Page 40 of Taken By The Vampire King

But as I thought of home, my heart lurched. I missed the people there. “What’s Benedict like?” I asked suddenly.

Would he be good to my people? I almost laughed at the thought that Harry and Pierre were my people, but I’d pretty much gone ahead and adopted them as uncles—whether they wanted that or not.

Jason took another sip of his drink then nodded. “He’s a good guy. Like me, Nic trusts Ben with all aspects of his life—including what belongs to him.”

He gave me a slightly pointed look, but irritation flared in my chest.

“The bar will soon be mine.” Only a month. I just had to stick this out for a month.

Jason swallowed again then dropped his napkin onto his half-finished beignet. “What’s next? You have some time before you need to be party ready. Movie? Video game? There’s a cinema in the basement.”

“Popcorn, too?” I lifted an eyebrow.

Jason chuckled. “You just ate breakfast.”

I laughed too as I stood and tucked my chair under the table. “I know, but popcorn can persuade me to do pretty much anything.”

“I’ll be sure to let Nic know that.” Jason’s words floated over his shoulder as he headed to the door.

“That and pizza,” I called, and Jason rewarded me with another chuckle.

“Noted.”

We spent the rest of the morning combing through Nicolas’s extensive movie collection, barely watching anything except for the odd scene here and there as we compared our favorite movies and Jason did bad impressions of various characters.

Lunch was pizza delivery, and I laughed. “Beignets, popcorn, and pizza. Fantastic.”

Jason smiled. “I think the party later might be better than slumming it here with pizza and a movie. Nic’s family knows how to throw a party.”

I froze for a moment. His family? I’d thought maybe business associates. Hoped for that, anyway. Family felt strangely intimate. But he’d mentioned that in our negotiations, so I shrugged it off. I could handle a bit of family.

“Will you be there?” I asked. Weirdly, Jason was the closest thing I had to a friend in this big, museum-like house. “This morning has been a lot of fun.”

Jason’s eyes were gentle. “You won’t need me there to guard you while you’re with Nic, among his family.”

But his words were hesitant and seemed to be laced with apprehension, and that sent a shiver of forewarning through me, reigniting the desire I’d felt when I first arrived here—the one that made me want to know more about Nicolas Dupont so I could release myself from the deal.

If Jason thought Nicolas’s family was dangerous, that meant Nicolas was likely dangerous too. I’d become too relaxed since I got here. Too focused on lasting the month when I could probably break the contract earlier and still get what was promised to me.

My mind wandered to the perpetually closed doors of the west wing, but before I could ask Jason anything, Mr. Baldwin appeared.

“Miss Boucher.” His usual clear tones rang across the room. “The stylists have arrived, and I’ve requested they set themselves up in your suite.”

“Thank you.” I turned to wave at Jason, but he was already on his feet.

“I’ll come and stand outside your door again,” he said by way of explanation.

I waved him away. “Oh, you don’t need to do that.”

“Nic said I do.” His face was expressionless, and there was clearly no point in arguing with him, so I turned to leave again, Jason trailing behind me.

Upstairs, my room was a flurry of activity. One lady was setting up makeup on a table, and another was plugging in various tools for styling my hair. A third woman popped her head out of the huge closet and squealed when she saw me. “Ooooo! She’s here! Isn’t she adorable? This is going to be so much fun!”

A smile crept across my face, awkward and halting at such enthusiasm and attention. Part of me had hoped to slip into my room almost unnoticed, but that hope was quickly gone as the other women started to speak.

“Hair or makeup first?” The lady with all the styling devices held up a curling iron.

“Bathroom,” I murmured. “Want me to wash my hair?”

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