Steal the Night (Thieves #5)(138)

Niles and Elof stood up as Louis entered the room.

“Finally,” Niles said in that upper-crust accent of his. “We’ve been waiting for hours…what the hell is she doing here?”

Louis’s eyes narrowed. “Do you have a problem with my companion, Niles?” The question was an obvious trap.

“No, Louis,” Niles replied, but I could see he was lying.

Louis sat down in the big wing chair behind his imposing desk and I began to sink to my knees beside him as he’d had me do before. It would be hard for me to see anything but the front of the desk and Louis’s lap, but I needed him to trust me. The vampire made it easy on me. He pulled me up and indicated that he wanted me in his lap. I gave him an intimate smile and curled against him.

“Do you really think it’s appropriate to have her in here?” Elof asked, obviously exasperated as he reseated himself.

I was going to have to think about changing my name to Yoko. I was really giving this little band of Louis’s hell. I cuddled against Louis, and he practically purred at the close contact.

“She isn’t going to cause trouble,” Louis said sharply, his hand tightening like they might try to take me away from him. If I played my cards just right, I might be able to start a fight. “We just performed the ceremony, Elof. The two of you interrupted our bonding time.”

“Well, excuse us, Louis,” Niles said bitterly. “I don’t think Donovan is going to stop his campaign against us because you need a honeymoon with his companion.”

Now Louis was growling. “She’s mine. Do you question my right to my companion?”

Elof rolled his eyes. “Of course not. Give it up, Niles. He’s going to be unreasonable. You know how it is when you get that first real night with one of them. Can you imagine what she tastes like?”

“Yes, I certainly can,” the Brit replied. “Which is why he shouldn’t have taken her as his companion when we’re in the middle of a bloody war and we’re losing.”

Then they were off and arguing about everything under the sun. Niles wanted to go after Daniel hard and immediately. Elof wanted to start waging a more guerilla-like approach to the war, and Louis was waiting to see if his demon contacts would come through. I heard them talking about the possibility of dealing with the Hell plane. It sent off alarm bells in my head. Thus far, the demons had stayed out of our skirmishes. That could go poorly for us, but I forced myself to remain in full-on sexy kitty mode. I rested against Marini’s shoulder and pretended to doze as they argued on and decided to at least talk to the demons. They would call one tomorrow night once their witch was prepared.

I let my eyes drift around the room. It was very masculine, like the rest of Louis’s apartments. It was stuck in the sixteenth century or somewhere close to it. Everything was dark wood and rich fabrics. There was his large, neatly appointed desk with everything in its place. There was a computer, but I was surprised to see it wasn’t a sleek laptop like Dev and Danny preferred. It was a solid-looking machine, but it couldn’t be easily moved. Dev never employed anything that couldn’t be moved or destroyed fully and at a moment’s notice, but then Dev was thorough…I took a deep breath. I had to keep my mind from going there. I had to focus. I couldn’t think about Dev. I couldn’t indulge in grief or memory.

The computer helped me. I thought long and hard about how that little piece of technology could be the opening I needed.

It seemed to take hours before they were willing to break up. I heard Louis curse as he realized dawn wasn’t far away. Niles and Elof left the room but not before Niles looked down at me and shook his head. He was suspicious. I would have to be careful around the Brit.

“I don’t think they like me, Louis,” I said, sounding very insecure.

“They’re just jealous of me.” The door closed and Louis was pulling off my robe, his hands finding my breasts. “I have such a beautiful, bright companion. They can’t stand the thought that they will never possess one such as you.” His breathing was heavy, and I knew he was going to take me on top of the desk. His lips roamed across my neck.

“You don’t think they will…try to steal me?”

Louis’s head came up, and I saw the beginning of sweet, sweet paranoia in that brain of his. “They wouldn’t dare.”

I bit my lip and threw my arms around his neck. “You’ll keep me safe.”

“I promise, Zoey. I’ll keep you safe from them.”

Just before dawn, Louis led me back to the bedroom. He kissed my hand, turning the palm over to rub against his cheek affectionately. “Trent will take you back to your rooms, darling girl. Your little wolf should be there by now.”

“Thank you for that.” I picked up my sadly worn jeans and T-shirt. “I guess I’ll have to clean them again. May I keep the robe until they’re clean?”

Louis had promised to give me the things I needed. Under the influence of my blood, he would really want to keep his promise to me. “I’m sorry about the state of your wardrobe, Zoey. I know you’re used to better than this. I intended for Rose to purchase nice clothes for you but…perhaps one of the other companions has something you could borrow. I know Elof’s companion is already here.”

I’d seen her. She was beautiful and cold and way skinnier than me. I sank down on the bed and did something that would have annoyed Danny to no end. “I can’t, Louis. The other companions…I’m too fat to fit into their clothes.” I sniffled slightly.