House Rules - Chloe Neill Page 0,39

bomb right now.”

I gave him a flat look. “I’m not that bad.”

“Yes, you are,” said most of the vampires in my vicinity.

I managed not to give them all an obscene gesture, but followed suit when Luc stood up. “Let’s go downstairs and make nice.” He pointed a finger at me. “And no staking the guests.”

Unfortunately for Luc, it wasn’t the guest I was thinking about staking.

* * *

We walked upstairs again and waited for a few moments while Lacey completed her journey and Ethan changed into business attire again. The senior staff milled about in the foyer, although Michael was nowhere to be found. Ethan had probably stashed him in an office or the library to keep things moving forward.

I’d been prepared. I knew she was coming, and I knew she’d look like a supermodel ready for a strategy session—blond hair and makeup perfect, her lean frame draped in an expensive suit that hugged her body like it had been made especially for her. And it probably had.

But this . . . this I had not been expecting.

“What is she wearing?” Lindsey asked. “Why isn’t she in a suit? She’s always in a suit.”

“Jeans,” I quietly said. “She’s wearing jeans.”

More specifically, jeans, knee-high riding boots, and a very chic caramel-colored sweater. She had dressed down—casually even—despite being Master of a House, returning to serve Ethan, her own Master, as he managed the transition of his House.

Certainly she wasn’t the first vampire to wear jeans. Most Cadogan House vamps did when we weren’t on duty, and even Ethan had made the transition. But Lacey Sheridan wasn’t any vampire.

The clothes weren’t the only change. Her hair was short like it had been before, but she’d angled her blond bob into a cut that fell to points at her jawbone. The look was modern and daring, and it accentuated her blue eyes and perfect cheekbones.

“She’s . . . changed,” Lindsey whispered. “She looks good, but it’s weird to see her dressed so normally.”

“Weird,” I said, “and probably completely intentional.”

“A makeover to bring her a little more in line with Ethan’s current tastes?” Lindsey whispered, glancing at me. “The probability is high.”

Lacey picked that moment to look through the crowd and meet my eyes, and there was an unmistakable dare in her gaze. I assumed she knew Ethan and I were in a relationship, although it appeared she didn’t much care. She meant to have him, and she wasn’t going to let me stand in her way.

I sighed.

“That was a pretty sad sigh,” Juliet said.

“I really, really hate drama,” I said. “And I’ll bet you twenty dollars she’s bringing a load of drama with her.”

“Not in those jeans,” Lindsey said. “She’s not getting anything else in that two-hundred-dollar skintight denim.”

I elbowed her, which made me feel a little better.

Ethan gestured toward me, beckoning me forward.

“Rock her socks off,” Lindsey whispered.

I made a vague sound of agreement and moved forward. When I reached them, Ethan put a hand on my back. “Lacey, you remember Merit.”

“The Sentinel,” she said. “Of course. Nice to see you again, Merit.”

Ethan had a habit of calling me “Sentinel” when he was in work mode. I guess Lacey had picked up the same habit. It made sense, since she seemed to view me more as an employee than a colleague. But I could take the high road.

“You, too,” I said. “I appreciate your coming out to help Ethan.”

Her expression momentarily faltered. My comment had been polite, but it had also been a subtle reminder of my position in the House—at Ethan’s side.

Ethan smiled and looked at Lacey. “Do you need time to freshen up? I know it was a long night’s travel.”

“Maybe for just a few minutes. Perhaps I could take my bags upstairs and get settled, and then join you in your office?”

“Please,” he said.

Helen appeared at Ethan’s side, taking one of Lacey’s suitcases and holding out a hand toward the stairs.

“You’re in the guest suite,” she said.

Helen escorted Lacey up the stairs, and the rest of the vampires—except the guards—dispersed.

“A moment, Ethan?” Luc asked.

“My office,” he said, and we funneled inside, as if we were simply going about our evening . . . and the head of a vampire House thousands of miles away hadn’t just shown up dressed like me.

It was undoubtedly going to be one of those nights.

* * *

Since we’d been on the first floor to greet Lacey, Ethan’s office became an assemblage of senior staff. We gathered in a huddle, waiting for someone to break