doorway at the top of the stairs when Marcus let go of my arm and spun from me in a move too fast for my eyes to follow. Luke, who had followed us up the stairs, tried to
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
sweep me up and out of the line of fire, but I saw him coming. Vampires might move at that faster-than-sight speed, but a werelion was my equal. A duck and a dodge carried me under his arm and past his rush. My one thought was to keep Marcus’s temper from putting him in a corner he really didn’t want to be in, if I knew him half as well as I thought I did.
Marcus had the man guarding the stairway door pushed against the wall with his hand on his chest.
From the way the man struggled to breathe, he exerted more force than was healthy on the man’s sternum. The man’s eyes were wild with fear and he breathed in shallow gasps, but it was the sight of Marcus’s face contorted with rage that made me hesitate.
“You would give refuge to this? A vampire that slaughters innocents among you?”
“I did not know, Master. Truly…we would not…” The man’s voice trailed off from lack of air and I heard something crack. It was enough to snap me out of my moment. Grabbing hold of Marcus’s arm, I attempted to wrestle it away, but I had forgotten how terribly strong he was. In his current frame of mind, I didn’t think logic would do it, but I had to try.
“Marcus, stop. He didn’t know.”
“He is trusted with the safekeeping of intimates of the inner circle. It is his job to know.”
For the first time since I had known him, an accent I couldn’t recognize thickened his speech. It shook me to the core because it told me more than words how close he was to losing himself to the urge to do violence. Time to play dirty.
“His children are in the house. Any damage you do, they will see and it will scar them for the rest of their lives.”
For an instant, I didn’t think I had gotten through to him. He stood with all that impressive killing strength pressed against the man in absolute stillness. In a movement fast enough to send me sprawling onto the basement floor, Marcus let go and stormed away from the man as if he didn’t trust himself to remain within arm’s length. If he had been human, he would have been shaking with the rage suddenly boiling off him.
He blinked down at me on the floor for a heartbeat before dropping to a knee beside me. “Are you hurt, dear Destiny?”
I searched his face for some hint of the jealous suitor from seconds ago, but it was washed away in his outrage. He did have a right to be angry; however, I thought he was taking it out on the wrong person. The proprietor of the club obviously had failed in his job. If my visitor had paid a visit and had zapped him like he had me, I could understand it. With a show of trust I really didn’t feel, I offered Marcus my hand to help me up before replying as carefully as I could so as not to stir that rage.
“I’m fine. Warn me before you start making those faster-than-light moves next time.”
He smiled as he took my hand and the weight of his temper slowly receded as he pulled me up against his body. It was entirely too up-close and personal, but I went without protest. If his passions were high, I’d let him start thinking of other things besides murder. He had a date tonight with another woman. Maybe she’d send me a thank-you note.
The moment may have stretched to uncomfortable awkwardness, but Luke carefully cleared his throat. It served to remind Marcus privacy was an illusion. With a glare over my head, he loosened his grip and allowed me to step away.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
With casual dignity, Marcus smoothed his shirt and redirected the glare to the man holding his chest.
“It’s no more than a broken rib, but go to the hospital and have it bound. Peter will pay you a visit tomorrow to discuss our arrangements.”
He
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
sweep me up and out of the line of fire, but I saw him coming. Vampires might move at that faster-than-sight speed, but a werelion was my equal. A duck and a dodge carried me under his arm and past his rush. My one thought was to keep Marcus’s temper from putting him in a corner he really didn’t want to be in, if I knew him half as well as I thought I did.
Marcus had the man guarding the stairway door pushed against the wall with his hand on his chest.
From the way the man struggled to breathe, he exerted more force than was healthy on the man’s sternum. The man’s eyes were wild with fear and he breathed in shallow gasps, but it was the sight of Marcus’s face contorted with rage that made me hesitate.
“You would give refuge to this? A vampire that slaughters innocents among you?”
“I did not know, Master. Truly…we would not…” The man’s voice trailed off from lack of air and I heard something crack. It was enough to snap me out of my moment. Grabbing hold of Marcus’s arm, I attempted to wrestle it away, but I had forgotten how terribly strong he was. In his current frame of mind, I didn’t think logic would do it, but I had to try.
“Marcus, stop. He didn’t know.”
“He is trusted with the safekeeping of intimates of the inner circle. It is his job to know.”
For the first time since I had known him, an accent I couldn’t recognize thickened his speech. It shook me to the core because it told me more than words how close he was to losing himself to the urge to do violence. Time to play dirty.
“His children are in the house. Any damage you do, they will see and it will scar them for the rest of their lives.”
For an instant, I didn’t think I had gotten through to him. He stood with all that impressive killing strength pressed against the man in absolute stillness. In a movement fast enough to send me sprawling onto the basement floor, Marcus let go and stormed away from the man as if he didn’t trust himself to remain within arm’s length. If he had been human, he would have been shaking with the rage suddenly boiling off him.
He blinked down at me on the floor for a heartbeat before dropping to a knee beside me. “Are you hurt, dear Destiny?”
I searched his face for some hint of the jealous suitor from seconds ago, but it was washed away in his outrage. He did have a right to be angry; however, I thought he was taking it out on the wrong person. The proprietor of the club obviously had failed in his job. If my visitor had paid a visit and had zapped him like he had me, I could understand it. With a show of trust I really didn’t feel, I offered Marcus my hand to help me up before replying as carefully as I could so as not to stir that rage.
“I’m fine. Warn me before you start making those faster-than-light moves next time.”
He smiled as he took my hand and the weight of his temper slowly receded as he pulled me up against his body. It was entirely too up-close and personal, but I went without protest. If his passions were high, I’d let him start thinking of other things besides murder. He had a date tonight with another woman. Maybe she’d send me a thank-you note.
The moment may have stretched to uncomfortable awkwardness, but Luke carefully cleared his throat. It served to remind Marcus privacy was an illusion. With a glare over my head, he loosened his grip and allowed me to step away.
Generated by ABC Amber LIT Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abclit.html
With casual dignity, Marcus smoothed his shirt and redirected the glare to the man holding his chest.
“It’s no more than a broken rib, but go to the hospital and have it bound. Peter will pay you a visit tomorrow to discuss our arrangements.”
He
Similar Books
