Page 39 of Love, Rekindled

“No one was keeping you here. You could have walked away if you wanted to start a business,” she snapped.

Gideon glanced over her shoulder at the vast, elegant lobby. “I wanted this one.”

Jayla furrowed her brow in confusion. “You thought Chiron would give it to you?”

“He intended to start a war between Emile and me,” Chiron clarified as he and Azrael strolled over to stand next to her.

“Why?”

“So the clan chief would ban us from Hong Kong.” Chiron sent Gideon a jaundiced glare. “Obviously, he assumed he could take over the resort once we were gone.”

“Coward,” she hissed in disgust. There was no worse insult among vampires.

Azrael lightly brushed his fingers down the curve of her spine. “Do you want him dead?”

Jayla considered. Killing the bastard would certainly solve her problems. But it wasn’t enough. She’d been an assassin for long enough to know there were many things worse than death.

“No. I want him to suffer.”

Chiron arched a brow. “Torture?”

She shook her head, a slow smile spreading across her face. “He can spend the rest of eternity scrubbing dishes and taking out the trash.” She released her grip on Gideon to lean against her mate. The feel of him strong and steady helped to banish the aching sense of betrayal. “While he envies our happiness.”

Gideon hissed, his pride revolted at the thought of being reduced to menial labor. Especially when he would be performing that labor for mere humans. “Just kill me.”

Chiron reached out to grab the male by the back of his neck, easily lifting him off the floor. “He can start now.”

Jayla watched as Chiron hauled the squirming vampire out of the lobby. She didn’t doubt that her master would take some time to personally punish Gideon, but for now, she didn’t want to think about the traitor.

Instead, she turned to wrap her arms around Azrael, laying her head against the center of his chest.

“It’s over.”

He dropped a kiss on top of her head. “I’m pleased to know you can still stick a knife in the heart when necessary,kiska,” he teased, referring to Gideon’s horror at spending the rest of eternity with his hands stuck in a kitchen sink.

“You were showing a few of your mercenary skills yourself, Angel of Death,” she murmured, recalling his swift impulse to protect her from Chiron.

He wrapped her tightly in his arms as if he never intended to let her go. “Clearly, we were destined for one another.”

Jayla closed her eyes, absorbing the wild, masculine scent that filled her senses. “Clearly.”

EPILOGUE

HongKong

Three weeks later…

Azrael finishedhis sweep of the main casino, making sure that the large crowd of human tourists was happily spending vast sums of money before heading toward the side exit. He’d taken over the role as head of security at the new Dreamscape Resort and Casino, replacing the old guards with his vampires. They had no way of knowing if Gideon had managed to corrupt any other employees, and Azrael wasn’t willing to take any risks.

Not when it came to his beloved mate.

A smile touched his lips as he pushed open the glass door and stepped into the side garden. His life had gone from being a marauding Viking known as the Angel of Death, to a cursed recluse, to a security guard at a casino in Hong Kong.

And he couldn’t be happier.

Jayla had enriched his existence in ways he couldn’t even put into words. It was as if he’d existed in a dull world of black and white that had suddenly exploded with luscious colors and tastes and joy. Lots and lots of joy.

The tantalizing scent of lotus teased his nose, and Azrael stepped into the sunken patio to discover his mate standing in the shadows of a large hibiscus. She’d asked him to join her, but he had no idea why.

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