Chapter 18
EIGHTEEN
Easton fumbled around with his scorched suit jacket for a while until he managed to pull out a somewhat worse for wear white envelope from the inner pocket. Making a production of how hard it was for him to stand up from the couch, he hobbled over to hand it to Luis.
Snatching it like the precious thing it was, Luis opened the flap and pulled the single piece of paper out.
All the potential contestants had been given a copy of the contract to look over, but he’d been too distracted by everything to do more than skim it.
Now he read every line three times. The contract was long and detailed, but the first half was a given: Francesca was required to provide nourishment to the winning vampire roughly every two days or as needed by donation or by bite for a total of thirty days.
In return, the vampire would provide a daily stipend of one thousand dollars, cover all medical expenses, and, should she allow it, pay two thousand dollars per bite.
He read the most important terms carefully, picking over each word like there was some clue to keeping her in them.
“The Anchor waives the right to provide Nourishment for others during the term of this Agreement;
The Anchor has the sole right to control and direct the means, manner, and method by which Nourishment required under this Agreement will be provided;
The Anchor shall reside in comfortable housing provided by the Vampire for the length of the term;
The Anchor has the right to refuse all advances, sexual, romantic, or friendly, from the Vampire;
The Vampire agrees to the immediate termination of the Agreement and complete payment if any coercion by subtle or obvious means is attempted;
The Anchor shall not be required by the Vampire to devote full time to the providing of Nourishment required by this Agreement.”
Luis scowled. It was a damn good contract. He could tell Maxine had to have been the one to write it because it provided absolutely no room for interpretation from the vampire involved. All the power was in Francesca’s hands, which was great except for the fact that it put him on the back foot.
There was a lot he liked in it, of course.
She could only provide him with blood and she had to live where he wanted.
Those were two huge wins. And, he realized with an unreasonable amount of glee for a man who was actively having his side sewn back together, under the financial responsibilities section of the contract, it was stipulated that he had to provide her with material gifts — something she never in a million years would’ve allowed before.
Oh, kitten, he thought, casting her a sly look out of the corner of his eye. You’re about to be so fucking spoiled.
“Pen,” he grunted, waving a bruised hand in the air.
Milo, always prepared, tossed him a blue ballpoint pen.
Luis pressed the paper to the top of his thigh and carefully filled in his name, the date, and his signature — as well as a few small changes.
A little blood smudged the white paper by the time he was done, but he figured that only made it more valid.
Passing the contract and pen to Francesca, he gave her a stern look. “Sign.”
Glancing warily at him, she held the contract in front of her for a quick look. And then another.
Balking, she sputtered, “You can’t change the contract!”
“I did,” he challenged, lounging backward into the couch with his fingers laced behind his head. Alvin gave him a vengeful poke with his needle for the shift in position, but Luis didn’t mind. It was important that he meet Francesca with complete confidence. No more waffling. No more pretending.
In an incredulous voice, she read,“The Anchor agrees to follow all of the Vampire’s rules no matter how arbitrary, over the top, or ridiculous they might appear. Failure to follow the rules will result in punishment determined and meted out by the Vampire.”
Maxine snatched the contract out of her hand. The lawyer declared, “That’s completely invalid! Frankie, you do not have to agree to that. And…” Maxine’s eyes widened. “Wait, you crossed out all the nourishment clauses.”
“I did,” he calmly replied.
“Why?”
He cast Francesca another sidelong look that made her cheeks turn a violent shade of red. “Because I didn’t play the Games for her blood. I played it for her. When I bite her, it’ll be because she wants it, not because it’s contractually obligated.”
The lawyer looked completely lost. “But that means you’re just paying for her to live where you want her to.”
“Yes, I am.” He looked meaningfully around the living room. “With me.”
Maxine opened her mouth to demand more explanations, probably loudly, but Francesca stopped her by yanking the contract out of her hand. She muttered, “Whatever. It’s just thirty days. It doesn’t matter.”
His jaw clenched hard. She had no idea how wrong she was, but that was okay. He’d show her.
