by Jess Haines
“We’re here to see Mr. Royce. I know he’s probably resting, but—”
“You never fail to surprise me,” Royce said, cutting me off. Sara and I both jumped, not having heard him as he settled into a comfortable lean in the doorframe leading deeper into Alice’s rabbit hole. Scars or no, he always cut a fine figure. The ancient vampire hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt, his hands pocketed in his fashionably faded jeans, leaving his toned chest and corded arms bare to view. If he hadn’t scared the crap out of me, I’d have been eating up the view with my eyes and damn the consequences.
Wes inclined his head to Royce, taking a step back from us to resume his station at the table.
“I suppose you’ve come because you need my assistance with something.”
“Yes,” I agreed, putting myself between the vampires and Sara as surreptitiously as possible. She reached for my hand and I took hers, hiding my misgivings at the way she was trembling by presenting as calm a front as I could manage. “I’m sorry to put this on your plate, but the police seem to think that Chaz and the other Sunstrikers might not be too pleased with us thanks to an article that ran in today’s paper. They suggested we get gone until we’re approved for a witness protection program.”
“So you came to me,” he stated flatly, frown lines appearing between his black-as-pitch eyes. “I’m not in the habit of doing favors like this, Ms. Waynest. The legalities of my involvement would be questionable, if it is as you say. Unless you have something new to offer?” His gaze flicked to Sara, back to meet mine.
“Shia, forget it, let’s go,” Sara whispered. The urgency in her voice only made me more determined.
“Don’t involve Sara in this. Whatever you want, take it from me. All I’m asking is for you to give her a safe place to stay until the trial is over and it’s safe for her to go home. If I can stay for a little while, too—”
“Are you sure you want to offer me anything I ask for?” Royce drawled. He pushed off the doorframe, moving with all the sinuous grace of a panther, stalking toward me on bare feet. I didn’t flinch when he ran a fingertip over my cheek, testing the heat that no doubt rose from the blush marring my skin. “That could be dangerous. Very, very dangerous …”
Sara’s nails dug into my wrist, dragging me back to reality.
“Within reason, you perv. Don’t touch me.” My demand would’ve been more impressive if my voice hadn’t been shaking so badly.
He threw back his head and laughed, giving me an excellent view of his extended canines. Wes was rolling his eyes behind the paperback he’d resumed reading.
“Oh, you are a treat. All right, enough with the dramatics. No need to worry, Ms. Waynest, Ms. Halloway. You are welcome to stay, and have my word you won’t be in any danger while you’re with us,” Royce said. He slid past me to take Sara’s free hand, the one that wasn’t clinging to mine in a death grip. He brushed a kiss over her knuckles, smiling that wicked, winsome smile that had won him a place on the cover of innumerable fashion magazines. Her blush was as clear as her unease. “Mr. MacLeod will no doubt be pleased to see you again.”
“Oh, he’s here?” she stammered, drawing back. I stared blankly at this exchange. Since when did Sara know anything about Royce or his people?
“Indeed. It just so happens that one of the apartments on the first floor is available. Your timing is convenient, as I was about to have some tenants reassigned. For now, I’ll have Ryan and Louis help you get your things from the car. If you’re planning to bring those dogs inside, see that you keep them quiet. Many of my people are asleep for the day and won’t appreciate being woken by excessive noise.”
“Oh,” she said faintly, her grip finally loosening on me. “Oh, all right. Thank you. I’ll see what I can do.”
“Wesley, if you can see to that?” At the Vikingesque vampire’s nod, Royce turned his attention to me. “Ms. Waynest, might I have a word with you?”
Sara looked like the proverbial deer in headlights at being left alone. Come to think of it, I wasn’t thrilled with the idea of separating either, but now wasn’t the time to be ticking off the vampire. I gave her hand one last squeeze, passing her my car keys and leaving her with Wes. He was busying himself with an intercom set into the wall, telling someone named Julio to kick Louis’s lazy ass out of bed.
