More Than Blood Read Online Free Page B

him, hopefully with more objectivity this time. “Who are you and what were you doing in this neighborhood?”
    Blatantly ignoring her, the stranger scowled one more time at Raife before casting a dark, dangerous look at the cleanup crew advancing with a cart toward the dead body. It effectively froze them in place, and they cast questioning glances to her.
    Kel sighed. Could nothing go easy tonight? Did she have to work so damn hard for everything?
    “Look, guy.”
    “Gabrial.”
    Kel paused at the husky way he corrected her. His gaze roved over face before stopping with hot intensity on her lips until the need to run her tongue over the tingling surface became a burning drive. Grinding her teeth against the urge, she closed her eyes for a long moment.
    Just a little control.
    “Gabrial,” Kel said, hating the way her lips seemed to caress the name against her will. “We need to clean up this mess before the human authorities arrive. You’re obviously a pureblood so you should understand that our priority is to keep the humans out of this.” The sneer in her voice when she referred to him as a pureblood was subtle and unintentional, but a flicker in Gabrial’s green eyes indicated he’d caught it.
    Gabrial turned his face to peer down at the body of the dead man; a slight lifting of his lip indicated his disgust. “I would leave him to the rats, but I must bring him back to my elders.”
    Shit. Kel cast an impatient glance at Raife. It had been a long time since she’d been part of a formal House, but she clearly remembered their burial traditions.
    “We have to process the body, Kel. The bloodsucker was kicking your ass, and I want to know what the hell he was taking.” There was a short pause. “And whether or not it works on Drachon.”
    Kel turned to narrow her eyes on the smirking Drachon. “Bite me, dragon.”
    Raife’s smirk dropped away, and he tensed as his eyes darted to Gabrial.
    “That’s not funny, brat. This bloodsucker thinks you’re his mate. I really don’t want to mess with that.”
    With a sigh, Kel stepped into Gabrial’s line of vision, and he refocused those incredible eyes on her. She forgot purebloods didn’t have a sense of humor. “We work for Incog.” There was a flicker of recognition. Good. At least he was familiar with the company. “We will need to examine the body. Incog can guarantee you return of the remains once our doctors have answered some questions.”
    The stranger’s face was impassive as he stared hard at Raife.
    The hollow wail of a police siren echoed around them. Time had just run out.
    “Me personally, then.” Kel ground the words out, sliding her eyes closed for a long moment. “I will personally see that the body is returned.” The things she did for her job.
    The man’s eyes flickered back to her, tracing her face. Finally he gave a curt nod. She could hear the cleanup crew rushing forward behind them.
    “I must go, but I will return. That, I will personally guarantee.”
    Kel finally released her breath when he disappeared. She turned and circled the area where the cleaners worked, eyes focused on the ground. She was purposely avoiding what she knew would be her partner’s smirking face. Raife could be such an ass sometimes.
    She felt him move up behind her. “Keep it to yourself, Raife.”
    There was a deep chuckle. “Where’s the fun in that, brat?”
    Something winked at her from beneath a greasy fast food bag. She squatted down to palm it and slipped it into her hip pocket. Bingo! Tonight hadn’t been a total waste after all.
    She rose to her feet and turned to fix her own smirk on her partner. “I was thinking it was more an issue of survival involved.”
    There was the snide smile she was so familiar with, but his eyes were serious. Hell . When Raife was serious, it never boded well for anyone. “Don’t, Raife.”
    “If you’re his mate, Kel –”
    “I’m not.”
    “If you are , there’s nothing any of us can do.”
    Kel