High Society (The High Stakes Saga #3)

“Such as?”

As his eyes raked down my gown, I snatched my holster from his hand. “Don’t look at me like that,” I snapped.

His irises darkened, as if they rejected the flickering light and swallowed it up instead. “I can’t help it. I know what lurks beneath the layers of that fine garment.”

I swallowed my anger. “You might be marrying my clone and she may resemble me, but she isn’t and never will be me. There are obvious differences between the two of us.”

“Such as?” he led.

“I assume that if she’s willing to bind herself to you for the rest of her life, she probably worships the ground you walk on. Me? I’d be just as happy to bury a stake in your black heart.”

Asa took a quick step toward me. I pulled a stake out and clutched it in my fist, thrusting it forward and slicing toward his chest as promised.

He stopped just shy of my strike so that the sharp point of the stake skimmed his breast bone. His breath rushed out of his lungs. “At least you aren’t a liar,” he announced in a strange voice before baring his fangs. “Strike out at me again, and I’ll sire you. You will be bound to me, destined to do my bidding, and I will forever keep you from my brother.”

“I’d rather die.”

Asa stepped around me, pausing at my side. “A wish I would be most happy to deny you for an eternity.”

“What is it you need from me, Asa? I assume you didn’t call me in here just to give back my stakes.”

“Indeed, I haven’t. I need your help.”

“With?”

“Your double.”

“Let me guess… People are noticing.”

“Mary won’t voice what she’s seen to anyone but me or you. She trusts me implicitly, and though I’m not sure why, she trusts you, too.” His eyes met mine. “Maybe my brother is right about you. Mary is a great discerner of character. In the meantime, I’ll see to your double.”

I felt queasy with the prospect of what ‘seeing to my double’ would entail. Would he kill her? Lock her away? Send her somewhere?

Chapter Four

Titus

I woke up hungry, rolling from my back to my side, promptly falling off the child-sized mattress in the room Asa had assigned me in what amounted to a reclaimed attic. The ceiling was sloped so steeply, I hit my head each time I forgot to stoop. I rubbed my forehead. The tiny window showed a darkening sky.

My stomach churned. I had a dream. Some of it I couldn’t make sense of, but there was one part that seemed more memory than dream. I needed to talk to Eve. Alone.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and looked up to see a ridiculous set of clothes. There was no way I was wearing any of it. I stomped across the room and wrenched open the door to find Asa standing on the other side.

“I was about to wake you for dinner. Eve said you’d likely be sleeping. She knows you very well, it seems.”

His gaze flicked to the left side of my head. I reached up to find my hair standing on end. Clearing my throat, I straightened my spine to at least look a little taller. Not that Asa didn’t tower over me anyway, but it made me feel better for a second.

I ignored his insinuation. “What’s for dinner?”

“Nothing, if you do not dress like a gentleman. I’ve provided you with proper clothing. Do not insult me in my own home by refusing to wear it.”

“I don’t even know how to wear it,” I answered sheepishly, hoping to smooth things over. Asa wasn’t Enoch. I had to remember that.

“You’ve figured out how to travel through the ages; surely, you can manage a pair of breeches and a shirt, waistcoat, and cravat.”

I think he underestimated my cravating ability, but who was I to argue with someone intent on eating me? Asa hated us. Though I didn’t know what his current game was, he was our opponent. Asa stared for a long moment before turning on his heel and walking away.

I closed the door and turned to face the ugly-ass clothing punctuated by the cravat. Why did such a long, thin piece of bland material scare me worse than Asa? I had no idea.