Real Vampires Hate Skinny Jeans (27 page)

“Oh, your beautiful car!” She began pushing water out of the seat with her hands.

I glanced down. Right. I’d left the top down and Achelous had made it rain buckets. Swell. One more thing the god had ruined tonight.

“Flo, relax. Gloriana can have it dried out professionally. I’m sure insurance will cover it.” Jerry shifted me in his arms, like he was anxious to get rid of me. I didn’t blame him. “You are both already wet and I don’t think the engine has come to any harm. The keys are in it. See if it will start.” Jerry spoke calmly as he set me in the passenger seat and secured my seat belt. Flo scurried around to the other side and soon had the engine purring, all the while muttering in fierce Italian and English about Sirens and gods who threw rain and lightning around.

“Jerry, are you, I mean, will you come over? To talk about what just happened?” I leaned back in the seat. Had I ever been this wet or this miserable before? Even the pain in my burned feet was minor compared to the terror I felt about my relationship with Jerry. And Rafe? He stood behind Jerry, his gaze questioning.

“Not tonight, Gloriana. Let your friends take care of you. I need some time. To think. Surely you understand.” He closed the car door. “I’ll call you.”

“Glory!” Rafe moved up to take Jerry’s place next to the door. “If you need me, call.” He reached through the open window and cupped my cheek. “For blood to help you heal. For anything. What you heard tonight… I know it’s not what you wanted to hear. But it makes no difference to me. I don’t need time to think.” He leaned down and kissed my forehead then slapped the hood as Flo began to slowly back the car down the driveway.

I saw Laurie standing by her own car, just observing the
scene. She stopped Rafe when he turned away and I saw them talk to each other. Jerry had disappeared. He’d probably shifted to get here and was already flying home.

“How are you, really?” Flo asked as soon as we were on the open road.

“Horrible.” I looked at her. She was soaked, her outfit ruined, her hair plastered to her head. “How are you going to explain this to Richard?”

“I’m going to have to confess everything. He will be furious, of course, that I went to see the Storm God with you and didn’t tell him… Hah! As if I would have wanted him there.” Flo’s eyes glistened with tears. “That Achelous.
Ché bastardo!
I hate him.”

“I think we can agree on that.” I patted her hand on the steering wheel. “I’m glad you weren’t hurt but that won’t help soothe Richard.”

“No, but I’ll let him get me into the shower since I am so upset, you see. That will make everything all right.” Flo winked at me. “Or at least help him forget I was in danger.” She squeezed my hand. “But I wasn’t. Not really. I was scared for
you
,
amica
. That god was so angry. He wanted to kill you.”

“Lucky for us, Circe is for women’s rights.” I managed a smile. “And Laurie. She really did come through for me.”

“
Sí.
I’ll meet her tomorrow night to pay her.” Flo held up her hand when she saw I was going to object, offer to pay. “I am glad to do it. She saved our butts. No?”

“Yes, she did. Who knew she had connections on Olympus?” I leaned back and closed my eyes. “At least I had on my old boots.”

“Yes, and I checked the trunk. Our new shoes are still dry. Somehow Aggie got hers already or I would have thrown them into the lake. So many men she killed! I cannot like that.”

“I killed—”

Flo reached over and clapped her hand over my mouth. “We will never speak of that again. I will not tell Ricardo that part either. You were a different person then, Glory. A
different, how you say, species, I guess. So you cannot be held to blame. Move on. It is what I do when I have done something I am not so proud of. And I have plenty, I tell you, in my past that I would rather not think of again.” She took her hand away. “Is it a deal?”

“Deal.” I wasn’t going to cry. No, that had to be water from my wet hair dripping into my eyes. But could I have a better friend? I certainly hated to see her head to Paris. My phone bill was obviously going to be astronomical because who else could I talk to about girl stuff?

When we got to my apartment, Flo fussed about how I was going to get up the stairs on my blistered feet. Obviously Rafe had figured things out because he showed up next to the car, shifting out of bird form just as Flo was about to call Richard for help.

“I snapped to the fact that you weren’t going to be able to make the stairs.” He eased me from the seat and lifted me into his arms. “This okay?”

