by ERIN BEDFORD
Even so, I was tempted to squeeze until Valentine's smug head popped off his shoulders. I was two seconds away from doing it too, but a heavy, familiar hand landed on my shoulder. My eyes shifted from Valentine to the large form next to me and I clenched my jaw. "Stay out of this, Marcus."
"Not here." Marcus's rumbling voice filled the hallway, even though he was murmuring. My eyes locked back onto Valentine's who wasn't smiling anymore. My lips ticked up in satisfaction. Marcus's hand tightened on my shoulder, and I snarled at him.
"Marcus is right, Antoine." Allister took up the other side of me, but didn't touch me. I could feel his words of persuasion slide over me. He wasn't as powerful as me, but it did make me pause.
"Stop," I growled in warning. "Or I'll kill you next."
"Come now, Antoine. We're all upset." Drake stood by his brother and tried to reason with me. "No one wants to see this putz pay more than us, but this isn't the time or place. What do you think our master will do if he sees we've killed one of our own in his home?"
Dammit. He had a point.
My eyes narrowed on Valentine and with one, last snarl and a huff, I shoved him away from me. Valentine grabbed his throat, his eyes locked on me, and for a second I could see him wanting to come at me. Then his gaze went to my brothers who were crowded around me—except Wynn, who still had Piper in his arms behind us.
"You're going to regret this, Durand." Valentine backed away from us and down the hall, but not without swiping a finger along his lower lip and popping it into his mouth in an exaggerated manner. With a hum and a pop of his digit, Valentine purred, "Delicious."
This time, it was Rayne who started for the asshole, but he was easily restrained by Drake and Allister. All of our eyes watched until Valentine disappeared into the darkness, and then when his scent was far enough away, we relaxed and turned back to Piper.
"How is she?" Rayne rushed to her side, kneeling where she lay on the ground in Wynn's arms.
Piper could almost be sleeping. Her eyes were closed, and her chest rose and fell in an even pattern. Except she wasn't sleeping. At least, not peacefully. She had passed out from the blood loss. There was nothing normal about that.
In addition, I could feel Piper in my chest, weak and fragile. At least she wasn't afraid anymore. I had tried my best to push her emotions away all day. Especially earlier when she was with Rayne. Sometimes, having human servants was like having someone else in your head. It made me have new sympathy for Rayne and his abilities. Piper must have been really afraid to get through the walls I had put up to keep her out. Shame and guilt filled me. It was my own selfishness that had kept me from feeling her distress earlier. If I hadn't been blocking her, then I might have known Valentine was out here with her and he wouldn't have gotten his dirty fangs in her.
"Is she okay?" Drake asked, standing over Wynn with a curious but worried frown. "She's not going to die, is she?"
"Don't be an idiot," Rayne growled, shoving past him to kneel by Wynn. "You've been a vampire for how long? You can clearly see she's not going to die. Plus..." He trailed off, his lips tilting downward. "I can hear her thoughts. She's not dead."
Drake snorted and shook his head. "Well then, oh annoying one, what is she thinking."
"That you both need to keep your mouths shut," I snarled at the two bickering vampires. "We don't need to draw any more attention to us than we already have."
"Agreed." Wynn nodded and moved to stand. "We need to get her inside before we attract the whole household with her blood."
Everyone took a deep breath and let out a needy sigh before we realized what we'd all done. Clearing my throat, I tried to reach for her, but Wynn held tight.
"It's fine. I've got her." Wynn brushed passed me to the bedroom door, which was still ajar from when we had all rushed out before. We filed in one by one with Marcus bringing up the rear and closing the door behind us.
Darren stood by the bed with a glass of water and bandages. My lips ticked up on their own. Always the prepared one. Pushing that thought away, I focused more on Piper. Wynn laid her down on the bed and turned her head to the side. She groaned and flinched away from his touch, and no wonder, the side of her neck was a mess. Valentine hadn't been just eating to feed, but to hurt. It made the fact that he hadn't gotten any on his clothes even more astounding.
My anger bubbled up inside me like a simmering pot of water just seconds from boiling over. I couldn't believe I had let this happen.
