Chapter 41
Dinner With Vampires
The dining table had been placed in the middle of the foyer—perhaps Karson was concerned about having vampires in an enclosed space with Georgie and me?
It was set with candles glittering against dim lighting for its entire length.
Vases of white flowers dotted the mid-section.
The rest was perfectly laid with white dinner plates, glasses, and silver goblets.
The air smelled of vanilla and caramel with a hint of cinnamon.
Soft music floated from the entertainment room.
The vampires, sitting at the table and chatting, were dressed in attire I’d expect at a wedding.
They turned to look as I walked along the hallway, and suddenly I wanted to run back to the bedroom and get changed.
Karson stood up, running his eyes over my body, the light dancing in them as he smiled.
Rodney stood as well. “Amelia, you look,” he paused, “lovely.”
I barely gave him a nod as I walked down the stairs.
“I see you didn’t wear what I laid out for you,” Karson said, still smiling.
I rolled up the long sleeves of the gray V-neck jumper—his jumper, which hung like a sack on me—which I’d paired with my black leather pants.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I thought that was a night gown for later and you told me to wear what I was comfortable in.” I smiled up at him as he kissed my cheek.
“Oh, good lord, there is simply no hope for some people,” Monique quipped. Her black hair was up in a loose bun, wispy strands framing her petite face. Her dark eyes were highlighted with soft gold eyeshadow and dark eyeliner. She wore a low-cut, long-sleeved ivory silk dress. She looked stunning.
Karson pulled out a chair for me between him and Michael.
Seated next to Michael was Georgie, then Monique, and Josh.
Opposite me was Janice. Great, I would be pulling knives out of my face all night.
Better than my back, I supposed, at least I could see them coming.
Kenneth and Rodney were seated at the other end of the table, with Eric a chair away from them.
“What a stunning necklace.” Rodney’s eyes homed in on the jewel as he sat back down.
I forced a smile. “Thank you.”
“You have impeccable taste, Karson, as always, my friend.”
How did he know Karson bought it for me? Karson nodded his thanks, pouring a glass of red and handing it to me.
I took a sip of wine. Eric moved his gaze between Georgie and me. Georgie caught his gaze and smiled shyly at him.
“Tell me, Amy, where did you and Karson meet?” Rodney asked.
“In a bar,” I answered smoothly, putting my glass down.
“Of course. Karson’s favorite hunting grounds.” A sly grin. “Which bar?”
My teeth gritted. “One in Church Heights.”
He slouched back against his chair. “Church Heights, beautiful place, full of mountains and in the middle of nowhere. Does your family reside there?” he asked, picking up the dinner knife and flipping it between his fingers.
I spread butter on a bread roll. “No. I moved there.”
He let the knife settle back to its place and took a sip out of his goblet. “Moved there—it’s an interesting choice to move to for a girl your age.”
“So I’ve heard.” I took a bite of my roll, praying he’d speak to someone else.
“And when you saw Karson, it was love at first sight, I assume?” He flicked his eyes to Karson and smirked, then swiftly back to me.
Janice’s too drilled into me from the other side of the table. I could feel a pressure like a swarm of flies batting against my brain.
I waited until I finished the mouthful and swallowed. “No, I thought he was an asshole, actually.”
A semblance of a smile hit the vampire’s cunning eyes. “You wouldn’t be the first female who has thought that.” He held up his goblet to Karson and took a sip. Like it was a badge of honor to be an asshole.
“I would take offense to that, Rodney,” Karson said, “but …”
Georgie muttered, “If the shoe fits, Cinderella.”
Laughter bubbled around the room. Except for Janice. She didn’t laugh, she stared at me. I refused to be intimidated, so I flicked my gaze to hers and held it.
“When did your feelings change?” Janice asked, her voice sharp.
This was a fucking interrogation. But there was no good cop, bad cop, only bad cop, bad cop.
“They haven’t, Janice, I still think he’s an asshole.”
Karson and some of the others chuckled. Janice was an ice queen, staring at me with cunning in her dark eyes. Everyone was staring at me. The pressure in my head pulsed. I knew the feeling and I hated it—Rodney was trying to read my mind. Bastard.
“Janice,” Karson snapped, his voice rough. “Perhaps you would be more comfortable at the other end of the table.”
I wanted to add or outside.
“No, I’m perfectly comfortable here.” She placed her arm over the empty chair beside her, but she took her attention off me, at least.
