6.
Tegan
I’d died and gone to heaven. Well, maybe not that, but it was close.
I lay on Ethan’s bed while he licked me, his head between my legs and his tongue working some kind of freaking miracle on my clit. I grabbed tight onto the blankets, fisting them as I moaned. I’d never felt anything more exquisite.
Ethan raised his head for a brief moment, his voice a husky command as he said, “Come for me, lumina mea.”
I couldn’t hold back as I stared into his eyes and his tongue returned to my sweet bundle of nerves. His fingers thrust inside of me, and I undulated, shivering with an orgasm. I dropped my head back into the pillows and sighed, a big, stupid smile on my face. Ethan crawled up my body and nestled his head in the crook of my neck, pressing light kisses to my skin.
We’d had sex three times tonight, and I could already feel him hardening against me, eager for round four.
“You’re unbelievable,” I said, laughing, and he laughed, too, just as there was a knock on the bedroom door.
“Go away,” Ethan ordered.
A second later, Lucas called, “There’s someone downstairs to see you. I think you might want to take care of this now, Ethan.”
“La naiba,” he muttered grumpily as he climbed out of bed and pulled on a pair of jeans. I’d heard him say this phrase a few times. I thought it meant something like, damn it or fuck’s sake. Either way, it always gave me a tingle. There was just something about a man saying stuff in a sexy foreign language that was incredibly appealing, especially when you had no clue what he was saying. He could be uttering romantic declarations or talking absolute filth.
Ethan threw on a T-shirt and some shoes before opening the door. I pulled the blankets over my body so that Lucas didn’t cop an eyeful. He stood outside waiting and cocked his head inside as Ethan emerged, probably hoping to catch a glimpse of me in a state of undress.
Amanda arrived at the house a couple of hours ago, and I’d settled her into one of the spare rooms farthest away from Lucas’s room. I told her he was here, and she straightened her shoulders at the news, telling me she could handle him. I was proud of her at that moment.
“Tegan might want to come, too,” Lucas said to Ethan.
“Why?” both Ethan and I asked in unison.
“Because it has to do with your slayer friend,” Lucas explained.
“Finn?” I said, brow furrowed.
“Yes, he’s downstairs and only minutes away from being slaughtered by several of our people. He really knows how to kick up a ruckus, that one.”
My heart skipped a beat, and I shooed Lucas away so that I could get dressed. What, oh what, had Finn gotten himself into this time?
When I arrived downstairs fully clothed, I found Ethan and Lucas in the living room with another vampire I didn’t recognise. Finn was sitting on a chair with his hands tied behind his back. A bruise was emerging on his cheek and there was a bloodied bite mark on his neck. Shit.
I rushed to his side, kneeling on the floor by his chair. “Finn,” I breathed, my voice more air than sound. “Are you okay? You look like hell.”
“You should see the other fella,” he replied with a casual shrug.
Oh, Finn. Ever the comedian. I pulled him into my arms and hugged him tight, surprised by the amount of relief I felt at seeing him. I heard Ethan’s low growl from where he stood on the other side of the room, but I ignored it. Finn was my friend, and I was so incredibly happy to see him, so Ethan was just going to have to suffer through me hugging him.
“Where are the others?”
“They’re safe.”
“What’s going on here?” I asked as I surreptitiously eyed the muscular, red-haired vampire who was glaring daggers in Finn’s direction.
“I got jumped by a couple of vamps. I told them your boyfriend might not take too kindly to them killing me. Though, to be honest, by the way he’s looking at me right now, I think he’d take very kindly to it indeed.”
I pulled away from Finn and turned to look at Ethan. “Stop it. Nobody’s killing Finn tonight. Or ever.”
The red-haired vampire stared at me in awe as I addressed Ethan, while Lucas shook his head as if I were ridiculous for having the gall to give orders.
“He murdered one of my people tonight,” Ethan spoke coolly.
“I’m sure it was only in self-defence,” I countered. “And anyway, how many humans have your people killed in the last couple of days? If you want to kill Finn, you’ll have to go through me first.”
Just to show how serious I was, I summoned some of my magic, allowing it to spark and crackle from the palm of my hand. With each day that passed, it was becoming second nature to use my magic. Rarely did I need to be threatened anymore for it to make an appearance. I simply needed to call on the magic and immediately it answered. The red-haired vampire’s body startled. He clearly didn’t know I was a witch, and while it felt strange to say it, technically that’s what I was.
A witch.
It wasn’t an unpleasant thought. In fact, my magic practically purred under my skin as I accepted my new identity. It was like I’d finally come into my own.
I stared at Ethan just as sternly as he stared at me. “Have you forgotten how Finn welcomed you into his home not too long ago and made a pact to work with you when your own people shut you out?”
“No, I haven’t forgotten,” Ethan replied. “And really, I care very little for whatever killing has taken place. It is the way he looks at you that makes me want to murder him.”
“Now you’re being ridiculous,” I retorted as my stomach tightened from the possessive gleam in his eyes.
“Hey, man,” Finn interrupted. “I know she’s with you now. There’s no need for the caveman routine.”
I inwardly wished Finn didn’t always have to be so ready with a smart comment. He had a way with words that managed to rile people up, even when he was supposedly trying to be civil.
Ethan took a step forward, and I stood, placing myself in front of Finn. “If you hurt him, you’ll lose me forever,” I said, and I meant it.
Ethan looked deep into my eyes, an internal struggle going on in his own. The tension in the room was so thick it made me want to flee, but I stood my ground.
After what seemed like forever, but what was really only a matter of seconds, Ethan exhaled and turned his attention to Finn.
“You are lucky Tegan favours you,” he said before dismissing the vampire who brought Finn here with a simple wave of his hand. The red-haired vampire looked palpably disappointed with Ethan’s decision as he walked out with hunched shoulders.
“Well, now,” Finn said once he was gone. “Who’d like to do the honours of untying me?”
I walked around to the back of his chair and slid the blade he’d given me from my jeans pocket, cutting through the cable tie.
“It’s a good thing you decided to pardon me, your highness,” Finn said, speaking directly to Ethan. I poked him in the shoulder, urging him to drop the sarcastic tone. He was way too cocky for someone who just barely avoided getting killed. He shot me an amused look before continuing, “Because I’ve got some news you might be interested in hearing.”