Tapping his foot, Darren let out an exasperated sigh. “That was different. Today, we prepare the house, and tonight, you will stay in your room or better yet go visit a friend. Now, get dressed and meet me in the kitchen. We have a lot of work to do.”
Closing the door, I proceeded to do as he asked. What kind of people have two parties in one week? The rich kind, obviously. Except it seemed like this time, it would be a bigger affair. What about Darren’s comment? I understood the whole stay in my room bit. I was the help, no one wanted to see the help hanging around while they were trying to get their freak on.
However, asking me to leave the house altogether? That was a bit strange.
Trying not to think about it too much, I brushed my teeth and cleaned my face before heading downstairs. Gretchen was in the kitchen, cooking something that was not breakfast for me. On the table was a box of donuts with my name on it. Not literally but I could hear it singing out to me.
Eat me, Piper. You know you want to. We taste so good.
Sighing as I took a seat, I bit into the pastry. I really needed to get a life. One outside of work.
“Make sure you eat plenty this morning.” Gretchen raised a brow at me. “If you think they have been working you hard now, you haven’t seen their parties.”
I slid my gaze over to Darren. The bastard ratted me out. Was nothing sacred in this house? Apparently not. I was on my own after all.
After I finished eating and drinking a whole pot of coffee, I turned to Darren. “So, boss, what’s on the agenda for today? Maybe painting the whole mansion? Or cooking a dinner for one hundred in one day?”
Gretchen snorted. “You leave the cooking to me, and if they ever gave me that short of notice for a hundred people, I would quit on the spot.”
“Oh, no, you wouldn’t,” Darren shot back with a pointed look.
Gretchen sighed. “You’re right I wouldn’t, but I would spank some butts!” She and Darren laughed heartily. I could tell they had been together a long time. They even had their own private jokes. I half wanted to be in on those jokes, but I also didn’t want to be a maid for the rest of my life.
Their laughter cut off when Antoine showed up in the doorway of the kitchen. He nodded at Darren and the smiled at Gretchen. “Good morning, Miss Gretchen. Could you please add two more people to the place setting for this evening? The two we thought weren’t come have changed their minds.”
“Of course, Master Durand.” Gretchen smiled back at him like a grandmother would her grandson. It was a bit endearing had I not thought Antoine was a bit of an ass. A hot one but an ass none the less.
“Miss Billings.” The tone of his voice changed from courteous to stern. “I expect Darren has told you about tonight’s event. Everything must be perfect, so try not to break anything or antagonize any of my brothers today.” I flushed as I realized he was talking about my encounter with Rayne yesterday. “We’re all a bit on edge, and I can’t be held responsible if something should happen to you.”
I couldn’t tell if Antoine was worried for me or just didn’t want to be bothered by an incident. Either way, I got the message. Keep my head down, do my job, and stay out of the way.
“Understood, Mister Durand.” I nodded and then waited for Antoine to leave so I could finish eating the one good thing that had happened to me this week.
Antoine, however, didn’t leave. He put his hands behind his back and strolled toward me. Gretchen and Darren seemed to hold their breath as Antoine moved closer to me. He stopped at the island and leaned onto the counter next to me.
“I also wanted to be sure we have an understanding of a different matter.” His face was so close to me, it was strange and exciting. It made special tingles go through my body, and I had the sudden urge to lean toward him and bask in his scent. “Please refrain from speaking ill of my brothers and me in such a public setting. If you have any complaints, I expect you to handle time professionally and not scream them at the top of your lungs.”
When I realized last night’s ‘Bite me!’ was what he had been talking about, my face burned with embarrassment. Darren had been right about their hearing all right. I should have been more careful.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it—”
Antoine’s fingers covered my lips startling me. “Enough. I simply wish to remind you to think before you speak, because the next time you tell someone to bite you …” He leaned forward until I could feel his breath on my face. “… Someone just might.”
With that, Antoine was gone, and I was trying to relearn how to breathe. Glancing between Gretchen and Darren, who looked amused by the whole situation, I cried out. “What the fuck was that?”
9
I could hear the party downstairs from my bedroom. The music beat through the floorboards, making it impossible to ignore it. Obviously, since I was the help, I wasn’t invited. However, that didn’t stop me from wanting to sneak a peek.
Flipping the page of my book, I forced myself to stare at the pages even though I wasn’t really getting any of the story in. The book was some paranormal romance about vampires and werewolves, something that wouldn’t happen in the real world, and I couldn’t get into it. Not when I had my very own set of sexy men to daydream over.
Giving up, I threw the book to the side and stood from my bed. Maybe a nice bath would help me forget about the party I was missing out on. I disrobed on my way to the bathroom, rolling my shoulders as I unhooked my bra.
Starting the water, I poured in some bath salts I had bought on my last shopping trip. Usually, I wouldn’t waste the money on such needless items, but now that I didn’t have to worry about food or housing, I found myself with more money than I had been used to in the last few months.
When the water filled the tub, I stepped into the steaming liquid and sighed. I piled my hair up on my head in a messy bun and then sank into the water up to my neck. That’s the stuff.
