Dark Lover

could really see.

Good God, he probably looked like a lawyer.

He stripped off the jacket and put it on the marble counter. Pulling his hair back with impatient hands, he tied the length with a strap of leather.

Where was Fritz? The doggen had left to get Beth nearly an hour ago. The two of them should be back by now, but the house above still felt empty.

Ah, hell. Even if the butler had been gone for only a minute and a half, Wrath would have been restless. He was pumped to see Beth, itchy and distracted. All he could think about was burying his face in her hair as he drove the hardest part of himself deep inside her body.

God, those sounds she made when she came for him.

He glanced at his reflection. Put the jacket back on.

But sex wasn't everything. He wanted to treat her with respect, not just throw her on her back. He wanted to slow down. Eat with her. Talk with her. Hell, he wanted to give her what females liked: a little TLC.

He tried out a smile. Widened it. His cheeks felt like they were going to crack.

Yeah, okay, so he wasn't exactly Hallmark-card material. But he could pull off some romance. Couldn't he?

He rubbed his jaw. What the hell did he know about romance?

Abruptly, he felt like a fool.

No, it was worse than that. The fancy new suit exposed him, and the truth he saw was a nasty surprise.

He was changing himself for a female. For no other reason than to try to please her.

This was bonding at work, he thought. This was precisely why he never should have marked her, why he never, ever should have let himself get that close.

He reminded himself yet again that when she was through her transition, he was finished with her. He would go back to his life. And she would…

God, why did he feel like he'd been shot through the chest?

'Wrath, man?' Tohrment's voice boomed through the chamber.

The sound of his brother's baritone was a relief, bringing Wrath back to center.

He stepped out into the bedroom and scowled when he heard his brother's low whistle.

'Look at you,' Tohr said, moving around him.

'Bite me.'

'No, thanks. I prefer the females.' The brother laughed. 'Although I have to say you clean up nice.'

Wrath crossed his arms over his chest, but the jacket pulled so tightly he worried he was going to split the seam in the back. He dropped his hands.

'You're here why?'

'I called your cell and you didn't answer. You said you wanted us all to meet here tonight. When?'

'I'm busy until one.'

'One?' Tohr drawled.

Wrath planted his hands on his hips. A feeling of deep uneasiness, like someone had broken into his home, sneaked up on him.

This was so wrong, he thought. The date. With Beth.

But it was too damn late to cancel.

'Make that midnight,' he said.

'I'll tell the brothers to be ready then.'

He had a feeling Tohr was sporting a little grin, but the vampire's voice was steady. There was a pause.

'Yo, Wrath?'

'What.'

'She's as beautiful as you think she is. Just thought you'd want to know.'

If any other male had said that, Wrath would have given the idiot a nose job. And even though it was Tohr, his temperature still rose. He didn't like being reminded how irresistible she was. It made him think about the male she'd end up with for life.

'You got a point or are you just shooting your lip off?'

It wasn't an invitation to elaborate, but Tohr marched right through the opening anyway. 'You're way into her.'

He should have stuck with 'Fuck you' as a response, Wrath thought.

'And I think she feels the same way,' Tohr tacked on.

Oh, great. That made him feel better. Like he might end up breaking her heart or something.

Man, this date thing was a really bad idea. Just where did he think he was taking them with all the hearts-and-flowers shit?

Wrath bared his fangs. 'I'm only hanging in until she goes through the change. That's it.'

'Yeah, sure.' When Wrath growled deep in his throat, the other vampire shrugged. 'I've never seen you dress for a female before.'

'She's Darius's daughter. You want me to be like Zsadist with one of his whores?'

'Dear God, no. And damn, I wish he'd stop that. But I like what I'm seeing with you and Beth. You've been alone for too long.'

'That's your opinion.'

'And others'.'

Sweat broke out across Wrath's forehead.

Tohr's honesty made him feel trapped. As did the fact that he was only supposed to be protecting Beth, but instead was busy trying to make her feel as if she were more special to him than she really was.

'Don't you have somewhere you need to be?' he demanded.

'Nope.'

'Just my luck.'

Desperate to move around, he walked over to the couch and picked up his biker jacket. He needed to restock it with weapons, and since Tohr didn't seem in a big hurry to get his ass in gear, the distraction was better than screaming.

'The night Darius died,' Tohr said, 'he told me you'd turned him down when he asked you to take care of her.'

Wrath opened the closet and reached into a storage bin full of throwing stars, daggers, and chains. He made his selections with rough hands. 'So?'

'What changed your mind?'

Wrath clapped his molars together, biting down hard, a breath away from lashing out.

'He's dead. I owe him.'

'You owed him when he was alive, too.'

Wrath whirled around. 'Do you have any other business with me? If not, get the hell out of here.'

Tohr lifted his hands. 'Easy, brother.'

'Fuck easy. I'm not talking about her with you or anyone else. Got it? And keep your mouth shut with the brothers, too.'

'Okay, okay.' Tohr backed over to the door. 'But do yourself a favor. Cop to what's going on with that female. An unacknowledged weakness is deadly.'

Wrath growled and leaned into his attack pose, upper body jutting forward on his hips. 'Weakness? This coming from a male who's dumb enough to love his shellanl You gotta be kidding me.'

There was a long silence.

And then Tohr said softly, 'I'm lucky to have found love. I thank the Scribe Virgin every day that Wellsie is in my life.'

Wrath's temper surged, set off by something he couldn't put his finger on. 'You're pathetic.''

Tohr hissed. 'And you've been dead for hundreds of years. You're just too mean to find a grave and lie down.'