Protected by the Vampires

by ERIN BEDFORD

  "Wow, I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Piper held her hand up to her face, peering at it like it had sprouted tentacles.

  I grunted. "Well, don't get used to it. We shouldn't have to give up our blood to heal you all the time. We might need it for ourselves."

  Pursing her lips, Piper placed her hands on her hips and arched a brow. "Well, excuse me for being human and clumsy. I didn't make myself this way. It just happened."

  I cocked a brow. "So says the five broken plates, the smashed mirror, the chair in the sitting room, and not to forget the vase during your interview."

  Piper turned a pretty shade of red before shooting dagger at me with her eyes. "That's beside the point. All of those had perfectly good reasons behind them and I won't let you bully me. So, you can just go find a stake and sit on it!" She spun on her heel and stomped away, not waiting to see if I’d follow.

  I gaped at her, utterly speechless for the first time in my existence. Sure, I wasn't an overly talkative person in the first place, but no one has ever dared talk to me like that. Like she didn't give a damn how big and bad I thought I was, she wasn't going to take any of my shit. I could see how Valentine would want to bite her. I kind of wanted to bite her and then fuck her. Not particularly in that order.

  Chapter 16

  Piper

  Fucking men. Fucking vampires. This was stupid. I wasn't five. I could take care of myself. Okay, so I did get almost eaten...twice...and that last one was really close, but still. I didn't need a babysitter everywhere I went. Seriously, I couldn't even go to the bathroom without one of them within hearing distance.

  A girl has needs and this girl needed to poop. Badly.

  I'd like to keep a little mystery in my newly blossoming sex life, and it was hard to do that when you needed to do unladylike things near said lovers.

  "Are you alright in there?" Rayne knocked on the bathroom door after a few minutes of me trying to go to the bathroom.

  "I'm fine," I shouted back and then covered my face with my hands. "Could you like...go away?"

  Rayne paused and then said, "You know I can't do that, Piper. If Valentine attacks again—"

  "He's not going to attack me on the toilet," I growled, picking up a roll of toilet paper and throwing it at the closed door. "I need privacy. Just go out of the bedroom and down the hall. I can't go when you're listening."

  "What?" Rayne started and then stopped. "Oh. Oh! Uh, okay. Yeah. I'll just wait outside."

  I listened closely until I heard the bedroom door close before I finally went about my business with a sigh of relief. Thank fuck. I was all for not getting killed, but I didn't want to share every aspect of my day with vampires. Being a girl was hard enough, but trying to keep all those habits you kept hidden until you've been together long enough to show your true self, while trying to hide them from someone who could not only hear it but smell it from a different room? Yikes.

  When I was finished, I cleaned my hands and made my way out of the bathroom. Moving across my bedroom, I was tempted to hide in the room for the rest of the day just to get some alone time. I couldn't even sleep alone. Though, the last couple of nights I'd hidden out in Rayne's room. Wynn and I had tried to hook back up after breakfast before, but something always got in the way. I had a feeling we weren't going to get another moment alone until we went home.

  Home. Now that was something I was surprised to be excited to go back to. Back to cleaning that massive house and running in to each of the vampires I'd come to grow so fond of. Back to Darren critiquing my cleaning methods and hiding the things I've broken. Marcus had named off a few of the things I'd broken, but there were a ton more that I'd gotten rid of before anyone noticed.

  One thing I missed a lot was Gretchen's cooking. Darren did well enough in the kitchen, and I wouldn't turn down anything he made, but that woman could cook. Plus, it was nice to have another female in the house. There were plenty of female servants around here and there was even Theresa, but they weren't exactly lining up to talk to me. I think Theresa might prefer to eat me.

  "Are you ready to leave?"

  I glanced up from where I'd been staring at the floor to see Antoine in the doorway. If he'd knocked, I hadn't heard, but since technically it was his room, I didn't expect him to. I shifted in place, tugging at the hem of the t-shirt dress I'd put on. "I still don't like you buying me clothes. The last time you guys took me shopping, I ended up dressed like a baby prostitute."

