Amber's head snapped back up and an intimidating scowl darkened his face. He shook his head. "It has been over twenty three years since a Queen last took me to her bed."
My brows creased together. What the heck did he mean by that? That he was willing to forgo sex? Or that he didn't mind waiting that long to "mate," as they seemed to term it, with me again? Dammit, I was never good at guessing games. I struggled on. "Is there a certain Queen you wish…"
"No," he responded brusquely.
"Do you guys date or something?" I ventured tentatively. "Other Full Blood women?"
"Mona Sera did not allow it." His voice was a low growl. He seemed as uncomfortable with the topic as I was.
"Oh. Well, it would be fine with me," I said, backing toward the door. "More than fine. If you saw them… you know. Other women. Not rape them," I added hastily, just for definite clarity. "But you can sleep with them. Have sex with them. Consensually, that is." I was babbling like an idiot, I realized, and shut my mouth.
"I understand, milady."
"If at any time you, uh, change your mind about going to another Queen…"
"I will not change my mind," Amber said sternly.
"Well, if you do… just let me know." I had my hand on the doorknob and was turning it, blissful escape only a moment away, when he spoke again.
"Milady?"
"Yes?"
"Why did you save me," he asked, his voice a deep quiet rumble, "if you do not desire me or wish my protection?"
Escape had been so freaking close. I blew out a breath, releasing my grip on the knob, and turned back to face Amber and the incredibly awkward discussion that I so badly wanted to drop. "It's not that I don't desire you. I do. But I am not going to sleep with every male I lust after."
"Other Queens do."
No statement could have set me off more. "I'm not like other Queens!" I almost shouted. "Nor do I wish to be," I added more quietly. "I do value your protection, Amber. Don't misunderstand me. You are more than three other men. I just wanted to give you a choice. I want you to be happy."
"Why?" he asked.
"Why?" I repeated, incredulously. "Because everyone deserves to be happy."
It seemed an alien concept to him. And that honest bewilderment almost broke my heart.
"Why did you save me?" Amber asked again.
I ran my fingers through my hair. "I don't know. Because you did nothing to warrant your punishment. Because it was hard for me to just stand by and not at least try to save you if it was within my power to do so."
He looked at me like an intricate puzzle he could not reason out.
I'd done everything short of ripping open a vein with that little speech. It would have to be enough. "Good night, Amber. Are you sure…"
"I will not leave you, my Queen," he said testily.
For some perverse reason, it pleased me that Amber sounded so vexed with me.
"I'm glad." I flashed him a warm, grateful smile, trying to convey to him that I did value him, that I was happy he had chosen to stay with me.
I closed the connecting door gently behind me.
Gryphon had unpacked and stored the trunks somewhere. He sat waiting for me on the bed, my beautiful wounded creature of the night.
"Are you tired?" I asked.
"Do you wish to seek your rest?"
"After I eat. I'm hungry. It was hard to eat with Mona Sera watching me. Do you think they have any spaghetti or pizza around here?" I asked wistfully.
His brow furrowed. "I do not know. Let us go see."
Amber was waiting for us out in the hallway, a towering grim-looking guardian angel. I grimaced.
"The doors just give the illusion of privacy, I guess," I grumbled.
"I will accompany you," Amber said.
"It will be more prudent, milady," Gryphon added, forestalling any protest from me.
I blew out a breath, letting go of my irritation. "I'm sorry, guys."
"Not at all," replied Gryphon most solemnly. "It is our duty to see to the care and feeding of our human."
Even Amber cracked a smile.
"Ha, ha. Very funny." But my stomach was making its demands felt and it was letting me know that bad jokes would not fill it.
A footman met us at the bottom of the stairs. "How can I serve you?" Acute hearing had its uses.
"Milady wishes for some food," Gryphon replied. "Do you perchance have some spaghetti or pizza?"
"Anything but steak," I said.
A brow raised as if to acknowledge what odd requests humans make. "I shall see what we can do. This way, please."
It was a lovely old house, decorated with antiques and delightfully ancient portraits of dignified men and women, some in the Elizabethan style of dress, one bearing the red cross of the Crusades, another in actual armor with a helmet resting in the crook of an elbow. One portrait of a slim, elegant man with dark hair, silvered at the temples, stood out, his bronze skin glowing like a warm beacon among all the other pale faces. He looked quite ordinary otherwise but for his long, pointed nails.
The attendant brought us to the dining room, seated us at one of the smaller tables, and disappeared into the kitchen. A moment later the door swung open and the redheaded Mixed Blood who had fascinated me so much earlier, entered bearing—God bless his part-human soul—a tray of cheese, crackers, and fruits. Yum, yum.
"I had it ready," the redhead said, giving me a toothy grin. "Just in case."
"Oh!" I exclaimed with delight, and gestured for him to sit and join us. He did so readily, watching with enjoyment as I proceeded to stuff my face.
"Mmm, heavenly," I declared, the sweet juice of a grape bursting in my mouth.
Amber leaned down and sniffed the cheese, his face creased in a frown. "It smells of decay."
"That's cheese—mold. Try some," I mumbled, my mouth full.
Amber answered politely enough though his lips curled with distaste. "No, thank you, milady."
"I have to seal up the cheese airtight or it drives everyone crazy," the man—boy, really—said.
"What's your name?" I asked.
"I'm Jamie. You?"
"Mona Lisa."
"How old are you?"
"Nineteen. You?"
"Twenty-one."
"I have an older sister," he lobbed back, his freckles practically dancing on his lively face. "Tersa. Five years older than me."
"Is she also…"
Jamie nodded. "Yeah. I'll bring Tersa and my mom to meet you tomorrow."
"Great! I'd like that."
Amber and Gryphon followed our mad volley of words back and forth until Jamie and I just stopped and grinned idiotically at each other.
"This is so cool," I exclaimed, happy to be in the presence of someone like me. Even better, someone who talked like me.
"Cool?" Amber rumbled the word testingly in his deep bass baritone.
"Yeah, cool. Like neat, wow, nice," I explained. "How old are you, anyway, Amber?"
"A hundred and five."
My eyes grew nicely rounded. "Really?"
Jamie whistled. "Ancient, man."
Amber eyed him repressively.
"We'll get him to lighten up," I whispered.
Jamie eyed the big man doubtfully. "You think?" he whispered back.
"Sure. The bigger they are…"
"… the harder they fall," Jamie and I chortled together.
"And boy, does the ground shake when this guy falls," I said, laughing.
"How do you know?"
"'Cause I threw him."
Jamie's eyes almost popped out. "Nah, you're kidding me."
I put my right hand up in the air. "I swear."
"Really? Can you teach me? My sister, too?"
"Sure."
"Cool," Jamie breathed.
If we'd had tails, they would have been wagging.
Gryphon winced. "Enough, children."