by Opal Carew
They serve us, so when it matters, we need to be there for them.
It was a message so at odds with how things had been even five years ago. Everything he’d been experiencing – the nightmares, his interaction with Jacob, what he saw in Debra’s mind—was telling him it was time for a vital paradigm shift.
What had Jacob said? Practice what you preach?
As he turned to take his leave, his gaze passed over the male in question, standing behind Lyssa’s chair. Jacob’s blue eyes flickered with approbation, Brian supposed about his decision to go to Tennessee. Not that he needed a human’s approval, but Brian gave the man a nod.
Taking Debra’s arm because she looked a little rooted in place, he gave her a nudge toward the door. She jerked into motion, but he could feel she was nonplused as she followed him back to the lab. He heard the flood of thoughts in her head. What just happened? How did he know? Would Jacob have…no, Jacob wouldn’t betray my confidence. So he was…listening?
Once in the lab, Brian took a seat on the rolling stool he favored and turned to where she stood uncertainly in the center of the floor. She’d been on firm footing in front of three of the most powerful vampires in the world, yet she felt on quicksand with her own Master. He could fix that. Or enjoy the benefits of keeping her off balance.
“Come here,” he said, reaching out a hand.
She came, further bemused by how he grasped her wrist and tugged her between his spread knees.
“Yes, I listened to your mind,” he said. He saw how the stern set to his mouth put her on alert. Good. “As far as Jacob betraying your confidence, I agree, he’s a good friend who wouldn’t do that. But since when do you feel you have the right to keep any secrets from your Master?”
She set her jaw. “I wasn’t trying to keep secrets. I just don’t want you to have to worry about things like that.”
“Like my servant’s wellbeing?”
She looked away. “I serve you, my lord. Not the other way around.”
When he probed, he discovered she’d literally built a wall around those feelings, thick as the scar on a badly mended heart, protecting an area he hadn’t visited in quite a while. The woman who’d been willing to go into a rogue vampire lair, risking torture and death, was terrified of taking this step again, when he’d set her back on her heels so harshly last time. That wall was in the center of those dark places he’d waded through the day before, like a castle with a poisoned moat, affecting everything around it, making the despair grow.
As a result of that realization, he had to rein back his compulsion to hammer at that wall, bring it down. It didn’t take a scientist to realize that wasn’t the best approach. She’d built it over time; it would take time to bring it down, draw out the poison, so her heart could beat and feel freely again.
So he was going to do something he rarely did. Let his feelings lead him. Standing in a room with the world’s most powerful vampires, seeing how most of them felt about their own servants, he felt a new, refreshing determination to try something different from what he’d been raised to do.
“You serve me very well, Debra. Your generosity of spirit and submission run so deep, you make it entirely possible for your Master to be a bastard of the first order.”
Her gaze snapped up to him. “My lord—”
He shook his head, stopping her. “We’ll deal with the generosity of spirit later. The submission has been a bit of an unfilled well of late, hasn’t it?”
Her brow knitted. Curving his hands over her hips, then sliding down to grip her lovely backside, he brought her even closer. As he kneaded, enjoying the pleasure of fondling his servant and how she responded to his touch, he spoke in her mind.
When I spanked you yesterday, your mind opened up. I’ve been depriving myself of that well, splashing around in the shallows. You need to feel the strength of your Master’s will more often. And his hand.
She looked confused, but her body was responding to his touch. As was her pounding heart. She didn’t know how to respond, since Yes, Master might seem self-serving. He liked confounding that sharp mind. Not to diminish it, but to see what other things came forth when she gave herself to sensation and pure feeling.
“Mason is right. We’re at a good place on our ongoing projects.” He gave her a leisurely perusal. “So tonight we stop at midnight. I’m in the mood for stargazing on the south lawn, where we can see the moon rise. It will be a warm night. I want you to wear sheer white lace panties and that low cut bra that goes with them. Put on your highest heels, as well as your lab coat. Leave it open.” He threaded her pony tail through his fingers. “Leave your hair down. You don’t wear it that way often enough. That will change.”
“Yes, my lord.”
He touched her chin, made her lift her wary gaze to his. “I may be your lord, but there’s one thing I am that belongs to you alone, Debra. It pleases me when you call me by that name.”
“Master.” It came out a whisper and he nodded, restraining the overwhelming urge just to take her right then and there. He wanted to drive up her anticipation, help her knock a layer off that wall he’d forced her to build. He could feel her fear as much as her anticipation, and it curdled in his gut, the things it told him about her…and himself.
“Good.” He stepped back. “Let’s get to work then.”
Chapter Four
Debra spent the early evening dealing with mixed emotions, as well as grappling with the shocking idea that Brian was randomly listening to her mind. But that wasn’t the only thing he did that kept her in a distracted state. As he went back and forth between workstations, several times he detoured to where she sat at her desk. He nudged her hair aside, kissed her throat, his hands at her waist coming up to casually cup her breasts, stroke. As he did, he asked how her data was going, solicited feedback from her. Sometimes he just put his hands on her shoulders, kneaded the tight muscles there and in her neck. The sexual undercurrent was there, but it was fueled by the intimacy, rather than him actively trying to arouse her.
