Page 7 of Blood Claims (Garnet Dagger Mafia #2)

“And if I do, will you let me go after I have shown you where the dagger is?”

Tal actually laughed, while Victor narrowed his eyes down at me.

“It’s cute that you think you have any leverage here, Sweetheart,” he said, making Tal chuckle.

“Cute and deluded.”

I frowned before folding my arms and telling them in my firmest tone,

“Then I am not going anywhere with you.”

Victor grinned and unlike his brother, it was anything but easy going in its nature.

More evil and cunning genius with an air of warranted confidence.

Something he followed up by crowding me closer to the car, so my body was suspended in front of the open door.

Then his hands caged me in, held to the roof of the car, as he leaned in closer.

His eyes tracked the way I gulped, making him smirk at my nervousness.

“I wasn’t asking, Firefly,” he told me sternly, his voice taking on a depth that spoke only of who held the authority here out of the two of us. Which then led to him making his order once more and added to it a definitive bite to his words as he got closer with each word spoken.

“Now. Get. In. The. Car.” He ended this with deadly show as his fangs emerged quickly. A sight that caused me to gasp before letting my ass fall to the seat at my back. Then once he had me where he wanted me, he leaned down and praised,

“Good girl.” After which he winked and ran a tongue over one fang in a predatory way that had me scrambling back from him, effectively putting me in the car.

Before they could join me, I made it to the other bench seat that ran along the side of the limo, making it a repeat of last time. However, the difference was that when they each took a seat themselves, they didn’t have any power over me.

“Come here, Little Peach,” Tal ordered, making me shake my head, telling him no.

“I have to say, I am going to miss the compulsion to do as we say,” Talon commented with a smirk that I wanted to slap from his face.

“Indeed,” his brother agreed, making me sneer at them both.

“I am right here, you know!”

Victor grinned and after looking me up and down slowly, he mocked,

“Oh, we know, sweetheart.”

“Fuck yeah, and the scent of her blood is making my fucking mouth water,” Tal said, actually licking his lips as he homed in on my stained clothes.

My bag was long gone, thanks to the bitch slicing it off me and effectively slicing through my jacket and T-shirt as well. Although after this comment, I was wise enough to pull the sides of my ruined parker jacket together, so I no longer felt like a meal on display.

“Spoilsport,” Tal replied, pretending to pout. However, it was when Victor sighed that I knew the flirting game was over.

“Where is the dagger, Vanessa?” he asked, and the limo remained stationary.

“Let me go and I will tell you,” I tested, dipping my toe in the bargaining pool, and finding it ice cold when his dark gaze bore into me.

The disappointment in his expression was almost enough to have me caving. Especially when he released a frustrated sigh while leaning forward so his forearms were resting on his knees. The mouthwatering action made his shirt stretch tight over his shoulder muscles and biceps in a swoon-worthy way.

“You already know that isn’t going to happen,” he informed me.

“Fuck no,” Tal added.

“Look, I think it’s obvious that the witch didn’t remove the curse.”

“No, what is obvious is that you have been played into believing such a curse exists, just like I said you would. But now it’s time to wake up from the witch’s game, Nessa,” Victor told me, making me close my eyes tight and tell them in a pained voice,

“It’s not real.” But this ended on a cry of shock because, in those few seconds I blocked them out, he made his move.

“Ahhh!” I shouted when they were suddenly at me, sliding me from the corner I had huddled into. One that had put me closer to the driver’s side with only a privacy barrier between us. So, when my body slid along the leather, I opened my eyes and found myself situated between them.

“Now that’s better,” Tal rumbled, burying his face at the side of my head, taking in the scent of me by breathing in deep.

“Now let’s try this again, should we…? Where are we going, Nessa?” Victor said, picking up my hand and lifting the inside of my wrist to his lips. I gasped when his fangs emerged, holding myself stiff as a board when he ran the lengths of them across my skin.

“Please,” I moaned fearfully.

“Mmm… now that is a sound I do like to hear,” Tal whispered seductively in my ear.

“I don’t like repeating myself,” Victor warned, giving his brother cause to agree.

“He’s not lying, he really doesn’t.”

I shivered at the threat, making Victor grin over my wrist before kissing me there. Which was when I asked,

“And if I don’t… would you… would you hurt me?”

His amusement died pretty quickly, and Victor snarled over my skin, at the same time tightening his hold on my wrist.

