Real Vampires Hate Their Thighs (13 page)

“I’m not sure I would have stopped you. According to the tabloids I’m fat, a nobody and not good enough for Ray.”

“Lying bastards.” He pushed his hand into my hair and held my head until my lips were mere inches from his own. “But the worst for me is when they say you are carrying his child.” He growled, his fangs glinting in the moonlight. “I would have given anything to have a child from you, Gloriana.”

“Ah, Jerry.” Stupid tears again. I never had a child, and after I was turned, never could have one. Jerry’s only child had been sired by a true bitch. He loves his daughter, but he couldn’t have said anything that would have meant more to me. I closed the distance between our mouths and kissed him, tasting him and letting his fangs scrape across my tongue. It didn’t hurt, just added a sweet taste of what was to come.

Our mating was slow at first as Jerry pulled me down to a stack of cushions he’d obviously pulled from inside the restaurant. I sighed as he settled beside me and lifted my sweater, then pulled it up and off of me. The night air was cool but not cold and the stars were bright in the sky above us. I reached for his sweater and slid it off of him, eager to see that chest I loved so much. He was perfect in his imperfections. Maybe that was what he thought about me. At least that was what I hoped as he opened the clasp of my bra and tossed it aside, then went to work on my jeans.

We tasted and touched each other until we were naked and he was inside me. Then he stopped and gazed into my eyes again.

“I meant what I said, Gloriana. The time for these games is over. You must decide, lass, once and for all.”

I reached up with a shaking hand to trace the contours of his face. Yes, our bodies were connected, but no more than our souls were. I could deny it a thousand times. And try to bury my feelings with a thousand other men. Yet I always came back to this one.

“Love me, Jeremiah. Take me and let me take you. I promise, I will—” I pulled his mouth to mine, suddenly terrified of saying the words that would bind me to him. Why? Mortals did it all the time. And thought nothing of casting off their bonds in divorce court. Immortals took their matings more seriously. I knew that. If Jerry and I made this commitment, I had a feeling he really would expect it to be the forever thing. I ran my hands down his back and opened my body to him, feeling the hard length of him surging inside me. I guess there was something wrong with me that forever scared me so much. That if I gave myself to Jerry in that way, I’d lose part of myself.

He lifted his head and frowned before he rolled so that I was on top of him. “I can feel your fears. Come, now, am I such an ogre that I would keep you from what you love? Steal your freedom?” He lifted me off of him until we lay side by side with the stars above us. “I guess Florence is right. We should talk more. I don’t tell you enough of what I’m thinking. And you don’t tell me why you run from me every dozen years or so.”

I turned on my side and put my hand on his chest. “It’s the truth, Jerry. I never expected you to be a chatterbox. But I know how you are. Possessive and deeply loyal. That scares me. What if my character isn’t made of such, oh, such fine qualities? I’m afraid I’ll disappoint you.”

“Hush, lass.” Jerry pulled me on top of him again. “You’ve never disappointed me. And you make me sound hard and unyielding. I hope . . .” He closed his eyes and frowned. “No, I must be honest. I
am
possessive. What’s mine, I hold. Always have. It’s what the Campbells do. I learned it at my father’s knee. And fought in many a battle to prove no one can take what belongs to the Clan without regretting it.” He ran his hand down my back to the curve of my backside.

“Battles. Yes, you still bear the scars, from those you fought before you were turned.” I kissed a particularly jagged one on his left shoulder.

“That one a cowardly MacDonald gave me. It was an ambush. They’d stolen cattle from us.” Jerry smiled. “They came to regret it.”

I quickly blocked my thoughts. “Surely all those old feuds are ancient history now. Times have changed.”

“Some things never do. My father called me just last week. The MacDonald has been trying to claim some land of ours. Using an ancient tax roll. Thieving bastard’s still at it. Too bad they were made vampire centuries ago. I’d like to see that clan die out.” Jerry shook his head. “But I’ll not let you shift the topic, lass. We were talking of our relationship.” He grinned. “God help me, I can’t believe I said that.”

