Her shoulders sagged as her hands slid up his back and she hugged him closer. He felt the incredible swell of her power against him when his lips ran over her ear. She didn’t have to tell him what she’d experienced in that hotel as flashes of her imprisonment filtered through his mind.
For the first time in years, he kept his psychometry turned on. When they were changed, every vampire acquired some kind of special ability upon turning. With their vampire lineage, most Hunters were born with an ability. His ability to learn things from touching a person or an object they had handled was something he’d used often over the years to torment someone or to gain an advantage over them, but he often kept it turned off in everyday life. There were many many things he didn’t care to know.
However, in order to keep Quinn safe, he would keep his ability turned on twenty-four seven if he had to.
“Don’t,” Quinn whispered, turning her mouth to his ear. “Don’t see what they did to me in there.”
“How did you know?” he grated through his teeth.
“Your body is as hard as rock against me right now.”
Leaning away from her, he forced himself to relax as he brushed back her hair. He clasped the silken strands against her nape before bending to kiss her. She pressed closer to him and opened her mouth to his. His tongue slid into the warm recess of her mouth as he tasted her in leisurely, sweeping thrusts that left him hungry for more.
They’d abused her. They’d chained and beaten her, but she was here, with him. She was alive. He could taste her and feel her in a way he’d been petrified he’d never be able to do again.
He broke the kiss before he lost himself to her completely, something so easy for him to do when it came to Quinn.
“You should kill him,” she whispered. “Keeping him alive is a bad idea, Julian. What if he takes control of someone else’s mind?”
“I’ll kill him soon,” he promised. “And Devon has control of that part of Earl’s mind. He won’t be taking over anyone ever again.”
“What of the couple? Why did you want them brought here?”
“They’re going to spread a message,” Julian replied.
Quinn’s fingers stilled on his face. Her head tilted to the side. He didn’t know how well everyone was going to react to what he planned, but he believed this was the best course of action to keep them all safe. He’d realized a while ago that the vampires required a leader and direction, especially the younger ones.
Having them frightened and disorganized was far more perilous than having them grouped together with a clear set of rules. Many of them may not like the rules he intended to set forth, but they were going to be enforced, and he was going to be the one to do it. Even if it meant he’d have to immerse himself in the vampire way of life he’d spurned the entire five hundred seventy-six years of his vampire existence.
He would keep Quinn safe no matter what it took.
“What do you mean they’re going to spread a message?” she asked.
Julian glanced toward where Devon had earlier left the couple sitting in the poolroom. Quinn winced at the sight of them sitting with their hands in their laps, their eyes closed, and their heads bowed. Her eyes fell away from them, and she fiddled with the hem of her shirt as a tremor went through her. He took hold of her hands, enveloping them within both of his.
“They’re not going to be abused,” he assured her.
“Not having any control over your mind and body is a hideous feeling,” she murmured.
Julian wrapped an arm around her shoulder and pulled her against his chest. When they were finally able to leave here tonight, he planned to spend the next week with her locked securely in his arms.
“I know,” Julian said as he kissed her forehead, “but this is necessary.” He looked to where Devon remained standing with Cassie by the tables.
“They’re in a state equivalent to sleep,” Devon said to Quinn. “They have no idea what is going on right now.”
Quinn nodded, but she still wouldn’t look at the couple again. Julian took hold of her chin and lifted her head. “We need them.”
“For what?”
“If you agree to it, we’ll gather the vampires and lead them together. As one of the last two remaining Elders, some of them will follow me, but with you by my side, many more will fall into line. There is no denying you’re the vampire of this prophecy, and though I’ve never bought into the prophecies, many vamps do, and they’re latching onto this one.
“Since we killed the rest of the Elders, the vamps have no idea what to do with themselves. If we don’t give them a purpose, they’re going to continue to see you as their lifeline, and because of that, they won’t stop trying to find you. We’ll give them both of us, a purpose, and rules.”
“You hate vampires,” she pointed out.
“I hate people too, but I tolerate them,” he said with a teasing smile that caused a small one to tug at her lips.