Crimson Bound (Blood Oath #7)

9. Kade

9

KADE

A llowing Calla to return to her studies initiated a recon mission I could have done without. We had to do even more checks into every aspect of her attendance at school than we did leading up to calling in her obligation under the oath. Luckily Marcel took care of the brunt of it—bless his immortal soul—and liaised with Gabriel as needed. He looked into not only her professors but every student in each of her classes, noting which of them are vamps and which are linked either directly or indirectly to the hunters. No immediate red flags were raised, so I guess we’re going to let her go to class today.

I find Calla in the kitchen, moving silently until I’m right behind her. “Good morning,” I say in her ear, smirking when she jumps and whirls around, her eyes filled with surprise and her heart beating fast.

“Do you have to do that?” she grumbles.

“I enjoy the little noises you make when I sneak up on you.”

She looks as if she wants to tear my head off if she could, but only says, “Where are the others?”

I thrust a hand through my hair that I didn’t bother styling this morning and shrug. “I think Gabriel left for work. Lex is probably still sleeping, the lazy bastard, and Atlas usually runs in the morning.” I leave out the part about me typically sleeping in. I wanted to be around this morning to see our little human off to class.

She nods. “I, uh, have brunch with Brighton at Kafe Leopold in a bit.”

I tilt my head, preparing myself for an argument that I can practically sense simmering in the air. “Really? I don’t remember discussing that yesterday.”

Her eyes fill with barely contained malice. “It’s a weekly tradition we have, which you should already know from all the stalking I’m sure you did. If I don’t show up, she’ll know something’s wrong.”

“Hmm,” I hum, pursing my lips as I take my time, wanting to make her squirm a few seconds longer. “Fine.” I tap the tip of her nose with my finger, thoroughly enjoying pressing her buttons. “You better behave.”

She rolls her eyes. “Touché.”

I snare her gaze easily, holding her in place with glamour as I speak in a velvety voice. “And once your class is finished this afternoon, you’ll come back here.”

The anger in her gaze remains as she nods and echoes my command.

I blink to sever the glamour and send a grin in her direction. “Good. You don’t want to be late. Gabriel mentioned something about making lasagna for dinner.” My mouth waters just thinking about Gabe’s cooking. That bastard is talented as fuck in the kitchen.

She arches a brow. “You know, for vampires, I’ve only seen you eat human food since I’ve been here.”

“That’s not entirely true, now is it?” I delight in making her cheeks flush when I point to the bite marks on the side of her neck.

“That’s not what I meant.” She quickly pulls her hair forward to cover it. “I guess I expected to find the fridge stocked with blood or something.”

I press my lips together against a smile. “We have a separate fridge for that. You’re not our first human houseguest, and, well, it would get awkward rather quickly if someone opened the fridge and found bags of blood.” Could be kind of entertaining based on the circumstances, but Atlas doesn’t like taking chances, especially not these days with the hunters gaining more ground seemingly at every turn.

She considers that, then offers, “Yeah, fair point.”

“You want a ride to brunch?” I ask her, finding I’m not quite ready to part with her company this morning.

“I’m good.” Gripping the strap of her bag, Calla moves around me. “Thanks though. I’ll see you later.” She walks out of the room, and the main level bathroom door clicks shut a moment later.

I don’t wait for her to return before I head upstairs to Lex’s room, not bothering to knock before letting myself in and closing the door behind me. My gaze immediately goes to his bare ass against the dark green silk sheets dressing his bed. He’s fast asleep, snoring softly as I approach. Without hesitation, I jump onto the bed, grabbing his shoulders and shaking them violently as I laugh.

Lex wakes with a deep snarl, his fangs extending instantly. He sinks them into my arm on instinct, and fuck if that doesn’t make me hard. He pulls back, and I smirk at him as the marks left from his bite heal.

“Morning, sunshine,” I purr.

“Fuck you, you fucking prick,” he grumbles as sleep clings to his deep voice and he shoves me aside, grabbing a pillow to cover his face.