“Neither can I.” I laughed and rubbed against him. Lying naked on top of him, I had no doubt that he could be easily distracted. “Can we save that for another night? I love you, Jeremiah. I love what you said to me tonight. That you care so deeply. Let me celebrate that. This moment. We’ll look to the future later. I promise.” I reached between us and touched him where he pressed hard against my thigh.

“I’ll hold you to that.” But his growl of hunger and his hand stroking my breast proved that my distraction had worked.

I moved down his body, kissing and tasting until he jerked me up to push into me again. So deep, he touched me just where I needed to feel him. The rhythm was right, the pace perfect. I couldn’t give Trina’s blood credit for my soaring orgasm. That was all Jerry’s doing as he stroked me and brought me to fulfillment, just as I pushed him there. Time and time again I rose to meet him, finding the pinnacle of pleasure almost unbearable until I cried out to the night that I loved him.

He murmured the Gaelic words I’d learned meant the same, the words from his heart in the language of his birth. He swore he’d never said them to another woman the way he’d said them to me. And in that moment, lying sated under the stars, held close in his strong arms, I believed him. And believed I could never be so content with another man.

If only we could have stayed there, with Valdez keeping the world out. If only . . .

I
met Ray back in the suite just a few minutes before dawn.

“Did you tell Campbell about MacDonald?” Ray sat on the side of the bed and slipped off his loafers.

“No. The time wasn’t right.” I picked up a pad with the hotel logo and began to write a note for Nathan about the scale.

“You afraid of his reaction?” Ray got up to pull off his T-shirt. He tossed it on the closet floor.

“I’m not afraid. I just didn’t want to get into it tonight. Jerry had arranged a romantic evening on the roof. I wasn’t about to spoil it.” I finished the note. “Where should I put this so I’ll be sure Nate sees it tomorrow? I want a scale brought up to the suite and put in a private place so I can weigh myself every day.”

“Good idea. I wouldn’t trust MacDonald’s scale either.” Ray headed for the bathroom. “I’m going to shower. Put it on top of the TV remote. Nate starts every day with CNN and the stock market report.”

“All right, then. I did weigh on the scale in the hotel gym when I got back and it agreed with Ian’s scale. Two and a half pounds in one night, Ray!” I laughed. “But then I got paranoid and wondered if maybe Ian and the desk clerk could have worked together.” I felt a flush heat my cheeks. “Stupid, but there you go.”

“No, I see what you mean.” Ray patted me on the shoulder. “You have a right to be suspicious. If Blade and MacDonald are old enemies, anything goes. You could be a pawn in a bigger game than you know, Glory. I say we’re smart to be paranoid. That why you sent Brittany after me tonight?”

“You should always have a paranormal bodyguard with you, Ray. I’ve told you that before.” I got up and kicked off my high heels. My feet were killing me. “Another vamp gets a whiff of you in L.A. and a turf war could start. We have no idea who’s in charge here. I know the Austin scene pretty well, but we should probably ask Damian if there’s someone we should be checking in with. Vamps are territorial. And they don’t like newcomers making waves. We need to assure the powers that be that we’re well behaved and find out the secret handshake around here.”

“You’re kidding. Sounds like organized crime or something.”

“In a way.” I limped toward the door to the living room. “Trust me, Ian’s got permission to run his operation in Malibu from someone higher up. And if he goes after Blade, he’d better be careful or he’ll have the big, bad vamps in L.A. after him in a big, bad way.”

“Good to know.” Ray watched me from the doorway. With his low-riding jeans, and barefoot, he was too sexy to ignore, but I made the effort. Valdez and Brittany were out on the balcony having a quiet conversation so we were alone for a change. “You looked really excited after drinking from Trina, Glory. Flushed, totally turned on. Must have been some experience.”

“It was. I’ve never had a feeding like that. So I really wasn’t surprised when it actually worked like Ian said it would.” I looked down at the note. “This is silly. A waste of money. The hotel scales should be okay.”

Ray walked over and put the note on top of the remote. “No, it’s a good idea. We’ll get the scale. For your peace of mind and to be sure we’re getting our money’s worth.”

