by Joey W. Hill
A chap with a sharp voice answered. “Schultz residence.”
“This is Nina Smithfield. I’m calling on behalf of Lord Alistair.”
A pause, then the voice became less formal. “Ah, yeah. The new InhServ for his lordship. Welcome to the Region. This is Curtis, my Lord Donovan’s third mark. Been in his employ since the Great War. Worked explosives and nearly blew his arse up crossing a bridge.”
She blinked at the gregarious greeting. “So, after that, he decided you’d make the perfect servant for him?”
“Eh. Took a bit of time for that notion to grow. I pulled his body out of the wreckage, took him for dead, but then he revived enough to grab hold of me and damn near drink me dry. Too insensible to conceal what he was. We became mates for a short time, and then he offered me this gig. Said it’d be right up my alley, living on the edge. Kind of miss the excitement of it all, you know.”
She couldn’t imagine anything she missed less than seeing broken men being brought to her care, but she understood what he was saying. Living on the edge of life and death, things were crystal clear. Life was lived fully in the moment. It could make the mundane seem…grey. Or blissful, depending on your perspective.
“What was it…” He sounded as if he was searching his memory. “You were a nurse, weren’t you?”
“I was. I didn’t realize word had traveled.”
“A henhouse of gossips got nothing on vampires and servants, love. Have to shout you a beer when we meet. Was that why you were calling? Got the monthly tango coming up?”
“The monthly tango?”
“Where Lord Alistair and Lord Donovan pretend to be cordial while matching dick size. I heard you’re a pretty one. Can’t wait to see what they come up with for us to do for dinner entertainment. Wouldn’t mind sinking my wick into a sweet, wet InhServ. You’ll enjoy me. I keep the ladies happy.”
Had he really segued that simply into the high likelihood that their vampires would require them to have carnal knowledge of one another? Nina’s grip tightened on the edge of the desk. “I’m sure you do,” she said evenly. “Lord Alistair would like to meet on a Thursday next month…”
It took a few moments to align schedules, but then they had a date and time set. Which unfortunately would now be branded into her brain. She thought of the other night, with Lady Anahera and Tane. Alistair had made that work for her, had even helped her find enjoyment during it, if not acceptance in the aftermath. But in the unembellished light of reality, realizing her life might become a series of situations where she would be rogered by strangers, at the behest of her Master…she had a sudden desire to be on that train again, going far, far away.
“See you soon, love.” Curtis cut the call before she could say anything, leaving her more than a little uneasy. The feeling continued even after she set aside the sex game side of it. The whole call…despite Curtis’s apparent friendliness, bordering on instant camaraderie, it felt like a game of chess, where she was being measured. The dismissive way he’d ended the call said she’d been deemed a non-threat.
But why should she need to be a threat? What dangers did Donovan and Curtis pose that she could be a key piece in Alistair’s defense? She needed to ask Alistair. She didn’t want to be caught unprepared, but she also suspected getting past the learning curve as fast as possible was key to that preparation. God help her survive the lessons.
When she finished up the paperwork at dusk, she went down to the lower level. Expecting his door to be closed as usual, she was surprised to find it open, just a crack, and a heart-surging moment later, realized Alistair was still in his rooms. Which meant he was planning to be here this evening, or at least he was at the moment.
Right or wrong, she took that open door as an invitation, slipping in and following the sound of water to the bathroom.
His shower was so large, no curtain or doors to shield the surrounding room from water spray was needed. It had dual heads and a floor made up of tiny, smooth stones arranged like a spiral, the spiral in grey, the outlining stones in cream and light brown shades. There were benches on either side of it. She’d never seen anything so practical and decadent at once, but that wasn’t what had her attention now.
She leaned in the doorway. He had his back to her. The soap was in one hand as he lathered himself, working the creamy suds over his shoulders so they ran down his back in rivulets, over the taut arse. He put his foot on one of the benches, to work on that leg, giving her a glimpse of heavy testicles, the dark seam of his buttocks. She found herself caught up in visually tracing all the angles of his body, the protrusions of bone from his spine, and shoulder, the curves of biceps, the flex of his thighs and arse as he shifted. Then he braced himself against the wall of the shower as he lifted his foot and wiggled his toes beneath the fall of water to rinse them.
It affected her unexpectedly, the whimsical, vulnerable movement, something he might have done ever since he was a child. He was Region Master now, her Master. But he was also so much more, wasn’t he?
Sher had never even considered having any interests that didn’t serve her Master’s. While Nina couldn’t be that, she could be other things.
As Alistair shut off the shower, she picked up a fresh towel from the bin and came to him. When he turned, she realized he’d been deep in his mind on other things, because he looked genuinely surprised to see her there. As well as somewhat unsettled that she’d come upon him unawares. She dipped her head and offered the towel.
While there were many things that lowering her gaze could mean, getting a full, sweeping view of her wet, muscular and virile vampire Master wasn’t an unpleasant side effect of it.
But then she reached his toes and bit back a smile. As he took the towel from her, he gave her a bemused look. But when he started to flip the towel around to dry his back, she reached out again. “Even for vampires, I expect that’s a hard place to reach,” she said shyly.
