going to have a dinner just the two of them in the Pit.
Nice and private.
Yum.
And no, he wasn’t talking about the expertly prepared food or the good wine. Not even the peach cobbler he’d requested for dessert.
Nah. He was thinking of another kind of . . . peach.
Courtesy of his impatient nature—which had just had its blade sharpened with a molar-grinding dose of sexual need, fuck him very much—
V turned to the ornate staircase that led to the second floor. He wanted to be on the ascent already. He wanted to be in front of his King, making his report. He wanted to be heading back to the Pit to see his shellan get very, very, very naked—
“Here we are, sire!”
Fritz held out a silver tray. In the center of it, a tall glass filled with ice was sporting about six inches of Grey Goose. There was also a lemon wedge broken over the rim and a monogrammed cocktail napkin underneath the production like a little area rug.
“Thanks, my man.”
V took the glass and the napkin. With his gloved hand, he dropped the wedge in, took a test sip . . . and the long sigh he let out was not a lie. The shit was perfect. Just the way he liked it, and prepared with the kind of love and devotion he would never understand, but had certainly come to appreciate.
Not that he would be sharing that sappy fact with anyone anytime soon.
“This is amazing.”
Fritz beamed like a kid who’d gotten a gold star for perfect attendance, and you had to admit that the reaction was a heart-warmer. But even if V had been a hugger, and he wasn’t—unless it was to strangle someone from behind—you couldn’t so much as shake the butler’s hand. The last person who had actually embraced the doggen, assuming the story was true, was Beth back before they’d all moved in here, before she’d learned the protocol. Fritz had nearly needed life support from shock. Yes, he was delighted to be valued, but if you actually told him how much he meant to you or the household? Or, God forbid, showed him affection? He went fainting-goat on you.
“Thanks again,” V murmured.
Fritz bowed so low it was a wonder his jowls didn’t brush the carpet. “It is my most sincere pleasure to serve you.”
Hitting the stairs, V finished his Goose by the time he got to the second-floor landing. The doors to the study were wide-open and the great Blind King, Wrath, son of Wrath, sire of Wrath, was sitting on his father’s throne. Behind an ancient desk the size of an SUV.
“More good news, huh.” The King rolled his shoulder and it cracked like a stick. “Can’t wait.”
Yup, even though Wrath was fully blind behind those wraparounds, there was nothing wrong with his hearing or sense of smell.
“Just keeping the trend going.” Stepping into the study, V shut the double doors. “You know, ’cuz I follow fashion like that.”
The room, with its pale blue walls and French furniture, was a total mismatch for the last pure-bred vampire on the planet, but it was what it was. This was where the Brotherhood and the fighters in the household met after hours, all twenty tons of male crammed in here, trying to only put one butt cheek down on the delicate Louis XIV bergère chairs and settees. At this point, though, the absurdity had worn off, habit had set in, and now it would be weird to congregate anywhere else.
“So the dead female wasn’t a false report?” Wrath said as V came over and parked it by the fire.
“No.” He swirled the melting ice in his glass and took another drink. “It was legit.”
“Did you get an ID off her?”
“No. She was naked. Clothes were gone from the scene.”
Under the desk, George, the King’s golden retriever, thumped his flagged tail in greeting, but the dog didn’t leave the feet of his master.
“How messy was it?” Wrath asked.
“Very. We contained things and I removed the body with the help of Zypher and Balthazar. It’s at Havers’s across the river. The only thing we can do is wait for a missing persons call or for someone to post something in one of the social media groups. No one at the clinic recognized her, but somebody has got to know her and be missing her.”
“Such a goddamn waste. Are we looking at a human perpetrator?”
“I don’t know. Lot of scents down there, of both species. In the storage room