Air of Seduction (Elemental Enforcers #3)

Chapter 9

Ronan

Her open-mouthed staring goes a long way to soothe the jealousy that surged through me a minute ago when I heard her gasp and saw her checking out the asshole’s body. It was all I could do not to kill him right then just for attracting her attention. But then I thought of something better.

My body is more powerful than his, and she clearly needed a reminder of whom she should be focusing on. So, I ripped my shirt off to shamelessly flaunt myself in front of her.

Her gaze comes up to mine after spending an extended time studying the details of my upper body, and I can’t help the satisfied smirk that spreads across my face.

I wink at her when her face flushes with heat. And if I didn’t have some urgent business to attend to, I might have stalked over to her and kissed her the way I did when she launched herself at me. But that will have to wait.

I turn to face the vampire spread out against the concrete wall. If I were alone, I’d remove the rest of his clothes. It always unnerves people to be completely naked in a situation like this, because their imaginations run wild with all the possible ways I can inflict pain.

Although I never focus on a man’s genitals when I interrogate him, I’m not above letting him think I will. It can be quite effective. On more than one occasion that was all that was necessary for the man to surrender and give me the information I was after.

But that’s not an option with Payton in the room. There’s no way in hell I’ll remove his pants and display his cock in front of her. The thought is enough to make me growl.

I lift my gaze until I’m staring into the vamp’s eyes. Vampires can manipulate people who are careless and look into their eyes. Or, of course, if they don’t know vampires exist, which is the case for most people in the world.

Not all vampires choose to use the ability, since they enjoy their victims’ fear and resistance too much to subdue them.

But even if this one tried, I’m one of the few who’s not susceptible to manipulation, since I’ve got the same ability myself. I rarely use it, but it can come in handy at times. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work on vampires for the same reason it doesn’t work on me.

His face is blank, not giving away his thoughts. But hopefully, that won’t last for long.

“So, where should we start?” I tilt my head to the side as I make a show of examining his upper body. “If you tell me what I want to know, I won’t have to hurt you.” I raise my gaze to his with a grin. “But I will if you don’t cooperate.”

He shakes his head slowly, his eyes never leaving mine. “I have nothing to say.”

“That’s a shame.” Without warning, I smash my fist into his ribs, crushing them against his heart.

He lets out an agonized scream, but when I look at him, there’s more anger than pain in his eyes. “Nothing,” he bites out before pressing his lips together.

“Okay.” I nod and take a step back.

His lips curl into a triumphant smile. He must be an idiot if he thinks I’m going to stop when I’ve barely started.

I let my gaze drop to his groin.

His body immediately tenses, and he tries to close his legs, even though that’s impossible with how he’s strung up.

Too bad I can’t rip his pants off. It might have been enough to get him talking.

Instead I grab a fistful of his hair, yank his head to the side, and bury my fangs in his neck. He lets out a startled yelp.

I suck in mouthfuls of his blood. Taking his blood leaves him weaker, while it gives me energy. That’s two in my favor, and the ball is still in my court.

When he sags in his chains, I let him go. But when I look into his eyes, he smirks at me.

What the fuck is wrong with this guy? For some reason it doesn’t seem to bother him that I’ll eventually kill him.

Or doesn’t he believe I’ll do it? If that’s the case, I guess it’s time to show him I’m serious. And I know exactly how to do that.

But before I get to that…

I turn around and move toward Payton, where she’s still standing close to the door.

Her eyes glide up my body until they lock with mine. Her hands are clasped in front of her, her white knuckles the only sign she might be uncomfortable watching.

“How are you feeling?” I come to a stop no more than a foot in front of her. My hands are itching to touch her, but I resist the urge.

“I’m fine.” It comes out a bit clipped, but that is to be expected.

“It’s still possible for you to leave. There’s no need for you to be here and witness this.”

She raises her chin in defiance. “I can handle it.”

I nod. “I believe you, but that doesn’t mean you should stay.”

Narrowing her eyes at me, she crosses her arms. “If it bothers you so much that I’m watching, try to forget I’m here. Now go back and do your thing. I want to know where Olivia is.”

I let out a surprised chuckle at her attitude. Fuck. I want to kiss her, but I doubt she would let me after I just guzzled that vamp’s blood.

“Yes, ma’am.” I give her a little bow before I spin on my heel and return to my task. It’s time for a little sword practice.

I have no idea why I was suddenly able to cut the other vampire’s head off just using the air in the room. But now that I know I have the ability, I have to practice to make sure I can do it again and with precision every time. And I’ve got the perfect specimen right here to hone my skills on.

***

Payton

I can’t help ogling Ronan’s fine back and ass as he walks away from me. God help me, this guy is perfection. The play of muscles as he moves is enough to make my lips tingle with how much I want to kiss every square inch of his skin.

And the fact that I can even think that in this room while he’s busy inflicting pain on someone must be a sign that I’m going insane.

I jerk and take a step back when the vampire screams, and a long gash opens across his torso. Blood runs down his front from the wound, which reaches from his upper left chest to his right hip. But how it happened, I have no idea.

Can Ronan inflict wounds just using his mind, or did he move so fast I didn’t even see it? Come to think of it, I don’t know how he killed the vampire who had me in a chokehold either. I could have sworn neither Ronan nor Lucas were close enough to reach him where he stood behind me. But somehow he died anyway.

Another cut spreads open across the vampire’s body, and then another one.

Squinting, I take a step closer. There’s a shimmer in the air just before another wound opens. Like someone wielded a blade so fast it leaves a little disturbance in the air. But Ronan didn’t move his hands at all. They’re still fisted at his sides.

A gash opens across the vampire’s throat. He gasps, but it can’t be very deep, since there’s not a lot of blood.

“How do you think your friend transformed into a pile of dust? I never touched him, but somehow his head fell off anyway.” Ronan cocks his head.

His head fell off. Shock reverberates through me. I never saw what happened. I just felt the vampire let go and assumed Ronan was responsible.

A look of concern flits across the chained man’s face. But then he chuckles. “I know you’re trying to scare me. But it doesn’t matter if you kill me, because it will only be a short time until I rise again.”

Ronan’s shoulders tense. “Seriously? Who on earth told you that?”

“My master.” The man lifts his chin with pride. “He takes care of his followers. If we die in his service, he’ll make sure we rise again, and we’ll grow stronger with each time we rise. So, go ahead and kill me. You’ll be doing me a favor.”

Ronan shakes his head slowly, probably in disbelief like I am.

That doesn’t sound right. Unless this master I’ve heard mentioned several times now is a god or something. But that’s not the impression I got.

Ronan’s sudden laughter makes me jump. “Have you seen him resurrect anyone?”

The vamp scoffs. “Of course not. I’m not one of the chosen few in his inner circle. Not yet.” His lips stretch into a malicious smile, and his eyes slide to mine, making me shudder with unease. “But I will be.”

He’s still smiling when his head topples off his neck and lands on the floor with a sickening thud.

Bile rises in my throat, and I squeeze my eyes closed and swallow thickly to try to stop myself from throwing up.

Arms come around me, and I relax into them as Ronan’s scent envelops me. I don’t know when I noticed his unique scent, but it’s already familiar to me. Oak and spices, mixed with a hint of smoke. It’s soothing and helps me fight my nausea.