Sol was right. Raff remembered now the fury that had been pouring off Ves as he helped hold Ves back from ripping Sol’s head off. It had taken several of them to hold him long enough for Freddie to get Ves’s attention and get through to him what was really going on. That, yes, Freddie had been hurt, but Sol had saved his life, and it was thanks to him that Freddie was no longer in a wheelchair.
Raff nodded. He’d been so intent on protecting Freddie and Freddie’s mate that he hadn’t really thought until now about Ves’s motives. Well, that and being in physical contact with Ves for the first time. He’d had trouble letting go of him once the immediate danger had passed. His fingers had lingered despite his telling them to release Ves.
Hugging Freddie before he left only produced a small possessive rumble from Sol, who looked annoyed with himself when Raff threw a half-hearted grin in his direction. He was too preoccupied to take much fun in needling the lion-shifter as he normally would have.
Realising ten minutes into the drive home that he had unconsciously taken the road that headed to the new coven house rather than Blue Gables, Raff could have smacked himself. He turned at the next junction and pointed his car in the right direction. Yes, he was on the verge of changing his mind about Ves, but he had no idea how he was going to go about things with the man, and he wanted to think everything through thoroughly beforehand. It wouldn’t be fair to Ves to say he had changed his mind and then change it back again. He had to know it was what he really wanted. Turning up on the guy’s doorstep might be welcomed, but it wouldn’t be a good idea. Not yet.
As he got to Blue Gables and pulled up to enter his passcode into the keypad on the gate, a crawly sensation raised every hair on his neck and down his spine. He checked his mirrors and glanced around but couldn’t spot whatever it was that had alerted him. The feeling of being watched faded as he drove through the gates and along the curved driveway.
There was no one around when he entered the big house, but Raff could hear people working out and sparring in the gym. Jake and Daniel were doing what Jake and Daniel did whenever they had a private or not-so-private moment to themselves, and Raff made a mental note not to go into Jake’s office until at least the next day. Ant and Butch were running laps of the property. Bradley was asleep in his room in the basement, and Andre was clicking through something on one of the computers in the security room, probably the different cameras around the grounds.
“Hey.”
“Hey, stranger.” Andre leaned back in his seat as he spun it around to look at Raff.
“Fuck. Sorry I haven’t been around.”
“Nah, don’t be. Good to see you, though. How’s the new job going?”
“Meh, it’s a job. I was starting to get antsy sitting in a chair most of the night.”
“And scraping off old paint and tearing up rotting floorboards is better?”
“Have you been watching me?” Raff raised an eyebrow. “I thought I smelled your scent a few nights ago.”
Andre grinned. “Just checking in. And only a couple of times. You’re getting rusty if you only smelled me the once.”
“Hmmm.” Raff narrowed his eyes at his friend. “Seriously though, it’s going okay. Good to be up and doing something. Are you sure you won’t come join me there?” He’d asked Andre a couple of times if he’d go with him to the coven house to work but he’d preferred to stay where he was.
“And miss all this?” Andre spread both arms out, gesturing at the screens in front of him. “I’m good here.”
“Got nothing to do with a certain shifter in the basement, I’ll bet.”
Pain flashed in Andre’s eyes, cracking his laid-back attitude. He opened his mouth to speak, but Raff got there first.
“Wait, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m here if you ever want to talk about it, but I’m not going to poke my nose in. That’s your business.”
When Andre spoke, his voice rasped. “Noted. Thank you.”
“On another subject, have you seen anything out there tonight? I felt like I was being watched when I stopped at the gates.”
Sitting up and focussing on the computers, Andre cleared his throat. He tapped a few buttons and turned to one screen in particular. He watched the feed he’d queued up, flicking between cameras. “Can’t see anything here. There are corners of the view away from the gates we haven’t got covered though, other people’s property and inside of houses, that sort of thing, but you know that anyway after working here. Is it the first time you’ve felt like that?”
