I wheezed in a breath, barely managing to fight my wolf back, as I stared into fangs and glowing green eyes. “Get off me and we’ll talk about this civilly.”
Ezra’s Vampire growled, and as quickly as he moved before, he jerked my head up, baring my throat, his fangs steady at my pulse. I did freeze, not moving to even breath so he didn’t accidently nip my throat and draw blood, which wouldn’t be a great idea if I wanted to keep my hybrid nature hidden from him. Plus, I knew he wasn’t going to kill me. This was about predator ownership…and just for the fact that he was pissed. His Vampire continued growling as he yanked my hands from where he had pinned them at my sides to above my head, his thumbs digging into the underside of my sensitive wrists and showing me he wasn’t afraid to apply pain.
I gritted my teeth through it, the action testing my skills to not even flinch since I couldn’t risk moving.
He held me in that position for at least a minute — which I realized was as long as he had already seen me hold my breath for — then he held me there for an additional twenty seconds before he removed his fangs from my skin. I choked in air, feeling light-headed and my hands cramping and going numb from the pressure he wasn’t releasing. I wasn’t able to get in a decent breath with him on top of me, and I shook my head hard to push away the fuzziness.
Ezra waited until I stared him steadily in the eyes, which took a good minute, and then he growled low, “Did. You. Fuck. Him?”
“Like I said,” I whispered harshly, unable to do more with him on me, “Get off me and we’ll talk about this properly.”
His nostrils flared, his muscles in his jaw flexed, and he literally hissed in my face, baring his fangs. “Answer the f**king question.”
Patience…channeling patience. “Ezra, get off me and I will.” A little give and pull, which was…yep, gonna take a bit, with him so pissed.
We went through the whole neck-baring-and-fang thing again, but this time I damn near passed out when he held his fangs there for a full two minutes.
This time, I didn’t bother answering him. I only choked and wheezed as I caught my breath, glaring, fighting fiercely to keep my wolf back because we didn’t need a real fight in here. “Ezra, Isa’s in this room, and I’m telling you right now I can’t hold my wolf back much longer. I suggest you get off me, so we can talk about this rationally.”
His Vampire became even more enraged when I didn’t answer. His face…I wasn’t positive I saw it correctly, but I could have sworn his face altered somewhat, his features becoming sharper and more harshly beautiful, but when I blinked he appeared normal as Ezra began battling his Vampire back. When he stopped growling, I knew we had made progress even if he was still furious. And it was only a few seconds later that he yanked me to my feet and, yes, loomed over me, muscles bulging against the simple pair of black mesh pants and red t-shirt he was wearing. Belatedly, I realized he wasn’t wearing shoes, his feet bare. And honestly, his feet were just as nice looking as the rest of him.
“No,” I stated simply. “I didn’t f**k him or do anything sexual with him.”
Ezra jerked away from me and began pacing the confines of my front room, occasionally rubbing the back of his neck. “He was here for close to forty-five minutes.” His voice was still growly, but I could tell he was trying to be civil.
“I know. He and I were having a private meeting.” I paused, then I got to why I had let this happen in the first place. “Ezra, I am the Queen Shifter. Most of the Mysticals around me are men. I will be having private discussions with multiple men of my faction, as is my right and duty.” I waved a hand at the floor below me behind the bar. “And behavior like you just showed will get us caught.”
I stared him in the eye when he stopped dead in his tracks. “I will not bow down to you. I will not ask permission to do my duty for my people. I will not give you a detailed list of the individuals I’m meeting with daily because, mainly, that fluctuates and changes minutely, and honestly, it’s none of your damn business.” I shook my head softly. “Furthermore, you cannot react like this every time I have a man in my tent.”
He stood frozen for about a half-minute, and I could see the wheels turning inside his head, then his gaze raked down my frame slowly, not sexually, but analyzing me. Then he turned on his heel and jerked the flap to my bedroom back, ducking his head inside and glancing immediately to right…where I kept my weapons on top of a dresser. He stared for a few beats before he dropped the flap to turn to me, arms crossed. “You knew I’d react this way.”
I nodded once. No point in lying. “Of course I did, especially after how possessive you were last night about John before you even knew for sure we were married.”
His jaw clenched. “Was he a test?”
I shook my head. “No. I really had a meeting with him.”
His wide, supple lips pursed, his eyebrows snapping together. “Swear to me you’ve never had a sexual relationship with him.”
I blinked then sighed heavily. I knew he was watching me for any visible deception. “I swear I’ve never had a sexual relationship with him. If you would like, I’ll make you a list of all my previous partners, if you’ll do the same for me.”
He blinked this time, and he held up his finger to lift his cell from his pocket, pressing numbers then placing it to his ear. He was quiet a moment, then someone must have answered because he stated, “Release him. He’s free to move about camp.” He snapped his phone shut and placed it in his pocket.
My jaw clenched fiercely, and I stated through gritted teeth, “Did you hurt him?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “His jaw and eye will heal quickly enough.” He ignored the fact I was spitting mad that he had taken a Shifter in this camp without informing me and continued stating, “It could be an issue if you want a list of all my bed partners.”
A rough, humorless chuckle escaped. “Christ, you’re unbelievable.”
His head tilted as he placed his hands in his pant pockets. “I’m going to take that as a compliment.” His lips quirked when my scowl only intensified. “I would like that list, and I’ll provide you with one of all the names of the women I can remember.”
I threw my hands up and turned to pour a cup of coffee for myself, grabbing a new cup. “Fine, and I’ll somehow endeavor to remember all of the names…you can actually remember.”