In Blood and Worth Loving 3 Kiss Cover (13 page)

He shrugged.
“
You know we play by different rules, Desi. It would be unwise to piss him off but no one, including Conner, will be allowed to make you feel anything but completely safe while you
’
re here.
”

Hearing the sincerity in his voice softened her annoyance. She touched his arm.
“
Thank you, Sin.
”

He inclined his head.

She glanced around.
“
Now would you like to introduce me to some of these alleged vamps who might be interested in meeting me?
”

He shook his head.
“
I consider Conner a friend.
”

“
It looks like I
’
ll have to introduce myself.
”

Hearing a deep voice, Desiree turned. An attractive white male with dark hair trained an intimate smile on her. He walked forward with his hand extended.
“
Tyler Hartford.
”

She met his dark gaze, noted a look of interest, and inexplicably thought of Conner. Although he had made no effort to contact her, there was a part of her that still longed for what she now knew she could never have with him.

Given that fact, keeping a certain level of distance between herself and the sexy male in front of her made sense
. At least it did
until she could fully wrap her thoughts around the fact that her relationship with Conner was over.

She smiled briefly but made no effort to offer her hand.
“
Desiree Parker.
”

After a moment, he allowed his hand to drop to his side.
“
I
’
ve been looking forward to meeting you.
”

He looked and sounded so sincere that her resolve to keep her distance dissipated somewhat. She had to make a real effort to get over Conner. What better way to do that than to explore a relationship with another male with vampire blood?

She smiled, flattered.

He offered his hand again.
“
Dance with me?
”

Before she could respond, Sin-Bad stepped between them facing Tyler.
“
You know of Conner
’
s interest in her?
”

“
I
’
ve heard he
’
s interested.
”
He glanced around.
“
But I don
’
t see him here which indicates to me that he
’
s not that interested or he
’
d be here protecting that interest.
”

Although Desiree herself had long since reached the same conclusion,
hearing
the words
spoken aloud
stung.

As if he
’
d read her thoughts, Tyler turned to face her.
“
No offense. I only meant he
’
s not interested, but I am.
”

Noting the unabashed desire in his dark gaze, sent a thrill of anticipation through her. She believed him and suddenly wanted to get to know him.
“
None taken,
”
she lied.

“
You
’
re free to draw whatever erroneous conclusions you want, Hartford, but you
’
d damn sure better not start any shit here you can
’
t finish.
”

“
If anything were to start, he
’
d be the one starting it.
”

“
Possibly, but you
’
d be the one getting his ass kicked.
”

“
I
’
ve learned a few things since our last meeting and made some new alliances.
”

“
I know all about your alliance with The Defense League of the Brotherhood. You should know there are many full
-
bloods who neither fear Vitali and his minions nor hold them in awe. You can count my brothers and me among those unimpressed by The League. So don
’
t be tempted to try any of these
“
new
”
things here or invite your new friends into our home. Do I make myself clear?
”

Tyler narrowed his gaze but nodded.
“
Perfectly.
”

“
Good.
”
Sin-Bad turned to face her.
“
Shall I stay?
”

Vampires. You
’
d think a male as old as Sin-Bad would have learned a long time ago that three made an unwanted crowd. She shook her head.

He compressed his lips before he spoke.
“
I know you believe Conner hasn
’
t treated you fairly, but he won
’
t look kindly on any association between you and Hartford.
”

After over a year of Conner
’
s insistence (backed up by action) that they would never be any more than friends, she was fed up with people implying that he had any right to determine who she did or didn
’
t see.
“
Thankfully, I don
’
t need his permission.
”

“
I wouldn
’
t be too sure about that, Desi.
”

What was it with Conner
’
s friends?
“
I am sure of it.
”

He shrugged.
“
If things get uncomfortable between you two again and for some reason you don
’
t feel as if you can rely on Adrian or Jayvyn to shield you, Chandra and I want you to know you will always be welcome and safe here.
”

Clearly the Stoners knew how badly her relationship with Conner had ended. Still, it hurt to have anyone think she needed protection from him.

“
We
’
re still hopeful that you and Conner can resolve your issues, but in case you can
’
t and things get messy…if for some reason you need someone in your corner willing and able to shield you from him, you can count on me and my brothers.
”

The thought of the Stoners having to shield her from Conner made her almost ill.
“
I don
’
t know what to do,
”
she admitted.

