Page 19 of Crimson Oath
Arosh paid for everything his women might need, but he didn’t give them a salary. Their life could be fully provided for, but it would only ever be what he gave them.
For some of the women, it was all they wanted. Safety. Pleasure. Companionship.
But any money or gifts they received from vampires they entertained was theirs alone. If they found a patron or a lover among his guests, the Fire King wished them well and sent them on their way. The majority of the younger women left when they’d saved enough money to have a different life and could start fresh in a new place.
Tatyana hadn’t put together that by only feeding from the same three women, the rest of the harem might be offended.
“It would be one thing if you had a romantic relationship with one or all of the girls, but they say…” Cora shrugged. “You don’t appreciate women that way.”
“Idoappreciate them,” she said, “but not sexually. I wish I could like women more than men,” she muttered. “It seems simpler.”
“Eh.” Cora shrugged. “Relationships are drama no matter who they are with. You’re a young vampire; you’ll branch out.” Then she pointed at Tatyana directly. “But while you’re here and have money,you pay my girls. You have everything, and they have nothing. You pay in gold, yes?”
Samson had helped her change some of her gold bars to gold coins.
“Yes, I have gold.”
“Good. Then stop paying Arosh’s men to fetch you bagged blood when there are women who need the money right here.” She pointed toward the courtyard outside her house. “You’re a vampire now. You’re not going to be their friend. You’re not going to be their sister. But you can be their patron. You can help them survive. Do you understand me now?”
Tatyana nodded. It was another lesson. Another revelation.
She wasn’t in a dormitory of potential friends; she was a water vampire who needed blood. These women could provide it, but this was a transaction, not a friendship.
Cora turned back to the mirror. “If you need some ideas for girls who would suit you, let me know what you’re looking for. That’s what I do, Miss Vorona.”
“Perhaps you should give me a list of girls who need some income,” Tatyana said. “You know them better than I do.”
“Excellent. I will have a list sent to you within the hour, but Karolina would be a good one tonight.”
Tatyana could tell from Cora’s tone of voice that it had been exactly the response she wanted from her.
Know your place, vampire.
You’re useful to us, just as we are to you.
They were not here to be Tatyana’s friends.
Oleg brushedstrands of her hair back from her forehead. “She has to be practical. It’s not about you; it’s about taking care of her people.”
“Like you take care of your people?”
“Yes.” He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her into his body. “I’ll take care of you. Did I not satisfy you enough tonight?”
His skin was warm and heated when it touched her. She could feel his amnis brushing against hers. Familiar, wanting. Even though there was nothing between them, their energy still pulled them closer.
He bent his head to her neck and licked along her collarbone before he trailed his fangs along the sensitive skin of her neck.
Soft lips nibbled under her ear, and she smiled when his beard tickled her skin.
“You took care of me very well.” She put her arms around his shoulders and tried to pull him closer. “Very, very well.”
Closer.
He reached down and ran his fingers along her thigh, drawing it up and over his leg, opening her body to the length of him that lay hard between them.
“Tatyana,” he whispered. “Why did you run?”
“You would be my whole world.” She closed her eyes and reveled in the pleasure he pulled from her body. “We both know how it would be.”
