and Niall’s desires, their passion, she wondered if she was at last going to discover the answer, only to lose it with her life, in a matter of weeks, days . . . hours?
No. If there was an afterlife, and even if she was stuck with Stephen, she’d hold on to that knowledge. Once discovered, it couldn’t be taken from her. If it could, then there really was such a thing as Hell.
15
SHE’D started toward the house when Niall came back out. She’d intended to ask him what he wanted for dinner, but at his pensive expression, she changed tactics.
“Are you in there eating SpaghettiOs?”
Brooding turned to surprise at her obvious attempt to tease him, but he recovered quickly. “I’m making dinner for you tonight. You’re goin’ to eat half o’ the pizza with me.”
“I will not.”
He grinned then, that wicked smile that could actually curl her toes, because they dug into the earth the minute he did it. “We’ll argue about it after.”
“After what?”
His gaze roamed over her body. She’d served at vampire dinners involving elaborate servant orgies. Stephen regularly called her to his room to service his needs, requiring her to pad barefoot from her quarters, completely naked. The staff and other servants she passed found it unremarkable, unconcerned about her appearance.
The way he looked at her now, clad only in Evan’s shirt, was not unconcerned at all. He took his time with it, not answering her right away. “Christ, we should make ye stay like this all the time.”
Even after a demanding session like she’d just experienced, she was trained to be sexually prepared at the merest hint of vampire interest, her pussy automatically lubricating itself, her nipples tightening. Niall, being a third mark, would have no problem responding in kind. His nostrils flared, eyes registering her reaction.
“Christ, lass. You’re going to kill me.”
Her pulse leaped in her throat as he took a step closer. “You need dinner,” she said, but her voice was unsteady to her own ears. The expression on his face became more intent, male senses recognizing female compliance, and becoming even more concentrated on his desires as a result. “But not pizza.”
“Aye, pizza.” His brown eyes glinted. “There’ll be no arguin’ that. But first, we have to deal with the other matter. Ye were tearing yourself down in your mind today. At the store. Evan told me. Ye recall what happens when ye insult his property.”
Oh no. Evan’s shirt had warmed her, though the gesture itself, his touch, his possession, had kindled the small furnace in her vitals even more. Niall’s look now only increased it. She didn’t want to lose all that delicious heat in the cold creek. She shook her head, backing away. “No. I’m sure he misunderstood.”
“I’m entirely sure he didnae, lass. All-powerful vampire and all that.”
When he lunged at her, she dashed behind the picnic table, sending the tails of Evan’s shirt flying away from her bare backside. When she spun to face him, her hair swirling around her face, Niall eyed her appreciatively. He began to stalk her. “I’ll probably need to hold ye under the water a minute or two. Get ye nice and cold so you’ll want to cling to me after.”
“I think you’re taking undue liberties with Master’s instructions.” She circled the table as he followed her from the other side. The moment he started around the far corner, she dashed for the cabin door. She’d lock him out, entice him with dinner smells so he’d forget all about throwing her into that creek. When he caught her at the door, she was laughing, which morphed into a squeal as he banded his arm across her chest. She lunged forward, offsetting his balance, allowing her to duck out from under his grip and make it back to the picnic table.
Sparring with other servants was a regular activity, given that there might be reason to defend the Master’s home or belongings. Or prove oneself against the power games that other servants sometimes played. But the last time she’d wrestled for fun and sport was with Adam when they were young.
Niall was like a cougar, not stalking dinner, but playing with his mate. Had Evan given Niall the parting command to throw her in the creek because it might result in this, lightening his heart and drawing it from the dark place it had gone? Had the vampire also known she would figure it out, giving her a service she could do for them both? The confidence