My mouth dried up and I searched the table for some kind of direction. I looked anywhere but at Rayne, who was stiffer than the dead. How did I answer a question like that? And in front of everyone after I had just had hot vampire sex with Antoine moments ago?
Was I with Antoine now? Was I allowed to even have feelings for Rayne? Up until a half hour ago, I didn't think Antoine wanted anything to do with me. Did I love Rayne? I cared about him and the rest of them. Some more than others. But did I?
I didn't know how to answer that question, not with the eyes of nine others on me—well, eight, since Theresa didn't give a shit and was still staring at Wynn as if he had hung the moon. How could someone be so in love with someone where they don't even care if the feeling is reciprocated?
"Well, dear, we're all waiting to hear your answer," Boris prompted me and I licked my lips and tried to find some kind of answer to give. I felt lightheaded.
"W-Water." I cleared my throat and searched around the empty table. "Can I get some water, please?"
Boris's eyes narrowed but then he snapped his fingers. "Bring Miss Durand a glass of water." Fauns, the housekeeper, appeared next to me with a water glass seconds later, placing it before me then disappearing back into the kitchen.
Not wasting a second, I picked up the glass and downed its contents. My eyes closed as the cool water quenched my dry throat and gave me much needed seconds to gather my thoughts.
This had to be a trap. Why else would they want to know about my feelings so badly? Once I sat my cup down, I tried to give Antoine some kind of signal with my eyes. A ‘tell me what the fuck to say’ signal that he clearly wasn't tuned in to, because he simply continued to act bored. Out of ideas, I turned my eyes to Rayne.
I don't know what to do.I pushed those thoughts at him, knowing he could hear me.This is a trap and I know if I answer either way, we're in trouble.
Rayne inclined his head before turning to Antoine and Boris. "I ask permission to take Piper back to her room. She's feeling a bit out of sorts having just recently been changed and traveling a long distance. I fear for her health."
"Is that so?" Valentine arched a brow in his direction before a sly grin curled up his lips. "Or are you just looking for a way to get out of the spotlight? Come now, boy. Surely, you can tell she belongs to your master. You cannot simply—"
"Valentine." The single word from Boris's mouth caused Valentine to clam up so fast that I almost thought it was funny. Almost. "Let the young ones have their secrets. All the good ones have a way of getting out on their own."
Now that didn't sound ominous. But far be it from me to look a gift horse in the mouth. I barely got to my feet before Rayne was at my side. He offered me his arm and I slowly took it, ducking my head down so as not to have to meet anyone else's gaze.
As we walked around the table, Boris called out, "I hope you feel better, Miss Durand. We wouldn't want you to miss out on all the fun."
The kitchen door opened, and a naked man and woman appeared. My eyes widened and I almost swallowed my tongue as they sat a small step stool near the table. They walked on top of the surface, moving the centerpiece out of the way, before they laid down on top of the table.
We kept walking but my head turned to watch as the vampires at the table picked up a limb. When they bit down, the humans didn't even so much as flinch. If anything, they moaned at being fed on. The scene disappeared as we moved around the corner, before I broke my neck trying to see the table.
"Come on," Rayne murmured. "You don't want to see what happens next. Trust me." I swallowed hard and nodded.
"Thank you, by the way. For that back there." I gestured my head toward the way we came.
Rayne bobbed his head. "No problem. I'm sorry they put you on the spot like that."
I pretended to focus on walking up the stairs in my dress rather than answering his unspoken question. I still didn't know a hundred percent what my answer was, but if I was going to tell anyone it would be him, and not a room full of people.
"So..." Rayne cleared his throat and stopped on the landing. "What they said, you know, back there..." He ducked his head, avoiding my gaze.
"Don't worry about it." I waved my hands between us, trying to clear the air. I pulled in my lower lip, chewing on it as I wrapped my arms around my waist and shivered.
"Cold?" Rayne asked, appearing grateful for the change of subject.
I gave a weak smile. "Yeah, a bit. I kind of miss the Lolita outfit. At least it had layers." I gestured down to the thin material of my dress with a laugh.
Rayne chuckled but his eyes roamed over my form, growing more appreciative by the second. Turning from him toward my room, or I guess Antoine's room, I kept a few feet between us. "So, Boris seems..."
"Terrifying? Fucked up? A bit loose in the head?" Rayne offered up with a sideways smirk.
"I was going to say peculiar but yeah, all of those." I dropped my arms and let them hang next to me as we walked. Our hands brushed each other as we seemed to migrate toward one another. With my emotions all kinds of twisted up, I should have stopped it, but when Rayne took my hand and laced it with his, I didn't.
I liked the feel of his hand in mine. I liked him. And while I might not love him now, I felt like could eventually. I just needed the right motivation for it.
"Rayne." I turned to him as we stopped in front of Antoine's room. His eyes locked with mine, those amber orbs with flecks of gold and brown in them I wished I could recreate. I'd wear it as a necklace around my neck so I could look at it any time I wanted to.
To my horror, Rayne's lips ticked up at the edges. "You like my eyes that much?"