"Gross." I pushed the body away from me a little. "Since when are you squeamish?"
"Fuck you."
Wait a minute.
"I died," I said slowly, suddenly wondering just what happened after Lucien brought me over. "Does that mean&?"
"That you turned ripe? 'Fraid it does, princess. But you know what? Lucien loved you enough to deal with it himself. Normally, he gets someone else to clean up the mess. You though? He cleaned you up and bathed you and made sure that no one saw you in that state."
It touched me that Lucien would go through so much trouble just to leave me with a bit of dignity. But I so couldn't afford the sappiness while in the company of Nikolas.
"What's that?"
"What's what?"
"Admiration for someone you hate?"
"For the record, I don't hate Lucien."
"Uh-huh."
"He's an arrogant, aggravating, jealous bastard . but I don't hate him." Nikolas was quiet for a little while. "I think I miss him, if you want to know the truth."
"Pull over," I said.
"Too late for that shit," Nikolas said as he turned into the driveway. "And if you say a goddamned word, I'll beat you to death."
"That might be too much fun to pass."
My smartass reply back that getting a beating from him might actually be fun was cut short by the sight of the crowd gathered in the circular drive of the mansion. I instantly recognized my security team that I'd ditched earlier . As Nikolas parked the bike, my gaze went from face to face until some of the security team parted to reveal Silver and Lucien.
I groaned inwardly.
They were beyond pissed.
I got off the bike first, hauling Ricky's body up with me. I didn't need to turn around and look to know that Lucien and Silver were headed our way. My skin prickled with power as Lucien came closer, and I had to fight not to go to my knees. It was a constant battle for me, to not bow down to him as Master, but to meet him as an equal.
The hard, cold fact was: I was nowhere near as powerful as Lucien.
Nikolas stood and turned in my direction, and I handed him the body. He promptly dropped it to the ground and dug a cigarette out of his jacket pocket. I stared at him incredulously as he lit the cigarette.
"I am not holding what's left of your dinner."
"Thanks, Nikolas. Really."
"Anytime, babe."
I rolled my eyes and steeled myself, finally turning to face Lucien. He just stared at me, though, and I found myself fidgeting. It was Silver who spoke first.
"Why do you keep ditching your security detail?"
"I don't know what you mean."
"You know exactly what I mean," Silver growled. "The detail is for your protection, Peter."
"I don't need protection. What I need is to be able to go out and feed without having a fucking audience. Do you know just how many meals they've ruined here lately?"
"You do not have to hunt outside the coven, Peter," Lucien said. His tone was measured, but the anger was there, just beneath the surface. "There are a number of donors who would be more than willing to let you feed from them at any given time."
"Why are you trying to push me to feed from donors? I'm not like you . I like hunting and I like variety."
"Your actions have been selfish and careless. There are reasons that the security detail was put into place . reasons you yourself agreed with . and you should not be so quick to dismiss them. They put their lives on the line for you each and every day, and are willing to put your safety above their own."
"Give it a rest, Lucien."
"I will not 'give it a rest'. You have been childish and irresponsible, and if you think."
"Continue that sentence and I guarantee you will regret it."
"We will discuss this later."
It pissed me off that he'd even considered having this discussion in public and even more that he'd called me childish and irresponsible. I might have been at times, but I'd be damned if I was going to be called out like this and just take it.
"Yes, Master." I smirked and even bowed my head a little in his direction. "As you wish."
Nikolas snorted, trying to cover up a laugh, and Lucien roared out in anger. Lucien started toward me, but Nikolas blocked his path.
"Easy there, vampire."
"Stay out of it, Nikolas."
"Can't do that."
"You should mind your own business, for once."
Nikolas took a step toward Lucien and they stood nose-to-nose, both ready for a fight. I could feel the waves of energy and power and I touched Nikolas' back, urging him to back down. He finally shook his head and laughed.