Sweet Last Drop. Melody Johnson
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Название: Sweet Last Drop
Автор: Melody Johnson
Издательство: Ingram
Жанр: Короткие любовные романы
Серия: The Night Blood Series
isbn: 9781601834232
isbn:
He’d have to get in line.
Bex stepped closer.
“Don’t.” I tightened the necklace around Rene’s throat. His skin gave easier than I would have expected; like a hot spoon through ice cream, I could have scooped the silver straight through to his spine. He hissed, but the sound was gargling and wet. I eased my grip before I decapitated him by mistake.
“You will release Rene,” Bex growled.
“You will step back,” I said. I tugged on the necklace for emphasis and it imbedded a little deeper into Rene’s charred flesh.
Rene trembled. “Master, please.”
Bex didn’t take another step closer, but she didn’t move back either. “You can’t cross into my territory and threaten my vampires without retribution. I thought Lysander wanted to prevent war, not start it.”
“I’m not here to threaten you or your vampires. I’m protecting myself!” I could feel my hands trembling on the cold stillness of Rene’s neck. If I were really Dominic’s night blood in heart and not name alone, I thought, what would I do? I took a long, deep breath and spoke again. “Dominic is the only vampire who may drink from me. You are his ally, but he is my Master. My only Master.”
Something flashed in Bex’s eyes, a bright, burning mix of longing and frustration and jealousy that I knew all too well. I’d looked at other couples that way after my breakup with Adam and felt that impossible, bitter longing for the love they had while simultaneously condemning their love to fail because mine had failed. In that moment, I knew that Dominic had been right about Bex.
She wanted from Walker what she thought Dominic had achieved with me. She wanted a willing and loyal night blood. My relationship with Dominic was mostly illusion—I certainly wasn’t willing and I was only loyal enough to uphold my end of our deal for Nathan’s sake—but I’d delivered the impression Dominic had wanted, and Bex believed it.
Bex crossed her arms. “What do you want?”
“I want your word that my status as Dominic’s night blood will be respected. That means no drinking,” I said, and I directed that last part to Rene by tightening the necklace around his neck.
Rene stiffened. “Got it.”
“I’m here on Dominic’s behalf to mend bridges,” I continued, meeting Bex’s gaze. “I’m here to express Dominic’s sincere regret that Walker suffered in his care, and as a show of good faith, he sent me. As Walker returned to you whole and otherwise not permanently damaged from Dominic’s coven, Dominic is expecting the same courtesy for me.”
Bex pursed her lips. “I’m listening.”
“I accept your dinner invitation for tomorrow night, but only if you ensure my safety. If you’re at all interested in rebuilding a truce with Dominic, you should keep in mind that I report directly to him.”
“Excuse me?”
“The report of my visit thus far won’t speak well of your hospitality.”
Bex narrowed her eyes. “Is that a threat?”
“I’m only reminding you of the reality of our situation and my position, so you can make a choice. If you allow vampires, like our comedian here,” I said, indicating Rene, “to drink from me, Dominic’s attempt to mend fences will stop before it’s even really begun.”
“I don’t need your advice to rule my coven, bless your heart. I’ve survived my enemies, and my vampires have flourished under my rule for longer than you’ve been alive. You think you can cross into my territory and threaten my vampires? You think that you can threaten me?” Bex growled. “You don’t want me as your enemy.”
“No, I don’t. You have a choice to make, a choice that will affect you and your coven as well as mine, and I’m here to make sure you choose correctly.”
Bex’s nostrils pointed, the first slip I’d ever witnessed in her control. “You don’t know shit about choices, little girl.”
“You think on it. I’ll see you tomorrow night for dinner.”
Bex snarled and stepped forward.
“Pick me up and fly me back to the crime scene,” I whispered to Rene. “You will leave me there, fly back here, and not return for me. Now!”
Rene didn’t hesitate. We flew through the air faster than my eyes could track the surrounding woods, so fast that the trees and foliage and blanketing darkness blurred on either side of us. His arms cradled my body. His embrace was strong and secure and without even a twitch to indicate the inner struggle he was surely battling. I remembered my struggles to fight Dominic’s mind games. I’d screamed and fought against him on the inside while physically following his every command on the outside, but I’d never followed them blindly. My struggle was apparent in the nuance of my responses and my trembling hesitation as I battled for control of my body.
Rene wasn’t strong enough to display his struggle, but I could feel it. On the threads of my mind that plucked at his, I could hear him screaming.
My feet abruptly touched the ground. The blur of the surrounding forest shifted into focus, and I lost my purchase on the forest floor before I even knew I’d found it. The world tipped sideways. I fell hard on my side, and pain flared through my hip. Gritting through it, I turned to block Rene’s attack.
But as per my direct command, he was already gone.
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