Hunt the Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #11)(77)

“It’s not your decision, Roke.”

“He made you sad,” he growled, his hand lowering to circle her throat in a gesture of pure possession. “I can feel it.”

“Not sad . . .” She searched for the right word. “Disappointed.”

“Why?”

“I spent a lifetime clinging to the hope I had a father out there who cared about me.” She gave a sharp laugh. “So stupid.”

He scowled, leaning down until they were nose to nose. “You’re not stupid, my love. Never that.”

“Fathers who care don’t abandon their children.” She breathed deeply of Roke’s scent. Cold steel and raw male power. She’d been furious with him in Nevada, even permitting Zoe’s deceitful accusations to cloud her mind with doubts. Now she clung to their bond, using his steady presence to shield her from the pain of dying dreams. “I knew that on some level, but there was still a part of me who wanted to cling to hope. Now I have no choice. Sariel’s only interest in me is what I can do for him.”

He dipped his head down to press his lips to her temple. “Then why would you want to help him?”

“Because we need him.”

He stilled, his mouth resting against her skin. “For what?”

“To break our mating.”

“No.”

The barked denial was flying from his lips before he could soften it.

Not that he wanted to soften it.

His entire body hummed with fury at the mere mention of breaking their mating.

Dammit. He’d just gotten her back in his arms. There was no way in hell she was going to get rid of him.

She belonged to him.

On a deep, cellular level that wasn’t going to be ended no matter what hocus-pocus she might learn from her bastard of a father.

“Again, not your decision,” she said, clearly annoyed.

He pulled back, studying her with a brooding frown.

She looked tired, with purple shadows beneath her eyes.

Even her delicate face was more pale than normal. Which was the only reason he was struggling to leash his fury at the mere suggestion of breaking their bond.

“What happens to our mating is very much my decision,” he managed to say in a remarkably calm voice.

She jutted her chin to a stubborn angle, the damp strands of her hair shimmering with hidden fire in the dim light.

“You want it broken and the only way to do that is to have my father show me how,” she said.

His hand slid to her nape, delighting in the satin heat of her skin.

“We can discuss it later,” he smoothly assured her, the intoxicating scent of peaches becoming a distinct distraction.

Well, the scent of peaches and the half-naked female body that he craved to have beneath him while he proved that there was no magic that could end the hunger that burned between them.

“Later? You happen to know another Chatri we can ask?” she muttered.

He allowed his lips to graze down her temple to the curve of her ear.

“I have more important matters to worry about.”

She trembled, the sound of her rapid heartbeat music to his ears. Her expression might be one of stubborn indifference, but her body was giving him all the encouragement he needed.

“I doubt that your clan thinks there is anything more important.” She deliberately reminded him of the torture his clan had forced her to endure. “They hate me.”

Or maybe she was reminding herself of why their mating should be broken.

In either case, he wasn’t going to let his people stand between them.

“Styx has already made certain they won’t dare try to hurt you again,” he promised with a harsh sincerity.

The Anasso hadn’t been amused when Roke confessed that Sally had been locked away and beaten. Styx, however, had convinced Roke to allow him to deal with the situation rather than letting Roke go postal on them.

Except for Zoe and Dyson.

Roke had taken great pleasure in making that phone call personally.

“How?” Sally demanded, her tone defensive. “They’re convinced I’ve put you under a spell.”

“He announced you were under his protection and any vampire who tried to hurt you would suffer his wrath.” Roke grimaced. “No one wants that.”

Sally shrugged. “Zoe might be willing to risk pissing off the Anasso if it meant getting rid of me.”

“I spoke to Zoe.” He shook his head as he recalled the female vampire’s frantic pleas to be forgiven. He’d underestimated her raw ambition to become his lover. Not just because she desired him, but because she lusted for the power he wielded. Which only proved that he’d been a fool to think he could control destiny. Zoe might have been what he thought he needed, but she could never have been what he truly wanted. Sally was what he wanted. “She and Dyson have been ordered to find a new clan.”

Sally’s eyes widened in shock. “But—”

“Yes?”

She looked . . . flustered, obviously not having expected to have the roadblock so easily knocked aside.

Then, she swiftly latched on to the next available excuse to keep him at a distance.

“You were the one who was having a hissy fit when I accidentally caused the mating,” she accused.

He arched a brow. “Hissy fit?”