Taken by a Vampire (Vampire Queen) - By Joey W. Hill Page 0,94

he’d hoped . . . He was a fool, of course.

It was a few moments before Evan looked up from his drawing. He’d been deep in his creative process, so he blinked as if coming out of a sleep. Niall sheathed his knife, but she didn’t register the movement.

“I’m sorry, Master. I failed you. I sought pleasure for its own sake, and not yours.”

“Isn’t that what I told you to do?”

Her gaze lifted, confused. “But it didn’t feel that way. It felt . . . different.”

“Aye, it did. It felt bloody marvelous,” Niall said. Now she did glance toward him, though Evan sent him a mildly quelling look.

“You did what I wanted you to do, Alanna, so you’ve done nothing wrong.” He touched her face. “When I rise tonight, I will have a list of things for you to do.”

She brightened considerably, like a false sun, and nodded. But before she could rise, he bade her stay with a firm gesture. “I’ll leave you a list daily, but they come with a condition. There’s one task I expect you to do every day. No matter what other things I give you, it has the highest priority.”

“Yes, Master. Anything.”

“Every day, you’ll spend two hours doing something you choose to do. Entirely for yourself.”

Her brow furrowed, considering it. “What if what I want to do is something that pleases you?”

The lass was a clever thing, and far more stubborn than she realized. Evan’s lips twitched against a smile, but by the time she’d glanced up, he was giving her a stern look.

“You’ll be doing that with the tasks I give you. You’ve learned to be the kind of servant the Council requires. But I’m not a Council vampire. If you truly want to serve me according to my desires, then you’ll need to expand your skill set. Those two hours will help you do that.”

She mulled that over. “I will try, Master.”

Honest as well. It was like when they were hiking and Evan had asked her if she could keep up. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn’t lie.

“Do better than that,” Evan reproved, making her flush. “You are fully capable of this task, Alanna. For now, I want you to go back to bed. You’re exhausted. If Niall sees you out of bed before three in the afternoon, he’ll tie you there. Your body is still recuperating.”

She pressed her lips together, but bowed her head. Evan touched her hair, letting a long strand slide through his fingertips. “It’s not a punishment, yekirati. I want you well-rested. Go.”

With a nod, she rose to her feet, turned and hurried back into the cabin. As Evan watched her, Niall came to his side. “What are you thinking?”

“If a vampire had a heart, that girl would break it.”

She reluctantly realized Evan was correct. Once she laid back down, her eyes didn’t open again until three thirty, startling her. But her momentary dismay was dispelled by Evan’s note on the side table.

If it’s past three o’clock, you have obeyed your Master. I’m pleased with you. As a reward, you may feel free to bedevil Niall about his laziness as much as you wish, without repercussions.

Underneath that had been scrawled an additional note, in Niall’s handwriting. He can only enforce that at night, muirnín. During the day, I wouldn’t push your luck.

They made her smile. Then she remembered Evan was supposed to have left her a list.

He had, a full page on the kitchen table. Niall was gone, but he’d left a message on the counter that he’d be back in time for a nine o’clock dinner. That prompted another smile, the less-than-subtle hint in the message that he’d like for her to have something ready. He was probably scouting for Evan again.

The item at the top of Evan’s list was slide reorganization. He directed her to sort out the ones that appeared extraneous or redundant. Suspecting he wanted to test her understanding of what she’d seen of his work so far, she embraced the challenge. Considering the slides carefully, she put her discard choices in one box, and the others useful for future inspiration in another.

Then there were lenses to clean and file back in their velvet-lined box, something Evan’s to-do list indicated Niall was far too clumsy to handle. To underscore it, he’d sketched a picture of a bear trampling broken glass in the margins. It made her chuckle, but it also made her think about the needs of their “bear.” Amusingly enough, the next