Fractured (Deep In Your Veins, #5)(3)

I’d just never fit. And they’d never let me forget it.

Here, I fit. Here, it was okay to be different. Here, we were all different. Each and every one of us had freaky preternatural quirks and gifts.

All three vampire breeds were born with an individual gift. Pagoris, like Butch, were the most powerful; known for their aggressiveness, their enhanced speed and strength, and their potent bloodlust. They also had a red tint to their irises that glowed when they were thirsty, angry, or horny.

Keja eyes had the same quirk, only the tint to their irises was amber rather than red. My breed also had hypnotic beauty, allowing us to lure in our prey very easily—whether they be vampire or human. We were also the only breed that possessed fangs.

Sventés were often considered human-like because their bloodlust wasn’t strong, they only had notable agility to boast of, their irises were completely normal, and their vampiric gifts tended to be only defensive. Personally, I didn’t think being ‘tame’ made them weak. To me, it was their strength. It allowed them to blend in easily with their prey without losing control.

It was safe to say I’d lost control last night when—

Butch’s eyes opened, and his watchful brooding gaze took me in. I’d heard a lot of people describe his eyes as ‘eerie’ because they were so dark. I didn’t think so. Oh, they could sure look scary when he was facing down an enemy. Other times, like now, they could be so languid and slumberous that my insides melted.

I swallowed. “Why did you bring me here?”

“I wanted you here.” The response was almost child-like in its simplicity. It was also rather typical of him. If he wanted to do something, he did it. If he wanted something, he went after it. And he made no excuses.

“That heifer sent me to dreamland, huh?”

“I was concentrating so hard on keeping hold of you that I didn’t get my shield around you in time.” Butch was a Negator; he could negate or deflect any power directed at him. As part of his gift, he could form a defensive shield.

Me? I had the rare ability to sever blood-bonds. There were two types of blood-blonds: the kind formed between fully mated vampires, and the kind that formed between a person and the vampire who created them. I’d long ago severed the bond between me and my Sire, and for very good reasons.

“Well…” I sat upright, smoothed out my shredded top and adjusted the thin straps. At least my wounds had healed. “I’d better go. We have a meeting soon.” Both our squads met with Sam and Jared most evenings.

I went to get up, but his hand landed on my thigh. A hand I knew was seriously talented. Even with my pants separating his skin from mine, it made something low in my stomach clench.

“Starting a bar fight…I wouldn’t have expected that of you.”

I frowned. “I didn’t start it.”

“You threw the first punch. I saw you.”

He was watching me?

“What did she say to you?” Something dark and dangerous moved behind his eyes.

I forced a dismissive shrug. “Not much.”

“Bullshit.” He braced himself on one elbow. “You don’t start fights. You don’t punch people for no reason. And you don’t go bat-shit for the fun of it.”

“Maybe I do. You don’t know me.”

His gaze raked over me, lingering a little on my cleavage. “Oh, I know you.”

“In the biblical sense,” I allowed.

“I know plenty of things about you. I know you disappear into a book every time you’re stressed out. I know your biggest fear is again being used to hurt people with your gift—so much that you even have nightmares about it. I know you have an aversion to toads, and you can’t lie for shit.”

I narrowed my eyes. That was the thing about him. He paid attention. Was perceptive on a level I wouldn’t have thought possible. And I could so lie, thank you very much.

His eyes dropped to my throat. “And I know you taste like f*cking heaven. Everywhere.” He skimmed his nose under my jaw, inhaling. Then, in under the time it took to blink, he’d slipped from the bed and pulled on some jeans. It was a struggle to tear my eyes away from his bare, well-defined chest. The guy was deliciously ripped. Moreover, he oozed a dark, raw sex appeal that commanded attention.

“I have coffee-flavoured NSTs. You want one?” He was referring to Nutritive Supplemental Tonics that contained blood and vitamins. The previous ruler, Antonio, had developed them. They quickly got to work on the thirst and they gave a good boost, but only pure blood quenched the thirst. “Or I can fix you something to eat, if you want,” offered Butch.

I pursed my lips, eyeing him as I slid into my shoes. “You’re being weird.” I mean, it wasn’t like him to be…courteous. In general, Butch never did anything he didn’t have to do. Interfering in the bar fight, bringing me here, offering to make me breakfast—none of those things were necessary. The times I’d woken here before, he’d been distant, sending me an ‘it was just sex’ message. “Is this your way of trying to apologise for what you did last week?”

“What should I be apologising for?” He wasn’t being flippant. He seemed genuinely confused.

“Chasing away the guy I was dancing with.” He’d stalked right over to us in the club, caused a scene—