I can deny him nothing. Even that day I didn't, knowing he'd been with another woman. " "I would have pureed a full box of laxatives into the whipped cream. " It startled a laugh out of her. She put her fingers over her lips, glancing around in apology at any readers close enough to have been disturbed. "You're incorrigible. " But then she sobered. "We're toys in the beginning. Something new to play with. At first, even they indulge in the pleasure of mu- tual infatuation. They like our besotted reaction and get caught up in it for a while. But we're tools. Very important tools. " Hearing too much of his lady's words in what Debra was saying, Jacob still wanted to deny it. "You've made it sound like a terrible fate. " "Then I've spoken of it wrongly. " She shook her head. "I'm doing research I would never achieve on my own in the human world. Brian has opened my eyes to impossible things . . . Experiences I never would have had. But in order to fully embrace and appreciate those things your Mistress can give you, don't get bogged down in what she can't. " "You know what I think?" He covered her hand. "Maybe you should think about this as a scientist. Why did your Master go to such great lengths to convince you of your place? If he's not an An- drev, who gets off on manipulating his servant's emotions--" "He's not. " Debra's response was quick. Jacob inclined his head. "Then why did he feel it necessary to drive it home so cruelly? You're bound to him forever. Why does he care what you think your relationship is, as long as you're serving him? Maybe because he has to remind himself of it, and that pisses him off. So he's cruel about it. " She pulled free abruptly. "I need to go. " Putting the materials on her lap on the table between them, she rose and gathered her tote bag to slide the notebook and journal into it. Jacob rose in automatic courtesy. He wanted to argue with her, but wryly he realized it was his Mistress he wanted to convince, not Debra.
"I think your desire to care for your Mistress is commendable. But just to prove the point . . . " She hesitated, then cupped his chin and kissed him briefly, her lips quiet and pleasurable against his be- fore she pulled away. "That would offend neither my Master nor your Mistress. Now, in an attempt to grasp at some level of sophistication that would make Seanna and Liam proud of me, I thank you for the other night. We may not be on equal footing with our Masters and Mistresses, but we can be with each other. " She shouldered the tote bag. "You'll be treated with high regard, high value, because of who you serve, Jacob. But always as property. " She gave him an even look. "Don't forget that. " "Thank you for the information, " he ventured. "All of it. " As she turned away with a nod, he caught her elbow. "You forgot this. " He'd picked up the romance novel she'd left on the table. Debra shook her head. "I think it's time I leave that for someone else. Some- one who can afford the indulgence. " Before he could offer anything in response, she'd turned on her heel and strode away, hurrying for the door. Jacob sat back down. Despite his resistance to Debra's words, he couldn't completely erase the doubts they'd created. Could any evi- dence that Lyssa felt more for him than what a vampire was expected to feel for her servant be a symptom of the disease? Impaired judg- ment . . . Hallucinations, distorted reality. Extreme dependency . . . "Bullshit, " he muttered viciously. There had been no distorted reality the other night, after his lady gave him the third mark on the meadow floor of her forest preserve. But he was disturbed enough to take the time now to close his eyes, give himself back every detail of that precious memory, hoping he was trying to embrace reality, not escape it.
Chapter Three
They'd walked through the forest together, naked like a gothic Adam and Eve. Jacob's arm had rested across her shoulders, his hand tangled in her hair so he could hold her close. The night had seemed heavy with the presence of supernatural creatures, the most powerful one being the vampire queen walking with him. A low-level hum in all his senses created a tingling in his vitals, a simmering in his blood he was sure were effects of his new third mark. Her slim arm was around his waist, her palm on his bare hip. Periodically, she lifted her touch to his back to trace the visible evidence of the mark, a scar that looked like the prehistoric fossil of a serpent, twisting from the nape of his neck to the base of his spine. A reminder of her claim on him. A reminder of what he'd will- ingly surrendered. The first mark had given her the ability to track him geographi- cally. The second mark had allowed her access to his mind whenever she desired it. With the third mark, he'd given her his soul. He was bound to his vampire Mistress on every level now, a full human ser- vant. Getting there had been a rough road, despite the fact he'd come into her ser vice only a short handful of weeks ago.
Before that, he'd trained to be her servant, tutored under the hand of her dying ser- vant, Thomas. Because that had been done without her knowledge or consent, she'd resisted Jacob's introduction at first. In the end, with nothing but Thomas's sealed recommendation, Jacob's own determi- nation and something perhaps a lot bigger than any one of them, they'd reached this point. When she stumbled, he realized shapeshifting from her Fey form back to vampire, a unique ability only known to him, had overtaxed the body that was more fragile than it should be. With barely a pause in stride, he lifted her. Accepting it, she linked her arms around his neck and laid her cheek on his chest, her face nestled under his jaw. Her nose tilted up to rub against the smooth trim of his beard. "I want a bath, Jacob. I want you to bathe me. Prepare the water the way you did that first night you came. With the rose and laven- der petals. The candles. " Bringing her lips to his throat, she scraped a sharp fang over him as he automatically lifted his chin, giving her access. The mus- cles in his stomach contracted at the surge of arousal. Not only did her lightest touch stimulate his now heightened senses, she'd opened her mind to his. Since he'd received the second mark he'd been able to hide little from her, but she could shield her thoughts from him at will. So her willingness to be open to him, at least for tonight, added fuel to the fire between them. He saw the provocative images in her mind, the twining of limbs, parted lips, flesh straining against flesh. He also saw in the erotic swirl of her thoughts that she liked the way he offered his throat without hesitation to her, that it never failed to arouse her. When he gave her back a few images of his own, she covered his lips with her mouth, her tongue sweeping in to meet the demanding pressure of his. As she drew back, her lashes fell over her eyes in a half-lidded expression he knew signaled a mood to torment him. "You're going to wash me as a good servant would. Pretend to be a eunuch who cares only that his Mistress is clean and well cosseted, her sore muscles massaged, her skin perfumed and moisturized.