  Antoine stared up at the ceiling for a moment as if he were praying before walking toward me. He was in one of those well-fitted suits again. I never thought I'd be the kind of girl who loved a man in a suit, but it turns out just seeing him unbutton his cufflinks made my panties wet. He'd also teased me—okay, more like threatened—to tie me up a time or two when I was getting mouthy about being babysat. From the way he played with his tie while saying it told me he had a particular rope in mind.

  Not that I was complaining. I'd have been happy to let him tie me down and rock my world. If he actually let me get off. I was still a bit wary of letting him touch me after what happened last time. Antoine seemed to have sensed it and hasn't pushed the matter.

  "Our master requires formal wear for all of his parties, and while Darren is a fabulous packer, he didn't pack something suitable for one of our master's events." Antoine walked over to me and lifted a hand to my chin, tipping my face up. "I was wrong to use you to taunt Valentine. I understand my error now. I won't let him touch you ever again."

  My mouth fell open. He thought it was his fault? I shook my head, placing a hand on Antoine's jacket-clad arm. Even beneath the fabric, I could feel the muscle there, but I didn't let myself get distracted. "It wasn't you. It wasn't me. It was Valentine. We can't be held accountable for his actions. But I was promised retribution, and if that requires me wearing a poofy dress, then dammit, bring on the frills."

  Antoine smiled slightly at that before leaning down to kiss me. I pushed up on my toes to deepen the kiss, but he released me just as quickly. "Come, before I change my mind about tying you to the bed."

  My body flushed with the threat, but before I could suggest it, Antoine took me by the arm and led me from the room. Out in the hallway, the others waited for us. Darren had gone to get the limo, but the rest of the household stood in their normal attire at the top of the stairs. Marcus had his eyes on the ground level, while the twins were arguing over something with basketball. Wynn and Rayne both turned to me when I appeared.

  I wasn't sure how to handle this situation. Did I kiss them both? Who did I kiss first? What about the others? I wasn't sleeping with them or even close to it, but I liked them...well, not quite Marcus. He was still an asshole.

  Thankfully, Rayne got me out of my own conundrum and jerked his head toward the stairs. "Come on, our reservation is at eight. I'm starving."

  I rolled my eyes. "You're a vampire. Eating human food isn't going to help."

  "It does a bit," Rayne replied, as we turned to head down the stairs. "It takes the edge off at least."

  "Yeah, plus," Drake added with a grin, "onion rings are the bomb."

  I shook my head and giggled. "Nobody says ‘the bomb’ anymore."

  Drake grinned, holding up both hands in with the thumb and forefinger up, and shook them. "Tubular."

  Allister smacked him on the back of the head. "They don't say that either. It's badass. Onion rings are badass."

  Wynn wrinkled his nose. "No, thank you. The grease. Ugh."

  I couldn't stop laughing as the guys continued their discussion on what the best food was. It was such a normal conversation to have. A human conversation. No wonder it took me by surprise when Boris appeared at the bottom of the stairs.

  "Ah, good. I caught you before you left." He flashed his long fangs at us. We froze so quickly that you'd think someone had blasted us with nitrogen. None of us had been expecting to see the master of the house. Certainly not now.

  "What can we do for you, master?" Antoine answered, s
hifting me over to take Wynn's arm as he pushed his way down the stairs. "We were just on our way out."

  Boris nodded. "Yes, yes. Of course. I won't keep you. I just wanted to have a word with Miss Durand before you left." His bloodred eyes flicked to me and I swallowed thickly.

  "Yes?"

  Placing a hand on the handrailing of the stairs, he put on an expression of sympathy that didn't reach his eyes. "I wanted to apologize for my child's actions. Valentine can let his baser urges get the better of him when it comes to pretty women. I hope you don't hold his actions against me?" He placed his hand on his chest, and if he had them, he'd have fluttered his eyelashes at me.

  My heart rate ratcheted up a level and I had to remind myself that I was safe. I was surrounded by not one, but all six of my vampires. He couldn't touch me. Valentine wasn't even here. Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile onto my lips. "Of course not. A parent cannot be blamed for the actions of their children."

