Just One Taste (15 page)

Antonio sits on the bed, looking my way with a dazed air about him. Rafe lounges in an upholstered chair near the door, watching him carefully.

“What the hell happened back there, Vivian?” Antiono asks. “Why did you tackle me?”

His expression appears a bit dejected and petulant, as though I’ve taken away his favorite toy. His shoulders are rounded and his posture has lost the stiff arrogance he’d had when he arrived.

“Before I answer your questions, I want you to answer one of mine.”

I stare this incredibly good-looking man square in the eye. I’m not going to compel him to answer me yet; I want to see how he does on his own. If that doesn’t work, I’ll go in and get the information, which would not be a good thing for him.

“Were you born this attractive or are you enhancing your looks?”

I’ve caught him off guard, that is, if the slightly fish-eyed look he’s giving me is any indication.

“Uhh…umm…why is it important?”

My temper flares close to the surface and I don’t care to pussyfoot around. “Answer me, dammit, or I’ll drag it out of you and believe me, you won’t like it!”

Rafe reaches out, placing a hand on my arm.

Let him try to answer. I think he’s scared. Back down a bit.

I step closer to my husband, breathing in a deep, calming lungful of Rafe-scented air. Close proximity to my lover helps me obtain a better mental balance and maintain it. He’s right, of course. I’m having a hard time seeing the situation from Antonio’s point of view. Rafe catches sight of the ripped skirt from my position at his knee and reaches a hand out to gently caress my bottom.

It’s just the trick to pull me back from the edge and give Antonio a moment to collect himself. Rafe cups my cheek and gently moves his hand up and down in a soothing motion. As Antonio watches me from across the room, the tension ekes out of me slowly, helping my face smooth back out to calm.

Antonio’s voice sounds whiny when he finally responds to my question about his appearance. “I don’t understand the big deal. Lots of vampires use glamour to look better. It’s not much, only enough to give me this olive skin tone and appear slightly more defined.”

Hah! I should have known when I saw his naked body that it couldn’t all have been natural. I hate missing a detail like that —look where it has gotten me now: a vamp high on my blood with the power to use glamour. I thought after the murder, tonight couldn’t get any worse!

“Do you understand the complexities of glamour?” I ask Antonio as Rafe continues to pat my ass.

“I know the basics. My maker taught me a little.”

“Using glamour is a form of mind control—like you use on humans when altering memories. It’s a sustained version of your thought, projected out to others for their view. The level of your power determines the types of complex images you can project.” Antonio nods in understanding. “Personal appearance ranks low on the scale because it’s attached to you and you project it out with nothing other than a desire to look better. Creating more detailed images to send out, ones that are not attached, takes years of practice.”

“Really? I was unaware there was more to it than altering my looks.” Antonio looks deep in thought, like he’s trying to piece together how this applies to what happened in the bar. “I thought you said the old vamp blood I had was an empath and I would be able to read people. That was happening back there—I saw Olivia imagining she was with me when that other vampire began pawing her.”

Rafe pinches my right cheek, a clear poke at me to see if I can backpedal out of this one. It will be a fine line, trying to convince Antonio that the mess in the bar is related to his ability to glamour rather than me projecting anything to him.

“Uh…umm…” I clear my throat and try to angle my stance away from those grasping fingers. “Yes, that’s normally the case but I think with your abilities, you may be an exception.”

“How is that?”

I hear honest curiosity in him now.

Crap, how much do I want to tell him and how much am I going to have to wipe from his mind? Time to re-direct and spin some bullshit. Usually, bullshitting is Rafe’s area of expertise. Why isn’t he helping me here?

“Okay, I’ll try to explain. How long have you been using your glamour?”

“Since the week I was made—so that’s about fifty-one years.”

“Alright, perhaps the non-stop use means you’re going to be ready to take the next step soon.”

“Next step?”

“Yes, maybe your skills will advance to you being able to project your glamour out, by sending an image or emotion throughout a room.”

