Page 62 of Taming His Vampire Mate

Pierce’s frown deepened. “Why not tonight?”

“We’re tired,” Jeremy said. “It was a long drive.”

Pierce’s brows shot up at that casualwe. His gaze bounced between us, lingering on our proximity.

“We need to know what happened in that town,” he pressed.

I knew exactly what happened. I was just avoiding saying—or even thinking—the name of a certain ancient vampire from my past.

“Sure,” I said. “We’ll discuss it in the morning.”

“It can wait until the morning,” Jeremy echoed, speaking at the exact same time as me. Then, making it even worse, he added, “Thierry needs to sleep. And eat. He gets grumpy.”

I closed my eyes and counted to ten. If the ground had swallowed me whole, I wouldn’t have minded.

When I opened them, Pierce was staring in disbelief. “You two are blood-bonded? Already? How?”

“You needn’t worry about it!” I snapped. “Just handle the unconscious vampire while I get the wolf tucked into bed, safe and sound, and away from here.” I shot Jeremy a murderous look. “And you. Stop talking.”

Pierce’s disbelief lingered, but then his gaze dropped to Quinn, distaste tightening his features. Fair—between the hideous polyester uniform, the dried blood, and the dirt everywhere, the guy was a mess.

“I violently dislike you,” Pierce said offhandedly, glancing back up at me. “You do know that, right?”

“It’s practically your love language,” I replied sweetly, relieved he’d decided to let it go. For now.

Pierce sighed, then scooped Quinn up one-handed, slinging him over his shoulder like he weighed nothing. Muttering profanity, he carried him downstairs to be safely chained up.

I didn’t follow. Pierce would see to it that Quinn was secure for the evening.

Jeremy fell into step beside me as I turned on my heel and left the bar, seething. I locked the door behind us. He stayed silent as I led him to the apartment building next door. The unit I had in mind was on the top floor, fully furnished, mostly for guests of Nathaniel’s.

I unlocked the door and stepped inside.

My anger had already subsided—I was having an irritatingly hard time staying mad—and we both stood there, just inside the threshold. Silence settled, awkward and heavy. Rationally, I knew I should leave, but my feet felt glued in place.

“Well, this is it,” I said pointedly when it became clear he wasn’t going to speak. “Home sweet home. Touch nothing. Everything here costs way more than you can afford.”

But I was suddenly very aware that we were alone, with a big, fluffy bed not twenty feet away. We could do anything. We could even make some very bad choices if we were so inclined.

“No. Not yet,” Jeremy said softly, meeting my gaze. “I’m not giving you an excuse to shove me away. I can be a jackass sometimes, but I’m not dumb.”

“I hardly need an excuse,” I said loftily, relief and disappointment crashing together. “I’m just grateful Pierce didn’t rip you to shreds.”

“Careful, it almost sounds like you care.”

“It would have stained my clothing,” I said, stepping back. “This suit’s designer—it probably costs more than your entire commune.” When he said nothing, still watching me, I added, “Besides, spending hours helping Pierce clean bits of wolf off the floor would’ve ruined my night.”

“You defended me back there,” he said softly.

“I kept Pierce focused on the task at hand.”

“You saddled him with taking Quinn so he’d leave.” Jeremy paused. “Do you think he’ll be alright?”

“Pierce will be fine.”

“I know. Not who I was talking about.”

Surprise rippled through me. “You meant Quinn.”