The younger vampire had no doubt been intrigued by Cyn’s cryptic voice mail.
“Dante’s at the front gate,” he murmured.
With the liquid grace that always managed to fascinate him, Fallon slid off the bed and swiftly began pulling on her clothes.
Cyn hid a grimace as his body instantly hardened. God Almighty. His intense reaction to this female was almost embarrassing.
Turning to hide his fully erect cock, he slid on his jeans and sweater, shoving his feet into his boots before turning back to watch Fallon pull her hair into a long, complicated braid.
“There’s no need to travel with me,” she said, no doubt sensing his reluctance. “It must be getting close to dawn in Chicago.”
What would she say if he told her that his reluctance had nothing to do with going to pick up Dante, and everything to do with leaving the protection of his lair?
Not only was there an unknown magic-user out there with enough power to kill a vampire and compel the Commission, but there were any number of other dangers that were always lurking in the dark.
And if he forced himself to be entirely honest, there was a part of him that was suddenly remembering that the prince she’d so recently intended to marry was going to be far too near for Cyn’s peace of mind.
It wasn’t that he was jealous . . .
Oh hell. Of course he was jealous.
Fallon could say all she wanted about her engagement being nothing more than a duty, but the fact was that she’d been planning to spend the rest of eternity with the too-pretty prince.
What if Magnus had a change of heart?
What if he decided that he wanted to reclaim Fallon as his fiancée?
The mere thought made his fangs ache to rip a chunk out of the prince of priss.
“We don’t know that your fiancé won’t decide to cause trouble,” he muttered, his tone sour.
She gave a startled blink. “What could he do?”
“I don’t want him anywhere near you.”
Something that might have been disappointment darkened the magnificent amber of her eyes.
“You don’t trust me?”
Shit.
Realizing he’d managed to wound her, Cyn stalked forward, cupping her chin to force her to meet his fierce gaze.
“More than I’ve ever trusted anyone in my very long life,” he said. “But right now I can’t allow you out of my sight.”
She studied his tense expression. “I don’t understand.”
He knew better than to try to explain that a vampire on the cusp of mating was like a rabid animal when a male tried to get to close to his woman.
She already knew that vampires could be savage creatures. He didn’t want to terrify her with his inner berserker.
“You will,” he promised, lowering his head to press a quick kiss to her lips before he was straightening to regard her with a brooding gaze. “We should go.”
She gave a shake of her head, pulling away from his grasp to head out of the room.
“I’m beginning to suspect that testosterone does strange things to the male mind.”
“You have no idea,” he muttered, following her out of her private rooms and down the stairs.
He’d adamantly insisted that she open the portal in the foyer. When she’d traveled to bring Styx to the lair, she’d been followed by her fiancé. If Magnus made a sudden appearance in her bedroom, there was nothing that would keep him from shredding the bastard into small, unrecognizable princely parts.
Now, as they moved down the stairs, he realized there was an added bonus to his demand of using the foyer.
The sexy sway of her hips as she took each step.
Reaching the bottom of the stairs, Fallon moved to stand in the center of the paneled foyer, the firelight highlighting the beauty of her delicate features.
A faint smile touched her lips as she glanced toward the flickering flames, no doubt aware that he’d made certain that there were fires in every room of his vast lair.
He should have known the minute he began fretting over whether or not she was cold that he was in danger, he wryly acknowledged.
She made no comment, instead raising her hand to form the portal. Cyn waited until she gestured for him to approach, then, squashing his instinctive dislike for magic, he grabbed her fingers in a tight grip.
There was a sensation of nothingness, then a darkness surrounded him. He clenched his teeth, convinced that he could feel prickles of electricity dancing over his skin despite the fact he couldn’t sense magic.
Only seconds later the darkness was abruptly replaced by a shadowed, tree-lined street that was covered by a new layer of snow.
Cyn sent a swift glance around, making sure there was nothing but the lone vampire who was waiting for them in front of Styx’s front gate.
At last certain there was nothing about to leap out of the shadows, Cyn turned his attention to the raven-haired vampire who was watching him with a mocking silver gaze.
“Dante.”
The vampire moved forward to slap Cyn on the shoulder, a smile on his finely chiseled features.