House of durand volume 1, p.1
House of Durand: Volume 1, page 1
Contents
Title Page
Also by Erin Bedford
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Indebted to the Vampires
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Ninteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Chapter Twenty Four
Chapter Twenty Five
Chapter Twenty Six
Chapter Twenty Seven
Chapter Twenty Eight
Chapter Twenty Nine
Chapter Thirty
Wanted By The Vampires
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Tweleve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Chapter Twenty Three
Protected By The Vampires
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty One
Chapter Twenty Two
Embrace Of The Vampires
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Tempted By The Butler
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Loved By The Vampires
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Epilogue
Pipers Punishment
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Chapter 1
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House of Durand: Volume One © 2020 Embrace the Fantasy Publishing, LLC
All rights reserved under the International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.
Also by Erin Bedford
The Underground Series
Chasing Rabbits
Chasing Cats
Chasing Princes
Chasing Shadows
Chasing Hearts
The Crimes of Alice
Hatter’s Heart
Cheshire’s Smile
The Mary Wiles Chronicles
Bound by Hell
Deceived by Hell
Tempted by Hell
Starcrossed Dragons
Riding Lightning
Grinding Frost
Swallowing Fire
Pounding Earth
Her Angels
Heaven’s A Beach
Heaven’s Most Wanted
House of Durand
Indebted to the Vampires
Wanted by the Vampires
Protected by the Vampires
Embrace of the Vampires
Tempted by the Butler
Loved by the Vampires
Huntress of the Vampires
Academy of Witches
As You Witch
Witch You Were Here
Just Witch It
Summer Witchin’
Children of the Fallen
Death In Her Eyes
Fire In Her Blood
House of Van Helsing
Her Cross To Bear
Fairy Tale Bad Boys
Beauty and the Hunter
Wendy’s Pirate
The Beast of the Fae Court
Granting Her Wish
Vampire CEO
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Chapter One
Piper
I can’t believe I got talked into this, I thought for the millionth time since I left the house. So, what if I’m in between jobs right now? That doesn’t mean that I’ll take whatever the temp agency will throw at me.
“It’s not like I didn’t have other offers,” I muttered to myself as I turned down the road toward my new place of work. “Sure, all those offers were for jobs I wouldn’t do even if I was starving, but that didn’t mean I wanted to be someone’s maid.”
My words trailed off as I pulled into the driveway of my assigned house. A wrought iron fence wrapped around the entire premises with an intercom box at the gate entrance. I could barely see the brick mansion behind the gate between the large hedges doing their best to block my view.
That wasn't promising. With my luck, I was going to be saddled with some grumpy old shut-in who would hover over my every movement.
“Can I help you?” an annoyed voice barked out of the intercom, making me jump.
The fact that I had heard the voice even through my closed window did not make me feel any better about this job. It was getting even more certain that my new boss was a wrinkly old geezer with too much time on their hands which meant they’d have plenty of time to harp at me.
Quickly rolling the window down, I stuttered, “Um, yeah, hi. I’m Piper. Piper Billings. The agency sent me.” I paused and then added, “To, uh, clean.”
Smooth. Real smooth. Already off to a great start.
The voice didn’t answer back, but a buzz sounded, and the gates opened before me at a glacial pace. Grandpa pace.
I shouted toward the box, “Thank you!” then inched my way into the circular driveway.
Now that the gate was out of the way, I could see the brick mansion in its entirety. Large columns held a roof over the porch where two black double doors stood looming before me. All the windows in the house were covered by heavy drapes. I couldn’t even peek into the house I would be working at for the next few months.
Shut in? Check.
I sat in my car, gaping at the house. Sure, I’d bitched and moaned about going from a cushy desk job with benefits, two weeks of vacation, and holiday pay to temporary work, but I never imagined I’d end up working in a place like this. I was a ‘hide behind my business casual clothing, let’s chitchat at the water cooler’ kind of girl, not a ‘uniform and manners required’ kind of girl.
My family wasn't poor. I mean, I was, but that was because I sucked at saving money. However, never in my wildest dreams would I think I would ever have the chance to walk inside of a house like this, let alone work in it.
Even though I would be living in it, cleaning it would be a bitch, which more than put things in perspective.
Knock, knock, knock.
I jumped for the second time in my seat, my heart pounding in my chest as I turned to my driver side window. Now I was gaping for a whole other reason.
A handsome man in a suit with white gloves stood bent over, his hand held up as if to knock again. The impatient look in his eyes showed that he had definitely noticed me loitering out here.
My face flushed red. If I thought I had embarrassed myself before, being caught drooling over the front of the house just put another point against me.
