Raven sighed and looked at me. I liked that Raven wasn’t afraid of me. What I didn’t like was that she constantly called me out on my bullshit. She didn’t bu
y I was selling, but that was okay. She didn’t have to. She wasn’t the one I wanted for a mate, anyway, and if she gave me too much trouble, I’d just tell Helena.
“She’s not going to come easily,” Raven warned me.
“I wouldn’t want her if she did.” Every vampire liked the chase. There was a certain thrill that came with hunting, after all.
“She’s got issues.”
“We all have issues, Raven.”
Raven bit her lip, crossed her arms over her chest, and then frowned at me a little more.
“Why did you turn me, Liam?”
“I didn’t turn you.”
“No, but you let Helena turn me, and that’s kind of the same thing, isn’t it?”
“It’s not the same thing at all.” Helena was my second-in-command. She handled everything for me that I couldn’t handle myself. Anytime I had a problem with anything at all, I called on Helena, and she saved my ass.
Helena was my everything. We’d been together for years, and I could always count on her. In my eyes, she only had one flaw, and that was that we both liked the same prey. She had her eyes set on Raven, and although the fresh vampire didn’t realize what that meant, there was no doubt that Raven could feel exactly how Helena cared for her.
“Whatever,” Raven said.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me?”
“No.”
“I hope not,” I said carefully. “I don’t think Helena would care too much for that.”
Raven stilled. She might be brash and new to our world, but she understood who Helena was and the kind of power she held. No, Helena wasn’t my mate. Not by a long shot. Still, her name and her position gave her power in our world, and she wasn’t someone to be trifled with.
“I’m sorry,” Raven whispered quickly.
Footsteps approached. I stood from my position at my desk, and Raven, who was across from me, did the same. We both turned to see the newcomer enter the office. Dressed in a deep velvet Victorian-style gown, complete with ribbons and bows and bustles, she was every bit as wonderful as her reputation.
“Helena,” I said crisply, nodding.
Raven curtseyed, and I gave her a sideways glance. A curtsey? Really? Was that something Helena had especially requested? Somehow, I got the impression that she had, because she actually smiled at Raven’s little show.
“Nice to see you, Liam,” Helena said to me. Then she went to Raven, grabbed her by the throat, and kissed her deeply. “Nice to see you, pet,” Helena purred to Raven.
Raven only blushed. She looked over toward me, but Helena grabbed her chin and turned Raven’s face back toward her.
“No,” she said. “Your eyes are only for me, Raven.”
“Yes, Mistress.”
“Go to my room,” Helena whispered.
“Yes, Mistress.”
Raven was smart enough not to look back at me. Instead, she left the office quickly, and we both heard her footsteps grow fainter and fainter as she made her way down the hall and toward Helena’s chambers. Helena went to the office door, closed it, and locked it.
She turned back to me, walked over, and placed her hands on my desk.
“What the hell, Liam?”