Four-Letter Words by Evans, Gabrielle (top 10 books of all time .txt) 📗

of you. Then to top it off, you’ve gone without blood for how many days now? It’s not smart. It’s not healthy.” Letting the steel-laced authority seep into his tone, he took his mate by the chin and looked directly into his eyes. “And it’s not going to fucking happen again. Are we clear?”

He could kick his own ass for not seeing it sooner. Since he wasn’t a vampire himself, he wouldn’t have guessed there was much difference between stored and flesh blood, apart from the taste perhaps. Clearly, that wasn’t the case. The urgency and desperation in Zasha’s mannerisms hadn’t registered during the time, but now that the fog of passion had dissipated, it was all too easy to infer what had caused the lapse in Zasha’s restraint.

Of course, Zasha couldn’t just nod and agree with him. The man was a damn martyr, and he’d find a way to blame himself in any situation. “You’re missing the point. I could have seriously hurt you.”

Thane rolled his eyes as he began straightening his partner’s clothes, tucking Zasha back into his slacks and smoothing the wrinkles from his shirt. “You didn’t hurt me. I didn’t stop you, Zash. You did that on your own.”

Batting Thane’s hand away, Zasha fastened the clasp on his pants, grumbling under his breath the entire time. “I shouldn’t have bitten you in the first place.”

“How do you feel?”

“What?” Zasha’s head snapped up, and his eyebrows drew together. “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”

Gods, the man was going to be the death of him. The vampire would shrivel up and blow away if he thought for even a second that it might help in some way. And he accused Thane of letting his emotions cloud his judgment. “Just tell me. How do you feel now?”

“I…I feel like a bastard, but physically, I feel like a god.”

“Uh-huh.” Settling his hands on Zasha’s hips, Thane pulled him forward and nipped at his chin. “So just maybe I was right.” When his lover didn’t respond, Thane tangled his fingers in the Zasha’s hair and pulled his head back on his shoulders. “I’m fine. I don’t feel lightheaded, dizzy, or faint. I’m not weak, nauseous, or even the tiniest bit tired. Stop worrying about me.”

“I’ll always worry about you,” Zasha whispered in return. “How can I not?”

“How can I not worry about you?” he countered. “You are beautiful both inside and out, but you give too much. It’s okay to take a little for yourself every now and then.” Thane racked his brain for a way to make Zasha understand that he hadn’t caused irreparable damage. Finally, he decided facts would appeal the most to his mate’s organized, control-freak personality. “I need to gain in the ballpark of thirty more pounds, right?”

“Yes, though I wouldn’t be upset if it was a few more. You’re doing well, Thane.” Zasha sounded like a cheerleader at a pep rally, rooting for a team with a losing record. “The doctor is impressed with your progress, and I’m excited to see you getting stronger.”

Even in the midst of an argument, Zasha couldn’t miss the opportunity to toss in his own brand of encouragement. The gods have mercy on him, because Thane found it impossible to fight against that kind of optimism. While his irritation was fading rapidly, there was still a point he was trying to make.

“That’s kind of the idea. What was my last red-blood-cell count?”

“Five and a half,” Zasha answered at once.

“Where does that fall on the scale or normal?”

“Right in the middle.”

Thane knew Zasha had memorized all the charts and data available, just so he could provide the best care possible for him. “My last physical was perfect, other than being underweight, correct?”

“Well, yeah.” Zasha’s lips turned down into an adorable frown. “You tricked me.”

“No, sweetheart.” He cupped his lover’s cheek and smiled. “I’m just trying to show you why you’re overreacting. Now, please, can we drop all of this nonsense? I’ll take an iron supplement every day if it will make you feel better.”

Each argument, each disagreement, and every single time he’d been nagged was completely worth it when a gorgeous smile lit up Zasha’s face. “You present a compelling argument, Mr. Braddock.” He nodded once and pressed himself against Thane’s chest. “You need to be taking the iron supplement anyway, and no caffeine or alcohol. It thins your blood.”

“Yes, Doctor,” Thane teased, but he was delighted Zasha was being so reasonable.

“I mean it. I’m not one hundred percent comfortable with this, but I’m willing to try. That means you’re going to have to put up with me being overprotective for a bit longer. I need to take care of you. The least you can do is let me.”

“I have a better idea.” Tilting his head to the side, he bent until he was a mere breath from Zasha’s lips. “What if, and hear me out, we take care of each other?”

Slender arms encircled his neck, and Zasha chuckled under his breath. “Yeah, I think I’d like that.”

Thane wasn’t so naïve as to believe that all of their problems had been magically solved. As his lips pillowed against Zasha’s and he teased the seam with his tongue, he felt they were off to a pretty damn good start, though.

Chapter Five

The next few nights brought good news for a change. The Enforcers had located Thane’s younger brother, Mikko, in the bayous of Louisiana. Since Thane had been out of the loop for a while, and his family was busy preparing for some kind of ritual involving Leader Tuesday’s mate, Zasha was doing his best to get his lover up to date with the current events.

“Phillip McCarthy has apparently been a plague on your family for years.” He only knew bits and pieces of the story, but Thane listened with rapt attention, motioning for him to continue. “He kidnapped Torren and tried to raise the dead. He had possession of the Book of the Banished at one time, and he’s the reason Raith’s