by R. E. Butler
Strip her. Mark her. Mate her.
Mine!
With an internal roar of fury, he pulled from the drugging kiss and pushed her to arm’s length. “Sweetheart.”
“You’re worried about my emotional state. I’m telling you I liked you before Jasper attacked me, and I like you still. Why do we need to wait? Why can’t we just be together?”
“Because it’s not fair to you. I kept my distance for too long. I should have approached you immediately—the very first night you took your place at the coat check. I was crazy about you then, and I’m crazy about you now. I believe you’re my truemate, the one female meant for me. And because of that, I want to honor you. I don’t want to rush into things just because our bodies are telling us to. I want to get to know you, and for you to get to know me.”
“You can’t get to know me naked?”
He groaned and let his head smack back against the door.
“Sorry. Well, I’m not, actually. I enjoy knowing I affect you. You certainly affect me. So the good smell is your arousal?”
He grunted in agreement.
“Oh, you can tell when I’m turned on too then?”
He grunted again.
She chuckled. “Well, there’s no keeping sexy thoughts a secret. I like that you’re trying to be a gentleman and get to know me, but I’d also really like it if we had sex too.”
“It’s only a week, Avery. Let me treat you the way a female of worth should be treated. You’re more precious to me than any treasure. I want to treat you right.”
She pressed her hand to her heart. “Swoon! Well, I was going to try to seduce you, but if you’re going to be all noble and sweet, then I’ll just suffer through the next six days. You could get me a vibrator. That would help take the edge off.” She winked at him and he groaned.
“You will not make this easy for me, are you?”
“Where’s the fun in that?” She put her hands on her hips. “Where did we land on the vibrator? Yes or no?”
Just the idea of it made his head want to split in two. He brought her close once more and hugged her tightly. “You’ll keep me on my toes.”
She tilted her head and smiled at him. “I will.”
“I’ll ask you properly too,” he said. “To be mine.”
“I feel like I’m already yours,” she whispered.
He lowered his head and brushed his lips over hers. She was perfection. And all his.
* * *
The following night, Traz took Avery to Mishka’s office to discuss the attack. Before they left the chambers, the mates considered most vulnerable went to their own chambers, so they didn’t tempt Avery’s control. Angie and Arissa both had supernatural blood, which made them smell better to vampires. Kelly, while a beloved mate and supernaturally linked to a famous vampire coven, wouldn’t necessarily smell enticing to Avery, but no one wanted to take any chances.
Mishka’s mate, Harmony, was a musical muse, but her kind weren’t enticing to vampires.
“Ready, sweetheart?” he asked.
She looked down at the outfit Cella had brought to her the previous night. He’d gone to work in his office for a bit and Cella had spent time with her. He’d been a little worried to come back into the chamber, wondering if she’d really try to seduce him. He wasn’t made of stone, after all. If she put her hands on him with abandon again, he’d have a hard time resisting. But she’d wanted to talk instead, and he’d been happy to share his knowledge with her.
“I look okay, right? I mean, I dressed sexy for the coat check because that’s what everyone expected. Should I keep dressing that way?” She was wearing silky looking leggings with ankle boots and a dark green, short-sleeved shirt with a denim vest. She pulled her hair back at the sides and left it long in the back, like a golden waterfall.
“You look lovely. You can dress however you like.”
“Okay.” She smiled and flashed her fangs at him.
He opened the chamber door and led her out. They walked down the hall to the elevator, and he angled his body so she couldn’t see the keypad.
She harrumphed. “I will not try to escape you know.”
The elevator whirred to life. “I know, sweetheart, but it’s Mishka’s orders. You can’t have the elevator code until your week is up. If you went for a walk around the club, you might hurt someone, or get hurt. It’s for your safety, and everyone else’s.”
“I know. It’s just tough being cooped up.”
“I’ve got an idea to pass the time when we’re done with this meeting.”
The door opened as she quipped, “You mean sex?”
