Page 41 of Bound
Chapter 15
Amoret
Gage is quiet beside me as he steers the large black vehicle down a winding road laden with thick trees that sway in the late summer breeze. It has been half an hour since I spied the last building, and just as long since he spoke.
The square line of his jaw is so tense I fear it will shatter. His eyes remain fixed out the front window, his stare focused. Cold.
Wena is just as quiet behind me, though her occasional sniffle still tears through the stillness. Somewhere behind us, Horan is with Sila, Vish, and Ivo. The demon, Caine, remained at the suite as the fire department arrived.
I grip Bran’s leather bag tighter to my chest. Somehow the demon had shielded it from the worst of the water. Though the rusty brown material sports a few darker spots now, it is dry. Clean of the chemical that had been in the room.
Another feat I did not know demons could achieve.
Though his smile had been almost kind as we left, I cannot fathom how a demon holds such amazing power or control.
I’ve always thought of the evil beings as being just that: evil. But Caine is … not. Sinister. Sinful. He embodies both traits like they were created to describe him.
Horan, too, is not as mean as I thought. He seemed more distressed than angry as we left, his amber eyes rolling with a brilliant fire that seemed made of sunlight. There is something almost endearing about them both.
But with Gage as their Captain, it makes more sense.
Gage maneuvers the vehicle up a short hill into a broad, tree-lined parking lot and I get my first view of the manor.
The sprawling estate is resplendent and more a castle than a home. Beautiful, natural cut stone covers the exterior, and tall windows allow for ample light.
But unlike a castle of old, someone included lush trees, shrubbery, flowers, and soft gurgling fountains that gleam in dancing torches lining the driveway.
As Gage stops the vehicle, and its quiet rumble stills, I open my door and step out onto the drive. It is not the thick black asphalt around the city, but it is firm beneath my shoes.
I push away from the car, walking closer to the first patch of glorious emerald grass. I hesitate at the edge.
“We don’t use chemicals here. Too many shifters. It’s safe.”
I look up to find two young women and two men on the sidewalk. One is the shifter that came with Gage to the suite. His arm is draped casually over an athletic woman with beautiful tawny skin and sea-green eyes. She smiles at me, and I realize she is the one that spoke.
“I do not want to impose,” I murmur.
“Then why did you come here at all?” The new voice is also feminine, but sharp.
Glancing over, the dark haired couple seems more solemn. More distant.
The woman is just as lovely as any of the Fae. But curvy where I will never be. Her long waves fall to her hips, and her piercing blue eyes are cool. Like a glacier.
The man at her side grips her chin and turns her to him. Her frigidness fades on a flash of heat that seems to pulse between them.
His dark hair is short, spiked. And he seems taller than everyone, save for Horan. “She’s a guest, Lilah,” he rumbles, his deep voice almost seductive.
Or she seems to find it so.
Her lush frame leans into him in ways I did not know a female could lean. Like she means to crawl through him. But he does not seem to mind. His low growl is husky, commanding. He hauls her against him as gold light spins from his eyes. And hers.
Vampires.
I take a halting step back and stumble.
A strong hand cinches over my bicep. My eyes raise from Gage’s moonlit hand to the tight line of his jaw. I exhale as softly as I dare.
He continues to watch me, his expression more arrogant than the first day in the suite. I mourn the distance, the anger that seems more prominent now.
