“Obviously the kiss had just been his way of getting close enough to bite me” – another growl from Jared – “but I was so plastered that the brief sting didn’t ring any alarm bells. He explained to me after I was Turned that the vampire who’d harassed me was known for throwing parties that included human ‘party favours’. In other words, I’d be laid on a table and the vampires seated around it could simply lean over and drink from me any time they wanted until I was totally drained of blood.”

“So he really did save your life.” Jared swallowed the last of his Cola-flavoured NST and slung the bottle in the bin. “He said he looked out for you, too.”

“He did. So did Ava. You know I escaped from Victor a couple of times. They both played a part in helping me. Of course, each time I was tracked down and brought back to the nest, Victor was beyond pissed. The last time I did it, he almost killed me. But Cristiano managed to calm him down and insisted it would be more beneficial to the nest if Victor stuck to the original plan and allowed me to live and serve him.”

Jared stuffed his hands in his pockets. “What I don’t get is why Cristiano did all this. I mean, he doesn’t strike me as the gallant type.”

I fisted a hand in Jared’s shirt and pulled him close. “He’s not. He took his payment afterwards each time.”

“You mean he drank from you more than once?” Jared asked through gritted teeth, placing a hand on the counter either side of me to cage me in. “Not that I can blame him. You taste f**king amazing.” He delivered a sensual lick to my neck. “But I hate him for doing it. I hate him for touching you. And I hate him for kissing this mouth I love. Every inch of you is mine.”

And those words were as near to romantic as Jared’s were ever likely to get. But I didn’t care that he was emotionally awkward or that he found it hard to articulate how he felt. He made it clear that he cared for me in other ways; he protected me with a ferocity that I wouldn’t have thought possible, would kill or die for me without hesitation. When his attention was on me, it was an undivided attention that was so intense it was both intoxicating and disorientating. It was hard to grasp, to comprehend, that I could really mean that much to someone.

When he swiped his thumb across my bottom lip, I nipped the digit lightly. “There was never anything between us.”

“I think he wished there had been. I don’t like the way he looks at you.”

“You don’t like the way any bloke looks at me.”

He gave me one of his lopsided grins. “Of course I don’t.” He gripped my h*ps possessively and held me flush against him. “I don’t like anyone fantasising about this body that’s all mine.”

I curled my arms around his neck. “Yours? I don’t know about that,” I said playfully.

His crooked grin turned devilish. “Then I guess I’ll have to claim it all over again later so you remember exactly who you belong to.”

“I can’t see that you have any other choice.”

Chuckling, he scooped me up and kissed me hard.

CHAPTER TWO

(Jared)

Exchanging a look with Sam as we stood only one hundred yards away from the caves where Quentin Foy and most of his nest resided, I knew she was thinking the exact same thing that I was: What. The. Fuck?

We had been on his territory for over an hour. Not just us, but the entire squad, Ava and her a**hole of a brother, and also Evan – who had appeared as we were ready to leave and insisted on coming. Yet, the presence of fifteen vampires hadn’t earned a response. We had initially arrived much farther away, expecting to be approached the very second our presence was sensed. When no one came, we began to advance toward the caves, fully expecting someone to appear at some point. But no one had.

Quentin, like most High Masters, should have guards surrounding his residence to protect him from anyone hoping to challenge him and usurp his position. But there didn’t appear to be anyone in sight. Oh sure, that didn’t mean that no one was around. There were vampiric gifts impressive enough to allow people to conceal themselves. But it wasn’t just that it looked deserted. The place was quiet. Too quiet.

“I don’t like this.” Sam was biting her lip, scanning our surroundings once more. “What High Master in their right mind would leave themselves vulnerable this way?”

“Quentin’s not exactly popular. It would be downright stupid of him not to have spies at the very least.” Seeing that Sam was rubbing the Celtic-looking tattoo that surrounded the base of her third finger, I smiled. It was something she often did when she was confused or anxious, as if the Binding knot gave her strength.

