Kiss of Crimson(86)
He loved her.
The ferocity of his emotion struck Dante as he carried Tess into the garage elevator, Tegan and Chase on his heels. Someone hit the button to descend and they began the smooth, silent ride down the three hundred-some feet of earth and steel that sheltered the Breed‘s compound from the rest of the world.
When the doors slid open, Lucan was standing in the corridor outside the elevator. Gideon was next to him, both warriors armed and wearing grave expressions. No doubt Lucan had been alerted to the others‘ urgent arrival when the Rover showed up on the compound gate‘s security camera.
He took one look at Dante and the savaged female in his arms and exhaled a dark curse. ―What happened?‖
―Let me through,‖ Dante said as he moved past his brethren, careful not to jostle Tess in the process. ―She needs to rest someplace warm. She‘s lost a lot of blood—‖
―I can see that. Now, what the hell happened out there?‖
―Rogues,‖ Chase put in, taking over the explanation to Lucan while Dante stepped out into the corridor, all his focus on Tess. ―A group of them were sacking the Crimson dealer‘s apartment. I don‘t know what they were looking for, but the woman must have come up on them somehow. Maybe she got in their way. She‘s got bite wounds on her arm and throat, from more than one attacker.‖
Dante nodded at the facts, grateful for the Darkhaven vampire‘s verbal assist since his own voice seemed to have dried up in his throat.
―Jesus,‖ Lucan said, turning a grim glance on Dante. ―This is the Breedmate you spoke of? This is Tess?‖
―Yeah.‖ He looked down at her, so still and colorless in his arms, and felt a piercing chill bore into his chest. ―Another few seconds and I might have been too late... ‖
―Goddamn suckheads,‖ Gideon hissed as he raked a hand through his hair. ―I‘ll go prep a room for her in the infirmary.‖
―No.‖ Dante‘s reply was sharper than intended, and unyielding. He held out his scored wrist, the skin still red and wet at the place he‘d fed her. ―She is mine. She stays with me.‖
Gideon‘s eyes widened, but he said nothing more. Nor did anyone else, as Dante brushed past the group of warriors and headed with Tess down the maze of hallways to his private quarters. Once inside, he brought her into the bedroom and gently placed her on the king-size bed. He kept the lights dim, his voice soft and low, as he set about trying to make her comfortable.
With a mental command, he willed the bathroom sink on, running warm water into the basin as he carefully removed the makeshift bandages that covered Tess‘s wrist and neck. She had stopped bleeding, thankfully. Her wounds were raw and hideous on her flawless skin, but the worst of the injuries was past.
Seeing the ugly marks left by the Rogues who attacked her, Dante wished he had Tess‘s healing touch. He wanted to erase the injuries before she had a chance to see them, but he couldn‘t work that kind of miracle. His blood would heal her from within, replenish her body and give her a preternatural vitality she‘d never known. Over time, if she fed from him regularly as his mate, her health would be ageless. In time the scars would mend too. Not soon enough for him. He wanted to tear her attackers apart all over again, torture them slowly instead of delivering the efficient death the Rogues had received.
The need for violence, for vengeance against every Rogue who could ever harm her, seethed through him like acid. Dante tamped the urge down, throwing all of his energy into tending Tess with reverent, gentle hands. He eased her out of her bloodstained jacket, peeling off the sleeves and then lifting her slack body to free her of it. The pullover sweater she wore beneath was ruined as well, the celery-colored wool soaked a garish red around the neck and the edge of the long sleeve. He would have to cut the sweater off; no way he was going to try to pull it over her head and disturb the nasty bite wound at her throat. Retrieving one of the daggers sheathed at his hip, he slid the blade under the hem and ripped a clean line up the center of the garment. The soft wool fell away, exposing Tess‘s creamy torso and the peach-hued lace of her bra.
A sexual stirring roused within him, as automatic as breathing, as he looked down on the perfection of her skin, the sweetly feminine curves of her body. Seeing her always brought out his hunger, but seeing her marked by rough Rogue hands put a steadying calm in him that trumped even the strength of his base desire to possess her. She was safe now, and that was all he needed. Dante set the blade down on the nightstand, then removed Tess‘s ruined sweater and dropped it next to the jacket beside the bed. The room was warm, but her skin was still cool to the touch. Pulling the edge of the black silk comforter from the other side of his large bed, he covered her, then went into the bathroom to get a soapy washcloth and a fresh towel to clean her up. As he came back out to the bedroom, he heard a quiet rap on the open door of his quarters, too soft to belong to any of the warriors.