“Nice ice,” he snickers at me. “Keep your pants on. I said it was my mother’s wish. Not mine. Although, it is worth pointing out, you are not just a Vampire. Not anymore. Your ability to bear children may depend entirely on with whom you are trying to procreate.”
He pushes open a heavy door and leads me inside as I gape at him.
Come again? With whom I am trying to procre
ate? What the fuck does that mean?
Before I can ask, he lets go of my hand and flicks a switch. I find myself in a gorgeous library and office, not unlike my own at home in Los Angeles.
“Come,” he says. “We need to join together.”
“Err, yeah. What exactly does that entail?” I ask warily.
He laughs and says, “Nothing that will offend your little Vampire sensibilities. We need to do a ritual.”
“A ritual? What for?”
“You are Queen of The Underworld. A conduit for us all. Do you really not know any of this?” he asks in bewilderment.
“No, I told you Tiamat handed me the Powers and sent me on my way. Everything I know I have learned by myself.”
“Okay, then. We need to do a ritual which will activate, for lack of a better word, your Demonic Power.”
What? This is crazy. But there again, I suppose Lincoln and I did the whole Pairing thing when he made me his Alpha mate, so I guess it’s not too crazy.
“Okay, where do you want me?” I ask, clapping my hands together decisively.
He leers at me. “Now that is a loaded question.”
I glare at him. “I thought you had no interest in me.”
“In marrying you,” he says. “I never said I wasn’t attracted to you.”
“Oh, please. Let’s not do this. I have enough on my plate as it is,” I sigh.
“Mm, yes I’m aware. I sense three but I suspect there are more on your plate than that,” he says, moving closer.
“That’s for me to know. Now back up and tell me about this ritual,” I snap at him.
He holds his hands up and steps back, saying, “Can’t blame a guy for trying. Especially with a Vampire. And especially with you.”
“My sire would beg to differ. And what do you mean ‘especially me?’”
“Ah. I see. Interesting how you mention your sire and not your husband. And your reputation precedes you, my dear.”
Oh, dear. That doesn’t sound very good.
“My husband isn’t prone to ripping people’s heads off,” I say, having the pleasure of seeing him blanch slightly. “What have you heard?”
“Yes, well, I’m sure I can hold my own,” he says confidently. “Only good things, I assure you,” he adds with a wink.
I shake my head. “Humph,” I say rudely. “You would do well to remember who you are winking at, Mr. Draconis. Now, can we get this show on the road?”
“Of course,” he says with a slight smile. He moves to a cabinet and withdraws several white pillar candles, the same as my own. I watch him as he arranges them – to my surprise – in threes around the room.
“Threes?” I croak.
“Yes. Standard Demon protection magick. Something wrong?”