Protected by the Vampires

by ERIN BEDFORD

  I shot her a warning look before reaching out and grabbing her hand, and pulling her to my chest on the floor, tickling her sides. "I'll show you, watch where I'm going indeed. If someone wouldn't have been trying to distract me."

  Piper giggled and fought against me, pushing at my chest. "Stop, stop. I'm sorry. Just stop tickling me."

  A throat cleared next to us, followed by a silent demand of, Rayne, from Antoine, finally made me stop. I sighed and stood up before helping Piper off the ground. I brushed myself off and tried to help clean Piper up but she batted my hands away with a smirk.

  The restaurant guests were still staring at us. I held my hands up and shifted around. "Sorry, my bad. Nothing to see here." Thankfully, the silly humans returned to their meals and we were brought to our table.

  Sitting at a circular table with Piper at my side and the others lined around the rest of it, our waiter greeted us. With a bright smile and a good boy attitude that poured into his demeanor, he announced, "Hello, I'm Phillip and I'll be serving you today. What can I get you started with?" Everything would have been fine had Phillip not been staring at Piper the entire time he was talking, ignoring the seven other men around her. Look at that rack. God, what I would do to those if I had some butter.

  Before I knew it, a low growl was coming out of my throat and Phillip startled, his eyes going wide and more importantly, getting off of Piper. Drake, who sat next to me, nudge me with his elbow, making me cough. I picked up my water and took a drink before turning my eyes back to Phillip. "Sorry, something was in my throat."

  Giving a nervous chuckle, Phillip nodded while holding his order pad close to him. "Can I get you all something to drink?" He looked around the table and frowned. In his head, he wondered if we were some kind of boy band or modeling group. Then his eyes landed on Piper again. Is she fucking them?

  "Yes, yes she is," I answered out loud, freaking Phillip out.

  Fuck, did I say that out loud? "Oh, my god, I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. Please don't tell my manager," Phillip rushed to apologize, thinking that he had indeed said it out loud, because who would believe I could read his mind?

  Smirking, I threw my arm over Piper's shoulder and shrugged. "It's cool. Just don't let it happen again. I want a beer. What about you, baby?" I turned my eyes to Piper, giving her my best smolder.

  Flushing under my attention and quite confused, she stuttered out, "Uh, I'll have a water and a glass of the rosé

  ."

  Phillip scrambled to write down our orders and then everyone else's. When he left, Piper flicked my nose, making me flinch. "What was that for?"

  Pursing her lips, Piper scowled. "You know what. Keep out of people's heads. You about gave that poor waiter a heart attack."

  "Yeah," Drake added in with a grin. "Or at least let the rest of us in on the fun. It's like being invited to a party but not being allowed to dance."

  "You like to dance?" Piper leaned over me to ask, putting her boobs right against my chest. "I love to dance."

  "You do, huh?" Drake purred, leaning on his elbow so he was practically giving me a lap dance right there. "I'll have to take you some time. My brother and I are the best dancers."

  Wynn made a rude sound. "If you call grinding your pelvis against a lady dancing."

  Drake moved back to his seat so he could glare at Wynn a few chairs down. "I do. The ladies love it." He shot Piper a wink.

  "In my day, a man kept a foot between him and his dance partner at all times," Wynn explained with a lazy grin. "It was all about the buildup. The teasing of it all."

  Piper's scent spiked next to me.

  I placed my hand on her thigh, happy she had chosen to wear a dress tonight. She froze under my touch, but then relaxed as I played my fingers along her inner thigh.

  Clearing her throat, Piper put her elbow on the table and fiddled with her dangling earrings, keeping her eyes off of me. "Oh, really? That sounds like fun. What about you Antoine? What was dancing like when you were hu—" The waiter returned with our drinks and Piper rushed to change her words. "When you were a humanitarian." She let out a nervous giggle. "You know, those big parties you threw for...uh...the donors?"

  I chuckled under my breath at her fumble, squeezing her knee beneath the table. Piper gave me a chastising glare before thanking Phillip for her drink. When the waiter finished passing out our drinks, we ordered our food and then waited for Phillip to leave once more.