“Yes. That’s true.”
He gave the towel back, but his hand closed over hers through the terry cloth an extra moment before he turned. As she ran the towel over his back, drying it, he tilted his head so she was in his peripheral vision. There were beads of water on his neck, sprinkled over his shoulders. She rubbed the towel over them, which brought her closer, her knee brushing his leg.
“Did you need something, Nina?” His tone was neutral, hard to read.
“I did some work in your office today,” she said. “Took some things off your list. I can do more of that, so when it’s convenient, there are some things I’d like to go over with you so I can help you more.”
He turned, retrieving the towel, wrapping it around his hips and hooking it there. “Not keeping you busy enough at the hospital?”
“We’re busy enough,” she said. “But my primary job is as your InhServ, isn’t it? I don’t mind helping to take care of you, too.”
He studied her, shifting to one hip. She sighed, tired of being diplomatic about it. “Wanting to have that as part of my life doesn’t mean I don’t want to share yours, you know. Help you.”
He made a noncommittal noise. “But my day is paperwork and politics. Dreadful stuff. Whereas you get to take care of two blokes who jump off a building onto a seesaw to see if they can propel themselves through the air like circus folk.”
So he did sometimes dip into her head to see what was going on with her day. The idea pleased her. She wouldn’t mind glimpsing what was going on in his. Politics and paperwork might not be all that scintillating, but being in his head, hearing his dry commentary about it all, being caught up in how he made decisions, the variables he weighed. She might like that quite a bit.
He didn’t react to that. He seemed more curious about her two foolish patients. “Did they learn their lesson?”
“Oh, of course.” She rolled her eyes. “They were so traumatized by it their mates smuggled in some beer and they were toasting one another when I came in to check their dressings. At least in the hospital they’re not at risk for
further terminal stupidity.”
“What happened to the beer?” Alistair’s lips curved slightly.
“The Matron confiscated it, much to their chagrin.”
“The Matron, hmm?” That curve became deeper. “How did she handle its disposal?”
“She divided it between the girls at the end of shift,” Nina said without missing a beat. “They sat around the picnic tables in back and toasted the generosity of stupid men. Tracy said they did share with the orderlies, though.”
“Very generous.” He chuckled and moved to the counter.
It was impossible for her not to enjoy the play of muscle across his back and at his waist, the stretch of the towel over his firm arse. But she had another purpose here, if she could focus around the bloody beautiful male. Before he noticed and acted on it, and then the rest would be hopeless for tonight.
As an InhServ, she could never refuse him, but she had a feeling even without that designation she’d be helpless to tell him no.
“So you didn’t share with them?” Alistair said, bringing her out of her head.
“It was close to dark then and I needed to head home. Nero was waiting.”
“Ah. Sorry about that.”
The casual apology startled her, and she shook her head. “No. You’ve been more than generous. I didn’t mean to sound—”
“You didn’t. Not in the slightest. I just know it’s nice to spend time with mates.”
But when was the last time you did? she thought. She cleared her throat. “I also…there’s a park nearby. I was going to have Nero drive me, but I thought…you’ve been working so hard, perhaps you’d like to do it with me tonight. We could pack my dinner and a few things for you, and enjoy the evening. It’s a pleasant night.”
She realized she really wanted him to say yes. For him, for both of them. Why couldn’t they find other moments like they had in the cottage? Couldn’t there be room for more quiet intimacies, shared experiences?
His gaze was on her face, her mouth, making her cheeks warm. She moistened her lips and let her knees give, taking her down before him, as she laid her hand on his thigh. She bowed her head, aware that his cock had twitched, was beginning to swell.
“May I give you pleasure, my lord?”
He trailed his fingers over the top of her head, along her ear. “You do, Nina. I’m in your mind while you’re working. I hear your laughter when you’re talking to Nero. I feel your dreams when you sleep.”
Most of the intimate things he said to her fell under the context and timing of when he took her body, fed from her. It had been a while since he’d said such a thing to her…like this.
She hadn’t had any nightmares since she’d come here. Since he had third marked her. Which gave his words additional significance. She looked up at him, dipping her head into his touch, enjoying his caress there. “Do you…can you influence my dreams, my lord?”
“I don’t know. Do I have that power?” The light smile on his face was tinged with something poignant.
“I meant in the literal sense,” she said, attempting to smile back.
“Yes, sometimes,” he said. “If your mind goes to dark places in your sleep, I can draw it back to better dreams.”
“Who does that for you, my lord?” she asked softly.
He said nothing for a few moments, and she lowered her gaze to rub her cheek along his upper thigh, turning her head to drag her lips along the side of his turgid sex. He made a warning noise, but she had no intent of taking it in her mouth until he gave her leave. She was simply expressing…devotion. It made her wonder at herself.
“I have no bad dreams,” he said at last. “Except for the ones where the paperwork in my office turns into a tentacled monster that devours me whole.”
She chuckled. “I tried to help reduce the size of the monster today.”
His gaze narrowed. “You could have worked at the hospital today.”
