Devoured by Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #7)(39)

Entering the vast room that was softly lit by a fire in the marble fireplace, he kicked shut the door with enough force to rattle the windows. Then, crossing the floor he ruined his splendid display of bad temper by settling her slender body on the canopied bed with a gentleness that was utterly foreign to him.

On the point of straightening, Tane was halted as Laylah’s thick tangle of lashes slowly lifted to expose the weary amusement shimmering in her dark eyes.

“Feel better?”

“No,” he growled, his throat tightening with a terrifying relief as Laylah struggled back to consciousness. “The next time you try to take off without me I’ll have you locked in chains and thrown into Victor’s dungeon.”

“You’re not the boss of me.”

He snorted as he settled on the mattress next to her, his hand instinctively reaching to brush over her pale cheek.

“You sound like a spoiled human.”

“It doesn’t make it any less true.” Her voice was weak, but her magnificent eyes flashed with stubborn independence. “I don’t have to take orders from you.”

His frigid power blasted through the air as he recalled his alarm when he’d discovered she’d slipped away.

Victor had been forced to physically restrain him from charging through the dark in pursuit, and it was only because Juliet assured him she knew exactly where to find Laylah and the obnoxious gargoyle that he wasn’t currently ripping London apart brick by soggy brick.

“You’re not that naïve, Laylah.” He leaned down until they were nose to nose, absorbing her scent that was becoming fatally addictive. “There’s no way in hell I’m going to let you blindly charge into danger.”

Her hands lifted to press against his chest. He shuddered as the heat of her palms seared against his skin, melting his icy fury and replacing it with a far more pleasurable sensation.

“It’s none of your business.”

He stole a brief, starkly possessive kiss. “Have you forgotten that you’re my prisoner?”

She flexed her fingers, digging into his flesh with just enough pain to bring pleasure.

Tane groaned, lust slamming into him with an intensity that might have been shocking if he’d been in his right senses.

But he wasn’t.

And he hadn’t been since he’d gone on the chase of a mongrel Jinn.

“I think you have that backward. You’re my prisoner.” She sucked in a startled breath as he grabbed the hoodie and with one smooth motion had it yanked off her body and tossed on a dainty Louis XIV chair across the room. “What the hell are you doing?”

He curled back his lips to reveal his elongated fangs that throbbed with need.

Gods, he ached to taste her.

Never had his hunger been so acute.

Not even during those dark days when he’d retreated from the world, feeding only when his body compelled him to seek substance.

But he’d just watched her collapse in his arms after a brutal skirmish with a vicious vampire and a mage who had some mysterious connection to her past.

His primal need to protect her overcame the lust for her blood on his tongue.

Amazing.

Of course, there was more than one way of satisfying his hunger.

Lowering his head he used his fangs to slice through the thin top, liquid heat pouring through him as the yellow fabric fell to the side, revealing the bit of lace that did nothing to hide the swell of her br**sts.

“If we’re going to fight then we might as well do it in comfort.”

Her eyes widened, but it wasn’t fear that flared in the midnight depths. He smiled as her ready arousal filled the air with a heady perfume.

“No, Tane,” she breathed. “We can’t.”

“We’ve already proven we can,” he said, his voice deepening, thick with need. “With spectacular results.”

Around him he sensed Victor’s clan bustling through the manor house, no doubt discussing the best strategy of dealing with the traitorous Lady Havassy and her mage sidekick. Not to mention the threat of a looming apocalypse.

Discussions Tane should be a part of.

Instead he was wholly focused on the woman who challenged him on every level.

He needed … what?

To prove his dominance? To mark his territory? To reassure himself that she was unharmed and back in his arms where she belonged?

Something knotted in his chest.

Something that was too dangerous to contemplate.

As if battling her own inner demons, Laylah lifted her hands to knot her fingers in his hair, attempting to hide the raw need he could sense spreading through her body.

“I have …” She caught the betraying words. “Things I have to do.”

His lips twisted. Would she ever trust him with her secrets? “Collecting the child?”

Her breath caught at his blunt question. “How did you know?”

“Levet was urged to confess what happened after you snuck away.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Urged or forced?”

He shrugged, his fingers skimming along the lacy line of her bra before headed down the warm satin of her stomach. Pure male satisfaction raced through him as he felt her muscles contract in pleasure beneath his light caress, even as he growled in frustration at the amulet that hung around her neck.

He could savor her delectable heat and her rising passion, but the unique aroma of fresh spring rain was hidden by the witch’s spell.