Raff thought for a moment. “The first time I’ve been consciously aware of it, but there’ve been a couple of times I felt unsettled as I drove up. I thought it was because of working at the coven house where Ves could arrive at any moment, but he did arrive today. I dunno, maybe it’s just feeling off because of him being nearby.”
“You still carry the alarm Daniel made, right?”
“Yes, Dad.”
Andre flipped him off. “Fuck you, too.”
“Not on a bet.”
They both grinned. Raff was glad to be back on a normal footing with him. Andre’s relationship, or lack thereof, with Bradley was as Raff’d said, his own business. Bradley had been the self-proclaimed alpha of a bunch of panther-shifters in northern Maine until his brutal ways had caught the attention of AlphaSec. They’d had put a stop to him when rescuing one of their own and his two mates. Andre had been horrified to discover his fated mate was a monster, and despite making sure the man’s physical needs were met with food and exercise, he refused to have anything else to do with him. Bradley wasn’t talking and had never given any explanation for his deeds, nor had he reached out to Andre as far as Raff knew. The two were stuck in limbo, and Raff wondered how long they could go on that way before something had to give.
“Hey, don’t you have someone else working shift with you?”
“Butch is supposed to be here, but like you, he was getting twitchy sat in the chair for ages, so I sent him off for a run with Ant. He’ll be back soon.”
“Oh yeah, I heard them outside. Okay if I keep you company until he gets back?”
“Always.”
Chapter Eight
Ves
His phone buzzed in his pocket a few times halfway through the progress meeting with Allan, but Ves left it where it was until he was done. He remembered the buzzing after he’d shaken Allan’s hand, said good-bye, and gathered his things to walk out. He pinned the papers and tablet under one arm and switched the empty mug from one hand to the other, freeing up the one needed for his phone.
“Uh, Ves?”
“Sorry, what? Oh. Sorry. There you go.” He stood aside and let the other man pass him and leave the room. “Thanks again, Allan.”
Allan said something as he walked away, but Ves was too busy staring at his phone to take the words in. There was a series of messages from an unknown number.
Hi
That was me. Raff
Sorry
Okay, now I sound like an idiot. Sorry
Shit.
Can we talk?
The tablet under his arm started to slip. Ves moved back into the room and carefully let it and the papers slide onto the table. The papers fanned out, and a couple wound up on the floor. A little disjointedly, Ves poked at his phone to save the number and then went back to staring blankly at the messages.
Ves’d been in Cumbria for three days now and was due to switch off with Eddie again that night. The meeting with Allan had been the last in a string of them over the last few days. Raff hadn’t stayed at the lodge any of the nights since Ves’d arrived, nor had he so much as laid eyes on him, but he was so attuned to Raff’s scent he could immediately tell when he arrived for the nighttime work shift, when he left, and that he’d stayed over on rather more nights than was good for Ves’s peace of mind. Knowing Raff was there so much and spending time with his people made Ves’s determination to give the man as much space and time as he needed that much harder to stick with. H
e needed to reply before Raff thought he wasn’t interested.
Yes. Definitely. Where and when?
He deleted his first attempt before sending. Too eager.
What’s up?
He deleted that, too. Too casual. Fuck it.
Sure. Where and when?
He clicked send before he could take obsessing over getting the words just right too far.
11 pm tonight at the lodge? Raff sent.
Sounds good. I’ll see you then. Ves sent back.
How was he going to fill the next—he glanced at his watch—five hours?
Hey, what does Raff like to eat? He messaged Eddie.
What? How the hell would I know? Came back a moment later. Wait, why?
He’s coming over tonight around lunch. Wants to talk.
The next few messages came in quick succession before he had the time to reply.
Shit, man. That’s great!
It’s great, right?
I didn’t think he’d be ready yet
To talk, that is
But it’s good!
Food though. I don’t know. Something easy. Don’t go overboard. Does he even know you’ll be making something?
Fuck. Raff hadn’t said anything about food, just a time. Well, Ves had to eat anyway, and Raff had suggested coming over at lunch time.
