His hips began to thrust at a slow, delectable pace. “Forever.”
Lying entangled with Laylah in the middle of the bed, Tane ran gentle fingers over the crimson tattoo that was scrolled beneath the skin of her forearm.
It was the mark of their mating.
His mark.
Just as he had an answering mark on his arm that revealed Laylah’s claim. Not that he needed any tattoo to prove their mating. She was the other half of his soul. Cheesy, but true.
His lips twitched. If someone had told him two weeks ago that he’d be as smug as a Pheral demon with a harem of harpies at being mated to a Jinn mongrel, he would have laughed. Or sliced out their hearts.
Lifting her arm, he pressed his lips to her palm, his body readily stirring despite the past four hours he’d spent making love to this woman. It was fairly certain he’d never, ever get enough of Laylah.
He ignored the sensation of night falling, instead savoring the scent of spring rain that wrapped around him like a warm blanket.
For this rare moment, he wanted to forget the world beyond the closed door …
A hand slammed against the door with perfect timing, the cold chill of Jaelyn’s power swirling through the air.
So much for forgetting the world.
“Open the door, Charon,” the Hunter ordered.
“Go away,” he growled, wrapping protective arms around his mate.
There was a pause, as if the vampire wanted nothing more than to disappear, then he heard her low curses. “The Sylvermyst escaped,” she at last confessed. “Damn.”
Tane slid from the bed, his gaze ruefully watching Laylah pull on a pair of jeans and stretchy T-shirt before looping the disguise amulet over her head.
The Sylvermyst bastard was going to pay for interrupting his mating night.
Once he had tugged on his shorts, he strapped the stolen sword to his back and tucked two daggers into his waistband. Then, tugging Laylah into his arms, he kissed her with a fierce promise of pleasures delayed.
She returned his kiss before pushing him away, chuckling at his undisguised frustration.
“Later,” she said softly.
He moved to pull open the door, reminding himself that the sooner they’d destroyed Marika and her happy band of misfits, the sooner he could have Laylah all to himself.
What better motivation?
“What happened?” he demanded as Jaelyn stepped into the room, still dressed in black spandex and carrying her favorite shotgun.
Her expression hardened. “That’s still under investigation.”
Tane’s brows snapped together. Was she evading his question?
“Did you let him out of the cell?”
She growled, her eyes glowing with fury. “Stupid questions piss me off.”
Moving a speed only an ancient vampire could follow, Tane had a dagger pressed beneath her chin, his expression grim.
“And petulant foundlings who have to constantly prove how tough they are piss me off.”
Jaelyn trembled, battling not to be stupid enough to provoke a vampire bigger, badder, and older than herself.
“I’m not a foundling,” she gritted.
Tane narrowed his eyes. “You’re barely out of the nursery and if you think …”
“Yeah, yeah,” Laylah abruptly interrupted, moving to stand at his side. “You’re both super scary.” She turned her attention to Jaelyn. “How did he escape?”
Something that might have been embarrassment rippled over the young vampire’s face before she was stepping away from Tane’s dagger and gathering her composure.
“The surveillance camera caught him just …” She grimaced. “Disappearing.” Laylah frowned. “A portal?”
“It shouldn’t be possible,” Jaelyn muttered. “The cell was lined with lead.”
Tane shrugged. “We don’t know what magic the Sylvermyst possess. Especially Ariyal.”
Jaelyn’s eyes flashed with blue fire. “He won’t get far.”
Tane lifted his brows. It was a Hunter’s cardinal rule to remain impervious to their prey. Any emotion, whether it was anger or hatred or attraction, would only cloud their considerable skills.
The Sylvermyst had clearly gotten under her skin.
“It doesn’t matter, the damage has been done,” he said.
Laylah sent him a startled glance. “What damage?”
“He knows where we are.”
She shivered. “Which means he’s going to tell my aunt.”
Tane wasn’t nearly so certain, but now wasn’t the time to discuss his suspicions of the Sylvermyst. Not when it was nothing more than a gut feeling.
“That’s certainly a risk,” he said.
Jaelyn stepped back, her shotgun resting against her shoulder.
“I’ll do my best to keep them off your trail.”
Tane dipped his head. “We’re in your debt.”
“Don’t worry, I have every intention of collecting.”
With a taunting smile, Jaelyn turned on her heel and jogged down the hall, swiftly disappearing from view.
Tane shook his head. How did so much bitch get into such a small package?
At his side, Laylah heaved a sigh. “Now that is a woman who can take care of herself.”
Tane glanced at her in shock. “You can’t be envious.”
“I am,” she said, her lips twisted in a wistful smile. “I’ve depended on others to protect me my entire life.”
He framed her face in his hands. “There are times when we all depend on others. That’s why there are clans and families and packs.” His thumb brushed the sensuous curve of her lower lip. “And mates.”
“But…”
“Laylah, you not only survived despite being hunted from the day you were born, but you’ve protected the world from a potential Armageddon.” He studied her beautiful face, wondering how she couldn’t realize just how astonishing she truly was. “Not bad.”
Her lips twitched into a rueful smile. “I suppose when you put it that way.”
He leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Of course, I wouldn’t mind seeing you in that spandex.”
“Hmmm.” She nipped his throat, sending jolts of white-hot desire directly to his cock. “Only if you’re very, very good.”
“I prefer to be very, very bad,” he growled, barely resisting the urge to topple her back onto the bed. Oh, for another hour. Or ten. “Unfortunately we don’t have time. We have to get out of here.”
“My thoughts exactly,” an aggravatingly familiar voice said from behind. “Where are we going?”