Chapter 5 #3
Scotty wasn’t his, of course, but his primal brain didn’t care. No one was allowed to lust after Scotty. All that mattered was getting Scotty away from these males.
Mace included.
“Mace!” His roar echoed through the air, and the forest went still as death. Hey, look at that, Jon. There’s a demon in the forest, after all.
Mace’s eyes, glazed over with bloodlust and plain, old-fashioned carnal lust, didn’t seem to register what was happening. Not even when Blade tore Scotty from his grip. He hauled her off Mace’s lap and dropped her to her feet.
Blood spurted from Scotty’s throat in a crimson gusher.
Oh, shit.
Shit, shit, shit!
They hadn’t been making out. Mace had been feeding.
Scotty slapped her hand over the bite marks on her neck. “What the hell, Blade?” she snapped. “Mace needs blood.”
And he couldn’t have waited half an hour for Jon or Skoll?
Instantly shamed by the thought and withering under Scotty’s fury, Blade stepped back.
“Sorry,” he grumbled as he fired up his healing ability and reached for her. Yeah, she’d heal quickly on her own, but his guilt wouldn’t let him wait.
Scotty had other plans. Furious, she jerked away and offered her hand to Mace.
Mace waved off her help and came unsteadily to his feet. “Not cool, man.”
“So not cool.” Scotty scowled at Blade, accusation and indignation burning in her eyes. “What did you think was happening?”
Wiping her blood off his mouth with the back of his hand, Mace braced himself against a tree. “He thought we were gonna fuck.”
Scotty rounded on Blade, a bundle of redheaded fury. “How dare you!” She punched him in the shoulder hard enough to make him stumble. He’d always admired how she never held anything back, but maybe she could have pulled that punch a little.
“I’m a sex demon, Scotty. I know lust when I see it.
” And smell it. He paused, inhaling the last, fading notes of the lust perfume lingering in the air.
His voice was a little lower, rougher when he spoke again.
“And especially when I feel it. It was coming off both of you like radiation from a nuclear power plant.”
Scotty shuffled her feet, and Mace averted his gaze. Good. Blade had struck a nerve. Which assuaged his guilt a little. Then Mace shoved his other shoulder, knocking Blade back to where he’d been standing before Scotty had pounded on him.
“Dickhead.” Mace shoved him again. “It didn’t mean anything. You fucking know what happens when I feed. When any vampire feeds.”
Yeah, okay, he knew. Arousal came with the territory, even more so when the vampire was also a sex demon. It was instinct, and something Mace couldn’t help. Hell, had the guy fed from any other female, he’d have been inside her by now. No doubt Mace had used a lot of restraint with Scotty.
It must have been torture.
An image of Scotty rocking on top of Mace popped into Blade’s head, and he imagined himself in Mace’s place. Could he have withstood the feel of Scotty’s body rubbing against his? Could he have resisted the taste of her skin or the sound of her moans?
I could do it.
Liar.
It wouldn’t take much for his spark for her to explode into an uncontrollable inferno.
Scotty raked her fingers through her Mace-ravaged ponytail. “And it wasn’t my fault that I got into it a little. It’s the stupid sex-demon pheromones. So, stop being a whiny bitch. Nothing happened, and nothing would have happened even if you hadn’t barged in.”
“I know.” Chastised into submission, Blade sighed. “Sorry. Seriously.”
Mace and Scotty glanced at each other and shrugged. “It’s fine,” Mace said. “I’d have flipped out too.”
Blade doubted that, but it was cool of Mace to try to make Blade feel less stupid.
“Are we done with the drama?” Jon slung his packs over his shoulder. “We need to get to the cabin. We’re wasting precious daylight.”
“Yeah.” Mace hissed as he put his full weight on his left leg. That one had taken the brunt of the crushing spell, and Blade wasn’t sure his attempt to repair it had been enough. “Shit. This hurts.”
Skoll cast Mace a concerned glance. “Does your species heal fast?”
“Faster than most.” Mace limped over to his pack, but Blade hauled it up and added it to his load. Mace gave him a grateful nod. “Feeding helps too. I should be a hundred percent by tonight.”
Mace was full of shit. The damage had been catastrophic.
Fatal, if not for Blade. But still, Blade wasn’t a talented, respected physician like his uncle, Eidolon.
He wasn’t even as skilled as his cousin, Talon—also a doctor at Underworld General Hospital.
No, Blade chose to craft his abilities into weapons instead of tools for healing injuries.
He could shred organs and pop arteries with a mere touch, but putting someone back together was a lot more difficult than taking them apart.
Jon seemed to contemplate what Mace had said as he started up the trail. “Do all Sems need to drink blood to heal?”
“Nah.” Mace fell in with Blade and Scotty, his gait slowing them all down. “My biological dad is part vampire. I inherited his fangs and the occasional need for blood.”
Jon frowned. “Like, an actual vampire? How? Vampires don’t breed, and they only turn humans, not demons.”
“Long, ugly story, dude.” Scotty was still dragging her fingers through her ponytail, as if doing so would contain her curls. Especially now that they’d been tangled in Mace’s fist.
Blade had to tamp down a wave of envy.
“You know his dad?” Jon asked her.
“Everyone knows him.” At his questioning stare, she explained. “Ever heard of the demon named Wraith?”
“Seriously?” Jon wheeled around, managing to keep pace while walking backward. “That guy’s a legend.”
“And he’ll remind you of it every chance he gets,” Blade muttered, but no one could miss the fondness in his tone.
His uncle was a legend. The legitimate, saved-the-world kind.
He’d been the cool uncle when Blade and his brothers were growing up.
The one they all worshiped—well, everyone except Stryke.
Stryke had followed Eidolon around like a puppy since the day he could crawl after him.
Jon and Skoll peppered them with more questions as they headed toward the cabin.
They were especially fascinated by Scotty’s family, but who wouldn’t be?
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse were either loved or hated by everyone on the planet.
Even before the truth of their existence became known, they were known.
Gradually, their questions grew more personal and blatantly flirty. Blade hoped Scotty saw through their BS interest, but whatever. As much as he didn’t want her hooking up with either of them, most of his concern was for Mace. His gait was off, and he was too pale.
No matter how close the cabin was, it wasn’t close enough.