by ERIN BEDFORD
“As far as quitting,” I glared down at my plate, and my lower lip poked out on its own accord, “I would if I could. However, jobs aren’t that easy to come by with my track record.”
I wish Rayne had been lying, but he hadn’t. I’d like to say that it was the jobs. Each job I had gotten from the temp agency had been one piece of shit assignment after the other. But to be honest, it was me. When I first lost my cushy job and started at the agency, I’d been picky. Too picky. I turned down too many good jobs because I thought I was better than that.
I’d been wrong.
Now, I counted my blessings for this job. The pay was reasonable even if it didn’t come with health care or dental. However, I could afford to save for any mishaps with what I saved from living at the job. It sure beat the hell out of living in my car. More comfortable too.
I turned my attention back to Darren. The company wasn’t half bad either, the couple of jerk face masters aside.
“So, I heard.” Darren inclined his head. “Living in your car, huh?” He raised his brows at me, pity in his eyes. “It takes quite a bit to drive someone to those lengths.”
I shrugged, stabbing at my noodles but not really trying to eat them. “Not really. It made sense with the lack of funds to pay for an apartment.”
“What about your parents?” Darren asked, surprising me. This was the longest conversation I’d ever had with Darren. The fact that he was even asking me about myself was a miracle. Usually, he was trying his best to get me out the door or back to work.
“They’re not here, and even if they were, I wouldn’t go back to them.” I left it at that, not wanting to go into my family history.
“So, you’re here on your own with no family to look for you?” Darren asked a bit strangely. “That’s not a safe place to be for a young woman.”
I shifted in my seat uncomfortably. “I can take care of myself.”
Darren snorted. “That I can’t believe.”
We continued to eat in silence after Darren’s condescending remark. I wanted to argue that I was perfectly capable of taking care of myself, but the memory of how easily Drake had overtaken me. How close I’d been to letting him take me up against his bedroom door.
I wasn’t a large woman. I wasn’t petite either. If it came down to brute strength, I couldn’t hold my own against even Rayne, the smallest of them. Though the thought of Wynn overcoming me wasn’t an unpleasant thought, I wouldn’t want to be at the mercy of that brat.
Darren took both of our plates before I could offer to clean them and then disappeared into the dining room. A few low voices came from there, and I was half tempted to see if my employers were there. What did they eat? So, far I hadn’t seen them get anything remotely close to food besides Rayne’s bottle of red crap.
Suddenly, Darren showed back up in the kitchen. His eyes landed on me, and he stiffened. “You should go to bed. The masters have some visitors tonight, and they don’t want to be disturbed.”
The tone of his voice told me there was no room for argument. The voices in the dining room got louder, and there were laughter and some moaning noises. Suddenly, I wanted to be back in my room.
As I scrambled up the back stairs, my face heated. What kind of people was I working for? Nymphomaniacs? Maybe one of those BDSM kind of groups?
They did want to be called Master.
Whips and chains came to mind as well as the image of Antoine in some assless leather pants. My body shivered deliciously at the thought. I could totally see any of them being into that kind of stuff.
I paused at my bedroom door and was half tempted to head back down, but Darren’s warning look before had taken all my courage. Turning the knob, I ducked inside just as a loud cry of ecstasy filled the house.
Yeah, I was going with sex-addicts.
Laying in my bed that night, I had a hard time sleeping. All I could think about was what was going on downstairs. Eventually, after several hours of tossing and turning in my lovely sheets, I climbed out of bed and inched toward my door. I pressed my ear to the wood of the door and listened.
Nothing.
Opening the door, I poked my head out into the hallway. When I didn’t hear anything, I stepped out of my room. I stood there for longer than I should have, waiting for something or someone to attack me or whatever it was that Darren and the rest had warned me against.
I laughed a bit at my silliness, shaking my head.
Heading down the stairs to the kitchen, I thought of the batch of cookies I’d seen Gretchen hide up in the cabinet early today. That’s what I needed after a shit day, a glass of milk and a big fat cookie. Sounded like a nice treat to me.
