Chapter Twenty-Four
Raven was enjoying her walk to Muriel’s. Connor still worried about her walking places by herself, but she’d convinced him she couldn’t be under guard for the rest of her life.
“I’m surprised to see Connor’s new pet wandering around alone.”
Startled by Simon’s silky voice, Raven spun to face him, surprised to find the street so empty. His smile would probably make most women breathless. He really was a beautiful man. She still couldn’t figure him out. He had never done anything to openly threaten her, but he always eyed her with distrust. She also couldn’t forget the way he’d acted so nonchalant when Ian had taken the woman and children hostage.
“I can’t exactly leave him, so why would he worry about me being out of sight?” Raven asked, backing away from Simon. She felt bad for Simon after hearing about his childhood, but that didn’t mean she suddenly believed he wasn’t a threat.
He laughed. “True, and in some ways he has me to thank for that. Sure, it was Ian who took the captives, but I had the authority to tell him to let them go when I found out about it. Instead, I told everyone to send for Connor if they wanted them freed. I was more than a little curious to see if you’d trade away more of your freedom for complete strangers. Don’t you think he should repay me for securing his ownership of you?”
Raven wanted to scream that no one owned her, but she knew Simon was trying to get her to slip up. He wanted to take Connor’s place as leader and prove Connor was weak. Maybe he thought if he could show that after more than a month, Raven was still defiant it would prove Connor was weak.
“I’m supposed to walk straight to Jack’s house,” she told him. “Connor won’t be happy if I take too long getting there.”
“Then I should walk with you to make sure you get there safely. We don’t want Connor upset, do we?” He snatched her hand and held it in his.
When Raven tried to pull her hand away, Simon squeezed hard enough she was thankful nothing broke.
“If you insist,” she agreed with a strained smile.
“Oh, I do insist,” he drawled, loosening his grip on her hand. “We never get to just hang out, do we? You’re always hanging out with everyone else, so I know it’s not the fangs. Why do you avoid me?”
“Because you act like a giant dung beetle most of the time,” she replied sweetly.
That earned her a laugh from Simon. “I can see why Connor is so possessive of you. You’re much more fun when you give free rein to your sassy mouth.”
Raven was amazed by how attractive Simon was when he genuinely smiled. She didn’t recall ever seeing him really smile before that moment. Usually, his lips curled up into what most would call a smile, but it never reached his eyes. It was obvious Simon didn’t feel much joy most days.
She stopped and looked up at him. “Why do you hate Connor so much?”
Her question seemed to shock him. His beautiful blue eyes widened, and his full lips parted slightly. “I don’t hate Connor. He’s like a brother to me.”
“Then why the competition?” she asked. “Why the constant animosity toward him?”
He let out a weary sigh, and Raven could see the toll his disagreement with Connor was taking on him. “I think Connor is a fool. Humans aren’t our friends, and they never will be. One day, even the ones living here will turn on us and try to enslave us again. You aren’t even fully human, and you would have killed any one of us given the chance. He thinks the ones who helped us originally did it because they cared about us.”
“What other reason could there have been?” Raven asked.
“We were their pet project,” he explained. “It was always something with them. Before vampires, they protested war, taxes, racism, and whatever else they were into at the time. Now, they have no choice but to live among us. They live under a government run by vampires, so we’re the oppressors. No one wants to be on the bottom, Raven. How long before they decide to turn on us?”
She shrugged. “Then maybe humans should have more power in the government. Connor says they’re pretty involved here. As for me, I was ignorant like everyone in the human settlements. Until I came here, I didn’t even know there was such a thing as born vampires. I assumed you were all mindless killers. I mean, I knew you had to have some wits to set up communities, but I never envisioned what I found. I never even considered that you might have been victims. What the humans did to you before was wrong,” her voice dropped some. “I’m sorry for what you suffered, Simon.”
Simon stiffened and released her hand. “What exactly has Connor been telling you while he fucks you?”
She took a chance and gave him a playful grin. “While he’s fucking me, he usually just grunts and says things like Oh God. I suppose that’s a good thing. If he was able to have full conversations during sex, it would mean I was doing something wrong.”
Simon laughed so hard he doubled over to support himself. When he finally stopped laughing, he had to wipe the tears from his eyes. “You’re a real treasure, Raven. I can see why Connor doesn’t want to share you. I probably wouldn’t let you out of my house if you were mine.”
