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.“I think that one is ‘Fangs are fangs and weres are weres, ElijahGrey should grow a pair.’”Tobey wrinkled his nose.“Wait, do they mean fangs or balls?”“I have both, thank you.”“Obviously.” Elijah swatted at his mate as he started to giggle.“Oh my God, corporal punishment.Can you please save that forlater?”“Can you please be serious for just one minute?”“I am serious.Everything’s going to be fine.You’ll see.”“You sound really confident.”“Are you implying you don’t want to do this?” Tobey asked, hiseyes searching Elijah’s.“God, no,” Elijah answered, and it was true.He was relieved thathe wouldn’t have to hide his affection for Tobey anymore, but he alsoknew there was less of a chance of the Bill of Rights passing withTobey at his side.If the bill didn’t pass, Elijah didn’t know whatwould happen to interspecies relations in Morgana.They could leavethe plane if they could find a planeswalker to transport them, butElijah didn’t know where they could go.There weren’t exactly awhole lot of places in the supernatural realm where interspeciesmating was condoned.Or even tolerated.Not sure he wanted his mate to see the worry in his eye, Elijahsmiled and dodged his gaze.From this vantage point, standing in thewings at the side of the stage, he could see all the goings-on in thearena.All along the stage, busy interns were checking microphonecables.TV journalists readied their cameras.Spectators readied theircamera phones.Elijah would be going on any minute now, and hishands were shaking and his throat was dry.Bloodsucker and the Beast125“It’s just too soon,” Elijah finally blurted out.He turned to look atTobey, closing his hands around his mate’s to keep them steady.“Two months ago, everyone on the plane was trying to kill each other.All that stuff I said, all those speeches I made…I believe that thingscan get better.I really do.And I believe that we can all coexist, butafter two months?”Tobey placed a finger under his chin, propping it up so that Elijahwas forced to look at his mate’s eyes rather than the polished tips ofhis shoes.“Time isn’t a factor when you know something’s right,” hesaid.“I’ve known you for eight days, and I’m already in love withyou.”That certainly took Elijah’s mind off the press conference.“You love me?” Tobey nodded, smiling, but Elijah still couldn’t seem towrap his head around how calmly his mate had admitted it.“Wow.You are really fucking fearless, you know that? The way you just saidthat? What if I didn’t say it back?”“Are you going to?”“I was working up to it,” Elijah admitted, lifting a hand to brushhis mate’s hair from his face.His hand came to rest against thewarmth of Tobey’s cheek, and Elijah looked into his eyes, one green,one blue, both shining with love.His hand closed around the back ofTobey’s neck, pulling him close so he could kiss him.He intendedthat kiss to be gentle, loving, but Tobey sucked his tongue until hepractically pulled the words from Elijah’s lips.“Love you,” he said, breathless and a little dizzy.“Thought so,” Tobey quipped, straightening Elijah’s tie andgiving it a playful tug.“Now, I want you to go onstage, do your thing,and come back down here to me so I can take you home and we candream up some erotic uses for this tie.”Elijah gaped at his mate’s brazen suggestion.“I’m sorry, I know Ijust told you this, but I am really fucking in love with you right now.”“Me too.” Tobey kissed Elijah again, pulling away with a smirk.“Still nervous?”126Ellen GinsbergElijah shook his head, dazed.Thanks to Tobey, he was nowmostly just horny.As he approached the stage, he tried his level bestnot to dwell on his mate’s promises too much, though.He’d alreadylearned his lesson about attempting to discuss public policy with anerection.* * * *Tobey had to force himself not to grope his mate any more than healready had before sending him up to the podium to announce theirmating.He’d regretted it at the time, but he understood now that itwas for the best that his mate hadn’t faced his audience with anyoutward evidence of his arousal.Especially since so many members of that audience were nowchanting “pervert” at him at the top of their lungs.Tobey chewed his lip nervously, watching his mate from the sideof the stage.He might have put on a good show for Elijah, butsecretly, he’d been terrified of what would happen when thevamparazzi got their fangs into his mate.As it turned out, he was right to be worried.Elijah’s announcement that he and Tobey were mateshad done nothing to appease his most vocal opponents.If anything, ithad only seemed to incite them more.A large hand closed over his shoulder, and he looked up to seeMitchell standing next to him with his mate, Adrianna.“Thought youcould use a friend,” he said gently.“We are still that, right?”Tobey smiled.“Always.” As the jeers from Cade and his groupgrew louder, Tobey felt the angry ripple of his wolf pressing againsthis skin, threatening to erupt.He turned back to Mitchell.“Want tohelp me go murder some vampires?”Mitchell grinned.“Tempting as that sounds…” Adrianna leveledan indignant look at Mitchell, and he forced the smile off his face.“Ihave faith that Elijah can handle this in a nonviolent way.”Bloodsucker and the Beast127Adrianna smiled, leaning against her mate.“We’re into peacenow, remember?”“Right,” Tobey muttered.“Coexistence.” Not that he didn’tbelieve in it, but watching the three-ring circus Elijah’s pressconference had devolved into, it was kind of hard to picture at themoment.Practically shouting into the microphone to make himself heardover the ruckus Cade and his followers were causing, Elijah tried toregain control of the conference.“Despite what certain members ofthe audience may or may not believe with regards to my mating, Iassure you that my relationship with Mr.Lennox in no way impairsthe validity of the United Morgana campaign or my judgment as afounding member of it.”Adrianna nudged Tobey.“See? He’s handling it.He’ll be fine.”The smug smile left her face when thirty hands shot up inresponse to Elijah’s statement.“You were saying?” Tobey asked,eyeing Elijah nervously.Elijah cringed as eager journalists pounced on his statement, notwaiting to be called on.“Are you implying that interspecies mating is an impairment?”“Are you hoping to seek help for your affliction?”“How do you intend to dissolve your mating?”“Do you and Mr.Lennox have plans to seek appropriate partnersonce your sham of a mating has been disbanded?”“Whoa!” Elijah shouted in response to the rapid-fire questions thatwere coming at him from all over the arena.“All I said was that some people— not everyone and certainly not me— might think that my somewhat unorthodox makes me a hypocrite.It doesn’t,” he saidquickly.“I haven’t violated any of the rights in the United Morganabill.All vampires are free to drink blood.They just aren’t allowed tohurt or restrain anyone in order to get it.”“Are you suggesting that you and Mr.Lennox are in opposition toS/m and bondage?”128Ellen GinsbergElijah glared at the man who’d asked the question.“Nocomment,” he growled [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]