Temple coughed loudly and Avery pressed her lips together, looking mortified.
“Hello, Temple,” Traz said, hiding his smile.
“Mishka sent me to find you.”
“Well done then,” Avery said.
“I aim to please,” Temple said. The doors shut and it carried them up to the first floor. “Everyone’s in his office, save for Angie and Arissa. Cella didn’t want Cyrus there, but he said he thought it would be fine, so just don’t bite him.”
“I won’t,” Avery said.
They followed Temple into Mishka’s office, and he greeted his family. Avery stopped and stared at Cyrus. He returned her stare.
“You smell like Cella,” Avery said after a long moment of tense silence.
Cyrus smiled. “Because she’s my beloved, and we shared blood. Your scent will change more fully when you and Traz mate.”
Avery flicked her gaze to Traz and then back to Cyrus. “If you smell like Cella because you’re mates, then why wouldn’t I also think of Angie and Arissa as being mated too? I mean he smells good, but I don’t want to bite him.”
“Their males are just being careful,” Traz said. “You’re doing so well in your feeding. I have no reason to believe you’d harm anyone.”
“Good, I don’t want people to be afraid of me.”
They turned to Mishka who was sitting behind his grand desk with Harmony perched on the arm of his chair. Her hair was bright pink and blue, which told Traz she’d just fed her muse nature by singing and feeding off the emotions of the people who heard her.
“Welcome to the coven,” Mishka said. “How do you feel?”
“Good, thank you.”
“So tell me how you wound up on the loading dock with a gaping wound in your belly.”
Chapter Nine
Avery told Mishka about the few dates she’d gone on with Jasper, and how he’d turned crazy-possessive fast. Then came the stalking and the fear, and her sister’s intervention that Avery had thought might have done the trick to send him packing for good.
“It hadn’t though. He was waiting for me on the loading dock.” She paused, her memory still fuzzy for what had happened before she’d gone to the dock.
“But why were you on the dock?” Ven asked.
“I...don’t know.” Avery frowned, chewing on her bottom lip, her fang digging into her skin.
Traz took her hand and she looked at him, seeing the concern on his face.
“There was a reason,” she said. “But I don’t know what it was, it’s like my brain covered it up.”
“What did you find on the security footage?” Traz asked.
Temple brought over a large tablet. “Not much for the coat check, and the loading dock footage is gruesome, so I’m not sure Avery wants to watch it.”
She made a face. “I definitely don’t want to see myself getting gored.”
They watched the footage from the coat check cameras. When she’d accepted the job, Cella had told her about the cameras. She’d found it strange to have cameras on her all the time, but after a while she’d gotten used to them. Staring at the footage, she saw herself answer the phone, look worried, and then leave.
A memory rolled through her mind, and she focused on it.
“The phone call,” she said.
“Who was it?” Traz asked gently.
Avery closed her eyes, thin
king about the call. Then it came back to her in a rush.
“Vivian!”
“What about her?” Cella asked.
“She’s the one who called me. That conniving bitch!” She turned to storm out of Mishka’s office, but Traz grabbed her arm and held her still.
“Where are you going?” Traz asked.
“To rip off Vivian’s head,” Avery answered.
“Why?” Traz asked.
Avery tried to pull out of his iron grip on her arm, but she couldn’t. She stopped struggling and gave him a little glare for good measure. “She called me and told me that Mishka had asked me to sign for a delivery on the loading dock. I argued with her and said I didn’t usually sign for anything. She said I could call Mishka and ask, but that he’d be pissed and I’d probably lose my job. I hurried back there, and then—” Emotions choked her as she recalled Jasper waiting and the pain and terror he’d caused.
Avery struggled fresh against Traz’s hold. “Let me go, Traz! She set me up! I want to part her head from her body and dance in her blood.”
The corner of Traz’s mouth quirked up. “Calm down, sweetheart,” he murmured, pulling her close.
She stopped struggling and leaned into him, enveloped by his scent.
