Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs (11 page)

“Perfect.” I smiled at Ian. Now I was really liking him, MacDonald or not. He’d been nice about the weigh-in. And that feeding . . . Well, who knew? Shoot. Maybe I was high. I smiled at Ray too. Even Valdez got a head pat. Nothing could bring me down right now.

“See you tomorrow, Ian. It’ll just be Valdez and me. Ray, you don’t have to come again. I know you’re busy.” I cuddled up to Ray. Part of the loving-engaged-couple thing, of course.

Ray frowned. “We’ll see. Now, let’s hit the road. Forget the Campbells, MacDonald. Take care of my girl or there will be hell to pay from me. Are we clear?”

“Of course. I find all this protectiveness toward your fiancée quite admirable.” Ian walked us to the stairs that led down to the driveway and the waiting limousine. “And think about that other product, Caine. It’s a vampire’s dream come true.”

We settled into the backseat of the limo, the glass up and shielding us from the driver before I asked the burning question.

“Okay, Ray, what’s the other product Ian’s trying to sell?” Maybe my good feelings were wearing off, because now I was a little tired. Running twenty miles will do that to you, I guess.

“He says he’s got something that can allow me to go out in the sun.” Ray stared into my eyes. “I’d see daylight again. You know what that would mean to me, Glory?”

I grabbed his arm on one side and Valdez’s fur on the other. “I know that if it doesn’t work and you try it, sweetheart, you’re toast.”

“
You’r
e trusting him. Why shouldn’t I?” Ray leaned back on the leather seat. “I want this. Ian says he can make it happen.”

“I don’t believe it. Not even the Energy Vampires have a formula for surviving daylight yet.” I remembered the head of the vampire cult, famous for their Vampire Viagra, telling me that. (Yeah, go figure. Even vamps enjoy a boost in their sex lives.) “The only way to test a drug like that is to send a vampire into the sun. Who’d be crazy enough to try it out?”

“Ian says . . .” Ray shook his head. “Never mind. We’re here. I’ve got to go. We’ll talk about this later at the hotel.” He leaned across me to look at Valdez. “Take care of my lady.”

“
Your
lady. Yeah, right. Don’t let the act go to your head, Caine. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
Valdez lifted his chin.
“Blade’s at the hotel waiting for her right now. When he hears where you took her tonight, the shit’s goin’ to hit the fan.”

“Let it. Glory’s going to do what she wants. Am I right, sweet thing?” Ray brushed his thumb across my cheek to my lips.

“Yes, you are.” I held Ray’s hand for a moment. “Promise me you won’t do anything with Ian without discussing it with me first, Ray. Please?” I knew how much he missed the sun. He’d been a freak about his boat, his tropical island paradise, his beach. Even the fact that he’d now live forever hadn’t come close to making up for the loss of those hours he’d spent in the sun. He was a “live for the moment” kind of guy. Forever didn’t seem to matter that much to him.

“I’m not an idiot, Glory. You’re still my vamp mentor, babe, but I don’t dance to your tune.” He leaned in and kissed my lips. “Still, I realize I owe you my life. Such as it is. See you later.” He opened the door as soon as the limo stopped. “Say hi to Blade for me. The man doesn’t pose a threat to me, Valdez. He’s stuck in the past. Glory knows it and so do you. My lady’s a ‘now’ kind of woman. When she gets her new look, she’ll be ready for even more changes.” He grinned, then slammed the door.

“Arrogant son of a bitch,”
Valdez muttered as the car pulled away from the curb.

I looked back and saw Ray surrounded by female fans and a few photographers. He was laughing and signing autographs, the picture of virile hot guy in worn jeans and leather jacket over a white T-shirt. I’d never seen Blade in that kind of outfit. Probably never would. Just like I’d never see Ray in a kilt. Though he had great legs . . .

“He shouldn’t have gone without his bodyguards.” I frowned as he disappeared from sight. “Some of his fans get aggressive.”

