Jaxon found she was shivering. Don’t do anything rash. I’m a cop, remember? We arrest people for breaking and entering. They’re already going to jail. Maybe they’re reporters looking to get the scoop on the love nest of the local billionaire.
Stay clear until I have them under control.
Jaxon was already racing through the passageway into the basement and up the stairs leading to the kitchen. You’re already in control, Lucian. I’m more worried for them, not about you. I can feel the weight of your… She searched for a word to describe it. Nothing. He wasn’t angry. There was no rage. He smoldered with menace, yet he was tranquil, even serene. Nothing disturbed him or shook his complete confidence in his own powers.
They pose a danger to you, angel, not to me.
You are reading their minds.
That is so. Our guests are from out of state. Do not worry so much, my love. I will do nothing to embarrass you or harm your status as a police officer.
I just want you to know I will arrest you in a heartbeat if you lay a finger on any of them.
His laughter was soft and sensual, brushing at her mind and body like the touch of his caressing fingers. My beloved angel, I would never be so crass.
Her heart almost stopped at the drawling menace she caught beneath the surface. She knew him now. She knew he was more lethal at that moment than when he had so casually destroyed the vampire who had tracked him to his home. What had he said? They pose a danger to you, not to me. Of course he would remove any threat to her. He believed she was his heart and soul. She felt his tremendous need of her. He would never allow anyone or anything to threaten her.
Lucian, I know you handle things differently in your world, but this is my world. These men are human. They must be handled within the boundaries of the law.
I am the dispenser of justice, my love. I will not destroy them at this time.
She felt her heartbeat return to normal. He wouldn’t lie to her. She had visions of him incinerating them right there on the carpet. How would she explain another pile of ashes to Barry Radcliff or Captain Smith?
Lucian knew her exact whereabouts, how close she was to coming up the stairs. He put on a burst of speed, and found the first man in the spare bedroom. Seizing him by the neck, he sank his teeth deep into his jugular and drank. The intruder had no chance to struggle, no way to move in that iron grip. Be silent. You will obey. The soft voice instantly quieted the man, and he was passive in the enormously strong grip. Lucian simply dropped him to the floor and left him there, evaporating into mist so that he streamed through the hall and into the next room.
The second man, the one in the dark blue suit, choked back a cry of alarm as Lucian suddenly materialized in front of him, seizing him in a grip of steel, brutally going for his neck to drink deeply. You will obey. Be silent. His enthrallment was complete. Both men would do his bidding day or night, hear his call, and complete appointed tasks. He allowed the second man to drop to the floor, dizzy and weak from blood loss. Stepping over him with a hint of contempt, he flowed through the house toward the turret, where the third man was examining old papers in Lucian’s private desk.
The beast in him was allowed reign for a brief moment while he savagely took his fill. These men had come to kill his lifemate. By rights he should have ripped their hearts out. He had important work in store for them, but that did not mean he had to treat them with human civility. In his world, there was little room for such niceties.
At his command the three men followed him along the upstairs landing. All three were pale, and one of them staggered a bit, but they moved as he directed, with pleasant smiles on their faces. They would do anything for him; they needed the touch of his mind and the sound of his voice. They lived to do his service. Jaxon was charging up the steps when she spotted the little parade and paused in the middle of the staircase. She looked so apprehensive, Lucian found himself smiling.