Risotto? He asked Eddie.
The next two messages came right on top of each other.
Oooh, that lemony one. Perfect.
Hey, so I take it we aren’t switching over tonight as planned then?
How do you do that so fast? Ves asked after the double message from Eddie. And no. Not tonight.
Ves was decent enough at typing, but Eddie could reply on a phone’s tiny keyboard faster than Ves could even think of what to say next.
Practice, Fred. Okay, I’ll stay here until you say otherwise. Let me know when I need to drive up there. All’s good here.
Ves raised a brow at his phone. Fred?
Flintstone. Watch a cartoon, man.
What?
Never mind. I’ll talk to you soon. Good luck with lunch.
Most of the time Ves had no trouble relating to his younger coven members. Eddie wasn’t even that much younger at a little shy of four hundred, but the last part of their text exchange left Ves feeling old and out of touch. What the hell had he been talking about?
Ves did his best to shake off the feeling and went to check he had everything he needed to make the lemon chicken risotto. He was still relatively new to cooking, having started learning twenty years ago. There had always been other people to do menial tasks for him and his family, and with his family being in charge of looking after the general well-being of the entire coven, he’d been happy to let them. The modern world was changing faster than he felt like he could keep up. He tried to learn or do something new on a regular basis. Some were one-offs, some stuck. Cooking was one of the ones that seemed to be sticking. He might not have enjoyed it so much if he’d tried learning two hundred years before, but modern equipment was far easier and more reliable.
He had everything prepped by the time Raff was due to arrive except grating the Parmesan and was just starting on it when he heard the front door open. Breathe. Take it slowly. You don’t know what he wants. He might not have changed his mind. His pace. He gave himself a moment to exhale and try to calm his pulse, which had taken off like a horse at the gallop, before continuing to grate the cheese.
“Hey.”
Ves glanced over and waved Raff into the room. “Hey. Come in and get yourself a drink. Do you know where everything is?”
“Um, yeah. I hope it’s okay that I’ve been staying here sometimes. Uh, and that I just walked in. Shit, I shouldn’t have done that.” Raff looked vaguely embarrassed but moved tentatively into the room and hovered next to the kitchen table.
“It’s fine. You’re fine to just walk in anytime. And of course it’s okay for you to stay here whenever you need or want to.” He wrapped the block of Parmesan up and put it down. “Whatever happens with us…Raff, I want you to feel at home here.”
“Thank you. Do you, uh, want me to put that away?”
Ves looked down to see what Raff pointed at. “Oh, yeah.” He picked up the wrapped block he’d just put down and held it out to Raff. “Thanks.”
Raff took the block, and their fingers brushed, sending sensation zinging up Ves’s arm. Raff must have felt it too because he paused, eyes wide. “No problem,” he said, voice rasping. He turned and moved the few steps to the fridge.
Ves took a breath as silently as he could and told himself once more to calm down. It still didn’t work very well. He cleared his throat. “Are you staying for lunch? Would you like to, I mean? I was going to make risotto.”
“Yeah, that’d be nice.” A quick grin flashed across his face. “You know, I kinda guessed you had something planned.”
“Oh?”
“Everyone normally cuts out for lunch and comes here, but I passed Claudie and the metric tonne of sandwiches she was carrying on the way up from the big house. Seeing as I was meeting you here, I thought you must have said something to them all.”
It wasn’t often after nearly four hundred and fifty years of life that Ves found himself blushing, but judging from the heat flooding his face, he must be a lovely shade of scarlet. “Uh…”
Another smile was there and gone before Ves could really take it in. “Hey, it’s okay. I wanted to talk, and privacy probably would be a good idea.” Raff dipped his head, and his dark brown hair slid around his face in a silky curtain, hiding his eyes.
Ves’s fingers itched to brush it back.
“So…are you okay if I cook while we talk?” Ves asked.
“Sure.”
Ves turned the gas on and pressed the button to ignite the flame. He sprayed the pan with a little light oil and tipped the first lot of vegetables in. He prodded and poked at them with a silicone spatula for a minute.
