Page 87 of How to Fall in Love with a Demon

I relaxed slightly.

His lips curved upward as he slid over to me, wrapping his arm around my back again. “Not a fan of nightclubs?”

I made a face, and he chuckled, pulling me closer. “I saw a vampire in one of those booths.”

“Vampires own and run most of the nightclubs around the world,” he agreed. “They can’t feed at a distance like us, so it benefits them to have a place where they can find food easily. Most men and women who frequent clubs have been propositioned by a vamp at one point or another.”

“Wow.”

“You’ll get to know the supernatural side of the world more, the longer you’re in it.” He kissed my shoulder. “Eric will join us any time. Let me do the talking, please. I don’t want any more of his attention on you than you already have. The man is insane.”

I nodded, and we sat back in the booth and waited.

twenty

TATUM

We didn’t haveto wait long.

A tall man with pale skin and white-blond hair slipped into the booth with us, sandwiched on either side by what I assumed were his bodyguards.

“Give the girl back, Eric.” Rafael didn’t waste time beating around the bush, or even attempt to charm the bastard. “Her best friend has a hoard of dragon shifters for brothers; do you really want to bring them into this?”

Something flickered in Eric’s eyes.

It looked a hell of a lot like fear.

It was gone as soon as it had appeared, of course.

Bash and Zander noted a few more rooms were clear, but I barely heard them.

Reiner drawled, “What is there to get into? All I have to do is put the property in your name and report the death, and the government will believe you’ve killed her. I’ll have the pleasure of knowing that you get to watch your pretty little mate starve in prison.”

Rafael’s arm tightened around my waist just slightly, but he chuckled. “If it were that easy, I’d already be back behind bars. You’re desperate; desperation makes you sloppy.”

“You would know, wouldn’t you? After stumbling into that coffee shop and talking a human into accepting you as her mate.”

I didn’t let my gaze jerk toward Rafael’s.

How did Eric know that?

Raf’s lips curved upward. “If lying to yourself about my mate makes you feel better, go ahead. We both know you’re pissed that I managed to keep her from you until we sealed the bond. It would’ve been much easier to kill her while I was locked away, wouldn’t it?”

Eric’s eyes slitted, his smirk still pasted on his face. “I’ve never killed a human. Never would, either.”

“Of course not. Unlike your sister, you’re far too civil for that.”

Eric shot to his feet, slamming his palms on the table as he leaned over it. Rafael squeezed my hip just before he did, so I didn’t jump at the vampire’s sudden outburst.

For the first time, I saw the gleam of madness in the man’s eyes. “She only killed the humans who deserved it.”

“You sincerely believe thathundredsof humans deserved to die as painfully as she killed them over the centuries?” Rafael’s voice was still smooth.

He was keeping the vampire occupied while his brothers worked through the building.

Their voices were still in our ears every minute or two, as they moved through it.

“Humans are cattle. Their deaths don’t weigh on my conscience any more than they weighed on hers.” Eric sat back down. “Now, we’re here for a trade. Your mate, for her friend.”

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