Royce pointed out the apartment that I’d be sharing with Sara for the next month, then led the way to the stairwell at the far end of the building, saying nothing as we headed up to the third floor. On the way, a yawning guy who could have modeled for Calvin Klein ads in his spare time passed us, giving Royce a nod and me a curious look on his way down the stairs. His chiseled features looked familiar, but I couldn’t remember if that was Ryan or Louis, one of the human servants catering to the vampires in the building.
Sara would fit right in with all the pretty people here. I felt like the redheaded stepchild from hell, particularly with my hopelessly frizzy hair, utter lack of any curves where they counted, and the scars on my face, stomach, and arm acquired in my “adventures” over the last year or so.
Not that I was really worried about fitting in with a bunch of vampires and their servants. Yeesh.
When we reached the top floor, Royce let me precede him into the giant, wide open room with its Greek statuary of long-dead gods lit by tiny spotlights. All the windows were, of course, shuttered for the day, leaving the space in a semblance of twilight. The little lights helped brighten the room by reflecting from the mostly bare hardwood floor, giving the illusion of walking on a carpet of stars.
There was a girl seated cross-legged on one of the chaise lounges in the middle of the room, a stack of books to one side of her, typing furiously on the laptop balanced between her legs. She was effortlessly lovely in that way that some girls manage to pull off. The smooth, clear skin that needed no makeup to the grace infused in the simple motion of absently sweeping long auburn tresses out of her eyes made her a vision of quiet, calm beauty that was right at home amidst the statuary. She glanced at us briefly then did a double take, fingers pausing over the keyboard.
“Jessica, will you excuse us, please? I need a moment alone with Ms. Waynest.”
She shrugged, packing up her laptop. “Sure. I’ll come back for the books later. Let me know when you’re ready.”
He drew her to him when she rose, cupping her cheeks as though she were made of the finest, most fragile porcelain. I was admittedly shocked at the—dare I say it—tender way he kissed her. She rose on tiptoe to meet him, and I looked away, feeling far too much like a voyeur, even though they weren’t doing anything terribly inappropriate.
When they broke the kiss, she gave me a cheery smile and a wave, practically skipping out of the room. She was far too … too … nice to be so intimate with someone like Royce. The way his eyes followed her as she left the room spoke of hunger, but not the kind that lusted for blood. He wanted something else from that girl, something less tangible. The implications made my head, already hurting, reach whole new levels of what-the-fuck.
“She will be John’s replacement in due time,” he remarked, blinking and turning his attention to me. Though it didn’t surprise me that he hadn’t found a replacement for his turncoat flunky yet, that he wanted a woman—a human woman—to take the place of the dead vampire was entirely unexpected. I wasn’t sure what expression I had on my face—maybe incredulity—but Royce was amused by it. His smile widened, and he gestured to the chaise. “Please, sit.”
Once I did, he chose a seat facing me, settling back in the cushions and propping his feet up. He was far too relaxed and cheerful for my peace of mind. I wasn’t used to seeing him this way—not at all.
He saved me from having to explain myself by resuming the persona I was more familiar with. Royce-at-home was not the same as Royce-at-the-office, and the disparities bugged me for no reason I could readily put my finger on.
“Now, then. To business. Knowing you, I don’t dare assume that you came with the intention of allowing m
e to turn you.”
I nodded, biting my lower lip. Whatever he expected in payment would most likely involve my opening a vein—which wasn’t something I was terribly excited about doing. I’d thought he wanted me for other reasons, but his actions with Jessica made me question his motives on levels I hadn’t previously thought to explore.
“If you turn Were, I can’t have you stay here. Sara can remain, but you would present too much of a hazard to my people. I have properties upstate, but I usually require some form of exchange when I offer shelter to those who come to me. I know the state of your finances. You have few reserves to call on, and fewer friends to back you or trade in that most valuable commodity, information. Despite what you have done for me in the past, I would call our debt to each other even by now. That does not leave many options. What do you intend to offer, Ms. Waynest?”
“I’m not sure what you want. You’ve already got willing donors, and I don’t even want to think about you bumping uglies with somebody—least of all, me.”
