Jullien slipped silently out of the room and closed the door behind him. Philippe sighed and shoved a hand through his hair, pushing it from his forehead. His body felt heavy, and there was a bone-deep ache in his limbs. He wanted nothing more than to climb into his bed and not move until the next sunset. And yet, his mind zinged with thoughts as he endlessly replayed every word Rafe said, every little movement, even the haunting smell of his cologne.
Toeing out of his shoes, Philippe reached behind him and grabbed a handful of the sweater he was wearing, pulling it over his head. He held it in both hands for a moment and then tossed it onto the dresser. He was suddenly too tired to even undress.
He shuffled over to the old chair Jullien had been sitting in minutes ago and dropped into the well-worn cushions. His finger traced along the abstract pattern made with the faded gold thread while his mind turned over Rafe Varik again. The vampire really did seem too sexy to be real, and if his smirk and laughing eyes were anything to go by, Rafe knew his effect on others.
But there was more to him than his in-your-face sexuality and brash attitude. Before deciding to speak to the Variks, Philippe had gathered together any and all information he could on the four brothers. It wasn’t a lot: Marcus was the serious protector. Beltran was painted as the absent-minded professor lost in his research. Winter…was an icy threat. And Rafe was simply the fun-loving jokester no one took seriously.
There was no doubt they were all wrong about Rafe. He was just as protective of his brothers as they were of him. And then there was that too-brief flash of pain when Rafe thought Philippe would rather be talking to Marcus. He didn’t think that was ego. Rafe seemed too aware of his own inflated ego. No, that had been a chink in his self-confidence. A niggling doubt Rafe was unable to silence.
There was also the rumor that all the brothers played instruments thanks to their mother. It had taken some digging, but he learned that Rafe played the violin. He hated to think about how much time he’d spent during their meeting staring at Rafe’s hands. Long, nimble fingers seemed to dance in the air as he spoke. Strong hands. How would they look as they caressed a violin? How would it sing for him?
Did he still play following the brutal murder of his mother?
Philippe frowned and shoved aside the thought of Rafe no longer playing. The world needed his music, even if only his brothers heard him play.
Sighing, Philippe rubbed his eyes. Sunrise was only a couple of hours away, and he’d already spent several hours searching for Piper even before he’d met with Rafe. He needed to climb into bed and stop thinking of Rafe. His attention was better served concentrating on Piper and their current problem.
Poor, sweet Piper.
She was only twelve years old as a vampire but nearly seventy years old as a human when she was turned. The vampirism had revitalized her old body, giving her strength and agility she had not enjoyed in decades, but she had to mask so much of her movement out of fear of drawing too much attention to herself. She’d been with them for only a few years after hiding in the shadows for so long.
As far as he could tell, Piper had no associates outside of the Arsenaults, no one she would regularly see or talk to. It was Philippe’s understanding that she left the manor only to hunt. When she was in the manor, she largely kept to herself.
Her disappearance made no sense to him, to anyone within the clan.
Sadly, she was not the first of their clan to mysteriously disappear, and Philippe knew without a doubt that she would not be the last.
Chapter Four
Rafe hated the uneasiness that ran through him as he used his key to unlock Marcus’s front door. His older brother’s house had been invaded twice in the past six months, and it left him feeling like he needed to be on guard in a place that had always been a second home for him.
But it was naïve of him to think Marcus wasn’t vulnerable. His brother had always used his residence as a meeting place for business as well as dealing with other vampires. Aiden might be their sire and the head of their family, but everyone came to Marcus when something needed to be dealt with.
For so long, Aiden’s distance had been related to their mother’s mental health. Being around Aiden appeared to set her off.
Now she was gone forever.
When Aiden was finished mourning, would he finally join them? Would he choose to live near them and be a full part of their family again? Or would he drift away?