Page 15 (1/2)

23

Lillian was a small woman in her mid-fifties Her salt-and-pepper hair was cut short and neat in a no-nonsense style Her fingers were as quick and sure as the rest of her The last tireying fur

I was sitting on an exa A building that housed lycanthropes and ned by a shapeshifter The basement was the makeshift clinic for the lycanthropes in the area I was the first human they&039;d ever allowed to see the place I should have been flattered, butto X rays you don&039;t have a skull fracture"

"Glad to hear it," I said

"You may have a mild concussion, but awe have the equipo?" I started to hop down

She stopped me with a hand on my arm "I didn&039;t say that"

I eased back on the table "I&039;

"If you want grace under pressure, Lillian, I&039;irl"

"Oh, I don&039;t know about that," she said "I&039;ve cleaned the scrapes and taped up your forehead You were very lucky not to need stitches"

I didn&039;t like stitches, so I agreed with her

"I want you to wake up every hour for twenty-four hours" I must not have looked happy, because she said, "I know it&039;s aard, and probably unnecessary, but huo to sleep and are injured ht not wake up So humor an old rat lady Set the alarm or have someone wake you every hour for twenty-four hours"

"Twenty-four hours frohed "Normally I&039;d say from now, but you can do it fro cautious"

"I like being cautious" Richard pushed away frohts "I volunteer to wake you every hour"

"You can&039;t go with me," I said

"I&039;ll wait for you at your apartht," Lillian said "Just as a precaution"

Richard&039;s fingertips touched the back of my hand He didn&039;t try to holdI didn&039;t knohat to do If I was going to say no, eventually, it didn&039;t seeers was a line of warmth all the way up my arm Lust, just lust Don&039;t I wish

"I&039;ll drive your Jeep to your apartree Stephen can drive you to Guilty Pleasures"

"I can take a cab"

"I&039;d feel better if Stephen took you Please," he said

The "please" ht, Stephen can drive me"

"Thank you," Richard said

"You&039;re welcoht home and rest," Lillian said

"I can&039;t," I said

She frowned at me "Very well, but rest as soon as you can If this is a mild concussion and you abuse yourself, it could worsen And even if it isn&039;t a concussion, rest will do youaround"

I smiled "Yes, Doctor"

She made a s to pay towith you, both of you If you won&039;t listen to good sense, then be gone"

I slid off the table, and Richard did not offer to helpA moment of dizziness and I was fine

Lillian didn&039;t look happy "You promise me that this dizziness is less than it was"

"Scout&039;s honor"

She nodded "I&039;ll take your word for it" She didn&039;t look really pleased about it, but she patted my shoulder and walked out She hadto prove I&039;d ever been here, except for some bloody cotton swabs It was a nice setup

I had gotten to lie back and relax in the car on the way here Just not having to tote around nakedbetter, which was great since I had to see Jean-Claude tonight regardless of how I felt I wondered whether Gretchen would have given race if she had put me in the hospital Probably not

I couldn&039;t put it off any longer It was tio, Richard"

He put his hands on my shoulders I didn&039;t pull away He turned me to look at hio with you"

"We&039;ve been over this," I said

He looked away from my eyes "I know"

I touched his chin and raised his eyes to mine "No heroics, Richard, promise me"

His eyes were too innocent "I don&039;t knohat yououtside You have to stay here Promise me that"

He dropped his arainst the other exaht on his ar this alone"

"Promise me you ait here, or wait at my apartment Those are the only choices, Richard"

He wouldn&039;t look atthrough it There was none of that otherworldly energy, yet, but it was there below the surface, waiting

"Richard, look atlike a curtain between us I rana handful close to the warmth of his skull I used the hair like a handle and turned his face to me His eyes were dark withwas hoht The beast was rising through his eyes like a sea htened et his attention A sh soet led in his hair When his face was only inches froh to kiss, I said, "If you interfere, you will get me killed Do you understand?"

The darkness in his eyes wanted to say no I watched the struggle on his face Finally he said, "I understand"

"You&039;ll be waiting for ainst rip I wanted to pull his face toHe entle brush of lips We stared at each other fro deep, and I could suddenly feel his body like an electric shock through ut

I jerked away from him "No, not yet I don&039;t kno I feel about you anymore"

"Your body knows," he said

"If lust was everything, I&039;d be with Jean-Claude"

His face cruoing to date me anymore, then don&039;t tell Jean-Claude It&039;s not worth it"

He looked so hurt That was one thing I&039;d never meant to do I laid my hand on his aret out of telling him, I will, but I don&039;t think Gretchen will make that one of my choices Besides, Jean-Claude can smell a lie You did propose, and I said yes"

