The Vampire Queen's Servant by Joey W. Hill Read Free Book Online

asked.
    "No.
No
, my
lady." Without hesitation now, he took her hand and raised it to his lips,
feeling how much colder she'd gotten in just the past few moments. When he
registered the rigidity of her limbs, he understood.
Pain
. She was
fighting pain and likely the overwhelming desire to succumb to unconsciousness
to escape it. Keeping his grip on her hand, he tried to convey with warm
pressure she had someone in her corner.
    "I'm going out to the car
now," she said. "Follow two paces behind. Appear a bit besotted, as
if you're someone I'm taking home to feed me."
    "My lady, you can't walk
without help."
    She straightened, though he saw
her features tighten with the effort. He had to stomp on the compulsion to
override her protests and carry her to the car. She was too weak. He could feel
it.
    "I must never appear
vulnerable to my watching enemies, or even those who call themselves my
friends, Jacob. Do you understand? It's the most important rule of my
world."
    "Then let me try this, my
lady. I think it will serve your purpose."
    Standing in the doorway, in full
view of the parking lot, he reached out his other hand. Bemused, Lyssa took it.
He drew her to him, closer, closer, until he brought her all the way to him,
their fingers loosely linked so she was brushing his thighs with her nails.
Bending his head, he nuzzled her cheek with his lips, her fair skin with that
knightly fringe beard and moustache. It smelled faintly of coconut oil,
explaining the unexpected and appealing softness of it.
    "I can do 'besotted' quite
easily with you, my lady."
    His eyes were brilliant, almost
too painful for her to look at in her present state. "You're making me…
dizzy," she whispered. Leaning into him, she felt his pulse hammer against
her like a mob pounding at a castle gate. He was right. She wasn't going to be
able to walk to the car. The medicine was kicking in fully and it would rob her
of her full strength for at least two hours. Her consciousness as well. She'd
truly been a fool to go out tonight. It was getting so much harder to predict
when the attacks would come.
    "Jacob… if I can trust you,
if you have any regard for me, for the promises you offered… get me home."
    "Put your arms around
me," he said with sharp urgency. She complied, gripping his shirt as her
strength deserted her. Did he know where she lived? Had she told him that? What
about Bran? Oh, sweet Jesus, she hadn't told him about Bran.
    Jacob caught her up in his arms a
moment before she sagged, a fluid movement that would appear like the impulse
of an impassioned lover. Keeping her tilted in to him, he tucked his head over
hers so it wouldn't drop back and show she'd truly lost consciousness this
time, something he knew by her boneless weight. He took small nibbles at her
lips, breathing on her lashes as he strode to the limo, nodding reassuringly to
an intrigued Martin as he passed him. "Lock it up. I'll get my things from
Max tomorrow. I'm taking her home."
    And hopefully by tomorrow he'd
have his lady's help in reassuring Max with a plausible story when the man
called in a panic after learning some stranger had taken his place for her
manicure.
    The driver, Mr. Ingram he
assumed, was a black man of intimidating size and about fifty years. He'd
opened the car door for them. His brow knitted at the picture they made, but
Jacob did not acknowledge him as he eased her across the backseat and ducked in
after her.
    Ingram blessedly didn't say
anything, just shut the door. It gave Jacob a moment to settle Lyssa against
his side and take another quick glance at their surroundings through the
black-tinted windows. The salon was located off of a reasonably quiet downtown
side street, a good distance from the nightlife that would be kicking into high
gear as they approached midnight. But his sixth sense was fully active, telling
him her concerns were warranted. There might not be vamps out there, but their
spies surely were.
    Lady Elyssa was
the
Vampire Queen, the