The Vampire’s Servant
Chapter 38

[Echo]

In the hallway, I paused. I didn't know what to do. He kissed me and it felt so good and so perfect.

He'd been so close and all I could think about was feeling his lips on mine. I raised my hand to my mouth. I realized, I made him kiss me.

It made sense that I would have the ability to influence people if Harmony could. Victor was going to hate me when he realized I'd made him kiss me. I didn't want Victor to hate me.

Tears started welling up in my eyes and I knew I had to do something. I went downstairs and gathered my things into my backpack. I needed to prepare the tray for whoever was feeding Victor tonight.

I went to the kitchen and started to get to work, hoping that would take my mind off it. Maybe everything would be okay and go back to normal. I just needed to act like I normally did and it would be fine. The buzzer for the gate went off. I went out and hit the intercom.

"May I help you?" I asked.

"Silence sent me. The password is rosewood." A voice on the other end said.

"Come through to the house and knock on the front door." I answered.

I buzzed him in. A male made me as nervous as a female now that I'd had the experience with the hunters. I needed to figure out how to calm myself.

Victor came down the stairs dressed in slacks and a button down shirt. I smiled tightly. I hoped he wasn't too mad at me.

"The donor is here if you want to wait for them in the living room." I said.

"Thank you, Echo." He replied and walked past me into the living room.

He hated me. I knew it. I had to apologize, but it would have to wait until the donor was gone.

There was a knock at the door, pulling me from my thoughts. I answered it. And a man stood before me. He was young looking with light brown hair and blue eyes. I didn't get a bad feeling from him. "May I have your name, please?" I asked.

"Branson. And you are?"

"Echo. Please come in. My master is waiting in the living room." I said.

He entered the house and followed me to where Victor was waiting. He introduced himself and I wandered back to the kitchen. I pulled out the meat I'd had thawing in the refrigerator, then organized the snack tray and carried it to the living room. "Have something to eat before you go." I said, setting the tray on the table.

Victor sat in a chair and I sat on the ottoman near the coffee table. Branson ate very little, grabbed an apple juice and stood. He seemed nervous.

"I don't normally sit around after this. I hope you'll understand. Thanks for the snacks. I need to get going. Have a good night." He said quickly and hurried off.

Once he was gone, I started picking up. Victor sat in the chair and watched me. When I glanced over, he looked away. I needed to figure out how to fix this.

"When you're finished, Echo. I need to talk with you." Victor said.

I nodded and carried the tray away. I worried as I packed everything away for the next time it was needed. What if he told me to leave? What if he didn't want me anymore? Where would I go? After everything was put away, I had nothing else keeping me from talking to him. I wanted to run away. I wanted to go to my room and not come out again. I shook my head. I needed to do this.

-

When I entered the living room again, Victor indicated the chair near him and I sat there. I couldn't look at him. I was so ashamed of what I'd done.

"Echo, I am extremely sorry. I don't know what came over me. I shouldn't have kissed you like that." He said.

I stared at him, startled. Of course he hadn't realized I made him kiss me. That made it even worse. He thought he did this to me.

"It wasn't your fault, Victor. I figured it out after I left. I didn't mean to make you kiss me. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me. I won't do it again." I promised.

"You... you think you did this? Don't. I was the one at fault for this. I've been... having feelings for you, Echo. I've been trying to control them, because you're my friend and you're still healing from what your parents did. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before." Victor replied softly.

My teeth itched. He had feelings for me? The same feelings I'd felt growing? He thought of me the same way?

"What should we do?" I asked. "I thought you didn't want me. You told Rosalynn you didn't want to marry me. You told me you didn't want to have babies with me. Now you do?"

"I don't know. Pushing the feelings aside was easier when Rosy was here. I had other things to focus on. When we're alone, though, I keep thinking of how I want you, how I want to keep you, how I want to love you. I keep telling myself you're my friend and servant, but that only keeps the thoughts away for a little while." Victor said with a sigh.

"Maybe... maybe we could be friends who kiss sometimes?" I asked.

Victor chuckled. "That may not be the best idea. I want to do more than kiss you, Echo. I need to deal with these feelings. Kissing you might only make them stronger."

"I don't think I can stop feeling like this, Victor." I admitted.

"Nor do I, Echo. Let's just not give into it, and forgive each other if we do. It's something we can explore once you're an adult. I love you and I want to take care of you, but I won't do anything to harm your progress. And Master Marius is also a concern. Right now, he seems overprotective. I don't want to risk angering him." Victor said.

I nodded. Making Marius angry wasn't healthy. It was only a little under two months before I was eighteen. I could wait to explore this more. I needed to be healthy and strong before I would be good enough for a relationship anyway, and I didn't want to lose my friendship with Victor over this.

"Can I have one more kiss before we go back to how we were before?" I asked shyly.

"I don't know if that's a good idea." He replied hesitantly.

"Please, I didn't get to kiss you back. Just the one." I promised.

He looked at me thoughtfully. I nibbled my lips nervously. His gaze dropped to my lips and he nodded.

I stood and stepped closer to the chair. Victor looked up at me and stood as well. I was giddy with the idea of getting to kiss him again.

