Our faces were only a foot apart now. The heat of this massive man, in the confines of the tent with the brisk darkness surrounding us, made my blood run hot. I was aware of every battle scar and shallow divot of his face. “You hold honor and dignity in high regard,” I murmured. My voice had fallen, turning throaty and thick, though I had no idea why.
He gave me a slight nod. His chest-length beard twitched from the way his mouth moved behind it. Slowly, his eyesnarrowed, like he was seeing me in full for the first time. We had never physically been so close to one another.
The stuffiness and tightness of the tent grew worse. My pulse beat in my ears, surprising me with how nervous and out of sorts this vampire made me feel.
“And what about Lord Ashfen?” I asked lowly. “He doesn’t seem to care for honor or dignity. Far as I can tell, he’s a madman with a proclivity for torture and destruction.”
A hint of a smile quirked behind Vallan’s beard. “Yes, I’ve heard the great lengths he’s gone to please you, with the flaying of that fat wretch. Staking his claim, as it were.”
“Pleaseme? It terrifies me.”
“Did I not tell you we are monsters, silverblood?”
I gulped over a dry throat. “Are you like him as well, Lord Stellos? Monstrous?”
“We are different. I was no nobleblood when I was turned. I don’t fancy myself a lord. As to our methods? I prefer a more . . . straightforward, brazen approach to things. I don’t have time for games.”
I stifled another shiver at the innuendo piercing through his words. “You are a busy man, after all.”
Shit. Is it just me or are our faces getting closer? What is happening to me when I’m in the presence of these devilish fiends?!I chewed the inside of my cheek to calm my nerves.
“You wish to know more,” he said.
I matched his nod, drawn in by his gaze, lost in the tumult of his deep voice. “I feel I have to if I’m going to align myself with you three and assist your cause.”
“Skar has an unhealthy obsession with you,” he added. “Why do you think he calls you his temptress?”
I cleared my throat, fighting back a choke. “What have I done to deserve such obsession?”
“Nothing, I suspect.” His shoulders bobbed slightly. “Perhaps it’s your Loreblood he’s addicted to.” Then his eyes twinkled, glittering with dangerous promises I was used to seeing from Garroway and Skartovius. Not Vallan. “I have a feeling it’s deeper than that. More than your blood, it’s your character. You are the first human he’s found interesting in ages. Myself, I’ve fought against thepullthat commands us all. Which is why I’ve been locked away in my work.” He spread his arms wide, gesturing at the sparse tent.
“So you lied.” When his brow rose in question, I smirked smugly. “Youhavebeen avoiding me, Vallan.”
“Can you blame me, silverblood?”
No. But I want it to stop.His eyes smoldered, calling to me. Even through the forest of his beard, his lips looked inescapable, inviting.
“. . . Your urges,” I eked out.
“I’ve kept them at bay thus far.”
“Tell me about them.”
A small headshake. “Can’t tell. Only show.”
A sharp inhale forced its way through me. I cleared my throat to try and compose myself. My sudden need was too great to deny—his words flipped a switch inside me. “I need to know about allthreeof you if I’m going to be any help in this cause of yours,” I whispered, feeling awfully forward. “There can’t be any holdouts.”
He let out a scoff. His lips folded into a frown. “I’m more dangerous and unpredictable than the others.”
More unpredictable than the vampire who skinned a man alive after fucking me?“I find that hard to believe.”
“Consider yourself warned, silverblood.”
“Duly noted.” I began to move toward him—
But didn’t make it a single step before he closed the small gap and our bodies crashed together.
Chapter 48
