“
Saying vampire
made you mine?
”
I asked stunned, putting my gun back
in its holster
.
“
Yes, my lady
,
but it was not the word and you know it. You felt the magic.
”
I swallowed loudly and nodded. I did. I wish to hell I hadn
’
t because that power and the feeling I got
,
which I was planning on calling my inner evil bitch, scared the crap out of me.
“
So if I told you I wanted you to go jump off a bridge…
”
“
I would have to obey your command,
”
he replied.
“
I live only to serve you now. You are my master.
”
“
Well that
’
s a
one-eighty
from trying to kill me.
”
“
I am sorry, my lady. My last master ordered me to kill you, it was not my wish.
”
He shrugged as if to say
bygones
.
“
If we are given a direct command from the master we swear
allegiance
to
,
we have to obey.
”
“
Okay, well I need to think about this
.” Then I rolled my eyes when I realized he was still kneeling on the ground. “
For god sakes, stand up.
”
Like a flash he was on his feet, holding out my keys and food to me. I took both hesitantly, before reaching my hand up to my neck. Thankfully he just drank, and didn
’
t try to tear out my throat. There was still a fair amount of blood
.
I put pressure on the wound. Still stunned, I turned and headed toward my apartment, very aware of the vampire following me
as I maneuvered my way up the stairs and down the hall
.
Once at the door of my apartment, I let myself in and tossed my keys on the
little
table
by the door
before putting down my bag and purse. It was then I realized my vampire was still standing in the hallway.
“
Why are you standing out there?
”
I asked
,
turning to him.
“
I cannot enter until you invite me in
.
”
H
e shrugg
ed
again
.
I ignored how sexy he made the simple gesture look.
“
Do you promise if I let you in, you won
’
t try and hurt me again?
”
“
Yes, my lady. On my honor I swear it.
”
He bowed gallantly and I bit back a groan. This was so fucked up I didn
’
t even begin to know how to bitch about the situation… Or what to do about it.
“
Fine, you can come in
,
”
I
grumbled and
wav
ed
him in.
“
What
’
s your name?
”
“
Tristan
Saunders
, my lady.
”
“
Stop calling me
my lady
,
”
I sighed. All I had wanted was dinner and sleep. Now I had a personal vampire to control, who originally tried to kill me.
“
My name is Seraphine.
”
“
Yes, I know,
”
he answered standing close to me.
Too close.
“
May I call you Seraphine?
”
“
Sure, or Sera is fine
,
too.
”
“
Sera, may I tend to the wound I caused on your neck?
”
he asked
.
He was
so close
,
his breath on my neck causing me to shiver.
“
Yes,
”
I answered, not knowing what else to do. His hand went to my right shoulder as he leaned down and licked my neck.
“
What are you doing?
”
“
My saliva will close and heal the wound, Sera.
”
His chest vibrated from the sound and I could feel
it against my back
. Yeah, that wasn
’
t helping.
“
Oh,
”
I whispered, chills running through my body. Seriously? I was attracted to the vampire who was sent to kill me. After a few more moments of him licking my neck, I stepped away from him.
“
I think that
’
s enough.
”
“
As you wish
.
”
He
st
ood
up straight
and focused on me as if I was the only thing he was seeing right then
. Tristan was a few inches taller than my
five
-
ten
,
so
I figured he was about
six
-
two
. He had dark red hair that was curly but cut just so it stopped at the middle of his ears. With his gorgeous cobalt blue eyes, and lips that just begged to be nibbled on, I was having a hard time not staring at him.
“
Okay, I
’
m going to eat, and you
’
re going to answer some question
s
.
”
I sh
ook
myself out of my lust
-
filled thoughts
.
I headed into the kitchen with my take
-
out,
opened the fridge, noticing it was almost empty again,
and
grabbed a pop
before sitting down and digging in. I took a deep breath before talking when Tristan sat down across from me.
He sat in a very formal pose with his back ramrod straight and his hands in his lap.
“
Who sent you and why?
”
“
The Chicago Master,
Vlad
,
sent me,
”
he answered, staring
fixedly
at his hands.
“
You killed one of his wolves.
”
“
Bernard?
”
I
fil
ed
away that the Chicago Master
’
s name was Vlad.
Really?
A vampire named Vlad like Dracula had once been. I wondered if he named himself.
“
H
e was one of
Vlad
’
s wolves.
”
“
Yes.
”
“
Does
Vlad
know he was smuggling guns into Chicago?
”
“
I don
’
t know if he knew that.
”
“
So what, you were just sent here to kill me?
”
“
Yes.
”
“
If you failed, he
’
ll send someone else, won
’
t he?
”
I asked between bites of my burger.
“
Yes, I am afraid so. But I will protect you at all costs, Sera.
”
“
Thanks, but I
’
m not looking to drag anyone else down with me,
”
I replied
,
rolling my eyes. I felt bad when I realized he was serious and that I had hurt his feelings.
“
Look, I
’
m sorry Tristan, this is all quite a shock to me, okay?
”
“
I understand.
”
Something was off, he looked as confused and scared as I felt, fidgeting with his hands
, which he had now moved on to the table
. Wasn
’
t this whole master/servant thing normal for vampires? What was different here? Or was it that I had been able to break the bond.
After a moment processing all this new information, I knew what I had to do.
“
Great, now can you tell me how to contact
Vlad
?
”
“
Yes, I know the number.
”
“
Good. Then can you give to me before you go?
”
“
Go?
”
h
e asked finally looking up at me.
“
G
o where?
”
“
Wherever you live, Tristan,
”
I
answered
,
giving
him
a
funny
look
.
“
Back to
Vlad
, or whomever you work for.
”
His eyes went wide with shock and even more fear.
“
My place is with you now, Sera.
”
“
What are you talking about?
”
“
I was one of
Vlad
’
s vampires
.
N
ow I am yours.
”
“
Mine in what way?
”
I asked, trying to fight back the nausea feeling I was starting to get.
“
I am yours, you are my master now
and I am your
underling
.
”
Oh fuck a duck.
“
Can
’
t I just free you?
”
I really didn
’
t think I wanted to know the answer to that.
“
You don
’
t want me?
”
he asked
,
looking like I had just shot him in the chest.
“
I don
’
t want anyone, Tristan,
”
I answered
,
trying to find the right words.
“
I didn
’
t mean to
take you over and be your master
. I don
’
t even know
what happened
. I just didn
’
t want you to kill me.
”
“
I understand, but I am yours now.
”
His composure relaxed some
,
but he still looked hesitant, as if he was afraid I
’
d pull out my gun and put three
bullets
in his chest. Depending on what went down next, he was valid in his fears.
“
Let me deal with
Vlad
first and then we can figure this out
.
”
I pull
ed
out my cell phone
and unlocked it
.
“
Can you please type in his number for me
?
”
Tristan smiled at me, quickly taking the phone and punching in the numbers. I hit send when he handed it back to me and waited.
“
Hello?
”
“
This is Division Chief Thomas of the FBI
.
I need to speak with
Vlad
,
”
I
told
to the man who answered the phone.
“
Let me see if he
’
s available,
”
he said before putting me on hold.
“
Well, well, well
.
”
A
smooth, Russian accent came over the line. Really? Oh god this was going to be hard to not laugh at.
“
Chief
Thomas, so glad you received a promotion out of killing my wolf.
”