Page 76 of Kingly Bitten

Jace’s palm flattened against my lower back, his warmth doing little to heat my rapidly cooling state.

Fortunately, we reached a long black car after a few more steps. Jace wasted no time in ushering me into the back. Then he took a seat beside me on the leather bench while Juliet and Darius seated themselves across from us.

Silence fell as the door closed.

And it continued as the engine roared to life.

I kept my eyes down, doing my best to adhere to the role of subservient human—a position I much preferred to the blood bag status Jace had mentioned earlier.

His palm went to my thigh, reminding me of the short hem of my dress as his fingertips relaxed just inches from my sex.

The vibrations of the car beneath me suddenly took on a different sensation inside me, my new seductress side brushing the surface of my thoughts. I squirmed a little in response, causing Jace to tighten his grip. “Stay still,” he demanded.

I swallowed, my heart galloping in my chest.

“Ryder must not have trained her properly,” Darius said. “At least you’ll enjoy fixing it.”

“Yes, I intend to start immediately.” Jace’s crisp tone held an edge of annoyance to it. “I’ll need you to reach out to Ivan and let him know I won’t be joining my harem as previously scheduled. I imagine he and Trevor can continue entertaining them in my absence. As you know, some humans require a firmer hand than others.”

“Yes, they can’t all be as suitable as my Juliet,” Darius returned.

“No. She’s truly one of a kind.” The fondness in Jace’s voice replaced the hint of irritation, and I sensed his lips were tilted upward.

“What do you have to say to that, darling?” Darius asked.

Her answer was immediate. “Thank you, My Prince. It’s a pleasure to serve you, as always.”

“Perhaps you can join me in my quarters today and help me continue Calina’s retraining,” Jace offered.

“I would enjoy that immensely, Your Highness,” Juliet replied.

“Brilliant. Darius, bring her up with you after you deliver the news to Ivan. We’ll have a proper nightcap.”

“Of course, My Prince.”

Jace gave my leg another squeeze, this one holding a meaning I didn’t understand. Comfort? Disappointment? A warning of some kind?

I was nowhere near an answer as we came to a stop again several minutes later at some sort of checkpoint that required the driver to speak to someone outside.

It took serious effort not to look.

Then we were moving again, and we all fell back into a world of silence while I pondered Darius and Jace’s conversation. They hadn’t spoken that way on the plane, telling me there must be some sort of listening device nearby. Or maybe it was the driver. Jace hadn’t greeted him in any way when we’d entered. He also hadn’t spoken to whoever had opened the door.

Very different from the pilot he’d spoken to at length when we’d boarded.

Although, the pilot had been a vampire.

Was the driver a human?

I couldn’t tell from my vantage point of staring at the ground.

This really is ridiculous, I thought, fighting the urge to grit my teeth.

Humans might be inferior in strength, speed, and general vitality, but we weren’t brain-dead creatures. I was living proof of that as Lilith’s former head researcher at Bunker 47.

Jace and Darius began speaking about their travel plans for Lajos Region and listing everything that needed to be done prior to our departure.

Appointments were needed for me and Juliet.