Accidentally Married to…a Vampire?(Accidentally Yours #2)(49)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

Five of the six Demilord warriors sitting around the table snickered as Helena dressed Andrus down.

Helena’s eyes darted furiously at each of them, dishing a helping of “shut the hell up.”

They returned to quietly eating their steak and potatoes, but maintained healthy smirks.

“I suppose you think that vampire mate of yours is an angel. Right?” said Andrus.

Helena grumbled and looked down at her untouched plate. “No. He’s an even bigger ass than you are. If that’s even possible.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Andres replied with a grin. His men chuckled.

She was appalled by their glib dispositions. “You think this is some kind of joke?” She snarled at each of them.

Their smiles melted away.

“Sorry,” Andrus said quietly. "I understand you are upset, that you feel I betrayed you, but that’s no reason to not eat. It’s been two days.”

Helena simply wasn’t hungry. “I know how long it’s been. The question is, when are you going to let me go home?”

Andrus shrugged and picked up his fork to spear a chunk of baked potato soaked in butter. “Not until I know you’re safe from him.”

Helena suddenly noticed how Andrus did the quick blinking thing with his eyes when he said that. If memory served right, he’d done it the day they’d met too. His poker tell.

“You suck at that, you know,” Helena said.

The men stopped eating again and watched intently for Andrus’ response.

Andrus chewed slowly then swallowed. “At what?”

“Lying. And, you know what kills me? I would have done anything to help you if you’d just had the courtesy to ask. But you decided to pull this. Why?” Helena stood up and pounded her fist on the table, sending her fork flying. “I wanted to stay with him! We could have had a chance if you’d just left us alone! Why? Why Andrus! You made him choose between a war, the life of his men, and me. What did I do to deserve this…from you, of all people?”

Andrus winced. “I—I can’t…”

“Is this some kind of punishment? Because I didn’t give up on Niccolo after one kiss from you?”

His men exchanged astonished glances.

Andrus’ face flushed. He rose from his seat, walked over to Helena, and yanked her hand.

She popped out of her seat and pulled her hand back. “Fine! You wanna talk? Let’s . Because I’ve got plenty to say!” she yelled.

She followed him into the empty kitchen.

Helena was first shocked by his rude behavior and then by how rundown the kitchen looked. Some of the white tiles were missing from the walls, the white ceramic sink and tiled counters were chipped and cracked. An old refrigerator groaned in the corner. In fact, the entire mansion looked like the inside of a forgotten, Victorian-era museum. This was the home of a person, or group of people, who’d clearly given up on life.

Fists clenched tightly, Andrus paced across the kitchen. “No,” he finally said in a hushed voice. “I would never punish you for something like that. But you should be thanking me for showing you what he’s really like. He let you go without batting an eyelash, and you were ready to spend eternity with him. He’s not the one for you.”

“What are you saying? That you are?” she asked bitterly.

He growled. “I am not worthy of anyone, least of all you.”

“Whatever! Then why are you doing this?” She screamed.

He ran his hands through his short, dark spikes. “You would never understand the truth, but this isn’t about revenge—not against you, anyway.”

Helena’s mind began sliding the pieces into place. Andrus was using her for revenge. Against who? Couldn’t be Niccolo. If that were the case, Andrus would have killed her. Or, killed Niccolo that first night in the hotel. So, if not Niccolo, then who?

Light bulb. “Dammit, Andrus! This is about her! Isn’t it?” Helena gave him an ineffective push.

Andrus’ face went from flushed to pale.

She was right. Helena wondered if maybe he still desired Reyna. Sometimes the lines between love and hate blurred.

“But I’ve never met the woman. What possible use could I be?”

He cleared his throat and stared down at Helena’s feet. “I’ve sent a letter to Niccolo, advising that you will be executed unless he brings Reyna to me tomorrow evening.”

“What!?” she screamed.

Andrus sighed. “I will not harm you, I vow it.”

Helena huffed. “Too fricking late.” Then a thought struck her…the queen was extremely powerful and dangerous. And bonkers. “Niccolo will be killed if he tries to take her on.”

Andrus shook his head. “The Execution—”

“Niccolo! His name is Niccolo! And if you knew anything about him, you’d realize he’s no different from you. He didn’t want to become a vampire anymore than you wanted to be a Demilord.” Why am I defending him? The jerk told me he loved me, tried to sleep with me, then abandoned me.

Andrus cleared his throat and nodded. “Niccolo is quite intelligent; he will bring her to me. I would go after her myself, but she’s impossible to track. This is the best solution.”

Helena hissed. What a total dirt bag! Was there no end to the parade of big, mean, untrustworthy immortal jerks?

“So you planned this all along? How did you even know about me in the first place? What are you going to do once you have the queen? You know I totally hate you, right?”

Andrus frowned. “Yes, this has been my plan all along. The Demilords have been watching Niccolo’s for a while; they found out there’d been a wedding dress maker visiting—a lucky discovery given how powerful of a bargaining chip a vampire’s bride can be. That is between her and me. And…yes. I know you hate me. Although, I hope you will forgive me.”

“Have I told you lately that you are a complete and utter—”

“Ass?” he cut in. “Easy on the compliments. You might over inflate my ego.”

Helena sizzled with anger. He’d never cared about helping her. “It was all a lie, wasn’t it? Everything you told me about yourself was just to get me to feel sorry for you so I’d come quietly, wasn’t it?”

Andrus stepped in closer. “No. Everything I told you was real, except…I do not know if our archives hold the key to breaking the bond with Niccolo.”

Jerk! How could she have been so stupid to trust this man? “So, you lured me here, intending to do what exactly?”