Free The Vampire's Angel by Damian Serbu Page B

except on a limited basis. Doing so could bring discovery. An overt act destabilizes this balance because humans cannot explain what happened naturally and it therefore casts suspicion on the vampire. Mundane interactions escape human attention, and even killings can be concealed to look natural. But once we become intimate with them, Anthony had emphasized, the danger of exposure by interfering in their lives increased tenfold and must be avoided at all cost.
    So Anthony had instructed him not to become intimately involved with humans. Thomas returned Marcel’s gaze impassively. He didn’t fear him. Rather, he feared for Xavier. His human feelings and longings made it difficult to maintain the ethic and Thomas had ignored Anthony’s advice the more he came to know Xavier because he did not know how else to find a mate.
    How could Thomas balance this perfect caution that had concealed vampires for thousands of years with his longing for a mate?
    And here he stood in conflict. He could not interfere with the natural lives of the Saint-Laurent clan without risking exposure, which included Marcel, because he had become intimate with them. But could he keep from doing something if Marcel attacked Xavier? Thomas wanted to kill the fiend, but he knew that the ethic forbade his murder. He was too close to the family now. So he focused on Xavier—he could not worry too much about Catherine.
    “Do you hold some enmity toward me?” Marcel asked, studying Thomas.
    Thomas raised an eyebrow. “You mistreat people, and I can’t admire that in anyone,” he stated flatly.
    “You know nothing of me.”
    “I know that you poison Catherine.” Thomas watched him closely, gauging Marcel’s reaction to what he’d just said.
    “She knows what I give her,” Marcel said defensively. “Just not when. And besides, it’s a matter between my fiancée and me.”
    “She’s a prize to you, isn’t she? A beautiful animal to cage and control as a pet.”
    “What does it matter to you? Between men, she’s quite a beauty, to have her in my bed will add countless hours of pleasure. It’s none of your business.”
    “Disgusting.” Thomas sneered and realized too late that his fangs had started to descend. Marcel backed away, losing his masculine bravado and cold demeanor. But he regained his arrogant posture quickly and walked toward Thomas.
    “Not human,” he said. “I knew it, from the first that I saw you I thought something was amiss. I learned about such things. The old voodoo priestesses warned me that such animals haunt the earth and prey upon other humans. So, you threaten me? What if I expose you? Your little Xavier would probably not like it if he knew you were a demon.” Although he said it boldly, he quaked and nearly dropped his wine.
    Thomas gritted his teeth and spoke with a clenched jaw. “Don’t you ever go near Xavier.” He stalked closer to Marcel, hovering over him.
    Marcel grunted even as he trembled.
    “I’ll hunt you down and torture you as you can never imagine if any harm befalls him. Do you understand?” Thomas said the words in a low voice, but his warning was clear.
    Marcel laughed nervously. “Sodomites. Protective sodomites. I never expected to confront such disgusting behavior around Catherine.”
    “Are you mocking me?”
    “You posture yourself with such defiance, as such a man, yet you lie like a woman in bed. How can I respect you?”
    “Powerful words coming from a quaking fool.”
    “You and that bitch can’t scare me. A woman priest, how charming.”
    “Don’t ever go near him.” Thomas repeated, inches from Marcel’s face.
    “If my lessons were correct, there’s not much you can do in the daylight to protect your mistress.”
    Thomas had heard enough. With a swift motion, so quick Marcel did not see it, he grabbed the idiot by the neck and lifted him off of the ground. He held him high above, glared into his eyes, and allowed his fangs to show. Marcel was purple, out of breath,