“Now why would you go and piss us off by asking stupid questions, sweetheart?” Tal asked, and it was enough of an ‘oh shit’ moment that I quickly moved, throwing my weight forward and trying to catch his brother off guard so Victor would let me go.

But this didn’t happen because his grip hardened, and he tugged me back to him.

Which meant I ended up falling into his lap.

A place he seemed happy to keep me, and his arms wrapped around my waist to hold me locked against him.

“Let me go!” I shouted, but this was when Tal intervened and gripped my face, turning it forcefully to his before growling,

“Never gonna happen, you’re ours!” Then he kissed me, making my gasp of surprise one he ended up tasting. And he needed no invitation before dipping his tongue inside, demanding dominance over the situation in his own way.

Of course, it was like I had no control over my own damn body as I quickly melted into him, soaking up the kiss like it was my last breath and I needed to make it last. But then the next growl came from beneath me, like a warning for his brother to share.

A hint Tal didn’t miss because he ended the kiss only for it to be replaced by another, and Victor shifted my body enough so he could kiss me himself.

Just like with his brother, I felt myself fall under his spell with ease.

I just couldn’t resist the way they made me feel.

Even if it was only ever going to be real for me.

Because despite how sure they felt, I knew the truth.

That the compulsion to find them each night and my gift of luck may have been lifted, but the reasons for them both wanting me still remained.

The witch hadn’t lifted the curse that made them fall in love with me to begin with and had left me without a way to evade them once day came.

I was pretty much screwed. My mind was already going a million miles an hour trying to figure out how I could possibly escape them.

Maybe after time apart from them, their feelings would fade?

I honestly didn’t know. I was navigating my way through an unknown world, but perhaps there was another witch that would be willing to help me.

One that wasn’t on the Vampire King’s payroll like Victor had suggested.

And speaking of Victor, a growl of frustration left his lips after he first left my own, because he could obviously tell when my mind started to become shadowed with distractions of guilt and shame.

“I can feel your reluctance to let go, sweetheart,” he grumbled, running the back of his fingers down my cheek in a tender gesture, despite the bite of his words.

“Please let me go,” I pleaded softly, making him sigh.

“I think we have both expressed how that isn’t ever going to happen, but I will at least allow your troubled mind some space,” he said, pulling his arms away and allowing me to move. Although when I tried to take one of the seats they had started in, hands framed my waist before Tal forewarned,

“Not that much space.” Then he pulled me back, so I was once again sitting between them.

“So, no space at all then,” I snapped, making Victor lean close and warn,

“You could quite easily be back in my lap, so give me a reason and push it, sweetheart… please, I dare you.”

I huffed, folding my arms across my chest and staring straight ahead, making Tal chuckle.

“Now are you going to tell us where we are headed or do we take this question to your roommate and see what else she knows?” Victor asked, making me gasp before turning accusing eyes to him.

“Wait… what do you mean by what else she knows?!” I asked, my panic making my voice turn high pitched.

“How else do you think we found you?” Victor replied calmly, making Talon add,

“Oh yes, your little goth friend was very helpful and even our buddy Andras took a shine to her.”

I found my anger and snapped my head around to face him so quickly, it nearly gave me whiplash.

“What the fuck did you do to her?!” I shouted, because just the idea of that big brute being anywhere near had me panicking. My reaction made him lift his hands up in surrender and added to this was a smirk that I wanted to slap off his face!

“What did we do?” Tal teased, making me tense all over, along with balling my hands into fists at my lap. Something his brother took note of, because he immediately grabbed my hands and forced my fingers to straighten as he told me,

“Calm yourself, Firefly, we did nothing to harm her but just so you are aware, we would not have offered such careful treatment of her had she been connected to anyone else.”

I closed my eyes, taking his threat as serious as it sounded.

“I didn’t want her brought into this,” I told them both, making Victor scoff.

“Then next time don’t force our hand by running…

nor by making me repeat myself,” he added.

I shivered, and it had nothing to do with the opposing caress he gave my hand and all to do with the contradictory threat in his tone.

Because I knew what he was saying. If I didn’t tell them where the dagger was, they would use Stacey as a threat against me.

Which wasn’t something I could ever allow to happen.

Which also meant that I had no choice but say goodbye to the only leverage I had.

That plan of escape was getting smaller by the second as I told them…

“I will tell you where the dagger is.”