“Some are sworn into the family, so not blood related, but most of them are second or third cousins,” she answered.
Dahlia did a rough headcount. “Not a lot of women in the family, huh?”
“Oh, don’t bring it up around Alvin if you don’t want to sit through a three hour lecture.” Marietta nodded toward where a familiar blond doctor stood by a towering window, apparently deep in discussion with someone. The fact that he was present for an all-family meeting was telling. “Vampires tend to have more boys than girls. I don’t know if anyone really understands why yet, but Alvin sure likes to theorize.”
The hair rose on the back of her neck a moment before the weight of a familiar hand settled on the small of her back.
The smell of smoke drifted over her when Felix bent his neck to press a lingering kiss to her nape. “Hello, pet,” he whispered. “Ready to face the family?”
Suppressing a shiver, she half-turned to look at him. “As ready as I’ll ever be. Why do you smell like a bonfire?”
Felix stepped smoothly beside her, one arm curled possessively around her waist. “Your father lit one of my clubs on fire.”
“What?” Alarmed, she grabbed a fistful of his shirt and demanded, “Was anyone hurt?”
Of course she’d heard a little bit of what had been going on outside the walls of the Amauri home as Felix fielded phone calls and the occasional stop-in from Milo or Nash, but she had no idea the animosity between them had escalated that far.
“Nah. It was around dusk, way before anyone was due for work. He was sending a message, not declaring war. Yet.” His thumb drew soothing circles on her waist. “Don’t worry. He’ll either do something that gives us an excuse to take him out or he’ll give up soon. Either way, we’ll be fine.”
Marietta cleared her throat. Giving Dahlia’s exposed neck and shoulders a significant look, she dryly suggested, “Well, seeing as you two have been putting in the work, it might speed up the process a bit if Dahlia was seen in public.”
Ignoring Felix’s rumbling growl, Dahlia gave her a considering look. “Felix said I need to wait for the venom to settle before I go out.”
“Yeah, and you two have been working overtime to make that happen.”
“It’s only been a week,” Felix broke in, his tone hard. “I’m not going to rush it and risk them thinking there’s still an opportunity to take her back. End of discussion.”
It wasn’t often that Felix appeared to pull the boss card with his cousins, but when it happened, they backed down immediately. Marietta put up her hands. “Just a thought.”
Butshewasn’t held by the same rules. For all of Felix’s many, many flaws, he’d never discouraged her from arguing with him. If anything, she felt like it was her obligation now that she had a stake in the family.
Dahlia frowned at him. Thinking of all the people in the lounge and what could happen to them if Alastair decided to crank up the heat — literally and figuratively — she said, “It’s worth considering, Felix. I don’t want anyone getting hurt because of me. What if the club had been set on fire during work hours? What if one of the cousins got shot? Shouldn’t we do everything we can to minimize the chances of Mr. Bowan escalating things?”
Felix propelled her forward, into the lounge. Muttering under his breath, he said, “Later.”
TWENTY-FOUR
She wantedto argue with him more, but it wasn’t the time. Marietta walked in ahead of them and perched on the armrest of a couch, one shapely leg draped over the other. A little crystal charm dangling from the clasp of her heel sparkled in the light as her foot bobbed with an expectant rhythm.
The hum of conversation died away as all eyes turned to them. Dahlia pulled her shoulders back, her expression smoothing. It was a reflex from spending so many years in The Lush.
In a lot of ways, walking into the lounge was similar to a shift at the bar. Facing the Amauri family was a lot like walking into work every day, not knowing if the vampires she’d face would try to take a bite out of her or not.
Even the children stopped playing to look up at her, their big eyes watchful and serious as they weighed her worth.
Her stomach somersaulted as she caught the little streaks of white in their hair and the tiny fangs that peeked out from behind their lips. They were a vivid image of the future she’d signed up for, and made her even more determined to have it out with Felix in the privacy of their bedroom.
If she was going to be his partner, that meant that she was responsible for the safety of everyone in this room — and that included the kids sitting cross-legged on the rug.
Giving her waist a squeeze, Felix waved a hand at the room at large. “All right,” he began, as casually as one might address their family at a Sunday barbecue. “Everyone, meet my bride, Dahlia Bowan. As you probably know, she was formerly Dahlia McKnight but has been officially claimed by Alastair Bowan as his heir.”
A round of chuckles and huffs went through the room. Felix waited for the commotion to die down a bit before continuing, “Dahlia is my blood bride and going forward, my partner. You’ll answer to her the same way you answer to me. Understood?”
An elder eyed her up and down from where he sat in a wingback chair. His blue eyes were a little rheumy, but they had a keen look when he noted, “Alastair never seemed the type to risk making an heir. What makes you so special?”
Felix had explained to her that it was the elders who were the most against his authority, and it was their ideals that made taking a blood bride necessary. Neither facts made her particularly inclined to like them, let alone cater to them. Still, she didn’t intend to make enemies right off the bat.
Dahlia pursed her lips. Aware that everyone in the room was judging her not just for what she said but what she didn’t say, she answered, “Nothing besides being in the right place at the right time. Alastair turned me accidentally when someone decided the best way to accomplish a hit was to throw agrenadeat a rooftop.”
