Real Vampires Don't Wear Size Six (31 page)

I didn’t bother to hide my smile. At last Jerry was admitting what I’d known all along. Mara was a cold, manipulative woman and not for him. Yes!

“Just rent Lily her own place. Let her develop a decent relationship with you over time and things will smooth out.” I looked up and traced his frown with a fingertip. “Maybe some of your honorable ways will rub off. And she’ll get tired of the game playing.”

“I can only hope. But those men. I didn’t recognize them. Where did they come from? I should have asked questions, not let them take off like that.” Jerry ran his hand up my back, then around to fondle my breast, but I could tell his mind wasn’t on his work.

“And alienate Lily even more? I don’t think so.” I blocked my thoughts. Matt had had the blond surfer-dude looks that I’d recognized instantly. I’d have bet the castle that he was one of Ian MacDonald’s bodyguards with a night off. Just Lily’s luck that she’d hooked up with one of them. Or was it? I’d mocked the Campbell-MacDonald feud, but maybe Ian had his own thoughts on that rivalry.

Of course Matt was good-looking and buff, just Lily’s type. Red was probably one of Ray’s bodyguards. So he’d volunteered to show Matt around. Surely it was all a coincidence. They’d probably met Lily at N-V, the only club in town now that encouraged vampires to hang out. I’d question Lily on my own later, not about to share my worries with Jerry.

I did what I always did when I wanted to distract my guy. I slid down to my knees and headed south. Oh, yeah. Not all of his thoughts were on his wayward daughter. I soon had him moaning and picking me up to carry me to his king-size bed.

It didn’t take long for us to shed our clothes until we were naked, skin to skin. I sighed when Jerry kissed a path down my body, using his tongue and fangs to drive me wild. The dawn was too close for us to do much more than take each other in conventional ways. But it was enough. When I lay sated on his wide chest, I kissed his lips, then sat up so I could look into his eyes.

“I didn’t hear Lily come back. Did you?”

Jerry smiled. “Who can hear when you’re working your magic, lass? I went deaf, dumb and blind for whole minutes there.” He ran his hands down to my hips and pulled me tight where we were connected. How could he possibly still be hard? Yet he was.

“Guess she found a safe place to spend the day.” I sat up and moaned as he pushed deep inside me. “I know I have.”

“You can always feel safe with me, Gloriana.” Jerry reached up to hold my breasts. “And you’re right. I need to find Lily her own place. Trust her to live on her own and take care of herself. She has for hundreds of years.”

“Fledglings like Penny and even Ray just don’t understand what it’s like to have lived so long. Have so much history together. Especially like you and I have.” I stopped moving, feeling like maybe there was something important I needed to say here. A message for me and maybe Jerry if I could just get it out.

“Aye, we do have that. I’ve certainly lost count of how many times we’ve lain like this.” Jerry pulled my head down and gave me a kiss that touched my soul as much as it touched my lips and my tongue. By the time he drew back I’d lost the words I wanted to say. “Being with you never fails to please me, to make me want more of you, Gloriana. Other women never hold me like this, keep me in thrall. You are my soul mate, as they say. Do you believe in such a thing?”

“Jerry. Jeremiah. Of course I do.” Tears blurred his face below me as I pressed my hands on his broad shoulders. He moved again, seemingly determined to take me higher one more time before the sun rose and sent us both into the death sleep. I felt the tension coil inside me, the thrill, and the impossibly intense pleasure that was almost pain. He was right. Neither of us ever failed to feel this. It was more than sex, more than a physical connection. It was two becoming one. I screamed his name as the waves broke and I felt his release inside me surging strong and sure.

How I wished I could have given him a child. A beauty like Lily. Or a strong son to stand by his side against dangerous enemies. But turning vampire ended all hope for me ever having children. Had killed his swimmers too. Lucky for him he’d sired Lily before he’d been turned.

Death pulled at me, trying to claim me. But I resisted, needing to hold him against my heart. Needing to press my lips to his for one more moment. I loved this man, seemed to have always loved him. Yes, he commanded me. But in some ways I commanded him. We would call it a draw if this were a game, neither of us the loser. I smiled as I fell on top of him and let the darkness claim me.

 

“I can’t meet him here.” Penny paced around the living room. “No amount of air freshener can mask the smell of those rats. And I change the litter in their cages several times a night!”

