Protected by the Vampires

by ERIN BEDFORD

  Before I even realized he had moved, Theresa's head snapped to the side and blood trickled from the edge of her lips. "When I want your opinion, Theresa, I will ask for it."

  "Yes, master." Theresa bowed her head, not bothering to wipe the blood from her mouth.

  "Now...where were we?" The master gave a small smile before taking a step back from me. I flinched as he bowed low at the waist, his hand coming out in front of him to brush the floor. "I, my delicious peach, am Count Boris Stravinsky. Master of this...ragtag bunch." He flashed his fangs as he tossed a hand at the men around me. "Now, I have told you my name..." He trailed off, holding his hand out to me.

  Licking my lips, I cleared my throat. "Piper. Piper Billings." I frowned and then gave a clumsy curtsy that had me losing my balance. Allister's hand caught me before I fell over and made an even bigger fool of myself.

  Boris laughed loudly at my misstep. "You, my dear, are a delight. I cannot wait to see what this week brings. Come, come. Let me show you around my home." The men around me stiffened as Boris wrapped his arm around my shoulders and directed me toward the hallway.

  "Oh, calm yourselves." Boris scowled at the fretting vampires. "I will bring your servant back in one piece. In fact, one of you may accompany us." He stopped us and turned to wait for the six men, lingering where I had stood.

  For a moment, nobody moved, and then Darren, ever the responsible one, announced, "I will take the bags to our rooms." He inclined his head and bowed slightly with one gloved hand to his heart, first to Boris and then to Antoine.

  See? Why couldn't I be that poised? He knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He even knew to acknowledge Boris first!

  It was Boris, not Antoine, who waved Darren off, showing that even though Darren belonged to Antoine, Boris had say over everyone. All those wonderful walls I thought we'd built around me started to crumble. So much for being safe.

  I watched the men before me, my face frozen in a polite smile. I hoped my eyes screamed how much I needed someone by my side. It wasn't Antoine who answered my call, the one who should have since he was supposed to be able to feel my emotions, but Marcus. The large vampire stepped forward, his face set in a blank expression.

  "Ah, Marcus. Yes, good. Good. You will accompany us." Boris patted Marcus on the arm, a move that would have made me flinch, but either they were used to Boris's overfamiliar actions or they feared him too much to show their discomfort.

  With the way the other's faces melted into a mixture of concern as we walked away, I had a feeling it was the latter.

  Chapter 2

  Wynn

  The moment our master left the room, Theresa's eyes were locked on me like a huntress finally finding her prey, as she sashayed in my direction. God, you'd think the woman would take a hint.

  "Wynn," she purred, her hands coming up to my chest as she pouted her lips at me. "I'm so happy to see you back in our glorious home." I rolled my eyes over her shoulder at Drake, who only smirked at me before shaking his head and heading upstairs. His counterpart followed after him, taking the stairs two at a time. Antoine's phone rang and he answered it, speaking in French as he made his way into the den rather than upstairs. Rayne was the only one left behind with me, but one look in his direction told me he wasn't going to be any help. His eyes were focused on where Piper had disappeared with our master, and he had no time for me and my problems.

  It didn't keep me from trying though. A little help here.

  Rayne's gaze reluctantly turned from the hallway to me. He scanned over Theresa, who was now plastered all over my front, and arched a brow. With a smirk and a chuckle, he headed for the stairs, shaking his head the whole way up.

  Fucking twat. I shoved the thought in his direction, gaining me an even louder laugh from him. Holding back a scowl and a sigh, I redirected my attention to the woman in my arms. The crazy woman with a tendency to lash out at anyone who stood in her way. Thankfully, since our master had taken Piper, she was well and out of her mind. For now, at least.

  "Come now, Wynn." Theresa pouted, pulling the clip out of her hair so the long, curly tresses fell around her shoulders like a waterfall. She sure knew how to work her assets. "Don't pretend like you didn't miss me even a little bit. Don't we have fun together?"