I snuggled against him. We were both wet but I could feel his shifter’s heat through our clothes. “More than okay. You’re a godsend. No, scratch that. Not mentioning gods. Or at least—”

“Don’t try to make sense now, Glory. Just close your eyes and let me carry you to your bed.” Rafe’s deep voice made his chest vibrate under my cheek. I sighed and relaxed, letting him take over.

Flo ran ahead, taking care of security codes and opening doors. “You’ve got to get out of those wet clothes but I don’t want you to have to stand on your feet. If you lay on your bed…”

“Let Rafe take over, Flo.” I waved her off when she began to pluck at my wet jeans. “Honestly, I’m beyond being embarrassed and you need to get home to Richard. He’s bound to be worried about you. It’s late and we were only supposed to go shopping. The mall closed hours ago.”

Flo dug into her purse, which fortunately we’d stuck in the trunk of my car before we’d headed to that terrace. “Yes,
he’s called and left messages. I think it’s better if I just go home.”

“Yes, you’re right.” I held out my hand. “I’ll never forget how you were there for me tonight.
Mi amica.
That’s what you call
me
. You’re the best.”

“You will not make me cry.” Flo sniffled then gave Rafe an assessing look. “You will be a gentleman, eh? She has been through too much. Help her get clean and dry and put to bed. Give her some of your blood if she wants. That’s all.
Capite?
”

“I get it, Flo.” Rafe kissed the top of my head. “No hanky-panky. I’m not the asshole Achelous was. Glory’s beat. Traumatized. I’m not about to make some stupid move on her now.”

“Hey, I’m here you know. And if I want him to climb into my bed for more than a snooze, that’s on me.” I winked at Flo, though I knew that was the last complication I needed right now. “Good night, Flo.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow night. If you want me to cancel my trip to Paris, say the word.” She also sent me a mental message not to do anything foolish with Rafe.

“No, take your trip. And quit worrying about me. I’m going to survive. I’ve managed things so far. Maybe I can get Laurie to give me Circe’s phone number. Find out how I can get rid of this Siren whammy.”

“Not sure I’d do that, Glory.” Rafe smiled down at me. “It’s come in handy for you over the years. Bought you protection at least.”

“I’m leaving. This isn’t something for her to talk about now, Rafael. Get her in the shower, dry her off, feed her. Now, good night.” Flo stalked out of the apartment and closed the door.

“We have our orders.” Rafe carried me into the bathroom. He carefully set me on the closed toilet and pulled my ruined red sweater off over my head. Then he reached back and turned on the water in the tub since it took a while to heat up.

“I’m not sure these jeans will come off. They were snug when they were dry.” I got the button open and the zipper down. “That damned Achelous. To deliberately give me wide hips. How mean can you get?”

“They aren’t wide. They’re perfect.” Rafe lifted one hip and managed to slide the jeans and my panties down then did the same with the other. He was very careful when he had to pull them off over my wounded feet. Still, I hissed when the stiff fabric rubbed against them.

“Thanks, Rafe.” I reached behind me to unclasp my bra. He was being very clinical about undressing me, for which I was grateful. I knew he still wanted me; I could see the bulge in his own wet jeans.

“Wait.” He wrapped a towel around me. “I’m thinking you can’t get in this tub with your feet like this. It will be agony.”

I glanced at the filling tub then down at my feet. “God, you’re right. The very thought of that hot water touching them…”

“I’m carrying you to bed and feeding you first.” He turned off the water then started to lift me in his arms again.

“Wait. Take off your shirt. It’s soaked and you can dry off. I’ve got one of your old T-shirts in my dresser drawer.”

“Right.” He jerked off the shirt then picked me up and carried me to bed. He laid me down gently then disappeared into the bathroom again. When he came out he was wearing only a towel around his lean hips. “Give me another minute and I’ll throw my jeans into the dryer.”

“Good idea.” I lay back and closed my eyes, so exhausted I couldn’t have put logical thoughts together if I’d tried.

“I’m back. Did you doze off?”

“Guess so.” I felt the bed sag as Rafe sat beside me.

“Drink from me, Glory. You’ve got to get those feet healed. You also have bruises on your shoulders.”

