“Ah. I believe he was unexpectedly detained.”
Unexpectedly detained. Either he was feeding or… “Well then why doesn’t one of you go pull Ashley out from under him, clean him up and get him down here before I go do it myself?”
Marcus laughed.
Raz looked pissed.
Marcus said, “Easy Raz.”
“Where is my pal Tristan? Anton didn’t trust him to baby-sit me?” As Anton’s second Tristan should be the one entertaining me. I should be insulted that I was being kept company by underlings, but at least one of them was an amusing underling so I was over being insulted. “He refused didn’t he?”
“He was unavailable.”
“He refused.”
“He refused.”
“Thank you for your honesty Marcus.”
“1000,” Marcus said.
Even Raz was looking at him like he was insane and was not above sharing a look with me over the randomness of that comment. “Excuse me?”
“You are trying to figure out how old I am. I can feel you trying to sense it. I am 1000 years old.”
“You can feel it?”
“One of my powers is the ability to sense when another is trying to use vampire powers in my presence. You are very strong indeed if I can detect you.”
He could sense when others called on their powers and he was 1000 years old. Why wasn’t he in charge? I didn’t realize I had spoken that question aloud until he answered, “I am not in charge because I’ve lived long enough not to want the headache.”
“A lesson I’m slowly beginning to learn since I’ve returned.” I looked at the grandfather clock on the opposite wall. “I have other things to do today. Tell Anton to call me when he’s better able to keep his pants zipped.”
Caught off guard by my sudden movement, the vampires did not react in time to stop me from opening the door. As soon as I had it open a crack I knew why they had been positioned to try to keep me inside my holding pen. Ashley and Anton weren’t having sex; they were having a fight, which was unusual for a dessert and its keeper to have. Desserts were like pets and a pet did as it was told or it got put in a cage or sent to a shelter. And desserts were human which meant they often didn’t survive arguments with their vampires either. What were they fighting about? Enquiring minds wanted to know.
Ashley was storming down the stairs and shrieking, “She’s here isn’t she? I told you I didn’t want her in this house and you went ahead and invited her anyway. Can’t have Snow White miss out on previewing her future castle!”
“This is a business meeting,” Anton said.
“Bullshit Anton! You want her to see how well you’ve done so she’ll want to take my place.”
Oooooooooook.
You know that old cliché about being careful what you wish for? It was very, very true. I didn’t want to know any more about their fight. In fact I was all for shutting the door and jumping out the window so I didn’t have to hear a snippet more. I caught a glimpse of Anton speeding down the stairs after her to grab Ashley by her arm. Now I was in a really bad spot. It was against the rules for me to intervene, but no way in hell was I going to stand around and let him hurt her.
Do you really think he would harm her? my blood asked. Vampires were made to cause harm, just like me and I knew that in a true fit of rage I was capable of a lot. But was he that angry?
“He will not harm her, he never has,” Marcus said as if he read my thoughts. “But she wants to make sure you know she’s not pleased. That’s why she’s parading this through the house. I would wager she knows you will hear and wants to make you uncomfortable enough not to return.”
Anton could have gotten ahead of her and trapped her upstairs if he didn’t want me to know he was willing to fight with her about me. But with the top volume tirade coming my way, there was no way I could tune my super hearing out and ignore what was going on. I was supposed to be flattered. I wasn’t.
Anton shouted, “I am Master here not you! I am through with this argument Ashley. You can go upstairs and wait for me or you can go upstairs and pack your bags!”
Now if I were Ashley, this is where things would have turned violent, but she opted to stomp back up the stairs, down the hall and slam a door shut. I listened for the sound of suitcases opening, but heard nothing. What little respect I had been gathering towards her for calling him on his crap vanished. She had a mansion to live in and access to the fountain of youth; no way she was leaving.
However, I was really regretting my outfit choice now. Provoking an already provoked vampire really was not a good move. Nor was being caught listening at the door even if you were sort of supposed to get an earful. Moving preternaturally fast, I returned to my previous seat and was yanking my skirt back down when Anton walked into the room. Marcus caught my furtive skirt action and grinned.
“Hello Natasha. Tell me about this club,” he paused when he caught a glimpse of Marcus’ mirth. “What is so amusing Marcus?”
Marcus cleared his throat. I wasn’t sure if vampires really needed to do that or if it was a nervous tick leftover from his human days. He said, “The lady had said something humorous right before you came in and I was reacting.”
Anton eyed me and damn him, I knew what he was going to ask, “What amusing thing did you say this time Natasha?”
“You had to be there.”
“I will be here when you tell it again.”
What the hell was I going to say? Oh. Oh, it was bad to say this, but it was all I had. I repeated the remark about pulling Ashley out from under him because I was tired of being kept waiting and watched the blood rise to his face. I was not sure if it was anger or embarrassment. The guy could proposition me in every possible way, every chance he got, but I was not supposed to know he actually had sex. Yes, he was Anton the 500 year old virgin. Or maybe he was embarrassed I knew sex existed? The ship had sailed on that one a long time ago. “Did I offend your delicate sensibilities?”
