Page 238 of Flirting with Darkness

He cocked a brow. “I did use your name—just—but you were, um, distracted. Besides, youaremy jailer. I’m not free to leave.”

Shit, he was right, he had used my name. Jesus, I needed to pull myself together! I wanted to deny I was his jailer, not only to him but to myself. Wanting him to be here because he’d chosen it, didn’t make it so. He was here because he’d tried to end my Lord, and had used my obvious attraction to get closer to his target.

I blinked. In the end, though, even that heinous crime didn’t matter. I had to find out if he was my mate—and I only had three days to do it.

“That's true, you aren’t. But you can either make your time here pleasant.” I shrugged. “Or extremely unpleasant. Either way, you’ll be staying with me until I think you’re safe to have around my Lord, or until he kills you.”

Any amusement dropped from Elliot’s face. “Are you going to force me to have sex with you?”

“No, I’m not.” Now it was my turn to raise a brow and look amused, even if I wasn’t, not one little bit. “I don’t need to force anyone. Not to fuck them, or be fucked by them, Elliot.”

His face reddened at my words. “Then why am I here? Why not just kill me?”

“Good question, but not one I can answer yet. And I can’t kill you.”

“Why not?”

“Because, as I said, he wants to kill you himself if you don’t give us what we need.”

He paled. I hated what that threat did to him, but it was the truth. I couldn’t stop Balthazar if he decided death was what Elliot deserved. Volunteering that Elliot was possibly my mate wasn’t something I was willing to do at that moment.

“Then why do any of this?” Elliot gestured to the room and the clothes I still clutched. “What’s the point in giving me clothes, or letting me use your room, your things, if I'm just going to be a pet for him until he decides to end me?”

A low growl came from my chest. “You are not his pet!”

In seconds, Elliot was in my face. I didn’t move. I didn’t want to. He was close enough for me to inhale his clean male scent and see the tiny flecks of darker blue in his irises.

“Then I’m yours,” he snapped. “So I’ll ask again, what the fuck are you going to do to me if you aren’t going to kill me or fuck me, yet I’m in your godsdamn room?”

He wasn’t that much shorter than me, but he was far lighter, and I had hundreds of years of training behind me, plus I was of a pure Original bloodline. My strength far outmatched most Original vampires, never mind a half breed human. I grabbed his shoulders and spun him, slamming his back up against the wall. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to show him who was in charge.

“You seem very preoccupied with me fucking you, Elliot.” I ran my nose along his jawline, trailing my lips after in a light touch. “Is that what you want? Tell me.”

His breath caught as the compulsion to answer my question kicked in.

“I-I…shit!” His jaw muscles tensed under my lips as he fought his need to answer. “Yes!’ He bit out.

I stilled, pulling back enough to look in his eyes, staring at him hard. He didn’t look at me, his gaze fixed on the bed. I just wished it was because he wanted us both to be on it right at that moment, but I didn’t think it was. He was as attracted to me as I was to him, but he was forced to be here. That made him vulnerable to his emotions—and part of me didn’t want him doing what he thought I desired just so I wouldn’t hurt him. No, taking him while he was forced to be here wasn’t going to happen. But I couldn’t give him freedom, or even honesty about what he was to me, not yet. It would leave me vulnerable, and I was too old to put my heart on the line without being sure of him.

I swallowed hard, not used to feeling anything, let alone so damned much. Elliot had gotten under my skin, and there was a real possibility that he would rip my heart right out of my chest. Handling this was the most challenging thing I’d done in years. He had to do as I commanded, at least until the compulsion faded, but I could choose how I spoke to him. I ground my teeth. I wouldn’t compel him into giving me information. If he felt safe enough and started to trust me, then he’d give it freely.

I trailed the back of a finger down his cheek, needing to touch him. “Will you look at me?”

He blinked slowly, his nostrils flaring as electricity flared between us. My pulse sped up as he slowly met my eyes. “I want to experience every animalistic, carnal delight,withyou. But I will never just take itfromyou. That is not who I am.”

Elliot’s gaze dropped. “Right,” he breathed. “People like you don’t want me, Dav, and if they do, it’s only ever to hurt me.”

My own gaze narrowed at his bitter and disbelieving tone, but I shoved my anger at his words away. He had every reason not to trust anyone, including me.

“Yeah, well, I’m different. Don’t tar me with the same fucking brush as the people who hurt you. For now…” I stepped away from him. “Get dressed.”

He caught the clothes I pushed at him just as his stomach rumbled. That wasn’t acceptable.

“Find your way downstairs when you’re done. Turn left at the bottom of the main stairs and follow the small corridor to the new wing of the castle. I’ll be in the kitchen. We’ll eat and then you can accompany me on my rounds of the estate.”

Elliot glanced at the window and frowned as if just realising the sun was fully up. “Aren’t you a vampire?”

“Of course I am.” Where the hell was he going with this line of questioning?

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