“I know you do.” I looked her over with a critical eye. Hair shining and bouncing in the new layered cut that still hit her shoulders but curved toward her jaw to flatter her round face. Her black sweater was a wrap that did nice things to her figure. The tie at the waist promised a man that if he tugged he’d get an even better view of the cleavage, courtesy of a new push-up bra she’d picked up at the mall. Her black and yellow print skirt stopped above her knees at just the right spot to show off surprisingly trim legs. And, yes, I’d talked her into some heels, but they weren’t so high that she’d fall on her face when she walked. Her pacing was practice.

“So you’re meeting him in the shop again. How’d you explain that?” I put my hand on Jerry’s shoulder. He’d driven me home and I’d nagged him into making our Saturday-night date into a “let’s follow Penny” excursion. Not that we were telling her that.

“I told him we were repainting. In honor of my moving in. That things were a mess.” Penny wobbled for a moment, looked down at her shoes, then sighed. “Maybe I should change into my flats.”

“No, you’re doing fine.” I glanced at Jerry. “Men love women in heels. Am I right?”

“Absolutely. They make your legs look longer. Very sexy. You look good tonight, Penny. Where’s this man taking you?” Jerry squeezed my waist. He hadn’t quit touching me ever since I’d walked out in my red dress with the plunging neckline and my black lizard high heels that said “Do me.”

“He didn’t say, but Jenny says his frat is having a party. Seems like that’s where we’ll go.” Penny glanced at a silver watch on her wrist. It was delicate, a far cry from her usual black and functional one that could do everything from tell the room temperature to determine the altitude. This one merely gave her the time.

“Guess you’d better head down. Have fun. Jer and I may go to N-V. They’re having a good band tonight and Rafe actually invited us.” I smiled at Penny, not even feeling guilty as I told the lie. Which maybe wasn’t. If she wound up this date in time, we were definitely giving the club a visit.

“You mean it? You’re going to trust me to be around this guy without dogging me?” Penny picked up her black clutch, then stopped in front of me. She narrowed her gaze. “Yeah, right. Give it up, Glory. You’re blocking your thoughts, which you usually don’t bother to do. I know that effort gives you a headache.”

“Busted. Fine. So I don’t trust you yet. Do you blame me?” I stood and walked to the door. Jerry knew enough to keep silent, but he was right behind me.

“When am I going to get some privacy?” Penny’s jaw was set, her eyes flashing.

“When you prove yourself.” Jerry put his hand on her shoulder when it looked like Penny was getting a little too close. “Calm down, fledgling. Think about it. The man is a mortal, your favorite flavor from what Gloriana tells me. Even
she
would be tempted. And you’ve barely broken in your fangs. It makes sense that we’d feel compelled to ‘dog’ you awhile longer.”

“Come on, Mr. Blade. How would you like to have someone trailing you on your dates? It’s humiliating. I won’t be able to relax and enjoy myself.” Penny stomped her foot, then staggered. “Damn these shoes!”

“Sure you will enjoy yourself.” I put my hand on Penny’s elbow to help her regain her balance. “Forget we’re around. We’ll make sure no one, especially Josh, sees us. We have supersonic hearing, remember? We won’t interfere unless we sense you’re losing control.”

“You swear?” Penny looked from me to Jerry. Her makeup was perfect and I almost said something. No, she’d get self-conscious and maybe go add a layer. Right now I wasn’t exactly the one she wanted to please.

“Yes, we both swear. Out of sight, totally laying back. Josh will never know we’re there.” I held up my hand, then put it over my heart. Jerry grinned and did likewise. If there had been a Bible handy, we would have broken it out. “Now head out. We’ll be down in a few.” I watched her practically bolt out the door. Did she think she could make good an escape? As if.

“What’s the plan? I really want to take you somewhere like the club. Wouldn’t hurt my feelings to rub Valdez’s nose in the fact that you’re mine.” Jerry dragged me close. “I’d kiss you, but I can see you took special care with your lipstick.”

“Can the attitude.” I shoved against his chest. “You are not, repeat, not rubbing Rafe’s nose in anything. If you can’t swear to be charming to my friend, I’ll trail Penny on my own and you can be alone this Saturday night.” I put my hands on my hips.

