“How did you end up trapped in the cloakroom?” Vlad asked almost casually. “Maximus was supposed to protect you.”
I grimaced at the memory. “A silver-haired vampire who looked a little like Anderson Cooper threw me into it after I electrocuted him.”
Both dark brows went up. “You attacked him?”
“Maximus was fighting the other three vamps and Silver had just killed Hunter. He was about to jump Maximus, so I zapped him. It gave Maximus time to beat one of the vamps and get out of the way. But Silver Hair was pissed and chucked me through the coatroom wall to show it.”
“What were you thinking, risking yourself that way?” Vlad muttered.
Did he miss the part where Maximus was about to get killed? “I’m drunk,” I said testily. “I’ll try anything if I’m drunk.”
His teeth flashed in a quick grin. “I’ll remember that. We’ll speak more about this tomorrow. Now, you need to rest.”
His authoritative tone reminded me of why I’d gone to the club in the first place. Despite feeling like I might conk out, I pushed myself up on the pillows.
“Not yet. We have some things to clear up first.”
“Such as?” The question was mild, but his eyes glinted.
“Why have you been avoiding me?”
“I haven’t. I was out gathering items with Mencheres and the others. I’d only been back an hour when Ben called to report the attack on the club.”
His gaze never wavered, but . . . “Then why did Maximus say you ordered him to shadow me there?”
“He called to tell me what you were doing.” Vlad’s tone hardened. “Though it seems you did a better job protecting him.”
Okay, so he hadn’t been ducking me. That left the bigger issue.
“Why didn’t you tell me there was a catch to drinking your blood? Maximus said that doing it made me, ah . . .”
“Mine,” Vlad finished without hesitation.
My temper rose at his complete self-assuredness. “I didn’t agree to that, so forget it.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down, setting his arms on either side of my face.
“You think my blood is the only tie between us?”
His voice was low, yet edged with palpable hunger. It seemed to rub me in places I’d only ever touched before, making my anger fade under a flash of desire. Vlad was so close that his hair was a shadowy veil all around me, and when he began to caress my face with light, sure strokes, it was all I could do not to close my eyes in bliss.
“This is our true tie,” he whispered, his breath falling hotly onto my lips. “You’re meant for me, and I will have you.”
Then his mouth lowered in a hard, claiming kiss. A groan parted my lips and his tongue snaked between them to stroke mine with sensual dominance. He tasted like sin made into wine: dark, heady, and impossible to resist. The raw demand in his kiss and his hard body pressing me into the bed made my nerve endings flare with blinding sensation. Need overwhelmed me, causing an exquisitely painful clenching in my loins. I pulled him closer, tangling my hand in his hair and gasping when I felt his fangs slide out. My trepidation vanished when he kissed me deeper, drawing my tongue into his mouth and sucking on it until the throbbing between my legs matched the pace of my pulse.
Suddenly, he was across the room, his eyes scalding green and a bulge straining against the front of his pants.
“If I don’t stop now, I’ll forget about searching for your attackers or you still being weak. Rest. I’ll see you soon.”
Vlad was gone before I had the chance to reply. I blew out a frustrated sigh. Rest, riiiight. As if anyone could rest after that.