Vein of Love (Blackest Gold Book 1) (31 page)

He waited until she did and then she felt his body lift off hers. He pulled down her shirt and tossed the covers over her lower half, footsteps purposeful as he strode across the room.

Tensley’s voice was cool and hard. “It would have been nice to know you were visiting.”

An eerie silence filled the room, and she wasn’t sure what was happening.

“Since you’re the nineteenth battalion’s leader and heir to the Scorpios, I need to keep a watchful eye on you. I was curious as to why you were in Brooklyn—and, well, since you’ve recently murdered my comrade, I thought I would visit you.”

“Abaddon broke the law,” Tensley stated harshly. “He abducted my fiancée.”

Molly didn’t want to move, afraid it would draw attention to herself, and even though she couldn’t see anything, she could feel heavy eyes watching her.

“Hm. Pretty thing. Not very smart marrying a human female, though.”

Chilling, dead silence again.

“I’ve been meaning to come see her for myself, actually.”

She could sense someone looming over her rigid body.
Who the hell is that?

“Your father isn’t senseless, Mr. Knight. If anything, he’s one of the more intelligent upper-middle-class demons I know. I can’t see him approving of his heir being bestowed to a fragile human without reason.” A cold hand touched Molly’s hot cheek and she flinched. “Or are you going against your father’s wishes? Are you in love with her?”

“No sir.” The answer stung.

“Glad to hear it. I knew you were one of the smart ones. Loving humans is a wasteful thing,” the intruder said, so softly that it didn’t sound half as harsh. “But some have cravings for brittle things like her.”

“Like Abaddon.”

“He was a good friend of mine. I thought he had potential, but his weakness was gluttony. It’s best to weaken the army than to have him serve me.” The man’s finger slid down to her lips. “Next time you want to kill one of my men though, run it past me. I don’t like others going behind my back, Mr. Knight.”

“Of course.”

“Is she ill?”

Molly
definitely
wanted to throw up now; she was scared to the point of vomiting.

“She’s just tired.”

“You that busy with her? They can’t keep up with our kind’s needs.” He chuckled. “Open your eyes.” He grasped her jaw and squeezed it hard.

She froze, unsure of what to do. What did he want with her? She wanted to climb under the covers and pretend to be asleep, or dead.

“I said,
open your eyes
.” A fingernail sharp as a knife pierced underneath her chin and her eyes flashed open to see a man in his late twenties with long, luscious hair tangled into a bun. His light brown hair framed sharp, hollow features, and he looked slick and polished in his suit. He pulled his hand away and she saw that each finger was decorated with enormous rings of gold and jewels. He wouldn’t stop staring, eyes as wide as plates and thin mouth parted. “She’s…a daemon.” 

“She’s also engaged. To me.” Tensley’s posture was straight and full of anger.

A wicked smirk appeared on the man’s lips. “Finally, a daemon, and of an age to bear children.” He was thinking aloud, and it scared her. “Just think of the power she could bring.”

“You can leave now,” Molly snapped. Her low, strong voice made both men stiffen.

Tensley’s hands curled into fists and he shook his head at her. “My lord, I apologize—”

“And you haven’t even marked her yet,” the man said, licking his lips and studying every curve of Molly’s body.

She wanted Tensley to do something, but he just stood there.

Molly glared. “How do you know that?”

“Because I’m a high-breed. We can tell if a human—or in this case, a daemon—is marked due to a pheromone that lets me know you’re taken. And you, my dear…” The man paused, eyes lingering on her, avoiding her piercing gaze. “You are not marked.”

Tensley snickered, nostrils flaring. He was pissed. “You’d be breaking your own rules. She’s already engaged to me, has been since she was six.”

The man rose, strolling to the door, but paused. “I don’t know whether to call you clever or foolish. You hid her from everyone all these years. Then you didn’t even have the balls to mark her.” He shook his head and looked back at Tensley. “And you’re the heir. You know, I could easily just chop off that lovely, dainty ring finger of hers.”

