Page 12 of Blood Bought

“Nope. Perks of just being the runners-up,” Kell said. “Not much for us to do unless there’s a war or something going on with the other clans. We’re all wide open to listen to you clean yourself.”

It was definitely as creepy as it was weirdly hot, but seeing the servants reminded me of something else. The moment they were gone, I turned back to Alaris. “If you want to impress me, send better blankets to their chambers. Now excuse me.”

I stepped up to the tub and tugged the curtain around it, then stripped quickly and got in even faster. I knew vampires could see extremely well, even at night, and I couldn’t help but wonder if they could see through curtains, too.

“We can’t. We don’t have x-ray vision,” one of them said, and something about the raspiness to it told me it was Renzo. “Yup. Getting to know us already, Addy?”

“What in the fuck?” I mouthed, cringing slightly. “Yeah, I guess. Alaris’ voice sounds like... if someone spun silk in the heart of an active volcano, Renzo’s sounds like leather, and Kellian’s sounds like a bear if bears could talk. It’s not that hard to tell you apart... do you have soap?”

“Bear,” he chuckled, poking fun at Kellian like they were close. As far as I knew, Obsidian didn’t get close to the Faux, but I was quickly learning most of the things I thought I knew about them were wrong.

Alaris was suddenly standing over me with a bar of soap, eyes raking my body through the water without an ounce of shame as he waited for me to grab it.

“Guess ‘privacy curtain’ means something different to you?” I asked breathlessly, but I reached out slowly so he wouldn’t leave just yet. If I was his, after all, then fighting it was futile. “Looks like you need to feed.”

“I need more than that. Haven’t you wondered what it would be like?” His tongue slid across his lips, but I saw no hint of his fangs yet.

“Had a lot of time to wonder about that while you had me locked up like a criminal,” I said darkly, unashamedly running that bar of soap over my skin like he wasn’t standing right there. “But no, I’m not offering to let you use me.”

“Then I’ll be back.” He left so quickly it took my breath away, but when Renzo chuckled, I knew I still wasn’t alone in there.

“You’re going to drive him crazy, aren’t you?”

I paused as I let the hot water remind me I was no longer in a cell. “That’s up to him, not me. I don’t want to be here at all, remember?”

“Yup. We remember, Addy. How could we not?”

The irritation there wasn’t lost on me, so I shut up as I finished my bath and slipped on those clothes. They fit better than I’d expected them to, and overall, I felt like a different person than I had that morning. It helped, at least a little.

“How long will he be gone?” I asked, opening the curtain again.

“Until he’s had his fill. Do you miss him already?” Renzo asked, amusement written on his features as he took a sip of his drink. “Did he say if he wants her here or in her room?”

“I have a room?” I blurted, then doubled back. “No, I don’t miss him. I just don’t know how long it normally takes an Obsidian Heir to get his fill, whatever that even means.”

“Means exactly what you think it means,” Kellian said. “And he wants her here until she makes a decision.”

“Who do you think he chose down there? He seemed more pent up than usual, huh?” Renzo took a drink. “Danielle, maybe. Or what’s that newer whore’s name? With the red hair?”

“Natasha. He had her yesterday, doubt he’d go back. My guess is Elenor since she spilled state secrets to the prisoner.” Kell’s eyebrows wiggled and I fought the urge to punch him, especially because Elenor shouldn’t have been blamed.

“Decision about what? Bait or being his own personal bloodwhore?”

“Precisely,” he said simply, waving a hand for me to sit down and join them. “Elenor won’t be hurt in any way she doesn’t like.”

That sent my mind off on a completely different track — I’d always been curious about the way pain could sometimes feel good, but having those thoughts around vampires seemed dangerous. “Can you tell me more about what the choices really entail? I mean, I understand what the words mean, but what would my life look like?”

Kellian tapped the chair until I actually sat. “Well, I’ll let Renzo handle the baiting since he’s the hunter, so I’ll explain the rest. Our bloodwhores are willing-ish, stay here full time, have their own corner of the castle to themselves... and all we ask in return is that they let us feed when we need to. Sometimes sex is involved, sometimes it’s not. But feeding is better for both parties when sex is involved, so it is more often than not. Vampires can’t spread sexually transmitted diseases, so do try not to look at me like we’re gross. Sex is fun, and not starving to death is even more fun.”

“So... what, then? I’d be one of many at Alaris’ beck and call, on retainer for him to use as he pleases?”

“Yeah, and in return you’ll live here freely. You’ll have whatever you want, food or otherwise, time outside in the sun, books, more pleasure than you could ever imagine. I mean, I personally don’t see any drawbacks, but those reasons were enough for me to stay. I was sick of being hungry out there, aren’t you?”

Right, Renzo was human once.“I’d say yes, but my experience here hasn’t been much different. What exactly does baiting entail?”

“Bringing us food. We don’t take more than we need so we don’t kill without cause if we can help it, but with the amount of vampires living here we need a lot of bloodwhores. We need fresh blood sometimes. You go out looking beautiful and tell them how wonderful life is here, and you bring Alaris his meals instead. He normally shares with us first.”

Neither option sounded good, but my mother had died being a bloodwhore. If she wasn’t cut out for it, I didn’t have high hopes for myself. “And what if I suck at baiting? If I can’t draw anyone in?”

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