Steal the Day (Thieves #2)(88)

“Is anyone going to comment on the fact that Danny is awake at three in the afternoon?” I asked quietly.

Everyone stopped. Neil was suddenly a very naked human male standing next to me.

Dev came to my other side, a satisfied look on his face. He crossed his arms across his chest. “I’m a badass.”

“Zoey, this is what we’ve been waiting for.” Marcus’s prior rage morphed into something like excitement. “This has been his weakness. Daniel, I told you she could make you strong. I told you her blood and her sex would make you strong. Whatever you did to him last night, companion, keep it up.”

I thought about that strange magic of Dev’s that filled the room to bursting last night. Vampires can use sexual energy to strengthen themselves. Dev’s magic was all about sex. “I don’t think it was me.”

Daniel and Marcus turned their heads to Dev, who had gotten himself a new drink and was smirking as he relaxed on the sofa. “Oh, it was definitely me. There’s no question of that.”

“How?” Marcus asked.

“I’m a priest. You know about Fae priests, I assume. Apparently all Daniel needed was some extraordinarily powerful sex magic.” Dev crossed his legs, looking very proud of himself.

“You are Miria’s son, the wild one?” Marcus asked. “I knew your grandfather. He was extremely powerful. He used to be able to simply walk by a group of men and women and they would be overcome with lust.”

“That was Granddad,” Dev acknowledged. “He was always a good time. I really hope everyone used protection in this hotel last night, otherwise there’s a lot of stuff that happened in Vegas that won’t be staying in Vegas.”

“It was a fertility ritual? That is very powerful.” Marcus looked at Daniel with thoughtful eyes. “You have chosen your friends very carefully, Daniel. If this one is who I think he is, he can be very useful. You can make inroads to Faery with him. His brother will take the throne one day. It’s said his brother would do anything to mend the rift between them. He’s a powerful pawn.”

“He’s more than a pawn, Marcus,” Daniel said. “He knows the rest of the supernatural world. He can advise me in a way that you cannot. He can get me meetings with people who wouldn’t talk to you.”

Marcus nodded, but hadn’t taken his eyes off me. I was aware that I was half naked and standing around with a pistol.

“I can accept all of that, Daniel,” Marcus continued. “I am finding it difficult to accept that you would whore out your queen to bring him into the fold. Surely some other arrangements could have been made. If you needed a third, I would have been more than willing to indulge her perversions.”

Suddenly the pistol was a welcome weight in my hands because I’d had just about enough of Marcus. I stepped over the couch not caring what I revealed because I needed to make that vampire understand something. I shoved the muzzle of the gun under his chin and he stilled. “Look here, Vorenus, Daniel didn’t choose Dev, I did. I’ll put this in terms you can understand. He is mine. If you even look at him the wrong way again I will kill you. I know you seem to think that a companion is a submissive piece of ass to be dealt with as you please. I can’t change thousands of years of history, so you need to stop thinking of me as a companion and start referring to me as your queen. I will not submit to your will, Marcus. Is that understood? And if you call me a whore again, I won’t be responsible for my actions. I’ll get that silver sword my husband, who I also choose to sleep with, carries and I will separate your head from your body. Do I make myself clear?”

“As crystal, mio regina,” Marcus replied with a savage smile.

Daniel took me by the arm and looked at his patron. “I would like to speak with my wife now. Can I trust you not to kill my advisor?”

Marcus straightened his tie. “Yes, I did not understand the relationship. My instincts took over my good sense. I can certainly work with the prince. Please go and speak with your queen while I smooth over this situation.”

Daniel stopped, his eyes finding Dev’s and a moment passing between them. “Dev?”

My boyfriend’s lips curved up in a soft smile, his eyes on me even as he spoke to Daniel. “I’ll take care of things, Dan. I don’t think you need any more disturbances this afternoon. Enjoy the sunlight.”

“Thank you. I will. And Neil, go put on some freaking pants. What’s with you and pants?” Daniel pulled me back in the bedroom. He turned me around and looked at me seriously. “That was a mistake, Z. He’ll want you even more now. Your forceful personality is the reason Marcus is interested in you. That was practically foreplay in his mind.”

“That’s not my fault. Am I supposed to let him walk all over me? He tried to kill Dev. I’m not going to sit back and let that happen because defending my lover might get him off.”

“I just think you should be careful around Marcus,” Daniel explained. “Just know what he wants from you and be careful. He’s not a bad man, but he is a product of his time. Can I kiss you now?”

I looked at him, surprised at the turn of his thoughts. “I thought you would be upset about last night.”

“I don’t have time for that, Z. Unless you’ve decided to forget this whole insane plan to save Sarah, I can’t waste time worrying about the fact that we had a threesome last night, and we aren’t in college anymore so we can’t call it experimentation. All I know is you came back to me last night. We have to work things out, but we have to do it later. Have you changed your mind?”