Page 70 of Undying Thirst

The weight of his gaze settled on my face. I stifled my smirk, running my fingers through my hair and clearing my throat. Shuffling after the vamps, I rushed into the house. The chilly breeze raised the hair on my arms and made the sticky mess between my legs extra obvious.

“Wait, I’m going to scrub off quickly. I’ll be right back.” I called over my shoulder and ran up the staircase. I was dying to see what had them all worked up.

I descended the stairs,washed and wearing a fresh pair of underwear. They were not in the large wardrobe before, so the undergarments I found were a new edition—all in my size.

In my hurry, I’d tugged on the same shirt. I liked being in their clothes and since they were such giants, they fit me like a comfy dress. Asher and Tobias looked up at me and stopped mid-conversation.

“Where are we going?” I stepped into the foyer. Bastien captured my hand, keeping it engulfed in his.

“Downstairs,” Tobias answered without elaborating, stepping in front of me as we entered the hall.

Why was he being so secretive about it?

“Miss Herrera,” Maddy called from the kitchen. She came into view and I turned to her. Tobias hesitated at the basement entrance.

“Oh, God, why are you last-naming me?” I put my hands up. “Cat is good.”

Maddy grinned.

Bastien suddenly moved in front of me and I clung to him; his stance was nowhere near welcoming. He exuded ‘threat’. Maddy took multiple steps back, dropping her eyes as sheinclined her head slightly to bare her neck. The visual was very submissive.

And I kind of didn’t like it.

No. There was no ‘kind of’ about it. I didn’t like it.

It screamed offering.

Like how those blood-whores behaved at the vampire clubs they’d taken me to. It was the same way they coached me to behave.

Tobias pressed on my shoulder and my mind started working again. I yanked Bastien, but when I couldn’t budge him, I slipped away from Tobias and stepped in front of him.

Asher’s chuckle echoed from the hall and I chose to ignore it instead of tossing him a searing glare like I craved. He always had this uncanny connection to knowing when I was jealous.

Tobias rapped his knuckles on the wall. I pushed my palms against Bastien’s chest.

“Let’s go.” I shoved at him. His head turned down and he relaxed, finally allowing me to budge him. Tobias waited, arms crossed. Letting Bastien go, I followed him down the stairs. He was the only one left with us, everyone else had descended.

As soon as I stepped off the last step, the differences were glaring.

The couches remained in the middle, but soft, plush cream carpet covered the floor. I left my slippers on the tile base so I wouldn’t track in any dirt. Paintings graced the walls, and the pink cherry blossoms images added a pop of color. A suede L-shaped sofa stretched in the middle of the space and complemented the carpet with its tan color.

I’d asked them to make a better living space for Bastien, and they took me seriously. It felt good being listened to. Butterflies flooded my stomach.

“How did you guys get this done so fast?”

“Money gets you about anything you want.” Asher leaned close. “And we have tons of it, Pet.” His sweet breath sent a shiver up my spine. “That’s not the best part.” Asher swept his arm around my waist, pulling me forward. The door swung open into the bedroom Bastien had been held in. “Your bedroom.”

My sight was assaulted with dark purples and varying shades of black.

The bed seemed tailor made to fit from one end of the corner of the wall to the other. It had to be two king sized mattresses put together. Purple bedding with black embroidered detailing outlined the edges of it.

The same cream carpet extended into the bedroom. A desk was pushed up against the corner to the left of the door and a laptop rested on the top of the chestnut surface. The feminine edge to the furnishings and decorations was obvious, but it wasn’t my style. Even so, I was so grateful.

Jax quietly stepped after us. He hadn’t looked at me since earlier. I didn’t miss the fugitive glances he kept shooting at me.

“This is mine?”

Asher moved in front of me, head swiveling to one side and to the other as he took in the details.

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