“Aefre,” he growls. Once again, I get the Old English pronunciation, which warns me he is over the top mad at me. “I am still your sire and you will respect that, or do you need another lesson to remind you?”
“Lizzie.” It’s Devon this time.
I step even closer to him. I glare up at him and say quietly, “I told you what would happen if you tried that again.”
“And I told you what would happen if you threatened me again.”
At an impasse, we just stand there, neither of us backing down, the tension ratcheting up several thousand notches. All four of us are getting even more agitated, yet none of us move.
“I work for you, how?” CK asks me suddenly, catching me completely off guard.
“You’ll be my proxy, of course,” I say, recovering quickly and saying it like it’s obvious.
He raises his eyebrow at me. “I will?”
“Well, I will give it to Devon if you don’t want it.”
His eyes flick to Devon, who probably looks gobsmacked, and back to me. “I accept,” he says as if I offered it to him instead of telling him he had to do it or else.
“And you will move to L.A.?” I push.
“It doesn’t seem like I have much choice, now does it?” he says, his sarcasm evident.
“No, not really,” I say breezily.
His eyes harden even further. “Don’t push it, Aefre. I am still not happy about the changes you are making to our agreement. I haven’t decided what to do about that yet.” I hear Cole suck in his breath as if punched.
I roll my eyes at CK and step back relaxed now.
“Oh, don’t think this is the end of it, my sweet,” he says as he senses my release of tension. “It is far from over.” I nod briefly, understanding that we will ‘talk’ about it without an audience. He releases some of his own tension now that he has put me back in my place. Or so he thinks.
I clap my hands together, pleased to have gotten my own way. “I have the perfect place for you to live,” I say smugly. Three sets of eyes bore through me in varying degrees of query.
“Oh?” he says.
“Yes, I have been preparing for you to eventually, at least, want a house near me, although how it never occurred to your own self, is not only a mystery but also slightly insulting,” I point out with a slight sulk.
He looks surprised then happy that I wanted him closer to me.
“So,” I continue, “I bought the house next to mine years ago. It’s been renovated and redecorated to your taste and is waiting for you.”
“You bought me a house? We will be neighbors?” he says with a slight smile.
“Yes.”
“Why have you never brought it up before?” he asks quietly.
I shrug. “I was never sure if you would say yes. It was easier just to wait for the right moment.”
“Well, how can I say ‘no’ to that?”
“You can’t,” I say.
He hugs me tightly.
“I always wondered why no one ever lived in that house,” Devon pipes up. “How come I never knew about it? I would have seen the financials,” he adds, perplexed.
“I used Saxon m