Zen and the Art of Vampires - By Katie MacAlister Page 0,67

of Iceland, even if I wanted to, and quite frankly, I don't intend to go anywhere else with you. In fact, I'd appreciate it if you could drop me at the north end of Dalkafjordhur. I'll take it from there."

"Alec told me to take you to the airport," he answered without bothering to even glance toward me.

"And you always do what Alec says?" I asked waspishly, feeling some horrible need to be snarky to him. I beat it down as being a symptom of hurt feelings.

What did I care that a night spent (literally) rolling in the hay meant nothing to him? So he drank my blood and gave me the most incredible orgasm of my entire life, and then proceeded to act as if I was a complete stranger - no, not a stranger, a slight acquaintance who was barely tolerated. So what? It didn't mean I had to feel rejected. Again.

Damn Kristoff. Damn Alec. Damn, damn, damn.

"Hardly. But about this, we agree - the council wants to see you. He can't take you all the way to them, so I've been elected babysitter."

"Babysitter!" I gasped, outraged.

To my utmost surprise, a quick smile flickered on his lips. "I thought you might appreciate that term."

I was too incensed to be charmed by the smile, even though I had a feeling there were few enough of them. "So you intend to haul me in front of this vampire court? To charge me for crimes against other vampires? You know, as tempting as that thought is, I think I'll pass. A few days ago, I didn't even know you guys existed. I'm sorry that your girlfriend died at the hands of the Brotherhood, but I'm not going to make myself a martyr over it."

At the mention of his girlfriend, Kristoff's fingers tightened on the steering wheel. He said nothing, however, just kept driving.

I had no intention of being dragged out of the country, either. "Do you have any knockout drugs with you?" I asked in as calm and sweet a voice as I could muster.

He shot me a startled glance. "No."

"I see. Perhaps you have a gun?"

He frowned. "I prefer bladed weapons to guns."

"Ah. And do you have any knives, daggers, swords, axes, or other weaponry that might possess a blade upon you at this very moment?"

Another quick glance showed I had his interest. "At this moment? No. I left them behind since it's hard to get them through airport security."

"I imagine it is."

"In case you had any ideas, I'll point out that I don't need a weapon to defend myself."

"Indeed." I was silent for a moment. "How about a Taser?"

His frown deepened. "What, exactly, are you getting at? That I'm unarmed? I admit to that, but if you think you can overpower me, you're sadly mistaken."

I smiled at him. "You yourself admitted you have no hypnotic powers, so how, exactly, do you propose to get me onto a plane?"

The light of understanding dawned in his eyes, his jaw and fingers tightening. "You wouldn't."

"On the contrary, I most definitely would. I will make the biggest scene that has ever been made in an airport. I will attract the attention of anyone with ears in a five-mile radius. I will bring down the full force of security, airport officials, and airplane employees. In short, I will throw the hissy fit to end all hissy fits. You'll have to drug me or knock me out to get me onto a plane, and I'm willing to bet that much as you talk tough, you're not going to hurt me."

He pulled the car over to the side of the road, and before I could even take a breath, he was leaning over me, one hand on my throat, squeezing out almost all the air. "I have killed reapers before, and will kill them again. What makes you think you're any different?"

"You didn't marry any of them," I croaked, realizing with some surprise that something had changed since I'd spent the night with Kristoff - I no longer feared him.

His lips pulled back. "That was a sacrifice on my part to keep you from gaining your full powers."

"A sacrifice that ruined my life as well as yours," I said, swallowing as his fingers released their grip slightly. A little song of triumph sang in my head. I was right - he wasn't going to hurt me. He might be a revenge-motivated vampire, a man who thought nothing about killing those who tortured his own people, but there