"How could we let this happen?" Allister parroted my thoughts from the other side of the bed, sitting down on the mattress and picking up Piper's hand like it would break any moment. "We're supposed to keep her safe and we didn't even know she was in trouble right outside our door?"
Wynn grabbed a washcloth from Darren and proceeded to clean the wound. If we'd been just a second later, Valentine would have ripped her throat out. I tore my eyes away from her, the sight the blood spurring my disgust instead of my hunger for once.
A loud thud followed by splintering wood filled the room. Drake huffed and growled, his hands full of the wooden post he'd just broken off at the foot of the bed. "I say we stake the bastard. Wait until dawn and stake him in his sleep. I have the weapon right here."
Rayne snorted. "And then what? Our master would be on us in an instant. We'd never leave this place, let alone alive."
"Rayne's right." I nodded, taking slow, deep breaths to clear my head. "We cannot act rashly right now. That is what Valentine wants, and for all we know what our master wants. No." I paused, focusing my gaze on Piper. "What we need to do right now is make sure this never happens again. Someone must be with Piper at all times. No leaving her behind."
Rayne gave a dark chuckle. "She's not going to like that."
I shot him a look. "Well, I'm past caring what she wants in this matter. Piper is ours. We will protect her better than this. We have to."
The room sounded their agreement. Then Wynn shifted toward me on the bed. "She needs blood. Since she's your human servant..." He trailed off, letting me fill in the blanks.
Unbuttoning the cuff on my sleeve, I traded places with Wynn. I lifted my wrist to my mouth and bit down until I tasted copper. Turning my wrist toward Piper, Allister helped me lift her up without hitting her neck wound. I pressed my bloody wrist to her lips, coaxing her to open her mouth.
Piper groaned and tried to turn her head, but I tut-tutted. "You must drink, Piper. Drink." I forced my wrist between her lips and her tongue hesitantly lashed out at the fluid filling her mouth. Her eyes snapped open and her hands grabbed my arm tightly to her, sucking down the blood like her life depended on it. And for just a moment, I realized how much I could have.
Chapter 12
Piper
My head felt like it was an overfilled water balloon just seconds away from bursting. I rolled over on the bed and moved my mouth. Ugh. Why did it taste like I'd eaten a dirty bag of pennies?
A movement to my left, followed by the mattress dipping, was my only signal that someone else was in the room. It was quiet. Too quiet. I tried to open my eyes, but they were so heavy.
"Don't move just yet," a low, sultry voice I knew too well told me, and then Wynn's hand stroked down my back. "You've lost a lot of blood."
Blood? Why did I lose blood? A sharp pain in my neck made all the memories coming rushing back.
Dinner with our creepy host. Leaving to have sex with Rayne. Having sex with Rayne. Then waking to find myself alone. Only to run into Valentine.
I whimpered as the memory of his fangs sinking into my neck resurfaced, and tears slid out of my eyes and pooled beneath my cheek, wetting the pillow. My hand moved up to touch my neck where it still hurt, but it was covered in gauze.
"Shh, now." Wynn took my hand and lowered it. "You're safe. You're going to be sore, but in a few hours, you will be right as rain."
How could that be? I was sure Valentine was going to kill me. He'd taken so much blood and he just wouldn't stop. I’d tried to push him away,
but he was so strong. So heavy. And it hurt so much. I had kept crying out in my head for Rayne or any of them to come but they didn't. No one did. Not until it was too late.
A finger brushed beneath my eyes where tears still fell. A shocking ripple of pleasure warmed me and pushed back some of the pain, the horror. My eyes flipped open to meet Wynn's startlingly blue eyes. He peered down at me, not with lust, but with concern and warmth. Dressed in silk pajamas, he seemed perfectly at ease at my side. I reached for his hand, drawing it to my cheek. I wanted that feeling. I needed it. It had to be better than the madness filling my mind.
"You should rest," Wynn insisted, trying to slip his hand out of mine to stand. "Antoine's blood will kick in any minute now, and it'll work faster if you are well rested."
