Chapter 6
6
brOGAN
M y entire fucking body went cold.
How the hell did she know? Had I slipped up somewhere? Given something away when she kissed me? Accidentally showed my fangs? If she saw them, why hadn't she said anything then?
All of these thoughts and more flashed through my mind at vamp speed in the matter of a second. Then my eyes narrowed. Was she just bluffing? I mean, I did work in a strip club called The Purple Fang. And Elias wasn't shy about flashing his fangs at everyone from behind the bar. And sometimes Dae did the same on stage. And we were in New Orleans. Everyone knew vampires lived in New Orleans. At least on television. And maybe Esme wasn’t as sane as she seemed to be.
Or maybe she just saw entirely too fucking much.
I stared straight at her and lied through my very obvious teeth that were trying to make themselves known, being careful that said teeth didn't show. "I don't know what you're talking about."
Then I started walking again, putting some distance between us, hiding the fact that at the mere mention of that thing trying to hurt her, my fangs—aching to rip out that bastard's throat—had gotten a mind of their own, and their untimely appearance sure as hell wouldn’t help me convince her I wasn't a vampire. Which was exactly what I needed to do. For her safety, as well as my own.
My head said to get away, to do whatever I had to do to protect my coven. Which meant I needed to get Esme back to her place, go home, and tell Killian and the others that Marcus was back. I lengthened my stride, turning the corner to head back to do just that. But when she rushed ahead of me, skidded to a stop and held her ground, her eyes filled with such raw fear and desperation, I had no choice but to stop or knock her down. I couldn’t bring myself to walk around her. I couldn't get my feet to move. Every single fucking instinct I had screamed at me to protect her . Not the coven.
"Please don't lie to me." She reached for my arm, but I jerked away, making a last-ditch effort to keep up the show. "I've been watching you," she told me. "The way you move, how your eyes glow sometimes when the lights hit them just right. You take those women into the back room?—"
"For private dances!"
Her eyes dropped to my mouth.
Fuck!
I snapped it shut, not so much as flinching when my fangs sliced the inside of my bottom lip and the coppery taste of my blood teased the tip of my tongue.
Her eyes lifted from my mouth to meet my eyes. Very calmly, she said, "I don't think that's the only reason."
"You're imagining things," I told her, carefully hiding my fangs this time. But my denial sounded weak even to my own ears.
Dammit! Killian was going to fucking kill me.
"I don't think I am." Her voice cracked with emotion, and my hands clenched into fists as I fought the urge to yank her to me. "And I think you know I'm telling the truth about the djinn, too." She made a disbelieving noise when I tried to deny it. "Stop denying it. You don't even look surprised." She took a small step toward me. Stopped. Laced her fingers together and stared down at her hands for a moment before raising pleading eyes to mine. “You know what he is, don’t you?”
I looked over her head and didn’t respond as my mind raced, trying to think of the best way to get out of this.
“Please, Brogan. I have nowhere else to go. No one else to turn to."
Something ripped me wide open from the inside out when I saw the moisture gathering in her eyes, then tightened again, like a fist squeezing my heart. It took more strength than I knew I possessed to lock my muscles into place and not wrap her up tight in my arms and run far away from this place and everyone I knew just to keep her safe from the thing that was hunting her. But I had my family to think about. And we had our own battle with the djinn.
Hell, now that I thought about it, it was very likely it wasn't here for her at all, and she just happened to come to the wrong place at the wrong time.
I should tell her she was crazy and walk away. But that wasn't what came out of my mouth. "Even if what you're saying about me is true—and I'm not saying it is—why would you think I could help? Or that I'd even fucking want to?" Dammit. That came out a little harsher than I'd intended.
She swallowed hard, raising her chin in that stubborn way she had. I watched her throat move, zeroing in on her racing pulse as a rush of bloodlust plowed through me. My hands fisted at my sides as I swayed on my feet and it took everything I had to reel myself in.
"Because I've seen the way you look at me." She stepped closer, her scent washing over me, all sweet things and spice and making my fangs itch. "I see the way you're looking at me right now," she continued softly. "And I don't think you're the kind of person who'd turn away a helpless woman."
I almost laughed because she fucking had me there. Though this woman in particular was far from helpless. I took a deep breath through my mouth and ran my hands roughly through my hair. Fuck! I couldn't think when she had me all tangled up like this. "Esme..." I started, not even sure what I was going to say.
"At least admit the truth to me," she begged, all traces of teasing gone from her tone. "Tell me that what I'm seeing with my own eyes is real and not me losing what little I have left of my sanity."
A cold breeze carried her scent to me again, and my entire body lit up like a live wire.
What the hell was wrong with me?
I was around humans all the time. Pretty up close and personal when I was working at The Fang. I'd fed from thousands of somewhat willing donors, but something about Esme made the beast inside of me fight its way to the surface every single time I was anywhere near her. I hungered to bury my fangs through the soft layer of skin on the side of her throat to the hot blood pulsing beneath. Feel her life force flow down my throat, replenishing my body as I sank my aching cock so deep inside her there’d be nothing else for her but me. Until I controlled every surge of pleasure she had. Until I filled her with my come as she filled me with her blood. Until she was mine , and only mine.
I stilled, holding her gaze as I tried to calm myself down. She was right. I couldn't hide from her anymore. And honestly, I didn't fucking want to. If only for tonight. So with a sigh, I let my shoulders drop and I stopped fighting. “It's real, Esme. I am what you believe me to be."
Her eyes burned with a fire that raged as strong as the one inside of me as she took a step closer. "Then help me avenge my family. Help me send this thing back to where it came from before it comes after me . Or comes after you, and the ones you love."
It already has, darlin'. "You have no idea what you're asking." I took her by the shoulders as I tried to make her listen. Even through the leather of her jacket, the contact shot electricity through my palms. "Getting involved with this shit will only get you killed, too.”
But even as I said the words, I pulled her closer, drawn by a force I was growing real tired of fighting.
"I'm already involved." Her chin lifted defiantly. "And I'd rather face whatever's coming head on with someone who can help me than all by myself. At least then I'd have a chance."
I didn't bother trying to hide my fangs anymore. "You should be running far away from this place! Not asking for my help. A human has no chance against something like him. Or something like me, for that matter."
"Then why do I feel like this is exactly where I need to be?" Her dark eyes searched mine. "Why did I end up here out of all the places in the world I could've gone? Why does it feel like—" She trailed off, glancing away as though the words she was looking for were written on one of the street signs around us. But there was nothing there. Lifting one hand, she pressed her palm to my chest, right over my heart.
I sucked in a sharp breath and held it. Even though her hand was cold, her touch burned right through my shirt, all the way to my condemned soul. My fangs throbbed painfully, aching to bite, and I caught myself leaning toward her neck before I remembered myself and jerked back.
"Like what?" I had to force the words past the burning thirst in my throat.
"Like there's something pulling us together. Something bigger than the two of us."
Fuck me. She felt it, too.
I dropped my hands from her shoulders and took two stumbling steps backward until I was out of her reach. Clenching my jaw and tightening my hands into fists at my sides, I held onto my control by a tiny, thin thread. What the hell was happening to me? I'd never lost it like this, not even as a newly turned vampire.
"Please." She followed me, closing the distance between us again, and I groaned aloud.
If she only knew what she was fucking doing to me. Then again, maybe she did. Maybe she knew exactly what she was doing.
"Brogan. I don't have anyone else to turn to."
The desperate edge in her voice shredded what little resistance I had left.