Chapter Twenty-Five #3
His kisses lower, skirting her neckline to her breasts.
Licking her cleavage and tugging on the lace of her bra with his fangs.
She wanted to look, needed to see his face, watch as he traced teeth across her chest, but he wouldn’t release her damn jaw.
Wouldn’t let her move, forcing her gaze up the corridor and… straight at Sienna.
The leggy brunette stood watching, hands on hips, brows high and smirk barely contained. She cleared her throat and Theo froze.
“I was just on my way to freshen up,” Sienna said, nodding towards a door. “I think Abraham’s wondering if you’ve done a runner…”
Theo met Verity’s eye, taking a deep breath before finally releasing her. “Just needed to discuss something,” he said, offering Verity a sheepish grin. “You go with Sienna. I’ll see you in there.”
Verity was about to protest when Theo’s eyes dropped to the apex of her thighs, as if he could see how wet she was. Well, maybe he couldn’t see it, but she had no doubt, especially with that smug grin, he could definitely smell it.
“This discussion isn’t over,” she said, following Sienna into the bathroom.
“Sorry to interrupt,” Sienna said, as Verity headed into a cubicle to clean up. “I thought he was gonna nail you there and then.”
Verity laughed. “Yeah, I don’t see that happening. Although, to be honest I didn’t expect… whatever that was either, so who knows?”
Heading back out, she joined Sienna who was examining her makeup by the sinks. The lights around the tall vanity mirrors showed a little more detail than she’d like and Verity cursed as she saw the mess Theo had made of her lipstick. She washed her hands before scrubbing at the ruined makeup.
Chloe and Mabel appeared next to them, washing their hands and sharing a hissed conversation. Verity wanted to check on them, to ask if they needed help or protection, but Theo’s warning to leave it for now rang through her mind.
Later. Abe was in town for a couple of weeks. If the girls needed help, she could help them once they were out of the club.
“Come here,” Sienna said, helping clean up the red smudges where his thumb had dragged over her mouth. “Funny way to have a discussion if you ask me.”
Verity’s cheeks heated. “It did start as a discussion.”
“Oh yeah?” Sienna pulled powder out and started dabbing Verity’s face, ridding her of the pink glow. “Anything important?”
“Not really,” she said.
“No?” Sienna asked, pulling lipliner from her bag and repainting Verity’s lips.
She thought for a moment. If anyone was to overhear, there was nothing incriminating about the discussion.
It would actually be nice to have someone to talk to about it, and if she wanted to get more information from Sienna at a later date than sharing now was just the kind of thing to help build trust.
“He won’t bite my neck,” Verity said, watching Sienna for her reaction but she looked carefully neutral. A little too carefully neutral.
“You want him to?”
“Would it make me a bad person if I did?”
Sienna gave her a tight smile. “Of course not. Just…” She eyed the two girls in the mirror, watching as they headed for the door, continuing their quiet argument. “If you don’t have to, don’t,” she said at last.
Gods, why was everyone telling her not to?
“Why not?” she asked.
After packing her makeup away and washing her hands again, Sienna pulled on the bow at her neck. “I get it, Verity, I really do. It’s fun and hot and makes you feel special. I felt special.” The top of her dress fell open, and Verity schooled her expression to avoid offending the other woman.
She had seen scars. Seen the ones that healed badly, fresh ones and ones still bruised, but never had she seen so many on one person. Hundreds, deep and overlapping, covered her from the high neck of the dress down her chest and out of sight.
“Did Harris…?”
“Oh, gods no,” Sienna cut in, retying the bow.
“My first client. I was young, he was handsome and made me feel important. He told me he’d love me forever, and then once he’d had his fill, he got a new donor and forgot about me.
I don’t know what I’d do if it wasn’t for Harris.
No one else would take me. No human will ever want me. This is my life now.”
No words could express the devastating cocktail of emotions Verity felt. Some vampire had marked Sienna, marked her with no care or consideration for her health or future, and then thrown her away.
“Don’t look like that,” Sienna said. “Don’t pity me. Harris takes good care of me, I’ve got my own room at his house, way nicer than a human could afford. He buys me whatever I want, and… I help people. I know it might not look like it but…”
“No, I get it now,” Verity told her.
Every new thing she learned about Sienna reframed the image Verity held of her. Every time she told someone to calm down, to stop drawing attention. Every kick to stop them spilling secrets, every hug, every text, every cold drink offered to a thirsty donor who had been dancing all night.
Sienna wasn’t Queen-Bee because of Harris. She was Queen-Bee because she deserved it.