Page 46 of Grim’s Delight (The New Protectorate Syndicate #1)
Going by the moon-eyed way Nash was looking at her, Dahlia didn’t think Felix was far off. Six weeks seemed like a solid estimate, considering Felix himself had waited three years to act on her. “I’m surprised to see her and Alvin here, though. I thought this was a family only thing.”
Felix shrugged. “Things used to be stricter, but I don’t think that’s fair. Alvin and Genevieve have proven their family loyalty more than half the old fucks in this room. They deserve to be here.”
Dahlia squeezed his arm. “Good call. Blood doesn’t mean anything if you don’t act on it.”
“I’m glad you approve.”
Normally she would’ve brushed off the praise as mocking, but Dahlia was starting to understand Felix’s nuances better. A glance at his pleased expression proved he wasn’t making fun of her. He really meant it.
A warm fluttering took up residence in her belly as they closed in on the corner. Knowing Felix didn’t just want to own her but valued her was a heady feeling unlike any other.
She was powerful not because he gave her power, but because he’d always respected what she already had.
Instead of greeting them like a normal person, Milo swept his mismatched gaze around the room and grunted, “Survive the vultures?”
Felix waved a hand. “Better question is whether they survived her. They’re really not going to know how to handle Dahlia when they piss her off.”
“I’m sure they’ll figure it out soon enough,” she said, casting a cool look over her shoulder, where several elders were bunched together.
Alvin cleared his throat. “How are you feeling? Have you been taking the supplements I sent over?” He paused to cast Felix a look. “Both of you?”
“Yes,” Felix answered immediately. “You think I’d let her get sick?”
All the assembled vampires looked away quickly, the corners of their mouths twitching as Alvin took the full heat of Felix’s glare.
To his credit, the doctor who looked like he’d be more comfortable playing polo on the weekends than standing in a room full of vampires didn’t even flinch. He met Felix’s gaze with an unperturbed look, his pretty face smooth.
Alvin had sent over a small drugstore’s worth of supplements and a binder explaining what each of them did.
Apparently while two vampires feeding exclusively on each other was possible, it could greatly diminish their fat and calcium reserves over time, so modern medicine recommended they both take regular vitamins and minerals.
The hassle of it annoyed her, but Felix was relentless about it. He stood over her like a drill sergeant until she swallowed the last of the gel packs, and she was pretty sure he’d read the binder front to back three times.
Knowing how touchy he was about her health, Dahlia decided it’d be best to defuse the situation before Alvin implied a worse insult than he already had.
“Felix makes me take them at dusk every night,” she said, patting his arm. “Even though they taste disgusting.”
“That’s because they’re fruit flavored. The artificial flavoring is non-toxic to you, but doesn’t taste great. I keep sending them emails asking for them to make vampire-friendly versions, but I haven’t had any luck,” Alvin replied.
Dahlia sighed. “I used to love fruit. And burgers. And tacos. And hotpot. And sponge cake. I think I can learn to like a lot about being a vampire, but I’ll never get over that.”
Genevieve spoke up. “If it makes you feel better, you can watch me eat all that stuff. I love food. The last date I went on, we did a buffet crawl. I thought I might actually die from the amount of crab legs I ate. The sexiest date idea I’ve ever had? No, but worth it.”
Every vampire’s eyes flicked to Nash’s face, which had gone remarkably still. If he noticed that everyone’s attention was on his reaction, it wasn’t because he looked at any of them. His focus was solely on the witch.
Speaking in a stiff, formal sort of way, he asked, “When was this?”
“A couple weeks ago,” she answered, shrugging. One side of her oversized sweater slid down, revealing a tattooed shoulder.
“And you didn’t tell me?”
Genevieve made a face. “Since when do I have to tell you when I go on dates? It’s not work related.”
Dahlia watched in fascination as a flush settled into Nash’s broad cheekbones. “Your safety is my job,” he protested. “I need to know where you are at all times. We talked about this, Ginny.”
“Your job is to keep me safe when I’m working, which I definitely wasn’t doing with Blake. We were way too busy eating crab legs and tiramisu by the pound.”
“Blake?”
Giving Felix an exasperated look, Genevieve implored, “Can you please tell him that I am allowed to do whatever I want in my off time? Including Blake?”
Extremely curious to see how Felix would handle the situation, Dahlia’s gaze bounced between the trio.
She honestly couldn’t say whether Felix would do his cousin a solid or not.
After seeing so many nascent vampire courtships go wrong in her line of work, Dahlia wasn’t sure what she’d do in this situation other than wash her hands of it as quickly as possible.
Felix did neither of those things.
Tucking his free hand into his pocket, he rocked back on his heels and made a show of considering his words. “Well… you are supposed to be on call 24/7, so the argument could be made that Nash, as your bodyguard, should know where you are at all times.”
Just when the powerful line of Nash’s shoulders began to relax, Felix continued, “However, your contract does state that you are under no obligation to report your personal life to the family as long as it doesn’t interfere with our business interests.
So you’re free to date who and when you please without telling anyone if it doesn’t cause any issues for the family. ”
“Ha!” Genevieve wagged a finger in Nash’s direction. “See? I win.”
Nash looked like he’d swallowed a whole lemon, but he didn’t argue. Dahlia half-expected him to take the card Felix had handed him — the one that said it was an issue for the family, mainly him. But he didn’t.
Nodding to the group, Felix laid a hand on Dahlia’s back and began to guide her away. When they were more or less out of ear-shot, she leaned in close and whispered, “I want in on the bet.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. And we’re going to discuss ending this bullshit with my father.”
Felix breathed deeply. “Dahlia?—”
She smiled down at the children who scrambled by her, all squeals and laughter and safety. Without dropping her smile, she hissed, “Partners, Felix. Remember?”
His fingers slid down to the curve of her waist. “I remember, pet. I could never forget.”