I didn’t know why I was bothered by the party at all. I had never been a big socializer to begin with. Parties were things I flinched at the thought of, let alone going to it. Maybe it was the fact that I knew the guys I’d started to see as mine were down there, no doubt being drooled over by the rich and frivolous women. They were all probably batting their eyelashes at them and shoving their fake boobs into their arms.
Snorting, I shifted in the tub. They were probably having the time of their life, Rayne most of all. He seemed to be the type to thrive on the attention, even if he wouldn’t give me the time of day. Drake and Allister would let the women come to them. They weren’t the type to chase after anyone. Well, besides me but that’s only because they were messing with me. Nothing more.
Now, Wynn, I would like to say he wouldn’t even be interested, but I knew a charmer when I saw one. I’d been on the receiving end of his flirting, and it was merciless. The women downstairs wouldn’t know what to do with themselves. They were probably arguing over who got to have him first. I chuckled a bit at the thought and even to my ears it was bitter.
Stop it, Piper. You’re the maid. They’re your employers. What did you think would happen?
Forcing the thoughts down, I focused on my little fantasy. Antoine and Marcus with their aloof personalities wouldn’t even pay any mind to the women around them. Antoine might talk to them but only to the extent of what was polite, never giving them the chance to misunderstand him. Marcus would just glare. That would be enough to scare any unwanted attention away.
It’d been a while since I’d been with anyone. I didn’t keep boyfriends for very long. Usually, they thought I was too abrasive to keep around. I didn’t pay enough attention to them.
If they were worth paying attention to, then I would. I snorted and rolled my eyes.
I couldn’t see myself ever getting bored with any of the Durand brothers. They were all unique in their own way. If anything, I might die of a heart attack from the way they kept surprising me. Those ladies down there didn’t know how lucky they were.
My body warmed at the thought of any of their hands on me. That thought turned into a dark fantasy where I was surrounded by all six brothers, each of them taking their turn to touch and caress me. As my mind wandered so did my hands, cupping my breasts and tweaking my nipples until I gasped. I imagined Wynn’s long fingers slipping between my thighs and rubbing circles around my clit.
My breathing came in short pants now as I leaned my head back on the edge of the tub. Drake and Allister would take the fight for my lips, each of them trying to outdo the other, while Rayne would fondle my breasts. Marcus’s thick fingers would tease my pussy, only dipping one finger in until I was begging for more.
Antoine, however, would not share me. He would watch from the sidelines. Those intense eyes staring at me while his brothers devoured me, watching and waiting his turn until he could have me. He would lock eyes with me as the hands on me worked me until I cried out in ecstasy.
When I came down from my self-inflicted high, I felt like a fool. I laughed bitterly as I rubbed a wet hand over my face. What the hell was I thinking? None of them would be with me, let alone share me. I was a lowly maid. Nothing more.
Climbing out of the tub, I wrapped a towel around myself. As I pulled on my pajamas, I heard something from outside my room. Inching my way toward the door, I checked that it was indeed locked. I moved away from the door but heard it again and more distinctly.
A moan. And not just any moan but a woman’s. An unreasonable amount of anger filled me at the sound of it. I couldn’t have them, so they had to rub it in my face? They couldn’t take their women to their room and defile them?
My blood raged in my veins as I ripped the door open. I recognized the broad back pressing a blonde-haired woman against the wall immediately. Drake. Of course, it would be Drake. The smug bastard couldn’t leave well enough alone.
Ready to give the man a piece of my mind, I cleared my throat. “Do you mind?”
Slowly, Drake turned from the woman, and I gasped. His eyes practically glowed in the dim hallway and had a sinister hunger in them. Drake licked his lips where a dark liquid covered his chin and lower lip. My hand came up to my mouth as I stifled a gasp.
Drake let the women in his arms go, and she sagged to the floor her eyes closed. I didn’t have the courage to check if she was still alive, Drake was moving toward me. I scrambled backward and barely got the door closed and locked before he began to bang on it.
“Pretty girl, come out and play,” Drake crooned through the wood. When I didn’t answer, he banged on the door some more and said sweet nothings to try and get me to open up.
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see it and backed all the way up until I was on my bed. I wrapped my arms around my knees and rocked back and forth as I stared at the door. My mind whirled a mile a minute at what I had seen, not wanting to believe it was true.
It makes sense when I think about it. Of course, they are vampires.
The heavy drapes. The barely eating, if at all. I had never seen them eat. I’d only ever seen them drink those silver containers. Which now that I think of it, that red liquid on Rayne’s lips had not been beet juice but blood. How had I been so stupid? All the signs were there. They didn’t come out until night time. The warnings to not interact with them and to lock the door at night. They had tried to tell me in their own way.
Even Darren trying to get rid of me the first day had been a warning. He had tried to keep me from getting hurt. My heart warmed slightly at the man’s unorthodox way of showing he cared. He obviously knew about them. Gretchen probably didn’t. She didn’t come in often enough, but it would be easy for me to figure it out. I was surprised I hadn’t until now.
You were too caught up in your fantasies of them to care.