I jerked my gaze to Rodney. There was an intensity in his gaze that made my skin goosepimple. Fine needles stabbed into my head, but I kept my expression blank. “And what brings you to Portland after all these years, Rodney?”
He shrugged and sat forward, running a long finger around the scrolled detail on his goblet. “I have a friend opening a nightclub down by the waterfront and I thought I’d show him my support. Then, of course, I heard about Karson having some issues with Sarah, so I came to see if I can help.”
“Karson tells me you live in France, where Sarah was last seen?”
The table stilled, but Rodney didn’t flinch, nor hesitate to respond smoothly.
“I have many properties around the world. A castle in the country regions of the Riviera is one of them.” His finger halted and he leveled a glacial stare at me.
“If you have an accusation, please, by all means, make it.”
I should keep my mouth shut—he wasn’t going to tell the truth, and if I questioned him further, dinner was about to get as comfortable as a thorn up my ass.
“Have you seen Sarah?”
Karson sucked in a breath. Michael shifted in his seat. Georgie’s eyes shifted between Rodney and me.
“No, I have not. Not before I left Paris, and not after. She knows my alliance with Karson is strong. If she was looking for support or safe harbor, she wouldn’t find it with me.”
How much did he know, I wondered.
“I’m sure.” My tone was saccharine.
He sat forward and rested his chin on his fist. “And let me ask you, Amelia, given you have questioned me, and given what you are, what do you have to gain from Karson?”
My head thumped as his claws tried to dig in. The pressure increased and I winced, my fingers automatically rubbing my temples to ease the pain.
“Rodney.” Karson’s growl rumbled through the room. “Amelia does not want you in her head.”
The pressure against my head ceased abruptly. I sucked in a breath and dropped my fingers.
Karson was still, the rise and fall of his chest the only movement, his face blank.
He was in the state where his enemy could only guess his movements.
He would move if he needed to. Part of me wanted him to.
Nothing would have given me greater pleasure than seeing that asshole slammed up against a wall, dinner canceled, and them on their merry way.
Michael topped up Georgie’s glass with wine. She clutched it in her hands and drank it like it was water given to her after days lost in the desert.
A flash of displeasure moved through Rodney, but he bowed his head in a show of respect. “Sorry, old friend, I meant no disrespect. It’s a habit when I meet their kind. One you would understand given your history with them.”
I clenched my jaw in an effort to curtail the heat that rose in my veins and begged to be dispersed from my mouth.
Rodney smirked. The prick smirked. I glared at him.
“Rodney,” Michael said calmly, “I would suggest you curb your habits while you are in our household, for the interests of all. Amelia has our complete trust.”
He placed the bottle in the middle of the table, but he needn’t have bothered. The speed Georgie was drinking, her glass would need filling again soon.
Rodney tilted his head in a poor resemblance of a nod. “But of course, Michael. Should we have dinner first, or shall we attend to business first so we can relax?”
Business, what business? I looked to Karson.
“Dinner,” Karson said flatly, ignoring me, his attention on Rodney, his eyes flaring with warning.
“Ah, I see,” Rodney answered, his lips curling. Making me want to punch his smug face.
“I’m sorry it’s a little late,” Mary said, making a timely entrance.
She was carrying a large silver tray almost twice the width of her tiny frame, and it was filled with bowls of vegetables. It looked heavy and I jumped up to help her.
“Amelia, sit down,” Karson ordered.
I didn’t sit down. I wasn’t leaving a seventy-year-old woman to carry a tray of food; I scurried over to help her.
Josh rose too, using his vampire speed to beat me to her. “Here, let me take that.” He took the tray from her hands.
“Mary, where are the girls I hired to help you?” Karson asked, standing.
“Oh, you know young ones these days.” She smiled but looked worn. “Too busy on their phones to do what they’re paid to do.”
Karson strode into the kitchen. He roared at them to get to work, or he’d make sure they would never work anywhere again. The girls were unaware, but he absolutely could make good on his promise, and by the level of his anger, he would.
Mary and I exchanged awkward glances.
He came back looking composed, as though nothing had happened.
“You know, Karson, if your staff are no longer up to it,” Rodney said, watching as Mary leaned over to take a used wineglass, her hands a little shaky, “then perhaps it’s time to let them go.”
My blood simmered.
Mary bristled, bolting upright. Monique opened her mouth to speak, but Mary came back first. “You speak about me like that again, young man, and I will give you a good clip up the ear.”