He chuckled at that, folding his hands behind his head and giving me a wicked smile. “Are you sure? You’ve never once thought about it? What it might be like?”
“Don’t play games with me,” I said, more harshly than I intended. At his sardonic look, I swallowed hard, and my voice shook, but I somehow managed to meet his gaze levelly. “Clearly you’ve got Miss Sunshine to fool around with. You don’t need me for that.”
“That all may very well be true, but you have not yet answered my question. I expect an answer, Shiarra. My patience is not limitless.”
I closed my eyes and clenched my hands in my lap to hide how they shook, praying I was making the right decision this time, that I wasn’t plunging into an abyss from which I might never return. Despite his threat, Royce waited for me to gather myself enough to answer him, unmoving, not speaking, intent upon my response. I gathered my courage and gave him what he was waiting for.
“Keep Sara safe, and let her go when it’s time. None of your people can touch her or even talk to her about a contract. Arnold is searching for a cure for lycanthropy, so there’s a greater chance I won’t turn Were. In exchange for offering us sanctuary, I’ll be yours on more than paper.”
His black eyes were pitiless cold pits when I met them. His voice was low, smooth, as empty of emotion as his eyes. “Explain.”
Though I wanted to hide away, to flinch from him, to escape this life and start over somewhere new, I had no time to come up with a better solution. The words spilled from my mouth, hollow, dry, like someone else was saying them. I needed to remember to breathe or I might very well pass out from the strain of offering what shreds were left of my soul to this monster on a silver platter.
“I won’t fight you, I won’t try to seek vengeance, and I won’t try to avoid it like I have in the past. I’ll submit to a blood bond, and offer my blood to you willingly. It’ll be yours to take whenever you want.”
Chapter 30
“No.”
I blinked, the haze of shrieking terror clamoring in my mind receding at his unexpected response. “Excuse me?”
“I won’t take what isn’t offered freely. You’re selling yourself out of some misguided sense of obligation. You do not want me or what I have to offer, and I won’t accept the blood of a donor who doesn’t truly desire to be in such a position. Not when my survival is not dependent upon it. Despite what you may think, and regardless of how other vampires may operate, that is not how I choose to treat those who have contracted themselves to me. It’s too intimate an act to ask so much of another.”
I sat there for a long moment, too stunned to speak. Royce had never given me the impression he wanted anything but to have access to parts of me I’d never thought I’d be willing to give him. That he’d essentially pointed out I’d be reluctantly whoring myself to him—though not in as many words—was enough to set me to blushing furiously, running my palm down my face as I tried and failed to come up with a reply that wouldn’t make me look like an even bigger fool.
“Might I make a suggestion?” he said, once it became clear I was too embarrassed to speak. At my hesitant nod, he continued. “Perhaps an offer of friendship is in order. We have not had much opportunity to get to know each other outside of life-threatening events.”
I gradually lowered my hand from my face, staring at him blankly. He was as still and calm as before, lounging, relaxed and sated, in the cushions, much like he’d been placed just so to model how truly appealing he could be.
To say I was thunderstruck would be like calling the sky blue. Next obvious observation, please.
He spoke softly, in a light and pleasant voice, as though we were chatting over tea. “If that doesn’t suit you, I often need people to cover various functions at my businesses—catering, kitchen work, security—any of which you might be able to assist with if you’re needed on short notice. For as long as you’re here, if you can help with those activities when asked, and perhaps during those times when your potential condition is under control, I would consider that acceptable.”
“Royce,” I said, further embarrassed at being choked up by tears, “I don’t—I’m not—”
“You don’t need to sell yourself to me,” he stated quietly, unfolding so as to lean forward in one smooth movement and take my hand in his. His fingers were cold but reassuring nonetheless. “When you’re ready—and only then—I will gladly show you that being beholden to me is not as terrible as you imagine it to be.”
