Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,29

as a servant?”

Finished with the origami, she rose to retrieve the plates. When she brought them back to the table, she correctly put the one with far more stew poured over rice in front of him. She lifted a delicate shoulder. The T-shirt she was wearing was snug enough to create nice creases between her breasts, coaxing a male to trace them.

“They were prepared for it, long before I was born. It was far more difficult for my mother when Adam, my twin, decided to go with me and the InhServ accepted his petition.” She put her napkin in her lap, unfolded it. “The day we left, she held on to Adam so hard my father had to pry her fingers from the car door, keep her away from it as we drove off.”

She straightened, lips tightening. “There was no need for her to grieve. It was a great honor to be chosen, and they were compensated. They can live well for the rest of their lives, send all the rest of their children to college.”

“Except you.” Christ, it was like she was brainwashed.

“My training exceeds that of most college educations in the required subject areas.” She gave him an intelligent, shrewd look, not the vacant stare of an indoctrinated drone. That almost made it worse. “What I am shouldn’t distress you, Niall, because it certainly doesn’t me. I embraced being a servant fully, with no regrets. Didn’t you?”

Something in his expression must have alerted her, for she stopped. “My apologies. That’s a very personal thing. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

“I started it.” Truth, but he still couldn’t help the ugly twist in his gut. He nodded toward the centerpiece. She’d taken a discarded magazine, cut strips out of colorful ads and turned them into decorative curlicues around the glasses holding the flowers and votives. “This is pretty, but not necessary. Even if he had showed for dinner.”

“It’s important for a servant to make her vampire’s home inviting for him at all times,” she said, Miss Emily Post of the vampire world. “Even if he doesn’t come to dinner, everything is prepared as if he will be there. So when and if he comes, he knows his needs have been uppermost in the servant’s mind.”

“He’s not a bloody Council vampire.”

“He doesn’t have to be.” She looked genuinely puzzled. “It’s part of the core tenets of our service to any vampire.”

“Fine.” He scooped up stew, shoveled a bite in his mouth, chewed, staring at those flickering candles. Then he picked up the origami bird perched next to his water glass and crumpled it, wiping his mouth on the paper.

“I’m no vampire. I don’t need that kind of nonsense.” Picking up his plate and water, he left her there, shoving open the screen door with his foot. He’d eat out there, where there was more air to breathe.

Alanna folded her hands in her lap to conceal their tremor, not sure how to react. Staring at Niall’s broad back as he took a seat at the picnic table, she felt like she needed to say she was sorry, but she wasn’t sure for what. It wasn’t about him or her. All the settings needed to look properly prepared. What was wrong with that?

Despite the fact that her stomach now had a cold ball inside of it, she ate her stew. He’d reduced the wild game taste with a good marinade, but she could already imagine different herbs or mushrooms that might add to it. If she set some of her own stew aside, she could experiment with it. When he was in an improved mood, or when she came to know him somewhat better, she could make her suggestions then.

The cleaned and dressed kills in the refrigerator told her Niall was a capable subsistence hunter in their mountain environment, but, like many carnivorous males, he obviously didn’t see much need for anything beyond meat and potatoes. Henry’s store had a produce stand with locally grown vegetables and fruits. She could supplement and expand the menu, offer different tastes and textures, which might also bring Evan to the table more often.

Perhaps she was treating Evan like the type of vampire he wasn’t, but she had to be useful. If not, she would go mad.

Right after his meal, Niall came in to dump the plate in the sink and mentioned checking on something for Evan. He said he would be back by sunset. He didn’t invite her to come. Feeling shunned, and wanting to quell