Steal the Moon(60)

“I don’t have to eat it or anything?” Dev asked, and I could tell he really was interested in the answer.

“I wouldn’t advise it.” Daniel walked toward me, and I thought he was going to go to the pond behind us.

Daniel always tried to hide that savage part of himself. He would wash off the blood and change his clothes and pretend he hadn’t ripped someone’s heart out. He would walk back to me and tell me he didn’t love me and order me into a sithein for my own protection. I waited for him to walk past me like I didn’t matter.

Covered in blood, fangs out and eyes gone to blue, Daniel walked up and went to his knees before me. Shaking, he put his arms around my waist and pulled me to him. Daniel buried his head in the valley of my chest and listened to my heart beat.

If I backed up for even an instant, I knew I would lose him. He was offering me all of himself—Daniel, the good, the bad, and the beast within.

If I hesitated, he would walk away and never open himself to me again. He would go to this Tamara person, and he would love me from afar because he wouldn’t feel worthy.

There wasn’t even a tiny piece of me that hesitated. I threw my arms around him, holding him close. I didn’t care that he was covered in blood or that his fangs grazed my skin. I wrapped my arms around his neck and held him to me like he would disappear if I didn’t. He held me tight but finally his head turned toward me and I leaned down and kissed him, tasting blood and feeling fangs. I kissed him with all the love I had.

“I don’t blame you for Joel, Zoey,” he said quietly. “He was twenty-three years old and I talked him into following me. He should have been in grad school, drinking beer and trying to figure out how to spend the rest of his life. I killed him, Z. I did it.”

“Danny, you didn’t mean for him to die,” I replied, aching with his pain. “This is war and people are going to die. All we can do is fight and try to make their deaths mean something.”

“I tried that line of reasoning on him,” Dev said tiredly.

“What if I get you killed, Z?” Daniel asked, stating finally which fear was pressing him now.

I looked down at him and sighed. “Daniel, you either love me enough to take that risk or you don’t. I’m going to die someday. I can take your blood every day and I’ll still die on you. Are you willing to throw away the hundred and fifty years we could have together because one day it’s going to end? If you are then walk away now, baby. If you love me, be brave enough to risk losing me.”

“I’m not going to hide myself anymore,” Daniel said. “I’m tired of it and I think that it’s more for me than it is for you. Can you love me, Zoey? Can you be with me as I am now?”

“I don’t want you any other way,” I said fiercely, meaning it. I wouldn’t change him.

“I’m sorry, Z,” Daniel said. “Please forgive me. I was being a coward. I won’t do it again. I promise.”

I kissed him soundly in reply.

Daniel got to his feet and his face was back to normal. He walked to Dev and gave him a hand up. “Dev, I promise I won’t try to leave again. I’m sorry.” He was even more hesitant with Dev than he’d been with me.

“See that you don’t.” Dev limped over to my other side.

“Daniel,” I said, my voice going hard. “I want that woman out of my house.”

Daniel nodded, and now he was the one avoiding eye contact with me. “She’ll be gone in the morning. You should know I would never have really performed the ritual with her. She was for Joel. I won’t…would never take another companion. I meant to send you to the sithein and never let Marini know you weren’t with me.” He looked at Dev. His mouth was a flat line. “You’ll tell Marcus he can take his offer and go to hell.”

Dev shrugged. “It will be like it never happened.”

Relief flooded me, but now I was worried about something else. “I really expected Lee to show up. I thought he would be able to hear me.”

Daniel suddenly seemed deeply interested in his feet. His head moved in that “little boy caught with his hands in the cookie jar” fashion. “We kinda got into a fight after you left. I’m sure he’ll wake up soon.”

“You beat up my bodyguard?”

“Well, he was acting like he was your dad or something. He was bossing me around and telling me what to do. Dev, sit your ass down so I can fix your leg,” Daniel said. Dev sat down and pulled the fabric of his pants apart, giving Danny access to the complete horror that was his leg. “He was worse than your dad, actually. He called me all kinds of names and threatened to stake me if I didn’t follow his advice.”