“Oh, come on,” I taunt him, stealing the pillow and tossing it toward the end of his bed.

His eyes narrow sharply. “Do you want to get bit again?”

I shrug. “Kinda.”

A soft growl rumbles through his chest. “What the fuck do you want?”

“Calla is leaving, Gabriel’s already gone, and Atlas is working. I have nothing scheduled today and I’m bored.”

Lex blinks at me. “You’re a fucking menace, you know that?”

I grin at him.

He rolls his eyes, exhaling a defeated sigh. “What are you thinking?”

I tap a finger to my chin. “I think we should check in with Calla. See what she’s up to.”

“Attend a college lecture? Gee, let me think about that for approximately two seconds. Fuck no. I did my time in an educational institution and I have zero desire to return to one.”

“But she’s not in class yet,” I tell him. “She’s at brunch with the hunter’s daughter.”

He arches a brow at me. “Oh?”

I nod, sliding off the bed. “Get ready. We’re leaving in ten.”

We find her easily, using our link to her blood, and hang back to watch her with Brighton Ellis. Instead of finding her enjoying brunch at Kafe Leopold, Lex and I track her to the waterfront at the Potomac River. Day one, and she’s already testing her freedom…

Both girls’ hearts are beating faster than normal for standing in place. Calla has her fingers wrapped around Brighton’s wrists as if she’s worried the girl is going to bolt at any second, and considering the look of confusion and fear on her face, perhaps it’s warranted.

Calla’s voice sounds seconds away from breaking when she says, “I’m so sorry. You shouldn’t have to know this, but I…I needed my best friend.”

I exchange a look with Lex. “She wouldn’t,” I mutter under my breath.

His jaw works. “I think she’s about to prove you wrong.”

My eyes are locked on Brighton’s face, though she can’t see us from this distance. She blinks quickly. “Calla, I don’t know what to do with this.” Her chin quivers, and she whispers, “Vampires aren’t real.”

“Fucking hell,” Lex curses.

She’s already started info dumping on her bestie. Who knows how much she’s divulged.

“They are,” Calla insists. “I don’t know how populated the world is, but I know at least four of them.”

“She’s about to expose us,” I hiss, stepping forward, but Lex grabs my arm, hauling me back. “What the fuck are you doing?”

“Just wait. I’m curious to see where this goes.”

I narrow my eyes at him as Calla and Brighton continue their charged conversation. “Why?”

“Let’s see if the hunter’s daughter knows more than she seems to.”

I shrug off his grip, exhaling a sigh. If this goes sideways, Altas is going to kick both our asses—especially since Calla just spilled her guts about the damn blood oath. So far, that bloody thing is more trouble than it’s worth.

“They can’t do this to you,” Brighton says in a thick voice, her tone caught between fear and anger. “We have to tell someone! I can talk to my grandfather. He’s in with a lot of the high-level security guards in the city.” She twists her wrist free and grabs her. “People can’t own other people, Calla.”

Lex snickers beside me. “Ready to crash this little party?”

I give him a subtle nod, and we move in.

“These aren’t people,” she says bitterly as we silently come up behind her.

“Ouch,” Lex says, feigning a hurt expression. “Now that’s not a very kind thing to say about someone.”

Calla stiffens as Brighton’s eyes find us and pop wide. Something passes between the two girls, and Brighton looks to Calla again, both hearts pounding wildly.

Next, Calla spins around to face us, her expression grim, while Brighton takes off in the opposite direction.

Silly human.

I go after her in a blur of movement as Lex tells Calla, “You’re in big trouble.”

I easily cut into Brighton’s path in a matter of seconds, and she halts to a stop as her face pales, her eyes swimming with tears. I grip her shoulders, stealing her gaze instantly so she can’t scream.

Calla quickly catches on that I’m glamouring Brighton and snarls, “Don’t you dare,” as she steps toward where I stand with her friend barely ten feet away.

Lex catches her around the waist, effortlessly holding her back, and says, “Chill out, Calla.”