Jerry held his own hands up in surrender. “It was reflex. Didn’t mean a thing. But I’m going to hate the shifter for a long while yet, Gloriana. He had you and he wants to have you again. It’s there in his eyes every time he looks at you. You deny that?”

I felt my cheeks grow warm. And Jerry had his answer. He shook his head.

“So, to please you, I’ll keep my comments and my fists to myself. And even take you to his damned club because there’s nowhere else for vampires to go and be served a decent beverage. But don’t expect me to be friends with the shifter.”

“No, obviously that’s never going to happen.” I touched his jaw and felt the tension there. “I know being around him keeps you pretty tightly wound. And I’m sorry for it, but he’s in my life to stay.”

“You’ve made that very clear.” He grabbed my hand. “I know better than to ask you to make a choice. So I’m working on keeping my anger under control. For you.” He looked down at the shadow between my breasts and then up to my lips. “Damn, but I want to kiss you.”

“Go ahead. And thanks. For trying, Jerry. It means a lot to me.” I smiled and pulled his head down to mine. “I can always redo my lipstick in the car.” I gave him a deep and satisfying kiss. Maybe not a smart move. It got Jerry going and might make us too late to catch Penny and Josh. But we finally came up for air and ran down the stairs. We were just in time to see Josh help her into that black SUV.

“Don’t you want to go to your frat’s party?” Penny was asking as he held the door for her.

“Naw. It’s always the same old, same old. And that’s getting to be a drag. Nothing but kegs and a DJ with the music too loud and everybody getting drunk. How about we go somewhere we can talk?” Josh slammed the door and walked around the car, whistling.

Both of us saw Penny’s disappointed look before she pasted on a smile as Josh got into the vehicle.

I turned to Jerry. “Damn it, what he just described was the perfect frat party. The kind Penny’s been dying to finally attend. Go somewhere to talk is code for ‘Let’s go parking and make out.’”

“How do you know that?” Jerry stared down at me.

“Never mind. Just run and get the car and pick me up here. I’m going to watch and see which way he goes.” I tapped my foot. Damned user frat boy. Not go to his own party? It didn’t take a mind reader to see where this was headed. Penny was going to be so upset and I had a feeling she’d already figured the whole thing out.

She’d told me she hadn’t read his mind before. Well, I bet she was paging through that dipstick’s frontal lobe right now. And getting steamed. No way should she be alone with him once he stopped the car. I anxiously watched the car head down Sixth Street. It turned right several blocks down just as Jerry roared up in his own SUV, black of course.

I jumped in the passenger side and told him where to turn. It didn’t take us long to catch up but we stayed a few cars back. Josh’s car had tinted windows and it was impossible to see what was going on inside, but I soon had a pretty good idea where they were headed and I couldn’t believe it.

“Jerry, they’re going back to where that creep dumped Penny, the hilltop where he abandoned her the night she was turned.”

“You’re kidding me. The man has to have shit for brains. What woman would find that romantic?” Jerry reached over and took my hand. “Do you think Penny suggested it?”

“Had to. If she’s read his mind, she’s bound to have figured out that Josh is a loser with some insecurities.” I realized I was grinding my teeth.

“Insecurities? What do you mean?” Jerry made a turn as we left the main highway and followed a narrow track up the hill. He turned off his headlights, not really needing them with his vamp vision and clearly getting off on playing private eye as he tailed Josh.

“The guy obviously likes Penny, but doesn’t have the guts to be seen with her. Because she’s not the same size six that most girls the frat boys date are.” I sighed and looked out the window as we bounced along, noticing the brush and trees that lined the rutted road. The isolation was either creepy or romantic depending on your agenda.

“That’s ridiculous. She’s very attractive. I’ve always been partial to redheads.” Jerry reached over and tugged at one of my curls. “After blondes, of course.”

“Thanks. But you’re old-school, Jer. Bless your blind eyes and Neanderthal outlook. Josh is a twenty-first-century guy and he wants someone model-thin on his arm. At least in front of his posse.” I ran my tongue over my fangs, down at the thought of that idiot’s attitude and how he was hurting Penny. My vulnerable fledgling’s new fangs were probably already aimed at Josh’s jugular. And she’d drain him dry unless we got there in time to stop her.