Darkness Eternal(23)

“Who did you expect to land on top of?” she snapped, her terror of vampires overwhelmed by a bizarre annoyance that her first reaction had been “oh-my-God-please-take-me-now” while his had been pure male disappointment. “Lady GaGa?”

 

He blinked, clearly startled by her grip on the modern world and pop culture.

 

“I was told you were caught in a mage’s spell.”

 

“Who told you?”

 

“Your supposed daughter.”

 

“Laylah.” An instant warmth curled through the center of her heart. She had known that Laylah was in the company of a vampire before she’d lost contact with her, but she hadn’t expected her daughter to send a bloodsucker to rescue her. It was . . . touching. “I should have known that she would . . .” Her brows abruptly snapped together as his words truly sunk in. “What do you mean supposed?”

 

He stared down at her with a predictable arrogance. Vampires had I’m superior to you stamped into their DNA.

 

“We have no proof beyond the word of a treacherous vampire, a psychopathic mage, and a female who magically appeared in a vision at a suspiciously opportune moment to reveal she is Laylah’s mother and being held hostage by her evil twin sister.” His lips twisted to a sneer. “It’s like a bad fairy tale.”

 

Kata slammed her hands against his chest. She loved her daughter, but Laylah obviously had piss poor taste in choosing a Knight in Shining Armor.

 

“Get off me, you oaf.”

 

“Not until I’m certain this isn’t a trap.”

 

She shifted beneath his heavy body, futilely trying to wiggle away from him. If the brute thought he could knock her to the ground and then insult her, then he was in for an unpleasant surprise. She might not possess the strength of a demon, but she wasn’t entirely helpless.

 

“Do you know what I am?” she hissed.

 

Concentrating on her efforts to escape, Kata missed the sudden stiffening of the vampire’s body and his muffled groan.

 

“Is that an invitation for further exploration?” he demanded, his low voice suddenly thick with awareness. “A little blatant for my taste, but I’m willing to play.”