Real Vampires Don't Diet (22 page)

Flo sniffed but didn't say anything. I glanced at Ray. "I think we should go ahead and try to get Simon and another EV out to Ray's house. Ray and I plan to go out to the EV headquarters and see what we can learn that would lure them out to the lake."

"Madness. I don't want anyone going out to that EV chamber of horrors." Flo clutched Richard's thigh. "I had a very bad experience out there. Glory, you did too. I don't think Simon would let you leave there this time. Not unless he is sure Israel is really your protector. I don't know. It was
terrible.
A nightmare. Now that I think about it, maybe I shouldn't take the W." She looked longingly at the packet Ray had picked up and was dangling from his left hand. "I got hooked."

"Want me to flush them down the toilet?" Ray stood and made a move toward the bathroom.

"No!" Flo jumped up and grabbed the bag. "I can't get hooked if I don't have more. I'll take one. Ricardo, you take one. I must think. But not tonight. Glory, I won't call Jeremiah. You know that. Right? Or speak to Damian yet." Her lips trembled and she looked at the pill in her hand. "See. This is already starting trouble for me. But I take anyway because I don't want to worry about all this other stuff now. Glory, Ray, meet us here tomorrow night. Tonight is for love. I need it." She popped a pill in her mouth and swallowed.

"Now,
caro
Ricardo, you have ten minutes to get me home before I start tearing off clothes. Yours, mine"she looked across the coffee table"Ray's."

Richard put a pill in his mouth. "Let's hit the roof and shift out of here then. We'll see you tomorrow night. Surely one of us will come up with something." He grabbed Flo's hand. "We're outta here." The door slammed behind them. Ray stared down at the two pills left in the baggy. "Should I flush them?"

"No. Let me have them." I blocked my thoughts. Maybe I'd use them with Jerry when he got home. Ray handed the pills over without comment. I could see the question in his eyes but deliberately ignored it as I stuck the VV behind a book,
Getting the
Love You Deserve,
on my shelf. I have a lot of self-help books. I'd been helping myself for a long time. I turned to Ray.

"We're obviously not going to solve the Aggie problem tonight."

"Guess not." Ray picked up his bottle of synthetic and took a swallow. "So Damian, Flo's brother, is Casanova? Like in the history books?"

"That's what he claims."

"Maybe it's just male bragging and Circe's wrong."

"That would be convenient. But I'm not counting on it." I rinsed my empty bottle out in the sink and left it for recycling. "Getting him out to your place will be a problem if Flo tells him" My voice cracked. Ray was beside me in an instant and put his arms around me.

"I get it, babe. I keep wondering what I would do if this was Nate's brother we were talking about. I sure couldn't send him to hell. Or ask Nate to agree to it." Ray's arms tightened around me.

"So we've got to figure out a way to get Damian out of this. And without frying our own butts." I eased away from Ray and glanced at his bottle of synthetic, still half-full. "Aren't you going to finish that?"

"It tastes like crap." He frowned at it. "Since I'm basically stumped and you're basically stumped, I say we take a break. Unless you're willing to do the 'love' distraction like Flo and Richard."

"Nope, sorry." I grabbed the bottle and emptied it in the sink.

"Then let's go out and get some fresh air. You need to take me hunting."

"You shouldn't" I set the bottle next to mine.

"Did you or did you not drink from Nathan when I was sick?"

"I did, but"

"And I assume you've fed from other mortals from time to time."

"Well, sure. Over the years." I looked down and pretended to study a chip in my red nail polish. "They didn't have synthetics back in the day."

"I want to learn how to hunt. And I don't want you foisting this off on Will. I want you to teach me how to do it right. You're always so careful to 'blend,' as you call it. I'm sure you'll be the best teacher."

"Well, when you put it like that, how can I say no?" And my fangs were already zooming into place at the mere thought of mortal blood. I was so in trouble. How had I gone years living on synthetics? I had to do something about this. Later. After I got Ray fully trained. Yeah, later.

"Okay, since we really can't do anything about Aggie tonight anyway, we might as well go out. And we don't need Valdez. There are two of us. We should be able to handle whatever comes along. And I don't think the paparazzi will be out at four o'clock in the morning. Let me change clothes first. These red pants are too noticeable. You wore the perfect clothes. Dark shirt, dark jeans."