I'd be out of points before I even made it through the front door.
Turning my car off, I grabbed my bag and quickly got out of the car. Standing next to the handsome man, I was dwarfed by his height. I smoothed a hand over my dress pants and cleared my throat before offering him my best professional smile.
“I’m sorry. I always get nervous on my first day.” I let out a neurotic chuckle and tucked a strand of my blonde hair behind my ear.
The man’s face was as straight as the slicked back black hair on his head. “This way, Miss Billings.”
His tone held a no-nonsense sort of feel to it as if he'd scold me for daring to think of doing anything other than following him. Not that he waited to see if I was coming. He strode across the driveaway, his long legs carrying him into the house before I had time to process what had just happened.
What a stuck-up twat. I grumbled under my breath as I took my time entering the house. If he wasn't going to be nice, then he couldn't expect me to do the same.
All thoughts of pretending to be professional went out the window the moment I stepped into the house. With my mouth falling open once more, I stared up at the walls around me.
The foyer had vaulted ceilings with a shiny chandelier filling the room with artificial light. Two sets of staircases sat on either side of the room, and a balcony off the second floor could be seen from the ground. The runner carpet covering the front area had to cost a fortune with its crimson color and gold inlay, not to forget the pieces of art decorating the walls and side tables.
If I hadn't been nervous before, I was now.
I wasn't what anyone would call graceful. Okay, I was a klutz, a ‘Murphy hates me, stay away from anything so much as a fork’ kind of klutz.
Don't believe me?
Okay, I once broke a bone in a bouncy house. Yes. True story. How does one break a bone in something literally filled with air?
For me? Easy.
I'd been told I was a walking insurance claim waiting to happen. Something that made me think I should just turn right around now and save everyone the trouble.
Except I needed the money. Desperately.
By the time I stopped gawking at all the breakable things around me, I’d already lost my guide. My eyes darted around the room looking for the severely-in-need-of-a-blow-job guide, but he was nowhere to be found.
Taking a chance, I decided to go through an archway to the left which led into what looked like a living room. This room was even worse than the last one!
Unlike my home, there was no television, and the only entertaining thing was the large portrait of a couple who looked to be right out of a cliché horror movie. A severe expression marred both of their features, and their eyes seemed to watch me with every step which was easy to see from where it sat above a large fireplace, surrounded by a few dark maroon couches and chairs.
As I looked around and noticed my guide was nowhere in view, my eyes went down to the carpet. It was an oriental style rug that covered the sitting area in creams and dark reds to match the couch, except there was one spot on the carpet that was out of place. I knelt and rubbed my finger over the brown spot. Rough to the touch, it seemed to have dried on a while ago.
That’s going to be tough to get out.
Standing back up, I didn’t notice someone else was in the room until a throat cleared. Startled, I spun around and came face to face with the most beautiful man I had ever seen, and ‘man’ would be putting it lightly. This guy was an Adonis, a god, someone I should fall to my knees and worship just for allowing me to be in the same room as him.
His dark hair fell over his piercing blue eyes, and an aristocratic nose filled his face. The top lip of his mouth was thin while the bottom one was full as if he had a permanent pout on his face. His scruffy jaw and relaxed form made him seem like he had just gotten out of bed, not to forget the button-up shirt he had left unbuttoned and flapping at his side as he moved toward me.
“Uh, hi.” I waved weakly. Cursing myself, I cleared my throat and tried again. “I’m Piper. Piper Billings. I’m the new maid.”
The man didn’t answer me but watched me intently. His head cocked to the side as he inched closer, one languid foot in front of the other. Like a large cat prowling toward their prey, but not like any cat I'd ever seen.
My eyes trailed down from his face to his exposed muscles, and my mouth went dry.
Don’t think about sex. Don’t think about sex. I chanted my mantra over and over again in my mind as my eyes settled on the line of hair going into this mystery man’s pants. I jerked my eyes back up to his and swallowed hard at the hungry expression on his face.
The expression was so intense that it scared me.
I stumbled backward and stuttered over my words, “I’m not sure who you think you are, but I better find my guide before I get fired. I really need this job, you know.”
A small part of me hoped he'd claim to be my new boss and show me how I could keep my job. Oh, I could think of several wicked ways he and I could enjoy some time together.
What the fuck? Am I in a trashy romance novel?
I shook my head to clear it, but the man kept coming. I kept moving back, trying to put some distance between us, not that it helped any. Swallowing down my desire for the man, I stumbled over my feet. Catching myself before I knocked an expensive lamp over, I pivoted left.
