Chapter 17
Rayne
Dinner with the Billingswas an interesting affair indeed. Jennifer Billings had Piper's coloring but none of her spirit. It seemed she cared far too much about what others thought of her, and her mind was full of thoughts about which one of us she could get Piper to hook up with and possibly marry. I had to force back a grimace the couple of times she pictured Wynn or Antoine naked.
Ugh.
Derek Billings wasn't much better. The middle-aged man was more than a little bit suspicious of the five of us all living in one house together, not being married or having children with his darling daughter working alone with us every day. Apparently, Mr. Billings feared we'd take advantage of his innocent daughter.
I repressed a snort. It was we who were at her mercy, not the other way around. However, his worries weren't unwarranted. We all had our eyes set on the blonde maid, well, except Marcus, so I could understand his concern. Didn't make him any less annoying though.
"So, tell me, Antoine," Mr. Billings asked, his eyes hard as he stared at my older brother, "what exactly is it that you five do? You must be well off to own such a home and have servants. What is it?" He leaned forward on his elbow and bit out, his eyes narrowing as if he were going to get all of our secrets out of Antoine by just asking.
Pfft. I couldn't even find out what Antoine was thinking half the time, let alone get him to spill his guts. That guy was like an iron cage with the lock rammed so far up his ass, I'd be surprised if Darren could find it.
Antoine, always the one to take things with ease, lifted his glass of wine to his mouth. From here, I could smell the blood laced with it just like the rest of our glasses. He took a sip purely to make Mr. Billings wait for his answer. When Antoine finally lowered his glass, he leveled a look at Derek that made the old man flinch.
"We are involved with quite a few companies actually. We have our fingers in real estate as well as the healthcare industry and some nonprofits. And I'd hardly call our employees servants." His all-knowing eyes slid over to Piper, making her wiggle in her seat at the attention. "I like to think of us as a family. We have a bond that no other household could brag of, isn't that right, Piper?"
Piper flushed crimson, and my nose tickled with the scent of her arousal. She nodded slightly, unable to meet Antoine's gaze as her mind raced about something that had happened in the office the other day. I arched a brow at the head of our household, but he didn't acknowledge me. Antoine’s eyes were all for Piper, something her father didn't care for one bit.
It was laughable really. While my brothers and I played human for Jennifer and Derek Billings, Piper seemed to be gritting her teeth and downing as much alcohol as possible. She laughed abnormally loudly and was overall trying to get through this dinner without her parents embarrassing her further or getting drained dry by us.
Like we'd lower ourselves that far. I rolled my eyes to myself.
However, Piper's relationship with her parents was now a mystery that I would have loved to unravel. She seemed to care about them a great deal, but they didn't exactly see eye-to-eye with her. Not that I didn't get that. My own parents weren't winning any awards, having left me to die the moment I showed the signs of my terminal illness. Some parents could handle such tragedies. Mine... just couldn't cope. So, I was left to sit in a hospital room all alone day in and day out as I waited for death to take me.
Antoine happened to be at the hospital for his monthly rations of blood that day when he found me. I was on a ventilator and had to be tube fed. On the last leg of my life, I knew I was going to die in the next few days. At least that was what I prayed, but Antoine, he saw me all alone without a flower or card or person to weep for me and stepped in. He touched my forehead and peered into my eyes as if staring into my soul.
I had thought he was some angel of death with his pale features and dark clothing, come to see if I was worthy of Heaven or Hell. However, what he said to me as he stared down at my fragile, dying form stuck with me even now.
"You poor, poor boy. No one to love you. No one to care that you'll be gone. Do not worry, it will all be over soon."
Those words didn't comfort me. They scared me to death. I made a pained sound through the breathing mask, and tears slid down my face. I'd never told anyone about that day because it was when I was at my lowest, my absolute weakest. But, at that moment Antoine lifted me up. He saved me. Antoine and the others had been my family ever since.
Thinking back on those days and seeing Piper now, suffering to get through one meal with her parents, made me want to gather her up in my arms and tell her it was all going to be over soon, that we would be her family now.
As if feeling my eyes on her, Piper's gaze locked with mine. For a brief second, she didn't seem as miserable. She gave me a tiny smile and an eye roll. I gave her a discreet thumbs-up to show her that I was there for her which only made her smile more.
It was at that moment that I realized I didn't just want this human. I loved her. For the first time in my vampire life, I loved something more than blood, more than ever getting to see the sunrise again... and I had no idea how to tell her.
"Well," Derek Billings stood from the table and stretched his arms, "thank you for the meal, but I am beat. We drove quite a ways to check on my little girl." He placed a hand on Piper's shoulder and gave it a squeeze before looking to Antoine. "We'll take that room you offered us now, if you don't mind."
"Of course, forgive me. We have a lot of clients from the other side of the world, so our clock is a bit backward." Antoine inclined his head and gestured to Darren, but Piper stood abruptly.
"I'll take them. It's fine." She quickly waved Darren off and then gestured for her parents to follow her. "Come on, Mom, Dad. Let's leave them to finish their meal." As she passed by my chair, she gave me a sultry wink. I didn't need to read her mind to see what she was trying to tell me, but I did anyway.
Wait five minutes, then come to my room.
Let me tell you, those five minutes were the longest in my entire existence. It took everything I had to stay still in my chair and pretend like nothing had happened. I wasn't sure what she wanted for sure, but I was hopeful. Hopeful enough to be rock hard in my seat. I shifted uncomfortably.
"So, what did you think?" Drake asked, holding his cup with both hands. "About Piper's parents?"
Wynn snorted and rolled his head toward Drake with a lazy grin. "They're pretentious wannabes. I have no idea where our precious Piper came from, but it definitely wasn't them."
"Right?" Drake sat forward in his chair, disbelief growing on his face. "They're so different. I mean, our parents," he gestured to Allister and himself, "weren't the greatest either, but man, these two really take the cake."
I bobbed my head in agreement, pretending to pay attention to their conversation but too anxious about going to meet Piper to really listen.