His Concubine (Book 2 of the Vanessa Solomon Series)

Chapter 16

           I had been marked, again, and now I belonged to two demons. I was so angry that he had did that without my permission that I refused to even ask him about going to see my family. I needed time away from him, and that's exactly what I was going to get. 

"I need to go see my family," I said to Damarius as I sat on his couch. He was standing by the window watching the snow fall. He hadn't said much since we showered, and I didn't blame him. 

"It's unwise to see them right now. The Council is expecting you."

"They'll have to wait."

He looked at me with a serious face. "Vanessa, this isn't a game. You can't just expect them to pardon you when-"

"I don't care!" I came to my feet as I raised my voice. "Call Kamar and I will let him know."

He looked at me for a few moments before he pulled out his cell and handed it to me.

I listened to it ring a few times before he answered.

"Salve?"

"It's Vanessa."

"Oh, have you decided to come back?"

"No. I called to tell you that the ceremony will need to be postponed."

"And why is that?" 

"Because I have somewhere to be, and if The Council is really trying to make me your concubine, then they should respect that it was already planned before they picked a date."

He laughed. "You expect me to tell The Council to postpone the ceremony because of your mundane plans?"

"Yeah, I do. If you want to be anywhere near my good graces, you'll figure out a way."

I could hear him sigh. "You're mad about the mark."

"You didn't even ask me!"

"I knew you would say no."

"Then why do it?!" I could hear the anger in my voice and I could see Damarius moving closer to me out the corner of my eye.

"As evil as I may seem to you, I do want you to be protected. Now that I have marked your body, I will be able to sense when someone even lays a finger on your skin."

"I had enough protection."

"My brother is very good, but since we both care for the same woman, you can never have enough protection. And... I didn't want anyone else touching your body before I did."

I could feel my cheeks turning red. "You're such a jerk."

"Perhaps. But that is the truth."

"When will you remove it?"

"The mark? I don't plan on it."

I balled my free hand into a fist. "You know I care for Damarius. If he can never touch me again I will never forgive you."

"Do you lust for him that much?"

"It isn't just lust. And you have taken away so much from me already, and now I can't even lay with the person I care about? How will I feed him?"

"He can still feed from your energy without touching you, it just won't be as... exciting."

We both became quiet for a few moments and I had to check the phone to make sure he was still there.

He gave a sigh. "I will mention this to The Council, but don't leave before I give you an answer."

"Fine." I waited for him to say something else, but once I realized he wasn't going to I hung up.