And as for the vampire… I touched the wooden stake I’d taken to carrying up my sleeve.
All in all, everyone settled into a routine, and we even developed a level of trust.
Well, maybetrustwas an overstatement.
I trusted Bene to maintain a positive attitude and not to go out of his way to kill me. But trust him with any real responsibility? Not a chance.
I trusted Roux to lead by impeccable example, whether the others followed or not.
I trusted Henrik…er, no. I didn’t.
And as for Marius, well… I could count on him to scowl and be aloof, but I couldn’t figure him out beyond that — or why my heart skipped when he stomped into or out of a room.
He always skulked in to meals and training sessions a minute after everyone else — but never actually late. He grumbled at any task assigned to him — then slaved away until it was perfectly done. He ignored me to the point of rudeness ninety-nine percent of the time, but I could feel his gaze on me when my back was turned.
And if our eyes happened to meet… Well, the world seemed to grind to a halt for him too. Everything narrowed to a long, dark tunnel with him lit brightly at one end and me at the other, and a warm flush would creep into my cheeks.
Inevitably, one or the other of us would tear away and pretend it had never happened. But it did happen. Again and again.
Which was terribly confusing, because he hated me, and I had no interest in surly dragon shifters.
Claudette did, however, and boy, did that grate.
To my intense satisfaction, Marius ignored her.
To my intense annoyance, the other men did not, and she lapped up their misplaced attention.
“You know they’re just looking for fresh meat, right?” I dragged her aside to whisper.
She winked at Bene while chuckling to me. “Maybe I’m doing the same thing.”
Madame Picard was scandalized. Especially when Claudette put her moves on Henrik.
“Careful. He’s a vampire,” I warned, pulling Claudette aside a second time.
“Oh, I know,” she practically purred, eyeing him. “Believe me, I know.”
Now I was the one who was scandalized.
“Thank goodness you hired her to help with breakfast and lunch and not dinner,” Madame Picard observed.
At least there was that — the timing made it difficult for Claudette to disappear to enjoy “dessert” afterward.
But other than the jealousy — er, annoyance — Claudette stirred in me, things finally settled into a relatively peaceful routine.
Or so I thought, until the sound of shattering glass made me sprint to the drawing room one evening. What was going on?
I rushed in to find Henrik and Roux huffing, puffing, and generally going for each other’s throats while Bene and Marius looked on.
“I’ve had it with you!” Roux growled, shoving Henrik.
Henrik shoved back. “I’ve had it withyou!” His fangs extended.
I saw that as clearly as I saw Roux’s facial hair thicken in a prelude to shifting. But more than anything, I saw how perilously close they were to my grandmother’s china cabinet.
I stomped over to separate them, but Bene stuck out a hand. “Wouldn’t get mixed up in that if I were you.” He steered me — and his wineglass — to safety.
I twisted out of his grip, barking, “Stop that!” when Henrik threw a punch at Roux.
