Page 56 of Cruelly Bitten
He only wants to protect our mission. If he had interrogated anyone else, I wouldn’t care.
Ismerelda isn’t anyone else.
“My liege?” he prompted when I didn’t immediately reply. “Would you like me to demonstrate how it works?”
Hmm. Part of me wanted to take the device from him and use it to bludgeon him.
Yet the more intelligent side of me had another thought.
An idea of sorts.
One that developed into a plan that didn’t quite appease the animal roaring inside my mind, but it quieted the feral beast enough to allow me to continue. “I imagine I simply roll that device along her skin, yes?”
“Correct, my liege. You just flip this switch”—he pointed to a toggle on the side—“and proceed. I recommend you scan every part of her, just in case Damien chose an, uh,inventivelocation for a tracker.”
I nodded, understanding what he meant—he was saying Ismerelda should be naked for the exam.
Which I’d already anticipated.
“You can remain while I examine her, Michael,” I told him, causing my inner predator to snarl with disapproval. But knowing why I intended to allow Michael’s presence throughout this intimate procedure pacified most of my possessive instincts.
Michael’s lips curled, more of that satisfied scent wafting off of him. “Of course, my liege.”
I stepped aside to allow him entry into the room.
Then I faced myErosita.
It was time to find out if my instincts about her were correct. Or if I’d somehow been blinded by the millennium-old bond between us.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
IZZY
“Remove the shirt, Ismerelda,”Cam said as he took the device from Michael.
I shivered, the intent behind his words settling deep inside me.He wants me to disrobe. To be naked. Exposed. Vulnerable. In front of another man.
MyCam would never have allowed this, let alone even considered it. But in this world—the new one created by bloodthirsty vampires and lycans—humans were cattle.
AndthisCam intended to remind me of that.
Just like Michael had tried to in the stairwell.
Fine. If these two powerful beings wanted to make me submit, I’d play along. Just like I did every time I referred to Cam asLiege.
I just have to find a way to make him remember me,I thought as I started unbuttoning my shirt.Which is something I can’t do in front of Michael.
I had to indulge in this behavior, treat it like a game, and find his vulnerable heart beneath all that hardened vampire exterior.
And if that doesn’t work?a part of me wondered.What then?
Then I make him fall in love with me again,I decided.He’s my soul mate. That can’t be erased, can it?
I refused to allow the cynical voice in my head to answer that and finished unbuttoning the shirt.
Cam’s eyes trailed down over my torso as I removed the fabric from my shoulders. Rather than let it drop, I folded it on the bed beside me and waited for his next command.
Will he ask me to stand?Because I wasn’t sure if I could right now. While I’d swallowed enough of his blood to begin the healing process, it had only just started to work—as evidenced by the tingling sensation in my ankle. It would take me another hour or two to feel whole again. Maybe a little more.