I focus my attention on Calla’s friend, who looks about five seconds from collapsing. “Hi there,” I murmur as she trembles. “Your friend just shared some rather sensitive information that we can’t risk putting in the wrong hands. You understand.”

A silent tear rolls down her cheek, but she doesn’t attempt to escape. I have an inescapable grip on her mind, rendering her immobile; she isn’t going anywhere until I allow it. I vaguely hear Calla shouting at me with venom in her voice, but I ignore it.

“So what you’re going to do is forget all of it. Instead of the scary truth about vampires and a blood oath, you’ll remember Calla telling you she moved out of her apartment to live with a friend of her family, and that’s all. Do you think you can do that?” It’s a rhetorical question, of course. She can’t resist the manipulative pull of glamour.

She nods. Even her lips curve into a smile, which only fuels the fire of Calla’s fight to get away from Lex—to get me away from Brighton.

I turn to look at Calla, and Brighton follows my gaze as I keep my grip on her shoulders. “I think it’s best if you and Calla take the rest of the day apart,” I murmur, meeting her gaze once more. “Now go ahead and walk away. Calla will be in touch when she can, and you don’t need to worry about her. She is perfectly safe.”

I step back and free Brighton from my grasp. Without a word, she turns to walk in the other direction, and I return to where Lex is standing with Calla. He lets her go as I approach, and she stalks forward, her jaw sharp and malice darkening her eyes.

“What the fuck was that?” she snaps.

My eyes narrow. “That, Calla, was me correcting your mistake. And I believe the words you’re looking for are thank you .”

“How about fuck you ?” Her hands are clenched into tight balls at her sides, yet I still can’t help myself from smirking or from taunting her.

“Oh, we both know you don’t have a problem with that.”

Instead of responding to that, she glances around, surveying the area before she says, “What did you say to her?”

I cock my head to the side. “I told her you moved out of your apartment to live with a family friend. I also helped her remember her morning a bit differently than how it went down. You see, we don’t particularly like when certain people know about our…lifestyle.”

Lex snorts, sliding his hands into his pockets as he reserves himself to overseeing the verbal battle.

“Certain people? She’s my best friend, Kade. You can’t isolate me from the people I care about just because?—”

“Yes, we can,” I cut in. “You know why? Because when you run your mouth to people that can use the knowledge of what we are in very dangerous ways?—”

“Kade,” Lex cuts in, and there’s a warning in his voice. A reminder that we’re not telling Calla about Brighton’s family ties to the vampire hunters.

“What the hell are you talking about?” Calla demands. “Brighton wouldn’t tell anyone.”

I shake my head. “Not a risk we’re willing to take.”

“So, what? You followed me from the house?”

“Yep. Good thing, too. I guess we didn’t think we had to tell you to keep our little arrangement to yourself.”

She gapes at me and echoes, “Our arrangement . “You can’t just…This isn’t…I don’t need a fucking babysitter.”

“Clearly you do,” Lex chimes in.

“Shut up,” she nearly growls at him, her eyes slicing through me again. “This is ridiculous, I?—”

“Agreed.”

Her glare paired with the thrumming of her pulse makes my gums throb with the desire to flash my fangs at her. To remind her where she stands.

“You have no idea how much I hate you right now.”

I steal the short distance between us, crowding her personal space without a lick of hesitation as I lower my lips to her ear. “And yet, I bet you’d still come all over my fingers. Again.” I delight in the way her breath catches, barely fighting the urge to graze her neck with my teeth.

Lex clears his throat. “All right, you two. Calla needs to get to class.”

I take my time moving away from her, my eyes going to her mouth, licking my lips as I drag my gaze up to meet hers. “We’d better get going then.”

It takes her a minute before she says, “We?”

“Uh-huh. You’ve made it perfectly clear you can’t handle the freedom we so graciously offered you, so I’m going to accompany you to this afternoon’s lecture.”

“The hell you are,” she shoots back, the anger in her voice not lost on the wild blowing off the Potomac next to us.

“Either Kade goes with you,” Lex says, “or you’re not going at all.”

