Chapter 10
Darren
It was that time ofthe month again. No, not the time that made Piper unbearable to live with. The time in which one member of the House of Durand would show up for the day or rather night. It was all they could give us, and I would be lying if I didn't look forward to it.
Things between Piper and myself had been strained since Master Wynn left. It didn't help that the vampire had bombarded the hotel room with gifts nonstop since he left. I suppose Master Wynn was trying to make up for something. Unfortunately, the other masters had taken to the idea as well. I hoped all the groveling would end soon. We were running out of room for such things.
Piper would be home any moment now.
It was strange to have the whole room to myself while she went to her new day job. Quiet. Too quiet. I could admit that I missed her incessant chattering—the moment to moment sounds that came from my coworker and roommate. Even after a month of being alone, I still couldn't get used to it.
The silence was probably what did me in. It was why I spent more time out getting coffee that I didn't want and food I didn't need. It was on my way home from such a trip that I noticed Piper stalking toward the hotel room door like the devil himself was on her heels.
Her eyes darted around her suspiciously, and her hands clasped around a brown box pressed tightly against her chest. Frowning, I walked a little faster until I was entering the room just after Piper.
Piper jumped at my entry. She shoved something flesh-colored back into the box on the bed and spun around, her face redder than a tomato.
"Uh, Darren. Hey. What's up? Any sign of our lord and masters?" She chuckled nervously, her fingers fidgeting in front of her as she tried to play off her nerves with a joke.
Pursing my lips, I stepped toward her. "What is it you have there?"
Piper half turned before she caught herself. "What? This? Oh, nothing. Just some office supplies." Her giggle came out shaky, and then she hiccupped.
I arched a brow.
"I do not believe you." I ate up the space between us and reached for the box. "Let me see."
"No!" Piper shouted into my face, grabbing for the box, and clutching it to her chest. "It's nothing. It's personal."
I paused and asked, "I thought you said it was office supplies?"
"It is." Piper quickly answered and then added on, "It's my own personal office supplies. Now hands off."
"Very well," I stepped away from her as she sighed and lowered her arms, letting her guard down. Without warning, I reached around her and snatched the box from her hand.
"Darren!" she screeched, trying to climb on my back and take the box from me as I turned away from her. "Give it back right now."
Shifting around to keep her away from the box, I popped it opened and withdrew...my brows furrowed...a dildo?
"Jesus fuck, Darren!" She jumped over my shoulder and grabbed the offending item, then shoved it back into the box with a huff. Piper blew her hair out of her face with a scowl. "Next time I say it is personal, I mean it's personal. Jeez."
"My apologies," I stuttered out when the shock finally passed. My face warmed. I hurried by Piper and over to my desk, where I promptly sat down and busied myself with the household accounts.
Piper shuffled around the room, no doubt hiding her new...item.
A part of me was appalled that I had even considered insisting on seeing what she had even after she claimed it was personal. Her red face had been enough to tip me off to what I would find. And yet another part of me needed to know what it was that made her so flustered.
Now that I knew what was in the box, all I could think about was Piper using it. The numbers on the computer in front of me blurred together. Instead of seeing spreadsheets, all I saw was Piper spreading her legs, working herself up so the long length of the toy would slide right into her needy folds.
I swallowed thickly and shook my head, forcing myself to push the image from my mind.
"Darren..." Piper's voice came from behind me quiet and unsure. "Uh, could we talk?"
I shifted around in my chair, my gaze landing on her forehead instead of her eyes. Damn it all. Why was I so bothered by a toy? It wasn't like I haven't seen one before. Antoine and I had used several just like the one in Piper's box. It wasn't anything new.
But it was Piper's. Not mine. Not Antoine's. Piper's.
"Yes?" I internally patted myself on the back for not sounding as shaken as I felt.