scanned the snow-covered yard, his trigger finger itchy as hell.
"Zsadist, I want you to put the gun away before you meet my brother."
"No problem. We'll be in the house by then."
"We're not going to get jumped here. We're out in the middle of nowhere."
"If you think I'm taking even the slightest chance with you and my young, you are out of your mind."
He knew he was being overbearing as hell, but he couldn't help it. He was a bonded male. With his pregnant female. There were few things on the planet more aggressive or dangerous. And those bastards were called hurricanes and tornadoes.
Bella didn't argue with him. Instead she smiled and covered the hard hand on her waist with one of her own. "I guess you should be careful what you ask for."
"What do you mean?" He moved her in front of him as they came up to the door, blocking her with his body.
He hated the porch light. It made them too conspicuous.
As he turned the thing off with his mind, she laughed, "I always wanted you for a bonded male."
He kissed the side of her neck. "Well, you got your wish. I'm deep bonded. Way deep bonded. Deep, deep, ultra-"
As he leaned forward and hit the brass knocker, his body came into full contact with hers. She made a little purring sound in the back of her throat and rubbed herself against him. He froze.
Oh, God. Oh... no, he was instantly erect. All it had taken was that one little move of hers and he had a big, flipping-The door swung open. He expected to see a doggen on the other side. Instead there was a tall, slender female with white hair, a long black gown, and a whole lot of diamonds.
Crap. Bella's mother, Z hid the gun in the holster at the small of his back and made sure his double-breasted jacket was buttoned all the way down. Then he linked his hands together right in front of his zipper.
He'd dressed as conservatively as possible, in the first suit he'd ever worn. And he was even plugged into a pair of fancy-dancy loafers. He'd wanted to wear a turtleneck to cover up the slave band at his throat, but Bella had nixed that, and he supposed she was right. There was no hiding what he'd been, and there shouldn't be.
Besides, no matter what he was dressed like, and even though he was a member of the Brotherhood, the glymera would never accept him-not just because he'd been used as a blood slave, but because of what he looked like.
Thing was, though, Bella had no use for them, and neither did he. Although he was going to try to put on a Page 295
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polite show for her family.
Bella went forward. "Mahmen."
As she and her mother embraced formally, Z came into the house, shut the door, and looked around. The manse was formal and wealthy, befitting the aristocracy, but he didn't give a shit about the drapes and the wallpaper. What he approved of was the lithium-powered security contacts on all the windows. And the laser receptors in the doorways. And the motion detectors on the ceiling. Huge points for all of that. Huge.
Bella stepped back. She was stiff around her mother, and he could see why. It was clear from the gown and all those sparklers that the female was a hard-core aristocrat. And aristocrats tended to be about as cozy as a snowdrift.
"Mahmen, this is Zsadist. My mate."
Z braced himself as her mother took him in from head to foot. Once. Twice... and yeah, a third time.
Oh, man... This was going to be a really long evening.
Then he wondered if the female knew he'd gotten her daughter pregnant, too.
Bella's mother came forward and he waited for her to reach a hand out. She didn't offer him a thing. Instead her eyes watered.
Great. Now what did he do?
Her mother fell to his feet, her black gown pooling around those fancy loafers he wore. "Warrior, thank you.
Thank you for bringing my Bella home."
Zsadist stared at the female for a heartbeat and a half. Then he leaned down and lifted her gently off the floor.
As he held her awkwardly, he looked at Bella... who was sporting the kind of expression folks usually reserved for feats of magic. A big what the hell, laced with wonderment.
As her mother stepped away and blotted carefully under her eyes, Bella cleared her throat and asked, "Where's Rehvenge?"