  I lifted my eyes to the ceiling and drew my arm around her waist. "Theresa, lovely, you are a gorgeous woman, but you know I'm a free spirit. I won't be—"

  "Bound to one woman. I know. I know." Theresa sighed and then rolled her eyes with a giggle. "I'm not proposing marriage. I just want to reminisce. You know, about the good old days?" Her hand trailed down my silk shirt and played along the line of my pants before cupping me in her hand. I grunted and let her fondle me for a moment, though I'd rather have anyone else's hands on me than the viper holding my family jewels.

  "Theresa," I started, trying again and pushing her hand away. "We're in the foyer."

  Theresa gave me a sly smile. "That's never stopped you before."

  Completely dropping my arm away from her and stepping back, I tucked my hands into my pockets and frowned at her. "That was before. When I had to do as our master bid. As you do."

  She scoffed and tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Don't act like you were forced, Wynn. You enjoyed all the women and men our master provided you."

  I gave her a small push as I stepped back. "That was then."

  Theresa gave me an amused smirk. "And you've changed? Since when? I remember not too long ago," she moved in closer once more and walked her fingers up my chest, "when you were more than happy to spend some time with me."

  I gave her a lopsided grin but then moved out of her reach once more. "Things are different now." I couldn't help but let my eyes stray to where Piper had disappeared. Theresa noticed.

  "Because of her? The human?" She barked a laugh but when I didn't laugh with her, she dropped her hands and frowned. "You can't be serious? She's human and Antoine's servant. She doesn't even belong to you."

  I shrugged a shoulder. "That's my problem. Not yours."

  For a second, something flashed behind her eyes. Worry. Fear. But it was gone in an instant and a seductive smile spread across her ruby red lips once more. With a secretive look around, she pressed her chest against mine, her mouth touching my ear. To any passing human, it would look like she was whispering naughty secrets into my ear, but a vampire would know the truth. What she really said was, "Come with me, you're all in danger."

  A smarter man wouldn't have allowed Theresa to lead him into the drawing room where she pushed me onto the couch and closed the sliding doors behind her. A different man would have seen her caution as a pretense to get me alone and have her wicked way with me. However, Theresa wasn't human. She also didn't believe in pretenses or lies. She was upfront with what she wanted and made damn well sure you knew it. Which was why, when she said we were in danger, I believed her.

  Theresa sashayed over to me, placing one high heel on the couch next to me so that the skirt she wore split at the opening, showing me all her ivory skin and that she wasn't wearing anything beneath it. Theresa played with the line of her neckline as if to tease me with a peek of her breast, but her mouth was saying something different.

  "You shouldn't have come here." Her words were low and seductive, a glaring contradiction to her actions.

  I stared up at her, placing a hand on her ankle but not moving it higher. "And how do you suggest we say no? We'd lose our heads while we were sleeping...if we were lucky."

  Theresa's brows furrowed for a second before she continued the charade, untying the strings of her dress slowly, but my eyes remained on her face the whole time. "It's a trap. Master doesn't like what Valentine reported. He thinks you have become too mainstream." She dropped the ties, releasing her breasts to the room. My eyes didn't even dip.

  "Then why invite us home? Why not kill us already?" I leaned forward so my hand trailed up her calf. If anyone walked into the room, they'd see us and think we were about to fuck. Which was t
he point. There were far more humans than vampires in this house. Most of the vampires were already out on the hunt, looking for their evening meal. The humans, however, would be finishing up their chores for the day and their human sensibilities demanded them to turn around and leave a room if someone was in our position. Still, we had to be careful.

  "Because of the girl," Theresa explained, climbing into my lap so her breasts were pressed up against my chest, with my hands curled around her waist. "Valentine wants her."

  I let out a low growl, my fingers digging into her sides. "He can't have her."

  Theresa gave me a wry smile. "A lesser woman would be jealous that such a human has captivated your whole house. However, her life is fleeting, but yours is not. Give them the girl and they will make sure you go home to your home in that pitiful town of yours. Refuse, and they will make you pay."

