Page 66 of Air of Seduction
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Payton
I’m standing, wrapped in the arms of the most gorgeous man in the world, feeling happier than I’ve ever felt. All of my hopes and dreams have already come true or will in the near future. There’s nothing left that can make my life any more perfect.
“Payton, my true mate.” Ronan’s expression is suddenly serious. He unwraps his arms from around me and takes my hand in his. And then he sinks down on one knee.
My eyes blow so wide I’m surprised my eyeballs don’t roll right out of my skull. Because I know what he’s about to do.
“We’ve already mated, and there’s no bond more permanent than that. But if we’re going to start a family, I would like a bond that’s recognized in the human world as well.” He pauses, his turquoise eyes searching mine.
I hold my breath while I wait.
“My beautiful mate, will you marry me?”
My breath comes out in a whoosh as tears gather in my eyes, and all I can do is nod.
“Thank you.” He kisses my ring finger before getting to his feet and gathering me in a tight embrace. “I love you.”
“I love you too,” I croak against his hard chest. Just when I thought life couldn’t get any more perfect, Ronan does something unexpected and makes it even better. And I doubt it’s the last time that will happen.
Chapter 39
Payton
I’m trying very hard to prevent my apprehension from showing on my face. It’s close to dawn, and we have just joined a group of people sitting in the living room. They must be nice since they’re here with the team of enforcers, but I’m still struggling with the fact that two of them are vampires.
The red-haired woman, Lyn, and the dark-haired woman, Eleanor, are sitting next to each other on the couch. Apparently they were both turned into vampires by the same man, the master.
Apart from the two vampires, Ronan, and myself, there are four others sitting around the coffee table. Henry, Gawen, Nes, and Markus. I’m coming to realize that this house is alive at all hours, and the vampires might have something to do with that, but I don’t think they’re the only reason. The bad guys operate at all hours, and so do these people.
Lyn shakes her head while looking at Gawen. “I still can’t believe they removed your brother from the altar room beneath Temple church in the middle of the day. And in a wooden crate. But the footage is clear. What’s even more remarkable, though, is that none of the people milling around the area seemed to notice. And the only explanation I can think of is magic.”
“Powerful magic.” Gawen frowns. “With people spread around the area like that, only someone experienced and powerful could pull it off. And even then, I don’t think the magic would affect the people working in the nearby buildings. If one of them looked out of the window at the right time, they mighthave noticed what was going on. But I think that’s a risk whoever did this was willing to take.”
Markus lets out a deep sigh. “But the end result is that our brother is gone without a trace. Callum and Vamika have checked all the footage they’ve gathered from the surrounding area, but the men with the wooden crate walk out of one footage and are never picked up again. Either they entered another building nearby, or more likely, they loaded the crate in a car and drove off.”
“I hate to say this, but…” There’s a sadness in Lyn’s gaze when she looks at Markus. “Your brother might be the reason the master has developed new abilities.”
The team leader tenses, and his hands curl into fists. “Fuck. I should’ve thought of that. But why torture him if the master needs him?”
Eleanor chuckles, but there’s no humor in the sound. “This is the master we’re talking about. When he takes blood from someone, he purposely makes it as painful and degrading as possible. It’s who he is, and one of the reasons he has to die.”
I shudder where I sit next to Ronan with his arm around my shoulders. I don’t think I want to meet the vampire they’re talking about. Someone who enjoys torturing people, isn’t a person who should live. But then that’s exactly what these people are trying to achieve, to kill him.
“Are you okay?” Ronan murmurs next to my ear.
I nod. “I’m fine. This is a question I never thought I’d ask, but is there anything I can do to help kill this asshole?”
Ronan’s brows push together in concern as he studies my face. “First, you need to learn how to protect yourself. And”—he cocks his head—“we have to find out if you’ve got any of my abilities.”
My eyes widen. His abilities? I hadn’t even thought about that, but I remember Erica and Ingrid mentioning that they’ve adopted some of their mate’s powers. It just didn’t apply to me at the time, since I didn’t think I was Ronan’s true mate.
“How do we find out?” My gaze travels over the other people in the room. It would probably be best to test my abilities somewhere where I can’t inadvertently hurt someone. The image of the cuts Ronan inflicted on the vampire’s body in the interrogation room pops into my head, and I flinch.
“Come.” He gets to his feet and holds out his hand for me, but his eyes are on Markus. “We’ll go test Payton’s abilities in my suite. If you hear a bang, please come check on us.” He winks at me.
I take his hand and let him help me up. “Yeah, I might have knocked him on his ass.”