Addict (Hunter #2)(27)

“Keep drinking, cara mia,” Marcus said.

I knew if I could see him, his fangs would be large and his eyes big and dark. It’s pleasurable for a vampire to share blood. If we had time, I was sure we’d make love again, but I could already hear the living room filling up with people.

Marcus’s hands loosened around my hair, his signal that I’d taken enough. He wasn’t telling me I had to stop, merely that I could when I wished to. I took one long last mouthful and licked the hole on his chest. The minute I stopped sucking, it closed as though it had never been there.

“Better,” he proclaimed after carefully studying my face.

He kissed my forehead, and I glanced at myself in the mirror. If it hadn’t been for the blood on my skin and clothes, you wouldn’t know I’d been in a fight at all. I regretfully pulled the sweater off and turned on the water in the sink. I had blood from my cheek to my neck and across my shoulders. Marcus’s eyes darkened, bleeding out until there was no white left.

“Baby, we have a whole roomful of people waiting,” I tried pointing out.

The king and Quinn were both out there. Trent and a security team had followed them. As soon as Henri Jacobs knew anything, he would be on his way up.

It didn’t matter, though, because I was now half naked with a vampire attached to my neck. Marcus sat on the marble counter of the bathroom and wrapped himself around me. He licked the blood from my skin with long, luxurious strokes of his tongue.

There was a short knock on the bathroom door.

“Kelsey, are you okay?” Liv’s voice was thin and reedy.

“Go in and see for yourself,” another feminine voice insisted. “Is Marcus decent?”

“He’s clothed,” I replied as he tightened his legs around me. He fully enveloped me, and he wasn’t letting go.

“Good.” The Queen of all Vampire pushed her way into the bathroom. Her eyes widened at the sight that greeted her. “Well, I suppose that was inevitable.”

Liv’s mouth hung open for a moment. “Oh, my god.” She held up her dainty handbag. “Do you want me to…I don’t know…detach him from you?” She turned to the queen for support. “Can I do that?”

I didn’t think going after one of the most powerful vampires in the world armed only with a Coach bag and righteous indignation was a good idea.

Zoey Donovan-Quinn smiled and shook her auburn hair. “I wouldn’t advise it.”

“Is this normal?” I asked as Marcus pulled my hair gently to get better access. There seemed to be a spot behind my ear he’d missed.

“Oh, yeah,” the queen said with a negligent wave of her hand. “Daniel does it all the time. If I nick myself while shaving, he comes running.” She took a seat in the upholstered chair attached to the vanity. “So, how was Venice? Lee said you had a good time.”

Marcus licked my cheek with a sexy groan. I was sure he knew there were other people in the room, but he didn’t seem to care. He scraped his fangs along my skin.

“It was really nice. I’ve never been out of the country before,” I replied because I couldn’t think of anything else to do. “Marcus took me all over the city. I saw the San Marco piazza, but I had to make Marcus go away before the pigeons would land on me. They didn’t seem to like him. Is he going to stop any time soon?”

“When the blood’s gone,” Zoey explained as though she was talking about the weather. She got up. “And then he’ll probably do that thing where he listens to your heart. Let him. It soothes them. I’ll let Daniel know it’s going to be a while. Liv was freaking out. We were having our monthly Bunco session and, of course, someone had to rush in and tell us you had been horribly mauled by a rabid shifter. And I was winning. I never win. I think Neil cheats somehow. One day I’ll figure it out.” Zoey opened the door. “Oh, and if Danny starts like yelling or something about how long it’s taking, don’t worry about it. Take your time. His bark is way worse than his bite.” She smiled brilliantly. “His bite is actually quite nice.”

Liv stood back, her cheeks pink with obvious embarrassment. “I’m sorry I interrupted. I was worried. Are you sure you’re okay?”

I gave her a thumbs-up. “I’m good. He got in a good swipe with those claws. Damn near took out my eye. Marcus fixed it.”

“I’m glad to hear that,” Liv said awkwardly. “Oh, good, he’s done with the blood part.”

Marcus’s head came up and he caught me with his pitch-black eyes and hopped down from the counter. Without a word, he took my hand and sat down in the chair previously occupied by the queen. He pulled me into his lap and immediately shoved his ear right over my heart. His arms wrapped around me and I could feel his heart start to beat in time with mine. Soothing. I was calming as he did.

“See, that’s freaky,” Liv said.

“He’s a vampire,” I pointed out. “And honestly, compared to Gray he’s practically normal.”

Marcus growled low in the back of his throat.

“And way better at making me happy,” I said placatingly. I decided to not piss off the vampire, who had obviously had enough stimulation for one night. I decided to go with it. I stroked his hair and felt him relax against me. I turned my attention back to Liv. “How bad is it out there?”