I held tight to his hand, even though I knew he could pull it away if he really wanted to, but he didn't. "Please. Please don't stop. It hurts...so much," I choked out, and the tears poured more freely than ever. Wynn settled back down on the mattress and pressed his hand to my cheek once more. The pleasurable feeling spread through me again. It wasn't the raging desire of lust I knew Wynn could induce, but instead just the heady warmth that came from the preamble of a kiss, a look. That very thing that made you think you could fall in love. It was a far cry better than feeling like a victim. A chew toy for that...that...monster. Dammit. I was usually better at insults, but I couldn't even muster up the strength to call Valentine a name that really described how horrible he really was.
"Better?"
My lashes fluttered to look at Wynn once more and I nodded. "Yeah. Thanks." I shifted and tried to sit up, but I felt heavier than usual. As if gravity was pulling me down until my head was on the pillow again. I sighed in frustration. "This sucks."
Wynn quirked a smile. "I can imagine. Here." He turned and picked up a glass off the nightstand. A quick look past him told me I was in Antoine's room. Well, at least I made it where I was going. Even if it wasn't the way I had planned. I let out a sad, pathetic laugh, making Wynn arch a brow. "Nothing. Just being morbid."
Bringing the water glass to me, Wynn helped me sit up to take a drink. "Please do tell. I would love nothing else more than to hear your morbid thoughts."
After I quenched my thirst, it was my turn to raise my eyebrows. "Really?" Then I realized how silly I was being. "Oh, of course you do. You're a vampire. Morbid is kind of your thing, isn't it?"
Shaking his head with a laugh, Wynn placed the glass back on the nightstand. "Being a vampire has nothing to do with it. I know quite a few vampires who can't stand the sight of blood, let alone death."
"What?" My mouth fell open in shock. "How does that work?"
Lifting a shoulder and dropping it, Wynn turned back to me with a smile. "From what I understand, they have their cook mix the blood into smoothies and other edibles. It helps them pretend they are at least a bit human, even if they are anything but."
I nodded or tried to. The movement pulled on my neck wound and made me wince. "I thought vampire blood healed faster than this. When Rayne broke my wrist, I didn't heal this slowly. Or it didn't feel that way."
"You don't seem to understand the gravity of your situation, Piper," Wynn murmured, his eyes lowering to the bedspread. "You almost died."
Licking my lips, I reached out and placed my hand on top of his, curling my fingers around it until he looked up. "I know. I could feel it. I don't know how, but there was something my chest telling me that I was going to die, and I was so scared. None of you came and I swore you would come." My lip quivered and I had to catch my breath before I started to hyperventilate.
Wynn drew me up and into his arms, wrapping me up in his embrace. "Shhh, it's okay. I've got you. You'll never ever be in that situation ever again. Not while any of us are alive."
I let him rub my back and rock me back and forth like I was a child until my sobbing eased once more. With a sigh, I pulled away from Wynn's chest and stared up into his eyes. Those bright blue eyes that mesmerize me from the beginning. Without thinking, I leaned in and pressed my mouth to his pouty lips.
But Wynn didn't kiss me back.
Frowning and embarrassed as all hell, I pulled back and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm sorry. I thought you and I... I shouldn't have assumed after everything with Antoine and Rayne." I moved to get out of his lap, but Wynn held me closer, making me look up at him in confusion.
"Piper, please don't take this as a rejection. I don't care about who else you have given your heart to." Wynn cupped the side of my face and drew me close. "I would love nothing more than to kiss you and soothe away all your fears, but you are hurt. Now is not the time."
"But when will be? You've made this excuse before." I felt myself pouting like a toddler. "Don't you want me?"
Those ocean blue eyes filled with hot, molten desire and when he spoke next, my whole body shuddered in need. "Oh, yes. Piper. I want you greatly." Then, as if it had never happened, Wynn picked me up and sat me on the bed. Giving me a low bow, he grinned and winked. "But not until you are well. I am, if anything, a gentleman."
A scoff from the doorway pulled our attention. Antoine stood on the threshold, imposing and arrogant as ever. He still wore his dress shirt and slacks, but the top few buttons were undone, and a speckle of hair peeked out showing just a hint of the tattoo over his heart. His hands in his pockets, Antoine sauntered into the room as if he didn't have a care in the world. Except there was a tightness to his movements, a bit of a robotic likeness to it, that showed me everything was not as it seemed.