Molly widened her eyes and clasped her hand, trembling. 

“There’s a three-hundred-year-old contract cementing us together. As I remember, you’re very strict about contracts, aren’t you?” Tensley said, fury barely masked in his demeanor.

The man laughed silently and snuck a look at Molly, his dark eyes raking over her form. She recoiled at his gaze. “It was nice meeting you, Ms. Darling. I hope to get to know you better very soon.” He flashed his crooked teeth and she shot him a dark glower as he shut the door.

He knows my name? What?

Tensley paced, muttering to himself.

“Who was he?” Molly said, unable to steady her breathing.

“Fuck.” He kicked at the chair in the corner, standing still for a while. Finally, he pressed his head to the wall and collapsed against it. “He can’t do anything to you. It’d go against all of his rules.” He pushed off and rubbed his forehead. “Fuck.”

Molly curled the sheets up to her chest, heart beating fast.

“You shouldn’t have responded to him! He could decapitate you before I could lift a fucking finger!” Tensley’s face contorted in frustration, features darkening. His demon side was beginning to take over.

“Who? Tensley, who was
he?
”

Waves of rage and those oh-so-familiar aggressive pheromones filled the room, replacing any bit of tenderness that had remained.

“Tensley,” Molly pressed.

He turned from her, muscles working under his shirt. “
Fallen
.”

An icy finger of dread dragged down her spine, and Tensley stalked out, not bothering to close the bedroom door behind him.

Fallen? As in the Crown Prince?

Oh shit.

MOLLY TIED THE
robe tighter around her middle and edged toward his bedroom door. After his freak out, he let her be and stayed in his room. Now she wanted to see him. Her thoughts ate at her and she needed to say it out loud.

She tiptoed into the quiet living room to see him standing, facing his large window looking over the park. She couldn’t stop roaming his muscular back and how his dress pants made his ass look so—

Focus, Molly. Focus.

She was sure he heard her from the floor boards creaking but she still edged closer and cleared her throat. He didn’t move, he didn’t even acknowledge her with a flinch. Her shaking hands smoothed down the white robe.

“What do you want, Molly?”

The suddenness of his solid, husky voice made her jump.

“You should mark me.”

Those words stirred him from his grumpy mood and he turned to look at her. She fidgeted with the tie of the robe, looking through her lashes up at him.

His jaw tensed. “No.”

Molly’s hands dropped and she furrowed her brow. “Why not?”

He shook his head and moved past her to his bedroom. “It isn’t the right time.”

She glared and rushed after him, not caring how loud her footsteps were. “What do you mean it’s not the right time? We need to get this over with, okay?”

“Drop it, Molly.” He planted his hands onto his dresser and leaned forward.

Molly let her hands drop and sat down on the edge of the bed. He rejected her. Was it because he still didn’t trust her? That he thought she would betray his trust?

He strolled forward and sat next to her.

She could see his white dress shirt in the corner of her eye. The three top buttons were undone, exposing his sharp collarbone.

Molly turned to face him; she was still bursting with desire, but it had been tainted by confusion and a touch of worry. He wouldn’t look at her, his hands dropped loosely in the space between his legs.

His eyes were closed.

She hadn’t noticed how straight the slope of his nose was, dusted with the faintest of freckles.

“I’m sorry, Tensley. I’ve done so many horrible things. I was wrong…” She paused, examining the way his lips parted slightly as his eyes opened. “About us. About you using me for energy. I know that’s not true.”

She gazed at him, at his slow movements to stand. He reached a hand out and she gasped at the jolt, even from the softest brush of their flesh.

“It’s your blood,” she explained, drawing back. If they kept touching, she might do something stupid, something desperate. “I can’t stop…craving you.”

That sentence alone scorched her skin, colored her cheeks with embarrassment.

Tensley smirked. “I lied.”