  My fangs flashed at her as I flipped us, tossing her onto the couch as I snarled above her. "What is he planning? What's the game?"

  Theresa didn't seem worried, even when my hand latched around her throat. I should have known better than to threaten her with violence, she got off on it. Hell, it was her kink, something I'd been more than happy to oblige her with before. That was then. Now, it just pissed me off.

  I pushed off her and scoffed as I dragged my hand through my hair. "We won't give her up. He can't make us."

  Theresa sat up on her elbow, not bothered by her nakedness as she shrugged. "Then she'll die. Or you will. Depends on the master's mood really. Though..." She smiled and giggled. "The way he's acting, he might just take her for himself. You know how much he likes to break little things like her. Even more so than Valentine. You'd be better off killing her yourself."

  I hated to admit it, but she was right. Valentine was the way he was for a reason. Our master had particular tastes as well, and while those tastes didn't always line up with females, for the right one and the right reason, our master would make an exception.

  Shit.

  "What are you going to do?" Theresa watched me as I paced the room, my thoughts going a thousand miles a minute. I shot her a look, which made her sit up on the couch. "You are seriously considering defying him, aren’t you? She's not worth it." Theresa wrapped the straps of her dress back around her neck and stood. "No human is worth it. Believe me. She'll get tired of it—of you—and before you know it, she'll resent you for making her immortal. If you think she loves you now, you're only making it possible for her to hate you later." Theresa crossed her arms over her chest stared hard at me. "Take it from someone who knows."

  Theresa did know. She wasn't much older than me. We'd both been created around the same time. She was one of our master's exceptions. Most of his children were men, except for a couple of others. They were all as twisted as Theresa was. But he made a mistake when creating Theresa.

  She'd been married. Something he hadn't bothered to check before changing her. All our master saw was a beautiful creature who loved to cause pain almost as much as she liked to receive it. It was a rare thing for someone of her breeding back then. A duchess, I believe. When our master changed her, she wanted to bring her husband along with her. She loved him and couldn't bear to leave him behind, but our master forbid her to change him into a vampire. I didn't remember why, but Theresa defied him anyway and made the duke into a human servant.

  "What happened to Jean Paul?" I asked after a few moments of silence. "Did you kill him, or did he do it himself?"

  The smile on her lips was bitter and sad. "Neither. It was Valentine who did the deed." I took a step toward her, but she held up her hand, stopping me. "He said he was saving me the trouble since Jean Paul had decided to confess his sins to a priest before taking his own life." She let out a long sigh as she played with the ends of her hair. "Valentine caught him coming out of the church right after sunset. They had to burn the whole perish to the ground just to ensure they told no one else of our existence." She laughed dryly. "It's ironic really. Why confess your sins before committing the most unforgivable sin? I guess he thought hell would have been better than being with me forever."

  "Theresa," I started, but the door to the drawing room opened, revealing Valentine himself. Dressed in a modern suit and tie, Valentine’s long hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. His watchful eyes widened slightly at the sight of us, before a bemused grin tugged at his thin lips. "Why, look who we have here. Getting reacquainted?"

  Theresa flashed me a hot, seductive glance before gliding across the room to Valentine. "I'm finished with him now if you want a turn."

  Valentine's lips curled up in disgust, but then he laughed. "Yes, well, I hope you kept your appetite, because master has something absolutely wicked prepared for dinner." His eyes locked with Theresa's for a moment, and had I not been watching, I wouldn't have noticed the way her back stiffened. Then Valentine's gaze moved to me and smug satisfaction settled onto his face. "I do hope you brought the lovely Piper. I have been most morose without her."

  "Master is giving her a tour of the house as we speak." Theresa patted Valentine on the chest before pushing her way through the door, not giving me a passing glance.

  Valentine, misreading my expression, sighed and then chuckled as he shook his head. "Ah, women, such mercurial creatures. They love you until they get what they want, then you're yesterday's blood bag." Valentine gestured to me with one hand and grinned. "Don't look so glum. There will be plenty of other pretty little things waiting to get a taste of your immortal cock. The night's young after all."

