Theresa didn't seem worried, even when my hand latched around her throat. I should have known better than to threaten her with violence, she got off on it. Hell, it was her kink, something I'd been more than happy to oblige her with before. That was then. Now, it just pissed me off.
I pushed off her and scoffed as I dragged my hand through my hair. "We won't give her up. He can't make us."
Theresa sat up on her elbow, not bothered by her nakedness as she shrugged. "Then she'll die. Or you will. Depends on the master's mood really. Though..." She smiled and giggled. "The way he's acting, he might just take her for himself. You know how much he likes to break little things like her. Even more so than Valentine. You'd be better off killing her yourself."
I hated to admit it, but she was right. Valentine was the way he was for a reason. Our master had particular tastes as well, and while those tastes didn't always line up with females, for the right one and the right reason, our master would make an exception.
Shit.
"What are you going to do?" Theresa watched me as I paced the room, my thoughts going a thousand miles a minute. I shot her a look, which made her sit up on the couch. "You are seriously considering defying him, aren’t you? She's not worth it." Theresa wrapped the straps of her dress back around her neck and stood. "No human is worth it. Believe me. She'll get tired of it—of you—and before you know it, she'll resent you for making her immortal. If you think she loves you now, you're only making it possible for her to hate you later." Theresa crossed her arms over her chest stared hard at me. "Take it from someone who knows."
Theresa did know. She wasn't much older than me. We'd both been created around the same time. She was one of our master's exceptions. Most of his children were men, except for a couple of others. They were all as twisted as Theresa was. But he made a mistake when creating Theresa.
She'd been married. Something he hadn't bothered to check before changing her. All our master saw was a beautiful creature who loved to cause pain almost as much as she liked to receive it. It was a rare thing for someone of her breeding back then. A duchess, I believe. When our master changed her, she wanted to bring her husband along with her. She loved him and couldn't bear to leave him behind, but our master forbid her to change him into a vampire. I didn't remember why, but Theresa defied him anyway and made the duke into a human servant.
"What happened to Jean Paul?" I asked after a few moments of silence. "Did you kill him, or did he do it himself?"
The smile on her lips was bitter and sad. "Neither. It was Valentine who did the deed." I took a step toward her, but she held up her hand, stopping me. "He said he was saving me the trouble since Jean Paul had decided to confess his sins to a priest before taking his own life." She let out a long sigh as she played with the ends of her hair. "Valentine caught him coming out of the church right after sunset. They had to burn the whole perish to the ground just to ensure they told no one else of our existence." She laughed dryly. "It's ironic really. Why confess your sins before committing the most unforgivable sin? I guess he thought hell would have been better than being with me forever."
"Theresa," I started, but the door to the drawing room opened, revealing Valentine himself. Dressed in a modern suit and tie, Valentine’s long hair was tied back at the nape of his neck. His watchful eyes widened slightly at the sight of us, before a bemused grin tugged at his thin lips. "Why, look who we have here. Getting reacquainted?"
Theresa flashed me a hot, seductive glance before gliding across the room to Valentine. "I'm finished with him now if you want a turn."
Valentine's lips curled up in disgust, but then he laughed. "Yes, well, I hope you kept your appetite, because master has something absolutely wicked prepared for dinner." His eyes locked with Theresa's for a moment, and had I not been watching, I wouldn't have noticed the way her back stiffened. Then Valentine's gaze moved to me and smug satisfaction settled onto his face. "I do hope you brought the lovely Piper. I have been most morose without her."
"Master is giving her a tour of the house as we speak." Theresa patted Valentine on the chest before pushing her way through the door, not giving me a passing glance.
Valentine, misreading my expression, sighed and then chuckled as he shook his head. "Ah, women, such mercurial creatures. They love you until they get what they want, then you're yesterday's blood bag." Valentine gestured to me with one hand and grinned. "Don't look so glum. There will be plenty of other pretty little things waiting to get a taste of your immortal cock. The night's young after all."
I kept my face neutral, not giving anything away. Not what Theresa said or how much I wanted to rip his throat out right that second. There would be time for that later, after we figured out how we were going to get out of here in one piece.