"Tell hied your mind, Anita Tell hih for you" He pulled away from my hand "Jean-Claude will just eat that up" His voice was bitter, angry The bitterness was strong enough to walk on I&039;d never heard him like that

I couldn&039;t stand it I came up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist I buried my face in the line of his spine Cheek cradled between the swell of his shoulders He started to turn, but I held tighter He stood very still in my arms His hands touched ed theh his back His breath caasp

I turned hilistened on his cheeks Jesus I&039;d never been good around tears My first instinct was to pro

"Don&039;t," I said I touched a fingertip to one tear It clung to"Don&039;t let this tear you up, Richard Please"

"I can&039;t be huain, Anita" His voice sounded very normal If I hadn&039;t seen the tears, I wouldn&039;t have known he was crying "I&039;d be human for you if I could"

"Maybe human isn&039;t what I want, Richard I don&039;t know Givefurry, better to find out now" I felt awful, eous I loved hih science He loved hiking, ca He collected sound tracks of musicals, for God&039;s sake And he was next in line to rule the pack An alpha olf Shit

"I need time, Richard I am so sorry, but I do" I sounded like a chump I&039;d never sounded so indecisive in my life

He nodded, but didn&039;t look convinced "Youto risk your life confronting Jean-Claude It doesn&039;t ree "I have to talk to hiht, Richard I don&039;t want another run-in with Gretchen Not if I can avoid it"

Richard wiped the palh his hair "Don&039;t get yourself killed"

"I won&039;t," I said

"Promise," he said

I wanted to say, "Promise," but I didn&039;t "I don&039;t make promises I can&039;t keep"

"Couldn&039;t you be co and lie to hed "Talk about painful honesty"

"I&039;ve got to go" I walked away before he could distractit on purpose to delayhim do it

"Anita" I was almost to the door I turned back He stood there under the harsh lights, hands at his sides, looking helpless

"We&039;ve kissed good-bye You&039;ve told me to be careful I&039;ve warned you not to play hero That&039;s it, Richard There is no more"

He said, "I love you"

Okay, so there was more "I love you, too" It was the truth, da furry, I would marry hioes, only one way to find out

24

Guilty Pleasures is in the heart of the vaht sky, giving the blackness a crimson tint like a distant house fire I hadn&039;t co time Okay, I had the knife, and it was better than arainst a vampire, not much better

Stephen was beside uard, but soh He was only an inch or two taller than h shoulder definition to ht wasn&039;t enough They were leather and looked painted on like a second skin It was hard not to notice that his derriere was tight and firm The leather jacket cut him off at the waist, so the vieas unobstructed

I earing ain It had a little bit of blood on it, but if I cleaned it, it would be wet Wet would not keep me warm My sweater, one of my favorite sweaters, was torn off one shoulder down to the line of my bra Too cold without a coat Gretchen owed uns back, we&039;d talk about that

Three broad steps led up to closed doors Buzz the Va them It was the worst vareat if you were hureat name for a bouncer He was tall andthe same black T-shirt he&039;d worn in July

I knew vampires couldn&039;t freeze to death, but I hadn&039;t known they didn&039;t get cold Most vampires tried to play human They wore coats in the winter Maybe they didn&039;t need them the same way Gretchen hadn&039;t needed to take the knife from her throat Maybe it was all pretend

He ss My reaction seemed to disappoint him "You missed a set, Stephen The boss is pissed"

Stephen sort of shrank in on hier, pleased with hi me I don&039;t think Jean-Claude willmy face for the first time "Shit, what happened to you?"

"If Jean-Claude wants you to know, he&039;ll tell you," I said I walked past hin on the door: No Crosses, Crucifixes, or Other Holy Ite, my cross securely around my neck They could pry it froht

Stephen stayed at my heels, almost as if he were afraid of Buzz Buzz wasn&039;t that old a vampire, less than twenty years He still had a sense of "aliveness" to him That utter stillness that the old ones have hadn&039;t touched the bouncer yet So as a olf afraid of a new vaht and the place was packed Didn&039;t anyone have work tomorrow? The noise washed over us like a wave of nearly solid sound That rich murmurous sound of ood tie ereeted us at the door "Do you have any holy items to declare?" She sirl

I smiled when I said, "Nope"

She didn&039;t question me, just smiled and walked away A male voice said, "Just a moment, Shelia" The tall vah, sculpted cheekbones, and short blond hair styled to perfection He was too masculine to be beautiful, and too perfect to be real Robert had been a stripper last tih he&039;dfrom Robert to me "She lied to me?"

Robert nodded "Hello, Anita"

"Hello Are you the er here now?"