“
I know what I wish you wouldn
’
t do and that
’
s make a hasty decision to be with someone else.
”

“
He hasn
’
t even bothered to apologize, Sin.
”

“
That doesn
’
t mean he
’
s not so sorry he can almost taste it. I
’
ve talked to him and I know he deeply regrets what happened. Still, whatever your decision, I want you to feel free to call me or Max or Seb if you need assistance that Adrian or Jay might feel conflicted providing.

“
No matter what happens, Desi, you should know you have powerful friends independent of the Redwolfes.
”

Her throat tightened with emotion.
“
Thanks, Sin.
”

He brushed the back of his hand along her cheek, gave Tyler a long, silent stare, and walked away.

Desiree looked at Tyler. She knew the Brotherhood were a group of powerful vampires dedicated to ensuring vampires retained their superiority over humans. She also knew neither the Redwolfes nor the Stoners were members. Tyler clearly seemed to be. So what was he doing at Max
’
s party?
“
What was that all about?
”

He shrugged.
“
We used to get along much better than what you just witnessed.
”

“
What
’
s changed?
”

“
Both his brothers are panting around Rayna Redwolfe like dogs in heat. So naturally he
’
s now in Conner
’
s back pocket.
”

“
I really can
’
t imagine Sin-Bad being in anyone
’
s back pocket.
”

“
Maybe it
’
s a combination of that and feeling as if I
’
m not worth his time. Some older full-bloods don
’
t have much respect for new blood
s
until we prove ourselves.
”

He smiled.
“
But enough about them. Let
’
s get to know each other.
”
He extended his hand.
“
Dance with me.
”

She hesitated. Although, he appeared to be what the doctor ordered, an annoying part of her longed to hold onto the hope that Conner would…what?

What do you think he
’
s going to do except more of the same? Tyler is offering you an opportunity to move on. Take it. If the Stoners are willing to assist you with Conner, who they view as a friend, they
’
ll certainly be willing to stand by you if you need help with Tyler.

Or if you don
’
t start a relationship with him now, you won
’
t need to worry about needing help breaking things off with him later. If you couldn
’
t trust Conner who you
’
ve known for a year, why trust this man?

Despite his seeming charm and easy smile, there was something about him that gave her pause.
“
Maybe another time.
”

“
There
’
s no time like the present.
”
He brushed his hand against hers as she turned away.

Another vampire who couldn
’
t understand English?
“
Thanks, but I think I
’
ll
–
”

He stared into her eyes.
I think you want to dance with me now and welcome me when I come to get to know you better later. Don
’
t you?

Desiree frowned and then nodded.
“
Yes,
”
she was surprised to hear herself say.

He smiled and pulled her into an intimate embrace and slowly danced her around the terrace.

She felt the unmistakable swell of his cock against her body. That was not what she had in mind or wanted. When she attempted to pull away from contact with his lower body, he drew her closer.
You like the feel of my cock against your body. You
’
re soon going to feel it pushing deep into your neglected pussy.
Wait about ten minutes and then make your goodbyes. I’ll follow in another ten minutes or so and we’ll go to your place where
I
’
ll show you what a real full-blood is capable of
in bed
.

While she struggled to come to terms with her conflicting thoughts and desires, Conner suddenly appeared behind them. The sight of him seemed to snap her out of a helpless fog that made it almost impossible to say no to Tyler.

With her heart racing, she jerked away from him.

When Tyler would have drawn her back into his arms, Conner gripped his shoulder and spun him around.
“
You don
’
t mind if I cut in, do you?
”

“
Actually, I
–
”

“
Thanks, Hartford,
”
Conner said curtly and pushed him aside.

That left Desiree and he facing each other in silence.

Dressed in a cream colored jacket over a black shirt and pants, he looked as sexy as ever
. That is until she met his cold,
angry
gaze
. Apparently nothing had changed, but God help her, her heart ached at the sight of him.

The sudden silence around them signaled that nearly everyone was watching and listening. So be it. Everyone present probably knew how badly things had gone between them so there was no point in worrying about what they thought.

“
I need to speak to you in private,
”
he finally said.

Listening to the almost brusque timbre in his voice, she sighed. He didn
’
t look or sound any happier than she felt.
“
Why?
”
she asked.
“
Do you want to make good on your threat to rape and murder me? Or do you just want to remind me that I
’
m a slut?
”