Ah…good one, babe. I wondered where you were going with this. But isn’t it more about his power level and not his practice?

Yeah, and thanks for the help, studly. You could have jumped in any time!

But why? You seem to be lying smoothly enough without my help. Is there any real chance he could be able to go that next step?

Maybe. But he’d either need a lot more of my blood, for a continued length of time, or a lot of practice
—
and even then I bet he’d only be able to use it on humans. If he was more powerful, it would have manifested by now.

During our mental exchange, Antonio appears slightly more confused and I realize why. He still doesn’t know why I tackled him and Rafe dragged him out.

“Antonio, you were projecting some of your feelings for Olivia into the room. Since I was standing close to you, I could feel it the most.” Yeah, right. I think that sounds plausible. “I had to get you out of there before someone else caught your feelings.”

“Oh, wow, that wouldn’t have been good, would it?” Is that excitement I hear in his voice, or perhaps fear?

Rafe snickers from his chair.
That’s a massive understatement
.

“No, probably not. If everyone felt your desire, they would all want Olivia.”

My mind swirls around the possibilities. How am I going to keep him busy for the night and away from anyone he could unwittingly project to?

How about a free meal with one of the employees interested in a long night of fun?
Rafe whispers in my mind, reading my thoughts, when I hadn’t asked him directly.

Good idea. Dammit, why didn’t I think of it?

“Look, Antonio, Olivia is a great girl, but she’s busy tonight. Let her have some fun and approach her at another time. You’ll be here all week in any case.”

Antonio’s head whips up and his eyes go black, a dark feeling of jealousy floods the room and Rafe bolts to his feet like
he’s
ready to head out the door. I clamp my mind shut as tightly as I can while crossing the room to stand before Antonio. I reach out with two hands and cup his cheeks, forcing him to look up and meet my gaze.

Once his eyes lock onto mine, I peer deeply into his mind to shut down his jealousy. Fragile tendrils of my thoughts weave into the red of his emotion. I don’t normally have to touch someone to do it, but doing so speeds the process up and I need to act fast. He’s aware, but he’s in a trance and he won’t be able to recall any words spoken around him or my actions when I let his mind go.

Rafe returns to himself, the jealous emotion gone, and states, “Well, love, that might not have been the best thing to say.”

“Yeah, hindsight being twenty-twenty and all, I can see that now.”

I’m picking my way through Antonio’s thoughts, trying to delicately balance what he feels with the temporary ability he has to project.

“Rafe, can you call the front desk and see who Tommy has on the list for a no-holds-barred night? I want someone with experience. Make that two someones. Have them come up to room thirteen. Hopefully, the sheer size of the gym room will help to contain any stray projections.”

“Good call on the location. Getting him off the main guest floor will only help.”

I
suggest
in Antonio’s mind that a night out with two willing and attractive women is what he needs. Rafe moves to the phone by the bed and picks it up to call the front desk.

“Oh, and see if we have any blondes for him.”

Might as well keep the fantasy going as long as I can. This little episode puts a major crimp in the plans I’d laid out. I’m starting to wonder what’s happening in the bar after we left too. Is Drew still seducing Olivia or have they gone off together?

I’m content I’ve done enough subtle work in Antonio’s mind to release my hold. He takes a deep breath and his body tension flows out on his exhale. He looks like he’s back to his normal, cocky, slightly arrogant self. Good, I don’t think I did any damage with the mind meddling.

It was hard to master the subtlety behind the vampire-to-vampire mind manipulation. If I mess it up or go in too strong and change a lot, he would know something happened. He would sense another vampire’s presence and possibly know it was me. He could come after me, or worse, tell the Tribunal and then I’d be screwed. And not in a good way.

Rafe hangs up the phone then gives me a slight nod that the plan we discussed is in action.

Dria, I think it would be best if I head back to the bar and you take the Italian Stallion into the gym with the ladies.

Why?