“Vivian, come to my office immediately,” Mishka said. Avery watched him set the phone in the cradle and fold his hands on the desk, looking grave. “This is troubling.”
“What is?” Avery whispered, looking up at Traz.
“That a coven member would purposely put an employee in harm’s way,” he answered. She could hear the anger in his tone, and underneath that a possessiveness that she liked a lot.
“I’m going to kill her,” Avery said. She’d never been a violent person, but she was feeling it one hundred percent.
“You can’t kill her,” Traz said.
“Why the hell not? She sent me there to be killed!”
“You can’t kill her, because it’s my right as your sire to destroy anyone who placed you in harm’s way.” His jade gaze was hard like stone, his lips pulled back to reveal his deadly fangs. This was a side of Traz she hadn’t seen before. It was terrifying, but she wasn’t afraid of him.
She heard the click-click of Vivian’s heels coming down the hall, and she tensed. Traz pushed her toward Cella with a murmured, “Hold on to her,” and then he stalked to the carved doors and threw them open. Vivian’s smile faded as she saw Traz reaching for her. She skidded to avoid his grasp but couldn’t get away from him. He grabbed her around the throat and lifted her off the ground, carrying her into the office and dropping her in the middle of the rug. Mishka walked to the other side of the desk and leaned against it, folding his arms over his chest.
Avery had never seen the coven master look mad, but he was furious. “Explain yourself.”
“What?” Vivian asked, her gaze darting around the room. Her eyes landed on Avery and her upper lip curled in disgust.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Vivian said.
Avery had the oddest thought—that she could tell Vivian was lying. Aside from the fact that Avery knew Vivian had lured her to the loading dock, she could practically taste the lie. It was bitter, like the time she’d accidentally eaten the pith from a lemon.
“We have video,” Mishka said. “So let’s try this again. Without the lie.”
Vivian slowly rose to her feet, shooting Avery an angry glare. “I got a call from a man who wanted to talk to Avery. He promised he just wanted to talk.”
Bitterness coated Avery’s tongue. “Lies.”
Vivian snarled and Traz growled at her. Mishka turned his gaze to Avery. “You can sense her lies?”
Avery nodded. “They taste bitter.”
Mishka’s brows rose. “Interesting. We’ll discuss it later. For now, Vivian, let’s try it again. Without the lies this time.”
Vivian’s face shadowed darkly, and then she practically roared at Avery, pointing a manicured finger at her. “I deserve to be part of the family, not you! I’ve been working so hard to get a family member to notice me, and you waltz in and you’re invited to the family room, and Traz is stumbling over himself for you. It’s not fair! It should have been me.”
“You set me up,” Avery said. “You knew what his intentions were and you tricked me. What did I ever do to you?”
“You were born.” Vivian spat the words at Avery, and she took a step back, the menace in the woman’s tone so strong it felt like fire licking at Avery’s skin.
“How did you know about the wolf male?” Traz asked. “The truth this time.”
Vivian sighed exaggeratedly. “I texted a friend from a coven in northern Pennsylvania and asked him to find out what he could about her.” She jerked her head in Avery’s direction. “He told me about the restraining order, and I contacted the wolf and told him I’d help him get together with her.”
“Why would you do that?” Cella asked. “He was clearly dangerous. You had to know what would happen.”
Vivian shrugged. Her fear seemed to be gone, replaced with bravado. Avery could sense that Vivian felt entitled, that her behavior was fully justified in her own mind. She wanted to be part of the family, and Avery’s relationship with Traz was taking away one more eligible male. It boggled her mind that Vivian could be so callous. So self-centered.
“I didn’t know what he’d do,” Vivian said. “For all I knew, he just wanted to talk.”
“Liar,” Avery said. “Do you ever tell the truth?”
Vivian wouldn’t look at Avery. “Fine.” She sighed again, loudly. “I told the wolf to be in the loading dock that night. I gave him the code for the back door and helped distract the security guards who were walking the perimeter so he could get inside. He said he would turn her into a wolf, but I knew he’d end up killing her.”