When he asked her to get them a candy bar at ten, he took a bite of the snack from her fingertips, nipping them lightly. After she took the candy back to her desk, she had a couple more bites, but left half of it for later, because he called her back over to him. It wasn’t work-related, however, at least not immediately. He brought her close, inhaled her breath, licked a bit of the sugar off her lips.
“You have a sweet tooth, my—Master.”
“I do. I should indulge it more often.” As he delved deeper, his tongue tasting the chocolate flavor that lingered in her mouth, he leaned against the counter, his arm banded around her waist to keep her steady. When he raised his head, her knees were quivering at the look in his eyes.
“You’ll get sick,” she managed.
“Maybe. Lady Helga thinks we should assign a much higher priority to vampire digestive issues, especially when it comes to chocolate.”
“Of course.” Trying to appear casual about all of it, she straightened as he let her go, adjusted her lab coat under his amused gaze. “Coming up with the vampire version of Tums is far more critical than resolving the fertility limitations that could result in species extinction.”
His grin warmed her from head to toe. Then he glanced back down at what he was doing. “Can you put that equation up on the board so we can both look at it? Something’s not coming out right.”
She complied, and he shifted to stand by her side. Her brow creased, the variables arranging themselves in her mind. She could see what concerned him. As he hooked a thumb in her back waistband, hip comfortable against hers, he opened his mind to hers.
“What about that value there?” He pointed. “If we switch that out, replace it as an unknown…”
They sorted and rearranged. At a certain point she couldn’t tell which of them was working which part of the problem, but then she stepped forward, using her fingers on the touch screen to eliminate one part and add in other variables as they’d done in their minds.<
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“Yes.” His eyes lighted up. “That’s it.”
She nodded. “That will remove one of the limiting assumptions. It will make the calculations more complex, but then we’ll definitely have better control of the overall study.”
“Excellent. We might just have time left over for that Tums development after all.”
She chuckled at that, shook her head, and went to attend to the change in her files. As confused as she was, it was the best day she’d spent with him in a while. She felt in sync on every level, not just in the research they were doing.
Then she realized the rest of her candy bar had vanished off the counter. Quick as a shot, she ducked under her desk and caught the small fist about to jam the rest of the candy into an open mouth. “Kane, no,” she said sharply.
The born vampire, not much more than a toddler in age, gave her his mother’s jade you-will-die-puny-mortal stare. Ignoring that, she nevertheless had difficulty wresting it from him. Fortunately, Brian came to her aid. “You are getting to be a strong little cuss,” he said, but took the candy out of range. “How many times do we have to tell you that chocolate will make you sick?”
“You ate,” Kane said sullenly.
“Yes, a bite. You were about to swallow half of it whole. John?”
As Brian raised his voice, the young man appeared outside the lab door. He’d no doubt followed Kane, but had hung back when he realized Brian was present. When it was just Debra, he usually came right in. She had a great fondness for John. The young man was in lanky adolescence, but he had a maturity and patience far exceeding his age, likely a genetic boon from his grandfather. Elijah Ingram had the patient steadiness of a stone, and a foundation of compassion and generosity of spirit structured with steely self-discipline. His grandson showed all those burgeoning traits. It made her miss her own grandfather all the more when she was around either one of them, and was another reason she’d bonded with John.
“Sorry about that, sir.” John crouched in front of Kane. Studying the chocolate smeared on the little vampire’s mouth, he gave him a gimlet eye. “Your daddy is going to whip your butt for sure if he finds out you got hold of that.”
“I should have put it away,” Debra said.
“No,” Brian said. “He knew it was wrong. You don’t learn self-control by not testing it. Here.” Pulling it off the table, Brian knelt by John and handed it back to Kane. “Take the rest. Eat it. See what happens.”
“My lord,” John said, surprised, but Brian gave him a sharp look.
The boy subsided, pressing his lips together. Though John was clearly protective of his friend, he didn’t sass his elders, human or otherwise. It was respect rather than fear, however, for Debra knew no one on the estate except his grandfather would ever touch a hair on his head. Lady Lyssa’s protection was upon the human child as much as that of her own son. Not only were the two children fast companions, it was an oath she’d made to Elijah Ingram when he’d agreed to be majordomo of her estate.
Kane knew he wasn’t supposed to be disrespectful to adults, either, so he didn’t snatch the bar back like a wild animal. But after he took it, he didn’t put it in his mouth right away. Instead, he studied Brian, his green eyes measuring the scientist’s intent, thoughts whirling in his busy brain.
If a vampire ate too much human food, they’d feel deathly ill for a day or so. Like seasickness, no amount of vomiting relieved the feeling. The person suffering would wish they were dead, for sure, but death was not the result. Just massive discomfort and, as Helga had noted, there was no aid for vampire indigestion. Most vampires only had to make the mistake once never to repeat it. No matter how many centuries they lived, it was a lesson that never faded from the mind.
While Kane’s parents and most of the estate had been trying to keep him from experiencing that, Brian had obviously decided that letting a child touch a hot stove was the best way to learn not to touch it, especially for a child carrying the genetics of two very stubborn people.
