Blood Trial Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #1) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,66

so sorry :(

I got in a jam with Clint and he kicked me out. I went glamping with work so I had somewhere to sleep for a few days. I hated every second of it.

I have so much to tell you, babe. <3 <3

I’m back at work now—crashing at the tower until I get paid and can get a place again.

I’m safe, I promise. Love you <3 <3 <3

I hovered my thumb over the Send button. Fucking hell, the burning behind my eyes was back. I wanted my bestie bad. I could only tell her about Clint and losing my stuff, and I’d have to make up a bunch of lies about glamping, but my soul needed her.

I fired off one last line:

I miss you so much, Tom. <3 <3

I gathered together what strength my hangover had left me with and hit Send.

A second later, Beast vibrated.

[Message auto-sent to security recipient. Please do not reply to this message]

What did that mean? Had Tommy’s phone credit run out?

I read the message again.

Wait.

My jaw dropped. Those fuckers. My texts were being monitored by their security!

I cursed aloud, a filthy word that would have made my grandmother swat me—even though I’d learned all the words from her and Dame Burke.

“Is this a bad time?”

His voice plagued my nightmares and dreams. I was out of my spinning chair and pressed against the full-length window behind before registering that lust hadn’t overtaken me.

I didn’t budge, looking across the office at Kyros.

His throat worked, and his green gaze darkened. Regret? Pity? Shame? Who knew.

“The thrall is over,” I stated. Of course, or I wouldn’t be back at work and my white dress would already be the latest clothing sacrifice.

Kyros inhaled. “It is. You’re safe from me now. Considering my behaviour, I wanted to see for myself that you were unharmed.”

“How nice of you,” I answered sarcastically.

Not a speck of anger entered his expression. “You will be here for the foreseeable future, and I don’t wish for you to feel unsafe in my tower. Being human, none of what happened is natural to you.”

“Your apology is worthless,” I informed him. Not that he’d actually said sorry. “None of what you did can be undone.”

I would remember standing naked in front of all those vampires for the rest of my probably short life. And that was only if I forgot him torturing me. The list was a mile long by now.

His eyes darkened again. “A long time has passed since I last compelled someone with blood, and that was with a Vissimo. My arrogance led me to underestimate the effect of a blood compulsion with a human. I should have put more safeties in place. I realise that humans are more conservative than—”

I snorted loudly. “You think I was humiliated because I was naked?” Had he even been there? I lost my mind up there, the end result being that I nearly had sex with someone I hated.

Nudity was the least scarring part of what happened.

Kyros searched my face and inhaled. “Let me assure you that you have nothing to worry about. I’m just glad no real harm befell you.”

Real harm?

Real harm. “You mean that we didn’t manage to have sex in front of hundreds of people?”

He maintained eye contact. “Yes.”

“If your siblings had their way, things might not have worked out that way.”

“They have been dealt with. And Angelica.”

I doubted the punishments for royal family members would be harsh. I stared at him only seeing someone I detested with every part of my being.

When he didn’t show a flicker of remorse, I exhaled, channelling my grandmother. “Is that all, Kyros?”

He came here to apologise, did a piss poor job of it, and didn’t even know what he was apologising for. He should have started at frightening me to death and finished at refusing to put distance between us because he didn’t want to lose face in front of his stupid clan.

Looking at his handsome face hurt my chest. I’d kissed that cruel mouth without realising I’d lost myself.

I never wanted to feel that again.

“There’s another matter to discuss,” he said tersely. The vampire strode across the room, his phone in the air.

Frowning, I edged forward and read the screen.

“Who is Tom?” he asked in that rumbling voice of his.

Mother. Fucker.

“You are monitoring my phone,” I accused, rounding the desk to put space between us. The thrall was over, but I wasn’t willing to push the boundaries.

Kyros slipped the phone back into his waistcoat. “This is a separate