When Darkness Ends (Guardians of Eternity #12)(65)

“I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

Something that might have been disappointment darkened the magnificent amber of her eyes.

“You don’t trust me?”

Shit.

Realizing he’d managed to wound her, Cyn stalked forward, cupping her chin to force her to meet his fierce gaze.

“More than I’ve ever trusted anyone in my very long life,” he said. “But right now I can’t allow you out of my sight.”

She studied his tense expression. “I don’t understand.”

He knew better than to try to explain that a vampire on the cusp of mating was like a rabid animal when a male tried to get to close to his woman.

She already knew that vampires could be savage creatures. He didn’t want to terrify her with his inner berserker.

“You will,” he promised, lowering his head to press a quick kiss to her lips before he was straightening to regard her with a brooding gaze. “We should go.”

She gave a shake of her head, pulling away from his grasp to head out of the room.

“I’m beginning to suspect that testosterone does strange things to the male mind.”

“You have no idea,” he muttered, following her out of her private rooms and down the stairs.

He’d adamantly insisted that she open the portal in the foyer. When she’d traveled to bring Styx to the lair, she’d been followed by her fiancé. If Magnus made a sudden appearance in her bedroom, there was nothing that would keep him from shredding the bastard into small, unrecognizable princely parts.

Now, as they moved down the stairs, he realized there was an added bonus to his demand of using the foyer.

The sexy sway of her hips as she took each step.

Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Fallon moved to stand in the center of the paneled foyer, the firelight highlighting the beauty of her delicate features.

A faint smile touched her lips as she glanced toward the flickering flames, no doubt aware that he’d made certain that there were fires in every room of his vast lair.

He should have known the minute he began fretting over whether or not she was cold that he was in danger, he wryly acknowledged.

She made no comment, instead raising her hand to form the portal. Cyn waited until she gestured for him to approach, then, squashing his instinctive dislike for magic, he grabbed her fingers in a tight grip.

There was a sensation of nothingness, then a darkness surrounded him. He clenched his teeth, convinced that he could feel prickles of electricity dancing over his skin despite the fact he couldn’t sense magic.

Only seconds later the darkness was abruptly replaced by a shadowed, tree-lined street that was covered by a new layer of snow.

Cyn sent a swift glance around, making sure there was nothing but the lone vampire who was waiting for them in front of Styx’s front gate.

At last certain there was nothing about to leap out of the shadows, Cyn turned his attention to the raven-haired vampire who was watching him with a mocking silver gaze.

“Dante.”

The vampire moved forward to slap Cyn on the shoulder, a smile on his finely chiseled features.

“It’s been a long time, my friend.”

“Too long,” Cyn said, grinning as he ran a glance over Dante’s casual black jeans and shit-kickers. Long before Dante had been captured by the witches and made the guardian of the Phoenix, they’d traveled through Europe, indulging in every vice they could discover. “I have yet to meet your mate.”

Dante shook his head, the pair of golden hoops hanging from his earlobes catching the moonlight.

“I’m not sure I want you to,” he said. “I haven’t forgotten your fatal attraction to women.”

Cyn rolled his eyes. Dante hadn’t been hurting for women. They’d found his bad-boy vibe absurdly exciting. But, of course, the annoying vampire had to remind Fallon of Cyn’s unfortunately exaggerated reputation.

Predictably the princess made a sound of resignation. “Is there anyone who doesn’t know about your unsavory habits?”

Flipping off the laughing Dante, Cyn fixed his attention on the female at his side.

“They weren’t unsavory.”

“No?”

He grimaced at her disbelieving expression.

“Okay, they might have been a tad unsavory, but they’re in the past.”

“The scourge of Europe has been tamed?” Dante drawled.

Cyn glared at his friend. “You aren’t helping.”

“Payback’s a bitch.”

“Payback for what?”

Dante lifted a dark brow. “Surely you haven’t forgotten those twin nymphs in St. Petersburg who you—”

“Enough,” Cyn growled. He was going to have to have several long, painful conversations with his fellow vampires about sharing unnecessary stories about his past. “Are you ready?”

Dante’s smile faded, his gaze flicking toward the massive house hidden behind the high gate.

“Yes, I don’t want to leave Abby alone for long.”

“Isn’t she inside?” he demanded in surprise. Dante rarely left his mate behind.

Dante shrugged. “Yes, but most demons are too terrified to stay in the same room with her, including the Ravens.”

Ah. He’d assumed that Dante had chosen to live in a remote lair outside Chicago because he wanted to be alone with his new mate. After all, Cyn fully intended to make his castle off-limits to stray visitors once he’d convinced Fallon they were destined to be together.