Passion of the Vampire King (Blood Fire Saga Book 5) by Bella Klaus (best motivational books txt) 📗

he lost one body and is afraid someone might destroy the one he got from Father Jude,” I muttered. “Are you all still in Kenwood House?”

“Do not search for Kresnik.” Valentine’s eyes hardened.

“I’m not. The Council—”

“If you want to keep the other fire users safe, you will tell the Supernatural Council not to go after him. Kresnik is more concerned with capturing you and consolidating his power than with attacking the Council but that can change the moment he thinks enforcers have tracked him to his new location.”

“You’ll tell me if he’s planning an attack?”

Valentine cupped a hand behind my head and nodded. “Stay in Logris. Learn to use your power. Don’t try to escape my demon guards.”

I placed a hand on his chest. “Anything else?”

“That Jonathan fellow,” Valentine said with a snarl. “Kresnik wishes to extract his ventricle to use as a vessel to contain your phoenix.”

I drew back, staring at Valentine with a mix of horror and disbelief. A question formed on my lips, but I shook it off. Kresnik probably thought Hades had already cracked open my body to extract the phoenix, and he needed Jonathan’s heart to add to his own so that he would have permanent access to my power.

“Kresnik has a team searching London,” Valentine added. “Don’t let them see you. If the Council wants something to do, they can locate Jonathan.”

I stared into his eyes and nodded. As much as I disliked my former stalker, I couldn’t let him fall into the hands of Kresnik.

Chapter Six

I dozed in Valentine’s arms, still sated from our incredible lovemaking. About an hour later, he kissed me awake, and I found a change of clothes hanging on the wall.

“Where did you get that?” I rubbed the sleep from my eyes, taking in a pair of wide-legged overalls in olive green with a matching turtleneck.

“Room service.” Valentine hopped off the bed, clad in black denim, making me wonder when he’d gotten changed. “They sent an entire wardrobe of suitable attire for you to wear until my return.”

He swept his arm toward the iron table, where there was now a pile of brand new underwear that looked more like gym clothes.

“What’s wrong with my regular clothes?” I slid off the bed and yawned. “They were good enough when I lived in London.”

He handed me a pair of socks and smirked. “The clothes you came in with were damaged in a savage vampire attack.”

I rolled my eyes and selected a pair of knickers that covered even the tops of my thighs and slipped on the world’s most effective compression bra. I glanced down at my former B-cups and snarled. He was so bloody transparent.

Valentine leaned against the wall, watching me dress. After I slipped on the turtleneck, the overalls, and a brand new pair of boots, he stepped forward with the reaper cloak and wrapped it around my shoulders like I was a present not to be opened until Christmas.

My gaze dropped down to the shapeless overalls. It wasn’t like I was a style diva like Beatrice, but did Valentine have to dress me like an oversized toddler? This monstrosity was coming off the moment I found my other clothes.

He drew back, admiring his handiwork. “Stay away from the Demon King.”

I met his assessing gaze and smiled. “I’ll do my best.”

His eyes sharpened. “What does that mean?”

My insides plummeted. Why hadn’t I just agreed with him? I wasn’t talking to his soul, the part of him who used reason to get what he wanted. This was still preternatural Valentine, no matter how civilized he appeared, the vampire who didn’t think twice about breaking into people’s homes and abducting women.

“Mera,” he snarled.

The words tumbled from my lips. “I sort of made a bargain—”

“What?” he hissed.

I raised both hands. “He can’t hurt me, remember? But he wouldn’t leave my room until I agreed to having three meals with him.”

Valentine bared his teeth. “Do you know what a creature like the Demon King would do to a phoenix trapped in such a tempting body?”

Warmth spread across my chest, but I tamped down a smile. “Don’t worry about him. He’s all talk.”

The heat of his glower could have coagulated my blood, but I didn’t shrink from his anger. No matter how much Valentine blasted and blustered, he only wanted to keep me safe. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed our bodies together.

“You saw me come into my power.” I raised myself onto my tiptoes and pressed a kiss on his lips. “I made it through my transformation once before, and I can do it again. Then I won’t even need your protection.”

Valentine drew back, his features pinched. “Don’t make me keep you in an impenetrable sphere of magic.”

I exhaled an exasperated breath. From anyone else, this would be an idle threat, but preternatural Valentine had a tendency to keep people locked up. Whether it was men chained in storage cupboards, damsels locked in penthouses, or the same damsel confined to a bed under the influence of thrall. I couldn’t wait to give him back his soul to stamp out this more extreme aspect of his personality.

“You hired the demon bodyguards, didn’t you?”

His nostrils flared, and a muscle in his jaw flexed. “They will defend you from Kresnik’s men, but not from their king.”

“The same Demon King I resurrected with my blood and can’t hurt me, and the same Demon King I don’t find remotely interesting or attractive or trustworthy.” I smoothed down Valentine’s denim jacket. “Trust me, I’ll make these three meals quick and unpleasant and I won’t let him take me to Hell.”

Valentine’s eyes flashed, and he was about to say something else when the cat flap creaked open, and a Bengal cat trotted inside, licking his chops.

“Macavity!” I injected a lot more enthusiasm in my voice than the occasion warranted.

The cat’s steps faltered, and he twitched his right ear and curled his tail into the shape of a question mark.

“Are you here to escort me home?” I