Several times since we returned from our ‘honeymoon’, I’d been asked how I found life as a Bound male. Over the years, I’d heard some say that being Bound could make a person feel trapped. Back then, I’d supposed that was natural, considering there was no divorce or get-out clause. But being Bound to Sam didn’t make me feel trapped or restricted. Instead, I felt centred, more relaxed. I even felt strengthened, which was ironic given that she was my weakness. The power of it all wasn’t frightening, it was energising. It meant that she was mine, that she’d always be mine, and that I was connected to her in a way that no one else ever could be. That knowledge was like an anchor. And, yeah, I was possessive enough to feel a bone-deep self-satisfaction about it.

As deeply linked as we now were, I knew and understood Sam much more. Every single layer of her was more intriguing than the last. I liked the idea that the longer the bond existed, the more interconnected we would become. I liked that I would always know where she was – no one could take her and hide her from me again, and God have mercy on anyone who even considered it, because I sure wouldn’t. As a matter of fact, neither would Sam, just like she hadn’t had mercy on my ex-partner. Magda had also been responsible for Turning both me and Evan against our will. Some women might buy you a shirt or cologne. Sam would kill your ex for you.

Cristiano, who had been sticking a little too close to Sam for my liking, also noticed that she was stroking the knot and he frowned. “What’s that?”

She only spared the a**hole the briefest glance. “It’s a Binding knot.”

Ava came from behind Cristiano and bumped him aside so she could get a good look at the brail-like mark. “Aw, that’s so nice.” She looked at me, her eyes alight with interest. “Do you have one as well?”

I held up my hand to show her, and she smiled widely. Cristiano, however, grunted with boredom. If it hadn’t been for the fact that he’d saved Sam’s life, I’d be beating him with his own spine right now. Not simply because he seemed to be constantly at her side, but because he looked at her with a longing that made my blood boil. It was a longing that was both emotional and sexual. Oh he was doing his best to conceal it – so much so that Sam hadn’t noticed. But I’d noticed, and I wanted nothing more than to watch the bastard die…slowly and painfully, if possible.

“The design of your knot matches Sam’s,” Ava realised.

“Every Bound couple has their own unique design. Sam’s will only match mine, and vice versa.”

“Aw, how romantic and sweet is that? I want one. But how did it work? I thought vampire skin heals too quickly for us to get tattoos.”

“It just appeared there when we exchanged vows,” Sam told her, smiling. Her aquamarine eyes met mine, and I knew she was recalling that moment, just as I was. Turning back to Ava, Sam said, “I actually have another tattoo as well. The vampire who gave it to me has the gift of making his pictures come to life.” Sam lifted the sleeve of her long-sleeved t-shirt to reveal the black snake twined around her upper arm. When the tattoo wiggled slightly, Ava gasped. “Yeah, Dexter can move around in his tattoo form. He wasn’t a fan of Jared at first because the breed is very protective, but he likes him now.”

He liked me? Ha. “He tolerates me, but that’s pretty much it,” I grumbled. He’d stopped hissing at me whenever I touched Sam, which was progress. But he always seemed to wear this cautioning ‘I’m watching you’ look. It was weird and damn annoying.

Ava clapped her hands a little. “I want one of those as well. Do you think I could get one?”

Standing behind Ava, Salem sighed down at her. “Shouldn’t you be at the rear?” His tone was vibrating with impatience.

Ava twisted to look at him. Her little face was scrunched up in confusion as she cocked her head. “Why?” The question was asked with an almost childlike innocence.

A muscle in Salem’s jaw ticked. “Because something strange is obviously going on and it could be dangerous. It would be better for you to hang back where it’s safer.”

To my surprise, Ava laughed. Even more surprising, so did Sam.

“You don’t need to worry about Ava, Salem.” Sam smiled at him. “Don’t let that tiny figure and innocent face fool you. She can take care of herself. Not all Sventé vampires have defensive gifts, remember?”

