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Chapter 9
Piper
When I woke up thenext morning, I knew the day was going to be a bad one. For one, my head ached. My stomach clenched like it was trying to eat me from the inside out which only meant one thing.
My period had arrived with a vengeance.
As I rolled out of bed, I groaned and palmed my forehead. This sucked. I hated having my period most months, but this month, it seemed to want to kill me.
I glared menacingly down at my uterus. "It's not my fault I'm not pregnant. Stop growling at me."
"Miss Billings?"
My head jerked up from my lower half to the closed bedroom door. "Darren?"
The butler let out an impatient sigh, and I could literally feel the condescension in his voice. "Who else would it be at this hour?"
At his words, my eyes moved to the clock by my bed. Eight-thirty! I bolted out of bed and hurried to my dresser. As I pulled out my clothes for the day, I spoke to Darren. "I'm so sorry. I didn't hear my alarm go off."
"Apparently," Darren drolled on. "Well, I have my own chores to do, so see to it you get to yours. We have more than enough to do before leaving for the summoning."
Without you slacking off. I knew what he was saying without actually speaking it. I'd screwed up, all because of my stupid period. However, if I thought about it, this was the first and only time I'd been late since I started the job. It was something I should be proud of, and I wouldn’t be a child and shove in Darren's face, no matter how much he made me want to.
"I'll be down in a moment," I called out through the material of my shirt as I pulled it over my head. "Just give me five minutes." My stomach tightened unexpectedly, and I winced. "I mean, ten. Give me ten."
"Very well."
Darren's footsteps moved down the hall, and I sighed. After grabbing a pair of stretchy lounge pants, I headed to the bathroom. Hey, if I had to work while blotted and cramping, I was going to do it comfortably.
As I went through my daily routine of brushing my hair into a ponytail and brushing my teeth, my mind drifted to last night. Rayne and that kiss. My fingers crept up to my lips, brushing against them in remembrance. It had been quite a kiss, not quite the same as the first one but still just as consuming.
While a part of me panicked at the idea of getting involved with a vampire who acted more like a teenager than the century-year-old man he was, another part of me wanted to do it again. Even in my miserably uncomfortable state, my body lit on fire with the thought of pressing up against that body again.
I shook my head and slapped myself on the face. "Knock it off, Piper. You have work to do... and Antoine would kill you. Probably literally."
I nodded firmly at myself in the mirror and made for the bedroom door. I bent down and picked up the chore list Darren usually put under my door and scanned it quickly. Laundry. Laundry. And, oh, more laundry.
If there was a hell, and I believed wholeheartedly that there was, it was washing and folding a never-ending pile of laundry. I didn't want to do my own, let alone that of six guys. For vampires, they sure sweated a lot. Stinky socks did not stop at human men. At least I wasn't finding some crusted over towels.
I shuddered. There wasn’t enough money in the world for me to deal with that.
Making my way down the hallway and to the back stairs, I muttered to myself about the horrible unfairness that came with being the live-in maid. I couldn't call in and certainly not for cramps. That would be horrifying to explain. Besides, Darren had already sounded irritated before. We had a lot to prep for the trip, and it seemed most of it had to do with making sure the masters had enough clothes to wear.
God. Why couldn't they all just go naked? Things would be so much easier. Not to mention entertaining.
As I made my way down the back stairs, my mind started to wonder into dangerous territory.
Naked Wynn. Naked Drake and Allister. Oooh, naked Antoine. And... naked...Rayne.
My mind came to a full stop when the object of my mind's affections stood right before me in the kitchen.
He looked good. Too good. His eyes were tired, and his hair messed like he'd been running his hands through it, something my own fingers were dying to do. Like me, he wore lounge pants, but they hung low on his hips showing me the v that pointed down to his...
I swallowed thickly. Just that little expanse of skin was making me hot and bothered. Fuck.
"Uh, hi." I gave a little wave and internally groaned at how lame I sounded.
Rayne shifted away from the island where he'd been leaning and moved toward me slowly. He opened his mouth to answer me in return but then paused. A moment later, his mouth clamped shut, and his nostrils flared. I swore I heard a little rumble coming from his chest.