He nodded

I didn&039;t like it, hier He&039;d failed me once, or rather failed Jean-Claude&039;s orders Failed to keep sootten bloody trying to stop theI didn&039;t insist he die to keep people safe, but he should have tried harder I&039;d never coive hi a holy iteive it to Shelia"

I glanced up at hilanced down, then up, and realized I could meet his eyes He was over a hundred years old, not nearly as powerful as Gretchen, but I shouldn&039;t have been able to ive it up Those are the rules"

Maybe being able to look hih for one night "Is Gretchen here?"

He looked surprised "Yes, she&039;s in the back room with Jean-Claude"

"Then you can&039;t have the cross"

"I can&039;t let you in then Jean-Claude is very clear on that" There was a hint of unease in his voice, alood look at my face, Bobby-boy Gretchen did it If she&039;s here, I keep the cross"

Frown lines formed between his perfect brows "Jean-Claude said no exceptions" He stepped closer, and I let him He lowered his voice as much as he could and be heard above the noise "He said if I ever fail hie or sht statereed with this one

"Go ask Jean-Claude," I said

He shook his head "I cannot trust you to stay here If you get past me with the cross, I will have failed"

This was getting tiresoo ask?"

Robert nodded

Stephen sort of hung by me He hadn&039;t recovered fro my set?"

"You should have called if you couldn&039;t o on in your place"

"Good to be useful," I said

Robert frowned atot a problem with that?"

"Jean-Claude reatin the door"

"Anita, how good of you to grace us with your presence" Gretchen was practically purring with anticipation

"Robert won&039;t let me pass"

She turned her eyes to the vampire He took a step back She hadn&039;t even unleashed any of that iic yet Robert scared easy for a century-old corpse

"We have been awaiting her, Robert Jean-Claude is most anxious to see her"

He sed hard "I was told that no one came inside with a holy item other than the police No exceptions were to be made"

"Not even for the master&039;s sweetheart" She put a lot of irony in that last part

Robert either didn&039;t get it or ignored it "Until Jean-Claude tells h with a cross"

Gretchen stalked around us all I wasn&039;t sure who looked et this over with"

I shook my head "Nope"

"It didn&039;t do you a lot of good earlier tonight," she said

She had a point For the first ti out one for my weapons, but not ered the cool silver of the chain "The cross stays"

"You are both spoiling my fun," she said The way she said it ive you one of your weapons back"

A reed, but not noas eone forht have chased her off Louie I was going to have to stop skipping church even if I didn&039;t get to sleep at all

"No"

"Is this your way of getting out of our bargain?" Her voice was low and ith the first stirrings of anger

"I keep h, Robert" She raised a hand to stop his co to tear your throat out" She stepped into him until only a breath separated their bodies It was only standing that close that you realized that Robert was taller by a head and a half Gretchen seeer than that "It isn&039;t a lie, Robert I think you&039;re weak, a liability I would kill you now if our master did not need us both If you still fear Jean-Claude, remember that he wants you alive I do not"

Robert sed hard enough that it had to hurt He didn&039;t back up Brownie point for him She moved that fraction closer, and he jumped back as if he&039;d been shot "Fine, fine, take her through"

Gretchen&039;s lip curled in disgust One thing we agreed on: we didn&039;t like Robert If we had one thing in coirlfriends Yeah, right

The noise level had dropped to a backgroundlike a floor show "Is there supposed to be an act on stage right now?" I asked

Robert nodded "Yes, I need to introduce him"

"Go do your job, Robert" The words were thick with scorn Gretchen gave good scorn

Robert left us, obviously relieved "Wimp," I said softly

"Co for us" She stalked away, long pale coat swinging out behind her Stephen and I exchanged glances He shrugged I followed her and he trailed behind as if he were afraid of losinginside a domino Stark white walls, white carpet, black lacquer desk, black office chair, black leather couch against one wall, and two straight-backed chairs sat in front of the desk The desk and chairs were Oriental, set with ena robes I&039;d always liked the desk, not that I would admit it out loud

There was a black lacquer screen in one corner I&039;d never seen it before It was large, hiding one entire corner A dragon curled across the screen in oranges and reds, with huge bulbous eyes It was a nice addition to the room It was not a comfortable room, but it was stylish Like Jean-Claude

He sat on the leather couch dressed all in black The shirt had a high, stiff collar that framed his face It was hard to tell where his hair left off and the shirt began The collar was pinned at his throat, with a thumb-size ruby pendant The shirt was open down to his belt, leaving a triangle of pale, pale skin showing Only the pendant kept the shirt fro completely

The cuffs were as wide and stiff as the collar, nearly hiding his hands He raised one hand and I could see the cuffs were open on one side so he could still use his hands Black jeans and velvet black boots completed the outfit