Page 96 of The Vampire's Seduction

Help her and keep him distracted,Marek said when he sensed Rowan and Darren drawing near.

Then he turned around to tend to Olivia, keeping his gaze away from the pool of blood near her legs. He sliced open his wrist and pushed it against her mouth.

“Drink,” he ordered and added compulsion to his voice, hoping her mental barrier wouldn’t deter his command.

Her lips opened. Cool relief flooded him when she gulped down his blood. Color returned to her cheeks, her heartbeat steadied, and her lids fluttered open. All the while, he paid attention to the fight and kept Bryan on his radar in case the fae untangled himself from his opponents.

“Marek.” Her gentle smile was a soothing balm to his tattered emotions. “I knew you’d come.”

Now would not be a suitable time to fall apart. “I told you I’d protect you,” Marek said, his voice guttural with emotion. “I need to move you. It might hurt.”

“Okay.” She looked at him with so much trust that he cursed himself for what he had to do next.

“I’m going to pull you out this way. If you can, use your arms to push in the same direction,” he said and bent over her, locking an arm around her waist. “Ready?”

She nodded and they moved together, him pulling as she pushed. A small whimper escaped her, the sound stabbing through him like an ice pick.

The second her torso cleared the car, he slid his arms under her back and legs and lifted her up.

“What—what’s happening?” Olivia asked, eyes wide as she scanned the scene.

“I’ll explain later,” Marek said. To Rowan and Darren,Let him chase me.

What?Rowan exclaimed.

Just do it.Marek took off at a run with Olivia in his arms.

He’s free,Rowan said.

Marek sensed Bryan behind him. He had a split second of warning, the hairs on his arms shooting up, and ducked right. The ground to his left exploded and he curled his chest protectively over Olivia.

Olivia clung to him and shrunk into as small a target as possible. Marek’s glance caught Andrea’s and he gave her a curt nod. She nodded back.

Marek slowed imperceptibly, allowing Bryan to close the distance. When his foot landed within the chalk circle, he stopped and spun around. He tightened his hold on Olivia while his other arm grabbed Bryan’s shirt and yanked him fully into the circle.

Bryan cursed as he lost his balance. Marek stepped out right before a bronze, transparent wall of light shot up from the circle on the ground. Bryan’s body shimmered as he caught on. He blinked in and out, like a badly connected TV, before he solidified. As he fell forward, his outreached hands hit the wall of light, and smoke rose from the touch. Snarling like a trapped animal, Bryan whirled around in his prison, his eyes flaring with gold. He smashed into the edges repeatedly. In his hand, he formed another black energy ball. When he launched it at the barrier, the entire wall turned black. Marek tensed to run, but a heartbeat later, the wall returned to its bright bronze glow.

Bryan let out an enraged roar, striking terror in everyone’s hearts. Marek winced, and Olivia shivered in his arms. He tucked her closer to him and said, “Shh, he can’t hurt you now.”

Shadows danced along Bryan’s form. He seemed to grow a foot taller and wider. Pure blackness suffused his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was the sound of an ancient, powerful being filled with vengeance.

“Release me, witch.”

Chapter Twenty-One

Oliviaburiedherfacedeeper into Marek’s shoulder and inhaled deeply. His cedar scent thawed the ice in her veins from the deathlike voice. Her racing heart slowed as the immediate danger passed.

He was here. Alive. Strong and formidable as ever. She tucked her face into the curve of his neck and smiled through the tears.

The burning agony from her leg wound had dimmed to a slight ache, but a headache had started to pound away at the back of her skull. Everything was too loud. Her clothes itched against her sensitized skin. When she opened her eyes, she squinted against the glaring sunlight. Had the sun gotten brighter?

Most annoyingly, the area between her legs throbbed with unmet need. She wanted to strip off Marek’s clothes and screw him until neither of them could move anymore.

What was wrong with her?

“Only if you promise to behave.”

Olivia looked up from her hiding spot at Andrea’s voice. They were in the middle of an intersection surrounded by a quickly forming crowd. She shouldn’t be able to, but she heard the people’s conversations clearly like they were standing next to her.