Vampire Debt - Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers #2) - Kelly St. Clare Page 0,91
down again.
The last of their limbs fell from me, and eyes closed, I wrapped my legs around Kyros’s waist, letting him otherwise hold me against his chest.
He sank down against a wall, holding me close.
I pushed away and met his tired gaze. He looked exhausted.
“Sorry I worried you,” I rasped.
And I meant it.
Lowering my head, I closed my eyes again as his arms tightened around me. He smelt like cold sweat and his voice was just as weary as his expression.
“Why were you meeting with my enemy, Basilia?”
Not forgiven then.
I curled my hands together on his chest. “I need to know if the triplets caused my grandmother’s heart attack. I went to Gina for information.”
A spark of anger flared again. “You didn’t come to me.”
“No, I didn’t.” I may have fucked up, but our past was filled with lies and most of them were his. I may be able to rely on him, but I sure as fuck wasn’t used to doing so and didn’t want to.
He rested his head atop mine, inhaling deeply. “What are we doing, Miss Le Spyre?”
“No clue, Mr Atagio.” I fidgeted on his lap, my tight dress digging in. Some things weren’t meant to be slept in. I might have permanent imprints of the panels on my body after this.
We were silent for a time.
“Did Gina have information?” he asked.
“No.” I hesitated. “But she’s going to dig around.”
A growl rumbled in his chest. “What was the deal?”
“The deal doesn’t hurt your family in any way. It’s all on me.”
“I didn’t ask if it hurt my family, I asked what it was.”
I pushed away, irritation snapping through me. “I’m not telling you what the deal was. It won’t harm me or any of you. That’s all I’m saying.”
Kyros looked and felt mutinous at that. His eyes blazed momentarily.
He could compel me easily. One second at any time and my secrets could be out.
I waited to see if he’d shit on me that way, too, holding his gaze with a stony one of my own. In this matter, I was more embarrassed than anything that he’d find out the details of the deal. Gina put a lot more stock in my ability to sway Kyros’s opinion than I did.
“Your wellbeing won’t be in danger in any way because of this deal with Gina?” he asked, attention riveted on me—and no doubt my emotions.
“No, Kyros. Not one bit. Or I wouldn’t have agreed.”
He paused. “Does it involve intimacy with another male?”
I let the exasperation of his question wash over me. “No men are involved.”
The blaze in his eyes died down to the same bone-weariness of earlier. I fidgeted again, resisting the urge to peel the tight dress off to ease my discomfort.
I nuzzled into Kyros once more. The weirdness of this situation was like a temporary access card—a no man’s land. “Where did you go?”
“Running. Hunting. Drinking.”
Considering that, I said, “Hunting animals? And drinking blood?”
“Humans are animals. But I wasn’t hunting humans, no. And yes, drinking blood.”
“You’ve run out of my blood?”
He didn’t answer, which was as much yes as I needed.
I yawned, pulling at the digging hem of my dress. “What’s the time?”
“Midday.”
Shit. Vampires were really messing with my sleep patterns. “What day?”
“Thursday.”
At least I hadn’t missed the meeting with my Churchill team. This fucking dress needed to go.
“Basilia.”
I glanced up at him. His arms were looped around my lower back, his legs stretched out behind me. We were against the wall next to the door.
He watched me closely. “If I provide you with a list of the Fyrlia royals’ personal properties and local businesses, will you promise me never to enter one without me again?”
That could prove doubly useful, and I could always meet Gina in other places. “Yes, I promise.”
Kyros nodded. “Then you’ll have it by tonight. Now…” His hands went to the bottom of my dress.
“What are you doing?” I blurted.
His eyes were shadowed. “You want the dress off. Let me help you.”
His siblings were right behind us, probably pretending to be asleep. I glanced back, but they were—to my eyes—a tangled mess of deeply-asleep royal vampires.
Chewing on my lip, I faced Kyros again, sensing his need to look after me.
Feeling like I was doing something dark and forbidden, I nodded.
His hands were massive and so warm. He slid his hands under the hem on both sides, hooking the dress with his thumbs. I lifted onto my knees as he slid the dress up over my ass, taking his time. The removal was pain