Iniquitous (The Marked #3)(28)

“You didn’t answer my question.”

“And what if I did?” His eyes were darkly unsettled. “What difference would that make with anything?”

“I…” I wasn’t sure what to say; how to answer that. Probably because I didn’t know the answer myself.

“A word to the wise, angel. Don’t open doors to places you don’t want to go.”

“Well, maybe I want to go.”

His eyes flicked back up to mine. “You don’t know what you want,” he said, though his steadfast tone from earlier had wavered.

I wanted to deny it, but the words never surfaced and the resulting silence perturbed me.

Dominic was quiet—too quiet, and his brows were creased with thought. The wheels in his head were turning and that was almost always a bad thing.

“Do you think it’s been long enough?” I asked, gesturing to my wrist in an effort to get our heads back in the game. “Or should I give it a few more minutes?”

His eyes narrowed, studying me. “Your pupils are still dilated, and you’re swaying.”

Shit. “How much longer then?” I was anxious to get this thing started and finally get the hell out of this place.

He didn’t answer right away, though there was an intensity in his eyes that made me sit back. “I think it’s best if you take some of my blood, angel. You’re not going to be of any use to anyone in this state. Certainly not to yourself.”

“Dominic, I already told you I don’t want—”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist,” he said and then bit down into his wrist. “Drink,” he ordered in that strange voice I knew was meant to compel me.

He was so going to pay for this.

Despite my insides screaming at me not to, I picked up his wrist and brought it to my mouth. With my lips pressed against his skin, I drew his blood into my mouth and then swallowed. Surprisingly, it didn’t taste salty or metallic or any of the other words I’d use to describe the gross taste of blood. It was unlike anything I’d ever tasted before. It was invigorating and otherworldly and it tasted like…magic.

My nails dug into his wrist as I sucked down harder, trying to pull out as much as the small wounds would allow.

“That’s enough, angel,” he said and tried to pull his hand away.

But I squeezed harder. Drank faster.

“Angel,” he scolded. There was a hint of nervousness in his tone. Almost as though he were afraid he wouldn’t be able to stop me. “Let go,” he ordered in that hypnotizing voice, and I did. Totally against my will.

“Wowers.” My blood was electrified, swimming with a power surge I’d never experienced before.

I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and looked at him in astonishment. “Where have you been all my life?”

Dominic’s signature lopsided grin made an appearance. “Right here waiting for you, angel. How do you feel now?”

“Alive.” More alive than I’d ever felt in my entire life. My head was buzzing, my skin tingling. It was as though I had magic running through my veins, lighting me up from the inside out. “I want more.”

“I’m sure you do, angel, and it will be my pleasure to do that for you, but now is not the time.” His eyes darkened as his expression turned serious. “We’ve got some slaying to do.”

We most certainly did.

And now, because of Dominic, I wasn’t afraid anymore. There wasn’t an iota of nerves left in my system. No worry, no hesitation, no feeling of inadequacy. I felt strong and able and ready to do this thing. I was vibrating on a different frequency now, and it felt wonderful.

I only hoped there was more to it than just a bunch of good vibrations.





12. ARMING THE GIRL


There was something crackling in the air around us as we left the safe confines of the bathroom and headed down the darkened corridor, opposite of where Maz was stationed. I could feel the electricity in the air, the pressure buzzing around me as it hissed its song of the dead. If we had any chance of taking out Engel, we needed the element of surprise on our side. We couldn’t let him see us coming.

We made our way down the back staircase, towards the south side of the estate. Dominic had been stashing our weapons in the library, a little bit at a time, every free moment he had.

Stopping at the landing, he put out his hand to halt me and listened for any distant voices.

All clear, he said to my mind.

We moved further down the corridor, passing the kitchen and then the dining room, until we cleared the south hall. The library was within our view.

We relaxed our shoulders and walked casually down the last stretch of hallway. If anyone caught us roaming about, we had to make sure we didn’t look suspicious or out of place. Dominic stopped in front of the door and placed his hand on the small of my back, ushering me in ahead of him.

Once inside he quickly locked the door and rushed to the back of the library where he’d hidden his stash.

He pulled a burlap bag out from behind a row of books and dropped it to the ground. Kneeling down, he opened the bag and began distributing the weapons.

“A dagger and stake for my lady,” he said, handing them over to me one at a time.

I took one in each hand and quickly slipped the stake down the front of my dress, pushing it as far down against my cleavage as I could without stabbing myself. I had to make sure it didn’t look like I’d sprouted a third breast overnight.