answer to your proposal. Take it with grace.”
Finally, a sliver of emotion escaped the female vamp’s careful façade. Her brows lowered as she scowled at us.
“You refused me for this little human?” She sneered the final word, as though being human were one step up from dog shit. Vanessa rose from the couch and tossed her long dark hair. “We’ll see what the council has to say about this and how long it takes them to rescind your appointment.”
Conner threw his head back and laughed, but it was a humorless sound. When he finished, he stared at her, colder than I had ever seen him. It was disconcerting to see the warm, affectionate man I knew turn into little more than a marble statue.
“I’m afraid you’ll have no luck there, Vanessa. How big of a fool do you want to appear? You pushed for my appointment to the council in hopes that I would ally myself with you. If you begin singing a different tune now, you will look idiotic.”
Gone was the seductive grace Vanessa displayed earlier. She nodded stiffly at him. “You have a point, Conner, but there are other ways for me to convince the council from appointing you, and they do not require my direct involvement.”
Suddenly, Conner was standing less than a foot from her and, from her gasp, I don’t think even Vanessa saw it coming. Her body guards each drew a weapon from beneath their jackets before I blinked, but one word from Conner kept them from taking further action.
Damn, my man was a badass.
I couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying to Vanessa, but I knew she didn’t like it. After a few tense moments, her hazel eyes met mine over his shoulder, and they were so bright it hurt. Still, I refused to look away. She might be stronger than me, but I wasn’t about to back down.
Finally, she turned away from Conner and said something in another language to the two men at the door. A few seconds later they were gone. I didn’t hear them leave, but knew they had left the property when Conner finally relaxed and faced me.
Tremors began in my limbs until I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. Vaguely I realized that I was reacting to all the adrenaline coursing through my system.
“Wh-what the hell just happened?” I asked.
Conner sat beside me and pulled me into his lap. I hated that I was falling apart, but something about the entire scene made me feel as though I were in danger.
“This is why I kept you away from my home, Donna. There are currently some things happening in vampire society that worry me and involve me directly. I wanted to keep you safe. Now that Vanessa knows about you, my opposition and enemies will know about you too. She will be sure to share every small detail she can with them in an effort to enlist them into doing her dirty work.”
I tucked my head under his chin as the trembling in my limbs lessened. “So I’m not crazy to think that I was in mortal danger a few minutes ago?”
Conner hesitated so long that I lifted my head to stare him in the eye.
“Tell me, Conner.”
He sighed. “No, Donna, you aren’t crazy to think that situation was verging on violence. Vanessa is notorious for finding a way to get what she wants or destroy those who stand in her way.”
I studied his face for a moment. “I get the feeling you aren’t being completely honest with me. What are you leaving out?” I asked.
He cursed under his breath, and I knew I was right.
“Fuck, Conner. Just tell me. Leaving me in the dark will only make it worse.”
Carefully, Conner removed me from his lap and retrieved the wine bottle and our glasses from the table. He came back to the sofa, refilled both of our glasses, and handed one to me.
He took a large sip of his wine before speaking.
“A few weeks ago, just before I met you, Vanessa approached me about joining the Council.”
“What Council?” I asked. I hated to interrupt but I wanted to completely understand what he was telling me.
“In my society, we have laws much like in
Finally, a sliver of emotion escaped the female vamp’s careful façade. Her brows lowered as she scowled at us.
“You refused me for this little human?” She sneered the final word, as though being human were one step up from dog shit. Vanessa rose from the couch and tossed her long dark hair. “We’ll see what the council has to say about this and how long it takes them to rescind your appointment.”
Conner threw his head back and laughed, but it was a humorless sound. When he finished, he stared at her, colder than I had ever seen him. It was disconcerting to see the warm, affectionate man I knew turn into little more than a marble statue.
“I’m afraid you’ll have no luck there, Vanessa. How big of a fool do you want to appear? You pushed for my appointment to the council in hopes that I would ally myself with you. If you begin singing a different tune now, you will look idiotic.”
Gone was the seductive grace Vanessa displayed earlier. She nodded stiffly at him. “You have a point, Conner, but there are other ways for me to convince the council from appointing you, and they do not require my direct involvement.”
Suddenly, Conner was standing less than a foot from her and, from her gasp, I don’t think even Vanessa saw it coming. Her body guards each drew a weapon from beneath their jackets before I blinked, but one word from Conner kept them from taking further action.
Damn, my man was a badass.
I couldn’t hear exactly what he was saying to Vanessa, but I knew she didn’t like it. After a few tense moments, her hazel eyes met mine over his shoulder, and they were so bright it hurt. Still, I refused to look away. She might be stronger than me, but I wasn’t about to back down.
Finally, she turned away from Conner and said something in another language to the two men at the door. A few seconds later they were gone. I didn’t hear them leave, but knew they had left the property when Conner finally relaxed and faced me.
Tremors began in my limbs until I was shaking so hard my teeth chattered. Vaguely I realized that I was reacting to all the adrenaline coursing through my system.
“Wh-what the hell just happened?” I asked.
Conner sat beside me and pulled me into his lap. I hated that I was falling apart, but something about the entire scene made me feel as though I were in danger.
“This is why I kept you away from my home, Donna. There are currently some things happening in vampire society that worry me and involve me directly. I wanted to keep you safe. Now that Vanessa knows about you, my opposition and enemies will know about you too. She will be sure to share every small detail she can with them in an effort to enlist them into doing her dirty work.”
I tucked my head under his chin as the trembling in my limbs lessened. “So I’m not crazy to think that I was in mortal danger a few minutes ago?”
Conner hesitated so long that I lifted my head to stare him in the eye.
“Tell me, Conner.”
He sighed. “No, Donna, you aren’t crazy to think that situation was verging on violence. Vanessa is notorious for finding a way to get what she wants or destroy those who stand in her way.”
I studied his face for a moment. “I get the feeling you aren’t being completely honest with me. What are you leaving out?” I asked.
He cursed under his breath, and I knew I was right.
“Fuck, Conner. Just tell me. Leaving me in the dark will only make it worse.”
Carefully, Conner removed me from his lap and retrieved the wine bottle and our glasses from the table. He came back to the sofa, refilled both of our glasses, and handed one to me.
He took a large sip of his wine before speaking.
“A few weeks ago, just before I met you, Vanessa approached me about joining the Council.”
“What Council?” I asked. I hated to interrupt but I wanted to completely understand what he was telling me.
“In my society, we have laws much like in
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