“Sure,” I scoff. “You’re the fool who doesn’t realize she’s not timid unless she’s scared out of her wits.”
I grow more serious when the distinct scent of active pheromones catches my attention.
Bloody fucking bastard. I shared her with him, and he’s somewhere keeping her to himself.
The barest of giggles drifts through the room, sounding almost buried.
Arion is gone in the next instant, a blur of motion even to my eyes.
I follow the stench of sex, reminding myself my probation is temporary. The best part about Violet is that it’s hard for her to stay angry, and she doesn’t really punish us by any true standard of measure.
I finally make my way down to the basement, following the giggles that have turned into moans. Arion is at the bottom of the stairs, already watching, as Vance slowly drives in and out of Violet, his eyes devoted to her. He doesn’t even glance up to see us, as he savors each fucking selfish stroke.
Blankets are spread all over the floor like the concrete can be made softer by a quilted layer or two. There’s absolutely nothing romantic about fucking a girl on pallets in a semi-dark basement with boxes of lights strewn everywhere.
And my chocolate?! They’ve been eating some of the chocolate-covered strawberries, undoubtedly bloody feeding them to each other like honeymooners, and drinking the wine I sent over as well.
He’s not supposed to be rewarded for my actions, damn it.
Her fingers are twisted in his hair when she finally makes her telling, sweet little sound, finding her moment, as Vance’s thrusts grow more insistent.
Her head tilts back and her eyes open like she finally senses us, and she stares directly at Arion for a moment. Vance stares between their bodies, watching himself disappear inside her over and over.
Her eyes stay locked on Arion’s very intent ones for a second longer, before they flick to mine almost dismissively, as though she’s no longer surprised when she finds me watching.
I’m unsure whether or not this is progress, since my dick is dry and she’s not extending an invitation. Neither is the stingy Van Helsing.
All her attention returns to Vance as she pulls him down, and he kisses her the way I want to kiss her, as he groans into her mouth, his thrusts finally stilling, while he simply drinks her in.
Her breasts barely peek out from his chest when he moves his arm out of the way, shoving one hand into her hair to draw her as close as possible. Like she’s finally his.
“I distinctly remember extending an invitation to you,” I remind him as I glance around at the mostly bare room.
“How do I get from here to there?” Arion asks more seriously, pointing at where he’s standing to where Vance is comfortably lounging between her legs.
Vance makes a frustrated sound as he looks up from kissing Violet.
“Maybe this is why it only almost worked,” Violet mutters almost too low for me to overhear.
Vance resists the urge to smile, like they’re sharing in some inside joke.
I’m going to box that cock right in the face the moment Violet isn’t looking.
“No, it only almost worked because Idun broke the rules,” Arion says very matter-of-factly, as though he’s on the inside too.
Vance looks at him with the same confusion I do, and Violet snaps her attention to us.
“How long exactly have you been spying?” she asks very seriously.
Vance’s eyes narrow on Arion, even as he keeps his body acting as a cage around Violet, effectively trapping her and staking his claim.
I need her to leave so I can clock that pompous prick in the stupid face.
I’ve been fully feeding with Violet enough to get back a surprising amount of strength.
I think I can take him.
My fists unfold when I see her start kissing a trail up his arm with far too much comfort and ease—something she hasn’t really had with him until now. It’s certainly more comfort and ease than she’s had with even me, and I thought I was out in front.
Damn it all to hell. Now I sound as stupid as Arion.
“I’ll let the three of you talk about whatever while I go get supplies,” she says in a small whisper when her lips reach his ear.
Clearly she thinks our hearing is far less significant than it is.
He still has one hand tangled in her slightly messy hair, and he holds her to him like he does a prize trophy around possible thieves, eyes glaring at us.
Now I also see why Vance has been missing in action for two solid days. Why is Violet treating him like her damn boyfriend?
She kisses the side of his neck again, and he reluctantly releases her.
I barely catch a glimpse of all that pale, supple skin before she’s tugging on one of his good shirts.
Vance stands and starts pulling on a pair of discarded trousers.
Arion blocks her way before she can get gone, and her eyes lift to meet his, as she patiently awaits whatever it is he wants to say.
“I may have thought of you as a replacement for Idun while you were presumed very mortal,” the vampire tells her as he presses closer.
She stands still, unflinching.
Vance shakes his head and rolls his eyes.
Arion, careful not to directly touch her, adjusts the warped collar of the button down that hits her mid-thigh.
His eyes grow more serious as they narrow.