  Boris clasped both hands together and smiled in return. "I'm so happy you agree. Have no fear, I have sent Valentine away to fetch some of our guests for the party on Friday, so you shouldn't have to worry about him popping up unexpectedly." His eyes moved to the vampires around me. "And I can see you have plenty of guardians to protect you when he does return. I hope they, too, can find it in their hearts to forgive their brother for his lapse in judgment."

  The others inclined their heads, but it was clear that none of them meant it. They knew what Boris's words were and they weren't a gracious offer of peace. They were a warning to leave it alone or else. Too bad none of us planned on following it.

  "Good." Boris turned toward the door, waving a hand at it before bowing slightly. "Then have a lovely evening."

  With permission to move, we slowly made our way down the stairs and out the door with Wynn and I taking up the rear. Before I finished getting out the doorway, Boris called out to me.

  "Yes?" I twisted around to face him.

  With smile that could have been called calculating, Boris gestured to me. "Do find something in red, my dear. I hear you look lovely in that color."

  It was a good thing that Wynn had me by the arm or I'd have fallen over dead right there. Thankfully, Boris didn't expect me to reply and allowed Wynn to drag me out of the house and into the evening air.

  Once we were in the car, I wrapped my arms around myself and rocked. "I can't breathe. I can't..." I gasped in lungfuls of air, but never seemed to get enough in. I shouldn't have come here. I should never have come here. God, fucking, fuck. Fuck, fuck.

  "Piper!" Rayne yelled in my face, his hands on either shoulder. My eyes finally cleared to allow me to see him and I croaked out a rasping breath. "Breathe, Piper. You have to calm down and breathe."

  "You got to show her, you dumbass. Here." Drake shoved Rayne aside and took his place. My vision was starting to dim, and I knew I was going to pass out if I didn't get enough air. Drake placed his hands on either side of my face and I could feel his powers of persuasion against my skin. "Breathe in, breathe out. In and out. That's it, girl. In and out." He repeated the process until I was able to drop my arms and breath on my own. "Better?"

  I nodded. "Yes, thank you."

  "No problem." Drake winked before moving back to his seat on the opposite side of the limo against the driver’s seat. Allister sat next to him, worry etched on his face. In fact, everyone, including Marcus, had a similar expression. Offering a weak smile, I shifted toward them. "I'm fine now. Really."

  "Are you sure?" Rayne moved from his seat to kneel in front of me again. "Because we can go back and stake that bastard right now." He gestured over his shoulder. I thought he was kidding. I hoped he was kidding.

  I shook my head. "No, it's okay. Don't go getting killed on my account. We still have to get rid of Valentine first." The words no sooner came out of my mouth when I realized that we might not be alone. My hand jumped to my mouth and I stared at the divider.

  "Don't worry, it's just Darren," Rayne answered the question I hadn't asked, then immediately added on, "Sorry, habit."

  I ruffled his hair and smiled until he came close to me, then I grabbed a handful of hair and pulled until his neck bent sideways. "It's fine if I'm in danger. But keep getting into my thoughts and you're going to hear something you won't like."

  "Ah, ah, ah. Geez, fine. I said I was sorry." I released him and Rayne grunted . "You might like a bit of pain, but I'm not into that kind of stuff."

  My face went beet red and my eyes darted to Antoine and Wynn. "So, you're just telling everyone now? What happened to privacy?"

  Antoine shrugged. "Do not point fingers at me until you are prepared to have them bitten."

  I shifted my gaze to Wynn who didn't even bother to have the decency to be ashamed. "What can I say? He beat it out of me."

  "No, I didn't," Rayne argued, getting up and banging his head on the ceiling. "Fuck." Rubbing his head, he glared at Wynn. "You thought it, very loudly while touching me. I can't keep everything out."

  I pursed my lips and sighed, shaking my head. "This is going to keep happening, isn't it? I guess I shouldn't be surprised. That's what I get for dating vampires who live together."

  "Dating, huh?" Wynn gave a sly grin. "I wasn't aware we had reached that point in our relationship."

