarch’s successor.”
