Tempted by the Butler - Erin Bedford

Chapter 1

Piper

Bullshit. Complete and utter horse garbage. I've had to do a lot of stupid, meaningless jobs before but this one takes the cake.

I had to quit. I couldn't take it anymore. There was no way I was going to be able to handle doing this for the next, however fucking long I was going to be stuck here for. There was just nothing to it. I'd go insane first.

A whimper came from my feet, where I stood on the sandy beach of Seabrick.

"Don't look at me like that." I glared down at the six-inch Pomeranian that looked more like a scrubber brush than a dog. "You have no idea how much of a step down this is for me." I huffed and switched the leash into my other hand as I knelt down with my little plastic baggie to pick up Mister Fluffers' minuscule poop.

Mister Fluffers barked at me, wagging his tail.

"Cleaning toilets to picking up dog shit," I grumbled. "Yeah, that's a real step down."

Another bark was my answer.

"At least, I got orgasms with my job." I glared pointedly at Mister Fluffers. "You can't compete with that."

Mister Fluffers sat back on his heels and whined.

I rolled my eyes. "Don't give me those sad eyes. They don't work on me. I have much hotter men begging for my attention. I am immune to your charms."

The dog only whined more.

"Ugh!" I threw my hands up and knelt beside him, scratching behind his ears. "You know, you remind me of someone just as equally a pain in my ass."

"Are you talking to a dog?"

"Speak of the devil." I stood and brushed my hands on my shorts. "Have you come to keep an eye on me while I do my menial job?"

"You know, you don't need to do this job," Darren stepped up behind me, looking out of place on the beach in a full piece suit and gloves. "The Durands are still paying your salary."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "You mean guilt money."

Darren sighed and lifted his eyes to the heavens, not arguing with me as he twisted his wrist to check his watch. He seemed to do that a lot lately. Not the looking up to the heavens bit - though he did do that too - the checking his watch bit.

Was Darren counting down the minutes until we could finally go home and stop hiding?

"I'm not taking money for a job I'm not doing anymore." I held my hand up before he could argue, the leash sliding down my wrist as I snapped at him, "And don't tell me that once a month counts which by the way, they have yet to keep to that promise."

"I wasn't-"

"Here." I shoved the baggie of poop at him.

Darren's nostrils flared but he took the bag regardless. He dropped it in a nearby trash can along Seabrick's only public beach and then gave me a pointed look. "As I was saying, I wasn't implying you were a whore but part of your job entails having to deal with certain extreme circumstances."

I snorted. "I wouldn't call hiding out in this sad town while the guys run for their lives an extreme circumstance. If I wanted to sit around on my ass all day, I could have done that back at home." I grimaced at the gritty feeling of sand between my toes. I probably shouldn't wear flip flops on the beach.

In any other circumstance, being stranded in Seabrick, a town of just over five thousand people with a fantastic view of the ocean, would be a dream come true. I could breathe in the air, and all I could taste was the salty sea. No pollution making you hack and cover your newly sensitive nose. There were a lot of benefits to being bound to a vampire but the extra olfactory senses I could have done without.

Thankfully, the beaches of Seabrick weren't overrun with tourists right now. I'd learned fast that crowds could be a bit overwhelming for my new senses. With the school year starting, Seabrick was entering its offseason, and we'd have several gloriously quiet months before the first break of the year came. I didn't plan on being here that long.

"If you do not like it here, I can bring it up to Master Durand when we speak next." Darren walked alongside me entirely at ease while people stared at him. Despite the fact that he was wearing a perfectly pressed and steamed suit, Darren was