Chapter Seventeen

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Making his way to the stadium, Teague sighed. Ordinarily, his beast would be in a good mood right now, given that a race was imminent. But it was currently in a funk. Why? Because Larkin wasn’t at their side.

It didn’t want her to head there separately, it wanted her where it could see her. Clingy bastard.

The intensity of its possessiveness hadn’t cooled now that she wore its brand. No, that territorialism had kicked up several notches. There was no doubt in Teague’s mind that his beast would mark her again. She’d be covered in them, if the entity had its way.

It was her own fault. If she’d only reacted as expected to all she’d learned the previous night, if she hadn’t proven that they could wholeheartedly trust her, the beast wouldn’t now view her as inside its circle.

Part of Teague was still reeling over how she’d not only taken his being hell-born in her stride but had rolled with his revelations about his past profession.

Also, she liked his clan. He hadn’t expected that. Larkin held herself apart from strangers, not giving herself the room to feel either like or dislike. But she had been the opposite of distant and aloof toward them, and he knew she’d done that solely for him.

Last night, he’d tried talking her out of involving herself in the Ronin business, but it was impossible to change her mind once she’d firmly made it up. Eventually, he’d let it go and instead pulled her into his plans.

She’d won over his clan without consciously seeking to do it. That she’d demonstrated such loyalty to him had been enough. Once they’d realized she was determined to fight at his side, they’d gone from ‘I think I could like her’ to ‘Teague, you should keep her’.

Well, it was mostly Gideon and Archer who’d telepathically expressed the latter opinion, but the others had made similar comments. His beast had the same attitude. And, to be honest, so did Teague.

But Larkin was ‘all or nothing’. She’d want a real relationship. He didn’t know if he had it in him to build and sustain one. Didn’t know what exactly it would entail.

Would she expect him to move into her apartment? Leave his clan to join her lair? He could never agree to those conditions; could never abandon his clan.

Given her own hot buttons regarding abandonment, Larkin might not insist on it. But he could be wrong on that. Couples were supposed to make compromises and sacrifices, right?

Teague wouldn’t know how to integrate himself into a lair. He’d existed outside of a hierarchy for too long, and he liked it that way. He had no wish to change it. He was . . .

Teague’s thoughts trailed off as he caught sight of three familiar demons hovering not far from the stadium’s entrance. Holt and his sentinels. Motherfucker.

His beast’s lips peeled back. Larkin had mentioned that Holt had paid a visit to Knox the previous day, asking that the Prime intercede on his behalf. She hadn’t elaborated beyond that except to say that Knox had urged the asshole to leave Vegas or suffer the consequences. He’d clearly decided to ignore that warning.

Teague could have bypassed him, but then the cambion might linger, intent on getting an opportunity to speak to him. If Holt did that, there was a possibility he’d come across Larkin when she arrived. Teague didn’t want him near her.

As such, he didn’t skirt around the trio. He came to a smooth halt in front of Holt, ignoring the guy’s companions, and met his unblinking stare full-on. This kind of posturing really fucking bored him, but it was the only language some demons spoke.

The Prime regarded him with a blank expression, saying not one word. It was only when his gaze dropped to the harpy wing on Teague’s neck that he showed any emotion. A flash of hot anger that came and went so fast you could almost believe you’d imagined it.

Teague spoke, “The brand isn’t fading, if that’s what you were wondering.” It would have been an indication that her demon was losing interest in him.

Holt’s eyes bounced back to his. “Why is it that you’re investing so much of your time and attention on Larkin?”

The unexpected question dented Teague’s brow. “What?”

“I’ve looked into you. Everything I’ve learned has told me that you have no interest in serious or long-term relationships. So I’m confused.”

It was no lie, Teague detected. The guy truly felt that Teague must have some kind of ‘angle’ here; that he was slyly using her to gain or achieve something. “You’re judging me by your standards. We don’t all have devious motivations behind the things that we do.”

“Does she know that there is no record of your past? I think she would find that interesting. Suspicious, even.”

“She already knows. Nonetheless, she’s in my bed. What does that tell you?”

“That she hasn’t yet sensed why you’re really making a place for yourself in her life. Are you hoping that Knox will invite you to join his lair due to your being his sentinel’s boyfriend? If so, it is a foolish plan. Oh, he may grant you a place, but he would toss you out once the relationship ended. And it will end. Something that, if the brand is anything to go by, may hurt her deeply.” Holt took a small step forward. “And if it does, I will come for you.”