  Antoine lifted his red wine to his lips and took a long sip before saying, "Dancing was more of an art and less of a way to find one’s mating partner." His eyes locked on to Drake and Wynn. "The ability to move your body in sync with the music as well as your dance partner was the goal. Not who could get away with fucking on the dance floor."

  Piper's scent spiked again. Her thighs clenched together beneath my hand. So she likes it when prim and proper Antoine says fuck, huh? I held back a grin at my discovery.

  "So, what else?" Piper glanced around the table. "I know you guys all came from Boris, right? I mean, he made you all? Sired? Is that the right word?"

  "Yes," Antoine answered, and then tilted his head to the side. "And no. Our master changed all of us except for Rayne, who I changed but he does not have any pull over us. You see, while we might have a multitude of powers, our master—Boris—doesn't have any powers over the ordinary."

  Piper's nose scrunched up in a cute manner. "Why not? I would think you'd have to be pretty powerful to make all of you." She gestured around the table.

  "Not so," Wynn continued, taking over for Antoine. "A child doesn't inherit a parent’s talent, nor does the parent have all of the child's abilities. It's the same basic concept. Except in this one, we're vampires." Wynn flashed her a fang toothed grin.

  Call me selfish, but I wanted Piper's attention back on me and not on my brothers. It was the excuse I used when I slid my hand between Piper's thighs and inched my way up her panties. Keeping my eyes forward, I listened with a growing smirk to the thoughts running through Piper's head.

  Rayne. What are you doing? Out loud, Piper cleared her throat and took a long drink of her wine. "And what about the house sigil? You all have it tattooed? Even you, Darren?"

  I stroked across the front of her panties, the fabric becoming wet, and she opened her legs wider for me.

  Darren—none the wiser of what was happening beneath the table—met Piper's gaze. "No, only the masters of the house wear the sigil."

  "Why?" Piper's word caught at the end as I circled her clit. By now, Drake and Marcus were glancing this way, fully aware of what was going on.

  Antoine answered for Darren. "Because to be branded by one of the masters with the house sigil is to mark you as our property. I have far too much respect for Darren to do such a thing."

  "Regardless of my opinion," Darren interjected. It was clear to everyone that Darren would have happily wore our sigil, but what he saw the sigil as wasn't the same thing as Antoine did. I didn't blame him one bit. Antoine didn't see Darren as his property and the other vampires wouldn't allow Darren to think for himself. They'd defer everything to Antoine, as if Darren was a slave of sorts. Not someone anyone who cared for someone would do to another person.

  I quickened my pace over Piper's clit and watched as the entire tables’ noses flared while Piper stifled a moan.

  "Are you alright, lovely?" Wynn asked, amusement pulling at his lips. "Are you going to be sick?"

  Gasping, she smacked the table with her hand and shook her head. "No, I'm...I'm alright. Just hungry." She gave a weak smile that wasn't fooling anyone.

  "You know," Allister turned to Antoine, "I was thinking of coming to the party a bit late tomorrow. What do you think? When will you be coming, Piper?"

  Still not in on the joke, Piper chewed on her lip and croaked out, "Uh, I don't know. Whenever Antoine wants me to come."

  I grinned broadly, meeting Antoine's eyes as I flicked my finger against her clit. "Yes, Antoine. When should Piper come?"

&nb
sp; Picking up his wine glass, Antoine watched Piper's face while he took a drink. Then pushing some power behind his voice, he stated, "Now."

  Piper shuddered beneath my hand, letting out a tiny cry that startled dear Phillip who made the terrible timing of showing up then. I removed my hand and smiled up at the waiter. "She's fine. Just a bit light headed from the wine is all."

  "Okay," Phillip drawled as Piper gathered her bearings. "Your food will be out in just a moment. Does anyone need a refill?"

  I glanced over at Piper, bumping her with my shoulder. "What do you think, baby? Do you want some more?"

  Piper looked confused for a second and then glanced around the table before narrowing her eyes on me. "No. I'm good."

  "Are you sure?" Phillip asked again, not seeming to want to leave the table.

  "You heard the woman," Drake replied with a chuckle. "She's good."

  "Okay, then." Phillip turned on his heel and left.

  The moment he was gone, Piper stood up and scowled. "You're a bunch of assholes," she growled, before storming off toward the bathroom.

