Bad Mouth(36)

His brows rose in mock surprise. “Such language. Don’t tell me I’m rubbing off on you already.”

Her hands went to his face, stroking his jaw on either side. A warm surge of emotion seized her breath. She never thought she would think it of a vampire, especially this vampire, but he was a good man. He might believe himself some kind of barbaric hater of humans, but his actions had shown otherwise. At the core of him, he simply couldn’t stand the thought of any innocent, human or vampire, violated by cruelty. And he’d been risking his life to put an end to it in the only way he could.

“Kade, I don’t care how angry you are or how guilty or how sad or how anything you are. Don’t you ever abandon me like you did the last few days.”

He frowned. “I never abandoned you.”

“Could have fooled me. You left me alone.”

“Ezra was here every night.”

“He’s not you. Do you want him to take your place?”

Kade growled, his brow creasing with anger. She smoothed her hand over his forehead.

“He’s good company, but I didn’t want him. I wanted you, Kade.” Those must have been the right words. He melted against her, his hands sliding around to hold her close.

“I wanted you, too,” he said against her shoulder.

Thank God. She’d had doubts about his feelings for her. He hadn’t said he loved her, but his words and actions were enough for her right now.

He kissed a trail along her collarbone. “I guess we should get out of here before I wear you out again.”

She ran her hands over his back and shoulders and then through his hair. “It feels so good to touch you.”

She’d missed him like crazy. Even after spending nearly every waking minute with Kade since the day they’d met, it nevertheless surprised her how deeply he’d imbedded beneath her skin. Their intense physical attraction had been instant, but the gradual unfolding of her feelings for him had only grown as she learned more about the man beneath the facade.

“Goddamn, you turn me on,” he said. By now she was getting the hang of how to read him. This was his way of telling her how much he cared for her.

“Well, your language hasn’t gotten any better.” She pulled his hair until he lifted his head away from her throat. “This time apart has been bad for you.”

He laughed and then sat up and slid off the bed to grab his shirt from the floor. “Guess you should move in with me. Somebody’s gotta keep me in line.”

He didn’t look at her, but tension stiffened his movements and his lips formed a hard line. He kept his head down while he donned his shirt and buttoned his jeans. Was he seriously asking her to move in? Her heart leaped and skipped a few times before her brain righted itself. She’d call his bluff.

“I will then, and right away, too. I don’t think anyone else is up for the job.” She kept her tone light but her eyes on him. He froze with his hands at his fly and then turned to her.

He cocked his head. “Will you now?”

“Were you asking?” She sat up, hanging her legs over the side of the bed. Her pulse raced. She had to be insane to even consider this. They’d met only a week earlier, but her heart didn’t give a damn about time and it pounded against her ribs at the idea of being this close to him every day.

He half shrugged. “Testing the waters.”

She grabbed his hand and tugged him closer. “The waters are warm, Kade. Hot even.”

He stepped between her dangling legs and gave her a kiss to end all kisses. And then his cell rang.

She groaned in frustration. “Why are you so popular?”

“Jealous?” He pulled out his cell and slid it open instead. “This better be good, *.” She could barely hear the raspy voice on the other end.

“Traitor!” she called loud enough for Ezra to hear.

Kade grinned at her but listened intently. She slid her sandals on and straightened her skirt out while she waited for him to get off the phone. He walked toward the window, murmuring into the cell, with his free hand balled into a fist hard enough to turn his knuckles white.

This had to be bad. A hit of nervous adrenaline made her feel shaky. She stepped next to him at the window and rubbed his back as much for her comfort as his. He glanced at her, his expression bleak, and pulled her against his side.

“Ezra, I have no choice. They’ve thrown down a gauntlet. I will answer it, but you don’t have to. None of you have to.” He listened to Ezra’s answer and apparently didn’t like it. “They’ll kill all of you for treason if I lose.”

He listened a little longer and then his shoulders slumped. “I’ll meet you in five hours. If you die because of me, you bastard, I’ll never forgive you.”

Kade called his merry men after that, but when his next call went to Ptolomy, her heart wedged into her throat. Whatever had happened was beyond bad. He was gathering backup.





Chapter Twenty-seven


When Kade turned back to Val, all color had left her face. He pulled her against him, pressing his lips to her temple. She shook and he tried to rub the tremors out of her, smoothing his hands along her spine. He wished he could protect her from all this ugliness, but she needed to know what was happening.

“Kade?” She couldn’t hide her anxiety. He tipped her face up.

“My father has destroyed my estate in Glacier. There’s nothing left. I don’t give a rat’s ass about the subjugates or the Legions they became, but he killed all those in my private service.” Rage vibrated through him. “He knows I can’t feed from…He knows.”

Val’s arms squeezed tighter around him. “I’m so sorry. Why would he do that? And what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know why, but I suspect he learned I killed some of his Enforcers. I have no choice but to challenge him.” Fuck, he’d take any other way, but there wasn’t one. Challenging his father in a fight to the death would be the toughest fight of his life, a fight he doubted he could win.

Val tensed in his arms. “No,” she rasped. He never wanted her to be afraid, but damned if the fear in her eyes didn’t warm him to his center. It told him she cared about him.

“I have no option. He’s thrown the first punch. If I do nothing, I lose everything, my heritage, my status, my life. I cannot let the Dominorum remain in the hands of those psychos.”

“Why you?”

“Because it’s my responsibility, my duty, Val. They’re my parents, and the Dominorum is mine to take. The problem is I’m too young to take it.”

“How will you get around that?”

Good question. “Damned if I know. It’ll come to me, but I don’t have time to wait around for an answer. I have to get to the Ancients before they know the strike is coming.” He tugged her toward the door, grabbing her bag on the way. “Come on. I’ve got to get you home.”

“No way. I am not sitting home alone while you ride away to your death.” She had that stubborn look on her face, but that didn’t make any difference. He was never going to lead her into a dangerous situation again, no matter how slight.

“I won’t put you in harm’s way. You’re defenseless against the Ancients. I can’t take them out if I’m worried about your safety, Val.”

She looked as though she would argue, but then her eyes clouded with tears, and she sagged against him. He looped her bag over his shoulder, lifted her into his arms, and took her downstairs. She never looked up, only kept her face against his throat. A tenderness he’d never known overcame him, tightening his throat. He wanted to hold her like this the rest of his life.

He surprised her by settling her into the passenger’s seat. She gaped when he slid into the driver’s side.

He laughed. “What? You didn’t think I knew how to drive?”

“I just—where’s your driver?”

“Somehow his application got rescinded. Hmm, I wonder how that happened.” He sent her a crooked grin. She smiled even though her eyes were still teary. He made short work of the trip, weaving in and out of traffic with precision, then pulled to the curb in front of the Towers and glanced over at Val. Her fingers had bitten into the seat, and her back was ramrod straight. He laughed so hard, he nearly choked. She glared at him.

“I’m sorry, baby. I’m a great driver. I promise. You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”

“But you’d scare the heck out of me. Who needs the Ancients? I thought we were roadkill.”

He kissed her hand, a wide grin on his face again. “God, I love you.” He was still laughing as he loped around the car to open her door for her. He grabbed the bag off the floor and swept her up into his arms. She was a bitty thing, her weight easy on him. She stayed unnaturally quiet on the trip up to his penthouse, but he couldn’t see her face. She had it tucked against his chest, and her pale hair fanned across it.