Page 76 of Undying
I raise an eyebrow at her audacity, repressing my snort. Castle’s expression remains impassive as he grabs the card, then he reaches over my head and slams the door shut.
Only it doesn’t close.
“Wait.” The blonde shoves her foot over the threshold, preventing it from closing. She glares at me with a disgruntled expression, then turns her attention toward Castle once again. Her face softens with invitation, her hand coming up to caress the plunging neckline of her shirt, tugging it down slightly so her breasts are displayed even more prominently. “Weare part of the gift.”
At the invitation, Castle goes rigid behind me, his body throwing off heat like a furnace, and I can practically feel his rage. His arm coils around my waist, his hand coming to rest against my stomach in a possessive gesture, though I suspect he’s also using me as a shield to keep her away.
I snort at her little act, not even concerned that Castle or Tobias would be interested in her blatant attempt at seduction. “We’re not interested.”
Her attention finally drops to me, a look of disgust crossing her face, and she lifts her nose in the air and sniffs. “That’s not up for you to decide, sweetie.” She plants her hand on her hip and thrusts it out. “Why don’t you run along and let the grownups talk?”
Castle tightens his grip around me, as if afraid that I would actually leave him in her clutches. While amusing, I somehow suspect that killing these two would offend this Master Julius creep. I already don’t like the man, but I don’t want to make enemies of anyone until I understand the dynamics of the vampire world.
I give her a nasty smile, letting the darkness rise, allowing fangs to lengthen and my eyes to darken. “Well, sweetie, as themasterof this house, I can confidently say fuck off.”
Her eyes widen almost comically, her face paling as she stumbles back, and she shakes her head. “That’s not possible. You’re a…you’re a female. How the hell are you even awake during the day?”
I don’t even bother replying to her suspicious tone, taking pleasure in slamming the door in her face. Before it can latch, the dark-haired girl presses her hand against the door and peers up at me in fear, the poor thing actually trembling when I look at her. “Wait! If you send us back, he’ll kill us.”
I scowl, not sure if she’s telling the truth. Unfortunately, the sour stench of her fear is so thick that it’s like being hit in the face with a stink bomb.
Fuck.
As much as I want them gone, I’m not sure if I want to be responsible for their deaths.
I pinch the bridge of my nose, then glance at Castle over my shoulder, silently asking for his opinion. He only shrugs, completely unconcerned about what would happen to the women. “If you’re asking if he’ll actually kill them, the answer is yes. It’s totally up to you if you want to save them or not.”
“Not very helpful, beastman,” I chide, but he gives a reluctant sigh and relents.
“You have the choice to either play the political game or not, but both will have consequences,” he says begrudgingly, a moue of distaste on his face giving away his opinion on the matter.
“So the smart choice would be not to piss off anyone until my position is confirmed.” I look at the women, then grimace at the thought of letting them into my house unsupervised, and I’m extremely annoyed that I don’t feel like I have a choice in the matter.
Heaving a sigh, I wave a hand like they’re pesky flies to shoo away. “Fine, you can stay, but step out of line even a little, and you’ll regret it, understand?”
* * *
CASTLE
Iwatch in amusement as my littlesætastorms away without sparing the two women another thought. When the blonde tries to enter, I quickly block the doorway, giving her a nasty grin that is more teeth than a smile. “The help uses the servant’s entrance around the back.”
I take great pleasure in slamming the door, loving the outraged expression on her face. I snort, mentally giving it three days before the bitch is dead. I hurry to catch up with Jolie, not liking her out of my sight, and my beast grumbles in agreement. It’s not like she can’t take care of herself, it’s more like on a scale of one to ten, my anxiety notches up to a thousand.
Lifting my nose into the air, I inhale deeply, then relax slightly when I catch the delicious scent of citrus. I follow the trail with a single-minded focus of a serial killer stalking his prey and find mysætastanding in the old ballroom with her hands on her hips.
At my entrance, she only turns her head slightly before speaking. “Trap?”
Feeling possessive, I saunter toward her, unable to resist wrapping my arms around her waist and pulling her against my chest. I nuzzle the top of her head, then give a little rumble. “That or spy would be my guess.”
“I don’t like them in my house.” She pouts, and panic instantly seizes my chest in a vise.
My wolf presses against the underside of my skin with the need to be set free and do something to make that pout go away. I cup her chin, then tip her head back until she’s looking at me, and some of my agitation eases. “Say the word, and I’ll get rid of them.”
She sighs in defeat and melts against my chest.
Tobias enters from the opposite direction, his attention landing on Jolie like the rest of the world doesn’t exist, the fucker completely obsessed with the girl.
I know exactly how he feels, because it’s true.
