Chapter 9

I hadn’t expected the Royal House to be so busy on a Thursday night, but there must have been an event going on. Part of the restaurant had been cordoned off to accommodate a large group of humans, probably some kind of birthday party or business meeting over dinner.

We hadn’t exactly dressed up for the meal. I was in trousers and a long-sleeved black polo, but I’d put my hair up and slapped on some gloss and a little mascara. Hemlock was in his usual outfit that blended Old Town and New Town attire, and Ordell was in jeans and a long-sleeved top. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d seen him without his arms on display, and although I missed his bulging biceps, this new look suited him too.

Ezekiel had booked a table in the center of the restaurant and another for us close by. He was already seated when we arrived, and the ma?tre d’ led us to our table for three and offered us menus.

I took the seat that gave me a direct view of my charge and his guest and poured a glass of water so I had something to do with my hands because I had no doubt that the next few hours would test my commitment.

The question that I’d been avoiding pushed to the forefront of my mind: Why did it bother me so much that he was with another woman? I shoved it back into the depths because I wasn’t ready to consider it yet. Considering it meant examining my feelings for this creature, and that frightened the hell out of me.

Instead, I focused on the details around us. The other people—customers and servers—all potential threats. Damn, Ariella looked gorgeous in a simple deep red midi dress that showed off her shapely legs, and Ezekiel…so handsome in a dark blue button-down shirt open at the collar, dark hair pulled back so the candlelight could dance across his alabaster skin, highlighting every plane and dip and?—

Shut up, brain! He’s a murderer. A manipulator.

But he stayed with me while I healed. Built a vista with me and told me stories of a world from long ago. We’d shared things, grown close, and I…Dammit, I needed to get over this shit.

Why hadn’t he looked over at us even once? Did he know we were here? Should I have gone over and said something when we arrived?

“Orina?” Ordell touched my arm lightly. “Do you still want the steak?”

“Um…yeah.” I smiled at the server waiting to take our order.

Hemlock rattled off what we wanted, and I looked over at Ezekiel’s table to check that everything was okay and immediately wished I hadn’t. He was leaning across the table, holding Ariella’s hand, lips moving in soft words that I wished I could hear. Dammit, I should have learned to lip-read.

“He’s telling her how beautiful she looks tonight,” Hemlock said. “And how he can’t wait for later.”

I gulped more water. “I don’t care.”

“Good.” He sat back in his seat. “You shouldn’t. All that matters is that we keep him safe. It shouldn’t be an issue. I checked the guest list, and there is no one on it for tonight that might prove a potential threat.”

“Couldn’t Ezekiel have done that? In fact, he could have reserved the whole restaurant if he wanted to.”

“Yes. He could have,” Ordell said tightly.

“Then why not do so? Why ask me to come babysit him? You know what, don’t answer that. It’s obvious he wants to show me he can control me, that he’s in charge, blah blah blah. Well, joke’s on him. We’re putting this whole meal on his tab.”

Ordell chuckled. “Oh, don’t worry, we will.”

Ezekiel’s food arrived, and as the server placed the plates on the table, the vampire king looked right at me, proving that he knew I was here. Our gazes locked for a beat, and a pang of longing rocked through me. His mouth curved in a smile that was almost wistful before he broke contact and returned his attention to his date.

He reached out and brushed a tendril of hair off her cheek, and she tipped her face up to his, and I was going to be fucking sick.

“Food’s here,” Ordell said, a slight growl to his tone.

“Right.” I focused on the plate placed before me, smiled at the server, and picked up my knife and fork, but my appetite was dead.

“What do you have planned for the weekend?” Hemlock asked.

I looked up at him in surprise. “What do you care?”

He flinched. “It’s called small talk, Orina. You should try it sometime.”

Crap. “Sorry. I’m going to a club. It’s owned by Crush. I can’t remember the name.”

“Midsommer Nights,” Ordell provided. “I know it. Be careful. Don’t eat or drink any fae food.”

“I’m not an idiot.” I cut into my steak. “The team is going too. It’ll be a nice night out. What about you two?”