“He’s only a few steps from the auditorium entrance and he
is
a freakin’ vampire. But I guess he can’t exactly show fang to his adoring public, now, can he?”
Valdez snorted.
“Call Brit and have her meet him there if you’re so worried about him.”

Brittany was model gorgeous, had a killer body and the skills to match. Valdez had something going with the shifter who was one of Ray’s paranormal bodyguards. Ray’s mortal guards still hadn’t figured out why Ray had added her to his security team, but they weren’t complaining. She could twist any man around her well-manicured little finger, my V-man included.

“Good idea.” I hit speed dial and soon had Brit headed to Ray’s side.

“Don’t worry about Caine. He can handle a few female fans gone wild.”
Valdez sat up when we got near the hotel.

“I’m more worried about this sunlight thing. I want Brit on Ray’s tail his every waking moment. Get her alone and tell her that. If he tries to strike a deal with Ian to use this new potion, I want to know about it so I can try to head Ray off.”

“So it’s okay for you to drink whatever swill MacDonald’s cooked up, but not for your buddy Ray?”
Valdez nudged me with a paw.
“You see the problem with your logic? This Scot’s got a hell of a lot more reason to do something nasty to you than to a world-famous rock star, Glory. You were made by a Campbell. That puts you solidly in the enemy camp in his book.”

“It’s an ancient feud. Surely they’ve moved past it.”

“That’s overstating it, don’t you think? I’m just trying to lose a few pounds. That’s all.” I frowned at the cloth bag in my lap with my two bottles of supplements. “Ray’s deal is much more serious. He’d have to actually walk into the sun.”

“Yeah, well, he’d have to stay awake to do that. Seems unlikely.”
Valdez showed his teeth.
“Once Blade hears the man’s got you drinking God knows what and biting mortals, MacDonald won’t live long enough to give Caine a glimmer of light.”

“You leave Jerry to me, V. I mean it. Not one word to him. I’ll tell him about this when I’m ready.” As the car pulled up in front of the hotel, I decided Ray was right about one thing. Blade’s reaction to this deal with Ian would be important. If Jerry started issuing orders to me again like he’d done for centuries now . . . Well, it just wasn’t going to work. And I was really tired of the same old arguments. You know?

With that depressing thought going round in my head, I walked into the hotel. We had to dodge only two paparazzi who snapped pictures of Valdez and me. I’d forgotten V’s leash, which earned us frowns from some of the hotel guests and probably a headline about me and leash laws. I leaned down and grabbed his collar as we approached the front desk and the clerk behind the counter.

“You have a gym here, right?”

“Yes, of course, Ms. St. Clair. It’s open twenty-four hours for your convenience. You may use your room key card to enter.” The woman knew exactly who I was. Any consort of Israel Caine’s could have walked an unleashed herd of rabid hyenas into the lobby and she wouldn’t have cared. “Would you like for someone to show you where it is?”

“Is there a scale in there? I want to weigh myself.” I smiled sheepishly and leaned in. “I’ve been dieting and I’m dying to know if I’ve lost any weight yet.”

The clerk quickly hid her thrill at having something to sell to the tabloids. This was sure to hit newsstands soon. Which was fine by me. Better than the baby-trap stories.

“Of course we have scales, a state-of-the-art gym and even personal trainers available if you want one.” She snapped her fingers and a bellman appeared at my elbow. “Fritz, escort Ms. St. Clair and her dog down to the gym, please.”

“No trainer necessary and I forgot my key card.” And my purse. I travel light when I change into a bat. I smiled. “I’m hoping someone upstairs will let me in after I weigh.”

“No problem.”

In less than a minute I had a new card and Fritz was leading us down a hall to the gym. Once I knew where to find the room with the scales, I quickly dismissed the bellman with a five-dollar bill I kept stashed in my pocket for emergencies.

“This is crazy. You really need to weigh now? You just left Ian’s place. What’s this going to prove?”
Valdez slumped next to the door in the spot where I pointed.
“Blade’s going to be looking for you. He’ll be on the roof right now.”

