Bound to Shadows Page 0,16

up as I walked in, a smile he couldn't quite control dancing about his lips.

"Okay," I said, glancing from one to the other. "What are you two up to?"

"Nothing," Liander said. His hair was plain silver today - no garish highlights, no glitter. It sharpened his features and made his silver eyes glow. "And everything. Sit down for dinner."

He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving me with my oddly euphoric brother. It had me stumped, because it had to be something big for them to be reacting this way, and yet there was only one thing that I knew of that could make Liander this happy. Only it was the one thing I'd thought my brother would never, ever do.

I met his gaze and said, "Don't tell me you've finally agreed to fully commit to the man?"

A loud snort echoed from the kitchen. Rhoan merely grinned.

"Then what the hell are you two so giddy about?" Another reason hit me, and my stomach dropped. "God, you haven't bought a place of your own, have you?"

Some of his happiness faded. "You don't really think we'd do that to you, do you?"

I took a deep breath to calm the hammering of my heart. "No."

"Good, because we wouldn't. Ever. And don't expect that you and Quinn can get away from us, either. We're pack now, whether he likes it or not."

"This whole pack equation doesn't come easily to a vampire," came Quinn's dry comment, "but I am slowly getting used to the idea."

My heart leapt at the sound of his softly lilting tones, and I swung around. He was standing in the doorway, one hand on the door knob and a smile twitching his oh-so-kissable lips. His gaze met mine and, as ever, I felt myself getting lost in those gloriously dark depths. Kye might be what my wolf had hungered for, but this man - this vampire - was everything else. He was my night and my day and my heart, and I didn't want to lose him.

But that possibility was a malignancy that lingered in the background of everything we did, everything we planned.

Because of Kye.

Because none of us knew whether the pull my wolf felt for her soul mate would in the long run be stronger than the pull I felt for Quinn.

He closed the door behind him and walked towards me, a dark haired vision of male perfection in a grey suit. I bounded towards him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and dragged his luscious lips to mine. As kisses went, it was pretty delicious.

"Missed you," he said softly, when we finally parted.

"And we're missing dinner," Rhoan said dryly, "So get over here and eat."

"You won't let him eat at the dinner table," I said, grinning as Quinn draped an arm around my neck and guided me over to the table. His fingertips brushed my breast, sending little surges of desire coursing through my body, and I momentarily debated dragging him off to the bedroom.

Then the smell of roast lamb hit my nostrils, and hunger won out.

"That's because it's not polite to get orgasmic at the dinner table if you're not sharing the sensation," Liander said, placing a plate of food down in front of me and a pack of synth blood in front of Quinn. "And Quinn keeps insisting he doesn't do guys."

"Not unless it's an absolute do or die situation," Quinn agreed.

I raised my eyebrows as he pulled out a chair for me. "So you have done guys?"

"As I said, it's not my preferred option." He kissed my nose before sitting down himself.

"That's not what I asked."

A smile touched the corners of his luscious lips. "Yes, I have taken blood from men. No, I have never actually had sex with them."

"But isn't that your preferred way of feeding?"

He raised his eyebrows at me, the amusement touching his lips finally reaching the dark depths of his eyes. "You prefer men, but that hasn't stopped you from kissing women, has it?"

"That's different - "

"How?" he interrupted. "We both do what we must when it's required. It doesn't mean we enjoy it."

I guess he had me there. I'd kissed Vinny solely to get information that might have helped solve a case and save lives, and he fed off people to survive. His might be more necessary than mine, but we were both doing what we had to.

His gaze flicked from me to the two men on the opposite side of the table. "Now, how about you two explaining the highly