Page 9 of Vampire Sins
Xavier frowned. “No, I would have sensed such intentions last night. I know she’s not at fault.”
A blush crawled up my neck at the memory of Xavier ejaculating into my mouth while Luke… “So,” I blurted as heat slammed between my thighs in response to the mental images sweeping across my mind, “we’ve established I’m not the one sending a sentient ball of magic parading around the streets. That leaves only one other person we know of with a Blood Stone.”
Xavier glowered. “Derek is just an incubus. He doesn’t have this kind of power.”
“And a king,” Luke pointed out.
Xavier shrugged. “Still just an incubus. Just a bit older and more vicious than the rest.”
“What if Apollo is working with him?” Luke offered. “Is a male muse capable of manipulating a Blood Stone?”
Xavier snarled. “They’re capable of anything.” He slammed his fist against the table and the thin-walled television wavered on its silver stand, threatening to topple over. “Damn it. This is why we need Hades awake. He’s the only one strong enough to stand up to this kind of attack.”
“Really?” I asked with a smirk. “You’re an ancient vampire and there’s no Plan B if daddy is asleep?”
Xavier scowled, the motion making him look adorably delicious. But then his eyes widened as a new idea struck him. “You’re right. Hades wouldn’t leave us defenseless in the event one of his brothers ran amok. There is something…” He sighed as his words drifted off. “You’re not going to like it.”
Heck of a Failsafe
Sonya
Xavier wasn’t kidding.“That’syour idea of a failsafe?” I shrieked.
Luke scoffed. “What a terrible idea. There has to be another way.”
The only way to stop supernaturals from overtaking Venice and getting to Hades would be to reverse the magic that made him sleep. Instead of restoring his sanity… we had to wake him prematurely and send the magic all over Venice.
“Vampires don’t need to rest,” he said, his fangs flashing as excitement lit his eyes. “But if we do, we become stronger and more stable. Hades knew that as a male muse going into hundreds of years of existence he was reaching the end of his mind’s capacity. Perhaps his brothers have already gone mad, but he found a way around insanity. Vampiric slumber was what saved him.”
“And now you want us to wake him up?” I all but squeaked.
Xavier looked out the window as chaos continued to envelop the city. The red haze of magic poured in, as well as enemy supernaturals. Where the humans had mobbed against the vampires, now Incubi and sirens subdued them and herded them away. “It won’t be safe here for much longer. We need to get to the bunker.”
“Bunker,” I repeated. “Vampires have bunkers?”
Xavier nodded and snatched up a bag. He went to the refrigerator and began stuffing it with packaged blood. “Hades isn’t to be disturbed during his years of slumber, so he’s secreted away in the tunnels of Venice where no one would think to look for him. Vampires will have gone there for sanctuary during this attack. We need to get to them and prepare for the failsafe.”
“We?” Luke said and grabbed me by the wrist.
I didn’t mind when Luke was being overprotective. I kind of liked it, but right now I didn’t have the patience nor the time for his masculine tendencies. “We’ll figure it out when we get there,” I promised him.
His icy blue irises locked onto mine. “Did you not hear what he just said? The failsafe casts the entire city of supernaturals into slumber. Only the vampires will remain awake, which means either you and I need to leave Venice, or—”
“Or I become a vampire and end this,” I finished for him.
There was no way we were going to leave Venice. Derek and Apollo prowled the streets looking for us. No matter where we ran, there wouldn’t be anywhere to hide. I had to fight them. “This is our best chance,” I said. I pressed a hand against his chest, my fingers slipping under his collar. His heart thundered under my touch. “I know it sounds dramatic and I should really take more time to think about something that’ll change me for the rest of my life, but what’s the downside if I become a vampire? I’ll be able to survive without feeding on sexual life-force.”
Luke leaned in close, his voice lowering. “What about the others?”
My fingers curled, leaving soft red lines across his skin. “There isn’t time. They’ll just have to understand.” I blinked up at him, my eyes wide. “Doyouunderstand?”
I was going to bind myself to Xavier. I was going to complete the circle of ancient power that wound around my navel without fully understanding it, without fully knowing what it would do to me or my four.
His hand wound to the back of my neck and he pulled me in, pressing a kiss against my forehead. “You know I support you no matter what you choose to do. I just don’t want you to have any regrets.”
“I can’t keep living like this,” I said, an admission extracting from my lips. “I can’t keep feeding.”I can’t keep killing.
His fingers stroked through my hair. “You can feed on me and I won’t die.”