With a little shimmy in my step, I made my way around the island and over to the cabinet. I reached up and tried to reach behind the box of macaroni, searching for those cookies. My fingers just about got them when a low moan drifted into the kitchen, freezing me in place.
I dropped back onto my heels and spun around, my eyes darting toward the entrance of the dining room. Were they really still at it? I waited, my ears peeled for another sound, but nothing came. Must have been my imagination.
Still, I didn’t waste any more time. I climbed up onto the counter and grabbed the container of cookies. With a happy grin on my face, I began to turn around.
“You know, it’s dangerous to be climbing on counters like that.”
My socked foot slipped on the marble countertop as my eyes shot up to see, Rayne leaning against the door to the dining room. I let out a startled shout and threw my hands up to catch myself. The cookies flew from my hand and spun through the air as my eyes squeezed shut.
Instead of crashing onto the marble, my body slammed into a pair of strong arms.
Gasping, my eyes flew open. Light brown met amber. My heart threatened to jump out of my chest, and the sniggering grin on Rayne’s lips made me scowl. Shoving at his arms, I dropped my feet to the ground.
“Don’t do that,” I snapped, smacking him on the arm.
Rayne only grinned in amusement at my violence. “I told you it was dangerous.”
“Yes, but whose fault is that?” I bent down and searched for the cookie container. Finally finding it, I climbed back to my feet with a happy squeal.
“All that for a couple of cookies?”
My exasperated eyes slid in his direction. “You obviously haven’t had Gretchen’s cookies.”
Rayne’s lips tipped down. “Of course, I have. They’re not worth breaking your neck.”
I lifted a shoulder and dropped it, popping the lid off to snag one of those cookies. Taking a large bite of it, I closed my eyes briefly. “Hmmm. Yep. Worth it.” I gave him a sly grin which he returned with a curious stare. I started for the stairs and then paused, my socked foot sliding on the floor as I turned back around. “Why did you save me? I thought you couldn’t wait to get rid of me. If I had broken my neck, you’d have had your wish.”
Shifting from one foot to the other, Rayne moved over to the island and leaned on the top of the counter. He gestured a hand toward the container. I hesitated but then figured they were technically his by right. Moving over to the island, I slid the container across the table, leaning on my own side so that we were across from each other. I watched him with wary eyes, taking another bite of my cookie.
Snagging a cookie for himself, Rayne bit into it. Unlike me, he didn’t coo and moan at the taste, he actually didn’t seem to care for it at all. Weird.
Licking his lips, Rayne met my gaze. “If you die, we’d get another maid, one who might be even more pathetic than you. At least, you aren’t falling all over yourself trying to get into my brothers’ beds.”
I forced myself not to react. I’d only really thought about getting into one of the brothers’ beds, Wynn, and that was only in my mind. I’d never try and sneak into his bed.
Shaking my head, I grabbed the cookie container back from his ungrateful clutches. “I need this job, as you know.” I sneered at him before spinning away.<
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Halfway up the stairs, he called out to me. “Remember that when you have your fingers deep inside of your pussy tonight.”
I chunked a cookie at his head and didn’t wait for his laughter to follow me up the stairs on the way back to my room. Stupid ass hat.
Chapter 12
Rayne
My fangs pierced the skin of the blonde in front woman in my lap. She wiggled but didn’t complain. My cock stiffened at the friction.
I didn’t usually go for blondes. They were too frivolous and chipper. Give me a good brunette with wit and a smart mouth. However, a certain blonde creature had taken up residence in my head and I couldn’t shake her.
Piper Billings wasn’t like the others. She didn’t giggle or bat her eyes at me or my brothers. All the maids had fallen all over themselves to get close to us.
Especially Wynn. They just couldn’t help themselves. It wasn’t his fault really. Okay, fuck that it was completely his fault. He didn’t know how to keep his eyes and mouth to himself. Then there was that damn power in his touch.
