He ground into me, and I saw the same wonder fill his gaze before my head thudded back against the wall behind me.
“More,” I pleaded.
Kyros snarled and nipped at my collarbone.
I yelped and gasped as he wound his hips against my core again.
“White drives me fucking insane,” he murmured, staring at the swells of my chest above the tank top.
Pressing my body against the wall with his hips, he slipped a hand under my ass as the other freed one of my breasts.
He latched onto my nipple with his mouth, and I choked on a wordless shout. Jesus, there was a line attached from my nipple to my core. The last of my forbidding thoughts fled and I circled my hips against his erection, suspended.
His satisfied purr rattled the confines of the entrance, and our pace slowed now we’d both realised this was only going one way. He shifted his attention to my other breast, and the ache in my lower stomach gained a sharp edge.
“I need you inside, Kyros,” I panted at him.
His head snapped up and my eyes watered at the brightness of his green gaze.
“If I were you, brother, I’d take her up on the offer.”
I screamed, and Kyros roared.
My haze of lust muted the fear his roar usually inspired. Or at least the sound didn’t affect me as it had in the car.
Kyros pushed me behind his body, crowding me against the wall. Wordless snarls erupted from his mouth.
Who was it? One of his siblings? I tried to peek out.
“What are you all doing here?” he growled, trying to press me farther into the wall.
All his siblings? I whacked his back.
My gaze fell on my breasts. Oops. Not that his siblings hadn’t seen them anyway, but since the top wasn’t torn this time…
I tugged my bra and tank back into position.
“Brother,” another breathed.
One of his sisters. Great. I tried to edge out, but Kyros blocked me. I slapped at his shoulder. “If you keep slamming me against this wall, I’m going to stake you.”
The air chilled.
“Did that human just threaten our crown prince?” a woman asked.
Kyros threw me an annoyed glance over his shoulder, which I returned full force.
He shifted forward, and I sidled out to stand next to him. “Yes, that was a fucking threat.”
Damn it all. Seven of them were here. At least Gerome had the sense to make scarce.
“You have some explaining to do, Kyros,” his sister said, shifting her eyes between us. The pantsuit one. Apparently, the outfit was a running trend with her.
“Safina. Not now.”
“Let the man get rid of his boner,” Rory said. His glinting eyes shifted to me, and I found somewhere else to look. I’d hoped to never see that one again. He hadn’t recalled who I was, but pushing my luck was a bad idea.
“It’s nothing,” Kyros said curtly.
Auburn turned huge blue eyes on him. “It’s not nothing, Ky. Why won’t you tell us?”
The hard edge around his eyes faded. Yup, she was the youngest.
“I will, Francesca. I promise.” He was wrapped around her little finger.
I snorted. “It has a name. But I agree, there’s nothing between us.”
A warning growl began in Kyros’s chest.
One by one, the siblings grinned. In weird unison, they focused on me with muted gazes. Something was going on. There was a silent conversation happening. Because if his siblings were cats, he was the canary.
They knew something I didn’t. And if they knew it, Kyros certainly did or he wouldn’t be uncomfortable.
Kyros hadn’t told me everything. For one fucking second, I thought we might be figuring this shitstorm out together.
I took a large step away from him toward their barrier. “We should have just gone with Plan D from the start, Kyros.”
That drew his gaze from Safina and Francesca to me. “There wasn’t a plan D.”
“Lies and omission, Kyros. A great idea—your best, really. It’s a certain solution to our little problem. There’s no surer way to turn us against each other.”
I stormed to the line of his siblings who blocked the entrance. Pantsuit winked at me and turned sideways so I could pass.
I turned once out in the lane. “Is someone going to drive me to the tower? Or should I walk?”
They slid their eyes toward their eldest brother, their crown prince.
Whatever.
“Walking it is,” I declared, braid whipping around as I turned on my heel.
23
I sighed at Laurel over the top of the car—the silver trash car was nowhere to be seen today. I was back in the white one. The scratches I’d caused were gone, and I could only suppose I’d been trusted with the flashy vehicle again for the sake of appearances.
I stood outside the three-bedroom, two-bathroom property of Mr and the future Mrs Polton in Green.
“They could be watching us,” I told the vampire. “Wait down the end of the street or out of sight. I don’t care. But it’ll be weird if you’re in the car waiting like my caretaker.”
Laurel clasped her hands behind her back. “I’m sorry, Miss Tetley. I have my orders.”
She had her chains.
“Do you have the number of someone in the tower?” I asked, rubbing my temples. I’d been awake half of Saturday and Sunday night, replaying Kyros’s groan when I licked his fang. Thank god, his siblings interrupted us. Their bad record after Level 66 was officially wiped clean. Pantsuit even gave me a lift back to the tower in the end. I was considering asking for a transfer to the industry she covered—whatever that was. I’d put my money on Finance.
The Indebted stared over the top of the car at me. “Yes, I do.”
I rounded the car and held out my hand.
With a shrug, she passed her sleek device over after dialling a number. Not as easy to hold as Beast, if truth be told. It probably didn’t have brick snake either. Phones had gone backward.
I held the device to my ear.