He took me in his arms and I tilted my head back. Victor lowered his head and his lips touched mine. It was tender and sweet. I kissed him back, opening my mouth a little and felt him to the same.

Victor's tongue touched mine and I pulled away a little. It was surprising. He started to let me go, but I pulled him back. He growled softly and started kissing me more vigorously.

This time, when his tongue touched mine, I pressed back. It felt so perfect and right, unlike anything I'd ever felt before. It was like that was where I belonged. Standing there, in his arms, his lips on mine.

It felt like it went on forever and like it ended too soon. When we stopped kissing, Victor rested his forehead against mine. I felt more complete than I had in most of my life.

"I love you, Victor." I whispered.

"I love you, too, my Echo." He replied

I hugged him tightly, resting my head on his chest. Victor swayed with me in his arms. We would be fine. We would be together one day. Until then, we would learn more about each other and I would get healthier. I would also learn to be more comfortable with the more vampiric side of his nature.

"This is a cozy scene." A deep voice said from behind me.

Marius. How much had he seen? My nerves ran wild. Victor squeezed me one last time before letting me go.

"Master Marius, how can I help you?" Victor asked politely.

"I came to make sure you had everything you needed to prepare for the arrival of Talia and her entourage. They will be here in a week or two. You need to be prepared." Marius stated.

"I'll go make some tea for your meeting and have my dinner." I said, pulling out of Victor's arms and heading to the kitchen.

I pulled out the kettle, filled it with water, and started it heating it. While that was warming I retrieved the meat for my dinner and started preparing it. With luck, Marius hadn't seen or heard too much.

When the water was ready I brewed the tea and added the blood before putting it in the tea service and carrying it to Victor's office. I stood outside the door briefly before opening it. Steeling myself for whatever might happen next.

Marius was sitting back in one of the guest chairs while Victor was typing something on his computer. He glanced up at me and smiled like he always did. I felt myself blush a little.

I settled the tea service and poured the tea. Marius took his cup gratefully and Victor nodded a little when I set his cup down. I stood to the side of the desk.

"Is there anything else you'll need me for?" I asked.

"I don't think so, Echo. Master Marius?"

"Nothing I can think of. Victor can go over the requirements for your trainers, they'll be here in a week or two." Marius said.

"I'll go cook my dinner, then. Have a good visit." I smiled and left the room with a bow.

It didn't seem like he'd seen or heard anything. There was no smirk or scolding. I had to believe that the situation was actually private. That was good. I didn't want Marius angry with Victor.

I finished cooking and sat down to eat. I wondered about the trainers that Marius mentioned. I was a little jealous that Harmony and Val were already training. They told me how much work, and how much fun it was.

Soon, Victor came into the room. He smiled tightly and sat at the table with me. I saw him eye my food, like he always did. He was making sure I was eating healthy.

"We're going to be hosting some werewolves and my sire. They will work on setting up a training regimen and getting started with you. Once I've gotten things more settled in the territory, I'll take over your training." He informed me. "Alright. What do I need to do to get ready for them?" I asked.

"We need three guest rooms prepared for them. One is an Alpha wolf and she will need the best we have. Talia doesn't generally mind where she sleeps. The other two are mated to each other and will want privacy. We'll need a lot of food. Werewolves eat more than humans. You'll have to cook a lot of food for their meals." Victor explained.

I nodded. "I can see if Gray and Valor will take me shopping on the weekend. We may want to consider getting a second freezer and making an order with the butcher shop for a lot more meat. I won't be here to prepare lunches, so having something they can throw together easily will be a good idea as well."

"That sounds good. I'll have to see about driving lessons for you so you can run errands on your own." He said.

I smiled. I wanted to learn everything I could and being more independent would help a lot.

"Harmony wants me to come have a sleep over Saturday night. Would that be okay?" I asked.

"As long as you're home before I get up Sunday, I have no problem with that." Victor said.

"And... Gray asked me to go to the prom with him. Would that be okay?"

Victor inhaled sharply. I prepared for him to say no. I would understand. Gray thought I was his mate and Victor was in love with me. It could be hard for him to let me go.

"Who else is going?" He asked.

"We'll be with Cam and Harmony. I've never been to a dance or anything, so Gray wanted to take me so I could experience it." I admitted.

He looked thoughtful. "If you really want to go, I won't stop you. There are a lot of things that you haven't gotten to try. I want you to do everything. Just remember not to give him too much leeway. He's a werewolf and they instantly fall in love with their mates. He's trying to make you love him too."

I thought about earlier today when Gray caught me and held on to me. It felt almost as safe as when Victor held me. It was that bond, Gray was talking about, growing.

That couldn't happen. I didn't want to hurt Victor. I was also not wanting to hurt Gray. He seemed like he was more genuine than he'd been before and like he really just wanted to be my friend. "I'll be careful."

"Good. I love you and I don't want to lose you to him." He admitted softly.

"You won't. I already told you, Victor. We'll be together forever. I'm never letting you go." I smiled.

He took my hand in his and kissed it. It reminded me of the gentle way Gray had kissed my hurt finger earlier. I really needed to be careful. How could I get Gray to stop loving me?