Page 52 of Secret of the Vampire
I looked at her, an apology on the tip of my tongue, but stopped myself before I could say it this time. Instead, I ignored her. I could feel the djinn in my head, pressing through the shields I had up like they weren’t even there. I didn’t want to give him any reason to think I wasn’t playing along with his games. But I couldn’t help but force his hand on this one thing. “And if she doesn’t rise to the challenge?”
He looked down at his lap for a moment. “Then I will have no need for her.”
“And she will be mine, as you promised.” It came out as half question/half order.
Marcus narrowed his eyes at me. I got the feeling he didn’t like me offering up the terms of our agreement in front of Kenya for some reason. “I gave you my word.”
Why did I have a feeling his word meant absolute shit?
“Yours?” Kenya asked me. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I don’t want to be yours, or anyone’s.”
I walked over to where she sat and leaned over her, pressing my palms on the table so we were eye to eye. “You have no say in it. I want you, Kenya. You’ve known this for a while now. My uncle here needs you to do this thing for him, but when he’s through with you, you will come live with me.”
She looked up at me, her eyes hard. “No. I won’t.”
The smile I gave her in return just before I straightened to my full height was an exact replica of the one that so often crossed the djinn’s face. I could feel it, and it disgusted me. But I had a part to play, and in order to get us both out of there alive, I had to play it well.
The sooner I got Marcus to trust me, the sooner I would get the chance I was looking for.
But as the djinn glanced at the clock ticking on the wall above us and got up from the table, I knew I was an idiot to hope that chance would come. “I have to leave you two for a little while. There is someone I need to go see.”
“Who?” Fear for my sister and the rest of my coven made me forget for a moment who it was I was talking to, and the question shot out before I could stop it. But to my surprise, he answered me.
“There’s a certain witch I need to pay a visit to.”
My breath froze in my lungs. “Whatwitch?”
“Now, that is something you really don’t need to know, my nephew. But rest assured, no one will be harmed tonight.” He started to walk out of the room but stopped in the doorway. “I do believe this doesn’t even need to be said, but the both of you need to stay here. And in case you get any ideas to do otherwise, remember the place is warded. The vampire is bound to this house and the surrounding property.”
He didn’t need to say anything else. He knew damn well I wouldn’t leave her here alone again, no matter how I tried to play it off otherwise. “Yeah. Got it.”
“Good.”
Once the djinn was gone, I exhaled, some—but not all—of the tension leaving my body. We were still being watched. I looked at Kenya, still sitting exactly where he’d left her. “Is there anything you need?”
She startled at the sound of my voice, her eyes catching mine for a moment before they dropped to the pulse in my throat and quickly darted away. “No.”
A rush of desire hit me hard as I imagined her sitting on my lap, her legs on either side of mine and her fangs deep in the side of my throat. I wasn’t afraid of a little pain because I had a feeling the pleasure that would come after would make it all completely worth it. “Kenya…” I stared at her, whatever I’d been about to say twisting on my tongue as she stood up and crossed the space between us faster than I could track, appearing in front of me with a challenge in her eyes. So close I could smell the sweet scent of her skin and the coconut in her hair.
“Why are you doing this, Alex?”
I steeled my spine. “Because he’s my family.”
“You have a family. Here. In New Orleans.”
“It’s not the same.”
“No, it’s not,” she agreed. Crossing her arms over her chest, she said, “They actually care about you.”
I wasn’t about to try to argue that point. “But they can’t teach me what I need to learn.”
“And what is that, Alex? How to be a monster?”
I recoiled as she threw my own words back in my face. Then I shook my head. “No. How to control the darkness inside of me I had to tap into the night I saved you.”
She took a step back, looking at me over the rim of her glasses. “So, this is my fault? Is that what you’re trying to tell me?”
“No. It’s just a fact.”
