Misha hadn’t absorbed Zhahara’s power. While he’d cast the fatal blow to end Zhahara’s existence, bloodlust had technically led to her redeath. Her power had likely transferred to the vamp responsible for her infection. Misha had, however, inherited her fortune and doubled his billions.
He leaned back in his seat, watching me as I sipped the water the waiter brought. “I wish only to thank you.”
I smiled. “You just did.”
Misha quirked an elegant brow. “Mere words are not sufficient for all you and your sisters have done.”
“They are for us.” I shrugged. “We have everything we need.” Almost everything…My mind wandered back to the bloodlust. “Why won’t you help the weres hunt the infected vampires?”
A steaming bowl of seafood bisque was placed in front of us. It smelled scrumptious, but Misha didn’t bother to glance at it. “My darling, the cause of the infection remains unknown. I refuse to continue to risk the well-being of my family by exposing them to the infection.”
I couldn’t blame Misha. Hank, Tim, and the three naughty schoolgirls were all that remained of his once large family. Except there was a way he could help. “I need a favor.”
Misha’s smooth smile lengthened across his beautifully masculine face. “A mountain of diamonds, a sultan’s fortune, and the last beat of my heart would not be enough to express my gratitude. Tell me what you desire and it shall be yours.”
All righty then. “Um…Will you let me take your blood?”
Misha paused, his gray eyes widening before they lightened with a sinful shimmer. He tugged off his tie, popped off a few buttons of his shirt, and exposed his jugular…along with a few other body parts. I held up a hand. “I mean for research purposes—not for consumption.” I tried not to think about how easily Misha would let me feed from him.
“There are many ways to examine me, my darling.”
I’m sure there are. I stole a glance at the bulging muscles of his pecs. And that many have tried. I cleared my throat. “My friend Danny wants to compare the blood of an infected vampire to that of a healthy one. To see if he can establish a connection to the bloodlust.”
Misha’s vampires scaled the porch and surrounded him, hissing with menace directed at me. “Our master’s essence is not something for you to toy with,” Tim snapped.
I stood growling. “This isn’t a game. Your family may be safe for the moment, but the rest of Tahoe isn’t!”
Misha held up a hand. In an instant, the vampires vanished from sight, yet my tigress could sense their presence nearby. Along with the scent of their fury.
Misha’s frown appeared more troubled than angry. Enough for me to think he would deny my request. “As you wish.”
“Huh?”
He fixed his shirt and tie, the smile returning to his face. “I said you may take me.”
Vampires lived—in an undead sort of way—to come up with more sexual innuendos than humanly possible. I excused myself and returned with the phlebotomy supplies Danny had dropped off. I purposely didn’t glance at Misha while I drew his blood. When a vampire drank from another, the experience was both emotionally intimate and orgasmic. The thought alone made me nervous. Although I’d grown to like Misha, it wasn’t in the way he wished. I returned to my seat once I secured the sample in the house and washed my hands.
Misha reached for my hand the moment we finished our first course. “May I?”
“May you what?”
He chuckled. “Allow me this moment to thank you.”
I stared at his palm. “Does this involve teeth?”
“No.”
“Blood?”
“No.”
“Tongue?”
Misha considered me quite the comedian. He laughed. Hard. “Only if you wish it so, my darling.”
I held out my arm. His hands slipped down from my elbow until they both covered mine. A brief sizzle sparked against my nail beds before what felt like a bevy of feathers traced up my arm. He released me as I squirmed from the touch.
“What was that?”
Misha smiled. “I believe the saying is ‘my digits.’”
“Excuse me?”
Misha leaned close. “My dearest Celia, you are the most unique of beings. You risked your life for mine, you returned my essence, and yet you seek neither wealth nor power nor recognition in exchange. I am forever in your debt. Should you ever need me, call my name and I shall thunder through hell itself to reach you.”
I turned my hand back and forth, half expecting to see, “For a good time call,” inked across my skin. “So, what, you’re like my guardian angel master vampire now?”