Smiling sweetly, Ava patted his chest. “But it’s really nice of you to care.” He frowned at the hand patting him, but Ava didn’t seem to notice. Twirling back around, she gently nudged Sam. “Isn’t he the sweetest thing?”

Sweet? I was pretty sure I’d never heard anyone describe Salem as ‘sweet’ before.

Damien leaned toward Salem, grinning. “Pretty protective of the little one, aren’t you?”

Salem scowled at him. “Shut up.”

Actually, it was kind of odd for Salem to give a shit about the safety of anyone other than Sam, the guys, or me. It was also odd that the anticipation of the assignment didn’t have him bouncing like a boxer getting ready for a fight the way it normally did – it was quite fitting that his gift was a psychic punch that could knock a person unconscious. The only person who got more of a rush from assignments than him was Butch. However, amusingly enough, Salem appeared to find tiny Ava a bit of a distraction.

Sam’s voice blew through my mind like a warm breeze. Well, I wanted something to take my mind off the Coronation. Seems like this might just do that.

The Coronation…Now that was something that I didn’t want to think about. Thinking about it meant thinking about the vision that I’d had through Luther a very long time ago, back when I’d first been made a commander within the legion. I knew that I’d have to tell Sam about it. Hell, I should have told her before we Bound. But I hadn’t because although I knew she was a practical enough person not to let one vision change everything, I’d panicked that it might make her walk away. That was something I wasn’t prepared to risk. I’d tell her soon, and if she did try to walk away…well, I’d tie her up and keep her captive.

A whoosh of black molecules suddenly appeared, pulling me from my thoughts. A mere second later, Stuart was standing before us. As a Shredder, the squad member had the ability to reduce himself to molecules and reform again at will. “This whole thing is weird.”

My words, his mouth. “What did you see?”

“Nothing. I circled the entrance of the caves, but there are no guards anywhere.”

Sam shot me a worried look before asking Stuart, “Could you hear any sounds coming from inside?”

“There were noises, voices, coming from the rear of the caves, but I couldn’t make out any words. The tone was kind of…flat. Drone, even.”

“So people are in there but they’re ignoring us.” Max pulled a face, clearly baffled. “You’re right; this whole thing’s weird.” Ordinarily, it would be Max who lingered around Sam the way Cristiano was doing. In Max’s case, it was simply to irritate me as, fortunately for him, he no longer lusted after her. That meant I could let him live, which was good for the squad since Max’s gift of causing temporary sensory paralysis made him a valuable member.

“Could they be hiding, hoping we’ll leave?” the telekinetic Harvey asked Sam. I noticed that his stance wasn’t as cocky as usual – the guy might be a little slow on the uptake, but even he had the sense to be wary right now.

Sam considered that for a moment. “If that was the case, they would be sure to make no sounds at all. Besides, why would they have any reason to hide?”

A puddle of mush appeared beside Stuart and quickly returned to its normal form. One of Denny’s animal-mimic abilities was to reduce himself to a soft liquid just like the sea cucumber. “I couldn’t get in. The door’s sealed so tightly that there are no cracks for me to wiggle through.”

“None of this makes any sense, and it’s severely pissing me off.” Sam turned to Cristiano. “Can you sense your vampires better now that you’re closer to them?”

Looking grim, he shook his head. “The connection’s still fuzzy.”

Chico released a long breath, stroking his Johnny Depp style moustache and goatee. “So I’m thinking we”

“We’ll have to force our way inside,” interrupted Evan, glaring at the caves. I had the distinct feeling that he had insisted on coming along so he could blow off some steam and distract himself from thoughts of Alora and whatever the hell had happened between them. Or maybe the problem was what hadn’t happened between them.

“If we do that, they’ll attack instantly,” David pointed out, fidgety and nervous.

Butch nodded his agreement. “Considering we have no idea how many are in the caves, it would be a dangerous move.” Not that Butch sounded particularly moved by the prospect of danger. In fact, he never seemed to be moved by anything, always appeared deceptively calm, collected, and laidback.