Page 19

The thought of aligning the young woman’s body with his as he placed his lips on her neck and drew from her tender flesh tightened his throat, threatening to seize up if he even attempted to sup from the delicate column.

Quickly, he stepped away.

Zita gasped, and her once joyful gaze was now clouded with concern.

Amaros saw the other servants glancing at each other, and he could hear the overlaying questions in the air.

Since he had partaken of each of the others gathered at least once, he could hear their thoughts, and at that moment, he shut out all the voices.

There were enough questions in his mind, and the last thing he wanted was to field those from others.

“Sire?” Zita questioned, her lips quivering. “Did I do something wrong?”

He could not walk away and call for a pig; he had to do this, besides his mate needed him to.

Amaros swallowed because he wanted to ensure he could still do so. “No. I’ve decided I’d prefer to drink from your wrist instead,” he rushed out. “Everyone, roll up your sleeves and be prepared once I call on you.”

Turning away from the group's curious stares, he spotted a bench that faced the window at the perfect angle to allow him to watch the setting sun. Amaros took a seat and waved the young woman over once again.

She had already pushed up the sleeve of her periwinkle blouse that matched her shoes and earrings.

He palmed the back of her hand and pulled her onto the bench to sit beside him, ensuring some distance between them.

The only part of her body he needed to handle was her hand.

Wasting no further time, he brought her wrist to his mouth and bit right into the area where the pulse of her heartbeat leaped under her skin.

When his teeth pierced her deep-sable skin, he waited a beat to see if the young servant would flinch, scream, or try and pull away. If she did either, he would release her and let her return to her other duties. However, she only let out a small hiss but remained steady. So, he drank.

Forty minutes later, satisfied and bloated with blood from all five donors, he took the final step to the hall that led to his suites. He grasped the handle, removed the supernatural seal he had set on the door, and then entered.

Only to quickly close the door and duck as his Snowflake Blue Yongzheng Vase came sailing toward his head.

In a flash, he shifted to the side and out of the way as it shattered in pieces against the ornate door before raining down onto the floor around his feet; his only thought was, ‘At least it wasn’t my Pinner Qing Dynasty Vase. ’

Shortly after the wars broke out, he rescued his entire vase collection from Sotheby’s auction house, museums, and collectors' homes. It would have killed him to see such priceless artifacts destroyed.

“Honey, I’m home,” he teased as he stared at the raging beauty standing by the now-empty pedestal next to the window where the vase used to sit.

Michaela wore one of his robes wrapped around her tall, thin frame, but the length was still too long even with her height, causing the hem to pool around her feet.

“Why am I locked in here?” she demanded.

“In short, for safety reasons.”

Evidently, she didn’t care for his short response and started toward the next closest pedestal, which held his Ruby Ground Yangcai Vase.

Damn, she had so much fire in her; it caused his core to heat in response.

It had been ages since anyone challenged his word or authority.

There was a tug at one corner of his mouth, and his lips curled into a half smile.

A smile he immediately controlled so his little angel would not think it was directed at her mockingly.

“Michaela, stop!” he commanded.

Amaros was grateful for two things: one, that she paused a step away from another priceless artifact, and two, that she could not use her teleport ability yet because the vase would have already been in her hands and flying toward him.

She set her hands on her hips and hissed in frustration as she stared at him.

Her short, straight, blonde-ombre strands with their complementing dark roots were in disarray around her face as she shifted from one foot to the other.

He wondered how much of the wildness of her hair had to do with her attacking it with her fingers, not just sleep.

She appeared to be at her wit’s end about something.

He didn’t believe it was only that he’d sealed her in.

With his hands in his pocket, he stared at her across the distance of the room, allowing her the space she perhaps needed. “Talk to me, little angel. There must be honesty between mates. And it would be nice if it came with words. Or I can find you less expensive items to throw about.”

Michaela folded her arms across her waist as she dragged her short fangs over her bottom lips, seeming to ponder his request. The gesture barely made a scratch, even though her teeth were longer than the day before; they were as dangerous as a butter knife.

