Vampire, Interrupted - Argeneau Series - Book 9 Page 0,3

chest, expression grim as he avoided looking at her.

"You are not going to get any sleep like that," Marguerite said with a sigh.

"Yeah, well, I don't need a lot of sleep," he muttered, his gaze sliding to her and then quickly dancing away.

Marguerite stared at him for a moment and then shook her head and lay down in the king-sized bed. She closed her eyes and tried to sleep, but after a couple of moments, she opened them again to stare at the ceiling overhead and then finally turned a scowl in Tiny's direction. This was just stupid. He wouldn't catch a lick of sleep on that window seat, and she was never going to sleep knowing he couldn't sleep. Besides, it was a huge bed, with plenty of room for both of them.

Narrowing her eyes, Marguerite gave in to temptation and slipped into his thoughts. It took little effort to take control of the man, bring him to his feet, and direct him across the room to the bed. She made him lie down beside her and then took a moment to ease him into an untroubled sleep before slipping free of his mind with a little sigh.

Marguerite peered at him for a moment, and then turned out the bedside lamp, scooted under the sheet and blankets, and closed her eyes… only to have them pop open a moment later. She peered at the dark outline of the man in bed beside her, a frown curving her lips as she realized that she'd just done to him, what she'd so resented her husband doing to her throughout their marriage. She'd made him do what she'd thought was best rather than what he wished.

Marguerite tried to excuse herself by pointing out that it was late and they were both tired and he really would sleep better in the bed, but that didn't ease the guilt she was feeling. Tiny wasn't the first mortal she'd controlled during her seven hundred years of life, and normally she didn't have any guilt over it, but Tiny was a friend and friends didn't control friends … just as her husband, Jean Claude, shouldn't have controlled her.

Grimacing, Marguerite sat up in bed again, turned on the light, and nudged Tiny's arm to wake him. His eyes immediately shot open.

"Wh—What's happened?" He peered around a bit wildly, then spotted her in the bed beside him and appeared confused. "What?"

"I put you in bed so you would sleep comfortably, but then realized that it wasn't right for me to control you. So, if you really want to sleep on the window seat…" She shrugged.

Tiny stared at her blankly, and then slow anger crossed his face. "You controlled me?"

Biting her lip, Marguerite nodded apologetically. "I'm sorry. I realized it was wrong, that's why I woke you up."

Tiny's anger slid away, leaving him deflated as his gaze slid to the window seat. He didn't look particularly eager to leave the bed, but sighed and started to shuffle out of it, only to pause when he realized he was under the comforter, but on top of the sheet.

"I thought if you woke up before me it might make you feel better if you were on top of the sheet and I was under," she explained when he glanced her way.

Tiny relaxed and nodded. "It does. I guess it's okay if we sleep like this. But next time don't control me. We're partners, Marguerite… equals. I need to be able to trust you, but I can't do that if you're going to control me any time we disagree on what to do."

"I won't," she promised.

Nodding, Tiny lay back in bed and Marguerite turned off the lamp and followed suit. They lay there in silence for several moments, and then Tiny sighed.

"I can't get back to sleep. Do you think you could do that control thing and make me?"

Marguerite turned her head to peer at him with surprise. "You want me to control you?"

"Just to put me to sleep," he muttered.

The last of her guilt slipping away, Marguerite slid into his thoughts and put him back to sleep, and then lay back with a small smile. She liked Tiny. He was a good man. It was really a shame she could read and control him. He would make a good lifemate for some lucky gal.

Perhaps she should see if she couldn't find him a lifemate, Marguerite thought. It would be nice for her nephew's wife, Jackie, to have her friend with her