"Wait for me," she murmured. "If you don't hear my call tomorrow night, then I'm history."
"What are you talking about - wait for you?" The insanity of her request made him pace from the door to the windows, and back to stand before her. "If you live through the first night in Australia without getting whacked, and if by some slim chance your system normalizes, I'm the last person in the world you want to come for you ever again." He stared at her hard. "If you're still human when this shit goes down, I'll definitely turn you to keep you strong and existing, enough of that death with honor bullshit!" She had to be crazy. If the sixth sea was opened there was only one safe position; master vamp.
"I was talking about not giving up, not leaving the team, if - "
"Do you hear yourself?" He looked at her hard, forcing her gaze to stay within his. "If you make it, and you now have a deep personal understanding of what this thing is that I live with - I cannot wait around for you to die a normal, human death. Period."
"Why not? You are destined to do something greater than - "
"There's only one thing I can be to you - your lover. I may be your friend, your bodyguard, your whatever you want to call me, but the bottom line is, if I'm near you, you're my woman. It's not in my DNA, or in my heart, to watch my woman unnecessarily die. You've got the wrong hombre, if that's what you want."
She only stared at him as he stated the facts as plainly as he knew them.
"I'm not playing, Damali. And with your system all jacked up, you're trailing the beginnings of the scent that f**ks me around. Not to mention," he said, his voice escalating, "you bit me, dammit. You may have recovered from that, but I sure as hell haven't!"
The crystal pieces in the large foyer chandelier above him began to rattle. Damali looked up as the intensity built, sending a winding fissure across the ceiling, down the wall, opening a two-inch crack in the marble floor by her feet. She braced herself, waiting, not sure if he was going to rush her, or if the vibrating light fixture above them was gonna blow.
"You still don't get it, do you?" he asked, gesturing with his hands as pendulous crystal sections began to separate from the ornate chandelier, then jettison into the surrounding walls. His voice was low and even, and way too calm. "Maybe your master awareness hasn't kicked in yet, or maybe you haven't all the way turned, but let me make sure we are clear."
"All right," she said quietly, keeping her distance from him as more pieces of the chandelier separated, cracked, and whizzed past her to lodge in the door. "Talk to me."
"There are many types of bites we can deliver." Carlos paused, drew a deep breath, as though steadying himself.
She waited. Not even blinking.
"No self-respecting council-level master would ever allow some stray vamp tail to plunge his jugular! No one but you has been near my throat since I've turned."
Upon his statement, furious energy rippled up the winding staircase, popping out banister posts, exploding open the doors throughout the second floor.
"I don't care if it's a Roman orgy, and I don't care what type of entity attempts a seduction, a council master never takes it in the throat!" Carlos turned away from her and began walking deeper into the house and then returned, his breathing escalating as he spoke. "We deliver the ultimate bite, not take it, and we give it good, baby. Believe that. If we feed a lower level, or allow a passion nick," he said, speaking now through fangs and extending his arm to demonstrate, "it's at the wrist or the inside of the elbow, never at the throat - our power center."
Damali tilted her head, his rage an ebbing concern, her curiosity fueling her confidence. "Then... why - "
Every window on the first floor blew out, leaving the curtains to flutter wildly in the gathering night wind.
"A throat offering is the highest level of trust and respect. It's a bond, dammit! A siphon there is a mark, a permanent one. You only give that to your eternal mate, your queen. That's the only one you allow into your head, trusting that her lock on your thoughts is only about the survival of both of you. So, hell no, I'm not going to allow you to put yourself in harm's way against four masters!"
He closed his eyes, trembling. She wasn't sure if it was from rage, passion, frustration, or the combination. Instinct told her not to speak, and to ride it out, just listen to him.
"It is the ultimate power you can bestow, because it makes you vulnerable to her. Where I come from, power is not ceded, it's taken. So when it's given willingly, with intent, it is a serious alliance." Carlos leveled his gaze at her; the intense magnetic pull of it was so great that she almost lost her balance where she stood. "You're supposed to always side with me against anyone and anything - even finding this key! That you are standing here, questioning my judgment is so wrong, D, there are no words!"
"I am not trying to challenge your love for me, baby," she said, her voice soothing. "But you knew what I was before we even got together."
"The bites I delivered, Damali, were pure passion, which is why your wounds seal immediately when I pull out. Those transmit only the most excruciating pleasure, and radiate through your body until you weep. If I had meant to turn you, trust me, it would not have been pleasant. And if I had delivered a mind-control nick, you wouldn't even know your own f**king name right now."
She watched the way his lungs drew in and slowly released the air around them, monitoring the fact that he ran his tongue across his incisors but they never retracted.
"Yeah," he muttered, his gaze on her hard. "You didn't trust me not to run on you. So, here we are. Hindsight is always twenty-twenty, like I said. Now, you've gone Neteru on me again and want to save the whole goddamned world."
"I didn't know, then, that the biblical key was missing."
"Neither did I, but still. When you dropped fang, my judgment got compromised," he admitted, his voice lowering a silky octave as his gaze raked her.
She instantly felt her body respond, making her become wet and swollen, just from the memory. Her ni**les hardened and stung. Her body temp rose, making her face burn, and she took in small sips of air while fighting to hold her ground.
"What you delivered wasn't a feed bite, either," he murmured, his voice gravelly. "Woman, you have no concept. That shit will make you drool on yourself." He breathed in shallow inhales, then seemed to gather enough control to continue. "You almost nicked an artery, you went in so deep, so hard, so fast, and for so long. Once you were in, it was all over - it felt so damned good that I couldn't even nick you that first time, fangs down, notwithstanding. Now you want me to walk away from you and allow you to run headlong into some insane mission that will no doubt get you smoked. Never."
"You could have - "