  The table chuckled, even Marcus, the unfeeling robot, let out a snicker.

  "So, now that we're out of the house. How are going to get rid of Valentine?" Drake leaned forward on the table, his eyes rounding the chairs. "I say we jump him in a dark alley and cut his head off. Then we can cut the other limbs off. Burn them, and then dump them out of the plane home."

  "Or..." His brother drew out with a what the fuck look on his face. "We could do something a little less serial killer and just stake him."

  Drake huffed and crossed his arms. "Fine. Take all the fun out of it."

  "The main thing to focus on is how to do it without getting caught," I pointed out with a nod. "Valentine has a lot of enemies. Maybe we can make it look like one of them did it."

  "I like that idea." Wynn shifted in his chair, stroking his chin. "Perhaps at the party? There will be plenty of people to put the blame on there. Plus, our master will think all is forgiven and forgotten."

  I gritted my teeth, my fingers curling tightly into fists. "No way would I ever forgive or forget what that bastard did. He deserves what's coming to him."

  "Agreed." Antoine inclined his head and then turned to Marcus. "Is it possible?"

  Marcus was quiet for a moment. I even tried to peek into his head but he, out of all of us, was the one with the best mental defenses. Then after a long pause, he nodded his head so slightly you would have missed it had you not been looking. "Yes. I believe so."

  "So, we get Valentine away from the crowd during the party and do the deed then. How will we dispose of the body?" Allister questioned, dragging a hand through his short hair. "It's going to be hard with all those people there."

  Marcus smirked. "Not that hard."

  "What about Piper?" I reminded everyone with a pointed look. "She's going to need protection from our master and whoever else he brings to this thing. We don't have that many friends either."

  "We can't all go when it happens." Drake shrugged. "I volunteer to rip Valentine's throat out."

  "No, I want to do it," I argued with a growl. "If anyone has the right to rip that guy apart, it's me."

  Drake laughed, throwing his head back. "You? You couldn't kill Darren, let alone Valentine. Let someone with experience and muscle behind their punches do it."

  "Neither of you will be there," Antoine commanded, making us quieten. "Two people. Only two is all that is needed to take down Valentine. Wynn and I will do it." I groaned with the others, annoyed at missing my chance for blood. "The rest of you need to keep our master distracted and Piper safe. We don't need all of us under the ax if it all blows up in our faces."

  "Fine," I grumbled. "But I get to stay with Piper. Boris gives me the creeps." I shuddered and the others gave me a sympathetic look. I didn't like to talk about it much, because I didn't want to dwell on the past, but Antoine saved me. Not just by changing me, but by stepping in to keep Boris's attention off of me. While Valentine had a thing for small blond women, Boris liked boys. Preferably as young as possible. And when he couldn't find one to fit his needs, he would turn to his household. He'd turn to me.

  My dark thoughts were interrupted by the waiter bringing out our food and then Piper showed back up. This time when she sat down, she scooched her chair closer to Marcus and crossed her legs.

  "So, what's everyone talking about? When do we kill Valentine?"

  Chapter 18

  Piper

  It was just so gorgeous. I didn’t know how I’d ever take it off the hanger. All that fabric, the lace and silk combination. I just…I grinned, chewing on my lower lip.

  I didn’t know how I let the guys talk me into this. How was I even going to get it on by myself? There was just so much to it. I had a hard enough time getting into the lingerie they'd bought for me to wear underneath. I pulled up the top of my red, thigh-high hose, and unclipped and reclipped the garter belt. I'd never worn this much for a man, let alone just to wear a dress. I had a feeling the guys liked to use me as a dress up doll. This was their excuse to get me into whatever they wanted me to wear.

  Pushing up my tits in the strapless, matching corset, I smirked. If my normal, boring underwear got them all riled up, I couldn't wait to see what this outfit did to them. For a moment, I stared at my dress while daydreaming over who might be disrobing me tonight. A shiver of pleasure ran through me and I giggled.

  Stepping into my high heels, I leaned down to buckle them. While my world was upside down, the bedroom door opened. I tilted my head to the side, shoving my hair out of my face.

