Page 86 of Blood Mosaic

“Hypocrite.”

“Hardly.”

The car turned right and paused at a set of wrought iron gates with a guardhouse next to it. Two men stepped from the shadows and started to pull open the door.

“Even mates can grow apart.” Oleg kept his head back, his eyes closed and his hands folded loosely on his lap, as if he were discussing the latest business trends in Japan and not immortal infidelity. “Luana thrived on novelty, so I indulged her.”

Tatyana tried not to think about it.

She didn’t follow gossip columns. She didn’t read internet news about actors or athletes. She was intensely uninterested in other people’s love lives because she had none of her own. It would be miserable to dwell on what she couldn’t have.

“As for you, once we are lovers, I would prefer you avoid any contact with other men, but I know that’s not practical. Family is acceptable. Business associates will be tolerated. Random friendships with human or vampire men will not be.”

“You arrogant?—”

“We’re here.” His eyes flew open as if he were one of her mother’s homing pigeons who had found his way home. “The human quarters are on the first floor. Pick whichever one you prefer. The others can wait until after you’ve chosen yours.”

“Idon’twant preferential treatment.” There were at least half a dozen other mortal staff traveling with them. “I’m the most junior employee; I can go last.”

They were driving through an alley of arching palm trees, and the moon was at its apex, shining over the water with an eerie blue glow. Tatyana stared out of the window at the hidden luxury she never could have imagined was only a few short miles from where she’d grown up.

“If you don’t pick a room for yourself, volchitsa, I’ll put you in the locked closet attached to my day chamber.” Oleg smiled. “Don’t worry, it’s very spacious and has a washroom and a bath.”

Absolutely not.

The car came to a stop in front of a massive whitewashed mansion, and Tatyana pushed her door open before Seban or Oleg could open it for her. “I’ll pick something right now.”

They were sittingin a tavern on the outskirts of the city, a place where fishermen mingled with luxury-yacht owners and most people kept to themselves.

Tatyana was sitting at a table with Mika while the tall vampire named Oksana stood near the door, watching the tavern with sharp green eyes.

Oleg waited in a booth by himself, sipping a cup of tea and ignoring the pretty server who was trying to catch his attention.

The young woman was dressed in a low-cut V-neck top, and her breasts were nearly falling out of it. Her jeans were skintight, and Tatyana had the distinct urge to yank her hair and drag her out into the drizzly night.

“You’re possessive.”

She turned when she heard Mika speak. “What?”

The vampire was smiling a little bit. “You’re glaring at that server like she kicked your cat.”

Tatyana looked away and stared at the door. “When is this person coming?”

“Whenever she wants to,” Mika said. “She doesn’t answer to anyone.”

Tatyana glanced at the vampire, then looked away. She didn’t want him to think she was studying him even though she was. Mika Arakis was an utterly average-looking man. He was just handsome enough to wear a suit without looking awkward. Yet if she had put him in a fisherman’s sweater and work pants, he wouldn’t look out of place either.

He was tall but not taller than Oleg. His accent was vaguely Baltic but not strong. He had brown hair and blue eyes. His features were even and somewhat forgettable.

But those keen blue eyes saw everything in the tavern, and he communicated seamlessly with the humans and vampires who had come with them and filtered through the pub.

The fact that Oleg had asked Mika to sit with her probably grated on the man, but she was also grateful. It was hard to be a woman alone in a place like this.

Tatyana didn’t have a phone or a book with her, so she tried to make conversation. “How long have you worked for Oleg?”

“I don’t work for him.” Mika looked amused. “I am his boyar.”

“I don’t know what that means to vampires.”

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