“There’s a case we need to work on in the Rim,” Hemlock said. “We’ll be back by Sunday night.”

Ordell tugged at the cuff of his shirt and rubbed his arm through it before draining his glass and refilling it.

“Are you hot?”

“I’m fine.” He set to work on his food.

For a few minutes, we were just three people having a meal together, and even Hemlock set aside his coin to eat. There was silence at our table, but the buzz of conversation around us provided a soothing backdrop.

“This chicken is cooked to perfection,” Ordell said. He cut off a little and held his fork out to me. “Try it.”

“Seriously, Ordell, we talked about this,” Hemlock said.

Ordell cursed softly and lowered the fork.

“What are you two talking about?”

“Feeding is an urge,” Ordell said. “From my beast.”

“I don’t understand.”

“He feeds his mates. Remember the cake?” Hemlock popped some pasta into his mouth.

Oh God… “As in fattens them up so he can eat them?”

Ordell looked horrified, and Hemlock choked on his mouthful. They stared at each other, and then Hemlock dropped his head, shoulders shaking.

Wait, was he laughing?

Twin spots of color appeared high on Ordell’s cheeks. “Shut up,” he growled.

“I’m…I’m sorry. I just…Fattens them up so he can…Oh my…My, that’s…” He sobered, but mirth danced in his eyes, transforming his austere features into something beautiful and inviting.

I must have been staring a little too hard because his smile fell, and his expression closed in. He dropped his attention to his plate and picked up his fork.

“The feeding is a ritual,” Ordell said softly. “The desire to provide for your mate, and when it is reciprocated it strengthens the bond.”

“Like…when I fed you cake?”

“Yes…”

Oh… “You should have told me.”

“I know, and I’m sorry.”

Movement by Ezekiel’s table caught my eye. Ariella was leaving her seat, probably to go to the washroom. “I’ll be right back. Just need to keep an eye on Ariella.”

I’d said I wasn’t her babysitter, but now that she was out in public with Ezekiel, now that everyone could see that she meant something to him, she’d become a target. A way to get to the vampire king, and because of that reason I would now have to be her watcher too. Damn it.

She’d taken my place as his favorite pet. I should be grateful.

I should, but I wasn't.

The washroom was all marble floors, chrome, and spotlights. Huge mirrors took up one wall, reflecting the large stalls opposite. It was empty except for the one stall that was closed. Muttering emanated from behind the closed door. Was she speaking to herself?

I should have called out and let her know that I was in the room, but some deeper instinct warned me to stay silent and listen. Still, I couldn’t make out the words that she was saying, just the intensity in the tone, urgent and desperate; the cadence sounded like some kind of mantra.

The door behind me opened, and another lady walked in, heels clicking on marble. The muttering stopped instantly, the toilet flushed, and a moment later Ariella emerged. Her gaze flicked from the lady who’d just walked in, busy reapplying her lipstick now, to me.

She sighed and smiled. “Did he send you to check up on me?”

“No. I think it’s kinda my job now. You’re important to him, and so you might be a target for someone who wants to control him.”

She looked stunned. “Oh.”

“Don’t worry, it’s not so bad. Ezekiel will protect you.”

“Yes.” Her smile softened. “I’m certain he will. I can’t believe I was afraid of him. All the horrific things people say about him…lies.”

The woman by the mirrors let out a soft laugh and shook her head.

I glared at her reflection. “You’re done. Get out.”

She looked as if she wanted to argue, but then she noticed the sword strapped to my back, quickly gathered her stuff, and clipped off to the exit.

“Orina?” Ariella frowned. “It is lies, right?”

I didn’t want to burst her bubble, but she deserved to know the truth so it didn’t shock her later. “All those things you heard are true. Ezekiel has killed a lot of people, but the way he is with you, that’s also true. Maybe you can be the person that helps him to change.”

“Oh…” She licked her lips. “I see. I…”

“But there’s good in him. I’ve seen it. He saved my life.” My throat pinched. “He just needs someone to believe in him. To believe that he can be better, that he can control the monster inside him. And it looks like he cares enough about you to try.”

