Reyna roused to find herself cradled on Tariq’s lap. He held her mouth pressed to his throat. “Feed, love. I got carried away,” he said, sounding anxious.
She licked his neck, enjoying the salty taste of his sweat before sinking her fangs deep. His blood was so powerful it didn’t take much to replenish the fluids she’d lost.
Closing his eyes, he rested his forehead on hers and stroked her hair. “I have to be more careful with you. I forgot you’re only half-Vampalien.”
Affront that he thought her weak battled with amusement at his concern. Her sense of humor won. “Tariq, I’m fine. It wasn’t the blood loss that put me under. It was the orgasm.”
Tariq raised his head to look down at her. “What?” he asked, clearly uncomprehending.
Reyna smiled gently, knowing she must have given him quite a scare. “I climaxed so hard I passed out. I swear I saw stars.”
He searched her face, ensuring she spoke the truth. She nodded encouragingly. Tariq shuddered violently and caught her up in a fierce hug. “You were lying there so still. I thought I’d gone into a blood lust and lost control while feeding. Don’t do that again.”
“Come?” she asked innocently, marveling how comfortable she felt with him. Reyna had never bantered with anyone in this manner, except maybe the women at work. Even then she had to keep a certain distance. They thought she was an employee like them. They’d be shocked and hurt to discover she was actually their boss.
“Pass out,” he said sternly, but the corner of his mouth quirked.
“I believe that’s up to you. I never had this little problem before you came along,” she reminded him.
Manly pride warred with lingering fear in Tariq’s emotions. Ego won. “Hmm, I’ll see what I can do about it.”
Right then Reyna’s stomach rumbled and she flushed with embarrassment. “I don’t suppose there’s any food here? Blood’s fine but I still need meat.”
“I’ll call down and have Chef prepare us something. Any preferences?” he asked, setting her to the side. Tariq rose, went to the dresser, pulled out a pair of worn blue jeans, and slid them on.
Still amazed at the idea he had his own personal chef, it took her a moment to gather her wits enough to respond. “Steak.”
It wasn’t that her pride couldn’t afford to hire a cook. The company had made her and Jorlan quite wealthy. They simply hadn’t seen the need. Of course, her small pride consisted of about twenty living in the den, each with their own lair. Everyone fended for themselves.
Reyna became conscious of her nudity—her shirt hadn’t survived their last round of sex—about the same time Tariq tossed her a large t-shirt. “Put this on for now. After we eat, I can gather a crew and we’ll move your clothes and the rest of your possessions in here.”
After a few stunned seconds, Reyna said, “No.”
He arched a quizzical brow. “You want me to move in with you? I can but I think it would make more sense if you stayed here.”
She tried to imagine a vampyr living in the midst of her pride. It boggled the mind. “No, neither. You’re moving too fast for me. Can we just spend time getting to know each other?” While Reyna had learned she’d come to trust Tariq with her body, she didn’t yet trust him with her heart.
Tariq frowned. “I thought you wanted to learn about your Vampalien side?”
How had he managed to come to that conclusion? “Did I say that?”
“No, you thought it. You want to learn about your father’s people. What better way than to be here, surrounded by us?” he asked.
She’d forgotten he could read her mind. The thought of being surrounded by others of his kind made her blood run cold. Tariq may not be the villain her father was, but who’s to say the rest weren’t. No, she couldn’t live here. Nor could she allow Tariq to know the location of her den. If she had to run, she needed a safe haven he couldn’t penetrate.
Tariq’s narrowed-eyed gaze met hers. “I’m reading your thoughts. I won’t let you run. You’re in me now. There’s no place on earth I couldn’t track you if you fled from me. If you want to ease into my world, I’m on board with that. I won’t push for more than you can give but I won’t let you walk away from us. Understood?”
“When are you teaching me to shield my thoughts from you?” she asked, scowling.
“At the rate this relationship is proceeding, maybe never. I need whatever advantage I can get.” He walked over to the intercom to order their food.
Though everything within her wanted to continue their argument, she held her peace while he contacted the kitchen. Reyna couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten. Lunch on Friday?
“Bernard, send two porterhouse steaks, bake potatoes with all the fixings, and two Caesar salads to my suite as soon as possible. Reyna, how do you want your steak?”
Hungry enough to eat a whole cow, she said, “Seared on the outside, bloody on the inside. Don’t you want a steak, too?”
At first he appeared startled, and then amused. “Bernard, make that three steaks. One medium, the other two medium rare. Did I leave anything out?” he asked Reyna.
“No potato for me. The rest sounds good.” She’d have a hard enough time choking down the salad, though she’d learned to eat food other than meat to keep the humans she worked with from becoming suspicious.
“Scratch the potatoes, Bernard. Just the steaks and salads will suffice, and send up a bottle of bloodwine,” he added, watching Reyna intently.
Ignoring Tariq, she slid the t-shirt over her head and began to straighten the bedroom. “You’ll need a new mattress,” she commented absently as she gathered the wreckage into a pile.
“Leave that. I’ll have a crew come in and clean.”
Rolling her eyes at him, she said, “In my world, you clean up what you mess up. Where are your trash bags?”
“I don’t know. As I said, I have a cleaning crew to handle those minor details.” He watched her for a few more minutes before commenting, “I know what you’re doing. The issue of our living arrangements won’t go away. I want you here with me.”
And people in hell want water, she mused wryly. It didn’t mean they were getting any.