The Vampire's Bride (Atlantis #4)(53)

Earlier, Delilah had called Nola pale, but the woman was pallid, the blue lines of her veins evident. Dark circles formed half-moons under her eyes.

"You took too much," he told Zane.

"I know," was the gritted response.

"You will not touch her again. Do you understand?"

"She is your teammate. Of course you want her strong. What next? Will you demand I lose for you?"

Fire burned beneath his skin. "You had best watch your tongue before you lose it. She deserved a choice, Zane, a real choice, and you did not give her one." Hypocrite, he thought, for wasn't he planning to take the choice from Delilah?

"I know!"

"Trouble among the bloodsuckers?" Brand laughed, drawing Layel's attention and rage. "How sad."

Several creatures chuckled.

"Save it for the next challenge," Delilah said. At least she sounded angry rather than amused.

Tagart arched a brow, his golden eyes glaring. "An Amazon with a soft heart. Who knew?"

"A dragon with a bleak-looking future," she shot back. "I suspected."

His eyelids slitted. "Is that a threat?"

She pushed to her feet and squared her shoulders. "No. A promise. I will not tolerate insults. Especially from my supposed ally."

Layel was standing a heartbeat later, at her side before he even realized he'd moved. "Challenging a girl, fire-bastard? Perhaps you finally realized the big boys were too much for you."

Tagart's attention settled on him, pure menace. "I haven't forgotten the way you bit me."

"And I haven't gotten your foul taste out of my mouth."

A look of utter rage passed over the dragon's face and for a split second, his bones elongated, revealing a glimpse of snout, razor teeth and green scales. The beast was never far from the surface, apparently.

"I'm not going to wait for your team to vote you off, vampire. Nor will I allow the gods the pleasure of killing you. I'll take care of you here and now."

Layel's blood boiled, turning his veins to ash. "Come and get me." Please.

"Enough," Delilah said, stepping between them.

Layel's gaze snapped to her. The length of her hair whipped around her on a sudden burst of wind. Wind - he suspected each breeze brought the gods closer to them, watching, always watching. She was tense, fingers arched into claws.

That she kept her back to Layel was telling, though he wasn't sure Tagart understood. The dragon was smirking now, as if the Amazon thought to protect him. Stupid. Delilah trusted Layel not to attack her while vulnerable.

Stupid, he thought again, this time directed at Delilah. She should not trust him like that. She should run from him. Fast and forever.

I would probably chase her.

Stupid! That curse had been for himself. She was not his, could never be his.

For that, more than anything, he suddenly wanted to launch himself at Tagart and eat him, organ by organ. The bastard's eyes would be the last to go, so he could see every terrible thing Layel did to him.

He fingered the hilt of his blade. "I'm waiting."

Delilah reached back and ran her palm over his stomach. He barely held in a shocked, aroused gasp.

Whatever look she gave the dragon had his cheeks coloring. He tossed Layel a final glare before stomping toward the trees, Brand close at his heels. They probably meant to plan his murder. He hoped they did. Foiling their attempts might prove to be a nice distraction.

Multiple sets of eyes watched as Delilah turned and faced him. Those violet irises framed in black climbed the length of his body, practically stripping him bare. He found himself stepping backward, away from the strength and heat and temptation of her.

"The waterfall," she whispered. "Will you meet me?"

"Will you be there this time?" he whispered back, hating the huskiness of his voice.

She shivered, her lips falling open in surprise. "You went?"

"Last night? No," he said. Truth. But obviously she hadn't gone at all.

"And yet your tone chastised me for not going. No, don't say another word. I was detained by my sister," she explained.

He would never admit to the relief he felt that she hadn't changed her mind.

The creatures around the fire leaned toward them, shamelessly doing their best to listen to the conversation. Layel hissed at them, and they quickly looked away. Someone even began whistling.

An eternity ticked by while Delilah studied him. No, surely only a few seconds had passed. "Did you pleasure the female nymph?"

Was that jealousy in her tone? He was not delighted by that. Really. Still refusing to voice the answer she seemed to crave, he said, "Would you care if I did?"

"No. Of course not." She lowered her gaze to the ground. "But I saw you in the forest. With her. So - "

He didn't owe her an explanation. He didn't. "What is to keep you from becoming distracted by your sister again?"

As she eyed the surrounding crowd, she said softly, "I want to talk to you. About the nymph. Did you - "

Would she never allow him to change the subject? "If you truly saw us, you would know what happened."

"I didn't stay and watch until the end. I would have killed her, and then your team would have been down two members."