Page 45 of Skin Trade

It would be easy enough to go looking for him. She could knock on his bedroom door and see if he was there, or head to his office, but part pig-headedness and part not wanting to find another half-naked woman in his room kept her rooted to the spot.

Was she jealous? No. Not jealous, but something. He had that wrong, she had no right to be jealous over Seth or any woman who shared his bed. She had no right to be jealous for the fact he’d probably gone somewhere with Tasha. And she had no right to worry herself that she hadn’t seen either of them, and then put two and two together and made herself crazy when she came up with five as the answer.

Letting out a breath, she shuffled onto the table more and picked up her pad of paper. Yesterday, she’d dared to ask Sky if there was anything, she could do other than sit and watch the entertainment for the evening. It was all well and good going, but it had its limits. So, she’d asked Sky if she could have paper and pencils and Sky had got them for her without question.

Now, sitting outside, she regretted asking. She’d set herself up to fail at something she’d dreamt of as a child, it was nothing more than a fantasy. One she had no way to pursue. Her hand shook as she held the pencil. It was so alien to her. Like something didn’t belong between her fingers. Could she even still draw?

When she’d been a child, she’d dreamt of going to art school. Not that she knew what to do. Her mother said she could be an interior designer, but the idea of spending her life decorating other people’s homes made her want to chop off her own hands. No. She wanted to draw, to create things. Not just on the page, but with glass or wood or even clay. Her bedroom had been decorated with sculptures across the many shelves. It had been her own private sanctuary.

You can do this. You can. She took another breath, swivelled herself around so she could see the city lights better and made herself start. An hour later, and her wine sat untouched by her side, but the paper held sketches of the land. Not perfect, but not bad either. She grew more confident with every stroke of her pencil. She stopped when the terrace door opened. The door made a whoosh sound. Probably another reason she liked it out here. None of the vampires could do their stealthy sneaky shit on her.

As she turned, her heart leapt. It hoped for Seth, but it sank the second her brain realised it was Sky walking out.

“There’s another storm coming,” Sky said.

Payton nodded. “I see it.” The storms didn’t last long. Mostly winds that brought with them so much sand it was like being snowed in. If the rain came with it, it was even worse. Mother nature playing with her own clay and launching it at the buildings. “See there?” She pointed for Sky to see. Where the clouds were, miles away, but from the terrace, so very visible, they could see the rain falling. “It’s like a swarm of bees heading this way.”

“Huh.” Sky leant over the railing. “I never thought of it like that.”

“I bet it is amazing to see. To be standing right in the middle of it all.”

“Sir would not like that. I would have to face Sir if I let you stay outside.”

“Stay outside? Oh. No.” She put her hand to her chest. “I have no intention of standing outside in it. I was just saying it would be rather remarkable. Could you imagine being able to watch that up close.” To feel the rain on her skin. That was what she really craved, touch, sensations. She gathered up her things, her glass, her papers.

Sky grabbed the bowl of half-finished food. “You don’t have to go back to your room if you don’t want to,” Sky said when they got into the main lobby, and Payton was half-way to the lift.

Payton shrugged. There wasn’t much else she wanted to do and going through to the entertainment would just make her crazy trying to spot Seth, waiting for every time the door opened and hoping it would be him. “I don’t have much else to do. I don’t fancy another evening in there.” She pointed to the doors that led to the main complex.

“You can help me. If you want to.” Sky had a way when she smiled. It made her face light up and seem younger. The fact her fangs were visible, just made her appearance strange because she looked like she’d have been better working as a waitress in a bar full of men, than serving as a vampire here.

“Seth would not approve,” a woman said, from the small office at the back of the reception. “You don’t get to choose your own staff.”

“It’s okay,” Payton said. “I don’t want to cause any trouble. I’ll go to my room. Thanks anyway.”

She was about to saunter off, but Sky grabbed her arm. “Don’t be silly. Sir would not be mad at you. Anyone else, yes, but not Payton. Come on. You can help me with some things. You know how to work a computer, right?”

There was a machine on the main desk. Payton shrugged. It was the same as the one Seth had in his office. “I can learn.”

“And I can teach you. Come on.”

Within half an hour, Sky had Payton set up at the computer with a list of names and requests. They all wanted transferring onto the booking system and then she was to match them to free tables. The reservation list went on for months. She’d never seen anything like it. But it was nice to feel like she was doing something.

“I think I’ve got it,” Payton said as she scheduled a reservation for a party of five.

“Don’t hit send. I’ll check it at the end. Okay?”

“Sure.”

Sky sat herself on the chair next to her and loaded up the other computer. “I’m working on the invoices,” Sky said as if Payton needed to know that. “Sir likes to have them daily, so he knows what is going on.”

“So, he can keep an eye on everything?”

“Exactly.”

Yes, she could see that about him. Eyes on everything, knowing everything.

“Is he out? I haven’t seen him today.” She wanted to bite off her own tongue as the question came out, but it was there now.

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