I’d give up being able to hear others’ thoughts for being able to make someone orgasm with just a touch. Then again, he had more control than I did over his ability. I couldn’t stop hearing that little blonde-haired maid’s thoughts. Not only did she talk to herself way too much, but she was giving me the worst case of blue balls I’d ever had, and I was thirty years undead!
Sadly, it wasn’t surprising that out of the six of us, he was the one on her mind the most. I tried not to peek into too many of the help’s heads, some things were best kept in the dark, but Piper was... peculiar. She wanted us, that much I knew. She even found me attractive despite how much she bitched at me.
However...
She never acted on it, at least not outside of her room in the cover of night. Unfortunately for her, that was the time we were awake the most.
God. The way she moaned. The images in her head. It had each of us staring holes in the ceiling of the basement.
“Is something wrong?” He’s cute, bite’s a bit lazy though. Give me a good hard bite any day.
I forced myself not to grimace at her thoughts though she had a point. I hadn’t even noticed I’d stopped biting her until my donor said something. Fuck. What was Piper doing to me?
I glanced up at the woman with the pretty blue eyes. The wrong color. They should be brown, a light chestnut color with a fire burning beneath the iris.
Wiping a hand across my mouth, I shook my head. “Sorry, babe. I must not be hungry.”
The woman pouted, her thin lips not the ones I wanted to look at. I trailed a hand down her back, and then gave her a nudge. “Go on. I’m sure someone else would be happy to have you.”
She slid off my lap and sauntered across the room. Allister crooked his finger at her, having already taken his share from his donor. The greedy bastard. The blonde didn’t seem to mind, she licked her lips and gave him a flirty smile before climbing into her lap.
I wanted the big one anyway.
Fucking slut.
Sighing, I stood from my chair. I dragged a hand through my shaggy hair. Maybe I’ll go out. Take a walk. Maybe hunt someone down for a change. Having a service bring our donors was easier, more discreet, but it took away the best part about being a vampire. The danger. The excitement.
Neutered. That’s what we were.
“What bug crawled up your ass?” Drake glanced up from his donor, a gorgeous red head with large breasts, blood dripping down his lips. Her dress barely covered them, and Drake had taken advantage of all the bare skin, littering her chest with bites. They’d heal by morning if he did his job right.
“Just not hungry,” I grumbled, not looking to deal with the thoughts inside my head as well as his.
Don’t stay out too late.
I flipped him the bird on my way out of the dining room. I glanced at the front door tempted to go out, but something called me up the stairs. I knew where I was headed and yet I couldn’t stop myself from going.
At the top of the stairs, Antoine’s voice stopped me instead. “You should leave her alone.”
Not turning to face him, I stared down the dark hallway. “She thinks more than any maid we’ve ever had. Should have gotten another dumb one. She’s not likely to stay in the dark for long.”
Antoine scoffed. “You wouldn’t say that had you not woken up with one of those bumbling idiots in your day time bed.” He paused for a moment, his mind recapturing the time he talked about. That maid had been lucky he hadn’t killed her on the spot. She had been sent packing right then and there.
That had been our last maid. Now, Piper.
I wasn’t unaware enough not to realize I wanted her, nor did I deny it. However, I didn’t know how to get her to like me like the other maids did. She wasn’t easy. I should be happy for a challenge after all my years, but all I could think about was how frustrating all of it was. How frustrating she was.
“Make sure you don’t let anyone see you tonight.”
“Huh?” I glanced back at Antoine, forgetting he was even there.
“You are going out tonight, yes?” Antoine tossed his white hair over his shoulder, his pale eyes sharp and all seeing in the dark. Not much got by Antoine. Probably why he was the head of the house. He could have it. Too much drama and political bullshit came with that job.
“Uh, yeah. In a bit. Gotta get something out of my room.”
Antoine nodded and walked back into the dining room.
Without an audience, I stepped onto the landing of the second floor. I shifted toward my room, I should go. Antoine was usually right. Fucking asshole. I was the telepath, I should be right at least ninety percent of the time. At least, I should be right more than him.
Screw it.