I lowered my head, hiding my tears from him with my free hand. Of all the things I’d ever expected him to be, generous was not one of them. This was not the first time he’d extended an offer of friendship, though I’d thought during previous times that his version meant friends with some really icky benefits. His insistence in the past had led me to believe that he would stop at nothing to have me under his thumb. My naïveté and paranoia had often led to my embarrassment before, but never anything on such a spectacular scale.
The strangest thing yet was that he moved from the chair he was on to settle next to me, wrapping an arm around my shoulders and drawing me against his chest. Any other time, I would’ve been clawing at the walls to escape his touch. Now, I gave in to all the pressure of the last few days and truly wept, twisting to cling to his bare shoulders, my entire body shaking with the torrent of emotions fighting to escape me. Though his skin was cool, I felt no lingering sense of doubt or terror at being pressed so close to him. He did no more than hold me, lightly running his fingers through my hair, even as I buckled under the weight of worry and stress. He was my anchor in that moment, a pillar of cold strength, holding me close and keeping me from being swept away entirely.
I’m not quite sure how long I cried. By the end of it I was exhausted, chest heaving as I gasped in a few last hitching, sobbing breaths.
“All right?” he asked, pausing in his soothing motions.
“I think so,” I whispered, voice raw. Though I’d cried until there were no more tears, I wasn’t totally empty. There was enough sanity left to me to worry what he must think of me, and what could possibly have prompted me to hold him so tightly. “Thank you.”
He loosened his grip on me and dipped a finger under my chin, tilting my head up. At first, he said nothing. Instead, he lightly ran the pad of his thumb under my eyes, carefully wiping away the moisture gathered there. His smile, usually wicked and hinting at all things dark and devious, was surprisingly kind. “What are friends for?”
I choked out a little laugh, wiping at my eyes myself. Unbelievable. I’d just cried all over Alec Royce. The Alec Royce. One of the oldest vampires in the United States. The same guy who had once tried to kill me. Even if the attempt hadn’t necessarily been made under his own volition, it was one hell of a strange way for our relationship to turn. Who’d have thought the monster had a heart?
“Why don’t you go ahead and clean up? The bathroom is through my bedroom in the back.”
I nodded weakly, and he helped stea
dy me when I stood up. He left me alone to put myself back together, shutting the door behind me.
I took a few minutes to rinse my face, gathering my shattered pride back into a semblance of what it had been before I broke down. A few minutes later, after washing the worst of the signs of my breakdown from my face, I emerged to find the vampire sprawled on the futon in his bedroom tapping away on a laptop. He looked up, the clear concern in his features tugging every last string tied to my heart.
“Better?”
“Much,” I replied. My eyes were still red in the mirror, but that would fade with time. “Thank you, Royce. I’m sorry about—”
“Don’t,” he admonished, waving a hand at me. “You’ve been under an extraordinary amount of pressure. Don’t apologize for it.”
“Okay,” I whispered, chastised.
“I need to get some things done, but I’ll speak with you tonight before I go to the office. For now, why don’t you go downstairs and get settled in. Try to rest. I’ll have someone stop by later to fill you in on how we do things here.”
I nodded, heading to the door. He stopped me before I got far.
“Shiarra?”
“Yes?”
“Don’t blame yourself for any of this. Regardless of how events turn out, you will always have a place with me.”
I needed to get out of here before the waterworks started up again. I nodded and hurried away, padding quietly across the empty expanse of the room with the statuary and dashing down the stairs. When I reached the foot of the stairs, Wes was peering down the hall. He shrugged and turned away when he spotted me, resuming his post.
I entered the apartment I was going to share with Sara for the next month or so, taking it in at a glance. Clean, furnished, and tastefully—if sparsely—appointed. A bookshelf holding a number of German titles and a few pieces of artwork added a touch of hominess to an otherwise painfully plain room.
The dogs didn’t greet me at the door like I expected; instead, they were cringing at the far end of the room, huddled shivering like they were afraid they were about to be eaten by monsters. Come to think of it, that might not have been too far off the mark if Sara and I hadn’t been guests in this vampire-infested sanctuary.