Teague’s mouth curved before he could stop it. “Come for me?” That was precious.

“Without a doubt. I’ll be leaving Vegas soon. Only for a short time, so you need not get excited. I have a few things to attend to.”

It seemed more likely to Teague that the guy had chosen to heed Knox but was saying this bullshit to save face.

“I will have people watch over her while I am gone. If you make a wrong move, I will find out, and I will end you.”

“Oh, I do hope you try.” It would make Teague’s week—hell, his whole month. “If I were you, I wouldn’t bother coming back. You won’t get what you want.”

Holt’s brow winged up. “Larkin convinced you that she has no intention of ever forming the bond, did she? It hasn’t occurred to you that she is testing me? That she is pushing me hard to see if I mean it when I say that I won’t leave her again? That a part of her also wants me to feel how she felt years ago—angry, rejected, hurt?”

“Actually, no, I don’t find any of that feasible.” Not when he knew Larkin as well as he did.

“You should.”

The guy wasn’t a fan of reality, was he? “When is it gonna get through your head that you fucked up too spectacularly to fix it? Larkin didn’t send you away from her out of spite. Or to test you. Or to hurt you. Or because anger is coloring her decisions. She simply wants nothing to do with you.”

Holt’s eyes narrowed. “You like the thought of that being the case. Which only illustrates that I’m right in thinking you care nothing for her. If she mattered to you in any way, you would want her to have her anchor in her life. You wouldn’t be so keen to get me out of the picture.”

“If Larkin wanted to form the bond with you, I’d support that. But when it comes to you, she has no interest in doing anything but putting you on a plane.”

“You really shouldn’t be so sure of that.”

“Oh, but I am. And you know something? I think you are, too. I think you’ve come to realize that you’re fighting a losing battle here—it’s written all over your face.” Teague could see it clear as day. “So why haven’t you left already?” And why had the cambion bothered to seek him out?

Teague didn’t get it. There appeared to be no real point to the conversation. Holt might truly have doubts as to why Teague was around Larkin, but it seemed a poor excuse to confront him like this. Plus, Holt had issued his little threat—it was done and dusted; there was no need for their chat to continue. Yet, the Prime hadn’t walked away. He was still here.

“Why track me down for a chat? What’s the purpose of all this?” Teague stared hard at him, searching his eyes, studying his expression. “Are you trying to provoke Larkin into contacting you?”

Holt’s eyelids flickered.

Teague nodded, certain he was right. “That’s it. That’s why you’re here. You know she won’t like that you’ve come anywhere near me. You know that she’ll want to deal with you personally. You think this will make her come to you.” Unbelievable. His beast puffed an annoyed breath out of its nostrils, tired of this male who just couldn’t stop playing games.

“I have no reason to need her to come to me. As you said, she has no interest in me.”

At least he was admitting it. “But you want to talk to her all the same. Maybe to give it one last shot at convincing her to see things your way, or maybe even just to have an opportunity to curse her out for rejecting you.” Teague didn’t see that it mattered why, because it wouldn’t work.

Of course . . . “It would have been a good plan if she was so easy to manipulate, but that’s not the case.” Teague tilted his head. “I would have thought you’d have picked up on that long before now. It’s not exactly hard to sense.”

“You talk of her with such authority. You think you know her so well.” There was a mocking note in Holt’s tone.

“I know her far better than you do—that much is clear, or you wouldn’t have bothered pulling this stunt. You would have been well-aware that it was pointless.”

Holt’s eyes flared. “Trust me, Sullivan, I understand my anchor well.”

“No, you only think you know her. The truth is, you never bothered to try. You did what all manipulators do—you set out to learn just enough about her for you to know what buttons to push to get your way, that’s all. And that’s what you did. Pushed her buttons over and over. You’re still doing it now, even though it gets you nowhere. I guess you just know no other way to get what you want from people.”

Holt looked away, sighing. “It would seem she has painted me as a real villain to you.” He gave his head a quick shake and then returned his gaze to Teague. “I may have hurt her, but I’m not the enemy here. I’m trying to do right by her.”

“If that were true, you’d be back in Canada now. You’d have respected her wishes; you’d have put them before what you want. But you haven’t. You won’t. So don’t bother claiming to be misunderstood and brimming with good intentions—it won’t fly with me.”