“Laurel.”
Crap. “Angelica,” I said coolly.
“Miss Tetley?”
“The same,” I answered. “There’s an issue. Laurel has orders to remain with me, but she’s going to weird out my clients if she does. Can you expand her orders so she can wait at the end of the street?”
Silence met my query. “I’ll have to clear that. Hold, please.”
I listened as she placed the phone down and spoke to someone else in the room. I assumed she was clearing it with Kyros—my babysitter.
The speaker snapped as Angelica picked up the phone again. “Five houses away. No more.”
That seemed extreme. “Laurel was only appointed to me because I don’t know how to drive... right, Angelica?”
She paused. “Word has reached our ears that Clan Fyrlia is aware we have a human in our employ.”
“So?”
“We have never had a human in our employ, Miss Tetley. It’s unexplored territory for us, and Kyros decided to take the safe route.”
If growing up in a drama-fuelled rich world had taught me anything, it’s that both contenders in a war always believed they were right. The clan I worked for weren’t as squeaky clean as they liked to harp on about. The other clan probably sprouted the same propaganda against them.
“Sure. I’ll pass that on to Laurel.”
“Thank you. And so you know, King Julius rolled a three last night.”
A three. “Green?”
“Green.”
I didn’t know the various probabilities of the dice combinations, but from my own experience with board games, three didn’t crop up much. Yet here I was. What was the bet that all the staff with appointments in the most likely suburbs were scrambling to adjust their days?
I snorted and hung up, turning to Laurel. “Catch all that?”
She was already moving down the street. “Got it.”
“Okay. I usuall
y take a couple of hours unless they slam the door in my face.” Or I fall asleep. I could only hope the owners of 1061 Bugles Street weren’t prone to curtain peeping, like Mrs Gaughton, and had missed the ten-minute argument between me and Laurel.
Grabbing the file off the roof of the car, I opened the gate and admired the white stone path to the door. Pretty. Lifting the golden knocker, I rapped three times.
The door wasn’t opened straightaway. Wrinkle between my brows, I listened to the crashing and muffled laughter within. Oh my god. I grinned. They were totally banging.
“I’ll come back later,” I called out, backing away from the white door.
Fiancés.
The door was yanked open. The flushed face of a young woman filled the frame, her body out of sight. Wrapped in a sheet, I was willing to bet.
“We’ll be just a moment, Carla,” she said. “Hold on a tick.”
The door closed.
Uhm. Who was Carla?
I hovered outside, studying the immaculate garden. They had several thriving lavender bushes—poor Mrs Gaughton.
The door was wrenched fully open this time.
“I apologise! We didn’t expect you for another hour.”
I opened my mouth. “I think there’s been a mistake. My name isn’t Carla.”
“But you’re from the realtors, yes?” Her eyes roamed over my royal blue dress with the sweetheart neckline. “Yes, I can see you are.”
“I am,” I replied, smiling. Was there a Carla at Live Right? I had no idea.
“Come on in. Henry’s just getting… Well, he’ll be with us shortly.”
I smiled at her. “Of course. I’ve heard being engaged is a lot of fun.”
She glanced at me, but her shock quickly melted to amusement. “It is. But please pretend you have no clue what we were doing. Henry was raised in Black.”
“Say no more,” I murmured. Riches and secrets went hand in hand. There was a way of teasing someone with money about the same subject, and it wasn’t by blurting it outright as I had with the future Mrs Polton.
She led me to a small conservatory filled to bursting with colourful flowers aside from the small glass table and wrought iron chairs positioned in the centre.
“This is really cute,” I told her.
She glanced around the space fondly. “Thank you. Henry made it for me. He’s the gardener. Not me.”
They were an adorable couple. A legit couple. I held out my hand. “Where are my manners. I’m Basilia from Live Right Realty.”
Her face dropped.
Mine followed.
She recovered and took my hand, face working. “I’m Bess. But I’m sorry. We were expecting someone from Foremost.”
Foremost. Never heard of them. I grimaced. “I apologise, Bess. I’m new to Live Right and I assumed there was someone on the staff called Carla. I’ll leave you to your appointment. So sorry to inconvenience you.”
A lean man, the opposite of Bess’s curvy and short frame, bent his head to enter the conservatory.
“Carla? I was just on a phone call.”
He held out a hand, and I shook it automatically. Bess threw me an amused look at his phone call excuse.
“Of course,” I murmured. “It’s no trouble. But my name is Basilia. There has been a mix-up.”
Bess glanced at Henry. “Basilia is from Live Right.”
His face darkened.
Eek.
“Just started there,” I admitted. “Let me get out of your hair so you can get ready for your actual appointment.”
My face burned. Henry was putting out some serious dislike. He either hated being pestered or had other beef with Live Right.
“No,” Bess said as I turned away.
“Bess.” Henry accompanied her name with a pointed look.
She met it head-on. “She seems nice. We’re selling already. We may as well see what she thinks the property will go for.”
Henry abandoned his attempts to silently convey his reluctance to her. He flushed, throwing me an irritated look.
“You’ve clearly had a poor experience with Live Right in the past,” I said. “I apologise on their behalf, and I’m happy to take your feedback to the company.”