“You didn’t care that he was planning to snuff out her life?” Traz asked, his jade-gaze hardening.
Vivian seemed entirely unaware that everyone in the room was pissed at her. Avery could feel the emotions of the family members—they were furious at Vivian for her behavior and felt pity for Avery for the terror she’d suffered at Jasper’s hands. Every single one of them wanted justice for Avery. They cared about her because Traz cared about her.
Because she belonged to him and he belonged to her.
It was a heady feeling.
Vivian glanced at Avery as if she were of no value at all, something to be scraped off the bottom of her shoe. It made Avery seethe.
“No,” Vivian said, her voice filled with disgust. “I didn’t care what happened to her. I wanted her out of my way. She was a pathetic human, and she’ll be a pathetic—” Her voice cut off as her head fell to the floor, ripped from her body. Traz went to one knee and stabbed her in the heart. Her body went up in flames, turning to ash as swiftly as a piece of paper. The smoldering remains stained the oriental rug dark gray.
Traz rose steadily to his feet, his gaze on Avery. “I told you she was mine to kill. For you.”
She had a few dozen things she wanted to say to the big male, chief among them that he’d just stolen her heart. Instead of blurting out her feelings, she nodded. “Good job.”
He snorted and gave her a wry smile.
“Well, I liked that rug,” Mishka said. “But she was a bitch, so I guess it’s a wash.”
Everyone moved off the rug and Traz rolled it up, enclosing the ashes of the woman who’d thought nothing of sending Avery into the arms of a psychopath. She was glad she was dead.
“I’ll order a replacement for you,” Cella said.
“Thanks,” Mishka said. He looked at Avery. “Well, now we know who set you up and why. The wolf was rogue?”
“Yeah. He said he wasn’t from the States, but I don’t know where his former pack was. He was always a little cagey about his history. The Cleveland alpha didn’t know him though.”
Traz opened the door to the office and spoke to someone, then stepped aside and let in a huge troll. He had
dark eyes and enormous forearms. “Dump the rug and remains in the trash, thanks.”
The troll bent and picked up the rug, nodded at Traz and left the office.
Avery had seen the trolls around the club. The coven used them as guards. They weren’t talkative, and she’d overheard coven members say they weren’t very smart, but they were extremely loyal, which made them great for security.
“Now what?” Avery asked.
“Everyone but you and Traz can leave,” Mishka said.
Harmony cleared her throat.
“And my beloved, of course,” he amended.
“Damn skippy,” Harmony said.
The family left, Cella giving Avery a hug and saying, “I’m so glad you’re safe now. We can talk about your job once you’re finished with your chamber arrest.”
Avery snorted at the term “chamber arrest,” like house arrest, but underground. “Sounds good,” she said.
When it was just the four of them, Harmony gestured to a sitting area, and Avery and Traz sat on a couch with Mishka and Harmony sitting next to each other on matching chairs.
“Now,” Mishka said, “let’s discuss what appears to be your newfound ability to discern truth from lies.”
Avery glanced at Traz. “What about it? Am I not supposed to be able to do that?”
Traz squeezed her hand. “Most vampires can sense a lie, but you looked like you could... taste it? Your face when you listened to Vivian was like you’d just eaten something disgusting.”
“It felt like I ate a lemon,” Avery said. “When she was talking about not knowing what Jasper’s intentions were, a bitter taste coated my tongue.”
Mishka settled back in the chair and looked thoughtful. “Within each vampire are traits specific to our species. For example, every vampire can compel a human to some degree, and every vampire—even those considered quite ugly in their human lives—develop an ethereal loveliness that makes people want to be around them. Then within our species are the vampire lines, where the hereditary powers come into play. My line excels in compulsion. I can convince even the most strong-willed human to do my bidding. My sire had the ability to taste lies, as it were. He was like a walking lie detector.”