Holt’s mouth tightened. “You don’t understand me as well as you think you do.”

“Sure I do. I’ve met people like you many times before. You all think you’re so very clever. But you’re nothing special. And you bleed like everyone else—that is something you might want to remember. Because if you come back to Vegas again, you won’t leave it intact. If I don’t see to that, Knox will. And neither of us fuck around.”

Done with the asshole, Teague shrugged past him and walked straight into the stadium. His beast jerked up its head with a snort of derision. Why the universe thought that that dick out there would make a good anchor for Larkin would forever remain a mystery.

There was one thing that Teague could be certain of: she wasn’t going to take this well. Not even a little.

“I don’t get why Khloë finds it amusing,” said Teague. “What’s funny about my demon branding you?”

Cocking her head, Larkin watched from her seat at his table while he stood at the counter, stirring their coffees with a teaspoon. “She said it was funny?”

“No. She telepathically reached out to me just before my race. She said she saw the brand and likes it. Told me it’s great that my beast is happy to help you and me make the fake dating seem real. But I’m pretty sure she was mocking me.”

Khloë was likely entertained by how he hadn’t yet realized that the whole thing wasn’t fake anymore when his beast clearly had. “Did you ask her what she found funny?”

Teague plonked the teaspoon on his counter. “Yeah.”

“And?”

“She laughed at me and then ended the conversation.”

Larkin stifled a smile. “Well, that’s Khloë for you. She’s always chuckling over things other people see no humor in.”

He placed two mugs of coffee on the table. “Hmm, I guess.” He took the seat across from her. “It’s good that Knox, Tanner, and Levi didn’t give you a bucketful of shit over the brand.”

She’d told him most of what got said during her visit to Urban Ink, but she’d obviously left out that the reason the guys were fine about the mark was that they’d sensed things were now truly serious between her and Teague. “It is. Keenan took it pretty well, too.”

Initially, the incubus had given her a short ‘I knew you were bullshitting us and I’m so hurt that you lied’ spiel. She’d cut that off with a ‘Stop whining, I know that you’re nowhere near as wounded as you claim, so now who’s the bullshitter?’

He’d grunted, before then going on to express his amusement at how Teague had no clue he was the target of a harpy on the hunt. Mollified by the brand—or, more to the point, what it represented—Keenan had even then wished her luck in permanently ‘snaring’ Teague.

Noticing that the hellhorse had an odd expression on his face, she asked, “What?”

Cradling his mug, he idly tapped his fingers along its side. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

Tensing, Larkin narrowed her eyes. “How very ominous that sounded.” If he announced he wanted them to part ways, she was gonna kick his ass right here in his own wagon. Her demon would paint the walls with his blood. “Well, spit it out.”

He raised a hand. “First, I need you to promise that you’ll hear me out all the way before you react.”

“You’re serious?”

“Super serious. Promise me, Lark.”

She let out an annoyed breath. “Fine. I promise. Now cough it up.”

He straightened a little in his seat. “I saw Holt today.”

She went rigid. “Saw him?”

“To be specific, he was waiting for me outside the stadium before my race.”

Her eyelid twitched, and her inner demon stirred with a snarl. “What did he say to you?”

“In sum . . . I must have an ulterior motive for being in your life, and I’m mistaken in thinking that you won’t bond with him eventually. Oh, and he’ll be gone from Vegas for a short time, which I think you’ll agree is good news.”

Good newswould be hearing he’d been dropped into a vat of boiling hot oil and then set alight by the flames of hell. Larkin flexed her fingers as anger curdled in her belly. “I warned him to stay away from me and mine.” She especially hadn’t wanted him in even Teague’s general vicinity.

“And he knew you’d be pissed. That was why he did it. He didn’t truly want a conversation with me. He wanted to provoke you into contacting him.”

“Did he touch you?” The question came out through her teeth.

“No.”

“Did he threaten you?”

Teague hesitated, twisting his mouth.

Larkin leaned forward and laid her hands flat on the table. “Don’t lie to me, Rainbow Dash.”

“If that’s another My Little Pony character—”

“I want the truth. Now.”

Sighing, he scratched at the back of his head. “He said he’d come for me if I ever hurt you, but that was pretty much it.”

