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“I’ve always thought of you as a friend…an older friend, like an uncle.” I emphasized the worduncle. “That means a lot to me.”
An indulgent smile. “With your father gone to his final grave, I was happy to fill that role. But you’re an adult now,chérie. And my regard for you has only grown.”
Deflect. Deflect.
I forgot all about playing along with Étan. I stared up at him—and swung my head left. “Is that Marie-Pierre? I haven’t seen her for years.”
A quick, irritated frown. “She was on an assignment in Bordeaux, overseeing the vineyards.”
“I’ve never been to Bordeaux. That’s where you were turned, wasn’t it? Victorine found you working at the Chateau de Peyron.” It was one of the Syndicate’s largest vineyards.
His eyes hooded. “Is that a reminder that I’m not a blue blood like your mother and father?”
I felt a flicker of shame, because I knew it was a sore point with him, although I’d only said it out of desperation. Étan had been picking grapes when Victorine had seen him and taken him as a thrall. Eventually, he’d convinced her to turn him.
“Of course not,” I said. “You’ve earned your position in the Syndicate. Victorine thinks very highly of you. We all do.”
A cold nod. But he fell silent.
The song ended. “Thanks for the dance,” I said and tried to move away.
Étan tightened his grip, keeping me where I was.
I stiffened. Everyone was looking at us, including Victorine. Especially Victorine.
He traced a fingertip over my jaw and down the center of my throat. Toyed with the strands of the gold necklace.
You didn’t touch a vampire’s throat without permission. He might as well have announced to everyone present that I was his.
I swallowed something acrid, not quite daring to slap his hand away. He’d be humiliated, and I wasn’t sure what he’d do if I pushed him too far.
Étan moved his hand to my shoulder. His fingers dug into the soft flesh. “We’ll speak later,” he promised—or maybe it was a warning.
I dredged up my Ice Princess glare. “As you wish. Now, if you don’t mind…” I glanced pointedly at the hand on my shoulder.
He waited three long beats before releasing me.
An enforcer stepped up—Louis, another vampire I’d known since I was a toddler. “May I have this dance?”
“Bien sûr.” I moved into his arms without another look at Étan.
He watched me, though. His stare burned into the vulnerable spot between my shoulder blades.
Louis complimented me on my dress, then got right to the point. “I’d be honored to take you as a mate.”
My step hitched. I was still back there with Étan, furious and a little afraid. That snare was looking harder and harder to avoid.
Louis smoothly righted me and kept dancing. With an effort, I brought my attention to him.
“Word’s gotten around,” I said. Louis didn’t even belong to my mother’s coven, but to one based in Quebec City.
A small shrug. “You know how it is.”
My mouth twitched wryly. “I do.”
Vampires liked their gossip as much as humans, and my mating was valuable intel if you wanted to move up in the Tremblay Syndicate hierarchy. By now every syndicate in North America would’ve heard, and probably the ones in Europe as well.
“And?” Louis prompted.