Just in case anyone walks by on the way, we wouldn’t want him projecting.

Sounds good, love. Give me ten minutes to go change and then I’ll take him.

Aww, too bad… I’m enjoying the peek-a-boo ass show.

I smile at him and sashay out the door, working it with all I’ve got.

Ten minutes later finds me back in Antonio’s suite wearing a skin-tight pair of black leather pants and thigh-high boots, which I’ve topped with my existing red corset and jacket. I didn’t want to waste more time changing than needed. I’m in the doorway, motioning Antonio out ahead of me.

“Come on, sport, I’ve got a room on the fun floor to show you.”

“Fun floor? Why do you call it that?”

“Oh, you’ll see.”

Rafe heads out past us to the second staircase, going back up to the bar.

I send him one last parting thought.
Let me know if you find out anything interesting in the bar, ‘kay?”

You got it, love. Hurry back to join us.

Antonio and I take the first staircase, winding up to the third floor, and head off into the west wing.

“I love all these books on the landings, and those reading nooks are nice. What made you decide to collect?”

His curiosity in the midst of this situation brings me back into polite hostess mode.

“Rafe and I speak seven languages between us and have acquired a lot of books over the years. I’ve always displayed the whole collection for guests to enjoy as well; we get people from all over the world in our dark paradise. No computer can take the place of a good book in your hands.”

My pace is brisk as I head down the hall and Antonio quickens to keep up. My master key card goes in the gym door, and I open the room with a dramatic flourish. With a wave of my arm, I usher him in ahead of me.

There’s no attic over this room and the angled roof makes a high-vaulted ceiling. I always feel like I’m walking into a real gym with padded walls, until closer examination of the free-standing items.

“This place is fantastic. Are those gymnast rings I see?” Before I can answer, something else catches his eye. “What is that in the corner, some type of elaborate swing?”

Antonio’s the most animated I’ve seen him thus far. His eyes are big and his voice holds youthful exuberance.

“Yes and yes.” I say with pride. “You’ll find a lot of old gym-type equipment and some newer, softer pieces too.”

“What are those black, velvety-covered shapes with the buckles?” His head scans the room, trying to take everything in at once.

“Those are the best, one of my personal favorites. They’re called ‘bedroom adventure gear’ on the website. Wedges and ramps, cubes and cylinders. All covered in washable fabric. Oh, and the buckles are the best part—a gentle way to restrain your partner.”

I point to the left of the door, drawing his eye to the various attachments and blindfolds hanging on pegs.

“You’ll find the cuffs and straps over there on the wall.”

“But what are the shapes for?”

I hand him the picture books I’d ordered as well, hanging in a wall folder.

“The shapes put your lover into position, giving him or her support for different angles and won’t kill their back during the act. Let’s face it—we may be undead but most of our lovers aren’t!”

Antonio chuckles as he looks around, his eyes flitting from item to item in rapid succession, cataloging them for future use.

“What’s that big chair-like thing?”

“It’s called the Esse, kind of a chaise lounge built for comfortable sex positions.”

“I’ve never heard of this stuff before. Did you get it all here in Alaska?”

“No, we’re pretty much hours from anything. You must have noticed that on the plane ride up. I do a lot of Internet shopping. The shapes came from liberator.com.”

I need to continue on with this mini-tour and wrap things up. The ladies should be arriving any moment.

“Over here,” I gesture to the right of the door, “is the light panel. Helpful to set the right mood in the room. The stereo system’s next to it; instructions are printed alongside. Across the room and to the right,” I point to draw his eye to the far wall with a door, “is the bathroom and showers. You’ll find towels along with shampoos, soaps and lotions. Over to the left,” I point again, this time to the opposite wall across the room, “you’ll find a massage table, complete with various oils.”

“You really have thought of everything, haven’t you?” he says with an anticipatory gleam in his eye.

“We tried, but trust me, I always think of something to add to each room in the off-season. I think the fun part is the shopping online.”