A Kiss of Blood (Vamp City #2)(36)

She took it gingerly, then stared at a woman who was, as Micah said, rather stunning. A woman who in no way resembled her, except for the green eyes.

Quinn set the mirror back on the bedside table, then turned fully to Arturo, who watched her from the doorway. “What do you think?”

He frowned. “It is not a look I would have chosen.”

“You have to admit,” Neo murmured with a chuckle, winking at her, “I do make a fine-looking woman. Though it’s your own beautiful eyes, Quinn, that steal the breath.”

Was Neo intentionally poking the tiger? Served Arturo right. But the temperature in the room dropped a good ten degrees as Arturo’s eyes turned glacial. If they got into a fight over this, she was going to be pissed as hell.

“It’s time to go,” Arturo snapped, then turned and walked away.

Quinn rolled her eyes with exasperation and followed him out. She needed to say good-bye to her brother, first, but when she reached the main room, she saw no sign of him. As she started toward the gym, Arturo suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blocking her way.

“You will come, sorceress. Now.”

She just stared at him, her anger sparking. “I’ll join you in three minutes after I’ve told Zack I’m leaving.” What was the matter with him? If this was about her new look . . . Heaven help them both. He’d better get used to it, or she was going to end up staking him before the day was out.

Turning her back on him, she strode down the hall to the gym, glad to find Jason showing Zack how to block a punch. Zack appeared interested and engaged, and that’s all she could ask for. Jason glanced at her standing in the doorway, and Zack did the same, both without a hint of recognition. Of course they wouldn’t know who she was beneath the glamour. She kept forgetting what she looked like.

Instead of introducing herself, she turned away and went to rejoin the vampire, who’d begun to act more like a lion with a thorn in his paw. She found him waiting impatiently by the stairs just as Micah joined him.

She turned to Micah. “Will you let Zack know we left, please?”

“Sure, Quinn.” He accompanied them upstairs and opened the back door for them. “Be good, kids,” he quipped. “No fighting, and be home in time for dinner. Call if you’re going to be late.”

Quinn snorted. Arturo ignored his friend as he ushered her out the door and into the dusky twilight of a Vamp City day.

“Where are the horses?” Quinn asked as they started walking away from the house.

“The barn.” His voice was sharp and cold, which just made her angry.

“What’s gotten into you?”

His mouth turned harder if such a thing were possible. “Neo oversteps. I do not want his hands on you.”

“They haven’t been!” They strode quickly toward the barn door, their strides fueled by their mutual anger. “He’s never made the slightest move on me, and if he did, it would be none of your business.”

Suddenly, her back was up against the wall, her body pinned by that of a furious vampire.

“It is my business. You are my business.” Arturo’s enunciation was slow and cold and dangerously precise. “You are mine, Quinn Lennox. Mine.”

She gaped at him, speechless. “I’m not your slave. I’ve never been your slave, and I’m never going to be!”

“Not my slave.” At her words, at her vehemence, his anger seemed to ease. He gripped her jaw with long, cool fingers. She tried to jerk away, but he held her fast. His voice lowered, softened. “You are mine, cara. The sunshine that warms my flesh. My sunlight.” His hold on her jaw tightened, though not unduly so. His expression grew tormented. “Do you have any idea how much I want you? Yet I do not push you. You have lost your faith in me. You are angry with me for handing you over to Cristoff and, dio Quinn, you have a right to be.”

He released her suddenly, turning away, running a hand through his hair. “The things I saw today . . .” His voice was low with anguish. “I have watched his atrocities for months, years, and felt too little. Felt nothing.”

Quinn stared at him, her own anger slipping away as she realized how shaken he really was. This wasn’t about Neo. This was about Cristoff.

“What happened at Gonzaga Castle this morning, Arturo?” she asked quietly. Not that she really wanted to know. She didn’t.

When he didn’t answer, she reached for him, sliding her hand down his back. She felt him tense and shudder. Slowly, he turned back to face her, his expression revealing little, but his eyes burned.

He took her face in his hands. “He will never touch you again. I vow it.” His shoulders sank, his forehead tipping against hers. “Mio dio. You’ve changed me, cara. I cannot decide if I should thank you or hate you for it.”

“Micah’s glad.”

“Yes. As am I.” One of his hands began to stroke her hair.

“Does my hair feel different? Like Neo’s hair?”

He pulled back and smiled, though the smile only briefly reached his eyes. “No. The glamour is nothing but illusion. It is your silky hair I feel.” His knuckles brushed her cheek. “Your soft skin. Your scent that I smell.” He leaned in to briefly press his lips to forehead. “You that I taste.”

Slowly, he pulled away. “Come.” He held out his hand to her. “I will endeavor to be less of an ass.”