“I did work. For you.” Her fingers curled against his thigh. Saliva was gathering in the heated crevices of her mouth, she realized, an aching hunger. “Please, my lord. Let me please you.”
She needed his permission. Her realization of it, and his acknowledgement of her awareness, was reflected in the sudden stillness of his face. It only made her desire grow.
His touch along her face became more deceptively casual, a deliberate tease. “Are you happy, working at the hospital?” he asked.
“I am. I’m grateful to you for allowing it. But…” She nestled her face into his touch again, gazed down at his feet. “I miss you. I asked you if I had to lose myself to gain…other things. You’ve allowed me to hold onto a vital part of myself, but it feels as if to do that, I’ve had to sacrifice another possibility. A possibility…I want to explore more.”
“There are some paths that are one-way only, Nina. If you go down them, there’s no turning back.”
She closed her eyes as his thumb stroked over her lips then pressed between them, insistent. She sucked on the digit, teasing it with her tongue, and made a small noise in her throat as his cock jumped in reaction.
I am yours for three hundred years, my lord. That is the path Fate has given me, and I do not want to tread it alone. She lifted her eyes to his face. Do you?
In answer, he took her hand, drawing her to her feet. Before she could despair that he was going to rebuff her, he began to move backwards, drawing them into the shower. When they were both standing on that mosaic of smooth gray stones, he unhooked the towel, folded it over and dropped it at his feet, nodding to it as he braced a palm on the side of the shower wall. “I’ve a picnic to attend,” he said roughly. “Service your Master so we can get to it.”
The spear of pleasure his words shot between her legs, through her chest, was strong enough to have a quiver running through her thighs. But she knelt before him again, arousal spiking further at the sight of him from that perspective, all smooth, powerful muscle and an impressive erection, his blue eyes staring down at her with male hunger.
Gripping the base of his cock, she ran her thumb along the bottom of his shaft before she closed her mouth over his ridged head, savoring the musky taste of him, the teasing hint of salt as she played the tip of her tongue over his slit. His hand tightened in her hair, and she reveled in the demand.
She wanted to be a nurse. She also wanted a Master. One who would demand things of her, who would stretch her to her limits. He’d given her back herself, and won her trust. Which meant the things she thought she wanted had gained a far wider scope. Only he could help her explore that new terrain.
Damn right. The possessiveness was as welcome as his active presence in her mind. After his mention of her hapless seesaw patients, she wondered if he’d been there far more often than she’d realized, a part of the shadows. Standing amid her running mantra of whose vitals needed to be checked, what medications needed to be pulled, who needed her assistance most on the floor.
“How often do you think of me, sweet nurse?” There was a strain to his voice she treasured as she licked and sucked, teased. Nipped him deliberately with her teeth and flicked her gaze upward to meet his eyes in playful challenge.
Didn’t he know? But she answered, teasing him. Your head’s swollen enough, my lord, without me adding to it.
His teeth flashed, fangs lengthening, and he withdrew, sliding his hands under her arms in the same movement and putting her up against the shower wall.
“The size of my head is your doing. You and that double-edged tongue of yours.” He reached between them, up under the skirt. She gasped as he tore the underwear away, jerking it from her body so she clung to his upper arms for balance. He kept a secure arm around her waist, though, and held the tatters up where she could see.
“When you’re here, or with me, you don’t wear these anymore unless I order it. So I can do this without any impediment.”
Her fingers convulsed as he sheathed himself in once forceful, slick movement. Strewth, he’d become even bigger as she teased him, bi
gger than usual. The breath of effort she made as she worked her hips on him made his eyes flash with heat, his mouth tighten.
I like feeling you struggle to take me, Nina. Makes me harder. Makes me want to push you to the limits of your endurance and beyond, so you have to rely on me for strength. Except you’re so fucking strong, I don’t know if you have any limits I can test beyond bearing.
It was a peculiar thing for him to say, laced with some emotions her arousal made it too difficult to decipher, but then he was thrusting against her, and she could only hold on. He let her wrap her arms around his shoulders, tuck her face in against his, so she felt the hard planes of his jaw and cheek bone against her softer skin, the brush of his wet hair against her temple. She inhaled him, moaned at the strength of his invasion, her body already rippling with the response she wanted to give to him.
Gripping her arse with one powerful hand, he pushed her down on him. His knee braced on the bench gave him additional leverage. The wall vibrated behind them, and she realized he’d adjusted his other arm so his palm was cupping her skull, his forearm cushioning her between the shoulder blades as he hammered into her. Even with a third mark, she’d feel the results after this was over, between her legs. Enough to make her want to do it again, sooner rather than later.
He registered that, his blue eyes becoming fiercer, more vibrant, and she realized the power of it, of opening her mind fully to him, giving him everything there. Her inexplicable desire to be taken over. Owned. Cherished.
She faltered a little over that one, because it crossed into a realm she knew didn’t exist in his world, but he wrapped her loose hair around his knuckles, turned her face to accept his kiss, a deep, soul-touching kiss, offering her feelings that helped drive away those shadows again.
He could chase away her nightmares while she was awake as well.