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Allister shifted in place for a moment, his gaze off to the side. Finally, he sighed and dropped his arms to his side. "No. It's not. And really," he looked up to Piper with a painful expression, "I don't think it's unfair. I don't want anyone else. I just want you."
Piper pulled her lower lip in between her teeth. It was clear she wasn't sure how to respond to Allister's words. Trying to help the matter along, I slid an arm around her shoulders and pressed my forehead to the side of her face, murmuring, "Just be honest."
She shifted her head toward me and huffed a laugh. "Now you tell me."
We waited for her to gather her thoughts. Finally, Piper threw her hands up and stepped toward Allister. "I don't know how to do this. They didn't exactly cover how to date multiple guys at once in health class." Piper gave a weak smile. "I don't know how to make everyone feel wanted and not have this," she gestured to Allister, "happen again." Letting out a bitter laugh, Piper shook her head. "Hell, before you all, I hadn't kept a solid boyfriend for more than a few months. Definitely not one that would last longer than my lifetime."
Allister took a step toward her, timid as he reached for her. "I don't think any of us really know what we are doing, either."
"That's why communication is important," Rayne pointed out. "You can't just assume anything, or you're going to end up in situations like this."
"Easy for you to say," Allister scowled. "You can just read our minds and know what's wrong. The rest of us have to figure out the right words to say, and sometimes we don't even realize why we're doing something until we've already gone and made an ass out of ourselves."
Piper threw her head back and laughed, one of the most beautiful sounds I'd ever heard. "Okay, alright. We all need to work on our communication skills." She closed the distance between her and Allister, lifting a hand and sliding her finger up and down along the opening of his ripped tank top. "I'll try and make sure to make time for all of you, and you have to tell me when you are feeling neglected."
Allister nodded. "Agreed."
"No more blood whores then?" Piper arched a brow. Her face made her seem like she was teasing. Still, the tension in her shoulders told me how worried she was about Allister actually keeping up with his debauchery.
Lifting a hand to bump underneath Piper's chin, Allister leaned forward and pressed a chaste kiss to her lips. "No more blood whores."
Piper jerked her head once and then spun around. "And that goes for the rest of you. If you can drink from blood containers rather than blood donors, I ask that you do so. Don't think I don't know that taking blood is just as close to sex for you and the person donating." She pointed a knowing finger around the room.
"So..." I purred, stalking across the room. "You're saying that you are the only one we are allowed to bite?"
Piper's lovely face turned a delicious shade of red as she shifted in place. "Well, uh, I suppose I am."
Stroking a finger along where her pulse sat, the blood beneath thudding even faster as my touch. "I do believe I can accept those terms. And what about the rest of you? Do you find this demand unacceptable?"
"No complaints here," Rayne answered.
Drake jumped over the couch and bounded over to us with a wide grin. "Oh, hell no. I've been dying to sink my fangs into you and something else, too, if you catch my drift." He wagged his brows suggestively in Piper's direction.
"I guess I can't really say no," Allister shoved his hands into his gym shorts. Piper shot him a look, and he smiled. "I’m teasing. I'm good with it."
"Well, you don't have to worry about Antoine swaying. He only drinks from you and Darren as it is," Rayne flipped his red hair out of his face. "I'm assuming that is alright with you?" He looked to Piper expectantly.
Piper shrugged. "I mean if you want to drink each other's blood. You could do that, but I mean, I didn't think that actually did anything for you nutritionally."
"No, not really." Drake shrugged a shoulder. "Some do it during sex, but it's a bit like eating your own arm. Yeah, it fills your stomach, but it doesn't do you any good if you don't have an arm, you know?"
"Uh...yeah." Piper glanced away from him and asked us, "So what are we going to do about whoever is trying to ruin our lives?"
"Pardon?" I frowned at her, my brothers' expressions showing just as much confusion.
"Oh, come on." Piper huffed. "You can't believe this is all coincidence, do you?" She peered around the room. "I mean, Allister being framed, the businesses going under, and even Jack's convenient appearance? Someone is fucking with us. The only question is, who?"
An awful feeling came over me, and I couldn’t hold back my horror. “I think I know who.”
Rayne snorted. “No way. He doesn’t have that much pull. I mean, come on. He wants an excuse to sink his teeth into Piper again, but he wouldn’t go this far.” I just stared at him. “This is ridiculous. It doesn’t make sense.”
“To him, it might,” I explained, willing him to see it another way.
Piper’s head jerked from me to Rayne. “Would one of you tell me what is going on? Who’s out to get us? And what do you mean, sink their fangs into me?” She grabbed the side of her neck, and her face paled. “Not Valentine? We killed him. He can’t be back. Can he?”
“No, no, my love.” I cupped her face and pulled her close. “Vampires can do many things but coming back from true death is not one of them.”
“Then who is it?” Piper peered up at me, the fear still on the edges of her gaze.
“Isn’t it obvious?” I smoothed my thumb across her cheek. “Who gains much from eradicating our family from Georgia? Who becomes the most powerful vampire in the whole region?” I paused for a moment, waiting to see if they had come to their own conclusions.
It was Piper who figured it out first. Her eyes hardened, and her jaw clenched as she bit out, “Morpheus.”