“But you’re not mortal. I only learned that just before you went missing. Be glad I learned it, Violet. That monster you threw yourself in front of so quickly was a tamed version, because there was only tempered rage. Don’t ever do something like that again.”
She just continues to stare directly into his eyes until she finally gives a small nod.
He steps out of the way, and she jogs up the stairs.
“You bugged my fucking house, didn’t you?” Vance asks the vampire the second we hear the door shut up top.
Violet’s senses aren’t quite as good as ours.
I look over at Arion, idly wondering if he’s that clever.
Arion nods like it should have been obvious. “Of course I did. She’s not going to tell us directly what we’ve done wrong. I needed to know, and now I do,” he answers unapologetically.
“I really should do a better job of keeping up with technology,” I note aloud to myself.
“I just got tired of waiting on you to come out of the basement. It’s the one room of the house I didn’t bother to bug,” Arion adds on a breath of annoyance.
“How did this even happen?” I decide to ask, gesturing around at the sex pallet they’ve thoroughly ruffled.
Vance’s lips tug into a smirk. “I gave her a gift.”
“She doesn’t like gifts. All that chocolate is wasting as effectively as the flowers I sent,” I’m quick to argue. “Aside from the shit you’ve been feeding each other down here.”
“Wrong gifts, apparently,” Arion says before taking a seat on the floor. “I’m seeing she likes a softer approach. Damien stays in too much trouble.”
Now I want to punch the vampire too, but I don’t think I’ve fed enough to take him yet.
I settle for a bored look to cast in his direction, not letting him see he’s riling me, and look back over to Vance.
“Fuck you both,” I decide to say before turning and jogging up the stairs to where Violet is.
She’s filling a small basket with waters and some sandwich things when I reach the kitchen. Is the damn girl planning a weird basement picnic?
I shouldn’t envy Vance so much in this moment for something so…confusing. Why is a dank basement romantic?
“Whatever he bought you, I’ll buy you five,” I say conversationally as I hop up on the counter next to the basket and take one of the bottles like she’s also including me in this picnic.
“Can they hear me?” she asks in a quiet voice.
“Certainly,” I tell her.
She nods like she expected that and turns to grab a pen and a piece of paper from a drawer, as though she knows where everything in his house is.
I’d forgotten what jealousy feels like, but I really do want to see if I can land a painful punch on Vance’s smug face right now.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her very plainly, and loudly enough for them to hear in case she needs proof that I’m not too prideful to apologize in front of—
“What’d you do?” she muses, still writing beside the basket that’s interrupting my view.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m sincerely fucking sorry, and I hate you being mad at me while you’re clearly falling hard for Vance.”
“You all pretend to be okay with sharing, and yet you make each interaction a competition. It’s very stressful,” she says as though she’s educating me. “If I really have to choose just one, then—”
“Whoa,” I cut in, waving my hand in front of her face and causing her to blink over at me. “No one is putting you to the test of choosing, especially when I’m in trouble without knowing why,” I quickly clarify.
She rolls her eyes and continues writing. “I wasn’t trying to manipulate you, Damien. I’m saying if I need to choose one, I will. I don’t want to be in the middle of a long feud that stays in a constant state of competition. It’s not—”
“We’re not important enough for you to fight for. I get it,” I say tightly.
She stops writing and huffs out a breath. “You do realize how confusing all this is for a novice, right?” she asks as she glares over at me. “Especially when you mix in monster parts. I struggle to even keep one human man interested.”
“Monster parts? Exactly what monster parts are the issue, sweet gypsy?” I ask, my grin growing as her adorable little scowl forms.
“Har. Har. Read the paper. Those monster parts.”
“Tell me what it says. I’m not reading your thoughts like we’re pen pals. It creates too much of an emotional distance, and there’s already too much of that,” I tell her, ready for any argument concerning the Neopry debacle.
Clearly she’s got retrospective anger over that if that’s her reason for being pissed at Emit.
She grabs my hand, and I happily follow her through the house and out the door.
“Tell me when they can’t hear me,” she says on a tired sigh over her shoulder.
“Keep walking until we get to my house,” I supply.
“They can hear that well?” she asks incredulously.
“No, but my house is better than Vance’s. I have a basement and blankets too, if that’s your—”
I shut right the hell up when she turns and glares at me.
“They shouldn’t be able to hear us from here,” I state as I point to where we are and give her a charming smile. “Why’s it so important they not overhear?”
“Because Arion is competitive, and I don’t want him doing something terrible just because you’re a self-centered asshole.”