Spitting a curse, Larkin pushed out of her chair. Filled with a dark restless energy, she began to pace up and down. The whole time, her inner demon fumed.

It wasn’t bad enough that Holt had come here thinking he could use Larkin to deter his enemies from dicking with him, was it? No. The sack of shit had threatened the man in her life. A man who was barely in her life and could very well think I don’t need this crap and then go on his way if Holt pushed hard enough.

“It wasn’t much of a threat, Lark,” said Teague. “No cursing or snarling or anything. It was more like a casual statement.”

“I could give a shit how he phrased it. He threatened to harm you.”

“It didn’t do anything but amuse me.”

“So not the point.”

Knowing better than to touch a harpy who was firmly in the grip of anger, Teague didn’t give into the urge to get up and go to her. Instead, he angled his body to fully face her and said, “I wasn’t bothered by that, I was bothered that—” He ceased speaking as her demon abruptly surfaced.

Freezing in place, it pinned him with a black gaze that swam with fury. “I should have killed him long ago, consequences be damned.”

“Why bother? He’s irrelevant. To you. To Larkin. To me. And he knows it. He did this to try to make himself relevant.”

The entity’s hands balled up. “I want to dice up his eyeballs and feed them to him. Then his fingernails. Then his toes. Then his teeth.”

“I’m pretty sure he’d vomit several times.”

“I’d make him eat that, too.”

The delightful little freak really would. “This isn’t worth getting worked up over.”

“I disagree.”

“If you go to him, you’ll be giving him what he wants. He did this for a reaction. He’s trying once again to manipulate both you and Larkin. Don’t let him do it. Or do you want him to have that power over you?”

It squinted. “Now you are trying to manipulate me.”

“No, I’m simply pointing out the facts of the situation. I want you to look at it from every angle and not react out of anger. You’d later be pissed at yourself for letting him win.”

The entity sneered at him. “I don’t wish to speak to you right now. You’re making too much sense.” That fast, it subsided.

Larkin bent her head far to the side until her neck cracked. “My demon’s not much interested in being rational right now.”

“I got that impression. What about you?”

She sighed, rolling back her tense shoulders. “I know you’re right. I know that to pay him a visit would do nothing more than make him feel smug. But I’m so fucking done with his shit. You know, what really annoys me is that he won’t even be all that disappointed if I don’t go to him, because he’ll still have the satisfaction of knowing he pissed me off just like I pissed him off by trampling over his cunning little plan.”

“There’s a cunning little plan?”

“I didn’t see it at first; it was Knox who pointed it out. Holt is predominantly here for political reasons. He’s having issues with other Primes. He’ll never get Knox on side, but if he’s bound to me . . . ”

“The Primes on his ass will likely back off,” Teague understood.

“Exactly. Holt doesn’t want to claim me as his psi-mate for the right reason. I don’t think he ever did. Total asshole, isn’t he?”

“Of the worst variety.” Teague rose from his chair, crossed to her, and curved an arm around her neck to tug her close. “I get why you don’t want to let this go, but what I said earlier about going to him being a bad idea still stands. How about you send someone else to deal with him? And by deal with him, I mean kill him.”

Her brow pinched. “Send some of my lair’s Force to take on a Prime? I’d never put them in that position.”

“Who said anything about your lair members?”

“You’re offering to take care of him?”

Teague shrugged. “You want him gone; I can make that happen. Just say the word and I’ll bury the fucker.” With relish. Plenty and plenty of relish.

“No.”

“What, you think I can’t handle him?” His beast snorted in affront.

“I have no doubt that you can handle him. But you’d struggle against his entire lair. They’d sniff out who killed him. They’d come for that person. If you were part of a lair, they’d need to request the permission of your Prime to execute you. But you’re a stray, so they wouldn’t be required to seek permission to administer a punishment. They’d sneak up on you when you least expect it.”

“And then they’d die.” It would be epic.

“Probably. Given your past occupation, I am sure that you and your clan are quite equipped at killing. But that would only lead to more demons coming your way seeking revenge. It would be a never-ending cycle. Trust me, I’ve seen it happen.”

“You’re making too much sense,” he complained.

“And you’re so similar to my demon it’s eerie.”

He smiled. “I’m putting that in my mental ‘favorite compliments’ drawer.”

She rolled her eyes. “Yeah, do you that.”

He rubbed his nose against hers. “So how do you want to handle this?”