"Sure, I can sneak up on anybody." Ray followed me to my room, but I shut the door in his face. "Come on, Glory. I can watch you change pants. You got on one of your thongs? Bet it matches those pants. I love you in red."

"Forget it." Even Rays flirting couldn't distract me from my excitement for the coming hunt. I shucked the leather pants and found some old jeans in my closet. Tennis shoes next. Heels made too much noise. Jeez, I was as excited as I'd been the first few times Jerry had taken me hunting. See? He'd taught me more than those feeding pleasure points. I grabbed my keys and threw open the door.

"Okay, Ray, I'm ready."

"About time." He took my arm and hurried me out of the apartment. "Give me a rundown on what to expect."

"Well, we won't see many mortals this time of night, but that's why Sixth Street is such a great location for me. There
will
be a few, coming from the after-hours clubs. Where you live, you'd have a hard time finding anyone besides the mortals who work for you. I'm sure you don't want to use your bodyguards as a source."

"No kidding. I can't imagine drinking from Buster or Sam." Ray followed me down the stairs. "What if there
are
paparazzi waiting?"

"If you don't want them for your sources, you'll whammy them and send them on their way. You're always going to use the whammy after feeding. Erase memories so you can get away."

"Sure, you'd have to." Ray punched in the code and opened the door carefully. No reporters. Fine. Mugs and Muffins, the coffee shop next door, was also open twenty-four hours. There was only one customer inside, a man wearing noise cancellation headphones. He was sitting at a laptop and nursing a cup of coffee.

"What about him?"

"Diana and I have a policy. We leave each other's customers alone." Diana Marchand was the vampire who owned the coffee shop. She and I weren't exactly best friends, but we respected each other as two single businesswomen trying to make it on our own.

I glanced in my shop and saw Brianna helping two women in scrubs pick out dresses to try on. Good. Nice to have customers during what was usually a slow time of night.

"Let's try to stay in the shadows, away from the street lights."

"Makes sense." Ray looked excited too. "Maybe we should be going down the alley."

"No. Too many bad things have happened back there. When we find our prey, then we'll pull him or her into a dark area, a doorway or behind a Dumpster." I was constantly on the lookout. A police car sped by, but I didn't worry about it. Ray and I were just a couple out for a late-night walk.

"You said prey." Ray put his hand on my arm. "That's the first time you've really sounded like a vampire to me." I turned and showed Ray my fangs.
"Get
used to it, youngster. I'm a vampire and proud of it. Watch this." I leaped through the air and landed next to a man who'd just walked out of a doorway. I pulled him to me, stared into his eyes and then yanked him down a dark path next to the building.

"Come on, Ray, don't just stand there. I'm about to
get
this party started." My bloodlust was rising and I felt like striking immediately. The man stood there as I'd commanded and I turned to Ray impatiently. "Hurry!"

"Glory, what the hell's gotten into you?"

"I'm here to teach you to hunt. Are you interested or not?" I inhaled. Not bad. The guy had been drinking, but not a lot. Maybe he'd been playing in a band at the club he'd just left. Ray hadn't been taught about blood types yet. I'd start with that.

"Okay, I'm here. What's first?" Ray looked at the man. "I don't want to drink from him."

"Why not?" I checked out the man again. "He's clean, young, healthy. What's not to like?"

"He's a man. I don't want to snuggle up to a guy. I want to drink from a woman. Preferably a hot one." Ray smiled at me. "Tell me you didn't pick this one because he's a good-looking guy."

"Give me a friggin' break." I put my hands on my hips. "I picked him because he was the first available mortal to cross our path that wasn't soaked in cheap wine." I waved my hand toward the empty street, barely visible at the end of the building. "You want to go out there and troll for good-looking women, help yourself. I'll take this guy."

"Fine. Tell me your process while you're going at it." Ray leaned closer. "It's cool that we can see so well in the dark."

"Yes, it is. First I want you to take a whiff. His blood type is B positive. Memorize that smell. Once you've tried different types you'll probably decide you have a favorite."

"What's
your
favorite, Glory?" Ray was right behind me. He put his hand on my shoulder. "This guy's? It's the same as mine."

"Sorry, but I'm a suckerha -hafor AB negative. Your buddy Nathan happens to be that type. So you see it was a treat to be able to drink from him during your hangover."