Raz and Marcus could only stare at me. I don’t believe they had ever heard anyone speak to a Master vampire that way. They probably also could not believe I had not been knocked across the room by now. Silly vampires, allies didn’t beat each other up.
Anton stonily said, “Leave us.”
They vanished.
When people talked about being called to the principal’s office this had to be the feeling they meant. There were legends of vampires that could start fires with their minds. I was really glad Anton was not one of those vampires given the way he was glaring at me.
He said, “Did you really say that Natasha? Before you lie to me, I remind you that a liar’s heartbeat speeds up and I will hear it.”
I knew that. I could do that too. “Yes, at one point this evening I said that.”
“But that was not what Marcus was laughing about when I walked in.”
“No. What are you so paranoid about? Am I not allowed to talk to the help?”
“I thought…”
“What?”
“I thought you were mocking my argument. I know you heard it, your ears are too keen not to.”
“No matter what you say about my manners to my friends I know better than to mock a fight while I am a guest in your home. After all I was not raised in a barn and your personal life is none of my concern unless you attack mine first.”
Anton ran his fingers through his hair as he took the chair next to mine. “A very mature outlook and subtle jibe at my behavior last evening.”
“Why did you horn in on my date?”
Silence. He was doing that thing where he looked like a statue.
“Anton. Answer me please.”
“I wanted to see your young man.”
Vampires did not have heartbeats to give away their lies, but they could have tells like folding their arms across their chest, which Anton was doing right now. “You wanted him to see you.”
There was that statue again. “You are not wrong.”
“If you said I was
right would it make you burst into flames?”
“Natasha,” he said in weary irritation.
“Fine. I will behave myself.”
“I would prefer it if you told me what you did to make Marcus laugh. I could use a laugh this evening.”
He had been honest with me eventually. I guess I really should return the favor. “I was trying to leave, I heard your fight and I didn’t want you to think I was eavesdropping so when you came this way I dashed for a chair and my skirt sort of lagged behind. Marcus caught me yanking it back in place.”
“How high did it go up?”
I was about to give a smart ass response when I noticed his jaw was set. Anton was not happy that Marcus had gotten a little peep show. “Anton.”
“How high?”
“I thought we were passed the days when a woman showing ankle was a crime.”
“You will tell me or I will drag him in here and make him tell me.”
I heaved a sigh. My men sucked attitude was returning. “I came here to discuss our pending business venture. I think the Kensington could be converted easily in the time frame we need with a minimum of expense for either of-”
“HOW MUCH OF YOUR THIGH DID HE SEE?”
We were not moving past that one any time soon and I was about out of patience for today. “You want to know how much he saw? This is what he saw.”
Impulsively I went to him, put my foot on the arm of his chair and hauled my skirt up until it was within an inch of showing things that were none of his business whatsoever. His eyes, gone red with desire, slid the whole way up my leg from the tip of my pointy-toed shoe to the parts still hidden under fabric. If he had run his hand up that entire length of skin I don’t think I could have been more turned on. It was incredibly seductive to be admired that way when the man knew how to caress with his eyes instead of leering.
That was when Ashley burst through the door.
Chapter 10
“You bitch!” Ashley screamed. “I knew you were after him!”
Grabbing a book off a shelf, she threw it at my head with as much force as her human arm could muster. Because she had been ingesting vampire blood for a while it packed more of a wallop then a normal human’s her size throw would have, but I caught it in mid-air and resisted the urge to hurl it back at her. “You need to calm down little girl before you get yourself hurt.”
Anton would have gotten to his feet, I could tell by the way his muscles twitched, but my leg was in his way. I removed it from the arm of the chair and smoothed my skirt back in place. Free to move, Anton stalked over to his dessert and grabbed her by the arm.
“Apologize to her.”
“No.”
“Ashley.” His voice was a whiplash of anger. Ashley began to cry and would only shake her head at him. It would be funny if I weren’t watching a grown woman behave and be treated like a child. Did my mother ever resist her position as a third class citizen and face being told she was wrong for demanding fidelity and respect so that all she had left at her disposal were childish antics? Or did she take a sad pride in her position and quietly submit? I’m not even sure which one I found more humiliating. I wanted her to have been a fighter and yet I did not like to think she carried on so the world knew how low she was held in her keeper’s opinion.
“It’s not worth it Anton,” I said. “It’s not the worst thing I’ve been accused of and having a book tossed at me is hardly the worst thing I’ve ever faced. Clearly today is not the right time to have a meeting.”
Without taking his eyes off Ashley, Anton said through gritted teeth, “We are going to have our meeting as soon my dessert understands her place. I will not have you driven from my home because she mistakenly thinks she has any say in who I let in the front door.”
I did not like the sound of that. True I mocked desserts because I found the position degrading and thought anyone who would agree to be someone’s extra on the side was an idiot with no concept of self-worth, and yes I did have mommy issues added into all that, but it was not in me to see someone humiliated for a harmless act brought on by jealousy and Anton’s indifference to her feelings. But it was also not in me to completely forget the class system that had been beaten into my own psyche since the day I was born. I could not disrespect Anton by telling him what to do with his dessert in his home any more than he could come into my home and tell me not to discipline one of my people or barge in on my date and tell me the guy I was with wasn’t good enough. So I summoned up a lesson I had once been taught by him and said, “All people are judged on their present actions by future generations, make sure your actions represent what you wish to be known as.”
