“Wow, you’re like a one person stop-shop for getting things done! You can confess, you have a huge to-do list, don’t you?” I smiled blindingly. “Do you want to borrow my ta-da-done pile?”
He laughed. “I like to keep busy. It helps quiet my thoughts.”
“Yeah, I really like my down-time too much to work that hard. I’m not lazy, per se. I just need more down-time than the average person.”
His gaze turned serious. “It’s because you’re an empath. It’s to protect and rejuvenate yourself. Plus, can you imagine what would happen to your rainmaking abilities if you didn’t sequester yourself away from people from time to time and relax?” He smirked. “It would be constant hailstorms, tornados, and tsunamis. So, on behalf of Moonhaven Cove, we thank you for watching movies and relaxing in the jacuzzi.”
“If only I could do those things together! Then I could really get my rest and relax on!” I laughed, not really serious. Well, maybe a little serious.
“We have a flat screen that comes out of the wall in front of the jacuzzi. The controls are on the side of the tub.” He smirked at me, and I laughed and rolled my eyes.
“Of course you do. We should call this the Leto Playboy Villa instead of just the Leto Villa.”
His eyebrow went up a tiny bit. “Ah, but I’m not a playboy. That requires one, that I be a boy, and two, that I play around. Neither applies.”
I sighed internally at that. Yep. I could confirm that he was a mature vampire who didn’t play games with people. I appreciated it, but I couldn’t help but hope he’d consider dating again. Preferably with me.
“I appreciate that.” We sat in silence for a bit, before I said, “So, we take the troops to the mansion on the island tomorrow?”
He laughed and nodded.
Chapter11
Mia
Iwanted to hold Henri’s hand as we stood on the grand porch outside of the island mansion the next day. To soothe him, because it definitely wasn’tmethat needed soothing. Everywhere I looked, there was evidence of wealth: expensive cars, an army of gardeners and other staff, marble statues of exotic animals. It made my head spin, and it also made me appreciate the Leto Villa more. Draven had made it more homey, and less mausoleum like.
Except, there was someone inside that was in a lot of pain, and they didn’t feel at all stone-like to me.
“Draven, someone’s in pain,” I whispered. He was standing behind me, looking around the property with interest. He nodded his understanding, but Henri must have had elephant hearing because he whipped around and looked at me in horror.
“Is it Reece?”
I squinted in thought. “No. It’s a male.”
Henri sighed in relief, and I patted his shoulder. Finally, the wide double doors swung open, and a butler in proper butler attire, and who looked about a thousand years old, stood before us. He had a shock of white hair that fuzzed out in all directions around his head, and his eyes were a pure gold.
I tried not to gape. “We’re expected by the master of the house,” Draven said from behind me.
I closed my mouth before anyone could catch my stunned surprise as we all followed the clearly arthritic butler into a large foyer. I looked ahead to the main room as they took my sweater and tried not to wheeze. Gargling gargoyles, the ceilings were at least fifty feet high!
All around the top of the main room was a mezzanine that was filled with statues, paintings, and musical instruments. The ceiling was shaped like a dome and, what I assumed was glass andnotdiamonds, was cut into a million different shaped prisms that threw sparkling lights along the hardwood floors beneath our feet.
A big dog came gamboling down the massive staircase, and I backed up a little, trying to get out of his way. He was huge!
“He’s a Bernese Mountain dog,” a husky voice said.
I followed the sound of the voice to an open door on the ground level. A man stood there, leaning heavily on a cane with some kind of large bird on the top. It reminded me of a phoenix from books. It would be so cool if phoenixes were actually real. I would have to ask Rhys about that later.
The man had hair the color of soot, and he was very large, both in height and breadth. His chest, arms, and legs were massive, yet, to me, he looked frail.
Because I now knew where the feeling of pain was coming from.
He dipped his head to Draven and then to me and Henri. We’d left the rest of the bodyguards outside, and Henri’s wife couldn’t come, so it was just us and our army of bodyguards. “It’s an honor, Master Leto.” He slowly, and painfully, made his way to a roomy leather sofa along the wall, and sank in with a slight sigh. “But if you don’t mind my asking, why are you here?”
The dog settled at his master’s feet, nose sniffing the room energetically, trying to determine who we were. Or, probably more like he smelled Zian on me. Since Henri seemed frozen, and Draven was eying me, waiting for me to say something, I huffed at them, and moved to seat myself on the adjoining sofa.
I stuck my hand out. “Hi, I’m Mia, friend of the gray-haired gentlemen over there, and Master Leto’s executive assistant. You just hired a new chef named Reece?”
