Dying to Date(23)

Dominic sipped his wine, studying Tarian as he did so. “Have a soft spot for her, do you?”

Tarian laughed derisively. “For a leech? The world would be a better place if they were wiped from existence.”

“And yet you were attempting to date her.”

He shrugged. “I am serious about finding a mate, and our dinner was set up by the agency I joined. Besides, I was curious. To be that close to a Redgrave, to toy with her as one would a mouse…” Tarian smiled and knew it wasn’t a comforting expression. “What an opportunity.”

“What would have become of it had we not kidnapped the girl?”

He set down his cutlery on the empty plate. “I would have enjoyed playing with her. I couldn’t have revealed myself, you understand, but there’d be some vindication in breaking her heart.”

“How cold. I wouldn’t have thought you capable of such calculated cruelty.”

“I’ve never forgotten what killed my father,” he replied, truth coloring his words. “The vampires owe me.”

Dominic clapped a hand on his shoulder. “That they do, my boy. Take the leech her blood. Wring whatever satisfaction you can out of her, but remember, we need her in one piece to negotiate with.”

“I’ll control myself,” he promised. He didn’t know what Dominic read in his face, but it put a wide smile on his grandfather’s lips.

“Good to have you onboard,” Dominic said.

The approval in the older man’s eyes turned his stomach. All the years he’d spent avoiding this man hadn’t been wasted.

But he had someone to protect now. And somehow, he had to sneak a vampire out of a full house of necromancers, without anyone realizing what he was about until it was too late.





Chapter Seven


Dawn was coming. She could feel her energy draining and struggled to keep her eyes open. The day would make her more vulnerable than she could afford to be. Dominic could walk in and stake her, and there wouldn’t be a damn thing she could do about it.

Her stomach rumbled as she paced the confines of her bedroom. The necromancers had left her alone in the hours since dinner, and for that, at least, she was grateful. She’d spent that time trying to think of any way out of her predicament but had yet to come up with a viable plan.

A knock sounded at the door. Drawing on her vampire speed she raced to the bed as the door opened. If she had to go for the letter opener, she wanted to be close enough to reach it.

Tarian stepped into the room before closing the door behind him.

Again her heart lurched at the sight of him. It wasn’t fair that she knew what he was but her body’s reaction was unchanged. There was nothing good about this man. He wasn’t the mate she’d been waiting for. He was just a manipulative bastard.

“What are you doing here?”

“I brought you a snack.” He held up a glass of blood.

Her stomach twisted at the temptation, but she shook her head. “I’m not hungry.”

“Liar.”

He walked closer to her, and her eyes flicked to the camera above the door. As always, the red light indicating its power was glowing brightly.

Don’t attack unless you have to, she reasoned. Dominic could be watching her every move.

“I’m sure you must be feeling exhausted after your ordeal,” Tarian said, his face blank. “A few sips and you’ll feel better.”

“As if you care about my comfort, necromancer,” she hissed. “Every word between us was a lie.”

“Of course,” he replied. “It was most amusing to see how easy it was to wrap you around my finger. A little affection and you were ready to do anything I wanted. No magic needed.”

Don’t slap him, she ordered herself. Don’t rise to his bait.

“I hate you,” she said instead, honesty dripping from her words.

His smile slipped. “I know.”

She waited for another taunt, but he said nothing. Melissa frowned. What was he waiting for?

“Why did you bring me blood?” she asked.

“Dinner wasn’t enough to keep you going. Aren’t you hungry?”

She wasn’t a fool. Not anymore. “It’s unnecessary to drug me when I’ll be helpless once the sun comes up anyway.”

He held up his hands in the universal you-got-me signal. “I confess this blood might be spiked, but we both know you’ll drink it one way or the other. Don’t make this harder than it has to be.”

She shifted backward. “As far as you are concerned, the hard way is the only option on the table.”

Instead of sending his power to flow over her, however, he only waited.

“What are you doing?” she demanded. His words were what she expected from an enemy, but his actions were not. He made no move to force her. He didn’t even bother getting too close.