Vampire Debt - Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,13

reasonable one.

Dammit though. Still respected the shit out of her.

Francesca snickered, and Gerome whipped out his phone to take a picture.

Scrap that. Every single one of Kyros’s siblings was a piece of shit.

“Miss Tetley,” Kyros said in a delicious, toe-curlingly deep voice.

I straightened at the oily quality behind his words.

What was that feeling? I’d felt it yesterday when we’d spoke too.

Giving up, I peered down the table at the crown prince of Clan Sundulus.

His meadow-green eyes locked on mine like I was north and he was a compass. “We have gathered the difference is due to you being human.”

I pressed my lips together at his serious expression.

He paused. “What’s so funny?”

Shoot. “You guys are only just figuring that out?” I shook my head. “Of course that’s the difference.”

Nine scowls trained on me, plus Angelica’s amused crook of the lips. Kyros was too smart to only be figuring this out now. What? He thought I was too stupid to put two and two together and decided to ease me in?

Oh, brother.

Kyros steepled his hands. “Every other day—during Clan Fyrlia’s turn—instead of outside appointments, you will train my realtors in human behaviour.”

Was he high?

“You want me to what now?” I blurted, brows climbing.

My response confused him.

“No,” I said, standing. “Not happening.”

A leaden quiet took hold of the room and plunged it into icy water.

Kyros’s confusion slid directly to deep irritation. Fury exploded, followed by intense focus.

Was that him trying to control his alpha temper? Or was he trying to gauge my mood?

My head spun from the emotional influx and I drew in a steadying breath.

“Is that all?” I darted a look toward the door.

Safina leaned back after a swift look at Kyros. “Can we ask why you’re saying no, Miss Tetley?”

Because I’m not teaching you to get better at taking advantage of the humans in this city.

“I’m not here by choice. You’re acting like I give a single fuck about how this game pans out.”

“Kyros is your true mate,” Francesca said incredulously.

Vissimo were going to kill me one day. I didn’t care that my blood told me Kyros was my mate. Or true mate. Or whatever the correct term was. That meant zilch to me.

Neelan pushed off the glass wall next to Gerome. “You’d stand for that disobedience from your staff, big bro?”

Kyros unfolded to his full height. “My true mate, Neelan.”

Frustration. Wrath. Confusion. And something warm I didn’t want to look too closely at. Hold on, there was that ugly oily quality again. Like a throbbing.

What the hell was that?

Kyros moved around the table at an ambling pace I didn’t trust for one millisecond. “Basilia, are you allowing your decision to be dictated by what’s happening between us?”

I crossed my arms, ignoring the rabbit ear flopping over my left eye. “I don’t work any other way. If someone lies to me or treats me like crap, you better believe I won’t lift a finger to help them.”

“You secure houses for us.”

“So I can spend a few hours outside this asylum.”

“Might want to rein it in, Basil,” Gerome hushed, eyeing his brother.

Yeah, the last bit got to him for sure. Kyros didn’t like me displaying distaste for his blood or the homing beacon development after the second thrall. He didn’t like me insulting his tower either.

Boohoo.

I eased from between the table and chair as Kyros stopped behind me. He didn’t have a waistcoat on to match the form-fitting black jacket and trousers tonight, but the tie remained. I closed my eyes to shut out the sight of the vampire, doing my best to control the fierce awareness of how much I wanted to touch him.

The bond wanted me to rip off his clothes, shove him down on the table, and ride him until the sun rose. The itch under my skin burned to be satisfied.

“There doesn’t have to be hate between us, Miss Tetley.”

Lust. Frustration. Oily throbbing.

I scoffed, opening my eyes. “Really?”

“I’d rather have your willingness in this.”

“I’d rather a lot of things, too, Kyros. What we’d rather doesn’t always pan out.” I stepped around him.

Distance was a very, very smart idea.

“Give me one good reason why you’re refusing me? Something that isn’t related to how things stand between us,” he added when I opened my mouth.

Kyros folded his arms across the wide expanse of his firm chest.

They were talking to the wrong Basi. It was 2:30 a.m., not to mention anything else from the last week or beyond.

“Because you’re all fucking monsters,” I shouted, my hands balling. “The only ones who