the car, and I waited for her help to get out of the car, scrambling to hold up the front of my dress again.
I expected to be yanked away by Kyros straightaway.
Nope.
Rounding the front of the car like some kind of sheepish nine-year-old who’d taken the car out for a spin, I fidgeted next to Laurel.
Kyros kept his distance, scanning me. His eyes rested on my knees, on the tatters of my dress, and skimmed my face which, I imagined, was a mess.
He strode to the nearest car, a navy blue fancy thing. Shoving his hand through the windows, he picked up the car, shifted it overhead and hurled it at the cars on the far wall. I gasped and jumped closer to Laurel, who bumped her shoulder against mine. Kyros didn’t roar.
The vampire didn’t utter a single word as he picked up another car, and another.
Then he got to a certain white car.
“Not that one!” I shouted, tripping forward to stop him. As if I could even get there in time.
His back was to me.
“That’s my car,” I added, simultaneously remembering that wasn’t true at all. The car belonged to him.
Damn.
Kyros wouldn’t really want to be smashing up his garage though. He hated losing control of his temper or power or whatever the correct term was. That I’d get a scary lecture was inevitable, but I didn’t want his employees seeing him like this. That would torture him more than anything.
Why I cared about this man’s pride was a fucking mystery.
Kyros’s hand was resting on the bonnet, shoulders heaving with his pants.
I edged closer, free hand outstretched. “Leave the nice car alone, Kyros.”
A growl filled the garage.
Seriously? That was a joke. “For the record that was sarcasm. If it makes you feel better… please.”
Was it safe to touch him? He wasn’t mad enough to roar, but I couldn’t recall seeing him throw cars around like hay bales before.
I rounded the car and reached out.
He spun, catching my hand. My eyes were already fixed on his chest, and I focused on the pounding in my chest as rage rolled off him.
“Where. The fuck. Did you take her?”
His question was aimed over my head. I could feel him scanning me again.
Crap, Laurel was about to be minus a head.
“Rory,” I blurted.
Kyros froze.
“I went to a social function with Rory,” I said, lifting my eyes as high as I dared. “I can tell you about it upstairs.”
His heaving pants were smoothing out into normal breaths. Kyros was calming down.
I snuck a peek up and froze.
Not calm. Not calm.
He took hold of my other wrist. The dress fell away, but his eyes didn’t follow its descent or look to what was revealed. “I need. Fuck, I need—”
Most of me didn’t want to know what he needed. But I didn’t want to see him made the fool. Colour me surprised after all that he’d done, but I didn’t.
I stepped into his arms and rested my head against his chest. “Let’s go upstairs, Kyros.”
He stilled.
It wasn’t his don’t tell me what to do warning. It wasn’t even a I don’t get hugs confusion.
Kyros went predatorily still.
“Miss Tetley, back away now,” Laurel called softly.
I turned to glance at the pale-faced vampire.
What was happening?
Kyros lowered his nose to my neck, features as hard as stone. He sniffed up the length of my neck. Up both sides.
Those fuckers had done the equivalent of a dog pissing on a plant if I interpreted his expression correctly.
His fangs descended.
Shit! “They didn’t touch me, Kyros. I swear. Only tore my dress and made me smell like them.”
The vampire lowered his mouth to my neck.
“They only did it to get to you, dumbass,” I said, kicking him in the shin. With heels on, it had the force of a newborn Jackie Chan.
My diplomatic words stopped the teeth slicing into my neck.
“I’m so angry,” he whispered against the side of my skull.
Yeah, yeah. I was in trouble. Were his fangs still out?
He gathered me against him, one of his hands cupping the base of my skull, his fingers tangling in the waves of my hair.
“Your hair smells like me,” Kyros murmured.
Oh… great. Good. That was perfect. My dream in life was to smell like a fucking bouquet for him.
I jerked as he hoisted me up to cradle me in his arms.
Ouch, his pelvis wasn’t so good for my sore hip right now. I gripped the front of his shirt as he started for the elevator.
Please not the stairs. I wasn’t sure my hip