I grimaced and touched the bite marks self-consciously. “Barbecue-prong incident.”
He stared at me.
After a moment I started to feel uncomfortable. “What?”
“Did the master do that to you?”
I forced an awkward smile to my face. “You know . . . in the heat of passion and all that. Amy told me you guys are into a little bite-play.”
Mental picture. Bile rising. Inner shudder.
Barry had the decency to blush a little. “That’s different.”
“Is it?”
“Yes . . . I . . . ” He pressed his lips together. “I’m much younger than the master.”
“So?” I did remember Nicolai mentioning that only vamps over five hundred would have this little issue.
So glad to have it confirmed by Barry.
He shook his head. “You shouldn’t encourage this sort of thing.”
“It’s really none of your business.”
“You’d be surprised.”
“Oh, would I?”
He nodded gravely. “Has this ever happened before?”
“No.”
“It must never happen again.”
I swallowed hard. “Look, I don’t mean to sound rude, but what Thierry and I do is really none of your business.”
Any friendliness in his face dropped away. “You selfish little bitch,” he snarled at me. “How dare you be so flippant about such an important matter?”
I felt a flame of anger ignite in my chest at his tone. “You are really asking for this cake to be thrown all over your floor, aren’t you?”
He stared at me for a moment, seething with rage. What the hell did I say to set him off?
“I think I’m going to go.” I turned to leave.
“Don’t you take another goddamned step until I’ve had my say.”
I turned around, heat rising in my cheeks, and this time it definitely wasn’t from embarrassment.
“I was worried about this,” Barry said. “From the moment you showed up and the master didn’t send you immediately on your way. I was so worried that this would happen.”
“Thatwhat would happen?”
He nodded at me, at my neck. “That. Where is the master now?”
“I . . . I have no idea.” My mouth felt dry.
“I must find him. Did he . . . lose control of himself when you forced yourself on him?”
My eyebrows shot up. “Forced myself on him? I am going to put my foot so far up your little ass you’ll need a tiny crowbar to remove it.”
He waved off my protests. “I need to know what happened. It’s important.”
I crossed my arms. “Fine. He started to take too much blood. I tried to make him stop but he wouldn’t.
Or couldn’t. Finally, he stopped and looked really distraught. Then he apologized and ran away and I haven’t seen him since.” I touched the mark absently. “I don’t know why it hasn’t healed yet.”
“When an old vampire drinks, the wound is slow to heal. It may take days. I’m glad that you admitted what happened instead of trying to deny it. I respect that, Sarah.”
I nodded. “Well, good. I guess.”
He rubbed his chin. Then nodded firmly and met my gaze. “You must never see him again. Ever.”
My eyebrows shot up. “And why is that?”
He glowered. “The master has not lost control like this for a hundred years. That event ended in tragedy.”
“Nicolai’s wife. I know.”
“You knownothing .” He looked at me sharply, scanned me from head to foot, then shook his head with obvious disapproval. “I must go find him and make sure he’s okay.”
“Yeah, you do that,” I said. “And just as a reminder,I’m the one who got bit and nearly drained yesterday. Why aren’t you concerned at all about me? I could be dead right now.”
He glowered at me. “Sarah, get over yourself. Some things are more important.” He moved to the phone on the wall and picked it up, pecking at a couple of numbers. “You can leave now.”
Then he turned his back on me.
I turned and walked out of the kitchen and out to the sidewalk where Lenny and Janie were in the car waiting patiently for me. I got in the backseat so stunned that I couldn’t talk for a couple of minutes. Janie eyed me curiously but didn’t pry.
I pulled my cell phone out of my purse and dialed Thierry’s number by heart. It went through to voice mail.
“Thierry . . . ” I began. “It’s me . . . Sarah. Listen, I’m really worried about you. Please call me when you get this message. I . . . we should talk about . . . things. I’ll be at the club tonight, okay? I’ll . . . I’ll see you then.”
I flipped the phone closed. No matter how much he’d scared me, I knew he hadn’t meant to hurt me. I needed to talk to him. Tell him I loved him. That everything was going to be okay.
Stupid Barry. He didn’t know me at all. I wasn’t that selfish, was I?