She blinked back at him. “You lied? About what?”

“My blood does nothing of the sort.” His eyes raked over her reddening skin. “But now that I know you naturally find me attractive, I can die happy.” She gawked, bewildered.

All her feelings, her attraction to him,
hadn’t
been a product of his blood?

“I said it out of curiosity, but it was selfish.
I
should be the one who’s sorry.” Tensley cleared his throat and tossed his tie on the bed. “And, um…I have to say…you look stunning right now.”

“Stunning?”

He moved his body closer, muscles shifting deliciously under his shirt, leaving no space between them. “
Tempting
,” he added, frustration in his tone.

She wanted to take it away; she wanted him to relax with her. “Thank you—not just for the compliment, but for everything.”

“No problem,” he said, those dark eyes examining her flushed skin. He was so different to her now, so different from the night he’d rescued her at Stella’s house only a few weeks before. “I can walk you home. It’s getting late.”

“Can I stay?” She moved closer, invading his space.

He licked his lips. “Molly, I—”

“Just for tonight.” She chose her next words carefully. “I don’t want to sleep alone.”

He searched her expression, remaining silent. The pause was far too long and uncomfortable.

He doesn’t want me to stay.

Finally, he nodded and walked around to the side of the bed, glancing at her every so often. He looked…suspicious.

She climbed under the sheets, still in her summer dress. She watched him shrug out of his shirt to join her under the sheets, keeping a great distance between them. Tensley sighed and stretched his arm to turn off the bedside lamp, his unspoken hesitance like a suffocating blanket, like a vine wrapping around Molly’s heart.

Maybe he doesn’t want me here. Maybe he wants someone
else
to be here.

“I can sleep in the spare bedroom, if you want me to,” she muttered, voice far too soft.

He shifted around. “You just asked me to stay with you… Do—do you not want to stay?”

“No, no, I want to, but I don’t want to force you.”

His eyes traveled from her eyes down to her lips. “
Force
me?”

She hid her face in the pillow. “That’s—that’s not what I meant. I just don’t want you to feel like you have to let me stay here. I’m fine.”

“Maybe I want you to force me, Ms. Darling,” he purred, causing her heartbeat to accelerate.

Her blush intensified as they looked at each other, and she swallowed, instantly frozen with panic.

He sighed, stood up, and gripped a T-shirt out of his dresser.

No, no, no, no!

Molly scrambled to her feet, unbalanced. “Wait! Tensley, just…wait.” She pressed her palms firmly against his hard chest, tossing the shirt away. “Sit.”

She pushed him down on the bed and crawled on top, straddling him so they were face to face. He looked calm but his jaw was tight, his lightning-grey eyes taking in her every feature intently. Molly placed a hand on each one of his cheeks, his stubble tickling her palms, and kissed him.

She sucked in his bottom lip and felt powerful when she heard him moan into her open mouth. His hands grasped her hips as their tongues touched, the thin material of her dress barely separating them. Energy passed through her fingertips to his skin, and she dug her nails into his pecs. He groaned loudly as their movements became rougher, and she already noticed how her body felt more agile, strong.

“This is us exchanging power,” he said as he exhaled and kissed her left dimple.

“Wow,” she gasped. “We should have done this earlier.” She smiled into his neck and giggled as he growled. Her hands gripped his belt, fumbling as she tried to undo it. She hummed into his open mouth. “I want to, Tensley. Mark me.
Please
.”

He stilled at her breathless voice. “Molly,” he said, breaking the kiss. A single finger traced her cheek. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”

She froze, so close to his features, to those dark grey eyes watching her wide ones.

He’s not interested.

His fingertips brushed up into her hair, pulling it back so he could see her. “You’ve been through a lot the last few days. With Abaddon, with Cree, with
me
.” His finger curved along her cheekbone.

Abaddon. Cree. Him.

If she thought about all of them, if she dwelled, she wouldn’t be able to function. She needed to function, needed to keep moving.