  "Well, this is a view I could get used to." Wynn's eyes devoured my form and I quickly stood up. All the blood rushed to my head and I stumbled. Wynn appeared at my side, and he wrapped his arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest. "Woah, there."

  I gasped and held on to his arms. "Thanks. I don't wear heels much."

  "Uh-huh," Wynn muttered, his eyes focused on the cleavage seconds away from popping out of my corset.

  I flushed and smacked him on the arm. "My eyes are up here, you know?"

  Wynn's hand stroked up and down my back before lifting his gaze to mine. "I have a new rule in the house."

  "What?"

  "You must always clean the house in this." He leaned away from me so he could really take in my lingerie. "Could you turn around, and maybe reach for something on a high shelf? Maybe call me master?"

  I shoved him and giggled. "No. Geez. I couldn't get anything clean dressed like this. Plus, my feet would be killing me after a few minutes."

  Wynn snorted. "You wouldn’t be on your feet for long."

  Shaking my head, I turned toward the dress. "While you're here, think you could give me a hand?"

  "Oh, lovely. I have been waiting for you to ask me that." Before I could figure out what Wynn meant, I was jerked off my feet and in his arms once more. Cupping my cheeks, Wynn brushed his nose against mine, before nipping my lips with his teeth. I reached up and curled my fingers into the dark curls around his face, tugging him closer.

  "So impatient," Wynn murmured, licking his lips so that his tongue trailed along mine. He flicked it against the crease of my mouth, and I opened beneath him. The wet muscle danced in my mouth, rubbing and rolling against mine. Fingers found the skin between my thigh highs and garters. Lifting my leg up and around his hip, Wynn ground his hardness against the junction of my thighs.

  Gasping, I pulled back from Wynn's mouth and thrust my hips closer. "Wynn, I have to get ready. We have the party…” I tried to open my eyes and find the clock in the room, but gave up when Wynn began kissing down the line of my neck. "Uh, no, come on. Oh, fuck it."

  Wynn growled his approval and lifted my other leg. I squealed as he walked us over to Antoine's bed and dropped me onto it.

  I bounced slightly, but grinned up at him. Touching my tongue to my teeth, I played with the buttons of Wynn's dark blue shirt, dipping my fingers beneath it. "This is naughty. Doing it
on someone else's bed."

  Wynn arched a brow. "If you think this is naughty, oh, I could tell you some stories."

  I wrapped my legs around his waist and pulled him closer. "Not the time." Wynn slid his fingers under the front laces of my corset, and started to pull at it. I grabbed his hand and shook my head. "No, no way. It took an hour to get this thing on. You can see my boobs another time. Just fuck me like I always dreamed you would."

  Arching a brow at me, he smirked. "Oh, love. You don't have to tell me twice." Wynn reached beneath the garters and pulled my underwear down with a low groan. "God, you smell good."

  I lifted my hips and parted my thighs for him. All of my employer-worker fantasies were coming true. I'd been thinking of this day since I first saw Wynn in that drawing room, ever since he wrapped my hand up after I broke that vase. I couldn't count the number of times I'd touched myself thinking about this moment.

  Sure, it wasn't how I imagined it, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

  Wynn's longer fingers sought out my center, stroking and teasing me until I was gasping for more. I bucked against his hand, and then suddenly it was like he was touching somewhere deep inside of me that I'd never even touched myself.

  "What? What is that?" I gasped, my eyes rolling into the back of my head as my spine arched off the bed.

  Wynn kissed my thigh. "Just my regular brand of vampire."

  That was when I realized he was using his powers on me. Groaning, I grabbed his shoulder, digging my nails into his flesh. "That's...that's cheating."

  "Want me to stop?"

  "Fuck no," I screeched, as fireworks exploded behind my eyes. Before I had a chance to catch my breath, Wynn slid between my thighs, and then I was relearning how to breathe all over again. If I thought his powers were overwhelming before, nothing compared to having him inside of me. Every inch of me was on fire and I couldn't get enough. I didn't even care about what awaited us downstairs or even about Valentine. All I knew was Wynn. Wynn. Wynn.

  "Oh, fuck," I gasped into his mouth as I found my release again. Wynn slowed, pumping into me a few more times before groaning against me.