Daniel let me settle on the floor, still holding me close but reaching out to Dev, pulling him into our circle. “You’re more than my advisor. You’re my partner, Dev.”
“I am content to allow you to make the decisions, Daniel.” Dev practically radiated peace and serenity. “So long as they are the right ones.”
Daniel chuckled ruefully, his arms tightening around us. He was back to serious when he looked to McKenzie. “I will not allow my precious blood to be harmed. We’ll leave in the morning.”
McKenzie’s hands immediately came up. “Your Highness, I’ll find out what happened.”
It was the first time he used Daniel’s title with what sounded like respect.
“Mitchell Roberts and his betas happened,” Daniel replied.
McKenzie cursed under his breath. “Just come inside, Your Highness. You’ll be safe here. I assume you killed Roberts.”
“And his son and beta.”
The alpha nodded, walking to his door. “I should have killed them myself. Please, Your Highness. Come inside and clean up. Let’s talk. I’m ready to listen.”
Daniel finally relented. Everything had gone exactly as he’d hoped.
McKenzie showed us to the guest suite and promised that we were safe here and a meal would be ready for us when we were finished cleaning up.
The minute the door was closed, Dev sent a satisfied smile Daniel’s way. “That went well.”
Daniel’s hands were in fists at his sides, but his voice remained steady. “Yes, it did. Go and clean up. We need to move fast. The alphas will be here soon.”
Dev pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it aside. “Come on, Zoey. We can shower together.”
Daniel’s arm went around my waist. “Not tonight, Dev. Tomorrow, she’s yours. Tonight, I’ll take care of her.”
With a short nod, Dev disappeared into the bathroom. The moment he heard the shower come on, Daniel pulled the robe off my shoulders.
“Can you forgive me, Z?” He shifted me around and his fangs were out. “Really forgive me? You have to know I wouldn’t have touched her. I will never touch another woman. All of my life, past and future, is for you. You only.”
“I forgive you. Always.” Even when I’d worried he was going to leave me, I couldn’t leave him. “We’re your family, Danny. We won’t leave you. We want to face all of this together.”
Daniel sank to his knees in front of me. His hands went to my breasts, and I was pretty sure I was about to get slammed on the bed, but instead he leaned forward and I shivered a little as he licked a long path along my breasts. I couldn’t help it. I tried to move away. I had blood all over me.
Daniel held me firmly, his eyes still glowing.
“Don’t move, Z,” he commanded in a low growl. His beast was close to the surface, but he wasn’t fighting it. “I’m not going to hurt you. The blood’s still good and it tastes like your skin now. It tastes really fucking good.”
He dragged his tongue across my chest with a sensual groan.
“Okay.” I’d promised him I could handle the vampire stuff. I stopped moving and let him surround me, holding me in place while he seemed to devour me.
He gripped my ass as he started licking a path down my torso. “You want a vampire? I can give you one, baby. I sent Dev away because he’s covered in his own blood and I really like his blood, Z. I really wanted to lick that off, too.”
It was an admission he would never have made before tonight, though I knew it. I’d watched him feed from Dev and while he held himself back, I saw the way he closed his eyes and savored the blood. Daniel was a vampire. What had he expected? He was going to be a connoisseur. He generally preferred female blood, but faery blood was different. It was unique, and I had a feeling Daniel wasn’t going to hold back in his appreciation any more. I looked forward to his next session. Daniel was going to prove to be every bit the hedonist Dev was. I seemed to attract them.
Daniel continued his long slow cleansing of my flesh and I gave over to my vampire.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The day of the fertility ritual, I woke up with a smile on my face because I was in bed with every man I loved. I snuggled down in the soft mattress with Danny’s hand wrapped around my waist, perfectly confident that it wasn’t Declan this time.
After the successful meeting with the alpha wolves, we returned home and relieved Sarah and Felix of their body-warming duties. Dev slid in on one side of Neil and I took the other. Daniel slipped in behind me and curled his body around mine.