“Tensley…I…”

“Shush.” He stroked her cheek with two fingers. “I can’t take advantage of you. I
won’t
take advantage of you, ever again.”

She stared unblinkingly at him. “Promise?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed and he licked his bottom lip, hesitating an instant too long for her. “Promise.”

Her chest tightened. He’d rejected her…

She stiffly got up and crawled to the spot she’d been laying in before, exhaling slowly and trying to hide her unsteadiness from his touch, from his words.

“Promise me, though, that you’ll stay out of trouble until I mark you?” he asked, falling next to her on the mattress. His fingers rubbed against the side of her jaw, and she nodded and smiled shyly. “And when we do…” He paused, focusing on her mouth. “We can do it as much as you want, whenever, wherever.” He nipped at her nose gently.

She playfully hit his chest and settled down beside him again, eyes darting to the dark lines of his tattoos as he stretched. She noticed a scorpion on his forearm, and her heart clenched. The demon she had killed in the woods had had the same one; were they connected somehow? “That tattoo? What does it mean?”

Tensley tensed and brought his arm forward. “It’s the sign of Scorpios, the business I work for. Only the members who have proven their worth receive it; it’s a sign of loyalty and oath. I’m the heir.”

Her eyes widened. “The heir?”

He nodded curtly.

The covers rose and fell with every breath he took, and her fingers spread across her smooth lips. She ached for his kiss. “Tensley?”

He hummed in response.

“I think I still have a cut on my lip,” she whispered.

A flash of pure wickedness flickered in his eyes. “Is that so?”

She hid her girlish smile behind the covers.

“Well, I guess it’s my responsibility to take care of you.”

He leaned forward and pecked her mouth once, twice, and then slowly drew her bottom lip between his own. “Better?” His husky voice created a delightful shiver and she nestled into his hard, massive frame of protection.

“Not quite,” she murmured against his parted mouth.

His cool fingertips touched hers and caressed her ring finger, the one that held the vein of love.

TENSLEY RESTED HIS
curled hands on his thighs. He eyed the darkness, listening to Molly’s sweet murmurs behind him on the bed, her chest moving, evident of deep sleep. Even with her body beside him, his thoughts ran wild. He’d protect her. He wouldn’t let her out of his sight.

Evelyn had left several voicemails and he debated whether to call her back. She’d heard through the grapevine that Lex had been captured by hunters, but was unsure if it was Cree or some other group; if that was true, he wanted those bastards dead.

He couldn’t think straight, too many fucking thoughts—of Scorpios, of his family, of Evelyn, and most importantly, of Lex.

He still hadn’t heard anything from Lex, and when he’d looked into possible travel information or sightings, he’d come up empty. His thumb rubbed along the side of his phone before he decided to call the person he dreaded speaking to the most in the world.

It rang three times before a hoarse voice answered. “Yes, brother?”

“I need you to find someone for me,” Tensley said lowly, glancing over his shoulder to make sure Molly was still fast asleep. Her parted, thick lips drew heat to his length, and the outstretched hand that had a few minutes before laid on his chest made his heart throb.

“A deal gone sour?”

Tensley looked away, back into the shadows. “No. A girl named Lex Harvey who works for us. Been missing for over a month. No goodbye, nothing changed in her apartment. No sign she was even leaving for that long. I want you to track any leads. If you find her…” He paused, his throat growing dry. “I want all the motherfuckers,
every last one
, to be tortured, to their death.”

Silence took over between them. “Every last one?”

“Every last one, Beau.”

He hung up the phone.

Tensley took a shaky breath, steeled himself, and turned back toward the lovely threat in his bed. He took her dainty hand and placed it back on his bare chest. He wanted to feel her next to him. He wanted to know she was there.

His finger stroked the diamond ring representing their tie, their bond. The fear of his growing affection for Molly terrified him—more than Fallen, more than his father, and more than his past with Beau.