“I’ve got a killer headache too.” Killer. Oh, God. I looked away from Rafe.

“Stop. You are not that person. Not like Aggie.” Rafe gently turned my chin so that I faced him. “That bastard really did a number on you, in more ways than one.”

“Understatement. The way he and Circe manipulated all of us. Like Jerry said.” Rafe’s mouth tightened at the mention of Jerry’s name. I reached up to trace those lines. “I’m sorry. You’re also one of my victims. Do you hate that?”

“Never.” He leaned down and kissed me carefully on the lips. “Drink from me. At least heal before you try to reason any of this out.” He pulled my arms around his neck and offered his throat.

I was powerless to resist as I slid my lips along his jaw to the sweet spot where I could hear his blood pumping and smell the richness calling to me. Rafe was right. I had to feed and he had just what I needed.

“Thanks, Rafe. You know I love you, don’t you?” I didn’t give him time to answer before I took his vein. Sank into him with a sigh. It was bliss and I felt the power surge instantly. I knew my feet were healing and strength flowed into me as my headache evaporated. Rafe’s blood had that special something, his own shifter essence that made me want to drink forever but I knew I was going to have to pull away soon.

“Well, I see I needn’t have worried, Gloriana.”

I jerked away from Rafe, his arm steady around me as I grabbed at my slipping towel.

“Jerry! You came back.” I didn’t stop Rafe as he stood, his own towel not doing much to disguise the fact that our closeness hadn’t left him unmoved.

“Like a fool.” Jerry stood in the bedroom doorway, his fists clenched. He’d changed clothes and was nice and dry. It almost made me mad to realize that had been his first priority.

“What do you mean?” I sat up and grabbed the sheet to better cover myself with. “Rafe was feeding me. You saw my feet. I needed blood to heal. Are you standing there jumping to conclusions or will you listen to the facts?”

“What difference does it make, Gloriana? I am powerless to resist you. Whatever you tell me, whatever you do, I will
come back to you. Always.” He ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t know how to take what we just heard out there by the lake. I tried to stay away from here just now. But I kept seeing you lying there on that terrace, hurt.” He swept his eyes over Rafe. “I should have known one of your other victims would be here for you.”

“That’s enough, Blade.” Rafe stepped forward.

“No, let him get this off his chest.” I wiggled my toes and realized my feet were healed enough for me to get up. I dragged the sheet around me and stood next to Rafe. “You’re both my victims, I get that and I hate it. Whatever you need to do, Jerry. Do it. I won’t hold it against you.” Even though my heart was breaking at the look on his face.

“I need time. And space. To think about this tale the Storm God told us. I’m going home.” Jerry stared at me, searching my face. For what? Signs that I wanted him to stay? I kept my face carefully neutral, refusing to work any womanly wiles on him.

“Home? And where would that be? You’ve been a nomad for the last few decades.” My energy for bravado leached out of me and I dropped to the edge of the bed.

“Castle Campbell. My roots, you could say. Leave me alone for a while, Gloriana, and I’ll see if I can do the same for you.”

“Dramatic much, Blade?” Rafe shook his head. “Give the woman a break. Clearly none of this is her fault. You sound like you’re punishing her.”

“Bugger off, Valdez. You’re so eager to be her lapdog, have at it.” Jerry stepped into the room and grabbed me by my shoulders. He jerked me to my feet and kissed me. It was an angry kiss, a seeking kiss and a farewell kiss all in one. I didn’t fight it, just leaned into it. Even tried to hold on to him and send him mental messages not to go, that we could work it out. But too soon he thrust me at Rafe and stormed out of the room.

“I’m sorry, Glory. Sorry the man is such a hardheaded Scot.” Rafe caught me as I staggered.

“Hardheaded? Yes. But also hurt, disappointed. I…” I
had nothing else to say. And neither did Rafe as he settled me in bed again. He tenderly covered me with my floral comforter.

“Are you going to be all right?”

“I have no idea, Rafe. No idea at all.” I closed my eyes and wished it was time for my death sleep. Death. A nice solution to what seemed like insurmountable problems and, yes, so deliciously permanent.