I shrugged. We had a hundred and fifty years or so. Lots could happen especially now that Daniel wasn’t going to hide anymore. I was willing to wait. “Fine. Can we go back to the camp now? I need to get cleaned up.”
“No,” Daniel said firmly. “We have a meeting with McKenzie.”
“Daniel, I’m half naked, more than half, actually.” I didn’t want to walk around the forest covered in blood. It was usually a bad idea.
Daniel strode to me and picked me up, cradling me in his arms. “We’re closer to the big house than the tent. Dev, can you follow? Is your leg fine?”
Dev took a couple of tentative steps. “More than fine.”
Daniel nodded and began to stride through the woods. “You’re coming with me to the meeting. You look sweet and vulnerable. Any alpha male worth his salt will look at you and be outraged at the thought of someone trying to hurt something so soft and pretty.”
Dev smiled, a savage light in his eyes. “Yes, it will put McKenzie in a bad position. His wolves attacked the ones trying to help him. He can’t take the high moral ground. We’ll walk into the meeting with the advantage.”
“That was my thought,” Daniel affirmed.
“Excellent play, Your Highness.” Dev tipped his head as the big house came into view.
“I learned from the best,” Daniel returned.
“Your Grace?” A voice called out. “Is that you?” John McKenzie stepped out onto his huge wraparound porch, a fierce frown on his face.
Daniel strode forward. “Yes, His Grace is here, though he’s alive no thanks to your wolves. My wife nearly died as well. Can I trust you enough that we can clean up here before we leave?”
I kept my mouth shut because Daniel obviously had a plan.
“Leave?” McKenzie shook his head. “The ritual is tomorrow. We have the meeting tonight.” He gasped a little as Daniel stepped up and he caught his first real sight of me. “What the hell? Zack called and said there might be trouble. What happened?”
“Your wolves happened. And there will be no ritual tomorrow.”
McKenzie’s face hardened. “I think His Grace might have something to say about that.”
Dev inclined his head toward Daniel. “His Grace defers to his partner, His Highness. I follow my king and my partner in all things. We’ve allowed you to think that I’m an equal partner in our endeavors, but the truth is I serve at the leisure of my king and queen, as all royal advisors do.”
Daniel let me settle on the floor, still holding me close but reaching out to Dev, pulling him into our circle. “You’re more than my advisor. You’re my partner, Dev.”
“I am content to allow you to make the decisions, Daniel.” Dev practically radiated peace and serenity. “So long as they are the right ones.”
Daniel chuckled ruefully, his arms tightening around us. He was back to serious when he looked to McKenzie. “I will not allow my precious blood to be harmed. We’ll leave in the morning.”
McKenzie’s hands immediately came up. “Your Highness, I’ll find out what happened.”
It was the first time he used Daniel’s title with what sounded like respect.
“Mitchell Roberts and his betas happened,” Daniel replied.
McKenzie cursed under his breath. “Just come inside, Your Highness. You’ll be safe here. I assume you killed Roberts.”
“And his son and beta.”
The alpha nodded, walking to his door. “I should have killed them myself. Please, Your Highness. Come inside and clean up. Let’s talk. I’m ready to listen.”
Daniel finally relented. Everything had gone exactly as he’d hoped.
McKenzie showed us to the guest suite and promised that we were safe here and a meal would be ready for us when we were finished cleaning up.
The minute the door was closed, Dev sent a satisfied smile Daniel’s way. “That went well.”
Daniel’s hands were in fists at his sides, but his voice remained steady. “Yes, it did. Go and clean up. We need to move fast. The alphas will be here soon.”
Dev pulled his shirt over his head, dropping it aside. “Come on, Zoey. We can shower together.”
Daniel’s arm went around my waist. “Not tonight, Dev. Tomorrow, she’s yours. Tonight, I’ll take care of her.”
With a short nod, Dev disappeared into the bathroom. The moment he heard the shower come on, Daniel pulled the robe off my shoulders.
“Can you forgive me, Z?” He shifted me around and his fangs were out. “Really forgive me? You have to know I wouldn’t have touched her. I will never touch another woman. All of my life, past and future, is for you. You only.”
“I forgive you. Always.” Even when I’d worried he was going to leave me, I couldn’t leave him. “We’re your family, Danny. We won’t leave you. We want to face all of this together.”
Daniel sank to his knees in front of me. His hands went to my breasts, and I was pretty sure I was about to get slammed on the bed, but instead he leaned forward and I shivered a little as he licked a long path along my breasts. I couldn’t help it. I tried to move away. I had blood all over me.
Daniel held me firmly, his eyes still glowing.
“Don’t move, Z,” he commanded in a low growl. His beast was close to the surface, but he wasn’t fighting it. “I’m not going to hurt you. The blood’s still good and it tastes like your skin now. It tastes really fucking good.”
He dragged his tongue across my chest with a sensual groan.
“Okay.” I’d promised him I could handle the vampire stuff. I stopped moving and let him surround me, holding me in place while he seemed to devour me.
He gripped my ass as he started licking a path down my torso. “You want a vampire? I can give you one, baby. I sent Dev away because he’s covered in his own blood and I really like his blood, Z. I really wanted to lick that off, too.”
It was an admission he would never have made before tonight, though I knew it. I’d watched him feed from Dev and while he held himself back, I saw the way he closed his eyes and savored the blood. Daniel was a vampire. What had he expected? He was going to be a connoisseur. He generally preferred female blood, but faery blood was different. It was unique, and I had a feeling Daniel wasn’t going to hold back in his appreciation any more. I looked forward to his next session. Daniel was going to prove to be every bit the hedonist Dev was. I seemed to attract them.
Daniel continued his long slow cleansing of my flesh and I gave over to my vampire.
Chapter Twenty-Six
The day of the fertility ritual, I woke up with a smile on my face because I was in bed with every man I loved. I snuggled down in the soft mattress with Danny’s hand wrapped around my waist, perfectly confident that it wasn’t Declan this time.
After the successful meeting with the alpha wolves, we returned home and relieved Sarah and Felix of their body-warming duties. Dev slid in on one side of Neil and I took the other. Daniel slipped in behind me and curled his body around mine.
While Dev immediately fell asleep, Danny had spent the hour before dawn cuddling and paying particular attention to my neck. He ran his nose around it, sniffing and breathing in deeply. He kissed and licked it with long strokes of his tongue. His fangs grazed it, drawing little lines of blood he lapped up. He’d sighed contentedly before he dropped off to sleep, and I knew he’d wanted to play like that for a long time. It was weird, but nothing about it wasn’t pleasant, so I figured I would just have to get used to the fact that Danny had a perfectly normal-for-a-vampire preoccupation with my neck.
Neil opened his eyes a little and smiled at me, his face soft. “Morning, Z.”
My heart skipped a beat because I was so happy. “Good morning, Neil. How are you feeling?”