His brows lifted and he glanced at Bess before returning to me. “I wasn’t here when the last person from Live Right came. But they scared Bess.”
“And you were understandably upset,” I replied.
She sighed. “They didn’t do anything as such. I can’t really say why I felt so uncomfortable.”
Because you have good instincts. “We keep records of site visits. I’ll look into the matter and follow it up. You should never feel uncomfortable in your own home.”
Henry contemplated me and shot another look at his fiancée. “We may as well hear what you have to say.”
I was so fucking good at this.
Bess gestured to the table. I took a seat, watching as Henry pulled out the chair for his fiancée.
So freakin’ cute.
I placed the file on the table. “You said that you’re thinking of selling?”
They nodded.
“Upscaling for a future family?” I asked, glancing between them.
Henry frowned, and Bess took his hand.
“Actually, Basilia. We’re downsizing to pay for IVF treatment.”
I was terrible at this. Talk about pride before a fall. “That was an assumption. I’m sure those kinds of assumptions get really old.”
His brow cleared at that. “It’s okay. We only received the news a few months ago, so it’s new for us too.”
Did I say I was sorry? That seemed like a shitty response to a heart-breaking issue. “I really hope IVF works out. So many people have children who don’t seem to give a shit. It doesn’t seem fair when the good ones can’t have them.”
Bess’s eyes misted and she swallowed hard when Henry wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
I studied them, my chest clenching with their pain. “So you need as much money as possible?” Odd, with Henry coming from Black. But I’d left money too. I shouldn’t assume everyone was a greedy sonofabitch.
“Well, yes. I guess so,” Bess said. “Our main thing is we want a short settlement period. The sooner we have the money, the sooner we can get started. We’ve been trying for eighteen months and it’s become this huge thing. Starting IVF as soon as possible would be a huge relief. But we know there’s a process with selling properties—open homes and such.”
Henry squeezed her shoulders. “We’d like to get an idea of what price similar houses are selling for in Green.”
He still didn’t trust me. That was fine. Vissimo frightened his wife and he was still pissed. That just made him a good partner.
“Live Right keeps up to date valuation records of each area,” I told the couple, drawing out the report and placing it before them. “This is the current valuation of your property.” I pointed to the numbers at the bottom.
“Seven hundred and seventy thousand.” Bess’s eyes widened. “We hadn’t expected that much with the value of houses dropping.”
I nodded grimly. “You haven’t had a great experience with Live Right so far, but I will tell you the decline in property value is forecasted to continue.”
Of course, now I knew why that was. The clans owned so much of the city that they controlled supply and demand. Not only did they make it far cheaper to rent than buy, but they relentlessly approached houses still privately owned. They’d progressively plugged demand and were now picking off remaining houses for cheaper as owners panicked and sold. Two years ago, this couple would have got at least one hundred thousand more for the same property.
“Live Right are working to ensure the house market doesn’t crash,” I grumbled.
Henry frowned. “What do you mean?”
“Oh shoot, I’m getting ahead of myself.” I scrounged up the line Katerina used on a solo mother last week. “I take from your comme
nt that you’ve noticed that houses in Green aren’t really selling.”
“We have,” Bess said uneasily. “Everyone’s talking about it.”
I nodded. “Live Right is the largest realtor in the city, and they’d like to stop the market imploding for the sake of house owners such as yourself—”
“They’re a business,” Henry scoffed.
I smiled. “—and because the house market crashing doesn’t bode well for a real estate company.”
He smiled sheepishly. “That makes more sense.”
Bess tapped the sheet. “So if we sold to Live Right, we wouldn’t need to do open homes or any of that?’
“Nope,” I said. “And Live Right offers a twenty-four-hour settlement.”
Henry leaned back.
I’d gone for the kill too soon.
I hurried to add. “They do that because they research properties extensively before offering these deals. They don’t offer this kind of thing to everyone, just select homes in target areas, and only to homes that they believe will make a difference to the market condition.”
There. That wasn’t so bad for talking out my ass.
“What’s the initial offer then?” Henry asked, studying the valuation. Bess looked at me eagerly, but Henry seemed regretful. They’d shown their desperation for money already. It weakened their position in a negotiation.
That was if I cared about how much money Kyros had.
“Let’s see,” I said, humming. “They give me three contracts, and I’m supposed to offer the valuation price of course, but I think the world needs more couples like yourself.”
“Why are you telling us this?” Henry asked, his gaze flying to mine.
I snorted. “I’m a terrible realtor. I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m fired soon.” And eaten for lunch.
He cracked a smile, and Bess laughed.
I slid the top contract in front of them. “Live Right won’t offer you more than this. I’d be surprised if anyone else does. However,” I stressed, “this is our same-day contract. You will have a week to move out, but settlement will be by 11:00 p.m. tonight.”
Their mouths bobbed open at the same time. “Eight hundred thousand!” Bess exclaimed.
Henry rubbed his jaw. “It’s far more than we expected. I just don’t understand why settlement has to be today.”
Blood Trial: Supernatural Battle (Vampire Towers Book 1) Page 27