been a wild falcon, who’d willingly, for a debt of honor, let the jesses be tied onto his leg, allowed another man to become his Master. A man who could tear through his shields and knew too much about him. A man he sometimes hated almost as much as he . . . didn’t hate him.
Serve Niall as you serve me.
She’d fallen asleep puzzling over that. When she woke in the early afternoon, once again discomfited by how long she’d slept, it was to the sound of . . . well, she wasn’t sure what the sound was, until she rose and discovered Niall chopping wood on a stump in the narrow front yard. Apparently they needed more logs for the woodstove; she remembered him saying something about that on their plane ride, along with the assurance that it was a chore she wouldn’t be asked to do. She was sure she could learn to wield an axe, but then she remembered the blocker. While a human woman could chop wood, a third-marked male servant would make short work of it.
Thinking of the blocker reminded her it was time to take it. She grimaced through the burn of the injection, then showered and dressed. In the bathroom, she found Niall’s shaving gear, toothbrush, other toiletry items. Using a comb, she cleaned his hairbrush. The brown strands wound into the bristles looked like they’d been forming a nest there since the brush was bought. She also picked up the cloth he’d carelessly dropped on the floor and dried the water spots on the sink. After she straightened all the towels and cloths, she swept a critical eye over the bathroom and gave it a nod. Not too clean for two men, but tidy enough for a woman.
Returning to her room, she donned one of the long-sleeved shirts. Niall had opened the screened windows, letting in the cool air as well as the fresh smell of the forest. Though she suspected she might need hiking pants or jeans later, she went ahead and slipped on a thick cotton skirt that swirled around her ankles. Unless their vampire instructed them otherwise, female InhServs rarely wore pants. They were supposed to be accessible to the desires of their vampires at all times, and for women, pants were an obstacle to that. So the skirt felt more comfortable.
Serve him as you serve me . . .
As she went to the kitchen window, she saw Niall stripped down to jeans, each swing of the axe capable of making a female heart do an extra trip at the display of male strength and virility. She was accustomed to noticing sexual appeal, using it to stoke desire on command. But she was trained to notice far more details than that, and what she saw told her Niall was not in a good mood. He was chopping the wood as if he was cleaving an enemy, tossing the pieces into a pile with a bit more aggression than needed.
Given his habits, she was sure there’d be dishes in the sink if he’d had breakfast. So he hadn’t eaten. Pinning up her hair, she started on afternoon breakfast, planning enough if Evan wanted to sample her cooking later tonight or Niall wanted more later. So she started the coffee, found some eggs, a slab of bacon. A biscuit mix quickly became dough and the rolled pieces were put in the oven. A few raw vegetables still surviving in the crisper were chopped up for the omelettes.
The primary job of the chefs at the Council headquarters was preparing delicacies for the vampires. The servants might get the leavings, but for their own nourishment, the InhServs had a small kitchen area to prepare their food. She’d often cooked for the others, as well as visiting Randoms. Because of that, she’d learned one universal truth about men and well-cooked food.
As the biscuits browned in the oven and the coffee percolated, the axe bit into the wood at a slower cadence. A tiny smile touched her lips when the thudding stopped at last, and she heard the well pump. He’d probably don his shirt, making her regret not snatching one last glimpse out the window. She’d also like a closer look at those tattoos in the daylight, as well as what tattoos he might have on his back.
Was it wrong to indulge her own lust that way? She frowned. Acting on it without a vampire’s order was forbidden. But Evan had said . .