Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,16

She surged out of his lap, stomping on his thinly shod foot with her booted heel, likely breaking two of his toes. In a blink, she was holding the syringe she’d used like a dagger.

“Lord Brian says this treatment is not pleasant if it’s not tailored to your DNA. You are disobeying and disgracing your Master. He deserves better from his servant. He did not authorize any sexual congress between us, you said so.”

He was a capable fighter, but he hadn’t expected the same of her. Her jaw was set, the hand clutching the syringe not even shaking.

Evan’s chuckle was grating enough that Niall envisioned breaking several of the skinny painter’s limbs. She just took care of your punishment for me.

Niall ignored that. “He did. Authorize the kiss, that is.”

“Oh.” Digesting that statement, she set the syringe aside. “I’m trained to repel unsanctioned advances. My apologies.”

“None needed. I should have warned you.” But I listened to my “Master,” like a damned idiot. “So why did you let me pick you up?”

“I sensed your intent was to move me, which I assumed might be our Master’s will. When you sat down, I thought he might be using you to help him experience what I am like physically. You did not seem . . . erotically involved. At that moment.”

“Lass, you’re a strange one. But you’ve got a braw punch.” As he wiped the blood off his chin with the back of his hand, she moved to the lavatory. Bemused, he watched her return with a wet paper towel. When she stepped up to him to apply it to his mouth, she didn’t hesitate, despite the fact that he had a foot of height and a hundred pounds on her.

“How did you know the kiss wasn’t motivated by his desire to experience you?”

“Because it felt more impulsive. Like your desire. I misjudged. I apologize to him for that. I will learn quickly, I promise. Does he still wish you to kiss me?”

With her face so neutral, she might have been asking him if Evan wanted a plate of broccoli. But he took a closer look. Tension hummed just below the surface, her body anticipating, needing . . . something.

Niall took the paper towel from her hand. Well, O Lord and Master?

Do you want to kiss her?

Now my wants matter? I expect you already know the answer.

Yes, which is why I’m denying you. Tell her no.

Niall turned to drop the towel on the sink. Then he swung back, caught her by the waist, twisting her to the wall with her arm behind her back. Using his knee thrust high between her thighs to keep her pinned, he held her with easy strength. As she struggled, trying to figure out ways to throw him, he stayed alert to any signs of distress. There were none. When she deduced he was making a point, not an attack, she stilled, submitting to his dominance in the matter. It sent a healthy surge of blood to his cock, but he put that aside.

“Evan and I are not quite what ye expect in a vampire–servant pairing,” he said against her perfect ear, taking a nice breath of that haunting scent. “You’ll come tae no harm at our hands. But you try something like that against me again, I’ll turn you over my knee, no matter what price I pay for it. I’m not a docile man, and I’m near three centuries your senior, lass.”

“My intent is to serve your Master, not to disrespect you.”

“Hmm. He said no to the kiss. For now.” Which of course meant now he was thinking about it far more than he should.

But while her breath had shortened, her emotions seemed blank. Maybe Evan had really stepped in it with this one. Yet when nothing else had eased her suffering, the two of them had been able to do so. Some things a man did, not because they were wise, but because they were the honorable thing.

It was a philosophy that had determined most of the forks in Niall’s life, and he didn’t see that changing anytime soon. Especially if it involved a fascinating lass.

3

ALANNA wasn’t sure what to feel. She’d never experienced a servant like Niall, or the type of Master that Evan seemed to be to him. Something about their interactions, experienced through the one-sided communication of Niall, reminded her of the way Adam had related to his friends, before he’d departed with her for the InhServ program. Another difference between her