  I sank down in the seat and chewed on my lower lip. "Well, I...uh...I just..."

  "He's fucking with you, Piper." Allister shoved Wynn's shoulder. "Give the girl a break. She just relearned to breathe, she doesn't need you giving her another heart attack."

  Thankful for Allister's involvement, it was completely out of left field when Drake asked, "So, when do I get a turn?"

  "What?" I choked out, my eyes bugging from my head. "What do you mean, when do you get a turn?"

  Drake leaned forward, propping his elbows on his knees and grinned. "You know. To take you out. Allister and I would both like to have the chance to woo you. You still call it that now, don't you?"

  I nodded, my face even redder than before. "Yes."

  "Good. Then we want a turn."

  I glanced between the two of them, and God help me, but the first thing that came to mind was both of them wooing me at the same time. Rayne snickered and I kicked his shin from my seat.

  "Ow!" Rayne rubbed his leg. "What'd I do?"

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "You know."

  Thankfully, I didn't have to answer the twins' question right then because the limo stopped. Darren came around and opened the door. "We're here."

  I scrambled to get out first. "Thank God. I need a drink."

  Chapter 17

  Rayne

  The whole household hadn't gone to dinner in ages. Certainly not with someone like Piper. A part of me wanted nothing more than to have her to myself, while the other part didn't want to be selfish. My brothers hadn't had the greatest luck with finding love and it seemed that Piper was made for us. She was certainly made for me.

  "How many?" the hostess asked, eyeballing our group with obvious lust in her eyes and on her mind. When her eyes moved to Piper, her smile dipped. Lucky whore.

  "We have a reservation." Antoine stepped in. "Durand. Party of eight."

  The hostess looked down at her podium, and then with a large smile said, "Just give us one moment, I'll check and see if your table is ready."

  "Eight?" Piper questioned, looking around and then spotting Darren. "Oh, right."

  "Did you think we'd make poor Darren wait out in the car?" Drake grinned, throwing an arm over her shoulders. "He's been with us longer than you have. Though, I never wanted to fuck him."

  "Draconius," Antoine chastised with a shake of his head. "Children. After all these years, you're still children." Piper blushed hard at the enormous twin. "Uh, no. Just haven't seen him out of the house...like, ever."

  Darren snorted before stopping next to Piper. "Just because you do not see me leave the house does not mean I do not have a life. I play chess with a very nice group of men down at the park every Saturd
ay."

  Beaming over at Darren, Piper waved a finger in his face. "Would that happen to be the old men's club I see out there? You wouldn't be playing with them, would you?"

  With a frown, Darren adjusted his gloves and then his jacket. "I'll have you know that I am three times their age and they are far more stimulating than this lot. Well, some of them." Antoine and Darren exchanged a look and a flash of something I never wanted to see hit my head.

  "Oh, my god. I'm scarred for life." I covered my eyes and groaned. "Please, no thinking about naked fun time with my brother around me."

  The others laughed at me before going on to talk about what they planned on eating when we were seated. The hostess thankfully reappeared a few minutes later and we were escorted to our table. Walking through the restaurant, I scanned the crowd. For a Wednesday night the place was pretty busy. Almost every table was filled with people, and the thoughts pouring in from around me made me wince and want to cover my ears.

  A small hand slipped into mine, giving it a squeeze. I glanced down at Piper's concerned face.

  "Are you okay?" she asked, raising her voice over the crowd.

  I leaned down next to her ear and said, "You don't have to raise your voice, I can hear you even over this deafening nonsense." I squeezed her hand in return and had the urge to kiss her, so I did. Pecking her on the lips, I was happy to feel her trying to linger in the kiss, but it wasn't the time or place to be making out so openly.

  Pulling back, Piper stared at me hotly and licked her lips. When we get home, I'm going to rip your clothes off.

  Distracted by her words, I didn't see the guy pushing his chair out and my foot caught on the edge of it, sending me careening onto the floor. The area quieted for a second, and Piper rushed to my side, half laughing and half concerned.

  "Oh, my god. Are you alright?" she inquired through her laughter. "You really should watch where you're going."