High Society (The High Stakes Saga #3)

Muttering a string of curses just because I knew Asa would hear, I begrudgingly pulled on the shirt and breeches, securing them over my tech suit. No way would I take it off when Asa was around. And don’t even get me started on the mess that was Terah.

She could sashay around in fancy gowns all she wanted, but I knew what she was like in the shadows of the past. Her nature hadn’t changed, and I doubted she had the fortune of a willing group to feed her in this day. Eve and I would certainly find out tonight.

My stomach growled as I fastened the buttons of what I assumed was a waistcoat, otherwise known as a coarse, burnt-orange vest made of fabric too thick for summer, even at night.

I grabbed the cravat and started winding it around my neck. Asa’s looked neat and proper. Mine was a mess but it covered the high neck of my suit, so in the end, the cravat and I came to an understanding.

On the ground floor, past the empty sitting rooms, was a large room with a single table long enough to be ten tables. Terah, with her fancy curled hair and dress that matched my waistcoat, sat at one end while Asa occupied the other. Eve was at his right hand, and she didn’t look particularly happy. The pair of them matched as well. I puked a little in my mouth at the thought of the pairs of us matching like cute little couples. Things like this, these little pokes, made me want to stab Asa’s eyes out before I staked his heart.

The seat to the left of Asa was empty, so I made my way around the assembled vamps and humans and took that seat. Eve pinned me with a wide look.

“You look beautiful,” I told her. She wore a red dress and her hair was twisted into a sophisticated knot.

“Thanks,” she replied in a low tone.

Glancing down the table, I saw there was a pattern. Plates heaped with steaming food sat in front of the humans who wolfed it down, while the vamps only had cups in front of them. It didn’t take a genius to know what was in them.

Even if I didn’t know what they were, the scent of blood hung like a cloying fog in the air. Maybe Asa was manipulating the scent of the blood like he did the mists outside.

Asa sawed away at a piece of meat, pausing when finished to point the sharp blade at a pile of steaks, greens, and freshly sliced bread. Tantalizing steam wafted up from all of it. “Feel free to take what you’d like, Titus.”

I chose a piece of meat, piled the greens high, and grabbed a few wide slices of bread. I was hungry, but more than that, I didn’t know when my next meal might be. Traveling was hard on a body. I needed to fuel up and keep it that way.

“Darling, would you like another drink?” Asa offered graciously. I paused to see who he had spoken to. No one was behind him.

Finally, Eve turned to him. “That would be lovely, thank you.” She gave him a grin that was equal parts sugar and poison, but Asa rose from his chair, took her cup, and walked away without hesitation.

“What did I just see and hear?” I asked incredulously.

She swallowed. “Just my fiancé seeing to my thirst.”

My brows rose. Fiancé?

I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh. When Enoch got here, Asa was going to pay for the ruse he was playing. Enoch didn’t even like me joking around with Eve, but pretending she was going to marry him? Enoch might kill Asa and save Abram the trouble. Not that his vampish ass would be able to do the job.

Or would he? Maybe being turned made him strong enough to fight them…

Asa sat Eve’s cup down in front of her and scooted his seat forward as he sat back down.

She took a dainty sip from her cup and then Eve’s caramel eyes narrowed at him. “This isn’t water.”

“Neither is it blood.”

“I don’t drink alcohol.”

“It’s wine, and watered-down, at that. A single glass won’t hurt you,” he promised.

She pushed the cup away from her. “I won’t drink it.”

“Suit yourself,” he replied with a shrug, taking a long gulp from his own glass.

Were Nephilim affected by alcohol? Or was he drinking blood? And where had they gotten so much of it?

A loud thump and screech came from under the floor. The humans still chatted, oblivious to the noise, while those with advanced hearing – myself and Eve, as well as the vampires – listened intently. Another bump came, followed by a bang.

“Vermin issues, Asa?” Eve asked conversationally.

“Exactly that. But don’t fret, love. I will keep you safe from the things that go bump in the night.”