Part 19 (1/2)
”When a young vampire exchanges blood with a master vampire, he or she becomes their servant. It's a life insurance policy to ensure as you gain in power, you don't try to usurp the throne, so to speak.”
”Is that what you meant by 'take my will'?” I nod. ”Does it have any other effect?”
Rafe snorts, ”Don't you think that 'protect and serve' covers enough?”
I have a flash of insight. ”Cy didn't drink from you did he?”
”No, but I wouldn't have hurt him.”
Rafe shakes his head and heads for the stairs. ”You're his wife's nephew. He knew that, you dumba.s.s.” My lover tosses over his shoulder to me as he takes the steps three at a time, ”I'll let you finish down here and I'll get back to doing the bills.”
I head over to the workbench, leaning back against it again. Examining Asa from head to toe, I'm glad to see his erection is gone. Although it's a normal response to ingesting old vampire blood, it's best not to dwell on it too much. I'll pretend I never knew it was there to begin with. ”How are you feeling with the blood?”
”Like I could fly! It's f.u.c.king extraordinary, you should bottle that s.h.i.+t.”
Thinking of the half dozen vials already bottled and chilling in the mini-fridge on the third floor, I smile. ”Yeah, good idea.”
The intelligence I saw in this young vampire's face earlier in the lobby creeps back in and his look becomes shrewd. ”I've asked three times now, are you going to tell me how old you are?”
”I'm over five hundred and fifty years old, but my exact age doesn't matter that much.” I don't bother to mention that my power feels much, much older. It's a result of all the vampires I drained as an enforcer and the darker time before that as well. I'm not really sure how old I actually ”feel” to one who can read power well. Perhaps well over a thousand years, though I've never asked anyone.
”Criminy, you look d.a.m.n good for your age.” He tosses a cute grin my way. c.r.a.p. I had hoped we could ignore the arousal part.
”Well, I'm married, and that is that. Nothing will ever come of our bond, so look elsewhere, capisce?”
He steps back a bit, like he's surprised. ”Little full of yourself, eh? I was just saying you look good. I wasn't inviting a roll in the hay.”
I can't help it-I toss my head back and laugh. The sound peals from my throat in a lyrical rush. G.o.d, I needed that. He wants to salvage his pride over the raging b.o.n.e.r, and that's fine by me. I've got no issue with playing it that way.
I collect my decorum once more and wipe the tears from my eyes. ”So sorry about that. Want to see the rest of the bas.e.m.e.nt now? You can drill me for info as we go, 'kay?”
Walking off in the direction of the open wall, I don't bother to wait for confirmation. I hear his heavy, booted feet march behind me. I hit the lights as I enter through the opening and wait for the reaction I know is soon to follow.
”Holy s.h.i.+t! This bas.e.m.e.nt runs under the entire first floor?” His voice sounds incredulous and I sneak a look back at him. Yup, his face mirrors it.
”Yes, it does. The north wing too. You just can't see that angle from here.”
The s.p.a.ce opens up before us, interspersed with support columns every twenty feet or so. Asa walks past me to move further into the bas.e.m.e.nt under the hotel. ”Why haven't you divided it up into rooms?”
”My blood has made you stronger for now, and maybe a little less sensitive, but it is below grade down here. That would be a b.i.t.c.h to keep heated. And besides, we have storage rooms. There is no need to keep things down here. This area is unknown to all except Rafe, Jonathan, myself...and now you.”
I wait for a response but Asa wanders further in as though oblivious. He spots the first ladder descending from the ceiling and looks from it to the one past it, about twenty-five feet down, and then to the next. ”Where do these ladders go?”
”They are escape routes. Every room has an access door in a closet, linked to the one above it on the next floor. All come straight down to here.” I'm quite pleased with the design, but he seems unimpressed. Maybe it is all a bit much to take in at once.
I've got a lot to cover, so I continue on. ”There are tunnels leading from this foundation to other locations on the property.” I walk over to one of the access doors s.p.a.ced between the first and second ladder. ”Six in all. This one leads to cabin one. I've got a map of the resort for you upstairs. I recommend you walk around later and explore the outside before you venture through the tunnels. Safer that way, so you know where you are when you come up.”
Asa takes it all in, resting his hand on the first ladder and looking around at the vast s.p.a.ce. It goes on and on for several hundred feet.
”How? How did the workers do all of this?”
”Dynamite, fires, drilling machinery, and back-breaking work. You name it, they probably used it.”
”The time it must have taken...” His voice holds a note of awe and he has a sh.e.l.l-shocked look to him.
Ah, now I see where we're going with this. He's still so young and has only been undead for a year. It must be a bit hard to grasp when you haven't been around something of this magnitude before.
”Yes, it took over a decade just to get the foundation done,” I tell him. ”Building this place took longer than any of my previous resorts, but it's a lot larger too. This one was meant to last.”
Asa nods his head as he walks into the middle of the wide foundation and stands near a thick support beam. ”This is where I'd like to build a command center.”
”Excuse me, a what?” He's switched gears so fast I don't know where this last statement came from.
He starts to walk off and pace the area available, turning in sharp angles every now and then, and gesturing with his arms. ”Here, down in the bas.e.m.e.nt. I told you I wanted to be in this main building and when we beef up the security, this is where it will all be linked.”
”Umm... I don't recall offering this s.p.a.ce.”
He flashes me a toothy smile. ”Would you rather have it up in one of the guest rooms? Or we take out the dojo? Doesn't look like there are a lot of options.”
d.a.m.n, he's right. I still don't appreciate the high-handedness he's showing. I never designed a security system into the plans, yes, that's true. They weren't popular in the eighties when I got the ball rolling on this place. We added on the observation rooms in the nineties and until now, with the murder, extra security hasn't seemed necessary.
”We'll talk about it.” He says.
Oh good, another person with whom I have to ”clear” things. It took so long to get things right with Rafe, I don't relish the thought of having to discuss logistics with yet another person.
I check my watch. ”It's close to ten-fifteen and I've got to meet with someone at eleven. Let me give you a quick walk-through of the second floor and then you can take the map and explore on your own.”
I'm not looking forward to tea with Olivia. I wish I had kept my mouth shut on an invite. Teaching her how to attract a vampire and become his servant? What the h.e.l.l was I thinking?
Chapter Twenty.
”Olivia, only you can determine which man is right for you.” My patience runs thin. It has been a hectic morning and now dealing with her indecision frustrates me.
”Drew was just so incredible last night that I'm starting to rethink my position.” She looks up, wistfulness and hope sparkling in her eyes.
I don't have the time for this anymore. The tour with Asa was rushed. Rafe had to take over to help me out so I could meet Olivia in time for tea. What I envisioned would be a mini-lesson in how to seduce a man has turned into a microscopic pick-apart of last night and I feel like screaming. At heart I'm not a good girly-girl.
I steal a look at my wrist, confirming the time creeps closer to noon. ”Well, darling, while I would love to chat about this longer, I'm sorry to say that I can't.” Liar, liar, pants on fire. ”I have to meet guests for a private tour of the third-floor rooms.”
”Oh, those rooms sound like fun. Can I come?” She sounds like she expects me to say yes. Poor thing, I hope I can let her down easy without ruining the girlfriend camaraderie I've spent so long cultivating.
”This one's a private request, dear, so I'm sorry, but no. Not this time. But tours are given throughout the day, so you can check with the front desk and they can set you up.”
We make our farewells, kissing on the cheeks, like old friends. She's good at heart and does deserve happiness. I hope I can help her find it before she leaves. Heading over to the staircase, I spot Rafe coming out of the dining room.
You're a sight for sore eyes. That tea seemed to go on forever.