Nolan snorted from beside us, far closer than he’d been a minute before. “I hate to break up your lover’s quarrel, but I’m far too excited about the last part of your gift to watch this all day. For the record, darling, they could have gotten your cousin back for you. The reason your pet angel is covered in blood is because he’d finished gutting and beheading thirteen guards at Jude’s personal residence, where Mabel was being kept. If he’d been smart and brought the rest of his team, they could have stolen your cousin right back from mine. Sadly for Shan, he went lone wolf and I had to swoop to the rescue before Jude slashed her neck. My timing was impeccable, but you really had to be there to appreciate it.”
Shan turned his glare to Nolan, who flashed his fangs. All it did was irk the angel further, but he didn’t launch any kind of attack. The more I looked at him, the more I realized how beat up he was. In addition to the healing cuts, he was sporting bruises. If he’d been brought back here hours ago, he shouldn’t have any of that.
He’d come far too close to death. The final one, where he wouldn’t even reincarnate again.
“Oh, also, I didn’t realize the two of you were married, but I’m happy to reunite you with your wife, Shan,” Nolan said, smacking a hand between Shan’s shoulder blades in an odd bro gesture.
Wife? My eyes narrowed and some of the fury drained from the angel’s posture. His eyelids fluttered shut as he pushed out a shaky sigh. “We aren’t married,” I said. “He’s confused.”
“It was a slip of the tongue,” Shan grunted.
“Didn’t sound like it!” Nolan sang the words, holding out a hand for Clement to give him something.
I hadn’t realized the shifter had been holding a bag. Nolan held it up in front of me, the black fabric visibly wet and the contents of the bag uniform in shape. When a red droplet fell from the bag and hit the floor, it became clear it was wet with blood, not water. I knew what was in it before he turned it upside down and let Jude’s head fall to the ground.
The man’s expression was furious and fearful, his eyes blank and covered in a hazy film. Blood smeared every inch of his disembodied head and soaked his hair. It was a good thing May had been ushered away, but I had the sudden horrific realization that she’d seen this as it happened.
She was going to need so much therapy. Aunt Elodie was going to murder me if I made it out of this alive.
“This is my third and final gesture of good will,” he said, tapping the head with his foot to roll it. The scent of death and blood wafted up. “Technically, your pet angel killed him, but like I said. He only had the opportunity because of me, and if he hadn’t finished the job, I would’ve been happy to.”
“To foster goodwill you took two people captive and brought me a head?”
He beamed. “Yes.”
“You’re demented.”
And yet, I liked it. Why did I fucking like it? I shouldn’t like anything about the insane vampire assassin.
“Darling, you love my gifts. Admit it.”
I snorted, because I would think it all day long, but I wouldn’t tell him anything of the sort. “Seeing Jude’s head is a passable gift,” I conceded. “But I’d still be happier if you let May and Shan leave.”
“Sorry, no can do. Amabella is fond of your cousin. I would be a huge killjoy if I didn’t give them time to explore their feelings. And that’s ignoring the fact that your cousin is safer here.”
Nolan turned to Shan, invading his personal space and placing his fingers on his chin. Shan had a day’s worth of stubble, while the vampire’s cheeks were clean-shaven. The height difference was jarring as well, Nolan shorter than me and yet holding all the power. “As for your angel…” he trailed off, flirtatiously tracing his fingers down Shan’s neck. “I bet he’d be delicious. I want to keep him so I can score a taste.”
Shan had kept still through the touching, his expression blank with annoyance roiling in the depths of his eyes. When Nolan leaned forward as if to press his mouth to his skin, he reacted. Jolting back, his wings extended behind him, glowing faintly. He filled up the entire space, and Nolan’s freckled cheeks flushed as he chuckled and moved back.
“Oh, calm down. All I wanted was to feel your pulse.”
“Not a fucking chance,” Shan said, his glow dimming.
It was hard to tell if he dimmed on purpose, or if he was still too weak to maintain the angelic light.
“What a shame. I hope you know, all this has done is give me a hard on over your wings too,” Nolan teased.
His eyes were dark with arousal, hands adjusting the bulge in his cargo shorts.
Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Clement rolling his eyes. Were these antics normal for Nolan? Did he throw himself at all of his prisoners? The other men were standing just outside the doorway, their backs turned, but they could hear every word.
“I stand by my statement that you’re demented,” I said.
He rolled his eyes and glanced down to Shan’s crotch, which sported a bulge matching his. “Sorry, darling. I forgot about how possessive those Omega instincts are. I’ll be sure to avoid flirting with your man.”
I was not possessive. Not at all. In fact, part of me very much wanted to watch Shan put Nolan in his place. “Do that,” I said, despite not being keen to stop the flirtations. It was another thing I would never admit to Nolan.
He sank a fang into his bottom lip and pursed them in a pout. Keeping his mouth shut, he gestured for the men to come back in and hold Shan between them. His wings had retracted and tucked close to his back, invisible again. “Do Cas and Em know where you went?” I asked him, knowing our time together ending.