“You sound like a heroine from one of those dark romance novels where the hero is a stalker or a serial killer. Making excuses for his psychotic behavior.”

“Ezekiel is not psychotic!”

She exhaled. “I know. He’s been nothing but kind and gentle to me. Maybe…maybe you’re right.”

“I know I am.”

“And you?” She studied me with a shrewdness I hadn’t seen in her face yet.

“What about me?”

“Are you important to him?”

I gave her a flat smile. “I’m the person responsible for keeping him on his feet, so yeah, you can bet your ass I’m important.”

“And that’s all?”

“What more could there be?”

“Nothing. There should be nothing.” There was a steel in her tone now that spoke of possessiveness. The tone of a woman warning another away from her man.

Good. This is what we wanted, but that didn’t mean I wasn’t tempted to bite back.

“I should get back to my table.” She ducked around me and headed for the door. “Thanks for the chat.”

Looked like Ariella had more of a backbone than I thought. Defending her territory. I had to respect that.

I followed, and it was only when I was back at my table that it hit me that I hadn’t asked her what she’d been muttering about.

The rest of the meal passed uneventfully with Ordell and Hemlock making small talk and Ezekiel shooting glances my way periodically between holding hands with Ariella or stroking her cheek. The PDA was starting to get on my nerves. What was he trying to prove? Or was this simply Ezekiel when he was falling in love? I should be happy because this meant that Loviator would remain in her prison. The world would be safe, but there was a part of me that wished he hadn’t fallen so quickly. His captivation with her made our dynamic seem insignificant, and although it shouldn’t matter to me, it did.

“Looks like they’re done,” Ordell said.

“Finally,” Hemlock groaned.

Ezekiel stood and rounded the table to help Ariella from her seat—the perfect gentleman. She stood, moving close to him, stepping into his aura, his heat. My stomach clenched. He held my gaze while dropping a kiss on top of her head.

I kept my expression neutral even though my insides were in some kind of epic battle.

Finally, they left, moving toward the exit. I slid from my seat and followed them out into the night.

“I’ll bring Betsy around.” Hemlock hurried off. We’d be trailing Ezekiel back to the stables where the bat boys would take over guard duty and get him to Branwood.

Technically, I should stay with him all the way, but he’d made his wishes clear, and I wasn’t about to argue. My main role was to temper his hunger, which he seemed to have under control, and he was at full strength, so the short drive from stable to Branwood with his minions on guard would be fine…

Yeah, he would be fine.

Stop it, Orina.

Ordell and I lingered on the pavement as Ezekiel helped Ariella into the fancy car. The same car that he’d bundled me into more than once.

Would he press her to the leather seats and cage her in with his body? Would he breathe her in too? Scrape his fangs along the column of her neck and whisper dirty things that would make her wet?

He shut the door on her and strode over to us, stepping into my personal space to look down his nose at me. His nostrils flared, and a small smug smile lifted his beautiful lips.

“You can leave us now,” he said.

“Not until you’re at the stables and Godor is with you.”

He glanced up at the roof of the building opposite, and I followed his gaze to see several winged figures perched there.

Godor and the bat boys. “Did you even need me here tonight?” The summit and large gatherings and stuff like that I could understand, but an intimate dinner?

“Why? Did you not have fun?”

“Fun? Watching you canoodle is hardly my idea of fun.”

His lips lifted in a sneer. “No, it isn’t, is it?” He turned on his heel and strode back to the car. “You’re dismissed.”

What the fuck?

He yanked open the door, threw himself into the vehicle, and had barely slammed the door when it peeled away from the curb and into the night, taking him with it. Away from me.

“Are you all right?” Ordell asked.

No. “Yeah. But he isn’t. I mean, what the fuck is his problem?”

Betsy purred her way up the street toward us. “Come on, I’ll buy you that ice cream I promised you weeks ago.”

Any other day or night, I’d have jumped at the offer, but my social meter was running low. I needed to crawl under a duvet and have a cry. “Not tonight.”

“If you want to know what Ezekiel’s problem is then you’ll come with us.”

Dammit. “Fine, but you’re buying me three scoops.”

“Deal.”