He could feel Ruby beneath him, deep in the earth. She was beginning to wake up. Apparently the stimulants Kaitlynn had ordered administered were beginning to work. He could feel Jaden tensing himself, rousing from the half sleep that had kept his heartbeat slow. If Jaden moved to block Kaitlynn, odds were good he wouldn’t survive. The vampire had lost too much blood.
There was another in the room with them, someone the earth found repulsive ( “Jeremy West”, the earth whispered). Another vampire, he was tall, with dark hair and eyes, cold in a way Jaden wasn’t. He ignored most of what Kaitlynn was doing, only smiling when Ruby moaned.
That look on West’s face nearly had Leo losing control. The man’s eyes glowed red, and his teeth had dropped.
“He hungers.”
Leo decided enough was enough. To hell with skulking. It was time to see exactly how well a leprechaun and his land worked together.
Ruby opened her eyes, wondering what in the hell she’d been drinking the night before. There was a horrible taste in her mouth. “Wha’ the hell you been feeding me? Road kill?” She moaned.
“Welcome to your new home, human,” a feminine, familiar voice said.
Ruby shut her eyes with a groan. “I’m going back to sleep. Wake me when Leo kills you.” The sharp slap stung even through the drug haze. “Ow.”
“Go back to sleep and I’ll cut off your finger and pour a glass of your blood for the vampire.”
Ruby cautiously peeked, not happy to see Kaitlynn smiling sweetly down at her. “You have spinach stuck in your teeth.”
The blonde reared back, one hand covering her mouth, her eyes horrified. Ruby snickered.
Kaitlynn removed her hand and stood tall and proud. “Allow me to introduce you to a friend of mine.”
She waved languidly. A tall, dark-haired man stepped into view. His eyes glowed red and his teeth were pointed. “Jeremy West.” She simpered up at the vampire. “Jeremy, meet your dinner.”
“Swell.” Ruby desperately tried not to tremble at the anticipation she saw in West’s face. The vampire was staring down at her like she was coated in melted Godiva and he was a confirmed chocoholic.
West licked his lips. “Mmm. She’s going to taste sweet.”
Ruby found herself fighting a hysterical laugh. “You have a great future in porno movies.”
His arm snapped up, ready to strike down at her, and she flinched. There was no expression on his face at all. Damn. No sense of humor.
“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.”
Huh? I thought Ms. Schizo would adore having me battered.
“Too many bruises and I won’t get Leo’s cooperation.”
Oh. That explains that.
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Dana Marie Bell
“Besides, I’d prefer to hurt her myself.”
Everything around her went dark.
Leo watched from the shadows as Duncan signaled his readiness to enter the… dungeon, was the only word he could think of to describe it, below the Malmayne estate. He nodded, prepared to move—
The terrified screams ripped into his soul and nearly tore it apart. Gone was any thought of moving silently. He rushed into the room, determined to save Ruby no matter the cost.
She was in some sort of glass and concrete cage. He could see Kaitlynn and Jeremy West standing over her. Her body arched off the slab she was lying on, every muscle straining against invisible shackles.
The only breaths she took were to keep screaming.
Kaitlynn smiled, and Leo lost it. The earth trembled beneath his feet. His eyes fell on the electronic lock on the door, and he wondered if he could manipulate it open. It was made of metal, which was of the earth, and was on his land. If that didn’t work he would bring the entire house down to save his mate if he had to.
But before he could move, Jaden was there, ripping the door off its hinges and throwing it away, almost hitting Duncan in the process. Leo flew through the opening, barely catching a glimpse of Jaden collapsing to the floor again with a groan.
“I wouldn’t come any closer, if I were you.”
Leo didn’t even hesitate. The power of the earth surged through him. He rushed forward and backhanded Kaitlynn with all his strength, grimly satisfied when he heard a bone crack. She staggered back, stunned and howling in pain.
Ruby’s screams abruptly cut off.
“Step back, Sidhe.”
He turned to see Ruby held by West. One of West’s hands was wrapped around her throat, the other around her waist. Her feet dangled above the floor, her sweat-drenched hair hanging limp around her pale face. She looked terrified.
“I can snap her neck like a twig.” The tips of West’s fangs poked out to caress his bottom lip obscenely. “Or you can cooperate.”
Leo felt the earth tremble again in response to his rage.
“It’s simple, really.” Kaitlynn caressed her cheek, her expression once again cloyingly sweet. “You take me to mate, and your…Ruby…doesn’t get hurt any more than she’s already been.”
“Choose not to cooperate, and she becomes my lunch.”
“That’s quite enough, Mr. West.” Kaitlynn smoothed out her skirt with shaking hands. “Well, Leo?”
“Do it and you’ll never get any again in your entire long existence.”
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