But he did respond, knowing my words were directed toward him…
Lord Belshazzar snorted. “You didn’t shut up long enough for any one of us to actually speak.” Ice blue eyes rose from his screen and targeted mine. He lifted a fed-up black eyebrow, his tone still sardonic. “If you’re truly done with the bullshit flying out of your mouth, you can move your chair over here and watch the fucknut with me.”
My eyes narrowed on his.
He was not an easy lover. Like,ever.
I stood regally to my feet, enjoying how his eyes tracked over my smaller stature, sensual heat flaring on his strong features. I picked up my chair and walked with it around the conference table, keeping my attention on my infuriating and too-blunt Overlord. Done with my trek, I plopped my chair down…next to Lord Cato.
I dipped my head to my sole paramour and struggled to keep the glee off my face. Lord Belshazzar wasn’t happy, his lips thinning and his black brows furrowing. With my head bowed, I replied, “I will watch what the king is doing. Thank you for the advice, my lord.”
I promptly sat my royal butt down on my chair and leaned toward my father, my attention now trained on his cellphone.
Lord Cato chuckled quietly under his breath and turned his cell phone so we could both view it easily. He tipped his head toward me, and muttered, “It’s a little early in the morning to poke the beast, don’t you think? We did celebrate all night after the crowning. None of us got a lot of sleep.”
I flicked my attention to his eyes, then back to the screen. “Am I the beast in this situation? Or is Lord Belshazzar? You didn’t specify.”
My father’s shoulders bounced in his hilarity, but he didn’t allow it to be heard. “Yes, sweetling, you’re probably right there.” His brown eyes returned to the view of outside, done reprimanding me—because I was right.
Lord Belshazzar growled across the table.
He sure as hell sounded like a beast, too.
Probably because…I believed he was. A beast.
My lips twitched, but I pointed at the screen. “Will that dome he’s creating go over the entire stronghold? And what kind of protection does it afford?” I chewed on my bottom lip, an alarming thought slamming me. “And will we be able to leave it? Or is that bitch trapping us in our own home?”
Sitting on my father’s other side, Lord Otto groused, “King Niallan assured us it was purely for the protection of our people. We will not be trapped inside. Only vampires and druids will be able to enter or leave.” The blond-haired Overlord sat back in his chair, resituating himself to a more comfortable position. “But like all magic, anything lead-based will be able to travel through it.”
I returned my regard to my father’s cellphone. My nose crinkled. I mumbled in disbelief, “So…he’s…actually helping us?”
Lord Otto answered, “It appears so.”
I ran my right pointer finger over my bottom lip, rubbing back and forth in thought, my nose still scrunched in confusion. “I didn’t expect this from him.”
Instantly from across the table—from my grumpy Overlord, “I’ve told you this before, Gwen. Don’t fall for his shit,” he hissed. My eyes met his. The vampire was even more aggravated now. Lord Belshazzar leaned forward over the table, and his long black hair fanned over his shoulders. “Or do I need to keep repeating it, your majesty, before it plants itself into that young, stubborn head of yours?”
The other four lords fell silent—again—their eyes returning to their screens, attempting to give us privacy.
With my nostrils flaring, both my black eyebrows lifted high onto my forehead. As calmly as possible, I stated, “May I ask you something, my lord?”
Frosty blue eyes scowled. He nodded once.
My irritation spewed like a geyser, as I lost the battle to contain my emotions. “What the fuck crawled up your ass this morning? I have done nothing today to warrant your cruelty. All I’ve done is ask questions for the safety of my people. I want to know who is behind the attack—”
“Shut up,” he barked, throwing up a stopping hand in my direction and cutting me off. The muscles in his jaw ticked while he inhaled heavily and lowered his hand back to the table. Lord Belshazzar held my gaze captive, not relinquishing his authorative stare. Eventually, he growled quietly—dangerously, “I expected you in my room last night—and you never showed up. Where the fuck did you sleep? Because it wasn’t in your room.”
My blink was slow. Oh…
This was an entirely different kind of mad.
Of the scary sort.
His power fluctuated through the air, not wholly controlled and harsh, flowing out of him like the pulse of a heartbeat. It would shoot out, then ram back to him. Blast out, then disappear. Over and over again the longer I took to respond.
And yet, I knew he was still gripping his power tight, only a little leaking in his fury so he wouldn’t cripple anyone in the conference room.
I didn’t know what to say and not make a real scene, the intensity on Lord Belshazzar’s face unnerving. Every word of reason merely floated out of my mind under his chilling, direct regard. I wasn’t sure I had ever witnessed him this murderous. And that was a major feat because the vampire could be a real asshole when he wanted to be.