  I kept my face neutral, not giving anything away. Not what Theresa said or how much I wanted to rip his throat out right that second. There would be time for that later, after we figured out how we were going to get out of here in one piece.

  Chapter 3

  Rayne

  "This is bullshit," I growled, throwing my bag across my bedroom. It smacked the wall with a satisfying thud, crumbling the stone slightly under the impact. I would have been afraid of reprimand from our master, but I was too upset to think about any of that.

  "Dude, take a chill pill." Drake collapsed on the dark brown suede couch sitting on one side of my room.

  I say my room, but it wasn't really. It was the room I lived in for several decades before we moved to our own house hundreds of miles away from here. I wanted nothing more than to be back there now. To have my familiar things surrounding me, our basement getaway, and Piper's scent everywhere. But no, I was stuck in this cold stone tomb our master insisted on surrounding himself with.

  Our rooms weren't even our own. We couldn't have things out that we liked, and we always had to be ready to play the host to him and his many warped friends. Which was often.

  I pushed those dark thoughts away. Never again.

  My hands gripped the posts of the ancient bed frame, my fingers biting into the wood with a crack. "First, Antoine, and now that asshole. He can't have her! He can't. Piper is mine," I snarled, and prepared to rip the posts from the bed, but Allister's hand came down on my arm, stopping me.

  "Calm down. Do you want him to hear you? The walls have ears." Allister tapped his ear and circled his finger around the room. "We are all upset, but there's no need to get yourself killed over it."

  "Yes, there is," I snapped back, jerking my arm from his grip and shoving him away. Or as far back as I could get him. The guy was built like a brick building.

  Aw, our little brother's in love.

  "Shut up," I barked at Drake, my head whipping in his direction. "Don't act like you don't care about her too."

  Drake lifted a shoulder and dropped it. "I didn't say that, but then again you're the one poking around in my head." He tapped the side of his forehead with a grin.

  I frowned. Some days, I hated that I could hear others' thoughts, everyone from the mailman to the people who were most important in my life. I could hear every single thought or inkling they had, whether I liked it or not. It did come in handy sometimes, but other times it made it hard to know if what
was in my head was my thoughts or someone else's.

  Look at that ass. That perky fine ass…ripe for the plucking. Oh, what I would do to shove my thick cock—

  I grabbed my head with my hands and shoved the thoughts away. He's not here anymore. I don't have to do that anymore. I'm safe. I'm fine. He's gone now. Antoine saw to that.

  "Rayne."

  My eyes moved away from the place on the floor I'd been glaring a hole into and over to Wynn, who stepped into my room from the now open bedroom door. That lazy smirk was nowhere to be found on his too pretty face as he watched me. "Are you alright?"

  I nodded but didn't answer.

  Instead of asking out loud, Wynn pushed his thoughts at me. He's gone, Rayne. He can't hurt you anymore.

  "I know," I snapped, jerking my eyes away from him, earning me a curious look from the twins.

  "What's up?" Drake asked, leaning forward onto his knees. His eyes searched between Wynn and me.

  "Nothing," I answered, before Wynn could out me. "He's just being an ass as usual."

  Drake snorted. "Well, maybe you should stay out of our heads? There's a reason thoughts are supposed to be private."

  I blew out a hard breath and rubbed a hand over my face with a dark laugh. "Fuck that. You think things to rile me up on purpose."

  Drake chuckled. "You do have a point about that. However, you must admit, you've never been this worked up over a human before. And you haven't even banged her yet."

  I grabbed the pillow off my bed and chucked it at him. "That's none of your business."

  "Oh, ho, ho," Drake laughed, catching the pillow and throwing it back. I dodged it just in time. "It is very much my business, because I want her too."

  A possessive part of me flared up, but I held back the urge to bare my fangs at him. I knew my brothers wanted Piper and that she felt things for them as well. It didn't mean I had to like it though. I was the one she doted on. I was the one she had almost...I groaned in frustration and collapsed on the edge of my bed, my head hanging between my arms and legs. "This sucks."