Page 22 of House of Vampires and Flame

“Exactly.” Louis smirked in satisfaction. “You really think I’d share you?”

“Who knows what runs through your vamp mind,” I grunted.

He raised his knuckles and cuffed the back of my head. I yelped. I was a notch too slow to duck.

“Sir, all the blood donors seem to be humans,” I said as he led me deeper into the hall. “I don’t see any supernatural feeders.”

“Humans are our primary food source,” Louis explained. “Supernaturals are like a delicacy. The new law forbids us from forcefully feeding on any supernatural that belongs to the other houses, unless we want to break the truce. Also, it’s less complicated to feed on humans, as they don’t fight back. It’s a great deal for the human blood donors in the realm. Other than getting paid, they’ll have a prolonged life, not to mention the pleasure they can’t get anywhere else.”

“You’re talking about junkies.” I stared at him hard. “And I’m a lone supernatural who hasn’t found a house to protect me, so you took advantage of me, sir.”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t talk back to my superior like you are my equal,” he growled. “I saved you from the life of a petty thief.” He paused to ponder for a second while regarding me. “You don’t know what kind you are, do you? You have no house to join except mine. So, quit bitching and be grateful that I’m offering you protection and shelter while you’re under the contract.”

“I get the shorter end of the stick,” I insisted. “We need to renegotiate the contract.”

“Don’t be stupid,” he said and steered me toward a secluded room at the end of the hall.

The private room had landscape paintings on the wall above the fireplace, live plants in the corners, and a large sofa in the center.

A variety of dishes—scrambled eggs, sausage, bread, and fruits—were spread out beside a pot of steamy coffee on the table.

My eyes going wide in glee, I dashed past the prince, nearly bumping him to the side. I squatted to pour myself a mug of coffee, adding half a glass of cream and five spoons of brown sugar. I heard that only serial killers drank pure black coffee, so I made sure never ever to drink black coffee again.

I took a long swig of the coffee, smiling, before I spotted a smoked chicken leg and went for it.

“Table manners, little Bob!” Louis shouted just as my teeth tore a strip of chicken meat into my mouth.

I glanced at him then at the table, noticing another empty mug. I nodded, put down the remaining drumstick on the plate, and poured coffee for the prince. If he drank the coffee, he wouldn’t need blood, right? Who drank blood in the early morning anyway?

“For you, sir,” I said respectfully.

I’d chewed the meat in record time and swallowed it before I opened my mouth to speak. I had manners!

I pushed the mug of black coffee a bit further from my side, hoping the prince wouldn’t notice the grease left on the handle by my fingers that held the drumstick.

“I’ll have to let Drusilla teach you etiquette.” He rubbed his temple, as if he had a headache, and sighed.

“No need, sir,” I said after swallowing a mouthful of bread that I barely chewed. “Education costs money. And I have enough street smarts to last me a lifetime.”

“It’s necessary in my court!” he grated, settling down on the sofa beside me, too close to me. “And let me fucking worry about money and resources. I’m a billionaire ruler.”

I inched my ass away from him and pointed at those expensive chairs on the other side of the radius nesting table. “There’re enough chairs around.”

Some folks were just annoying. I’d once snuck into a theater that played an afternoon action movie. There were hundreds of empty seats, and the next sucker coming in just had to sit right next to me.

“We don’t need to sit next to each other, sir,” I offered honestly.

“How dare you give me directions, squire?” The prince smacked me in the back of my head, again, too fast for me to react, but then I was eating.

I yapped, and he hissed, “No more nonsense,” and sank his fangs into my neck.

I didn’t fight him off. It was coming sooner or later anyway.

His fangs dug deeper into my veins, and I felt my precious blood flowing into him. My skin tightened, then tingled. Pleasure rippled within me, and Sy latched onto it, drinking it all in. She moaned instead of me, wanting to fuck badly. I had to give it my all to rein her in, so she wouldn’t break out of my skin and land on Louis’s lap.

As he kept drinking from me greedily, the pleasure increased, dancing on my nerve endings. He gripped me to him, and I reached out, about to trace my greasy fingers across his taut chest, not caring that I would ruin his expensive designer shirt, only to stop at the last second. I folded my arms across my chest, hugging myself, and put a stop to my foolishness.

Yet I couldn’t stop Sy’s lustful moans from tearing out of the back of my throat.

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