Burning Dawn (Angels of the Dark #3)(59)
Author: Gena Showalter

He held out his hand; Prettier twined her fingers with his and stood.

He was going to… Oh! How dare he!

Bellorie approached Elin’s side, her gaze following the same path. “Oh, Bonka. I’m so sorry.”

He’s not mine. He wasn’t ever mine. “It’s fine. I’m honestly fine. And I’m sorry you were sent away.”

Bellorie gave her a small smile. “You keep saying that, and I keep telling you it wasn’t your fault. Axel told me Thane is fighting his feelings for you, and that makes him volatile and unstable. Axel also told me we have to treat him like a wounded animal if we have any hope of surviving.”

“Clearly Axel is an idiot. Thane does not have feelings for me. Obviously.” Elin gestured to the display of pure male hobaggery taking place before their eyes. “Now, be quiet. I’m trying to listen to their conversation.”

“When did you become so bossy?” Bellorie grumbled.

“Today. Now, hush it.”

Thane and the girl were close enough to hear…would pass her at any moment…. Can’t attack. Really can’t attack. Besides, after her spanking in Arizona, Elin had no desire to ever fight again.

“Told you,” the girl muttered, flicking her dark hair over her shoulder and giving Elin a proud smirk.

Thane noticed and stopped in his tracks. “What did you tell her?” he asked the siren.

“Oh, uh…” The girl stumbled for a response, perhaps knowing she wouldn’t get away with a lie. “Hmm. Did I tell her something?”

Here, let me help you with your memory problem. “She said she’s prettier than me, and she would have no trouble getting you to nail her. Looks like she was right. But then, you aren’t exactly a man with discriminating tastes, are you?”

An insult to Thane…and herself. Ouch. She’d do better next time.

He dropped his hand from the siren as if he’d just discovered she liked to bathe in toxic waste and said, “You need to leave. Now.”

“No, I—”

“This isn’t a debate,” he said. “Leave.”

Hated hearing that before. Kinda sorta love it now.

“Surely you don’t mean—” the girl continued.

“You disrespect my human, you leave,” Thane snapped.

Funny. Thane had been about to go off and have sex with a siren, disrespecting Elin far more than mere words ever could.

“You don’t talk to her like that,” he continued. “Do you understand?” He spun, shouting, “That goes for all of you. Forget, and you die.”

“Does that go for you?” Elin muttered.

His gaze swung to her and narrowed. She turned her back and walked away.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

THANE’S DARK EMOTIONS wound more tightly around his heart with every day that passed.

Two weeks ago, Lucien had agreed to track Bjorn’s spiritual trail, hoping to discover every location the Sent One had visited lately, but the trail was so twisted, so tangled, he’d said when they met again today, he’d made little progress.

Malice was hiding somewhere, but Thane had found no trace of him.

Kendra’s tongue had grown back, and she’d taken to calling him “My Slave” just to remind him of her hold over him. He had resorted to violence. If Elin found out, she would be upset.

Elin…who was avoiding him.

Thane was failing at everything lately.

He’d thought taking another lover would douse his craving for the human—halfling. But when he’d chosen the siren and she had spoken to Elin with such smug derision, irritation had overwhelmed him. The siren was lucky to have left the club alive.

Afterward, Elin had walked away from him, dismissing him, and he’d stomped to his suite. Alone. He’d paced. He’d pondered. And he’d realized he had disrespected her in ways the siren never could.

Now, days later, he didn’t know what to do. He just wanted to stop hurting.

He sent Adrian shopping for new uniforms for all the girls. Long-sleeved. Midriff draped by extra pleats of material. Pants. Maybe that would help. The less he saw of her, the less he would want her. Right?

“Thane Downfall!”

His brow puckered with confusion, even as his blood heated with awareness. That sounded like Elin’s voice, only muffled. And only she called him by that silly name.

He jerked open the doors to his suite, and sure enough, there she was, trying to push her way past the guards. Arousal and anger battled for supremacy; at the same time, the tension that had been building inside of him since their first meeting cranked up another level. He needed some kind of release. Soon.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

Her gaze met his, only to skitter away. Afraid of him now?

Disappointment overshadowed both the arousal and anger.

“Yes,” she said, “there’s something wrong, and I’d like to talk to you about it. In private. If your majesty’s imperial guard would be so kind as to let me pass…”

No, not afraid. Livid. That, he could deal with. He motioned her inside. As she bypassed the vampires and Thane, he found himself leaning down to take in more of her cherries scent.

Catching the action, she sent him a scathing glance.

He silently dared her to comment. An apology would have been a lie.

When she was settled on the couch, he quietly said to the males, “I will tell you only once. Elin doesn’t need an invitation. When she wants to see me, let her through immediately.” A concession he’d never made for another.

A concession he shouldn’t have made for her.

A concession he wouldn’t take back.

He shut the door and faced Elin, then crossed his arms over his chest. He was shirtless, and her gaze chased the motion, lingering on the cords of his strength. She might as well have licked his ni**les, so strongly did his body react.

“Elin,” he said, stepping toward her.

She blinked rapidly, and blushed. “I thought I was a guest rather than a prisoner—until I found out I’m not allowed to leave without your majesty’s exalted permission,” she said, her tone dripping with annoyance.

He stilled, not letting himself close the rest of the distance. “The day you saw the Phoenix king, I told you leaving the club was no longer permitted.”

Jumping to her feet, she said, “And that’s exactly why I don’t want to stay here any longer than necessary.”

Still hoping to leave him. Shouldn’t punch a wall. Must display a modicum of decorum. Hating—loving—the way her br**sts had bounced with her movements, the way her skin had flushed to a rosy pink, he said, “I’ll allow you to leave…if you take an escort. And before you reject the demand or complain, try to remember that you are a half human among full-blooded immortals. You are breakable. They are not.”