Page 78 of Marked By Moonlight

Celeste huffed. “Believe me, I know every trick in the book. Sooner or later, she’ll realize that you’re only after her money. That you’ll never fit into her world. Then she’ll kick your sorry ass out of that fancy château, and where will you be?”

If Celeste weren’t so dangerous, I might have laughed. Peeling paint and broken plumbing hardly qualified as fancy, and Mina was broke.

But there were two kernels of truth in her words —never fitting into her worldand having my sorry ass kicked out of the château.

I gave myself a little shake, trying to dislodge the tendrils of succubus sweet talk that had closed in around me.

“You think I don’t know your tricks?” I growled.

“You know a few. But I have so many more,” she hummed, slipping back into seduction mode. “Wouldn’t you enjoy it if I shared them?”

I bared my teeth. “Share them with someone else. Gordon, for all I care.” Then I narrowed my eyes. “Or Szabo. You like vampires, don’t you?”

She dismissed the notion with a flip of her hand. “You’re mixing up what I do for business and what I do for pleasure.”

“I wonder what Henrik would have to say about that?” I asked, recalling what the two of them had gotten up to in Mallorca.

She bristled. “Is that a threat?”

“Absolutely.”

“Henrik can hardly blame me since it was business for him too. Not that business can’t be enjoyable.” Her eyes sparkled.“But I’m sure you agree that genuine connections bring about the highest levels of pleasure.”

As she drew out the last word, magic spun around the room, sparkling like tiny fireworks.

Fireworks that flickered and faded around me, unable to penetrate my defenses. Even a succubus couldn’t trick her way around those when they were built upon love — true love for my destined mate.

“What about Szabo?” I went on, keeping the focus where I wanted it.

“Who Szabo screws is his business.” Bitterness laced her voice.

Interesting. Had Szabo shacked up with one of her rivals?

“What about who he conducts business with?” I demanded.

Celeste shrugged. “Irrelevant.”

To her, maybe, but not to me. Not with him stalking Mina.

Luckily, a knock sounded at the door, because I was ready to throttle Celeste.

“Yes?” she called sweetly.

Bene opened the door and indicated the phone at his ear.

“I have Gordon on the line for Marius.”

Celeste smirked. “Go ahead,cherie. See what your master wants now.”

Her words were laced with venom — and not all of it aimed at me.

I gave her my hardest, darkest look, then stalked into the adjoining suite, where I stuck my hand out for the phone. I was out of the frying pan but into the fire.

But Bene grinned and put it away. “I lied. No call from Gordon. Just me keeping you from killing that bitch.” He sighed. “The big boss wouldn’t like it.”

I exhaled slowly. “No, he wouldn’t.”

Bene went back to his takeout meal on the dining table. “You owe me, man. Again, I might add.”