He loosened his grip a little so that she could turn, listening. He shut his eyes briefly when she kissed him, then opened them again, looking at her. "I can handle it," he said, though it wasn't much of a protest at this point. The truth of it wasn't really that he was distinctly worried about Vlad at this point, since he'd already reconciled with the fact that Vlad hurting her didn't make much sense, as much as he was worried about her being anywhere that wasn't where he could keep an eye on her.
He sighed. "He doesn't deserve your company," he said. And there was a hint of jealousy, of course, no denying that.