“This will just take a minute. Ian said I might have already lost a few pounds, and I feel lighter. I want to check it out.” Jerry and I had set up this date before I’d met with the reality show people. I’d tried to estimate how my evening would go and picked a time, but I was cutting it close. Well, Jerry was used to me running late and this was important. I took a breath, closed the door with Valdez on the outside and looked around to make sure there weren’t any security cameras recording this. Paranoid much? You bet. Then I stepped on the scale.

After adjusting the weights, I just stared. Subtracted the three for the jeans of course, then looked again. The scale didn’t move. So this was it. My weight. I couldn’t believe it. Two and a half pounds. I’d lost two and a half pounds. Just like that. I leaped off the scale, slammed the weights back to zero and then happy-danced around the room. I flung open the door and hugged a startled Valdez.

“I actually lost weight. And not a little like I might have done before when if I’d snacked on a mortal who’d taken a run, but two and a half pounds!” I hugged him again, then reached for the waistband of my jeans. Could I get a finger inside there? Yes! “Look! Can you believe it? This is insane.”

“It’s got to be a trick. Maybe the girl at the counter here at the hotel works for MacDonald. They set this up.”
Valdez obviously wasn’t buying it.
“And you’ve got to see if it’s still off in the evening when you wake up, remember?”

I took a moment to think about that. Diabolical, but possible. Vampires are nothing if not devious. And Ian could be doing this to get a Campbell’s woman to trust him for some reason. I didn’t want to believe it. Or come down off this high.

“The supplements are supposed to keep the weight off while I sleep. But I’ll keep an open mind. I’ll get Nathan to send someone out to buy my own scale tomorrow to keep in the suite. Will that make you feel better?”

“It should make
you
feel better. Now, let’s head for the roof. I’ll keep my mouth shut for a while, but if you don’t tell Blade about MacDonald, I will.”
Valdez gave me his best stare.

“Yeah, sure. You’re right about stuff hitting the fan. Jerry will hate this and won’t understand why it’s such a big deal to me.” Which was really a bummer. You’d like to think the most important man in your life would develop a little insight after four hundred years. “He’s going to freak when he hears I spent the evening with a MacDonald.” I heard a giggle come out of my mouth. I was that excited. “I tell you, V. If Ian’s stuff works, there’s no way in hell I’m giving it up.”

Valdez followed me into the elevator.
“Then we’d better stop at the suite first. You could use a hairbrush and some lipstick before you see Blade.”

“Thanks, pal.” I rubbed his head. “I’ll do that. When talking doesn’t work with Jerry, action usually does.”

“I really don’t want to hear this.”
Valdez watched me punch the button for our floor and bumped against me.
“Women.”

I just smiled and headed for the suite. I was going to change clothes too. Put on a clingy sweater in Jerry’s favorite blue. I know how to turn my man into an obliging puddle of lust. But getting him to realize he was going to tolerate my trafficking with a MacDonald ... Well, I didn’t look forward to that argument. I definitely needed my war paint.

^“
You’re late. I was just about to push my way into that room you share with Caine, Gloriana.” Jerry pulled me into his arms as soon as I stepped onto the terrace of the rooftop restaurant. “I was getting worried.”

“No need. I had that reality-show thing. Which took longer than I thought it would. Then we took a quick trip out to Malibu.” I smiled and kissed Jerry’s cheek. “The ocean is beautiful at night. We should go out there and have a romantic evening while we’re here.”

“I like the sound of that.” He pulled me toward a table set up near the brick wall surrounding the flat roof. The restaurant had closed for the night, but Jerry had probably bribed someone to light candles on the tables nearby and leave a stereo on with romantic music playing softly in the background. Bouquets of bloodred roses, my favorite, were scattered around the terrace. Their delicious scent perfumed the air, but I still detected the AB negative that filled the crystal wineglasses on one table. That had to have been strictly BYOB. “This is wonderful. Very romantic.” I smiled up at him as he held out a chair and I slipped into it, watching him as he gestured for Valdez to leave us alone. I got a significant look from my bodyguard before he disappeared into the open door to the restaurant. It closed softly behind him.