Antoine stopped in front of the desk, his eyes down as he leafed through a few papers there.
"What?" I probed, when Antoine didn't say anything.
Not lifting his head, Antoine hummed.
"What was that sound about?" I pressed with a wave of my hand and a frown. "You can't just come in here and make rude noises without explanations."
"I can't?" Antoine finally looked up, his eyes twinkling with amusement, and I swore his lips were twitching to hold back a smile.
I narrowed my eyes on him, even as Wynn simply shook his head. "No, you can't."
"Oh, so you're the master now. Are you?" The sharpness to his words, even with the playful look on his face, confused me. It made Wynn tense up, but he didn't move from the bed.
"Uh..." I glanced between the two of them, not sure what I was supposed to do. When Antoine moved, stalking toward the bed, Wynn stepped in front of him with his hands up between them.
"She's still hurt. Don't do this now." The other vampire seemed to be pleading with Antoine, but Antoine wouldn't be dissuaded from whatever he was going to do. Wynn sighed, and cast me an apologetic look over his shoulder before moving to the couch. He appeared to be determined to keep an eye on me, even if he couldn't stop his brother.
"What's going on?" I hated the way my voice shook when I spoke, my gaze darting between the two vampires.
Antoine reached up and unbuttoned the buttons of his shirt, one at a time with slow, agonizing precision. My eyes followed the movements. Hypnotized by the deftness of his fingers and the delicious expanse of muscles appearing before my eyes, I didn't think I had any need to worry.
"Piper." The way Antoine said my name with such sternness and contempt made me pause. My gaze shot up to his and I licked my lips, my mouth suddenly dry. "Did you not understand how dangerous of a situation we have found ourselves in?"
My brows furrowed. "Of course. I'm not stupid. I know we're in trouble."
"Then why would you think it would be a good idea to traipse around this godforsaken place on your own? Without anyone for protection? Didn't you learn anything from Valentine's last visit?"
"Why, I—"
"And did you think that you wouldn't be punished for not following orders?" Antoine stopped in front of the bed and I froze at the word punished.
"Punished? Why would you—" I gaped, and my wide eyes slid over to Wynn who only shook his head sadly before bringing them back to Antoine. "You can'
t be serious. I'm a grown woman. What are you going to do, send me to bed without supper?" I let out a nervous chuckle that neither of them smiled at.
"I am deadly serious, Piper." Antoine reached for me quick as lightning. Before I knew it or could even struggle, I was thrown across his lap and my ass was bare to the air. I kicked my legs and tried to roll away, but Antoine's grip was unbreakable. Finally, my eyes went to Wynn, pleading for him to help me.
"You have to understand, Piper," Wynn stroked his lower lip as he watched me, his eyes heating even as the frown on his lips deepened, "how dangerous this place and our kind can be, and the only way to make sure you don't forget is to make sure you remember."
"I'll remember. Don't you think I'll remember?" I screeched, not at all happy about being treated like a child. "I almost died. That's enough to keep me from doing it again. I promise. I won't. I promise," I finished weakly, while Antoine adjusted his grip on me as I finally gave up and stopped fighting.
Antoine's hand sat on my butt for a moment as he leaned down to speak to me. "It is not only your life that you risk when you put yourself in these situations, but ours. If one of us had killed Valentine for what he had done to you, then what do you think would have happened? Do you think our master would simply let us go? Any of us?"
I sniffed and shook my head. "No." It was true. I had barely met the master vampire, but knew already that beneath all the pleasantries, he was a vicious beast. If anyone displeased him, he wouldn't hesitate to kill them on the spot or worse.
"Believe me when I tell you, I get no joy out of this." Antoine sat back up and then lifted his hand. I held my breath as I prepared for the hit. My parents had never spanked me. I didn't know what to expect. So, when his hand sailed through the air and landed on my ass cheek with a resounding smack, I was so shocked I barely cried out. The next one Antoine landed was on the opposite cheek, and then to make it even worse, something changed about it. Changed within me. Each smack caused a stinging sensation that spread out and lingered between my thighs. My head jerked up as I heard Wynn suck in a breath.