I scowled at myself for my sex driven brain. I could have easily let myself be eaten by them with all the times I was alone with them, and when I thought about it, I almost had. The incident with Drake came to mind, and I shuddered at how close I’d been to getting bit.
The pounding on my door had stopped. Drake must have given up and gone back to his victim for the night. I worried for the woman and the rest of the guests downstairs, but my own survival was my primary concern. I was no hero that was for sure. Not that I’d ever claimed to be. The only thing on my mind was getting out of there without getting bit or, worse, killed. Man, I really had loved this job.
10
I didn’t get a wink of sleep that night. As soon as I got my wits about me, I packed my bag and waited until dawn. If they were vampires, they wouldn’t be able to go outside in the sunlight. Also, experience told me they wouldn’t be up this early anyway.
I grabbed my bag and slowly moved to the door. I hesitated before I flicked the lock and opened the door without warning. No one was waiting outside my door, but that didn’t make me relax. As far as I knew, someone was waiting to jump me at the front door.
My eyes moved to the spot I’d seen Drake biting that woman before. However, there was no sign that it ever happened. No blood, no body. Just the empty hallway.
Part of me wanted to believe that I had imagined it. That it was all a bad dream, but deep down inside of me, I knew it hadn’t been. I was stupid to even think it might be a fantasy.
A smart person would have gone out the back, but my car was still parked in the front. If I went through the back, I’d risk the chance of running into Gretchen or Darren who were no doubt in the kitchen right now. I didn’t want Gretchen to know anything was wrong, and Darren would figure it out right away and might tell Antoine. Couldn’t have that.
I winced at every creak the floor made as I made my way through the hallways and down the staircase. The bottom floor was still a mess from the party the night before. It would probably be on my list of chores to clean up today, but I’d left my room before they could leave me my little note.
Almost home free, my shoulders relaxed as my hand touched the doorknob. I began to turn it only to find that it wouldn’t move. I twisted it and jerked on the knob but nothing. My heart beat rapidly in my chest, and I realized I had to go through the back. I didn’t have a choice.
However, before I could head that way, a voice stopped me. Frozen to the spot, I wanted to pretend like I hadn’t heard Antoine calling my name. Every inch of me wanted to run, to scream for help, but I knew no one there would help me. I was on my own.
“Don’t make me ask twice, Piper.” Antoine’s warning tone told me I better come to him, or I wouldn’t like the outcome.
Sitting my bag down on the ground, I turned around and made my way to where Antoine sat in the living room. My eyes locked onto where he lounged on the couch, completely at ease. On the coffee table in front of him was the piece of the vase I had broken on the first day.
I stopped at the edge of the couch not moving any further, my eyes flickering between him and the vase. “What can I help you with, Mister Durand?” I decided to pretend like I didn’t know anything about last night, about what they were. No need to let him in on it if he didn’t know.
Antoine smiled slightly. “Now, let’s not pretend here. I have far too much respect for you to do that.” He gestured to the chair across from him. “Please, have a seat.”
I glanced down at the seat and then back to Antoine. “I think I’ll stand.”
The smile on his face wilted slightly. “Very well.” He shifted in his seat and adjusted his suit jacket. “It seems one of my brothers has let our little secret slip. Now, you understand that I can’t just let you leave knowing what you know.”
My heart pounded in my chest at the implications of his words. It was no idle threat. Just me knowing what they were made me a threa
t to their very being. I’d be disappointed if he didn’t want to kill me. It would make things kind of melodramatic if he just let me leave.
“Now get that look off your face, I’m not going to kill you.” Antoine clasped his hands in his lap, one leg crossed over the other.
I squinted at him. “You’re not?”
“No,” Antoine answered simply and then sighed, rubbing his forehead with his forefingers. “See, you have to understand our situation here, Miss Billings.”
“Oh, I understand perfectly.” I snorted and crossed my arms over my chest. “You are a bunch of blood-sucking fiends that use your looks to get your bloodsucking on.” Now that I had opened my mouth, I couldn’t seem to stop the outpour. “How many people have you killed? How many maids? Is that why you needed a new one?” I scoffed and wagged my finger at him. “But let me tell you this, I will not be the next one on your munchy list.”
Antoine stared at me calmly. “Are you quite finished?”
A bit taken back by his words, I paused and then nodded. “Yes, I suppose I am.”
“Good, now to answer your questions, zero is the number of people we have killed. Unlike those ridiculous movies you humans are determined to burn your brains out with, we vampires need blood to survive, but we don’t drink until death. Our stomachs couldn’t handle that much in any case, and for another, if we killed everyone we bit, then we wouldn’t be able to stay under the radar.
“For your second question, no, we haven’t eaten our previous maids. The reason we have gone through so many is that each and every one of them couldn’t keep their noses in their own business or were so enamored by my brothers that they would sneak into their beds. It really became quite a problem. My brothers would fight over them, and all sorts of chaos would be unleashed.”
I could totally see that. The brothers were something to behold. If I didn’t need the job so bad, I would have jumped on them the moment I could. Thinking about it now, it seemed my money troubles were the least of my worries. Not getting eaten was pretty high on the list.
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