Page 19 of Princess Claimed

“Trusted how?” Blade confronts me. “The code no longer applies.”

“You’re kidding, right?” I shake my head. “Whether or not she’s our client doesn’t matter. What matters is you’re growing attached to her. That can’t happen. You know that.” I turn toward Flame, about to accuse him too, but he’s looking away.

He flicks a lit match across the room. The flame makes a high arch, extinguishing before hitting the floor.

“Blade.” I slide my hand onto my brother’s back.

He jerks, like he’s about to push me off, but then his body yields.

“Look,” I say. “You can get past this. I know you can. You’ve caught some kind of feelings for Ana, but you know that goes against everything you’ve learned.” I clap his back. “The only people we care about are each other. Right? No one else gets in. It’s how we stay strong.” I clap his back again, hoping it will reawaken his sanity.

Blade draws a long breath, then crosses over to one of the chairs. Dropping into it, he looks like a puppy, punished for soiling the rug. And it’s hard not to see the little boy Blade was when he first arrived at the Institute. I might not be in charge of us, but I’ll never stop feeling responsible for my brothers’ wellbeing, especially Flame’s and Blade’s.

Avoiding emotions and crushing soft feelings is what keeps us strong. What lets us do our jobs. What keeps us safe and alive.

“Look,” I say gently. “I’m not blaming you, Blade. None of us knows how to process tender feelings for women, and it’s best we keep it that way. Right?”

Blade nods, but turns his head, refusing to look at me. Earlier, he said he wanted to win her heart. He all but admitted he loves her. Not that he has any clue what love means. None of us do. “You should keep your distance from her, okay? Guard yourself.”

Blade nods, but his sadness is so thick it swamps the space between us.

“Like I already said.” Flame drops his bandolier of stakes, and they land with a clatter. “I should be the one to feed her.” He strides toward her door.

I leap, beating him there, and Flame drops into a chair, trying to pretend that’s where he was headed. I have a pretty good idea of what went on between Flame and Ana when I left them alone for a few days. And that actually puts Flame at high risk too—even if he’s not showing the same signs of tenderness as Blade.

Inside her room, Ana stirs, and I tune in to the sound. She stretches, her soft skin sliding against the sheets. Her blood is flowing slowly—too slowly—and its scent makes her needs even more obvious. She needs blood. And soon. Some vampires can go years without taking another vampire’s vein, but Ana is only a hundred years old, and she’s suffered greatly. I can only begin to imagine how many horrific things that monster did to her before we arrived.

I widen my stance. “I’ll feed her.”

“The fuck you will.” Flame glares at me. “You can’t just dictate these things. You’re not our master.”

“Listen,” I say to Flame, and then glance over to Blade, but he’s facing the other direction, hands in his pockets.

Blade’s cutting himself again. I hate that, but right now slicing his flesh is nothing compared to the pain he could feel if he exposes any more of his heart to Ana. And one of us falling for a woman would tear our brotherhood apart.

I’m stronger than these two. I can put up stone walls not even Phil could blast through.

“And I suppose you think you should also be the one to fuck her after she feeds, if she wants it?” Flame glares at me.

“I think that’s best.” I fold my arms over my chest.

Blade rushes up to my side. “Don’t fuck her from behind,” he says, his voice pleading. “She doesn’t like it that way.”

Blade’s expression stabs into me. He’s beyond concerned about Ana.

“Please. You need to be gentle with her,” Blade says. “Especially today. She’s been through another trauma.”

I nod. Blade is right. Taking Ana, the way I’d fuck any random hole, seems beyond cruel in the circumstances. And yet, if I take her any other way, I’ll risk sinking deeper into the emotional quagmire I’m pretending I’m immune to. I know the others have all experimented, but I’ve never fucked in any way beyond how we were taught.

“I need to go in from behind.” I clap Blade on the back. “But I’ll do my best to be gentle.”

“Blade?” Ana calls out from the bedroom.

Blade reaches for the door, but I block him from opening it, shaking my head.

“I’m just following the rules you set out,” Blade says. “The rules we all agreed to. None of us should be alone with her.”

“Okay, okay.” I firm my jaw, not finding an immediate argument against this. “But don’t touch her. Neither of you.” I turn toward Flame, already at my side.

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