“So, what did you—”
“I wanted to—”
They spoke at the same time just after it had been silent long enough to grow awkward. They glanced at each other, and both gestured for the other to go first.
“I—”
“You—”
That time they both laughed.
Ves managed to get in before Raff spoke again. “You go.”
“Um…okay. First I…I wanted to say thank you.” Raff sat down at the table and stared down at his hands. He picked up the salt, poured a small amount onto the table, and started pushing it into a pile with one finger.
“For what?”
“For waiting for me.”
Christ. Ves’s gut clenched. “Raff, you don’t need to thank me for that. I told you I’d wait as long as you needed.”
“But I never told you why I needed it. I’d like to, if that’s okay with you. I don’t want to give you a load of excuses, but I do want you to know and understand.”
“I’ll listen to anything you need to say, Raff.”
Raff gave a rather wobbly smile from behind his hair and flicked his hair out of his face. It slid back into the same place again. He wasn’t looking at Ves and continued to play with the small pile of salt, moving one grain at a time to a new pile. “I know you know all about Michaelson and what happened to most of the people he held prisoner. I wasn’t…I wasn’t raped in there. They didn’t do that to me. Or Andre as far as I know. I don’t think they wanted to get that close to blood-crazed vampires even with those things they put on our heads to stop us biting. But I don’t know if you know how we got there in the first place. How he got hold of us.
“Andre, Freddie, and I, we were all born into a coven in Europe. We were based in France most of our lives, though one time we moved to Germany for about fifteen years. My dad was the leader of our coven. He was a good man. Looked after us. Was good to Mum. Grandpa passed the coven to him when Dad met Mum, but before they mated. They were mates, and Dad had been waiting a long time to meet her. When
they met and she got pregnant with me, a bunch of the couples in the coven got pregnant in the months following. They figured it was something to do with the mating of the coven leader meaning the coven was safer for babies to be born or something. Vampires have such a hard time getting pregnant normally. Anyway…it was great having so many friends so close in age, growing up, like the perfect coven. It was a few years before any more were born, but we grew and grew in the years that followed. Our coven was pretty huge.
“Not long after Freddie went missing, a man joined the coven. He always had this weird look in his eyes when he looked at me. It creeped me out, but I never had anything concrete to take to Dad. Maurice made sure of that. Until the day he challenged Dad for leadership of the coven. Dad would have stepped aside if he’d been beaten in a fair fight. But Maurice didn’t care about that. He didn’t give Dad the chance. He killed him. He ripped his heart out. I didn’t even get the chance to say good-bye to Mum. The shock of losing her mate so suddenly…” Raff took a deep breath, held it for a moment, and then let it out in a rush.
“I went to my room. I needed to not be looking at my parents’ bodies. Maurice didn’t even wait for their bodies to cool. While they were all stood around in shock, he announced to the whole coven that he and I were to be mated.
“He took my friends. Bastien, Kourey, Guillaume. And he did…things to them to force my hand. They wouldn’t let me give in to him. I’m not even sure if I could have made myself. If I could have let him…
“Andre was away. When he got back—he found out what was going on before Maurice got hold of him. He broke us all out, and we ran. We’d only been in England for a couple of nights when we woke up and found ourselves at the not-so-tender mercies of that arsehole Michaelson.”
“Raff—”
“There’s more. I never told Andre or Freddie. You can’t tell them this. Not ever.” Brown eyes, wet with tears, fixed on him through dark hair.
“I won’t. You have my word.” Jesus, what else could there be?
“You’re my…my mate. You have the right to know. Michaelson, he…once a month, he had me taken to a private cell. He liked to keep me and my friends together, so I could see the things he had his people inflict on Andre and the others. And so I would know when one of them was…” Bastien’s screams rang in Raff’s ears. “When he had me taken to a private cell, he would ask me the same question every time. Was I ready to give myself to Maurice?”
Trusting His Vampire Lord Page 7