Determination filled his eyes. “Is it about your childhood?”
She froze. “What do you know about that?” Her hands loosened their hold on his butt.
A ticking set up in his jaw. “Cara told me your father was a mean drunk who liked to hit.”
Cara had told him that? Interesting. “She never talks about that time in our lives. I’m surprised she said anything.”
Dage planted a soft kiss on the underside of Emma’s jaw. “I think she was trying to explain why you’d be a pain in my ass. She told me about the times you purposefully put yourself in his path so she wouldn’t get hurt.”
Loyalty welled up in Emma’s heart. “Cara saved me more than once. She even bit him so he’d drop a knife. She was so brave, Dage.”
A broad hand that would never hit brushed Emma’s curls off her forehead. “You were both brave.”
She sighed. “I wasn’t sorry when he died. Something in me should’ve been, but ...” The guilt from letting her mother die, too, would forever eat at her, but she couldn’t tell Dage about that.
“I don’t blame you. But times have changed, your life has changed. As has your role.” A firmness entered the king’s tone to replace the kindness.
“My role?” Emma tensed.
“Yes. You’re no longer a shield, love. That’s my job.”
Her mind began to spin. “I don’t understand.” Hoping to distract him, she wrapped both legs around his heated hips. Damn but he felt amazing against her. Power hummed through her veins from the blood he’d given her, and she wanted to take it for a spin—with his incredible body.
“You understand. Use that gigantic brain and click the facts into place. Why did you think you needed to protect your sister and mother?” Desire turned his voice to a raspy timbre that made her shiver.
She struggled to focus on the thread of conversation. “Because I could. I’m stronger—harder to hurt.” Physically and emotionally. Cara’s gift as an empath came from the heart, while Emma’s psychic ability was all mental.
“Are you stronger than me?” He lifted his eyebrows as if in a dare.
Come on. The guy was twice her size as well as being a vampire. “Pain doesn’t have to be physical, Dage.” Emotional scars cut much deeper than a backhand from a drunk. And the king had his own ghosts. She wouldn’t become one of them. She’d never haunt him, so long as their relationship ended quickly.
“Listen.” He swept a kiss across her mouth, his gaze pinning hers. “I may not be inside your head right now, but I can feel enough to know you’re protecting me. It’s beginning to piss me off.”
Too bad. For too long the king had single-handedly shouldered the world, and she’d be damned if she’d allow him to lump her in with the rest of those he needed to shield. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” The brand on her shoulder began to burn. An ache deep inside her wanted him to fill her. Now.
“Yes you do. I don’t want your protection. I want your trust.” And your love. The unspoken word hung in the air.
Enough of this. “You need to listen to me. I don’t want this life—I’m not staying.” Her heart sliced into pieces as she said the words. She’d loved him since the first time she’d shared his past in a vision. “After we find a cure for Cara, I’m moving on.” She needed him prepared just in case she didn’t beat death, so she tensed, waiting for the explosion.
A smile flirted with Dage’s lips until spreading into a full grin. He began to chuckle, his eyes filling with amusement. “You’re adorable.”
Fury instantly burst into her. “Don’t you even think about being condescending with me.” She was a top-rated geneticist for God’s sakes. People with brains took her seriously. The king better follow suit, especially since power now pumped through her blood.
He shrugged, grasping one of her hips and plunging inside her with one powerful stroke.
She gasped, digging her nails into his skin. Fire lanced through her and nerves jumped to life as he filled her. Completely.
Dropping his forehead to hers, he tightened his grip. “Then stop being silly.” His fangs flared in the dim light. One strong hand tugged her head to the side, revealing her neck. “Mine.”
Quick as a flash, he struck.
Chapter 9
Several hours later Dage threw a stack of papers down on the glass table in a conference room. Shades let in the soft light of dawn from the two wide windows and he fought a growl at how exposed his people were in that place. They should be underground at headquarters.
He glanced at Kane. “So we’ve confirmed Cara, Maggie, and Katie have been infected.” His mate might as well have a target on her back.
The Kurjans would be coming for her.
A burning lit along his spine to explode at the base of his neck, the beast inside him clawing to be free—to protect and avenge. Quelling the creature took him several deep breaths as well as a formidable will unmatched by human or immortal beings. As his mind took control, he flirted with the thought of passing the reins to Talen or Kane. But he couldn’t do that to his brothers.
“I’ve double-checked the results using a direct fluorescent antibody stain similar to the H1N1 flu test—only takes thirty minutes. The virus is alive and duplicating itself within the cells of Cara, Maggie, and Kate.” Kane leaned against a wall papered in an executive green and maroon stripe, his intelligent eyes trained on Dage. “Preliminary tests show that Emma hasn’t been exposed.”
“How good are the tests?”
Kane shrugged. “The Kurjans have been mapping DNA for the last century and thanks to Talen’s raiding last month, we have all their research. Of course, we’re double-checking and confirming the data as fast as possible.”
Dage rubbed a hand across his eyes. “I hate this. Bringing in the human researchers might be the decision that takes the Kayrs family down for good.” Though then he wouldn’t have to play king any more.
“I know. But we need fast results and the humans have the necessary bodies to get it done. Since I’ve separated them into small labs, they have no idea what they’re working on.” Kane sighed. “I should’ve been concentrating the last century on genetics and not on weaponry.”
“No.” Dage shook his head. “We knew our peace with the Kurjans would end and advanced weapons would be crucial.” He’d never thought a biological weapon would threaten his people. The failure here was his. “So what happens now? I mean with the virus?”
Kane shrugged. “Viruses are either progressive or the host fights them off and wins, like with the common cold.”
Dage’s shoulders tightened to rock. “Progressive? Explain.”
“I will. But first I need to read the latest information from Talen’s raid as well as review the blood samples from the women. The most helpful at this time are Maggie’s. Since we’ve had her blood for a few weeks we can trace the development of the virus.”
“For shifters. Humans may be different.”
Kane nodded. “Yes.”
Dage stood and tossed his empty grape drink bottle into the trash. “I’ll awaken Emma as soon as the lab is ready.” He began to pace, an odd pit in his gut giving him pause. Fear? The realization sent fury bubbling to the surface.
Kane cleared his throat. “Any headway on discovering how the Kurjans found you on the tarmac?”
“No. Our soldiers killed the shooters before being able to interrogate them. We don’t know how they discovered our plan to leave.” The damn Kurjans could’ve been covering every airport just in case. Dage’s boots made a dull clomping noise on the industrial tiles.
Kane straightened. “We’ll figure this out, Dage.”
“Figure this out?” Dage rounded on his brother. “Are you fucking kidding me? They shot my mate.” His arm swept the table and papers spun toward the floor and cascaded across sparkling tile. A dark haze covered his vision with the need for violence, nearly blinding him. “And Janie. God, Janie ...” Shock filled him as he realized his hands trembled. Trembled. “They caused her to bleed. For that alone, they’ll all die.”