While Dev immediately fell asleep, Danny had spent the hour before dawn cuddling and paying particular attention to my neck. He ran his nose around it, sniffing and breathing in deeply. He kissed and licked it with long strokes of his tongue. His fangs grazed it, drawing little lines of blood he lapped up. He’d sighed contentedly before he dropped off to sleep, and I knew he’d wanted to play like that for a long time. It was weird, but nothing about it wasn’t pleasant, so I figured I would just have to get used to the fact that Danny had a perfectly normal-for-a-vampire preoccupation with my neck.
Neil opened his eyes a little and smiled at me, his face soft. “Morning, Z.”
My heart skipped a beat because I was so happy. “Good morning, Neil. How are you feeling?”
His lips curved up in a naughty little smile. “I think I’m in heaven. I’m so sorry to tell you this, Z, but it’s what I suspected all along. Dev’s gay. He’s really in love with me. He was using you all this time to get to me. Hope you’re not too upset.”
“Is he cuddling you?” I tried not to giggle too loud. Dev couldn’t help it. He was a cuddler. He almost always ended up wrapped around me. If there was something warm in bed with him, he was going to be pressed against it by the end of the night. Today Neil was the lucky one.
“He’s spooning me,” Neil admitted with a happy sigh. “Oh, and he suddenly seems happy to be doing it.”
“Did he just get his morning friend?” I asked, and Neil confirmed it with a grin. It was right on time. If Dev followed his usual morning routine, I was in for a good laugh.
Dev sighed and cuddled closer to Neil.
“Hey, baby,” Dev said, his voice sleepy and his eyes still closed. He ran his hand down Neil’s side and then sat straight up in bed, probably realizing I wasn’t as muscular as Neil. “Shit. I thought…I’m going to take a shower.”
Dev stalked out of the bedroom as Neil and I dissolved into laughter.
“Stop being mean to Dev.” Daniel pulled me firmly against his thighs. Dev wasn’t the only one with a morning friend. “He can’t help it. He’s a pervert.”
“How do you explain this, then?” I asked, wriggling my butt against that glorious vampire cock of his.
“That’s a perfectly normal reaction to waking up next to my superhot wife,” Daniel replied. “I would use that on you, too, if we didn’t have guests.”
“Don’t mind me,” Neil offered.
“Maybe you can call Tamara.” That was now my go to whenever I wanted him to feel guilty.
“And just like that, it’s gone,” Daniel grumbled, sitting up. “Great, Z, now I have an off switch.”
I gave him a tart look because if he hadn’t wanted me to lob that grenade his way, he shouldn’t have given me such awesome ammunition. He did look mighty fine in his boxers, though. God, I loved that six-pack of his. I gave him a grin to let him know I was only teasing. I forgave him and hoped he’d finally learned that Dev and I wanted to share whatever fate had in mind for him.
He leaned down and kissed me, nuzzling my neck. “I’m going to sleep in the coffin. It’s too loud out here. Too many damn people. If I put in earplugs and close the coffin, I think I can get some sleep. Wake me up before you leave for the ritual. I don’t want to miss that.”
Danny walked to the door and gave it a cautious look.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, hoping we weren’t about to be attacked again.
“I’m just pretty sure Lee’s going to jump me sometime in the near future. Tell him about the begging, Z. You tell him I begged politely and maybe we can avoid another fight.” Daniel turned and I heard him say, “Morning, Sarah,” as he left the room.
Sarah did a double take as she entered. She was carrying a bag and a large picnic basket. “Great, Daniel can daywalk now and nobody told me.”
“I knew,” Neil said.
I threw my hands up. “Well, it’s supposed to be a secret. We won’t be keeping it for long if Danny just walks around the house in his underwear, scratching his belly in the middle of the morning.”
“It’s afternoon.” Sarah held up her items. “It’s also time to start getting ready for tonight. I was fully instructed on all the rituals we have to perform to prepare you. It’s just supposed to be the girls today so Neil can come, too.”
Neil sat up, his eyes wide with curiosity. “What are we supposed to be getting ready for?”
“Z’s performing a fertility ritual with Dev tonight,” Sarah confided.
Neil snorted. “She does that every night and probably twice during the day.”