In other words, I was going to judge how he would treat me should I ever drop my drawers for him willingly by how he treated Ashley now. If I did not like what I saw, aside from my obligation to him, those drawers were going to stay firmly in place. I could all but see the steam coming out of his ears as he realized I had him by the balls with that one. Sidling towards them, I said, “Ashley does not understand the hierarchy properly, perhaps I should explain it to her privately. She might understand it better coming from a person with an ounce of humanity left in them.”
“Tell her what you wish I am staying and she will apologize for her poor behavior that affronts the dignity of my house,” Anton said at the same time Ashley the ingrate said, “I don’t care what you have to say.”
That was it. I needed to get out of here before I put them both out the window. “Anton, the specs on turning the Kensington into the hybrid club are on your desk. I worked up some figures and some concepts for the direction I think it should take, but nothing is set in stone; I’m open to your suggestions. Look them over and give me a call. Don’t wait too long because this matter needs to be handled sooner rather than later for all our sakes. Ashley, really, I’m not threat to your position in this house or in his life. If he ever realized that I would be his equal and not a subordinate if we were going to last beyond one night, he wouldn’t be eager to have me either. Do yourself a favor and don’t worry so much about who he’s doing. It will give you wrinkles and he’ll toss you aside.” Anton started to walk after me, but I hit the button that controlled the sun-proof window coverings and they began to slide up. With a hiss he shot across the room to shield himself amongst the shadows.
As I breezed down the hall to the foyer, I saw Marcus leaning against the wall. He winked at me and I realized he had let Ashley burst in on us. I don’t think he liked her very much from the way his lip curled as her aggrieved voice reached our ears. I was tempted to ask if they always fought this much, but Anton might hear and think I was hoping they were always on the outs when I really just wanted to know if I was part of a plot to get an unpopular dessert out of the house. I asked, “How did she get by you Marcus?”
“Luck.”
“Hmm. Don’t use me to hurt someone else.”
“You didn’t seem like they type to mind.”
“Being a pawn? That I mind.”
“I meant hurting someone.”
I shrugged, “If it’s my choice I’m not opposed to it, but not to further your purposes.”
“My mistake, but I didn’t know she’d walk in to find your leg shoved in his face. That was all you.”
“Touché.” Thanks a bunch Marcus, you made my day complete. It was time to get away from the vampires. I made my way outside and took a few deep breaths of fresh air, but that was not going to be enough to clear the day’s issues away. Feeling the need to do something productive as I climbed in my car to head back home, I decided to call the diner Megan McCoy worked at.
“Hodgepodge Diner this is Lily what can I do you for?”
“Hi Lily. My name is Natasha, I was in there a couple days ago. I don’t know if you remember me; short, dark hair, pale?”
“You forgot the world’s best tipper part,” she giggled. “I remember you, you ate chocolate cake with a peanut butter milkshake. Even without the $100 tip I would remember that. Wh
at’s up?”
“I can’t find my favorite sunglasses and I remembered driving with the top on my car down that day and thought maybe I wore them into the diner and forgot them. Has anyone turned in a pair of black Chanel sunglasses?”
“Not that I’ve seen and those would stand out.”
“Ok. Thanks. Oh! Hey, what happened with that waitress who had the vampire baby? Did she get fired?”
Lily snorted. “I wish. Fred kept her on. She’s supposed to work tonight.”
“Still not showing up when she’s scheduled?”
“No, she’s finally pulling her own weight again.”
“That’s good to hear. I’ll let you get back to work. Thanks again.”
*****
The diner closed at one o’clock in the morning so I waited in my car for Megan to leave. I knew it was her because she left her name tag on. It wasn’t hard to track her with her bright red hair. To my surprise she didn’t get into one of the junk heaps parked along the street, she went into a private garage a few feet up the road and after a few minutes came out driving a BMW that no waitress without a sugar daddy or a rich daddy she wasn’t admitting to was going to be able to afford. Whoever bought her car had paid for it out of their own pocket because her accounts had not shown the kind of activity that car, or the rather large house I trailed her to, would require. In fact, when I got home later I had Fitch run another check and Megan’s balance was at $200. The only activity shown had been a withdrawal on her debit card to buy diapers yesterday.
There were two ways I could approach my entry into her house. I could wait for her to go inside and knock to ask to use a phone because my cell was as dead as my car and then scare the crap out of her once I was inside or I could let myself in and then scare the crap out of her. Was I feeling deceptive or sadistic tonight? Decisions, decisions. While it occurred to me that Megan did have a baby and I didn’t want her to drop it because she turned around and found me standing behind her, that baby was also a half-caste and that meant she had seen beings like me. Rather than take the chance of her knowing what I was on sight and bolting, which would force me to chase her down in this nice suburban neighborhood, I decided to go with the stealthy route. The plan was to jump onto her garage roof and use it to access an upstairs window.
Heir to the Coven Page 7