Calla looks between us. “You have got to be kidding me.”

A grin tugs at my lips as I tell her, “Nope.” Instead of leaving it at that, my grin widens as I add, “And don’t think I’ll let you copy my notes.”

If looks could kill, Calla’s icy glare would be as effective as a white ash dagger to the heart.

We make it almost all the way to Calla’s campus before I grab her arm and pull her off the sidewalk between two buildings. I press her into the brick exterior, unable to keep the edge out of my voice when I say, “What you did was incredibly stupid.” She needs to know there will be far more severe consequences if she deems to do something like it again.

Her pulse spikes, her gaze whipping around to ensure we aren’t overheard before she scowls. “And what you did was incredibly invasive and wrong.”

I clench my jaw, shaking my head. She’s been around a single fucking day and she’s already testing my very limited patience. “You have no fucking clue, Calla. None.”

“And whose fault is that?” she fires back without missing a beat.

I move closer, pinning her to the wall. “You do something like that again, and you’ll never see the outside of our house again. Understand?”

Calla glares hard. “You know, I thought you were the fun one and Atlas was the high-handed asshole.” She tilts her chin up, meeting my gaze as she lowers her voice. “I don’t much like this look on you.”

I stare at her. She stares back. Whatever response I had lined up vanishes. That’s a first . “No?” I finally whisper. “You prefer the look of me between your legs, don’t you?” My eyes drop to her mouth when her lips part.

“Honestly? Yeah. And considering we can’t do that here, I guess we better just go to class.”

I don’t move. The sound of Calla’s pounding heart keeps me in place, fighting the urge to slam my mouth against hers. To tease her until she’s writhing against me. Because I have many ways I’d enjoy to teach this human her place in our world. Pleasure makes a powerful punishment if used correctly. Perhaps now is not quite the time, I decide with a soft exhale.

“Hmm.” I step back and wait for Calla to walk ahead before falling into step beside her.

Once we stop for coffee and breakfast on the way to class, Calla seems to be in a slightly better mood. I take the seat next to her and glance around the room before focusing my attention back on her. Her pulse ticks faster when she realizes, and when she presses her thighs together, I chuckle under my breath, relishing in the blush filling her cheeks.

“Shut up,” she hisses, refusing to look my way.

Instead of letting her pay attention to the professor’s presentation, I decide to indulge myself in her desire. Reaching over in the darkness of the theater-style lecture hall, I slide my hand slowly up her leg, over her high-waisted pants. Her breathing goes shallow, and she grips the armrests on either side of her.

I lean in until my lips are at her ear and murmur, “Shh…”

Her responding whisper is an uneven, “You can’t.”

I smirk. “I can, but you need to keep quiet.”

There’s a brief moment of hesitation before Calla opens her legs slightly. Her heartbeat is fast, and when I flick my tongue along the delicate skin below her ear, her breath catches. She keeps her gaze forward as I trail my fingers along the inside of her thigh, teasing her with my lips on her throat, kissing and sucking, before I cup the heat between her legs. Her jaw clenches and her heart trips over itself as she fights not to make a sound.

“Good girl,” I murmur against her skin, pressing my thumb against her clit and massaging her in slow circles until her breathing quickens to the point her chest rises and falls unevenly.

Calla whispers my name—a curse and a plea.

I still my fingers and assure her, “I know what you want.”

She nods before finally looking my way. Her cheeks are pink, her pupils blown. “We should go.”

I offer her a wry grin, pulling my hand away from her as I sit back. “You wanted to go to school.” Facing forward, I pretend to focus on the lecture, though all I can feel is Calla’s incredulous gaze on me.

“Are you serious right now?”

My grin morphs into a wicked smirk. “Shh, Calla. I’m trying to focus on the lecture.” I’ve wound her up with no intention of giving her the release she desperately seeks. Perhaps that will incentivize her to follow instructions going forward.

She snaps her legs shut, folding her arms over her chest, and grumbles, “I hate you.”

The only response I grant her is a faint chuckle.