"So glad I could help you get off." Ray's hand slid away from me.

"I don't fool around when I'm out on a hunt. You shouldn't either, no matter how hot your prey. Just tilt the head back and get a bead on the jugular." I looked back at Ray. "See the blood pumping? I'm sure you can hear it too. It's calling to you, isn't it, Ray?" I'm sure my eyes were glowing. It's a bloodlust thing.

"What's calling to me is how excited you are." Ray moved closer again. He put his arms around my waist and pressed against my back. "Take him, Glory. Let me see you drink from him. This is unbelievably hot." Ray didn't have to tell me twice. I heard myself growl before I sank my fangs into the sweet spot. I drank, feeling the reviving flow fill me. Ray's body against mine was an extra bonus. He urged me on, his hands touching me and stroking me until I realized I was getting carried away. I pulled back and licked the wounds closed.

I was panting like I'd run a marathon so I leaned back against Ray, letting the stranger's body settle against the brick wall behind him.

"Damn. I almost drank too much." I reached out and checked the man's pulse. "He'll be okay. But you have to pay attention to what you're doing. Not be distracted."

"Oh? Did I distract you?" Ray leaned down and kissed my neck behind my ear.

"I'm not playing here, Ray. What if I'd killed the poor guy?" I turned in Ray's arms and stared up at him. "It can and has happened. You want that on your conscience?"

"Hell, no." Ray finally seemed to be listening but he kept his arms around me.

"Then always be aware of the limits you can push with your source. This guy's tall, about one-eighty. He could spare quite a bit and still not feel much but a little light-headedness when he snaps out of it. But a hot, young thing like you want to drink from won't be able to give you much without serious consequences."

"Speaking of hot, young things" Ray pulled me up against him. "You have any idea how hot
you
were just now? The way you went after what you wanted. God, Glory. There's only one woman I want to drink from. You. Right now." I could see his fangs glinting in the dim light from the faraway streetlights. His eyes were glowing. So the bloodlust had gotten to him too. I threw back my head and offered my throat. Why not? Sweet words and the feel of his hard body against mine were more than enough to pull me closer. I wanted to connect with him, and closed my eyes, waiting for him to take me. Then I heard the man I'd used fall to the broken pavement.

My eyes popped open and I pushed Ray back. "No, wait. Let me finish what I started. I have to show you" I turned to pick up the man and threw him over my shoulder to carry him toward the street. There I looked out into the deserted sidewalk and realized my best bet was to leave the guy sitting next to the doorway where I'd taken him. I gently set him down, then got in his face.

"You must have fallen when you came out of the club." I patted his cheek. "Hey, are you all right?"

"Oh, II must have fallen." The man blinked and looked around.

"My boyfriend and I were walking by and saw you. Think you can get home all right?" I looked at Ray and winked. "Want us to call you a cab?"

"No, II feel okay, just tired. I don't live far." The man pushed to his feet, swayed for a moment, then looked down the street.

"I'll be all right. Think I'll stop at the all-night coffee shop. Have a muffin. Starving. Thanks for checking on me." He wobbled off down the sidewalk.

"That seemed easy enough." Ray stuck his hands in his pockets.

"This time it was. No witnesses interrupting."

"Just you interrupting what promised to be a highlight. I guess you're not going to let me drink from you right now." I shook my head and looked down the street. "I've been thinking about that. Not tonight. Let's go through with the plan. Find you someone to feed from. You need the practice so you can be independent. I'm not going to be with you forever." Ray put his hand on my arm and turned me to face him. "You could be, you know."

"Get real, Ray. Even Jerry and I take breaks. And you and I" I tapped my foot. "I'm a novelty for you now. And I admit we click on some level."

"Oh, was that the sound I heard when I kissed you outside your door? A click?" Ray grinned. "Sounded more like a moan to me."

I found it hard to resist Ray when he played like this. So I didn't try, just headed off down the street where I knew we'd find some of the clubs that stayed open really late. A group of women emerged from one of them just as we got to a corner. Ray was recognized immediately and I realized we'd have a problem with the whole hunting thing. Especially if we hoped to cut one filly out of a herd. Sue me, but it had been a country western venue and the girls were in jeans and boots.