In the Blood by Abigail Barnette

frightened. As it was, she could only lie back and gasp for breath, her lungs aching with the effort.
    Viktor collapsed beside her, though he didn’t appear to be half as worn out as she felt. Cassie swallowed, her throat raw from exertion and excessive vocalization. Nothing she’d ever done on the job could have prepared her for what it would feel like when she finally slept with a guy and had it mean something. The physical side had been good—no, phenomenally good—but she’d never given another person such complete control over her. Never left herself vulnerable the way she had with him. He was probably a thousand times more dangerous than any client she’d ever been with, but she’d given herself over so completely to the sensations he’d aroused in her.
    With a shock, she realized she trusted him. Worse, she’d never realized before now she hadn’t been trusting anyone for a long time.
    “Say something,” Viktor begged quietly.
    He thought she was upset with him. Maybe he was afraid she regretted having sex with him. “Something.”
    He chuckled. “I will assume from your literal interpretation of my question that you are not angry with me.”
    “Why would I be angry?” She struggled to push herself up onto her elbow so she could see his face. “You fucked me like you just got out of prison this morning. That was unbelievable.”
    “Crude,” he admonished, but he grinned with caveman pride.
    She settled into the crook of his arm and laid her head on his shoulder. “So, even vampires like to have their egos stroked.”
    “Among other things.”
    She smiled. “At the end of the day, you’re not all that different from human men.”
    “Oh? You’ve been with human men who’ve been ‘unbelievable’?”
    She snorted at that. “No, definitely not. In fact…”
    “I see,” he said, saving her from finishing the sentence. A silence fell between them that was not comfortable, but something very close, until he said, “You deserve so much more than the life you’ve been given, Cassandra.”
    She closed her eyes, relishing the unfamiliar feeling of snuggling beside someone. Even if it were just for a night, she would enjoy the false safe feeling. “I’m sorry I accused you of spying on me. And of being an adulterer.”
    He groaned. “Oh, Anthony. How I look forward to the end of his mortal life.”
    “So, what does he actually do? He said he would kill you if you turned into a Minion.” She shivered despite the warmth of the blankets tucked around her. “Unless you pay him for that service, but I don’t see why you would.”
    “You saw those creatures. I assure you, I do not pay him to babysit me. There is an entire organization, the Conclave, that has pledged itself to destroying Minions.” He seemed uncomfortable as he acknowledged, “Anthony belongs to that organization, and he is stationed with me for the service that he will eventually do for them.”
    She sat up, holding the sheets to her chest. “You mean, when you eventually lose your humanity and become a Minion, then Anthony will kill you?”
    Idly stroking her back, he answered in an almost bored tone of voice. “That’s the plan.”
    Turning toward him, she shrugged off his hand. “How can you live like that? Being polite to a guy who’s going to kill you?”
    “How else should I treat him? He’s a free assistant, the Conclave pays his salary. Do you know how much I would have to pay someone to do his job?” Viktor shuddered dramatically. “It’s worth it just to let him kill me.”
    “This isn’t funny.” Cassie took a deep breath. “He tried to blackmail me. He had newspaper clippings about the accident and warned me…he thought I was trying to trick you into feeding off of me.”
    “He shouldn’t have done,” Viktor said, and though his tone was soft, his expression was frighteningly hard.
    So frightening that she couldn’t help but ask, “You’re not going to…”
    “No, of course not!” Made