“How do I know I can trust you?” She brought a trembling hand up to her mouth and touched her teeth. “You did this to me. And my government did this.” Her other hand moved to her lower abdomen.

One thing at a time. “You know about the babies.”

“‘Babies,’” she echoed. “I can hear them now. So loud.”

Amaros tried to gauge how she felt about them through her voice, but her words came out too soft. “Did you volunteer for the procedure—?”

She erupted with a high-pitched laugh as she tipped her head back. The sound filled the room and briefly reverberated through the dome above the bed. The laughter was short-lived. “I would never,” she sneered.

“Tell me what happened?” His heart ached at her words, which thumped hard in his chest.

When her gaze shot to the area of his chest, he knew she picked up on it separate from the ones within her.

Warmth spread throughout his form at the thought that his mate was attuned to him.

Her throat moved as she swallowed hard.

He hadn’t been around a pregnant vamp often and wondered if Michaela was nauseous. If she were, he’d understand since she was carrying three babies.

“Michaela...” he urged.

“I just wanted the money.” She shook her head and glanced out of the bay window. Darkness had now settled, but with her vampiric abilities, she still should be able to see across the lawn and the top of the greenhouse in the distance.

He frowned because even though she’d been in hospital garb when he found her, he’d seen and touched her body.

The things she had done would have been costly ventures before the humans went to the ground, so he could only imagine how much hair dye and full body laser hair removal would run with limited resources.

He almost laughed because, as a Vampire, she would have eventually lost most of her body hair, and what was on her head would no longer grow.

Their kinds’ bodies no longer produced dead cells.

Her natural nails wouldn’t grow either, but part of the powers she would develop would allow her to extend sharp, claw-like nails when she needed them to fight or slice through whatever she chose.

“Are you telling me you were without funds, and somehow your government used that to lure you to do things?” He moved toward her, his fist clenched in his pockets so he wouldn’t scare her.

“Yes.” She met his gaze and shrugged a shoulder. “That I know of, thirteen of us volunteered to live in a lab for a short period for research to cure the disease. We were supporting science and helping humanity.” A dry chuckle came from her parted lips.

That shit didn’t make sense when the preternatural council already had an agreement with them to provide the human government with enough mixed serum to begin to heal the population. So, why were they dragging in people under the guise that they needed help?

“How long were you there?”

She shook her head and shrugged both shoulders this time.

“Weeks, months...I don’t know. They controlled everything.

If the lights were on, we were up and in and out of the lab for one thing or another.

If the lights were out, we had to keep quiet and sleep, but without time, it could have been only an hour that passed or several. ”

Michaela held his gaze as he slowly closed the distance between them. “But they locked us in unless they nee—ded us.”

Her voice broke, but she didn’t cry, and for a moment, her eyes looked haunted, and she was far away mentally, causing the air between them to feel cold.

Do you want to tell me what they did? he urged gently. The information would not only be helpful in the next few days when the council met, but he also wanted to know what his mate had been through and share the burden of her pain.

In a blink, she was back with him and inhaling deeply.

The air became charged.

“No. Not now,” her voice took on a husky lilt.

His body responded to the change.

Between the two feet of distance that remained between them, he could see her lovely eyes clearly. The red stain had begun to leak out of her irises' standard light-brown color, less than the last time she woke. However, the bloodlust was still prominent but fading.

“You smell really good...delicious.” She licked her lips as she balled her fists at her sides as if she were trying to keep control of her needs.

Amaros knew her hold on it was tenuous. She didn’t have the developed strength to beat back the ferocious and aggressive inhuman being that she now was who needed to feed. Insatiably.

“Do I?” he kept his features neutral as he watched her.

With a hasty nod, she licked her lips again. “You smell like them...out there.”

Them. Humans. And they were back to one of the reasons she’d been pissed when he returned. His little angel had tried to get out and get to the decadent morsels calling to her base desire.