Page 147 of Vampire so Virtuous

“Get out of the way, Matteo,” Antoine said, voice still bored. It was surprisingly easy to maintain the tone. He casually brushed his fingertips against the back of Cally’s hand.Don’t attack him, ma chérie.

“He’s fucking his chattel!” Matteo called to Nico in the corner, ensuring as he did that the whole room heard—they would have already, of course; this was just a petty display.

Laughter came from more than one of them, scornful and derisive.

“Whose rooms did I just leave?” Cally asked Matteo, her chin rising in defiance and her tone contemptuous. “Is it him you can smell on me? If you disapprove so much, why not take it up with Lady Belle? I’m sure she’d beso fascinatedto hear your opinion on her interests.”

The room stilled unnervingly, and Matteo’s eyes flashed a deeper red. “Youdareaddress me?”

“When you’ve already addressed me, it’s called a conversation,” Callysaid, then yawned in his face. “Oh, excuse me. Long night. I’mquiteworn out.”

“Indeed,” Antoine said, deadpan. “Best get you some rest.” He brushed past Matteo, placing himself between the vampire and Cally, clearing her path to the door.

“So nice to meet you,” Cally told the furious vampire as she walked past him.

Antoine opened the front door, and together they stepped out into the dawn.

The sky was nearly cloudless, tinged with oranges and reds on the horizon against a deep indigo blue, and Antoine winced at the brightness. The Lamborghini was parked haphazardly before the house in his haste. He opened the passenger door for Cally and waited expectantly, ignoring the curious glances of Roberto’s thralls.

“Didn’t you have an Audi?” she asked. She didn’t wait for an answer but climbed in, with a mutter of, “Figures.”

Antoine walked around the car, keen for the protection of the heavily tinted windows.

He gunned the engine and sped away from the Curia’s house.

Thirty-five – Cally

Cally huddled in the passenger seat, arms wrapped around herself, staring out the window as the world sped by.

It was early enough that the roads were empty, and Antoine took full advantage.

The sun rose over the horizon, and he winced even though they were heading south along I-95. They turned east onto Route 9, and the car slowed dramatically as he fumbled for a pair of dark glasses and pulled them on.

She glanced at him. The windscreen was already so tinted it must be worse than driving at night.

“How can you see with those on too?”

“Just fine,” he said, his face scrunched up. The car sped up again, like he was desperate for the journey to be done.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.”

“Mine or yours?”

“Ours.”

She took a breath in through her teeth with a hiss. “I want to go tomine, please.”

He glanced over, the sunglasses briefly reflecting her before he turned back to the road. “That’s not a good idea. Not while we’re both…” He hesitated, brow furrowing. “It would be better if you let me protect you.”

“Don’t you have thralls outside my apartment?” It came out harsher than she’d intended.

He winced. “Actually, no. Noah and Zoey are in the SUV behind us.”

She shifted to peer in the side mirror. “I don’t see them.”

“They’re a little ways back.”