The scene before her felt like a dagger to her chest. Katie looked up with surprise. She clearly wasn’t expecting Alexis to be here. The male vampire, called Tobias, acknowledged her with a nod. “Duca.”

“Tobias.” She then turned her attention to Katie. “You’re not supposed to be on the blood rota.”

“I had the rota changed. I don’t want to be treated differently.”

Alexis took a step closer and said, “You are different.”

“Why am I different? You tell me why, Duca?” Katie said angrily.

Tobias asked, “Shall I just go, Duca?”

Katie said firmly, “You stay where you are, Toby.”

Katie said again, “Why am I different?”

In her head Alexis knew clearly why she didn’t want Katie on the rota—because she didn’t want to see or even contemplate another vampire feeding on her—but she couldn’t admit that out loud. So she said, “Katie, you are the head housekeeper of the Debrek household, a high position that means you should not be on the blood rota.”

Katie sighed. “Rubbish. I shouldn’t be treated any differently. The pact that the human members of the household have with the Debreks is that we offer our blood, and in return we get extremely well paid and looked after. I am no different.”

The door opened again, and Alexis’s human blood servant came in. “If that’s what you want, Katie. Then have at it. I don’t care,” Alexis said.

James was the human who had answered Alexis’s quest for blood. He got in position and unbuttoned his shirt. Alexis noticed that Katie hadn’t taken her eyes from her. Tobias moved Katie’s blouse from her neck, and Alexis was enraged watching him even touch her.

She could stop this right now, but then she would have to explain why, and she could never admit her feelings for Katie. It was hard to even say that to herself, far less outside.

Tobias’s teeth entered Katie’s neck and she gasped. Alexis followed suit and felt James’s blood flow over her tongue.

After the feel-good chemicals took over, Katie opened her eyes and found Alexis’s eyes staring at her as she fed on her host. Katie fixed her own eyes on Alexis. It was incredible. There was an energy pulling them together, and in her mind the two human hosts disappeared, and Alexis was feeding on her.

Katie’s heart pounded and her mind went back to when Alexis first fed on her. She’d wanted Alexis that day, she would have given her anything. And now with every suck that Tobias took, in her mind, it was Alexis.

She was so turned on and everything inside her wanted to scream how much she wanted Alexis, that she couldn’t stop her arm from rising, reaching out to make contact with Alexis.

Stop it. She doesn’t want you.

Then, remarkably, Alexis raised her hand to meet hers, but then at the last moment closed her eyes, pulled away from her blood servant, and wiped the blood from her mouth.