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The guy glanced at Acheron and seemed to realise I wasn’t on my own. “Sure thing, Acheron. Coming right up.” He turned back to me with his hand held out. “I’m Jace by the way.”

“Benji,” I said, returning his handshake.

“Let me get you those drinks.” Then he winked and disappeared down the bar.

“Benji, darling, don’t look now, but I think the boss wants to kill the bartender,” Acheron said in a hushed whisper.

“What?” I looked over my shoulder and Acheron was right. Damyr stared my way with a look so intense, a shiver of fear crawled along my skin. His eyes were dark beneath his brows and the muscle along his jaw twitched. There was something a little thrilling about seeing Damyr jealous. Something that made my blood sing, just a little bit.

“Acheron?”

“Hmm?”

“How much trouble do you think I’d be in if I tortured Damyr?”

He propped his elbow on the bar top and placed his chin in his hand. “Depends if you want Jace to live. But I am always up for causing trouble.”

Somehow, I didn’t doubt that for a minute. Acheron exuded mischief. From the glint in his eye to the cheeky curl of his lip. He was in a stunning jumpsuit made from a midnight blue velvet and covered in sequins. His hair was darker shade of blue to match his outfit and the gold eyeliner around his eyes seemed to be thicker and hold more glitter today.

I took a quick glance over my shoulder again and watched as Damyr eyeballed Acheron from across the room. “Guess you’re stuck babysitting me tonight?”

Acheron snorted. “I’d rather be here drinking cocktails with you than stuck in that meeting with the Council.”

“Are they awful?”

“The Council?”

I nodded. From what I’d heard, the Morozovs were the most dangerous, but the Lavaeux dealt in secrets and the Rowan’s loved drama and politics.

Acheron cocked his head to one side in thought. “No, they aren’t awful. Intense, but there’s more to them than meets the eyes. Just like with your Damyr.”

“He’s not mine.” A blush crept up my cheeks as I thought about our interaction in the car. He wasn’t mine, but I wondered whether a part of me wanted him to be.

Chapter Sixteen

Damyr

Iwas on the cusp of cancelling the meeting and telling everyone to fuck off so I could go home and fuck Benjamin into the mattress until he screamed for me again. I couldn’t get that sound out of my ears or the taste of him off my tongue.

He was a vision tonight. Delectable. Beautiful. Goddamn fuckingsinful. Where the hell did he get that corset vest from? The way it hugged his waist and accentuated his ass… fuck. My dick was still hard, and it was going to be an uncomfortable meeting if I couldn’t get myself under control. It didn’t help that I couldn’t take the edge off by drinking someone else’s blood. It had to Benjamin’s, but I couldn’t feed from him until I’d told him the truth. And fuck knows how I was going to do that. The last time I revealed myself to a human, it had ended in disaster.

Benjamin laughed at something Jace said and my hands tightened into fists. If that wolf didn’t back off from flirting with my mate, I was going to cut his balls off and wear them as a pair of earrings.

“You might want to stop growling, boss,” Vlad whispered in my ear. “You’re getting some strange looks.”

“Fuck,” I snapped. I took one last glance at Benjamin, my left eye twitching as Jace made him another drink, all smiles on his smug little face.

Fuck this.

I stormed over to the bar, my strides determined. As soon as I reached Benjamin, I spun him around on his stool, thrust my fingers into his hair and yanked his head backwards. He gasped in surprise, and I took my chance to sink my tongue deep into his mouth. I licked the roof his mouth and plunged my tongue down his throat in the dirtiest, filthiest kiss I could muster. Jace needed to know Benjamin wasmine.

I brought the kiss to an end and was relieved to see that Jace had made himself scarce. Good. I didn’t want him anywhere near Benjamin.

I could hear Acheron sniggering but my focus was drawn to Benjamin as he blinked rapidly, his eyes losing their dazed look as the world came back into focus.

“Behave, Benjamin.” I traced his plump bottom lip with my thumb.

“If that’s your brand of punishment, I’m not sure your words are much of a deterrent.” His voice was breathy and low and there was a blush making its way up the side of his neck.