Page 13 of Blades and Bone

He had wondered if that was going to be glossed over or picked apart. Clearly, it was the latter. He shrugged. “I wanted to see what you’d do.”

“If you push, I will push back. Be sure of your footing.” The threat was softly spoken but there all the same.

“You can’t kill me without breaking the treaty.”

Brodie was silent as they walked through the garden past well-placed security who were intent on ignoring them. “There are plenty of things before death. I thought we agreed to something more pleasant?”

“We did.”

“Good.” Brodie’s grip on his hand eased. “Because if I need to stake you with silver and put you in a coffin until you agree to behave, I will.”

Hamish’s stomach tightened, not wanting to find out if Brodie was serious. “I’m pretty sure you won’t get away with Snow White-ing me.”

“Vivian is my sister. You’d be surprised what I can get away with.”

Like Garrick, Brodie would be afforded luxuries and loopholes others were not allowed. He needed to lower his gaze and shut his mouth…two things he wasn’t very good at.

Even though they were mostly in the shade and mostly covered by the cloth of the suit, he squinted in the sun and was aware of it striking his face through the leaves. He hadn’t drunk that much blood, just enough to remind him he wasn’t human, and that too much made him burn like a ginger in the midday sun on a forty-degree day. Too long and he’d blister, and then things would get very uncomfortable.

“I’m not going to make trouble. I won’t endanger—” He almost said ‘my family,’ but they weren’t. He was now an Ashby and had the ink to prove it. “The treaty. Stop acting like I’m a dog about to bite you.”

“You already did.”

“And you enjoyed it.”

Brodie’s lips curved as if reliving the memory. “Yes, and so did you. Perhaps you respond better to the promise of reward… Behave, and you can have another taste.”

He’d rather be staked than beg for blood.

But the new tattoo throbbed, and his dick thought more than blood might be on the table.

Chapter Eight

It felt wrong to be showing Hamish around his house. He didn’t have to live on-site, but he saw no reason not to when the cottage was right there, nestled amongst the rainforest and a short walk to work. He liked sitting on the deck and having breakfast overlooking the trees. He liked coming home to the peace. Would he ever have that again?

“It’s tiny,” Hamish said.

It was no smaller than similar guest cabins, and far bigger than the rooms in the main resort. “I believe it was originally the caretaker’s cottage for the main house, which is now the luxury bungalow, where the Reids are.”

“That is a mansion.”

“It was a private residence that was acquired by the resort about ten years ago.” It had then been renovated and was a worthwhile addition to the sprawling resort, which now included a main hotel and numerous cabins closer to the beach.

Hamish nodded as he walked around the living room and then the kitchen. “That explains it. So are we sharing a room, or do you plan on locking me in, so I don’t run away?”

“I trust you not to run away. Though I ask that you do not leave the resort. You will also be stopped if you try to enter where the Reids are staying.”

“I figured since I’m not one of them.” He seemed more resigned to his fate now that it was done, and he’d had time to digest.

“This way.” Brodie showed him to the main bedroom. Like the living room, one wall was mostly glass, so he could look out at the trees. He opened the sliding door so Hamish could step out onto the deck.

“Spa?”

“Yes.” He’d had it installed because sitting in the hot tub under shelter watching the rain was something close to magic. It was far too easy imagining Hamish next to him, a little blood in their champagne…

Hamish had taken the elastic out of his hair, and it now curled against his neck, drawing attention instead of concealing. He wanted to blame the taste of blood that he’d already had for his hunger for more. But it wasn’t only his blood he wanted. He’d tasted Hamish’s desire, which had been unexpected when he’d made the gentle bite, not wanting Hamish to flinch and for him to appear cruel. Doing that under both matriarchs’ gazes would not have been a smart move.

Engaging Hamish in a battle of wills hadn’t been that smart either. However, the younger vampire needed to learn his place, and it was not at his side. That took time and trust, and this was political, not pleasure.