He wasn’t the boss of me. If I wanted to fuck with the maid, I would. Not like she even had any interest in me anyway. Her mind was full of Wynn.
Stomping across the landing to the servants’ wing, I bypassed Darren’s room. The serious butler wasn’t in his room anyway. He would still be down stairs, waiting to see if we needed anything. He didn’t sleep much from what I could tell. Strange for a human though, with his blood bond to us, he was hardly human anymore.
Not like Piper.
Stopping in front of her door, I reached for the door handle. I twisted it. Locked. Raising my hand to knock on the door, I paused at a sound. A low breathy moan creeped through the door. Shifting closer to the wood, I pressed my ear to the surface.
There it was again. Definitely a moan. Was she touching herself again?
I must be a glutton for punishment because I reached out for her thoughts without hesitation. Her mind was fuzzy, telling me that she was dreaming. However, the maid might as well be flicking her bean for the images inside her head.
Piper sat on the island in the kitchen, her body bare and her legs spread wide as Wynn slammed into her pussy. She had her head thrown back as she cried out in pleasure. In her mind’s eye, I could see her breasts in perfect clarity. The rosy tips of her nipples made my mouth water and my fangs ache. I wanted to see more, but even I felt like a pervert, standing her peeping on her mind.
I grunted, reaching down to adjust myself. Even with Wynn as the main attraction, the sight of her body and sound of her moans were almost too much for me. I started to pull away from her thoughts, dead set on finding a willing woman outside of the house for the night when her dream changed.
While Wynn had her front half, another set of hands slid over her shoulders. A familiar head of hair bent over her neck, placing open-mouthed kisses along her throat. I gaped. Piper actually dreamed of me?
“Anything good?”
I jerked away from the door to see a smirking Wynn standing a few feet away. Turning my eyes from his, I cleared my throat. “Not a thing.”
“Sure, didn’t look like it. You’re about to bust your load right outside of our sweet maid’s door.” Wynn pointed his finger at my hard on.
“Fuck y
ou,” I snapped, glaring at him. Hands curled into fists, I stomped away from the room, shoving my shoulder against Wynn’s.
Big mistake.
A shock of pleasure ran through me. Groaning, I doubled over, and my hand shot out to grab the nearest thing which happened to be Wynn himself. I swallowed and gasped, trying to catch my breath as my orgasm shook through my body.
“What the fuck?” I gasped, ripping my hand away from the smirking bastard.
Wynn brushed his hand across his shoulder with a knowing grin. “You should mind your manners. Next time, I’ll make sure she’s here to watch.”
Chapter 13
Piper
I spent the rest of the night imaging what was going on down there. I’d never imagined any of them would be into that kind of stuff. Okay, that was a lie. I totally could see some BDSM action coming from a few of them.
But Rayne? He was a punk that seemed more like a bottom than a top. Wynn, oh, Wynn, I would let him tie me up any day. The thought of a twin sandwich also didn’t strike me as something I would hate.
I was having a delicious dream of just those things when a pounding sounded on my door. Groaning, I glanced over at my clock. It was barely after seven. I was usually up by now, but apparently, I needed the sleep. Something I wished the person at my door would respect.
“Piper, get up,” Darren’s voice called out, making me groan again. Of course, it would be him, the freaking slave driver.
“I’m coming! Hold on a second.” I crawled out of bed and pulled a pair of sweatpants on, not bothering to put a bra on under my big t-shirt. I pulled open the door to find an annoyed Darren waiting on the other side. “Yes?”
Darren’s eyes dipped down slightly to my attire, and I could tell he didn’t approve. Not voicing his opinion, he glanced to his wrist and his watch. “No list today. The masters are throwing a party. We need to get the house ready for visitors.”
I frowned, my brow furrowing. “But they had visitors last night, and we didn’t have to prepare anything.”
Tapping his foot, Darren let out an exasperated sigh. “That was different. Today, we prepare the house, and tonight, you will stay in your room or, better yet, go visit a friend. You don’t want to be caught up in their shenanigans. Now, get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. We have a lot of work to do.”