Blood Bonded

28

"It fits," Raelyn marveled.

"I told you it would. Zio isn't a world-renown designer because he makes terrible dresses." Dominic motioned for her to spin, and she obliged. He nodded and smirked. "I am going to have my hands full keeping the boys away."

Raelyn covered his chest with her arm instinctively. "What do you mean?"

"No one is going to hurt you. I need you to trust me; when I say to look away, I need you to look away."

"Why?"

Dominic tugged her arms down. "Because you have yet to see the fullness of the vampire world. It's...passionate."

Raelyn took a deep breath through her nose. "Okay."

"Do you trust me?"

Raelyn nodded.

"Good." He smirked. "You are in for an adventure tonight. I don't think you've ever really seen Dominic Rossi."

"I know Nic."

Dominic frowned and narrowed his eyes. "Who told you that?"

Raelyn smiled.

"Gabe." Dominic rolled his eyes. "Do you remember what we went over?"

Raelyn nodded. "If someone asks me to dance, tell them no. Only eat food served by a waiter at the formal dinner table. Drink water only. When someone tries to make polite conversation, get ready to duck for cover."

"Smart girl."

Raelyn took another deep breath.

"If you keep breathing like a woman abut to give birth, people are going to begin wondering if you are my bonded or my blood-bag."

"Aren't I kind of both?"

"A blood-bag is a derogatory term. 'Source' is someone who has been vetted, checked for diseases, and approved. A blood-bag is some rando off the street, normally junkies who aren't cleared for feeding."

"And your dad is the one in charge of vetting sources?"

"More or less. That's his primary industry. And the others."

"Lombards are drug-dealers—"

"They prefer pharmaceutical practitioners."

"Capos...are arms dealers?"

"Arms and munitions. If anything in the past twenty years has exploded, the Capos will have had a hand in it."

"And Muci launders money."

Dominic nodded.

"Got it."

"My father is the only one you have to deal with tonight. Everyone else—well, if they get too close, I will be asking you to look away."

The memory of her vision flashed in front of her eyes. "Will Gabe be there?"

Dominic shook his head. "He'll stay at home." His eyes flickered over her neck. "I should feed." Raelyn nodded and psyched herself up. She knew it didn't hurt, but she still couldn't get past the idea of it. Dominic smirked before leaning in and pressing his lips against her neck. He held it for longer than usual, and Raelyn's head began to buzz, like she had downed four espressos and won an all-expense paid trip to the Pergamon Museum in Berlin.

The doorbell rang and Dominic pulled back. He looked at his watch. "About time she arrived."

"That was longer than usual."

"I may need to feed again later tonight. I will have my hands full keeping the boys away, remember?"

Raelyn nodded, shaking her head to ward off the desire to crawl into Dominic's arms and sleep. Or rip his shirt off and press herself as closely to him as humanly possible. "Wait. Who's here?"

"Your hairdresser."

Raelyn glanced down at her hair. "I braided my hair for this. French braids. Took me, like, twenty minutes."

Dominic walked over to where she was sitting and gently kissed her forehead, which made her entire body tingle. "Which is very cute. But not tonight. Tonight, you'll be a queen."

"My vibe is more hometown girl with a dash of compulsive organizational skills."

"Tonight, you'll be a mafia queen."

"Ah. Okay." She took a deep breath. "Trusting you."

Crockett emerged with a stunning young woman. For a moment, Raelyn felt the urge to stand in her presence—she never really understood that tradition until now. Her skin was dark as pure chocolate, and fluorescent orange tattoos swirled around her bare head. Her eyes were light brown. It took a few moments for Raelyn to realize she was staring. "Oh, sorry."

The woman smiled and set down her bags without a word. She looked at Dominic. "What would you like for your donna?" Her voice was soft, and Raelyn realized she was leaning in to hear her. With her buzzing head, it was all a bit much.

Dominic saw Raelyn leaning and gently pushed her back into her seat. "Ignore her. I just fed. Formal, half-up. Work your magic."

Raelyn closed her eyes as the woman began undoing her meticulous braids. She shivered as she felt the woman's nails brush against her scalp. When she finally opened her eyes, she saw Dominic staring. She blushed.

Dominic smirked. "I fed a little longer tonight because I wanted you to feel it."

"Feel what? Dizzy?"

"When vampires smell you as a hunter, their senses are heightened a hundredfold. Yet, when they smell a source—especially one of the opposite sex—our instinct is to...dominate—to exclusively possess. If my father weren't so thorough and stingy with his sources, most vampires would bond with a source. When Ichabod caught a whiff of you, he started to weave a plan to ensnare you. His plan was complicated when others wanted you, too."

"So why am I going to gala full of vampire men?" The hairdresser began separating her hair into sections and weaving them together.

"Because when they smell you as a hunter and as a source, they will also smell me. And anyone stupid enough to try anything with you will very soon discover that I do not share."

Raelyn forced herself to sit still as a shiver ran down her back. "Are you going to get ready? Or just stare at me?"

Dominic continued staring for a few moments. "I could stare at you all day."

"If you do, you might end up a little underdressed."

He glanced down at her dress and then tugged at the collar of his shirt. "Don't tempt me."