Though it wasn’t a direct order, the centaurs within hearing range all took up the suggestion. The creature pinning me to his chest now released me to grab the man who’d only seconds ago made the lewd comment. Others began to grapple with one another as each tried to mount those next to them.
Across from me, Andre paused to glance over at the commotion on my end of the circle, and he did a double take. Behind him a centaur reared up with a spear.
“Duck!” I yelled, the siren entering my voice. Immediately the entire gathering—including those centaurs still trying to ride each other—ducked. I bit the inside of my cheek to cut off the crazy laughter that I wanted to let loose.
“She’s commanding people with her voice!” one of the centaurs shouted.
Before anyone could even try to cover their ears, I yelled, “Stop fighting and listen up!” Movement halted. Some paused with spears raised.
I shrugged off a hand that had grabbed at me, drawn to my glowing skin, and sauntered into the middle of the group. “Andre, I command you to ignore everything I’m about to say.” He gave the barest inclination of his head before he turned away, already following my orders.
“Centaurs,” I said, addressing the remaining group, “in thirty seconds you are all going to forget that I exist. You’ll never be able to recognize my name when you hear it, or my face when you see it. You’re going to run back the way you came, and you’re only going to stop once you’re close to collapsing.”
After thirty seconds ticked by, the group of centaurs kicked up dust as they retreated into the forest. A couple of them awkwardly got off each other, averting their eyes with embarrassment as they did so.
My skin dimmed. Only when the siren had descended back into me did I approach Andre. I placed a hand on his shoulder, and he blinked several times, as though waking from a stupor. He rubbed his temples and shook his head. “Remind me never to piss you off.” His cheeks were flushed, and he wiped a drop of blood from the corner of his mouth. He had several holes in his attire and smears of crimson where their weapons must’ve pierced him.
Littered around us were the bodies of several fallen centaurs, their throats slit or, in some cases, ripped open. Looked like Andre had bummed breakfast off of the forest folk while he fought.
His eyes roved over me, stopping when he saw the broken end of the spear still sticking out of my back.
He stilled. “It didn’t work its way out?”
“Was it supposed to?” I asked, peering down at it.
Andre sheathed his knives, his attention wholly focused on me. His arm brushed my side as his hand wrapped around the base of the spearhead.
“Andre—”
“Do you remember the first time we saw each other?” he asked me, dragging my attention away from the weapon.
“What does that have to do with anything?”
His fingers were now probing the wound. “I saw you across the room. The connection for me was instant. You were the sun, and I was a moth drawn to your brightness.”
I narrowed my eyes. “I swear if you yank this thing out while you’re talking, I will make you hump a tree, then film it and sell it to the media.”
His hand fell away from the spearhead, clearly convinced I’d make good on the threat after my little show with the centaurs. “You’re wounded and in pain, soulmate. The sooner this thing is out of you, the sooner you’ll feel better.”
Maybe, but …
I hugged my arms. “It’s barbed,” I said, like that was any type of explanation. It would reinjure me on its way out.
“You’re my brave mate. This is nothing.” Andre knelt, getting a better look at the entry point. I shivered as his thumb traced over the surrounding skin. He leaned in and kissed the point of entry. He was being tender with me; it was a shocking contrast to the killer I’d seen only moments before.
“We need to leave soon,” he said. “If I don’t take the spearhead out now, you’ll have to ride with it in.”
I tried to imagine riding over the bumps and dips with the weapon still lodged in me, every jostle scraping the bone of my ribs.
I put the pad of my hand to my eye. “Fine.” He just had to be reasonable.
This was so going to hurt like a mo-fo.
Andre readjusted his grip, but I laid a hand over his, forcing him to pause. “Talking won’t distract me.”
A sculpted eyebrow rose, and an edge of Andre’s mouth curved up. He stood, and his hand reached out and stroked my neck, his thumb rubbing circles around my jugular vein. “I can think of a few other things that might suffice.”
He pressed a kiss to my cheek, and I turned into the touch, my mouth meeting his. I could still taste the blood on his lips. A month ago it would’ve made me recoil. Now my fangs dropped, and I deepened the kiss, my nature craving more. Andre’s mouth eagerly responded, our tongues twining.
All the while Andre drew slow circles over my jugular vein. The sensation coaxed the siren closer and closer to the surface. She’d only just withdrawn into me, but the taste of blood and the promise of passion were too much for her to stay away.
Andre broke off the kiss, his eyes moving to my neck. He stared at my pulse, mesmerized by it.
Do it. I clamped my mouth against the command, but when his eyes met mine, I nodded in consent. I didn’t mind the prospect of a spear getting yanked out if it meant I’d get to experience Andre’s bite.
He hesitated, I’m sure remembering the last time when he’d drawn too deeply from me. Lust shaded his eyes. Blood-letting and sex weren’t so different for vampires.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
I rolled my eyes, still keeping my mouth closed. He’d been about to yank a spear out of my side seconds ago—hell, he still was. His bite would be far less painful. But this wasn’t really about hurting me. This was about Andre’s self-control. Between our bond and our natures, things usually got out of hand.