A Ride of Peril (A Shade of Vampire #46)(58)

“You fellows will sleep down here. I’ve made sure that no one disturbs you throughout the night. The succubus can sleep upstairs,” she said, looking at Anjani. “We’ve left a few things for your consideration. Hopefully you will like them. Like I said, we do not make a habit of carelessly killing and eating your kind. Not anymore.”

Anjani’s eyebrows were raised in genuine surprise. She blinked fast as she processed the Lamia’s gesture of goodwill—a historically improbable event.

She left us there, waving at us without bothering to look over her shoulder.

“I shall see you three in the morning. Get plenty of sleep. The air is heavy with dark omens,” she said and disappeared into the night.

Bijarki was the first to fall asleep. I’d wanted to ask him a few questions about the Lamias, but by the time I put my head down and relaxed, I could hear him snoring. Anjani had already vanished upstairs. I couldn’t help wondering whether she’d drifted off as well.

Several thuds from above made me sit up. I looked over to see Bijarki still sleeping, his chest moving slowly, his breathing steady. I got out of bed and climbed the stairs, quietly looking around.

I reached the top floor and found Anjani standing in the middle of the room. A mirror leaned against the tree wall in front of her. She wore a long black dress with a deep V-neck that took my breath away. The smooth fabric poured down her body, outlining her curves beautifully. Her black hair flowed carelessly down her bare back. She saw me and stilled.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, her skin glowing.

My heart twisted. Heat expanded through my body and filled my muscles. I felt my cheeks burning, and my throat dried up.

“Sorry. I heard noises. I wanted to make sure you were okay,” I replied sheepishly.

Neither of us said anything for a while. My eyes wandered down her body to a pile of colorful silk dresses on the floor next to her feet.

“I take it they left those for you?” I asked, clearing my throat.

She nodded. Her wide, emerald-gold eyes darted from the dresses to me and back.

“Their way of making amends for eating succubi?”

“Pretty much,” she replied. “Not that they can fix anything with silk garments.”

I shook my head. “I didn’t think so,” I said.

“But the dresses are beautiful.” She shrugged, clearly conflicted.

I stood there, gawking and unable to move. I needed another moment to put my foot down the first step, but my gaze was fixed on her.

“I’ll leave you, then.” My voice was weak.

“You can stay,” she replied.

Her expression puzzled me. Judging by our previous interactions, I knew she felt attracted to me as much as I was to her. Perhaps it was time to use a little bit of reverse psychology.

“It’s okay. I’d like to be polite and let you sleep. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow.”

She took a deep breath, drawing my focus back to her cleavage. This had a devastating effect on my senses. Tension gathered in my jaw. My stomach clenched.

“Please stay,” she said. “I’m really not comfortable with you out of my sight, especially with all the Lamias hanging around.”

“What about Bijarki?” I asked with a smirk.

“He’s a big incubus. He can take care of himself.”

“Take it you’re jealous they’re all into me, then?”

I had a hard time containing myself. She was such an easy target when it came to other creatures paying attention to me. Her inability to hide her discomfort was downright endearing and brought out the joker in me. I loved playing with her even when I knew I’d get scratched—like playing with a tigress.

A shadow passed over Anjani’s face. She raised her arms to her side in a gesture of exasperation. “Yes! Okay? Yes, I’m jealous!”

Her raised voice stunned me. My heart stopped.

“I can’t bear the thought of other creatures touching you or even getting close to you, okay? Is that what you want to hear? Well, there you have it! I don’t want you looking at them. I can’t get you out of my head, and I’m still shaking from your kiss! There! Happy?”

Her confession floored me. My mind suddenly put two and two together. The glances, the frowns, the way she got so defensive around me. Her whole play about influencing me with her succubus nature had been her way to prove herself strong. Whether she’d wanted to prove it to me or herself was still unclear. Nevertheless, it ignited something inside of me.

Silence fell between us as we looked at each other. My heart raced, frantically struggling against the constraints of my ribcage. She was so beautiful and fierce, and yet, in that moment, her vulnerability made my spine tingle. It must have taken great strength for her to tell me the truth about how she felt.

Anjani took a deep breath, then crossed the room in several wide steps. The closer she got, the faster my heart throbbed. She pushed me against the wall, and the next thing I knew, her mouth was on mine. Her lips beckoned mine to open, and I took her with everything I had.

My arms wrapped around her body. My fingers slid over the silk as our tongues met. My hands found her bare back, and I felt her quiver as my skin touched hers. She pushed her chest forward. Her arms coiled around my neck as I pulled her closer to me.

We were hungry and unable to stop devouring each other. I deepened the kiss, my fingers pressing into her flesh. She ran her fingers through my hair, building more tension in my lower body.