Devoured By Darkness by Alexandra Ivy Page A

at the stretchy shirt that lovingly clung to every curve.
    “Hey, this wasn’t my idea.”
    Tane’s jaw clenched. “Believe me, I intend to have a long talk with Uriel the first chance I get.” “As if you have a say in what I wear.” It was a ridiculous argument.
    What did it matter what she was wearing so long as she could easily run or even fight if necessary in the clothes?
    Hell, his only interest in female clothing was how quickly he could get her out of them.
    Now, however, the thought of any other male seeing so much of Laylah’s ivory skin and soft curves was making him homicidal.
    “I’m your lover,” he said with an arrogance that brought a glitter of anger to her eyes. “I intend to have a say in everything that concerns you, sweet Laylah.” He shrugged off his gray hoodie, leaving him wearing nothing more than a pair of cargo pants. Not that it mattered. The chill in the air didn’t bother him. Wrapping her in the soft jersey, he tugged up the zipper and stepped back to regard her with satisfaction. The hoodie was too large, but it at least covered her from neck to well below her hips. “Much better.”
    She held out her arms to display the cuffs that fell past her hands.
    “Seriously?”
    He reached out to tug the hood over her head, hiding her face in shadows.
    “The fewer people who can describe you once we leave this lair, the better,” he smoothly improvised.
    With a roll of her eyes, she shoved the arms of the sweatshirt up and over her elbows before regarding him with impatience.
    “Fine. Can we just go?”
    “As I was saying before you distracted me, Victor is a vicious clan chief who is notorious for striking first and asking questions later.” He resisted the urge to shake some sense into her. “If it’s true he holds a prejudice against Jinn he will attack before I can protect you.”
    “I don’t want your protection,” she snapped. “I want answers.”
    “Then perhaps I can be of assistance,” a soft female voice said from behind Tane.
    Whirling on his heel, Tane silently cursed his inattention, his fangs on full display as he watched the small female with a long mane of reddish gold curls and faintly slanted eyes that were the palest shade of green halt mere steps away. It was the towering vampire with long black hair, and silver eyes rimmed with black, however, that held his attention.
    Victor’s power was a tangible force in the air, challenging Tane’s aggressive need to prove his superiority. It was never comfortable having two alphas in the same place.
    “Easy boys,” the female murmured.
    Tane sent Victor a tight smile. “Boys?”
    The clan chief of London gave a small shrug. “My mate has a challenging sense of humor.”
    There was a brief pause as the two predators became familiar with one another. Tane used the opportunity to run a practiced glance over the female’s slender body attired in jeans and short sleeved sweater before moving to the towering Victor who wore a dark pair of chinos matched with a charcoal silk shirt.
    He could easily detect the silver dagger hidden beneath Victor’s shirt and catch the scent of the handgun tucked in an ankle holster. So far as he could determine the female didn’t carry any weapons.
    At least not the mundane sort of weapons.
    She had witch’s blood running through her veins, which made her more of a danger than any dagger or handgun.
    “Charon,” Victor drawled, the silver eyes narrowed. “And a Jinn.” He tested the air. “No. Half Jinn.”
    “As you say,” Tane growled, bristling in warning.
    There was the sound of footsteps behind him, then a completely unprovoked blow to the center of his back as Laylah felt the need to vent her displeasure.
    Meeting Victor’s amused gaze, he grudgingly shifted to the side so Laylah could step out of the cell, her face still concealed by the hood.
    “My name is Laylah.”
    “A beautiful name,” Victor’s mate was swift to step into the tense silence, her smile