Last Vamp Standing Read Free Page B

colossal and the khissmates much more regal than they actually were. The walls were painted deep burgundy, perfectly complementing the tan and chocolate sofas sprinkled here and there. Their Primus believed the place should make khissmates feel warm and at home. With lots of candlelight and marble and roses and Spanish lace.
    Ariana couldn’t recall any of the refugees coming from a seaside mansion with such elaborate furnishings. But the place wasn’t designed or decorated on her dime, and she got the benefit of staying here, so she kept her mouth zipped.
    Nodding as she passed group after group of mingling elders, Ariana walked as quickly as she could, past the grand fireplace that was sparking to life, through the lobby where vamps were curled up reading, and along a quiet, winding hallway that led to the Primus’s quarters.
    She tried to pretend she couldn’t hear her khissmates’ whispers as she passed by. But she could. She tried to pretend they didn’t bother her instead. That didn’t work either.
    Hesitating in front of the door, she adjusted her robe. It was covered in mud and crusting at the edges.
    “Damn it.” She stuck her finger through a hole in the side. Black Moon’s cleaners were closed for the night, and her room was on the top floor. It’d have to do.
    She thought about stripping from her robe and addressing her Primus in the jeans and tank she wore underneath, but decided that wouldn’t help her situation. Not only would her Primus be furious at her lack of respect and insist she address him in her haven robe, but he’d also get an eyeful of the strange mark on Ariana’s arm. It was light, but getting darker with each projection—a series of dots that formed a gradual arch around the inside of her forearm.
    Tugging her robe over her wrist, Ariana let the silver lion head knocker on the Primus’s door drop two times. And waited.
    Echo stepped behind her with not so much as a draft to clue her in. He was quiet for his enormous stature and made an excellent spy—able to sneak up on just about anyone, anywhere. That was the precise reason she’d asked him to be her Watcher in the first place.
    “I’m sorry, Ari,” he whispered, his hot breath coating her neck. “It won’t happen again.”
    She looked over her shoulder. His lips were puffy. His eyes back to black. His shoulder-sweeping red hair a tangled mess.
    Was her long, sweeping chestnut hair as disheveled? Her mocha-colored eyes as guilty? “It’s all right. But now I’ve got some explaining to do.”
    “We,” he corrected.
    “No,” she said on an exhale. “It was my duty and my failure. I’ll face him. Hope she was worth it.”
    He snorted, then caught himself. “Ain’t none of them worth it, but you know how I crave that real sweet nectar those nymphs have, and Narci from Depot didn’t have no more bottled. She said next week. That nymph saw me huddled over you near the pit, said she needed some scar her daddy gave her to go away. Fair trade I thought, and we weren’t gone long. Didn’t think it’d be no big thing. Didn’t expect you to show early.”
    Ariana knocked again. “Yeah, well, someone hitched a ride back with me this time. Didn’t expect that either.”
    She smoothed her fly-aways and pulled her braid over her shoulder, realizing for the first time that the blue ribbon tied on the end had slipped off. Damn it. She knew better than to leave anything behind that could possibly lead back to this place. One hint of the magic on the satin, and someone searching for the haven could trace the way to the front gate with ease.
    Would her vamp return? Would he listen to the harshness of her words as she turned him away or did he sense, as she did, that something sparked between them?
    “That’s odd, Ari, for true. Didn’t think someone could piggyback unless you—”
    “I didn’t want it,” she blurted as blood flushed to her cheeks. “Besides, it wouldn’t have been a problem if the vamp hadn’t