Page 61 of Taming His Vampire Mate

“The wolf has a nasty habit of following me around,” I replied lightly.

“You shouldn’t have given me a treat when we first met.”

It was impossible to miss the double meaning in Jeremy’s words. I gritted my teeth and ignored it in favor of the bigger problem.

I didn’t like this setup one bit. In case Pierce couldn’t control himself around Jeremy, I needed my hands free. Immediately.

Before I could speak, Jeremy’s grip on the vampire tightened and he eased the arm off my shoulder, taking control of the body.

“Down you go,” he muttered, lowering Quinn to the floor, where he sagged like a rag doll. The wolf’s voice was surprisingly gentle, like he reallywassettling a friend who’d had too much to drink. As though he believed the real Quinn was still in there.

It was a huge shift from how he’d been twenty-four hours ago, and my traitorous heart gave a little lurch.

Pierce’s glare intensified. He’d just lost the chance for violence, and he clearly knew it. Arms crossed, maybe to keep from using them on the wolf, he seethed. I could empathize. Jeremy had that effect on people.

“He’s not staying here.”

“Don’t be dramatic,” I drawled. Nathaniel and James would both be unhappy if I murdered Pierce, so I’d have to settle for maiming him if it came to that. In syrupy tones, I added, “He’ll stay next door. There are empty units.”

But I stepped in front of Jeremy anyway. If Pierce wanted the wolf, he’d have to go through me.

Jeremy gave me a strange look—startled, oddly tender—which meant he’d caught my thoughts again. The bastard.

Pierce’s eyes widened, and his lips curled in distaste. “Sadie called and said you’d met your mate, but I didn’t believe it. How could you be mated tohim?”

I shot Jeremy a murderous glare. This was his fault. If Pierce knew, everyone knew. To his credit, the wolf didn’t even flinch.

“Ask the universe,” I muttered to Pierce. “This wasn’t my idea, was it?”

“I mean, it literally was,” Pierce said, smirking at me, his eyes dancing. “You bullied Poppy into doing the spell to conjure him. I didn’t picture your type as ‘big dumb oaf,’ but—”

“Jeremy isn’t stupid,” I said automatically, anger unfurling in my chest.

It was hard to say who was more surprised by my statement—Pierce, Jeremy, or me. But it was true. The wolf was many things, but not stupid. I was merely stating a fact. Definitely not feeling a bone-deep impulse to protect him. Definitely not. Emphatically not.

Jeremy’s lips parted, gaze locking on mine, surprise softening into something far more dangerous. Exactly as though he’d heard more than he should.

Because of course he had.

Pierce was watching, fury tightening his features. He raised a finger in warning. “If he so much as looks at James wrong, I’ll—”

“You won’t need to do anything!” I cut in. “If the wolf harms James, it’ll be the very last thing he does.”

Pierce scowled but went silent. He knew I’d defend James with my life—even against Jeremy, who had gone strangely quiet. Smart wolf.

“He’s not going to harm James,” I said, sighing. “He’s probably going to be fixated elsewhere.”

Pierce’s gaze slid back to Jeremy, who stood inches from me, practically quivering with tension, ready to launch himself in front of me. His eyes narrowed. “If you try anything—”

“You’ll gut him good and proper,” I said, more prosaically than I felt. Gesturing to the unconscious vampire, I added, “Now, be a doll and take our friend downstairs before he wakes up and starts screaming again. He’s loud.”

“This one’s from Rookwood?” Pierce asked, frowning down at Quinn. “He looks like an extra in a bad horror movie.”

“That’s about right.”

Pierce sighed. “I’ll call Poppy. The sooner you do this, the sooner we find out what happened there.”

“No one needs to question anyone yet,” I said lightly. “That can wait until tomorrow.”