“What did he tell you to do?” I asked, wondering what Lee considered love advice.

Daniel bit a chunk out of his wrist and spat it on the ground. He wasn’t discreet. He wasn’t gentle. He was seemingly making good on the promise of not hiding anymore. “He told me I should go find you and get down on my hands and knees and beg your forgiveness.”

Daniel dripped the blood over Dev’s leg, and my faery prince sighed as the pain receded.

“Which you did,” I pointed out.

“I’m sure he’ll be thrilled. Once he wakes up,” Daniel shot back, satisfied Dev’s leg was healing. “Flex your foot. It’ll be fine. You need more to heal your back and that face of yours. Zoey will cry if you have a scar.”

“Maybe she’ll think I’m tough,” Dev offered.

I shook my head. Dev didn’t need scars to prove his manhood. “No, I won’t. Fix his face.”

“We’ll need to go back to the tent,” Dev replied. “We don’t have a cup here.” When Dev took Daniel’s blood, it was passed to him in a cup or a thermos.

Daniel took a deep breath and came to a decision. “That’s not how I prefer it, Devinshea. I would prefer you took it from me, unless you find that distasteful.”

Dev went still and just for a moment, there was a weirdly vibrant tension that went through my men. “I find very little distasteful, Dan, and you know that.”

Daniel sat behind Dev and offered him his wrist. Dev put his mouth to it and took that precious blood. Danny’s eyes closed. It’s pleasurable for a vampire to share blood. It was a big step forward. I watched my boys and couldn’t help but think it was really kind of hot. Neil would love this. It would feed his fantasies for a month. I was having a few fantasies of my own.

“Zoey?” Daniel asked, his blue eyes lit with mischief. I could never hide when I was turned on from him. “Don’t get that in your head, baby.”

Dev released Daniel’s wrist, having drunk his fill. He looked between the two of us, figuring out what Daniel was talking about. “Not going to happen, Zoey.”

I shrugged. We had a hundred and fifty years or so. Lots could happen especially now that Daniel wasn’t going to hide anymore. I was willing to wait. “Fine. Can we go back to the camp now? I need to get cleaned up.”

“No,” Daniel said firmly. “We have a meeting with McKenzie.”

“Daniel, I’m half naked, more than half, actually.” I didn’t want to walk around the forest covered in blood. It was usually a bad idea.

Daniel strode to me and picked me up, cradling me in his arms. “We’re closer to the big house than the tent. Dev, can you follow? Is your leg fine?”

Dev took a couple of tentative steps. “More than fine.”

Daniel nodded and began to stride through the woods. “You’re coming with me to the meeting. You look sweet and vulnerable. Any alpha male worth his salt will look at you and be outraged at the thought of someone trying to hurt something so soft and pretty.”

Dev smiled, a savage light in his eyes. “Yes, it will put McKenzie in a bad position. His wolves attacked the ones trying to help him. He can’t take the high moral ground. We’ll walk into the meeting with the advantage.”

“That was my thought,” Daniel affirmed.

“Excellent play, Your Highness.” Dev tipped his head as the big house came into view.

“I learned from the best,” Daniel returned.

“Your Grace?” A voice called out. “Is that you?” John McKenzie stepped out onto his huge wraparound porch, a fierce frown on his face.

Daniel strode forward. “Yes, His Grace is here, though he’s alive no thanks to your wolves. My wife nearly died as well. Can I trust you enough that we can clean up here before we leave?”

I kept my mouth shut because Daniel obviously had a plan.

“Leave?” McKenzie shook his head. “The ritual is tomorrow. We have the meeting tonight.” He gasped a little as Daniel stepped up and he caught his first real sight of me. “What the hell? Zack called and said there might be trouble. What happened?”

“Your wolves happened. And there will be no ritual tomorrow.”

McKenzie’s face hardened. “I think His Grace might have something to say about that.”

Dev inclined his head toward Daniel. “His Grace defers to his partner, His Highness. I follow my king and my partner in all things. We’ve allowed you to think that I’m an equal partner in our endeavors, but the truth is I serve at the leisure of my king and queen, as all royal advisors do.”