“The underboss would like to have a word in private with your daughter. Though, due to the circumstances, it’s safe to say there cannot be a meeting face-to-face just yet. He suggested a phone conversation would be best,” the half-naked man states.
My father waves his hand in the air. “Why would the underboss need to have a word with us first? We have to speak to the man who my daughter connected with so we can arrange a marriage. We’re also in a hurry. I need to get back home as soon as possible.”
“Dump and run,” Zipporah mutters and the man’s gaze swings in her direction once again.
“Show yourself, woman,” he growls and takes a menacing step forward.
His phone starts to ring and a string of curses rip from his mouth before he answers the call with a grunt, asking the person on the other line to hang on for a second. He stalks toward another door and opens it.
He stares at me and says, “Ma’am, Fiero would like to have a word with you over the phone in private.”
“Of course.” I nod and slip through the door.
Zipporah follows me but the man’s arm flashes out, causing her to run straight into him.
“Private means private, woman,” he grunts.
He’s about to close the door in front of her nose when she grumbles, “Asshole. And stop calling me woman.”
“Then show your pretty face so we can get acquainted and I can call you by your name,” he fires back.
Zipporah huffs. “I don’t give my name to anyone who doesn’t have manners.”
“Pity, ’cause I don’t rip out some manners if the other person doesn’t show respect, let alone don’t show themself to the person they’re speaking to.” He doesn’t give her a chance to say anything back and closes the door behind him.
I can’t help but chuckle. Zipporah has quite the mouth on her and isn’t afraid to give her opinion, even if the other person doesn’t want to hear it. It’s also why she most times uses her invisibility to stake out people because, needless to say, Zipporah is not a people person.
“Sorry,” the man says with a grin on his face, showing me he’s not sorry at all.
I give him a slight nod as he hands me the phone before he leaves the room.
I bring the device to my ear. “Hello?”
“Name,” a man grunts on the other side.
Jeez, talking about manners and having none. “Kaleah Nissa Dravens,” I dutiful reply, biting my tongue to hold back a snappy comment about him being rude and how it’s polite to share his own name first.
Another string of words is grumbled through the phone. “What do people call you?”
That’s a loaded question. Though, I know he’s referring to my name, I opt to throw out what people call me behind my back. “Evil creature, dark nymph, abomination, freak of nature. Need I go on?”
“Motherfucker,” the man growls.
“No, I don’t think I’ve been called that yet…but I guess there’s a first time for everything,” I dryly reply.
A tired sigh flows through the line. “Miss Dravens, I’m Fiero Calvino. What would you like me to call you? Kaleah or Nissa?”
“My friend, Zipporah, always calls me Maze and I prefer it more than hearing my own name.”
“Maze.” My name rolls off his tongue in a way that makes my body shiver.
Without thinking I blurt, “She started calling me Maze because my abilities are like a system of passageways. My powers run deep and aren’t all mapped out so who knows what lies beneath the surface,” I babble and really need to shut my mouth.
“Maze.” This time my name sounds as if he’s intrigued by the fact I’m more of a labyrinth than a shallow person.
I clear my throat. “That’s me. And what do they call you?”
Fiero chuckles. “Underboss.”
Silence falls between us and I wonder what the point to this call is when he suddenly says, “How are we going to put our bond in place when you smell damn delicious? I’m pretty sure I’m going to drain you dry once I sink my teeth into you.”
“That would be unfortunate,” I mutter while my mind is reeling.
The underboss was the man who I was instantly drawn to? Shit. Not just a vampire but one of the highest ranking mafia men in the supernatural world. Not to mention, his family are the ones who organize these gatherings. This alone shows how high up their power is.
And the mentioning of said power is also a realization how this man’s mother is none other than Sisley Carmeline Leone. She’s a human born with the angelic touch, giving her a boost of power. The thought of her son being my eternal mate is terrifying due to my own abilities; power colliding with power. Not a good thing, and that’s stating it lightly.
I swallow hard. “I guess there’s only one way to find out.”
“Exchanging a drop or two would be sufficient to put the bond in place.” His voice flows through the phone but I also hear him outside of the room.
I spin around toward the sound of his voice and face another door than the one I went through a moment ago. I can actually feel him, a full awareness of my counterpart while the scent of citrus and spice assaults my senses.
I want to run to the door but I keep myself rooted to the spot when I see the door opening. The phone I’m holding in my hand falls in splinters to the floor as it gives way under the crushing strength of my hand. My gaze collides with honey eyes turning bloody as he closes the door behind him.
I can see the torment written on his face. He’s fighting the desire to rip me apart and drain me dry. I’m aware how we smell to vampires, and to add the combination of the eternal mate is a mixture made for disaster.
“Lucan,” he grits through clenched teeth.
The other door swings open and the muscled man with the leather cut walks inside. He closes the door behind him but Zipporah manages to slip through before it falls shut.
“Lucan here will be able to tear me away in case things go wrong,” Fiero states. “He’s a centaur shifter and has dealt with similar situations in the past.”
“Are you kidding me?” Zipporah grumbles and makes herself visible. She glares at Lucan. “You’re a centaur shifter?”
Thinking fast I decide to grab this distracting opportunity to take action and set the bond in place in the blink of an eye. I use my ability to move faster than light. Fiero doesn’t even see me move.
Before he knows what’s happening, I bite his lip to draw blood and let it flow onto my tongue and swallow it down. In return I bite mine and shove my tongue–coated with my blood–into his mouth and return to my spot across the room.
Heat blooms through my entire body and my heartrate picks up speed. The rush I’m experiencing is extreme. I’ve never felt anything like it. It’s as if every cell inside my body is awakened, fired up to become aware of the link with my eternal mate.
Fiero blinks and raises his fingers to his lips. He closes his eyes and groans. “Fuuuuuck, you put the bond in place, didn’t you?”
“Yes. How do you feel?” I ask and let my tongue trail over my lips to relish in the taste of him.
Vampires might drink blood but so does my kind. His taste is pure chocolate and salted caramel spiking my tastebuds into overdrive; I need more.