Page 20

Fingers pressed into my waist with a large palm spanning my side. Tobias squeezed. I sucked in a breath, freezing up. Something grazed the top of my head.

Was he sniffing me?

His cock swelled against my back.

Fuck no.

I jumped forward . . . at least tried to. Tobias didn’t release me, so I bounced back against him.

His arm banded around my stomach, flushing me tight to him. He exhaled shakily.

Every facet of his torso curved into me.

He pressed his cheek against my temple. Smooth, silky skin rubbed on mine.

I squeezed my eyes shut—I would not react. Why did he have to smell so good? Why did I have a weird obsession with getting bitten? I wasn’t a blood-whore, I could control myself. I could tell myself that’s all I wanted, but my pussy knew otherwise. His cock in me would satisfy all sorts of cravings . . .

Shut it.

“No,” I spat out. I didn’t know how I mustered the will, but I did it.

Tobias stiffened. His chest shuddered.

The low tones of conversation echoed from down the hall. Then the loud sounds of some sort of machine revved to life.

“It appears you will have to eat later.” He grabbed my arm, still gentle, but tension remained lining his form. I stumbled after him, struggling to keep up.

A man with work goggles sliced into the damaged wall dividing the foyer and the living room. I stumbled past, trying to look at the man, but Tobias hauled me upstairs. Once reaching the landing, he turned a sharp right to Asher’s room—the third door.

His palm urged me forward at the small of my back. I quickly stepped forward. If I did as ordered, he might not chain me up, giving me an opportunity to run.

Just as I hoped, he waited for me to cross the threshold and grabbed the edge of the door as he backed out.

“Tobias.” He hesitated with one foot out the door. “Can you take this off?” I thumped my heavy foot cast on the floor.

Tobias’s expression was unreadable. A moment passed and then another. His stiff expression didn’t twitch. He seemed to sink into his mind. I cleared my throat. Finally, he looked at me.

“I’ll have Jax remove it.” Why Jax?

“No!” I shouted, before he shut the door.

Tobias frowned.

“Jax has experience with injuries.” I didn’t give any shits how much experience he had. I wanted that vampire to stay away from me. All of them should, but I needed this off.

“You . . . please.”

I needed to be unhindered if I wanted to try to escape, and Tobias was the only one I could semi-handle.

As selfish and self-centered as vampires were, Tobias seemed to try not to be. Even if he failed.

He sighed. In a few steps he knelt at my feet and slipped his fingers into the edges of the cast. He tore it easily. With the sameprecision, he removed the one on my arm. It happened so fast I didn’t have the chance to be shocked.

The plaster thumped on the ground and without saying anything more, he left.

The knob jiggled with the turn of the lock from the other side. I hurried to check. He’d locked it.

I gritted my teeth and hugged myself. The night had just begun, and I had no doubt another vampire would visit.