But he also had their shrewdness. Kane considered Brian’s unsmiling face. “Sick.”
“Very sick. But it won’t kill you.”
“Tastes good,” Kane complained.
“Yes, it does. Want to see a way around it?” Brian put out his hand.
After a considering pause, Kane turned over the candy bar. Reaching out, Brian clasped Debra’s hand and placed the candy bar against her pulse point, smearing chocolate there. Then he lifted it to his mouth, tasting the sweetness just before he bit into the vein, a light penetration that nevertheless had her fingers curling so they grazed his chin. Brian’s lips curved against her flesh. He took a small draught only, then closed the wound, licking the rest of the blood and chocolate off of it.
He nodded to Kane. “Putting a flavor you like over the blood gives it a lasting taste in your mouth. It helps satisfy the urge without eating too much.”
He handed back the candy bar. “Beyond the issue of making you sick, it wasn’t your candy bar. It was mine.”
“On her desk. Servant.”
They learn young, Debra thought, trying not to roll her eyes. She saw a similar flash of exasperation on John’s face. All the human staff were familiar with vampire arrogance. John could probably vouch firsthand for just how early in life a vampire started cultivating the trait.
Brian gave her a sidelong look. Vampire arrogance? Even me?
I didn’t mean you, my lord. She wondered if it was possible to pull off an inward version of a poker face.
You’re not good at the outward one. I like that about my servant.
He gave her a lingering look, and returned his attention to the child.
“Yes, it was on Debra’s desk. But what’s on my servant’s desk is mine, because she’s mine. Right? You take from her, you better be sure you have the permission of her vampire.”
She wished he felt that way about vampire social gatherings. Especially when Lord Graham was in attendance. She was already hoping they wouldn’t encounter him in Texas, but that was pretty close to his territory. The very thought that he might join them at the Texas overlord’s home had her tightening up, but she sent herself a firm admonishment. There was nothing she could do about it. She’d get through it, as she always did when she encountered him.
With a start, she realized she’d drawn Brian’s attention. His hazel eyes were suddenly much sharper, suggesting irritation. Anger? Because he’d been talking to Kane, she hadn’t expected him to be listening. But even if he was, he didn’t usually care about how she managed her solo appearances at vampire gatherings, anyway. He knew she’d handle them appropriately, for she’d proven she could, repeatedly. She tried to think of something to say to address whatever had aggravated him.
Fortunately Kane distracted them both. He handed her back the candy bar with a dignified nod, though he directed his words to her Master. “I apogize, Brin,” he said.
Brian’s mouth twitched at the solemnly mangled English. “Apology accepted.” Then he broke off a small piece of the candy and handed it over. “Remember what I said.”
Kane’s eyes lighted on John. The boy was already second marked by the young vampire and occasionally offered him blood, though his mother and father were still his primary source for the time being. Jo, a second mark on the estate, also served as his blood nanny when the demands on Lyssa as Council head made regular feedings difficult.
John shook his head vehemently. “Forget it. You’re not putting that sticky stuff on me. Let’s go find Jo.”
As Kane preceded him out of the lab, his stalk a short-legged, less steady version of the haughty sweep his mother had perfected, John gave Debra a hopeful look. “Can I stake him? Just once? You guys could bring him back to life, right?”
Brian chuckled. “Dr. Frankenstein I’m not, John. And I wouldn’t advise saying that around Lady Lyssa.”
“She threatens his life all the time.” John, unimpressed, followed Kane out. A few moments later they heard the boys take off like a cha
rge of cavalry, indulging their favored pastime of striking all the suits of armor on the main hallway that led back to the living quarters of the estate.
Giving her a humorous look, Brian shook his head and turned back to his work on the counter. She studied his back. The nerves in her wrist were still tingling from his lips, her mind whirling at emotions he’d revealed as he delved into her mind. She wasn’t sure what was going to happen later tonight, but he had her unbalanced, for certain. She was afraid, anxious, aroused…anticipating. But mostly afraid. Because her heart was considering the impossible.
Brian was gazing into his microscope with that concentrated set to his mouth that always made her want to nibble on his lips. His hip was cocked, hand braced on the edge of the stainless steel counter, a lock of hair falling over his right eye, which was focused as a laser beam on what he was doing. She could almost feel his mind accelerate, the numerous calculations he was considering in that oblivious sexy pose.
Sometimes when she was close to him working, she had the urge to be like Whiskers. The cat was often found in the furnace room, asleep in a flat, furry puddle on top of the machinery. All those complex interior parts working together to produce a heated, humming vibration. She wanted to flatten herself against Brian, just feel him thinking, breathing. The pulse of his heart and mind made her world work, heated her through and through, the way the furnace kept the house warm.
God, she couldn’t resist him. That was what scared her most of all. She really had no choice, when it all came down to it. She couldn’t survive this attention if it wasn’t going to last…if it meant nothing. If it turned out to be another lie.
It was never a lie, Debra.
Her stomach leaped like a frog. He didn’t look up from the microscope, but she saw the tension in his shoulders, felt the flash of heat from his mind. She didn’t want to follow up on that, didn’t think she could. So she turned back to her own work.