Page 34 of Skin Trade

“I see only the truth and speak it,” Seth said. “I offer an apology for the way Payton has insulted you, but I offer nothing more. No harm has come to your girl. No harm inflicted by mine.”

“No. Because you did all the harm. You whipped her,” Payton shot. “Did you see what he did?”

Seth glared at her. “Be silent.” His voice was thick, stern, and his eyes darkened. “You are not permitted to speak. Do you understand?” His grip on her arm tightened painfully.

“This one was always trouble. You’d do well to end her.”

“What is so important that the entire coven gathers at the doorway?” A voice boomed from outside. Alexander stepped in as the crowd parted for him.

“His pet thought it her business to consort with mine,” Creven said, and then he bowed. “I apologise for the inconvenience this has caused.”

Alexander narrowed his gaze at Payton. Seth bowed his head to the one higher than him.

“Is this true?”

Payton ground her jaw, said nothing. She stared at him with that defiance she had mastered. Maybe Josie was right. She was the spoilt little rich girl. Maybe she was waiting for Daddy to come along. But that was her hope. It wasn’t a lack of acceptance, it was hope and wishing, and knowing that somewhere out there, her father would come and get her. There was nothing wrong with that.

“Answer him,” Seth said.

A tremor passed between her and Seth, and his anger stroked against her skin, liquid spilling into her, hot and furious. It made no sense. Only a true blood slave could feel a master’s power, but he hadn’t bitten her. Yet it was there, undeniably so, a strong vibration between them. “I only wanted to say hello to my friend. I didn’t mean any harm.”

“Friend?”

Payton licked her now dry lips and tried to move back a little as Alexander moved closer. He oozed power. More so than any of the others in the room. It breathed out of him in waves of hot and cold. It left her breathless, threatened to choke her. “I’m sorry. Please.”

“Do you know the punishment for such things as this?” Alexander was different to the other vampires. While they could pass for human, there was nothing in Alexander’s form that suggested he could be like her. Nothing at all. It was as if his skin glowed with his power—power that couldn’t be contained by his skin, his body.

She looked to Seth, hoping for something, protection, anything to put between her and this vampire. But like Creven, he’d bowed his head and was standing with respect for his master.

“I didn’t mean anything. I’m sorry.”

“I have no doubt about that.” He turned to Seth. “Is your pet not trained?”

“She has only been with me a short time,” he said. “This is her first time here. She has not yet learnt the correct way to conduct herself.”

“I see that,” he said, stepping closer. “We could certainly teach her a lesson. What it means when one puts their … how do your humans say it?” He searched for the word. “Nose, where it isn’t wanted? You see, we know you did not just say hello to this girl. We might have let that slight infraction go, but you told her you would get her out. She repeatedly told you to stop talking to her and yet you persisted. Tell me, Payton, what exactly do you intend to get her out of?”

Payton’s mouth formed a thin hard line and her stomach turned cold. “I …How …”

He had a long face and when he smiled, it made it longer. “How did we hear? This is my building; it is my job to see and hear everything.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything. Just my friend … I wanted to help her.”

“You think she needs saving. That is what you said.”

“It was a mistake. A lapse in judgment.”

“I do not think so, child. Tell me, why do you think she needs saving? Perhaps I can help her. It is, after all, my job to ensure all blood slaves are treated well. Without them, our kind would be nothing more than those wretched creatures you see outside.”

The words were like a death sentence on her tongue. One utterance of them and she’d be shot, or worse.

“Say it.”

“I...” She tried to keep her mouth shut, but Alexander commanded the words out of her. “She has marks on her back.”

Creven raised his head. “That is none--”

Alexander raised his hand to stop Creven from speaking. “And you felt this was your business because?”

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