Succubus Unchained - Heather Long Page 0,11

you tell me if I ask what the meaning is?”

“I collect precious things,” he told me.

A dragon with a hoard? I’d tease him, but it was kind of adorable.

“These remind me of your eyes.”

“Poetry, Maddox?” I couldn’t help tweaking him for that. Just a little.

He scowled. “Facts, Kitten. Not poetry. They do remind me of your eyes.” He caught my hand and then stroked his thumb over the emerald. “Your index finger is a finger of power. It draws the eye. Though everything about you does. This is a symbol of status. Everyone will be studying you when we get down there. They will want to know you—are you a pawn? A player? A power? This ring answers those questions.”

Huh. “What does it say? Property of and do not touch?” I’d only been half teasing, but his sudden smirk and rise to his feet made me scowl.

“I don’t need a ring to stamp my claim, Kitten,” he murmured, then kissed me before I could argue. “However, there are only a handful of emeralds in the world this flawless, and I own all of them.” He tapped the box to his thigh before he tossed it to the center of my bed. “Or I should say, you do. They will know you, and they will respect you.”

Uh huh.

“You’re adorable.” I patted his cheek and then headed for the door before he convinced me to say to hell with the party. It wouldn’t even need much of an argument. I didn’t want to go to this dog and pony show, save for the opportunity to map my exit.

I had an idea, one that having so many people—read, vampires—around would be very helpful with. At the door, I hesitated. If my plan proved fruitful, I wouldn’t be returning to this chamber this night or any other. I wouldn’t see any of them anymore. Maddox settled his hands on my bare shoulders. “No one is going to hurt you.” The rough promise made me smile.

I wasn’t worried about anyone hurting me.

Not when I was going to be the one inflicting the damage.

“Going to eat them if they try?” I asked, tipping my head back to look up at him.

“Going to make me gargle with bleach if I do?”

A laugh rolled out of me. “I wondered if you’d actually heard me.”

A real grin softened his face, and he traced his fingers down my arms. “I heard you.” Then he winked. “I also didn’t belch.”

Another laugh broke free. Dammit. I really didn’t want to like him. “Stop being adorable. You need to go back to grumpy and bossy.”

He snorted, then gave me a sharp slap on the ass. “Behave, Kitten.”

That was better.

’Cause fuck, that hurt.

Ass still stinging, I preceded him out the door. We were alone in our upper wing, but the sound from below was a constant hum interspersed by a faint throbbing beat, like all of them together created one dysfunctional heartbeat.

When Maddox offered me an arm, I shook my head. I’d rather have my hands free. As it was, I’d only been able to strap a knife to one of my thighs. The boys didn’t have a lot of weapons lying around. I’d stolen the knife week two—or week three? Somewhere in there—from Alfred’s room and kept it.

No one asked for it back.

Not that a knife would be effective against a vampire, but it would definitely make a statement. The noise level increased as we descended the stairs. As with the bathing room and the doors to the garden, there were sentries standing guard at the base of the stairs.

A show of power? Or was Alfred truly worried about someone getting too close to me? A snort escaped me before the thought even fully formed. Maddox would worry, not Alfred. He’d barely spoken to me since I’d completed my transition.

Admittedly, my campaign to avoid him seemed to be paying off in spades. Not that I didn’t find the weight of his gaze the moment Maddox and I stepped into the great hall. The dais at the end now boasted a damn throne, but it wasn’t alone. There were four other thrones, placed two on either side.

I shook my head. Subtle, vampires were not. This was a show. The conversations rose and fell around us like a tempest striking the sea. Maddox became a firm fixture at my side as I drifted, but I didn’t lock gazes with anyone. Instead, I skipped from face to face, memorizing a quick sketch before moving on.

More, I