Some lines of tension smoothing away from her forehead, she threaded her fingers through his hair. “I’m just going to take a moment to say how I appreciate that you don’t try to override my decisions.”

“I want to work with you, not against you.”

“I know, I like it.” She blew out a breath. “With regards to Holt, I don’t think that sending others to deal with him would achieve anything. He’s not stupid, he’ll expect a visit—if not from me, then from someone on my behalf—so he won’t even be in his hotel room while he waits. He’ll be somewhere close, monitoring who enters and exits the building. He might recognize who I send, he might not. Either way, he won’t give them a chance to harm him.”

“Why have you let him remain at the hotel? Surely Knox could have had him kicked out.” The Prime wielded a shitload of social power here in Vegas.

“I felt it better to know where he was. It made it easier to keep an eye on him.”

“Ah, gotcha. It wouldn’t surprise me if he’s checked out already. Like you said, he’ll be expecting a visit. And he means to return to Canada anyway.”

“Hopefully he’ll stay there.”

“It would be nice.”

Larkin didn’t think it would be so unrealistic of him to do so. Knox felt certain that he’d gotten through to Holt, so the cambion knew he’d be wasting his time if he stuck around. Plus, he had troubles with other lairs to handle.

His demon might not like that there’d be no anchor bond, but it would surely be so angry with her for repeatedly rejecting it that it wouldn’t fight Holt on leaving. And maybe with time and distance from her, his entity would feel less inclined to push him to form the bond. Fingers and toes crossed.

Teague toyed with the end of her braid. “Is your demon any calmer?”

“It’s currently making a mental list of torturous methods it would like to use on Holt. Does that answer your question?” It also cast Teague a disinterested look, unmoved by his concern. “It’s still miffed at you for talking sense earlier.”

He gave her a look of complete understanding. “I’ve got to admit, I’m not a fan of ‘sense’. But I didn’t want you or your demon doing something you’d later regret. I mean, I might not know what regret feels like, but people seem to really hate it.”

“It’s not an enjoyable emotion.”

“Seems synonymous with ‘weak’ to me.”

Larkin snickered. “Of course it does.”

He rubbed a hand up and down her back. “What can I do that will help you and your demon calm down?”

One thing was guaranteed to work. “I need to spar with someone. I won’t use my abilities, it’ll just be combat.”

“Slade will be good for you to spar with, then.” He let his arms slip away from her. “I’d offer to be your sparring partner, but let’s face it, I’d just get all worked up seeing you hot and sweaty, and then I’d end up wrestling you to the floor so I could fuck you.”

Larkin felt her lips curve. “Wrestling me to the floor?” she echoed. “You’re cute.”

His brows shot up. “You don’t think I can put you on your back?”

“I know you can’t.”

“You’re wrong.”

“Oh, yeah? Prove it.” She’d barely gotten out the latter word before he lunged for her—fast. She sidestepped him, did a swift turn, and brought her hand down sharply on his ass.

He slowly pivoted on his heel, looking reluctantly impressed. “You’re sure quick on your feet, baby.”

“I know.” She raised a challenging brow. “Spar?”

“Yeah, all right. Let’s go outside and do this. But you know I’ll fuck you afterwards, right?”

Walking toward the door, she glanced at him over her shoulder. “Not in front of your clan, you won’t.”

“But a little exhibitionism can spice things up. LarTea is all about spice.”

Concerned by the level of seriousness in his voice, she halted and then turned to face him. “We’re not having sex in public,” she firmly stated.

“Why not? We practiced for this.”

“Maybe you had it in your head that we fucked in private so we’d be okay doing it in front of other people, but I didn’t.” She lifted a hand when he would have argued. “No, it’s not happening.”

“Ah, come on. It’ll be fun. My clan will egg us on and everything. Maybe even eat popcorn. It won’t get weird.”

“The mere idea of it is weird.”

“You said you had sex in that club in the Underground that can get a little raw.”

“That was different. It was dark. And people weren’t sitting there watching me.”

Pursing his lips, he lifted his shoulders. “I can ask them to stand up.”

“You’re not right in the head. You’re just not. It’s like . . . ” She trailed off as realization dawned on her. “You’re doing that thing again where you help me get out all my frustration by bickering with you.”

He grinned. “It never fails to work.” Crossing to her, he tapped her chin. “But you would enjoy some exhibitionism.”

“I would not.”