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Her sense of empowerment fled, replaced by fear and loathing. The memories of all those other times he'd forced her to do his bidding flooded her mind, paralyzing her. But she fought the feeling back. She wouldn't shame her Master. He'd asked her for her trust, and she'd take that leap now. Even if he disappointed her again afterward, it would still help her get through this.
She straightened, faced Graham. "Whatever my Master wills. I enjoy serving his pleasure."
Graham's visible surprise gave her a surge of triumph. She'd done it. She'd shown him nothing on which he could feed. She actually could do it, immerse herself in her desire for Brian to make it work. She would remain untouched in mind or spirit by this monster's use of her body.
"No," Brian said.
Chapter Eight
The sexual tension swirling through the room was cut like a rope. Butch set aside his wine, straightening in his chair, but Brian had already risen from his. He came to her side and faced Graham. As he did, he placed a hand on her shoulder. Obeying the unspoken command, she sank to her knees at his side, lowering her head.
I can do this, Master. It's all right. I shouldn't have made you feel --
I didn't ask your opinion, Debra. Be still.
It startled her, his tone as imposing as she'd ever heard it. When she dared a glance up, the look on his face was...dangerous. Earlier she'd thought he reminded her of his father. This wasn't his father or anyone else. It was even more than the male who'd conquered her in so many delicious ways.
What she saw in his face and felt through his touch was pure vampire. A creature who didn't consider dominance a negotiation, but something he would fight or kill for if necessary. It was a thrilling look for him. And terrifying, since the vampire he was facing was far more powerful.
Graham's lip curled back, fangs elongating so the sharp tips gleamed. Dix pulled himself out of the pool in a lithe move, water sluicing from his bare body as he joined Butch, who was also on his feet. The other servants had likewise moved to their Masters and Mistress, an acknowledgement that violence might be about to ensue and of their proper place in such a situation. In a heartbeat, everything had changed, because of a two-letter word never said by a lower-ranked vampire. Or a servant, for that matter. No.
"I don't think I heard you correctly," Graham said, those snake's eyes narrowing further.
"You certainly did. Vampires don't suffer from impaired hearing." Brian's gaze remained steady, cold. "I am denying you the use of my servant, my lord, and asking you to respect my reasons for doing so. She has exceeded expectations with her performance, and there are other ways to enjoy the servants that are here. I claim her for myself alone for the rest of the night."
"You don't have that right. You don't have the rank to do it."
"Yes, I do."
Debra saw the other vampires exchange glances. Butch's attention remained fixed on Graham, his visage unreadable.
"I am Director of the Vampire Council Research Center," Brian said, "and a valued advisor to Lady Lyssa, the head of the Vampire Council. I'm the vampire responsible for a cure to the Delilah virus, and making significant advances on resolving vampire fertility issues, the two major threats to our species. Those contributions have earned me a rank that allows me to say no to you, Lord Graham. She's mine, and it is up to me how I wish to share her."
"You're bluffing. And you've gone soft over your servant." Graham sneered. "A crime that carries severe punishment. It could get her killed."
"Only if my dead body is part of that equation." Though Brian's tone remained mild, his eyes sharpened to knife blade precision.
"Sounds like she owns you, rather than the other way around."
"Those scientific advances are as much her accomplishment as mine," Brian said flatly. "She has served our species in ways no other servant has, and asked nothing from it except wanting to serve a Master worthy of her. I haven't lived up to my part of the bargain on that, but that will not be the case tonight."
His lip curled back, his fangs showing sharp and deadly. "She is my servant, Lord Graham. Mine, not because I took her by force or tricked her, but because she surrendered her heart and soul to me willingly, believing I would be worth her freedom. Worth giving up any life other than to be my servant."
The shock of it had her forgetting protocol. She raised her head, stared at his profile. His fingers tightened on her shoulder, even as he kept his gaze locked on Graham. "When a brilliant, strong woman gives you a gift like that, you damn well better be deserving of it. Which means if you lay a finger or any other appendage on her, I swear to every god of substance that you will lose them."
He released her, but only to shift so he put himself directly between her and Graham. It put the two vampires nearly chest to chest. "So am I bluffing, Lord Graham?"
Amazement flashed back to fear. She didn't want him hurt. The room was humming with impending violence. Her mind sifted through possibilities, contingencies, ways to head off a direct conflict, but came up against a wall. There was nothing she could do here. This was between the two vampires.
The room was silent, tense, everyone waiting for Graham's next move. After a long moment, Graham sneered again, shifted his body away from Brian's, putting some space between them. Not a retreat, though. He turned toward Butch. "While my young friend has forgotten protocol, I have not. As host and overlord of the ground on which we're standing, you have the right to make the call on this." Graham's gaze sharpened. "Though I advise you to choose wisely, Butch."
Debra dared a look past Brian's hip. Butch lifted a brow at the implied threat, but otherwise his stone expression gave nothing away, his gray eyes glittering. Brian's attention remained fixed on Graham. Though not so much as a twitch suggested his awareness of anyone else in the room, Debra felt her Master's heat in her mind like a furnace.
Butch considered the two potential combatants, then his gaze swept the pool area. All three vampires from his territory were silent, but Debra noticed they were all looking to Butch. Their loyalty wasn't toward Graham. Which was probably why Graham had chosen the political route, knowing that to start a fight to the death in his host's home might have far more negative consequences.
"I think this is going to get really messy unless you concede the point," Butch said at last. His piercing gray eyes conveyed a wealth of messages as they met Graham's gaze. "He's not playing. Let it go. He's right. There are plenty other ways to seek pleasure tonight. If the man isn't in a sharing mood, that's his call."
"But his rank --"
"I'm not in a position to dispute it," Butch responded shortly. "But I do believe he's correct. Based on his current position with Council, he likely outranks everyone here. Take it up with him when he falls out of favor. For now, let's not piss him off. He might inject a virus in the pool and make all our dicks fall off."
Chuckles rippled through the group, easing some of the tension. Debra remained wary though, taking her cue from Dix. His gaze on Butch remained serious and still. This wasn't over yet.
Graham's lips twisted, and he inclined his head, albeit ungraciously. "I will take my leave, Lord Dorn. It seems I'm not compatible with the current company."
Butch shrugged. "Suit yourself. But nobody likes a sore loser, Graham. You'd do better to stay and make a better accounting of yourself than getting your rocks off torturing female servants."
Graham's face froze. As Butch stepped forward, closing the distance between him and the other vampire, the overlord looked far less friendly. The "good old boy" mien vanished, replaced by a look which explained exactly why he was an overlord. Most came to it by a combination of strategic politicking, brute force and kissing the ass of the right vampires. Based on his next words, Debra was pretty sure Butch had only used the first two methods.
"The world is changing," Butch said softly. "Catch up, or you'll see the sun a lot sooner than the rest of us. Count on it."
With a snarl, Graham pivoted and marched from the room. Jia-Li gave Debra another nod, picked up her kimono and
went after him. Debra watched her, her heart hurting, wishing she could have helped more. But Jia-Li's choice had been made, as hers had.
Glancing up at the profile of her Master, she was glad she'd chosen better. With the potential threat dissipated, Brian's words were sinking in, leaving her more than a little stunned. He'd just become one of a very small handful of vampires who'd publicly championed his servant, making it clear a Master had the right to protect his servant, keep her exclusive when he so desired, at his discretion. And he'd had the rank -- or the poker face -- to pull it off.
Her heart was tripping, her throat was thick. When Brian stepped back, put his hand on her shoulder again, slid his fingers along her nape, the touch undid her. She bowed her head, closing her eyes at the feeling.
