"Yes, master." Theresa bowed her head, not bothering to wipe the blood from her mouth.
"Now...where were we?" The master gave a small smile before taking a step back from me. I flinched as he bowed low at the waist, his hand coming out in front of him to brush the floor. "I, my delicious peach, am Count Boris Stravinsky. Master of this...ragtag bunch." He flashed his fangs as he tossed a hand at the men around me. "Now, I have told you my name..." He trailed off, holding his hand out to me.
Licking my lips, I cleared my throat. "Piper. Piper Billings." I frowned and then gave a clumsy curtsy that had me losing my balance. Allister's hand caught me before I fell over and made an even bigger fool of myself.
Boris laughed loudly at my misstep. "You, my dear, are a delight. I cannot wait to see what this week brings. Come, come. Let me show you around my home." The men around me stiffened as Boris wrapped his arm around my shoulders and directed me toward the hallway.
"Oh, calm yourselves." Boris scowled at the fretting vampires. "I will bring your servant back in one piece. In fact, one of you may accompany us." He stopped us and turned to wait for the six men, lingering where I had stood.
For a moment, nobody moved, and then Darren, ever the responsible one, announced, "I will take the bags to our rooms." He inclined his head and bowed slightly with one gloved hand to his heart, first to Boris and then to Antoine.
See? Why couldn't I be that poised? He knew exactly what to do and when to do it. He even knew to acknowledge Boris first!
It was Boris, not Antoine, who waved Darren off, showing that even though Darren belonged to Antoine, Boris had say over everyone. All those wonderful walls I thought we'd built around me started to crumble. So much for being safe.
I watched the men before me, my face frozen in a polite smile. I hoped my eyes screamed how much I needed someone by my side. It wasn't Antoine who answered my call, the one who should have since he was supposed to be able to feel my emotions, but Marcus. The large vampire stepped forward, his face set in a blank expression.
"Ah, Marcus. Yes, good. Good. You will accompany us." Boris patted Marcus on the arm, a move that would have made me flinch, but either they were used to Boris's overfamiliar actions or they feared him too much to show their discomfort.
With the way the other's faces melted into a mixture of concern as we walked away, I had a feeling it was the latter.