Night Kissed (Chosen Vampire Slayer #1) - Mila Young Page 0,57
matter of hours, these injuries will be gone. They mean nothing.”
“Yes, I’m aware of how vampire regeneration works, thank you.” She raised an eyebrow. “That’s why it’s so goddamn hard to get one of you to stay down for good.”
Her hands were warm on my skin, life radiating from her touch. I let the faint drum of her heartbeat invade my ears and thought about how perfect she would be if I could wrest her from the unforgiving clutches of time, as I had been. Her pale skin, a shade paler. Her beauty preserved for all eternity. And of course, the mark of her sire somewhere on her body.
She had retrieved a rag, wet it under the faucet, and brought it back to me. I blinked, suddenly aware of how near she was. She moved up my arm toward the cutoff of my shirtsleeve. The cool water was, admittedly, quite soothing on the burn. “But then again,” she continued, “here you are in a bachelor pad with two other guys. That’s not what I would’ve expected out of a clanmaster either.”
Had the words come from anyone else, I might have been offended, perhaps deeply. But Veronica spoke with such open candor that I found it impossible to rebuke her. She barely entertained the thought of a lie.
“I would be interested to know whom you thought you were going to meet by coming here,” I said. “And what you hoped to accomplish? Anchorage is not a city for outsiders.”
Veronica gave me a look, her eyes sparkling. “Who said I was an outsider, Orion? Maybe you just didn’t know me before.”
I shook my head. “No. I would remember you.” An insolent beauty like hers would never have left me until I captured it for good.
She scoffed. “Well, whatever I thought I was looking for, it sure wasn’t…” She gestured vaguely around at the house. “This.”
Once more we lapsed into a comfortable silence. Veronica pulled the shirt from my shoulder to apply the next compress. I hissed a breath through my teeth as the cloth made contact. “Infernal demonic mutt,” I muttered.
“Says the guy regularly putting up with him.” Veronica gave me a sidelong glance. “Honestly, help me if I’m missing something. You despise this guy, don’t you?”
“It’s none of your business, but since you are currently providing a service, I might be inclined to entertain your questions.” Running a hand through my hair, I sighed. What are you doing, Orion? She’s just a nosy little girl. She could use this against you. In my soul, I knew I was letting a foolish, blinding desire get the better of my common sense.
Nevertheless, an unquenchable yearning smoldered within me. Her gaze flicked to mine, igniting the endless fuse. She smirked. “You vamps always look so tortured. Must be hard, living forever and trying not to get stabbed through the heart.”
It was my turn to scowl. I grunted out a reply. “The demon is helping me protect my clan, and despite how it looks, not to mention how much he does piss me off, underneath his fiery demeanor, I see someone who reminds me of myself.”
His admission surprised me. “How so?”
“That’s something you can work out on your own.”
She eyed me with narrowing eyes. “That I will. And to answer your earlier comment about exclusivity, I don’t belong to you, Orion. I belong to whom I give permission to, be it one or three men.” She held my gaze to drive her point across.
Her words swirled on my mind, and I stiffened in my seat, unsure how to respond. She’d been eyeing Logan too? I bit back my initial response to counter her comment. Sharing wasn’t in my nature, but I also suspected her being forced into anything wasn’t in hers.
“What exactly are you hoping to achieve in town then?” I asked.
She finished up with the last of the compresses, returned to the sink, and washed her hands. “We both know I’m not here to protect you or your people.” Her slender arms folded sternly across her chest, changing the topic. “Quite the opposite, actually.”
I glowered at her. “Your intentions are a thorn in my side, and yet, you’re far from the biggest threat. There are others attempting to invade the territory and steal it from its rightful heirs.” I stared at her. “I will kill anyone who tries.”
“Like the guy you threw in the river,” she said.
I shrugged. “Casualties are an inevitable possibility. He knew where he could end up once he set foot