Count

23. Jealousy Gets the Best of Me

The image of Inari returning from having sex with Luca was not one I would readily get out of my head. She looked satisfied, her hair mussed and a smile gracing her lips.

I despised it. An icy hand, colder than death, gripped my heart. I was not ordinarily a violent man, but it was all I could do not to attack Luca right there—to bid the Twins polite goodbyes and escort Inari out of their lair at a walk.

Now we drove back to my place in silence. Inari had packed an overnight bag because I knew we would return late. But maybe she wouldn't want to stay with me after that.

I gripped the wheel until my knuckles turned white.

What had she been thinking, running off alone with an unfamiliar vampire? Had I not warned her we were dangerous? She could have been killed, and I would have been powerless to stop it.

I hated that Luca had taken advantage of Inari's innocence. What if she believed he cared for her, and he broke her heart?

Livid, I couldn't even look at her. She probably didn't know it (mortal noses were weak), but she reeked of him, proving just how close the two of them had been.

The voice in my head screamed and played scenarios in which I, or she, had done anything differently. I pictured her refusing Luca's offer, begging me to take her home. I pictured myself stepping in and wrenching them apart. Then, because I was a fool, I imagined how the scene might have played out between the pair: Luca pulling her dress over her head, Inari accepting him inside her, rolling her eyes back in pleasure...

I clutched the steering wheel harder.

The purpose of bringing Inari to the Eternal Ball had been to show her how vile vampires were. She would look around at the disgusting power displays they indulged in and realize that becoming a vampire was a terrible idea. Clearly, that plan had backfired. I couldn't believe she had jumped at the first offer to fuck she received from another man. Did she care for me at all?

You have no right to be jealous, said the voice in my head. She isn't your girlfriend.

Like hell I don't, I thought back. I was not in the mood to be reasonable.

We arrived at my home. I got out of the car and slammed the door behind me, opening Inari's with a scowl. She was timid as she exited the vehicle and followed me inside.

I went to the living room because there was room to pace, and I needed to let off steam. She stood in the doorway, appropriately frightened of me. "Are you upset?" she asked in a small voice, the first thing she'd said to me since we left. All her bravado from earlier had vanished.

I rounded on her. "Upset? Why would I be upset that another guy was fucking my..." My what?

She shrank back from the force of my accusations. "If you didn't want me to go with him, why didn't you stop me?"

"The Twins are some of the most powerful vampires in Europe. If I had waltzed into their territory with a tasty snack, then forbid them from touching it, there would have been hell to pay." I sneered, "Not when that snack was so eager to offer itself up."

She crossed her arms, having the decency to look ashamed. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize."

I paced back and forth, my voice rising in volume. "Of course, you didn't. You don't have a clue how vampires operate. Yet in a foreign and potentially perilous situation, you threw yourself in harm's way with no regard to the consequences." I faced her again. "Luca is my friend and a relatively decent vamp, as they come, but if he had decided it would be more fun to kill you than fuck you, he could have done it without any repercussions but a stern word from another vamp for taking his plaything! Understand? Humans are little more than animals to us."