Chapter 14
Piper
Opening my eyes, I groaned. My hand immediately went to my neck where the pain I'd felt before was now no longer existent. I rushed out of bed and toward the bathroom.
Flipping the light on, I peered into the mirror. I was a scary mess. My blonde hair was a rat's nest and I had bags under my eyes. My skin was so pale that I might as well have been one of the undead. However...I slowly peeled the medical tape away from my neck, revealing the clear skin beneath.
Frowning, I poked gently at the healed flesh. There was only the mark from Antoine's bite. All traces of Valentine had been erased. There was no evidence that he'd ever attacked me. Not any physical evidence, in any case. My skin still crawled as a cold fear rushed up my spine at the thought of seeing him again. I wasn't sure I was going to be able to handle it.
That thought made me hurry to the shower. I turned the water on as hot as it would go and stripped myself of Rayne's clothes. Climbing under the spray, I pushed back the pain of the scalding water as I scrubbed my skin everywhere Valentine had touched me. I scoured until I felt a semblance of clean again, and then wrapped a towel around myself and sank to the bathroom floor mat.
Staring down at the brown, shaggy mat, I thought over what had happened. I couldn't ignore it forever. It wasn't something you could easily push into a drawer and forget about. Valentine had tried to kill me. More than that, he had wanted me afraid.
Part of me blamed myself for antagonizing him. What did I expect a vampire to do? I was stupid to think that I could go against him alone. Still...he was a monster. I couldn't imagine one of my vampires doing the same thing he'd done to me. I shook my head to solidify it. No, they'd never do that to me. No matter how much I angered them.
Sniffling, I pushed myself up off the ground and finished drying. I could have a pity party for myself later. Right now, I had to face them again. I had to face Valentine. My steps wavered at the thought, but I fought through it. Forcing myself back into the bedroom, I dug through my clothing that Darren had graciously put away for me.
I found a pair of pale blue panties and a matching bra, and pulled them on. Grabbing a pair of jeans, I dragged them up my legs, but a knock sounded on the door before I could put my shirt on. Turning to the door, I held the shirt in one hand and prepared to tell them to hold on, but the door handle turned and then opened.
I held the shirt up to my chest as Wynn stepped into the room. "Oh, it's you." I flushed and turned my head to the side as I tucked a stray, wet hair behind my ear. Irritation filled my chest. I hadn't forgotten what he'd done and neither had my body, which still ached from the lack of completion. If I'd had half a mind, I'd have finished myself off in the shower, but my thoughts was elsewhere. "What do you want?"
"Oh, lovely, don't be angry at me." Wynn's provocative voice cooed at me, his footsteps lazy and quiet against the floor. "We all do things we don't want to from time to time."
I snorted and pulled my shirt over my head, not caring if he saw my bra. "Didn't seem like it at the time."
Wynn didn't even pretend not to be looking before his eyes drifted back up my face. "I would never have left you like that had it not been demanded of me. I'm about giving pleasure not pain."
I tossed my head so my hair fell over my shoulder, before grabbing the brush to start working on it. "Well, you can keep your pleasure and your pain. I don't want it."
Wynn sighed and moved closer to me. He moved slowly as if he were afraid to spook me. I didn't blame him, right now, I was spookable. Reaching for the brush, he gestured for me to turn around. I almost didn't let him. I was seconds away from taking that brush and smacking him over the head with it, but then one look into those big, beautiful blue eyes and I saw the pain and regret in them.
I handed the brush over and turned. My breath held as I waited for him to touch me, but he didn't try to take advantage. Wynn smoothed the brush through my hair over and over again in a soothing manner that had me closing my eyes. "You're good at that."
Making an amused sound in his throat, Wynn mused, "I've had centuries of practice. I used to brush my sister's hair."
"You had a sister?"
"Multiple. They were the light of my life...probably why I've spent my whole life trying to find pleasure and give pleasure to women. I never had a good male role model, if you will." Wynn paused, and then continued brushing. "Before I joined Antoine, I'd been a bit of playboy. I seemed to always find my way into some one's bed, male or female, married or not. Probably why our master wanted me. I was pretty and could easily attract new prey for him to devour."
I shuddered. "What changed?" When he didn't answer me, I elaborated. "I mean, why don't you do that anymore? Why did you all leave?"
Wynn stopped brushing my hair and set it down on the desk. Taking his place once more, I felt his deft fingers twist and weave my hair. Wynn was so quiet I thought he wouldn't answer me, but then when he finished pulling my newly braided hair over my shoulder, he murmured, "Because of Rayne." Spinning around, I faced him, and I didn't like the sadness on his face. "What about Rayne?"
"Not my story to tell." Giving me a sad smile, Wynn lifted his hand and reached for my face. I hated that I flinched away from him, and when he dropped his hand, I grabbed it, bringing it back to my face. "I'm sorry. For everything. I didn't mean to cause such a mess."
"You didn't, lovely." Wynn cupped my cheek and wrapped his other arm around my waist to draw me closer. "Never think that we regret hiring you or bringing you into our lives, because every single one of us would die for you."
I blinked up at him, astounded by this information.
"Don't look so shocked," he chuckled lightly. "You have quite a way about you, Miss Piper Billings."
"Durand," I corrected him with a grin. "I'm one of you now. Remember?"
"That's right," Wynn agreed, and then gave me a wolfish grin. "Well, I should probably repent, because I don't think any of us think of you as a sister." My face heated.
"I hope not." Then something came to me. "What about Marcus? Surely he doesn't feel the same way."
"You'd be surprised what Marcus thinks and feels. He hides it well, but there's a big marshmallow inside that imposing exterior."