Chapter 4 #2
“Blood. But I hear you’re going by Ruby these days.
How delightful.” He held out an elegant white envelope that was far more dignified and expensive than my cherry blossom one.
“I have an invitation to the King’s ball for you both.
And I assure you, there will be blood bags as well as more angelic fare. ”
I stared at the envelope, not trusting it or him.
Gavriel took it, looking between me and the vampire with an odd intensity. “You two are friends.”
He said, “Of course! Blood and I are very good friends. She kept me from being killed by Tralcon, and I returned the favor by introducing her to the miraculous technology of bagged blood. What greater friendship can there be? Pity I haven’t seen you since you exited the service of your very late master.
You completely disappeared once you were in Mr. Good’s company. ”
I studied the vampire for another long moment, trying to smell his intentions, his levels of corruption, but I was standing next to an angel whose scent still engulfed me. “Is there anything I should know?”
He raised his brows, then looked from me to Gavriel, then back again.
“Since we’re such good friends,” I added, with a raise of my own brow and a slight smile.
He blinked at me. “That smile is very persuasive, Young Blood. You did kill one of the Vampire King’s court, very publicly, on a train, but she was threatening what belonged to you. The angel does belong to you, does he not?”
“He does.” I placed a hand on the angel’s chest, right above his heart, a threat that he didn’t seem to notice.
“Hm. She should have known better than to test you. But now everyone is well-educated. You don’t have a master holding your leash. It will be interesting to see how you dance.” He bowed and turned, gliding away until he was gone the next moment.
Gavriel sighed. “And you said that you don’t have any friends.
I see. You’ll be friends with a vampire, just not with an angel.
That’s prejudiced, Miss Ruby.” He picked up my trunk and went to the door, waiting for me to open it before he carried it in.
I followed, still caught up in the feel of being pressed against him, and being presented with an invitation from the King.
He wasn’t actually king of any country other than his estate and a great number of vampires and other dangerous monsters. Like Mr. Good.
“I’m worried about the invitation,” I said, closing the door firmly behind me.
It was the presidential suite that took up the entire side of the building.
It must have been expensive, and I’d already spent quite a bit of his money on clothing.
The cream and blue were the height of elegance and taste.
I should probably decorate my apartment.
If I ever got out of jail legally. What kind of place did an angel like Gavriel like?
Did he prefer the lofty ceilings and gilded corbels, or a more cozy, simple structure?
He carried the trunk into the bedroom then came out and handed the invitation to me. “Is it poisonous? You did write to him, requesting an invitation.”
“Of course.” He didn’t need to know the particulars. I’d sent the letter as a threat, and he’d taken back power by making it his invitation. Those who accepted his invitation accepted a set of rules that he laid out. His rules. His ball. If you crashed it, there were no limitations.
“Then why are you worried?” His voice was low, and he moved closer, which was completely unnecessary since he could have heard me from the other side of the room. Maybe he wasn’t finished pressing me against walls. Of course he was. Just like I was finished being pressed against walls.
“He’s very good at power plays, manipulation, and managing extremely dangerous elements. If he wanted to kill me and take you, I’m not sure I could stop him.”
“Well, that is worrisome. Fortunately for you, I could.”
I stared into those dark eyes and slowly started to relax. “You are a reaper.”
“Yes. The team leader told you, and the team leader wouldn’t lie.”
“Angels don’t lie.”
“That depends on the angel, but the team leader wouldn’t lie outright. He is also good at power plays, manipulation, and managing extremely dangerous elements. Pity he couldn’t come to the ball with us.” He stepped even closer, so he was within arms-length.
“Why are you so close?”
“I haven’t finished lecturing you.”
“I think you should be. It’s not safe for you to be too close to me.”
“There’s blood in the refrigerator. I made sure to mention it when I called for reservations.”
“Oh. You’re very organized.”
He took another step closer, so we were only a foot apart. “I am. Do you need to drink?”
My mouth watered and my fingers burned with the need to yank him close and bury my fangs into some part of him. Any part, but his neck was looking particularly lovely, visible over the white collar of his shirt.
I took a step away from him and found myself against a wall. “Do you know what it’s like to drink demon blood? I do. I don’t know what it’s like to drink an angel. I want to know. Very much. You need to be careful, to guard your blood so it isn’t spilled carelessly.”
“I saw you spill blood, and it was the opposite of careless.”
I glared at him and crossed my arms. “I warned you.”
“That you want my blood. Of course you want my blood. I’m an angel, and vampires always want angelic blood.
It’s delicious, addictive, and deadly. What’s not to want?
But I won’t let you have my blood. It would bind you to me, and that’s the last thing you need.
What I am going to do is give you this.” He pulled out a small hairpin with tiny pearls and flowers and slid it into my hair.
He stayed close for a moment, studying me before he took two large steps away and crossed his arms. “It’s a tracking device.
I saw the way Herald looked at you, and I understand his warning.
The Vampire King knows that you have no master and will try to make you his slave.
Some people don’t like things to be free. The Vampire King is one of them.”
I fingered the small thing in my hair and my heart warmed even though it only resided in my chest like a dead rock. “I’m a convicted killer. You shouldn’t want me to be free, either.”
“Prisoners of the justice system aren’t slaves.”
I took a step closer to him, letting myself listen to his heart beat, his pulse thrum, his blood race through his veins. “You won’t let me take your blood?”
He raised a brow. “No. You can’t take it.
You’d have to ask very politely and wait for me to give it to you.
You’d also need a reason, such as starvation or other emergencies I can’t imagine, not being a vampire.
We’re partners. A team. Being your blood donor doesn’t concern me very much, other than the binding.
My friend used to love being drained by vampires, said it was extremely relaxing. ”
“He was also part goblin?”
“Oh, no. He poisoned them. My blood wouldn’t poison you, but it’s still mine. However many times you tell another vampire that I belong to you.”
The urge to drag him into the bedroom and drink his blood was very strong.
He didn’t belong to me? Then why was I so protective of him and his blood?
Of course, logically, rationally, he was my parole officer, so I belonged to him more than vice versa, but my instincts screamed that he was mine.
I needed to mark him with my scent so that everyone knew and didn’t touch him.
I also needed to touch him and taste him for very personal reasons I didn’t understand.
Possession. Obsession. Ah. That’s what it was like.
I blinked and started for the door, moving as fast as a vampire could. I needed space, or I’d… I stopped abruptly when I opened the door to find the clerk with a cart stacked with covered dishes and my hot chocolate. He looked relieved when he saw me.
“Lady Blood, I wasn’t sure if you’d like me to knock or just leave the table for you to retrieve at your convenience.”
“Knock. Sometimes I get distracted.” I’d been so wrapped in the angel’s scent, I hadn’t registered the food outside the door.
I should have. I grabbed the tray and pulled it in, closing the door on the clerk’s face while I struggled to get everything together.
I was working with an angel. He didn’t know the feral creature I’d been, but everyone else did.
I needed to, as Mr. Good would say, have a veneer of civility that covered the monster beneath.
Particularly if that monster was developing a growing fixation on the angel.