The Council (Darkness #5)(16)

“I taste just as sweet. Use me.”

He shook his head in frustration. “Is that common among humans? Are there many that give off a scent like you?”

Misinterpreting him, she stepped closer and draped her body over his. “Of the few I am one-of-a-kind. Sought after. I have my pick of the strongest and most attractive males at the Council.” Her hand ran up his chest. “Like you.”

He grabbed her by the wrists and removed her. “Do males have this scent as well?”

“Is that what you’re into? Well then, I can find someone to fulfill your needs. I have all kinds of friends.”

The way she’d said friends had Stefan pausing. His stomach tightened up. “Do my kind pay for this pleasure? Are those with scents sought-after for this… type of… endeavor?”

She made a sound not unlike a purr. Her back arched, allowing her br**sts to coat his chest. He tried to push her away by her hands, but the female was limber. She did everything she could to keep contact. “Nothing is for free, handsome. But for you, maybe I’ll just ask a favor. You I’d like to taste. Tell me, what is your name?”

He let go of her wrists in order to grab her shoulders. As he made contact and started to push her away, a blast rocked the floor. Fifty yards up a door burst loose from the hinges, clattering against the opposite wall. Jonas flew out after it, hitting the wall with a thud and sliding down to the ground.

“Don’t worry about that,” the female said in a feminine hum. “I’m protected.”

“Not from her, you’re not.” Stefan pushed the female away.

Even as the last words rolled out of his mouth Sasha stormed into the corridor, her face a terrifying mask of rage and violence. She saw him in the corridor, and then honed in on the woman trying to cling to his side.

The expression on Sasha’s face got even darker. Not good.

Her body turned to face him slowly, like one of those westerns with the gun slingers facing off at high noon. She didn’t seem to notice Charles running out after her and saying, “You gotta leave him be, Sasha. Seriously. You can’t go around saving males. People will think he’s a sissy-la-la. Plus, you’d probably just—” Charles cut off when he realized what Sasha was looking at. The younger male’s eyes widened. He stepped away slowly. “Uh oh. Boss, it probably wasn’t the best place to be doing a thing like that…”

“He doesn’t need you interrupting his fight for dominance.” Tim stepped out of the door. Ann was right behind him. “This is how it’s done. With his kind as well as Shifters. We—”

Sasha was still staring at him, hurt now mingling in with the rage. He could feel her magic building in the corridor. Feel her scratching at their link, desperate for him to take off the muffle. He did so, immediately washed in her pain at what she was witnessing. With it came fear and anxiety, probably from worrying about his challenges.

“This isn’t what it looks like.” Stefan pushed the female away again, only to have her stepping back up immediately. If it wouldn’t make matters worse in Sasha’s eyes, he would physically lift the disgusting female and toss her down the hall.

“Really, Stefan?” Sasha started walking forward slowly, eyes on fire. “Because it looks like some slut-bitch is draped all over you.”

“Who the hell is she?” Ann demanded, walking right up beside Sasha. “Honey, get your filthy paws off him!”

“You’re not helping, Ann!” Charles yelled. “He’s probably got a good explanation. Right Boss? If not, you better think of one, quick, or your challenges are about to end in death.”

Jonas got off the floor stiffly.

“Yeah, like he couldn’t keep his dick in his pants?” Ann’s eyes filled with a crazy light to match Sasha’s. Ann was fiercely loyal where Sasha was concerned. Stefan had always thought that was a good thing. Now, not so much.

“Did you figure out how to cover up the link so you could screw this tramp, Stefan?” Sasha asked in a deathly-quiet voice. Bitter agony clouded the link.

Charles flinched back from Sasha’s arm, yelping.

“I thought you’d died,” she continued. The link colored with fear now. “You didn’t tell me you knew how to do that—I thought someone had killed you. I ruined Tim’s room, I tossed Charles across the couch, I threw Jonas through the door—all because I wanted to help you. All because—”

Her voice cracked, moist eyes threatening to overflow. “And here you are, playing sexy with another human. What the—”

“A better human,” the woman spoke up.

Green magic whipped around Ann. Her eyes rolled with a feline gold. Tim, sensing his subordinate’s shifter magic, gave Stefan a long, assessing stare. He glanced at Sasha before shaking his head and going back in the room.

Ann was just let off the leash. Great.

“This isn’t what you think, Sasha,” Stefan said in a hasty release of words. “Don’t release that spell—”

Sparklers erupted within the wall. Blistering balls of pure black sizzled as they floated around lazily. Any one of them would kill whoever it touched. That kind of magic was extremely hard to control. And it was calmly floating around their heads.

Charles ducked and covered his head. “Sasha, you’re a little unbalanced. I don’t think…”