Luis didn’t take his eyes off her when she placed the contract on the coffee table and stooped to scribble her name on the line. He noticed her hand trembled, but she didn’t hesitate. Despite everything she’d seen that night, his girl still had a spine of steel.
Gods, thank you for this treasure you’ve given me.
Job done, Francesca handed it back to Maxine, who looked like she’d sucked down a mouthful of vampire blood. “I’ll hold this at my office,” she muttered.
“I want a copy,” he insisted. “And I want one sent to my lawyer as well.”
Giving him the stink eye, she agreed, “Fine. Whatever. Are we done here?”
Alvin was just tying off the end of his stitches when Luis shook his head. “Nope. Milo, if you could…”
His brother didn’t need further instruction. In one smooth motion, he’d reached across the couch to pull Easton into a crushing headlock.
The little prick squirmed, his arms and legs flailing, as he tried and failed to free himself. His bulging eyes swung to his cousin for help, but Maxine sat grim-faced, perhaps aware that this was a long time coming.
Still in his relaxed pose, Luis told him, “You, my weaselly little friend, owe my family some money.”
“I’ll pay it,” Easton choked. “I promise, I’ll—”
“Oh, I know you’re going to pay it,” Luis drawled. “Because you’re going to do that right now.”
It was amazing how someone could look so red and so pasty at the same time. Easton truly had a gift.
He sputtered, “But I don’t— The money from the Games— I can give you half, but the rest—”
“You’re going to transfer what you owe me and what you owe my girl to our banks right now, or you know what’s gonna happen?
” He waited a beat before answering his own question.
“My baby brother is gonna squeeze until something pops. And I really don’t want my girl to see another head explode tonight, so let’s just skip that, huh? ”
In the end, it was an easy choice for a coward to make. After business was done, Maxine escorted her much poorer cousin out of the penthouse with a promise — and threat — to call Francesca the following evening.
Tomas left quickly after that, absconding with a particularly expensive bottle of synth as payment for his troubles. Milo and Alvin left soon after him, once everyone had been deemed fit enough to not require medical care, leaving just Luis and Francesca.
Dawn began to lighten the sky. It’d barely turned a velvety blue on the horizon before the automatic blinds came down, protecting Luis from a nasty burn.
The penthouse plunged into darkness.
Luis stood up from the couch and was pleased to note that the painkiller Alvin had injected him with had set in. That meant he was capable of scooping his girl off the couch with a lot less discomfort than before.
Francesca squeaked when he turned on his heel and started marching them toward the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” she demanded in a breathless voice.
“It’s been a long night,” he answered. “We need a shower, then bed.”
“We need a shower?”
“You heard me.” He kicked the bedroom door shut behind him. The lights in his bedroom were automatically set to a low, moody glow that wouldn’t irritate his sensitive eyes, and his bathroom was much the same.
When he set her bare feet down on the tile floor, he took a second to observe her in the soft light.
He tucked his finger under her chin and lifted it, forcing her to meet his eyes when he declared, “First rule: If we’re home together, we shower together.”
Francesca narrowed her eyes. “What if I don’t want to be naked with you? I could be shy.”
“Seeing as I’ve had my fingers in your pussy and you’ve had my cock down your throat, I think we’re probably past that,” he dryly replied.
“What if I want to say no?”
“You can always say no,” he promised her.
“If you say stop, I’ll stop. No questions asked.
I never want you to do something because you feel like you have to — which isn’t the same as being pushed out of your comfort zone.
I mean when I ask you to do something that you really, truly don’t want to do.
The games we play are about doing what I say because you want to.
Because you trust me. Because you know that your pleasure and happiness are all I want at the end of the day, not my own.
If that isn’t there, then it’s worthless. ”
“You’ve done this a lot.” It wasn’t a question, but he wasn’t sure what else it was.
“Yes,” he replied. “I’ve had a lot of subs. Does that bother you?”
“Not really. I figured as much.” She tilted her head toward the bedroom. “You have a lot of weird shit attached to your bed, Luis.”
Thinking back to what felt like a lifetime ago, when she’d kissed him and run away, he asked, “Is that why you wouldn’t give me a chance?”
Francesca stepped away. He let her go, though he hated doing it.