Vengeance: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 3 Read Free Page B

my mind to think in an organized manner again. The same page sat unread and unturned for twenty minutes as I willfully slowed my thought processes down. My mind wandered about aimlessly, sometimes recounting past events and at others trying to ordain the future. Hellion found me as my mind skipped through the injustices of the last few days.  
    “It was suddenly quiet enough that I wondered if you’d left the house,” he said, sitting down on the opposite end of the sofa and settling my feet in his lap.  
    The long, firm strokes delivered to my arches made me purr in appreciation, and I set the book aside as my eyes drifted shut. “Living forever won’t be so bad if you keep that up.”
    His dark chuckle was the only answer I received, but he didn’t stop.  
    The silence grew heavy between us and I knew something bothered him. I wanted to ask and had slowly worked up the nerve when he broached the topic on his own, his deep baritone seemingly softened by the low lights and rich ambience of the room itself.
    “I’ve been thinking about what happened this morning, Maddy, and I want to ask you how you’d feel about lodging a formal complaint against Bahlin through the appropriate Council channels.”
    I pulled my feet from his lap and sat up, rubbing my forehead.  
    “Enough of an answer, I suppose.”
    “No, not really,” I muttered, impressed he hadn’t walked out when the non-answer I gave him obviously wasn’t what he wanted from me. Sighing, I scooted closer to him and rested my cheek on his unyielding shoulder. “Look, sweetheart,” I began, and he physically softened.
    “Sweetheart?” His voice was full of some emotion I couldn’t identify.
    “Are you laughing at me?” I was stunned. I’d kill the—
    “No. No, I’m not laughing. Smiling? Yes. But definitely not laughing. It’s the first time you’ve used an affectionate nickname for me.” Turning to face me, I found his eyes lit up and a truly joyous smile on his face.
    Over a pet name? Obviously I had been a little uptight with him. “If you’d prefer I didn’t—”
    “No,” he exclaimed again, shaking his head in emphasis. “I’m quite fond of it, actually.”  
    He reached for me, the joy evolving into something darker, more sensual, and I shivered as I moved toward him.
    A brisk knock at the door made us both pause, and he sucked in the air to yell.  
    I clapped a hand over his mouth and called out, “Just a minute, Mark!” Dropping my hand, I turned to Hellion, incredulous. “Does he have some type of mental alarm that alerts him every time we want to bump uglies?” I demanded.
    Hellion grinned behind my hand, pulling his head back, so I could see his dimples flash as he lowered his lips to mine. “‘Bump uglies?’” he asked, his lips a soft coercion.
    “American slang. It means…oh hell, you know what it means.” I was blushing as Hellion stood to adjust himself in his trousers. Sitting again, he crossed one ankle over his knee and did the best he could to hide the arousal that punched out from his groin.
    “Sweetheart,” I said with emphasis and not a little teasing, “you could lay a king-sized quilt over that battering ram and it’s still not going to hide the whole thing.” I strolled toward the door, amused at the look of pride on Hellion’s face at my left-handed compliment of his junk. He might be a supe, but he was still a man.
    I swung the door open and found Mark pacing. The butler turned and nearly leapt at me, taking my hand and pulling me toward the stairs. “Apparently we’re in a hurry?” I asked, being dragged after him.
    My free hand automatically clamped to my aching side and I couldn’t help but limp slightly on my still-battered leg. Twisting, my stitches strained against skin as we turned a corner, and I pulled on Mark’s hand.
    He didn’t slow down.
    “Mark? Mark,” I yelled, pulling harder, but still the guy hauled me forward.  
    Hellion cursed behind me. The slap of his bare