Since playful seemed to be working for her, she continued. “I’ll bet you say that to all the girls.”
He winked at her, and she imagined that wink made many ladies drop their panties for him. “Just the ones I want in my bed. If you ever get tired of Connor, I’d be more than happy to take care of you. Just for the record, I wouldn’t have let Ian hurt the kids. I don’t think Ian would’ve kept them, but he’s been a little unpredictable lately. We all tried to keep him away, but he saw his daughter’s body. It was really bad. Still, the kids he took weren’t in any real danger.”
“If they weren’t in any danger, why were they still in the cage, Simon?” Raven asked. “If you were in any way concerned about their safety, why leave them there and risk more trauma? Why use them in the stupid game you’re playing with Connor?”
“No matter how much Connor means to me, I feel like he’s leading our people to their deaths. I needed to show his weakness,” he explained. “Don’t tell him that.”
“Why tell me?” she asked.
He shrugged. “For some reason, I don’t want you to think I’m a total douche bag.”
“What’s a douche bag?” she asked. “Connor won’t tell me.”
“You don’t know what a douche bag is?” Simon asked.
She shook her head. “The humans I’ve lived with haven’t used that term in many decades. I remember hearing it but never knowing what it was. I don’t know why I never asked before.”
“I was beginning to worry about you,” Jack called out with an edge of threat in his voice as he approached them.
“I was just escorting Connor’s nymph to your house,” Simon assured him, grabbing Raven’s hand again.
“Maybe Jack should walk me the rest of the way,” Raven suggested as she tried to pull her hand from his grip.
Simon smiled down at her and continued to hold her hand as he gave Jack a challenging stare. “I wouldn’t dream of being so rude.”
“Stop trying to pick a fight with Jack,” she warned, smacking him on the arm.
“I liked you better when you were afraid of me,” Simon muttered.
“No, you didn’t,” she shot back.
“True,” he agreed with a grin. “Of course, I would have preferred it if you hadn’t told me what noises Connor makes during sex. How am I supposed to keep a straight face and torment him while I’m picturing him chanting Oh God in bed?”
“What the hell did I miss?” Jack asked.
Simon slapped him on the back. “Nothing to concern you. I guess I’ll leave Raven in your care. Jack is the perfect person to explain to you what a douche bag is.” With that he gave Raven a wave and walked off.
“Did I just see that?” Jack asked. “I haven’t seen Simon act that way in years.”
They started walking while Raven considered her words. “I think I caught him off guard.”
“Wait,” Jack stopped her. “You weren’t flirting with him, were you? That would not go over well with Con, and you don’t want Si to get the wrong idea.”
“I wasn’t flirting with him. Just leave it alone, Jack.”
“I’m just worried about you,” Jack insisted. “Simon hasn’t been right in the head for a long time. You don’t want to end up with him thinking you’re interested.”
“You grew up with Simon,” she began. “Does he strike you as the type who would commit rape?”
Jack started to answer before pausing and shaking his head. “Not after all he went through. I just know he really wants to get back at Connor, and I’m not sure he would consider hurting you going too far.”
Twenty minutes earlier, Raven would have agreed. Now, she sensed something about Simon he kept carefully hidden. She had no doubt he could be violent. In fact, she was certain he could be brutal. She just didn’t think he was quite as brutal as he wanted others to believe.
“I’ll be careful,” she assured him.
“Did you really tell him what Connor sounds like in bed?” Jack asked with a laugh.
She could feel her cheeks getting warm. “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”
“Just don’t tell Connor about it,” Jack warned.
“Why? Do you think he’ll be angry?” She knew he wouldn’t be happy about Simon cornering her, but she didn’t think he’d be upset about most of the conversation.
“Nah,” Jack said as they walked up to his front porch. “I just want to be the one to tell him.”
“So, what’s a douche bag?” she asked.
Jack stood frozen. His key was extended toward the door. “You know.” He waved his hand with the key in the air. “It’s that thing women use to douche.”
“Douche?” she asked. She was beginning to get the idea, but she was amused by Jack’s discomfort. “What does that mean?”
“It’s like cleaning,” he explained.
“Like a shower?” she asked.
She was finding it hard to keep a straight face as Jack sputtered a bunch of nonsense. Finally, Muriel, who had obviously been on the other side of the door listening, took pity on her husband. She stepped out and tried hard to contain her laughter. “Come inside Raven and I’ll show you what it is.”
Raven's Blood Page 29
