I burst out laughing. It was all such a strange situation. “I don’t know. We haven’t talked about that. I thinkhe wanted to leave, but once he knew we were mates—well, things changed.”
“What will he do during the day?” Aaron whispered across the table.
“Today he watchedTwilight,” I said. His eyes widened before he laughed so hard everyone in the place turned and looked.
“Sorry, but of all the movies.”
“I said the same thing. He said he liked it, so who am I to judge?” I shrugged and glanced at the counter, hoping the pizza was ready soon.
“He’s so strange,” Aaron said.
I thought of what we’d done earlier and hownotstrange he was and how I couldn’t wait to see him and do it all over again. They called Aaron’s name, and we both walked over to the counter to get the pizza and beer we’d ordered. He was a good friend, and I really hoped he understood about Marlon, because I didn’t want to choose between the two of them, and I shouldn’t have to.
After we ate, I drove back to the house, and Aaron went home. He had to work tomorrow too, and after eating we were both ready for an early night. As soon as I walked into the house, I was slammed back against the door. Hard enough to rattle my bones, but with enough care to ensure I wasn’t harmed. “Marlon,” I murmured.
“Mate,” he growled, making me grow hard.
“Did you miss me?” I asked, knowing how badly I’d missed him, even if it was only a couple of hours. He glided the tip of his nose up my neck while he inhaled and continued to release a low growl.
“Being apart from you is a horror I do not enjoy,” he said and kissed me. His tongue pressed into my mouth as he ground his hard cock against mine.
“I’m glad to see you’re safe,” I said.
“You know nothing can hurt me,” he murmured against my lips.
“That’s what you thought before, and they trapped you. I’ll always worry when you’re away.” It was true, and all common sense was thrown out the door when it came to him.
“It won’t ever happen again,” he said. “I have something for you.” He took my hand and led me into the kitchen. “This is for you to do with as you desire.”
Two small canvas bags tied with a strip of old dry leather sat on the counter. “What is it?” I asked even though I knew it was the gold. He rolled his eyes and plopped one of them in my hand. It was deceptively heavy for the size of the bag.
“You know what it is. I don’t know how much this is worth, but it should help you with some of your responsibilities, and if you want to share it with your id—your friend, I won’t be opposed to that.”
“I don’t want your gold,” I whispered and set it back down as I pressed him against the counter. “It’s you I want.”
“My love,” he whispered back. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought. I loved him, and even without the bond, it was more than something I couldn’t control. “Then it’s me you shall have. Always.” He pulled me to him and wrapped his arms around me so tight, I couldn’t imagine anything else more perfect.
All at once, Marlon’s head snapped up as he inhaled and shoved me behind him. “What is it?”
“Another vampire,” he said, and growled low and deep as the hair on the back of my neck stood on end in anticipation and terror of what happened next.
Sixteen
Marlon
“Who is it?” Blake whispered as I shoved him behind me and kept ahold of his arm.
“Shh, they’re just outside. I do not know this scent,” I murmured without taking my attention off the front door. It was strange to smell another of my kind, but there was no doubt there was another vampire nearby. A floorboard creaked behind us, and I spunboth of us around while pulling my mate close and preparing to attack.
There stood a person—not a person, a vampire—I had not seen in nearly a century. The man who had convinced who I thought was my mate to care more for gold than me. My lip rose in a snarl, and if Blake wasn’t behind me, I would have already torn his head from his body.
“I heard you had escaped your prison, but I didn’t believe it,” he growled low and deep. He looked the same as he had the last day I’d seen him. He’d probably been in his late twenties when he was human and was very tall and thin. His hair was still as dark black as it had been then, but now, he wore it in a modern cut and dressed the same as the other humans did.
“Rupert Downs,” I spat his name out at him. After I’d forced him to tell me what he had planned for my mate, I let him go with a promise he’d never return to Occident. That bit of mercy had been a mistake.
“Did you miss your ‘mate’?” he mocked as his eyes darted behind me. Blake’s hand gripped the back of my shirt, and I forced myself not to pull him closer with my hand that still gripped his arm. I would die defending him. This creature had stolen nearly a century from me, and he would pay.
“I see you wasted no time in finding someone else,” a voice from the past that I had missed with all of my heart, said from behind me. I turned and backed up enough to press Blake against the wall behind us.
