Page 46 of Dance for the Dragon
He inhaled deeply, and Devon’s sweet scent filled him, calming the fire in his blood. In any case, she was safe enough for now. The only thing that would strengthen their bond was if Devon drank from him, but he didn’t want her to do that.
Kohl nearly laughed out loud at that complete and utter lie. He wanted nothing more than to feel her drink from him. But if he allowed that, she would be bonded to him. And if that happened, he would never let her go. She would never be free again.
As though she knew she filled his thoughts, Devon moved restlessly on the bed, turning her head away and exposing the faint discoloration where he’d bitten her. It would heal completely soon, probably within the next twenty-four hours.
He knew from hearing the others talk she would always be a lure for him now, even worse than she was before. It wouldn’t hurt him to feed from others, but he would always prefer her.
Kohl rubbed the back of his neck. As if that weren’t already the case. He shouldn’t have fed from her without discussing this first. Despite her protests and her previous employment with Parasupe, she’d already proven she didn’t know all there was to know about his kind. If he’d reduced Devon to some pathetic excuse for a woman by claiming her blood as his own, he would never forgive himself.
He scrubbed his face with his hands. There was nothing he could do about it now. It was too late. He’d just have to deal with his cravings for her until they subsided, or until this mess with Jaz was handled. Then she could make the decision of whether or not she wanted to ever see him again.
In the meantime, he needed to take make sure he was still alive to watch over her and give her that choice. It was time to face the truth. And the truth was that Kohl didn’t need to ask who had sent Jaz to go after Devon. There was only one vampire Jaz really listened to—the Master. And the Master had a soft spot for Jaz and tried to make him feel useful whenever the opportunity arose. Maybe he got tired of waiting. Also, the coven leader wasn’t particularly caring about the life of a human woman who may or may not expose them to the world, and the others wouldn’t dare to say a word against the leader. So, there would be no safe haven for Kohl within the coven if things went bad.
And now Jaz knew the truth about his relationship with Devon. The question was, what was he going to do with this new knowledge?
Kohl didn’t want to do it, but it was time to head back to the club and see what was going on. First, however, he would make sure Devon got somewhere safe. Rising from the floor, he went over to the small dresser and found the extra clothes he kept there. He even had extra boots in the closet. He slipped into a pair of jeans and a plain black T-shirt, then he retrieved Devon’s sweater and leggings and laid them at the foot of the bed. They weren’t the cleanest, but they were dry now and would be warm.
He hated that he had to wake her, but they needed to move. Jaz, like all of the other coven members, knew where this place was and would eventually come looking for them here if he didn’t return to the club, and he wanted to uphold his promise when he’d said he would do everything he could to protect the family upstairs. “Dev.”
She breathed in deep and rolled over onto her side, facing him.
He kissed her on the temple. “Hey, honey. We need to go.”
With a moan of protest, she opened one sleepy eye. “Go where?” Her voice was husky with sleep, and he wished he could crawl into bed and wrap himself around her until he couldn’t stand not being inside of her. “I need to get you somewhere safe, and then go back to The Caves.”
She pushed herself into a sitting position, blinking against the light he’d left on in the bathroom when he’d gotten up. “Why are you going back there? What about the dick who bit me?”
An apt description of his feelings toward Jaz right now if he’d ever heard one. “I need to find out what’s happening. I lost my phone back at the lake. ”
“Isn’t there one here you can use?”
“There is, but it’s better to do this in person.”
She swung her legs around and sat on the edge of the bed, her tawny skin smooth and warm in the glow of the light, and her hair an adorable crazy mess. “Why can’t you just stay with me?”
He sat beside her and took her hand. “Dev, we need to talk about everything that happened with us today.”
She bit down on her lip and shook her head slightly. She wouldn’t look at him.
“What are you thinking?” As ever, he wished he could delve into her thoughts and see for himself.
She didn’t say anything for a long time, and when she did, it wasn’t what he had expected. “I’m thinking I’m hungry,” she said. “Is there any more food in this place?” Giving his hand a quick squeeze, she got up and started getting dressed.
Kohl watched her, memorizing every curve, every mannerism. He had the horrible feeling this might bet he last time he would be so honored. “Devon, we need to talk about this.”
But she shook her head. “No, we don’t. Not right now.” She came around to stand in front of him. “I still want you to come with me. And it’s not some crazy vampire victim talk. I’m no victim, Kohl. What I am is a woman who cares about you, and I want you to be safe.”
He lifted his head. “You don’t need to worry about me, Devon.” He tried to hold back a smile as he said this next part, but it didn’t quite work. “If anyone tries anything, I’ll just huff and puff and burn their house down.”
She cocked her head and gave him a look his mother would be proud of.
“Seriously,” he told her. “You don’t need to worry about me, honey. I’m tight.”
She sighed. “All right. Fine. If you promise to call me before dawn.” She held up her hands. “Not to check up on you; just so I know you’re okay.” Grabbing a small notepad and pen from the top of the nightstand, she scribbled a phone number down and gave it to him. “Here. This is Frank’s cell.”
He took the paper from her and gave her a lopsided grin. “You can check up on me anytime you’d like.”
“Kohl.”
