Soul Mates 04: Secrets(58)

"I'm sorry." I looked up at him. "I've not done so well in making decisions for a while now."



"A lot of that is my fault, Peter, and you have no reason to be sorry. When I should have been guiding you, I let my own fears and jealousy lead me to leave you to your own devices. We may be equals, but it is my responsibility to teach you the ways of this world. In that, I have failed."



"We both have, I guess." I chuckled at my next thought. "I guess the good news is that our secrets are all out in the open. At least, I think they are."



"I believe they are. And it's time for us to move forward." He glanced toward the bed where Nikolas and Sabaan still slept. "For all of us to move forward."





Chapter Fourteen



Lucien and I had just finished showering, and Nikolas and Sabaan had wandered into the bathroom right after us to do the same. Sabaan had retrieved our robes and he and I had remade the bed with a clean set of sheets. All we needed now was to be clean. Dawn was coming fast and I needed to be in bed.



Everyone else? Well, I was sure they had work to do. Or something. It kind of sucked, I realized, to be the only one who was forced down into sleep for the day.



There was a sharp knock at the door, and I knew who it was before the door ever opened. The energy on the other side of the door was high-strung and often angry&mostly with me. Lucien and I shared a glance from where we sat at the desk, him signing some papers and me brushing out my hair.



"Come in, Silver," Lucien called out.



The door opened and Silver walked in. An odd expression passed over his face, and I realized that he knew what had taken place in here. The smell of sex was still heavy and it lingered beautifully in the air. He didn't seem to like it at all. I rather liked it, myself. But maybe that was because I was part incubus and he wasn't.



Who knew? The man was harder to read sometimes than an ancient hieroglyph. Silver seemed confused after a moment, but he managed to push it aside and tried to appear as if he was on the top of his game.



"Lucien." He bowed his head in respect. "Peter."



"What is it?"



"The team has managed to capture an entire team of hunters. The five of them are down in the dungeon for questioning. One of them is a vampire; he seems to be somewhat of a scout."



"Nikolas and I will be down shortly to see what they've got to say."



"Nikolas, sir?"



Oh, shit.



One thing that any vampire should never do&is question his master. No matter who you are, what your position is, or how much you think you're favored over anyone else.



Lucien went completely still and the temperature of the room dropped several degrees. He stared straight ahead, looking at nothing. He had to have been counting to fifty, trying to settle his rage and keep things calm.



After a few moments of silence, Lucien turned in his chair to face Silver. "Is there something wrong with your hearing?"



"No, sir. I."



"That was a yes or no question, Silver. No further explanation was expected."



Lucien stared at him and I wanted to cringe. Having that gaze leveled on me would have sent me crashing to my knees.which was what Silver should have been doing, instead of standing there looking offended.



Nikolas and Sabaan walked out of the bathroom then. Nikolas took one look at Lucien and started herding Sabaan back into the bathroom.



"Don't want to get involved in that," he whispered to Sabaan.



Silver shot them a look of disgust. Whether it was disgust at Nikolas being back in Lucien's good graces or disgust at the way we'd worked things out, I didn't know.



One thing was obvious; Nikolas wasn't interested in getting involved.



Hell, I wasn't either. I was content to just sit back and watch the Master at work. After a few moments of Silver and Lucien staring at each other, Lucien rose to his feet. Silver immediately bowed his head and dropped to one knee.



"That is much better," Lucien said, and it sounded like a snarl. "I suggest that whatever issues you have with anyone in this room . or with the way I handle this coven . be dropped immediately."



"Yes, sir."



"Now, leave us."



Silver got to his feet and gave a bow of respect before walking out the door. Lucien turned and began walking back toward his chair to sit down. He seemed concerned.



"Silver has never been so&" He finally shook his head. "I do not know what that was."



"I get under his skin, and I think it's a fine line between having to serve me and hating me."



"I'm sure that's not it, Peter."



"You've got to be kidding me," I said. "You were there when Nikolas and I showed up with Ricky's body and he blasted me in front of the entire team."