“About that. I’m paying. No discussion. I want to see the bill.” I followed Ray into the bedroom.

Ray turned and smiled. “No, you don’t, Glory girl. It’s outrageous. I can afford it and you can’t. You’ve saved my life more than once. Call it payback and that’s that.” He stepped closer and put his finger on my chin. “Get that mulish look off your pretty face. I’m not arguing. Dawn’s coming. Put on a sexy nightgown and drink Ian’s potion so we can go to bed.”

Ray slipped past me, his chest brushing my arm. I did want to argue. But if the treatment was as expensive as he said, I probably
couldn’t
afford it. I put my hand on his bare back.

“Thanks, Ray. This means a lot. I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you.”

He turned and smiled. “Just be happy. If this deal with Ian works out, then maybe his daylight drug will too. That’s what I’m hoping. Now, where’s your tonic?”

“In the bag on the nightstand.” I ignored Ray’s daylight comment. I wasn’t about to encourage that fantasy. I picked up the bag and pulled out the two bottles. One said drink before sleeping. The entire contents? Apparently. I twisted off the top and sniffed, then wrinkled my nose.

“What does it smell like? Not blood?”

“No, some kind of herbs. Or fruit. I don’t know. Take a whiff.” I held the bottle out to Ray.

“Mmm. Papaya with a hint of cinnamon maybe. Weird. I didn’t think vamps like us could drink anything but blood.” Ray took a sip. “Tasty. Too bad it’s for weight loss. I could get into it.”

“Hand it over.” I grabbed the bottle and took a sip. “It’s delicious.” I waited to see if it agreed with me. Seriously, made vamps can’t eat or drink anything except real or synthetic blood as far as I know. If we do hit food . . . ouch! I know, I’ve had a painful run-in with a bag of Cheetos. Delicious snacks, but not a great after-party, if you know what I mean.

So far my stomach didn’t seem to mind the new concoction. So I kept sipping until I’d finished off the bottle. Okay, I was feeling fine. Maybe even better than fine. It was like I’d had another jolt from Trina’s wrist. I waved Ray off to the shower and grabbed a nightgown from a drawer. Not sexy, no way. It was a pretty floral but my usual floor-length style and didn’t allow Ray even a glimpse of my body. I settled on my side of the bed and closed my eyes. I felt the bed sag when Ray climbed in on his side.

“You okay?”

“Yes, just waiting for dawn. Stomach’s fine, though I’m pretty revved up. Like after I drank from Trina. Ian’s a genius, Ray, if this works. In my experience nothing outlives the healing sleep except for an alcoholic binge.” I rolled over and stared at him. As usual, he’d come to bed in nothing but silk boxers. Tonight’s were baby blue, like his eyes.

“Don’t remind me.” Ray winced and closed his eyes. “My one and only backslide with booze after turning vampire cured me of that addiction.” He sighed. “I’d sure like to be able to enjoy a glass of my favorite Jack with the boys in the band now and then. I wonder if Ian’s got a wonder drug for that.”

“I’ll ask him.” I put my hand on his arm. “It’s a lot safer dream than going out in the sun. Forget that one, Ray. It’s suicide.”

“Is it?” Ray’s sapphire eyes swept over me, and I fiddled with the sheet. Nobody could do intense like Ray could. “You didn’t think you could lose weight, but it’s happening, Glory. Ian may just be proving to both of us that anything’s possible.” He leaned over and kissed me until I gently shoved him away.

“Not
anything
, Ray.” I smiled and let him interpret that any way he wanted to.

“You guys set for the night?”
Valdez was frowning from the doorway.
“Brittany’s going to keep me company for a while in the living room.”

“No problem. Try not to wake Nathan, though, V.” I yawned and put my hand on Ray’s chest. “’Night, Ray.”

“Watch where you put that hand, Glory girl,” Ray growled.

“Oops.” I slid back to my own side, not sure what I’d done. I was a little loopy, to tell the truth. I felt dawn kick me in the teeth and I was out.