1
Piper
Aloud explosion came from the television. I jumped in my seat on the couch and the bowl of popcorn in my lap spilled over onto Darren who sat in front of me.
“Excuse me,” Darren shot a pointed look back at me from where he painted my toenails a bright pink, “Am I to be your trash disposal as well as pedicurist?”
I grinned, shoving a handful of popcorn in my mouth before patting him on the head. “Oh, don’t grump. You like doing my toes. Don’t pretend you don’t just because the guys are here.”
Darren sighed and returned to my nails while the others chuckled around us.
“It really is sad,” Drake commented from his bed where he and Allister played cards. “She’s got you by the dick and you don’t even care.”
Shifting in my seat, I tossed popcorn in Drake’s direction. “That’s not what you were saying the other night when I had you by the dick.”
Drake smirked and licked his lips. “And I’d be more than happy to let you do it again.”
“Let me, huh?” I shifted back toward the television and asked Rayne to my side, “He does know that I wear the pants in this little vampire orgy, right?”
Rayne chuckled and leaned into me, whispering in my ear, “Oh, he knows. But his manliness requires him to protest any type of dominance.”
“Hey, I can hear you.”
Rayne and I called out together, “We know.”
“Ignore him, pet.” Wynn stroked his fingers through my hair with loving strokes. “Draconius has never known the pleasure of pampering a woman. The sheer desire to see her well and truly satisfied.” The way Wynn said it implied much more than a pedicure and sent tingles down to my core.
“I haven’t had any complaints yet,” Allister countered, his voice so full of self-confidence I had to poke fun at him.
“Yet.” I turned and stuck my tongue out at him.
Drake’s eyes widened and he pushed up off the twin bed and stalked toward me. “Yet, huh? Maybe I should see about that right now.”
“Now, now, children,” Antoine sighed from his desk on the other side of the basement. “We rarely get a night in together without some catastrophe. Can we have a single quiet evening?”
Just then the television made another loud explosion and I snort-laughed, covering my mouth to try and stifle it. Too late. As soon as I started laughing Rayne did and then the rest followed. Even Marcus who sat quietly on his bed reading a book let out a chuckle. Soon we all were laughing while Antoine simply sighed and returned to his work.
“Hehe, I needed that.” I leaned my head on Wynn’s shoulder, tangling my fingers in his black hair that had grown past his shoulders. I kind of liked it.
“Yeah, especially since...” Rayne trailed off.
“The vampire council is about to fry our asses?” I supplied helpfully.
“Piper,” Marcus said in a warning tone.
I lifted my head off Wynn’s shoulder. “What?”
“You promised no work talk tonight, remember?” Marcus’s dark eyes locked with mine across the room before dropping back to his book.
“Oh, yeah. Sorry.” I sank back into the couch, allowing myself one moment to bask in the presence of my men. However, my mind had other plans. It didn’t take long for my mind to wander into places it shouldn’t have been.
“Meet with the vampire council and tell me where they are located.” Vincent, leader of the vampire hunters, had commanded me.
The fact that anyone could tell me what to do ground my gears. I had to remind myself daily that I was doing it to keep the ones I cared for safe. And Vincent promised after this one, I’d be free and the Durands would never be hunted again.
Too good to be true.
“Hey,” Rayne bumped my shoulder. “That means in your head too.”